Back in 2014 it was Tiger Shroff in Heropanti. In 2021, it is Ahan Shetty with Tadap. Sajid Nadiadwala, with a career spanning three decades and around 30 films to his credit as a producer, has groomed a second star kid - Ahan Shetty - for an out and out 'masala' launch in Bollywood.
Of course, in the Hindi film industry debuts happen on a regular basis. However, multi-crore launches - as if the film were made with a big and established star cast - are done by only a handful of filmmakers in the industry; chief among them Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra.
Let's talk about Karan Johar first. When it came to giving Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra the right launch pad, he invested a mammoth Rs 60 crore in Student of the Year. The film managed to make some profit, with just the Indian theatres generating Rs70 crore. Today, the RoI is huge, with each of the three actors set to appear in his next projects - Dhawan in Jug Jug Jeeyo, Bhatt in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and Malhotra in Yodha.
Ditto for Aditya Chopra, who chose Ranveer Singh for a launch with Band Baaja Baaraat. This film didn't have such a big budget but it was much talked about then. Made at a cost of Rs15 crore, this film too ended up making some money (Rs23 crore), and later Chopra went on to direct Ranveer Singh in Befikre. Today, the actor is going great guns, and is set to be seen in '83, which, incidentally, is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. In fact, before Band Baaja Baaraat, Chopra had launched Anushka Sharma as well in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
While Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions have added quite a few stars to the industry, Sajid Nadiadwala's endeavour to set stars up for success go back three decades. Akshay Kumar did have Khiladi to his name, but he had hit a rough patch with Dancer, Mr. Bond, Deedar, Dil Ki Baazi and Kaayda Kanoon. Waqt Hamaara Hai (1993), produced by Nadiadwala, turned things around for Akshay Kumar. Suniel Shetty, too, had had many films announced but was stuck before Waqt Hamaara Hai bailed him out.
Indeed when Nadiadwala launched Tiger Shroff in Heropanti, he asked director Sabbir Khan to present him in a light that would appeal to the youth. Kriti Sanon was roped in opposite Tiger Shroff in the film. The result? Made at a cost of Rs25 crore, the film took an opening of Rs6.63 crore (Student of the Year made Rs7.48 crore on opening day) and eventually made Rs 53 crore. Sajid Nadiadwala and Tiger Shroff have worked together again in Baaghi (Rs77 crore), Baaghi 2 (Rs166 crore), Baaghi 3 (Rs95 crores after 11 days, before pandemic cut it short).
As director Milan Luthria's Tadap opens, one hopes that Sajid Nadiadwala's faith in Ahan Shetty pays off and there is a new star on the horizon. Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films have been doing it regularly, and perhaps one can expect the same from Nadiadwala Grandson as well.
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