The concept of the body double is quite spread throughout the movie industry, with people looking like the stars doubling them in stunts or in erotic scenes. In India and Bollywood, though, where a number of stars are bigger than life, it has risen to a whole other level, with film star lookalikes being as much part of Indian popular culture as the revered actors who front the movie industry, even starring as so-called “duplicates” in broadly comedic versions of original films by the megastars they resemble. Documentary director and producer Geetika Narang Abbasi profiles three career duplicates – Kishore Bhanushali, who doubles as Dev Anand; Firoz Khan the Amitabh Bachchan lookalike and Prashant Walde, who makes a living mimicking Shah Rukh Khan.
The three portraits she presents are quite thorough, as she managed to earn their trust to the point of going inside their houses and including their families in the documentaries. At the same time, the film presents an insider's look of Bollywood, from a perspective that is, probably, unprecedented. In that fashion, and with their stories intermingling, Abbasi interviews them on how they got into the particular business, how they managed to make a career out of it, their relations with the actual stars, their present, and even their future, thus rounding up a very detailed examination.
At the same time, and even if they are all part of the same phenomenon, and through the aforementioned approach, their individuality is also highlighted. Kishore Bhanushali for example, was there when the “golden age” of the lookalikes took place, Prashant Walde actually doubled Sharukh Khan a number of times, and is the only one who had such a close professional relationship with the star, while Firoz Khan managed to become successful more through hard work than his actual similarity with Amitabh Bachchan.
Also of interest is the psychology of these people, who essentially, live from borrowed fame, with the impact in their lives being thoroughly presented throughout the documentary, with the fact that they all now seem to wish to act as themselves and not as lookalikes, highlighting in the best fashion. Even more so in the case of Walde, who is adamant about his son not following a similar career with him.
Lastly, a movie that features the lookalikes of the three Khans, Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman, also appears in the movie, essentially exploring the phenomenon in the present, from even more perspectives.
Apart from context, the overall presentation emerges as ideal, with the juxtaposition of interviews with the three protagonists and their families, footage from their careers on and off cinema c, as much as the scenes from the movies of the originals working excellently, retaining interest and entertainment from beginning to the end of the 94 minutes of the movie. As such, the editing here emerges as one of the best traits of the movie, If one thing is missing, is some comments from the original stars, but considering Dev Anand is no more, Shah Rukh Khan is still as inapproachable as Amitabh Bachchan, that is to be expected.
A.K.A. is an excellent documentary that highlights a unique phenomenon in a highly entertaining fashion, as much as a tribute to three people whose stories and opinions are quite captivating to watch.
