New Delhi, Aug 9 - Teenage pregnancy, terrorism, an out-and-out actioner or a spooky jungle thriller-Bollywood newcomers like Shruthi Haasan, Ruslaan Mumtaaz and Arunoday Singh are opting for different themes and strong scripts rather than being lured by big banners and typical potboilers.
Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruthi chose an unconventional debut in 'Luck', a hardcore action film.
'I've never understood what is or is not commercial. I chose 'Luck' because I loved the concept. I'm glad I was a part of it. I chose a script that excited me and I will continue to do so-whatever the genre may be,' 23-year-old Shruthi told IANS.
Similar is the case with Arunoday Singh, grandson of Congress veteran Arjun Singh. Arunoday is making his entry into Bollywood with Piyush Jha's 'Sikandar' and he plays a militant. Set in Kashmir, the film is slated to hit screens Aug 21.
The budding actor says he can't fathom the need for a marked difference between commercial and non-commercial cinema in Bollywood.
'I don't know why there is an understanding here that films with a serious subject are inherently better than typical masala films. It's not like that.
If the story and the script of a film are interesting-that's all that matters,' said Arunoday, who had been living abroad for nine years.
He says doing a film like 'Sikandar', which has terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as its backdrop, was not at all a deliberate effort to do something out of the box.
'I've just arrived in Bollywood. It's not like I had to choose a certain role. I was keen to just work and didn't think it was practical to wait for someone to launch me. I had economic reasons to get work as well.
'But when I heard what Piyush (Jha) wrote for 'Sikandar', I really liked it.
It is a very strong script and that's why I'm proud and grateful to have been cast in the film.