Times they are a changing and how! The Hindi film industry has evolved through the years and now become a cauldron of unexpected experimentations and ideas. Gone are the days when all we could see as villains were ageing, balding, pot-bellied actors. Not now, not anymore.
Experimental phase
One look at Aseem Merchant, tall, handsome and charming, and we would think he is perfect hero material but he had different ideas. Winner of the Gladrags supermodel contest, a famous model and actor, Aseem says, “We had a fixed notion about anti-heroes. Tough, beady eyed and not so good looking men were fit to play the anti-hero roles whereas soft, innocent and good looking men fell into the hero category. But now with the new age young directors who are ready to experiment and want their films to be more effective, the whole scenario has changed. The audience is waking up to the fact that a villain need not necessarily be ugly and old”.
This trend was started by none other than Shah Rukh Khan who at a very early stage in his career took a calculated risk and played an anti hero in “Baazigar”. Says Sarfaraz Khan, son of Kader Khan and an actor in his own right, “For any actor, to change his screen image was difficult but Shah Rukh Khan broke all moulds and started a revolution. Thus a new face of the anti hero in the Hindi film industry was born with Baazigar.”
Elucidating this point, Aseem Merchant adds, “This trend was further taken to new heights by young and dashing Ajay Devgn in ‘Deewangee' where he plays an anti-hero with such panache that he had the audience asking for more. Much later Shah Rukh re-established his dominance as an actor who could juggle both roles (that of a hero and anti hero) by playing the suave, handsome and stylish anti-hero in ‘Don'.”
With the influx of the young directors who are making bolder and challenging films, the mindset of the audience is changing. Aseem says, “slowly the audience has been conditioned to accept an anti-hero who can look debonair, charming and with an edge to his character. Scripts are now written with the villain in mind. It's the anti hero who drives the story. Now anti-heroes have author backed roles so the younger lot do not mind taking up such negative roles.If the film belongs to suspense or mystery genre, it pays to have a young, handsome man or woman playing the anti-hero. The climax thus becomes more effective. Case in point is the movie “Race” where both Akshaye Khanna and Katrina Kaif played negative roles. Going by the innocent, beautiful face of Katrina, it was shocking for the audience to find out in the climax of the film ‘Race' that she was anything but that,” reflects Sarfaraz Khan.
Getting noticed
Aseem who has played a baddie in the recent blockbuster “Wanted, opines, “In our industry, lead actors have come and gone. Some get noticed, some don't. But now it is not necessary to dance around trees to be appreciated. Young actors making their debut do not shy away from playing the bad guy if the role is meaty and helps in getting the story ahead. In fact, this can make an actor stand out and get noticed.”
But the cool, full-of-beans attitude of today's youth will get them nowhere in Bollywood if they do not have a fitness regime to match. Agrees Aseem, “No wonder that the younger generation has taken to fitness in a big way. Having a good physique may get one female following but fitness is more than that. One should be fit within and without so that one can work longer hours and have the stamina and ability to handle the rigours of the work. I take my fitness routine seriously. I go to the gym five times a week and I cycle everyday. I take care of my diet. To survive in this industry one cannot neglect health. All top actors like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan have embraced the gym as part of their daily routine. Salman Khan is my role model. Even if it goes past three in the morning while shooting, he does not skip his exercises. At his age he can compete with any of the younger actors as far as looks and fitness is concerned.”
For Sarfaraz Khan Fitness is important but acting comes first. “One cannot survive in the industry if one has a good body but no acting talent to speak of. Fitness is important but one should look the part one is playing. I know that our discerning audience today seek real characters and real life villains in the movies.” For as Aseem Merchant puts it succinctly, “after all, there is a villain in all of us.' So that does not stop an anti-hero from being young and handsome.
