| I like ideas, especially movie ideas, that you can hold in your hand. If a person can tell me the idea in 25 words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie." Steven Spielberg may have grown up since he made that statement, gone on to the Holocaust and its echoes in Munich, but it's a lesson Bollywood has memorised well this year. Practically every film that succeeded at the box office could be-and often was-reduced to a handful of words. The tagline for Bunty Aur Babli was the desi cool musical, for Salaam Namaste it was let's get to know each other, for Sarkar, it was: "There are no rights and wrongs. Only power." Some of these may have made moviegoers giggle with their unintended pomposity, but they also defined their audiences. For once, Bollywood decided it didn't need to be all things to all people. It tailored its product for a niche audience and then was pleasantly surprised when the film crossed over. So a songless Sarkar which rode piggyback on Amitabh Bachchan's charismatic presence, a Page 3 which played on the voyeur in everyone, a Black whose high concept (Sanjay Leela Bhansali goes minimal after the epic Devdas) was personally sold by Bachchan on every media outlet possible, all added up to a remarkable year where the top 10 movies alone grossed over Rs 350 crore in theatrical revenue-and this didn't even include DVD sales and satellite rights. No Entry, meant to be a low-brow comedy for single theatres and small towns, did smashing business at multiplexes as well, drawing family audiences with children laughing, and worryingly understanding, its risqué jokes, setting off a cottage industry that culminated in this week's clone comedy Shaadi No. 1 (its memorable contribution being the lyrics, TV chale remote se, biwi chale note se). | Bunty Aur Babli It was a movie Shah Rukh Khan had wanted to do only for its title. It was a movie audiences embraced even though its MTV Fully Faltoo-meets Manmohan Desai style turned off critics. Box office *: Rs 50 crore Budget: Rs 12 crore POP APPEAL
Dhoom's music video sparked the Bunty Aur Babli rap song, and a new marketing gimmick was born. Kajra Re set new standards for naughtiness. CRITICOMETER
Was it a road movie, a caper movie, a mass movie or a multiplex movie? Traversing new terrain, it spoke of a new India, even if inexpertly. | |
| Paheli A film made on a whim by producer Shah Rukh Khan. Directed by Amol Palekar, it feasted itself on colourful backdrops, exquisite costumes and riotous songs. Box office: Rs 25 crore Budget: Rs 15 crore POP APPEAL
The movie went stone cold in India and was dubbed a flop but it made Rs crore overseas, solidifying Shah Rukh's status as a big diaspora draw. CRITICOMETER
A simple narrative, with just a little of digital trickery, it was mistimed in year when Indian audiences were get-ting used to twisted storytelling ways. | |
| Kaal From a topless John Abraham to a sexed-up music video, the film, like many this year, says movie marketer Prabhat Choudhary, was sold to youth as a consumable. Box office: Rs 25 crore Budget: Rs 15 crore POP APPEAL
Catered to the youth, with its mix of National Geographic adventurism and supernatural mumbo jumbo. Lara Dutta and Esha Deol's tiny outfits didn't hurt. CRITICOMETER
The sounds of universal gagging from critics were muffled by the stomping of dancing feet. The Shyamalan type-ending needed a lot more refinement. | |
| Parineeta Smooth movie which traversed Rituparno Ghosh territory with some high testosterone Punjabi production skills. Pradeep Sarkar directed this little ode to the 60s, Kolkata and Madhabi Mukherjee. Box office: Rs 25 crore Budget: Rs 20 crore POP APPEAL
It transformed Saif Ali Khan from a comedy star to a dramatic hero and created a new star who could act, Vidya Balan. CRITICOMETER
Everyone loved it, except for the Ambuja Cement ending. Vidhu Vinod Chopra invested in the project and it showed. | |
| Salaam Namaste A film about living in, where the lead pair had sex without it being a calamity. Plus how many A-list actors do you get to see on the pot even if in the outtakes? Eggjactly. Box office: Rs 40 crore Budget: Rs 12 crore POP APPEAL
Melbourne, Saif Ali Khan's bare chest, Preity Zinta's very natural acting, down to puking into a chef's cap, and a climax borrowed entirely from Nine Months. CRITICOMETER
The second half went back to traditional turf, never mind the posturing. And Jaaved Jafferi's act was lost to children, his biggest fans, thanks to the adult certificate. | |
| No Entry Be positive, says Anil Kapoor throughout the film to a quizzical Fardeen Khan. It was advice which worked even for his debt-ridden brother Boney Kapoor, who produced the movie and finally had a hit on his hands. Box office: Rs 45 crore Budget: Rs 20 crore POP APPEAL
Sanctioned adultery, gave Bipasha Basu a whole new figure and welcomed the return of double entendre lyrics. CRITICOMETER
Mindless frippery, troglodytic values. Plus, it didn't help that babes Lara Dutta and Esha Deol were transformed into bebes. | |
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