2008: Bollywood's Year of Wreck-on-ing

2008: Bollywood's Year of Wreck-on-ing 

By Subhash K. Jha, December 19, 2008 - 14:40 IST

Hindi cinema tried hard to Rock On. And not only because director-turned-actor (a first of his kind) Farhan Akhtar chose to do a film by that title. While Farhan acted, sang and performed through the film that redefined the parameters of mainstream Hindi cinema, much of the year saw the industry suffer a crippling blow with big films falling like Rajesh Khanna's hair-piece in Wafaa. If one of the biggest superstar of Indian cinema chose to make a fool of himself at year-end, so did big filmmakers by making what they thought were commercially-irresistible films. Little did they know that 2008 was the year of another little wonder. If in 2007, Darsheel Safary in Taare Zameen Par stole the show from Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan at the awards functions, this year again, the star of 2008 is little Avika Gore whose 'Ballika Vadhu' act has, in one swift stroke, not only given the new channel 'Colors' high TRPs, but has also put many seasoned TV actresses and their sob operas out of business.

Ironically, the year when television produced its biggest star, the czarina of the home medium, Ekta Kapoor, was forced to re-think her serial strategy. The year 2008 saw crippling setbacks for the entertainment industry. Workers' unions decided to join hands and brought all soap-manufacturing business to a grinding halt.

But our big-screen stars continue to charge the stars, moons and the galaxy even when recession stared them in the face. Imran Khan, who was the discovery of the year after Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na, confessed he was being paid "obscene" amounts of money to appear at private functions. Imran's second film Kidnap tanked. But no one did any re-thinking about star prices…not even when one of the biggest hits of the year Singh Is Kinng failed to rake in the moolah for the distributors and exhibitors. Distributors personally told me the film was so over-priced on the table that no amount of profits could bring back the investments.

By the year-end, when 26/11 had served a numbing blow to the entertainment industry, stars were still charging many times more money than they deserved. Akshay Kumar was paid a hefty amount just to lend his voice and presence to a dubbed Korean animation film called Jumbo. Guess who's the dumbo? Producers who fall for the myth that stars can make a hit! Does that make any business sense? Salman Khan had three major flops (God Tussi Great Ho, Hello and Yuvvraaj). He was still being paid what rock stars generally get in their prime and not just for taking off their shirt (or pants). John Abraham made beefcake a fashion statement. But after Dostana, shedding clothes has become so boring. How much clothes does an actor shed before he's considered certifiably nude? John opened up a dialogue across the country. The apple cart was being seriously upturned in 2008. Myths were being broken. It was said female-oriented films don't do well. And yet Ashutosh Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar and Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion did roaring business. Costume dramas and dramas about costumes, they said, don't work. So why did Jodhaa Akbar and Fashion click?

2008 was the tear of terrorism. Filmmakers of all ilk and hue from Neeraj (Wednesday) Pandey and Nishikant (Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan) Kamat to Jagmohan (Shoot On Sight) Mundhra and Rajkumar (Aamir) Gupta pulled out all stops to explore the anatomy of terror. Terror far more real awaited around the corner. And when after the Taj terror Ram Gopal Varma paid the venue of violence a fleeting visit, he was accused of cannibalizing carnage. Sarkar gir gayi! The biggest scandal of the year was not Varma's 'Taj darshan' but Shah Rukh and Salman Khan battling it out at Katrina Kaif's birthday party. Parties and film premieres ceased to be the venue for scandals long ago. Or so we thought. Until the two Khan superstars showed us otherwise.

The Bachchans went on their first family world tour. Just how 'Unforgettable' it was, only time will tell. Hrithik had his second baby (a boy). Vivek Oberoi's sister got married and also John Abraham's brother. But no star marriages. None of the high-profile celebrity couples from Preity Zinta -Ness Wadia to Kareena-Saif were in a hurry to tie the knot.

B.R Chopra and Begum Para died. But the Blog lived!

Great year for some and bad for others, but that's life!

Great summary and like how accurate it is ..and well written thanks for sharring. Lets see what next year brings..this year had for me some good films and ones i liked but did not expect to.