Bollywood replayed

2008 was a lukewarm year for the Hindi film industry with far too few blockbusters. Here are some of its memorable moments.

The year 2008 was not good for Bollywood as many of its big-budget films failed at the box office. It lacked as many blockbusters as in the last two years. However, the most heartening outcome was the growth of small meaningful films that struck a chord with the audience and turned into money-spinners, indicating that audiences are warming up to innovative stories minus big stars.

Box-office hurricanes

The year started on a bad note with biggies like Halla Bol and Sunday unable to hold fort at the box office. But small budgeted Mithya, starring Ranvir Shorey, won critical acclaim and managed decent collections.

The first real blockbuster was Ashutosh Gowariker's extravagant historical costume-drama Jodhaa Akbar, which starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan. The film wowed the audience with its grandeur and compelling narration and will be a favourite at the award functions.

Close on its heels is the sleek multi-starrer thriller Race, which took the box office by storm with its eye-candy actors – Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy, rocking music and intriguing storyline.

Flops galore

Biggies like U Me Aur Hum, Krazzy 4, Tashan, Bhootnath and Sarkar Raj failed to ignite the box office. Some attributed the failure to the cricket mania swept by the Indian Premiere League (IPL). This is also why Emraan Hashmi's Jannat, which is based on the controversial cricket match-fixing, turned into a huge hit.

Another film that caught the audience's attention was the gritty realistic thriller Aamir starring the debutant Rajeev Khandelwal.

The small-budget film was marketed purely on word-of-mouth publicity. The so-called family entertainer Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic failed to cut ice despite starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee, ending the first half of the year on a bad note.

Youthful entertainers

Bollywood was injected with fresh blood at the beginning of 2008's second half with the breezy romantic tale Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na which introduced Aamir Khan's nephew Imran Khan along with Genelia D'souza. The film became an instant success with Imran turning into a star overnight.

However, the big-budget sci-fi flick Love Story 2050, starring Harman Baweja, sank at the box office. Even Baweja's ladylove Priyanka Chopra's presence couldn't save the film.
Shahid Kapoor-Vidya Balan's Kismet Konnection failed to click. Audiences rejected terrorism-based films which lacked any real treatment, pushing Ram Gopal Verma's Contract and Apoorva Lakhia's Mission Istanbul to the bottom.

Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer Singh Is Kinng set the box office on fire by taking a record-breaking opening despite being a mindless caper. The film worked due to its popular lead pair and energetic music. The peppy youth fest continued with Bachna Ae Haseeno starring tinsel town's latest real-life couple Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone along with Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba.

Small films, big hits

After the youthful turnout, a spate of comic-capers such as Money Hai Toh Honey Hai, Ugly Aur Pagli, Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam and C Kkompany failed to tickle the funny bone! Even Salman Khan-Amitabh Bachchan starrer God Tussi Great Ho, which is inspired by Hollywood's Bruce Almighty, bombed miserably. Verma's starless horror flick Phoonk surprised everyone with a big opening and succeeded despite the film's non-spooky content!

Farhan Akhtar's debut Rock On!!! struck a chord with the urban audience and many hailed it as coming-of-age Bollywood cinema.

From music to terror, Mumbai Meri Jaan won critical acclaim for tackling issues of terrorism, but it was A Wednesday, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher, that won over the audience and box office success, making it a cult film of sorts. The film represented the common man's dilemma in the terrorist attacks.

The hit parade of small films didn't end here as Vikram Bhatt's horror flick 1920 and Shyam Benegal's quirky comedy Welcome To Sajjanpur also found many fans.

Big-budget disasters

The Ramadan Eid bonanzas – Drona and Kidnap arrived and faded without any noise.

The Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Drona became the year's biggest disaster, while Kidnap fared marginally better thanks only to Imran's presence and Lamba's uninhibited exposure. Himesh Reshammiya's much-hyped Karzzzz flopped. This was closely followed by Yashraj Films and Walt Disney's joint collaboration Roadside Romeo.

Diwali saw a few hopefuls in the form of laugh-riot Golmaal Returns and Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion. Sooraj Barjatya's regressive marital tale Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi and Sanjay Dutt-starrer social comedy E.M.I didn't find many takers. The gay comedy Dostana discovered an unlikely new onscreen couple with Abhishek and John Abraham.

The Subhash Ghai musical starring real-life couple Salman and Katrina also collapsed miserably.

Year-end bonanzas

All the recent small and well-made films like Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Sorry Bhai, Maharathi and Dil Kabaddi were badly affected due to the Mumbai terror attacks.

However, the year ended with a positive note due to of the two mighty Khans. Shah Rukh Khan's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aamir Khan's Ghajini soared at the box office. And if Akshay's voice-over in the animated flick Jumbo clicks, then that would be like the icing on the cake!

Top 5 Best Films

• 1. A Wednesday
• 2. Jodhaa Akbar
• 3. Rock On!!!
• 4. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
• 5. Aamir

Top 5 Best Actors

• 1. Hrithik Roshan (Jodhaa Akbar)
• 2. Naseeruddin Shah (A Wednesday)
• 3. Ranbir Kapoor (Bachna Ae Haseeno)
• 4. Rajeev Khandelwal (Aamir)
• 5. Shah Rukh Khan (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)

Top 5 Best Actresses

• 1. Aishwarya Rai (Jodhaa Akbar)
• 2. Priyanka Chopra (Fashion)
• 3. Kajol (U Me Aur Hum)
• 4. Bipasha Basu (Bachna Ae Haseeno)
• 5. Genelia D'souza (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na)