Filmworld
2015: After tepid first half, Bollywood pins hope on its Khans
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By Sandeep Sharma New Delhi, July 1
With just one blockbuster -
"Tanu Weds Manu Returns" in its first six months, it's been a low-key
2015 for the Bollywood box office. Content turned out to be the
mainstay, as proven by the success and appreciation fetched by
entertainers like "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", "Piku" and "ABCD 2", but hopes
are high from the second half, especially from Shah Rukh Khan and Salman
Khan's films, trade experts say.
The initial months witnessed a
slump in viewership as compared to last year, courtesy cricket mania
caused by the World cup and Indian Premier League. Films like Arjun
Kapoor and Sonkashi Sinha's "Tevar", megastar Amitabh Bachchan and
southern star Dhanush's "Shamitabh", Arjun Rampal and Jacqueline
Fernandes's "Roy" - though hyped - didn't work very well for the box
office.
Akshay Kumar's “BabyÂâ€, which earned close to Rs.90
crore, was the first hit film of the year and then came offbeat movies
like “Badlapur†(Rs.50 crore), “Dum Laga Ke Haisha†(an estimated
Rs.27 crore) and “NH10†(Rs.30.60 crore), which garnered appreciation
not only from critics but audience too.
“The first four months
were very bad, barring one or two films here and there. If we compare
the first four months of 2015 to last year, then this year was worse,Ââ€
trade analyst Taran Adarsh, told IANS.
The box office graph saw a positive trend from May.
"In
May, we had ‘Gabbar is Back’, ‘Piku’ and ‘Tanu Weds Manu
Returns’. But ‘Bombay Velvet’ was a big debacle. There were three
hits in May. Then in June, ‘ABCD 2’ did really well. From May, the
film industry is facing better time,†he added.
If in male
actors, it was Akshay Kumar who shone with films - “Gabbar is BackÂâ€
and “BabyÂâ€, among the female actors, it is Bollywood's "Queen" Kangana
Ranaut who managed to strike gold with her dual avatar in “Tanu Weds
Manu ReturnsÂâ€, which has minted close to Rs.150 crore.
According to trade analyst Rajesh Thadani, the response has not been too great in terms of volume of big hits.
“We
must now look forward to the second half as all the big films are going
to come around this time only. Nothing much has really worked except
for ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ and one or two other small films, but the
volume hasnÂ’t been as big as it was expected. So, it was quite a
disappointing first half,†he said.
Thadani added that
content-based films have worked well on the silver screen despite having
no A-listers, pointing out at movies like "NH10", "Badlapur" and "Dum
Laga Ke Haisha".
“If content was not the kind that these films
had, they wouldnÂ’t have received any better response. The content
definitely works, but then star power is also there,†he added,
referring to the success of "Baby" and "Tanu Weds Manu Returns".
Stressing
on the importance of good content, Devang Sampat, business head -
Strategy, Cinepolis, told IANS: "The phase we are in, 'Content is the
king' is not an understatement. Audience has finally warmed up to a
storyline. Anything trash is not acceptable.
"This is good sign
as everybody in the value chain then focuses on working on good scripts,
budgets and star cast. Patrons are willing to experiment and explore
the terrain of unusual story telling and ideas."
However, with
only one blockbuster in the first half, all eyes are now on the
remaining months, which offers hope with big budget films like Salman
Khan's “Bajrangi Bhaijaan†and “Prem Ratan Dhan PayoÂâ€, Shah Rukh
Khan starrer “DilwaleÂâ€, Akshay's much awaited “Singh is BlingÂâ€,
which may even cross the Rs.200 crore mark.
“There are better
expectations from the second half as we have a few films which are
expected to get a huge response. So, the year's tally can become better.
Not only commercial cinema, but films with good content will also work
in the second half,†Thadani said.
Sampat added: “At least
three of them - 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' and
'Dilwale' - are definitely looking like Rs.250 crore plus projects at
box office. The best is yet to come for this year."
Adarsh
pointed out that this is in tune with the annual trend, where the second
half is more dominating with releases slated for festivals like Eid,
Christmas and Diwali, which often spell profits for movie industry.
(Sandeep Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])