Out of all forms of creative arts, acting has to be the broadest and most versatile because of the kind of dimensions it offers. It’s magical to see how a performing artiste transforms into another character and for that particular duration makes us believe that he or she is that particular character. The great Alicia Witt once, “Acting is magical. Change your look and your attitude and you can be anyone.” Well, as far as movies are concerned, we have seen that in plenty, especially in International cinema. However, the dynamics are a little different in the Indian entertainment industry, especially in Bollywood which is primarily driven by an actor’s stardom and the ability to bring gigantic footfalls on day 1 of the box office. There was an era in Bollywood, especially after the 90s decade where the majority of the films would be ‘typical love stories.’ As one would expect, there wouldn’t be much of a scope for intense performance when the narratives in themselves are that simple. Add to that, those were the times in B-Town where the audience would hear hoots and whistles in cinemas just when their favourite stars would make their grand entry into the film.
As far as experimenting with bold and brave choices is concerned, it is always easier to do that at the beginning of your career when you are trying to establish your niche as a strong performing artiste in comparison to the time when you are already an established ‘superstar’ due to a certain on-screen image. That’s perhaps been the biggest dilemma behind top-notch superstars not experimenting too much with the kind of content they work in. Years after years, the audience accepted Shah Rukh Khan in his romantic lover boy role and well with high stakes and money involved, if that sells, then why not continue the same? The same goes for someone like Salman Khan who’s best known for his ‘larger-than-life’ on-screen persona. His loyal legion of fans has been used to seeing their beloved Bhaijaan go shirtless and beat up evil in his raw style. As a result, anything that he tried to do differently in that particular era didn’t work. The biggest example of the same is ‘Hello Brother’. Although the movie was hilarious, it didn’t do well at the box office because Salman Khan’s character dies early in the movie. Well, yes, as unbelievable as it may sound, that’s been the kind of fandom that man has enjoyed over the years.
That’s why we can’t blame stars for constantly getting torn between two diverse factors. On one hand, when they keep repeating what they do to ensure no losses at the box office, a section of the audience claims that they are repetitive and are not proving their versatility. And when the same superstar tries something different, the content more often than not doesn’t work and it results in huge losses. Amidst all these, we have seen several superstars of today who have taken bold calls to break their stereotypical image as ‘stars’ to prove their dynamic potential as actors. While some of these experiments worked critically as well as commercially, the common factor behind all these has to be the positive appreciation and response from the audience. So, here’s taking a quick look at our list of popular celebrities who were brave enough to shed their stereotypical ‘star’ image on-screen to do something different to challenge their inner-self.
Kareena Kapoor – At a time when Kareena Kapoor was at the peak of her career, she decided to play a s*x worker on-screen in the critically-acclaimed movie ‘Chameli’. The movie was released way back in 2003 and back at that time, let alone playing on-screen, even discussion around the topic of s*x and prostitution was a big taboo. At a time like that, it was extremely brave of Kareena to not only play someone like that on-screen but also deliver an impactful performance with her classy act. Easily one of her finest works to date.
Priyanka Chopra – Back in 2012, Priyanka Chopra was climbing the ladder of success higher and higher in Bollywood with her good work. At a time like that, a mainstream commercial actress like Priyanka chose to do a movie like ‘Barfi’ where she played the character of an autistic woman. She didn’t mind being a part of a de-glam role that was heavily performance-oriented and this fact alone speaks volumes of her confidence in herself as an actress. Quite a brave call indeed.
Shah Rukh Khan – Bollywood’s beloved Badshah aka Shah Rukh Khan needs no introduction. Over the years, King Khan has always been part of movies where the limelight has been on him. But in the year, it was quite brave for a magnanimous superstar like him to play second fiddle to someone like Alia Bhatt. He played the role of a therapist in the movie and although he created a humongous impact in his limited and brief presentation, he didn’t take away the limelight from Alia and that’s a sign of a true superstar.
Amitabh Bachchan – Bollywood’s beloved Shahenshah has been a part of the industry for more than 50 years and now, he certainly has got nothing to prove. However, despite being a mainstream who’s best known for his left-hand punches on-screen, he chose to play the challenging role of a 12-year-old boy who’s struggling with Progeria. The movie presented a completely different perspective of how special children are and it was extremely bold of someone like him to do it and pull it off with perfection.
Alia Bhatt – Alia Bhatt is one of the finest young actresses in the country at present and at a time when her career is peaking with every movie that she’s signing for herself, she decided to be a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ where she played the character of a young brothel and how she rose to power using underworld connections. The movie is based on a true story and special kudos to Alia for constantly reinventing and re-innovating herself to bring out the best in herself.
Ayushmann Khurrana – Out of all the actors on the list here, this man out there perhaps deserves the most amount of appreciation. While stars decide to take bold and unconventional role choices after achieving a certain bit of stardom by playing safe initially, Ayushmann made his debut as an actor by playing the character of a sperm donor in ‘Vicky Donor’. He continued to continue the tradition in movies like Bala and Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan. While in Bala, he played the character of a man who’s dealing with a mid-life crisis due to the loss of hair at an early age, along with Jitendra Kumar played the role of a gay couple to bring the perspective of love from the viewpoint of an individual from the LGBTQ community. Kudos indeed.
Vidya Balan – She’s one diva who’s always been fearless and ‘bebaak’ right from the very beginning of her career. She has never really given a damn about external judgement and that’s why, be it due to her choice of dressing or her weight gain, she never bats an eye around any of it. While not giving a damn to all this was already quite a brave thing to do, she proved in the movie ‘The Dirty Picture’ that she’s way ahead of her time. At a time when the ‘hourglass’ figure was considered to be the ideal beauty standard for women, Vidya proved that sensuality can be equally effective and expressed nicely by a woman who isn’t always about flat stomachs and a thin waistline. She carried the movie on her shoulders and the movie was a gigantic hit at the cinemas. Her biggest game-changer to date.
Taapsee Pannu – Taapsee Pannu is one lady who’s successfully carved out her niche in B-Town after a successful and illustrious career in the South. Ever since then, she’s always been a part of pathbreaking cinema and that’s what separates her from the rest of her contemporaries. She’s been a part of many brave movies. However, the way she became a part of the movie ‘Thappad’ was quite amazing. It proved the fact that it’s high time we stop normalising physical abuse in marriages and that the ‘chalta hai’ attitude needs to vanish in thin air. Quite a brave choice for a relatively young star who carried the movie entirely on her shoulders.
Aamir Khan – He’s called ‘perfectionist’ for a reason and why not? In his entire career till now, he’s always been a part of movies that have had a social message and pinpointed the same, what better than 3 Idiots and Taare Zameen Par to prove the same? For a bonafide superstar like him to break apart from his image of a superstar and play characters that tell a story is extremely brilliant and no wonder, he deserves all the credit and appreciation for the same.
Akshay Kumar – Our very own Khiladi Kumar has been a part of the entertainment space for many years. Although he admitted on many occasions that he preferred to be in the same zone, he decided to go all guns blazing with his unique and different choice of movies post the year 2015. As far as different and unconventional choices are concerned, his movie ‘Padman’ certainly deserves special mention. For a mainstream Bollywood superstar to popularize the culture of using sanitary napkins at a time when even many leading actresses were ‘hush hush’ about it speaks volumes of the guts and self-belief he has in himself. No wonder the movie did well and also opened up a new perspective when it comes to fighting the taboo.
Kiara Advani – Although not an ‘out and out’ full-length commercial film, Kiara Advani deserves special mention for her role in Lust Stories. The Indian audience isn’t used to seeing a woman having an orgasm in public on-screen and it certainly was a brave call for a girl who’s just started to build her career. The chances of her getting stereotyped were always there. However, she dealt with it brilliantly and the rest is history. Her choice deserves all the way more credit now after Karan Johar recently revealed on Koffee With Karan Season 7 that the role initially went to Kriti Sanon and she had to say no to it because her mother didn’t allow her.
Ranbir Kapoor – Ranbir Kapoor is rated as one of the most popular and loved actors in our country for a reason. Although his recent release Shamshera didn’t work in movies as well as he would have liked to, there’s no doubt about his potential as a performing artiste. The biggest validation of that? Him doing Sanjay Dutt’s character in his biopic. The ease and finesse with which he played the character of Sanjay Dutt across different ages was spot on and the world was forced to notice the great actor in him. Everything right from the multiple physical transformation moments to body language was on point and we loved every bit of it, didn’t we?
Hrithik Roshan – Last but certainly not least, we have Hrithik Roshan on the list. In the year 2000, when Hrithik made his debut, the entire country went berserk. He was said to be the perfect package of someone who acts well, looks good, has a top-notch physique and also can dance brilliantly with ease and perfection. He’s continued to maintain that image over the years on many occasions and for someone like him to play the role of a man who’s quadriplegic (a person who’s affected by paralysis of all four limbs) during the peak of his career was an incredibly brave call. Although the movie didn’t perform well at the box office, the audience was blown away by his incredible performance which was far different from what we were used to seeing from his end. The movie was just another example of a well-made movie which wasn’t perhaps made for a theatrical ‘massy’ release. The impact? Even today, people hail that movie as one of his best.
Well, our list here certainly proves the fact that even though brave and unconventional role choices might not give you the desired results that stars are used to seeing at the box office, it certainly gives you an edge over others as a creative personality which people will take note of. At a time when Bollywood is struggling big time and is facing a bit of a drought at the box office, more and more actors must break away from their stereotypical image and focus on just being part of movies that tell good stories.