BOLLYWOOD TAKES STOCK OF BOX OFFICE 2017 SO FAR

It’s a triumph of content, say industry observers, as the first six months reveal rich pickings

Bollywood is going through its ledger, as the first half of 2017 comes to a close. While films such as Jolly LLB 2, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Kaabil, Hindi Medium, and Phillauri hit the bull’s eye — or hit a spot quite close to it — at the box office, the first half belonged to the mega-hit epic, Baahubali 2 (`510 crore takings in India).

“The first half has been good for the industry, with Baahubali 2 topping the charts,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, adding that the top takeaway from H1 is that the films that “carry strong Indian ethos” have done very well, because the audiences could relate to them easily.

“It started with Dangal last December, and continued this year. This goes on to show that regardless of what we love and imitate [from] Hollywood films, pure Hindustani cinema will always resonate with desi audiences,” adds Adarsh.

Stating that H1 has been “incredible ”, exhibitordistributor Akshaye Rathi says, “Moneywise, the industry has been in the pink of health. The takeaway is that only content works, regardless of the star system. A Hindi Medium and Baahubali 2 became dark horses despite not having huge names.”

Baahubali 2, in fact, “came as a huge saviour”, believes trade expert Amod Mehra. “Its business was worth that of 10 hit Hindi films, so the theatre owners and distributors made money. But otherwise, Hindi films didn’t perform so well.”

Now, as Tubelight releases around Eid, there’s a lot riding on the Salman Khan film. Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Jab Harry Met Sejal, Golmaal Again, Padmavati and Tiger Zinda Hai are the highly anticipated films set to release in the second half of 2017. ■