How and why the trend has changed over the years
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; May 13, 2016)


The concept itself has undergone a change. Earlier, multi-starrers meant three or more A-List heroes, top heroines, the ubiquitous villain and his glam moll with a couple of henchmen. Today multi-starrers have given way to what is popularly termed the ensemble cast and any film that has more than one hero and heroine is considered a multi-starrer.

This year’s big hit Kapoor & Sons that starred Sidharth Malhotra and the relatively new Fawad Khan, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and Alia Bhatt is a multi-starrer and so is Udta Punjab top-lined by Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt and Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh. Ae Dil Hai Muskhil, this year’s big-ticket Diwali release from Karan Johar’s stable starring Ranbir Kapoor, Fawad Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma also fits in today’s perception of a multi-starrer. But the one that is truly a throwback to the multi-starrer era of the ’70s is Housefull 3 with Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Lisa Haydon packed in it, literally living up to its title. We spoke to a cross-section of the industry to find out why the charm of multi-starrers has waned and only a handful are made every year.

It ain’t easy to make
Writer-director Anees Bazmee, who specialises in multi-starrers, (he has made films like No Entry, Welcome and Welcome Back) says that it is is not easy to get all the actors together. “It depends on your track record and friendship with the actors. When you are making a solo hero-heroine film all you have to tell the actors is what the film is about, but when it comes to multiple star cast, you have to tell them five-six things like the film is good, assure them they have a good role, etc. Besides, all the actors you cast should have a good tuning, else it becomes difficult to work,” explains Anees.

Sajid Khan, who made his directorial debut with the multi-starrer Heyy Babyy and helmed the first two Housefulls says that it’s a huge task to manage dates of the actors. “For a multi-starrer film, you are 50 per cent a director, 50 per cent team manager,” he jokes.

Another aspect that probably puts the spoke in the wheels of casting multiple actors is the entourage that comes with each actor. Says Sajid, “Earlier, with every actor there would be two-three people maximum — the hairdresser and make-up artiste. Today, there is an entourage of eight-10 people — from the PR to the secretary, trainer, hair, make-up and costume guy, etc. So, if you cast five actors in a film, you have to house 50 people!”

Unkeen actors
In the 70s and 80s, films were the main source of revenue for actors. Today a whole new world has opened up for actors who make a lot of moolah from ads, live shows and events. As Ramesh Taurani, who’s produced the Race franchise, says, “Actors don’t do films for money anymore. As a result, they have become more selective about the movies they do. They go by the script and the director in that order,” he explains.

Agrees Sajid, “Earlier, actors did not mind sharing screen space because most of them depended on films for a living. Today, actors make an equal or more amount of money through other avenues. They only do one or two films a year and multi-starrers are not top-of-their-list.”

Trade analyst Amul Mohan recalls a time a time when we prided ourselves on our three-hero films. “Manmohan Desai made an illustrious career out of multi-starrers, but today’s actors are not into it. They want to know who is playing the lead role, clearly. This is because of the actors’ insecurities,” he points out.

Welcome to an ensemble cast
Any movie — big or small — that has multiple actors is described as an ensemble cast. “It’s like Udta Punjab, where every actor will play a unique character. You rarely get a proper multi-starrer like Housefull 3 which has multiple heroes who are good in the same genre (comedy) coming together,” says Amul. Sajid-Farhad, who have scripted multistarrers like Golmaal Returns, Bol Bachchan and are helming the upcoming Housefull 3, feel that Kapoor & Sons or Ram Lakhan if it is remade, they cannot be called multi-starrers. “It’s the story of two brothers and comprise an ensemble cast,” they argue.

An ideal multi-starrer, according to Sajid Khan, would be when the Khan trio comes together. “But how much would you hike your ticket rate? Each of these Khans gets a 100 per cent opening, you can’t go beyond that. So, they will think they are better off doing solo hero films. Somewhere, economics too has stopped the process of multi-starrers,” he says.

The flag bearers
Despite all the hassles of making a multi-starrer, filmmakers like Anees, Sajid Khan, Sajid Nadiadwala and Taurani continue to dabble in this genre. Says Anees, “A multi-starrer is bigger and gives the audience more entertainment. More importantly, it depends on the story. Earlier too, filmmakers didn’t set out to make a multi-starrer, it was the script that demanded it,” he reasons, citing the example of Sholay. “It could have easily been about one hero going to a village and saving them from the villain, but Mera Gaon Mera Desh on those lines, was already there. By taking two heroes who were completely different from each other, in terms of their body language, mannerisms etc, it became more entertaining.”

According to Sajid, the joy of watching a multi-starrer is unparalleled for the audience. “The key to making a multi-starrer is to be fair to everyone. Also, I am friendly with most of the actors and see to to it they have a good time,” says Sajid. As for Anees, he says he’s a writer first and a director second. “I give importance to all my characters and am honest with the actors when I am narrating the script so there are no problems on the sets,” says the director who is now gearing up for another multi-starrer, Aankhen 2.

Taurani, who will be making the third installment of Race says it’s the film that demands multiple heroes. “I have never shied away from multi-starrers. Race is such a big franchise, it has to be made with three heroes and I have two-three choices for every role. But if the script is good, actors come on board,” he points out.

Sajid-Farhad have the last word on it. “Multi-starrers haven’t died, it’s going on since the 80s. There was a phase when solo hero films were in vogue, but multi-starrers have always been made. In fact, there are franchises of multi-starrers. And if the combination of the stars works out, it is fun making them.”