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 It was a relatively quiet year for some of the icons of showbiz.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek spent most of the year shooting
Mani Ratnam’s Raavan in the wilderness. John, Bipasha, Preity and Shah
Rukh also had a quiet year. Saif Ali Khan made waves with Love Aaj Kal
and then vanished during the second part of the year. So who were the
most visible faces of the year?
Amitabh Bachchan: He took a large chunk of the year off to be with
his friend Amar Singh, faced a thundering failure in Aladn, but Amitabh
Bachchan bounced back in the year-end as the 12-going-on-80 prematurely
aged child-man Auro in Paa. Then there was his return to television
with Bigg Boss 3. Once again at year-end the question is not, how long
will Mr Bachchan continue to surprise us, but what will he do next?
Buzz is AB Corp Ltd back in booming business with Paa will be producing
a film that will star all the four star-Bachchans together for the
first time. In the meanwhile, Paa director Balki took off for the
mountains for a 10-day retreat to write yet another startling role for
Mr B. After courting Tabu and Progeria in Cheeni Kum and Paa, what
next? Balki knows best.
Ranbir Kapoor: So okay at year-end Ranbir’s most precious film and
the performance he was proudest of in Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year
failed to take off. Rocket aborted, lekin kya missile doon Ranbir ke
stardom ki? The guy proved unstoppable with two back-to-back hits both
with weird and kinky titles Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
and both featuring Ranbir in author-backed roles. The quota of
conviction and credibility combined with a star presence that we
thought went out of vogue with Rishi Kapoor, makes Ranbir the most
dependable star-actor of our times. He won’t bend to break the rules.
He will just do what he wants, regardless of repercussions. All through
the year he remained in the news for his breakups, linkups and what-not
though he swears he has no interest in being newsworthy.
Katrina Kaif: Ek Katrina thi, lakhon diwane the…could be the song
this wholesome, lissome, winsome win-all lass could sing to her
grandchildren. With 3 blockbusters, New York, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab
Kahani and De Dana Dan to her credit Katrina left the female
competitors far behind. At year-end she suffered a bout of ill health
but was on her feet soon enough. You can’t keep a lucky-charm down.
Pritam Chakraborty: Every year it’s the same story with the hot-hit
machine. Practically every chartbuster of 2009 was Pritam’s. No wonder
he can’t stop grinning from year to year. Pritam scored bull’s eye with
songs in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Tum Mile, De Dana Dan , New
York…The birth of a baby girl ensured that the goofy smile never left
Pritam’s face.
Akshay Kumar: He ran into some choppy weather during the earlier
part of 2009 when three of his purported blockbusters Chandni Chowk To
China, Tasveer and Kambhakkt Ishq under-performed. But the second-half
of the year with De Dana Dan and the singular honour of carrying the
Olympian torch proved to be the high points of Akshay’s year. He’s all
set for a year of big events ahead.
AR Rahman: He went off to get the Oscar for us. Came back to a
cluster of pending assignments and then is now off to get Grammy for
his Slumdog Millionaire. Not since Pandit Ravi Shankar has an Indian
musician made such a grand impact globally. It would be no exaggeration
to say that when it comes to our music Rahman is the global ‘band’
ambassador.
Salman Khan: With Wanted Salman proved that the old fashioned
larger-than-life hero still ruled the roost. Salman’s spate of
non-starters at the box office were quickly forgotten as he single
handedly revived the sagging fortunes of Boney Kapoor’s production
house. The film had no star value except Salman. As though to prove he
sells solo Salman’s home production Main Aur Mrs Khanna with the
hot-and-happening Kareena Kapoor tanked during Diwali.
Vishal Bharadwaj: While he lit up the pubs with Dan tan nan, his
latest stab at direction Kaminey got the nation’s critics swooning in
ecstacy. Yup, Vishal Bhardwaj clicked in both capacities as a music
composer and a filmmaker. On the home front Vishal’s wife Rekha made
headway as a playback singer of substance. This Bhardawaj sure has come
a long way.
Sampurn Media
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