After A Bad First Half Bollywood Eyes Second Half Of 2017 To Restore Credibility

In Part I of this series (Bollywood does better than 2016 in first half of 2017 - Is that good enough?) I spoke about Box Office fortunes were propelled primarily due to Baahubali 2 [Hindi] opening the 500 Crore Club. Beyond that while there were some successes, none was huge enough to go out of the park. As a matter of fact there were some big ticket failures. However, all eyes are now on the second half of the year to help restore credibility for the industry. There is a good mix of star power and content in the offering and that seems promising enough to keep the fore burning at the Box Office. Here is presenting the Part II.

The Big Five

Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn - Each of these Big Five would be seeing a film of his release this year. Aamir Khan has only a special appearance in Secret Superstar but that should be 'special' enough. Salman Khan is set to hit back big time with an out and out commercial entertainer Tiger Zinda Hai. Akshay Kumar has Toilet - Ek Prem Katha arriving amidst huge positivity. Shah Rukh Khan has Jab Harry Met Sejal lined up and the actor returns in an urban romcom that should keep the youth entertained. Ajay Devgn gets back into familiar set up with Rohit Shetty's Golmaal Again but before that he returns with his Kachche Dhaage and Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai director Milan Luthria with Baadshaho.

 Each of these films promises to be a good success with audiences truly waiting to check out what it has to offer. As a matter of fact one major star who would be missed in the second half of 2017 is Hrithik Roshan. He has already released Kaabil this year though.

 The young ones

If the Big Five should bring at least 700 crore more at the Box Office, there is a lot that depends on the younger generation as well. Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh, Sidharth Malhotra, Arjun Kapoor, Tiger Shroff - these are the boys on whom the industry is relying and putting its money for next 10-15 years at the least. They have not just promised but also delivered. Now they have to do it again before the year comes to a close.

Varun promises double the fun with Judwaa 2. Ranveer Singh has yet another magnum opus with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati. Sidharth Malhotra has a double bill set in the form of popcorn entertainer A Gentleman and murder mystery Ittefaq. Arjun Kapoor is all set to exclaim 'Mubaarakan' in a double role. As for Tiger Shroff, he is living and breathing Munna Michael. If each one of them delivers then at least 400 crore more are round the corner.

The ones who could surprise

These are the films which are waiting to surprise audience. Despite the fact that there was so much negativity around Jagga Jasoos, the makers have ensured that it doesn't go the Bombay Velvet way before release itself. The promo of the Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif starrer is charming and truly different. It is apparent that director Anurag Basu wanted a different world for his Jagga Jasoos and one just hopes that turns out to be a pleasant surprise.

Then Ayushmann Khurranna has a double bill in the form of Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan. His Meri Pyaari Bindu didn't work but no one carried any complaints against the actor. With Kriti Sanon and Bhumi Padnekar as his co-stars in the two films, he is expected to bring on smiles all over again. 

As for the veterans Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor, they are set to bring their 90 years of combined experience into play for 102 Not Out. Individually, they have been a force to reckon with and now that they are together, there is magic expected with Umesh Shukla's light hearted drama.

- Joginder Tuteja

To be continued [Watch out for this space as we bring to you Part III of this special feature and talk about how women power and content would have a major role to play in 2017]