NEW JODI EQUALS MORE BUZZ, THRILL

A look at fresh Bollywood pairings that are being lapped up by film audiences

The evolving cinema audience isn’t just welcoming fresh content and themes, but also never-seen-before pairings in films. The concept of fresh co-stars made its presence felt with Airlift, Ki & Ka, Baaghi and Dear Zindagi, last year. And the audiences are loving it in 2017, too.

Most recently, Akshay Kumar worked with Bhumi Pednekar in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, and with Huma Qureshi in Jolly LLB 2. Kriti Sanon and Ayushmann Khurrana starred in Bareilly Ki Barfi, Arjun Kapoor romanced Ileana D’Cruz and Shraddha Kapoor in Mubarakan and Half Girlfriend respectively, while Irrfan starred alongside Pakistani actor Saba Qamar in Hindi Medium. The new pairing of Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam in Kaabil also got a thumbs-up.

“If two popular actors come together, it’s an exciting proposition for audiences as such pairings bring in a lot of novelty that adds to a film’s wide appeal,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi.

Actors, too, enjoy breaking the ice with new co-stars. “Working with Hrithik has been one of the best experiences because he is a lovely person, so selfless and collaborative,” says Yami. Bhumi felt the same. “Akshay made everything very easy. He doesn’t try and intimidate you, as he comes down to your level as a friend, and he expects you to treat him like that,” says Bhoomi.

All praise for Arjun, Shraddha shares, “He is very entertaining, hard-working; and off camera, he has a very good sense of humour. It was a blast working with him.”

PHOTO: JAFAR KHAN / FOTOCORP (Clockwise from top, left) This year’s fresh pairings include Hrithik-Yami, Akshay-Bhumi, and Kriti-Ayushmann