Journalism of Courage
Salman Khan's 'Prem ratan Dhan Payo', Shah Rukh Khan's 'RA.One', 'Happy New Year' and 'Om Shanti Om' and Hrithik Roshan's 'Krrish 3' are among the big Diwali releases in the past 10 years. As it is the festive time of the year, actors and directors book this slot in advance.
Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have time and again released their films around this time of the year.
We have witnessed some big clashes during Diwali, like 'Jab Tak hai Jaan' and 'Son of Sardar' which released in 2012, 'Om Shanti Om' and 'Saawariya' in 2007, wherein one movie always manages to hit the bullseye, while the other suffers at the box office or is an average hit. In rare cases like 'Golmaal Returns' and 'Fashion' which released in 2008 on Diwali and both the movies managed to do well.
Here's a list of big Diwali releases in the past 10 years.
2015 - Prem Ratan Dhan Payo:
Salman Khan's upcoming movie 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' in which he will be seen romancing Sonam Kapoor is already a hit on the social networking sites. The movie is being directed by Sooraj Barjatya, who has worked with Salman earlier in the movies 'Maine Pyaar Kiya', 'Hum Saath Saath Hai' and 'Hum Apke Hain Koun'. The film's trailer and songs are already a hit. Salman Khan will be seen playing a theatre artist who performs Ramayan, where as Sonam will play the role of a princess in the film. This year, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo gets a solo release on Diwali.
2014 - Happy New Year:
Directed by Farah Khan, 'Happy New Year' borke many records at the box office. The movie had Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani and Vivaan Shah. The film, which released in Diwali 2014, was released in three languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu around 3450 screens. It is one of the highest grossing movies of all time. Shah Rukh Khan also bagged many Best Actor awards for the same.
2013 - Krrish 3:
The third sequel of 'Krrish' franchisee, 'Krrish 3' starring Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra released in Diwali, 2013. The movie which was directed by Hrithik's father and veteran actor Rakesh Roshan also starred Vivek Oberoi and Kangana Ranaut in negative roles. The film did wonders at the box office and collected Rs. 3 billion worldwide during its entire run. It got good response all over in the opening weekend itself.
2012 - Son of Sardar:
2012 witnessed two big releases on Diwali. Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma starrer 'Jab Tak hai Jaan', which was the last directorial venture of Yash Chopra released along with Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha's 'Son of Sardar' which was directed by Ashwani dhir. 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', which earned mixed reviews made good money at the box office and was declared the third highest grossing Bollywood film at that time. On the other hand, 'Son of Sardar' which opened to lesser screens than SRK's movie was a hit but an average grosser.
2011 - Ra.One:
Shah Rukh Khan ruled box office during Diwali 2011 as well with his film 'RA.One' in which he was paired opposite Kareena Kapoor. The fiction superhero film was directed by Anubhav Sinha and produced by the actor's wife Gauri Khan. It was applauded for its visual effects and 3-D conversion which had an overseas team to look after it. The film was criticised for the script and direction. It broke many records and became one of the highest grossing movies.
2010 - Golmaal 3, Action Replayy:
With a huge cast including Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Mithun Charkaborty, Shreyas Talpade and Kunal Kemmu, 'Golmaal 3' overshadowed Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's 'Action Replayy'.
2009 - All the Best, Blue, Main Aur Mrs. Khanna:
In the year 2009, Rohit Shetty's 'All The Best' starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu overshadowed Akshay Kumr starrer 'Blue' and Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer 'Main Aur Mrs Khanna'. 'All The Best' did not start on a really good note, but gradually picked up pace thanks to good word of mouth.
2008 - Golmaal Returns, Fashion:
Another Rohit Shetty, Ajay Devgn film 'Golmaal Returns' was a hit in 2008 along with Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion' which starrer Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut in lead roles. Both the movies earned well at the box office. Despite being a women centric film, 'Fashion' was critically acclaimed. Priyanka Chopra bagged National Award Best Actress that year and Kangana Ranaut bagged Best Supporting Actress National Award for their roles in Fashion.
2007 - Om Shanti Om, Saawariya:
Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Om Shanti Om' which was a launchpad for Deepika Padukone was a superhit in 2007. This Farah Khan film which is set in the 1970's and 2000's also starred Arjun Rampal and Shreya Talpade in important roles. On the other hand Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor made their debut in the same year with the movie 'Saawariya' and the movie couldn't do so well at the box office.
2006 - Don:
Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Don' was a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name. The movie, which also starred Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor, was directed by Farhan Akhtar. It became the fifth highest grossing film in the year and was declared a hit at the box office.
2005 - Garam Masala, Kyon Ki:
'Garam Masala' was an interesting watch in 2005. Starring Akshay Kumar and John Abraham, the movie did far better than it's competitive film 'Kyon Ki' and was declared a blockbuster. Starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan 'Kyon Ki' was directed by 'Priyadarshan'.
