There's music in the stars Big names and many songs is the new mantra in the forthcoming films of 2002

Subhash K Jha

Debutant director Anant Mahadevan's Dil Vil Pyar Vyar seems to have a word in the title for each of its three leading men, R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Jimmy Shergil. A few months ago, Vikram Bhatt's three-star comedy Awaara Paagal Deewana featured 'Awaara' Akshay Kumar, 'Paagal' Suniel Shetty and 'Deewana' Aftab Shivdasani.

The three-hero formula seems to be back in favour after a longish hiatus when newcomers were being given a serious try at the box-office. Says Devdas director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, "If you notice, love stories with a fresh pair, from Bobby to Ek Duuje Ke Liye to Love Story to Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, have always worked."

The inverse seems to have also come true in 2002. Fresh faces in dramas and actioners do not stand a chance. Sinewy young men with flamboyant pectorals with under-dressed girls wrapped around them seem to have gone to waste.

Almost every film nowadays has big names in it. While Suneel Darshan readies his two multi-starrers Talaash (featuring Darshan's favourite Akshay Kumar with Kareena Kapoor, Pooja Batra and Raakhee Gulzar), and Mere Jeevan Saathi (Akshay, Karisma Kapoor and Amisha Patel) for an early release, Suneel's brother Dharmesh is ready to launch his own film with the ubiquitous Akshay Kumar along with Amitabh Bachchan.

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The film, tentatively titled Bewafaa, will feature another major star and three prominent leading ladies.

Evidently the moviemaking mills in Mumbai are churning overtime in spite of doomsday prophets bemoaning the lack of profits at the box-office. Producer Vashu Bhagnani, who is ready with his latest Tusshar Kappoor-Kareena Kapoor starrer Jeena Sirf Mere Liye (a remake of Mehboob Khan's 1946 classic musical Anmol Gaadi), is ready to repeat the lead pair regardless of the fate of the film after it opens November 1. "There is something about this pair, Tusshar and Kareena, which I feel audiences love," says Bhagnani.

Suneel Darshan and Vashu Bhagnani believe that the time-tested combination of big stars and ear-friendly music can never fail. Bhagnani has launched his own music company Puja Music to release the music of Jeena Sirf Mere Liye.

"Talaash is like a hark back to the good old days of the grand musicals like Anmol Gaadi where there was a song for every occasion," says Darshan of his film which has nine songs. "Why not? Music songs and dances are inherent aspects of our culture. They can never fail to please audiences," reasons Darshan.

He admits there are no music composers of stature in Bollywood today. "But we must make do with what we have." Bhagnani and Darshan believe charismatic stars singing melodious tunes will never fade away.

The songless experimental cinema will just have to wait a little longer. The year 2002 has clearly been the year of the musicals, as the success of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, Vikram Bhatt's Raaz and the anticipation for mega-musicals like Jeena Sirf Mere Liye and Talaash proves.