The Indian audience, especially in regards with Bollywood movies, is a mystery to me; gullible even. I arrived at this conclusion some time ago and maintain that same notion even today because people, for some unknown reason, choose to watch the crappiest films making them superhit.
Those days no longer exist when ten movies released in a span of two months. And those movies were good. They made sense. Nowadays, however, it is about a film making a ton of money over the weekend or it is declared a flop.
Directors of Indian films have realised that and everyone wants to savour their own share now, don’t they? They invest huge sums in production, hire the most popular actors and make CGI a part of the shoot.
Did I miss something?
Of course, THE SCRIPT!!!
Now, where is that?
Bollywood is no longer the same industry that it was a couple of decades ago. Something by the name “100-crore club” has become quite popular (…and infamous if you don’t mind me saying).
Even before a film’s trailer is out, the casting, more often than not, decides whether or not it will make 100 crores at the box-office.
R. Murugadoss’s Ghajini was the first film to accomplish this milestone. Although it was not a bad film (considering it had an adapted concept), some of the movies that entered this (un)popular club later were total disasters.
Unfortunately, Dhoom 3 is one of the movies to feature in this category. Unfortunate because the movie is so bad that it made no sense and yet ended up making over 500 crores at the box-office. Also, Dhoom is the highest grossing film series in Bollywood.
Dhoom 3 made over 500 crores at the box-office
Shah Rukh Khan’s two worst films belong to the years 2013 and 2014 when he starred in Chennai Express and Happy New Year, respectively. The films earned 542 crores and 383 crores respectively. Both movies come from Shah Rukh’s own production house Red Chillies Entertainment. Where Rohit Shetty, the director, failed the South Indian (especially Tamilian) audience by sticking to the stereotypes with Chennai Express, the latter film was loosely based on Hollywood successful film Ocean’s Eleven.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year made 383 crores
Salman Khan is no stranger when it comes to the 100-crore club. He started off with Dabangg in 2010 and has never stopped since. His films Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Dabangg 2, Jai Ho and Kick have all crossed the 100-crore ‘barrier’. Though the first Dabangg movie did make a bit of sense, other movies were just too hard to watch. Yet, their overall income outdid the production costs bringing the director and the production houses massive profits.
Most of Salman Khan’s recent films have crossed the 100 crore barrier
Bang Bang! the Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif starrer too got added to the 100-crore category despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. It was an action-packed “entertainer” that was an evident remake of the Hollywood hit ‘Knight and Day’ starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Subhash K. Jha, renowned movie critic, even said, “Bang Bang gets the boredom quotient bang-on”. And the irony of it all was that it released on 2nd October, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday (a preacher of non-violence).
Bang Bang! starring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif entered the 100 crore club, too
What this list tells us that many films with budget of 100 crore rupees do not have a strong content. Their main objective is to recompense their expenses and earn profits.
The modern times have seen remarkable films that did not get the desired recognition. Films like Mastram, Filmistaan and Sulemaani Keeda, to name a few, had exceptional content that the Indian audience would have connected with and liked.
However, it is the fancy trend that catches the eye of the current public. Throw in an item number with a renowned female star and the movie makes more money.
Lack of original script, a result of which is Hollywood adaptation of movies, is affecting Bollywood adversely (…or at least the section of audience that cares for good screenplay). Alas! It will only be in time that we know if Bollywood directors are capable of making sensible flicks or if they decide to stick to their intention of material gains.
That’s Bollywood for you people!
