Bollywood Hits and Misses of 2004 by Mehboob Bawa
The Indian film industry experienced a year like any other in recent times. There were many hits and misses, but not one production exceeding all expectations. In fact it was pretty much the other way around with the biggies losing out and smaller films emerging as critical and commercial hits.
The year started with a spate of sex themed films aimed at the adult market. That’s Bollywood for you, if one style of film works then you can expect a slate of similar themed films soon after. The most successful was veteran director Mahesh Bhatt’s Murder. Known for his plagiarism of Hollywood films this one was no different. It had a good music score, passable performances and enough cleavage to click at the box office. Thereafter it seemed as if sex comedies were the way to go. The biggest success was Masti directed by Indra Kumar. It was a genuinely funny effort about bored husbands being set up by their suspicious wives. It was a major change in gear from director Kumar who previously had only made wholesome romantic melodramas.
Then the big guns came, blazing a star-studded trail across Bollywood screens. Leading the way was the biggest gun himself Amitabh Bachchan, with no less than nine releases in 2004. Not all of them were successful and some should never have even seen the light of day, but full marks to the Bollywood legend for attempting different roles and shedding his typecast image. His films that stood out this year include Khakee, Dev and Kyun Ho Gaya Naa. In Khakee he played a burned out police inspector fighting to keep an alleged Pakistani terrorist alive. Dev saw him as a police inspector again, but this time battling corruption in the police force in one of the most dramatic films of the year. Treading a much lighter path in the romantic drama Kyun Ho Gaya Naa, he played a cupid of sorts trying to bring lovers Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi together.
Female Bollywood stars never share the same kind of billing as their male counterparts, but former Ms. World, Rai, certainly stood head and shoulders above her colleagues this year. Not only was she wooed by and turned down the producers of the James Bond films, she ventured into the crossover market with Bride and Prejudice speaking English very credibly. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, whose previous outing, Bend It Like Beckham, received better treatment at the box office, the film did much to boost Rai’s popularity internationally. As a result she has signed a Hollywood film opposite Meryl Streep and there are many others in the pipeline. On the home front she embraced alternative cinema and her roles in the Bengali film Choker Bali and Raincoat were hailed by critics worldwide including the Hollywood trade paper Variety.
Shahrukh Khan had a great year with debutante director Farah Khan’s fun filled homage to the masala movies of the 1980’s, Main Hoon Naa and Yash Chopra’s disappointing Veer Zaara pulling in the audiences. His latest, Swades, while proving to be a commercial failure, is a critical success and deserved better treatment from the public. This simple but brilliantly told story of an Indian living in America but travelling back home to India to fill the void that is missing in his life, is a worthy follow up to director Ashutosh Gowariker’s Oscar nominated Lagaan.
Saif Ali Khan, after many years of duds found himself in the spotlight due to the success of Kal Ho Naa Ho, released late in 2003 and enjoying increased success in 2004. As a result he was offered the lead in maverick director Ram Gopal Varma’s songless thriller Ek Hasina Thi and starred opposite Rani Mukherji in one of the year’s biggest successes, the feel good romance Hum Tum. This film was a major moneyspinner for its producers Yash Raj Films. Another blockbuster from their company was the eagerly anticipated comeback vehicle of director Yash Chopra, Veer Zaara. The much hyped extravaganza failed to live up to expectations and despite raking in the moolah in the overseas market, its support in India is dwindling. Their other big hit was Dhoom starring Abhishek Bachchan. This film was definitely a sleeper as no one predicted that it would be one of the most successful and talked about films of the year. A sequel is already on the cards.
Bachchan jnr. also received acclaim for his performance in Mani Ratnam’s excellent Yuva, about the trials and tribulations facing Mumbai’s student population. He played the romantic hero in the entertaining Kuch Naa Kaho opposite Aishwarya Rai. His other solo release, Run, was an abysmal failure though. He was also seen to good effect as a lawyer defending Shilpa Shetty’s character who claims unfair dismissal in the Aids drama Phir Milenge. This topical film also featured an unusually restrained performance by Salman Khan as the person from whom Shetty contracts the virus.
Khan was back to his boisterous and buffoonish self in the comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karoge. The success of the film was largely due to a great musical score and a wonderful comic performance by Akshay Kumar, who after a series of mediocre to average roles, came into his own in 2004. He also proved his acting mettle as a cop who can be bought for a price in Khakee and the husband who has an adulterous affair in Aitraaz.
Rising star Hrithik Roshan couldn’t depend on aliens to help boost his box office status as in last year’s blockbuster Koi Mil Gaya. His only offering in 2004 was Lakshya. It was director Farhan Akhtar’s follow up to his sensational debut Dil Chahta Hai. It was hugely anticipated, but was released to mixed reviews. However, it did entrench Roshan as a force to be reckoned with in the acting stakes, as his performance as a youth looking for direction in life was superlative.
That’s the highs and a few of the many lows of Bollywood 2004. Next year seems set to start on a really good note as Bollywood’s A list directors including Subhash Ghai (Kisna) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Black) seem intent on starting the Bollywood year with a bang with their star studded productions.
The Indian film industry experienced a year like any other in recent times. There were many hits and misses, but not one production exceeding all expectations. In fact it was pretty much the other way around with the biggies losing out and smaller films emerging as critical and commercial hits.
The year started with a spate of sex themed films aimed at the adult market. That’s Bollywood for you, if one style of film works then you can expect a slate of similar themed films soon after. The most successful was veteran director Mahesh Bhatt’s Murder. Known for his plagiarism of Hollywood films this one was no different. It had a good music score, passable performances and enough cleavage to click at the box office. Thereafter it seemed as if sex comedies were the way to go. The biggest success was Masti directed by Indra Kumar. It was a genuinely funny effort about bored husbands being set up by their suspicious wives. It was a major change in gear from director Kumar who previously had only made wholesome romantic melodramas.
Then the big guns came, blazing a star-studded trail across Bollywood screens. Leading the way was the biggest gun himself Amitabh Bachchan, with no less than nine releases in 2004. Not all of them were successful and some should never have even seen the light of day, but full marks to the Bollywood legend for attempting different roles and shedding his typecast image. His films that stood out this year include Khakee, Dev and Kyun Ho Gaya Naa. In Khakee he played a burned out police inspector fighting to keep an alleged Pakistani terrorist alive. Dev saw him as a police inspector again, but this time battling corruption in the police force in one of the most dramatic films of the year. Treading a much lighter path in the romantic drama Kyun Ho Gaya Naa, he played a cupid of sorts trying to bring lovers Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi together.
Female Bollywood stars never share the same kind of billing as their male counterparts, but former Ms. World, Rai, certainly stood head and shoulders above her colleagues this year. Not only was she wooed by and turned down the producers of the James Bond films, she ventured into the crossover market with Bride and Prejudice speaking English very credibly. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, whose previous outing, Bend It Like Beckham, received better treatment at the box office, the film did much to boost Rai’s popularity internationally. As a result she has signed a Hollywood film opposite Meryl Streep and there are many others in the pipeline. On the home front she embraced alternative cinema and her roles in the Bengali film Choker Bali and Raincoat were hailed by critics worldwide including the Hollywood trade paper Variety.
Shahrukh Khan had a great year with debutante director Farah Khan’s fun filled homage to the masala movies of the 1980’s, Main Hoon Naa and Yash Chopra’s disappointing Veer Zaara pulling in the audiences. His latest, Swades, while proving to be a commercial failure, is a critical success and deserved better treatment from the public. This simple but brilliantly told story of an Indian living in America but travelling back home to India to fill the void that is missing in his life, is a worthy follow up to director Ashutosh Gowariker’s Oscar nominated Lagaan.
Saif Ali Khan, after many years of duds found himself in the spotlight due to the success of Kal Ho Naa Ho, released late in 2003 and enjoying increased success in 2004. As a result he was offered the lead in maverick director Ram Gopal Varma’s songless thriller Ek Hasina Thi and starred opposite Rani Mukherji in one of the year’s biggest successes, the feel good romance Hum Tum. This film was a major moneyspinner for its producers Yash Raj Films. Another blockbuster from their company was the eagerly anticipated comeback vehicle of director Yash Chopra, Veer Zaara. The much hyped extravaganza failed to live up to expectations and despite raking in the moolah in the overseas market, its support in India is dwindling. Their other big hit was Dhoom starring Abhishek Bachchan. This film was definitely a sleeper as no one predicted that it would be one of the most successful and talked about films of the year. A sequel is already on the cards.
Bachchan jnr. also received acclaim for his performance in Mani Ratnam’s excellent Yuva, about the trials and tribulations facing Mumbai’s student population. He played the romantic hero in the entertaining Kuch Naa Kaho opposite Aishwarya Rai. His other solo release, Run, was an abysmal failure though. He was also seen to good effect as a lawyer defending Shilpa Shetty’s character who claims unfair dismissal in the Aids drama Phir Milenge. This topical film also featured an unusually restrained performance by Salman Khan as the person from whom Shetty contracts the virus.
Khan was back to his boisterous and buffoonish self in the comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karoge. The success of the film was largely due to a great musical score and a wonderful comic performance by Akshay Kumar, who after a series of mediocre to average roles, came into his own in 2004. He also proved his acting mettle as a cop who can be bought for a price in Khakee and the husband who has an adulterous affair in Aitraaz.
Rising star Hrithik Roshan couldn’t depend on aliens to help boost his box office status as in last year’s blockbuster Koi Mil Gaya. His only offering in 2004 was Lakshya. It was director Farhan Akhtar’s follow up to his sensational debut Dil Chahta Hai. It was hugely anticipated, but was released to mixed reviews. However, it did entrench Roshan as a force to be reckoned with in the acting stakes, as his performance as a youth looking for direction in life was superlative.
That’s the highs and a few of the many lows of Bollywood 2004. Next year seems set to start on a really good note as Bollywood’s A list directors including Subhash Ghai (Kisna) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Black) seem intent on starting the Bollywood year with a bang with their star studded productions.
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