TWO-HERO FILMS STILL A HIT FORMULA?
Bollywood seems to be ready to embrace two lead actors in one movie, again
Afew in 2020, one in 2019 — two hero films at large have dwindled in numbers over the years in Bollywood. While Tanhaji — The Unsung Warrior (2020) saw two A-listers, Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan pitted against each other, War (2019) saw Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff in lead roles.
2021, however, will see a different picture. A host of two hero films are in the offing — Pathan with Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham, who again will star alongside another hero in the sequel to Ek Villain. Adipurush will see Saif coming together to lock horns with Prabhas.
Director Bejoy Nambiar, who had helmed Taish (2020), says, “We see a lot of two hero films happening currently, but these actors have an equation with each other. For filmmakers like me, such films are extremely difficult.”
Actor Anil Kapoor, who will star with Varun Dhawan in Jug Jug Jeeyo, says the film’s script is most important. “And if you have another star who is fantastic, popular, successful and a good actor, it makes the project even more exciting,” he says.
Sidharth Malhotra has done quite a few two-hero films like Ek Villain (2014), Kapoor & Sons (2016), and now Thank God with Ajay Devgn. He says, “I am very comfortable sharing space with other actors and heroes. It only lends itself to an interesting watch.”
Earlier, there were a lot of multi-hero films made in Bollywood points out trade expert Atul Mohan. He says, “Now, the new heroes feel what if the other hero gets more importance than him. Most importantly, it also invites heavy investment.” Bachchan Pandey, an Akshay Kumar show all the way, will also have Arshad Warsi on board. Warsi says that the problem lies in satisfying the egos of two heroes. “Two-hero films are difficult, I agree, you need to balance both heroes out, which becomes the issue because everybody wants to look better than the other,” he says.