No room for friendship

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Saif Ali Khan. (TOI Photo) More pics

How did you like Saifoo?" Akshoo....I mean, Akshaye Khanna asked me about his co-star's performance when I called him in Bangkok to say I liked his performance in his new film. So, is Akshaye Khanna really happy for Saifoo? I'd say he's a rarity. Otherwise, no matter how hard actors and specially actresses pretend to like one another, they don't.

Saif has now arrived at a very secure place. But, I distinctly remember how insecure he would be about all his co-stars from Akshay Kumar right up to Shah Rukh Khan in Kal Ho Naa Ha. And, it wasn't without reason. I know for a fact that one of Saif's male co-stars specialised in cutting his co-stars down to size. Everyone from Saif to Suniel Shetty to Shahid Kapur have been a victim. But, shhhhhh...Kehna manaa hai. Speaking of Shahid, who's comfortably one of the best actors we have today, he didn't get along with his co-star Fardeen Khan when they did Fida
together.

Most male actors don't talk about it on record for the fear of looking petty. Says Upen Patel, who had a really hard time with a superstar co-star, "It's generally believed only the girls fight while working together. But, the guys are equally insecure. My role in one of my films went through major chopping. I was too new and embarrassed to speak up. But, I learnt my lesson. If and when I become big I'll treat my juniors with care. Otherwise the scar remains."

Surprisingly, sensitive words from a guy who has a very shirty, physical image. This industry quickly desensitises actors. They pretend to be buddies and then take the director aside to ask why the other guy got to say the punchline in the last scene. When Hrishikesh Mukherjee was shooting for one of his classics Namak Haraam he had a tough time keeping both his buddies Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna happy. When it came to wangling the death scene, Hrishida found an easy solution. He didn't tell either star who was going to die...until the morning of the shooting when there was a garlanded picture of Rajesh Khanna on the set. Jab we Maut! Females generally are known to be even more competitive. We all know about the infamous Sharmila-Raakhee war on the sets of Yash Chopra's Daag. What made it worse for Raakhee was the fact that her 'arched' rival was thick pals with both the leading man and the director.

"I felt completely isolated and snubbed," Raakheedi once told me in an unguarded moment. Just how she managed to give an award-winning performance in Daag under such stressful circumstances baffles me blind! Years later Raakhee and Sharmila came together for Rituparno Ghosh's Shubo Mahurat. The ice was broken. The mellow maturity of autumn had set in. But, sometimes it's too late. Shabana never got a chance to make peace with Smita during the latter's lifetime. Kareena has been a part of several widely-reported on-screen rivalries. But, in three cases — Ajnabee, Aitraaz and Omkara — she had the far more difficult roles than the other actress. Bipasha and Priyanka Chopra were cast as the wanton femme fatale and Konkona in Omkara had dialogues like, "Hunger isn't just a tummy thing. It can also go down a bit." You can't go wrong with such dialogues in Hindi films. Kareena played very silent women in Aitraaz and Omkara. Silence is often mistaken for weakness by our audience.

In Bollywood, the talkative performance is more talked-about. Some of the most interesting on-camera wars were never reported. And, Hema Malini never gets antsy about any co-star no matter how much of a favourite the other leading lady might be with the director. Directors have been known to end up at the doorsteps of loony bins while working with two actresses. There was one already-established actress who seemed to take the lovely London-returned Simi Garewal under her wings. Then, one day, when she was in the loo Simi heard the other actress' mother scolding her 'baby'. "Why do you have to be so sweet to her? Soon both of you will be vying for the same roles." Simi never got over that.