Star ya kalaakar?

Komal Nahta

Star status continues to elude Manoj Bajpai.

The man's acting prowess is undisputed. As the tough-prinicipled cop in Shool and the village-bumpkin-turned-victim-to-the-big-bad-city in Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, he was impressive.

But, like both the two films, Ghaath, his third flick as hero, has met with a cold response at the advance booking windows.

Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that Manoj is hankering after lead roles only?

With high ticket (admission) rates, the audience obviously wants saleable stars to get their money's worth. And Manoj Bajpai doesn't seem to appeal to them as a hero even if he is a reservoir of talent.

In fact, if one might be so brave as to hazard an opinion, it would be better for the actor to shine in films like Satya than to sink in insipid fares like Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar.

As for Ghaath, the earlier Bombay distributor relinquished the distribution rights to the film.

Even barely 20 hours before the first show starts tomorrow, one is not sure whether the film will or will not open is Gujarat and Saurashtra because the delivery wasn't effected.