Can comebacks work in Bollywood?

Monojit Lahiri probes a delicate issue and concludes it’s a
tough call

 

 

Nostalgia can be a funny thing and disturbingly misleading, with a world of difference between the real and imagined. Remember those amazing, unforgettable songs you absolutely loved in your growing years, the films that you freaked out on, the stars who got your blood pounding and pulse racing? And the memories and associations that went with them to make it special? Don’t we always refer to the past as “the good old days”? However, a reality check indicates something totally different. While most of the old music does stir memories, sepia-tinted films and stars, alas, don’t work at all. Dated and corny, they appear like quaint, once-loved creatures of a very distant (and eminently forgettable?) past from far away. More often than not, they look like images from another planet – in style and substance, form and content – and any resemblance to new-age movies is mostly, an embarrassing coincidence. And as for heroines … oops! But guess what? Many of them seem to be on a determined comeback trail. Will it work?

 

History declares a resounding ‘No’. There has not been a single actress – barring the luminous Kajol – who has managed to enjoy a fraction of the fame, popularity and big bucks they did before they exited, before they married and were hot and single. And the reason is not difficult to locate. In India, entertainment for the zonkey zillions is the revered B word; B-town means stars – young, glamorous, sexy and 'single' for the heroines! Single, because romantic pairing between a married heroine and a hero (much-married though he may be) is certainly not on. In the male-dominated and chauvinistic environment we live in (despite the phony and hugely elitist tokenisms gracing the weeklies and colour supplements) there is a clear and well-defined LoC between the heroes and heroines. Married heroines are taboo and the must transition is to Bhabhi or Ma roles… roles that are zero on the glamour quotient. Romance, youth, energy, sex appeal, beauty – they are all perceived as dead and gone once the heroine slips into the orange blossoms.

 

It is precisely in this tricky terrain that yesteryear’s diva Madhuri Dixit attempted a comeback a few years ago. Coaxed into returning to a space which she ruled with such amazing grace and style, the gorgeous (once) 'queen of hearts' relented. Marriage and two kids later, her Aaja Nachle – a Yash Raj offering – despite her spirited effort and a good ensemble cast, bombed at the box-office! Obviously, the youth and freshness were missing. Besides, Kareena (Kapoor), Priyanka (Chopra), Deepika (Padukone), Lara (Dutta-Bhupathi), Bipasha (Basu) and Katrina (Kaif) had entered and started rocking the promiscuous, impatient, amnesia-struck, new-age viewers big time! So the dhak-dhak gal had to, alas, retire hurt. For years now, rumours have been making the rounds about Sridevi’s impending comeback. Two decades ago – before madam Dixit – she was the biggest heroine on the scene, real high on both talent and energy. After her marriage, she disappeared, returning briefly for a TV serial that didn’t really work. All eyes are now trained on her English-Vinglish, produced by R. Balki and directed by his wife. 

 

Indeed, it’s a tough call. Forget the corny “What do you mean comeback? I never went away. I was just taking a sabbatical”; the truth is, this is not Hollywood where almost every top heroine is married, and has lots of kids. Sure superstar Julia Roberts (and a host of other heroines) has three – and yet rules the charts and popular imagination. Here, New is Now. You can be the most loved and talented heroine in the country but once you are married (strike one!) and have kids (strike two!), it’s best you stick to playing wife and mommy dearest. Why? Because overnight popular perception has changed about your persona. From young, hot, single, you are now… forget it! 

 

If Kajol has been the glorious, solitary exception, it is because she has been veryselective about her roles, banner and the leading men. After the comeback, she has done very few projects, maintained herself amazingly well and retained her charisma and charm – not to speak of her loads of natural talent – in the public domain. She is perceived as the one star-actress who, despite marriage and motherhood, rocks the charts, in both movies and endorsement deals. Dimple Kapadia too, but she’s no leading lady although with those killer looks and talent, she could be B-town’s very own
Mrs Robinson!

 

Remember what happened to B-town's stunningZ-Bomb, Zeenie Baby (Zeenat Aman) – who zonked the daylights of audiences and critics alike across the 70s and a bit of the 80s? Who can forget the mind blowing Dum maro dum, Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko, Laila o Laila? Zeenat Aman returned to the screen with Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun... . Her co-stars were yesteryear stars too, Helen and Kabir Bedi, but the ex-beauty failed to cut any ice with today’s ravenous-for-new-flesh viewers. Why did she make a spectacle of herself, and sign on, at this age… well, Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun...?

 

While Karishma Kapoor’s comeback vehicle Dangerous Ishq has conked out noisily, offering little consolation, old nemesis (remember Dil to Pagal Hai?) Dixit is counting on a second comeback with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Dedh Ishqiya. She has also reportedly signed Anubhav Sinha’s Gulab Gang, the story of a gang of women fighting social injustice (along with six other female characters), which sounds awesome already.

 

Will these dazzling comeback movies work? Will – like the Big B – these once-fantasised ladies demonstrate the talent, energy, glamour, or chutzpah to boldly declare Buddhi Hogi Teri Maa? Your guess is as good as mine…