When there is a single debutant in a film, there is absolutely no pressure on the greenhorn to shoulder the responsibility as the other experienced actor needs to take the onus.
One of the three releases to hit the marquee on the first week of the year named Sab Kushal Mangal starred debutants Riva Kishan — daughter of ex-Bollywood and now Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan — opposite another newcomer Priyank Sharma — son of producer Pradeep ‘Tutu’ Sharma and actress Padmini Kolhapure. Priyank is also Shraddha Kapoor’s cousin. It wasn’t really kushal mangal for the film, as it tanked on day one itself with a collection not even touching Rs 20 lakhs.
“But when it comes to two debutants, there is immense pressure on the actors. However, they cannot even learn from the other actor and each of them are looking for cues to perform. So unless they are really good at their work, the film does not reflect well, and that is what has happened when the directors of these films have also not been able to extract the performance from their actors,” says a trade source.
Last year also saw several two-debutant films tanking, one of them being a hyped launch of third-generation actor Karan Deol in Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas opposite another rookie Saher Bamba. Despite being produced and directed by Sunny Deol, the film had only managed to gross Rs 5 crore.
Times are changing and a master creator like Sanjay Leela Bhansali could not salvage a film directed by Mangesh Hadawale under his production banner. Malaal starring Jaaved Jaafery’s son Meezan and Sanjay’s sister Bela Sehgal’s daughter Sharmin, could not create miracles at the box office. It went down after it had managed to eke out collections over Rs 3 crore.
“It is not just about debutants, they are from illustrious families. If you look at these films, the content has not really been of a high standard. Films need to be packed with strong content and they will do well if they are backed by the big banners. Another thing is that the actors who are cast in the said roles should suit them. One cannot expect what a Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel did in Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai to be repeated time and again as a perfect casting,” opines Atul Mohan, Editor Complete Cinema.
Salman Khan has not been really lucky for debutants either, as yet another production of his — Notebook — proved. Salman decided to launch Zaheer Iqbal, a son of his friend, and Pranutan Bahl, daughter of his friend and actor Mohnish Bahl, and could not even recover the print and advertising cost. Salman Khan Films’ luck with newcomers has been bad even for his brother-in- law Aayush Sharma and another debutant Warina Hussain in Love Yatri (2018) and Hero starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty (2015). 2018 saw films like the Imtiaz Ali backed Laila Majnu starring Avinash Tiwari and Tripti Dimry, and Genius starring director Anil Sharma’s son Utkarsh Sharma and Ishitha Chauhan failing. 2017 saw Ranbir’s cousin Aadar Jain’s debut film Qaidi Band falling. 2016 saw Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan falling along with Saiyami Kher when a filmmaker like Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra failed, despite having comrades like Gulzar and A.R. Rahman in his team.
