Grey often becomes the reason to understand the black and white of life more clearly I recently read,with bemusement,about Hollywood superstar,Tom Cruise,and his penchant for applying a paste made from nightingale poop on his face in an effort to look young. Just a year shy of 50,the golden boy of the box-office still manages to look like a million bucks and swears he has never gone under the scalpel or resorted to using Botox. So,hes obviously doing something right. Closer home,our own filmi heroes have aged with varying degrees of success. The first bona fide Bollywood superstar,Rajesh Khanna,has recently been in the public eye for his highly ironic commercial where he reminisces about past glory and exults in the fact that no one can snatch away his fans,which,quite literally,have three blades that rotate around him adoringly. Amitabh Bachchan experienced a dry spell several years ago when his films started flopping in succession. But,he returned rejuvenated,and reinvented in a new,avuncular avatar and hasnt looked back since. At 61,the indefatigable Rajnikanth is truly ageless. He remains an enigma,a demi-god adored not only by millions of Indian devotees but also,inexplicably,by the Japanese as well. Shah Rukh Khan has just celebrated 20 years in Indian cinema and at the age of 46,is our very own Tom Cruise both lover boy and action hero at once. His detractors claim he is in the throes of a mid-life crisis but King Khan soldiers on,like a true Knight Rider. Salman Khan,who is the absolute darling of the masses is also in his mid-forties and has been the favoured son of both fortune and controversy. Each time he was written off,he bounced back and is currently enjoying unprecedented box office success. Also in his forties,Aamir Khan,probably the finest actor of his generation,has metamorphosed into the nations conscience keeper with his powerful films and thought-provoking TV show. It would be prudent to spare a thought for our female stars,whose shelf life is considerably shorter than their male counterparts. Most of our aging heroes blithely cavort on screen with heroines less than half their age. And many an Indian actress who started out playing the heros sweetheart has ended her career playing his mother. In the West,actresses such as Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren are still offered a rich variety of stellar roles despite being in their sixties. But local audiences,it seems,are hungry for fresh faces. Talented desi actresses,still in their prime,find themselves prematurely dropped by big banner producers. And if they want to remain in the film industry,they have little option but to work in B-grade movies or embrace indie cinema,trading glamour and oomph for more serious,meaty roles. Many a fading heroine has been forced to float her own production company to make films in which she can star. The comeback vehicles of several actresses,who have returned to the arc lights after marriage,childbirth or divorce,have been box office disasters. It will be interesting to see if Sridevi,once the nations sweetheart,can break this box office jinx with her promising comeback vehicle,English Vinglish. Otherwise,it would seem that,regardless of how much surgery,botox or bird poop they may employ,the careers of our film heroines,as opposed to our heroes,are doomed to remain woefully short. samarofdiscontent@gmail.com
