Will saif get any credit for Tashan?

February 25th, 2008Related|Filed Under

How big a star is Saif? … say Tashan gets a record-breaking opening, how much a factor do you consider Saif? Is Saif to Akshay (in Tashan) what Abhishek was to SrK (KANK), or Govinda to Salman (Partner), where lack of contribution to BO goes? Just wondering.. amongst all this talk of BO on this forum , and all these fights for these stars, where does Saif really stand … according to you?

I am not trying to make some kind of statement, some claim.. or any kind of point here. I just want to know you guy’s stand on this and what you guys think about the actor that I beleive is delivering better performances than any other in Bollywood the past few years. So please don’t attack me personally.

There Are 31 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Street Pharmacist on 25 February 2008:

And yes.. a god question would also be .. whether Tashahn’s failure will affect Saif or Akshay more.. ? or how much of a blame, if any, would saif get for a subpar opening or a failure of Tashan?
Comment by Eire on 25 February 2008:

Saif will get credit. I don’t know if he will get more credit than Akshay.

If Tashan fails it would affect Akshay a bit more since he is riding on such a high with his films doing so well. Saif has nothing to lose in a sense.

I think Tashan will do vey well and be a huge film. But nothing is guaranteed.
Comment by Jesse on 25 February 2008:

Amongst the stars, I think Saif is one the best actors around and is perhaps the only person on par with Aamir. As a draw, I think he is around the level of Abhishek and Salman, and in the case of Tashan he is to Akshay what Abhishek is to SRK in KANK.
Comment by amitk79 on 25 February 2008:

I dont think Saif will play 2nd fiddle to Akki nemore..I am curious to find out what is he doing in the movie…I sumhw feel this movie can easily go wrong too..akki is of course not going to worry about anil coz anil’s days are long gone..but I do have a feeling Anil mite steal the show here..I could be wrong.. but the way promo was shown thts the feeling I got..if u look at the interviews given by Saif Anil and Akki..Anil is the one most curious abt the movie followed by akki..so Anil I think knows he has got his deal here…its an akki movie…though accoloades might go sumwhere else..like welcome..
Comment by Street Pharmacist on 25 February 2008:

“I dont think Saif will play 2nd fiddle to Akki nemore..”

Watching some of teh Akki starrers in recent times, it doesn’t matter how big a erole Akki has, or how central a character he is, he seems to get to get all teh credit for every one of his hits.. whether it be a Welcome where he shares screen time with 3 others stars (Feroz and Nana can both open a movie on their own merits.. check out their last few films) or it be a Bhool Bullaiyya where he actually comes into the picture somwhere near the interval.. and it’s a particular Vidya Balan who has the film revolve around her.
Comment by Ravi on 25 February 2008:

Feroz opening a movie???

I agree on the screen time, but if you ask anyone about who the hero is in Welcome or BB, what would be the answer we get? So, obviously the credit should go to the person who people go to watch it for even though he shares screen time.

I am 100% +ve that people will go to Tashan to watch Akki but will also be happy watching Saif in there.
Comment by Street Pharmacist on 25 February 2008:

Jaanasheen had a very good opening conisdering the fact that it opened opposite a couple of other biggies..

and then.. Nana is a star, in fact a very consistent one in the Mumbai territorry.

But hey.. I’m not taking anything away from Akki and I do concede that the films mentioned did get where they did thanks to Akki’s amazing run. I was just trying to make a point that it doesn’t matter how big a role or how prominently through the movie Akki features.. the hits he stars in .. become his hits. .. and taht .. whether saif plays a second fiddle or not, doesn’t really matter much here.

And yes.. it’s obvious that the movie is considered a monster simply for the Akki-YRF factor.. Except for SrK (OSO), all teh other stars have had their biggest hits in recent times through YRF .. whether Hrithik and his Dhoom2, or Aamir and his Fanaa.. or for that matter Abhishek and his BnB. And so.. everyone’s really curious as to what Akki can deliver with that banner.

But also, Kareena-Saif is also a factor that many in here are downplaying ..
Comment by Ravi on 25 February 2008:

By the way SP, unless you are going off on one of the Shah boys you write very well and I enjoy reading what you write.

Also, liked the piece you had a few days earlier when you had those fictitious comments from different members if the movie starred Abhi in it.
Comment by amitk79 on 25 February 2008:

I think u must also consider Anil in welcome was fading star..and in BB Akki stands way too tall for Shiney and vidya..and nana has always been an intresting actor but never guaranteed any draw honestly outside Mumbai..Tashan has Saif who has recently got lot of admiration for his acting skills..he is a star in his own right..not as huge as akki..simple coz akki has been awesomely consistent in giving hits in recent times..but saif is no pushover..he is neither a fading star ..has had his own share of success in recent times too..and then Kareena saif factor..m sure lot of young generation would be intrested in that(I mean college going generation)..also i sumhow blive post welcome Anil has regained some of his lost audience..and finally if Saif can manage to do something with Race the equation changes somewat IMO.
Comment by Rocky on 25 February 2008:

Feroz Khan rocked in Welcome along with Nana. His movies- Dharmatma, Qurbani, Jaabanz,Apradh etc used to be stylish with excellent songs.
Comment by Ravi on 25 February 2008:

I always felt fro the time I have been watching him, Feroz Khan can’t act period, same frikkin expression on his face.

Nana and Anil rocked for me in Welcome and Akki underplayed his role very well, he has matured so much and really we need to appreciate as to how hard he has worked to become what he has become.
Comment by Qalandar on 25 February 2008:

Before he was bald, Firoz Khan gave the impression of a porn star. Never could stand this absurd fellow– although, since he’s gone bald and started doing crazy things in films, I actually don’t mind him!!! He was sooooo much fun-in-absurdity in Jaanasheen (plus I appreciated his attempt to stand up for India, albeit sozzled, when he was ambushed on his visit to Pakistan 1-2 years ago).
Comment by Qalandar on 25 February 2008:

Ravi: it’s not a question of what you felt, if anything is objective truth in the world, it is this: Firoz Khan cannot act.
Comment by Rocky on 25 February 2008:

Ravi, Q- thnink about aap jaisa koi, kya khoob lagtee ho, har kisee ko nahin milta yahan pyar, gum chewing amzad khan in qurbani!

yaron acting kee kaun baat kar raha hai?

BTW - the fight between Vinod Khanna and Shakti kapoor in Qurbaani in the middle of the road was the best confrontation scene for me.
Say what Satyam???
Comment by Qalandar on 25 February 2008:

Agreed Rocky– Qurbani is my favorite Firoz Khan film (and let’s not forget Mumtaz in a teeny weeny bikini in Apradh). Dharmatama was also a better remake than Sarkar, while Dayavan…uh, not so good. Plus, seeing Vinod Khanna all but have Madhuri for lunch enraged me as a 10-year old.

Qurbani also features my favorite Amjad Khan role after you-know-what…
Comment by Rocky on 25 February 2008:

Plus, seeing Vinod Khanna all but have Madhuri for lunch enraged me as a 10-year old.
LMAO !!!
at least the song at which he was eating her was a good one !!! LOL
Comment by Sid on 25 February 2008:

“Watching some of teh Akki starrers in recent times, it doesn’t matter how big a erole Akki has, or how central a character he is, he seems to get to get all teh credit for every one of his hits.” Agree SP.
I think if Tashan becomes a hit then Akki will be given more credit - just coz he is on a roll at the moment.
saif is a Far Far better actor than him. Tashan being a HIT for him will definately give him aboost too but yes Akki will get more credit.

As for stealng the show from Akki, well Nana and Anil did that in Welcome and Saif and Anil can very well do that in Tashan too. But look who got all the credit for Welcome :-)?
Comment by Nitesh on 25 February 2008:

First of all, No one has ever stolen away the scene in any movie from Akki yet including films like Welcome.

The only reason Akshay is getting credited for his success is because of the curiosity factor…People are curious why and how Dhoni got 6 Cr…
Akshay is the Dhoni of Bollywood….hard hits and big bucks.
Also Indians love to see records being broken….after a long time a star has given 5 consecutive hits (Bhaagam bhaag, Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiya, Welcome)…
now we have a chance to make it 6 in a row…man Akshay will become a toast for the media if that happens and during the release time.
Saif and Kareena’s love affair i used to promote the film….
compare that with Akshay’s and Anil’s persona that will be publicised….
songs with saif Vs action of Akshay
Love of Saif and Kareena Vs dialog of Akshay and Anil

man Akshay and Anil are going to win hands down…
Akshay has 2 songs…one solo and one with Kareena.
Saif has 4 songs…
Anil has 1 song…
so if you assume that screen presence for Akshay = Saif=Anil…
Akshay will have more worthy scenes…he is also doing comedy…so no competition here.

In the end Anil and Akshay will walk away with taalis…Kareena with seetis and saif with coins…and
Akshay with BO honours…. He is in the sunshine phase of his career.
Comment by Qalandar on 25 February 2008:

Also, Welcome had been in the making for a long time, it was started soon after No Entry I believe, so Akshay wasn’t as big a star as he was during the making of Tashan. I highly doubt we will see as little footage for him in Tashan as we did in Welcome.

Anil Kapoor was pretty ordinary in Welcome IMO; not a patch on Nana Patekar.
Comment by kmkm13 on 25 February 2008:

Nana’s wearing suit boot whilst selling vegetable is a classic for
Comment by jingchak on 25 February 2008:

>>Except for SrK (OSO), all teh other stars have had their biggest hits in recent times through YRF .. whether Hrithik and his Dhoom2, or Aamir and his Fanaa.. or for that matter Abhishek and his BnB. And so.. everyone’s really curious as to what Akki can deliver with that banner

very perceptive street. i do think you are among the top 3 writers on NG - in terms of content as well as humor and of course friendly bashing

LOL nitesh - we need more fans like you. btw i do think tashan will beat OSO numbers
Comment by vikschshkr on 25 February 2008:

About Nana - I think he was the best thing about an otherwise awful movie…It was fun seeing the way he could come into a scene and take it away from the others effortlessly…
Comment by jingchak on 25 February 2008:

>Also, Welcome had been in the making for a long time, it was started soon after No Entry I believe

baflles me even more as to why it was such a monstrous hit. to be frank the movie had nothing going for it.
Comment by Qalandar on 25 February 2008:

I would disagree somewhat, in that Street’s point, while well-taken, overstates the case. Aamir’s NON-Yashraj hits during the same period are Rang De Basanti and Taare Zameen Par, and grossed in the same range as Fanaa, although perhaps 5-10% less, assuming Gujarat had been counted — without Gujarat there is barely any difference (this difference could be accounted for not just because Fanaa is a Yashraj film, but because, e.g., Taare Zameen Par is not a conventional song-and-dance film). I don’t think Yashraj proves anything statistically significant about Aamir’s films given the small % difference. With Hritik, one really needs the “in recent times” to make the point: because Krrish is maybe 20-25% less than Dhoom 2 (although several media sources did refer to it as the biggest hit of 2005, and not just IBOS), but if Mujhse Dosti Karoge and Jodha-Akbar are added in the average might well be skewed in favor of non-Yashraj (and no, I’m not saying he does better without YRF, merely making a point).

On Shah Rukh, the point stands, though Chak De is hardly a “typical” Yashraj film — would be interesting to see if this changes once the Aditya Chopra film is released.
Comment by jayshah on 25 February 2008:

YashRaj probably guarantee a stronger initial more than anything else.
Comment by satyam on 25 February 2008:

Qalandar: I thought of making many of these same points and more but with Street I thought I would really be wasting my time beyond a point (and I have wasted lots already!).

I will just add this: given how much SRK’s career is linked to Yashraj it requires some cheek to say what other stars are doing with them!

Of course it’s a whole political case. When SRK works with Yashraj he helps them! When others do they’re helped. of course we won’t look at flops like MDK or JBJ! So this whole argument is either patently insincere or patently ridiculous. Either way one is wasting one’s time!
Comment by Street Pharmacist on 26 February 2008:

satyam.. Hrithik’s only hit outside papa Roshan is a Yashraj film.. that is (by any reliable source) his biggest hit to date. Abhishek’s first hit after 13 consecutive flops.. and his biggest hit to date also happen to be Yashraj films.. Saif hasn’t delivered a “hit” outside YRF… and the list goes on and on.. Maybe the notion of these stars being helped by YRF is not something I tossed out of nowhere in the air. There’s the records there to back it up.

With.. SrK it is a case of the opposite. Not only has SrK actually been more successful with another banner (Dharma), SrK is very much the biggest reason why YRF is where it is now. But ofcourse, SrK also benefitted from them.. but they have benefitted equally, if not more. Ofcourse, teh good thingh for SrK is that, whether it MHN vs VZ, or Don vs KANK.. or the recent CDI vs OSO, SrK seems to be getting as big a success with YRF/Dharma as he does outside their banners. Something your Bachchan simply couldn’t achieve post 85. ..and yes talking of Bachchan vs SrK.. CDI and OSO are just the beginning.. did Bachchan have any of them?
Comment by Street Pharmacist on 26 February 2008:

And Nitesh..though I agree with most of your points.. but Saidf no competition for Akshay in comedy? no competition? Though I personally will take Saif anyday over Akshay at comedy.. let’s just say Akki is the better one (just for the sake of it).. how much better do you think he is over Saif? Honestly. ho wmany lead actors in Bollywood today happen to have a better comic timing than a Saif.. With all teh Langda Tyagis and Karan Rathod acts,, don’t forget Saif’s real forte is comedy and he is as good as anyone else can get in the business.
Comment by Street Pharmacist on 26 February 2008:

Ravi - “By the way SP, unless you are going off on one of the Shah boys you write very well and I enjoy reading what you write.
Also, liked the piece you had a few days earlier when you had those fictitious comments from different members if the movie starred Abhi in it.”

aray itna mat chadhaa ho bhai.. But yeah.. be there on my side, next time one of teh shah brothers call for my ban
Comment by akshay shah on 26 February 2008:

GOod discussion, the whole focus seems to be on Saif/Kareena so yes, Saif will get some credit for TASHAN! Though the hype here is from my point of view seeing Akki in a Yashraj actioner, but also the Akki-Saif jodi reuniting again is super hyped also.

“Watching some of teh Akki starrers in recent times, it doesn’t matter how big a erole Akki has, or how central a character he is, he seems to get to get all teh credit for every one of his hits.. whether it be a Welcome where he shares screen time with 3 others stars (Feroz and Nana can both open a movie on their own merits.. check out their last few films) “—-umm..yeah they can open a movie, but can someone tell me whether WELCOME would’ve had the same opening had Saif or Bobby Deol been there instead of Akki?

As for TASHAN….I don’t think Akki would’ve signed a movie with Yashraj after such a long time was it a raw deal, it’s obvious Akki is the MAIN man in this film….Saif on the other hand I can see Yashraj take for granted as they’re probs doing another 5-6 solos with him:)

A.Shah
Comment by Street Pharmacist on 28 February 2008:

“…but can someone tell me whether WELCOME would’ve had the same opening had Saif or Bobby Deol been there instead of Akki?”

wow.. first of all.. at no point did I claim that Saif is equally big a star that Akshay is. Secondly.. what do you mean by “saif” or “bobby”? I think Saif is much bigger a star than Bobby, than Akshay is compared to Saif. So I don’t know how you decided to put them in the same bracket (well.. the way you mentioned them ther in that stemner does imply that).. and finally … I am not taking anything away from Akki there. Those films, even if Akki had a smaller role, did become hits almost entirely thanks to Akki’s star power . Read my 3rd comment on teh thread
“But hey.. I’m not taking anything away from Akki and I do concede that the films mentioned did get where they did thanks to Akki’s amazing run… “