Trends to watch out for in movie calendar 2009

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Mumbai: Promises that our movies plan to keep this year

MONEY MATTERS

The strong closing of 2008 with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini has injected a dose of optimism in the film industry. The trade analysts are hopeful that the industry will be back on its feet soon though production houses with corporate backing are likely to cut budgets. “Hopefully, the tide has turned and the new year will see the industry emerge stronger,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “The string of flops had demoralised audiences but they are likely to head back to the theatres. The list of films that release this year is strong too.”

YEAR OF POTBOILERS

The first six months alone have nearly a dozen big-budget or multi-starrer films. “The year begins with Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone’s Chandni Chowk to China. That is quite a way to start the year,” says filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi. Chandni Chowk’s release will be closely followed by Zoya Akhtar’s Luck by Chance, Priyadarshan’s Billu Barber and Kambakht Ishq, another Akshay film.

SMALL WON’T BE BIG

Director Kabir Khan feels that an offshoot of easing out of recession will be a drop in the number of good low-budget films. “Films like Mithya, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and A Wednesday did well at the box office only because of the strength of the script — they had no big names to boast of. But this trend may not be as apparent over 2009 and 2010 as big films will be back in business.”

RISKING IT

Kabir however claims that the trends of experimenting with scripts will continue this year. “It’s good to see that big stars are also taking risks and are ready to play different characters, as we saw Shah Rukh Khan do with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,” he says, citing the example of Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots, which is based on Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller novel Five-Point Someone, and stars Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Kabir’s next, New York, too, has John Abraham and Katrina Kaif in the lead but the storyline isn’t that of a regular masala film. New York is slated to release mid-2009.

PUNCH-PACKED