Top 10 Picks of 2010

By Anant Mathur (December 30, 2010)

As the year winds down on a sad note (with the debacle of Tees Maar Khan and Toonpur Ka Superrhero) it’s time to reveal my picks for the top 10 best and worst of 2010. Let’s begin!

10 WORST FILMS OF THE YEAR:

There were 80-90 choices available in this category, unfortunately I can only list 10.

10) Housefull

9) Rakta Charitra

8) Guzaarish

7) Kites

6) Raavan

5) My Name Is Khan

4) Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

3) Tees Maar Khan

2) Hisss

1) Action Replayy

Other Considerations:

Karthik Calling Karthik, We Are Family, No Problem, Teen Patti, Rann, Veer, Jhootha Hi Sahi, Break Ke Baad, Toonpur Ka Superrhero, Hum Tum Aur Ghost, Sadiyaan, Dulha Mil Gaya, Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai, Prince, Paathshala, Aisha, Milenge Milenge, Khatta Meetha, Lafangey Parindey, Anjaana Anjaani, Pyaar Impossible, Knock Out, Aashayein, etc.

10 BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR:

Though it was one of the worst years for the film industry, I was able to put together 10 films I feel were the best of 2010.

10) For Real

9) Tere Bin Laden

8) Udaan

7) Peepli [Live]

6) Toh Baat Pakki

5) Golmaal 3

4) Do Dooni Chaar

3) Raajneeti

2) Once Upon A Time In Mumbai

1) Dabangg

Other Considerations:

Ishqiya, Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge?

 

10 WORST PERFORMERS OF 2010 – FEMALE:

Even these talented ladies couldn’t deliver the goods in these lame films, perhaps they need lessons in picking the right script.

10) Sonam Kapoor (Aisha)

9) Kareena Kapoor (Milenge Milenge)

8) Barbara Mori (Kites)

7) Pakhi (Jhootha Hi Sahi)

6) Anushka Sharma (Badmaash Company)

5) Priyanka Chopra (Pyaar Impossible, Anjaana Anjaani)

4) Deepika Padukone (Break Ke Baad, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey)

3) Kajol (My Name Is Khan)

2) Aishwarya Rai (Action Replayy, Raavan, Guzaarish)

1) Mallika Sherawat (Hisss)

Other Considerations:

Bipasha Basu (Pankh), Sushmita Sen (Dulha Mil Gaya, Teen Patti, No Problem), Celina Jaitly (Hello Darling), Genelia D’souza (Chance Pe Dance), Gul Panag (Rann, Hello Darling), Raima Sen (Teen Patti), Neetu Chandra (Rann, No Problem), etc.

10 BEST PERFORMERS OF 2010 – FEMALE:

With a dearth of good performances, these ten women were in top form in these films of 2010.

10) Kajol (We Are Family)

9) Bipasha Basu (Lamhaa)

8) Tabu (Toh Baat Pakki)

7) Neetu Singh (Do Dooni Chaar)

6) Sonam Kapoor (I Hate Luv Storys)

5) Prachi Desai (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai)

4) Katrina Kaif (Raajneeti)

3) Kangana Ranaut (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai)

2) Kareena Kapoor (Golmaal 3)

1) Sonakshi Sinha (Dabangg)

Other Considerations:

Vidya Balan (Ishqiya), Konkona Sen Sharma (Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge?).

10 WORST PERFORMERS OF 2010 – MALE:

It’s a wonder how some of these men decided on the films they did in 2010.

10) Sanjay Dutt (Knock Out)

9) Ritesh Deshmukh (Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai)

8) Fardeen Khan (Dulha Mil Gaya)

7) John Abraham (Jhootha Hi Sahi)

6) Shahid Kapoor (Milenge Milenge)

5) Amitabh Bachchan (Teen Patti)

4) Hrithik Roshan (Kites)

3) Farhan Akhtar (Karthik Calling Karthik)

2) Akshay Kumar (Action Replayy, Tees Maar Khan, Housefull,
    Khatta Meetha)

1) Shahrukh Khan (My Name Is Khan, Dulha Mil Gaya)

Other Considerations:

Sir Ben Kingsley (Teen Patti), Anil Kapoor (No Problem), Neil Nitin Mukesh (Lafangey Parindey), Arshad Warsi (Hum Tum Aur Ghost), etc.

                               

10 BEST PERFORMERS OF 2010 – MALE:

With Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan & Aamir Khan out of the picture this year, other stars got a chance to show their magic.

10) Ali Zafar (Tere Bin Laden)

9) Rajat Barmecha (Udaan)

8) Sonu Sood (Dabangg)

7) Omkar Das Manikpuri (Peepli [Live])

6) Emraan Hashmi (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai)

5) Naseruddin Shah (Ishqiya)

4) Rishi Kapoor (Do Dooni Chaar)

3) Ajay Devgan (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai)

2) Hrithik Roshan (Guzaarish)

1) Salman Khan (Dabangg)

Other Considerations:

Arshad Warsi (Ishqiya), Sunny Deol (Right Yaaa Wrong).

10 WORST DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR:

Surprisingly, all the top filmmakers from the Indian Film Industry (with the exception of Prakash Jha) delivered flops this year.

10) Sajid Khan (Housefull)

9) Farah Khan (Tees Maar Khan)

8) Ram Gopal Varma (Rakta Charitra, Rann)

7) Karan Johar (My Name Is Khan)

6) Anurag Basu (Kites)

5) Mani Ratnam (Raavan)

4) Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Guzaarish)

3) Ashutosh Gowariker (Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey)

2) Jennifer Lynch (Hisss)

1) Vipul Shah (Action Replayy)

Other Considerations:

Abbas Tyrewala (Jhootha Hi Sahi), Priyadarshan (Bumm Bumm Bole, Khatta Meetha, Aakrosh), Mani Shankar (Knock Out), Danish Aslam (Break Ke Baad), Satish Kaushik (Milenge Milenge), Rahul Dholakia (Lamhaa), Rajshree Ojha (Aisha), Anees Bazmee (No Problem), Pradeep Sarkar (Lafangey Parindey), etc.

10 BEST DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR:

Though it was one of the worst years for the film industry, I was able to put together 10 films I feel were the best of the lot.

10) Abhishek Sharma (Tere Bin Laden)

9) Sona Jain (For Real)

8) Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan)

7) Anusha Rizvi (Peepli [Live])
6) Habib Faisal (Do Dooni Chaar)

5) Prakash Jha (Raajneeti)

4) Rohit Shetty (Golmaal 3)

3) Milan Lutharia (Once Upon A Time In Mumbai)

2) S Shankar (Enthiran - The Robot)
1) Abhinav Kashyap (Dabangg)

Other Considerations:

Ashwani Dhir (Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge?), Punit Malhotra (I Hate Luv Storys), Dibakar Banerjee (Love, Sex Aur Dhokha), Neeraj Pathak (Right Yaaa Wrong), Kedar Shinde (Toh Baat Pakki).

10 WORST SOUNDTRACKS OF THE YEAR:

Music is the soul of any film, sadly these music directors don’t understand that. If this is the kind of work we can expect from these artists, they should quit now before we are tortured any further.

10) Sadiyaan (Adnan Sami)

9) Milenge Milenge (Himesh Reshammiya)

8) Paathshala (Hanif Sheikh)

7) Lafangey Parindey (R Anandh)

6) Break Ke Baad (Vishal-Shekhar)

5) We Are Family (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

4) Pyaar Impossible (Salim-Sulaiman)

3) Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (Sohail Sen)

2) Guzaarish (Sanjay Leela Bhansali)

1) Raavan (A.R. Rahman)

Other Considerations:

I Hate Luv Storys, No Problem, Crook, Chance Pe Dance, Kajaraare, Khatta Meetha, Dulha Mil Gaya, Rann, Karthik Calling Karthik, Hum Tum Aur Ghost, Sadiyaan, Teen Patti, etc.

10 BEST SOUNDTRACKS OF THE YEAR:

Even in terms of music the year wasn’t at par with previous years. This year it's Sajid-Wajid & Pritam Chakraborty leading the way.

10) Veer (Sajid-Wajid)

9) Golmaal 3 (Pritam Chakraborty)

8) Kites (Rajesh Roshan)

7) Aisha (Amit Trivedi)

6) Raajneeti (Wayne Sharpe)

5) Anjaana Anjaani (Vishal-Shekhar)

4) Ishqiya (Vishal Bhardwaj)

3) My Name Is Khan (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
2) Once Upon A Time In Mumbai (Pritam Chakraborty)

1) Dabangg (Sajid-Wajid, Lalit Pandit)

Other Considerations:

Tees Maar Khan, Toh Baat Pakki, Badmaash Company, Housefull, Udaan, Band Bajaa Barraat, Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge?

10 WORST DEBUTS OF THE YEAR:

There is no question about it, pigs will fly before these so called artists amount to anything.

10) Trisha Krishnan (Khatta Meetha)

9) Aditya Roy Kapur (Action Replayy, Guzaarish)

8) Lisa Lazarus (Veer)

7) Barbara Mori (Kites)

6) Monikangna Dutta (Guzaarish)

5) Maradona Rebello (Pankh)

4) Mona Laizza (Kajraare)

3) Aditya Raj Kapoor (Chase, Isi Life Mein)

2) Jahan Bloch (Krantiveer – The Revolution)

1) Ranveer Singh (Band Baaja Baaraat)

Other Considerations:

Saira Mohan (Teen Patti), Zarine Khan (Veer), Meyang Chang (Badmaash Company), Munish Khan (Payback).

10 BEST DEBUTS OF THE YEAR:

These actors/actresses have what it takes to become the next generation of superstars in Bollywood.

10) Luv Sinha (Sadiyaan)

9) Aruna Shields (Prince)

8) Aditya Narayan (Shaapit)

7) Padmapriya (Striker)

6) Rajat Barmecha (Udaan)

5) Shraddha Kapoor (Teen Patti)

4) Akshay Oberoi (Isi Life Mein)

3) Neha Sharma (Crook)

2) Ali Zafar (Tere Bin Laden)

1) Sonakshi Sinha (Dabangg)

Other Considerations:

Ferena Wazeir (Sadiyaan), Faruque Kabir (Allah Ke Banday), Dhruv Ganesh (Teen Patti), Sandeepa Dhar (Isi Life Mein), Siddharth Kher (Teen Patti).

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Budget vs. The Cost

By Anant Mathur (December 23, 2010)

Over the years, I have been asked on several occasions the difference between the budget and the cost of a film. I thought I would take the opportunity to explain in this post.

The Budget of a film is defined as the expense of making a film, this includes the payments to actors, technicians, producer, director, writer, music director, lyricist, etc. It also includes other expenses that take place during production (shooting of film) such as catering services, hotel expenses, photography equipment, lighting, etc.

The Cost of a film is the expense the distributor bears for the film. This can depend on many factors such as whether the producer has sold the complete rights to the film or has chosen a different strategy where he retains some of the rights. For example, the producer might only sell theatrical rights to a distributor and retain the satellite and dvd rights or he may sell the rights (based on the territory) to more than one distributor. For our purposes we will suppose that the producer has sold the rights in toto to one distributor. When the distributor purchases the film from he gives him the amount of the budget plus a profit.

Let’s say the budget of a film is 20 crores, the distributor gives the producer 30 crores for the complete right of the film. The producer makes a 10 crore profit and he’s happy. The distributor is the one who pays for the prints and promotion of the film, so he has to add another 5 crores to his expense. The distributors total expense 20 Crores (Budget) + 10 Crores (Producers Profit) + 5 Crores (Print and Promotion) = 35 Crores. The 35 crores is the cost of the film. So, even though the film cost 20 crores to make, it has cost the distributor 35 crores.

Now, in order for this film to breakeven, the distributor need to earn 35 crores from the nett profits, anything above that is the distributor’s profit anything less than that is the distributor’s loss. As explained in my earlier posts, nett profit is the money left after all entertainment tax has been deducted from the gross receipts (Box office collections). The nett profit is divided between the exhibitor (theater owner) and the distributor, usually 45% to exhibitor and 55% to distributor. Let’s imagine the film earns 50 crores – the exhibitors get 22.5 crores and the distributor earns 27.5 crores. If the distributor didn’t own the complete rights and only owned the theatrical rights he would suffer a 7.5 crore loss. But because he does own the other rights, he can actually turn the loss into profit. If the distributor sells the satellite rights for 10 crores and dvd right for 2 crores – this would give him a profit of 4.5 crores. The film would still be considered a flop because it couldn’t recover its cost from theatrical release. Hits and Flops are measured by the success of a film at the Indian box office and does not include revenues from overseas rights, satellite rights, music rights, dvd rights, merchandising, etc. There’s a simple reason for this, since the producers can keep satellite and all other rights, they make a profit from these rights while only the distributor can lose money from the theatrical rights and he's the one who pays for the entire budget.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Is The Censor Board Biased?

By Anant Mathur (December 21, 2010)

The short answer is... absolutely! 

I actually laughed when I read this article “Sudhir Mishra cries foul against censors for Tera Kya Hoga”. I love how dumb Indian filmmakers are. I’m sure this is just another publicity stunt, but the only thing this article promotes is how stupid Sudhir Mishra is. I mean the guy is wondering if there’s a “separate censorship code” for him. Of course there is. What’s there to think about? When you only make one style of films and your previous films are stuck at the censor board for language and lewd acts, it’s almost guaranteed your next will have to face the music as well, regardless of its content.

Over the years, you create an image for yourself as a filmmaker. No one will ever think to object a Sooraj Barjatya film, even if he decides to make a sex comedy, chances are it will pass with a ‘U’ certificate simply because of the reputation he has. Sudhir Mishra has been in the industry for decades, one would think he would’ve figured this out by now. Being oblivious to this is like suggesting the next Quentin Tarantino film will get a PG rating. Not bloody likely.

Most filmmakers have a reputation for certain kinds of films and when they deviate from those genres they’re not as successful. Priyadarshan and David Dhawan are expected to entertain us with comedies. Priyadarshan tried to change tracks recently with Aakrosh and Bumm Bumm Bole, but they bombed miserably. If tomorrow Rajkumar Hirani decides to make a thriller, I doubt he will find the same success he did with his previous films.

It’s sad, but true, the censor board is biased. So, Mr. Sudhir Mishra, either you stop putting lewd content into your films and change your image or stop expecting the censor board to give you a universal rating when clearly they are not going to. They can justify it however they want, the bottom line is your previous films left a certain impression. The censor board takes one look at who made the film and they have an idea what kind of rating to give your latest film, prior to seeing a single frame of it. When they finally do watch the film, they’re trying to find reasons why it shouldn’t get the ‘A’ rating instead of figuring out what rating the film deserves and if your film has any content similar to your previous films, you’ll have a big hill to climb this time.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Bollywood: A Briefly Timed History!

By Anant Mathur (December 16, 2010)

Film business being as bad as it's been the last two years, let's have a look at some factors that are behind the success and failure of films in Bollywood.

Silver and Gold

Today, most films do 80% of their business in the first weekend. Gone are the days of Golden and Silver jubilees. Films nowadays find it hard to survive beyond the first week. Even successful films like 3 Idiots, Dabangg and Ghajini have a hard time getting past 8 weeks in theatrical release. Perhaps it’s time to change week 4 and week 8 to silver and golden jubilees, respectively.

The 1980s and 90s

After officially being declared an industry by the government in 1998, Bollywood went through a drastic change. In 1998, the maximum budget for a film was about 10-15 crore rupees and one or sometimes two films were released each week. The highest salaried stars were paid between 1-2 crores, a large sum even by today's standards. Though being an official industry was good news, the business started to suffer as producers no longer had access to mafia money or black money; being a government recognized industry meant following legal channels. The business was becoming very transparent, which was not the case earlier. Mafia money was no longer welcomed causing some of the top producers/directors of the era, who couldn't embrace the new format, to simply fade away or retire (Manoj Kumar, Dev Anand, Prakash Mehra, Rajiv Rai, Rajkumar Kohli, Govind Nihalani, Umesh Mehra, Deepak Bahry, etc.).

Those who survived (Yash Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Ramesh Sippy, Sooraj Barjatya, Sajid Nadiadwala, Ram Gopal Varma, Rakesh Roshan, etc.) took time to recover, but bounced back and took control of the suffering industry. Several of these survivors saw an opportunity in going public and successfully incorporated their production houses.

Generation Next

As had happened to Hollywood in the 1960s, the generation of Bollywood filmmakers was changing and the torch was being passed. The end of the 1990s saw some new blood enter the industry (Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Ronnie Screwvala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vipul Shah, Dhillin Mehta, Ekta Kapoor, etc.).

With the mafia out and public funds in their hands, these young filmmakers decided to take Bollywood in a new direction and started producing multiple films and launching new directors (Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Rajkumar Hirani, Anurag Kashyap, Anurag Basu, Nikhil Advani, Kunal Kohli, Shaad Ali, Imtiaz Ali, Rohit Shetty, Rohan Sippy, etc.).

In the new millennium, those who dominated the industry in the 1980s and 90s (Dharmendra, Rishi Kapoor, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Sunny Deol, Raveena Tandon, Nana Patekar, Pooja Bhatt, Amrita Singh, Meenakshi Sheeshadri, Kishore Kumar, R.D. Burman, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Anand Bakshi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, etc.) were replaced by a new breed of actors (Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Shahid Kapur, Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, etc.) and artists (A.R. Rahman, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Vaibhavi Merchant, Sajid-Wajid, Salim-Suleiman, Vishal-Shekhar, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala, Kailash Kher, Shreya Ghoshal, etc.). Some did survive the 1990s and are still going strong (Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Sonu Nigam, Juhi Chawala, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Anu Malik, etc.).

In the late 1990s, television boomed in India and now the industry faced its biggest challenge. How to get the audience into the theaters when they could get similar entertainment at home for FREE?

Corporate Express

Approximately 5-6 years ago, after the sudden success of several films, corporate giants like Reliance, Aditya Birla Group, Tata, Sahara, Percept Holdings, Adlabs, Eros, UTV and T-Series noticed the impact of Bollywood films and decided they wanted a piece of the pie. In order to entice the top stars and filmmakers to work with them they started offering ridiculous amounts like 10-15 crores per film to stars who were earning 2 crores at the time. I know gasoline prices are going up but, stars don't need to make 10 crores per film and directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali have no right to charge 27 crores when their previous films haven't worked at the box office. The corporates were used to dealing in millions, for them 10 crores was pocket change. Their philosophy impacted the film world drastically. Film budgets skyrocketed from 10 crores to 100 crores even though no film in history had ever had collections of 100 crores. Their strategy was to go big. They believed films were a brand and like any brand if you have a great marketing strategy people will buy it! Sadly, this would be their downfall - selling soap and selling films are two entirely different things.

Dawn of the Multiplexes

With corporates also came the birth of multiplexes, single screens were quickly becoming a thing of the past. Audience once again had a reason to flock to the theaters. These new multi-screen theaters were the new fad and at first no one minded paying 200 rupees per ticket, but over time this too would fade away.

With 10 screens and up to 40 shows a day in one multiplex, corporates strategized a wider release for their films. No more houseful boards – “get the public into as many seats as possible in the first week and recover the cost” – was the new mantra. Forget golden jubilees it was the first weekend that mattered now.

Ten years ago one or two films would release each week in single screen theaters with a control on the number of prints. Houseful boards could be seen week after week and the exhibitors would have a hard time taking down a successful film. But, with corporates coming in, all that went out the window. They started the trend where 1500-2000 prints of a film were released. No longer did anyone have to face houseful boards, with multiplexes, the audience had to pay a little more but they were almost guaranteed a seat and not just any seat, they’re the most comfortable seats in the world.

Due to the success of multiplexes, a big change came about, instead of 1 or two films per week, now anywhere from 2-6 films were being released week after week. Bollywood was now running like a business, but they were turning out more films than the audience demanded. Films that the makers spent 3-4 years to write and shoot were now being shelled out in a matter of weeks or months. Directors turned producers and as producers they started making multiple films yearly, not able to concentrate on each film fully, the films began to suffer. The stories lacked impact and entertainment value but the audience was still flocking to the multiplex on sheer curiosity.

But the new format lacked star power, films were being sold as a brand and their success or failure no longer rested on the star’s shoulders. Distributors were given the film only after the production house got their money. The distributor had no idea if the film they’d purchased is good or bad. They were paying for the brand.

Rising Stars

It became difficult for independent producers to survive in the corporate market. Stars joined hands with corporates and charged a mammoth fee, thus, it became impossible for independent producers to approach them. Distributors were happy to deal with corporates and showed little interest in low budget films. It’s a fact that, in Bollywood, it was now easier to get 40, 50 and even 100 crores to make a film with super stars than to get 4 or 5 crores to make a film with newcomers or more affordable stars. Even for experienced filmmakers like Priyadarshan, helming a small budget film seemed impossible. The fate of the films at the box office no longer matter corporates had public money to throw at films, budget and brand power were now taking precedence over talent and good stories as selling points. Although a 5-10 crore film could yield 30-40 crores in profits, the corporates were happy with 50 crore films yielding 5 crores in profit. To them filmmaking was more a hobby than a labour of love.

The next four years saw several hit films each year. Still no film had crossed the 100 crore mark in collections, but the corporates thought they had found the golden goose and invested heavily with budgets in the 100-150 crores range.

Strike It Rich

The year 2009 had a horrible start, during the first three months there were no hits in sight, every big budget film failed to click at the box office. Producers/distributors were trying to negotiate a new deal with the multiplex owners. Then, in April, the producers/distributors went on strike for more than two months. The producers/distributors' demand was for a 50 per cent share of revenue earned from their films. But multiplex owners were unwilling to give up their current cut, which could be as high as 60 per cent. Suddenly, thanks to the media, the public saw a side of bollywood it wasn’t aware of... GREED.

With no end in sight for the strike, the audience discovered a new means of entertainment. The Indian Premiere League (IPL) had quickly caught on as the new phenomenon. Cricket was the perfect craze to replace Bollywood mania. It would be more than two months before the strike ended. Only small budget films were released at single screens during that time, denying the cine goers entertainment during the summer vacations.

The future looked bleak, big films like Delhi 6, Chandni Chowk To China and Luck By Chance had already failed to create box office magic in the first quarter. And the failure of mega budget films like Kambakht Ishq, Aladin, Blue, What's Your Raashee?, De Dana Dan and London Dreams in the second half only added to an already dull 2009. Finally, some relief was felt when, 3 idiots, the final release of the year went on to become the highest grossing film in history – becoming the first Bollywood film to cross 150 crores in collections and only the 2nd film, after Ghajini in 2008, to cross 100 crores in collections.

…And Music! Music! Music!

The birth of reality TV was another challenge now facing Bollywood. With shows like Channel V Popstars, SaReGaMaPa Challenge, STAR Voice of India and Indian Idol dominating the TV screens, top music directors and singers had the opportunity to become judges. They were receiving ridiculous sums of money to appear on these shows many folds higher than what they received from films. Because of these shows, their time was divided between films and Television. The end result was; out went the creativity ‘cause we’re into money. So now, films had bad scripts and lousy music.

The one thing that has always drawn an audience into the theaters is the music of a film. Even with horrible stories in the 1980s and 90s the one ingredient that was consistent with each film was the music was always super hit. Today, this is not the case. No matter how good the reports of the film are, if a film has lousy music, the promos don't work and people are not as eager to see it and the branding fails. Guzaarish and Band Baaja Baraat are recent examples of this.

Mediaocre

In the past, media wasn't so involved with the release of films and computers didn’t play a role. It took several days for information about collections and the film’s report to reach the audience, so a film had a chance to be seen. Nowadays, with twitter, facebook, SMS and smart phones, moments after the film is released its reports and reviews are available all over the internet and in trade publications/websites. People can tweet or SMS their friends about a film from the cinema hall itself. Before a film has a chance to breathe its first breath, it's declared a flop and it's dismal collections are the talk of the day. “Better luck next week” says the trade analyst to the exhibitors. But next week it's the same story. If we're lucky there are just about 2-3 films worthy of being watched each year.

FREEdom of Choice

Most people are not made of money, they have a certain entertainment budget. A common man might only be able to take his family to see 1 or 2 films a year. He will be selective and likely watch an entertainer like Golmaal 3 over a depressing over budgeted film like Guzaarish. Every time he goes to a multiplex with his family it's costing him 1000 rupees, it's not likely he will go too many times, especially when the film can be seen on TV for FREE in two months. So, he waits and selects maybe the one or two films he thinks his family will enjoy the most.

Satellite rights have also caused a fall in the theatrical business. With a multiplex movie ticket costing anywhere from 150 to 500 rupees per ticket it is becoming very difficult for the common man to take his family to the movies. He would rather wait till the film airs on TV and enjoy it with his family for FREE. The big screen big sound doesn't interest him when he can save 1000 rupees and watch the film in the comfort of his own home, did I mention, "for FREE".

Failure To Communicate

2010 has been one of the worst years in the history of Bollywood. It is hard to pinpoint exactly why the audience stayed away from the theaters. The reports suggest “lack of good stories” tops the list. With only 3 films worthy of being declared hits, 2010 will mark a turning point in the way corporates conduct business. With the failure of films like My Name Is Khan, Kites and Raavan which cost 100 crore or more, the corporates have decided to stay away from such big budgets. Several films have been put on hold while others have had their budgets slashed to accommodate the current condition. It’s hard to determine if we will ever see films with 100 crores budget, but at present it is highly unlikely.

Fatefully

These are just some of the factors that truly determine the fate of a film. Many other factors come into play and make it difficult to truly judge what has caused a film to fail. It's usually not just one factor but a combination of these that decide how successful or unsuccessful a film will be.

One thing is certain, films don’t work as brands. The focus needs to re-shift to the superstars. It’s the superstars who can get the audience into cinema halls not marketing teams. Dabangg was seen by millions because of Salman Khan not because it was a brand. Salman’s performance was being appreciated from the promos themselves. It created a buzz which is why the film worked.

For decades films have worked because of the ability of its superstar to carry the film on their shoulders, when you take that away, it not only hurts its sustainability, but also detaches it from its soul.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Tip # 29: Sequels

By Anant Mathur (December 08, 2010)

It makes me laugh whenever I hear that they're making a sequel to a film in Bollywood. I mean these filmmakers don't even understand the difference between a sequel and a companion piece.

             For those who are unaware:

             A sequel is a movie that is complete in itself but continues the narrative of a preceding  
            work. The first film introduces the characters, settings and ideas, and the rest of the  
            films are sequels that continue the story.

             A companion piece is a creative work that is produced as a complementary work to
             another stand-alone project, but storywise has nothing to do with its predecessor.
 

A great example of sequels is Back To The Future, where we follow Marty and Doc on their adventure through time - their characters don't change - Marty has the same girlfriend in all three movies, his parents are the same, the other characters stay the same, the only thing that changes is time. It’s also awe inspiring to see the details that went into making this trilogy.
 

Star Wars is also a well know Trilogy where we follow Luke Skywalker and Han Solo on their adventure through space. Even in the prequel Star Wars trilogy, we are following Anakin Skywalker through the three films. The characters don't change.

While a companion piece does not necessarily need to take place within the same "universe" as the predecessor, it must follow-up on specific themes and ideas introduced in the original work. It must also be intentionally meant by its creator to be viewed alongside or within the same context as the earlier work. Examples would include the Road to... pictures starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, and Bob Hope, and films featuring the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, or the Tramp.
 

That being said, in Bollywood sequels, the characters and storylines always seem to change and for this reason alone they can not be called sequels. For example, Krrish is not a sequel to Koi Mil Gaya. Krrish is about different character and set in a different locations with a different plot. Rohit who Koi Mil Gaya is based on, is briefly shown in Krrish. If Krrish was about Rohit's journey into becoming Krrish, it could've been called a sequel.
 

In the Munna Bhai series, the characters and plot are different between the two films. Munna got married to Chinki at the end of the first film and yet in Lage Raho Munna Bhai he's involved with Jhanvi. Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill and several other cast members from the previous film are playing different characters. The same holds true for Golmaal, Golmaal Returns & Golmaal 3.

There is yet to be a true sequel to a film made in Bollywood. But then again they can't make something they don't understand. And sequels, as easy as it may be to say, are a very hard thing to create.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

Ten Most Entertaining Bollywood Films

By Anant Mathur (December 01, 2010)

 

10.
DON (1978)
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran, Iftekhar, Om Shiv Puri, Satyen Kappoo, Kamal Kapoor, Arpana Choudhary, Helen, Shetty, Jagdish Raj, Pinchoo Kapoor, Mac Mohan, P. Jairaj
Director: Chandra Barot
Producer: Nariman A. Irani
Music: Kalyanji-Anandji

Analysis: Don is a fantastic film. I don't want to reveal too much in case you haven't seen it. But it's a film that doesn't disappoint. I strongly recommend that you see it if you havent. It's Salim-Javed at their finest and features Amitabh Bachchan in one of his most memorable performances.

9.
MUNNA BHAI M.B.B.S. (2003)
Starring: Sunil Dutt, Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Gracy Singh, Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, Rajkumar Hirani, Kurush Deboo
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Music: Anu Malik

Analysis: It's hard to believe this was Rajkumar Hirani's first film. Not at any point do you feel that this film was made by a newcomer. Rajkumar Hirani's understanding of a smart comedy needs to be lauded. 

8.
SHARAABI (1984)
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Jayapradha, Pran, Om Prakash, Deepak Parashar, Smita Patil, Mukri, Ranjit, Suresh Oberoi, Satyen Kappoo, Jankidas, Viju Khote, Pinchoo Kapoor, A.K. Hangal, C.S. Dubey, Chandrashekhar, Mayur, Sudhir, Bharat Bhushan
Director: Prakash Mehra
Producer: Satyendra Pal

Analysis: Sharaabi is my favourite Amitabh Bachchan film. I simply love Prakash Mehra's dialogues in this film and Mr. Bachchan's delivery is outstanding. Sharaabi is a lesson in dialogue writing. Not only are the dialogues strong they are full of philosophical thoughts and poetry, something today's generation of writers lack immensely.

7.
JAANE BHI DO YAARO (1983)
Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Neena Gupta, Satish Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Kaushik, Rajesh Puri
Director: Kundan Shah
Producer: National Film Development Corporation
Music: Vanraj Bhatia

Analysis: No list would be complete without the inclusion of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Probably one of the finest comedies ever made. This film proves it's not the budget but the content which is king. Made for peanuts, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro delivers in a way that no other film does. A showcase of upcoming talent who will entertain us for the next 3 decades, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro deserves a look by all who haven't seen it and another look by those who have.

6.
GOL MAAL (1979)
Starring: Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Bindiya Goswami, David, Deven Verma, Dina Pathak, Om Prakash
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Producer: N.C. Sippy
Music: R.D. Burman

Analysis: It's very difficult to make a comedy, but to do it well, that's the talent of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Gol Maal has the same flavour of all his other comedies. What sets this film apart from other comedies is it's simplicity. From Amol Palekar explaining why he's wearing a short Kurta to why he's playing hooky from work, it's the simplicity we enjoy in this classic.

5.
PADOSAN (1968)
Starring: Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu, Kishore Kumar, Mehmood, Om Prakash, Agha, Mukri
Director: Jyoti Swaroop
Producer: Mehmood, N.C. Sippy
Music: R.D. Burman

Analysis: Padosan is a classic, I don't know anyone who doesn't love this film. The characters are so well etched that you're drawn to them instantly. One can't even imagine anyone else playing these roles. Whether its the scene where Vidyapathi is trying to teach Bhola how to sing or the scene where Bhola is trying to woo Bindu away from Master Pillai, the entire film is full of sequences that keep you in splits.

4.
DABANGG (2010)
Starring: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Anupam Kher

Director: Abhinav Kashyap
Producer: Arbaaz Khan, Malaika Arora Khan, Dhillin Mehta
Music: Sajid-Wajid, Lalit Pandit

Analysis: If there's any film that brings back the flavour of Sholay, it's Dabangg. Not since Sholay have we witnessed such strong dialogues and seen such entertaining action sequences in a Bollywood film. The songs are a delight and stimulate your emotions. Every song leaves an impression in your mind and you're still humming them long after the film is over. It's not difficult to see why this is one of the highest grossing films of all time.

3.
3 IDIOTS (2009)
Starring: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, R. Madhavan Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Music: Shantanu Moitra

Analysis: 3 Idiots inspires, entertains and educates - this should be the backbone of every film. Rajkumar Hirani is arguably the finest filmmaker in India, today. Few filmmakers take the time to make a film. Most are churning out multiple films a year. But in order to deliver good fillms a filmmaker needs to spend time on the screenplay, Mr. Hirani understands this perfectly. 3 cheers for the man who introduced us to "Jaado Ki Jhappi" with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., showed us "Gandhigiri" in Lage Raho Munna Bhai and taught us the wisdom of "All Is Well" in 3 Idiots. Can't wait for his next catch phrase.

2.
CHUPKE CHUPKE (1975)
Starring: Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Om Prakash, David, Usha Kiran, Asrani
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Producer: N.C. Sippy, Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Music: S.D. Burman

Analysis: Chupke Chupke is my favourite comedy of all time, I can watch this film anytime. It's sad that we don't see comedies of this caliber any more. Everything from the jokes to the acting is superb. 

AND THE MOST ENTERTAINING BOLLYWOOD FILM OF ALL TIME IS...

1.
SHOLAY (1975)
Starring: Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Amjad Khan, Iftekhar, A. K. Hangal, Asrani, Jagdeep, Sachin, Mac Mohan, Leela Mishra, Helen
Director: Ramesh Sippy
Producer: G.P. Sippy
Music: R.D. Burman

Analysis: Not surprising that Sholay is number 1, I don't feel I need to explain why, doing so would only demean this classic.

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS, PLEASE VISIT MY POSTS ON: 
Ten Bollywood Cult Films

Ten Worst Bollywood Films

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.