Blog: Why Big Banners need to launch newcomers? 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, April 10, 2007 - 06:44 IST
Ever wondered the industry which produces the maximum number of films in the world annually is actually dependent on a handful of saleable stars and even a lesser number of production houses. You can count them on your fingers. Bollywood is visibly divided into camps.
Yash Raj Films, the number one banner, work only with the big names - Bachchans, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. Close second is Karan Johar camp, whose Dharma Productions again work mostly with the same set of big stars. Rakesh Roshan's Fimkraft makes films only with Hrithik Roshan. Vidhu Vinod Chopra camp works only with Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan and the likes. Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films also work only with their kind of actors. Earlier Ram Gopa Varma used to give breaks to newcomers but of late even his Factory prefers Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgun to wannabe stars. This is not a healthy sign.
In 1970s and 1980s, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) used to be a good source of acting talent. The acting course was resumed at the FTII two years ago, but the graduates are not making any great news. Recently there have been dime-a-dozen talent hunts. But, barring a few, do you ever hear about their winners once the show goes off air? And even those lucky few, who get some chance, fade away before they arrive. For instance, Sarwar Ahuja and Aditi Sharma, winners of some Zee contest who starred in the recent 'Khanna & Iyer'. Although produced by Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts, it sank alongwith these budding newbies without any trace because of the poor quality of the script and bad (read little) promotion.
Among the current lot, there are only a few who have managed to score without any family connection. And the counting does not go beyond John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan, Bipasha Basu, Kangana Ranaut, Ayesha Takia and Mallika Sherawat. Clearly, for the talent pool to grow - big banners need to launch films with newcomers. It's high time Bollywood tries to get rid of the accusation of being family-based fraternity where connections matter the most.
Vijay's blog can be accessed at http://www.moviewalah.com/diary/2007/04/09/no-connection-no-entry-thats-bollywood-for-you
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