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Hrithik vs Shah Rukh

Kishore Thakur

For a long time now, the Khan trio -- Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh -- have ruled the roost in Bollywood. A film starring any one or more of them was, till recently, considered a safe bet. Distributors and exhibitors, as well financiers, were quite enthusiastic when a Khan starrer was under discussion or negotiation. This, they would argue, is what the public wanted.

Supporting their claim was, of course, the Shah Rukh mania, which had crossed undeniable and unimaginable proportions. People all over the country, as well as overseas, were totally under his spell. The stupendous success of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dil To Pagal Hai only helped confirm the fact. Shah Rukh was the reigning box office king.

And when Salman threw off his shirt and wriggled his torso to Kamaal Khan's Oh oh jaane janaa, girls swooned in the theatres. And an ordinary film, one which was hardly expected to be an earning proposition, turned out to be, in trade parlance, a super hit. All thanks to Salman's bare-bodied look!

Raja Hindustani turned out to be dark horse and Aamir, along with his heroine Karisma Kapoor, walked away with a lot of the credit. But his trump came with his much applauded performance in debutant director John Matthew Mathan's Sarfarosh. With this, Aamir added more bonus points to a bag already filled with much appreciation.

Unfortunately, the trade read it wrong.

Shah Rukh had only done justice to roles in well-crafted, well-presented, mass-appeal movies. His presence only enhanced the inherent quality of the film. Any other hero in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! might have worked the same wonder as Salman. But no one accepted these facts.

Suddenly there seemed no other hero in sight except the Khans. This was reflected in a telling comment made by noted film-maker Prakash Mehra. "I have no access to any of the Khans. So what film do I make, whom do I cast? Will the distributors show any interest in my film if I take any other star or even dare to introduce a new boy?" he asked late one evening, nursing a drink.

What was disheartening was the fact that this observation came from a film-maker who had once dared to introduce Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer, in a pathbreaking role that had already been refused by the likes of Dharmendra, Raaj Kumar and Dev Anand.

It only served to highlight Bollywood's desperate dependence on the Khans. There seemed no other alternative in sight. Until, unexpectedly, quietly, a fair young lad, the scion of a film family, zoomed into the picture. In a vehicle designed by his father, Rakesh Roshan, to launch his only son, Hrithik.

It was a bloodless coup. One had an inkling of what was to follow when the promos of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai were aired, but no one expected this kind of hysteria. Or devastation. Today, after the stupendous success of Kaho Naa..., the whole nation has a new mantra. It goes something like "Hrithik, Hrithik, Hrithik!" repeated tirelessly.

"Please, ek baar Hrithik Roshan se mila do, jeevan safal ho jaayega," begs a 60-year-old. "I would like to meet Hrithik," requests a middle-aged housewife, rather shyly. "I am embarrassed," she admits, "but, after Amitabh Bachchan, this is the only time I have felt like this, like meeting a star." The teenagers, needless to say, yell out loud and clear that they are willing to do anything to meet him.

His craze has spread far and wide, crossed state borders and spread to every nook and corner of the country. In the process, it has made a sizeable dent in the popularity rating of the Khans. Every other person is now talking of how this young man has single-handedly broken the Khan monopoly. And how!

"There is no doubt," says a well-known film-maker, who refuses to put his name on the record. Which is not surprising, considering his under-production film stars one of the Khans. "This boy has proved that the Khans are not invincible."

Noted distributor Shyam Shroff, on the other hand, feels Hrithik's entry may not directly affect the Khans' popularity. "But he has proved there is an alternative. His film is such a big hit that there is good and healthy competition for sure. If Hrithik gives one more hit, or if he continues to give more hits after his debut, then he will surely displace the current heroes. Hrithik's entry has proved that there are four superheroes and not just three."

Adding fuel to this theory is the fate of Shah Rukh's films at the box-office. If Badshaah was a dismal flop, his much-hyped home production, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, proved that Shah Rukh's presence in a film does not necessarily guarantee safety at the box office.

"The Khans were getting a bit too high-handed and arrogant, " says the same film-maker. "But why blame them? We need more heroes. How many films can Shah Rukh and Salman do in a year, what with Aamir being so selective? We need alternatives."

Which is what Hrithik has given the industry. He has shown that alternatives are possible. Today, Hrithik has all the best banners in town. He is already shooting with Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rahul Rawail. And he has been signed by film-makers like Randhir Kapoor, Subhash Ghai, Raj Kanwar, Indra Kumar, Karan Johar, Yash Chopra and Tanuja Chandra.

Other major banners have either signed up Hrithik or are in the process of negotiations. With these kind of banners and film-makers under his belt, he is expected to hold on to his success.

Which, at the moment, does not augur well for the one person most affected by Hrithik. And that is Shah Rukh Khan. Aamir was never really in the race for superstardom. He works at a particular pace and on his terms and conditions only. Salman Khan has his favourites, like David Dhawan, backing him all the way. His bare-bodied look will keep him in the reckoning for a while.

But look at Shah Rukh's kitty. His next release is K Shashilal Nair's One Two Ka Four. There is no way this film will be a hot proposal at the box office. Nor will K C Bokadia's film, which also stars Madhuri Dixit.

So he has to pin his hopes on the long-in-the-making Josh, Mansoor Khan's latest in which he plays brother to Aishwarya Rai. And on films like Aditya Chopra's Mohabattein, where he will be sharing the honours with younger stars. Shah Rukh, who plays a professor in the him, is slotted in the slightly mature category.

In Karan Johar's Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham, he will be sharing the limelight with Hrithik, who will definitely demand his fair share of importance. And Karan, going by the demands of the box office, will have to concede to his demands.

Like a trade know-it-all says, "Shah Rukh ke uchalne kudne ke din chale gaye. That will be left to Uday Chopra in Mohabattein and Hrithik Roshan in Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham. Shah Rukh will soon have to play slightly mature and serious roles. Maybe that is when his Jim Carrey hang up will vanish and his true talent (if any!) will come to the fore."