Khalid Mohamed

Way back in my political science text books, one of the easier-to-remember quotes was historian Lord Acton’s, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Occasionally, though, popularity makes male actors change for the better.

And it is this minority which I’ll tell you about this Sunday. Here’s the checklist of heroes who haven’t changed or have remained incorruptible:
Hrithik Roshan
In the course of an airflight, before the release of Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, he was brooding, “There are so many personalities within me. I am afraid of some of them.” That sounds like a Dr Jekyll-Mr Hyde kind of dilemma, but he has been able to handle the contradictions in his personality. Ever receptive to fans, devoid of self-complacency, and constantly on the vigil to enhance himself as an actor, Dugu boy is the same as he was. He may go off into a sulk, ooze annoyance, or just be uncommunicative with me, but that’s okay. The larger picture is that Roshan Jr is one well-behaved, inward-looking actor.
Sanjay Dutt
He may have gone through extremes, raised in the lap of luxury and then incarcerated in jail for years. Yet there are no scars, no residue of bitterness. For a while, a secretary (aka right-hand man) had brought about a cataclysmic change in him. Suddenly surrounded by more henchmen than Pran, Ajit or Amrish Puri ever were, Sanjay would play truant at shooting schedules, and had become what is politely described as ‘difficult’. Mercifully that was short-lived. The status of a father of twins and the hurrahs for his Agneepath performance (over-the-top albeit) have done the trick. Don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, but he’s even repaired his estranged relationship with old-time buddy Sanjay F Gupta. Sanju baba, as his sobriquet goes, is back to square one.
Riteish Deshmukh
Almost too good to be true. The quintessential-boy-next-door may get rattled by criticism but takes it sportingly on the chin.
Ranbir Kapoor
I think he’s startled by his own super success, and also by the fact that he turned out to be such a formidable actor (evidence: Rajneeti, Rockstar, Barfi!). Brought up in the Kapoor tradition — which respects all from kings to paupers — he can never be arrogant. Petrified of his dad, Rishi Kapoor, lately I saw him run for miles when Sr made a surprise entrance at a reception, asking, “I hope he didn’t see me smoking a cigarette?” Rishi Kapoor would do just the same thing when Raj Kapoor suddenly fetched up unannounced.
Ajay Devgn
I haven’t met him for eons. But reports are that he’s seriously cool. Still, he won’t buckle under pressure, even if that means hauling the Yash Raj banner to court. Order! Order!
Emraan Hashmi
Derided, justifiably, for those overzealous lips, he’s now a market quantity. In some interviews, he may have slipped up by saying words to the effect of, “See, see, my day has come.” But he’s one actor who won’t meddle with the director, order script alterations or suggest shot takings. Imagine Viveik Oberoi once did that to Mani Ratnam!
John Abraham
He’d bristle when criticised but has acquired a rational streak, perhaps realising that his kick-off performances did leave much to be desired. The Grant Road boy, who once lived next to a dozen cinema halls, has come of age. He’s strategising his career, has produced the refreshing Vicky Donor, and is the sort who will infallibly return a missed call. Touchwood.