Takht to ‘83: Multi-starrers to look forward to in 2020
From Karan Johar’s Takht to Kabir Khan’s ‘83, these are the multi-starrer films to looks forward to in 2020.
Paisa vasool — these are the two words which both filmmakers and the audience yearn to hear for a new release. And what better than getting to watch two, three or many more stars for the price of one ticket? Multi-starrer has been the golden formula in Bollywood. Be it Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Naseeb (1981; practically most of director Manmohan Desai’s films), to Sholay (1975), 1970s and 80s was the time when many stars worked together in one film.
The trend has been kept alive by new-age filmmakers like Rohit Shetty (the Golmaal franchise) and Karan Johar (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai), to name a few.
However, 2019 wasn’t a great year for such films. It started with Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, with Sonam K Ahuja, Anil Kapoor and, Rajkummar Rao showcasing the story of a family accepting their lesbian daughter. The box office wasn’t encouraging. Then came a string — Kalank, a big budget drama boasting of stars like Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, Son Chiriya, Prasthaanam, and the year ended with Pagalpanti and Panipat. All were letdowns commercially.
However, 2020 seems to still get rocked by a host of multi-starrers. It’s surprising, how such films are still in vogue, despite finding less takers in 2019. Trade expert Atul Mohan says that though the volume of such films is big, it isn’t easy making them in today’s time. “Multi-starrers have always been a favourite, but unfortunately we are unable to make them because we don’t get subjects which appeal to two-three heroes. Everybody has their ego. Earlier, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra all worked together. Now, everybody feels ‘uska role zyaada powerful hai’. You need a big filmmaker like Karan Johar or Bhansali to balance two actors. There are big chances of one of the heroes feeling unhappy.”
DIRECTOR’S TAKE
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For a filmmaker’s point of view, we talk to Kabir Khan, who has undertaken the mammoth task of recreating India’s iconic World Cup win in 1983, with a cast boasting of Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev, his wife Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Saqib Saleem, and Boman Irani. He says, “The beauty of an ensemble is that you are one team! All the boys had a strong camaraderie making my job easier. With multi-starrer films, one has to keep in mind that the film needs to be looked at in entirety, and the impact each one has on the audience. The screen time in the bigger gamut, hardly becomes important then. I’ve been blessed to have such a strong cast and crew.”
ACTORS COOL WITH IT
Actors on their part claim they are comfortable sharing the screen space with other stars. Kareena Kapoor Khan, who also stars in the recently released hit Good Newwz, says, “I am excited for Takht, and looking forward to working with all the actors. I have no insecurities because I know what I can do. I have worked in multi-starrers, did K3G. I don’t think people think like that anymore. In today’s time the scripts are written in a way that there are all characters.” Anil Kapoor, who stars in Malang and Takht with Kareena, adds, “I have always been comfortable with multi-starrers from Karma(1986) onwards, which was my first such film. I love doing two-hero films… You can’t call most of them multi-starrers, they are ensembles. Takht is a multi-starrer.”
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