Year 2017 not kind to Shahrukh and Salman; Akshay gives hits
Apurv Shukla
Auckland, December 29, 2017
As move towards 2018, it gives us a good opportunity to look back at the passing year and examine how it treated the Hindi film industry.
Year 2017 was a mixed bag for Bollywood.
Big ticket films starring the major stars tanked at the box office, whereas comparatively smaller films, high on content clicked.
Shahrukh on the wane?
Shahrukh Khan had a disappointing 2017. His ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ flopped miserably. Critics were quick to write obituaries about Shahrukh’s career.
It was for the first time that director Imtiaz Ali had collaborated with King Khan.
The reasons for its failure were a weak script and confused storytelling. The film was basically a rehash of Ali’s previous films like ‘Jab We Met’ and ‘Love Aaj Kal.’
Shahrukh’s stardom remains intact, but his ability to deliver big at the box office is on the vain.
His other release this year was ‘Raees.’
A quintessential masala pot boiler, it performed tepidly at the box office compared to the lofty standards set by earlier Shahrukh films.
‘Raees’ clashed with the Hrithik Roshan starrer ‘Kaabil,’ which led to both films incurring losses.
We can expect King Khan to opt for a course correction, choose better scripts and be back to where he belongs – at the top of the Hindi film industry.
Salman Khan flops
July had seen Salman Khan deliver his first flop in years with the Kabir Khan directed ‘Tubelight.’ The human drama, set in the back drop of the 1962 Indo-China War, had carried tremendous buzz prior to its release.
Eid Al Fitr and Salman had been an unbeatable combination since ‘Dabangg’ released in 2010. But again, a weak and disjointed script played spoilsport. Audiences felt let down watching their reel hero Salman play a weak and subservient character.
However, Salman made up with his Christmas release ‘Tiger Zinda Hain,’ a sequel to his 2012 super hit ‘Ek Tha Tiger.’
The action-entertainer is set to be one of the biggest hits of the year. It had Salman doing what he does best – high octane action, punctuated with clap worthy dialogues.
Akshay Kumar consistent
The most consistent and versatile actor of Hindi cinema today is Akshay Kumar.
His satirical comedy, ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’ did well at the ticket window.
It presented the incumbent Indian government’s campaign to improve sanitation conditions in the country, in an entertaining and non-preachy format.
This followed his other release for the year, ‘Jolly LLB-2,’ which was a satirical take on the state of judiciary in the country.
Akshay has successfully challenged the might of the Khans at the box office and has an impressive lineup of films for 2018.
Aysuhmann Khurrana had the best year of his career with two successful films in ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ and ‘Shubh Mangal Savdhan.’
Both were small budget films with strong scripts set in the heartland of India. They portrayed the lives of everyday people and were immensely relatable.
Bahubali 2 the highest grosser
Bahubali 2 turned out to be the biggest hit in the history of Hindi cinema.
The fantasy entertainer proved once again that Indian film audiences like nothing more than an engrossing story seeped in their ancient folklore.
According to industry sources, the film grossed more than Rs 10 billion (about $221 million) in the first week, the highest ever in Indian cinema history. It stands as the highest grossing film in India since cinema began, the second highest grossing film worldwide and 49th highest grossing film of 2017 worldwide.
2018 will come with its set of challenges for Hindi cinema. Bollywood will be competing for eyeballs with television and trying to wean people away from their smart phones into theatres.
But, as long as the film industry creates engaging content and also keeps on producing big films that cater to modern sensibilities, the show will go on; and there will be some spectacular films as usual.
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Photo Caption:
- Bahubali 2: The Biggest Hit of the Year (Picture Courtesy: YouTube)
- Shahrukh Khan: Taste of Failure (Picture Courtesy: Bollywood Hungama)
- Salman Khan: In another light, Salman did not impress (Picture Courtesy: YouTube)
- Akshay Kumar: A good year for Akshay Kumar (Picture Courtesy: YouTube)
