Mayank Shekhar: Did the cell phone kill the movie star?

Salman fans get befuddled when instead of simply playing his macho self he cries copiously on screen in TubelightGiven that Amitabh Bachchan had been the leading man in cinema for over three decades already one of the apprehensions he shared when Star TV approached him to host the television show Kaun Banega Crorepati KBC in 2000 was if TV as a medium would signify a diminished stardom There was the initial cynicism about reducing yourself from 70 mm to a 25inch screen Metaphorically that was terrible because youre reducing your size Big B told me in an interview onceHe took the plunge nonetheless having been assured production quality equal to KBCs phenomenal run as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire abroad The move turned out to be a gamechanger Not just for Bachchan but for Bollywood itself Practically all the top bigscreen stars have done television sinceCinemas stardom has obviously been linked to the size of the big screen which forces us to look up to a figure so larger than life that we could fit into the heros nostril or get blown away if he sneezed in the dark hall Did televisioncomputerNetflixcell phone kill this stardomLets look at Hollywood first Around the turn of the millennium when downloads on the Internet had hit a critical mass to severely affect theatrical footfalls the only option execs in LA were left with to beat the laptop was to create tentpole entertainment wholly dependent on special effects that would push audiences to step out of home shell out money for a ticket and place their eyes on the massive IMAX or 3D screen for the real thing What guaranteed footfalls then Not the star merely the spectacle reboots sequels disaster films spinoffs and franchises with several superheroes for the price of oneYou look back at Hollywood in the 90s and youll be flooded with news stories on stars whether Jim Carrey or Julia Roberts setting new records upping their acting fee You glance through the Forbes list of the worlds 100 highest earning entertainers those sitting comfortably on top bottom centre are mainly musician musician musician making their living off live shows something the InternetTV cant replicate interspersed with athletes TV hosts and once in a while if any at all a movie starWhats the equivalent of Indias Rs 100crore box office club in the US The billiondollar or Rs 6500 crore club This is to give you a relative sense of scale between two film industries that besides Hong Kong are the only ones with a traditional star system Yet of the 10 movie stars who make it to the list of 100 highest earning celebs between June 1 2016 to 2017 before tax and management fee three are Indians Shah Rukh Khan 65 38 million Salman Khan 71 37 million and Akshay Kumar 80 355 millionSurely like the No 1 Diddy much of whose earnings come from his clothing line and partnership with Ciroc vodka Indian superstars make enough from outside cinema endorsement deals sports teams or privately owned companies But all of it still depends on their supposed star power Which is their inherent ability to assure bums on cinema seats Like with any other business these oneman industries are also judged on their yearonyear growth in box office revenuesDid the cell phone net piracy and TV hit footfalls in theatres Hugely Could SRK the king of romance for instance expand his empire merely banking on a captive audience built over twoandahalf decades Earlier yes Now no Starting 2011 or so you watch him attempt everything he can to bring newer younger and older cell phone audiences into theatres superhero RaOne comedy Chennai Express masala Happy New Year obsessiondrama Fan mafia Raeeshellip Akshay isnt an actioncomic star anymore He does mostly sane uppermidclass pics Each movie looks enticingly different and he clocks at least four a yearPerhaps the turning point for Salman the last man standing is when he showed up on the first day of Dabanggs shoot with a moustache on Hed flatly refused until that day Bhai fans are equally befuddled when instead of simply playing his macho self what essentially made stardriven movies criticscriptaudience proof he cries copiously on screen in Tubelight What Salman wants to know as he said in a recent interview is if the audience is laughing at him Hes glad to report that theyre not Its a big risk The penny must drop And it will keep getting tougher If anything the younger actors are having a harder time breaking into mythological stardomDoes this inevitable tinkering to get people to genuinely look forward to a film on the big screen since stars are everywhere from TV to Twitter anyway affect the top entertainers fame at the groundlevel Obviously not Thats not what this is about Fame or familiarity unlike stardom flows naturally from screen Its cheap democratic and the size doesnt matter even a viral video on YouTube will do But it doesnt get you into the Forbes listI remember someone telling me about a minor actor getting mobbed in a smalltown The actor came across a crazy fan who kept gawking at him unsure why the quasiceleb couldnt recognise him I just saw you yesterday on the screen said the fan The actor agreed Yeah you could see me But I couldnt You need to know thatMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom