|
1990s –
Current
In
the nineties, Indian cinema faced tough competition from television and the
cable network. Nevertheless, films like Aditya Chopra's maiden effort
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Suraj
Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun have
broken all records, because they recall the innocence of the fifties, a novelty
in the age of sex and violence. It was towards the end of 1989 that the accent
on sex and violence, to the virtual exclusion of all other thematic values,
began to undergo a subtle change. The end of 1989 witnessed Sooraj Barjatya's
mega-hit Rajshri's Maine Pyar Kiya and
Yash Chopra's Chandni. Indra Kumar's
Dil, Hum Hain Raahi Pyar Ke, Qayamat Se
Qayamat Tak and Saajan were the
other mega-hits of the decade. Mukul Anand tried to resurrect Amitabh Bachchan's
sagging popularity with his Agneepath
(1990), Hum (1991) and
Khuda Gawah (1992) but without great
success. Interestingly, Sunny Deol emerged as a new protagonist of the angry
young man image with his films like Rajkumar Santoshi's
Ghayal, Narasimha (1991),
Ziddi and Arjun. Shah Rukh Khan
successfully played the anti-hero roles in
Baazigar and Darr. The period also
saw the emergence of Nana Patekar in his inimitable different style in films
like Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda;
Yashwant; Krantiveer and
Agni Sakshi. There was a revival of
sorts for thespians Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar when Subhash Ghai's
Saudagar arrived with fanfare in 1991
and cornered all the media attention. The Anil Kapoor-Jackie Sheroff pair gave
super hits like Tezaab and
Ram Lakhan. The decade also witnessed
the David Dhawan’s style of comedy in films like
Raja Babu, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and
Haseena Maan Jaayegi. The first three dimensional film was
My dear Kuttichatan in Malayalam,
which was dubbed into Hindi as Chota
Chetan. Dolby system was introduced in 1994 in Vinod Chopra's film
'1942 - A Love Story'. The Tamil films
Kadalan and Indian
depicted for the first time mind-boggling special effects on digital computer.
The
later half of the decade was dominated by the three Khans - Shah Rukh, Aamir and
Salman – among the male leads and Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Karishma Kapoor,
Kajol and Manisha Koraila among the female leads. Mani Ratnam's
Bombay (1995), Ramgopal Varma's
Rangeela, Rakesh Roshan's
Karan Arjun, Indra Kumar's
Raja; Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994),
Raja Hindustani (1996), Yash Chopra's
Dil To Pagal Ha (1997) and Karan
Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) were
the major block-busters of the decade. Some other the box-office hits of the
period include Ghulam, Sarfarosh, Hum
Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain and Biwi No.
1. The year 1999, the last year of the past millennium was a disastrous year
for Hindi filmdom during which the success ratio of films had nose-dived from
22% to 11%. Films like Aa Ab Laut Chalen,
Hello Brother, Mann and Sooryavansham
did not fare well at the box office.
Dillagi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Vaastav, Daag, Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Sirf Tum
and Khoobsurat were the other releases
during the year. The Amitabh films Lal
Badshah, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Suryavansham and
Kohram could not make an adequate impact on the audience.
An
interesting feature of the end of the nineties was the tremendous success of
Indian commercial movies in the West. Subhash Ghai’s
Taal became the first Indian film to break into the U.S. top 20 and
Dil Se became the first Bollywood
movie to be tracked in the British box-office charts and then the first to reach
the top ten. Hollywood's big players are now casting their eyes on Indian cinema
exports. Columbia Tristar and Polygram have both been involved in moderately
successful Bollywood ventures, Disney is looking for an Indian animation base,
and Sony and Fox are looking to produce and distribute Bollywood films both in
India and Overseas. Murdoch's Star TV in India has plans to produce 25 Bollywood
features and to launch a 24-hour Hindi film channel. It was reported that a
Saudi billionaire, Sheikh bin Talal Bouza, plans to set up a film company and
produce Kalpana Lajmi's two films Daman
and Singhasan in six languages -- Hindi, Arabic, French, German and
Tagalog (Philippines).
The new millennium saw a major hit in the form of Rajesh Roshan's
Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, in which he
launched his son Hrithik Roshan. J.P.Dutta's
Refugee, which launched Abhishek
Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor was another major release during the first half of
2000. Fiza, Mission Kashmir and
Kya Kehna were the other hits of 2000.
The year 2001 witnessed hits in the form of
Mohabattein, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke,
Lagaan, Gadar and Kabhie Khusi Kabhie
Gham (K3G). This was followed
by
Devdas
and Raaz (2002); Koi Mil Gaya,
Kal Ho Na Ho, Baghban and Munnabhai MBBS (2003); Veer Zaara,
Main Hoon Na, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Dhoom (2004); No Entry
and Bunty Aur Babli (2005); Dhoom 2, Krrish, Lage Raho Munnabhai,
Fanaa, Don-The Chase Begins Again and Rang De Basanti (2006);
Om Shanti Om, Chak De India and Taare Zameen Par (2007);
Ghajini, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Singh Is Kinng and Jodhaa Akbar (2008);
3 Idiots, Love Aaj Kal, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Wanted, Delhi 6 and
Paa (2009), Dabangg, Raajneeti and My Name is Khan (2010)
and Zindagi Na Mile Dobaara,
Aakarshan and
Body Guard (2011).
|
