A.K.A: The golden era of Bollywood lookalikes

The lives of Bollywood star lookalikes like Walde, Kishore Bhanushali, who is known as Junior Dev Anand, Firoz Khan, called Junior Amitabh Bachchan, and others are the subject of a new documentary, Urf (a.k.a.), directed by Delhi-based filmmaker Geetika Narang Abbasi.

The film, which won the top prize at the just-concluded International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, revisits the 'golden era' of Bollywood lookalikes from the '70s to the '90s, and debates the dilemma of loss of identity and ambition while showing up every day as someone else.

From Chaplin to Bachchan

"The oldest lookalike in the Hindi film industry was Noor Mohammed 'Charlie', who wore a Charlie Chaplin moustache with a sherwani and desi topi," says Abbasi, whose non-fiction works straddle subjects from climate change to the country's bizarre traditions. "In the '50s, there were Madhubala and Meena Kumari lookalikes," adds the director, whose last feature documentary, Much Ado About Knotting (2012), was on matchmaking.

Among the first films starring lookalikes were I.S. Johar's 5 Rifles (1974), a box-office success starring Rakesh Khanna (Rajesh Khanna) and Shahi Kapoor (Shashi Kapoor), and featuring the famous qawwali song "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom Sharabi", and Nasbandi (1978) with Anitav Bacchan, Kannauj Kumar, Shahi Kapoor and Rakesh Khanna, and music by Kalyanji Anandji. Then came one of the biggest hits, Ramgarh Ke Sholay (1991), with a cast of Amjad Khan and lookalikes of Amitabh Bachchan, Dev Anand, Govinda and Anil Kapoor.

In the early '90s, lookalikes were so popular they even went on a global tour visiting many countries in Europe and Africa. "Lookalike actors were very popular when I was growing up. I used to often see them in ads and TV shows," says Abbasi, who decided to make a movie on the lives of lookalikes after watching the Aamir Khan-Madhuri Dixit 1990 romantic comedy Dil.

"The documentary's journey started from Kishore Bhanushali, who played the role of Aamir Khan's friend Dev, performing Dev Anand's acts in Dil," says Abbasi, who heard on the grapevine that amused after seeing Kishore mimic Dev Anand, Aamir Khan wanted him in the film. Abbasi spent the next few years researching the subject of lookalikes and met many actors in Mumbai for Urf (Urdu word meaning alias) which took half-a-decade to make.

Mumbai-based Firoz Khan says portraying another person "brings me a lot of pain".

Honours for Evergreen Duplicate

Mumbai-born Bhanushali, whose shelves have award plaques with 'Evergreen Duplicate' written on them, says he was made aware of his resemblance with Dev Anand when he was a teenager. "Until then I hadn't even heard the name Dev Anand. I watched his films and realised (there was) some truth in what people were saying. I buttoned up my shirt to the collar, wore a scarf and shook my neck. The neck is still swinging," says the Junior Dev Anand. When Bhanushali met Dev Anand for the first time, the veteran actor joked: "It seems from now on I will have to imitate you."

The 93-minute film, which premiered at the Rotterdam film festival in January this year, follows its actors to movie sets, stage shows and even within homes to understand the professionalism and hard work that underlines the career of a lookalike. Unlike other actors who struggle to find roles, lookalikes are successful professionals in Mumbai immersed in their work and reverence for their heroes.

"They are never out of a job, always working in film shooting, stage shows, election campaigns and at birthday parties. They don't regret what they are doing, because this is a career they chose for themselves. But most of them have mixed feelings about it. They didn't realise they won't be able to outgrow themselves," says Abbasi.

The feeling of not being able to grow out of their assumed identities often comes back to haunt them. Firoz Khan, or Junior Amitabh Bachchan, says portraying another person ends up "bringing me a lot of pain". "I try to put across so many nuances, but most people don't pick up those finer points. They have no idea about the efforts I put in," he says. "I have started focusing more on my acting skills. As a lookalike I didn't have to struggle. It is as Firoz Khan that I have to struggle."

Kishore Bhanushali started imitating Dev Anand when he was only 12 years old.

Curtains on Era of Lookalikes

Bhanushali agrees. "People assume I can only mimic Dev Anand. But you don't get to be who you really are," he says. After imitating Dev Anand for nearly four decades, he now shows off his talent for singing at wedding parties and tours. Firoz Khan has signed up for ads under his own name and Walde wrote and acted in a feature film last year.

It is curtains on the era of lookalikes too. Many consider Hrithik Roshan as the last big star to have lookalikes. Even those who aspire find to this career, find it difficult to imitate the 'natural' acting style of today's stars.

Prashant Walde faced a moment of reckoning when he sat down for a question-answer session after Urf took the best long documentary prize in Kerala on August 31. Someone in the audience reminded him that Charlie Chaplin had come third in a Chaplin lookalike contest and he would come first in a similar Shah Rukh Khan contest. "The audience soon started chanting 'Prashant'," beams Walde. "It was the first time an audience was calling me by my name."