Opinion A banner year
Can studios make or break a film? Yash Raj declines,as Aamirs banner rises
Reputation is a tricky little thing in the film business. It changes Friday to Friday. For the longest time,Yash Raj Films (YRF) was the ultimate Hindi film studio; in the good old days of Raj and Simran,this banner was gold. Aditya Chopras decision to turn it into a factory,by giving breaks to debut directors,was also well received. Adis brave move gave us films like Hum Tum,Dhoom,Saathiya,Chak De India,and Bunty aur Babli to name a few.
Of late,Adis good luck seems to have run out. Films like Tashan,Jhoom Barabar Jhoom,Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic,Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,Ta Ra Rum Pum,Dil Bole Hadippa,Aaja Nachle,Pyaar Impossible have damaged YRF brand equity. Their latest release,Lafangey Parindey,also failed to click with the audience. The Pradeep Sarkar-directed Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone-starrer went away mostly unnoticed. While the failure of Lafangey Parindey dents Neils solo hero credentials,its also a huge blow to the banner.
Lets be real. Neil is not an A-list star while Deepika,albeit one of the top heroines,definitely cannot carry a film on her shoulders as could a Priyanka (Pyaar Impossible) or a Rani (Dil Bole Hadippa) or a Madhuri (Aaja Nachle). So the big heroine/not-so-big hero equation clearly was not going to work for Lafangey Parindey. So the onus of ensuring an initial taking for the film was on the banner. The films poor show tells the story: the YRF sheen is wearing off. Some serious creative reinvention is needed so that Adi can get his mojo back.
Adis best friend,Karan Johar,meanwhile,is figuring out his destiny as a producer with his banner,Dharma Productions. So far his track record is 50-50. Johars current report card reads like this: Dostana clicked. Wake Up Sid was well liked. I Hate Luv Storys minted money. Kurbaan flopped. His latest,We Are Family was lukewarm.
The Kajol-Kareena Kapoor combination was designed to tug at every mothers heartstrings,hoping she in turn would drag her husband and kids to watch Johar and Cos take on the Hollywood weepie Stepmom. Somewhere Johar got his mummies audience wrong. Setting the film in Australia disconnected India-based mummies while NRI mummies (who incidentally love Johars brand of cinema) had trouble identifying with the films desi soap feel,especially towards the climax. Newbie director,Siddharth Malhotra,got the subtle-melodramatic proportion wrong. Malhotra tried to do a Sooraj Barjatya in the garb of a Karan Johar designer film. It didnt work. You are either a Barjatya or a Johar. There is no place for the middle path in cinema,We Are Family shows,Johars half n half track record holds his banner in good stead.
Currently the banner occupying top of mind awareness is that of Aamir Khans. He proved his mettle as a producer with Lagaan,Taare Zameen Par and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na but the success of Peepli Live is perhaps his biggest achievement as a producer. A strong producer treats all his films with equality. Not once did Khan compromise or treat Peepli Live as a small film. He demanded a mainstream release for his faceless little film and eventually turned it into an event. Salman Khan calls him Mr Midas Touch. I think hes Bollywoods Mr Fearless,a man who knows his box office economics.
This Friday will see the debut of a new banner. With Dabanng,actor Arbaaz Khan joins the big guys. Such is the hype for Dabanng that the trade has already declared it a blockbuster. Gaiety-Galaxy,the single screen barometer of Hindi films in Mumbai,is already sold out till Wednesday. The going rate for black tickets? Rs 400 for the Rs 55 stall ticket,while the Rs 75 balcony ticket is being sold for Rs 700.
Nobody can explain these numbers. Its Salman Khans star power. As so another banner rises.
harneet.singh@expressindia.com
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