Multistarrers storm box office with elan

Bollywood is known for adopting various stunts to hit the bull's eye. And multistarrers, for one, has always been a tried-and-tested formula in tinseltown. From Yash Chopra's Waqt and Ramesh Sippy's Sholay to Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, multistarrers always pull the audiences to theatres. Now, the star-stuffed films are back in vogue with elan.

So, if Vishal Bhardwaj crams in Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Viveik Oberoi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu in Omkara, Karan flaunts names like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. "The fact of the matter is that everyone goes to the cinema to see their favourite stars — the more the merrier. I guess I am lucky to have so many friends who are major stars," Karan said recently.

Karan is not alone. Other filmmakers, too, are no longer willing to bank on the box office draw of only one actor. So, Karan's former associate Nikhil Advani gets even more stars like Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Ayesha Takia, John Abraham, Vidya Balan, Sohail Khan and Perizaad Zorabian in Salaam-e-Ishq. Then, there is Farhan Akhtar's Don starring Shah Rukh, Kareena, Arjun Rampal, Priyanka, Sushma Reddy and Isha Koppikar. "My film has a large number of different stories. For every love story, I needed a different couple," informs Advani.

There's more at stake. Even Jaan-e-Man by Shirish Kunder boasts of Akshay Kumar, Salman and Preity among others. Plus, the much-awaited Dhoom 2 also has Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai as villains, besides Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Rimmi Sen and Uday Chopra. "Besides adding production value to a product, the big starcast charge up a director to meet the challenge," says Dhoom director Sanjay Gadhvi.

Other multistarrers like Eklavya, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Umrao Jaan and Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd are also set to scorch the silverscreen soon. But the question arises: is it difficult to handle an army of stars? "Not exactly, but it's definitely easier to handle six actors than 12," quips Honeymoon... director Reema Kagti.Whatever the case, as long as stars shine brightly, nobody's complaining