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With Saawariya introducing the world to the acting talent of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, and Om Shanti Om rocket launching the career of Deepika Padukone, I got to thinking about the major stars of Hindi cinema who were introduced in the new millenium… and many an actor made his debut since Y2K, only a few have had the kind of impact which could earn them the title of bona fide stars…

This is not a list or even an analysis, but rather an observation… Hindi Cinema has attempted to launch many an acting career these past 8 years, however how many saleable stars has it created? How many of the many new faces we’ve been introduced to really have the power to pull in audiences, even with a few films under their belt? I can, unfortunately, only think of a few…

Of course there’s Hrithik Roshan, the quintessential new superstar of the new millenium and the man with the potential to take mainstream hindi cinema to new box office heights.

Despite a rocky road, Abhishek Bachchan too has established a strong fan following and thus a considerable amount of drawing power, especially in the last few years.

See, here’s where there’s a considerable drop off. Because the next biggest star I can think of to launch a career in recent memory would be Shahid Kapur. A hit in his debut film (Ishk Vishk - 2003) is something that not even the Junior B can boast of. Despite following up that feat with as many as 5 consecutive flops, Shahid slowly but surely climbed up the ranks of bankable stars with moderate hits in 36 China Town and Chup Chup Ke and a blockbuster with Vivah. His latest film, Jab We Met, is already being called the biggest hit of his career despite being on the marquee for only 2 weeks now.

There’s also, of course, John Abraham. Launching a career with the surprise hit “Jism” in 2003, the’s had at least 1 hit a year since with Dhoom in ‘04, Garam Masala in ‘05, Taxi No 9211 in ‘06… and though he still may be waiting for the big one in ‘07, rest assured he’s already made his mark and is here to stay.

And then there’s Ritesh Deshmukh, who made a quiet debut in 2003 with Tujhe Meri Kasam and Out of Control but managed to follow it up with such hits as Masti, Kya Kool Hai Hum, Bluffmaster, Malamaal Weekly (his 1st solo-hero hit), Heyy Baby and Dhamaal. Agreed these are, for the most part, mass oriented films and perhaps not the type of cinema which would really offer a challenging role to this talented and versatile actor. But they’ve assured him a certain degree of box office cred with the people who count, the audiences, and at the end of the day that’s what it takes to sustain a long standing career in this fickle Friday movie business of ours.

Who else have I missed? Vivek Oberoi perhaps? A powerful debut (Company - 2002), followed by a few hits (Saathiya in ‘02, Masti in ‘04 and Shootout in ‘07) and yet you can’t with confidence call him a “star” just yet because, well, 4 hits in 5 years does not a superstar make.

Oh yes, I almost forgot about Emraan Hashmi… Like him or his films or not, his track record does boast of a few hits (Murder in ‘04, Zeher, Aashiq Banaya Aapne and Kalyug in in ‘05, Aksar and Gangster in ‘06). Its a shame that his biggest film to date, and perhaps his best performance Awarapan didn’t do well because the industry could really use another box office draw, whatever the demographics may be.

What about PFC personal favorite Abhay Deol? A proven performer, no doubt, but the big-time box office numbers have alluded him and thus so has the status of being a star. (Can Dev D do the trick?)

Shiney Ahuja? HKA was a great film, but unforunately didn’t do much at the ticket windows. Gangster did, as did Woh Lamhe. This year he’s already made a splash with Life in a Metro and Bhool Bhulaiyaa both proving hits. With Khoya Khoya Chand around the corner, here’s a guy who we might have to watch out for.

I’ve also got my fingers crossed for Neil Nitin Mukesh as the guy has all the tools and the talent to really make it big.

Let’s hope he does, because if in nearly 8 years this is all the new star power our industry has been able to produce then we are in dire need of some fresh, and appealing, talent.

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