First quarter of the year may have been largely disappointing for Bollywood, what with only one biggie (Race 2) managing to touch the 100 crore mark. Yes, Kai Po Che!, ABCD and Jolly LLB did well to compensate for some damage at the least and the second quarter too has started well with Chashme Baddoor, another mid-budget film, faring well. Still, one looked forward to at least a couple of more films entering the 100 crore club.
This could well become possible soon, what with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani giving ample signals of turning into a 100 crore success for all involved. Incidentally, this would also mean second 100 crore success in a row for Deepika Padukone (Race 2) and Ranbir Kapoor (Barfi! ). hough one still waits to hear the entire soundtrack of the film, if 'Badtameez Dil' and 'Balam Pichkaari' are any indications, the youth has already been won over. Pritam, who was the man behind music of Race 2, Barfi as well as Deepika's biggest musical success till date, Cocktail, appears to be in a rock solid form and could well be the man who would give second time director Ayan Mukerji much reason to enjoy.
Moreover, the Karan Johar brand factor coupled with the star quotient as well as some aggressive promotion by music company T-Series is expected to fetch eye balls by millions. As for the film's entry into the 100 crore club, it is largely believed that if an offbeat Barfi! can do the trick then Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani can well cover an extra distance.Moreover, from now till the middle of the year, at least two more biggies are coming with the potential of crossing the 100 crore mark. These are Shootout At Wadala and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2. Incidentally, Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor's Shootout at Wadala is a prequel while Sangeeth Sivan's Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 is a sequel. It isn't just the recollection factor that would help the two films.
The very fact that these are true multi starrers, promise good entertainment and are supported by heavy marketing and promotional machinery is keeping the audience, industry and trade hopeful. Other films that are being targeted at youth and are expected to do some real good business, regardless of whether the 100 crore mark is reached or not, are Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj's Ek Thi Daayan, Bhatts' Aashiqui 2, Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan and Sunil Lulla's Go Goa Gone and UTV-Rajkumar Gupta's Ghanchakkar. Their promos are out and if pre-release response is anything to by, each of these diverse genre films should go on to add 'green' to the Bollywood report card.
Also, let's not forget that amongst the aforementioned films expected to do well, two star, Emraan Hashmi and one features Saif Ali Khan. Rest assured, second quarter of the year is expected to be much better, both in content as well as audience acceptance. Moreover, with Akshay Kumar (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2), Shah Rukh Khan (Chennai Express), Aamir Khan (Dhoom 3) and Hrithik Roshan (Krrish 3) yet to open their campaign, one can confidently state that Bollywood would have a collective call of 'all is well' before curtains fall down on 2013.