Bollywood's Biggest Flops of 2010

The year 2010 returned mixed results for the dream merchants of Bollywood. The year produced many hits and flops. However the year is noted for the number of unexpected croppers at the box office. The production houses which backed these disasters are reeling under financial losses because of their reported investments on these movies. The disastrous movies are alleged to have investments ranging from 50 to 100 crore of rupees.

1. Kites : 

This was a film that promised to launch the international career of cine star Hrithik Roshan. Papa Roshan left no stones unturned to create a film with the international feel and star cast. Ace director Anurag Basu of Gangster and Metro fame, could not recreate the magic that would have kept the audience glued to the seat. Hrithik’s acting skills, nor his debut as a singer and not even his much-talked about alleged affair with his co-star, Barbara Mori, were able to salvage this film.

 

2. Raavan :                                         

The joint efforts of real-life Jodi of Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, director Mani Ratnam and Oscar winner A R Rahman saw red when their film tanked at the box office. Mani Ratnam’s take on the ‘Epical journey’ proved to be just-yet-another-story. The only good thing about the film was that it was visually stunning and bestowed with some soul touching music tracks by the maestro A.R.Rahman.

3. Rann :

It was a movie

that had all the cards in its favour. Ram Gopal Varma donned the director's hat, Amitabh Bachchan was in a good and meaty role and it was a film that exposed the Media. Though acting skills of the actors were praised and highly acclaimed by the critics, yet however, the film could not appeal to the movie going crowd.

4. Action Repayy :
The film was based on the era of the golden 70’S and the trailers

stirred a lot of expectations from the trio of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah. It also had some real mesmerizing tracks by Pritam. But still this film bombed heavily at the box office, in spite of being released on Diwali holidays. The script and the story line were unimpressive and are blamed for the debacle.

5. Guzaarish :

This was a bad year for Hrithik Roshan as his second film failed at the box office. Guzaarish's failure was more baffling as it mostly received positive reviews. The Hrithik-Ash pairing and teaming up with such a veteran like Sanjay Leela Bhansali even couldn’t save the drowning ship and all their Guzaarish (plea) were left unheard. The film finding its base on a very sensitive issue like euthanasia couldn’t appeal to larger masses of the audience.

6. No Problem :

No Problem has been out rightly rejected by the audience. It is a surprise to everyone concerned, because lot of people had high hopes riding on the film.

7. Aakrosh :

Aakrosh proved to be a thorn in Ajay Devgan’s otherwise runaway successful year 2010. A heavy subject and high cost of production were the reasons for the flop.

Review 3: Guzaarish (2010)

The Hindi film industry is currently in a phase where laudable directors/writers are concentrating on mental inconsistencies and physical deformities that plague unfortunate individuals. Sensitive films such as Paa, which demonstrated the legendary Amitabh Bachchan’s character named Auro suffering from progeria; My Name Is Khan, which depicted the superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s character being plagued by the Asperger Syndrome and Kartik Calling Kartik, which portrayed the multitalented Farhan Akhtar’s character being troubled by schizophrenia, come to the mind. Of course, there have been sensible and moving films such as Taare Zameen Par and Black as well, which have dealt with dyslexia and Alzheimer’s.

Aish And Hrithik In Guzaarish Movie

Guzaarish is another addition to this list, with the ace director, Sanjay Bhansali, delving into the physical ailment named ‘Paraplegia’, which debilitates the protagonist’s (Hrithik Roshan’s) character, Ethan Mascarenhas, who is a renowned magician. Ethan has to endure an absolute paralysis of the lower part of his body, which includes his legs, as a result of severe damage to his spinal cord during one of his magical renditions. Ethan, who loses the determination to live contentedly due to this disorder, is nursed back to vivaciousness and optimism by his nurse named Sophia (Aishwarya Rai).

It is quite evident that Bhansali has devoted every ounce of devotion in his mind to create this intelligent and touching film, which is bereft of the glitziness and lavishness of the architecture of his previous films such as Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. But the paucity of glossiness and richness in the sets in this latest venture is compensated by the heartbreaking yet inspirational progression of the film, which is revealed via a sequence of flashbacks.

The film, positioned in Goa, depicts Ethan, in his handicapped condition, hosting a program on ‘Radio Zindagi’, a FM station. Ethan’s program has an uplifting tone, which illustrates the wonderfulness of hope, positivity and brightness in individual lives, and that such messages emanate from Ethan make them all the more important and elevating as Ethan has been victimized by a spinal debilitation for the last 14 years of his life.

The film deals with the issue of euthanasia as Ethan yearns to terminate his existence with his self-respect intact, for which he launches a plea for mercy killing in the court. Only a director, with significant knowledge of human emotions, could have tackled as complex and divisive a subject as euthanasia. Some of the scenes in the film that are outstanding and that are the generators of tears are the moments in the courthouse mixed with Sophia’s outpouring of emotions in the end, the magical mishap that nearly slaughters Ethan but leaves him paralyzed and the finale. Sophia and Ethan admire each other, with their unvoiced love exhibiting sophistication and decency that is reminiscent of an earlier era.

The film has a sizable number of English dialogues, which may position impediments in the path of this film, preventing it from becoming a comprehensively embraced film. Nevertheless, it is worthy of appreciation for several reasons, one of which is the soulful and lilting music of the film, created by Bhansali, which displays his dedication towards this project. ‘Udi’ and ‘Sau Gram Zindagi’ are two songs that will gradually seep into the viewers’ minds and become a part of it due to their musical excellence and poetic personality. The dialogues of Bhavani Iyer and Vibhu Puri befriend your heart and make you feel like taking a stand on mercy killing. The cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee is breathtaking, with spectacular images of Goa and visuals that will fascinate the thinking viewers.

Sophia and Ethan, completely devoid of glamorousness and showiness, with Ethan in a thick beard, make the film realistic and associate the viewers’ hearts with them. There is a colossal degree of respectability and self-respect attached to their characters by Aishwarya and Hrithik. Hrithik needs to be lauded for courageously embracing this character, which can be quite risky, as the audience is used to seeing Hindi heroes in a handsomer and dashing condition, who magnetize female attention better than a magnetic substance. He has bequeathed grace and poise to Ethan with a splendid enactment of Ethan’s joyfulness, naughtiness, lugubriousness and hopefulness. Sophia’s character has been enacted awesomely by Aishwarya with oodles of gracefulness and classy sensuousness that never becomes uncouth. Aditya Roy Kapoor, as the aspirant magician named Omar, is likable, while Nafisa Ali, as Hrithik’s Mom, who endorses his yearning for euthanasia, is poignant.

Guzaarish is, on the whole, an excellent creation that is unlike other crass Hindi films, with its likability undeniably enhanced by the sophisticated chemistry between Sophia and Ethan. Bhansali has engendered a film that talks about human emotions and tribulations and how one must try to live and die with one’s self-esteem intact. It can be watched. For sure!

Aishwarya Rai down with high fever

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is down with high fever ahead of the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 'Guzaarish'. As a result, she could not accompanied the cast of the movie to promote the film.

"Aishwarya is not travelling to Delhi. She is down with fever. She has had a hectic week of promotions," her spokesperson informs.

She had two back to back releases in the past, ‘Robot’ and ‘Action Replayy’, following such a hectic schedule her health broke down. Due to the film promotions, she was traveling to Dubai, London, Mumbai, Kolkata. Excessive tours and work loads took a toll on her health.

In ‘Guzaarish’, she plays a nurse named Sofia to paralytic patient Hrithik Roshan.The film is slated for Friday release.