Bollywood in 2006

Setting 2006 apart from years before was the sheer multiplicity of films coming out of the Mumbai studio-based Hindi film industry.

The seeds were sown in 2005 when “Page 3″ and “Black” did well around the country. Mainstream filmmakers thought out of the box and reaped big dividends this year – from low-budget, theme-driven releases like “Dor”, “Corporate” and “Khosla Ka Ghosla” to flashier yet ‘experimental’ star vehicles like “Rang De Basanti”, “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and “Omkara” to mainstream films with a twist like “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna” and “Taxi No. 9211″.

The industry is yet to get out of the mould of following the pack. We continue to see that a successful film immediately inspires a set of replicas. But all in all the year will be remembered as much for the money made as for the range and quality of the fare.

Some superstitions have also been dropped. Now we have filmmakers releasing films almost throughout the year. In fact, a series of released are slated for the year-end, a marked departure from previous years.

Trade observer Taran Adarsh says that this year’s last Friday will witness the unveiling of as many as four medium-budget films: Arjun Rampal’s first production “I See You”, Amar Butala’s chick-flick “Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana”, Manish Jha’s “Anwar” and Nazim Rizvi’s “Undertrial”, reportedly based on a true incident.

With Mani Ratnam’s eagerly awaited “Guru” set for release in the last fortnight of 2006, it is pretty obvious that the happy trend has sustained itself for all of two years.

— IANS

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