Second lead, but not second fiddle

Playing second lead is not all that bad, especially when many actors have left a lasting impression

Life is all about making calculated choices. While the phrase 'second lead' is scarier than the H1N1 virus to most lead heroines, many a brave actress has alchemised great success from second-lead roles that were snubbed by snotty bigger names.

I have always found myself rooting for the underdogs. So wait and watch. For all we know, Kangana may steal the thunder from below Barbara's well-defined nose and beautiful body.

Didn't Zeenat Aman do exactly that to Mumtaz in Dev Anand's Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972)? Zeenat played, get this, Dev's sister in this film, which made her a major star; and indeed a cultural landmark with her excitingly new uninhibited sensuality! Despite the presence of the hugely popular and perky Mumtaz as the conventional heroine opposite Dev Anand in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Zeenat was the one with the most 'dum' wala role (pun intended on her psychedelic chartbuster, R D Burman's 'Dum maro dum').

Zeenat got into the skin of the character the dysfunctional hippie, Janice, who was addicted to drugs, prone-to-suicide and yearning for love. She let go of her long hair and camera inhibitions, wore oversized glares, a tikka and a floral dress, and had the audience rooting for her.

I remember, I was a true-blue Mumtaz admirer but this whirlwind named Zeenat just knocked me over. The last thought on my mind was what billing she had in the film.

Consider the irony of fate Nargis's niece, Zaheeda, turned down this role because playing Dev Anand's sister seemed a bad career move after she had played his heroine in Gambler. The industry in the '70s was prone to typecasting, but Zaheeda's caution proved to be costly. Zaheeda says, "Zeenat was young, a model and brought a certain freshness to the role. She did it very well but at the performance level, in retrospect, I feel, I could have done better in the emotional scenes."

Zaheeda should have really known better than to refuse because despite playing the second lead in Prem Pujari, she had the more interesting role as Madan Puri's woeful wife turned Dev's informer. Now Zaheeda rues the fact that she let go of many a plum opportunity because of the dreaded second-lead stigma. She tells me that she also refused a role opposite Dilip Kumar (eventually played by Bindu) in B R Chopra's Dastaan.
On hindsight, one observes that even prior to Hare Rama..., Dev Anand's production house, Navketan, was, by and large, partial to the second lead.

In the Guru Dutt-directed Baazi (1951), Geeta Bali was the nightclub singer who dies in the film while heroine Kalpana Kartik (now Mrs Dev Anand) was the gal who gets the hero. But Geeta was luminous as the dancer inveigling a desperate Dev to gamble with the pointed 'Tadbeer se bigdi huyee taqdeer bana le, apne pe bharosa hai toh yeh daav laga le'. Her vivacity had just the right tinge of wistfulness. Baazi made Geeta a star. Dev says, "Baazi had tremendous repeat value. People came again and again to see the 'Tadbeer se' and Geeta."

Dev Anand's next big hit, Taxi Driver (1954), too had a stunning second lead in another club singer, Sylvie (played by the sylph-like Sheila Ramani at the prime of her Rita Hayworthesque glamour). She crooned four unforgettable torch songs: 'Ai meri zindagi, aaj raat jhum le'; 'Dil jale to jale'; 'Jeene do aur jeeyo' and 'Dil se milake dil pyar kijiye') before biting the bullet for Dev. Kalpana Kartik was the heroine, but Sheila was the show-stopper.

Interestingly, Dev's fascination with the second lead was shared by his campwallahs Guru Dutt (Shakila in Aar Paar, Mala Sinha in Pyaasa, Waheeda in Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam) and Raj Khosla.

In the Raj Khosla-directed Kaala Pani, the beauteous Madhubala had a bland, vanilla-flavoured role as Dev's helpful love interest while Nalini Jaywant had a 'supporting role' albeit one loaded with fiery dramatics and famous mujras ('Nazar laagi raja', 'Dil lagake kadar gayee' 'Jab naam-e-mohabbat'). Playing the grey-shaded raazdaar whom Dev seduces under false pretences, Nalini no longer looked the elfin beauty of 'Gore gore o banke chhore' or Munimji but what a performance she unleashed when she discovers Dev's true motives. She truly deserved the award she won for this role.

I often find the second lead the most intriguing character because they usually inhabit the twilight zone neither heroine nor vamp. Their grey tinged characters live a life outside society's cloisters. Mumtaz was just fabulous at playing such roles.

Before she became the demure leading lady of the '70s, pug-nosed Mumtaz played second lead to almost the entire range of '60s heroines Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore, Saira Banu, Waheeda Rehman, Rajshree in Mere Sanam, Sawan Ki Ghata, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Patthar Ke Sanam, Bramhachari. But she essayed these roles with such apple-cheeked vim and vivacity that they clearly marked her out as special.

Mumtaz was not the only one to make the leap from second fiddle to first rung player. Nimmi made her debut with Raj Kapoor's Barsaat (1949) in which Nargis was the heroine but the diminutive newcomer managed to stand tall.

Some second leads never crossed the divide into the A-league but made an impact nevertheless. In Nasir Hussain's fun-filled Caravan, Aruna Irani sizzled as the spitfire gypsy who wants her "garam masala" (Jeetendra) at all cost. And Laxmi Chhaya threatened 'Maar diya jaaye, ki chhod diya jaaye' while holding the audience captive in Raj Khosla's Mera Gaon Mera Desh.

The heroine of both these films, Asha Parekh, sportingly did not vent her spleen on her regular collaborators, Nasir Hussain and Raj Khosla, for giving worthy chances to the second leads; in fact she went on to work with Khosla in Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki and was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category, alongside her co-star in the film, Nutan (strange who was the heroine of this film?). However, both of them lost the award that year to Reena Roy, who played Kamini Agarwal in Apnapan.

Playing a woman who deserts her husband (Jeetendra) and childu00a0... and lives to regret it, Reena Roy was the spicy counterpoint to the sweet-faced Sulakshana Pandit. The role was edgy but Reena had a palpable wistfulness in her arsenal. Though she had scored hits before (Nagin, Kaalicharan), it was Apnapan that saw Reena find acceptance as an 'actress'. Arguably, no one since the 70s has projected a self-deprecating air as well as Reena Roy (just watch her in 'Sheesha ho ya dil ho' in Asha).u00a0

In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Raakhee had the two most successful heroes of the day (Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna) wooing and pining for her while Rekha had a track, which was almost incidental to the main story. But as the lovelorn Zohrabai, Rekha stole the thunder, ably abetted by the super hit song 'Salaam e ishq meri jaan'.

Label them as you will, I have enjoyed the performances of Rani in Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai and Preity Zinta in Dil Se I am not surprised it made them into stars. I am amazed that Twinkle actually refused Rani's role in KKHH. Footage-wise, Rani's character may have gasped for breath, but she came like a breath of fresh air in the film. She lingered on not just in Shah Rukh's memory, but also the audiences' memory for reels to come.

It's always good to watch Preity Zinta's obvious enjoyment of life onscreen. But despite her sturdy body of work, Dil Se remains my favourite. Mani Ratnam and Manisha Koirala may have formed a mutual-admiration society after Bombay, but in Dil Se, it was bright-eyed Preity on the cusp of sensuousness and innocence ("Are you a virgin?" she asks a sputtering Shah Rukh) who left an indelible impression.

I had also intended to write about the heroes who made a seismic impact in supporting roles but I have run out of space so I will continue next fortnight; but before I conclude this column, I would like to add the thought that Kangana Ranaut's approach to movies epitomises the adventurous spirit of a new breed of actors, who are not as concerned about leads and second leads.

In Fashion, Priyanka played the protagonist; but Kangana, as the model with mercurial moods and a penchant for self-destruction, sashayed on the ramp with the ease of a professional and dexterously handled a role as complex as her tresses. Her expostulations in strangely accented English after fighting with her boyfriend are a minor glitch, but overall she kept the flag of 'supporting' (a now redundant phrase) actors flying high. Who know, she may surprise the sceptics and soar skywards with Kites, Barbara notwithstanding.

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