Five men and their ‘ Flop’ stories

The cut- Throat world of showbiz and stigma of failure have made These actors Tread different paths

FLOP- A- THON: Aditya Roy Kapur is in desperate need of a hit after duds like ( top to bottom) Fitoor, Daawat- E- Ishq and the recently released OK Jaanu opposite Shraddha certified flop can spell doomsday for an actor’s career. A few have managed to survive such fatal odds while others have either had to reinvent their strategies or fade out with a whimper.

Alas, that’s one of the heart- rending givens of Bollywood stardom. Let’s just hope that the 31- year- old Aditya Roy Kapur doesn’t vanish into oblivion after the no- shows of such humdingers as Daawate- Ishq, Fitoor and last month’s OK Jaanu, the Hindi language remake of Mani Ratnam’s Tamil hit O Kadhal Kanmani.

The film is directed by Shaad Ali, who had refashioned Ratnam’s Alaipayuthey into the successful Saathiya, featuring Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji. His second jab at a Ratnam- style rom- sob shocked the trade by its extremely poor show at the cash counters. Aditya’s co- star, Shraddha Kapoor, has also totted up yet another flop this year after the misconceived and turgidly paced Rock On 2.

Both Aditya and Shraddha had become a pair with a likeable screen presence, thanks to Aashiqui 2. Chances are that Shraddha may be able to regain her market equity since she has a couple of commercially viable projects in hand: Half Girlfriend adapted from popular writer Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller, and Haseena: The Queen of Mumbai, a biopic that showcases her as a steely- strong personality of the underworld.

However, Aditya doesn’t seem to have anything significant on his plate presently. Whether he can rise from the prover-

RISING FROM THE ASHES? Abhishek is ill at ease with overwrought parts such as the one in All Is Well ( above). Will Lefty ( top right resurrect his career? bial ashes is the big question.

Alas, it’s the same story for Abhishek Bachchan, too. At the age of 40, from reported accounts, he has only one film in the pipeline: Lefty, to be steered by dancer- choreographerdirector Prabhu Deva. Sixteen years have elapsed since his debut in Refugee. His track record indicates a low average of successes and far too many duds, which has prevented Bachchan Jr from ever making it to the A- list. A pity that.

Abhishek does have a flair for comic timing as evidenced in Dostana, and can segue into the high dramatic mode ef- fectively — as he did in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Yuva and Guru. If a role assigned to him has any substance and if he trusts the director implicitly, there is little doubt he can deliver the goods. However, on being saddled with unconvincing and overwrought parts, as in All Is Well, he is clearly ill at ease.

Reportedly, Abhishek doesn’t seem to have that killer instinct of taking up offers which could have done wonders for his career. In fact, it’s lored that he was to be in the original cast of the widely- lauded Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai. Did he nix those projects or did the producers redesign them? We will never know for sure.

In a business where it’s either boom or bust for actors as well as directors, the perception of which film will work and which will not is of the essence. Take the 41- year- old Akshaye Khanna’s all- too- premature, self- willed withdrawal from the scene. An outstanding actor but far too MASTER OF MOODS: Akshaye, who made a comeback with

last year, has a reputation of not being the easiest guy on the sets. ( Right) A still from the forgettable Gali Gali Chor Hai

An outstanding actor but far too moody for anyone’s comfort, Akshaye Khanna became inaccessible for four years only to make a comeback with the chaotic action flick Apparently, Abhishek does not seem to have the killer instinct of taking up offers that could have done wonders for his career. It’s lored that he was to be in the original cast of the widelylauded Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai