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2005: Bollywood year-end review
21st Dec 2005 22.38 IST
By N K Deoshi

Year 2005 saw Bollywood maturing from run-of-the-mill, formulaic films to experimental cinema aimed at combining art and commerce.

No longer do the mushy romantic stories, embellished with elaborate song n’ dance routines, rule the box-office. The stereotype that stifled variety in Bollywood movies is beginning to break. Thanks to some real good quality cinema that came out from Bollywood this year.

The first successful movie of the year, Page 3 , was a semi realistic film that took a raw look into the elitist world through the eyes of a journalist. The movie, starring Konkana Sen , had no big, saleable star to boast of. But it had a script, had direction and had acting performances that bound the audience to the screen.

Madhur Bhandarkar ’s movie hit the bull’s eye. It got critical acclaim and, on the top of it, it kept the cash registers ringing, keeping the producers happy. As a result, the production company is now investing in Madhur’s next movie too – ‘Corporate’, starring Bipasha Basu in the lead.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali lived upto the high expectations that the industry and movie buffs had of him. His Black turned out to be not just a skillfully directed movie, but it saw Amitabh Bachchan stretching his acting skills to a new high.

Rani Mukherjee , who never ceases to surprise with her acting range, played a blind-deaf-mute girl in the movie and gave a performance that will in all likelihood fetch her the best actress awards in the coming year.

Rani played a small town con-girl in Bunty Aur Babli with Abhishek Bachchan . The movie did not turn out to be a superhit, but it did go on to become a silver jubilee and raked in decent collection at the box-office. Above all, the movie gave the song, Kajra Re, that has become a cult track on the dance floors.

Abhishek’s good fortune at the box-office continued with Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar . The movie, gritty, stark and hard-hitting, was Ramu’s tribute to Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’. Both Bunty Aur Babli and Sarkar had Amitabh and Abhishek together. Their presence definitely was one of the selling points of the two movies.

The halcyon days of Bengal were revisited in Pradeep Sarkar’s adaptation of Sarat Chandra’s story in Parineeta that introduced Vidya Balan , who won immense praise for her talent and natural beauty. The movie saw Bollywood’s “cool dude with a rockstar’s attitude”, Saif Ali Khan , showing his versatility in the role of a traditional, jealous lover who cannot reclaim his love.

Saif then took a somersault and played an antithetical character of an easy-going, modern chef with an apparent lack of commitment to serious relationships in Salaam Namaste , with Preity Zinta .

While other stars were making hay, the sun seemed a bit less bright on the Bollywood’s superstar Shah Rukh Khan . The man who gave three big movies last year ( Main Hoon Na , Veer Zaara and Swades ) hogged the limelight for a short time with his Paheli , that garnered much better response at the box-office overseas than back at home. As some consolation at home, the movie was selected as the Indian entry for the Oscars.

Lucky stars also seemed less benign on Aamir Khan , whose much vaunted movie ‘Mangal Pandey The Rising ’ failed to live upto the mammoth expectations its pre-release publicity had created. What salvaged the movie was the initial good opening that was partly due to the fact that it was the only Aamir starrer to have released in the last few years.

Among the big celluloid offerings, it was the unexpected No Entry that took a lead over the rest and emerged as the most successful flick of the year. A tale of three men on an extra-marital fling, ‘No Entry’ appealed to youth and family audiences alike because of its high entertainment value without using many double entendres.

In fact, year 2005 can be dubbed as the year of comedy films. Films like ‘No Entry’, Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya , Garam Masala and ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ enjoyed a good run at the box-office.

And the year comes to close with Rohan Sippy’s Bluffmaster , which although not a full-fledged laugh riot, has got very encouraging response from the audience at home and abroad.

All in all, the successful movies of year 2005 had one thing in common – they were different and offered something new and creative. That is why I said Bollywood is maturing.

Related
Page 3
Konkana Sen
Madhur Bhandarkar
Bipasha Basu
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Black
Amitabh Bachchan
Rani Mukherjee
Bunty Aur Babli
Abhishek Bachchan
Sarkar
Parineeta
Vidya Balan
Saif Ali Khan
Salaam Namaste
Preity Zinta
Shah Rukh Khan
Main Hoon Na
Veer Zaara
Swades
Paheli
Aamir Khan
The Rising
No Entry
Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya
Garam Masala
Bluffmaster