Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Ananya Panday: Goodbye catfights and cold shoulders, Bollywood’s actresses are BFFs now – BigStory – Times of India
But, all that sense of cutthroat competition and cold wars seems to have gone out of fashion now. Current stars like Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Ananya Panday and Suhana Khan are often seen partying together, holidaying and constantly featuring in each other’s social media timelines with selfies, groupfies and red-carpet collaborations. Forget being at loggerheads, the new breed of actresses look inseparable and quite naturally are often heard being called BFFs (Best Friends Forever).
So what’s changed? Is there no sense of competition between modern actresses? Has the big bad world of movies mellowed down? In this week’s Big Story, ETimes speaks to film industry veterans and specialists to find out all that’s changed in the erstwhile, volatile relationships of actresses. How and why have they become besties of B-Town? Find out…
Actresses are partying, holidaying and working out together
Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor appeared on Karan Johar’s show Koffee With Karan together and spoke about everything under the sun, including dating the same person, going on trips together to Kedarnath, Goa and Los Angeles. It was the kind of camaraderie that you’d expect from sisters, let alone competitors who debuted in the same year and have since been the go to names for most top projects in Bollywood.
Senior journalist and author Bharathi Pradhan has been observing and interacting with the film industry and its stars for almost four decades and she gives her reasons for the change in outlook. She says, “I think there’s a lot less insecurity. It’s surprising because one would think today’s competition is so fierce, so high and so there should be more insecurity. But it’s not working that way. I feel a lot of it is because, most people will kill me for saying this, most of the new stars around us are star kids. They already come feeling entitled and feeling like they’ve got their space. They are not going to feel insecure as Vidya Sinha felt back in the 70s. Back then, most stars were all people who didn’t have a film family backing them. But today, Sonakshi Sinha doesn’t have to feel insecure because she feels privileged from the time she was born. She doesn’t feel insecure about another actress.”
Shilpa Shirodkar who scaled the heights of popularity during the peak competitive period of the 90s says, “It’s actually so nice to see today’s girls as good friends. It’s not that this didn’t happen in our times, but it was a really different time back then. We used to do 3 shifts a day, and sometimes we used to do 3 to 4 projects together. So between studio runs and odd timings, we probably didn’t get the time to bond. Today times have changed. Actors do one film at a time, they finish their projects and then take a break. They travel, spend time with family, friends and bond with each other and it’s so beautiful to see that. Thanks to social media their friendship and camaraderie also gets visibility.”
Is friendship just a front?
Rakhi Sawant doesn’t think so. She has admittedly faced a lot of competition and rivalry in the past. But she is glad that actresses have realised that petty competition will not help their careers or cause. She says, “Today two actresses can be friends. Earlier on, stars like Madhuri ji and Sridevi ji ki nahi banti thi mere khayal se. Uss time pe tashan rehta tha (Madhuri and Sridevi didn’t get along I feel. There used to be tension in the air). Some actresses are friends on the face, behind the back everyone feels jealous. Everyone feels like they should get the biggest films and the best opportunities. I really like the current trend of actresses being friends. There’s nothing to gain from being jealous of your colleagues. I have always felt it’s your talent, your acting and dance that will lead you to success. Jal bhun ke kucch nahi hoga. Pehle ka zamana kucch aur tha, aaj ka zamana kucch aur hai (There’s nothing to gain by being jealous. The times have changed).”
Film analyst and writer Dilip Thakur feels modern friendships between actresses could be a professional convenience. He reasons, “I think today’s friendships are calculated friendships. Going to parties or dinners together that’s all. Katrina Kaif does not have an actress friend because she has got the roles of many actresses during her successful run. Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone acted together in Bajirao Mastani but there was no talk of them sharing a friendship. Same thing with Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who acted together in Devdas. Today’s friendships between two actresses don’t seem genuine. It looks like they’re giving each other company for some time, that’s all.”
Filmmaker Suneel Darshan who has had a ringside view of some much-talked-about spats echoes similar concerns and says, “It’s not in good taste to comment on these children’s lifestyles as their parents have been such dear friends to my family. However, I feel that since all these girls share a common agency handling their careers maybe it’s just toeing in line with the strategy advised to them.”
Women and society have changed
Senior film publicist and manager Parull Gossain, who has handled PR and communication for many actresses in the past, feels contemporary stars don’t want to be perceived in a negative light. She says, “Actresses today do not want to be perceived as petty contenders for small roles in films. Instead, they want to be seen as stars who can carry films on their own. They are no longer fighting for the recommendation from heroes. It’s also a reflection on the women in the society, who don’t want to be seen as fighting for male benefactors. It’s a natural progression of education and financial independence. It’s a statement of professional success.”
Parull explains how Priyanka Chopra was one of the first actresses to work on changing the narrative. She explains, “Priyanka has projected this non competitive persona for years. I remember in Barfi, she didn’t allow speculation about a rivalry with Ileana D’Cruz to fester and praised the other actor and changed the narrative. In Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha, Radhika Madan and Sanya Malhotra genuinely hung out together and were very supportive of each other. I have never seen Vidya Balan pull down any other actress.”
Bharathi Pradhan says, “There’s enough space for all of them now. Most of them are star kids. Who’s not a star kid today? They know they are privileged. They always feel like a star anyway. You might find someone like Kartik Aaryan feeling concerned about it, but Arjun Kapoor won’t feel insecure because he’s also got the full family backing. Because almost all of them are celebrity kids, they come with a sense of security which comes with the fame and with the family background and with the backing. They’ve got so much going for them that the insecurity doesn’t show up. They can afford to be magnanimous with everybody.”
Looking back at the cutthroat times
While things may be placid now, there was a time during the 90s and early 2000s when stories of actresses being at loggerheads used to ring in from all corners. We’ve even heard stories of heated arguments and actresses slapping each other. It really seems like insecurity and the competitive nature of the film industry riled up its actresses. Film producer and Madhuri Dixit’s former manager Rikku Rakeshnath reasons that things weren’t as dramatic as they were made out to be. He says, “I never saw any insecurity. There were friendships but few. Madhuri was not very friendly. She would mind her own work. She had friends, not from the film industry, but mostly from outside. Namrata Shirodkar and Shilpa Shirodkar were quite friendly.”
Shilpa Shirodkar agrees and says, “If I have to talk about myself, I never knew anyone from the industry. I only met all my co-actors at shoots and that was it. I never got involved in any catfights or arguments. For me, everyone was my friend, it’s just that after our shoots we never met. I also had many dear friends… Madhuri Dixit, Sangeeta Bijlani, Madhoo… but then things changed after a point. But today thanks to social media we are still connected.”
Suneel Darshan agrees that there was a time when competition was fierce. He reveals, “The intense rivalry between Bebo, Amisha, Priyanka etc was truly a sight… I was working with this set of girls simultaneously during the beginning of 2000’s and it was amusing to witness some very peculiar moments.”
Misunderstandings contributed to the bad blood
Back in the day, a lot of actresses didn’t have access to each other and it was easy to misunderstand statements, comments and opinions because most of the information being relayed was through interviews and articles in newspapers and magazines. Dilip Thakur recalls, “During the 90s there was only competition – Raveena Tandon versus Manisha Koirala and Raveena Tandon versus Karisma Kapoor. Once Urmila Matondkar told me how rumours and gossip stories were circulated by the media. They would tell Manisha that a film offered to you has now gone to Urmila and take her reaction. Then they would tell Urmila about Manisha’s reaction and take Urmila’s reply to her comments.”
Rikku Rakeshnath says, “The competition between Madhuri and Sridevi was created by the media and some producers. There was nothing in the minds of both of these actresses because I knew both of them. They had strong and solid personalities.”
Dilip Thakur points out, “Madhuri Dixit worked with everyone but never became friends with anyone. Have you ever heard that Madhuri Dixit has a female friend from the industry? There was no friendship formula in the 70s, 80s and 90s. The first competition that became the talk of the town was in Daag between Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee. Two-heroine films were a rarity in those days. Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha were cast together in Pyaasa, but there was no competition.”
Bharathi Pradhan recalls the tiff between Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee Gulzar. She says, “I remember even Vidya Sinha and Shabana Azmi had this thought, they didn’t get along. Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee didn’t get along when they were doing Daag. And you know, invariably the hero would gang up with one of them, making the other one feel left out. So, Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila would gang up, making Rakhee feel left out. And then Rakhee got her revenge because in that small little role, she came through better than anyone else.”
Suneel Darshan feels the women had it tough in a male dominated industry. He explains, “It seems to have been a hero dominated scenario ever since I recall. Maybe a Sridevi, Madhuri or Aishwarya could choose but the rest of the girls always had to gain support from their male counterparts to further their career prospects.”
Rakhi Sawant narrates a personal incident, revealing, “When I was struggling, I was asked to step out from a flight by another actress, whom I cannot name. She had become the producer’s favourite. Do teen baar hua hai, ki mujhe filmon se nikal diya gaya hai. Abhi toh kisi ki himmat nahi ki mujhe film se nikal sake (It happened on 2 or 3 occasions that I was ousted from a film. But now no one dares to throw me out of a project).”
Even in the midst of competition, friendships did blossom
It’s not like actresses were at an all-out war against each other. The skirmishes were few and far between, almost always being spurred by stray incidents. Most yesteryear actresses were cordial and a few even forged life-long friendships. Suneel Darshan recalls, “We have witnessed the close friendship between Nandaji, Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Helen and Shammiji in the past.”
Dilip Thakur recalls an incident of camaraderie and says, “Waheeda had newcomer Nanda as a co-star in Kaala Paani. Waheeda had said in an interview that she had offered Nanda to use the facilities of her room because Nanda was not offered those on the film set. But heroines became glamorous in the 1980s with Hema Malini, Rakhee, Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. Zeenat and Parveen brought importance to Western looks. Friendships between heroines disappeared from then onwards. There were no female friendships that were known at that time. What the likes of Waheeda Rehman and Helen shared with each other was friendship. They would travel together. There’s no emotional bonding today.”
Being friends is important
Sara, Janhvi, Ananya and Suhana have shown the world what friendship and bonds between actresses can look like. But this trend is not new. Dilip Thakur recalls how Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta had become best friends, too. He says, “The friendship between two heroines became a buzz when it was reported that Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta were great friends. Rani got lucky with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Ghulam after Twinkle Khanna and Pooja Bhatt rejected those films respectively. Maybe that’s why Rani stayed down to earth.”
Shilpa Shirodkar tries to sum up the happy feeling when she says, “It’s important to make friends from your workplace because there are so many things one can talk about. We can laugh, joke, discuss and there can be an understanding. I think that’s brilliant.”
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