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The death of side roles in Bollywood
Last weekend, I watched Rajnikanth-starrer ‘Sivaji’ on a TV channel. No, No! I’m not going to talk about the big-budgeted film. The point of discussion here is Mama, the character who shared screen with the superstar in most part of the film. The characters like Mama have become a rare species in Bollywood films these days.
A side character or a supporting role was among the various factors that used to ensure the success of Bollywood film earlier. They were anybody like the hero’s best friend, or his cousin or simply a die-hard follower. Sometimes they were Chachas and Mamas also. They were not just comic roles; they used to complement the hero or heroine’s character in the films. They were either romance gurus of heroes or the next-door-friends of heroines who would help out the protagonists in difficult situations.
Actors like Mehmood, Rajendranath, Deven Varma and Asrani successfully played such side characters in hundreds of films. They used to decorate even the weak scripts, and therefore they had a huge fan-following. Such was their demand that on many occasions, producers signed them even before signing the lead actor. It was a time when these side actors were more of an attraction than the heroes, who did not guarantee full houses.
During recent times, character actors like Johnny Lever and Rajpal Yadav ruled the Hindi film industry. Senior and talented actors like Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal and Om Puri also played some memorable character roles in many films. They were not just the props, but very important elements in movie scripts. Most of the times, they were the scene-stealers.
These side actors might not be enough to sell a product but they did enhance its value. That’s why they could be seen on film posters, irrespective of the presence of big stars. These days a few actors like Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey get to play such characters, but they are very limited in numbers.
Such dear-to-all characters, which enjoyed the respect and love of audiences for years, have now started vanishing from films ever since storytelling underwent a major change in Bollywood. The changing pattern of filmmaking in recent years is seen as one of the reasons for their disappearance as more and more filmmakers are choosing to experiment with new ideas and make films on realistic themes.
Moreover, in the race to redefining stardom, Bollywood stars want their film scripts to focus around the central character only. After giving a couple of hits, these star actors start influencing and changing scripts to ensure enough screen presence for their character. Side characters or supporting roles are being omitted or ignored to portray the main protagonist as independent and more powerful.
The regional language cinema, however, has not completely done away with the supporting roles as side actors are doing quite well in South Indian films even today.
But in Bollywood, not only side actors but ‘villains’ also have disappeared from Hindi films. There was a time when even a poster having Amrish Puri, Kader Khan, Amjad Khan, Shakti Kapoor or Gulshan Grover could give a spine-chilling experience to audiences. They had played some of their notable evil characters in such a way that they had become synonym to evil. But, with the changing times, the gap between good and bad has shortened and the second-rank actors are happy enough to play the negative characters, leaving no scope for the typical ‘villains’ in the industry.
Change is a very natural process and it was sure to happen with Bollywood also. And nobody can argue that this change in storytelling hasn’t happened for good. But, at the same time, Munnabhai’s Circuit would tell you that this ‘crazy-for-films’ nation loves to love the nice side guys, even today!
