Friday, May 2, 2008
Humko Ishq ne maara
Mohabbatein
Mujhse Dosti Karoge
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai
Bunty aur Babli
Neel & Nikki
Salaam Namaste
Ta Ra Rum Pum
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Laga Chunari mai daag
Aaja Nachle
Tashan
Mohabbatein
Mujhse Dosti Karoge
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai
Bunty aur Babli
Neel & Nikki
Salaam Namaste
Ta Ra Rum Pum
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Laga Chunari mai daag
Aaja Nachle
Tashan
Can’t believe these mindless capers have come from the Illustrious Yash Raj Banner.
Last two years have seen the erstwhile classic movie maker turning into a warehouse of senseless Cinema.
The Yash Raj banner has always been associated with quality and class. Good scripts, amazing lyrics and characters that stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
We still remember Vijay’s angst in Deewar and Chandni’s ethereal beauty. People are still mesmerized by Simran’s innocence and feel nostalgic about Kabhi Kabhie’s lyrics.
Their movies have always entertained both – the masses as well as classes.
However, lately, in the name of experimentation, we are being fed on stupid cinema and lunatic story lines. Just WHAT got into Aditya’s head while making Jhoom Barabar Jhoom??
In this industry, your reputation is only as good as your last film.
People have been a little easy on the banner as they have had a proven track record. However, this won’t last long given the casual attitude that the makers have shown recently.
Most production houses these days put in a lot of money on packaging their product. Why can’t they understand that no amount of gloss, glamour and skimpily clad actresses can save them from doom IF the underlying product is hollow and worthless?
Yes, it’s not that difficult to breakeven in these times of multiplex cinema and popcorn crowd. But then, are we here only to churn out one forgettable movie after another? Or is the purpose to make truly entertaining and memorable movies?
The last Yash Raj movie that entertained me was Chak De. Reasons I can think of are - a mix of good story, strong performances and believable characters. Yes, all old fashioned tricks! Yet it worked.
It’s high time the House pulls up its socks and gets involved with damage control. Else Yash Raj shall soon lose its Raj over Bollywood.
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10 comments:
Whatt??? you didnt like tashan??? its an awesome movie yaar, really liked it ...even from the list u gave liked these movies --
Mohabbatein
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai
Bunty aur Babli
Salaam Namaste
Ta Ra Rum Pum
I am pretty sure you haven't even watched all the movies that you have listed in the post and termed as mindless capers..
Anyway, I agree that the standard of movies coming from Yash Raj Films stable has gone down in recent years.
But you also need to acknowledge the fact that most of these movies have worked v well in the Box Office...They surely know a thing or two about the pulses of the audience in general..Yes, the last few movies have bombed but just a year ago, they were considered to have the Midas touch.
As far as the list of movies of YashRaj listed here goes...
Notable Exclusions :
Fanaa - Total waste of, arguably, the most talented actor and actress in Bollywood and a very disappointing movie!
Dhoom Series - All style and no substance at all!
Surprising Inclusions :
Mohabbatein
Bunty aur Babli
I agree that Yash Raj banner has been associated with quality and class. But then Yash Chopra use to direct all his movies.
Today neither Yash nor his son Aditya are keen on directing movies but are following a different business model unheard of in Indian Film industry. They are giving oppurtunities to young and talented people to showcase their talent through their banner.
Not long back Yash Raj banner was criticised for being repetitive and for making movies only about "beautiful rich people"
catering to the NRI audience.
Ofcourse not all experiments succeed. And they will produce some mindless flicks but then I think this is a welcome change
from the NRI love stories that we were bombarded with as we got to see some good movies like Bunty aur Babli, Ta Ram Pam and Fanaa from Yash Raj Films.
Chak De India, a product of Yash Raj's studio, was a very successful experiment which I could not have expected from Yash Chopra, a few years back.
I hope a few failures do not deter Yash Raj Films from experimenting with new ideas.
@india unbound –
Its good that Yashraj is giving opportunity to new people. However, if it comes at the cost of quality, then I don’t think its worth it.
Btw… I guess it was RGV who started with the trend of showcasing new talent under his banner.
Moreover, most of these stories have revolved around NRIs (JBJ, Ta ra rum.., Aaja Nachle, Neel n Nikki, etc) so, what’s the big difference anyway?
NRIs or Romantic Plots…If the content is worth while…the movie shall work.
@BS
I Agree.. Dhoom series was a very well packaged but hollow product.
Fanaa was a notch above the movies I mentioned. The movie atleast had a premise !
Afa Box office hits go… Most of these movies didn’t win popular awards…baring Mohabbatein I guess… Again, that very award was debatable afa I am concerned :-)
@Shyam
Knowing You, I think the tashan review is a hoax. You want people to watch the movie and bear all the torture that you must have on watching the movie :-)
From the list I mentioned, I liked Ta Ra and Aaja Nachle…However, these definitely do NOT fall into the most memorable or the best category whatsoever... They could have been made a LOT better than what they finally turned out to be.
@All Talk and No Action
Yes, RGV started it and now his "factory" is on the verge of closing as he did not give much importance to the masses. It is better to tread a middle path. Be different but dont be so radical that daana paani hi band ho jaaye.
The stories might revolve around NRIs but atleast they are different. You cannot club Tara Rum Pum with NRI love stories. The film had a very good social message. And I know a lot of feminists loved Salaam Namaste :-D. And the NRI movie makers made a very good Bunty Aur Babli about aspirations of small townies. And Wat abt Chak De ? I think this movie is enough prayaschit for 10 lousy movies.
I did not like Dhoom series but the masses loved it.
As you said, If the content is worth while the movie shall work and the box office results of most of his movies have been good. And there always would be exceptions.
One Chak De does not warrant 10 lousy movies. This is what I spoke about in my post. Is the purpose mass production or making quality movies?
Again, most of the mentioned movies cannot be called box office hits. They barely managed to cover their costs.
Erstwhile Yashraj movies made place in our “classics” collection. I for one, will not spend a dime on any of the movie mentioned.
One Chak De does not warrant 10 lousy movies.
The reason I said that because no one had attempted to make a movie like that in Bollywood. It was a gutsy movie and a breath of fresh air. It needed a relatively new director/script writer with a fresh perspective and not Yash Chopra who would have probably included one or two songs picturised in Switzerland. But as a producer, he gets full marks.
Is the purpose mass production or making quality movies?
As I said, quality will take some hit in a few cases. However, quality is not the end purpose. The purpose is to make money. As Milton Friedman said, "The social responsibility of business is to maximise its profits."
Again, most of the mentioned movies cannot be called box office hits. They barely managed to cover their costs.
Check this list of top grossers since 2000. It has a few Yashraj productions and check top 4 and you will get the connection between quality and box-office.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=127&catName=MjAwMC0yMDA5
I for one, will not spend a dime on any of the movie mentioned.
Probably neither would I on most of Yashraj movies. But I am sure a few milestones would come from this new strategy of Yashraj. Change was never easy.
Yash raj is a BIG NAME wht comes to Bollywood..Yes these people are playing a dicey game or to be precise a DART game....Many options to hit at ..Laga to laga..It is like SLOG OVERS in Cricket...just like that You either hit out or get out...Some will be successful but the others will go in Vain...Cant understand why Yash Raj has to do this..??
I came across this article and thought of sharing it here. The author of this article has echoed similar views as in this post.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/311465.html
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