What gives an actor sleepless nights? The countdown to a big-budget release, most definitely. What could be worse than that? Well, maybe, having multiple movie releases in the space of months or, as is happening in this movie-filled quarter in Bollywood, within weeks. From hero of the masses Salman Khan to the beauty-cum-hit machine Katrina Kaif, actors are having a harrowing time juggling their many releases as the final months of 2009 see the highest-ever Friday release ratio in tinsel town in recent times.
Sanjay Dutt
October 16:All The Best, Blue
October 30:Aladin
This man has the biggest headache possible right now. With two duds one after the other in 2008 ( Kidnap) and 2009 ( Luck), he has got his chance, or several chances, once again. The disheartening part is that two of his biggest releases are due on Diwali weekend while the third closes October for him. Report is that Sanjay is miffed with the makers of Blue as Akshay Kumar is getting more publicity so is happily promoting All The Best instead. Two diametrically opposite storylines and characters, with the former being an underwater action film and the latter a routine comedy and high money riding on both, are giving the actor the heebie-jeebies! Within a fortnight of the dual release comes the fantasy tale Aladin where he plays the evil Ringmaster. From do-gooder to comedian to villain, Sanjay has many acts to juggle. All three are mega-budget films but also multi-starrers. In that happy thought, he can exhale!
Kareena Kapoor
October 16: Main Aurr Mrs Khanna
November 27: Kurbaan
December 25: 3 Idiots
After the tepid response to Kambakht Ishq, Kareena’s last real hit has been Golmaal Returns (2008) where she shared space with half-a-dozen other actors. Which means that her upcoming films had better be good. Her first, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, is a Diwali release, locking horns with the more talked about films Blue and All The Best. She pairs up with brothers Salman and Sohail in a drama about marriage and loyalty in MAMK directed by debutant Prem Soni. Another debutant director, adman and the promising writer of Rang De Basanti, Rensil D’Silva directs her and beau Saif Ali Khan in the umpteenth movie on global terrorism Kurbaan. Finally, the lady closes her year with 3 Idiots where she shares space with Aamir Khan, whether or not romantically paired together is not yet known. Can the heroine rest her pretty head in the assurance that she’s not carrying the three films on her shoulders? Possibly. But she definitely cannot sit relaxed as at least the latter two are expected to have a strong impact on her career.
Katrina Kaif
October 16:Blue
November 6:Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani
November 27: De Dana Dan
If she could erase that one mistake of her career called Yuvvraaj, Katrina has had a dream run in Bollywood. She kicked off the year with the June-release New York playing the supportive and sympathetic wife to a terrorist and now she has three films up her sleeve: Blue, in which she plays a mysterious character of which little is known except that she wears a gothic look, Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani which is expected to be a comic strip romance and Priyadarshan’s De Dana Dan, a comedy. While her role in Blue is not a full-length one, Katrina’s trying her hand at comedy for the first time with Ajab Prem… Her Priyadarshan film may not give her scope to do much as it has the director’s favourites Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty but if it’s a hit, who minds that extra feather in the cap?
Akshay Kumar
October 16:Blue
November 27: De Dana Dan
Chandni Chowk to China, Tasveer and Kambakht Ishq, need we say more? This man requires a hit like never before and he may possibly get it with Anthony D’Souza’s Blue. It’s reportedly a Rs. 100-crore project and has some of the most breathtaking underwater stunts. That’s like his back alley but this time he’s not alone in it. Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Katrina and Zayed Khan give him company along with some 40-odd sharks. But whether the audience will bite needs to be seen. A month later Akshay will be seen in his trademark comic role in typical Priyadarshan fare – De Dana Dan. It’s a movie with Suniel Shetty and the filmmaker with his two faithful actors is hoping to recreate the magic of Hera Pheri. Needless to say, both actors could do with liberal doses of the same magic.
Salman Khan
October 16:Main Aurr Mrs Khanna
October 30: London Dreams
This man has just got what he Wanted — a blockbuster with Prabhu Deva and is on a high. That bubble might just burst with Main Aur… as it is clearly pitted against two more powerful movies. It’s not an unusually different role to play; that of an upper middle class man with a beautiful wife, some romantic scenes plus sweet songs. So there’s very little to expect. Within two weeks, there is another test by fire — the much-awaited London Dreams by Vipul Shah which brings back Ajay Devgn and Salman after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Yet another big-budget film, London Dreams is about two musicians, one intense (Ajay) and the other a maverick (Salman) who get an eponymous band in the U.K. and of the ensuing rivalry.
Amitabh Bachchan
October 30: Aladin
December 4 (tentative): Paa
Who remembers the last good Amitabh movie? Well, last year’s Bhootnath would qualify definitely but, otherwise, he has had back-to-back flops in the last two years. Yet he is the busiest actor with reportedly some dozen projects banking on him. In the next two months, prepare to see two of his never-before avatars: as Genius the genie in Sujoy Ghosh’s Aladin and as a victim of Progeria in director Balki’s Paa where he will play real-life son Abhishek’s son. Both look like dream roles and the Big B could be back, shall we say, in the reckoning.
Ajay Devgn and Ranbir Kapoor
Ajay Devgn ( All The Best and London Dreams) and Ranbir Kapoor ( Ajab Prem … and Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year) will also be testing Lady Luck twice over before the year closes.
So while you chew on the popcorn, some people will be chewing their nails!
