Why 90s and 2000s fans are obsessed with 'what ifs'?

I have observed classic cinema groups and forums online. Old stars had rivalries too. But I have never seen their fans ever discuss which film was first offered to whom or whether X actor would/could/should have done Y actor's film.

Why do only fans of stars post 1980s have this weird obsession of discussing who was offered what or hypothetical topics like 'what if X star did Y star's film'?

Probably the strongest rivalry before 90s was Amitabh vs Vinod vs Rajesh Khanna. Never have I heard or seen their fans on any nostalgia or film group discuss passionately who was offered what film first or wonder if Rajesh Khanna did Deewar or Vinod Khanna/Amitabh did Anand or Vinod played Anthony and Amitabh played Amar etc!

There was rivalry of Kishore and Rafi also but I do not see their fans whining who would have sung other singer's song.

Why are only PR, media and fans online obsessed with such topics since last 3 decades?

Every actor has own strengths and weaknesses, knows their own suitability for roles, has different script sense, priorities and filmmakers also choose actors depending on suitability for characters. So why these fortnightly or weekly topics on who was first choice or offered what film and who would have done other actor's film?

Iconic films become iconic as each member of team and everything falls in place organically. What is the need of 'what if' fantasies imagining different actor then and bashing actors, filmmakers who pulled off success?

Lmfao. Maybe because my mum can barely use her phone to send simple texts, scroll through FB, share photos of flowers and cakes on Whatsapp. Had she become more technologically savvy, she’d login to India Forums to tell the world that Mohammad Rafi was the best singer, Amitabh was the best actor and that Dharmendra and Sanjay Khan were the hottest of them all.

Point is the forum has more members belonging to post 1980s period, so only actors that are relevant or in their peak at that time will be more likely to discussed and fought over by fans.

Entertainment, entertainment aur entertainment k liye

Yeah where are all the Bollywood fans aged 85-120? It's quite peculiar. 🤓

People talk about what's new or the "hot topic" of modern day. So obviously people will talk about current stars and films rather than what happened 50 years ago. The 90s is still talked about as most members here belonged to that era. Pre-90s Bollywood doesn't exist for me. lol

Originally posted by: Rekha_ji

Yeah where are all the Bollywood fans aged 85-120? It's quite peculiar. 🤓

Present. 😎🙋🏽‍♀️

Originally posted by: atominis

Why are only PR, media and fans online obsessed with such topics since last 3 decades?

There was no internet before that

It makes sense if we consider the actresses from the 80s onward. Many of them don't have a distinct persona and are easily replaceable. The script would properly develop the hero's character. But the heroine didn't always get fair treatment. Consider Ananya/Janhvi/Sara. They can easily act in each other's films. So could Karisma/Raveena/Sonali Bendre in the 90s. And Poonam Dhillon/Tina Munim/Neelam in the 80s. Very generic and replaceable.

Originally posted by: atominis

I have observed classic cinema groups and forums online. Old stars had rivalries too. But I have never seen their fans ever discuss which film was first offered to whom or whether X actor would/could/should have done Y actor's film.

Why do only fans of stars post 1980s have this weird obsession of discussing who was offered what or hypothetical topics like 'what if X star did Y star's film'?

Probably the strongest rivalry before 90s was Amitabh vs Vinod vs Rajesh Khanna. Never have I heard or seen their fans on any nostalgia or film group discuss passionately who was offered what film first or wonder if Rajesh Khanna did Deewar or Vinod Khanna/Amitabh did Anand or Vinod played Anthony and Amitabh played Amar etc!

There was rivalry of Kishore and Rafi also but I do not see their fans whining who would have sung other singer's song.

Why are only PR, media and fans online obsessed with such topics since last 3 decades?

Every actor has own strengths and weaknesses, knows their own suitability for roles, has different script sense, priorities and filmmakers also choose actors depending on suitability for characters. So why these fortnightly or weekly topics on who was first choice or offered what film and who would have done other actor's film?

Iconic films become iconic as each member of team and everything falls in place organically. What is the need of 'what if' fantasies imagining different actor then and bashing actors, filmmakers who pulled off success?

EXACTLY....that is the most senseless thing ever.....a movie belongs to the one who did it....especially a successful movie in itself is a proof that the star cast was perfect....pata nahi fir bhi logon ke kyon khujli hoti rehti hai.....

Originally posted by: Rekha_ji

Yeah where are all the Bollywood fans aged 85-120? It's quite peculiar. 🤓

I'm here. What do you want to ask?