- Mammootty had a good year in 2007. His performances in Kaiyoppu, Ore Kadal and Katha Parayumbol were appreciated. Mayaavi made money. Big B and Nazrani were safe. Katha Parayumbol is expected to break even. However, the highly anticipated Mission 90 Days turned out to be a dud at the box office.
- Mohanlal had a good start with Chotta Mumbai making the moolah and Hallo making it even bigger at the BO window. But, things took an ugly turn later with Alibhai, Rock n Roll and Flash biting the dust. The much touted Paradeshi also did not turn out to be favorable for the talented actor.
- Suresh Gopi picked and chose the worst movies for him to appear. He received a lot of flak for his movies like Time, Black Cat and Kichamani MBA. Detective and Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri did well for him
- Dilip also did not have things working in his favor. He had a superhit in Vinodayaathra but Sathyan Anthicaud and Meera Jasmine walked away with all the credit. Inspector Garud did average business. But, he was blamed for the failure of Speed Track, July 4 and Romeo.
- Jayaram is simply NOT APPLICABLE these days. He delivered duds like Sooryan and Anchil Oraal Arjunan.
- Prithviraaj entered the big league with the huge success of Chocolate. Kangaroo released during X'mas is doing average business. He too had his share of non starters in Veeralipattu and Khakhi.
- Sreenivasan was the toast of the year. A compelling performance in Thakarachenda fetched him a State special jury award. Arabikkatha and Katha Parayumbol were completely his babies. The actor is going to have a good round at all major award functions this year.
- Meera Jasmine raised the bar of acting a few notches higher with her inspired performance in Ore Kadal. Vinodayaathra gave her the much needed commercial success.
- Kaavya Madhavan put in a good performance in Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri which along with Inspector Garud proved her acceptability as a saleable actress. Athishayan was a non starter but Kangaroo is doing quite well.
- Roma is basking in the glory of the stupendous success of Chocolate. Her non starter July 4 is almost out of public memory.
- Vimala Raman was the actress who was noticed the most among new comers. However, she had a string of flops like Pranayakaalam, Sooryan, Romeo and Time. Nazraani managed to scrape through.
- The directors of the year are Shafi (Mayaavi and Chocolate), Lal Jose (Arabikkatha) and Shyamaprasad (Ore Kadal).
- Master director Adoor Gopalakrishnan offered "Naalu Pennungal" which is doing the festival rounds. The movie will fetch quite a few awards and Padmapriya might stand to benefit from it. Naalu Pennungal shares the credit for the most discussed movie of the year with Ore Kadal.
- P T Kunjumohammed gave us Paradeshi. The film was appreciated for the subject it dealt with and Mohanlal's performance, but did not rise to the expectations in general.
- The superstars continued their dominance over the industry but the younger lot of actors are slowly making their presence felt. The female actors are not getting good opportunities in films these days except say, a Meera Jasmine. 2008 is not going to be any different from the looks of it. Some of the major attractions of 2008 are- Roudram (Renji Panicker- Mammootty), Pazhassiraja (Hariharan- MT- Mammootty), Sathyan Anthicaud's untitled venture (Mohanlal, Murali, Rahman, Mukesh, Meera Jasmine, Khushboo, Mohini, Seetha Parthiban), Kolkata News (Blessy- Dileep- Meera Jasmine), Sound of Boots (Pyramid Saimira- Shaji Kailas- Suresh Gopi starrer carrying good pre release reports) and finally the big one- Twenty- Twenty (Produced by Amma and starring the entire industry)
Tamil
It was a comparatively good year for Tamizh Cinema considering the fact that almost all major stars with the exception of Kamal Hassan made their presence felt in the industry. Young talent is being encouraged like never before and youngsters have never had it so good in the Tamizh film industry. Favorable winds of change all over and a generally upbeat atmosphere should work in favor of Tamizh cinema in 2008 too:
The highlights were:
- Rajnikanth's Sivaji, Vijay's Pokkiri and Ajith's Billa were the biggest grossers of the year and expectedly so.
- The surprise winners were Mozhi (Prithivraaj- Prakash Raaj- Jothika), Paruthiveeran (Karthi- Priyamani), Chennai 600028 (a host of newcomers) and Pollathavan (Dhanush, Kuthu Ramya)
- Rajanikanth delivered the biggest hit of them all in Sivaji. Kamal Hassan was busy with the post production work of Dashavatharam and did not have a release this year. Vijay hit gold at the BO with Pokkiri but Azhagiya Tamizh Magan was a turkey. After a disappointing start with Aalvaar and Kireedom, Ajith delivered a big hit in Billa towards the end of the year. Prashanth is out of circulation. Vikram did not have a release. "Arya" was a saving grace for Madhavan at the BO but he pleased critics and masses alike with Evano Oruvan. Surya had a mixed bag- Jillunnu oru Kaadhal met with cold response while Vel was lapped up by the audience. Jeeva's Pori and Rameshwaram did not do well. But, Kathruthu Thamizh wowed the critics. Jeevan was good in Naan Avan Illai but his Machakkaran was a damp squib. Jeyam Ravi's Deepavali met with a thunderous response. Arya had "Oram Po" that did average business. Vishaal's Thamarabharani and Malaikottai did well. Sibiraaj entertained with Lee. Arjun had a good year with Maruthumalai and Vaadhyaar. Vijayakanth and Sarathkumar were more interested in politics than movies. Sarath's performance in Pachaikkili Muthucharam earned a lot of praise. However, the actor of the year definitely was Sathyaraaj with his sensitive and sincere portrayals in Onpathu Roobai Nottu and Periyaar.
- Shriya Saran emerged as the big thing in Kollywood with Sivaji. Asin had Pokkiri and Vel to boot but the actress is looking beyond the Vindhyaas these days. Nayanthara wowed the front benchers in Billa. Namitha's stocks went crashing down. Priyamani is back in circulation with Paruthiveeran and Malaikottai. Sneha had Naan Avan Illai. Trisha's hopes were pinned on Kireedom which did no good the actress. Bhavana had a good run with Deepavali and Arya. Gopika had Veerappu to feel proud of. Archana made a comeback with Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram and Onpathu Roobai Nottu. Jothika had a befitting swan song in Mozhi and Pachaikkili Muthucharam. The actress of the year, apparently, is Bharathi who made a strong debut with Parthiban's Ammuvagiya Naan.
- 2008 looks extremely promising for Kollywood. Rajanikanth's animated film "Sulthan", Kamalhassan- Asin- Jayaprada- Mallika Sherawat starrer "Dashavatharam", Vijay- Trisha starrer "Kuruvi", Vikram- Trisha starrer "Bheema", Vikram- Shriya Saran starrer "Kanthasaamy", Vishaal- Nayanthara starrer "Sathyam", Dhanush- Nayanthaara starrer "Yaaradi Nee Mohini", Prithviraaj- Prakash Raaj- Gopika starrer "Vellithirai", Jeyam Ravi- Jayaram- Kangana Ranaut starrer "Dhaam Dhoom", Surya- Sameera Reddy starrer "Vaaranam Aayiram", Madhavan- Bhavana starrer "Vaazhthukkal", Jayaraj's Navya Nair starrer "Sila Nerangalil"- the list is impressive and includes commercial potboilers as well as films that are likely to be lapped up by critics. To add to all this, Manirathnam is contemplating a film with Prithviraaj in the lead and there are chances of more of such impressive projects to be announced later. 2008 should be a good one for Kollywood as well.
Hindi
Welcome to the Big Bad world of Bollywood which did not have a good year in comparison to 2006. The certified hits of the year are Om Shanti Om, Partner, Hey Baby, Chak De India, Taare Zameen Par, Welcome, Namastey London, Bhool Bhulaiyya, Guru and Jab We Met. There were more misses though. Sample this- Salaam- e- Ishq, Ekalavya, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Aaja Nachle, Laaga Chunri Mein Daag, Saawariya and the biggest of them all- Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag.
Shah Rukh Khan emerged victorious with 2 massive hits- Chak de India which was critically acclaimed as well and the biggest hit of them all- Om Shanti Om. Akshay Kumar had a dream run with all of his releases striking gold at the BO. Salman and Govinda had partner, AB's baby had Guru and was luckier than his father whose films bombed one after the other with the exception of a delightful Cheeni Kum. Aamir Khan gave us a refreshing Taare Zameen Par. Shahid Kapoor matured as an actor with Jab we Met.
The year saw Kareena Kapoor making a strong comeback with a riveting performance in Jab We Met. Her item number "Its rocking" rocked the whole country. Deepika Padukone was the discovery of the year. Lara Dutta found star status with Partner. Rani Mukherji and Preity Zinta were washouts. Madhuri Dixit Nene's much touted come back came a cropper at the BO. Shilpa Shetty impressed one and all with Life in a Metro. Konkona Sen Sharma found her footing in the commercial Hindi cinema and her performances were rocking in all three releases this year. Kangana Ranaut was not in news. Aishwarya Rai was good in Guru. Bipasha Basu could not score a goal at the BO. Priyanka Chopra was eluded by the BO window. Vidya Balan smiled through the year with 3 out of her 5 releases being certified as hits. Tabu wowed critics and masses alike with her powerful performances in The Namesake and Cheeni Kum. Katrina Kaif smiled her way into the audience's hearts through Partner, Namastey London and Welcome.
2008 is not expected to be good for Bollywood. The year opens with the Raj Santhoshi directed Ajay Devgan- Vidya Balan starrer Halla bol and has biggies like Jodha Akbar (Hrithik- Aishwarya), Drona (Abhishek- Priyanka), Tashaan (Akshay Kumar, Kareena, Saif, Anil), Race ( Saif, Akshaye, Anil, Katrina, Bipasha, Sameera), Sarkaar Raj (The bachchans), Ugly Aur Pagly (Ranvir Shoerey- Mallika Sherawat), Kunal Kohli's untitled Yash Raj venture with Saif, Rani and Ameesha Patel, Aziz Mirza's Shahid Kapur- Vidya Balan starrer, Phir Golmaal (Ajay Devgan, Tusshar, Riteish, Arshad, Kareena, Celina), Priyadarshan's remake of Ishtam starring Akshaye Khanna, Genelia and Sobhana and the big one- Aamir- Asin- Jiah Khan starrer "Ghajini" the remake of the popular Tamil film with the same name. However, with Shah Rukh Khan staying away from the arc lights along with good friends Karan Johar and Farah Khan- 2008 is supposed to be gloomy.
Predictions can go wrong. In fact they can go haywire, like it happened with 2007. Let us hope things are good at the movies in 2008.
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