~*Sushant's Bollywood Journey *~#17 - Page 20

Small wonders

It's probably too premature to speculate if Sushant Singh Rajput is our next big thing. Or compare his trajectory to that of Shah Rukh Khan. It's too soon to put him on the same pedestal as the superstar. SRK has reached this position by sheer hard work these past 20 years. He has given recordbreaking hits after hits and still remains the numero uno choice for filmmakers. His name is enough to sell a film. The history of Indian cinema isn't complete without a chapter on King Khan. Compared to this, SSR is just two films old. His first film Kai Po Che was a hit and the second, Shuddh Desi Romance was a moderate success. His work in both was critically acclaimed. So why the comparison? Well, just like Shah Rukh, Sushant left a lucrative TV career behind to venture into films.

The big banners sniffed out SRK's talent right from the beginning and that's true in Sushant's case as well. He's been handpicked for prestigious projects like Paani, a futuristic love story produced by YRF and helmed by Shekhar Kapur. He has a significant role in Aamir Khan starrer PK, directed by Rajkumar Hirani and plays the title role in Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, directed by Dibakar Banerjee. Then, he's also reportedly earmarked to play Indian cricket's most successful captain, MS Dhoni in a recently announced biopic. The roles are as different as they come and don't cater to the set formula, something SRK too made sure at the beginning of his career.

Sushant doesn't have it easy for sure. He has to contend with the likes of Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, not to mention other youngsters like Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra or Aditya Roy Kapoor. And the Khan troika comprising Aamir-Salman-SRK hasn't left their stronghold for sure. So he has a long way to go before becoming a real superstar. That he's already seen as a lambi race ka ghoda should put some heart in the talented youngster.

TV has been a springboard for talent but the transition from small to big screen hasn't always been easy. Ayushmann Khurrana has met with some degree of success and so has Amit Sadh. Pulkit Samrat has been noticed but has yet to prove himself at the box office. Rajeev Khandelwal too has struggled to find his feet. The only male actor to have reached stardom besides SRK has been Madhavan but that's down South. Currently, we have been hearing that popular TV hunks like Mohit Raina and Siddharth Shukla have been offered film deals as well. The more the merrier. The industry needs fresh faces and talent. It will only lead to better stories and better production values. It's a steep curve ahead for these hopefuls. Let's hope their climb goes smooth and easy.