Grow up, Bollywood!

Irony. Hindi films are full of it. Whether it is good or bad is
arguable. But this irony factor sure makes Hindi films distinct or
hatke, like a Hindi cinema insider would say.

Age is an interesting paradox in Hindi films. It is a mere number
which doesn't faze our actors and filmmakers. It doesn't matter how
old you are. What matters is how young your heart is. Hogwash. As
long as you sell at the box office, you can be 35 or 45 and still
attend college.

But that is not always true. Some actors do not hesitate from
sporting grey hair and wrinkles. Though the ratio of those who dare
to experiment is much less than those who stick to tried and tested
stereotypes.

Much hue and cry was made over Ajay Devgan's casting in Yuva as a
college student. Many critics felt he doesn't suit the part. Well, it
so happened that a 34-year old Devgan played a 24-year-old freedom
fighter in The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, which won him his second
National Award for Best Actor (his first was for Zakhm).


I, for one, do not think the actor was miscast. He is a PhD student
in the film, remember? I know many who are in their mid-thirties and
pursuing higher studies.

Strangely, no one seems to have a problem with visibly older actors
attending college without explanation. There are quite a few
examples. Govinda dances to Meri pant bhi sexy on a college campus in
Dulaara. Shah Rukh Khan is St Xavier's College's cool dude in Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai. Salman Khan celebrates the college Rose Day function
with the enthusiasm of a sophomore in Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya. Sanjay
Dutt and Sunny Deol study at a prestigious college in London in
Kshatriya. That they are never shown attending college is another
thing.



Not too long ago, Dutt decided to learn medicine in Munnabhai MBBS.
That is acceptable, of course. He is a goonda in the movie.
Questioning that would not be appropriate now, would it?



Point is: all these actors were well past their college-going years
when they did these roles.



Shahid Kapur, on the other hand, looks perfect as the college kid. Is
that good? Apparently not. Because the trade know-alls look at it as
a handicap. His range (in terms of roles) is limited because he looks
too young to play anything else. He is blissfully unaware that,
later, the same know-alls will crucify him for playing the campus
icon to the hilt.



Not everyone is Anupam Kher. The man played a 65-year-old retired
schoolteacher in his first film, Saaransh. He was 28. What does he
get in return? The tag of character artist. Because to be classified
a 'hero', you need a college I-card.



You can also be an undercover army officer reluctantly parading as a
student. Like in Main Hoon Na. SRK plays a 30-plus army officer who
goes back to a school full of teenagers. He is understandably
uncomfortable. He argues with his superior (Kabir Bedi) saying he
would be more convincing as a teacher.



Other than Kher, there is Madhuri Dixit who was anything but
glamorous in Sangeet, where she played a middle-aged mother as well
as her daughter. Both her physical appearance and performance matched
the maturity required in the elderly role.



The same cannot be said about Aishwarya Rai in Kuch Naa Kaho. As a
single mom of a seven-year-old, Ash didn't look or feel the part. She
lacked the compassion and warmth -- two ingredients of being a 'super
mom', which is what she calls herself in the movie.



Insecurity is a dangerous emotion. Actresses are intimately
acquainted with it, since they are believed to have a shelf life in
the industry. The minute an established heroine feels she is losing
her appeal to the younger lot, she goes in for an image change.



This mindset resulted in the extremely talented Sridevi and Dixit
resorting to mini-skirted avatars in Army and Raja to suggest I've-
still-got-what-it -takes. A pity, considering the two are tremendous
performers.



Some actors refuse to age. How else do you explain the much older
Feroz Khan calling the much younger Mukesh Khanna 'dad' in Yalgaar?



Likewise, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, too, went through an
awkwardly miscast phase.




Before graduating to sign roles that suited his age, Dilip Kumar
embarassed himself dancing around trees with heroines half his age in
films like Gopi (Saira Banu) and Bairaag (Saira, Leena Chandravarkar).



Bachchan has his own ugly past. A 45-plus Big B trying to pass off as
super hero in Toofan, Jaadugar and Ajooba was disastrous. Take a look
at him now. He plays his age with such dignity and grace. Scripts are
now designed keeping his 60- plus image in mind. And he is still the
hero.



Ashok Kumar had the ideal changeover. He shifted smoothly from hero
to big brother to father to grandfather characters.



With the backing of a compelling script and substantial execution;
actors can play their age and still be popular as heroes. Because
heroism is not about being young. It is about doing the right thing.
And the right thing for Hindi cinema right now is to 'Grow up'.

From

rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/03corner.htm