Back in the ’60s, double roles were a novelty. The formula became a hit in the ’70s and ’80s, with Amitabh Bachchan doing several of them in films like “Don,” “Geraftaar” and “Akhree Raasta,” among others. The ’90s naturally saw the Khans, Salman and Shah Rukh do “Judwaa” and “Duplicate” respectively. However, the 2000s saw a slowdown.
There were a few double roles now and then, but it’s only since mid-2012 that the formula has made a comeback with films like Abhishek Bachchan’s “Bol Bachchan,” Arjun Kapoor’s “Aurangzeb,” Akshay Kumar's “Rowdy Rathore” and Aamir Khan’s “Dhoom 3.”
And now again it’s SRK, Salman and Saif Ali Khan, who are trying to make double roles the ‘in’ thing with their upcoming films. Salman has played a double role only once in his 25-year-old career. It was 17 years ago in “Judwaa.” Now he is all set to star in not one but two back-to-back double roles at around the same time. Yes, the Dabangg Khan will promise the fun with his double avatar in Sooraj Barjatya’s “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo” and Annes Bazmee’s “No Entry Mein Entry.”
The last time we saw Shah Rukh play a double role was in “Duplicate.” But like Salman, the King Khan is ensuring that his fans have twice the dhamaal with his upcoming film, “Fan,” which is being directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra.
Similarly, Saif will soon be seen as a flamboyant Hollywood writer named Yudi and also a failed philosophical rock star named Yogi in his upcoming film, “Happy Ending.”
