New Delhi: Six months down and Bollywood has enough reasons to smile. While three films have been safely ensconced in the 100 crore club, a number of small budget films with quirky scripts have also hit bull's eye.
It's a good time to be in the industry. Stepping into a role, which has been immortalised by Amitabh Bachchan, was never going to be easy. But Hrithik Roshan played 'Vijay Dinanath Chauhan' in a manner, which highlighted his strengths as an actor. Aware of the fact that the iconic dialogues, which he will be mouthing, will not match up to his predecessor, Roshan cleverly infused his character with intensity and used his eyes to convey the agony in the remake of 'Agneepath'.
The film had other strengths to its credit as well. While debutant Karan Malhotra proved his directorial chops, what makes Agneepath an engaging remake is the performance of its actors. Sanjay Dutt made 'Kancha Cheena' menacing with his unusual look and his sheer size, but it was Rishi Kapoor as Rauf Lala who left a lasting impression and surprised the audiences with a convincing performance. And yes, Katrina Kaif's midriff also played an important role when the promos of the film hit the airwaves. The success of Agneepath reiterates the fact that films with a 90s look, feel and story can still set the cash registers ringing.
The runaway success of 'Rowdy Rathore' exemplifies the same. The film is a remake of the 2006 Telegu hit 'Vikramarkudua' but unlike 'Agneepath', the film is an assault on the senses when it comes to the story, dialogue, songs and the fight sequences. It's a no-holds barred 90s style 'masala' flick where the script is the least important thing.
Willing suspension of disbelief on the part of the viewer is a pre-requisite to digest plot twists involving the good old Hindi film formula of the 'humshakal'. Despite its success at the box office, 'Rowdy Rathore' is an offensive film when it comes to the film's sensibilities concerning its female characters. The director Prabhu Deva needs to realise that the stylistic fight sequences imported from southern films has reached a state of fatigue and does not elicit any more whistles.
The film redeems itself only because of Akshay Kumar. Kumar has played similar roles in the past but that does not stop him from having fun while essaying his character on the screen. The actor has his charm intact, whether it is cracking some of the worst jokes, being plain stupid or wooing his ladylove with an ardour that borders on crass.
Rom-Coms have become a regular staple in Bollywood these days and the first six months were witness to four flicks from this genre, 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu', 'Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya', 'London Paris New York' and 'Vicky Donor'. All of them managed to grab eyeballs and with their breezy storytelling also raked in the moolah. But undoubtedly it's 'Vicky Donor' which wins hands down. Treating the subject of sperm donation with humour without being insensitive towards the issue at large, the film managed to entertain and how.
Even though the producers of 'Housefull 2' and 'Jannat 2' laughed all the way to the bank, thanks to their phenomenal performance at the box office, the less said about them the better.
'Ishaqzaade' which had immense buzz owing to the film's main leads, Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra, did not deliver what it promised. With its small town setting and liberal use of expletives, the promos made people sit up and take notice but the film, a modern day rehash of good old Romeo and Juliet was anything but exhilarating
Two small films, (in terms of their budgets) 'Paan Singh Tomar' and 'Kahaani' with their deft storytelling, ensemble cast and their stellar performance at the box office might just prove to be much more than good films. Both of them will give many new filmmakers the hope to rely on the quality of the story and not just starpower to woo the audience. While both Irrfan and Vidya Balan did have a role to play in the film's success, finally script was the King.
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