Fardeen Khan

LOST CASE: Fardeen Khan was last seen in the utterly lame Dulha Mil Gaya ( above) moody for anyone’s comfort, he became inaccessible for as many as four years, only to make a comeback of sorts in the chaotic action flick Dishoom, which was certainly not worthy of his stature. Of late, talk circulated that he would be enacting the role of the late Sunil Dutt in Rajkumar Hirani’s biopic on the life and times of Sanjay Dutt. Apparently, the director and the actor mutually agreed that it would be a case of miscasting. Paresh Rawal has been pencilled in instead. Neither luck nor the right opportunities came by the way of Fardeen Khan, who was last seen in the utterly forgettable Dulha Mil Gaya six years ago. Although he could have resuscitated his career — a remake of his father Feroz Khan’s Qurbani was, in fact, on the cards — the 42- year- old actor has decided to quit the Bollywood scene.

Evidently, then, disenchantment with the partisan ways of show business — accompanied by the stigma of flops — can prove to be a career wrap- up. Only a rare few have possessed that stamina of survival. The 46- year- old Saif Ali Khan is a case in point. Never mind a row of disappointments like Bullet Raja, Humshakals, Happy Ending and Phantom, he could well reconnect with the audience with Vishal Bhardwaj’s intensely publicised war drama Rangoon.

The point is to stay steady and unfazed, a dilemma which confronts Aditya Roy Kapur after OK Jaanu. After all, there’s that classic syndrome of the survival of the fittest in the Bollywood jungle.

Neither luck nor right opportunities came Fardeen Khan’s way. Although he could have resuscitated his career — a remake of Feroz Khan’s Qurbani was on the cards — the 42- year- old actor chose to quit Bollywood Never mind a row of disappointments like Bullet Raja, Humshakals, Happy Ending and Phantom, he could well reconnect with the audience with Vishal Bhardwaj’s intensely publicised war drama Rangoon