It was in 1988 when the transfer of power started, Hindi Movie-wise. Aamir Khan arrived thru Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. The long name was more prevalent as QSQT. And Amir Khan was the first of the Cuties of the late eighties. In 1989, Salman Khan made his entry. By 1991/92, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and ShahRukh Khan (etc) gave the industry a new economics.
But the old-timers were still selling. Prominent stars like Mithun, Dharmendar, Jeetender, Amitabh Bachchan (etc) strategically propped themselves against heroines half their age.
The new crowd might idolize the old stars but there is an identification issue. A Fifty-ish Hero, looking like thirty-ish, can kiss a twenty-ish Heroin on screen. But still. The audience knows. And the after taste is not zesty.
Presently, Khan and Co. are all pushing late 40’s. The demography who grew with them have also aged similarly. And, who knows. The aging fans might be switching to the younger side. Also, the demography who were born during late eighties and early nineties are the new crowd. Clearly, they will want a face and body to romance.
So the time has come for the new order. Ranbir Singh has made his mark. He is good. But yesterday I saw “Hasee Toh Phasee”. And I must say, Sidharth Malhotra has a presence.
The scope of this blog was to discuss the Hero side of the movie ecosystem. My idea is to make guesses on who all will replace the Khan and Co. In other words, who will get the Deepikas and the Parineetis.
P.S. Remember, a decade or so back, we had similar dilemma- Who will get Aishwarya, Salman or Vivek!
neerajshrivastav 