As 2009 comes to and end, it?s time to look back and dissect a year that was among the most challenging for the motion picture industry. For starters, the stand-off between distributors and exhibitors didn?t help. The backlog of releases resulted in too many films releasing in too short a time frame. And, with one film cannibalising the other?s business, no film was able to maximise its box office potential. The other principal problem had to do with overpriced films releasing in a depressed market. Films produced, co-produced and acquired in the boom period of 2006-2007 suddenly turned into unviable propositions when revenue streams became parched.
For boutique producers, the honeymoon is seemingly over as corporate companies are exhibiting an appetite for acquiring and co-producing only reasonably priced products. A dozen biggies of 2010 are still lying unsold because of individual producers still holding on to their audacious asking prices with the hope of clinching a sale. A healthy, much-needed correction will hopefully be effected unless someone spoils the party.
Looking back at 2009, the box office gave us only a handful of hits, with the majority biting the dust. Among others, the major duds of the year included Chandni Chowk To China, Delhi 6, Billu, Blue, Luck By Chance, Kambakkth Ishq, Shortkut, Luck, Tasveer, What?s Your Rashee, Kurbaan, Rocket Singh, Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Tum Mile, London Dreams and All The Best. Dil Bole Hadippa worked abroad but bombed in India; De Dana Dan bagged a solid opening, but nosedived within days; Paa had a strong word of mouth, but the numbers did not hold out for long. New York had the advantage of being the first release after the strike and was a semi-hit, like the multiplex-friendly Dev D, Kaminey and Wake Up Sid. The two major money-spinners of the year were Love Aaj Kal and Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani. 3 Idiots, releasing this week, is expected to garner a phenomenal opening.
Aamir Khan (3 Idiots), Shahid Kapoor (Kaminey), Amitabh Bachchan (Paa), Priyanka Chopra (Kaminey) and Vidya Balan (Paa) are the front-runners for the honours at the awards evenings.
Pritam has delivered a series of musical hits, Love Aaj Kal being the biggest. AR Rahman is a close second for his lilting compositions in Delhi 6. Newcomer Amit Trivedi came up with a pretty new-age soundtrack in Dev D.
Ayaan Mukerjee (Wake Up Sid), Nandita Das (Firaaq), Zoya Akhtar (Luck By Chance), Rensil D?Silva (Kurbaan) and Krishna DK (99) were the new directors who made a debut this year. Unfortunately, none of the screen debutants were able to make a significant impact, with the exception of Harleen Kaur in Love Aaj Kal, played by Brazilian model Giselle Monteiro.
Tanuj Garg is based in London. He heads International Marketing & Syndication at Studio 18.
Readers may write to him at on garg.tan@gmail.com