Almost Bollywood: Hubahu

A film that stars three people who live in the shadows of film stars, Hubahu, is directed by Ramsha Alam. It explores the lives of yesteryear Bollywood stars’ lookalikes- Rais Khan (Shashi Kapoor), Mahesh Waghela (Rajesh Khanna) and Seema Motwani (Hema Malini)- trying to tie all three stories by the same thread of a question you and I, as well as they ask themselves, “Is it worth it?”

The opening scenes of the film itself give you a sense of living a copy of the glamorous life of Bollywood stars (only it is not as glitzy glam) with a montage of these artists on stage and a crowd of villagers gathered around, phones in their hands, happy smiles on their faces and amused looks in their eyes.

The story starts with Khan which is followed by Waghela and then comes in Motwani. There is almost a sudden shift in the narrative when she enters, like a new and different storyline has started to make its way into the film that makes you wonder why this disruption of flow to the film. While there seems to be a lack of complete synergy between the three stories, they stick together bound by the common glue of being people who they aren’t. Alam later revealed that it really was like that, like entering a space where there was no one like her and making room for herself, for Motwani- being she was the first female look-alike in the business.

However, being those different people is serious business in smaller towns and cities. For those people, Khan, Waghela and Motwani are very much their stars. Khan remarked how while these stars make themselves accessible to the public through their art, he takes it as his job to bring (a copy of) the artist to the public. Alam also shared that it was only when she travelled with the three to all these places- many of which she didn't even know the name of- that she realised how real this was. For people in villages and these tier 2 and 3 cities, they are no less than the stars. From Waghela’s Rajesh Khanna being invited to barely a six-year-old’s birthday party, to people approaching him for selfies and so on, served as evidence for this very point. Later, Khan even recalls how a fan once told him, “Aaj aapne Shashi Kapoor ko zinda rakha hai.” (You have kept Shashi Kapoor alive even today).

Just like a Bollywood movie, the film's background score becomes a constant companion for the screenplay. Soft music plays almost consistently in the background. And just like a Bollywood movie, it sometimes intensifies the emotion of the scene by two levels. There is a slow fade out of music to a few beats of silence as the three artists discuss their struggles- from making a name for themselves in a space that was about not being themselves to struggling to be recognised, let alone appreciated, for the hard work.

Hubahu shows you the world of look-alike Bollywood stars while being a documentary that feels like a Bollywood film. It is not as grand, it takes you through narrow lanes and bumpy car rides, it doesn’t have a happy ending, it just ends with these artists going on with the struggle and happiness that their dual lives bring. It is what you would call exploring the reality of people whose reality is made-up.