Akansha Rukhaiyar
This was the first Indian film that used CinemaScope, a specific aspect ratio that allowed for a more cinematic experience. It explores parallel struggles of finding your place in the film industry and how a director copes with lost fame and glamour.
This movie is an ideological representation of the Hindi film industry, where tantrums on sets are rarely tolerated, talent trumps all, and aspiring actors do not face pressure from their parents. It's a great representation of what the Hindi film industry could emulate.
Multiple plot lines are inspired by actual occurrences on film sets or are spoofs of how the film industry behaves, such as the satirical award ceremony scene. The retro-style premieres in the first half are based on Hindi cinema's 'golden era'.
This movie manages to unpack multiple threads that run through the fabric of the Hindi film industry—the almost mechanical nature of auditions, the cutthroat competition, actors' tantrums, producers' superstitions, the antics of star kids, and a newcomer's moral struggles.
Madhur Bhandarkar exposed the nasty side of the modelling world in Fashion (2008). He did the same with the Hindi film industry through this film. As per him, 70% of the film is based on real-life events, and he received backlash from within the industry for this portrayal.
Inspired by Shah Rukh Khan's real fan, Deepak Kalra, this movie is about Gaurav (SRK), an obsessed fan of Aryan Khanna (also played by SRK) who goes on a revenge journey after Aryan Khanna rejects his love. In India, fans put actors on a pedestal, and this movie shows a gory side to that.
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