Bollywood's Newbies

Bollywood: The Spring of the Newbies and ‘Falling in Love’ Again Dileep.M.M.

In contemporary Bollywood you can be glorious in two ways; by being a newcomer and by falling in Love! With the monsoon clouds, it is raining newcomers with a bunch love stories in B town. If last year it was the much publicized trio of Deepika Padukone,Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, this year the love battle is raging between actor Aamir Khan’s nephew Imran and producer Harry Baweja’s son Harman. Imran’s mother is Aamir’s cousin and was involved in the making of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. So it is pay back time for Amir Khan now. Harman, on the other hand, has the advantage that dad has created an entire film around him. Other new entry from the film fraternity include Shekhar Suman’s son Adhyayan, producer Kumar Mangat’s daughter Amita Pathak. These young bloods are not pumping the ‘Good Old Romantic’ sagas of the pessimistic 50s, like Guru Dut’s Pyasa,Chadhvi Ka Chand or Kagas Ki Bhool etc, and Mene Pyar Kiya,Sajan, Dil,Ashiqui type of later 80s or even Imran’s ‘most promised love boy’ uncle Aamir’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak type films. How are they different? These new age films have all the trappings of romantic cinema of erstwhile years but they are also endowed with a refreshing down to earth sensibility! The reason for this shift towards “down-to-earthiness “is not far to seek. The newbies in Bollywood want penetrating stories because they represent today’s pragmatic youngsters. And nowadays there is acute competition .Unlike olden times many youngsters are coming here for acting, directing or script writing, like any other professional job such as engineering, medicine, architecture or biotechnology. It is not just the industry kids who are being launched with hype and hurrah, but even those who do not have any film connections are making their way into tinsel town. Earlier the industry was not very open to newcomers but now it has changed. The focus is now only on talent. So whether it is Aamir’s nephew or a television star, their debut performances have been equally applauded purely on the merit of their acting. However, being a star kid newcomer will help get the right props as opposed to those coming from outside. Harman Baweja, Imran Khan and Amita Pathak are examples. Deepika Padukone is an outsider who has landed big projects. But our young brigades of directors are also having a penchant for new faces. From Imran to Adah Sharma, they yarn to do unconventional roles. Their films are indicators to the changing trend of story telling. They are even ready for deglamourised roles. Adah Sharma with deep blue eyes is ready to do her debut role without make-up! Now that Abbas Tyrewala’s Jaane Tu … Ya Jaane Na , has given audience characters that they would like to carry with them to their homes. This film can be considered as a mirror of our changing trend in story telling, even it is a chewed-over theme called love. The film came out with flying colours. It has rocked young India and come like a shower of relief. For Imran, approval has come from both the youngsters and hard-to-please critics. Despite the unfamiliar cast, the film had several advantages. Right from the promos, with its lilting music, the film fuelled expectations. And anyway, as a rule, young love stories have been safe launch pads for star kidsfrom Bobby to Love Story to QSQT. Jaane Tu… is basically like typical Hindi romantic comedies. But nowadays more caring is done while handling these themes. So the cliché theme of ‘falling in friendship to eventually falling in love’ still comes across as remarkably refreshing and endearing. The film works wonders with its casting, getting the perfect actor for each of the roles.

Jaane Tu … Ya Jaane Na is the love story of Jai Rathore (Imran Khan) and Aditi Mahant (Genelia D’Souza). The two are poles apart, with Jai being calm, funny and kind guy and Aditi being wild, loud and reckless girl. The two even have names for each other; Jai’s being Rats and Aditi is called Meow. Their friends add to their everyday Mayhem. Though they are always quarrelling, Jai and Aditi are inseparable and everyone including their families thinks they will get married. But they are in a hurry for finding a ‘would be’ for each other! But after their twists and turns they recognize each others longing. Any one can relate with these young brigades- like asking for Coke “on the rocks”- to their relationships, values and lingo. Especially delightful is the son-mother relationship, their sharing jokes and taking turns at cooking. Even the sibling rivalry, with its mix of possessiveness, feels real in a contemporary sense. “Our cinema is taking huge leaps forward and I want to be a part of the change,” says Imran. That’s an immensely mature and sensible comment from a person who has acted in a college love story. But that comment is a reflection of the changing times of Bollywood. What more is needed from these young bloods, or let us say Gen Next, to the Bollyood? If one were to sum up the trend set by these newcomers it would go something like this: “To be a newbie is glorious and also meaningful. “

The End.