Yeh hit humko de, Thakur
It’s been said many times before. Big names and big money do not guarantee box office success.
By July last year, Bollywood fans had been treated to stories like Guru, Black Friday, Provoked, The Namesake, Life… in a Metro, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Cheeni Kum and Bheja Fry.
The list of hits so far this year? Jodhaa Akbar, Race and Jannat . Two ‘most-awaited’ films — Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na and Love Story 2050 — released last week. “ Jaane Tu… wasn’t pathbreaking, but better than most trash I’ve seen in the recent past,” says techie Sushma Rao. And what about Love Story — a Rs 50 crore film touted as Bollywood’s first sci-fi story? “A waste of resources. It reminded me of the Saawariya saga. All talk and nothing to say,” Sushma says.
Bollywood has no real success formula. Off-beat stories have done just as well as regular, masala flicks. So what’s missing in recent films?
Tell us a story
“Even if it’s just a fairy tale and has been narrated through generations, you still must have something to say,” says Rajesh Singh, relationships manager. And if it has never been told before, it’s a bonus.
“Realistic cinema works any day,” says model Zoheb. “I recently watched Aamir and loved it. Flying cars and talking teddy bears are not in. We have Hollywood for technical brilliance,” he says. Says actor Bikram Saluja, “My sensibilities seek a real slice of life in any genre.”
End it when you must
“A film’s run-time should be based on the story, not the frills,” says Bikram.Music has its own role to play, he says. “I love music, but hate lip-syncing. Films like Rang De Basanti, Metro and Aamir worked because music was part of the narration,” he says.
In simple words, if you’re done telling a story, then stop, plead fans. “While some films do need a 180-minute run-time, others must end. No extra glycerine, no corny dialogue or sad tracks,” says HR manager Rahul Mehta.
‘Hype’ not equal to ‘hit’
It’s been proven time and again that too much talk raises expectations of a film, which proves counter-productive. “I hateHollywood-ised versions of Hindi films. An Indian police station can’t look like FBI headquarters. When technical wizardry interferes with content, it falls flat,” says Bikram.
VJ Gaurav agrees, “Filmmakers have now realised that content is the king. And the audience has said it more than once in the last six months.” How much you sell your product does depend on your financial resources, but the focus is on good scripts now, he says. “Between chocolate hero Imran and a Hrithik-like Harman, the cute, college entertainer won because it’s a better film. That’s why people flocked to watch a Khuda Key Liye, which probably got half an ad in the paper somewhere,” Gaurav says.
Paisa vasool hona mangta, boss
Event manager Oum Pradutt is all for entertainment. “Once the movie starts, I should let go of all my worries,” he says. Even better if he can watch it with his family. “A movie outing for two costs Rs 700 and above. You can’t afford to doze off or cringe,” adds Zoheb.
Entertainment doesn’t only mean laugh riots, points out Bikram. “The story has to involve me. It’s about being touched by the characters, as in Taare Zameen Par,” he says.
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it has been a bad year for bollywood compared to last year.Jtyjn shud ,in all probability ,be the 4th hit.
thanx manoj for this post..as u said jtyjn should be the next hit..but its not a super mindblowing film by the way..its freshness is the key…so hits in bollywood dont mean excellent movies..its just better than the rest as mentioned in this article..the fact that the quality is going downhill and the scripts aint that good anymore is still there..i ve heard many voices talking about the fact that bolly will dissappear :’(