MULTISTARRERS STORM THE SCREEN
The genre, which was superpopular in an era of Bollywood now considered ‘retro’, has been regaining momentum in recent years, and more such films are on the anvil
That popular genre called “the multi-starrer”, which ruled Hindi cinema years ago, is seeing a revival of sorts.
Waqt, the late Yash Chopra’s 1965 blockbuster, is believed to be Bollywood’s first multi-starrer. Through the Seventies and Eighties, Hindi filmmakers followed it up with multi-starrer hits such as Sholay (1975), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Shaan (1980), and The Burning Train (1980). The number of such films, with several marquee names, dwindled in the Nineties and Noughties — that’s mainly because of ego issues among top stars, industry experts feel. However, recent years have seen multi-starrer films such as Badlapur (2015), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), Kapoor & Sons (2016), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), Udta Punjab (2016), Housefull 3 (2016) and Dishoom (2016). Padmavati, whose December release has been deferred, comes in that category as well.
Now, rumours are rife that Karan Johar’s next movie production will star Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sridevi. Filmmaker Aanand L Rai’s untitled next venture has Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, and other stars in guest appearances.
“[Making multi-starrers] is a difficult job, but when actors are convinced of what they’re going to do in the film, then all is okay. They’re artists, and if handled correctly, they won’t throw tantrums,” says Anees Bazmee, director of multistarrer films such as No Entry (2005) and the Welcome series.
In the recent past, big franchises such as Judwaa, Dhoom, Housefull, and Golmaal have featured multiple stars. Varun, who starred in Judwaa 2, feels that “things become more exciting” when he works with multiple actors. “Until you work with others, how will you grow as an artist?” he says. “If I’m a viewer, and I see a hero playing the protagonist in four films in a year, I’ll get bored.”
But experts believe that “some kind of insecurity has crept in [among actors]”, affecting the multi-starrer genre. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “Nowadays, if two actors star in a film, they’ll always think, ‘I hope his role isn’t as big as mine.’” Bazmee concurs, “Yes, it’s generally believed that a filmmaker has to handle actors’ egos when it comes to multi-starrers. But, touchwood, I’ve never had to face any such problem.”