Aamir, SRK, power on

The only one-word definition for an actor like Aamir Khan is ‘genius’. And yet, there’s something even a star like him is deficient in. Not just Aamir, but a host of the country’s finest actors are lacking in what can be called ‘complacency’. Over the years, a sense of having achieved it all has never entered their minds. Actors on the wrong side of 40 are keen to keep it coming, and have now placed themselves behind the camera to whip up fresher, more entertaining cinema.

Amitabh Bachchan’s home production ABCL may have been a washout, but the Big B only emerged more powerful after that little fiasco. This probably inspired Shah Rukh Khan to come up with his own production house, Dreamz Unlimited, with Juhi Chawla. His three films under that banner did fair business, but the Badshah had more ambitious plans up his sleeve. This time he expanded his budget with Red Chillies Entertainment, and the fact that it was in collaboration with his wife Gauri truly made it a ‘home’ production. With last year’s Om Shanti Om, it was re-established that brand SRK sells like nothing else.

Aamir Khan finally decided to end his age-old scuffle with directors and producers, and took the driver’s seat. The result was a breath of fresh air, Lagaan, followed by Taare Zameen Par. Actors Ajay Devgan and Sanjay Dutt have yet to prove a point with their respective banners, but Akshay Kumar and Sushmita Sen are set to make it more interesting with their own. The way things are going, Bollywood may have a nerve-wracking IPL of its own. An Indian Producers’ League, that is.