The latest trend of onscreen reunion of senior Bollywood actors is becoming quite a hit formula, as these films are going down well with audiences. Read on…
Sheetal & Yamini Verma
Nostalgia has been Bollywood’s favourite formula to make an instant connect with audiences. But there’s another shortcut to fuse some of the old feelings in a fresh narrative – cast veteran actors as parallel leads! Lately, this practice of onscreen reunion of senior Bollywood actors is gathering steam. We have witnessed Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt featuring in AP Dhillon’s song Old Money.
Recently, the golden 90s of Bollywood was back with Ghudchadi, as we saw Raveena Tandon romancing Sanjay Dutt on screen. The same way, Jackie Shroff and Neelam Kothari reunited for T-Series song Tu after three decades.
Be it the much-hyped kiss scene between veterans Shabana Azmi and Dharmendra in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023) or Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel reuniting for Gadar 2, a sequel launched after 22 years… here’s a look at trend.
That 70s show
The silver-haired actresses Shabana Azmi and Zeenat Aman are awaiting the release of their recent collaboration, Bun Tikki. The latter made quite a splash with her Instagram debut at 71! As she landed herself endorsements and modeling assignments, Zeenat was ready to roll once again. She signed a movie last year, which is co-produced by fashion designer Manish Malhotra. But it would be interesting to see two veteran actresses re-sharing screen space after a gap of more than 40 years. Despite being most-sought-after artistes of the 80s , the two worked in very few projects together, such as Ishk Ishk Ishk (1974) and Ashanti (1982).
When netizens watched Azmi (73) and Dharmendra (88) not only sharing screen space but kissing in the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, they went ecstatic! Karan Johar’s comeback movie as director, although it was a love story of the titular characters played by Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, the plot was heavily dependent on their respective grandparents’ incomplete love story. While Dharmendra played a Punjabi, Kanwal, grandfather of Rocky, Azmi essayed a music-loving Bengali, Jamini Chatterjee, grandmother of Rani. Their fiery chemistry takes one back to the lover boy era of 1960s. The two even romanced on the classic song Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar from Hum Dono (1961).
With these actors getting accolades for their performances, it may very well be said that ‘seventies is the new twenties’!
Middle path
OTT film Mast Mein Rehne Ka depicts the unique chemistry between two oldies, Kamath and Parkash Kaur. The two veterans, Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta, with their Madrasi-Punjabi banter in the film, weave a world far from the gloss, glitter and gore, right in Mumbai. The heartfelt story about a lesser-talked subject ‘loneliness in old-age’ struck a chord with many. Watching Danny Denzongpa in the 2022 film Uunchai was refreshing too. In fact, the storyline was a fresh one too with veterans actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Anupam Kher. Directed by Sooraj Barjatya, the film won Best Direction Award at the 70th National Film Awards.
Sequel saga
When Gadar 2 was announced, fans eagerly awaited the reunion of Sakeena and Tara, played by Ameesha Patel and Sunny Deol, respectively. Seeing them romance to the tunes of Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava, flooded people with emotion. The duo pulled audiences to the theatre halls and shattered records despite the post-Covid effect. While overall film business faced a deficit, Gadar 2 garnered Rs 691.08 crore in worldwide gross collections.
Similarly, Khichdi 2: Mission Paanthukistan, a movie released in 2023, brought the iconic characters of popular TV show Khichdi together, including Supriya Pathak,Rajeev Mehta, Anang Desai, Vandana Pathak, Kirti Kulhari and Jamnadas Majethia. However, unlike Gadar 2, this one couldn’t pull off the magic of the first outing — Khichdi: The Movie (2010).
Again, people have big expectations from cult characters, Raju, Shyam and Baburao aka Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal, respectively. The actors will be reprising their roles for the threequel of classic comedy Hera Pheri (2000). Hera Pheri 3 is expected to go on floors soon — it’s been 18 years since the franchise’s last outing.
