Haider Kick(s) in Happy New Year
Bollywood 2014: A round-up of important (and not so important) films released this year

By Shambhu Sahu

Big Films, Bigger Stars

The five biggest grosser of the year featured big Bollywood stars: Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar and and Ajay Devgn. As per the box-office (BO) collection data* on entertainment portal koimoi.com, the top five grosser of the year include: Salman Khan’s Kick (233 Cr), Shah Rukh Khan’s multi-starrer Happy New Year (over 203 Cr),  Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif’s Bang Bang (181.03 Cr), Ajay Devgn-Rohit Shetty’s Singham Returns (141 Cr), and Akshay Kumar-A.R. Murugadoss’s Holiday - A Solider is Never Off Duty (113 Cr). This in a way also gives us the current ranking of these Bollywood stars (for those who believe in such stuff!). And of course Aamir Khan is yet to arrive at the scene. He is all set to storm the BO on 19^th December with Rajkumar Hirani’s PK, and is likely to shake up this “Top Five” order. 
Meanwhile, bollywoodhungama.com lists Jai Ho (116 Cr), Salman’s other release of the year and a remake of Telugu film Stalin (2006), at number 5 and Holiday - A Solider is Never Off Duty at 6. These figures, however, may not be a correct reflection of profit made as the production cost of all these films vary.  

What sells – Stars, and Maar Dhaad?

Interestingly, all the Top Five movies above belong to Action or Action/Comedy genre, and have a Bollywood Superstar in the lead role, while there isn’t anything great to rave about as far as their content is concerned. Look at the rating these films received from some of the popular film critics:

	Rajeev Masand	Raja Sen	Saibal Chatterjee	Shubhra Gupta
Kick	2.5/5	3/5	2.5/5	2/5
Happy New Year	2.5/5	2/5	2/5	2/5
Bang Bang!	2/5	1.5/5	2/5	1.5/5
Singham Returns	2.5/5	1.5/5	2/5	1.5/5
Holiday - A Solider is Never Off Duty	2/5	1.5/5	2/5	1.5/5

(Ratings and review comments accessed from www.thereviewmonk.com)

Reviewing HNY, Saibal Chatterjee wrote on NDTV.com: “There is no dearth of gloss in Happy New Year, but everything else in the film, including the content and its treatment, are allowed to go for a toss. Kick got many recommendations as an entertainer, but not much praise for its content. Rajeev Masand wrote on ibnlive.com: “…the pursuit of logic in a Salman Khan film is a rather fruitless exercise, even his die-hard fans will agree. The actor admits as much in a telling dialogue at the end of the film: “Mere baare mein itna mat sochna. Dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahin.” Chatterjee wrote: “Kick provides a kick only sporadically. For Salman Khan fans, that should be good enough.”

Raja Sen thrashed Bang Bang! in his review: “This is a stupid, stupid film trying to be slick, a B-grade film made on an A-list budget.” “How many times have you ordered a dish that looks terrific photographed in a menu, but disappoints when it shows up on the table? Bang Bang is that kind of meal,” wrote Masand.

Anupama Chopra wrote, “Holiday - A Solider is Never Off Duty is a superstar vehicle without a brain or a heart.” “The script does not allow Akshay Kumar to be the no-nonsense action hero that would have held the film in better stead,” Chatterjee wrote.

As for Singham Returns, Gupta commented: “The sequel to ‘Singham’ is chock-full of the usual car-on-jeep action. Explosions go off at regular intervals. Shoot-outs—one really well-shot– occur frequently.” Masand wrote: “At 2 hours and 22 minutes, Singham Returns feels long and occasionally plodding. There are some nice scenes that inspire police pride, but the predictable story tires you out eventually.”

This may explain what really works at the BO – a Star, a beauty and lotsa Maar-Dhaad!  

The Other Winners- Super Hits & Hits:

As per koimoi.com, the other successful films of the year include: Ek Villain (105 Cr), 2 States (104 Cr), Queen (61 Cr), and Yaariyan (40 Cr) which are declared Super Hits. Its list of Hits include: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (76.81 Cr), Mary Kom (64 Cr), Heropanti (55 Cr), Finding Fanny (35.91 Cr), Khoobsurat (25.87 Cr), Creature 3D (20 Cr). Interestingly, these lists have three directorial debuts – Vikas Bahl (Queen); Divya Khosla Kumar (Yaariyan) and Omung Kumar (Mary Kom) – and two acting debuts - Jackie Shroff’s son Tiger (Heropanti) and Pakistani TV star Fawad Khan (Khoobsurat).    

Who Cares for Content?

Well, the customer doesn’t – or so it seems. Take a look at the Top Five films of this year, none of them was an original. Of these five films, three were remakes, and the other two included a sequel and an allegedly inspired film. Kick was a remake of a 2009 Telugu film with same name; Bang Bang! was an official remake of Tom Cruise-starrer Knight & Day, and Holiday - A Solider is Never Off Duty was a remake of A.R. Murugadoss’s own Telugu film (Thuppakki). The other two include Singham Returns, a sequel to Singham, which too was a remake of a Suriya-starrer Telugu film Singam (2006), and HNY, a reportedly inspired film. Shubha Gupta of The Indian Express wrote: “Happy New Year turns out to be a cross between an Oceans 11/12 and Flashdance and a whole bunch of movies that topline Mera Bharat Mahan sentiments”. Masand referred to it as a film “borrowing ideas from such contrasting films as Ocean’s Eleven and The Full Monty”.

Haider, an adaptation of Hamlet and last of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespearean trilogy, was one of the better films this year in terms of story, plot, performances and filmmaking. However, in terms of BO collection, it is reported to have managed only 58.30 Cr and is in the “Plus” category -- a “film which recovers investment & yields some profit”. Dedh Ishqiya, Abhishek Chaubey's sequel to his hit debut film Ishqiya, and Vikas Bahl’s Queen are the other major contenders for this year's good films overall. They had new/refreshing stories and excellent performances by the leading ladies (Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Huma Qureshi and Kangana Ranaut respectively). Kangana carried Queen on her shoulders. She was Queen and the film was hers. 

Is Haider Film of The Year?

In Haider, Vishal Bhardwaj successfully (and brilliantly too) re-created Kashmir of 90s when insurgency in the valley was at its peak. And in that background, he placed Haider (Shahid Kapur) a youth unsure of taking inteqaam from his conniving uncle who got his father killed and married his mother. The film was well made, had an original story and was packed with stellar performances by Tabu, Shahid, Kay Kay Menon, Irfaan Khan, Narendra Jha, and others. Most reviewer applauded the craft and cinema of Bhardwaj. Film critic Raja Sen wrote on rediff.com: “Bhardwaj, now more than ever, seems assured of the power of his content, and knows when to pull his punches and doesn't fall for obvious temptations. The result is a knockout, a film that makes you smell corpses, that makes you shudder with melancholia, and a film that points accusing fingers. A film that doesn't flinch.” Anupama Chopra wrote in Hindustan Times, “There is much in Haider that deserves a standing ovation. Let’s start with the courage of director Vishal Bhardwaj…Hamlet in itself is a beast to be tamed… But I can guarantee that you will emerge from Haider shell-shocked. And when was the last time a Hindi film did that to you?”  
Could Haider be the best film of 2014? May be ...not. We all know contenders for the film of the year are: HNY, Kick, and may be Bang Bang! as well. If things go horribly wrong, Haider has a chance, and Dedh Ishqiya and Queen are there too. And Aamir Khan’s PK is yet to hit screen.

Movies, Served with Regular Masala

2014 boasts of many masala movies that managed to get viewers who kept the cash register ringing. Some of these could safely include:
1. Varun Dhawan-Alia Bhatt starrer (Karan Johar-produced) Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania – a modern take on DDLJ packed with (useless but glossy) song-and-dance, action and romance as per Yash Raj’s formula.
2. Singham Returns, with your regular dose of new angry-young-man Ajay Devgn as Bajirao Singham and Rohit Shetty’s “'car'ma”.
3. With Main Tera Hero, David Dhawan seems to have found a masaaledar Govinda at home in his son Varun.
4. In Bang Bang!, Siddharth Anand (who?) mainly cooked masala (excessive action and stars power of Hrithik and Katrina) and sprinkled a bit of story and plot in it.

Stars of the Year

Alia Bhatt with three big films - Highway, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya and 2 States – and Arjun Kapoor with his three films – 2 States, Gunday and Finding Fanny – lead the list. The other major stars of the year will include Salman Khan with his money spinners Kick and Jai Ho; Priyanka Chopra (Mary Kom and Gunday); Deepika Padukone (HNY and Finding Fanny); Akshay Kumar (Holiday, Entertainment and The Shaukeens); Sidharth Malhotra (Ek Villian and Hasee Toh Phasee); Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Kick and Miss Lovely); Varun Dhawan (Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya).

Disappointments of The Year

1.      Imtiaz Ali’s Highway: Days before her wedding, Veera (Alia Bhatt) is abducted for ransom by a gang led by rustic Mahabir (Randeep Hooda). As he takes her to different location to escape cops, she begins to develop a strange bond with her kidnapper. Quite unconvincing. Masand wrote on ibnlive.com: “Veera's quick transformation from helpless victim to enthusiastic co-traveler is nevertheless unconvincing. It's meandering and indulgent in many parts, tiring you out well before it's over. I'm going with two out of five for Highway. A beautiful mess, but a mess nonetheless.” 
2.      Habib Faisal’s Daawat-E-Ishq: Faisal showed immense promise with his Do Dooni Chaar and Ishaqzaade (which has a poor ending), but this film was just too and dry as far as story goes. Sonali Cables, a small-budget film about local business vs big corporates, or Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami, a satire about two brothers’ resolve to restore honor of their father implicated in a false corruption case, arguably had better stories/plots!  

3.      Tigmanshu Dhulia-written The Shaukeens: Why attempt a remake if you can’t break a few clichés? The film depicts three aging chaddi-buddies pursuing sexual pleasure outside marriage. Fine. But then why end the film on a moralistic note – three men feeling guilty of their pursuit and a star defending their “innocence” so that they are accepted back in the very lives they wanted to escape?

4.      Yash Raj's Kill/Dil: Why would Shaad Ali (of Saathiya and Bunty aur Babli fame) attempt something as clichéd as this. The film’s trailers gave up the plot and it was quite uninspiring.  

5.      Saif Ali Khan's Happy Ending: Well a rom-com that’s “a comedy about romantic comedies” and stars Saif Ali Khan, Ileana D'Cruz, Govinda, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki shouldn’t ideally be disappointing. This one was. It was no Cocktail or Love Aaj Kal – better rom-coms from Saif’ own production house.

Films We Missed, But May Not Be Missed

1.      Finding Fanny: An old man in Goa embarks on a journey to find his lost love after he discovers a letter written to her decades ago. Watch it at leisure. “Finding Fanny is a charming film that starts off slowly but draws you into its drama. At a crisp 105 minutes, it's a perfectly satisfying watch unlike so many disposable comedies today,” wrote Masand on ibnlive.com.

2.      Rang Rasiya: Ketan Mehta’s biopic on 19^th century painter Raja Ravi Verma, starring Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen. Was supposed to be released a couple of years back, but finally released this year.  “…given the timelessness of the story it tells and the crucial issues it addresses, it has lost none of its relevance. Strongly recommended,” wrote Chatterjee on NDTV.com. “…I’m relieved that at least films like these are being made and…that we’re getting to see them,” wrote Sen on rediff.com.

3.      Sulemani Keeda: A film about two writing partners and roommates who dream of making it big in Bollywood. They get an offer to write an out-of-the-box film for a star son, but are questioned for their choice. Masand recommended it, saying: “Slickly shot, capturing a real, lived-in feel of the city, this is a charming little indie that manages to say something important, while never forgetting to make you laugh.”

4.      Miss Lovely: A take on C-grade movie-making business in 80s’ Bombay, featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Niharika Singh: “I'm going with three out of five for Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely. Selected to play in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes film festival in 2012, it's an unconventional watch, yes, but it's also refreshing to see a different kind of Indian cinema make its place in the world,” Masand wrote.

5.      Kya Dilli Kya Lahore: Actor Vijay Raaz’s directorial debut film was about two soldiers on an Indo-Pak border post, soon after the partition. “As an actor, Vijay Raaz seldom lets down a film. Here, he takes on the added responsibility of direction. He keeps the proceedings even-paced and free of techno-generated upheavals. The two actors (Manu Rishi being the other) are mostly left to their own devices. The end-result is a film of tremendous warmth and wisdom,” wrote Subhash K Jha for IANS.

The Return of the Original Blockbusters

Lastly, two of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters ever made, Ramesh Shippy's Sholay (1975) and Aditya Chopra's cult romantic saga Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge or DDLJ (1995) got re-released this year. While the former was re-released in 3D format, the latter hit the theatres once again on the occasion of completing 1000 weeks at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. This sure was a treat for all Bollywood lovers - an opportunity for youngsters (born after 80s) and elders (who got old before 1999) to catch iconic Sholay and DDLJ on the big screen respectively.

(* Data accessed on the website on 14.12.2014/Images used for representational purposes only)

© Shambhu Sahu, 2014