Talent Sourcing

Actor Vikram,having made a debut with Mani Ratnam’s Raavan,is now shooting for Bejoy Nambiar’s next,David,in a key role. Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan has been cast as the lead in the remake of Bollywood classic,Zanjeer. Rana Daggubati started his career in the Telugu and Hindi film industries at almost the same time and now straddles parallel careers. Having replaced Sonu Sood in the Dabangg sequel,popular South Indian actor Prakash Raj is the latest baddie in demand,with the success of Wanted and Singham behind him.

Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan has been doing character-driven roles in several big-budget and independent Bollywood movies. Agent Vinod,Saif Ali Khan’s ambitious spy thriller,opened with Kishan where he played an intelligence agent. “I get to work in good productions with talented actors such as Saif,Naseeruddin Shah and Kay Kay Menon; an opportunity I will not get in Bhojpuri films,” explains the actor,who will now be seen in Dangerous Ishhq.

Director Apoorv Lakhia says that this phenomenon is the result of Bollywood’s new approach towards cinema. “Characters have taken precedence over stars and casting is the key. Naturally,the need is to scout for talent from across the country,” explains the director,who cast Ram Charan for the Zanjeer remake. When he was looking for an actor to fill in the rather big boots of Amitabh Bachchan,Lakhia was sure that he didn’t want the baggage of an established personality. “At the same time,I wanted to be sure that the actor can rise to the challenge,” he adds.

Featuring these actors has another advantage. It helps sell the movie in their respective regional markets. “Even though Bollywood is popular across the country,actors such as Rana,Vikram or Prosenjit give films a bigger opening in their respective territories,” says Ram Gopal Varma,who has in the past launched South Indian actors Suriya and Sudeep in Bollywood.

The acceptability of these regional actors in Bollywood is rather new. Today,Rajinikanth enjoys a cult following,but his attempts in the ’90s to break into Bollywood yielded little result. Similar efforts by actors such as Kamal Haasan,Prosenjit,and Daggubati’s uncles,Nagarjuna and Venkatesh,also failed.

Prosenjit,however,says that earlier,every actor was focussed on guarding his own turf. “My priority was always Bengali cinema as I had a standing there. The opportunities that Bollywood offered were mostly that of a sidekick,” he says. Daggubati seconds that,adding that the South actors were never looking at settling down in Mumbai since they were stars in their own states.

Actor-director Revathy,who won critical acclaim for the 1991-film Love,opposite Salman Khan,says this change can be attributed to the satellite and internet revolutions. “Regional films are more accessible now and the talent of local actors is for the world to see. Overnight,Dhanush became a world-sensation. I won’t be surprised if he gets a good role in a Bollywood film,” she says.