QnA: Best Bollywood movie between 2010 and 2014?

Q. What will be the opening of Singh Is Bling and will it beat the figures of Bang Bang which released on the same day last year? - Kritagya

A. National holiday doesn’t guarantee a good opening. May 1st was also a holiday in most parts of the country, but Gabbar Is Back collected Rs 13 crore on Day 1. Also, Nishikant Kamat’s Rocky Handsome releases on the same day, which will affect the business of Akshay Kumar’s Singh Is Bling. A lot would also depend on how well the trailer and music are received. We expect the opening to be in the same range as Gabbar Is Back and nowhere close to Bang Bang.

Q. Why can’t Bollywood make ‘Inception’ kind of movies? Do we lag behind in acting department or are we not having good directors to direct this kind of conceptual movies? – Puneet Jain

A. A film as genre-bending and complicated as ‘Inception’ might not actually work in India. Majority of the Indian audience, especially those in smaller towns, finds it difficult to understand layered films. Even a director like Rajkumar Hirani had to explain the concept of aliens coming from a different world in the simplest of ways (voice over by Anushka Sharma). The other problem is that, when it comes to Indian films, even the multiplex audience in metro cities prefer to watch light-hearted entertainers. Since the audience for such high-concept (i.e an unusual idea that drives the plot) is limited, they might as well watch Hollywood movies. Also, when it comes to concept films, the media and audience is quick to accuse filmmakers of plagiarism.. like was the case with films like PK (Oh My God) and Krrish (Hollywood superhero movies), conveniently forgetting that most ‘masala’ entertainers that we watch have zero originality.

Q. What will be the opening day collections of Bajrangi Bhaijaan? Will it cross Happy New Year? - Rejaul Korim

A. Happy New Year released a day after Diwali puja, which is the best day in the year for film business. On the other hand, Bajrangi Bhaijaan releases on a non-holiday during the Ramadan period. You can’t compare the opening day of the two films. The challenge will be to better the first day business of Kick (26.52 cr) and PK (26.63 cr). The highest non-holiday opening of Dhoom 3 (36.22 cr) is likely to be out of reach too.

Q. Last release of Shah Rukh Khan was a complete waste in terms of content. The kind of movies he had done in past few years are not matching with our expectations. Why is he not selecting a good content driven movies like Chak De India, My Name Is Khan. Just like Aamir Khan’s last movie PK? - Adarsh Pandey

A. Shahrukh is doing two films that are expected to be strong content-wise. Those are Maneesh Sharma’s Fan and Rahul Dholakia’s Raees. So do watch out for it.

Q. How is the trailer of Drishyam received? How good or bad is it looking? – Ayan

A. The response to the trailer is pretty good. More than a good opening, such films are likely to do well through word-of-mouth publicity. The original Drishyam is a simple film about a man who stands strongly by his family and helps them overcome extreme adversity. Mohanlal delivered a terrific performance and we can’t think of any other Bollywood actor apart from Ajay Devgn who can match up to Mohanlal or even better his performance.

Q. In the last 5 years from 2010 to 2014 which are the 5 Best Hindi Movies according to you? Please give the rankings from 1 to 5 it would be better for everyone. – Saksham Duggal

A. We don’t answer such questions in the QnA section because not only is it difficult to pick just 5 movies from 5 years, but such lists are very subjective. But since you insist on us answering the question, it would have to be Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, PK, Vicky Donor, Paan Singh Tomar and Queen – in no particular order. We request our readers to post their picks of the best 5 films between 2010 and 2014. Do note that 3 Idiots, a film that tops the list for many people, released in 2009 and hence shouldn’t be included. Go ahead and post your comments below.

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