Baulking at bulk

It's the era of brawn over brains over at B-town now - and we're beginning to seriously miss the days when actors chose to get real, not ripped

By Khalid Mohamed

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Published: Fri 25 Sep 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Fri 25 Sep 2015, 2:00 AM

If they (the audience) can't eat bread, let them eat beefcake. That could well be the Marie Antoinette-like mantra of Bollywood vis-à-vis its newbie heroes right now. Apparently, portfolios of aspiring actors must include photographs of them flaunting gym-sculpted bodies à la Salman Khan.
In fact, nowadays, practically every hero looks as if he has emerged - not from an acting school - from daylong fitness sessions of pumping iron under the supervision of his trainer. The brand-new case in point: Sooraj Pancholi who has debuted in Hero - mentored, of course, by none other than Salman Khan.
But what the 25-year-old Sooraj Pancholi lacks by way of acting chops, directors have sought to compensate with fast cuts and close-ups of rippling muscles. Ironically, guru Salman Khan himself kept away from displaying his enviable physique in the hugely successful Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Obviously, that macho strut of his had to be played down to avoid the same ol' routine that breeds contempt.
Fatigue has been settling in among audiences of late. How come no one looks believable anymore? Why the never-ending emphasis on mega-muscles? Apart from a few actors - like Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Irrfan Khan - who still dare to resemble the everyday man on the street, every actor is endowed with bulging, onion-shaped arms and a body lingo, it is whispered, often enhanced by steroids. At least one frontline actor is so obsessive of his triceps that he allows cinematographers to film only his right arm: the left arm hasn't quite filled out and looks weaker by comparison.
There are a few exceptions to the rule, of course. For ?instance, Ranbir Kapoor prefers to show off a slim-toned physique. On the other hand, Abhishek Bachchan opts - helplessly, perhaps - for a bulky, rather ungainly look, which compels him to lumber across the screen, particularly in those mandatory chase sequences in which he's sprinting away from the hot-on-his-heels bad guys.
In fact, strange things are happening in B-town movies now. Aamir Khan, in a bid to portray real-life wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat in the biopic Dangal, has bulked up - inspired perhaps by Robert de Niro's take on boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Earlier, he worked out on his body to convey the impression of being a killer machine in Ghajini. Not to be outdone, Shah Rukh Khan showcased six-pack-abs (or was it eight?) in Ra.One. Come on, guys; it's a convincing performance that counts, not health club workouts.
Coming back to Sooraj Pancholi in Hero: he has taken the shortcut to stardom through body talk instead of investing emotive strength in his dialogue pitch or facial expressions. If his eyes come to life, it is either to look vacuously romantic or as eruptive as a pressure cooker. An angry, young, lovelorn man in the classic mould of Amitabh Bachchan, he is certainly not. Ditto Tiger Shroff, who made a semblance of an impact in shirtless postures with Heropanti.
For Sooraj Pancholi's hackneyed debut in Hero, a major part of the blame goes to director Nikhil Advani. He may be a savvy technician, but when it comes to extracting bravura performances from his lead actors, he appears to be under the weather. Pancholi, of course, can derive some satisfaction from the fact that the reviews have been kinder to him than to his leading lady, Athiya Shetty, whose performance veered on the side of embarrassingly awkward.
Going strictly by comparison, Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri - who were introduced in the 1983 Hero (Nikhil Advani's is a slavish remake) - strike one as Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh of Gone with the Wind. At least, they shared a frisson of chemistry as a twosome in the original helmed by Subhash Ghai, some 32 years ago.
Indeed, at the outset of their careers, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Ajay Devgn had no qualms about looking the way nature had made them. Conviction and fluency before the gaze of the camera mattered far more than muscle worship. Not surprisingly, their earlier performances are far more memorable than the ones in which they strive to be Schwarzeneggers and Stallones. Give me the Shah Rukh of Baazigar any day over the superhero of Ra.One, the Aamir Khan of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar over the snarling machine of Ghajini, the Saif Ali Khan of Yeh Dillagi over the gun-toter of Phantom, and the Ajay Devgn of Phool Aur Kaante over the muscle-flexer of Singham.
The Muscles over Acting syndrome isn't likely to end any time soon, it seems. Future stars, especially those from star families, are more than likely to take the same 'beautiful physique' route - unless a miracle occurs. Meanwhile, a new age hero, who's equipped with more brain than brawn, is eagerly awaited.

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Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri in the 1983 Hero
Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri in the 1983 Hero

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