2011 has been a good year for indian film industry

[blood]

Showbiz 2011: Good Year for Hindi CinemaR. M. Vijayakar, Special to India-West
Dec 29, 2011Rate This



MUMBAI
If you skip the fact that the music was disastrous and that there was no future huge talent or big star who made a debut, 2011 was certainly a decent year for Hindi cinema. To turn in a smart phrase, the scenario wasn’t a “Dirty Picture” at all.

Right from January, traditionally a jinxed month, we had a “No One Killed Jessica” not only beginning the hit-streak (and the year’s films on Jan. 6) but also making an impact both commercially and critically.

Followed “Yamla Pagla Deewana,” “Dhobi Ghat” and “Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji.” The boom period was from June to August, which featured the three highest- grossing films of the year, “Bodyguard” (Rs. 141 crore), “Ready” (Rs. 120 crore) and “Singham” (Rs. 100-plus), as well as movies like “Murder 2,” “Delhi Belly,” “Chillar Party,”(according to this critic THE finest film of the year), “Double Dhamaal” and “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.” The traditionally peak phase of Diwali did not work, with only the modest success of “Damadamm!” to save it from complete disaster. As we go to press, “Don 2” at the peak Christmas week is also on the negative side, with fudged figures and facts to save the prestige of those involved. The overseas figures of “Don 2” are yet to come in, but the first weekend in India is likely to stop far below the breakeven figure, which officially is anything from Rs. 30-50 crore, but according to trade analysts much higher in actuality.

The new magical benchmark for box-office collections is now supposed to be Rs. 100 crore nett (profits). If 2008 saw “Ghajini,” 2009 had “3 Idiots,” and 2010 had “Dabangg” and “Golmaal 3,” this year saw three films as mentioned above along with “RA.One.” With “The Dirty Picture” already nearing the Rs. 85 crore mark and still running fairly strong, it remains to be seen whether the film will enter the league.

The High and the Low

Calculations are not easy nowadays, and lobbies within the trade and media-hype make it easier to manipulate facts. Here is a rough chart to show how business works:

A producer who spends Rs. 70 on making a film sells it to one or more distributors for Rs. 100. The distributor — or one of them — can be a co-producer. His additional costs are marketing and publicity, releasing the film (which includes making prints) and the interest on moneys if paid early to producers. His sources of income are various rights sold by him, theatrical collections and any other deals. The theatrical earnings can be boosted by inflated first weekend rates and income from 3D glasses!

His final return of investment, how much less or more it is than Rs. 100, decides the box-office status of a film. When there is more than one distributor, the gain/loss status for the majority of them decides whether the film is a winner, break-even film or loser.

In this case, “The Dirty Picture,” acquired at about Rs. 25 crore, has made almost four times its investment and is a “super-hit” (profits over thrice its investment). “Bodyguard” (65 crore), and “Ready” and “Singham” (Rs. 40-50 crore), are “hits” (twice the amount) but are considered blockbusters for the sheer volume of money they made in absolute figures.

It is here that “RA.One,” which made over Rs. 120 crore (including a record amount in tie-ups) falls short of its investment (official Rs. 150 crore, actual stated to be around Rs. 180 crore!). Shah Rukh’s production company made a fat profit, Eros as co-producers and main distributors a slim one, but the majority of distributors lost over 30 per cent of investments. “Don 2” has cost Reliance Rs. 110 crore, as per the Web site boxofficekings.com, but most trade sources state that it is pegged actually at about Rs. 110-Rs. 120 crore.

The same trade site reveals that before “TDP,” it was Mohit Suri’s “Murder 2” (Rs. 277 made on every Rs. 100 invested) that was leading the roster, followed by the Deols’ “Yamla Pagla Deewana“ (Rs. 228), Vikram Bhatt’s “Haunted 3D” (Rs. 194), Balaji Telefilms’ erotic horror film “Ragini MMS,” their second topper besides “The Dirty Picture” (Rs. 191) and Rajkumar Gupta’s “No One Killed Jessica” (Rs. 189).

Other films that did brisk business among the modestly-budgeted productions priced at Rs. 8 to 30 crore were “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan” from the Yash Raj Films’ stable — their only hit of four films, both films produced by Aamir Khan — “Delhi Belly” and “Dhobi Ghat” and Aanand Rai’s “Tanu Weds Manu.” Making modest profits for their respective and diverse production costs were “Chalo Dilli,” “Chillar Party,” “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,“ “F.A.L.T.U.,” “Pyar Ka Punch-Nama,” “Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji,” “Dum Maaro Dum,” “Double Dhamaal,” “Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap” and “Damadamm!” Because of the reasonable price, “Desi Boyz” broke even and even Yash Raj did not lose money on “Luv Ka The End,” “Mujhse Fraandship Karoge” and “Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl.”

Not less than 25 faceless movies came in, mostly with English titles like “My Husband’s Wife,” “Be Careful” and so on to attract audiences. Among these, Subhash Ghai’s “Love Express,” made by the alumni of his Whistling Woods International, deserved a better fate. Other non-starters worth a watch included Ram Gopal Varma’s “Not A Love Story,” Prawaal Raman’s “404,” and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s “Shagird” and “Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster.” Major cinematic mishaps included “Teen Thay Bhai,” “Bheja Fry 2,” “Always Kabhi Kabhi,“ and “Tell Me O Kkhuda” besides critics’ delights that were audience nightmares like “Shaitan,” “That Girl In Yellow Boots,” “My Friend Pinto,” “I AM” and “Stanley Ka Dabba,” some of which were actually claimed to be profit-makers! In sheer contrast, the wonderful “I Am Kalam” was also a commercial non-starter.

Star Ratings

The three Khans continued to rule, and Akshay Kumar continued his dull streak. But once again there were “Conditions Apply” to this statement. Shah Rukh Khan’s last hit in India was “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” in 2008 December, and Aamir Khan had just a brief role in “Dhobi Ghat.”

SRK needs a massive reinvention in his associates. Says a trade observer on condition of anonymity: “Shah Rukh essentially has a romantic image, even in his action film like ‘Main Hoon Na.’ That presupposes great music, which he has not been getting, with the exception of ‘Om Shanti Om’ since he parted ways with Anu Malik and Jatin-Lalit.”

Salman Khan, on the other hand, has consolidated his superstar status and leads by leagues over anyone else. Ajay Devgn, after the Khans, continues to be the most dependable actor. After a series of hit and plus films last year, when only “Aakrosh” flopped, he had “Singham” as well as “Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji” in 2011, and he refused one of this year’s major turkeys, “Aarakshan.” His only flop was buddy Sanjay Dutt’s home production, “Rascals.” The two Hindi “Imrans” — Imran (Khan) and Emraan Hashmi — had a flop-free year. The former had “Delhi Belly” and “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan,” while the latter scored high with the two biggest hits of the year by gauge of revenues, “The Dirty Picture” and “Murder 2.” Hrithik Roshan had “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,” while the Deols were the surprise packet together in “Yamla Pagla Deewana.” Ranbir Kapoor, Hindi cinema’s “new hope,” gave a stunning performance in “Rockstar” but continues with his unfortunate selection of films.

Kareena Kapoor, despite predictable turns in both “Bodyguard” and “RA.One,” continued to be Numero Uno. She is now said to charge Rs. 6 crore, and Kapoor is also the first actor to demand and get a share in the profits like the male stars, starting with “Heroine.” Katrina Kaif is slated to be now in Rs. 3-4 crore league and shouldered “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan” and stood up to three heroes in “Zindagi….” besides doing a cameo. Vidya Balan is fast coming up as the female Aamir Khan with “No One Killed Jessica” and “The Dirty Picture.” Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut rank next only by default.

South Rules

Milan Luthria and Mohit Suri got their biggest hits (“The Dirty Picture” and “Murder 2,” reaffirming the talent this writer has always believed they had. Zoya Akhtar (“Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”) and Rajkumar Gupta (“No One….”), based on the maxim that second films are more significant than the first, show promise for the future.

The ratings for the directors find Rohit Shetty at the top of the heap with “Singham” as his second consecutive super-hit and no flop since late 2008. Anees Bazmee emerged once again with a major hit in “Ready” — both films were skilled adaptations of South blockbusters. Interestingly, all the three highest grossing movies (the third was “Bodyguard” directed by Siddique from the South) were remakes from the South, while “The Dirty Picture” was centered around the South Indian film industry as a film inspired by incidents from Silk Smitha’s life. The South clearly reigned as Shetty too is a South Indian!

New Talent?

A record number of actors had home productions, from Dharmendra and his sons to Farhan Akhtar and Jackky Bhagnani. Sanjay Dutt, all three Khans, Atul Agnihotri, Ajay Devgn, Tusshar Kapoor, Himesh Reshammiya, Hema Malini and Esha Deol, Suniel Shetty, Saurabh Shukla, Abhishek Bachchan and others stepped into filmmaking, like Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan, Pravin Dabas, Pankaj and Shahid Kapur, Deepshikha and Deepa Sahi but the newcomers all came croppers. There were so many new faces, but while some were reasonably promising, there was no big-ticket star for the future.

Among the plethora of new directors, including multiple women, the only ones who show great potential, again with Conditions Apply, are Nupur Asthana (“Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge) and Abbas Ali Zafar (“Mere Brother Ki Dulhan”). Abhinay Deo (“Delhi Belly” vis-à-vis “Game”) might be the next to join the league of sufferers from the Aamir Khan syndrome.

TOP 10 STARS

(Hits/Successes in Capitals, Cameos not considered in success percentage)

The centurions:

SALMAN KHAN: BODYGUARD, READY, CHILLAR PARTY (AS CO-PRODUCER ONLY) SCORE: 100 PERCENT

EMRAAN HASHMI: THE DIRTY PICTURE, MURDER 2, DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI 100 PERCENT

IMRAN KHAN: DELHI BELLY, MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN100 PERCENT

KATRINA KAIF MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN, ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, BODYGUARD (CAMEO) 100 PERCENT

VIDYA BALAN: NO ONE KILLED JESSICA, THE DIRTY PICTURE 100 PERCENT

AAMIR KHAN: DHOBI GHAT (ALSO CO-PRODUCER), DELHI BELLY (ONLY CO-PRODUCER) 100 PERCENT

HRITHIK ROSHAN: ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, DON 2 (Cameo) 100 PERCENT

AJAY DEVGN: SINGHAM, DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI, Rascals 67 PERCENT

ABHISHEK BACHCHAN: DUM MAARO DUM, BBUDDHA HOGA TERRA BAAP (only as producer-singer), Game 50 PERCENT

KAREENA KAPOOR: BODYGUARD, RA.One 50 PERCENT

TOP HITS

In Moneys grossed and Net collections:

1 BODYGUARD

2 READY

3 SINGHAM

In Return on Investments:

1 THE DIRTY PICTURE

2 MURDER 2

3 YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA



BEST FILMS (THIS REPORTER’S VIEWS)

1 CHILLAR PARTY

2 THE DIRTY PICTURE

3 YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA

4 CHALO DILLI

5 I AM KALAM

---------- Post added at 09:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 AM ----------

but this year has been really bad for srk

 

[arushbhai]

What bugs me the most is why do you plagiarize other people's work? Do you know how embarassing, shameful and pathetic this is? Here in canada, we are taught not to steal other people's work. You guys on the other hand steal everything from music, to commercials to movies. I think india has talent, they should look for short cuts to make easy money. No wonder, most of the indian movies arent even remembered after couple of months. Same goes with the songs