It takes three to tango

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><img src="/photo/608253.cms" alt="/photo/608253.cms" border="0" /><img src="/photo/608254.cms" alt="/photo/608254.cms" border="0" /><br /><br />Two is company and three is a crowd, but not so in Bollywood. Today a threesome is the rule rather than the exception and we are not talking about a love triangle.From a two hero film to a three hero saga, the industry has suddenly re-discovered the formula of the seventies. <br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="32.1%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/608255.cms" alt="/photo/608255.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Yesterday : </span><span style="" font-size:="">It began with Amar Akbar Anthony, the </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">baap </span><span style="" font-size:="">of Bollywood masala entertainers</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Yesterday: Manmohan Desai re-wrote celluloid history with </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Amar Akbar Anthony</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor, the film was a pot-boiler complete with a gangster with a heart of gold and religious harmony. But, then the single hero era became dominant. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Rajiv Rai made a successful attempt with </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Tridev </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">but it remained a one off event. "Single hero films were cheaper as opposed to multi-starrers and the audience had had their fill of the genre in the seventies," says trade analyst Indu Mirani. </span><br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Today:</span> The angry young man has matured into the frustrated old man. He has also </div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="32.1%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/608256.cms" alt="/photo/608256.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">2001 : </span><span style="" font-size:="">The three dudes of </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Dil Chahta Hai </span><span style="" font-size:="">defined millennium male bonding in Bollywood</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">acquired cronies, who stand by him through all as </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Khakee </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">demonstrated. Male-bonding was re-kindled with </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Dil Chahta Hai </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">and </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Hera Pheri </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">and now it is the favourite formula o</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">f Bollywood. "Each member of the trio represents a different facet of the hero''s personality so we have the rake, the lovable foon and the serious thinker," explains distributor Sanjay Mehta. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">But success alone has not prompted a return to the genre. The lack of heroes who can open a film on their name alone is another reason why makers are turning to multi-starrers. So we have an </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Awara Pagal Deewana</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">, a </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Hungama </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">amongst others. </span></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="27.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/608257.cms" alt="/photo/608257.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">2004 : </span><span style="" font-size:="">The </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Shahenshah </span><span style="" font-size:="">returned in a blaze of glory, dressed in </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Khaki </span><span style="" font-size:="">and two super-kids in tow</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Tomorrow: But what started as a trend to ensure box office success has now become the staying force of the industry. Be it Indra Kumar, Mani Ratnam or Milan Luthria, all have films starring some of the biggest names in the industry. Indra Kumar''s </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Masti</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> stars Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani, Ritesh Deshmukh and Ajay Devgan. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Yuva </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">stars Oberoi, Devgan and Abhishek Bachchan, while </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Deewar </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">has Amitabh Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna and Sanjay Dutt. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Director Milan Luthria does not believe multi-starrers are the norm because there is a dearth of successful solo heroes. "Each star is a good actor and we opt for actors who can do justice to the roles."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">The actors are doing justice to the roles, will the audience do justice to the ghost of a bygone era?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span></div> </div>