Just take a ‘guest’!

The talented director Kundan Shah's endearing film KABHI HAA KABHI NAA was a refreshing experience in many ways but it also abruptly proved to be sort of a trendsetter. In the film's climax, the charming Juhi Chawla made a small cameo and this scene was a surprise element of the film. Since the movie was a huge box-office hit, many industry insiders attributed the success to this fleeting appearance by Juhi though the film was really well crafted. And needless to say the frenzy to rope in big stars in special appearances caught up with the industry folks and hasn't died down till date. Even today one could see a multitude of stars sliding into numerous films to do these guest show-ups, irrespective of the fact of whether it is complimenting the film's story or not. Some of these stars do it just for the sake of their producer-friends while others thump just for the heck of it. It could be, for some actors, a kind of a gauging meter to analyze their star appeal and this could just be the effective way to do it. Though this drift exists for many years in Bollywood, it has gained momentum in the last decade or so. Speaking about the film producers, they would go to any lengths to see their film conquer the box-office. As a part of the strategy these kinds of publicity stunts are a part of the business to ensure that the film could be sold to the distributors without any hassles and box-office prospects could be smoothened.

Just take a look at how many stars have adorned the 'Guest' put-ups in the films. Salman Khan made a swift entry in the climax of David Dhawan's DEEWANA MASTANA and recently made decent cameo in Ravi Chopra's BAGHBAN. The lanky Abhishek Bachchan walked on flutteringly in EK AJNABEE and his small part in SALAAM NAMASTE was an impressive act. Sanjay Dutt's influential presence in YEH HAI JALWA and Marathi film BHITI was a beguiling one and today's most sought-after actor Ajay Devgan lived up to his potential in TARZAN-THE WONDER CAR, directed by Abbas-Mastaan. Akshay Kumar was noticeable in Yash Chopra's runaway hit DIL TO PAGAL HAI. Superstar Shahrukh Khan was nonetheless invigorating in HAR DIL JO PYAR KAREGA and Khalid Mohammad's melodramatic saga SILSILAY.

This year's Oscar entry witnessed Big B's majestic incidence and he has also foot-stepped in a Kannada film AMRITADHAARE, which sent the audience over there berserk to catch a glimpse of the Millennium star. And how could the ladies stay far behind? The unforgettable 'Kajra Re' from BUNTY AUR BABLI saw Aishwarya sizzle up and the brisk item song 'Aisa Koi Dilwala Re' from KHAKEE made Lara Dutta mesmerize the audience with her flawless dancing. Similarly, the versatile Rani Mukherjee stamped a cameo in KAL HO NA HO and also in KABHI KHUSHI KABHI GHAM. The amazing Kajol broke her hiatus for a moment when she decided to play a brief piece in KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM. Aishwarya's transitory portion in MOHABBATEIN was revitalizing to say the least. The macho John Abraham an ephemeral impression in his momentary roles in SHIKHAR and also in VIRUDDH.

These are just random recollections of the major instances so far and the amount would just multiply in the future. Frankly speaking, some of the films really get a handsome start and do open to a good initial response most of the time. The transient appearances by all these stars in the movies serve a good USP for the films but at the same time is not the sole respite for uplifting the panorama. It adds up an edge to the film only if the story is precise and the script is ingeniously written so that the 'surprise element' gets a proper justification. One more thing worth mentionin' is that every star has got his own bunch of dedicated fans that would crowd-up to the theaters to take a peep at the glimpsy presence of their favorite actors in the film concerned. The producers are definitely much clever to comprehend this mania and would leave no stone unturned to bank on the whirling craze. Hence, it seems that this fashion is gonna continue for a little more time to come unless it is intercepted by some other groundbreaker of a trend!