Beyond Bollywood

Every year, thousands upon thousands of struggling actors from all over the world move to the movie capital of India with dreams of becoming the next Salman Khan or Priyanka Chopra. But in an industry obsessed with star-kids, the chances of making it are slim at best. Haroon speaks to two ‘outsiders’ who have managed to crack that glass ceiling – actress Katrina Kaif and actor Sidharth Malhotra. They tell Haroon how they deal with the pressure of always having to look like a Bollywood star; why Katrina was her own make-up artists for years and how Sidharth is choosing roles which push against his ‘pretty-boy’ looks.

It takes a village to create a Hindi-film star. Behind-the-scenes, there are teams of managers and publicists working hard to create and maintain the image of the star who employs them. Working long before the star wakes and long after the star goes to bed, these people are invisible to most of us but are well-known power-players inside the industry. Haroon sits-down with Shah Rukh Khan’s former publicist Mandvi Sharma and pap-king Viral Bhayani to find out how the two sides actually work together to help create a star; Mandvi talks about why most star-managers in Mumbai are women and Viral talks about why photographers like him are still important in helping an actor jump from the B to the A-List.

Haroon sits down with one of Bollywood’s best-kept secrets – nutritionist, Dr Siddhant Bhargava. Co-founder of company Food Darzee, Dr Siddhant supplies ready-made healthy meals and eating plans to A-List stars including Alia Bhatt and Sara Ali-Khan. Haroon finds out about the extraordinary levels of discipline required to follow Dr Siddhant’s bespoke programme; how he helps actors slim-down after an indulgent holiday and also reveals some of the secretive (and unhealthy) ways stars get their bodies camera-ready.

With streaming sites taking business from cinemas, the Hindi film industry is desperately trying to reach Gen Z who prefer to stay home and watch YouTube instead. Haroon talks to Pinkvilla’s Nayandeep Rakshit, YouTuber Prajakta Koli and PTI journalist Justin Rao about the power-shift from the star talent to content-creators. Nayandeep names the actor who gave him his worst ever interview-experience; Justin talks about what happened when footage of actress Kangna Ranaut ‘confronting’ him at a press conference went viral and Prajakta talks about how stars now treat her given she’s a massive online-star compared to the radio intern at first meeting.

While many Hindi film fans will watch any movie starring their favourite actors, others will check what the critics say before they part with their cash. Haroon meets some of India’s most celebrated reviewers – renowned critic Rajeev Masand, Film Companion’s Sucharita Tyagi and Huffington Post’s Ankur Pathak - and finds out if stars and critics can ever be friends; how they judge good from bad and hears just how disheartening they find under-whelming films regularly breaking box-office records.

Hailing from Bollywood’s leading star family, Kareena Kapoor Khan or Bebo as she’s affectionately known, is both a superstar and inspiration for many of her fans. She’s successfully navigated the ever-changing industry for more than two decades and managed to do what many considered impossible for a Bollywood actress – stay consistently in demand with box-office hit after hit. In the first episode of this no-holds barred podcast, Bebo looks back on her Bollywood hits like K3G and Jab We Met; reflects on the movie choices that didn’t fit her glamorous image and has advice on what young actors need to do, to make it big in Mumbai.

Asian Network’s Entertainment Reporter Haroon Rashid visits Mumbai to find out what it takes to make it as a Bollywood film star in 2020; how the industry is responding to the challenges posed by online-platforms; meets those behind-the-scenes power-players who can make and break stars and finds out what it takes to sustain a long and successful career in a place obsessed with ‘the next-big-thing.’

Leaving Amn and Shehzaad behind, Haroon flies to Mumbai hoping to come face to face with the legend that is the Big B.

Haroon, Shehzaad and Amn discuss Amitabh Bachchan’s genre defining films, share their personal favourites and contemplate what Hindi cinema might look like had he chosen a different path.

It’s the millennium and Amitabh Bachchan is broke – but his good mate and director Yash Chopra gives him a role in upcoming movie Mohabbattein and in a one fell swoop, AB is back at the top - this time not as the leading man but the leading man’s father. More iconic dad-roles follow that introduce the magnificence of the Big B to a whole new generation. This on-screen rebirth also sees Mr Bachchan spreading his wings and doing roles which have changed the course of mainstream cinema.