Debutants ringing cash bells in 2008

It is raining newcomers in Bollywood with the year 2008 seeing nearly a dozen debutants taking a bow on silver screen.

Interestingly, most of them come from film families. The first half of the year saw star kids like Mimoh Chakraborty and Sikander Kher making a debut with Jimmy and Woodstock Villa respectively.

The much publicised films did not do well at the box office, but television star Rajeev Khandelwal's debut low budget feature film Aamir opened to good reviews and critical acclaim.

The latter half of 2008 will provide an opportunity for debutants and newcomers in Bollywood with a slew of releases featuring them releasing in the latter half of 2008.

The eagerly awaited debutants are Harman Baweja (Love Story 2050) and Imraan Khan (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na) on July 4.

Harman, is son of filmmaker Harry Baweja while Imraan is the nephew of actor-producer Aamir Khan. Bachna Aae Haseeno starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone is set for an August 15 release.

Ranbir and Deepika made the debut in 2007 with Saawariya and Om Shanti Om respectively and now will star opposite each other in this Yash Raj banner film.

Ranbir's Saawariya co-star Sonam Kapoor who has kept a low profile since the release of her debut film will be seen opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Rakesh Mehra's Dilli 6 later this year.

Sikander Kher, son of Anupam and Kiron Kher made his debut in Sanjay Gupta's Woodstock Villa which did not get a good opening. While his second film Summer 2007 which released today looks promising with its unique story of five medical students from well to do families coming face to face with agrarian crisis in Vidarbha.

Mithun Chakraborty's son Mimoh made his debut in Jimmy but the film sank without a trace at the box office.

Despite their films not doing well, both Sikander and Mimoh have already been signed on by several filmmakers. Trade analyst Amod Mehra said that the trend of newcomers knocking the doors of Bollywood is not new.

"Over the last few years, the production of films has gone up considerably from about 100 to more than 150. The number of mainline top stars remains the same and they are selective about the films they do," he said.

According to Mehra, newcomers have always been from the film families and this was not a new phenomenon. Trade sources say that not many outsiders succeed in their quest for fame, glamour, creativity in an atmosphere of cut throat competition.

"In the recent times most famous example is Shah Rukh Khan. Among the women, Aishwarya Rai who was crowned Miss World in 1994 had to work hard for ten years to make her way to the top”.

Among the girls, the famous debutant last year was Sonam Kapoor, daughter of veteran actor Anil Kapoor. But she was completely overtaken by her more glamorous contemporary Deepika Padukone.

Deepika was already a known name in the fashion circuit before she made her debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om.

Another new girl, Bangalore model Anushka Sharma will make her debut opposite King Khan in Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana di Jodi. The film is slated for release at the end of 2008.

Kumar Mangat's Haal-e-Dil will see the beginning of three careers, his daughter Amita Pathak, Nakuul Mehta and Adhyayan, son of actor Shekhar Suman.

Model Sonal Sehgal will debut opposite John Abraham in Nagesh Kukunoor's Aashayein while Sonal Chauhan who was paired opposite Emraan Hashmi in Mahesh Bhatt's Jannat has got good reviews for her performance. The film has also been declared a hit.

Singer Himesh Reshammiya, who romanced teenager Hansika Motwani in his debut film Aap Ka Suroor in 2007 has been paired opposite Shweta Kumar, daughter of filmmaker Indra Kumar in Karzzz, a remake of 1980s blockbuster Karz directed by Subhash Ghai in which Rishi Kapoor played the protagonist.

He is also working opposite newcomers in his future projects as well. Trade sources feel that the generation next is talented and are waiting for the right break and opportunity.

They feel that it is an encouraging sign that generation next is knocking at Bollywood's doors.

"Over the years, the film industry has been experimenting with different genre, subjects and the difference between mainstream and parrallel cinema has virtually diminished. The newcomers have a good opportunity to showcase their talent and also entertainment movie buffs," they said.

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