NEW DELHI: Bollywood was rife this year with the comeback stories of several stars like Rekha, Rani Mukerji, Madhuri Dixit and Govinda, who once again made an attempt to find a place in the audience’s heart.
But it is not always easy for actors to get a firm foothold in the film industry on a repeat basis. While some succeeded, others could not find the same fame and adulation that they once enjoyed.
Yesteryear screen diva Rekha, after doing a cameo in “Krrish 3,” returned to movies with a full-fledged role in “Super Nani.” The actress played the role of a grandmother, who adopts a glamorous avatar to teach her ungrateful family a lesson.
The outdated plot did not help the film as it tanked at the box office and even Rekha’s evergreen charisma could not bring viewers to the theaters.
Mukerji had a very eventful 2014. Besides finally tying the knot with her longtime boyfriend, filmmaker Aditya Chopra, the actress treated the audience to a starring role in the hard-hitting movie “Mardaani.”
The film, highlighting the escalating rate of human trafficking, centered on a lady cop, played successfully by Mukerji. The actress earned plaudits for portraying the character of Shivani Shivaji Roy with the right amount of aggression and sensitivity.
Besides a cameo in Akshay Kumar-starrer “Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty,” ‘90s superstar Govinda had not one but two back-to-back releases this year with “Happy Ending” and “Kill Dil.” Although both films did not do very well, Govinda’s funny single-screen superstar act in “Happy Ending” and his brutal gangster role in “Kill Dill” were much appreciated.
Last year, screen diva Dixit created waves with her special dance number “Ghagra” in “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” and proved that she still has her charm.
This year the actress, whose last movie was “Aaja Nachle” in 2007, made her full-fleged film comeback after seven years with two films — “Dedh Ishqiya” and “Gulaab Gang.”
She earned appreciation for her vulnerable, stunning widow act in “Dedh Ishqiya” and role as the gritty leader of a gang that protects meek, downtrodden village women.
Her contemporary and rival from the ‘90s Juhi Chawla also made a comeback with “Gulaab Gang.” The cheerful, bubbly actress did a mean turn as the villain in the movie. Playing a corrupt politician, Chawla was very much at ease in her role and was applauded more than Dixit.
Next year will witness the comeback of two of the most loved actresses in Bollywood —Kajol and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, whose return to films have been highly anticipated.
After a failed comeback attempt with “We Are Family,” Kajol, who has been on a break since the birth of her son Yug in 2010, will star in a film to be produced by her husband, Ajay Devgn.
Bachchan is also set to return to the silver screen with Sanjay Gupta’s “Jazbaa” and is expected to begin shooting in January 2015. The film will mark her return to films after the birth of her daughter Aaradhya.
Besides” Jazbaa,” the actress has also signed Karan Johar’s “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.”