BOLLYWOOD : NEW POWER EQUATIONS POST ABHISHEK AISHWARYA MARRAIGE

“The times”, in Bollywood it seems, “they are a changing”. No, this is not about the new (??) type of movies being made or something. Rather this is regarding the new power equation which has emerged in Bollywood in recent times.

Things have been moving towards this point since some time now but the event that can be taken as the point of reference (but certainly not as the ‘cause’) is off course, the “ABHIASH” wedding. The things as they stand now are thus: There are two opposing camps and they have started coming out in the open about it (as much as that is possible in a place like Bollywood where people would do anything but take a stand).At one end are the Bacchans and at the other end are the Khans , Shahrukh and Salman.

AMITABH, SHAHRUKH, SALMAN, AISHWARYA

Though there’re no prizes for guessing why Salman is now opposed to the Bacchans, one might wonder about Shahrukh. Nothing very surprising in there either. Ambition is a very strong emotion and the quest for greatness is an even stronger one. Nobody can doubt the fact that Amitabh has achieved greatness in Bollywood and it is still too early to judge Shahrukh’s achievements in comparison. That is a fact that will definitely rankle a guy like Shahrukh who would in the long run not only like to equal Amitabh’s achievements but also to suppress them. Though he wouldn’t have liked this fact to come out, Shahrukh has a habit of not knowing when to shut up and seems unable to stop himself from taking digs (such as the one about Amar Singh at an award function). Amitabh on his part must’ve got a bit tired and irritated with Shahrukh’s, what he would describe as, ‘upstart behaviour’. At that age and stature, irritation can be a serious irritant.

Shahrukh couldn’t have remained unaffected by Abhishek’s recent successes either. Shahrukh got a very rude jolt when Hrithik (who had earlier been a mere assistant director on the sets of Koyla where Shahrukh was king) emerged from nowhere to super stardom after ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai’ and almost overnight seemed to threaten Shahrukh’s then unopposed position at the top. Times have changed now and there seems to be enough if not plenty of space at the top in Bollywood. Nevertheless, he must be wary of Abhishek’s growing stature. Amitabh on his part would like any other father definitely want his own son and not the ‘upstart’ to fill his huge Bollywood Shoes.

SHAHRUKH, SALMAN, AISHWARYA

Shahrukh has always felt some amount of gratitude towards Salman and his family because of their sympathetic treatment of him during his struggling days in Mumbai. This was one of the reasons he got entangled as an agony aunt in the Salman Ash affair way back during the days when it was still in its ‘now on now off’ stage. When Ash finally and firmly walked away from Salman, she decided to keep her distance from Shahrukh too and when she ended up joining the Bacchan camp the cast of characters were now firmly entrenched in their respective sides of the battle line. The night that Abhishek and Ash were getting married, Shahrukh and Salman appeared together in the Final episode of KBC along with Katrina Kaif, Salman’s current gal. Anyone watching the episode closely must’ve made out that there were conspicuous attempts at showing off a scene of ‘Oh we r together and all so happy’.

THE CHOPRA AND THE RANI FACTOR

The formation of the above two opposing camps by themselves may not be a very significant event but it has had a polarizing effect on the other power houses of Bollywood. The Chopras at Yashraj have worked significantly with both Amitabh and Shahrukh. They’ve had an almost equal amount of love hate relationship with both at different times and would’ve unquestionably sided with their idea of the ‘winner’. And since Salman’s family is in some ways rivals in film production and distribution and since the three aces – Amitabh, Abhishek and Ash are too mouth watering a bargain to let go, the Chopras would’ve and still may go with the Bacchans. However, things’ve got a trifle more complicated bcoz of the Rani-Aditya affair. Now, even otherwise, Rani might’ve never had any real chance with Abishek but she must be holding Ash responsible for her failure. And man, what a fall! From being on the verge of hitting it off with the most eligible bachelor to being the mistress of a married guy! The Rani factor will play a significant role in the Chopras’ attitude and there’s no doubt this whole thing will help Shahrukh more than the Bacchans.

KARAN JOHAR

Karan Johar will be hardest hit. The whole USP of his movies has been the bringing together of all those actors whom the public want to see. By just ensuring that the release of his movie doesn’t coincide with that of any other movie of any of the actors in his movie he was assured of a bumper opening since not less than 60 – 70 % of the movie watching populace would be the fan of at least one of the actors. Now he would either have to convince all these opposing campwallahs to come together for his movies or concoct some new winning formula. Neither prospect will be easy. If he’s absolutely forced to take a decision, he will go with Shahrukh.

THE FRINGE PLAYERS

There are other players in this whole affair. Farah Khan is with Shahrukh but then both she and her brother are just waiting for their next big flop which they are sure to get sometime soon and they would come back to their actual worth as film makers vis- a- vis the inflated ones that they r having now. The other two Khans will definitely not take an open stand. Amir is too self absorbed to even think of others and Saif has to take his own interest into consideration although he would’ve perhaps liked to side with Shahrukh and Salman on this one.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

So which way will the battle go? It’s perhaps still a bit too early to call. So let’s just calculate the strengths of both camps. Amitabh has shown that he can bounce back from almost any situation. Abhishek would’ve never made it in Bollywood without being his father’s son but by now he has evolved into a powerhouse performer. Ash has never been a good actress and her stocks after marriage will only go down. Jaya Bacchan doesn’t count for much outside her family. Both Amitabh and Abhishek have their set of friends in and out (especially ‘out’) of Bollywood and many of them will stand by them, at least till things get to be too bad.

Shahrukh has his own production house and so does Salman’s family. However such assets can overnight become liabilities if a few calculations go wrong as happened to Amitabh after the ABCL fiasco. Salman’s biggest asset is his family members who have and would always stand by him. In terms of money too they are a force to reckon with. The amount of favours owed to the three brothers and their father collectively by people from the film fraternity is huge.

Like I said it before, it’s still too early to call yet, but “The times”, in Bollywood it seems, “they are a changing”.