Opinion The screen savers
Hits are all that matter in Bollywood,for new girl Anushka Sharma and veteran Aamir Khan.
Hit hai toh fit hai is a popular industry mantra. A hit film is the only All Area Access pass to all things bright and beautiful in B-Town.
Take,for instance,Anushka Sharma. A mere three films old,she is already a contender for a lifetime achievement award for playing the perfect Punjabi kudi on screen. She played a meek young Punjabi wife in her debut Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and turned into a chalu smuggler in Badmaash Company. However,it was in her third film,Band Baaja Baaraat,that she truly came into her own as the pitch-perfect Janakpuri wedding planner,Shruti Kakkar.
The success of the film has propelled Sharma into the A-list. Currently on a publicity blitz for her new film,Patiala House,the Bangalore girl is painstakingly correcting the audiences perception that she is a Punjabi. She cant really blame the media for the typecast question since the title of her new film again screams,well,Punjabi.
Sharma has learnt to tackle the Punjabi issue with finesse. She acknowledges it as a compliment (I am proud that my acting is so good that people actually confuse me for a Punjabi) and spells out her future course of action (I will not try to break an image that is working for me). Why fix what aint broke?
The buzz is that the entire publicity strategy for Patiala House has been changed to accommodate Sharmas growing star stock. The Nikhil Advani film was initially positioned as a father-son story with posters and promos woven around Akshay Kumar and Rishi Kapoor. Post the success of Band Baaja Baaraat,new promos highlighting Sharmas character were hurriedly put on air.
Sharma can share happy stories with Katrina Kaif. During Raajneeti,a film top-lining National Award-winning actors like Naseeruddin Shah,Nana Patekar,Manoj Bajpayee,Ajay Devgn and (ahem) Arjun Rampal the focus was firmly on Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor. In fact,the entire publicity campaign for the film was nicely wrapped around Kaifs cotton sari. Her last release,Tees Maar Khan,also revolved around her belly dancing. What if the title of the film was Tees Maar Khan? Lets face it,Sheila Ki Jawani was the only take-home from that movie.
The wise man was right. Nothing succeeds like success. Ask Aamir Khan who is going about town these days flaunting a mysterious smile. Unlike the case of Mona Lisa,we dont need historians to decode that smile. Hes enjoying his golden run as actor,director and producer. The importance of an Aamir Khan film can be garnered from the fact that Yash Raj Films announced his casting as the anti-hero in Dhoom 3 a good 12 months before the film rolls out.
For Aamir,the Dhoom 3 announcement tied in well with the wedding reception that he threw for nephew Imran and his bride Avantika. Aamirs party attended by Bollywood stars,bureaucrats,industrialists,politicians and sportsmen was a subtle show of success,the incredible turnout a reflection of his goodwill. The party could have easily come across as a direct display of power,but Aamir made it all heart by attaching the warmth of a family function.
About time Aamir threw a bash. After all,success and celebration are shadows of each other.
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