They seldom sing and dance around trees. None of them has jumped from the ninth floor of a building. They are not conventionally good-looking. They are no good at beating up baddies. And they don’t walk away unscathed when bullets are pumped in their direction. The shift in focus from “stars” to “actors” has given rise to this new breed of leading men in Bollywood — unconventional and real. “The multiplex audience of today is looking for real scripts and believable storylines. And the viewer is increasingly becoming receptive to the idea of seeing a person on screen whom he can identify with, a character that can be anyone from his daily life,” says director Sagar Ballary whose 2007 aam aadmi film Bheja Fry was the big Bollywood ticket for former VJ duo Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey. neither Pathak nor Shorey fits the stereotype of a Bollywood “hero” and yet they are among the busiest actors in the industry today. Their tribe is growing by the day. t2 turns the spotlight on some unconventional leading men who have defied every rule in the book to make their mark in Bollywood…

Rahul Bose

His (first) name is perhaps the only conventional thing about him. He is shorter than most of his leading ladies. He avoids photo-shoots like the plague (“It’s too much of one’s face being constantly looked at.”). He prefers talking rugby over films.

Rahul Bose is the prototype of the new unconventional leading man of Indian cinema. Experimental to eccentric — the former advertising guy has earned many labels but it is Rahul who has proved that tall-fair-handsome and gravity-defying dancing skills no longer a Bollywood hero make.

From English, August’s Agastya Sen — A GenX urban Indian caught in the traditional permanence of rural India — to his role of a Muslim photographer caught in more than one dilemma in Mr and Mrs Iyer, Rahul quickly earned the epithet of a thinking man’s actor — and thinking woman’s sex symbol.

But most mainstream filmmakers fought shy of the man who did not fit into the mould of the Bollywood hero. Till the time the actor decided to surprise the world with his acerbic wit in Jhankaar Beats (remember those priceless one liners?), the understated intensity of Chameli (his silent lawyer act was the perfect foil to the bubbly Kareena) and his rom-com turn in Pyaar Ke Side Effects opposite Mallika Sherawat (he was hot!).

And yet, Rahul has achieved stardom playing the “average guy next door”, someone who hardly attempts any heroics and yet finds favour with the audiences. He is the first of a kind.

With a masala flick like Maan Gaye Mughall-e- Azam and an Aparna Sen film (The Japanese Wife) up for release, Rahul has the best of both worlds. Who knows, maybe he’ll play a superhero next.

Turning point: Pyaar Ke Side Effects. Rahul simply played himself — just another underachiever who fights shy of commitment, isn’t afraid to show off his two left feet or talk to his, er you know what. The audience loved the film. They loved Rahul even more.

Industryspeak: “The audience now wants to see real characters, the kind that Rahul Bose represents so effortlessly on screen. Even in my latest film Antaheen, he plays a regular cop. He knows what to do and he knows what not to do. His appeal cuts across different audiences,” says Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, who earlier directed Rahul in Anuranan.

Audiencespeak: “He sounds very erudite and sort of sexy. He’s intellectual and yet plays rugby. Rahul Bose makes for an irresistible combination,” smiles copywriter Mrinalini Banerjee, 25.

Kay Kay

Did you rub your eyes in disbelief when you saw the serious, staid Kay Kay dance with wild abandon to Sajnaji vari vari in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd? The dance steps became a rage at almost every nightclub and proved that, if required, Kay Kay could rock!

Neither biceps nor bravado, neither conventional good looks nor cool quotient — and yet the audience now likes him (and that includes the girls who love his intensity).

From the upright cop in Black Friday to the unfaithful husband of Life In A…Metro, from the passionate Naxalite in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi to the ill-at-ease boardroom biggie in Corporate, Kay Kay has been convincing. Not once has he been the conventional hero. And that’s what makes him hatke yet hot.

Turning point: Sarkar. Brief role, but Kay Kay as the errant son was dynamite. And his Jack Nicholson act in Shaurya — pitted against Rahul Bose — deserves special mention.

Industryspeak: “As an actor, Kay Kay can juggle different kinds of roles. He has done the festival kind of cinema as well as mainstream films. For the role in Sarkar, he changed his act, his approach, his mannerism. That’s the mark of a great actor,” says Arindam Nandy, who directed Kay Kay in Via Darjeeling.

Audiencespeak: “Kay Kay makes any character extremely believable. The way he gets into the skin of every character and makes it his own is amazing,” says 28-year-old media professional Kashish Mukherjee.

Irrfan Khan

Let’s face it, he’s not the quintessential romantic hero, but there have been few Bollywood characters more loveable than Monty in Life In A…Metro — a cleavage-ogling, practical-as-hell 35-year-old who chases his ladylove on horseback through the streets of Mumbai.

What he doesn’t have in terms of conventional appeal, he makes up with his skill as an actor and his intensity as a man. The Karan Johars and Aditya Chopras will never call on him to play a romantic role in their candyfloss films, but who cares? We love Irrfan not despite what he is is but because of what he is.

We are mesmerised by him in Maqbool and moved by him in The Namesake. We laugh with him in Metro and cry with him in Apna Asmaan.

No wonder Irrfan is now a most wanted man for both mainstream and art-house cinema.

Turning point: Chocolate and Rog may have come earlier, but it is Life In A…Metro that made Irrfan popular across audiences. Monty was on screen for all of 20 minutes, but he was a real show-stealer. From the heart-wrenching cry on the roof to help Shruti’s (Konkona) “servicing” to when he reacts to her profession of love on his wedding day with “Par petticoat blouse toh uske naap pe sil gaya hai.” A gem.

Industryspeak: “Irrfan was part of the cast for my first film Salaam Bombay. He is immensely talented and is also fast gaining popularity,” The Namesake director Mira Nair had said.

Audiencespeak: “He doesn’t come remotely close to the Bollywood idea of a conventional hero and yet Irrfan can hold his own even in a commercial potboiler. Given a choice, I would rather go and watch his movies than a big-budget star son launch,” says software professional Diptosh De, 37, who hasn’t missed an Irrfan film.

Vinay Pathak

Short, podgy and, er, not quite a looker... there is nothing about Vinay Pathak that screams Bollywood hero. And yet after his endearing Bharat Bhushan act in Bheja Fry, Vinay is one busy actor today. Not only has the former VJ found a place in Yash Raj films like Aaja Nachle and the upcoming Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Vinay even plays the central role in some films, sharing screen space with the likes of Gul Panag and Neha Dhupia. And all this at age 41.

After hits like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Johnny Gaddaar, Pathak is considered a bankable actor in Bollywood today. So much so that he is said to be demanding up to a crore for a film. And yes, he is also acting in a film called SRK where he plays (who else?) but SRK!

Turning point: Bheja Fry. As the adorable idiot, Vinay was at his sparkling best in this sleeper hit of April 2007. He carried the entire film on his out-of-shape shoulders and earned praise from the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Aditya Chopra.

Industryspeak: “I was impressed by Vinay Pathak’s versatility and the fact that he and Ranvir Shorey made a great on-screen pair. Talented actors like Vinay have always been around, but it is now that the audience has discovered them. He has definitely built a place for himself in the viewer’s heart,” says Sagar Bheja Fry Ballary.

Audiencespeak: “After Bheja Fry, Vinay Pathak is one of my favourite actors. He was superb even in a serious role in a mainstream film like Johnny Gaddaar,” says college student Joy Dasgupta.

Ranvir Shorey

They started their careers at almost the same time and like Vinay Pathak, things have started looking up for co-star and friend Ranvir Shorey. Ranvir and Vinay first came into the limelight as VJs on Channel [V] and are now acting in a lot of films together. “I am often called Vinay and vice versa,” Ranvir has been quoted as saying.

With films like Bheja Fry, Honeymoon Travels, Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Mithya to his credit, Ranvir is on a roll in Bollywood, often reading two-three scripts a day. The lanky actor with ordinary looks has now slipped effortlessly into the song- dance-romance routine opposite Mallika Sherawat, no less, in Ugly Aur Pagli.

Turning point: Mithya. A gangster comedy smartly turned on its head by director Rajat Kapoor. Ranvir obliged with a top-rate performance.

Industryspeak: “Ranvir can blend into any kind of cinema. Comedy may be his forte but he can also handle emotional scenes extremely well,” says Sagar Ballary.

Audiencespeak: “Ranvir may not exactly be conventional hero material, but it is his regular-guy charm that works well with the audiences,” says 32-year-old home-maker Sreeradha Sengupta.

Rajeev Khandelwal

He played the conventional romantic in a run-of-the-mill Ekta Kapoor soap. But he did nothing conventional when it came to choosing his debut film — the no-frills, hard-hitting and small-budget Aamir.

The film that wowed the critics and moved the audiences is far removed from the glitzy debuts that Bollywood is so famous for. In Aamir, Rajeev wears the same clothes through the film and has no songs to sing. And yet, he holds audience attention throughout this 90-minute film, shot entirely in the Mumbai underbelly.

His female fan following from his Kahiin To Hoga days tripled after Aamir. The actor doubled as assistant director for the film, working on the sets like everyone else. “Most of the time, I did my makeup in autos and taxis,” he says.

Rajeev’s next film Peter Gaya Kaam Se is a conventional love story. And yes, he promises to dance around trees soon.

Turning point: Aamir.

Industryspeak: “Rajeev can be the guy-next-door as well as a larger-than-life character. His middle-class background and the regular person that he is was perfect for the role,” says Aamir director Rajkumar Gupta.

Audiencespeak: “Rajeev’s biggest achievement lies in the fact that he chose his debut film so wisely. The girls always liked him for his good looks, but post his award-worthy performance in Aamir, his fan base has grown considerably. He could well be the next big thing,” says media professional Anuradha Sinha, 27.