The 10-year challenge is the viral phenomenon du jour. As we all know, to participate in the challenge we are required to post a picture from 2009 and another from 2019 to offer a comparison. Like a New York Times writer succinctly summed it, ‘the challenge has become a barometer of our views about ageing, of how we define beauty, even of what it means to live a purposeful life.’
After taking the challenge myself for a lark on Facebook, I decided to test the Hindi film industry on the challenge and see how the industry has transformed, if at all, over the last decade; and if yes, how significantly.
Let’s begin by assessing how the three Khans have fared in this litmus test. Shah Rukh appeared only in cameos of varying lengths in 2009 (‘Billu’, ‘Luck By Chance’, ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’) but he was in a heady stage of his career with Aditya Chopra’s hit ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ released late in 2008 still fresh in the public memory. However, in 2019 he is recovering from the major blow he suffered when ‘Zero’ threatened his superstar status last year. Though he seemed to have moved away from the Chopras and Johars, buzz is that Shah Rukh has returned to the tried and tested and will start work on ‘Don 3’ next.
PTI Photo |
For Salman Khan, 2009 was a professional turning point; and in 2019 he can look back on the most successful decade of his career. After a few indifferent years, Salman hit a high with a newly minted action image in 2009’s ‘Wanted’. He further consolidated his ‘good hero’ image from ‘Dabangg’ (2010) to ‘Tiger Returns’ (2017), and save for the occasional ‘Tubelight’ he remains the Midas Man today. His latest ‘Race 3’ (2018) may not be in the league of his other blockbusters but Salman’s 2019 Eid release ‘Bharat’ could see him back in the saddle as the blockbuster hero.
Photo by STR / AFP |
In 2009, a forty-something Aamir Khan’s decision to star as an engineering student in ‘3 Idiots’ proved to be a very intelligent one. The film won rave reviews and was a humongous box-office hit. Ten years later, however, Aamir’s reputation of being a flawless actor and a lucky mascot at the turnstiles took a steep dip when his pirate venture ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ sank like the ‘Titanic’. Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow was a tough act to follow for Aamir.
None of Akshay Kumar’s five films in 2009- ‘Blue’, ‘De Dhana Dhan’, ‘8×10 Tasveer’, ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ and ‘Kambakht Ishk’ — came close to hitting the jackpot. The interesting change in Akshay’s career trajectory over the decade is not only the fact that he is more successful now, also, his interest in doing non-masala fare which started with a sputter with Nagesh Kukunoor’s ‘8×10 Tasveer’ has developed into a strong and commercially successful penchant for issue-based films (‘PadMan’, ‘Airlift’, ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’) and films produced/directed by thinking filmmakers like Reema Kagti (‘Gold’) and Neeraj Pandey (‘Baby’, ‘Naam Shabana’, ‘Rustom’).
AFP PHOTO/STR |
Ajay ‘Steady’ Devgn bested his action-hero rival Akshay’s Blue with ‘All The Best’, his fifth outing with Rohit Shetty. From 2009 to 2019, Ajay and Rohit have collaborated on six other films, which includes hits like ‘Singham’ and ‘Golmaal Again’. In 2018, Rohit Shetty roared at the box-office with the Ranveer Singh powered ‘Simmba’ in which Ajay had a ceetee-evoking cameo.
Circa 2009 Ranbir Kapoor tasted his first hit with ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani’. He also scored two critically acclaimed performances that year in ‘Wake Up Sid’ and ‘Rocket Singh-Salesman Of The Year’. Ten years later, he has scaled greater heights with ‘Sanju’. In the interim, he has also had an acrimonious break up with Deepika, dated Katrina and is now dating Alia Bhatt. Interestingly, Ranbir’s arch-rival in 2019, Ranveer Singh was an unknown entity in 2009 and is currently married to Deepika.
Ranbir’s closest rival in the youth brigade back then was Imran Khan, fresh from his success with ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaaane Na’ but he has mysteriously dropped off the scene today. What a difference a decade can make! Ditto with Fardeen Khan. The death of his father, Feroz Khan in 2009 combined with four successive flops in the same year (‘Jai Veeru’, ‘Life Partner’, ‘Acid Factory’, ‘All The Best-Fun Begins’), seems to have dampened Fardeen’s spirits to a great extent. His sabbatical from the industry has stretched to almost a decade now.
Nawazuddin played bit roles in 2009 and look at him now! Among senior stars, Amitabh Bachchan has continued to stay relevant. In 2009, he won hosannas for his performance as the child suffering from Progeria in ‘Paa’ in which he played his real-life son Abhishek’s son while in 2018 he tried to vainly hold his own in ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’, and re-teamed with Rishi Kapoor after years in ‘102 Not Out’. In short, he continued to be not out at 76.
For Anil Kapoor, 2009 was a landmark year. His Hollywood venture with Danny Boyle, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won him international fans. Ten years later, neither Anil’s hair nor career seems to be thinning and he continues to be a newsmaker with his latest venture, ‘Ek Ladki Ko…’ that addresses the relevant issues of lesbian love. Interestingly, Sonam had to wait for a decade since her debut film, ‘Saawariya’, to co-star with her famous father.
(To be continued next week with the heroines’ 10-year challenge)
