How Bollywood performed in the first quarter

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How Bollywood performed in the first quarter

The hits, the flops and the also-rans: audience preferences haven't really changed, it seems

By Khalid Mohamed

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Published: Fri 7 Apr 2017, 4:32 PM

The first quarter of Bollywood movies has been done. In the span of the last three months, as many as 25 Hindi language films were released, asserting that there's no stopping the quantitative output from one of the world's most prolific cinema-producing centres. Of course, quality was quite another matter.
The clout wielded by the star system continued undiminished. After all, habitually, all of us are prone to asking, "But who's acting in the film? Any big names?" The niche or discriminating audience may not be hung up on star names but, by the look of things, this section of ticket-buyers, who care for unconventional and out-of-the-box movies could well become an extinct species. I hope not.
Because there's something infinitely brave about risk-taking filmmakers who hope against hope that their endeavours make an impact not only at international film festivals but on home turf as well. Take at least two films which did manage a theatrical release and were welcomed with open arms by the critics this year, so far.
Vikramaditya Motwane's Trapped inspected the chilling dilemma of a young man, expertly portrayed by Rajkummar Rao, who finds himself unwittingly isolated in the crowded metropolis of Mumbai. As for first-time director Avinash Das's Anaarkali of Aarah, here was a powerful tract on women empowerment, told through the story of a dancer in a small town who won't take chauvinism or harassment any more. Both the films boasted of quality control and social relevance. However, they tanked at the cash counters.
A pity. Perhaps relatively small-budget films, with a purposeful point to make, require a dinstinct strategy. They cannot be just offloaded at high-priced multiplexes, and draw viewers who merely crave 'time-pass' entertainment for their bucks. During the 1970s, the central government did support 'meaningful' cinema by granting subsidies and finance through the National Film Development Corporation, an institution which has been reduced to merely marketing films, irrespective of their content, at global venues today.
As a result, scores of independent filmmakers are moving on to web series (shown on Internet) or seeking collaborations with the new players in town, Netflix and Amazon, which are looking for Asian content to broadcast.
Clearly, the unqualified hits of the year so far have been the Karan Johar-produced and Shashank Khaitan-directed Badrinath Ki Dulhania, thanks in no small measure to the on-screen chemistry between Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. And the Subhash Kapoor-directed Jolly LLB 2 with Akshay Kumar turning in a convincing act as a down-at-heel lawyer who must win a difficult case, come what may. Incidentally, both hits were second instalments of a franchise.
The first-parters Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) and Jolly LLB (2013, Arshad Warsi was the feisty lawyer in the start-up) had wowed spectators. Sequels made perfect business sense. So who knows? More editions of the Dulhania and the Jolly Lawyer may well be in the incubation stage.
Without a doubt, the two biggies of the year were the star vehicles - Raees for Shah Rukh Khan, directed by Rahul Dholakia, and Kaabil for Hrithik Roshan, directed by Sanjay Gupta. Their simultaneous releases on January 25, however, proved to be such a debated clash that their cash collections, like it or not, were whittled immeasurably. According to trade reports, Raees made it to the Rs100 crore-plus club. Ditto Kaabil. Yet, there were insinuations by the trade that the earnings were "underwhelming", whatever that means.
Over now to the flops thus far. The no-show list has been topped by Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon. Its dismal performance eroded the star equities of its lead players Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. Surprisingly, Shaad Ali's OK Jaanu, a remake of a Mani Ratnam love story, featuring Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, barely set off any ripples. Abbas-Mustan's Machine, intended to launch Abbas' son Mustafa, turned out to be the career-worst of the director duo who were once the masters of slick flicks. Little or no interest was evinced in the comeback of Govinda in Aa Gaya Hero too.
And the first quarter of 2017 concluded with three diametrically different films: the ghost story Phillauri, which Anushka Sharma acted in and produced (it registered fair-to-good ticket sales primarily in Punjab, where the story was set); Shivam Nair's Naam Shabana, a spy thriller showcasing Taapsee Pannu, a prequel to the Akshay Kumar-powered Baby; and actor-director Rahul Bose's Poorna, an inspirational biopic on Poorna Malavath, the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest, at the age of 13.
Evidently, variety is the spice of Bollywood currently. But star-fuelled extravaganzas are still the key to super success. Trends, they still aren't a-changin'.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com


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