Formula entertainment

Rohit Shetty

Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty can take a quick bow—after all, despite all cynicism about Singham Returns, the second edition of the original Singham, a Tamil remake the duo have scored a bullseye. After Shetty’s successful pairing with Shah Rukh Khan which resulted in the blockbuster Chennai Express, speculation was rife whether Shetty would be able to outperform himself. Well, it seems like despite putting together this sequel at breakneck speed, he has certainly pulled off a feat. Shetty, best known for his comedies—the Golmaal series and blowing up cars is quite remarkable — he has covered significant ground, with success in not just comedies, but action and romance as well.
And unlike contemporaries who specialise in the leave-your-brain-behind brand of entertainment, the audience has not yet tired of Shetty’s films drawn from the old, classic formula stock of Bollywood films.
There are few among the more contemporary directors who can pull off the formula with the same elan as Shetty, and after six consecutive hits he may not have won the critics over to his side, but he is on every star’s wish list. Especially those that desire a blockbuster on their CV. It is not for nothing that Kareena Kapoor (Khan), the leading lady of both Singham Returns and Golmaal 3 has dubbed him the new generation Manmohan Desai who was famous for his multi-star blockbusters (Amar Akbar Anthony, Mard, Naseeb among others) which defied both logic and its limitations.
Speaking of contemporary formula film-makers, Farah Khan is yet another who comes to mind. Among the first women directors to break the mould and pull off the mainstream formula in her films Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, Khan is now ready with her next titled Happy New Year that has an ensemble cast boasting of Shah Rukh Khan (also the producer), Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, Jackie Shroff, Vivaan Shah and Deepika Padukone. A heist film set in Dubai wherein a bunch of losers get together to win a dance competition and also pull off a daring robbery. Considering that heist films follow a formula of their very own, this could have ended up resembling one of the famous Hollywood tent-poles, but for the clever idea of adding a dance competition to the film that is likely to lend it a flavour so uniquely Bollywood. Adding a small tribute (to Bollywood formula) of her very own, Khan has named the film’s leading lady played by Deepika Padukone, Mohini. To those who came in late, it is a throwback to Mohini played by Madhuri Dixit in N Chandra’s cult film Tezaab. “I wanted the men to be shouting Mohini-Mohini in this scene…” mentioned Khan at a press conference held in Mumbai recently to showcase the film’s trailer. Releasing this Diwali, Happy New Year holds the promise of entertainment, the good old Hindi filmwalein style.
In the exponential growth that Hindi films have witnessed over the last decade what with new-age cinema bolstering its presence in the world, occasional and well executed formula films such as the aforementioned films are crucial for they form essential links between the past and future.