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Harsh Lessons - Rajeev Masand
Courtesy: open magazine
A young male star coming off a good year at the movies (of his two releases in 2013, one was a big box-office success, the other didn’t make much money but earned him mostly positive reviews), is now being seen as a possible rival to a popular star-kid who until recently was perceived as the only up-and-comer with superstar potential. Both actors share a cordial friendship, have partied together in the past, and aren’t in the least bit awkward about the fact that one is dating an actress that the other used to date.
If the rising star does have issues, it’s not with the star-kid but with one of his directors. Turns out this filmmaker, popularly regarded as the poster-boy of indie cinema, had promised the rising star the lead in his epic period film, which he subsequently signed the star-kid to act in. The rising star has told friends he was disappointed when he learnt he’d been dropped from the project, but more upset that he found out from the press and not from the filmmaker who owed him an explanation.
Another project, a proposed Hindi remake of a popular Telugu blockbuster, that was reportedly being planned with him in the lead and produced by a company in which the same filmmaker is a partner, did not eventually materialise. In fact, another A-lister’s name got attached to the movie, and once again the rising star discovered this in the papers. The remake hasn’t taken shape at all, and it seems unlikely that it will. But the young actor has confessed to his dear ones that experiences of this nature taught him early on that the film industry could be a tough place.
The young star shares a very close friendship with the filmmaker’s business partner, another director, with whom he recently made a movie. But he can’t seem to get over this “betrayal” that has made him “wiser” and “more cautious” in his own words.
