Forget the Khans, Govinda is back
The Bollywood story of 2014, beyond 200-crore Khan blockbusters and Ranbir-Katrina’s alleged love life, is turning out to be a remarkable one about a 50-year-old who was dumped by most and who spectacularly seems poised to return from the dead.
Govinda’s comeback saga is in every sense as peculiar as everything that defined the icon of the masses in his heydays. I say icon of the masses, but the dancer-comedian-superstar of the 80s and 90s on his second innings seems far from consolidating his image in just that market segment. This time, going by the quality of filmmakers who are backing him, the new-improved Govinda seems poised to mould his brand of entertainment to cater to the sophisticated urban crowds, too.
This time, Govinda is out reiterating his image as the subaltern hero in tandem with the spirit of new India. It is an image that remains far removed from westernised cool as it always was, different from what most new-age heroes are peddling, which actually gives him an edge. For, it is an image in sync with a rising sense of pop patriotism pervading the country.
If Hindustan is looking inwardtracing its roots for socio-cultural inspiration again, that is where the Hindi heartland superstar of yore is quietly stepping in. Govinda has always been the ultimate definition of "desi". If popular culture has the power to drive the mindset of an entire nation, his re-entry into Bollywood could not be better timed.
Yash Raj Films, the industry’s biggest banner, were perhaps the first to recognise the fact. Little wonder Govinda’s big return happens this week in the YRF-produced Kill/Dil. Even a couple of years ago, it would be unthinkable to see Govinda’s name in the cast of a YRF film. But the actor is not giving up his intrinsic image. Typically, he plays the North Indian don Bhaiyaji, showcasing comic flair and groovy steps but with a dash of the sinister.
Unlike what he did in the past, this time Govinda obviously plans to carry on with his desi brand of stardom in a way that he can balance that image with multiplex tastes. Shaad Ali’s name on the credits of Kill/Dil suggests as much, as does the actor’s surprising presence in Saif Ali Khan’s crossover comedy, Happy Ending. The film casts Govinda as a fading superstar struggling to hold onto his glorious past. If Govinda never shied from taking a joke on himself on screen, the role seems apt.
The news that amazed many is that Govinda will play Ranbir Kapoor’s father in Jagga Jasoos, the Kapoor scion’s foray into film production alongwith director Anurag Basu. The film co-starring Katrina Kaif is positioned as a sophisticated comic thriller, not quite the mainstream masala one associates with Govinda.
Indeed, YRF’s interest in the actor and his casting in a Ranbir-Katrina film says it all. If going desi is socially cool right now, the heartland hero seems a viable option in moolah-hungry Bollywood all over again.