Out of action

The return of Stallone, Willis and Ford to Hollywood has set Bollywood's action bells ringing.

The return of Stallone, Willis and Ford to Hollywood has set Bollywood's action bells ringing.Move aside caped crusaders and the rest of the superheroes, for the real heroes are back. And it's time for some kick-ass action at the box office, as Hollywood is witnessing a return of the original action heroes. So, while Bruce Willis made a comeback as John McClane in Die Hard 4 after 18 years, Hollywood hunk, Sylvester Stallone too reprised his role as boxing legend Rocky Balboa for the Rocky series and as the mercenary John Rambo for John Rambo. Even Harrison Ford is back to playing Indiana Jones in the fourth sequel. Never mind that Willis is 52, Stallone 60 and Ford 65. These guys are kicking some serious butt at an age when most of the other actors are reduced to the shadows of their former glorious selves. What's more, these films have exceeded box office expectations. But while Hollywood has welcomed these ageing actors with open arms, Bollywood still seems to be warming to the idea of guntoting actors at that age. Says trade analyst Komal Nahta, "Only Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth seem to create that magic today." But Nahta adds, that the future's not too bleak. "We have actors like Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, who will be sure shot crowd pullers even at 60." Bollywood action hero Suniel Shetty- a die hard Sylvester Stallone fan- agrees. "Sylvester is my hero. Who would ever say that he's 60? I mean look at all the action he does. Pure and raw. I agree today there isn't a single hero in Bollywood who can be called a true action hero, who has achieved the kind of demi god like cult status like Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone. But there's always Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth."
Tusshar Kapoor couldn't agree more. Though he admits that he's more of an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan, he reveals, that he was amazed to see Bruce Willis in the latest Die Hard 4 and Stallone in Rocky Balboa. "Those guys don't look one bit their age. Now, I'm looking forward to the Indiana Jones sequel as well, Harrison Ford doing all that action at 65. I wonder how many of us will be able to do that action at that age."
Arjun Rampal, however, feels that though difficult, it's not impossible to replicate the success of the Hollywood action heroes here. "It's a tough act to follow. But I think, with the evolution of action here, it shouldn't be surprising to see all of us in action even at 70," he laughs.

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