In the last month of 2009, the Hindi film industry promises lots of fun, drama and action.
In the middle of the press conference for 3 Idiots, a journalist remarked on how Aamir Khan was, according to Kareena Kapoor, declared as the Emperor of Bollywood. “An emperor is bigger than a king and we all know who the king is. Are you bigger than the king of Bollywood?”
Aamir may have dodged the question at the Delhi press conference where he, along with Sharman Joshi and R Madhavan, interacted with the media, showed three music videos from their forthcoming film and answered questions in the most lighthearted manner, but the industrywallahs are keenly awaiting the response to 3 Idiots and My Name is Khan, Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film, the release date of which has been pushed back to January 2010. While 3 Idiots has been made on a budget of Rs 75 crore, My Name is Khan, in director Karan Johar’s trademark style, has been made at a colossal budget of Rs 85-90 crore and has been shot extensively in New York. Interestingly, this year, the Khans have avoided a clash of any sort. Last year, when Aamir’s Ghajini and Shah Rukh’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi clashed (and Ghajini came out all tops, by the way), it was evident that the two Khans would avoid any further clash of films at any cost.
For audiences, the news of My Name is Khan getting postponed may have come as a dampener, but with so many films releasing in December 2009, there’s really no time to press the pause button. What’s even better are that films are releasing in different genres including action, comedy, thrillers and drama.
For starters, there’s the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer De Dana Dan which released this weekend to set the tone for December. This year has been a year of flops for Kumar and he desperately needs a hit. While his film Chandni Chowk to China, which released in January 2009 was a complete dud, his other films, including Blue and Tasveer, didn’t get a thumbs up from the audiences too. This time, he’s back at what he knows best: comedy. More importantly, he ties up with Priyadarshan, one of the best directors in the comic genre, and pairs opposite his “lucky charm” Katrina Kaif. The film revolves around Kumar who in a bid to get rich, is looking for quick ways of making money. What follows subsequently is a comedy of errors what with Kumar trying to kidnap Moolchandani, a rich heiress’s spoilt dog!
It won’t be before another week when we know the fate of the film, but since it’s a tried-and-tested formula, De Dana Dan may just be Kumar’s first hit of the year. Like him, another person who needs a hit is Himesh Resshamiya. The singer who began his journey as a successful music director had a mega hit with his debut film, Aap ka Suroor. His next ambitious venture, Karzzz, fell flat and now he’s back with Radio. While the music of the film is finding favour with listeners, the typical Reshamiya magic is somewhere missing in the songs. Radio will release on December 3, 2009. Made at a modest budget of Rs 6 crore, it has already recovered that amount through satellite, audio and video rights.
If there’s one star who is now billed as the box office’s favourite pin-up boy, it is Ranbir Kapoor. The pedigreed actor has been so intelligent in his script selection that most of his films have done exceedingly well, commercially and critically. Wake Up Sid, for instance, was a film that was targeted specifically at multiplex goers but proved to be a money spinner of sorts for Dharma Productions. Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani, a commercial venture, starring Kaif and Kapoor, has been proclaimed one of the biggest hits of 2009. With Rajneeti, another film that he’s doing with Kaif, slated for a mid-December release, the going might just get better for Kapoor and Kaif. Interestingly, where most newcomers end up as part of ensemble casts, or end up giving flops after flops as solo heros (read, Imran Khan), Kapoor has been steadily climbing the popularity charts and helping his films — and his endorsements — do great business. Interestingly, his father Rishi Kapoor admits that he didn’t believe in the script of Wake Up Sid even though Kapoor Junior went ahead and did the film. No wonder Kapoor’s back in another unconventional film, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, produced under the Yash Raj banner. The film, written by Jaideep Sahni and directed by Shimit Amin, revolves around Kapoor, who as a graduate is trying to balance the demands of his professional life while also trying to live his dreams. The film has generated enough curiosity and is getting billed as a success story already. It releases on December 11, 2009 even though there are rumours that Yash Raj Productions may just clash this film with 3 Idiots, which releases on December 25, 2009.)
But in what is billed as one of the most awaited films of 2009, R Balki’s Paa will have Amitabh Bachchan playing — no, not another father figure to his son Abhishek — the role of Auro, a 13-year-old kid suffering from progeria, an extremely rare genetic disorder wherein symptoms resembling aspects of ageing are manifest at an early age. Made at a budget of Rs 15 crores, the film will be released on December 4, 2009.
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With so much money being invested in Bollywood already, Kites (Hrithik Roshan’s film that’s billed at Rs 90 crore) has been pushed back to January 2010.
They might worry about marketing tactics. For us, it's time to sit back and enjoy the film fiesta.