Bollywood Bakwas

It was a year of successful comedies, inspirational sports films and path-breaking cinema that dealt with sensitive subjects.

As curtains go down on year 2007, it is time to look back and reflect. Has Bollywood moved on from where it was at the beginning of this year? Or is it still stuck in stereotypes? Have filmmakers in our industry begun to think out of the box? Or is the tried-and-tested formula still the best bet for success?

The answer is both yes and no. Here’s why.

Most of the comedy films that released this year managed to get bumps on the seats in theatres. And most of them offered nothing radical except box-office success. The year’s most successful comedies Partner and Heyy Babyy were no doubt funny, but the humour in them was presented in the same way we have seen umpteen times before – with greater emphasis on slapstick than wit. And the recently released Welcome falls into the same category. In other words, all three films resort to the tried-and-tested formula.

And then there were other flicks like Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Om Shanti Om that were not out-and-out comedies but had good doses of humour and turned out to be crowd-pullers at theatres.

Surprisingly, there were only two successful romantic films this year: Namastey London and Jab We Met , both of which did not pander to the obvious clichés of Bollywood love stories.

On the other hand, sports-based films brought a whiff of freshness into the industry bereft of interesting themes to make films on. Chak De India , starring Shah Rukh Khan as the Hockey coach of a ragtag team of girls, won people’s hearts and became the nation’s anthem. Production house UTV almost tried to replicate the success of the Yashraj film with their own Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal , but fell way short. However, both the films told inspiring stories about the rise of the underdogs.

Another inspiring film was seen at the very beginning of the year. Mani Ratnam took inspiration from the life of an industrialist and made Guru with Abhishek Bachchan playing a small-town boy who starts his own business and keeps expanding it with his unending quest for higher goals.

But the best film of the year came at the fag end of 2007. In the second last week of December, Aamir Khan stole everyone’s thunder with his extraordinary film Taare Zameen Par , a deeply touching story of a dyslexic kid’s pain, isolation, disillusionment and struggle. The film will undoubtedly be a tough contender for major award functions next year. Darsheel Safary , the child artist, is my pick for the Best Male Actor. Aamir Khan absolutely deserves the Best Director trophy. And I won’t be surprised if TZP is adjudged the Best Film.

TZP has brought a perfect end to the otherwise ordinary year for Bollywood. It is path-breaking cinema.

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