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Cameos pull in big names
The recent trend in Bollywood is to cast big names in small roles.
The films released in the last few months might have been different as different as chalk and cheese, but they all had one aspect in common: cameos by known stars.
Cameo, the 21st century term for what were traditionally called Guest Appearances, Special Appearances, Friendly Appearances, Dynamic Appearances, With Gratitude roles. Back then, guest and special appearances were roles raised above their level by the stars that portrayed them. Friendly appearances saw stars playing themselves because they fitted the scene. Since such instances were rare, so were nods of assent from stars based on the meat in the role.
Guest Appearance
"A brief role that has some significance and relevance to the story," is how trade analyst Taran Adarsh sums up a Guest Appearance. As Salman Khan played in Saawan The Love Season or as Shah Rukh Khan did in Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaaye. Abhishek Bachchan, who's done quite a few (Hum Tum, Salaam Namaste, Neal`N' Nikki, Ek Ajnabee) says, "I don't believe in guest appearances. Whatever I do, I play a wholehearted part, even if it is for one shot. I don't know how having me there helps, but I do these parts for my friends." These days, most of the guest/special appearances don't have scope nor do they befit the stars playing them.
Special Appearance
"There's not much difference between Guest Appearance and Special Appearance. The tag depends on the film, banner, maker and the star who's doing it," explains Adarsh. If Amitabh Bachchan was credited with a Guest Appearance in Andhaa Kanoon, then Dharmendra was credited with a Special Appearance for a briefer role. Or like Shah Rukh Khan and Tabu played brief roles in Saathiya. It's difficult to remember the last time a star did a brief role worthy of his stature. "Cameos today don't really surprise us anymore," says Hum Tum drector Kunal Kohli.
Friendly Appearance
"Most of the times, it featured a star playing her or himself. Sometimes it was a character that the star essayed, in keeping with his/her star status," says Adarsh. Big B again did the honours by playing Lord Indra in Arjun Sajnani's Agni Varsha. The most impressive list of Friendly Appearances was seen in the late Manmohan Desai's blockbuster Naseeb, where the director got all the actors he worked with, from Raj Kapoor to Rajesh Khanna, to participate in the John Johnny Janardhan song. The song was an unexpected highpoint in the film. In the recently released Shikhar, starring ladylove Bipasha Basu, John Abraham played himself in a walk-on part to fit in the script.
Obligation Appearance
These are the appearances stars make for their friends, which credit them 'With Special Thanks', `With Gratitude' and such sweet tags. Most notable recently were Kajol and Rani Mukerji shaking a leg in Maahi ve in Karan Johar's Kal Ho Naa Ho. A few weeks back Aftab Shivdasani did a double take for mentor Ram Gopal Varma's Mr Ya Miss and friend Vikram Bhatt's Deewane Huye Paagal. By his own confession, "I did Mr Ya Miss for Ramu, because he gave me my first break and Deewane Huye Paagal for Vikram, who's a close friend."
Big Deal Cameo
Those actors for whom it's a big deal to feature in a big film make these cameo appearances. They usually succumb to playing a small role in a big banner film because they think 'it's an honour to work under the guidance of a filmmaker like so-and so. Manoj Bajpai, for instance, chose to play a negative role in Yash Raj Films' Veer-Zaara. Like Sushmita Sen did in Subhash Ghai's Kisna. Like Lara Dutta is doing in Kunal Kohli's Fanaah.
Item Appearance
Thanks to the inclusion of item numbers in some of films, the category has been added here. Though usually it's an item song that a star does, stealing the limelight from the lead actors, sometimes there's a character for the item number performing star to portray. Like Abhishek Bachchan did, playing Bipasha Basu's beau in Rakht, besides the One love number or Aishwarya Rai's Ishq kameena with Shah Rukh in Shakti and Kajra re in Bunty Aur Babli.
With these main categories, we assume that makers will continue coining new terminology for such starry appearances. Though some stars charged a nominal remuneration for such appearances, others charge a fat fee. But these days they reserve their obligations strictly for friends. As Kohli says, "There's no money involved for these roles. When casting for Hum Tum we needed someone of stature to play the man who would marry Rani Mukerji, someone who says some really meaningful lines to Saif. So we couldn't have some lallu. Abhishek was the best choice." But ultimately, additional star value aside, the film stands on its own merit.
