| 2010
BOLLYWOOD BLUES! |
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| With
just one weekend left in 2010, there seems
to be very little that Bollywood can do
(except Tees Maar Khan that releases this
Friday) to salvage a year that has been
below average, at best, for all the big
names in the industry. Yes, the film industry
is the kind of place where failure is
as frequent or even more than success.
But, when someone has a bad run, it is
usually compensated by someone having
a good patch which makes the industry
move along pretty well without feeling
the pinch. But, 2010 has been a year when
big names have collectively run into a
rut that has made the end year analysis
look a bit bleak, even morbid. Every major
star, every major director and every major
production house had at least one cold
turkey at the box office this year and
there are very few exceptions.
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Star backed films have plummeted one after another
this year; need examples, there are plenty. Bollywood’s
alpha male (going by the looks) Hrithik Roshan had
a pretty horrendous run in 2010. The year was supposed
to be especially important for him because he had
been absent for the whole of 2009 and his last release,
Jodha Akbar had been in early 2008. So, he had the
task of reigniting the craze that had been lying dormant.
But, all such hopes were shattered with the double
debacles of the highly hyped Kites and the metaphoric
Guzaarish, which fetched great appreciation for him.
Keeping up with Guzaarish; Hrithik Roshan’s
co-star in the film, Aishwarya Rai; the costliest
actress in India too had one of the worst calendar
years of the decade. Four releases with three of them
eating humble pie; Guzaarish, Action Repplay and Raavan.
Robot might have helped her save face.
Meanwhile, husband Abhishek Bachchan also ran into
marshy areas with both his releases Raavan and Khelen
Hum Jee Jaan Sey bombing, the latter doing almost
pathetically (a fate that was perhaps unfair to the
movie). Dad, Big B too could not pull off much with
his still huge fan following. Films like RGV’s
Rann and Alaadin which had him as the central attraction
failed to attract any audiences at all. Meanwhile,
Mr. Consistent at the box office; Akshay Kumar, too
suffered from box office blues as his Khatta Meetha
and Action Repplay bit the dust. However, he faired
slightly better than the others mentioned above with
the solitary hit Housefull and still has Tees Maar
Khan (which might ride high on Sheela’s Jawani)
up his sleeve.
Salman Khan might be looking like the only dependable
star of the year with the colossal hit of Dabbang.
Well, that’s alright if we don’t take
into account the whimper that his Veer barely managed
to produce. Of the Khans, King Khan has My Name is
Khan to show for 2010. The numbers say that it was
a hit, but it seems to have done very little to the
star status of SRK; the film was not wholeheartedly
embraced by the audience. Aamir stood away as actor
but managed to hit the bull’s eye as producer
with Peepli Live while Saif was by and large unseen
throughout the year. Of the second rung stars, it
was Ajay Devgun who ran away with a lot to show for
this year- the potent performance in Rajneeti and
the fun of Golmaal and Athithi, the panache of Once
Upon a Time In Mumbai – he had a good 2010.
Akshaye Khanna oscillated between the serious (Aakrosh)
and the inane (No Problem). The young brigade too
had their share of problems. Ranbir Kapoor was able
to produce magic with Rajneeti but showed his fallibility
through Anjaana Anjaani and Imran Khan made the audience
kind of love ‘I Hate Luv Stories’ but
had them asking for a break in ‘Break Ke Baad’.
Take the list of films mentioned and you will automatically
be able to draw up an inference of how the leading
ladies fared in 2010.
But, greater concern than the fall of the stars is
the failure of proven hit makers to break ice at the
box office. Sanjay Leela Bhansali failed to come out
of the rut that started with Saawariya, while Ahsuthosh
Gowarikar is searching for the magic touch that seems
to have deserted him since Jodha Akbar. Priyadarshan
is trying too hard to make the audience laugh and
even tried his hand at some serious stuff (Aakrosh)
and a children’s gig (Bum Bum Bole) with none
of them working. RGV oscillated like a pendulum with
the failure of Rann and the just muster performances
of the Raktha Charithra movies. The unthinkable happened
with Mani Rathnam stumbling while commercial kingpins
like Vipul Amrutlal Shah too couldn’t find their
mark. It was also a year when a Madhur Bhandarkar
film could not make any waves (Jail).
On the production front too the news was not that
good. Yashraj were not able to regain the momentum
which they had lost some time in 2008 and trusted
banners like Rakesh Roshan and UTV too couldn’t
manufacture winners.
Overall, a forgettable year for Bollywood. Yes, there
were a few small gems here and there. But, as a rule,
the biggies kept falling one after the other, with
a few exceptions here and there. Now, hoping that
the year ends on a positive note with Tees Maar Khan
and leads on to a great 2011 which will no doubt have
many more star ventures.
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