Bollywood shakes & stirs

By M H Ahssan

The two-month long strike has cost the film industry a staggering loss of Rs 3 billion, according to industry estimates. Now that’s a figure that’s going to take a lot more to rectify than the three to four annual big time hits that the industry generally churns out.

Almost all the films released during the strike period have been cold-shouldered by the public and have been screened to occupancy figures as low as 10-20 per cent.

The only ray of hope in these dismal times have been Hollywood biggies like ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘Star Trek.’ Tom Hanks reprisal of the role of Professor Robert Landgon, made famous in ‘Da Vinci Code,’ went on to collect $19 million during the first week run of ‘Angels and Demons’ in India. Sci-Fi thriller, ‘Star Trek’ too has opened to a hearty response, drawing in the usual weekend crowd, back to the multiplexes. Waiting in the wings are three other potential money spinners: ‘Terminator’ ‘Salvation,’ ‘Wolverine’ and ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’ But hope for the industry’s salvation can lie only with a larger-than-life home-grown cinema.

Although, there are a lot of big films scheduled for a release in the coming months, the industry is essentially looking up to a handful of films to bail it out. Most experts insist it isn’t going to be an easy trek uphill, since the audience, despite being cinema-starved, would not be ready to accept any and everything that hits the theatres henceforth. So which are the buzzwords (read potential blockbusters) currently?

First on the industry insider’s ‘hitlist’ is the $20 million mega-starrer ‘Kambhakht Ishq’ which has already started airing its title song. The trailer had hit the theatres before the strike was called and had managed to evoke a lot of interest with its snazzy look, it’s international star cast and the sizzling chemistry between lead actors Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. Will Sylvestor Stallone and Denise Richards do the trick for Sajid Nadiadwala’s potboiler about the life and times of a small time stunt man in big bad Hollywood? Hold your breath.

The other K-word that could do the karisma and turn the downswing is ‘Kaminey,’ Vishal Bhardwaj’s non-Shakespearean saga about a pair of disparate twins, trying to turn their dreams into reality.

Vishal has already proved his stronghold on the box office with films like ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Omkara,’ even as the lead actors Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are hitting the screen after their hits films, ‘Jab We Met’ and ‘Fashion.’ The duo could still be riding the crest with their new film, specially since their new avtars — a ruffian-like Shahid and an earthy Priyanka — have generated enough curiosity in the promos. Shahid Kapoor could just end up with two hits in hand if his second release, ‘Patshaala’ too manages to strike a chord with its diatribe against regimented education.

A third contender for the top rung is Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Love Aaj Kal,’ a contemporary love story featuring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. Having witnessed the director’s panache in infusing a sense of modernity in his characters and story, ‘Love Aaj Kal’ could hit the jackpot amongst young, urban viewers in a manner reminsicent of the runaway hit, ‘Jab We Met.’

Add to this other lavishly mounted films like ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’ a remake of smash hit, ‘Pokkiri’ with Salman Khan in the lead, Vipul Shah’s musical, ‘London Dreams’ (Salman Khan-Ajay Devgan) and the under-water treasure hunt extravaganza, ‘Blue’ which revels in the scuba diving skills of Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan.

Also, the two other big starrers that could salvage the industry are Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘My Name is Khan’ and Aamir Khan’s ‘Three Idiots.’ But that would be possible only if the release of the two films is not pushed to early next year. So much for the biggies. But recent Bollywood history has shown it is the small and the unsual that often walk away as sleeper hits. So don’t be surprised if Kabir Khan’s ‘New York,’ Soham Shah’s ‘Luck’ and Shimit Amin’s ‘Rocket Singh, Salesman of the Year’ with a turbaned Ranbir Kapoor end up as the most talked about films of the year.