Got to be first time lucky!

A big banner, an acclaimed director, a great star cast — the ingredients for a dream Bollywood debut.

And that’s what Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone got when they entered Bollywood with Saawariya and Om Shanti Om . While this formula worked for Deepika, it didn’t for Ranbir and Sonam.
But just because their launch vehicles didn’t give them the start they hoped for, does this mean that Ranbir and Sonam are going to fade into oblivion? Maybe not. They already have other films lined up — Ranbir is reportedly going to work with Siddharth Anand and Rajkumar Hirani, and Sonam is reportedly in talks to star in Bollywood Blues, which also has Deepika.

But how have successful debuts affected actors? Take a look at Hrithik Roshan’s career: His 2000 debut Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai was a phenomenal hit, reportedly even making Shah Rukh “nobody competes with me” Khan insecure. But it wasn’t until his fourth film, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, that he struck gold at the box office again. And Kaho Naa... didn’t do much for Hrithik’s co-debutant Ameesha Patel. Since 2001’s Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, she didn’t have hits until this year’s Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and Bhool Bhulaiyya.

And other B-town wannabes are waiting to make their debuts. Director Harry Baweja’s son Harman will make his first big screen appearance with Priyanka Chopra next year in Love Story 2050, and Kirron and Anupam Kher’s son Sikandar will debut in Woodstock Villa next year too. Sikandar was reportedly supposed to debut in Saawariya, but was replaced by Ranbir. Should he be happy that he escaped the perils of a disastrous debut?

Probably, say those in the know. “A hit always makes a big difference,” says Taran. “It means that people have accepted you and that producers are willing to invest crores in you.” Says Anil Nagrath, secretary, Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association, “When the debut film is successful, several producers approach the actor with offers. One way he can refuse some is by quoting a high price. But since he’s successful, producers agree to pay and the actor considers that his price.” But if the film flops, the actor faces the possibility of losing projects he has already signed, adds Anil. “If the debut crashes, producers who have taken a gamble and signed the actor before the film’s release drop their projects and ask for a refund.”

But even if a film is successful, is there a chance of a debutant getting noticed if the film is a multi-starrer? Sagarika Ghatke, who made her debut in Chak De! India as the rebellious captain of the Chandigarh women’s hockey team, says there is. “I was a little apprehensive because I debuted in a film with a lot of other artistes. But it did well and people connected with our characters,” she says. Sagarika says that she’s got a few films in the pipeline, but isn’t allowed to talk about them because the producers want to announce them to the media first. She credits getting those offers to the enormous success of Chak De! “A good debut makes a difference,” she says.

But it’s not always the debut film that takes an actor places. Shiney Ahuja debuted in the Sudhir Misra’s critically acclaimed Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2003, but the film wasn’t released in India till 2005. Vinod Pande, who directed Shiney in his second film, Sins, says that it was because of the controversial nature of his film (of a priest being in love) that Shiney was noticed in Hazaaron.... “I hadn’t seen Hazaaron... when I signed Shiney for Sins, so I didn’t sign him on the basis of his performance in it. But my film released before Hazaaron... released in India. But its producers cashed in on the notoriety that the media generated about Sins, and released it a few weeks after my film released. And that’s how people noticed Shiney,” says Vinod. But Vinod also concedes that Hazaaron... was a “very competent film and Shiney had a very strong role in it.”

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com