Does art have a responsibility to tap into the zeitgeist or is its ambition to change us fundamentally? Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable, as someone said. But for that art has to be made in the first place. Indian cinema is still star-obsessed so the responsibility for any transformation falls on the actor, specifically the male actor. Big studios that can change the tenor of the times are few and far between, and auteurs such as SS Rajamouli and Mani Ratnam are a handful.
In some film industries actors such as Dulquer Salmaan are able to push forward new kinds of filmmaking without putting themselves front and centre of every film through sheer generosity of spirit and moral courage. The result is a movie like Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, which foregrounds a female superhero, mines local legends, and carries a soundtrack with unique collaborations: Reble and Jyoti Nooran, for instance, on the stunning track 'Thani Lokah Murrakaari'.
In other industries, stars are happy to flow with the tide, sometimes as in the case of Yash and his forthcoming Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups, seemingly turning it into a panegyric to the hero, who is saviour, sex object, and killing machine.
In Hindi cinema, we've had instance after instance of the star succumbing to what he feels in the sign of the times. So when Shah Rukh Khan wanted to return to the big screen after a series of misfires, it was with Yash Raj Films' Pathaan (2023), made from the Ek Tha Tiger template of international destinations, spies from rival nations locked in a heated rivalry, and flag waving slogans praising Bharat Mata.
When Ranbir Kapoor wanted to bounce back from a series of poor choices with two big studios, Brahmastra with Dharma Productions and Shamshera with YRF, both in 2022, he chose the tried and tested trope of bearded man with a psychic wound who will punish every woman who loves him in the name of passion in Animal. When Ranveer Singh came up for air after the debacles of Jayeshbai Jordaar (2022) and Cirkus (2022), the idea of Dhurandhar must have appealed to him. A committed filmmaker, a clear vision, and the idea of meaningful work after the light relief of Rocky aur Ranii ki Prem Kahani must have appealed to him. It mustn't have hurt that Aditya Dhar's filmmaking is strewn with movies that fit the agenda of the establishment.
So it is no surprise that Ranbir Kapoor chose to play Ram, Maryada Purshottaman, in the two-part Ramayana that bills itself as a 5,000 year old story that has ruled our hearts, as a warrior fighting monstrous villains in the martial avatar that has been cultural currency since the beginning of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, as opposed to a more thoughtful and introspective God that we have known and loved.
But are these the stars we need or deserve? In the US, Ryan Gosling just powered a heartwarming tale of a science teacher who is sent to space to save a dying sun. Based on Andy Weir's book, Project Hail Mary used practically no VFX and most of the time featured Gosling as Dr Ryland Grace in conversation with a five legged puppet with no face called Rocky. That is a star taking a stand against AI, against VFX, speaking up for storytelling and for soul. It may not change Hollywood which will continue to mount franchise films and launch ever new superheroes, but at least he is pushing back against the studio system.
The West is calling it the Ryan Renaissance. In India we have to be content with the Ranbir-Ranveer surrender. And no, there is no hope from the others. Vicky Kaushal, yes the same actor who played the unlucky Dom in Masaan in 2015, struck a gold mine with the bloodthirsty dog whistle of a movie called Chhaava. Salman Khan after spending a year making a movie showing the Indian Army's plucky resistance against the Chinese in the Battle of Galwan, is reshooting parts of it to suit India's changing geo strategic interests, in a movie that is now called Maatrubhumi and shows much more restraint against the Chinese. When your story is not yours, how to tell it is no longer in your hands