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Spoofs, sports and some fun
SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO
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Round-up 2007 showed that publicity blitzkrieg can’t make a film. Small and big movies vied for attention and the toughest survived.
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The writing is on the wall. The audiences want deserving films
Hit parade (Top) The surprise hit ‘Jab We Met’
Abhishek Bachchan as Guru Bhai, breaking all rules in the book, built an empire and in the first half of 2007, was part of the lone blockbuster, Guru, until Jab we Met, Chak de India and Om Shanti Om came by and changed the tide. 2007 saw comedies (Partner being the biggest of ‘em all), May-December romances (Cheeni Kum, Nishabd), slice-of-life films (Life in a Metro, Dus Kahaniyan), movies based on real life (Shootout at Lokhandwala), films in retro mode (OSO and Khoya Khoya Chand) and sports films (Chak de India and Goal). Here’s a recap…
All that glitter… The biggies had a bumpy ride. Yash Raj Films swallowed bitter pills. Barring Chak de India, none of their films managed to create a dent at the BO despite the publicity blitzkrieg. Ta Ra Rum Pum,
Aaja Nachle, Jhoom
Barabar Jhoom and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag left the audience cold. The mother-of-all multi-starrers that straddled six stories, Salaam-e-Ishq, didn’t live up to its expectations.
Small is beautiful: Cheeni Kum, Bheja Fry, Life in a Metro, Loins of Punjab, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Dhamaal, Johnny Gadaar, Manorama Six Feet Under… Some tickled the funny bone hits while others presented something out of the ordinary. “The situations I presented in Life in a Metro were what I gathered from people who work in call centres,” says Anurag Basu, adding, “2007 saw a lot of corporates funding films. Making a film is no longer tough and gives the director security. But this has also lead to a few directors not working to their potential.” Director Inder Kumar, who plans to make a sequel, Double Dhamaal, says, “The five male actors showed that a film can succeed without a heroine. Good comedies worked well in 2007.”
Ode to the past: There’s nothing that’s not been written and said about Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om. The spoof on the 70s packed in clichés and banked on SRK’s newly acquired six-pack abs. With OSO and Chak de India, SRK had the last laugh. Sudhir Misra’s Khoya Khoya Chand, much more subdued than OSO, paid homage to the swinging 60s.
Be a sport: The underdogs won again. Only that, unlike Lagaan and Iqbal, the focus wasn’t on cricket. Shah Rukh Khan, in a role inspired by Mir Ranjan Negi, talked and played tough, lead a team of women hockey players to victory, broke stereotypes about women in sports in general and box office fundas in particular. The film is now a study material for management graduates and Chak de is nothing short of an anthem. Dhan Dhanadhan Goal wanted to do the same for football but fell short.
Newcomers inc: Deepika Padukone epitomised the dream girl while Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor stayed afloat while Saawariya sank. The surprise package was Neil Nitin Mukesh in Johnny Gaddar. Jiah Khan made news more for romancing Bachchan in Nishabd than for her own acting skills. And model Muzammil Ibrahim made his presence felt despite Dhokha failing.
Shah Rukh made ‘Chak de’ an anthem.
Love, on the run: As different as chalk and cheese, Kareena and Shahid Kapoor walked into the hearts of people in the endearing Jab We Met. Saawariya’s loss was Jab We Met’s gain. Imtiaz Ali, who will direct Saif Ali Khan’s next production, says, “The writing is on the wall: the audiences have moved on and want the film-makers to give them deserving films. There was freshness about the characters that made Jab We Met relatable.”
Sorry, not happening: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s blue-black visual dream left the audience cold. Despite the pre-release hype, Sony Pictures burnt their fingers with their first Hindi production, Saawariya.
Saawariya was passable for its visual treat and music. Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag failed on all counts. Varma’s ode to Sholay was one of 2007’s most rejected movies.
Salman Khan’s first international (or was it Hollywood?) film, Marigold came and left without a noise. The stereotyped portrayal of Bollywood and lacklustre Ali Larter didn’t help.
Amitabh Bachchan earned appreciation for Cheeni Kum and Rituparno Ghosh’s Last Lear. But his over-the-top special appearance in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Babban Singh avatar in Aag kept people away from the cinema halls. He got lucky romancing younger women in Cheeni Kum and Nishabd.
December Dhamaka: The fireworks aren’t over. Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par and Akshay Kumar-Anil Kapoor jodi’s Welcome release today. The verdict on these biggies will be out soon. To take the clichéd route and quote SRK in Om Shanti Om, “picture abhi bakhi hai dost”.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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