A story is made of characters, people and plots. Every character is important and makes the story what it is. A plot can only become interesting because of characters and appropriate twists and turns. In our Hindi films, where the story is mostly lead centric, most of the ensemble cast forms a vital backdrop. In a way those characters are the backbone of the story and they help in carrying forward the story. But there are also times when one feels that some of characters are not needed in the story. The absence of such characters may not hamper the narrative in any way. And when established actors agree to do such roles, one can’t help but wonder, why?
So here is my list. I know I might be offending a few ardent fans. But think about it, didn’t you feel that your favourite actor was totally wasted in that film?
Amitabh Bachchan in 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' - Amitabh in any film makes the film big. So when an actor of his stature is reduced to do an irr
elevant role as the Casanova father of Abhishek Bachchan, one can’t help but get irritated. If he had not portrayed the role ‘Sexy Sam’ and for that matter the character was taken out of the film altogether, would it have made any difference to the story line? Doubt it. In fact it would have surely shortened the excruciatingly long film by a good half hour.
Katrina Kaif in 'Sarkar' - When Ram Gopal Varma goes hoarse, crying that his film is not based on Mario Puzo’s classic ‘Godfather’, then you hope for originality. Or not. As the videshi girlfriend of Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina had only two scenes in the film and if I was to edit the film, I would have done away with her role.
Sushmita Sen in 'Main Hoon Na' - Did I hear some people gasp? Well yes, I don't think that there was any need of Sushmita in the film. The plot was of an army officer (Shah Rukh Khan) on a mission to protect his boss’s daughter (Amrita Rao) from a dreaded terrorist (Sunil Shetty) in a hilly town of India. While protecting the damsel, he was also trying to mend ties with his stepmother (Kiron Kher) and half brother (Zayed Khan), who happen to live in the same town. There you go. That was the plot. So where did Sushmita fit in?
Amisha Patel in 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' - Maybe Amisha was desperate for a film (she still is, isn’t she?) when she agreed to be the second fiddle to Vidya Balan. She barely had any dialogues and if there was no Radha (the character she portrayed) in the film, the film’s plot really wouldn’t have changed in any way.
Bipasha Basu in 'Dhoom 2' - Just because you have a fabulous body and want to flaunt it on screen, you can’t be agreeing to do a film, Bips. I know all your fans ogled at you when you strut your stuff at Rio, but did your character really help the storyline? As the smart cop in the first half of the film, you did nothing but pout your way. You were quickly bumped off owing to a foot injury and your twin sister was introduced in the second half of the film to do what exactly? Provide comic relief? But wasn’t Uday Chopra enough for that film?
(The views expressed by the author are personal)