Le prime del 9 ottobre 2015: Jazbaa

Per milioni di fan in tutto il mondo l'attesa è durata cinque lunghi anni. La Diva torna finalmente sul grande schermo, e col botto, con Jazbaa, il nuovo film di Sanjay Gupta. Aishwarya Rai è la protagonista di questo thriller al femminile dai risvolti drammatici e ricco di scene d'azione, remake hindi della pellicola sudcoreana del 2007 Se-Beun De-I-Jeu (titolo internazionale Seven Days). Ad affiancarla il mitico Irrfan Khan (occhio alla salivazione). Vi propongo il video di Bollywood Hungama della presentazione del trailer, evento a cui hanno partecipato il regista, Aishwarya e Irrfan. Non contenta, vi offro anche i video dei brani Bandeyaa, Kahaaniya, Aaj Raat Ka Scene e Jaane Tere Shehar, inclusi nella colonna sonora. Nulla da eccepire: Ash è in ottima forma!

Bollywood's 100 crore club: aggiornamento

Ce la farà Chennai Express ad infrangere un altro record, quello di entrare in soli tre giorni nel sempre meno elitario 100 crore club? In attesa di verificarlo, ne approfitto per aggiornare il testo dedicato all'argomento che avevo pubblicato l'anno scorso (clicca qui) grazie alle nuove classifiche stilate da Bollywood Hungama, classifiche che allargano la definizione di 100 crore club, includendo non solo le star di sesso maschile i cui film hanno incassato, nella sola India, 100 crore (1 crore = 10 milioni) al botteghino al netto delle imposte (quindi net collection e non gross collection), ma anche le attrici, i registi e le pellicole. Si scopre così che Rohit Shetty è il regista col maggior numero di titoli in classifica (Golmaal 3, Bol Bachchan e Singham), che anzi è l'unico a vantare più di un film in classifica, e che presto si distaccherà di un'altra lunghezza grazie proprio a Chennai Express. L'attore col maggior numero di pellicole è la macchina da guerra Salman Khan (Ek Tha Tiger, Dabangg 2, Bodyguard, Dabangg e Ready; tutte nelle prime nove posizioni), tallonato da Ajay Devgan (e presto, sempre grazie a Chennai Express, anche da Shah Rukh Khan). L'anno col maggior numero di titoli in classifica è il 2012: ben nove film su ventuno totali. È stato Ghajini ad aprire le danze nel 2008. Questo già si sapeva: 3 idiots guida la classifica in virtù del suo stratosferico incasso, 202 crore, ed è l'unica pellicola ad aver superato la soglia dei 200. Ek Tha Tiger, saldamente in seconda posizione, vanta un incasso di quasi 199 crore, conseguito nel periodo in assoluto più breve: cinque giorni. Al terzo posto l'ultimo lavoro di una futura superstar: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, con Ranbir Kapoor. Ed è sempre Ranbir ad interpretare uno dei due titoli meno di genere presenti in classifica, ossia Barfi! (13esima posizione). L'altro è Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, in 18esima posizione (ma il film è ancora nelle sale). Quanto alle attrici, con l'esclusione di Priyanka Chopra in Barfi!, tutti gli altri nominativi sono in classifica grazie a pellicole prepotentemente trainate dai protagonisti maschili, con ruoli femminili piuttosto deboli o comunque poco stimolanti.

Makkhi: locandina e recensioni

Eega è senza dubbio il film dell'anno. S.S. Rajamouli ha diretto in simultanea la versione telugu (Eega) e quella tamil (Naan Ee). La produzione ha previsto inoltre le edizioni doppiate in hindi (Makkhi) e in malayalam (Eecha). La versione sottotitolata in inglese, distribuita negli USA nel luglio 2012, nel primo fine settimana di programmazione ha registrato  nelle sale americane una media di spettatori per proiezione superiore a quella conseguita da The Amazing Spider-Man. Il 12 ottobre 2012 è stato distribuito Makkhi, e vi segnalo di seguito alcune entusiastiche recensioni:

- Anupama Chopra, Hindustan Times, 13 ottobre 2012, ****: 'Makkhi is the most outlandish film I've seen in years. It's also the most fun I've had in a theatre recently. (...) It takes courage to pick a story as weird as this. Clearly writer-director S.S. Rajamouli is equipped with guts and a ferocious imagination. (...) By the end, I was clapping and rooting for the fly. How many films can get you emotionally invested in an insect? Makkhi is a mad roller coaster ride that's worth taking'.

- Ankur Pathak, Rediff, 12 ottobre 2012, ****: 'The camera work is beyond belief. The result is a mind-blowing rampage of uniquely filmed scenes. (...) This super-fly is a super-stud, a bee-sized package that promises definite entertainment which even the so called larger-than-life superstars fail to achieve or achieve at a highly superficial level. Director S.S. Rajamouli and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, who handled the editing and camera work, and the entire team deserve thundering applause'.

- Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama, 9 ottobre 2012, ****: 'Original, inventive, innovative and imaginative, Makkhi raises the bar of films made in India. (...) At a time when most dream merchants in Bollywood are concentrating on mindless entertainers that kiss goodbye to logic, Rajamouli strikes the right balance between logic and entertainment in Makkhi. The scale of the film is colossal, the plot is invigorating and the outcome leaves you mesmerized. (...) A technical wonder, the computer generated fly is, without doubt, the star of the show. And its creator, Rajamouli, a sheer genius for creating a film that sweeps you off your feet and leaves you awe-struck. (...) The writing is smart and clever, the episodes are ingeniously integrated in the screenplay and the culmination to the tale leaves you spellbound. I'd go the extent of saying that Makkhi has an unfaultable start, immaculate middle and impeccable end, which is a rarity as far as Indian films go. (...) On the whole, Makkhi is a landmark film. You ought to watch certain films in your lifetime. Makkhi is one of those films. For choosing a crackling idea, for executing it with panache and for taking Indian cinema to the next level, I doff my hat to you, Mr. S.S. Rajamouli'.
- Box Office India: 'The story, the way it has been written and, above all, the way it has been presented on celluloid takes you totally by surprise. Every scene is a treat to watch, and one good scene is followed by an even better one. (...) Watching Makkhi is a sheer experience! (...) The major highlight of the film is its pace'.

Riporto anche alcune recensioni di Eega:

- Karthik Pasupulate, The Times of India, 6 luglio 2012, ****: 'What's fascinating is that the movie shows a computer-generated-housefly can have pretty much the same effect on the audiences as a rippling superstar. Hair-raising entertainment, jaw dropping, mind-bending thrill-a-second ride of the season, probably the decade, Eega is a game changer. (...) Rajamouli delivered all too well. (...) He's set a new bench mark for Telugu cinema. There are some very original thrills and sequences that will sweep you off your feet. The computer-generated wizardry is seamless. (...) But what is most impressive is the storytelling. Most Telugu filmmakers rely solely on dialogue to take the story forward, but this is perhaps the first film that has the camera taking the narrative forward. In fact, the housefly doesn't have a single dialogue. (...) Visual Effects are just the best ever for a Telugu film, both in terms of originality and quality of output. The film has over 90 minutes of never-before-seen-visual effects that just blow the audiences away'.

- Sangeetha Devi Dundoo, The Hindu, 7 luglio 2012: 'S.S. Rajamouli is completely in control of his team, his narrative and his vision. He proves, yet again, that he is one of the finest storytellers in contemporary Telugu cinema. He is aided by an equally talented team that helps give form to a movie that could have become gimmicky and shallow. Eega raises the bar for visual effects and animation for an Indian film. (...) Eega shows what Indian filmmakers and production houses are capable of, at budgets much lower than that of Hollywood. (...) Sudeep (...) is a perfect match for the animated Eega. (...) Only an actor of calibre could have pulled off a role that called for emoting with an imaginary Eega. Remember that the Eega was added to the frames with the computer graphics after the visuals were shot. Sudeep can keep a few empty shelves ready in his abode to accommodate all the awards he is poised to win the coming year'.

Aggiornamenti del 7 luglio 2022:

- Eega, S.S. Rajamouli's finest film, turns 10, Sagar Tetali, Film Companion, 5 luglio 2022

- As Eega turns 10, a love letter to the spectacular intro S.S. Rajamouli gave its hero, Sankhayan Ghosh, Film Companion, 7 luglio 2022 

Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 2000s

Vi segnalo l'articolo Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 2000s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, pubblicato da Bollywood Hungama il 6 agosto 2012. Parliamo degli anni che vanno dal 2000 al 2009. Difficile decretare il numero uno del decennio, dal momento che 3 idiots (2009) è sì il primo e unico - ad oggi - membro del favoloso 200 crore club (1 crore = 10.000.000), ma, sulla base di alcuni fattori (inflazione, differenza nel prezzo del biglietto, eccetera), sembra che Gadar (2001), distribuito oggi, ne avrebbe incassati 350! Comunque sia, nel 2008 Ghajini apre le danze inaugurando il 100 crore club. Anche solo dall'analisi dei titoli campioni d'incassi si ricava la caratteristica tipica della filmografia del decennio, soprattutto della seconda parte: un notevole balzo in avanti nei budget, nelle strategie, nelle ambizioni crossover e nella qualità tecnica, ma anche l'affermazione di una nuova cinematografia indipendente e d'autore che riesce persino ad influenzare molti prodotti e registi di intrattenimento. Le distinzioni si sgretolano. Le aziende si sostituiscono ai produttori singoli limitando (almeno si spera) il campo d'azione degli investimenti mafiosi. Il pubblico apprezza generi vari e non solo il tradizionale masala: l'horror Raaz è il campione d'incassi nel 2002, la pellicola fantascientifica Koi... Mil Gaya lo è nel 2003 (ex aequo con Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.), il thriller erotico Murder sbaraglia tutti nel 2004. Sono gli anni del fascinoso Hrithik Roshan (Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, 2000; Koi... Mil Gaya, 2003; Dhoom:2 - Back in Action, 2006). Ma anche Aamir Khan non scherza con Ghajini (2008) e 3 idiots (2009).

'The Top Guns

In terms of footfalls, it was a clear-cut triumph for Anil Sharma's Gadar - Ek Prem Katha (2001), a Sikh-Muslim love story set against the backdrop of Partition - its 75 crore-plus collections, inflation adjusted, would probably reach around Rs 350 crore today. It started the trend of round-the-clock shows to meet demands in Punjab! However, in terms of actual collections (as ticket rates had been hiked by multiples) Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots (2009), a comedy with a message leads at Rs 220 crore. The millennium also saw the first-ever 100 crore film, A.R. Murugadoss' 2008 vendetta thriller Ghajini. 

Corporate companies entered the film world and gradually replaced more personalized financing, including that of the underworld. What was interesting, with big prestige involved, is the way the smaller films that had greater ROI (return on investment) ratios were sidelined due to the huge overall business of the biggies. So though Murder, an erotic thriller directed by Anurag Basu, was rightly called the biggest hit of 2004 despite Main Hoon Na and Dhoom, a year later in 2005, Kyaa Kool Hai Hum lost to No Entry (both were interestingly sex comedies, though of contrasting kinds), while in 2008, Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (a rom-com) made way for Ghajini (interestingly both connected with Aamir Khan as co-producer of the first and hero of the second!) as the latter collected over 110 crore - the first-ever Hindi film to cross the 100 crore mark.

The remaining years saw the following Numero Unos:

2000: Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (KNPH), a crime drama 

[2001: Gadar]

2002: Vikram Bhatt's Raaz, a supernatural thriller

2003: Rakesh Roshan's Koi... Mil Gaya (KMG) a sci-fi story on an alien and Rajkumar Hirani's Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., a 'medical' comedy (in a tie)

[2004: Murder

2005: No Entry]

2006: Sanjay Gadhvi's Dhoom:2 - Back in Action, an action caper 

2007: Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om (OSO), a reincarnation drama

[2008: Ghajini

2009: 3 idiots]

A diverse spectrum

The kind of films that topped in individual years saw a complete spectrum from original to remakes - at one end was Koi... Mil Gaya, Hindi cinema's first tryst with the sci-fi genre with aliens. Though Rakesh Roshan was clearly inspired by E.T., he adapted and Indianized it wonderfully and made the film's alien, Jadoo, a lovable creature no one would ever forget. Also a film with a pinch of inspiration and everything otherwise original and rooted was Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., India's first comedy on the medical profession - a common genre abroad. Both films jointly topped 2003 and were among the most refreshing entertainers of the millennium. Such was the excellence of the later (Rajkumar Hirani easily is the finest director to come in the entire decade) that the film was not only remade in multiple Indian languages but also the first Indian film officially licensed for a Hollywood remake, which however has yet to take off.

At the other end was Roshan's own Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, which made Hrithik Roshan a mega-star with the best launch any actor's son has got since Rishi Kapoor in Bobby. The plot was, however, smartly reworked from the 1984 flop Jhutha Sach starring Dharmendra. (...) OSO was an open tribute to Subhash Ghai's Karz and its climax was recycled from Madhumati. No Entry and Ghajini were official South remakes, which have now become endemic. Murder 'adapted' a Hollywood thriller, and if Raaz, Murder, Koi... Mil Gaya, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and No Entry set off a train of sequels, Dhoom:2 - Back in Action was itself the second in its franchise.

Starry ascent

Hrithik Roshan remained the superstar discovery of the millennium, though most his super-hits were made by his father. In a dream debut, the actor played a dual role in KNPH and was cast as a physically-challenged man in Koi... Mil Gaya. But in his third film in this list, he did a 180-degree flip as the razor sharp crook of Dhoom:2, the arch criminal who is always that one step ahead of the cops.

Amisha Patel scored a unique feat by being the heroine of the biggest hits in two consecutive years, Kaho Naa... and Gadar, also her first two films. After his, thanks to a variety of factors, her career nosedived. Arshad Warsi got a new lease of life and Sanjay Dutt consolidated his comic image with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.. The Bhatts made new talent their special forte - Dino Morea got his first hit in Raaz, which also consolidated the career of Bipasha Basu, while Emraan Hashmi and Mallika Sherawat got career-defining roles in Murder. Deepika Padukone, like Hrithik, made her debut in a dual role in OSO, where Shah Rukh was also in a double role. (...) Asin made her Hindi debut in Ghajini, the first of her now four films in the "100-crore club." Incidentally, Bipasha Basu played twin sisters in Dhoom:2. Aamir Khan was the only actor apart from Hrithik to have more than one film in the Numero Uno list. Among the heroines, Bipasha Basu scored the highest (Raaz, No Entry, Dhoom:2).

Rakesh Roshan (Kaho Naa..., Koi... Mil Gaya) narrowly missed a Numero Uno hat-trick in Krrish, which lost to Dhoom:2 that had higher global collections vis-à-vis a lesser budget. Like him, Raju Hirani also had two films in this list (Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., 3 Idiots), both produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and so did the Bhatts - Mukesh Bhatt produced and Mahesh Bhatt wrote both Raaz (...) and Murder. Reliance Entertainment was the first corporate entity to strike big - Ghajini and 3 Idiots. Eros came in with OSO. (...) It is interesting to know that except for Gadar, Raaz, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Ghajini and 3 Idiots, the other six films were home productions of at least one of the actors in their casts - Murder coming from Emraan's uncles, the Bhatts! Rajesh Roshan, by association, came into both the Roshan films, but the lead was taken by Anu Malik with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Murder and No Entry in three consecutive years. (...)

Technically, Hindi films forged ahead by leaps and bounds. Shooting abroad became common, and whether the film was a romantic film, action-based or message-oriented, up market humour became a compulsory ingredient. Music went down in importance, but we still had good scores in most of the films. The music and lyrics of 3 Idiots stood out for their thematic perfection while KNPH and OSO had well-rounded scores.

Films suffered an identity crisis in the millennium, and three diverse schools emerged, of the dark, noir kind of European-inspired films like Dev. D and Omkara, realistic high-concept films like A Wednesday! or Taare Zameen Par and the classic Hindi film kind. But the latter clearly kept ahead in the race. As always, it was all about entertainment'.

Vedi anche:

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s. Il testo raccoglie i link a tutti gli articoli della serie.

- 2005-2010: successi del cinema hindi contemporaneo

Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1990s

Vi segnalo l'articolo Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1990s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, pubblicato da Bollywood Hungama il 26 luglio 2012. Finalmente incontriamo nomi di attori e registi in attività ancora oggi, ma soprattutto incappiamo in uno dei titoli leggendari della storia del cinema hindi: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Inutile precisare che la pellicola è campione d'incassi del decennio, oltre ad aver infranto ogni record al mondo di programmazione (ha ormai celebrato le 800 settimane - avete letto bene). La coppia Kajol-Shah Rukh Khan conquista il pubblico indiano anche con Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (campione d'incassi nel 1998). Il trio regale dei Khan - Aamir (Dil e Raja Hindustani, campioni d'incassi nel 1990 e nel 1996), Salman (da protagonista in Saajan e Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, campioni d'incassi nel 1991 e nel 1994) e Shah Rukh (DDLJ e KKHH) - si accinge a regnare su Bollywood. I registi (e sceneggiatori) Aditya Chopra e Karan Johan debuttano e incendiano il botteghino con DDLJ e KKHH. Particolarità: il campione d'incassi nel 1997 è Border, considerato ancora oggi uno dei migliori film di guerra in lingua hindi. L'articolo non li cita, ma vorrei ricordare:

- Rangeela (1995), clamoroso esordio a Mumbai del vulcanico regista Ram Gopal Varma, proveniente dall'industria telugu, e del geniale compositore tamil A.R. Rahman;

- la splendida Aishwarya Rai debutta su grande schermo nel 1997 con Iruvar (tamil), diretto dal mitico Mani Ratnam. 

'The Top Guns

It was a clear-cut triumph for Yash Chopra's 1995 Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge directed by his son and directorial first-timer Aditya Chopra, in this decade. The closest film that came to it was the 1994 Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! directed by Sooraj Barjatya. The other eight toppers were

1990: Dil, a love story directed by Indra Kumar

1991: Saajan, a love triangle directed by Lawrence D'Souza

1992: Beta, a family drama directed by Indra Kumar

1993: Aankhen, a crime caper directed by David Dhawan

[1994: Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!

1995: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge]

1996: Raja Hindustani, a love story directed by Dharmesh Darshan

1997: Border, a partly dramatized real war story directed by J.P. Dutta

1998: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, a love story marking the debut of Karan Johar and

1999: Biwi No. 1, a rom-com-cum-melodrama on infidelity directed by David Dhawan.

The derivative angle, however, increased a bit, and we are not talking just about the South remakes Dil, Beta and Biwi No. 1. Aankhen mingled elements of (...) Do Phool [1973], Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (HAHK) was a skilful reinvention of the (...) '80s flop Nadiya Ke Paar and Raja Hindustani was a rehash of Jab Jab Phool Khile. Border, refreshingly, was a dramatized version of the battle for Longowal during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and it became the first-ever Indian war film to mention Pakistan as the enemy. It is still considered the best Indian war film ever along with Chetan Anand's 1965 Haqeeqat.

Whizkid directors

With the media proliferating and various major changes happening, the decade became known as that of the whizkid directors - let us not forget that only 10 days of the 50-week run of Sooraj Barjatya's 1989 Maine Pyar Kiya happened in the '80s because of its late December release. When Sooraj's new film Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'s quantum of success made Maine Pyar Kiya look like an average grosser (it ran for 150 weeks), and a year later Aditya Chopra came up with what is known India's longest-running film (now in matinee shows past the 800th week!!), the stage was set for directors to become brands as big as, if not bigger than, stars. Both these whizkids came from well-known film industry families and the hat-trick was completed by a third film industry scion, Karan Johar in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Interesting all top directors in the '90s with the exception of Lawrence D'Souza (Indra Kumar and David Dhawan bagged two films each) had at least one relative already established in the film industry. Kumar and Dhawan were brothers of actors Aruna Irani and Anil Dhawan, the '70s star. Dharmesh Darshan was the son of filmmaker Darshan [Sabharwal], while J.P. Dutta was the son of writer-director O.P. Dutta, who wrote the dialogues of his film Border. D'Souza, however, was himself known as a gifted cinematographer before Saajan, his second directorial effort.

The Barjatyas as a clan, however, taught a thing or two about marketing to the industry. HAHK was the first film whose Home Video rights were withheld for six months or so after the film's release. This boosted the theatrical revenue. DDLJ started the Punjabi-ization of Hindi films, showcasing the culture in so alluring a light that from music to characters and lyrics to dialogues and locations, Punjab has dominated post-1995 cinema in a far bigger manner when Punjabi filmmakers and actors had been holding sway for decades!

HAHK and DDLJ also opened up the overseas territory for Hindi cinema as never before, and DDLJ made overseas shooting endemic. Soon, NRIs (non-resident Indians), especially stationed in Europe and USA, were the protagonists of rooted Indian stories. While Aditya openly admitted to inspiration from Sooraj, the fact remained that the Indian wedding became a huge cinematic attraction. More importantly, HAHK and DDLJ conclusively proved that a simple story could be made into a terrific film just by the lethal combo of a great director, super music (and lots of it!!), attractive stars and above all - that true hero of a film - the perfect screenplay where the three vital Quotients of Entertainment, Emotional and Intelligence were mixed in perfect proportions! Sooraj and Aditya themselves wrote their film scripts and soon big-name directors began to prefer writing or co-writing their own scripts, a trend that continues even today. (...)

Star breakthroughs

Star breakthroughs happened too. Aamir Khan got his first outside hit and follow-up to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak with Dil, ditto Salman Khan with Saajan. Kajol's stardom was consolidated with DDLJ, (...) and Rani Mukherjee and Sushmita Sen got their careers on track with, respectively, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Biwi No. 1. DDLJ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai consolidated SRK and Kajol as the new magic pair of the '90s. The two had a flop free tally with two other blockbusters, Baazigar (1993) and Karan Arjun (1995), which was the first runner-up to DDLJ that year. Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit also came up with two winners - Saajan and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor came up with Beta four years after the '88 topper Tezaab. Individually, Dixit was the uncrowned Queen Bee with Dil, Saajan, Beta in a hat-trick and HAHK. Karisma Kapoor (Raja Hindustani, Biwi No. 1) and Kajol (DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) had two films each. Tabu had Border and Biwi No. 1. Salman Khan managed four films (Saajan, HAHK, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Biwi No. 1) and Aamir Khan (Dil, Raja Hindustani) two. The ruling Khan troika had made its impact, but no one knew that they would rule for more than a decade after the '90s too. Anil managed he solo Beta and the multi-hero Biwi No. 1. (...)

The runners-up

The runners-up showed a trend away from action and crime for most of the decade. 1990's second biggest hit was Ghayal, 1991 had Phool Aur Kaante, 1992 had Deewana, a violence-studded love triangle, 1993 saw Khal Nayak, 1994 had Krantiveer, 1995 had Karan Arjun and 1996 had Agni Sakshi. It was only in 1997 that Dil To Pagal Hai lost to Border, 1998 saw a rom-com Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha in second place, while 1999 saw Hum Saath-Saath Hain, as much a melodrama as Biwi No. 1 with four lead stars (Salman, Saif, Karisma and Tabu) (...) in common!

Mixed melody

Hit music rather than excellent melodies got bigger importance, despite (...) Jatin-Lalit's brilliant DDLJ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. (...) The tendency seemed to be more towards a single chartbuster that sold the album, like (...) 'Pardesi Pardesi' from Nadeem-Shravan's Raja Hindustani. (...) Sony Music entered the Hindi film scene with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.

Vedi anche Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s. Il testo raccoglie i link a tutti gli articoli della serie.

Le prime dell'8 agosto 2012: Gangs of Wasseypur II

L'India è in fibrillazione: la seconda parte di Gangs of Wasseypur, il film fenomeno del 2012, viene finalmente distribuita nelle sale. Vi segnalo i video dei brani Chhi Chha Ledar (interpretato dalla dodicenne Durga - un nome, un programma), Electric Piya e Kaala Rey. Il trailer è a dir poco magnifico. Cosa aggiungere? Peccato non essere a Mumbai.

Aggiornamento del 12 agosto 2012 - Vi segnalo di seguito alcune recensioni:

- The Times of India, 10 agosto 2012, ****: 'This time it's double the dollops of gore; two much. Booming guns and metal-shredded innards spilling gut onto the streets. More revenge and rage. More gangs and more bangs (...) and more man-power. With every shade of red, black and grey - deeper and bolder. (...) Anurag Kashyap's culmination to this gang-saga is as bloody as the first (if not more); yet it's an easier watch. The story is astutely interspersed with bursts of music (Bihari folkish tunes with a modern twist), humour (crass and rural), high drama and sudden relief - like a sexual climaxing. Even with a high quotient of brutal violence and moral assassination, Kashyap keeps his sense of humour (mostly black) intact, and entertains. With characters named 'Perpendicular', 'Definite', (...) 'Tangent' - he truly defies all tiresomely tried-and-tested formulas of filmmaking in Bollywood with his 'big bang-bang theory'. Though in spurts, it unleashes scenes that make you crack up, in true Bollywood style humour. (...) Nawazuddin Siddiqui spells doom, is devious and highly-dramatic - yet you take to his character almost instantly. He brilliantly blazes through this role, from being as strong or as shallow as his character demands. (...) With excellent performances, a screenplay that's strung together beautifully (....) a revenge story that touches a dramatic crescendo and music that plays out perfectly in sync with tragic twists of tale - GOW II is an interesting watch, for the brave-hearted. Like the first part, the movie slows down at times (with pointless pistols, hordes of characters and wasted sub-plots); the length needs to be shot down desperately. But otherwise, it's revenge on a platter - served cold (heartedly) and definitely worth a 'second' helping'.

- Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama, 7 agosto 2012, ****: 'Murky, menacing and petrifying and yet witty, GOW II is one intriguing expedition that's several notches above the foremost part. Strengthened by exhilarating acts and stimulating plot dynamics, this is a transfixing motion picture that confiscates your complete concentration. In fact, this cartridge-ridden chronicle is immensely praiseworthy and commendable for a multiple viewing, only to grasp all its fine characteristics to the optimum. (...) On the facade, GOW II is a vengeance story. (...) Scrape that exterior and you'll notice more than that. The writing is unrestrained and imaginative. In fact, in terms of its screenplay, there is not a single scene in the film that leaves you with a sense of deja vu. (...) On the whole, GOW II is an Anurag Kashyap show all through and without an iota of doubt, can easily be listed as one amongst his paramount works. An engaging movie with several bravura moments. Watch it for its absolute cinematic brilliancy!'.

- Raja Sen, Rediff, 8 agosto 2012, *** 1/2: 'Kashyap, in pulling out all the stops, seems content here to let his madcap characters actually enjoy themselves a great deal, making for a far sillier - and decidedly more joyous - cinematic universe. (...) Kashyap's visual flair has just grown with each film, and this one is not just cinematically self-assured but also highly nuanced'.

- Tehelka, ***: 'Like the precocious child too aware of being cute, GOW is ultimately irritating. It’s not the cuteness or the precociousness that is the problem, it’s the awareness. Anurag Kashyap is a canny filmmaker. He knows what audiences will respond to, but he is so pleased with this knowledge that he can’t resist yet another slowmotion sequence, yet another film reference, yet another spray of too vivid blood, yet another character with yet another defining tic. (...) Sneha Khanwalkar’s unquestionably cool soundtrack is so overused, it punctuates the film like a giddy schoolgirl might punctuate a text message or tweet: “OMG!!!!! GoW ROCKS!! 2 gud!!! Nawazuddin is SOOO CUUTTEE!!!!” There are so many exclamation points, you long for the restraint of the full stop, the courtesy of the comma. (...) As with GOW I, GOW II careens from scene to scene like a drunk driver between lanes, the tone at once portentous, bawdy, abrasive, comic, earnest: the film amounts to much less than the sum of its often violent, often tender, often funny, often spectacular parts'.

- Mayank Shekhar, 8 agosto 2012: 'Few actors in recent years have managed to morph into characters the way Nawazuddin (Siddiqui) has. His everyman looks and incredible command over his demeanour helps him achieve a level of transition that makes every other leading man you’ve met at the movies this year seem like monkeys - imitations, either of others, or their own selves. You’re equally stunned by the casting (...) for the rest of the film. Each piece, right down to the toothy thanedar, fits in brilliantly across a saga phenomenally mined by (the) story writer. (...) Over the past few years, the kind of talents Anurag Kashyap has managed to attract and inspire as both producer and director makes him India’s top film school of his own. He’s rightly the fan-boy’s ultimate filmmaker. Director Ram Gopal Varma used to play this role before. This is doubtlessly Kashyap’s best work yet. (...) The director is interested in detail, whether in the step-by-step procedure of murder on the street, or booth-capturing, or sweetly mulling over seductive moments. He’s clearly mastered the pop-corn art of sensational killings and colourful dialogue. The reason you prefer this sequel to the first installment, besides it being more contemporary is, well, this is where the beginning ties up with the end. You get a full sense of the film’s ambitions. You leave the theatre feeling satiated, slightly rejuvenated, but mostly heavy in the head. You realise the picture might have hit you with a rod. Clearly that was the intention'.

- Sarit Ray, Hindustan Times, 10 agosto 2012: 'GOW II is less like a movie sequel, more like the season finale of an ongoing (and admittedly, engaging) TV series. (...) In Kashyap’s pulp-fiction version of the Jharkhand mafia wars, violence is fundamental. It’s graphic, easy and often without deliberation. The gravity of death is replaced by an ironical matter-of-factness: the cries of mourning are drowned out by the cheap noise of a brass band. Cinematic realism pervades, not only in the film, but in the minds of its characters. (...) The movie plays out amid political and financial machinations - illegal scrap metal trading, election rigging - not unheard of in Jharkhand. Yet, it would be a mistake to judge Wasseypur for factual correctness. Kashyap shows familiarity with this world in his attention to detail - the typical Hindi accents, the Ray Ban shades, the pager. But they enhance the flavour rather than the facts. Wasseypur is as much a celebration of small-town India as it is a sinister revenge tragedy. If the subject wasn’t so gory, you’d call it charming'.

Vedi anche Le prime del 22 giugno 2012: Gangs of Wasseypur I

Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1980s

Vi segnalo l'articolo Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1980s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, pubblicato ieri da Bollywood Hungama: 

'The Top Guns

It was a toss between 1985's Ram Teri Ganga Maili and 1989's Maine Pyar Kiya as ten topmost grossers of the entire decade. The ten Numero Uno hits were:

1980 - Qurbani, directed by Feroz Khan - an action drama that was also a love triangle

1981 - Ek Duuje Ke Liye (K. Balachander) - a love story

1982 - Vidhaata (Subhash Ghai) - a crime drama inspired by Godfather

1983 - Hero (Subhash Ghai) - a love story against the backdrop of crime

1984 - Aaj Ki Awaz (Ravi Chopra) - a political thriller

1985 - Ram Teri Ganga Maili (Raj Kapoor) - a love triangle that was a social comment as well as an allegory

1986 - Nagina (Harmesh Malhotra) - a supernatural drama (...)

1987 - Hukumat (Anil Sharma) - an anti-terrorist thriller

1988 - Tezaab (N. Chandra) - also a love story against the backdrop of crime and

1989 - Maine Pyar Kiya (Sooraj Barjatya) - a musical love story

A decade of change

The '80s was a decade of change; generally perceived as shifts of a retrograde nature, though that is not completely fair. The exit or fading of giant singers (including Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar who passed away at their peaks), many of the lyricists and most of the legendary composers ganged up with factors like extreme social degeneration, political shenanigans in the country resulting in major angst and frustration along with an increase in violence and insurgency in many parts of the country. Significantly, while the love story Ek Duuje Ke Liye ended with violence and tragedy, Qurbani, Hero, Nagina and Tezaab were all romances against the backdrop of crime!

The third angle of this lethal triangle was the emergence of revolutionary new technology whose flipside became more dominant - like video piracy, audio piracy and the use of stereophonic sound to inculcate alien musical trends like disco, frenetic beats and a certain disregard for lyrics. Legal and illegal watching of films at home saw movie producers catering to the lowest common denominator of audience that could not afford to buy video players and formed the majority of the reduced theatre-going audience. And the anger towards the system resulted in violence-studded political thrillers galore.

Terrorism too reared its ugly head in certain states, adding to increased on-screen violence reflected in the first three anti-terrorist dramas - Karma, which missed the 1986 top slot because of its huge budget vis-à-vis Nagina, Mr. India (made with a comic-book tenor) and Hukumat (which actually topped 1987's films!). In fact, the '80s go down in history as the decade when four adult-certified films topped the years, whether because of sex (Ram Teri Ganga Maili), violence (Aaj Ki Awaz, Hukumat) or the supernatural element (Nagina)! Adult films automatically curtail a big chunk of viewers, but this was really an amazing and mysterious paradox!

Top names

It is a tangy coincidence indeed that Raj Kapoor's swan song Ram Teri Ganga Maili vied for top slot with Sooraj Barjatya's debut film Maine Pyar Kiya, which was almost a rehash of Kapoor's Bobby, the biggest hit of 1973. Maine Pyar Kiya, however, had its share of triumphs. (...) It was the first solo lead of Salman Khan, the man who was to become Numero Uno 20 years after his superstardom began with this film! Maine Pyar Kiya also completed the process of the return to the movie halls of up market audiences. This had begun with 1988's biggest hits Tezaab and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and was consolidated before Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989 by Ram Lakhan, Tridev and Chandni, the other top hits of the year. In fact, Subhash Ghai's Ram Lakhan lost the Numero Uno slot just two weeks before the year ended because of the release of this Barjatya whopper! (...)

Shifts in tastes and trends

Qurbani proved categorically that the audience was now open to fresh areas in cinema. It had the first combo of an NRI composer - Biddu - and Pakistani pop crooner based in London - Nazia Hassan stepping in for a specialized song - Indian cinema's first modern club number 'Aap Jaisa Koi'. This 'trend' of musical infiltration is endemic in today's times, but unlike today's tunesmiths, Kalyanji-Anandji matched the 'outside' chartbuster with four of their own, including another club song with even greater staying power, 'Laila Ho Laila'. (...) Choreography too saw a mix of traditional and new styles and a new generation of stars came in with an influx of star-sons. Kamal Haasan, (...) Sanjay Dutt, (...) Jackie Shroff, (...) Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, (...) and Salman Khan featured in the top hits. (...) Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla narrowly missed the bus when their QSQT came in second to Tezaab in 1988. (...)

'Vital' statistics

Subhash Ghai was the only director to have two Numero Uno toppers (Vidhaata and Hero in consecutive roles) in this decade, narrowly missing a third film (Ram Lakhan). Both his films had Shammi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar as character artistes, and Shammi, with his role in Hukumat, actually had the highest score among all male artistes - three films! (...) But the stage, as indicated by Tezaab and especially Maine Pyar Kiya, was set for a sweeping change in the '90s'.

Vedi anche Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s. Il testo raccoglie i link a tutti gli articoli della serie.

Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1970s

Vi segnalo l'articolo Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1970s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, pubblicato da Bollywood Hungama il 9 luglio 2012. È la volta dei leggendari anni settanta. Superfluo specificarlo: Sholay è il film dei film, Amitabh Bachchan è Dio, e il mito dell'angry young man è duro a morire. 

'The Top Guns

The '70s saw trends shifting to action and crime, and not as believed because of Amitabh Bachchan, who merely consolidated the genre in 1973. At the peak of the Rajesh Khanna wave itself, we saw the slick crime drama, Vijay Anand's Johny Mera Naam, Dev Anand's career-biggest hit as actor, as the first topper of this decade, trouncing two more crime dramas, Khanna's own Sachaa Jhutha and Dharmendra's Jeevan Mrityu. The remaining nine years' toppers were:

1971 - M.A. Thirumugam's Haathi Mere Saathi, a film about a man's relationship with animals, which trounced the action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh

1972 - Ramesh Sippy's Seeta Aur Geeta, a romantic comedy, which beat Pakeezah and the crime comedy Victoria No. 203

1973 - Raj Kapoor's Bobby, a teenage love story

1974 - Manoj Kumar's Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, a social

1975 - Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, an action drama

1976 - Madan Mohla's Dus Numbri, a crime story

1977 - Manmohan Desai's Amar Akbar Anthony, an entertainer with everything from crime to romance and family drama and music

1978 - Prakash Mehra's Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, a love story with a social base and a backdrop of crime, and

1979 - K. Viswanath's Sargam, a musical romance.

Vox Populi, Vox Deii!

Escapist entertainment escalated in the '70s as a stress-buster from harsh socio-political realities that included frustration with the system, corruption, unemployment and even the first signs of inflation, and bang in the middle of the Rajesh Khanna wave, a new Raja of Romance arrived - Rishi Kapoor, who was the solo hero of the only two classic musical romances that topped the BO: Bobby and Sargam. In a tangy irony, Kapoor annexed Khanna's short-lived position as the romantic icon, and the Phenomenon (as Khanna was called) in turn married Dimple Kapadia (who was Bobby on screen!) in real life some months prior to the release of Raj Kapoor's blockbuster! Rishi Kapoor also acted in the multi-star Amar Akbar Anthony. Rajesh Khanna's sole claim to a Numero Uno position came in Haathi Mere Saathi, the children-centric entertainer that is the nearest Hindi cinema ever has got to a Walt Disney feature.

Amitabh Bachchan, the new superstar, came in with Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, the four multi-star films that highlighted the biggest trend of the '70s - of the audiences' overwhelming preference for films in which they could watching many stars instead of a single lead pair for the price of one ticket! Ironically, Bachchan missed a spectacular feat of having the biggest hits (albeit mostly multi-star bonanzas) for six consecutive years from 1973 to 1978 because, firstly, Bobby generated a mammoth craze in 1973 that beat Amitabh Bachchan's breakthrough film, the cult Zanjeer, by a good margin, and secondly, the 1976 Kabhi Kabhie lost out to Dus Numbri in box-office grading, as traditionally, that is always decided by the proportion of profit to investment and Kabhi Kabhie was a far-costlier film!

Hema Malini starred in four films (Johny Mera Naam, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay, Dus Numbri), and producer G.P. Sippy and his director son Ramesh Sippy were the only filmmakers to notch up more than one film - Seeta Aur Geeta and Sholay.

Forever the biggest

Sholay, of course, was the topper of the '70s and remains India's biggest hit ever. Along with Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Deewaar earlier in 1975, it consolidated the 'multistarrer' (as it was called in ungrammatical film parlance) trend. As long as 12 years ago, it was assessed that the number of people who had watched the movie in theatres had exceeded the total population of India, what with people going to experience the revenge spectacle dozens of times! The 70mm canvas, the Stereophonic Sound (a first in Indian films), the cult villainy of Gabbar Singh, the memorable major and minor characters and the taut screenplay and dialogues by Salim-Javed rightly made Sholay an unparalleled epic that is unbeaten even today. Interestingly, one film almost came to match the scale of its cost-to-profit ratio - the same year's devotional Jai Santoshi Maa that spawned dozens of such films.

Landmark decade

The '70s remains a landmark decade in more ways than one. Johny Mera Naam became Hindi cinema's first film to gross Rs. 50 lakh [1 lakh = 100.000]. (...) 1971's Haathi Mere Saathi smashed Johny's record to become Hindi cinema's first film to gross a crore [1 crore = 10.000.000] - the costliest tickets in any part of the country then were three rupees! Haathi Mere Saathi was the first film scripted by Salim-Javed who in the following year co-scripted Seeta Aur Geeta and finally Sholay and of course created the Angry Young Man persona of Bachchan. Haathi Mere Saathi also was the first-ever music score to notch a Silver Disc (250,000 gramophone records) for outstanding music sales. Bobby was Hindi cinema's first teenage love story that had actual teenagers in the leads. Amar Akbar Anthony took Bachchan to the official Numero Uno position till then held by Dharmendra. (...) Muqaddar Ka Sikandar popularized the Cinemascope format on a large scale in Hindi cinema'. 

Vedi anche:

- Angry but amazing: i sorprendenti anni settanta

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s. Il testo raccoglie i link a tutti gli articoli della serie.

Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1960s

Vi segnalo l'articolo Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1960s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, pubblicato ieri da Bollywood Hungama. Nel 1960 il campione d'incassi è Mughal-E-Azam, uno dei più sontuosi successi della storia del cinema indiano. Una curiosità: il numero uno del 1964, Sangam (di Raj Kapoor), è la prima pellicola hindi ad includere numerose sequenze girate all'estero, precisamente in Italia, Francia e Svizzera. 

'The Top Guns

The kind of wide variety we saw in the (...) '50s continued, reflecting how audiences could be demanding. The winners of the '60s were:

Mughal-E-Azam, a historical romantic epic (1960)

Ganga Jumna, a 'dacoit' [bandito armato] drama (1961)

Bees Saal Baad, a supernatural thriller (1962)

Mere Mehboob, a Muslim social and romantic triangle (1963)

Sangam, a romantic triangle (1964)

Waqt, a social (1965)

Phool Aur Patthar, a social (1966)

Upkar, a patriotic social (1967)

Ankhen, an espionage action thriller (1968) and a tie between

Do Raaste, a family drama [1969]

Aradhana, a love story (1969)

The epic beginning

The beginning of this decade was anything but modern. Mughal-E-Azam was the legendary love story of Anarkali and Prince Salim last seen in the 1953 topper Anarkali, but the K. Asif epic was conceived and executed on a mammoth scale. The attention was shared not just by the lovers but by the father-son tussle between Emperor Akbar, enacted magnificently by Prithviraj Kapoor, and a defiant Salim essayed by Dilip Kumar. The ethereal Madhubala played the courtesan and the music by Naushad (including the opulent background score) was also on an epic scale.

Everything about Mughal-E-Azam was grand and had blockbuster written all over, including the advance booking queues (people slept on the pavements outside the main Mumbai theatre the previous night!) and the premiere (where the film's prints arrived on an elephant). Incredibly, though everyone still prefers the black-and-white classic over the abridged colorized version released in 2004, the fact remains that even the latter modernized avatar proved a hit, when released in Diwali week and pitted against contemporary films starring Shah Rukh Khan (Veer-Zaara) and Akshay Kumar (Aitraaz)! So in 1960, one can understand why the nearest contenders - Barsaat Ki Raat, Kohinoor, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai - simply did not stand a chance!

The trailblazers

After this came an array of trailblazers. Dilip Kumar's home production, Ganga Jumna, directed by Nitin Bose, made the Bhojpuri dialect used in the film so popular that it almost single-handedly fathered the Bhojpuri film industry that is so huge today, even in some international pockets. It is a combination of the success of this film and the request of India's first president Dr. Rajendra Prasad that made possible the first Bhojpuri film, Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo released in 1962. Ganga Jumna was the first time that two real-life brothers - Dilip Kumar and Nasir Khan portrayed reel brothers who were pitted against each other. Deewaar was just one of the many Hindi and regional films inspired by this classic, despite the mixed element of the powerful mother from Mother India, the 1957 topper.

And if Biren Nag's Bees Saal Baad set into motion the supernatural trend in the real sense, with Woh Kaun Thi? and many other small and big films as the direct consequences of its 'haunting' success, H.S. Rawail's Mere Mehboob and Raj Kapoor's Sangam together gave new boost to the romantic triangle as a foolproof formula for big-time success. Rawail himself tried to reprise his film with disastrous results as the 1982 Deedar-E-Yaar. Sangam was, of course, the first Bollywood film to be extensively shot abroad, in Italy, France and Switzerland.

After the 1950s Mother India, the 1960s Waqt directed by Yash Chopra for producer-brother B.R. Chopra was Hindi cinema's first multi-starrer film. It also became the first contemporary lost-and-found drama of a family torn asunder and reunited in the last reel and remains a benchmark blueprint for this genre. Ramanand Sagar's Ankhen, along with 1967 blockbuster Farz, set into motion a temporary trend of spy dramas that however died down after films in subsequent years like Humsaya and Shatranj bombed.

New brands

If Bees Saal Baad introduced Bengali boy Biswajeet to Hindi cinema, it was the 1966 Phool Aur Patthar directed by O.P. Ralhan that made Dharmendra a big star six years after his debut. As the hunk with a heart of molten gold, he instantly became branded as the He-Man, a firmly-etched image even today. Phool Aur Patthar dared have the hero strip to the waist to show his brawn, and also kept him away from lip-synched songs.

Upkar, in turn, entrenched Dharmendra's good friend and co-struggler Manoj Kumar as Mr. Bharat, the man who epitomized the idealistic Indian. It also marked his official debut as director (after ghost-directing Shaheed) and changed the image of Numero Uno screen baddie Pran to a sympathetic character. It was the start of a Mr. Midas phase in Manoj's career that lasted till 1981 and included the 1974 Numero Uno hit Roti Kapada Aur Makaan.

The tie between two films both starring the new young heartthrob Rajesh Khanna at the end of the decade heralded a paradigm shift to come in the '70s in Hindi cinema. Kaka (as he came to be known) became the new icon, riding in on the wings of the Kishore Kumar chartbuster Mere Sapno Ki Rani from Aradhana. Raj Khosla's Do Raaste, the less costly film of the two, matched Aradhana in box-office grading and the actor formed super-successful pairings with Mumtaz and Laxmikant-Pyarelal with it just as he struck a fruitful association with Sharmila Tagore, director Shakti Samanta and R.D. Burman, who had assisted Aradhana's composer, his father S.D. Burman. The two films heralded the shifting of these two directors best known for crime-related genres to socials, but most importantly, with his songs in both these films, Kishore Kumar became a frontline playback singer for the first time and the prime voice for Rajesh Khanna, now touted as India's first Superstar and a Phenomenon'.

Vedi anche:

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s. Il testo raccoglie i link a tutti gli articoli della serie.

- The underrated sixties in films, 10 agosto 2012

Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s

Questa mattina Bollywood Hungama ha pubblicato Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, il primo di una serie di sette articoli dedicati ai titoli campioni d'incasso della cinematografia hindi suddivisi per decennio. Si parte dagli anni cinquanta. L'India ha da poco conquistato l'indipendenza e subito le atrocità della partizione. Le pellicole di critica sociale vanno per la maggiore. Raj Kapoor è il nome più sfavillante. Le sceneggiature con protagoniste femminili non spaventano il pubblico ma anzi incendiano il botteghino. Mother India, un classicone da paura, entra nella cinquina dei migliori film stranieri agli Oscar (e verrà sconfitto da Le notti di Cabiria di Fellini).

'The 'rolls' of honour

Amazing but true: the biggest hit of the very first year under discussion - 1950 - was Filmistan's Samadhi, a thriller set during India's freedom struggle, narrating a claimed real-life incident in the life of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. And what a wide variety we saw in the Numero Uno hits of this decade, when India was just celebrating the joys of newfound Independence and yet recovering from the aftermath of Partition traumas and facing new problems and internal socio-political conflicts! The nine other winners of the '50s after Samadhi were:

Awaara, a social (1951)

Baiju Bawra, a musical with a historical base (1952)

Anarkali, a historical romance (1953)

Nagin, a costume fantasy (1954)

Shree 420, a social (1955)

C.I.D., a crime thriller (1956)

Mother India, a social (1957)

Madhumati, love story based on reincarnation (1958) and

Anari, a social (1959)

The common thread

The only surefire common thread that ran through all these films was their huge connect with the audience regardless of genre, proving that the ticket-paying viewer was extremely smart in demanding variety and standout fare. Significantly, five of the ten films were produced by just two banners: Filmistan (Samadhi, Anarkali, Nagin) and R.K. Films (Awaara, Shree 420). Raj Kapoor, producer-director and actor of the latter two films, was also the hero of Anari. Together, these three films best epitomized the brand image Raj successfully created for himself - of the Chaplin-esque underdog. Ashok Kumar was a producing partner with Filmistan in Samadhi and Guru Dutt, also an actor-filmmaker, produced C.I.D. but did not star in it. And even in later decades, home productions of stars garnered a significant chunk among BO toppers!

Though the top hits indicated the superstar status of Ashok Kumar and the new Trinity of Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar (Madhumati) and Dev Anand (C.I.D.), it was always the film that made the star: Bharat Bhushan's (and even Meena Kumari's) innings took off only with Baiju Bawra. Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar broke through with Mother India, while Waheeda Rehman made her debut in a negative role with C.I.D.. Even Bina Rai really hit big-time with Anarkali, while leading man Pradeep Kumar set off on the highway to stardom with his two consecutive Numero Unos: Anarkali and Nagin, incidentally the last two highs in the career of common director Nandlal Jaswantlal who had started out in the silent era! It is interesting to see that the '50s had the maximum female-centric super-hits: besides Anarkali, there were Nagin and Madhumati (both Vyjayanthimala) topped by Mother India with that ultimate protagonist - a strong, rooted Indian woman who could be Lakshmi, Saraswati as well as Durga when needed - immortalized by Nargis. Raj Kapoor and Nargis led the star-roster with three films each, two of them (Awaara, Shree 420) as co-stars. 

The final common factor to all films was their popular music scores. (...) It showed how music would always be the major factor in giving a film both a great 'opening draw' and also a second-time watch repeat value. (...)

Leading the pack

Mother India's success was a spectacular, Technicolor trouncing of 1957 heavyweights like Naya Daur, Pyaasa, Do Aankhen Barah Haath and Tumsa Nahin Dekha to clinch the top spot. No other year in the '50s had such serious competition, and that music alone never made any film a blockbuster was borne out by the superior soundtracks of all those near contenders! Ranking among Hindi cinema's all-time biggest blockbusters, Mother India, in an era when movie tickets cost a rupee or less, did a business of Rs 4 crores [1 crore = 10.000.000]! The film, produced and directed by Mehboob Khan as an updated remake of his '40s film Aurat, is the only one in this elite list to make it to the Oscars shortlist for Best Foreign Film.

Setting trends and a pattern

There seemed to be a clear preference for socials with messages in the prevalent euphoric yet confused and thus turbulent society where films had to reflect realities and yet offer relief from everyday problems. Even Baiju Bawra, Anarkali and C.I.D. commented on society, and only Nagin and Madhumati were about only entertainment. If this decade saw filmmaking legends like Raj Kapoor (Awaara and Shree 420), Vijay Bhatt (Baiju Bawra), Bimal Roy (Madhumati) and Mehboob Khan (Mother India) earn new laurels, it also witnessed the career breakthroughs of future aces like Raj Khosla (C.I.D.) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Anari). Kapoor, in particular, maintained an incredible record of at least one Numero Uno film for each of his active five decades: before Awaara there had been the path breaking Barsaat in 1949, and he was to follow up with Sangam (1964), Bobby (1973) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)!

Awaara is, as we know, the first Indian film to make a solid mark outside the country: its music, like the movie itself, became a rage in Russia and many other nations to the extent that the names Raj Kapoor and Nargis and the song 'Awara Hoon' became synonyms for India and were akin to magic wands that opened doors and hearts for touring Indians! Baiju Bawra, on the other hand, gave an impetus to the use of simplified Indian classical music in cinema, and Nagin and Madhumati were the respective forerunners of many later fantasies about snakes in human form and reincarnation dramas.

There were some truly piquant trivia: Madhumati's climax was rehashed in Om Shanti Om, the top hit of 2007, while Anarkali's tragic love for Prince Salim would be depicted again in an all-time hit just after this decade ended - Mughal-E-Azam in 1960. Shashi Kapoor, a child star in both Samadhi and Awaara, was to feature in just two multi-hero films later in this elite list: Waqt and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan. Shree 420 was recycled as Shah Rukh Khan's Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Deewaar was admittedly part-inspired by Mother India. And yes, funster Mehmood had a tiny standout cameo as a hired killer in C.I.D.!'.

Vedi anche:

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1960s, 4 luglio 2012

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1970s, 11 luglio 2012

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1980s, 17 luglio 2012

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1990s, 5 agosto 2012

- Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 2000s, 10 agosto 2012

Le migliori "Train Scenes" secondo BH

"Dream Sequence", "Rain Song", "Fight Scene": se i termini potranno apparire strani ad un appassionato di cinema indiano alle prime armi, sicuramente basterà aver visto almeno Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge per farsi un'idea di cosa sia una "Train Sequence" o "Train Scene". Bollywood Hungama ci regala oggi un video con una sua selezione delle sequenze più popolari  girate a bordo di un treno... buona visione!

Riteish e Genelia: immagini del matrimonio



Bollywood Hungama pubblica un primo photo album delle nozze di Riteish Deshmukh e Genelia D'Souza. Auguri alla bellissima coppia!!