Powered by the hat-trick of Hindi film hits — Gadar 2, OMG 2 and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani — alongside Rajinikanth's new Tamil blockbuster Jailer and the Telugu film Bhola Shankar, the August 11-13 weekend corralled nationwide collections worth Rs 290 crore.
The Producers Guild of India has declared this staggering number to be a “new all-time theatrical box-office record” in the nation’s cinematic history!
At this time last year, however, many people were blithely writing Bollywood’s obituary. After the debilitating Covid-19 pandemic slump, the new wave of Hindi releases were just not being able to pivot watch-from-home audiences away from TV and OTT and towards the cinema houses.
Simultaneously, a veritable tsunami of South Indian films took the Hindi heartland by storm. Blockbusters like KGF 2 (which became the highest grossing film of 2022 in Hindi), RRR, Pushpa, Kartikeya 2, and Kantara signalled a tectonic shift from the Bollywood-centric belief that regional films cannot achieve pan-Indian success.
Naysayers started prognosticating Hindi cinema’s doom. A few successes couldn’t paper over the cracks created by a series of big-ticket flops in 2022 headlined by major stars like Aamir Khan (Laal Singh Chaddha), Akshay Kumar (Prithviraj Chauhan, Raksha Bandhan), Ranveer Singh (Jayeshbhai Jordar, Cirkus), Hrithik Roshan (Vikram Vedha), and Tiger Shroff (Heropanti 2). These setbacks rattled people’s confidence in B-town.
The tide turned in 2023 with the through-the-roof success of Pathaan. But, Bollywood’s return to form has been conclusively confirmed this August thanks to three back-to-back hit films with Gadar 2 in the vanguard. We can now boast of two blockbusters eight months into the year. From being a write-off, Hindi cinema is now considered right-on! It has made a thumping comeback.
What fuelled the success of Gadar 2
While the film was expected to open well because the Gadar brand had an inbuilt audience and due to the film’s patriotic fervour, the sheer scale of its success has astonished many.
Producer Pravesh Sippy of N N Sippy Productions posits that what worked for Gadar 2 was its connection with the grassroots. He points out, “Indian filmmakers had diverted their storytelling focus towards NRIs and the multiplex crowd, while neglecting the core Indian audience’s cravings for authentic, relatable narratives. We Indians thrive on family emotions. Gadar 2, Baahubali, and RRR are Indian at heart and are more successful than the unidentifiable stories and treatments that are repeatedly churned out by the younger ‘hip’ generation.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Sajid Samji, writer-director of Houseful 3. “Our actors chase after the ‘in’ thing but this myth needed to be broken. Not all young directors are enterprising. Filmmaking is primarily the art of storytelling, not technique. Gadar 2 is not a great film technically but it is running because of its emotional content,” he shares.
Gadar 2 vindicates experience in filmmaking, which can’t be side-lined for youth. “Director Anil Sharma (who has been making films for 40 years) was not doing great recently, but he has hit a sixer with Gadar 2. Similarly, after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Scam 1992, the youth want to work with Aneez Bazmee and Hansal Mehta despite their age because of their wealth of experience,” he adds.
Star equations and thematic trends Not just veteran filmmakers, senior actors too have proved to be the heaviest hitters at the box office. After Shah Rukh Khan scored big with Pathaan, Sunny Deol is the second major comeback of 2023. Sunny shoulders Gadar 2 with his emotional intensity and lung power, and at 65 he is the oldest Hindi film star to headline a blockbuster. It is 40 years since he made his debut as a hero in Betaab (1983). For years, the star’s career looked like it was running out of steam but he has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes.
Sequels are now the biggest story, and it has been proved that nostalgia for a beloved blockbuster can extend even 22 years later as in Gadar’s case (or 36 years as with Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick). It won’t surprise me if Sooraj Barjatya brings a sequel to Hum Aapke Hain Koun? next.
"Gadar was released in Maratha Mandir in 2001 and I remember people loved the film and even threw coins on the screen. Now the same dhamal is happening with Gadar 2... People are coming on the stage in front of the screen and dancing. Sunny Deol came to watch the film with the audience at Gaiety-Galaxy. Sunny has done kamaal in the film. I sent him a message saying. ‘Do more films. You still have many overs to play.’ Bollywood was in a bad state before Pathaan’s success, and continued in a bad state even after. Ab Gadar 2 sone pe suhaga ho gaya. OMG 2 has picked up too and now I am praying that Jawaan repeats the success of Pathaan." — Manoj Desai, Executive Director, Gaiety Galaxy & Maratha Mandir cinema theatres
