A-listers team with Juniors

A-listers team with juniors

Most actors are working with newbies in films, rather than their contemporaries.

Bollywood has always been high on its bromantic pairs. Right from Amitabh Bachchan-Dharmendra (Sholay), Anil Kapoor-Jackie Shroff (Andar Baahar) Salman Khan-Aamir Khan (Andaz Apna Apna), Govinda-Sanjay Dutt (Ek Aur Ek Gyarah), Shah Rukh Khan-Saif Ali Khan (Kal Ho Na Ho), Akshay Kumar-Salman Khan (Mujhse Shaadi Karogi) to Abhishek Bachchan-John Abraham (Dostana)... the list is endless. The one thing that stands out in all these pairs is that both the actors are from the same league. More equals than not.

Of-late, a new trend seems to be emerging in B-Town. Top stars are now teaming up with younger actors. A filmmaker who chose to be anonymous says, "Whether the heroes admit it or not, it's all about one-upmanship. So, bringing together two A-league actors not only means inviting danger of handling ego issues that are likely to crop, but also co-ordinating dates and their entourage, as well as several other baggage that comes with working with a top star. So, while one may co-operate, the other may not. This is taken care of when a top star is teamed with a younger actor. The senior star tends to worry lesser about the junior star eating into his space and the younger star, eager to make a mark, is ready to skip and oversee all ego issues. It's actually a win-win for all involved." In the most recent case Akshay Kumar and Imran Khan were part of Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobara. Here's looking at the new actor jodis...

Double Appeal
After OUATIMD, Akshay will be seen alongside a much junior Shiv Pandit in Boss. In Karan Johar's Gutka, he will share screen space with Arjun Kapoor. Karan Johar points out that through these fresh pairings, the filmmakers try to tap a wider market, that has fans of both the generations come in to watch their fave actors. "Both the youth and star appeal is maintained," he says.

Helping the juniors
Aamir Khan too in Rajkumar Hirani's PeeKay will be seen with a much junior Sushant Singh Rajput. He has worked with Prateik in Dhobighaat. Says trade analyst Komal Nahata, "Most of the top stars have done several multi-hero projects in the initial years of their careers. But today most of the stars who have one-two releases like SRK or Hrithik Roshan are mainly working on solo-hero projects. Akshay and Ajay are balancing out between solo and multi-hero films and it's an encouraging trend for sure. This gives a major boost even to the newer lot who might otherwise find it tough to break through given the tough competition today." Komal further adds, films starring big heroes have huge marketing budgets which benefits the newcomers who need that kind of visibility in the market.

Two good!
In Farah Khan's Happy New Year, Shah Rukh Khan will be seen sharing screen space with young 'un Vivaan Shah. Komal adds, "The novelty factor is a huge draw. It's interesting to see these stars team up with fresh co-actors rather than the same jodis time and again. Besides, almost every combination has pretty much been tried out and there's nothing new that the already-seen jodis can offer in terms of curiosity. Whereas, when it comes to a star teaming up with a newer actor, the curiosity is very high about the pair."

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