The Hits and Misses of 2000
Jyothi Venkatesh says it was a tough year for Bollywood as a whole, though some new stars burst on the scene with a bang.
The year which just ended has been not only a fickle but also bad year for tinsel town as far as the box office is concerned. While no film other than Kaho Na Pyar Hai could establish supremacy, the only sleeper hit of the year was Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein, followed closely by Mission Kashmir. And though they were nowhere near Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Na Pyar Hai as far as the success- graph was concerned, Kundan Shah's Kya Kehna, Priyadarshan' s Hera Pheri, Dharmesh Darshan's Dhadkan and Mansoor Khan's Josh scraped through at the box office, bringing sun shine to some extent.
Towards the year end, a pall of gloom descended on the industry with the arrest of producer Nazim Rizvi, who was hauled up for having links with the underworld. His film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke starring Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta has been confiscated by the cops and the police reportedly are now investigating several other film producers. This, in turn, could spell finis to the entry of new comers into the field of production as it is now shrouded with extortion and threats from the underworld.
The year belonged to both Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan and to some extent Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan who proved net- savvy by venturing into launching a besides notching up a hit in Mohabbatein , though the year had begun on a negative note for Shahrukh when his maiden venture as a producer — Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani — turned turtle at the box office.
Abhishek Bachchan proved to be a slow starter with all his three films falling flat — Refugee with which he'd made his debut, Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa and Dhai Akshar Prem Ka. Amitabh Bachchan, however, bounced back to the top slot with both Mohabbatein and Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Kareena Kapoor and Amisha Patel were the two promising discoveries of 2000 with Refugee and Kaho Na Pyar Hai respectively. They gave sleepless nights to the Aishwarya and Karishma of the industry. Preeti Jhangiani and Shilpa Shetty's sister Shamita Shetty also proved their worth as actresses with their debut film Mohabbatein. Jimmy Shergil and Yash Chopra's son Uday Chopra made their presence felt in the same film. It marked Uday's debut. Jimmy had already appeared in both Maachis and Jahan Tum Le Chalo. The surprising packet of the year was Fardeen Khan, Firoz Khan's son who'd made his flop debut two years ago with Prem Aggan. He managed to resurrect his career with Ramgopal Verma's Jungle and is now in demand by makers who matter.
It was the year when Manoj Bajpai realised to his chagrin that he cannot hope to be a conventional hero, however hard he may try, with his films like Dil Pe Mat Lo Yaar and Ghaat failing to find takers at the box office.
The year proved to be poison and Good for Salman Khan. His Chal Mere Bhai and Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaye sank at the turnstiles. And Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jayee didn't even have a decent initial showing. To add to his woes, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke has run into problems with its alleged underworld nexus. And Jhamu Sugandh dropped him like a hot potato when he demanded both the overseas rights and the satellite rights for his latest film in which Salman was to star along with Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt. To his credit, Salman has two hit in 2000 - Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge.
Thanks to the Hrithik mania, Fiza with which journalist Khalid Mohammed made his debut as a director, got a terrific initial boost though it could sustain itself only in Mumbai after the initial euphoria. Inspite of the tax exemption, the crowds started dwindling after a couple of weeks because it was too grim a subject and Hrithik was not seen in the romantic avatar that he assumed in Kaho Na Pyar Hai.
Models Milind Soman and Rahul Dev made their debut with Tarkeib and Champion respectively. Though Tarkeib flopped, Champion has as of now managed to draw terrific crowds initially, since it is the sole film of Sunny to be released in 2000.
The year proved to be good for Akshay Kumar who clicked with Priyadarshan's Hera Pheri and also got engaged to Twinkle Khanna. Dhadkan also proved to be fruitful for him, though Khiladi 420 drew a blank at the box office.
The year proved to be a death knell for artistic films because a film like Mahesh Manjrekar's Astitva was rejected by the audience who clamoured for masala films though there is no guarantee for their success. The year saw major raids on most of the big stars including Aishwarya Rai, Urmila Matondkar, Amrish Puri and Ajay Devgan.
Among comedians, it was Johnny Lever who came out tops by becoming the mandatory staple item in almost every film including the serious Fiza. The year belonged to Ash (Josh, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke), Karishma Kapoor (Chal Mere Bhai, DHLJ and Fiza), Tabu (Asthitva, Dil Pe Mat Lo Yaar, Ghaat, Tarkeib) and Preity Zinta (Kya Kehna, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega and Mission Kashmir). The disasters were Hey Ram, Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Mela, Kunwara, Deewane, Hum To Mohabbat Karega, Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya, Shikari, Ghaath and Dil Pe Mat Lo Yaar.
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