LINK

Ever since Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan made their debut in 2000 they have regularly been compared and pitted against each other. Having Bollywood genes in their blood both have had a similar childhood and grew up around the silver screen. But when it comes to acting and stardom Hrithik has always been miles ahead of Abhishek.

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and Refugee released in the same year. Roshan Jr announced his arrival in style while Abhishek had a tough time stepping into his father’s shoes. When the two stars came together on screen for first time in Dhoom 2 also featuring Aishwarya it was Hrithik’s show once again and he seemed to be too heavy for Abhishek. Critics would argue that Hrithik was given a better role but a good actor will make his presence felt even in a cameo. Isn’t Sholay more remembered for Amjad Khan than for Amitabh and Dharmendra.

Then came the biggest battle between the two stars when Abhishek decided to Drona to challenge Hrithik who had become Bollywood’s most famous superhero after his breathtaking performance in Krrish. This time too sadly Junior B failed to put up a show against his childhood friend Duggu. Not only the film fail to achieve a good opening across the country, it is now even been compared to Tashan another disaster of the year.

The reasons why Drona failed when compared to Krrish may be many but there is not a bigger culprit than the script of the movie. Jaydeep Sarkar, Rohini Killough and director Goldie Behl penned an apology of a script. Compared to the character of Krishna in Krrish Drona seemed like a confused child who has to time and again be reminded of the magical powers he posses.

There were even talks that Drona resembled more of a Rajput prince than a superhero. For generations of Bollywood fans who have grown up watching agile characters of Spiderman and Superman, Drona looked too human to be a superhero. Also Abhishek’s physical appearance and fitness level which are so important in a superhero character were not match to that of Hrithik.

The villain played by Kay Kay Menon resembled a ridiculous fool at times and was no match for Naseeruddin Shah who played Dr. Siddhant Arya in Krrish. Drona was promoted to have the most expensive villain ever in Bollywood. The filmmakers should have realised that the audience today is not alien to special effects due the popularity of Hollywood movies. A good character works when it has substance and not when SFX is embedded around it. The only person who smiled the way home would be Priyanka Chopra having been a part of both the superhero movies.

In the end Abhishek Bachchan played his part pretty decently in the movie. He was terribly let down by the screenplay, the picture could have been totally different had the script been treated differently. Alas the fact remains Abhishek has to live with Drona being his failure. More importantly he has again failed to match up to Hrithik’s standards.