The film tribe is an interesting fix, you don’t know till you mix. Mostly there are the famous Bollywood jodis that have ruled our hearts for decades such as Nargis-Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan-Rekha or Shahrukh Khan-Kajol. And then there are those who shared off-screen chemistry but still could never quite set the screen on fire like Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapur.
However, if you are adventurous in your casting, and think of pairing an odd couple, it is a risk which sometimes backfires, remember Shahrukh-Khan and Deepa Sahi in Maya Memsahab or Akshay Kumar and Rekha in some movie I am not going to search up. However, real wonders are those couples who no one would imagine to pair up but some producers dared and it worked and how! Here is a list of pairs that surprised us with their chemistry.
Ali Fazal and Vidya Balan in Bobby Jasoos
Bobby Jasoos is a very story-centric movie as opposed to our standard romance fares. But despite that these two actors bring such playful energy to their romance. Ali Fazal has already proved that his charms go beyond mere good looks. However, Ali Fazal is relatively younger to Vidya Balan, who is a senior even in the acting premise. But this did not get into the way of these two actors creating some memorable moments and interesting chemistry on screen.
Rahul Bose Mallika Sherawat in Pyar Ke Side Effects
Mallika Sherawat is known for her bold - ness and gets tongues wagging as often as she speaks. Rahul Bose is known for his bold - off beat movie choices and is known to provoke hardly any tongue wagging. Their similarities are that they are human beings, even then not of the same gender.
So it is hard to comprehend how these producers came up with the two names for “Pyaar Ke Side Effects”. But we should be glad they did because how else could we discover that such an odd couple could work.
Oh since we mentioned this movie, another odd couple comes to mind, the one in the tribute to this wonderful rom-com, called “Shaadi ke Side Effects.”
Farhan Akhtar - Vidya Balan in Shaadi Ke Side Effects
Now both Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan are cute and classy in their own way. And of course they can act. But despite that it is a surprising jodi.
And whoever is the stylist for Vidya Balan in this movie did a great job because although Vidya can carry Indian attires with so much panache she always seemed ill-at-ease in Western wear, until this movie that is…
Tabu - Amitabh Bachchan in Cheeni Kum
Despite the obvious age gap this jodi was cool and rocking. Of course that was a given when two actors of such great calibre team up. But what was interesting is that it marked the fact that Bollywood audience was ready to go beyond adolescent love stories and family sagas.
Oh we also wanted to include Nishabd here, Amitabh Bachchan and Jiah Khan, but that is not chemistry, also that was not a film, it was a dud! Umm, what do you think?
Rahul Bose - Kareena Kapoor in Chameli
The very premise of this movie is not plausible (as if that matters, we have had brain transplants and eyesight gifted by Saibaba in that inventory!). An investment banker meets a prostitute and they find empathy and compassion for each other. But heartfelt performances from the protagonists and the backdrop of city of Mumbai, meant that this movie won hearts. There isn’t much scope for romantic chemistry but it works on a human level. A good detour from candy floss.
Aamir Khan - Gracy Singh in Lagaan
There’s always a risk when pairing up a newcomer with a lead actor. Apparently, Juhi Chawla was very apprehensive about pairing with Shahrukh Khan for ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman.’ So most newcomers launching together is a norm.
And despite Aamir Khan’s image of a perfectionist who is ready to experiment, even he was mostly paired with the established leading ladies of Bollywood. But with Lagaan that mould was broken. Gracy Singh made a commendable appearance in this movie, proving amongst many things that credibility as an actor still mattered to Bollywood despite the preference for glamour.
Konkana Sen Sharma - Ranbir Kapoor in Wake Up Sid
They say that the best movies don’t look ‘made’ they just look like you pointed a handycam at someone’s life. This coming-of-age movie comes closest to that definition. Both actors in this film have an illustrious pedigree. And doing justice to their genes they both brought in a performance that was fun and easy.
Aishwarya Rai - Sanjay Dutt in Shabd
Shabd was made in 2005. Despite their potential and charm the couple looked odd because they had already established on-screen images, Aishwarya as top notch romance heroine and Sanjay Dutt as an action hero. And Shabd brought them both out of the comfort zone. Sanjay was cast as an artist and Aishwarya who stays away from overtly sensual performances had to play one such.
The above is not a screenshot from Shabd. It is a cover from a Cineblitz way back in 1993 or thereabouts. But it is fun to reflect that all of our favourite stars happen to meet each other at different stages in their career even if they are paired or not. Even off screen we imagine them to have a fantastic entry, camaraderie with a background score. In reality, there may have been awkward starts, oops moments, silent crushes and even enemities we will never hear about.
Naseerudin Shah - Madhuri Dixit in Dedh Ishqiya
The fact that this movie featuring two of greatest actors of Indian cinema was made and received critical applause is not the amazing fact here. But it is the fact that such awesomeness would have been incomprehensible a couple of decades ago. Shah would have been no short of character roles but his works would have been remained in the domain of “art cinema” and Madhuri Dixit would be assumed to accept some matronly roles. That would have been sad. But it is not so anymore, this movie exists.
Priyanka Chopra - Most Co-stars in 7 Khoon Maaf
As we mentioned earlier, these are amazing times for Indian cinema. So many movies that would have been sidelined into parallel cinema surprisingly receive even public approval. And this movie directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, inspired by Ruskin Bond’s “Susanna’s Seven Husbands” is one such movie. Priyanka Chopra’s co-stars in this movie include Irrfan Khan, Anu Kapoor, Naseerudin Shah and son Vivaan and three more actors. Odd, very odd but so interesting. If that is not a sign of changing times then what is?
BONUS ODD COUPLE
Mehmood and Tanuja in Bhoot Bangla
Well, here is a bonus odd couple? You don't think that is odd? Not that Mehmood was any less an actor, or was known mostly as a comic, but only because there is a huge difference in the image they subconsciously portray, he is fun loving and well, more fun, and she is this elusive, hard-to-impress, indifferent, royal, icy princess. Watch the movie, they make it work, great actors that they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment