Opinion Ticket punches

The film bounty between Jan-June threw up some interesting trends. There was little good,lots of bad and some ugly at the movies.

Here’s a lowdown:

THE GOOD:

The Arrival of Ranbir Kapoor: Raj Kapoor’s grandson found his rhythm with last year’s double whammy of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Wake Up Sid. This year he stole the show in the political thriller Raajneeti. Ranbir’s Michael Corleone-meets-Arjuna performance eclipsed all his heavyweight co-stars. The trade has woken up to Ranbir’s crowd puller abilities and there is serious money riding on him. Top-notch film-makers like Imtiaz Ali,Anurag Basu and Mani Ratnam have signed him for their next. The cherry on Ranbir’s cake: the much-coveted Kishore Kumar biopic which will be helmed by Basu.

Katrina Works The Saree: The entire publicity of her big-ticket movie,Raajneeti,was nicely wrapped around Katrina Kaif’s saree. Katrina,of the pink lip gloss and skimpy minis has been the reigning queen,but artistic respect was eluding her. With Raajneeti,she proved that she can speak chaste Hindi lines and even deliver a hit clad in a saree. Her hit list keeps growing.

The Game Changing LSD: After Khosla Ka Ghosla,Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and now Love Sex Aur Dhoka,director Dibakar Banerjee proves yet again that he knows the middle class of the New Young India,their aspirations and their kinks. Undoubtedly Dibakar’s world is a culture shock for some unclejis and auntyjis. But then reality always bites. In this case,the reality came as an electric shock. Shooting the film from a third person point of view,using digital technology was also a big gamble.

Just In 60 Seconds: Some movies sell themselves in a promo. Vishal Bhardwaj has patented this art. The edgy,rustic and saucy theatrical of his production,Ishqiya surpassed Kaminey’s first look. Ishqiya also gave us the best song of the year (so far) “Dil To Bachcha Hai” and of course the ultimate term of endearment — they called it Chutiyum Sulphate.

THE BAD:

No Controversy Cover For Bollywood: The Shiv Sena- My Name Is Khan controversy proved the film industry’s vulnerability yet again. Watching the movie in a Mumbai theatre became an act of bravery. SRK’s star power ensured that the film became a hit but it’s not the same for the “smallies” that face unnecessary wrath from political parties time and again.

Whose Flop Is It Anyway: The war of words between Amitabh Bachchan and Mani Ratnam over the underperformance of Raavan underscored yet again that failure has no father in showbiz. Big B expressed his displeasure with the edit pattern of Raavan and used it to justify son,Abhishek’s critically ravaged performance. Ratnam justified his vision to a Tamil daily and made it known that the Vikram-as-Raavana starrer was a commercial success down South. The editor of the film,A. Sreekar Prasad,sided with Ratnam.

Hype Doth Not Sell a Film: Kites came and went. So did Pyaar Impossible that tried the Beauty and the Geek formula of getting a top heroine,Priyanka Chopra to prance around with Uday Chopra. Veer,Teen Patti,Raavan,Rann also proved that hype and superstars are mere tags.

THE UGLY:

Was That a Climax?: Sajid Khan’s Housefull will be remembered for its climax which was actually no climax. Letting loose laughter gas sounds like a college canteen joke but Khan actually did it. The rules of comedies have been rewritten. We shudder to think what we’ll be served next.

The Kites Effect: Films flop all the time but the wave of negativity that followed the debacle of Hrithik’s Kites was distasteful. The industry jokes,the text messages didn’t stop. In Bollywood everybody loves a flop especially if it’s of a big star.

Forgettable Debut: Does anyone even remember that Shatrughan Sinha’s son,Luv,made his debut this year? This was one star launch that went totally wrong. The film was Sadiyaan, by the way.

Harneet.singh@expressindia.com