Cakewalk for star kids

Opportunities come on a platter for sons of stars in Hindi cinema, but not so for a rank newcomer. Today merit matters little and genealogy alone counts, contends SUBHASH K. JHA.

THERE ARE only two categories of wannabe stars in the film industry. Star kids and outsiders. No matter what they proudly say in print, the star kids have it easy. All that spiel about having to work doubly hard is not true.

Audiences expect a star's child to inherit at least some of the parent's shine. It doesn't matter if the resemblances are all in the mind. Audience's emotional response to ``apna beta'' can see a star kid through at least a good part of a decade. It has seen Bobby Deol through more.

A star kid can have dad's favourite directors drooling over him just to please Daddy Dearest who will probably offer his services at a special discount, if you sign the wannashine.

One remembers Prakash Mehra had launched a film with Raj Kumar's son, Puru Raj Kumar, in ``Bal Brahmachari'' after working with his dear dad in a film called ``Muqaddar Ka Faisla''. Had Mr. Mehra seen even a frame of Puru's work anywhere? No. He didn't need to. For the director, who had given a rank-outsider like Amitabh Bachchan a big break in ``Zanjeer'' two decades earlier this reversal into genealogical prejudice seemed like a defeat of true merit.

Until a few years ago, a door seemed to be permanently open for meritorious newcomers desirous of making their presence felt in wonderland. In the new millennium that seems to be a thing of the past. Thanks to the sudden, swift and stunning impact made by Hrithik Roshan at the start of the year 2000, film-makers in Mumbai have become impervious to the potential of first- generation actors.

Just think. When was the last time a newcomer was given an author-backed break like Arjun Rampal in Rajiv Rai's ``Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat''? The film revolves round Arjun's character. We can easily see how much effort Rajiv has made to ensure that the first-timer doesn't flounder in his debut. The lighting, camera placements, settings, music and dialogue, all flatter the newcomer. ``It's like Ramesh Sippy making `Sagar' for Dimple'', an astute actor-director sniggered, after seeing ``Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat''. Even a dynamic daredevil like J. P. Dutta once told me he prefers to work with stars rather than newcomers.

At least Arjun Rampal has succeeded in breaking through the exclusive club-like cordon created by inhouse wanna-preens and princesses. Even Rajiv Rai wanted a star-son, Bobby Deol, for the role and opted for Rampal on the rebound. Good for Arjun. He was lucky . Other outsiders simply get locked out.

If you are a non-star son and hopeful of stardom, you have to really cling on to your convictions for dear life. ``That becomes hard at times, specially when you've got a mom back home in Delhi looking anxiously over your shoulder wondering if stardom is going to happen to her son or not'', laughs Himanshu Mallik, the most promising face and talent in a long time.

A model from Delhi, Himanshu belongs to a family of working-class professionals. His father, an airforce pilot lost his life when Himanshu was only 14. So struggle is not new for Himanshu. But what's he struggling against in showbiz? Is it prejudice against outsiders, or the fear of the unknown? That's the question. It isn't a pleasant feeling at all to see well-connected newcomers with not even half his personality or talent walking away with meaty made-to-order parts.

``I know given a chance I can do much better than most of these guys,'' Himanshu tells me without a grain of vanity.

And one believes him. How he brightened up the screen the minute he walked into ``Tum Bin''! Playing the lonely NRI tycoon who craves to find the comforting arms of love, Himanshu seemed to be courting love in the film with the same sincerity of purpose with which he now pursues stardom.

Himanshu is willing to wait. He has faith in his talent. Unlike insecure newcomers who seek and take the easy way out. There are rumours of ugly exploitation and humiliation that newcomers of both the sexes are subjected to by unscrupulous movie people.

Otherwise there's the hard way. The Himanshu way. Not an easy way. But when stardom finally happens to this strikingly screen- friendly young man, he can enjoy it without squirming about his past. The question is, how and when does it happen for an actor who has all the requisites of stardom except lineage?

The other day this writer was watching a well-connected Khan making a horrific mess of his author-backed role. The scenes were so badly played, even his parents must have cringed while watching their pampered sonny-boy indulging in his favourite activity.

``It is very difficult to predict who'll become a star and who won't,'' says Ram Gopal Varma who has gifted the film industry with two of todays busiest young actors Afatb Shivdasani and Fardeen Khan. Both are busier than bumble bees, booked for the next four or five years and reportedly charging close to a crore for every film.

What a sad state of affairs it is for Hindi cinema when talent becomes secondary and luck dictates success. Listen, ``Mujhe kuch kehna hai''. The future of commercial Hindi cinema appears scarily clannish and self-contained.

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