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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Mamata Banerjee should grab Pujarini Pradhan before BJP bags her as its good luck charm

Success is sexy, and Dhurandhar’s Jameel Mamu and influencer Pujarini Pradhan have just tasted it.

Success is often referred to as a selfish beast. And that’s exactly what makes success sexy, especially in Bollywood. One day you are a small-time actor in someone else’s script. Forty-nine years and 150 films go by…..and bingo! Overnight a miracle takes place —  a nondescript, far-from-hero-material Karol Bagh ka ladka (who once wanted to become an engineer, but joined FTII instead) finds mazedaar  stardom! 

From “no money, no fame’’, Rakesh Bedi — better identified as Jameel Mamu from the mega blockbuster Dhurandhar —  has become India’s latest darling, who gets papped on and off the red carpet. Endorsements are pouring in, as Jameel Mamu goes from one high-profile event  to another, gamely posing with fans, selfie-seekers, and colleagues half his age. At 71, his efforts and talent are receiving the sort of love and attention that had eluded him for five long decades.

Meanwhile, across the border, Nabil Gabol, a preening politician from Pakistan, is busy biting his tongue for bragging about his own popularity. Allegedly, Jameel Jamali’s character was inspired by Gabol, who naively started referring to himself as the “real Jameel Jamali’’ following Dhurandhar’s global craze, till someone pointed out something the politico had clearly missed — the dramatic and unexpected twist at the end of Dhurandhar: The Revenge.  

The “character reveal” is so mind-boggling that it took audiences a while to absorb the denouement. Far........

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