Are single screen heroes disappearing in B-Town?

I had an interesting conversation with a producer from Mumbai yesterday about the power of single screens and multiplexes in Bollywood. But what made the discussion more interesting was heroes and the power they had in getting the audiences to the theatres.

Today, we have the Khans, Akshay Kumars and Hrithik Roshans, ruling the roost at the box office there with their ability to pull in the audiences to single screens. And whether a hero in Bollywood is a mass hero is determined by this sole ability. If a Salman Khan, for instance, can deliver successive Rs 100 crore films, it is thanks largely because of his success in drawing audiences to single screens across India. He is mass, he is action and he has the power.

Single screens can play a film for a 100 days if the star flick is fabulous and so the audience keeps flocking to the theatre. This is another USP. In contrast, multiplexes today are perfect for multi-star films, small films and films with lesser known stars. Most often made with smaller budgets, the multiplex film never goes mass and a film running for a 100 days is unheard of.

But who are the heroes who will have the same kind of pull and power to draw audiences to single screens five years down the line in Mumbai? Other than Ranbir Kapoor who has become successful and is seen as a single screen mass hero, noone else in Bollywood has measured up to this expectation.

The Imran Khans, Arjun Kapoors and Ranveer Singhs have had good performances but do they have the ability to become a mass hero? The next few years will be a litmus test for many young actors in Bollywood. While the older Khans and others start to recede into the background, the younger generation of mass heroes need to emerge. Or will they? We’ll have to wait and watch!