A bunch of young folks, a terrorist in love, a masked hero, Dadagiri to Gandhigiri, hot, hot, hot babes and the vroom bikes, moolah, money, bone-ticklers and the soaringly high box office collections. The year coming to an end is proving to be the biggest Bollywood year in many terms. The quantum of hits, B.O. collections and magnificent marketing has resulted in a year full of experiments, old flaks in a bright, new attire. No wonder… even Sooraj Barjataya’s Vivaah was a winner. So incredible! Is all you will say for the year…? Naahh! It was stupendous in every respect.
The year has been more delivering than the last one. There has been an increase by 26% in the over all box office collections from 2005. The top 25 films for the year have given a whopping gross collection of Rs. 650 Crores by the end of November. The top films have not only done well but have ousted the top films of 2005. The films this year were bigger and many of them earned far, far better than even the biggest in 2005.
The year is equally big for the record number of Blockbuster hits like Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Lage Raho, Dhoom 2 etc. and super hits like Vivaah, Phir Hera Pheri etc. Out of the entire lot of successful movies, as many as six films registered collections over Rs. 40 Crores at the box office. And two among them have had a net gross of over 60 Crores.
The most astonishing fact that comes out is in the form of Lage Raho Munna Bhai, one of the biggest Bollywood blockbuster of 2006. On popular public survey, the movie won the heart of the entire nation and was hailed as the most intriguing movie laced with maculate comic timing. It not only portrayed Gandhian ideologyy but showed it in a different light altogether that hit hard with its light-hearted touch. Earlier, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha starring Sunny Deol and Amisha Patel was the biggest grosser of the decade. Lage Raho… is slated to dethrone Gadar and become the biggest Bollywood hit of the decade.
The Bollywood has now extended its market to other in-accessed territories. The over-seas market is packed with many Bollywood movies which have found takers abroad as well. Don and Krrish are doing amazingly well in places like Brazil, Canada. Dhoom 2 opened houseful in the US and UK theatres. Dharma Productions’ Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna created waves right across the overseas market with immense audience appreciation. Karan Johar has given a path-breaking movie to the Indian audiences which may not have sunk well with them but did great business overseas due to the boldness and sensitivity of the matter highlighted in the movie. KANK became the highest grosser in the International circuit and an all-time biggest Bollywood movie abroad leaving behind Sholay and DDLJ. KANK became the topmost foreign exchange earner for India with 68 Crores in the year of its release and a net profit of Rs. 108 Crores abroad.
This year movies got bigger, better and even looked better and were marketed better. At every level from production to post-production stages, a lot went into creating these big-budget movies. Sky-high budgets clubbed with immense marketing to create a lot of noise about the film before its release. The movies got the right hype with the in-your face publicising at all levels and through all the media. And remember that India got its first super-hero in the form of a masked Krrish portrayed amazingly on-screen by Hrithik Roshan. And then followed the obvious brand marketing which was a highlight in another Hrithik-starrer, Sanjay Gadhvi’s Dhoom 2.
The success of the year can be attributed to a lot of factors especially the westernisation of not only the script, technicalities and post-production finishing touches, but also to the marketing and distribution strategies of the producers. In this aspect, Bollywood has learned a lot from its Hollywood counterparts. The way Hollywood tries to sell its big releases with mega hype and that transforms into mega Box Office collections.
The year is definitely the biggest year for Bollywood, but it’s not yet over. The much-anticipated movie from the Priyadarshan clan, Bhagam Bhag is due for its litmus test at the box office. The film starring Govinda and Akshay Kumar releases on this Friday, 22nd December. So don’t ‘Bhaag’, there’s lot more in store before the successful 2006 finally wraps up.