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ENTERTAINMENT
IN Bollywood, what stood out in 2012 was the frenetic scramble among the A-list stars to break into the Rs 100-crore club. By the end of the year, the five reigning male stars — Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan — had at least one release each that crossed the three-figure mark in terms of boxoffice collection. What a year! But did that necessarily mean that the Mumbai movie industry had reason to be pleased? It was certainly an eventful 12 months, but that probably had less to do with the big blockbusters than with the much smaller and less conventional films that managed to strike gold. Barring Reema Kagti's smartly crafted suspense drama Talaash and to a much lesser extent Yash Chopra's overlong but endearing swan song Jab Tak Hai Jaan, the films that raked in big bucks (the Salman Khan-starrer Ekk Tha Tiger earned more than Rs 200 crore) were either ultra-violent but listless action flicks or laboured comedies. This category had titles like Agneepath, Rowdy Rathore, Bol Bachchan, Son of Sardaar and Khiladi 786. It was no surprise that the year of star-driven money spinners ended with the release of Dabangg 2, with Salman Khan reprising the role of cynical cop Chulbul Pandey. The sequel, too, is expected to top the Rs 100-crore mark. In 2012, the divide between big-budget vehicles and offbeat entertainers grew wider than ever before as a slew of starless films struck a chord with the audience and redefined the parameters of commercial success. Path-breaking releases The most talked about among these path-breaking releases were Dibakar Banerjee's political thriller Shanghai and Anurag Kashyap's five-hour-plus gangster epic Gangs of Wasseypur, the two parts of which were commercially released within two months of each other to a rousing popular response. All through the year, the Mumbai industry continued to deliver excellence in small packages. Films like Paan Singh Tomar, Kahaani, Ishaqzaade, Vicky Donor and Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana showed that a Bollywood director did not need big stars and over-the-top razzmatazz to achieve commercial success. Paan Singh Tomar, which lay in the cans for over a year before it found a distributor, gave the redoubtable Irrfan Khan yet another opportunity to show his class as an actor. And for director Tigmanshu Dhulia, maker of such films as Haasil and Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster, the success story marked a welcome return to form. Pretty much the same was true for Sujoy Ghosh, who delivered the biggest sleeper hit of the year, Kahaani, starring Vidya Balan. Ghosh, who debuted with Jhankaar Beats. Shoojit Sircar returned into the reckoning with Vicky Donor. The quirky story of a Delhi sperm donor bestowed overnight stardom on Ayushman Khurrana and Yami Gautam.
Among the other high points of the year were the many comebacks and debuts. While Sridevi's return to the big screen in Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish was received with warmth and enthusiasm, Karisma Kapoor's attempt to renew her bond with her fans boomeranged in the bloated Dangerous Ishqq. By far, the most anticipated debut of the year was that of international porn star of Indian-origin Sunny Leone, who was the focus of attention in Pooja Bhatt's erotic drama Jism 2. Leone's first Hindi film had neither body nor soul and sank without a trace, but it fetched her enough attention in the gossip rags to last her a lifetime. Bengali actress Paoli Dam, who is often compared in her home state with the legendary Suchitra Sen, also chose to go the whole hog — well, nearly — in Hate Story, which had her in the role of a woman scorned and wronged by a spoilt Richie Rich. The film had infinitely better luck than Jism 2, but that did not amount to saying much. Spy stories Espionage thrillers found special favour in Bollywood in 2012 but the trend did not pan out evenly for everybody. Ekk Tha Tiger, directed by Kabir Khan, was about a RAW agent who develops a soft corner for a pretty Pakistani spy. Salman Khan’s star power ensured that the audience would be willing to gloss over the film's many drawbacks. Saif Ali Khan hoped the viewers would be just as lenient with his Agent Vinod. Unfortunately, they weren't. Playing an undercover agent whose job takes him to various parts of the world in pursuit of dangerous adversaries, the suave actor simply did not exude the chutzpah that would have turned the character into a believably invincible enforcer. Another major disappointment of the year was Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine, starring Kareena Kapoor. The maverick director, who has built a reputation for delivering films that draw their inspiration from newspaper headlines, went overboard with this pastiche of tabloid stories woven into the tale of a Bollywood diva struggling with the challenges of clinging on to stardom. It was all too predictable to catch the imagination of the audience. No Bollywood assessment of the year would be complete without a mention of Anurag Basu’s Barfi!, which was controversially named as India's official nomination for the Academy Awards. Did it deserve the honour or was the film far too derivative to represent the country in a high profile contest? Detractors hauled Basu over the coals for alleged plagiarism because the film had passages reminiscent of classic moments of silent cinema. But that was precisely what the luminously lensed Barfi! was seeking to achieve — the feel of an era of storytelling when silences were allowed to communicate emotions. In this endeavour, Ranbir Kapoor, clearly the most accomplished Mumbai movie actor of his generation, proved well up the task, playing a loveable deaf mute prankster with impressive panache. A top-draw performance by the star and the tender core of the tale made Barfi! a touching movie watching experience. Its box office success, for a change, was well deserved for the most part.
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