On the road to superstardom in Indian cinema, most probables stop at the ‘khakhi’ joint. The main goodies there are a neat close-cut hairdo, stylized mustache and an aviator sunglass. Bulging biceps, blaring sound chords, fire in the eyes and ‘punch dialogues’ can also be sourced here, based on how fast and ceremoniously you want to arrive at your destination. With the main attraction this week being Nivin Pauly’s first police role in Action Hero Biju, the time is ripe to recall the policemen in our movies and what they mean to the stars who play them.
Playing a cop did wonders to the careers of many lead actors. Amitabh Bachchan came into his own after the explosive success of his role as Inspector Vijay Khanna in Zanjeer (1973). As for Rajnikanth, the role of Alex Pandian in Moondru Mugham (1982) defined a new stylistic high. Mammooty poured in all the beastly masculinity of his body into Inspector Balram in Aavanaazhi (1986) and Inspector Balram (1990). Suresh Gopi made a living shouting in the khaki uniform and the same seems to apply to Tamil actor Surya as well, with the Singham franchise cementing the ascent to stardom he started with Kaaka Kaaka. Many stars become cops when in distress. Going through a lean patch, Salman Khan reinvented his career playing Chulbul Pandey in Dabbang. And it is the khaki uniform that saved (if we can say that) the careers of Ajay Devgun and Pawan Kalyan.
But to say that khaki had always helped careers would not be completely true. Biju Menon, after a few memorable roles donning khaki, tried joining the superstar club with his cop movie Shivam (2001), but the attempt fell flat (nevertheless, he was later welcomed when he came wearing khadi in the film, Vellimoonga!). All this makes one wonder if the timing of an actor appearing in khaki has a bearing on his worth as a superstar-material. More so because young actors, even the ones doing action, are cautious when it comes to playing policemen. There are instances of upcoming Malayali actors turning down the roles of cops just because they feel they are not ‘ready.’
So the Khaki code of Malayalam film industry is simple - wearing khaki is a rite of passage. A time when wide-eyed boys become daring men.