|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Women are often blocked from a comeback after they are married because it is felt that their ‘market value’ and their appeal for the audience declines. That is why despite Sagar turning out to be a big hit, Dimple Kapadia could not fit into heroine’s roles and slipped into character roles. Rekha, too, lost her sheen. So films like Bachke Rehna Re Baba turned out to be a horror both as a film and at the boxoffice. For men, three flops in a row can be the killing agent. Sridevi stands out among them all with her scintillating performance in English Vinglish where Adil Hussain plays her attitude-filled husband. This is, perhaps, the biggest comeback in recent times. The biggest failure in the ‘comeback’ story belongs to Rajesh Khanna, who reduced himself to giving ‘special appearances’ in his last films. The most recent case of a ‘comeback’ that got aborted even before the contract was signed is that of Sangeeta Bijlani. Bijlani, former wife of Mohammad Azharuddin, was picked by Onir for his new film Shab. She was about to make a comeback after 17 years. But she developed cold feet when the workshop revealed that she would have to do some full-blown lovemaking scenes. Raveena Tandon is replacing her. Raveena too, took a break and staged a very sketchy comeback in 2011. Let us wait and watch if Shab can resurrect her limping career. Kajol’s career was broken by marriage and motherhood. Her comeback film Fanaa was a hit followed by U Me Aur Humm, a flop and My Name is Khan with Shah Rukh, which did very well. Kajol has been taking it easy and vacillating in the grey areas between motherhood and films. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish (2010). Enthiran
had also come in the same year, which means she was one of the best
boxoffice baits at that time. Her sabbatical was enforced by her
pregnancy and motherhood. Now, everyone is waiting with bated breath
for her return in Happy Anniversary. She ensured her visibility
by sustaining her media image right through her ‘absence’ going to
the extent of not shying away from the weight-gain post motherhood.
But there is no one to beat the great Amitabh Bachchan whose ‘comeback’ story can turn into a voluminous guide on ‘how to make a comeback and enhance your success.’ In The Rise and Fall and Rebirth of Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan, David Chute (Film Comment) writes: "Most of his 1990s films were not successful, which seemed to confirm the widespread suspicion that Bachchan was a spent force. He was not easy to replace: in the mid-1990s, it took all three Khans (Aamir, Shah Rukh, and Salman) to fill the vacuum created when the Big B got dropped off the A List." This is strange because Hum (1991) that featured Bachchan in a layered role of an ageing hero was one of the biggest boxoffice hits of the year and fetched him the Best Actor Award from Filmfare. He portrayed the father-figure older brother of Govinda and Rajnikant, both outstanding leading men with high boxoffice values but Bachchan towered above them. By the end of the 1990s, he rose like a phoenix from its ashes and worked his way back into the limelight, which sounded like a comedown prompted by financial desperation. The first phase of his comeback was filled with big hits like Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein and Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. A new generation of Indian moviegoers saluted his screen image. Interestingly, his comeback was spurred on by his extremely successful television show Kaun Banega Crorepati. He has stripped himself of every possible cliché and stereotype to become a ghost, a genetically disabled individual, an alcoholic teacher of the physically challenged and everything else. Chute, in his insightful article adds, "Over the past few years, and against all odds, Bachchan has managed to build upon his initial comeback status as a serviceable senior character actor. He is once again, in his sixties, a major leading man, a feat that is certainly rare enough in the annals of world cinema to be noteworthy."
|
||||
|
|
||||
Comebacks
