Amitabh@70: Who's the next 'angry young man'?

Amitabh Bachchan is past his 'angry young man' phase but surprisingly there are not many actors in the frame who can revamp the image completely. There are some contenders who can fulfil the spot, if groomed with care.

Though Ajay Devgn has played many roles which featured him as a person who is angry with the system but the changing face of the Hindi cinema compelled him to dilute the basic nature of his acting. Among his recent films, 'Singham’ brought him closer to being an angry young man, but the basic mood of the film was light and comedy formed a major part of it, which was never so important in Amitabh's films.

Age is not in Salman's side either, but he has that star value which one needs to carry forward Big B’s legacy. Salman Khan looks angry, even off the screen, but his basic image remains that of a bad boy. One of the essential qualities of an angry young man was being morally upright but Salman fails here. His track record shows him in a different light.

Ranbir Kapoor is a good actor, like any true blue Kapoor, and he has given glimpses of his latent talent via films such as 'Raajneeti' and 'Rockstar' but his versatility attracts filmmakers with different ideas to him. This in turn stops him from doing roles with similar agendas.

Ranvir Singh has a lot of potential and he can fit into the role, but he is inexperienced. Moreover, he had a different upbringing than Big B. The society has changed a lot, the whole concept of holding the state responsible for all the wrong things has faded. Now, the consumerist society is not ready to embrace the actors who look typically urban. This fact hampers Ranvir’s chances.

Randeep Hooda has been in the industry for many years, and now he has started to play central characters. He appears suitable for gritty characters. Though this man doesn’t have physical features like Amitabh but he has the same anger in his eyes.

In the end, out of these five, Randeep Hooda's claim to the position of the modern angry young man looks stronger than any other actor.