THE BRUTE BANDWAGON
The nation does not care for thinking actors, we like our heroes good-looking and fallible
INDIAN CINEMAGOERS HAVE a propensity to forgive and forget when it comes to Salman Khan, the man who can get away with comparing his experience of pretending to be a wrestler to that of a sexually assaulted woman. Such is his exalted status that his apparel company, Being Human, may as well unveil a T-shirt that says, ‘In Bhai We Believe’. His larger-than-life presence in Sultan (2016) has catapulted it to the third-highest earning film of all time behind only his own production, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and PK (2014). That Salman, unlike his peers Aamir and Shah Rukh, has maintained a silence on rising intolerance has only won him more admirers, including in government, which appointed him the Indian Olympic Association’s goodwill ambassador for Rio 2016. So what if he can’t get Dipa Karmakar’s name correct? For Bhai, it’s all about being human. And humans err.
From the Mood of the Nation poll in April 2015, when Salman had only a 1 percentage point advantage over Shah Rukh, he now enjoys a healthy 10 percentage point lead over both SRK and Amitabh Bachchan. Meanwhile, Aamir, who in April ’15 was tied with Shah Rukh, with 14 per cent respondents picking him as their favourite actor, has fallen behind. Akshay Kumar, in the meantime, has inched forward. Seven per cent of respondents prefer the Airlift actor compared to Aamir’s 6 per cent. It has as much to do with Aamir not having a release last year as with his comments on censorship during Pahlaj Nihalani’s reign.
The actresses’s popularity ratings are more stable. Deepika Padukone is down only slightly from the February 2016 MOTN poll, where she led with 16 per cent. Much like Priyanka Chopra, who ranked second, Padukone has her eyes set on Hollywood and spent a chunk of 2016 shooting her international debut, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, with Vin Diesel. At a recent India Today TV event, the actress said that American TV does not interest her professionally. Riding high on her career-best performance in Piku, Padukone stands tall on the merit of her own star power in Tamasha and Bajirao Mastani. Year 2016 will be a rare one for her, without a single release, but the same is true of her closest rival, Bajirao Mastani co-star, Priyanka Chopra.
Anushka Sharma has gained, having featured in two of the biggest films (PK and Sultan). With a 10 per cent score, six points ahead of threetime National Award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut, Sharma is proving to be a contender for Heroine No. 1. As Katrina Kaif languishes and ties with Sharma at the third spot, watch out for new entrant Alia Bhatt.
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