Idris Elba, David Beckham, Tom Hardy – the names are being juggled for the 25th James Bond film even before Spectre, with Daniel Craig still in the saddle, is released in Oct 2015. Who will be the next Bond?
Meanwhile in Mumbai, as fans sigh over Hrithik Roshan’s slim chances of making the crossover to 007, Indian cinema has long been trying to establish its own version of the Secret Service agent's penchant for martinis shaken, not stirred.
Only, the desi Bond might ask for a Patiala peg. So, who better to do it than Punjab da puttar Askhay Kumar? However, In Mr Bond (1992), Mr Kumar jumps, runs, strips, dances (a lot), but is never seen tippling. To compensate, the suave secret agent is trained by Bond girls in "tapori" swag to infiltrate enemy camps.
If this wasn't enough desification, we had Sunny Deol in The Hero (2003), his natural Indian tan gone, shaking his hips while passing coded messages on paper napkins.
James Bond has fascinated Indian filmmakers ever since he made his debut in the early 1960s. In 1967, when Jeetendra essayed the role of Secret Agent 116 in Farz, he pretty much did what Akshay Kumar does in Mr Bond –But with extra spring in his dancing shoes and more bounce in his bouffant. Farz itself filched the idea from the Telugu film Gudachari 116, released the same year.
In between these two, there were several more spinoffs: Goldeneyes Secret Agent O77 (1968), Agent 999 Operation Jackpot (1969), Agent Vinod (1977, 2012) and Suraksha (1979). Of these, Suraksha, starring Mithun Chakraborty as Gunmaster G9, has a cult following for Bappi Lahiri’s zingy title track, just like the 007.
All the desi versions of Bond have been doing what a secret agent has to do, which is to save mankind from a nefarious villain plotting world domination and complete annihilation of the human species (what is left to dominate then?). The good guys have always succeeded in the end.
But them came a real game-changer, Jatt James Bond (2014). He speaks in Punjabi, drives a tractor, and is unbreakable. He shows the way for the secret agent to move into regional cinema when the mainstream hasn't been able to cash in on the cow.
Still, despite all these attempts over close to 50 years, Indian film-goers have not yet been treated to a truly successful desi Bond franchise. Frankly, the singing and dancing hasn’t helped at all.