How Stars Are Born

posted on : 11 Jun 2014

However, the situation for strugglers isn't as grim as it seems. Yash Raj Films (YRF), arguably the biggest production house in the country, recently launched a dozen aspiring actors. And, at their threshold stands Shanoo Sharma"the toughest nut to crack. Most favoured by YRF, Dharma Productions and Sudhir Mishra, a meeting with her meant wading through an intricate maze of assistants and apprentices, before being stonewalled by her man Friday and his questions like, Are you just pretending to be a journalist and actually seeking an audition?' Well, we don't blame his suspicion, considering the growing population of desperate wannabes who are in possession of his phone number.

Talking about casting Ranveer Singh in Band Baja Baraat in an interview with Stardust, she swore that he was, after all, Bitto Sharma. "The minute I heard the character sketch of Bitto in Band Baja Baraat, I knew that he was tailor made for it. So, he went and auditioned, and bagged the role in his very first audition." Even though she knew him since he was 17, for he was frequent at the party circuit, it was imperative that she cast him in the right role. So, what if he had to wait for long? "The media was surprised by my choice, but I knew from the beginning that he will be a force to reckon with," justified Shanoo Sharma in an interview with The Hindu.

Arjun Kapoor, on the other hand, approached her through a common associate, and they soon became Facebook friends. Completely oblivious of his lineage, Shanoo dealt with him just as she would with any other struggler. And then, when Ishaqzaade was in its seedling state, Arjun dawned as Parma. Moreover, the star-spotter has also been instrumental in discovering Parineeti Chopra. But, even after such a successful albeit a daring run with YRF, she asserted that nothing could guarantee stardom. "There's no recipe. They are stars because of the way they are. It's just their potential and talent."

On a similar note, Karan Johar admitted in an interview with Anupama Chopra that he was still not sure if Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra were in any way different from the hundreds who auditioned for Student of the Year. "I just knew that my impulse was different and my impulse told me that Varun and Sid were Rohan and Abhimanyu of the film. They were working as assistant directors on My Name is Khan and I liked them. For me, that's most important." However, the filmmaker, who can't help but feel parental toward Sid and Varun, warned them of the flip side of the supposed dream launch. "It's fun when it's an upward journey, but the maintenance journey is tough. They've done a big film with a big filmmaker, now what? I don't want them to, for lack of a better word, act starry. Because no one is a star, really, everyone is simply a case of destiny."

Well, cynics may scream from rooftops pointing to the fact that star kids are still given special preference over others in Bollywood, but every casting director we spoke to disagreed. "Celebrity fathers do recommend their sons sometimes, seeking an opportunity for them to prove their potential, but they never pressurise. The final call is the director's," clarified Mongia. Shanoo concured, "Today, every actor is the same regardless of whether he hails from a film family or Chandni Chowk," proving thereby that a star is made by his own virtue, and not by his lineage.

The urban cine goer doesn't relate to a 45-year-old college student anymore, but does so with Bitto, the vagabond. In Bollywood parlance, unconventional is the new mantra for box office success. Be it Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh or even the likes of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, they are all thriving because they have something unique to offer. And that's the need of the hour.

Though Honey Trehan consented with our conclusion, he added that Bollywood was going through a phase and this phase came every two decades. "Is there any other actor like Shah Rukh Khan across the globe, who is loved equally by a five-year-old and a 50-year-old?" he questioned rhetorically. "When Shah Rukh debuted, the industry was going through a similar phase. He spread his arms, tilted his head and sang, and everyone sang along. His charm was matchless, and that's what you need...a certain matchless quality."