In the reboot, remake and revisit fever that’s gripping Hollywood and Indian cinema, filmmakers believe that it’s safer to ride on franchise value than risk an original theme. But recycling brings with it the challenge of fighting ambience fatigue while retaining the flavour that has a loyal viewer base. Superman, with its $225m budget, has upped its cuteness quotient with a super dog and a vulnerable infant in its 2025 outing, and has packed the metahuman hero with more relatable family connections.
Back home, Ektaa Kapoor was among the first to attempt leaps and jumps to prolong a successful serial. Her three big ‘K’s — Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kasautii Zindagii Kay — kept reinventing themselves to have a run of seven to eight years each.
In the silver jubilee year of Kyunki Saas..., with Ektaa pulling former Cabinet minister Smriti Irani from Delhi’s corridors of power to Mumbai for a reunion with greasepaint, a blast of nostalgia is on its way. Apart from Smriti’s iconic Tulsi Virani, husband Mihir (Amar Upadhyay) also had a hysterical fan following. People had mourned his death and believed that he was amar (immortal), and couldn’t be removed.
But when Ektaa brought him back to life, did the unthinkable by replacing the seemingly irreplaceable Amar Upadhyay with an ineffective Indra Kumar, Mihir almost lost his charisma. Tulsi’s husband was resurrected only when a roofless alcoholic, who lived in a car, rehabilitated himself, became a household name as Mr Bajaj of Kasautii… and on his birthday on October 11 in 2002, walked into the role of Mihir Virani. Ronit Roy, the poster boy of fitness, never looked back. “People would call me Tulsichanavra (Tulsi’s husband),” he said to me last year.
Ronit went from being grateful to get a three-month assignment from Balaji Telefilms and excitement at being invited to Ektaa’s Diwali party to seeing so much success as Bajaj and Mihir that a non-stop work schedule found him fainting three times on the set. Deeply indebted to Ektaa, he called her his boss and said he would always be available to her. Simultaneously, he remained in touch with Smriti too. “We bump into each other occasionally, we text each other,” he told me.
Today, when Ronit simultaneously plays the regal father of Prithviraj Chauhan on TV and the horrid human demon in Kajol’s film Maa, isn’t it strange that he’s not the one playing Mihir in Ektaa’s revisit to Kyunki Saas…? The truth is, Balaji did make him the offer before they signed Amar Upadhyay for the role.
“Let’s just say all the boxes (dates, fee, etc.) couldn’t get ticked,” said Ronit. “That’s why I couldn’t accept it. I’m sure Balaji also had its boxes to tick.” Badalte rishtey, as the industry calls it.
Meanwhile, in a climate where actors like Aamir Khan and Kajol have set a record for the number of promotional podcasts they have done for their recent releases, Aditya Chopra is once again marching to a beat of his own. YRF’s new film Saiyaara is being promoted only by director Mohit Suri and his time-tested ear for music, evident in movies like Aashiqui 2.
Adi has decided that neither Ahaan Panday (Chunky’s nephew) nor Aneet Padda (seen in the Amazon series Big Girls Don’t Cry) will be promoted prematurely. No interviews, no photo sessions, no stories. Let the movie and the music speak for Saiyaara. Adi had done the same during Band Baaja Baaraat (2010). Nobody had an inkling who Ranveer Singh was. Most thought he was a Delhi boy whose rich father had bankrolled his debut. It was only after BBB became a blockbuster that one got to meet and know Ranveer, the effervescent Mumbai boy.
Ranveer is an extrovert. Ahaan is quieter. Unlike cousin Ananya, Ahaan is not on the party circuit, likes to keep to himself.
But Adi’s strategy is the same for both. Will it work for Ahaan like it did for Ranveer?
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and an author