The Superstar

A Bollywood tale

 

‘So, are you sure you would like to cast this seventy years old actor in your film’? His eyes were glistening in a queer excitement.

‘It will be a pleasure to me’ I gave the man a modest reply.

‘I already had a heart attack; I may die in the middle of your film’

‘Don’t worry. There will always be an emergency medical unit in the shooting to take care of your health’ I assured him.

‘I know you will definitely make it. And let me tell you one thing young man. This movie of yours will be a bigger hit than ‘Sholay’. The old superstar said with gritty confidence.

 

Many eye-brows raised the moment I declared my next film with Azam Khan. One of my close film-columnist even wrote, ‘The most promising director of today’s Bollywood is taking the biggest risk of his career’.

Azam Khan was a household name during the Seventies. The man was once worshipped like a deity by his crazy fans.  The iconic trend setter of superstardom lived his king size life in his own terms and conditions, without caring a damn about the people around him.  His swanky life-style, innumerable affairs and phenomenal number of super hit movies gave him legendary status overnight in Bollywood.

He literally took the industry by storm. But no storm is long-lasting. Azam Khan didn’t last long. He was written off prematurely. He career didn’t stretch beyond even ten years.

 

‘The man was notorious for throwing tantrums in and outside the sets’

‘He was so undisciplined and had no sense of punctuality. He used to keep his directors and co-stars waiting for hours in the sets’

‘The guy used to behave like a thick-skinned pachyderm whenever it was the matter of his fees. He refused to give the ‘maharat’ shot of my father’s movie just because he was paid just one thousand rupees less in his signing payment’

‘He was too much interfering into the job of his directors, forced them frequently to change the script and never gave his co-stars enough space in his movies’

‘Have you gone out of your sense? You want to cast that old sickening man in your film?’

 

I used to be a film-buff since my school days. My loyalty to Azam Khan never faded out since then.  The day I made up my mind to direct films, I dreamt to execute a special project with Azam Khan. I started my script of my dream project much before I made my entry into the film industry.

When the script was fully prepared, I have been already recognized as one of the most promising directors in the film industry with several hits and two blockbusters under my belt.  So in no time, I set my eyes on my long-cherished dream project with the frail, fragile and forgotten superstar, my childhood hero.  People’s ‘not so positive’ views on Azam Khan couldn’t perturb me in the least.

My initial challenge was to bring him back to a satisfactory standard of health so that he can withstand the stress of shooting. A medical cum fitness team was constituted and Azam Khan was silently handed over to them.

When I started filming the picture, Azam Khan looked to be a much fitter man with a sense of discipline inculcated into him. He quitted smoking completely and learnt to survive on fewer pegs of alcohol.

He was kept away from the media by all means. I knew it is quite natural for someone like him to draw media attention after many years of exile from the films, but I told him categorically, ‘Sir, this is the second innings of your career. Let it be a successful venture first. The same media will hanker after you, you don’t have to move anywhere for them’

He looked at me straight and said, ‘Is it my second innings or a new birth? I am still confused’

Few minutes back he told me, ‘This will be your best film, mark my word. You know, why? It has me in it’ I felt the flash of old arrogance of the undisputed superstar of the Seventies.

My senior movie-makers who had previous experiences of working with Azam Khan repeatedly reminded me to take the actor under complete control. ‘He is such a person who will make all attempts to boss over you. Just don’t provide him that space. Make him strongly feel he is not indispensable. He is merely an actor under your direction like the rest of the cast’.

I tackled at least three of the current high profile Kapoor’, ‘Kumar’ and ‘Khan’ in my last three consecutive films, so did know how and where to put the break of this superstar of the yesteryears.

He felt his limitations on the very first day of the set when I encircled him within the actor’s boundary. I made him understand clearly that ‘You are playing a character according to the script. As an actor you should enjoy the liberty to experiment with the character within yourself and present it in the best possible way. Your role finishes here. Please leave the rest of movie for me to tackle’.

Thanks to the fitness team that mentored him carefully before the film to revitalize his health as well as framing his mental make-up with the purpose to re-structure his attitude. He reached the set on time, concentrated fully into his role and dialogues, displayed appreciation for his co-artists and hardly tried to poke into my business.

The film was story about a successful action hero, who intensely desired to carry some his actions off the screen to prove his mettle in the real life too. He found the opportunity when his young maid servant was gang-raped by a group of young men inside a moving car. The poor girl was forcibly drawn into the car while returning her home in the evening from work and molested. The actor, who brought justice into the lives of many such ill-fated women on the screen as a law-breaking, invincible super-hero found himself totally incapacitated in the real situation of lawlessness and injustice. He couldn’t throw his angry fists to the ‘untouchable’ influential culprits and put them singlehandedly behind the bar. He couldn’t deliver those fiery dialogues to mesmerize and convert people into his followers overnight to change the corrupted systems. He couldn’t play the daring rebel against the powerful evils and put an end of their tyranny as the one-man army. Because this is the realistic world and the hero of the reels is simply a misfit here.  The disheartened, demoralized action-hero was about to lose all hopes, just then two more protagonists appeared in the story �" a middle-aged woman activist and a young journalist, to carry the fight on and see the rapists receiving exemplary punishment. The fight was over with a complete turn over in the mind of the action-hero of the silver screen.

The movie revolved around his metamorphosis from the world of fantasy to the world of hard core reality where the action-hero learnt he is just another common man off the screen.

‘I would have never said ‘yes’ to this kind of script thirty five years back. But now, as the time has changed and I am no more banking upon those stupid star values, there is no inhibition from my side to play this role. I am happy that you brought this story to me and expressed your faith on my acting calibre. I will give my best to satisfy the need of the film’. Azam Khan responded when I had narrated him the story for the first time.

Many of my industry- friends including seniors and large section of media, who didn’t appreciate my casting of Azam Khan in my film were constantly keeping track of the shooting proceedings.

Once during the shooting, Mr Khan showed me an article in a popular film magazine with a heading ‘Taming of the Shrew �" yesterday’s unruly brat transformed into today’s most obedient object to portray unconventional role’. I found him, for the first time, disappointed with a sense of deep frustration.

‘I admit I was extremely harsh with a section of media that time because they wrote so many craps about my personal life. It is also true that I was arrogant to the core in my hey days and too often misbehaved with my co-stars and directors in the sets, but…..how come people still keep them so fresh in their minds after so many years?’ He paused for a while and said again,’ I was not the only bad guy during that time. Some of my contemporaries were even worse, but why such prolong and discriminating maltreatment only with me?

I really didn’t have the answers for Azam Khan. The similarly queries were off and on erupting in my mind.

Has the industry remained unnecessarily over-reactive to the erratic and inappropriate past behaviour of this man who delivered some remarkable jubilee hits in the history of Bollywood?

Fortunately the movie was completed within its schedules. Azam Khan remained fit and fine across the entire course of shooting. He behaved well with all, maintained his punctuality al through, remained cordial and warm in the sets and never tried to retaliate to the media over their ‘not so supportive stories’ written on him during the film shoot.

‘I need to take a break to give this old body some good rest.’ He told me on the last day of the shooting and apologized for not coming with me for its pre-release campaign. ‘It may backfire and hit your movie like a boomerang, after all I am still the bad old boy of the industry’ he gave me an unhappy smile.

‘Thank you so very much’ I grasped both his hands in sheer gratitude, ‘It has been a wonderful experience with you. You did a stupendous job in the movie’

‘They may gift me with the ‘filmfare’ this time- that’s what you exactly mean?’ He made a purposeful wink

‘Who knows’ I replied jokingly

‘Keeping my fingers crossed’ he did a wishful wink this time, ‘But you know what my mind has been saying from the beginning? This movie will be another feather in your cap young man. It is bound to be a smashing hit’

I was feeling tense during the time of its release. After all it is an off-beat movie and focussing chiefly on the anti-star value of a superstar.

The first week was completely dull with luke worm response emerging in the second week. The media reviews were mixed. My closest media personality wrote, ‘An unusual movie from a mainstream director with a good script and nice acting, but how much it will appeal to the common man is something interesting  to observe. Today’s young generation of movie-goers don’t know much about Azam Khan. He looks to be a wrong choice for such challenging project’. Another critic said, ‘The weakest link of the movie was Azam Khan. People were completely oblivious of his existence over years, so his portrayal of a superstar and gradual conversion to a social activist didn’t look much convincing’. One of my distantly known cine-journalist, surprisingly lauded Azam Khan for his realistic role played in the movie with enough courage and conviction. ‘The man has the guts to get into the shoes of such daring character. He displayed the true colour of the on-screen heroes. He played the role with perfection’ he concluded.

Just during that time, I happened to get a call from Azam Khan. ‘I am freaking out in Simla, keeping a track of the trend of our movie too, don’t worry young man, the movie will take the right turn soon. Even Sholay had a poor opening during those days to finally emerge as the biggest hit of all time.’

Surprisingly, very surprisingly. the movie started receiving good response from the middle of the third week. Gradually, the heat spread across the country. After another couple of weeks, cine-magazines started headlining, ‘Return of Azam Khan’, ‘New Journey of yesteryears prodigal son of Bollywood’, or something like ‘The storm is back, named Azam Khan’.

He sent me a SMS from Manali. ‘Surrounded by the ‘journos’ and do you know what? I am speaking to them in my sweetest tone, thanks to your fitness cum counselling session’

I thought I will do my next film with Azam Khan again. But the man had some other idea.

He made the announcement of his retirement from the films in a recently held interview of a TV channel. He said he attained everything as an actor and thanked me repeatedly for bringing him into the limelight again. I immediately called him up after watching his interview in the TV.

‘Is it true that you are quitting films?’

‘You are right young man’ I got his quiet and determined reply

‘But why? I was thinking about a new project with you?’

‘Sorry dear, I am no more hungry for acting after your movie. I feel I have already reached my saturation point. I have no regrets now. What I want most is to sit at my home with peace and enjoy the successes of my life under a preferred solitude’

We had no communication after that.

After a month, I came to know about his passing away in the breakfast news.

‘Azam Khan is no more. He died of a heart attack during sleep last night’. 

 

 

Reviews

[Marie]

The story held my interest all the way through--mostly to the style of your writing. Azam Khan made the right decision to retire from acting. Even if he had lived, it was best for him to leave at the top of his career.

[Allie]

I think it was great how the old man was able to make a good name for himself in the end but I struggled to keep reading. This story just did not hold my interest.

[Manpreet]

You are doing pretty well with your pen!!! Great Write!

[Aditi Mahajan]

This story kept me engrossed till end. It is interesting to read a story of a typical bollywood actor. People are haughty, but regret for their attitude once their name and fame gets over. Description of a veteran actor was amazing. Keep it up!

[Leslie Philibert]

A good story, well written, what I like about the writer is that he knows what he is writing about, it always works very genuine, well researched, literate and well presented.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good story. I like the way you described the old actor. I like the desire to have him in the movie. I like the storyline and the sad ending. You create a interesting situation with a good ending. Thank you for the excellent story.
Coyote