Lull before the storm

The standoff between producers and multiplex owners seems to be well-timed in the lean summer period. But this drought would soon be over, writes Derek Bose

The release of John Abraham and Katrina Kaif starrer New York has been delayed for quite some time now

Summer is usually a bad time for Bollywood. They call it the silly season. Nothing seems to happen at this time of the year as no major film is released, studios and labs remain deserted, production is low key and most artistes and technicians move to cooler climes on their annual holiday.

Against this backdrop, it would appear that the standoff between corporate producers and multiplex owners has been well timed. For starters, there was no big film scheduled for release. If anything, the strike has come as a blessing in disguise for all small and independent producers. For once, they are presented with an opportunity to stand up and be counted without fear of having to compete with monstrous blockbusters.

However, if the box-office response to films like Gulaal, 13B, Ek Se Bure Do, Aloo Chaat and Chowrasta is anything to go by, this looks like a golden opportunity lost. It is unlikely that the Indian filmmakers will get another chance any time soon because a large number of big-budget releases, which could dramatically change the complexion of Bollywood, will be released soon. In fact, five to seven such films are expected to hit the screen every week from June onwards, for the rest of this year.

Here are 10 of them, the biggest of the biggies, which should break the prevailing lull in the film industry:

Producer-director Karan Johar seeks to revive the magic of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol pairing on screen with this film that tracks the travails of an NRI couple in the US, six years after the 9/11 terror strike. It so happens that the couple is Muslim, residing in California — Shah Rukh being Mr Rizvan Khan. And this serves as the take-off point for an emotional rollercoaster on how Muslims in general are discriminated against and the kind of racial profiling a person faces in the West because of his surname.

Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi play the protagonists in this Rajkumar Hirani film, loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel, Five Point Someone. It is a comedy that takes a dig at our education system through the three characters who are engineering students in an IIT. Aamir’s character, Ryan, is the most adventurous of the lot and even as he does things his own way, he ends up with five points in his exams. Boman Irani and Kareena Kapoor play supporting roles.

This multi-starrer with Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta in key roles has been billed as Bollywood’s first underwater adventure story. With a budget of Rs 100 crore, it is also supposed to be the costliest Hindi film made to date. Although Anthony D’Souza has been credited as director (his first film), it is more of a show-reel for Hollywood stunt specialists, James Bomalick and Andrew Dixon, what with swimming amidst sharks in waters off the shores of Thailand and the Bahamas.

R. Balki of Cheeni Kum fame, once again treads the untrodden path in this film with Amitabh Bachchan cast as the 13-year-old son of Abhishek Bachchan. The "boy" suffers from a rare genetic disorder, progeria, which makes him age three times faster than a normal human being. This is a serious film meant to create public awareness about the diesease that not only snatches away a person’s childhood but also the joys of parenthood. Vidya Balan plays Amitabh’s 40-year-old mother.

What’s Your Rashee?

Ashutosh Gowarikar’s romantic comedy marks the return of last year’s Love 2050 lead pair, Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra. Based on Madhu Raye’s novel, Kimball Ravenswood, it is about a young Gujarati man in pursuit of his dream girl, who he must find within 10 days to save his family from almost certain ruin. This leads to an array of confusion, chaos and a hilarious joy ride. Priyanka plays 12 characters in the film, thus beating Kamal Haasan’s record of 10 roles in Dashavataram.

This long-delayed film, made by Kabul Express director Kabir Khan, is again on the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. Starring John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif, it revolves around three friends, who are suddenly taken as terrorist suspects and their lives go for a toss. But then, more than dwelling into the politics of terrorism, the film tests the strength of friendship as the trio sticks together through thick and thin, including police inquests and custodial torture.

Vipul Shah’s ‘musical drama’ features Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan playing two friends from Punjab who land in London with ambitions of being rock musicians. They succeed, but their friendship suffers because of professional rivalry. It then takes Asin (of Ghajini fame), the common love of their lives, to bring them together. A highlight of the film is Salman doing a Farhan Akhtar from Rock On! by singing in his own voice in true rock star style. Loy Mendosa is the music composer.

Ranbir Kapoor plays the melancholic lover boy hopelessly in love with the idea of being in love. Drawing upon Shri 420 and Mera Naam Joker, this romantic comedy is more of a tribute to Ranbir’s grandfather, Raj Kapoor who immortalized the idea of a simpleton-at-large with a heart of gold. Originally it was to have four heroines with Siddarth Anand as director. But with Rajkumar Santoshi taking charge, only Katrina Kaif has been retained and the storyline suitably tweaked. Salman Khan does a cameo.

This is Bollywood’s newest movie mogul Vashu Bhagnani’s launch pad for son Jackky with Vivek Sharma as the director. The supernatural romantic thriller is about a simple but talented boy from Chandigarh who lands in Mumbai to pursue higher studies — only to discover that he is blessed with the power of seeing the future. Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and others show up on screen in ‘guest roles’, mainly to boost the box-office prospects of the film.

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