Post by nisa on Jun 2, 2008 2:47:26 GMT 12
Did you ever doubt if Julia Roberts would find it hard retaining her top slot, after delivering twins and expecting her third? Probably not. Because having babies, has nothing to do with doing well, in one’s job.
Then, what’s the big deal about Madhuri Dixit doing a film, after marriage and two kids? Well, we are in Bollywood and we think differently.
Having signed a film with Yash Raj, to be directed by cinematographer Anil Mehta, the Ek Do Teen girl, is back into the reckoning. But the buzz doing the rounds is: ‘Will she make it?’
This promising actress has missed the multiplex movie bus, the past few years, when Bollywood has been churning out “different, off-beat” movies, with saleable stars.
Madhuri was born a little too early in the day, when clichéd stories and poor production values, ruled the Bollywood box-office. Madhuri, of course, could show her mettle through a smile here, or a stare there. What a waste.
So when Sanjay Leela Bhansali, invited the 30-plus, to step out of her husband’s home in Denver and become the courtesan Chandramukhi in Devdas, it was music to the ears of many.
But there was a minor problem. Madhuri was married. So Bhansali’s scissors went snip, snip, snip, till she was reduced to a cardboard character, made to stand in a corner and watch Shah Rukh Khan go overboard, with his swaggering act.
Bhansali forgot that his chopping spree was actually hurting his film. Chandramukhi never really became a threat for Paro, and it took the steam out of the love triangle.
The problem is in the mind-set. In the Hindi film industry, an actress is expected to fit into a character, or better still a role. A character is scarcely written with an actress in mind.
It may not be the same with a male star. A 60-plus, Amitabh Bachchan, actually has films written for him - Black, Viruddh, Khakee, Ek Ajnabee, Sarkar, Nishabd…
With a married actress, film-makers don’t want to take any chances. They are greedy enough to cash in on the ‘comeback-of-so-and-so’ factor, will coax her to sign the film, promising her it will be her career-best and then show as little of her, as possible. The hero is left to do the talking instead . Here, the hero is the one, who is insecure about the heroine’s come-back hype and tries to grab the lion’s share of lines and scenes
Remember Aamir Khan’s attempts, to alter the script, so that Kajol didn’t snatch the spotlight from him in Fanaa?
Talking of Kajol, the dusky talented actress, is the only one, who has come close to making a successful comeback, in recent times, post-marriage. She serenaded in Aamir’s arms and scorched the screen, while a bunch of nannies took care of her daughter back home.
But in order to do something like this, you need to have a good deal of spunk and panache. Otherwise, the whole country will make you feel as if you are the most uncaring mother and wife. They will make you feel guilty for chasing a career after holy matrimony, as many working mothers are made to feel in India.
It is interesting to note that the women in Bollywood, seldom get support from their spouses. Take Madhuri for one. When she tied the knot with NRI doctor, Shriram Nene, Indian newspapers went full blast with reports of how, her husband hadn’t even heard of Madhuri Dixit, in his life. Now, please don’t ask me to believe he didn’t know who Madhuri was! Dr. Nene would have been hailed as a self-obsessed megalomaniac, anywhere else in the civilised world, but in India, he was the oh-so-sweet, ‘suitable boy’.
Like most Indian men - irrespective of where they are born and bred, from Delhi to Dallas - Dr. Nene couldn’t shrug off the I-am-superior-than-thou attitude. If Madhuri has to forget one part of her identity, in order to forge another, why should the rest of India take her any more seriously?
What I like most about Kajol, is her thorough professionalism. She can stand up for herself and will see through a project, if she puts her mind to it. That’s something Madhuri can learn from Kajol - to fight for what she deserves.
Postscript: I feel sorry for Juhi Chawla. Look what they have done to her, in Salaam-e-Ishq. A colourless, harried wife, overshadowed by screen husband Anil Kapoor and five more couples. She has much less to do, than the other characters, though she had more potential than many others. Her last sterling performance, was in My Brother Nikhil. The credit goes to Onir, for thinking of utilising the talents, of an out-of-job home-maker.
As the thrust is on multi-starrers, big banners like Nikhil Advani’s, will always be treating ageing, women stars below par. It’s the young film-makers, making small-budget films, who are thinking out-of-the-box. A second innings, for many of our former Bollywood queens, lies there. And it’s time, Madhuri also thought of moving to that camp.
Even if the entire nation has gone ballistic over Ash-Abhishek’s impending wedding, the truth remains that marriage and motherhood, are the most dreaded words in the Bollywood dictionary.
Producers who were planning to sign up Aishwarya, have pushed the panic button. Will the Bachchan bahu work after tying the knot? Aishwarya’s doting father-in-law-to-be, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, has left the decision to his able son. But hey, has anyone asked the lady what she wants?
hellorosetta.com/mag/?p=69
Then, what’s the big deal about Madhuri Dixit doing a film, after marriage and two kids? Well, we are in Bollywood and we think differently.
Having signed a film with Yash Raj, to be directed by cinematographer Anil Mehta, the Ek Do Teen girl, is back into the reckoning. But the buzz doing the rounds is: ‘Will she make it?’
This promising actress has missed the multiplex movie bus, the past few years, when Bollywood has been churning out “different, off-beat” movies, with saleable stars.
Madhuri was born a little too early in the day, when clichéd stories and poor production values, ruled the Bollywood box-office. Madhuri, of course, could show her mettle through a smile here, or a stare there. What a waste.
So when Sanjay Leela Bhansali, invited the 30-plus, to step out of her husband’s home in Denver and become the courtesan Chandramukhi in Devdas, it was music to the ears of many.
But there was a minor problem. Madhuri was married. So Bhansali’s scissors went snip, snip, snip, till she was reduced to a cardboard character, made to stand in a corner and watch Shah Rukh Khan go overboard, with his swaggering act.
Bhansali forgot that his chopping spree was actually hurting his film. Chandramukhi never really became a threat for Paro, and it took the steam out of the love triangle.
The problem is in the mind-set. In the Hindi film industry, an actress is expected to fit into a character, or better still a role. A character is scarcely written with an actress in mind.
It may not be the same with a male star. A 60-plus, Amitabh Bachchan, actually has films written for him - Black, Viruddh, Khakee, Ek Ajnabee, Sarkar, Nishabd…
With a married actress, film-makers don’t want to take any chances. They are greedy enough to cash in on the ‘comeback-of-so-and-so’ factor, will coax her to sign the film, promising her it will be her career-best and then show as little of her, as possible. The hero is left to do the talking instead . Here, the hero is the one, who is insecure about the heroine’s come-back hype and tries to grab the lion’s share of lines and scenes
Remember Aamir Khan’s attempts, to alter the script, so that Kajol didn’t snatch the spotlight from him in Fanaa?
Talking of Kajol, the dusky talented actress, is the only one, who has come close to making a successful comeback, in recent times, post-marriage. She serenaded in Aamir’s arms and scorched the screen, while a bunch of nannies took care of her daughter back home.
But in order to do something like this, you need to have a good deal of spunk and panache. Otherwise, the whole country will make you feel as if you are the most uncaring mother and wife. They will make you feel guilty for chasing a career after holy matrimony, as many working mothers are made to feel in India.
It is interesting to note that the women in Bollywood, seldom get support from their spouses. Take Madhuri for one. When she tied the knot with NRI doctor, Shriram Nene, Indian newspapers went full blast with reports of how, her husband hadn’t even heard of Madhuri Dixit, in his life. Now, please don’t ask me to believe he didn’t know who Madhuri was! Dr. Nene would have been hailed as a self-obsessed megalomaniac, anywhere else in the civilised world, but in India, he was the oh-so-sweet, ‘suitable boy’.
Like most Indian men - irrespective of where they are born and bred, from Delhi to Dallas - Dr. Nene couldn’t shrug off the I-am-superior-than-thou attitude. If Madhuri has to forget one part of her identity, in order to forge another, why should the rest of India take her any more seriously?
What I like most about Kajol, is her thorough professionalism. She can stand up for herself and will see through a project, if she puts her mind to it. That’s something Madhuri can learn from Kajol - to fight for what she deserves.
Postscript: I feel sorry for Juhi Chawla. Look what they have done to her, in Salaam-e-Ishq. A colourless, harried wife, overshadowed by screen husband Anil Kapoor and five more couples. She has much less to do, than the other characters, though she had more potential than many others. Her last sterling performance, was in My Brother Nikhil. The credit goes to Onir, for thinking of utilising the talents, of an out-of-job home-maker.
As the thrust is on multi-starrers, big banners like Nikhil Advani’s, will always be treating ageing, women stars below par. It’s the young film-makers, making small-budget films, who are thinking out-of-the-box. A second innings, for many of our former Bollywood queens, lies there. And it’s time, Madhuri also thought of moving to that camp.
Even if the entire nation has gone ballistic over Ash-Abhishek’s impending wedding, the truth remains that marriage and motherhood, are the most dreaded words in the Bollywood dictionary.
Producers who were planning to sign up Aishwarya, have pushed the panic button. Will the Bachchan bahu work after tying the knot? Aishwarya’s doting father-in-law-to-be, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, has left the decision to his able son. But hey, has anyone asked the lady what she wants?
hellorosetta.com/mag/?p=69