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Bollywood 2001-A year of Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham
The crashing of several big-budget films and the failure of more than a dozen new faces to click at the box office, coupled with the looming threat of the underworld, left the Mumbai film industry battered and bruised in the first six months of 2001.
The crashing of several big-budget films and the failure of more than a dozen new faces to click at the box office, coupled with the looming threat of the underworld, left the Mumbai film industry battered and bruised in the first six months of 2001.
However, after a string of flops, the cash registers at the box office started ringing again. Bollywood box office blues for the year 2001 were over with the release of two period films- Lagaan and Gadar-Ek Prem Katha. Until these two films hit the screen, Bollywood, despite releasing a record number of films this year, had been a string of box office failures- Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai being the only exception. Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai broke the tinsel town jinx with its release on 25th May and three weeks later, the two era movies Gadar and Lagaan brought Bollywood the much-needed excitement. Both movies proved the mathematics of box office formula wrong. It was said that dhotiwale and pagdiwale heroes would not work- but these movies broke all records.
The big budget Amir Khan’s Lagaan brought Indian sporting passion on the silver screen was expected to be the record breaker but Sunny Deol’s Gadar- A Hindu-Muslim love story set during partition gave it a stiff competition. Lagaan had an edge over Gadar in Mumbai opening at 99% compared to Gadar, which opened at 95% and the South but Gadar completely eclipsed it in the North. And the fact that Lagaan won an entry to Oscar awards proves that there is no time, costume or atmosphere boundary, which stops an audience from accepting a good movie. Indian filmmakers are increasingly making their presence felt in the West. Shyamalan’s commercially successful Philadelphia stories, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Tarsem Singh’s The Cell have lately unleashed a cyclone of hype. But for over a decade now, there’s been one Indian filmmaker who has immense popularity in the West- Mira Nair. Breaking through with the gritty Salaam Bombay in the late eighties, Mira went onto direct such Hollywood stars as Denzel Washington( Mississippi Masala) and Angelica Houston (The Perez Family). And now Mira’s latest film, Monsoon Wedding, has sent her stocks soaring with her being approached by six Hollywood studios for their films. The film bagged the coveted Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and also won rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival. Not only this, Monsoon Wedding has also been nominated for Golden Globe Awards in the foreign film category. Nair shot her film in just 30 days with limited resources. A fortnight of rehearsals was followed by a shooting schedule with a handicam, food from home and minimal fuss. The net result is that the film is said to wear a palpable air of intimacy, which plunges you straight into the lives of the characters giving you a true taste of a typical Punjabi wedding.
Another era film, which evoked the curiosity of the audience, was Shah Rukh Khan starrer Asoka based on the story of Emperor Asoka and the famous Kalinga war. Kareena Kapoor after losing all her excess vanaspati is a delight to the sore eyes. However, the movie stirred up controversy in Orissa with a historian pointing factual errors and a former speaker in Orissa Assembly with several eminent people urging CM Naveen Patnaik to disallow the screening of the movie. They contended that apart from the names like Asoka, Kalinga and Kaurvaki, the movie did not have an iota of history. However, the movie was in the league of nominations for the Indian entry to the Oscars. A movie completely opposite to the era films but one, which is definitely worth a dekho is Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham-(K3G)-‘The designer movie’ of the year. The much-awaited Karan Johar wonder for whose publicity he spent half a crore helps him to break his own record of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Though it’s a tearjerker on the same ghisi storyline of papa, mummy, bhai, behen, chachi, pota melodrama and gives the paper tissue industry a boom but the direction is so good that the audience doesn’t mind carrying tissue boxes to the hall and using all of them too. The film has both soggy and mushy scenes wile there are others, which sparkle with humour. Those who like their movies star-studded and glossy will be more than happy with K3G but for those who were looking for fresh ideas the movie is a let down. Johar has given the movie all that he’s got, exacts fine performances from his casts, some energetic song picturisations and imbues the film with a dazzling look.
A movie this year, which catered mostly to the younger generation but which the older generation, saw probably more than their kids was Dil Chahata Hai. Youngster with clothes, cars, holidays, friends and the moolah to sustain it all was yet again not a novel theme but the handling of the movie was done so well that it seemed realistic enough. To add to that, an assemblage of foot tapping soundtracks spiced up and covered whatever flaws the movie carried.
Other films which mark a special mention were Indian, Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein, Jodi No.1, Abhay, Yaadein- which was more of a promotional gimmick on Coke and Paas Paas than a Bollywood flick, Lajja, Chandini Bar, Ajnabee, Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega definitely added to help make the year 2001, a year to remember. Long Live Bollywood. Radhika Chaturvedi
The big budget Amir Khan’s Lagaan brought Indian sporting passion on the silver screen was expected to be the record breaker but Sunny Deol’s Gadar- A Hindu-Muslim love story set during partition gave it a stiff competition. Lagaan had an edge over Gadar in Mumbai opening at 99% compared to Gadar, which opened at 95% and the South but Gadar completely eclipsed it in the North. And the fact that Lagaan won an entry to Oscar awards proves that there is no time, costume or atmosphere boundary, which stops an audience from accepting a good movie. Indian filmmakers are increasingly making their presence felt in the West. Shyamalan’s commercially successful Philadelphia stories, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Tarsem Singh’s The Cell have lately unleashed a cyclone of hype. But for over a decade now, there’s been one Indian filmmaker who has immense popularity in the West- Mira Nair. Breaking through with the gritty Salaam Bombay in the late eighties, Mira went onto direct such Hollywood stars as Denzel Washington( Mississippi Masala) and Angelica Houston (The Perez Family). And now Mira’s latest film, Monsoon Wedding, has sent her stocks soaring with her being approached by six Hollywood studios for their films. The film bagged the coveted Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and also won rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival. Not only this, Monsoon Wedding has also been nominated for Golden Globe Awards in the foreign film category. Nair shot her film in just 30 days with limited resources. A fortnight of rehearsals was followed by a shooting schedule with a handicam, food from home and minimal fuss. The net result is that the film is said to wear a palpable air of intimacy, which plunges you straight into the lives of the characters giving you a true taste of a typical Punjabi wedding.
Another era film, which evoked the curiosity of the audience, was Shah Rukh Khan starrer Asoka based on the story of Emperor Asoka and the famous Kalinga war. Kareena Kapoor after losing all her excess vanaspati is a delight to the sore eyes. However, the movie stirred up controversy in Orissa with a historian pointing factual errors and a former speaker in Orissa Assembly with several eminent people urging CM Naveen Patnaik to disallow the screening of the movie. They contended that apart from the names like Asoka, Kalinga and Kaurvaki, the movie did not have an iota of history. However, the movie was in the league of nominations for the Indian entry to the Oscars. A movie completely opposite to the era films but one, which is definitely worth a dekho is Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham-(K3G)-‘The designer movie’ of the year. The much-awaited Karan Johar wonder for whose publicity he spent half a crore helps him to break his own record of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Though it’s a tearjerker on the same ghisi storyline of papa, mummy, bhai, behen, chachi, pota melodrama and gives the paper tissue industry a boom but the direction is so good that the audience doesn’t mind carrying tissue boxes to the hall and using all of them too. The film has both soggy and mushy scenes wile there are others, which sparkle with humour. Those who like their movies star-studded and glossy will be more than happy with K3G but for those who were looking for fresh ideas the movie is a let down. Johar has given the movie all that he’s got, exacts fine performances from his casts, some energetic song picturisations and imbues the film with a dazzling look.
A movie this year, which catered mostly to the younger generation but which the older generation, saw probably more than their kids was Dil Chahata Hai. Youngster with clothes, cars, holidays, friends and the moolah to sustain it all was yet again not a novel theme but the handling of the movie was done so well that it seemed realistic enough. To add to that, an assemblage of foot tapping soundtracks spiced up and covered whatever flaws the movie carried.
Other films which mark a special mention were Indian, Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein, Jodi No.1, Abhay, Yaadein- which was more of a promotional gimmick on Coke and Paas Paas than a Bollywood flick, Lajja, Chandini Bar, Ajnabee, Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega definitely added to help make the year 2001, a year to remember. Long Live Bollywood. Radhika Chaturvedi