Industry
What do Kartik Aaryan, Janhvi Kapoor, Tiger Shroff & Kriti Sanon have in common?
Summary
- Each of these millennial and Gen Z Bollywood actors has a legion of fans on social media. And each of them features in multiple brand endorsements. But there’s something else these entertainment industry celebrities have in common, and not in a good way.
New Delhi: Released mid-June, sports biopic Chandu Champion, an emotional tale about Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympics gold medallist, had much going for it. The film was headlined by Kartik Aaryan, a rising star presumed to draw a considerable amount of his appeal from the young, theatre-going demographic, and helmed by Kabir Khan, a director with a formidable reputation.
And yet, Chandu Champion opened to mixed reviews, finishing at slightly over ₹62 crore in domestic box office collections. Its earnings in smaller markets, which are yet to fully recover from the covid pandemic and the permanent closure of multiple theatres during the lockdown, were even more disappointing. In Bihar and Jharkhand, for instance, Aaryan’s film made a paltry ₹1.23 crore, while in Odisha, it finished with ₹49 lakh.
A film exhibitor operating a single-screen cinema in a small town in the Hindi heartland said the film, despite the presence of a rising star, a plethora of brands, and a sizeable social media following, had managed less than ₹5 lakh on his property.
The fate of another recent release, mystery thriller Ulajh, starring Janhvi Kapoor, was worse. While its total India box office earnings stood at ₹8.30 crore, Bihar and Jharkhand brought in ₹18 lakh, while another Hindi-speaking territory, Uttar Pradesh (whose collections are clubbed with parts of Delhi and NCR), clocked ₹1.35 crore.
Aaryan and Kapoor are not the only rising stars struggling with this dichotomy—others, including Tiger Shroff (Ganapath, Heropanti 2), Ranveer Singh (83, Cirkus, Jayeshbhai Jordaar) and Kriti Sanon (Bachchhan Paandey, Shehzada, Ganapath, Adipurush), have seen their films fail to take off, as well.
Young Bollywood actors are everywhere, and yet nowhere. While they dominate social media feeds and algorithms thanks to endorsements, collaborations and paparazzi appearances, these millennial and Gen Z stars are simply unable to ‘open’ films anymore, especially in small towns.
While Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar penetrated deep into smaller territories in the 1990s, resonating easily with mass-market viewers, younger actors, both male and female, are yet to make their presence felt in small-town pop culture or discourse.
According to media consulting firm Ormax, the list of most popular male stars in India for July was topped by Telugu star Prabhas, followed by Tamil actor Vijay, with Shah Rukh Khan ranked third.
Why they’re bombing
There are many reasons for Bollywood sinking to this nadir. First and foremost, Hindi filmmakers are no longer crafting consistent on-screen personalities for actors, playing a specific kind of role over a period of time in multiple films, such as the ‘angry young man’ image Amitabh Bachchan had acquired in the 1970s (thanks to a spate of hits, including Zanjeer, Deewar, Trishul and others) or the romantic, family hero avatar donned by Shah Rukh Khan in the 1990s (with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai standing out).
Certainly, catering to urban, multiplex audiences with experimental, diverse characters has an advantage for the youngsters; ticket rates are higher in these markets and viewers are known for their paying propensity, which is why some films seem to make money on paper. But trade experts point out that cinema needs to cater to universal, and not segmented audiences for actors to find resonance and be seen as stars across markets.
Secondly, actors themselves, along with rigorous PR machinery, may be partly to blame. Getting continually clicked by the paparazzi, who are told in advance to station themselves at celebrity weddings, airports, film and sports events, besides regular streets of the city itself, may be one reason for overexposure and loss of appeal and mystique. Coupled with endorsements and one-time collaborations that are aimed at remaining relevant, especially between film releases, massive social media exposure may be driving young Bollywood stars to a point of saturation.
Third, film actors are no longer just competing among themselves; the advent of formats such as OTT and short videos has led to the democratization of opportunity and, consequently, an explosion of content. This, in turn, has led to dwindling viewer attention spans, which means there isn’t much novelty in going to a movie theatre anymore.
Fourth, the emergence of pan-India films from the south has resulted in theatrical cinema hinging far more on scale and spectacle than star power.
In short, while much of urban India is savouring content revolving around or put out by these young stars for free, it isn’t translating into enough footfalls for their films in cinemas. Bharat, on the other hand, couldn’t care enough.
No real image or promise
Within the industry, the realization has dawned that going forward, good content will translate into positive word-of-mouth around films, with or without big stars. This shift has become more pronounced after the covid-19 pandemic. Films such as Munjya and Stree 2, which broke out to earn ₹107.48 crore and ₹401.65 crore, respectively, without mainstream stars headlining them, are proof.
That said, entertainment industry experts emphasize that the true test of star power is in the opening day collections of a film, when a stable and dedicated fan base flocks in, irrespective of what’s on offer. It’s a privilege few of today’s younger stars enjoy.
“Entertainment and cinema are a storyteller’s medium and it may have been tough for stars like Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan to capture the imagination of viewers across age and demography without the presence of filmmakers like Yash Chopra and Sooraj Barjatya, who helped position them in a certain way for years," said Sanket Kulkarni, head, business development (theatrical) at Ormax Media. Kulkarni referred to the specific characters that these makers envisioned and helped craft for these actors in the 1990s, a combination of romantic heroes and family friendly stars.
Post the 2000s, however, Hindi cinema followed two routes—one would cater to the newly emerging urban multiplex audiences, who could pay high rates for tickets; the other tailored films for single-screen, mass-market audiences for whom average prices remained low, limiting box office collections. “Most of the younger actors debuted at this time of flux and had limited opportunities to work with mass storytellers who could envision a character or a story that would cut across these two segments," Kulkarni explained.
Independent exhibitor Vishek Chauhan agreed that the actors of today don’t really play heroes that have an aspirational quality to them. “Someone like Shah Rukh Khan did about 15 films of one kind but with a twist. With the actors of today, there is no consistency in image and audiences don’t know what to expect from them even though some of them may be seen as good actors," said Chauhan. That translates into the film speaking for itself, and word-of-mouth around content to find its way through the clutter of entertainment options available, which often takes time.
Overdose and overexposure
Calling acting her first love and passion, actor Kiara Advani had said in an interview with entertainment journalism platform Film Companion last year that brand endorsements are a part of the job and a perk that comes with it. “It’s correlated. Tomorrow if I’m not doing movies, these brands are not going to come," Advani had said.
The actor added that it’s important for audiences to not feel cheated with their favourite stars endorsing too many brands. As far as social media goes, she said it shouldn’t be excessive, and that professional commitments needed to be centre stage. “You want people to still look forward to your work (movies) and talk about that," Advani emphasized.
While Advani seems to have a balanced approach, the same cannot be said for many other youngsters in the industry. The unpredictable nature of the box office and abundance of talent competing for limited opportunities has led to most actors believing that they can’t really wait for a film to come their way or break out in theatres. That, in turn, has led to further dependence on other modes of revenue, such as endorsements, event appearances and one-off collaborations on social media.
“Out of sight is out of mind here and it’s pretty relevant to put out creative content at regular intervals, because otherwise, even fans start panicking," said Hamza Kazi, music head of Dharma Cornerstone Agency, a talent management agency. “Brands are quite keen that actors and stars post at least two to three times a week and most people look at two to three brand integrations a month for their profile to be picked up in broader data analysis models for social media."
The idea of hero worship and fandom was very different 20 years ago, said Kazi, and actors don’t need movies or movie marketing campaigns to break through the clutter and reach audiences anymore. “Whether that can evoke any kind of fandom is of course, subjective, but there are equal opportunities for everyone," Kazi explained. “However, because celebrities are showing different sides to themselves on social media, the magic and mystery around them has reduced. It’s not the same when you’re consuming content on your phone that you haven’t paid for."
Tanuj Garg, producer at Ellipsis Entertainment, said the real truth today is that stardom is only as good as the content you feature in. “How much is too much (in terms of visibility on social media) is always debatable. Some believe remaining in the public eye accentuates stardom, whereas others believe less is more." said Garg. “But, things like brand collaborations work in sharp isolation from the box office and people come to watch a film for what it is. Celebrities getting flocked in public places or having a huge number of followers on social media does not translate into box office success."
Moreover, as Sandeep Goyal, chairman and managing director of advertising agency Rediffusion pointed out, 90% of followers on many social media accounts are inauthentic and not a true index of how well known someone is as a brand. To some extent, that explains the limited audience attendance for films starring names whose followers run into millions.
“Earlier, the hero was a superhuman figure towering above you on the big screen. That element has gone away. Social media may provide reach but when someone is far too familiar, the aura around them gets diluted," said Goyal. “How and where you watch somebody and your access to them impacts your idea of a hero." He added that the concept of a dominant hero is now an anachronism and all you have now are ‘niche stars’.
Opportunity democratized
Today, actors are not just competing with those active on the film and web series front for brand opportunities, acting assignments and overall recall. Massive digitization, a surge in Internet access and high social media penetration have fuelled growth in consumer affinity to influencers, a community that is also seeing transitions to acting roles.
India’s influencer marketing industry is expected to swell to ₹34 billion by 2026, from ₹19 billion in 2023, as businesses increasingly turn to social-media influencers to drive sales and deepen brand connect, a recent Ficci EY report said.
Industry experts agree that the world of advertising and entertainment, which was primarily dominated by actors, sportspeople, models, musicians and so on, has opened up to include people who started their careers as creators and influencers.
Brands and streaming platforms are fully embracing influencer partnerships, given that they are cost-effective, reach the right audiences, and their recommendations feel genuine—as if coming from a friend. Influencers are also adept at crafting stories that resonate and go viral, while instant feedback enables brands to adjust strategies swiftly.
Moreover, thanks to their young fan base, the fact that they’re likely to find appeal across formats and their ease of expression, many social-media influencers and stand-up comics who used to make fleeting appearances in films and web shows have graduated into lead and strong supporting roles. While Kusha Kapila appeared in Sukhee and Thank You for Coming last year, Bhuvan Bam has played the lead in a Disney+ Hotstar original. Anubhav Singh Bassi was seen in a key role in the comedy-drama Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar.
“In a way, there is far too much pressure on stars today (to prove themselves). But then, they are also smart enough to know that there is more to life than the allure of stardom at a time when the younger generation of viewers doesn’t really care about remaining loyal to one name," said Devdatta Potnis, producer, series, at Animeta, a creator tech company, explaining why actors tap multiple avenues today.
There may be some business sense to simply cash in on the opportunities available at a time when the shelf life of celebrities and recall among audiences is limited, and a lot of film content is ready but not finding a release, said experts.
But does that mean stardom for top film actors in the conventional sense is a thing of the past? Possibly. As Goyal put it, “The making of another SRK seems difficult."
