Brett "Karan" Lee making waves on the Indian scene

Mumbai, 26 September, 2014 : He is every girl's prince charming. He is tall, he is handsome, he is cool, he can dance, he can sing, he can make love, he can cry, he can make people laugh and most importantly he is single (yet again). Yes, we are talking about Bollywood's latest heartthrob, the new lover boy in the land of Kamasutra and plagiarized movies(and of remakes and sequels), Brett Lee.

8 movies since his debut in "Tere bin" (Without You ..)(2010) and 6 of them have sent the cash registers ringing. "Tere Bin" may not have been a success but our man certainly made a point. His next 10 films set the box office ablaze (excluding perhaps the dud "Agosh" (Rage) (2013) where he decided to go for an image makeover and try his hand at an action movie). He is Yash Chopra banners latest torch bearer. The fairy tale journey began in 2010 when, ridden with injuries, he rejected a 2 year extension contract with the Cricket Australia to sign for Yash Chopra's banners "Tere Bin" directed by Uday Chopra. It gelled perfectly with his primary commitment then – the IPL. A couple months a year he represented the Kings XI, while for the rest of the year he shot at exotic locations with the Who’s Who of the Indian paparazzi.

He had by then already made his presence felt in India, having been involved with a large number of commercial endorsements and having even sung in an Asha Bhosle album. Skeptics loathed his decision and wrote passionately about him putting up olive green notes ahead of the baggy green. They were right no doubt. Brett now makes thrice from movies, concerts and commercial endorsements than he did during his cricketing days. Initially pessimists rubbed him off arguing that an English speaking guy would never make it big in the tinsel town. But one year of special coaching classes in Hindi with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and hair dyed black did the trick. He is now more Hindi than the Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi himself. Having spent 5 years in India he has now even applied for an Indian citizenship; he said at a recent movie launch that he is more Indian by heart than he is Australian by birth. "Tere Bin" was followed by "Kabhi Kabhi hi Kuch Hota Hai" (Something Something Happens ..But Only Sometimes) (a sequel to the blockbuster Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(1998)), which firmly established him as the new lover boy displacing ShahRukh Khan. The next five years saw "Karan" (Karan is to Brett what Rahul was to ShahRukh, Vijay to Amitabh Bachchan and Rohit to Hrithik Roshan) consolidate his position as the Prince Charming of Bollywood with blockbuster hits like "You are My Sonia" (You are my Pretty Women)(2011), "Ey Mere Humsafar"(Oh.. My Soulmate) (2012) [a remake of "Qayamat se Qayamat tak"], "Kitni Baatein" (A lot to talk) (2012) and "Doorie" (Schisms) ((2013) ["INSPIRED" by the Hollywood romance "Sleepless in Seattle(1993)"]. His latest movie, "Kassam Se..." (Love Vows) is running to packed houses and advance bookings into the second week have already been made into his next movie "Kambakht Ishq" (Damn Love)which is scheduled to be released during the festive season of Diwali.

6 hits out of 8, a brand value close to 220 crores, torch bearer of the Karan Johar and Yash Chopra banners, through with 2 marriages and infinitely many alleged linkups (and another infinite kept under the wraps) he certainly is the biggest star of the industry today. And his most recent break up with Deepika Padukone, after dating each other for the past 1 year has a come as a breath of cool breeze to his lacs of female fan following. He may be the most loved character on screen but he has been deeply embroiled in controversy in real life. First there was his famous breakup with his first wife, Elizabeth even before the release of his first movie, his war of words with Saif Ali Khan over Kareena Kapoor who has paired opposite him in most of his movies, his clandestine meetings with Aishwarya Rai, his alleged linkups with the underworld and now his latest attempts to buy "Mannat" which has further mangled his equations with ShahRukh Khan. Both have not been on talking terms since ShahRukh was replaced by him in a Karan Johar movie two years back and Brett chose not to invite Shahrukh to his second marriage to his former boss Priety Zinta in December, 2012 (Which as history would have it ended up in a divorce within 4 months and signaled the end of his IPL career).

With Sanjay Dutt having been sentenced to 11 yrs of rigorous imprisonment in the TADA case(set to be released in 2019) rumours are abuzz that Vindhu Vinod Chopra is planning to tee off the "Munna Bhai" series again with Brett in the lead this time around. This might come as a welcome change for Brett himself for he has been regularly bashed up by the critics for playing the same candy floss role in all his movies up till now and not utilising his vast acting repertoire to the fullest extent. He may be the critic's latest whipping boy, but as he said in a recent interview "I act for the masses and not for the critics". And with Shahrukh Khan set to take a break from acting, to start of as a director and Farhan Akhtar going gaga over Brett's emoting abilities we might well see him in the coming DON movies and this might well add salt, spice and what not to his existing consanguinity with Shahrukh.

So Brett fans might well get to see a lot more of Brett Lee in the coming years and that too in diverse personifications, especially with his foray into Hollywood. The treadmill is abuzz with the fact that he has been signed by Danny Boyle to be part of the sequel to ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, which is set to release on Independence Day next year.