IT’s all in the family

Think of ‘dynasty rule’ in tinsel world and what immediately comes to mind is Bollywood. Many believe the Malayalam movie industry is relatively free from the obsession for star kids who follow in the footsteps of their celebrity parents. But in reality, Mollywood is no exception either. In fact, there are two dozen actors who are grooming their kids to become stars or helping them don the mantle of director. Are celebrity dads robbing the chances of talented youngsters without ‘godfathers’ to favour their wards? Express examines

KOCHI: Are great actors born or made? It will be a tough question to crack and come to a conclusion, especially in the backdrop of the history of the Indian film industry, which is a big business as well as a family enterprise. However, Mollywood was aesthetically and culturally different from Bollywood, Tollywood or even Kollywood down the decades in terms of its approaches, prolific subjects and narrative styles.

But if you think Mollywood is relatively free from dynasty rule like in Bollywood where it is usual to see the wards of film stars easily stepping into the shoes of their parents and being handed film contracts one after another, you are wrong. Mollywood also seems to be as obsessed as Bollywood with its families of late, if the current trends in the industry are any indication.

A close watch of the tinsel world in Kerala will reveal there are around two dozen film stars who have actively been in the industry for the past couple of decades. In fact, they have been shaping their kids as stars or grooming them to don the cap of directors or producers. But listen, this is about immediate family. If you look around for the cousins, nephews, nieces and other relations, one will be surprised to see the sheer numbers. And the interesting thing would be to trace the history of ‘new generation stars’ who have established a career without any family connections and fighting against the odds of the industry.

Shanavas, son of famous actor Prem Nazir - the Amitabh Bachchan of Malayalam films who even made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for having acted in the maximum number of films - had once said during an interview the tag of Prem Nazir’s son has clipped his wings as he could not lower his famous father’s prestige and go asking for roles, and he even said his father had dissuaded him from joining films from the beginning of his career.  

But times have changed and now the celebrity fathers are trying to ‘colonise’ the Malayalam film industry in the hope of carving a niche for their wards using their clout and legacy. C S Venkiteswaran, noted film critic, says, “Though we never mince words in criticising or denouncing the caste system, the celebrity fathers are now taking the industry to the days of the old caste system, throwing the tenets of professionalism to the winds.”

“But I don’t think the new trend will set a new precedent in Malayalam film industry like in Bollywood, where Bachchans, Kapoors and Khans continue dynasty rule and still wield power. Malayalam film buffs, in the long run, will never go after the ‘star kids’ as it is in the Tamil or Telugu film industries.
“But the celebrity fathers who have enough potential to control the industry can create stardom for their kids through meticulous planning like giving dates to directors who are willing to take movies of their wards for a certain period. And during this course of time, the star kids can be groomed as a potential actor by harnessing or nurturing their soft skills, he said.

A ‘new gen star’ who recently shot into the fame said on condition of anonymity there had been severe pressure on theatre owners to take his movie out in the second week and he didn’t get any support from the industry when his movie was strangulated, despite the film receiving better reviews on online platforms.

The new trend will reduce the chances of the ‘youngsters without godfathers’ who are looking for an opening in the industry, said upcoming stars from the industry. Stars like Jayasurya and Nivin Pauly have carved a niche in the industry now by fighting against odds. But they received the real space once they started their own production houses. How many of the new gen stars can afford such strategies in their short career, they asked.

However, there are a lot who claim there is nothing wrong with promoting star kids or making movies banking on them. Director Jeethu Joseph’s new flick Aadhi, which launched Pranav Mohanlal as the hero, said it is a fact the star kids get an easy entry into the industry based on the legacy of their celebrity fathers or their clout.But at the end of the day what matters is talent. One cannot survive without actual talent in the long run and the life of actor Fahad Fazil underscores this fact, he said.

But it raises a question whether a new-comer in Malayalam industry will get a second chance like Fahad, who got his second innings despite the first movie bombing in the box office. Indrajit, son of late actor Sukumaran, said being born to a celebrated father is not a disqualification. “We received a launching pad in the beginning of the career. But we built a career through hard work and dedication. If the son of a doctor could be a doctor and kid of a lawyer can be a lawyer, why is there a discrimination in the film industry?” he asked.

He stressed no star kids will survive without coming out of the shadow of their celebrity fathers and talent is the only yardstick which decides the fate of an actor among other things, he said.
Even when there is a heated debate over the matter in the film circle both in favour of and opposing the trend, some questions remain to be answered especially at a time when thousands of talented new comers are looking for a single opportunity to make a debut in the silver screen.

There is a famous dialogue in the movie Udayananu Tharam, scripted by Sreenivasan, in which one of the chief protagonists Saroj Kumar essayed by Sreenivasan says at the end of the movie, “Intelligent film makers create stars and they are the real ‘stars’”.

Interestingly, two kids of the actor-cum-writer and director who delivered the epilogue at the end of the satire movie, are trying their luck in their industry and one of them has shot to the spotlight through his musical skills and donned the cap of an actor, director, producer and writer in a short span of time.