A recent embarrassing gaffe at the airport revealed that a lot of folks are not quite familiar with Bollywood stars. To be fair, James Hetfield had the same problem at Heathrow which goes to show that you can be an unknown face in the most unexpected places. But this whole affair got me thinking ... there will of course be parts of the population who are unaware of the big names in the Bollywood movie industry. What if some of these folk wanted to learn more? Maybe watch a bit more Indian flicks and tally up their knowledge of this industry? For those who are interested, here is a quick and easy description of some of the top male stars in Bollywood. Do keep in mind that I will be focusing on legends as opposed to the chocolate-faced newbies of the industry.

Amitabh Bachchan

He's definitely one of the biggest stars in the industry. He is known for his distinct voice as well as for his prowess in playing dramatic roles. Amitabh first made a name for himself by depicting the underdog of society. That's right. If there ever was a movie in which an oppressed working class man needed to kick down a door and fight the local hooligans(case in point here), you know who would be picked. He was also well-loved as that ordinary guy who rose up against corrupt officials or nasty old landlords, possibly even the entire government. Think of it as a typical Van Damme movie ... without the close-ups of the butt and high-flying kicks.

As he grew older, so did his popularity. Except that it was no longer believable or perhaps even savvy for a 50 year old to saunter into a room angrily after breaking down a door with a mere kick. Given his talents, it was not hard to transit into more demanding dramatic roles. While he did a brilliant job in almost all of these roles, it was a rather weird turn of events. I mean the younger Amitabh won over the public with his 'man of the people' demeanor. Next thing you know, years later, the older Amitabh usually played 'the man', the establishment, the very guy his youthful self was fighting against.

Noteworthy movies:

Adalat (Government), Khoon Pasina (Sweat & Blood), Inquilaab (Revolution), Naseeb(Luck), Insaaf:The Justice and recently Bunty Aur Babli (as a door kicking police officer) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (finicky school owner).

Vinod Khanna

He was another heart-throb in his heyday. In fact, he was the main rival for Amitabh during the  1970s and 1980s. After a bit of upheaval in his personal life, he made a successful comeback. And somehow, years later ended up in parliament, which seems to be a somewhat common occurrence in India. Vinod Khanna was initially famous as the good cop. Sometimes he would change pace a bit and play the misunderstood bad guy who was really a softy at heart. More often than not, the police uniform was a stable part of his movie career.

For this noteworthy actor, people never got tired of him playing the lovable good cop. Hence, he stuck around with law enforcement themes for a while. There would be the occasional role as the strong and moral older brother who will save everyone. Essentially, it was a cop wannabe in a domestic drama. This actor remained connected to the movie industry even as he slowly moved towards parliament in real-life. I am guessing that the years of being glued to the reel-life uniform helped with his image.

Noteworthy Movies:

Musadar Ka Sikandar, Amar Akhbar Anthony, Qurbani (Sacrifice), Insaan, Jurm (Crime) and CID.

Govinda

This is a tough one to judge. On the one hand, his movies were always immensely popular but on the other hand, some of the more snobby movie-goers berated the humor and style of his movies. Whatever the case, he is one of the most well-known, well-loved actors of his time. Think of him as the American Pie style actor for the Bollywood industry. Most of Govinda's movies were either set in a village backdrop or revolved around the concept of a naïve guy from the rural area making it big in a scary urban setting. The country mouse and city mouse adventures is actually a rather apt way to sum up these movies.

In this respect, he was often cast as the vengeance-seeking good guy. Somehow, somewhere along the way, his life wold be ruined by the scum of the earth and Govinda would defy all odds to save the day. I realise that the Van Damme analogy seems to fit his movie career rather well ... except that the Muscles from Brussels wouldn't do a sing and dance routine involving a weird thigh and hip co-ordination.

Govinda has also moved on and become a politician. What did I say about politics being a top favorite in this country?

Noteworthy Movies:
Most of his movies were blockbusters. Do check out joint collaborations like Hum as well as the I need revenge flicks like Paap ka Ant, Jung Baaz and Gair Kaanooni.

Shashi Kapoor

He's another familiar face from the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, it was quite common to see him in a lot of Amitabh movies. Typically, Shashi Kapoor always played the conscientious brother/husband as opposed to the daring and out-there Amitabh. Come to think of it, his most famous hit flicks depicted him as the love-struck guy. If you have a taste for arty stuff, it is worth noting that this actor did dabble in a number of arty flicks. While this wooed the critics, I don't think it won over most of the mainstream audiences. In this respect, he is one of the most underrated stars of his genre.

Unlike the other snazzy stars, Shashi Kapoor seems to be keeping a low profile. Hence, there's no seat in parliament with his name on it. And he's not mixing-and-mingling at big business functions. Perhaps the best place to find him would be at a theatre show t as he was apparently particularly fond of such events.

Noteworthy movies:

Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi, Deewar as well as the critically acclaimed Satyam Shivam Sundaram.