Year 2006 has been one of the most successful years for Bollywood with several films earning the blockbuster status while a few more earning accolades for being extremely well made films. In this year end special we bring you the Bollywood Box Office update on who ruled and who sank without a trace.
This year's five highest grossing films have been
1) Dhoom 2: A film high on immaculate style, breathtaking stunt sequences and some gorgeous bodies like Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai and Bipasha Basu. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra played their parts too.
2) Krrish: Hrithik Roshan playing a superhero caught everyone's fancy specially the children who just couldn't stop raving about their beloved Krishna.
3) Lage Raho Munnabhai: Sanjay Dutt's Munnabhai and Arshad Warsi's Circuit had a lovely alliance with new age Mahatma Gandhi'.Result Gandhigiri became the latest fashion statement. A film with a message and high on entertainment.
4) Rang De Basanti: Rakeysh Mehra's 'Rang De Basanti' is one of the most inspiring and well made films of not only year 2006 but also one of the best Hindi films made this century. It has been deservedly chosen as India's entry to the Oscars.
5) Fanaa: Aamir Khan's histrionics had a worthy ally in Kajol's spellbinding theatrics in this Kunal Kohli film that rode on the Sardar Sarovar controversy to make a strong killing at the Box ffice.
A few other films that made huge profits at the Box Office were
1) Don: Farhan Akhtar's remake of Chandra Barot's original found Shahrukh Khan's near-successful emulation of Amitabh Bachchan's persona. Whenever SRK added his own style he was mint fresh. Don could have fared better if it was not pitted against Jaaneman.
2) Phir Hera Pheri: Akshay Kumar at his best in this Neeraj Vohra sequel. Paresh Rawal and Johny Lever played their part to perfection too. A laugh riot that went on to become Akshay Kumar's biggest grosser.
3) Golmaal: This Rohit Shetty directed mad cap comedy was declared a super hit in Mumbai. Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Tushar Kapoor and Sharman Joshi were absolute joy.
4) Vivaah: Sooraj Barjatya's 'Vivaah' is the saccharine surprise hit of the year. The Shahid Kapoor ' Amrita Rao pairing is going down very well with the audience.
5) Malamaal Weekly: Priyadarshan started the year on a high note by making a killing at the Box Office with this low budget comedy. Paresh Rawal and Om Puri at their best.
Overseas Territory earned an all new importance with the success of following films which didn't do that well in India:
1) Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna: Karan Johar's ode to infidelity 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' is the No. 1 international grosser of the year but it didn't do that well in the home territories.
2) Baabul: Amitabh Bachchan may not have recreated the Baaghbaan effect at home but the foreign shores were more than accepting of this weepy which found Salman Khan at his voracious best.
3) Omkaara: Vishal Bharadwaj and Ajay Devgan cried foul that there were attempts to pull down their film but this critically acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Othello' wowed the critics and audience abroad.
A few films that were big disappointments at the ticket window in 2006 were:
1) Umrao Jaan: Aishwarya Rai was banking heavily on this period caper but somehow the audience rejected this slow paced film in the first week itself. One of the all time disasters that may prompt J P Dutta to go back to making War films. Overseas results were encouraging.
2) Aap Ki Khatir: Dharmesh Darshan is losing his touch as is evident in the grossly boring Aap Ki Khatir. Even Akshay Khanna's sunshine performance couldn't salvage this film.
3) Naksha: Viveik Oberoi tom tommed about his chemistry with bade bhaiya Sunny Deol, but this search for a map story was too unrealistic and outdated in today's time n age.
Finally let's check out a few films that may not have been high on Box Office success but were well made films nevertheless:
1) Khosla Ka Ghosla: Debutante Director Dibakar Banerjee's ode to Kundan Shah brand of cinema was a delightful experience. Anupam Kher and Boman Irani impressed one and all while Parvin Dabas, Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak and Tara Sharma held their own strongly. Box Office was decent too.
2) Dor: Nagesh Kukoonoor may have adapted this fabulously well crafted film from a Malayalam film but the poignant relationship between Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag's characters is an absolute delight. A must watch!
3) Yun Hota To Kya Hota: Naseeruddin Shah's debut as a director was one of the best things about year 2006. It had a poor run at the ticket window but the manner in which Shah weaved four disparate stories together and ended it all with a bang was breathtakingly surreal.
Year 2006 has set the tone for brighter times for Bollywood in the years to come. Here's looking forward to more action and drama.