Losing the Plot

Recently, it appeared in the newspapers that Bollywood scriptwriters had decided to go on strike. This piece of news totally took me by surprise: how many of us knew that scriptwriters actually existed in Bollywood? Personally, I would think that this should affect only about 10% of the movies that get made in Bollywood.

Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, in particular, would join me in expressing total shock at the information that scriptwriters exist in Bollywood. “I don’t even know what I say. I just scream and look very angry and disgruntled. And then I go out and beat up dozens of people. I do this for three hours – occasionally I try to dance. What do I need a scriptwriter for?” exclaimed Sunny, when asked for his take on the scriptwriters strike. You better take his word for it – else go watch Jo Bole So Nihaal or Jaani Dushman – Ek Anokhi Kahaani, and then tell me if anyone could possibly WRITE that stuff. Sunny Deol movies just happen – you’re at the wrong place if you’re expecting a story to develop in any of these movies. Over the years, he has perfected the art of looking angrier, screaming louder and beating up more and more people – with the peak being reached in the mega-hit Gadar where he single-handedly defeated the entire Pakistan Army with nothing but a bore-well pump as his weapon.

While age did mellow him down and tempt him into the odd misadventure of a romantic film (with disastrous consequences), such mistakes were duly corrected and he soon went back to his tried and tested formula. Today, if you happen to chance upon any Sunny Deol movie on TV, you will in all probability get the feeling that you have already seen that movie even if you haven’t – such is the familiar pattern that he has stuck to in each of his movies. Only when you see different songs would you realise that the movie is one you actually have not seen before.

The case of Bobby Deol, however, is a far more complicated one - the total lack of a script playing just a small part in his career. In truth, Bobby Deol would probably prove himself to be unremarkable even when provided with a script, although none of his movies yet display any evidence of a script. Here is a man who has tried his hand at all possible types of films that Bollywood can provide – action, comedy, drama, romance and even children’s films – and turned out to be a miserable failure in each one of these. Carrying upon his shoulders the burden of the Deol tag, film makers automatically assumed Bobby would make the grade as an action star. Despite Bobby’s best efforts at displaying his obvious lack of talent in each of his movies, new roles kept being thrust upon him. And when it was finally accepted that Bobby was no good at action movies, other genres of roles started being offered to him. Bobby duly obliged with a string of unremarkable performances in each of these genres, even going as far as acting terribly in a children’s film!

“I like to try my hand at different roles and genres. Just because I failed as an action star does not mean I cannot fail as a romantic lead. Just because I failed as the hero does not mean I can’t fail in a negative role. My career is fraught with peril – not too many actors have acted in this many films and not managed a single hit. There is always the risk of the odd movie, however bad it may be, turning out to be a hit. That’s all I need to kill my reputation. Yet I have managed to deliver a flop each time I was part of a movie” says a proud Bobby. His track record is ample proof of this – from Bichhoo to Dillagi to Nanhe Jaiselmer to Jhoom Barabar Jhoom– each one a bigger flop than the previous one.

This is indeed a remarkable lesson in persistence for all of us: If film makers can still pin their hopes on a case as hopeless as Bobby Deol, there is no reason for us to be giving up on any cause that we undertake, no matter how hopeless it seems.