Bollywood singhs a new tune

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />Amitabh Bachchan, <a href="/articleshow/364510.cms">Sanjay Dutt</a> & Sunny Deol play Sikhs in their upcoming movies<br /><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/385995.cms" alt="/photo/385995.cms" border="0" />It''s time for a head-turning twist in the tale.After all, Bollywood stars have now taken to playing the sardar of all reel roles. Here''s the big picture: <a href="/articleshow/381795.cms">Amitabh Bachchan</a>, <a href="/articleshow/381795.cms">Sanjay Dutt</a> and Sunny Deol sport turbans and thick beards to play Sikhs in their forthcoming films.<br /><br />While the Big B plays Jagjit Singh Arora, a senior Army officer, in Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon, Sanjay essays the role of Ranjeet Singh, an Army officer who is taken as a prisoner of war (PoW) in Sarhad Paar. Then, Sunny Deol reprises his successful roles as a Sikh in Border and Gadar in director Rahul Rawail''s Jo Bole So Nihal.<br /><br />Interestingly, it seems that the success of Anil Sharma''s Gadar, in which Sunny Deol played Tara Singh, has led to this experimentation in characterisation. However, Sharma —now directing Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon — denies that Amitabh''s character is an offshoot of Gadar: "There was a Sikh General in the 1971 and it is on him that I have based Bachchan''s character." Gadar''s success has made Bollywood appreciate the commercial aspect of casting the hero as a Sikh. But Sarhad Paar director Raman Kumar maintains that "the introduction of a Sikh character in a movie should be required by the script."<br /><br />According to trade analyst Indu Mirani, "The audience doesn''t look at any one character in isolation but a film as a whole... everything has to fall in place." Moreover, industry insiders say that while north India can identify with Sikh characters, the rest of the country might not. "Why not?" counters Sharma, "Sikhs represent India — there is no question of a problem." That''s a good enough assurance for the box-office.<br /><a href="mailto:nikita.doval@indiatimes.com">nikita.doval@indiatimes.com</a><br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>