Entertainment | Film & Cinema
Bollywood tests new ground
The first half of 2008 has seen Bollywood hit a nadir. Whimsical audiences, changing trends, new wave cinema and off beat scripts have all left industry pundits dumbfounded.
- By Suparna Dutt D'Cunha, Sub Editor
- Published: 00:01 June 25, 2008
- Sarkar Raj's box-office performance is not living up to expectations.
- Image Credit: Gulf News archive
The first half of 2008 has seen Bollywood hit a nadir. Whimsical audiences, changing trends, new wave cinema and off beat scripts have all left industry pundits dumbfounded.
The elusive formula for success seems more evasive than ever before.
The much-awaited Tashan — starring the hottest couple in Bollywood, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor — failed to hold the interest of the audience and left many wondering why anyone would even enter into such a venture.
Then we had Ashutoash Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar. Despite elaborate promotions, the supposed blockbuster proved to be a damp squib.
Other conventional flicks such as Krazzy 4 and Race also failed to rescue the industry from its extended low phase. Although both films opened strong and pulled in crowds over the first weekend, they fizzled out in no time.
Yes, this is also true for the much-vaunted Sarkar Raj that stars three Bachchans — Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya. The brouhaha the producers were making over its successful box-office run is mostly put-on.
Even in Mumbai, the movie's box-office performance is below par though, considering its subject matter and the star cast, it should have done well here.
"When the ticket sales of a movie which boasts of featuring the audience-friendly Bachchan family dropped to 40 per cent in the second week of its run, it should naturally be a cause of worry for the distributors," said a trade analyst.
The Bollywood box office has not witnessed any big hit for the last three weeks and the dry spell continues as none of the four recent releases — De Taali, Haal-e-dil, Khushboo and Memsahab could even draw a decent opening.
Barring Emraan Hashmi starrer Jannat, the movies released previously are running spasmodically across the country, not bringing in enough revenue for distributors to smile about.
Uncharted territory
Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par released last year ventured into uncharted territory. This new trend throws open the debate on whether the Indian audience has finally given the thumbs down to masala films with item numbers thrown in for good measure.
But it could also be a bit too presumptuous to think that the Indian audience is now looking for nothing but mature and experimental cinema.
In the last year, the few films that have gone on to become blockbusters have been flicks like Om Shanti Om, Heyy Baby and Welcome.
Here we see the conventional plot working its magic at the box office.
So is Bollywood likely to regress to formula entertainment or will the forthcoming releases like Love Story 2050 and Drona break fresh ground?
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