Great Flops
Good films always flop. No I don’t really believe that. But every now and then, when the trades trash a really likeable film and declare it a flop, frustration gives way to the pessimistic feeling that in India, good films won’t make money. Today the audience has diversified and so have distribution and exhibition platforms, so each film and producer has his/her own way of making money. In the past however, theatrical revenue was the primary way to recover investments. In that environment, some wonderful, mainstream films were made in India, and consequently written off as flops. Some started off low-key, and some were hyped beyond belief. Here, I’d like to look back at some of my personal favorites along the years, some that have achieved cult status among Indian movie fans. My exposure to regional Indian cinema is limited, so this by no means is a definitive list. Just a trip down memory lane, as I wipe the dust off some of my favorite mainstream DVDs sitting on my shelf, that only grew to be appreciated long after they were dismissed by audiences when they first released.
Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
Guru Dutt’s semi-autobiographical film took a pessimistic, dismissive look at the Indian film industry through the fall of a successful director who tries to deal with professional and personal failures. Often regarded as one of the finest films to ever come out of India, Kaagaz Ke Phool serves as a text book to many an Indian filmmaker. Be it V.K Murthy’s trendsetting camerawork (watch the picturization of the song, “Waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam”), Waheeda Rehman’s supreme performance, and S.D Burman’s timeless tunes, KKP sets the benchmark for aesthetics of Indian cinema. At the same time, many criticized Guru Dutt for being narcissistic, and perhaps that was the reason the audience did not really care for the film at that time. In my opinion, it’s the kind of film one can keep watching over and over again, and with every viewing, there is something knew for the keenly observant viewer to discover. If you can get past Johnny Walker’s corny comedic track and hamming from some of the supporting cast, this film is a treasure. The parts of the film that are consistent with Guru Dutt’s cinematic calibre are some of the finest you will ever see in movies.
Parinda (1989)
The first all-out Bollywood gangster film done right! And how well at that. This film barely needs any introduction. The ruling buddy-hero pair of Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor found themselves playing characters deeper than they had ever been faced with. The superb screenplay by Shivkumar Subramaniam, Vinod Chopra, and Imitaz Hussain brought raw and realistic dialog to mainstream Hindi cinema for a change. Although tendency to get preachy got the better of them when writing for the 2 lead stars, it’s their lines for Nana Patekar as Anna that stand out the most. While Nana was no stranger to cinema in 1989, Parinda marked his position as a powerhouse performer winning National and Filmfare awards for his work. The film is marvellously shot by Binod Pradhan in a sepiaesque tone, and superbly paced thanks to Renu Saluja’s exemplary editing. This is the classical technquiqe of story-building that budding editors should be learning from, instead of RGV’s powerpoint style music video cutting. The film is not perfect mind you, for commercial demands seemed to have forced Chopra to throw in a song that is downright stupid, and a few unwanted scenes of a screaming Jackie Shroff. A classic to be treasured nonetheless.
Iruvar (1997)
Iruvar is Mani Ratnam’s finest film - one that survived only a couple of weeks at the theaters. It is an epic film that chronicles the friendship of two visionary men with extraordinary destinies, and the degradation of that friendship due to assumption of power and clash of ideals. Basically, Ratnam tells the story of Tamil cinema and politics’ most significant personalities - M.G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi. Of course the names are altered to allow for more flexibility in taking cinematic liberties. It is a mainstream film that definitely demands a certain amount of willing suspension of disbelief, but the storytelling, the characters, and performances make it a film that remains etched in the viewers mind. Anandan is a struggling actor who befriends Tamizhchelvan, a struggling, politically inclined writer. In a growing film industry obsessed with heroic mythologicals, they form a successful team that soon catapults Anandan into super stardom. Mohanlal’s performance is towering as Anandan, the actor who believes he can use his stardom in cinema to help promote the ideals of the political party. Prakashraj won a national award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Tamizhchelvan, the writer with socialist ideals who believes Anandan is using politics to gain popularity in cinema. Aishwarya Rai in her debut film superbly (and for the only time in her career) plays Kalpana, the character inspired by Jayalalitha. The film also boasts of touching cameos by Tabu, Revathy, Gauthami, and Nasser. A.R. Rahman’s songs are composed in the characteristic style of Tamil film music from the 50s and 60s, perhaps his most underrated score. And never would you have seen the brilliance of Santosh Sivan’s eye as you would in this film. One fails to understand that in a state as politically inclined as Tamil Nadu, how a film like this went unnoticed. Sometimes I wonder if Mani sir was ahead of his time in making the film. Had he made it today, would it have found a better audience?
Agneepath (1990)
Mukul Anand for me has always been the most visionary director in mainstream Hindi cinema. He made gargantuan movies at a time during which technology of the kind we see today was still lacking in the Indian industry. Anand always thought big and made big! Though not a remake, Anand borrows from Scarface the way Mani Ratnam borrowed from The Godfather in Nayakan. In what is arguably Amitabh’s greatest role, the star immortalized the character of Vijay Dinanath Chavan with timeless dialogs written by Kader Khan. Mithun Chakraborty too marked one of his most famous characters in Hindi films with a stereotypical but hilarious portrayal of Krishnan Iyer M.A., narial paani wala. Agneepath is unapologetically filmi and full of style. It’s stupendously shot by Pravin Bhatt with spectacular production design by Sudhendu Roy. Originally Amitabh changed his voice for Vijay Chavan, making it hoarse and chilling. The move shockingly met with audience disapproval across the board. Mukul Anand then re-dubbed the film with Amitabh’s default baritone, but still, the box office showed no respite. The early 90’s were the time cable TV was spreading all over India, and films that were released on Friday would be shown on Saturday evenings by cable providers. Couple that with the degrading exhibition facilites all over India at the time, and it accounts for much of the theatrical failures of films in that time. Mind you Agneepath was the 4th highest grossing film of the year with a BO count of close to 4 crores. It was still declared a flop for one, the film was made on a gargantuan budget, and for a Bachchan film, the BO collections were way below expectations. Dharma Productions produced this classic. Karan Johar, you need to remaster this film, picture and sound, perhaps re-cut it, and re-release it.
Dil Se.. (1998)
Dil Se was perhaps the most hyped movie of its decade. Mani Ratnam had stormed the Hindi industry with back-to-back hits through the dubbed versions of Roja and Bombay. Everyone was willing to give an arm and a leg to work with him. Word got out that he was planning a Hindi film. When news broke that Shahrukh Khan had been attached, the industry and press went berserk. Dil Se also saw three of India’s most acclaimed filmmakers teaming up for the first time as Shekhar Kapur and Ramgopal Varma came onboard as executive producers. And then came the music. Oh boy the music! Rahman had created a new national anthem with Chaiyya Chaiyya. Dil Se was touted to break records. And then came the release. Packed houses and disappointed faces. It was bound to happen. The press universally panned the film. I remember after I watched it, I didn’t quite know how to react. I was shocked by the ending. I couldn’t make up my mind whether I liked the film or not. I couldn’t really figure out what the hell the film was about. But there was something there that kept me thinking about it. And after another viewing, I fell in love with the film. I still don’t know why I love it so much. Highlights are Santosh Sivan’s gorgeous cinematography, music, and Manisha Koirala’s terrific performance.
1942: A Love Story (1993)
This film was R.D. Burman’s last score, and he sure made it count. The music of 1942: A Love Story boasts of some of Pancham da’s most beautiful melodies, as he tried to emulate his father’s style rather than reinforcing his own. The music is so good, it overshadowed the film. Sad, because it really is a poignant story that is beautifully directed by Vinod Chopra. Set during India’s freedom struggle, it is a love story between the son of a local Anglophile politician and the daughter of a freedom fighter. Brilliant characters all-round and supreme performances by Manisha Koirala (what happened to this woman??), Jackie Shroff, and Anupam Kher make this film memorable. Vinod Chopra and Shivkumar Subramaniam got back together post Parinda for the screenplay along with a new, talented protege - Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also directed the songs of the film, all of which were beautifully picturized, of course with the exception of Anil Kapoors ridiculous act in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha. Nitin Desai’s elaborate production design and the ever so reliable Binod Pradhan’s camera make the film a visual treat. I could never quite figure out why this film bombed. It remains a puzzle till date.
Andaz Apna Apna (1994)
Who ever imagined that a film starring Aamir Khan and Salman Khan would flop? That too during a time when their very presence in a film guaranteed a hit. Rajkumar Santoshi put aside his penchant for intensity to make a slapstick, illogical comedy that would go down as an all-time cult favorite. The insane dialogs have become immortal. The music, a decent score, was a complete commercial failure due to its situational nature. It’s a film that you either immediately get hooked to, or just don’t get. Andaz Apna Apna is a story about 2 losers who set out to marry a rich woman. Through its journey, Santoshi pays homage to a series of great Hindi comedies, most notably Victoria No. 203 in the climax. The outlandish characters are unforgettable. Ramgopal Bajaj, Shyamgopal Bajaj (Teja), Crime Master Gogo. “Happy birdday rabbit!”; “Yeh Teja Teja kya hai?”; “Aankhen nikaalke gotiyan khelta hoon”; “Wicketkeeper nahin, goalkeeper”; “Kiske mama ki gun hai?”; “Haila Juhi Chawla!”; “Bread ka baadshah, omlette ka raja”….You know what I’m talking about.
Mera Naam Joker (1970)
The show must go on. Raj Kapoor’s motto was the point of this highly ambitious film in which he starred and directed. A touching story that recollects different phases in the life of a clown, Raj Kapoor weaves a self-indulgent but captivating story. From his youth in a boarding school, falling in love with his teacher, to his induction into the circus as a clown, Kapoor captures the various women in Raju’s life, bring them all-together in the end. The recent Tamil film Autograph reminded me a lot of this film as a man sets out to look at his past from a different point of view to bring them all back into his life to share his happiness. Mera Naam Joker introduced Rishi Kapoor, playing Raju in his youth in quite a sensational debut. A deeply flawed film, MNJ has sparks of sheer brilliance. One of the most memorable scenes is the one where Raju’s mother dies just minutes before he is about to go on-stage for an act. He doesn’t even have time to mourn or digest what has just happened. But the show must go on. He goes on stage and performs an act where the clown childishly calls out for his mother crying with fake tears spurting out. The audience in the circus may be in splits, but the one watching the movie will universally be in tears as we all know what is going on behind Kapoor’s mask. For me, it is one of the greatest, most moving scenes in all of cinema. Why did this film bomb? Another total mystery.
Lamhe (1991)
Many argue that the old Yash Chopra was always ahead of his times. A little too ahead. Dhool Ka Phool caused riots becuase of inter-religious romance, Silsila caused tons of controversy because of adulterous theme, and Lamhe because it showed a 40 something man falling in love with an 18 something girl. This is the film RGV should have watched before making Nishabd. Yash Chopra’s sensitivity for romance is at its peak in this beautiful film. It starts in Rajasthan where a young prince Virendra (Anil Kapoor) falls in love with an older Sridevi. The love is unrequited, and Sridevi and her husband die in an accident leaving behind a child who is adopted by a dynamic Waheeda Rehman. Virendra visits occassionally from London, but can never look at the child for it reminds him of the woman he once loved. Years later the child grows up to look just like her mother (this much masala is allowed for). First infatuated with Anil Kapoor, the girl slowly falls in love with him. Anil realizes the complications and Yash Chopra wonderfully plays with that dilemma as the focal point of the film. Superb music by Shiv Hari and hilarious comedy by Anupam Kher add to overall sensitive and enthralling experience of this film. The last film Yash Chopra made that did justice to his talent.
Khamoshi (1996)
Oh what I would give to get back the Sanjay Bhansali who made this film! I won’t get into bashing his subsequent eye-candy films because we do more than enough of that. Khamoshi is one of the most stunning directorial debuts in Indian film. It is a timeless piece with wonderful music that is so smoothly woven into the narrative. A true musical. Ironic because it focuses on a musically inclined girl and her relationship with her parents, both of whom are deaf and mute. Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas are heart-wrenching to say the least. Manisha too is quite wonderful, and one must appreciate Salman Khan for supporting a film like this with his star value in a role that sees him relegated to the background for the most part. It is the only Bhansali film that is shot true to the mood of its story and characters - Anil Mehta’s best and most unappreciated work. Some argue that the film is over the top. No doubt it is, but very well at that. Some argue that its too emotional. Guilty again. It sure is. But that is the strength of the movie. It is mainstream cinematic brilliance from a brilliant filmmaker. Bhansali may have made extravagant, opulent box office stunners with HDDCS, Devdas, and Black, but for me, they mean jack. Bhansali is the man who told a simple and moving story called Khamoshi. That simplicity and honesty is his strength. He’s made his share of money. Now it’s time for him to come home to the kind of cinema he started off making.
Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
While Dil Se..’s failure can be explained on many levels, Kannathil Muthamittal’s failure is puzzling. Ratnam crafts a sensitive story of a young high-spirited girl who sets out to find her real mother after being told that she was adopted. In doing so, Ratnam tackles the civil war in Sri Lanka and state of Sri Lankan refugees who escape to India, all through the eyes of a child. Many have both criticized and applauded it for being a very pro Tamil film. For me, it is a humanist film that does not take any political stance. How can a child’s point of view have a political stance? The film is one of Mani sir’s better works with genius camerawork by Ravi K Chandran. Rahman’s music is beautiful, though that too was suprisingly a commercial failure that lacked much marketing from the label. Ratnam puts so much effort into his songs to make them reflect his characters, that you are pulled to watch it repeatedly. After Amudha finds out she is adopted, Ratnam shows a song on a white-sand beach with the girl and her adopted mother bonding. But as he opens, he places a massive uprooted tree in the middle of shore to reflect the feeling of his protagonist. In another part of the song, he has her running through an abandoned boat. Similarly the same song is repeated after a gory battle scene that shows Amudha and her father (brilliantly played by Madhavan) by a picturesque Buddha statue in Sri Lanka searching for peace. Visually enthralling and sensitively directed, Kannathil Muthamittal won Ratnam a national award along with awards at various film festivals worldwide. It narrowly lost out to Devdas as the Indian entry for the Oscars that year. Though it doubt the film had any chance of making the final five, it sure as hell would have painted a better picture for us out there than Devdas did.
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Agree on everything except Khamoshi (too loud) Kannathil (too forced, unconvincing story) and Dil Se (More style than substance)
Vijay, An excellent compilation.
Iruvar and Kannathil..are my two favorite Mani Ratnam films and i have always been flummoxed at the cold reception they received.
This piece leaves me wondering about, the audience for which a film is made…is it the audience that the film finds because its content/style/narrative/tone/voice finds resonance, with a set of individuals? or is it something that is determined at the conceptual stage? Do we get “formula” films, because they are “designed” to appeal to a broad spectrum of the audience? Has Yashraj for instance, mastered that formula mix, in today’s day and age ? if yes, Then how would one explain the disaster called Ta ra rum bomb? Mediocre film-making ? Poor marketing? Bad timing or good ol’ luck ? i guess i am rambling…
But who is a films’s(or any other creative endeavor for that matter) audience ? And what should the film-maker know about his/her audience, while making the film, in a real world? To what extent does a film-maker compromise his vision, in his/her bid to reach out to a wider audience?
Vijay
DIL SE is a film I was excited about more than any other. I’m from North East India & the problems there is very close to my heart. I empathise with their struggle with Indian Govt.
And I have seen a lot of the problems there while growing up. So DIL SE when I saw it was very very disaapointing. It was sugar coated Star Centric film. The subject just seemed to be there as an excuse for all the artists involved to work together. The best part about the film was the guy who played the CID cop. I remembered him from DD days.
Kannathil Muthamittal. Great film. I had tears watching that film.
Andaaz Apna Apna - Greatest Indian Comedy of our times.
This is awesome! Vijay
Agree with you on all of them except a little on KM.
Vijay,
Let me be so bold as to add to this list a few of the recent movies which I thought were way above par but the box office didnt do them justice.
Lakshya- Farhan Akhtar’s second movie, a sensitively told story of love, war and of growing up.
Paheli- I don’t know why people made such a fuss about this movie being sent to the Oscars over Black! This movie was pure poetry.
Swades- Except for being too long (couple of needless songs) this was a daring story with, in my opinion, a brilliant understated performance from Shahrukh. He can act!
Eklavya- The best Hindi movie to come out this year, IMHO. Beautiful camerawork and dialogues, with master directorial touches throughout the film
Prashant…I don’t know if there is anything such as a set formula. If you see the films on that list, none of them were made with a conscious effort to follow a formula. Dil Se on some level may have been a commercial exercise. But these were always meant to be made as mainstream films. That’s how we make our movies…with music, with dance and so on. It’s part of our cinematic language. So I don’t think that aspect would translate necessarily into catering to an audience.
However, in my opinion a filmmaker has to know who he is talking to. The sensibility and cinematic language one employs is important. But beyond that, if you start tailoring a film for an audience, then you are not telling the story you want to tell, you are telling them the story they want to hear. Which is fine, as your movie may make some money and be forgotten after that. But the above films are remembered always because they had a personal voice. There were characters we met for the first time, we saw them do things others had not done and so on. That’s where great movies begin.
@dazedandconfused: The movies you have listed may have been slotted as theatrical flops. the reason I did not include them on this list was that at the end of the day, the producers did not burn their fingers with these films. Only a fool of a producer in the Indian market today will not know how to make his money back, given the different distribution outlets and insane money coming from music and satellite rights and so on. Not to mention the overseas BO.
I personally did not like Lakshya, Paheli, and Eklavya (I despised this one). I absolutely loved Swades! And Swades was not a flop. It was made on a 20 crore budget all of which was recovered in domestic and international theatrical run. UTV distributed it themselves. I’m sure they made profits via music and satelliete/DVD rights. Otherwise they would not have been involved with Jodha Akbar.
Aha….Awesome list there Vijay….Call this as different generation…i saw Mera naam Joker on VCR….this movie would never end…i was tired of Fast Forwarding it……Total Self-Indulgence.
Would like to add one more to your list…Silsila…
Recent movie watched : Jaanwar ( Shammi Kapoor one, Lal Chaddi Maidaan Khadi…woohoo)
Great list Vijay-babu… though I was never really a fan of Agneepath. Besides that an the south films (havent seen them) I completely agree.
The most shocking I’d have to say is Andaaz Apna Apna, the funniest movie made in Hindi since Angoor. Bigtime stars, hilarious plot, memorable scenes/characters/moments. Its 13 years later and my friends and I still quote from it.. “unka ek ek sawaal mere do do jawab…” or even the little little lines like “Badtameez, sofe par chhadti hai”… lol! Gonna watch it this weekend now!
I don’t know why people didn’t like Paheli. I loved it. Fine, I may be biased (my father was born/raised in Rajasthan), but come on. Black was a rip of a “Miracle Worker” while Paheli is an adaptation of one of our OWN, INDIAN authors short story (Vijaydan Detha). It was ethnic to the core - the setting, the characters, all belonged purely to India. It was a beautiful Indian fairytale, not a wannabe/rip off Hollywood film. That’s why I totally agreed with it being the choice to represent India on an international level.
I liked both Swades and Lakshya, thought they had good stories to tell and were well made. But they lacked the kind of entertainment value that would make them appeal to a wider section of the audience. In that respect I can’t say their box office performances were surprising or even disapointing.
Oh yeah OM, Silsila for sure! Classic film.. Yash Chopra at his best. Wish someone from YashRaj would make such films today…
Tonyji,
Fully agree with you on PAHELI and LAKSHYA. SWADES except for ARRahman’s Music and some sequences its was an OK movie.
Vijay,
Agneepath was great, I loved AB. Even Khuda Gawah was good except for over the top dialogues.
I liked MANGAL PANDEY too, wonder why people did not like it. Its a well made movie but the character himself was not heroic, he was just a sepoy and everyone expected him to win independence for India. People were ignorant about Mangal pandey and that probably did it to the movie. I overheard a guy saying to his GF/wife after the movie, I thought Mangal pandey was a king of some province not a sepoy. Also some people compalined that the movie was more about The Phirangi character than MAngal Pandey.
Andaz Apna Apna and Hera Pheri best comedies of recent times.
DIL SE was not a good movie..beleive me.. deep down Mani probably knows he went wrong with it. He wanted Kajol to do the part and when she refused, he changed the story for Manisha and screwed it big time.
There’s a lot of stuff wrong about Dil Se. It’s ridden with flaws. But for some inexplicable reason I still love the film. I can watch it again and again. Never get bored. Hence, on my list.
I would add DIL PE MAT LE YAAR in this list.
LAst FIlm Watched - HOLLYWOODLAND(3/10)
Hi,
Some people here mentioned Silsila and I can’t resist making a couple of points since I saw the movie recently.
No doubt the movie has great scenes, dialogues and performances from the main actors, but I must say that the first quarter part of the movie is quite shoddily shot. In an interview of Yash Chopra, he said that Shashi Kapoor had no dates to give him and he shot all his scenes in a couple of days or so. And boy, does it show! The dialogues seem as if they were written on the set, the repetitive scenes lack imagination and the screenplay is staccato to say the least.
Thankfully, I was patient enough to watch on, (reason-Sanjeev Kumar) and Yash Chopra redeemed himself in the rest of the movie.
On Silsila…Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor showering together…NO. I really don’t want to see that. No reason for that scene to be in there.
Vijay, I echo your thoughts on Dil Se… I know its totally flawed, it has its cliches and yet I love the film… I still say its one of SRK’s better performances… so intense…
Dazed, I loved the first quater (mind u, I like the whole film)… as Ive said many times, Shashi Kapoor’s character/performance in the film is so memorable that its one of the rare times you truly miss a character after their on screen death…
I personally love that scene when Amitabh/Shashi are drunk… “tune mera kagaz paadh diya tha!”… lol…
Vijay yaar dont be so homophobic.. they were brothers man… and it was a fun scene, kinda brings out that whole college male bonding… ok ok, I’ll stop right there…
College male bonding? Is that what happens in Indian colleges? Guys shower together to bond?
“Khamoshi (1996)
Oh what I would give to get back the Sanjay Bhansali who made this film!”" oh yes HELL yesssss!!!
SLB has a penchant for getting his song picturisations right or even a few notches higher than everything else.
who can forget ‘Bahon ke darmiyan…..’
shot (if i remmeber right) in a single take.. mebe it was 2 but awesome!!!!
lastfilmwatched: Walk on Water (8/10)
loopsong: Rozanaaaaaaa
Silsila to me had three parts to it First one was Shshi and Amit…Second one the complexities and third one the elopement…..
I enjoyed the first part because it was funny i was not expecting it to be so outright and the chemistry between the three was awesome….Second part blew me away….was Speechless….Third part was a bit too stretched…like Rekha and Amit landing at their friends place, etc etc….understand that Yash Chopra had to show the guilt…but could have dealt it some other way….
@ Vijay “Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor showering together
Vijay yaar, I take the “college male bonding” comment back… guess I dropped the soap on that one… I never showered with another guy at college… or anywhere else for that matter… what was I thinking?
I think I should stop working so hard… demaag kharab hogaya hai…
@ Tony Bhai =)) =)) =))
Vijay, great post!!!
Kannathil Muthamittal opened with a bang - one of the best films I had ever seen, but it lost something for me halfway through. But, I didn’t realize this was a flop, it should have been a hit for the acting and songs alone. I think this is a must see film for any film fan…
I am with you on Dil Se. I could go on and on about the flaws, but there is a charm to this film that appeals to me, and it isn’t just because it stars my beloved SRK…
Now, do a sister a favour and lend her some of the others on your list
for me the greatest flop has been Hazaaron khwaheishen aisi…..
but it wasnt marketed too…so cant complaint
@Tony, Paheli itself is a rip-off of Mani Kaul’s 1973 film “Duvidha”, the original adaptation of Vijaydan Detha’s novel of the same name. Way superior to Paheli by all means. Check it out.
Agree with Kaafir on Hazaron… that movie’s a class in itself. Hope someday it’ll get its due. Also, Waisa Bhi Hota Hai II> Had Goddard worked in Hindi, perhaps this would have substituted for Breathless. Okay mai ne zyada bol diye. But still.
I realy agree with ‘Hazaron Kwahishon Aisi’
It was really a film which deserves comment for the excpetional atttempt at capturing the mood of 70 s somethin which HIndi Films rarely explored. Also the way it tried to subtly put the overtones of a caste class conscious society was alo brilliant.I really watched it with great attention as it told me about by imaginary brothers of the lost decade!
Great list here. I would like to add Socha Naa Tha to this list. I think it was a sparkling debut of both Imtiaz Ali and Abhay Deol. And Ayesha Takia’s girl next door act was so refreshing.
With all due respect I think HKA was never meant to be a big hit film. My take on the discussion here is that it isn’t so much of whether or not it was a great film but moreso whether or not in deserved to be a bit hit and yet flopped at the box office. This is what I meant with my references to Swades and Lakshya (both films with obviously huge mainstream stars and yet they lacked universal/mass appeal).
In that respect, HKA doesn’t really belong tot he same category as an Andaaz Apna Apna or Parinda and the like. To me it will always be a mystery how those films were not blockbusters, especially considering how widely they are regarded as classics amongst the general audiences today.
Amborish: Yeah I know Paheli and Duvidha are both adaptations of, well, “Duvihda”. I haven’t seen the original film but I have heard that Amol Palekar’s version is quite different from the original film. Either way, calling Paheli a rip off is totally unfair considering it was a publicised adaptation.
1971 was a surprising flop,but then,the promotion sucked to the core.Then,another movie which never deserved to flop was Yuva.
@Anjali: Socha Na Tha for me was just an average film. The plot was lifted from the Tamil film Dum Dum Dum starring Madhavan and Jyothika which was produced by Mani Ratnam. Only the plot was taken. The setting and characters and even treatment was completely different. The original Tamil version is a brilliant romcom and was a huge success.
This list is for mainstream films. So given that, I would agree with Tony that HKA, as wonderful a film as it is, does not belong in this list.
Can’t comment on 1971 as I have only seen the first half. The DVD died on me after that. I hope to finish it this weekend. I really liked what I saw.
I wud add Jane bhi do yaaron and Kabhie Haan Kabhie Na in the list as well.First has become a classic though i think was a commercial flop at the time of release second though not be classic is extremely gud film with briliant music.
Vijay,
If you want to know the real reason behind why Iruvar flopped, then it should be this sentence in your post.
//Basically, Ratnam tells the story of Tamil cinema and politics
[admin note: comment partly troll capped. violates PFC's comment policy]
Come on get a reality check.
NO ONE RESPECTS THE NAME BOLLYWOOD.
CREATE YOUR OWN NAME FOR YOUR OWN INDUSTRY.
STOP CALLING IT BOLLYWOOD.
CALL IT “INDIAFILMS”
YOU ALL INDIAN FILMMAKERS ARE LOSERS IF YOU DON’T CHANGE THE NAME.