I truly believe that the future for our actors is fantastic. There was a time when we were asked to do only certain type of roles. Of course,each movie was different,but the scenes,the emotions were more or less the same. But today the scenario is different. There is a Singham that is a complete mass-entertainer doing so well,and on the other hand,there is a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a rather interesting multiplex kind of film,which has also done phenomenally well. If Delhi Belly had great numbers,so did Murder 2. I think the future is even better,and a run through of the roles in my career is an indication of the things to come. Theres the fantasy-superhero Krrish 2 and a gritty and realistic Zilla Ghaziabad. Its such a boost for an actor to get such offbeat and diverse roles,in most of the films offered. The money too is great. When I came in 2002,the topmost actor used to command two crore,and within a period of 10 years,a topmost actor makes about 25-30 crore. Now,I can see it getting better. With the growth of multiplexes and digital cinema,the conventional market too is opening up. In fact,digital cinema is a real boon to producers because at no extra cost a film can be released in several theatres. They no longer have to take prints from one center to another,a common practice during the first two weeks of release,this is a boon in times when piracy can kill the market. Now it can release in all the cinemas on the same Friday. Some of my friends said that they have seen a 15-20 per cent growth in the industry. Globally there are so many markets,besides Hollywood opening up to Hindi cinema. In fact,global recognition has been been coming from unbelievable places. The way My Name Is Khan has done business in Korea is an indication of this. Today Shah Rukh Khan has fans in Berlin,and Aamir Khan has fans in Poland. Even someone like me gets recognised in places like Germany where I did interviews for a local magazine that follows Bollywood. It is a great time because w e are being accepted abroad with our style of cinema. We dont have to have a Big Brother complex and ape Hollywood. Taking into consideration our population of six billion,remember the number of people who watch Hindi cinema are pretty close to the people who watch English cinema. I think that soon the entire world will be watching Bollywood films.
