By Omair Alavi

Actors worldwide suffer from bad patches in their careers, but while some reclaim their lost glory, others aren't so lucky. On narrowing our search to South Asia, we see that the two superstars of Lollywood and Bollywood, Nadeem and Amitabh Bachchan, respectively, are no exceptions. Besides enjoying envious careers, they have had their share of failures, too. What follows is the story of the comeback trail of these two giants in entertainment, and how they have fared in a world dominated by glamour, fashion and beauty.

Nadeem made a stunning debut as a Dilip Kumar look-alike in Ehtesham's Chakori in 1967. The romantic musical film had great songs - the late Ahmed Rushdi's Kabhi to tum ko yaad aayenge, late Mujeeb Alam's Woh mere saamne and Nadeem's own debut song, Kahan ho tum ko dhoond rahi hain. Chakori made the debuting actor a household name in Pakistan. He starred in countless hit movies such as Chand Aur Chandni, Sangdil, Behen Bhai, Shama Aur Parwana, Aansoo, Do Badan, Pehchan, Aaina, Amber, Saima, Bandish, Qurbani, Kamyabi, Meherbani, Faisla and Jeeva, going from strength to strength as an actor.

But after years of quality acting, Nadeem, the busiest actor in Pakistan after the unexpected death of Waheed Murad in 1983, the decline of Mohammad Ali as the leading man and the self-retirement of Shahid, also started fading out. Despite some good movies, like his home production Mukhra (Punjabi) and Javed Fazil's Hum Se Hai Zamana (1985), Faisla (1986), Ustaadon Kay Ustad (1990) and Zidh (1991), his career was plummeting. It was only stabilized by his decision to take up character roles.

Nadeem played Shaan's father in Bulandi (also 1990), at the age of 52, when heroes are still considered young in this part of the world. The decision proved to be a lifesaver, as it preserved his career, albeit only momentarily. He continued playing the lead (with looks and not age on his side) in aimless movies such as Abdullah The Great (1992), Anhoni (1993), Jo Dar Gaya Woh Mar Gaya (1995), Madam Rani (1995), Mummy (1996) and the worst of all, Syed Noor's Muhafiz, in which he played Jana Malik's bodyguard (inspired by the Whitney Houston-Kevin Costner starrer, The Bodyguard). After his film career hit rock-bottom, Jeeva (1995), Sargam (1996) and Inteha (1999) did justice to his stature as a character actor, but he ultimately decided to switch over to television. This is where he took a wrong turn.

At a time when actors such as Mohammad Ali and the late Agha Talish were trying their hand at TV as character actors, Nadeem's entry as a leading man, after 30 years of dancing as a romeo on the silver screen, came as a big surprise to all and sundry. Bisaat (2000), his maiden TV serial, was an ill-planned and ill-conceived attempt, and it made things worse for him, his transition from the silver screen to TV not at all what was expected. In it, he played a middle-aged fashion designer who falls for the (then) youngish Aaminah Haq, and after her tragic fate falls for Nausheen Tariq back in Pakistan, who, in turn, is interested in his brother, played by Rehan Sheikh. Arshad Mahmood and Jahan Ara Hai, junior to Nadeem both in age and experience, played his parents in the play written by Imran Aslam and directed by Ghazanfar Ali, who called the shots after Zaheer Khan declined the offer. Had Zaheer Khan directed Bisaat, it could have worked. Unfortunately, the launching pad for Nadeem's TV career was nothing short of disastrous.

On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan had to wait for four years and 13 movies for his first hit film as a hero (he played a supporting role in his second movie, Anand, with Rajesh Khanna in the title role. Rajesh Khanna had no clue that the lanky actor would dethrone him as the top leading man of Bollywood in the years to come. Amitabh, who was earlier rejected by the All-India Radio, was later given the role of a mute in Sunil Dutt's Reshma Aur Sheera (1971), with guest appearances and second-lead roles thrown his way before he was given the breakthrough role of a Dirty Harry-inspired angry vigilante cop in Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer in 1973.

Since then, he has portrayed all his characters with ease and excellence, be it that of a gangster (Deewar), bandit (Sholay), poet (Kabhi Kabhi), an angry young man (Trishul, Kala Patthar), an alcoholic, spoilt brat (Sharabi) and that of an illiterate villager (Adaalat, Namak Halal).

Amitabh's last memorable performance as a hero was in Manmohan Desai's, Mard in 1985, after which he did a series of flops - Giraftaar, Shahenshah, Ganga Jamna Saraswati, Ajooba, Toofan, Jadugar, Indrajeet, Akayla, Insanyat and Aaj Ka Arjun - between 1985 and 1992. His only successful movies during the period were Mukhul Anand's Agnipath, Hum and Khuda Gawah, that not only saved his wretched career but also brought him awards.

Amitabh Bachchan didn't do any film during 1993-97, and when he tried to return with Mirityudata, in which he played a doctor on the run (Harrison Ford's Fugitive) and Sooryavansham, he was unable to bring back the magic that made him the superstar of the '70s and the '80s, and was labelled a spent force for his repeated failures at the box-office. Even then, he went on to play hero to Manisha Koirala and Shilpa Shetty in Lal Badshah, an idiotic double role in Bad Boys-inspired Baray Mian Chotay Mian, and that of an army officer in Hindustan Ki Qasam, Major Saab and Kohram, before rediscovering himself as the anchor of the mega quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Wherever television was watched, "Nau (9) baj gaye kya?" became more than a mere dialogue, as it saw all glued to their TV sets to see their favourite actor, Amitabh Bachchan, quiz participants from all over India. After success with KBC, Amitabh's career as an actor and producer also took a turn and the films that have him have also started becoming hits. His production house, AB Corp, has been revived and Amitabh is now considered a bankable actor after surviving through a bad patch.

Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein has further consolidated Amitabh's stature as an actor, putting a stop to those detractors who thought that the once leading man was a spent force. Now, even with flop movies such as Boom Ek Rishtaa, Lakshya and Aitebaar, Amitabh has no fear as he has secured his position as a dependable actor at the ripe old age of 62. He has proved that in his ending lies his beginning.

Both Nadeem and Amitabh have accepted that they idolized Dilip Kumar when they started their careers, but both developed their own style with the passage of time. Both have also managed to age gracefully, with Nadeem still retaining his boyish good looks at 66, and Amitabh sporting a white French beard to look elegant at 62. Both saw the height of stardom during 1975-85, but after that things began to get displaced. The problem was the same for both the icons - they were not playing their age.

Nadeem's transition to TV has not been as expected, as even after Bisaat's failure, he still chose to play hero to Natasha in Farooq Mengal's Chalte Chalte and the list goes on. Except for Ambulance, where he plays a doctor convincingly, none of his plays have managed to create an impression. Still, he is the best performer we have and it is hoped that he continues to play his age for the sake of his reputation, which has made him everybody's favourite actor.

Likewise, Amitabh was also not accepted by cinegoers as the pan-chewing Lal Badshah, dancing Romeo in Sooryavansham and as a bachelor cop in Bade Mian Chote Mian in the latter half of the '90s.

But after their respective comebacks, playing their age solved some problems for them and because of that, both Nadeem and Amitabh Bachchan were used as symbols of quality and their repeated appearances in TV commercials is a proof of their popularity and that people still love them. But Nadeem's choice of TV ads has fallen drastically after his first commercial, in which he played a prospective bank client with class and an aura of symbolism. He later chose to appear in petty biscuit and drinks commercials, which didn't do justice to his stature. Amitabh, on the other hand, has had his share of financial house commercials, as well as soft drinks, automobiles, etc. He has played his cards well.

Both Nadeem and Amitabh Bachchan have now settled into their new positions. It seems that the future has a lot in store for them. Here's wishing them success in their future endeavours and the hope that they continue to give the viewers what they want - superlative histrionics.