2015 Preview: Actors Returning To Comfortable Genres!

Since the New Year is making its way, people around the world are also working on their New Year resolutions. One can constantly spot the "New Year, New Me" posts all over social networking, correct? The same can be said about the film fraternity: new faces are being introduced, producers and directors are taking risks, and some Bollywood actors are doing something different this year. Unfortunately, not all of them are doing that. Some of the well-known names of the industry are taking a step back and returning to comfortable genres, and reprising old roles, which is sadly is a step in the wrong direction.

First up we have B-Town's very own Barbie Doll, Katrina Kaif. The young lady with a beautiful face, has enacted in various films since her debut in 2005, with the hit film Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya. From comedy and romance, to thriller films, Kaif has done them all. She has had strong, independent and dominant roles in various movies, which earned her a lot of praise. However, she's also known to be the decorative piece of cinema, because she plays no important role, other than looking pretty and posing with the hero of the film. With 2015 Kaif has two films in her kitty wherein she goes back to playing the beauty with no brains, the avatar that she has donned uncountable times. It's quite sad to know that Katrina Kaif will offer nothing new in a Jagga Jasoos, especially with the talent she possesses.

Akshay Kumar, fondly called Khiladi Kumar, is a senior actor with many years of experience, a full load of talent, and a killer attitude. However, there is one negative point about him: he mainly stays within his comfort zone. There are specifically two types of role he does to perfection: the hilarious comedian and the action titan. He has the perfect comic timing and he possesses the perfect body and attitude for an action movie. However when he does three to four movies a year, we tend to get tired of the repetitive roles, making it unbearable to watch more than one film of his each year. He's also one of the most criticized actors, and is often asked to step out of his comfort zone, and he has done so with the last few movies. Sadly, Akshay Kumar does not learn from the past, and does the same mistake of returning to his safe zone with Singh is Bling.

Shall we call her Bipasha Basu or even better, the Horror Queen? Basu, who has been in the industry for years, has explored a few genres but eventually settled for horror as her niche. After delivering back-to-back horror films, Basu has now been tagged as the horror queen. However, unlike other actors, who claim that they're trying different genres and not sticking to one specifically, Basu openly admits that she's the ambassador of the horror genre, which she single-handedly dominates. Although we appreciate the honesty, we cannot bear to watch another horror movie starring Bipasha Basu. And unfortunately, Alone has just hit the threatres. Maybe its time to the let the heroes scream a little?

This is the song that plays on repeat in our minds when Ranbir Kapoor is seen on the silver screen. Ever since his first hit film Bachna Ae Haseeno, Ranbir Kapoor has been shown as the romantic hero onscreen and off-screen, romancing his lady love with pretty sayings, flowers, and that charming smile. Kapoor certainly took advantage of his good looks in numerous movies, where he was asked to romance various leading ladies from tinsel town, and play the playboy casanova. However, we feel junior Kapoor is holding back a lot of his talent. He has already perfected the skill of romance onscreen, now we want to see more diversity in his roles. Before that wish can come true, we have to struggle through another romantic role of junior Kapoor in Jagga Jasoos opposite his rumoured off-screen lady love. The chemistry might be sparkling off-screen, but we're definitely not looking forward to another mushy romantic film from junior Kapoor.

Sonakshi Sinha entered Bollywood with a bang. She debuted with the film Dabangg, where she played the role of a damsel in distress, who needs a hero to save her. Her debut film was a blockbuster, which got her commercial hit and immense popularity with her role. Ever since her debut, Sinha seems to have clung onto that role, not opting for any diversity whatsoever. She kept the cash register ringing for many films of hers, but the diversity and originality was lacking a lot from her role in almost all the movies. Eventually the damsel in distress got tired, and Sinha took up new roles for one or two movies, which were challenging and demanding (or at least a little bit?). Sadly, that phase lasted shorter than expected and Sinha has returned to her comfort zone once again, portraying the same old damsel in distress, in her recently released Tevar. Perhaps that's the reason of Tevar failure?

Author: Fatima W.

Editor(s): Shreya S. and Sonia R.

Graphics: Shikha A.