Uber cool & contemporary

Gone are the days when a typical Bollywood hero needed to be the tough guy oozing machismo, beating the baddies to a pulp, topping exams, was a great son, dutiful brother, devoted husband. In short he was the dream man, the perfect package millions of female fantasies would revolve around.
Today’s hero is a confused youngster (Ranbir Kapoor in Wake Up Sid or Aamir Khan in 3 Idiots), a conman who doesn’t mind compromising his principals for a quick buck (Shahid Kapoor in Badmaash Company or Hrithik Roshan in Kites), a down and out loser (Akshay Kumar in Houseful and Farhan Akhtar in Karthik Calling Karthik), an ambitious politician who’ll sacrfice love for power (Ranbir Kapoor in Rajneeti), a cynical young man who doesn’t believe in love (Imran Khan in I hate Luvstorys)? That sure calls for some pondering doesn’t it ? Today’s heroes are carve out their own identities, following their dreams and living lives that we’d in their shoes.These are real heroes of real times, who are really close to our lives. And that’s what helps them strike the right chord with their audience.
Let’s get real. Larger-than-life heroes are a thing of the past, they belong to a time when people wanted to look upon themselves as superheroes and not just guys next-door who are fallible, fun, egoistic, but loveable too. It’s the change of time, of mindset, of perceptions, of demands, that has brought the heroes closer to us. We can empathise as well as sympathise with the reel characters.
A closer look at the characters of most Bollywood films make you realise that each one of them speak about their journey of self-discovery. Take for instance Karthik (Farhan Akhtar) whose anguish at being unnoticed and exploited by all, hits you right away and as his character develops into quiet confidence and gentle aggression, you can’t help but say out loud, ‘That’s the way I am guys’. People have come of age and want to live their dreams and not be a superhuman superstar. “The concept of a larger-than-life character worked well with the audience 30 years back because everyone wanted to see the stars as heroes. The audience enjoyed watching what they could not find in their own lives. But today, people want to connect with their stars and watch films only if they feel it could be their story. It’s fast becoming a norm as it just takes one such ‘real’ film to do well at the BO and the directors immediately understand what is required of a film to click with the masses. And since a number of films on heroes closer to life have worked, there are more and more in the making,” feels actor Sonu Sood.
A change of time, for that matter has made our heroes more real. “Amitabh Bachchan as the angry young man worked years back because people then did feel like that. Heroes then did all things right and had no weaknesses. That’s the biggest achievement today’s cinema has made —show a man as he is, as one who can falter and fail. Today’s heroes are actors. Like Hollywood films, our films too have characters, not stars. We need to understand that we are catering to a mature audience who wants to go on a self-discovery trip along with the hero; that connection has to remain.Iqbal or Dor were real films about real people,” says actor Shreyas Talpade.
But there are also those who do not buy this argument. “I don’t think our films or our heroes have got anything real. It all depends on people’s perception. For instance 3 Idiots was about three characters, and each one of them wanted to prove something that they believed in. Now, it depends who the people want to identify with,” quips ad man Prahlad Kakar.
For now, let’s just put our hands together for those reel heartthrobs who are at least trying their bit to be real.
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