Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central
Here's some more international flavor for ya: an Indian brick with some magnetic tricks. Lucky you, I suck at character building - thanks in advance for your patience.
Talwar
-next up on Star Plus, Ganga learns a terrible secret-
- I only give my family Tilda Basmati -
-and in today's Where Are They Now File: Kamal Tariq. The once-promising actor had a career that was remarkable - if only for its brevity. Just two years ago, no one had heard of him. But after a series of racy commercials for Desi Denim, everyone took notice. Soon "that jeans guy" was everywhere, including the arms of starlet Rani Rao. With Tariq's brooding good looks, it's no wonder Bollywood was interested. The smoldering stud made his film debut with a special song appearance in Tanhayee and went on to appear in a half dozen more movies, including the surprise hit Crash Landing.
Some said Tariq was the next big thing. But after going from zero to hero, things started going wrong when he went from hero to superhero. When Tariq revealed that he has superpowers, his career became shaky. Some sources say that producers didn't want to hire him because superpowers mean super-trouble on the set. Others say Tariq was targeted by organized crime. And some say Kamal Tariq just got too big for his jeans and no one could tame his ego. The troubled star began fighting with the press and feuding with established stars. The biggest scandal came when Tariq, who is Muslim, claimed his special abilities were a gift from a Hindu goddess, angering both Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists.
Since then, Tariq has kept a low profile. His agent told us that the king of controversy is currently reviewing offers. But insiders tell us the sexy stud has left Mumbai for good. In fact, he has made no public appearances since walking the runway at New York's fashion week, three months ago. Which makes this segment's title quite literal. Kamal Tariq: where is he now? For ZeeTV, I'm Amrita Singh. Tune in tomorrow -
background/history
You know how everything seems to come easy for some people? Kamal Tariq used to be one of those people. His childhood in Patna was remarkable only for its happiness; the worst thing that happened to him was that as the youngest of three, he was a little spoiled. But his parents, a doctor and a professor, taught him the importance of hard work and a love of learning. He excelled in school and also did well at sports and other extracurricular activities.
Wanting to see more of the world he picked the University of Mumbai for college, and that's when his luck really kicked in. He was spotted by a professional photographer who recruited him for a modeling agency. Kamal was the right face at the right time, and within a year he was getting so much work that he dropped out of college. He used his success to get a foot in the door in the film industry.
What a ride! He was on billboards, on TV commercials, and now he was a movie star! OK, he only got a few supporting roles in some really bad B movies. But it was fun, it was lucrative, and Kamal just knew that if the right opportunity came along he could make it to the A list.
When the big break finally came, it was not as expected. Late one night while on a location shoot in Rajasthan, something woke Tariq up and drew him into the desert. There he met a mysterious figure whose identity seemed to change from moment to moment. Images of historical figures like the warrior king Chandragupta, wise Akbar the Great, even the earth goddess Prithvi all raced through Kamal's head. The being addressed him as "son of the soil" and warned him that in the future India would face a terrible calamity. "The swords of the righteous must defend Hindustan," the messenger intoned as it placed a palm on Kamal's forehead.
Kamal woke up in his hotel room with sand in his clothes and a phenomenal new strength that seemed to come from the land itself. He was too frightened by the mysterious message to dwell on it. Why worry about tomorrow when today you can become the first Bollywood hero who's also a superhero?
He went public with his new powers, and for a few weeks he was the hottest thing in town. Every talk show wanted him, every power player wanted to meet him, and every producer wanted to feature him in an action movie. But the glory was short lived.
Kamal was summoned to a meeting with Chandu Rajan, the Mumbai head of the Rajan gang. The don explained that the Rajans had extensive investments in the film industry, and that no matter who signed Kamal's checks, the actor should consider himself to be working for Rajan. Kamal was to work with Rajan's production companies only. And perhaps use his powers to do the occasional "favor" for the criminal organization.
Tariq stormed out in a rage and went straight to the media. The Rajans struck back with a public smear campaign and some private stringpulling. Suddenly Kamal was persona non grata in Mumbai. Chandu Rajan then called Tariq to make another offer, and hinted that Kamal's family would pay the price for further disobedience. Kamal impetuously promised to kill every last member of the gang if any harm came to his family. It was a bluff, but Rajan decided not to risk it. They agreed on a compromise: the Tariqs would be safe as long as Kamal stayed out of Mumbai.
Disgusted with the corruption he had discovered, and embarrassed to find himself a public laughingstock, Kamal left India altogether. He tried to make a go of it in New York City, but couldn't get steady work as a model or any work as an actor and his money started running out. The demoralized young man finally retreated to Thebes, where he currently lives with relatives. He still gets a few gigs here and there, but he earns most of his money at his cousin's construction firm. When not working or getting to know his new city, he takes self-defense classes and hones his powers.
personality/motivation
Although his recent setbacks left him dispirited and at loose ends, Kamal is basically optimistic, energetic and outgoing. He won't admit that he misses being a celebrity, but he likes to be the center of attention. In general he's a very open and straightforward person, often to the point of naivete. Underneath the goofy boyish charm there are two things he's very serious about: his home and religion. He very much wants to go back to India, but he knows he's not ready yet to take down the Rajans. Meanwhile he's trying to sort out his feelings about god; before receiving his powers seemingly by divine favor, he was an atheist. In his spare time he reads anything and everything on spirituality.
powers/tactics
Talwar is bonded to the planet's magnetic field, allowing him to draw strength and endurance from the earth itself. He can also manipulate the local electromagnetic field to move and reshape metal, and generate bursts of electromagnetic energy.
appearance
Kamal is a tall, striking-looking man in his early 20s with a swimmer's build, angular face and long curly hair. As Talwar he wears tight black pants, a black Tshirt with green trim and talwar emblem, and a black nehru jacket or sherwani.
And attached, first draft of sheet and portrait.
