Rinzing rising: Is Bollywood ready for a different Rahul or Raj?
Over five decades ago, a young man packed his bags, left the curvy lanes of Sikkim behind, and landed up in the island city of Mumbai to chase his dreams of becoming an actor. Since then, Danny Denzongpa has been an integral part of Bollywood, known and loved for the various roles he immortalised.
Think Agneepath and you cannot escape the ruthlessness of Kancha Cheena. Think Hum, and you cannot overlook the suavity of Bakhtawar. Think Ghatak and Kaatya will haunt you.
Five decades later, Danny’s son finds himself on the same threshold. A towering Rinzing Denzongpa is said to debut with Nilesh Sahay’s Squad, “an emotional action thriller, which has a child at its centre,” as reported recently by Mumbai Mirror.
The film, that is slated to go on floors in April 2019, is touted to be the ultimate action film of the year. One look at Rinzing’s Instagram page, replete with workout videos that would make Tiger Shroff — who happens to be his best bud — conscious of himself, leaves little doubt in my mind about the business projection the makers have marked.
The question is, what after that?
The Hindi film industry, in its over 100 years of existence, has been openly biased towards the North Indian-looking raja beta, slyly pushing the last piece of cake towards him. ‘Malhotras,’ ‘Singhanias,’ ‘Raichands,’ or even the more generic ‘Sharmas’ and ‘Khannas’ read most nameplates in the Bollywood mohulla. And this is only what Bollywood looks like on screen — not that the census is any different off screen.
Where does, therefore, a Denzongpa stand in all this?
“He (Rinzing) is India’s answer to Dwayne Johnson,” Nilesh was quoted in the article, who believes that he “will bridge the gap between India and the West with respect to male action heroes.”
Nilesh feels Rinzing has oodles of what can set him apart in the clutter.
We agree.
But as progressive as that statement sounds, it inadvertently draws one’s attention to the underbelly of what constitutes Bollywood’s ‘hero’ image.
So, what does a quintessential Bollywood hero look like? Why, manly, of course. Tall, fair, lean yet muscular — think Ranbir Kapoor or Sidharth Malhotra or Fawad Khan, if you may — the kind you’d find populating the cafes of Lokhandwala or Hauz Khas Village. Certainly, someone who doesn’t anatomically fit into this framework doesn’t qualify as hero material.
A Tiger Shroff, therefore, another commercially successful action star, had to weed through Twitter trolls and memes comparing his looks to that of Kareena Kapoor Khan, right after his debut with Heropanti. His only fault? He looked a bit ‘hatke.’ A perfect dancer, a perfect fighter, but clearly not the perfect looker.
Many salon-visits and gym-sessions later, a new and improved Tiger seems to have stuffed himself into the cinematically accepted good-looking hero image, and he is okay with that.
Would Rinzing be expected to do the same? For, how many ‘special’ or ‘different’ or ‘action films’ can be made especially with him in mind? He’d eventually have to do the shaadi song or the Karwa Chauth song in a Manish Malhotra ensemble, fly the occasional private jet or pick a fight with his business-tycoon father and denounce the empire only to begin a new yet equally lavish life in London, if he wants to stay mainstream.
Would Rinzing fit the bill?
The alternative is ghastly. Since Bollywood’s racial casting has no space for minority voices or faces, Rinzing's fate is written all over his 'unique' face. If he doesn’t fit the Manish Malhotra-donning hero mould, he’d have to be reduced to playing negative roles, much like his father, Danny.
In an industry where Priyanka Chopra has to be summoned to essay the role of Mary Kom, this doesn’t look that unlikely, does it?
But then, here’s a unique opportunity staring at us right in the face. The opportunity to turn the usual patterns of Bollywood casting on its pivot. If Indian cinema essentially represents all things Indian, the Indian hero must, therefore, be as majoritarian as they come. Representing a larger demographic, speaking to a much, much wider audience — in whatever language or dialect that may be.