Superstars no more holding fort

By: Sunil Noronha
Monday, July 30, 2007
For a producer roping in a superstar for a film is much a way of protecting his investment. Even if the film becomes a flop, it would end up being an average release, which is still okay in terms of the financial profits gained from the film. Thus you make superstars. But that mantra has been not been paying of off late. The latest in the list of Superstar flops is Ajith's Kreedom – though Thala's fans may not agree with the notion.

However added on to the list is megastar Chiru's Shankardada Zindabad. The much anticipated film was touted to be a bigger hit than Shankardada MBBS was – but it has failed. Even Rajini is not spared from this phenomenon. He suffered from the failure of Baba. It has indeed been tough for the people who have sustained themselves and maintained themselves and maintained their position over time.

Superstars are in a way a debacle for newcomers because unless you look past the superstars you will see no good enough actors. Since this has been clearly a policy that shows no returns, the average film audience is looking for other options. It seems that the average film audiences in Tamil and Telugu have been opening their minds more to debutantes and juniors who do a good job. That's why you have hits like Chennai 600028, which had all lead roles filled in by new faces.