Not a very Happy 32nd Birthday for Imran Khan

By Subhash K. Jha -

January 14, 2016 - 10:42 AM IST

Poor Imran Khan. With his career almost completely gone and no movies on hand, this couldn't be a happy birthday for the actor who just 7 years ago made an engaging debut in Abbas Tyrewala's Jaane Tu...YaJaane Na (the director Tyrewala's career too is gone, but that's another story).

In no time, Imran was the new pinup boy, the teenage heartthrob. Along with Ranbir Kapoor Imran was seen as the new hope of New-Age cinema. Then things went wrong quickly. Wrong selection of roles hurtled Imran's career and hurled it towards an inevitable disaster. Soon there were whispers in the industry calling Imran a one-film wonder like Kumar Gaurav.

Right after his debut Imran did Kidnap and Luck: the two films wiped out the careers of their respective directors Sanjay (Dhoom) Gadhvi and Soham (Kaal) Shah.

In his entire career Imran has featured in two hits Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na and his Maamu Jaan's notorious Delhi Belly (the latter was rejected by Imran's rival and colleague Ranbir who told me he didn't do it because he couldn't imagine how he would watch it with his parents at the premiere) and two semi-hits I hate Luv Stories and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.

The last three years have been especially cruel to Imran's career, with Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru Ki Bijli KaMandola, Milan Luthria's Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobara, Gori Tere Pyar Mein and Katti Batti, each proving to be a bigger disaster than the previous. Katti Batti has in fact wiped out any shred of a chance of a comeback for Imran, though with showbiz, you can never tell who is in and who out and at which point of time.

For now this looks like a bleak birthday for Imran. One after another he is now being ousted from every film that he was supposed to be in. The latest project that Imran has lost to failure is a Hindi remake of the Tamil hit Kalyaana Samayal Saadham. Imran has been informed on his birthday that he has been replaced by Kartik Aryan of Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 fame.

Happy Birthday, Imran Baba. Time to grow up. It's a cruel world out there. But looking at the brighter side, doing film about a guy who can't get it up after his wedding may not have been the brightest of ideas at this juncture in your career when you have enough problems already.

Maybe Imran should stop depending on your Maamu for career advice. Aamir not only edited Imran's latest film Katti Batti. He also came out tears streaming down his cheeks after watching it.

Now we know why Aamir was crying.