Not many years ago there was a little girl often seen around Juhu with her mother, actress Soni Razdan. A frail, even scrawny little waif, with bright, curious and intelligent eyes. There was no sign then that she would shine bright in the uncertain firmament of tinsel town. After she became the debutante hit of 2012 with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year, Alia Bhatt’s second critically acclaimed film Highway put her on the highway to spectacular fame. Two States consolidated her position as a performance thoroughbred. Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania clinched it. She has grown up to be quite a looker, but it’s her performance that’s got her attention and accolades, sending the Internet into a viral overdrive, with opinions coming out faster than a scriptwriter’s last-minute lines. She is Bollywood’s youngest diva, leading the girl pack of shock-and-awe entrants like Parineeti Chopra and Shraddha Kapoor. Says Arjun Kapoor, her co-star in Two States and the new hot hero on the block with whom Alia has been romantically linked by the B-town press, “She is not thought out or planned and has not got where she is by manipulation, but she’s always gone on personal impulse.”
Arjun adds: “Alia is a quick learner. In Two States, she was a patient listener who aspired always to do better and better.”
In the first 10 days of its launch, Highway netted `33.44 crore worldwide, `26.63 crore in India alone. Two States, made by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala with a budget of `36 crore, entered the `100-crore club in 22 days, becoming the second Bollywood film to hit the mark after Salman Khan’s Jai Ho. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania made over `76 crore by the end of its third week in theatres. Bollywood trade sources put the 22-year-old Alia’s fees at between `2 crore and `4 crore per film, while she bills `2-2.5 crore per endorsement. Twenty-four-year and four-film old Ishaqzaade star Parineeti Chopra has four brand endorsements wrapped up—Kurkure, Nivea, Spinz and Maaza, and more on the way, according to advertising sources. The it-girl who wanted to be an investment banker before entering films would be thrilled that she chose a career that gives her better pay—she charges `1.5 crore to `2 crore a film, according to industry sources. Says Parineeti: “The audience is greatly upgraded from the time when it was not open to different kinds of movies. Today a Lunchbox can do well and so can a Kick and I am lucky to be part of Bollywood in this time. Shah Rukh or Amitabh had to be in a movie to carry it to success, but now the criteria is a good, entertaining script without preconceived demands. I’m excited to be here now as an actor when I could be the hero of a story, it is not as important to have a male-oriented film.”
Shraddha, daughter of screen villain Shakti Kapoor, is paid `1 crore per film: her last film Ek Villain was a superhit member of the `100-crore club, grossing `105 crore, giving the Boston University-educated super-kid every chance to increase her fees.
Alia is refreshingly non-delusional about her place in the B-town galaxy. “Today you’ve to endorse brands, you shoot for ads and you have to give all that equal attention as your film. I’m not sure I’m a brand yet, it’s only about two years since I started films,” she says. Alia is the face of the new Indian girl-woman, with an ability to laugh at herself, and be almost unaware of her success and place she has earned in her chosen field. Alia, after her gaffe naming Prithviraj Chavan as India’s President on Koffee With Karan, enjoys the deluge of jokes on her. Her favourite is: “Interviewer: Modi ka first name kya hain? Alia Bhatt: Abkibaar.” She has even put up a video on YouTube, laughing at herself.
Her lack of self-consciousness is disarming. At a gala function, where the just-out-of-her-teens Alia was chief guest, her praise for Amitabh Bachchan garnered her applause for its maturity and delivery. But she kept her share of innocence by disarmingly confessing that the lines were not her own, but her illustrious father, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s; she had panicked and asked him what to say about Big B. Her co-star of Student of the Year and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Varun Dhawan calls her the Robert De Niro of their generation.
What’s more important with the new A-Girls is that they are devoid of the artifices, induced enigma and the selfie obsession of their B-town elder sisters. Connecting with their audience is their aim. In the latest blockbuster, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Alia and Varun essay roles of peppy, feisty, carefree youngsters. A single phrase sums up this new genre—they are more performers than ‘stars’. Says Parineeti: “I’m accessible to my audience and people because we are not viewed as if we are God. Today there is no undying loyalty to a ‘star’, but instead an actor earns a following because of good work. Yet you cannot sit on your laurels. Only if one is sensible to realise the sea change from just a decade ago, can one survive in the present environment.”
The present environment has a lot to offer for multi-talented rookies. Both Shraddha and Alia have delivered ear-popping Bollywood songs: Shraddha’s runaway hit ‘Teri Galiyaan’ in Ek Villain and Alia’s ‘Samjhavan’ in Humpty Sharma have set the charts ringing. The impact of her song in Highway, ‘Sooha saha’, prompted her to deliver another. Shraddha’s second number ‘Roshavalle’ in Vishal Bharadwaj’s Haider promises to be another chartbuster.
We live in interesting times where the Mumbai film industry has morphed from “the star system” to a tighter and tauter making and viewing experience. The new kids have changed the success syntax of Bollywood. Which is why an Alia with three films is nominated by Stardust as the ‘Female superstar of tomorrow’. In her first un-notable film itself, Shraddha was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Industry sources say she needs to define her potential yet, perhaps with a role and director who will carry her forward from Aashiqui 2 and metamorphose her into a more impactful presence. Says Shraddha: “It’s wonderful to be acting in an age where there is no ‘top three’ stars and then one superstar. I’m told I’ve got a strong mass connect. I’ve always only wanted to be an actor since I was a young kid.”
Animatedly endorsing the new wave of inheritors backed by the trade point of view, B-town analyst Taran Adarsh says: “Since the past few weeks, the entire movie fraternity is agog about how the new gen has just taken over. Alia, Shraddha, Parineeti, Arjun, Aditya Roy Kapur, Varun and Tiger Shroff are far more professional and cost much less that the big stars. They are delivering numbers at the box office. It all boils down to how good you are on Friday, what kind of numbers you generate. All these youngsters are getting fab footfalls at multiplexes despite charging much less than established senior actors with much less baggage.”
Tinsel town watchers say it’s more practical to work with the new generation of Bollywood stars since they are open to candid discussions and suggestions. “It’s easy to chat with them. With the biggies, you have to keep quiet. Even the remuneration of the youngsters is far more flexible compared with senior actors with a stake in the profit. Salman, Saif, Akshay, Shah Rukh, Aamir all have a stake in production. The new brigade is committed to finding a foothold in the industry, hence they come without any demands or star tantrums and are more malleable,” says Adarsh.
B-town karma dictates that the nebula changes every few years. If it’s Anushka Sharma, Asin and Sonakshi Sinha one day, it’s Shraddha, Alia and Parineeti the next. Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone are almost old guard. There is a wave among producers to look out for the new and less complicated. Just one ring later, Alia answers the phone, cheerful, easy to speak to and opinionated. She’s preparing for an untitled fantasy film next. She says, “I’m personally on Instagram and Twitter (she has over two million followers). I read nearly all tweets to me because I enjoy the connectivity. Feedback is great—good and bad; it is interesting to keep in touch with audiences and technology is as intrusive as you allow it to be. Audiences give you lots of love.”
What shouts out at you when you meet, chat and watch the new inheritors of Bollywood perform, is the lack of fuss and preamble. Hands-on and technologically friendly, they are without the tantrums of the superdivas. Does that then make them lesser performers? Parineeti is touted the new Kajol, a natural spirited performer with endearing warmth and instinctive panache. From a promising start with Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl—with which she surprised many in B-town circles by winning numerous prestigious awards—to Ishaqzaade where she sparkles as the boisterous Zoya, she is here to make a mark and how!
The new Bollywood uber girls revel in riveting performances backed by raw appeal, research and hard work without lacking in elan and dream girl charisma. Time saved from tantrums and giving everyone, including directors, producers and journalists, the run around is spent in fittings, stylist sessions, script readings and honing the craft to often stellar performances. Asked how things are different from the days she would watch her father make films, Alia is candidly professional. She says, “As a child I knew a director is more than an actor, but I believe there were no extensive photo shoots, stylists coming home. While it’s more taxing, it’s also more organised. Everyone has a department and actors have a manager to handle work. I have to make time for meetings and fittings, and pay more attention to details like fashion, styling and appearance.”
Parineeti, Shraddha, Alia, and also Jacqueline Fernandez as well as the crop of other current young actors effortlessly replace the ‘stars’ of yore, who might have begun to look jaded in comparison. Low attention spans and technology—books on Kindle, YouTube films on tablets and movies downloaded on pen drives—prompt a quick turnover of ‘stars’; ‘new’ is the name of the game. Evolving technology, fresh faces, thinking directors, bound scripts—yet the more things change, the more they remain the same. The integral glue that binds and characterises the ‘Hindi Film’ together are the song-and-dance sequences. Shraddha, on the sets of her next film ABCD 2, was reportedly injured during a complicated dance move. Shraddha tweeted that she took intensive practice sessions to learn the various dance styles for this film. Parineeti prefers to work with new actors instead of established heavy hitters. In a recent interview, she said routine song-and-dance films do not get her. “I have been offered a lot of films with many big actors but I have unfortunately declined them. I felt I did not have much to do. I will never do a usual film with song and dance, the character has to be important,” she says.
Not a surprise then that all this translates into seemingly effortless hits with raw performances, involved acting, carefree relaxed interactions, believable natural performances that leave the audience feeling like they are part of the story being essayed on screen. Perhaps they are redefining the term diva, making it more a phrase from the past. Perhaps flashes of the vanishing breed linger in a Kareena or to an extent in Sonakshi Sinha.
Not much has changed about Alia since she started out. The big difference from her Student of the Year time two years ago is that she is much more independent and is even contemplating shifting out from her parents’ home. “More for the lack of space than anything else,” she clarifies. Just two years ago, not a sentence had passed without her mentioning her mother Soni Razdan’s name. Today she’s self-reliant, assured and certain about making it all work.
Varun is animated when asked about her. “What drives her is her constant judgement of herself. I remember when we were shooting for Student of the Year, she asked me, ‘What if this is my last film and no one casts me ever again?’ That girl didn’t get everything on a platter, she really works hard. She was overweight, couldn’t walk straight with flat feet, but she’s worked at everything and turned it all around to her advantage. She ran, worked out, fought, and danced until it all became nearly effortless. Right now she is obsessed with being fit.” Varun is her inspiration; she confides in me later—“He’s fit and healthy”.
What are the qualities that make the new lot what they are? Professional approach? Ability to work at their images, their bodies, their roles? To extend their repertoire with added skills such as dancing, body-building, and sculpting? Edgy, out-of-the-box director of Queen, Vikas Bahl who will direct Alia in Shandaar, the destination wedding film with Shahid Kapoor, offers: “What I find stimulating is that today’s actors try to figure out the role they are playing and go beyond the script, for the girls today want to know everything about the role and the character of the protagonist within the film. Alia never puts herself before the character. She is constantly trying to figure out the person she is playing. ‘What are her interests’ or ‘How far is she educated’. She pushes me to think questions to which I don’t have ready answers. Today’s actors are fun and easy to work with, natural in their acting and they think and don’t carry baggage. It is exciting to work with this degree of professionalism—there are meetings, everyone from the stylists, to the camera team to the actors are immensely dedicated and timely and no one, not the so-called ‘divas’ take any aspect for granted. In my book, actors like Alia push even me to come on time, they come before everyone!”
For decades past, the Bollywood format was for producers planning a film to sign on the biggest star that his status allowed. Only after that did things fall into place—financier, director, music, choreographer and the rest of the cast. Cardboard story lines, white and black heroes and villains and vamps, and item girls was the recipe. The formula endlessly played out with superficial variations, for less-accepting audience. As the post-liberalisation generation became more exposed to global styles and trends, while retaining its basic Indianness, an overnight sea change—that had been building up unnoticed by B-town gurus—came about. A new system began with newer processes. In the early years of the new century, Bollywood became more professional: corporate players such as Reliance, homegrown corporates like Yash Raj Films, redefined professional parameters, marketing and branding, elegance and innovation of scripts, directors and scriptwriters from a more popular pulse-led ad world transformed filmmaking. The ‘indiscriminate biggest star’ syndrome was passe. Gym-toned bodies replaced the middle-aged, middle-spread Govinda wooing the backwater college girl.
Just being a new face, even with film connect does not automatically get the rookie actor a place reserved ipso facto, like Adhyayan Suman or Harman Baweja. Success is about locating new talent, casting the right actor in the right script and cutting-edge direction combined with state-of-the-art technology that makes the package work. The new actors are learning to match their act with the rest of the world. The rise of Alia Bhatt and her sparkling set is the new sunrise factor in a cliché-driven entertainment industry.
Shraddha Kapoor
Rs1 crore a film
Shraddha’s last film Ek Villain grossed Rs105 crore, giving the Boston University-educated super-kid every chance to increase her fees. Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rs37-crore Haider promises to be another blockbuster.
Alia Bhatt
Rs2 crore to Rs4 crore a film
After she became the debutante hit of 2012 with Student of the Year, Alia’s critically acclaimed Highway that netted Rs33.44 crore in 10 days put her on the highway to fame. Two States consolidated her position as a performance thoroughbred. Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania clinched it by making Rs76 crore by the end of its third week in theatres.
Parineeti Chopra
Rs1.5 crore to Rs2 crore a film
From a promising start with Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl to Ishaqzaade, Shuddh Desi Romance that collected Rs46 crore in India alone and Hasee Toh Phasee, she is here to make a mark. Parineeti will next be seen in Daawat-e-Ishq opposite Aditya Roy Kapur
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