The nail-biting last (no) ball, which turned the tide for Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals last Sunday, reiterated the saying that the game ain’t over until the last ball is bowled. In politics, the district magistrate waits till the last vote is counted before announcing the victor. And, if you extend it to films, await the next, for no actor can be written off irrespective of how many times he has stumbled.
With stardom in peril in the theatres, it’s OTT fare that’s ruling popularity ratings today. And right on top just now is Sonakshi Sinha with a kick-ass, khaki-vardi central role in the new Amazon show Dahaad. Teetering on oblivion after attempting women-centric films like Akira, Noor, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, Khandaani Shafakhana and the more recent Double XL, even bigger projects like Action Jackson, Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!, Bullet Raja, R… Rajkumar, Lingaa and Bhuj, in which she had support from supposedly strong heroes like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Rajnikanth, drew a sneer from the audience.
After another no-show called Welcome To New York, critic Rajeev Masand had remarked, “Not very funny, unfortunately, is Sonakshi Sinha, who comes off exaggerated and out-of-step even in a film of such ridiculously low standards. She spends the bulk of her time on screen contorting her face like Jim Carrey, but with none of the same results.” Critiquing Rowdy Rathore, the same reviewer had observed, “Sonakshi seems to exist in this film only to have her midriff repeatedly pinched by Akshay Kumar.” He’d also said that in Tevar (co-starring Arjun Kapoor), “Sonakshi Sinha, playing another simpering damsel in another South remake, appears content showing up for a few dance numbers and waiting around for a man to save her.” The Vidya Balan-led Mission Mangal (2019), in which Sonakshi was a part of an ensemble cast, was her last real success.
The only reason to recall the scathing criticism of the past, which almost took her to the brink, is to underscore just how much the “last ball” counts. Tailored to suit her personality, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti have cast Sonakshi in the ballsy, sharp role of a no-nonsense investigating officer in Dahaad, a crime thriller with powerful feminist strokes. To transition thus is a triumph of Sonakshi’s perseverance and will kick off a new innings for her because the game ain’t over, you know.
It’s the same with the repaintedAdipurush, which has managed to scruboff all traces of the backlash their teaser had received last year. Public memory is short and by going back to the drawing board and lying low for six months, it looks like a new film has emerged.
However, a new vigour has also come with it which seems to be cashing in on a perceived wave of religiosity.
The trailer launch, which seemed more like a satsang, had an overt chorus of “Jai Shree Ram” with saffron flags waving in the auditorium, making one want to tell the filmmakers that it would help to focus on content and not on riding a religious wave. From director Om Raut (who competently directed the big-scale Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior in 2019) and producer Bhushan Kumar, leading man Prabhas (Lord Rama), main heroine Kriti Sanon (Sita) and writer Manoj Muntashir to Sunny Singh (Lakshman) and Marathi actor Devdatta Nage (Lord Hanuman with a deep baritone), every one of them chanted “Jai Shree Ram” with great vigour and fervour.
Interestingly, Ravan (Saif Ali Khan), the main antagonist, was missing.“We’re doing our publicity in phases” and “Saif’s out of town” were the official lines.
Privately, it was agreed that it would have been a squirm for Saif to incant“Jai Shree Ram” with the same passionon stage. If he had not joined his collea- gues, he would have stood out as a bigot.If he had, it would have led to his community trolling him or worse. It was a no-win for Saif either way, so it was safer to stay away.
It is a sad day if actors have to be cast according to their off-screen beliefs.
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author
