10 great B'wood films that failed
By IANS
Apr 22, 2004, 14:24

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Mumbai, Apr 21 (IANS) Some Bollywood films have everything going for them - the best banners, talent, intentions and integrity. But still they fail.

Here's a list of 10 films that deserved the sky but were stomped and razed to the ground in the history of Hindi cinema:

a. "Teesri Kasam" (1966) - Director Basu Bhattacharya's first film was a masterpiece. Set in Purnea district of Bihar it was a gentle and elegiac parable about a bullock cart driver Raj Kapoor and a village dancer Waheeda Rehman.

Told mostly through the two brilliant actors' interactive encounters, the wordy film had great moments of insight into the bonds that bind the downtrodden. Award-winning performances by Kapoor and Rehman and a brilliant music score by Shankar-Jaikishan, striking cinematography by Satyajit Ray's cameraman Bimal Mitra, plus the authentic locales - the film was shot on location in Bihar - made this adaptation of eminent litterateur Phanishwarnath Renu's novel a tour de force.

And yet "Teesri Kasam" wiped out its producer, the lyricist Shailendra, while his songs in the film are hummed to this day.

b. "Kaagaz Ke Phool" (1959) - Apparently when poet Kaifi Azmi saw the film at its first trial he point blank told director Guru Dutt it would bomb. A treatise on celluloid defeatism, "Kaagaz Ke Phool" told the semi-autobiographical story of a director who falls in love with his protégé (Waheeda Rehman), loses his family and career and dies as a junior artiste on the sets of his discovery's film.

The autobiographical elements were so pronounced that the audience felt uncomfortable watching Guru Dutt achieve a creative catharsis on screen. In retrospect, "Kaagaz Ke Phool" became one of the biggest creative successes of the director's oeuvre. Today it is accepted as an epic in every sense. And the song "Waqt ne kiya kya" seems to epitomise the ephemeral glory of showbiz and life.

c. "Mera Naam Joker" (1968) - Are autobiographical films doomed? Raj Kapoor's three-part magnum opus, again containing perceptible elements of the self in the presentation, was declared a thundering flop after a massive opening.

In hindsight many see Raj Kapoor's "Mera Naam Joker" as his finest work ever. Going into the three crucial chapters of the protagonist's life, "Mera Naam Joker" constructed the most unusual spiral of sound and light ever. Perhaps the newness of the format really hit the audience hard. In hindsight it became one of the most viewed and discussed films.

d. "Bemisaal" (1982) - The Hrishikesh Mukherjee-Amitabh Bachchan combination came up with many winning films, including "Abhimaan" and this grossly neglected film, based on a Bengali novel about an orphan who dedicates his life and energy to looking after his guardian's son.

Amitabh Bachchan's performance conveyed that clenched conviction that makes him the biggest star of our times. Though "Bemisaal" was partially flawed, the Bachchan magic was in full flow.

e. "Shakti" (1982) - Another unsung Bachchan classic released during the same year as "Bemisaal", the father-son conflict has never been charted out with such enchanting lucidity in any film. Between Dilip Kumar as the self-righteous law-abiding father and Bachchan as the obdurate, rebellious son, there existed a chemistry that was never again visible in any Bachchan film.

Writers Salim-Javed and director Ramesh Sippy went beyond "Sholay" in search of a more intimate study of human relationships. The film was seen to be too taut for mass appeal.

f. "Namkeen" (1982) - Gulzar's most lyrical film somehow failed to find the audience that it deserved. Never mind. It's his favourite from his oeuvre, and mine. The Brechtian story of three sisters and their mother whose desolate existence in a scenic wilderness was shattered by a stranger in their midst was elevated to unparalleled excellence by the performances.

The film saw Sharmila Tagore in a role that Rekha walked out of, Shabana Azmi and Kiran Vairale as the other sisters and Waheeda Rehman as their senile mother. Sanjeev Kumar played the stranger. It all added up to a classic for all times. And who can forget Shabana singing "Phir se aiyo badra" in the misty mystique of Himachal Pradesh? Delicate and delicious.

g. "Khamoshi: The Musical" (1996) - Sanjay Leela Bhansali says the title was his tribute to one of his favourite films - Asit Sen's Waheeda Rehman-Rajesh Khanna starrer "Khamoshi". But Bhansali's film about a normal girl with normal desires trying to cope with the over-possessiveness of her deaf-and-mute father was an emotionally shattering experience. So emotionally depleting was the film that it was rejected outright across the country.

But no amount of rejection can take away the power and glory of Nana Patekar and Manisha Koirala's performances. As father and daughter they raged and protested each other's emotional tyranny. One of the most underrated films in the history of cinema.

h. "Hathyar" (1989) - Though J.P. Dutta is celebrated for his war trilogy, he made one of India's best gangster films. "Hathyar" is the earliest proof of what Sanjay Dutt could do when given a chance. As the innocent in Mumbai who gets sucked into the underworld he's vulnerable, tough and heartbreaking. Dharmendra and Rishi Kapoor were also exceptional and so was the films violence-begets-violence thesis.

i. "Lajja" (2001) - Raj Kumar Santoshi's film took feminist cinema into totally uncharted territory. Formatted as a picaresque journey, it presented a gallery of brave and unforgettable women, played by Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit, Rekha and Mahima Chowdhary, who represent various facets of middleclass womanhood.

j. "LOC" (2003)- The critics went at it with hammers and tongs. But what was "LOC" guilty of, apart from recreating the Kargil war realistically? The war footage, which many found repetitive, was actually a documentation of the real-life battle. Director J.P. Dutta created an epic of war and peace that is destined to get its due recognition in times to come. Just like "Kaagaz Ke Phool".

No list can be taken seriously without the inclusion of "Dil Se.."

You Got that Right! I am very sure he don't even remember that Film being made!

All those films were good in their own way. The problem isn't the films, but the Indian audiences who make crappy films hits and don't see anything in good films. Those films mentioned were more appreciated with Indians in western countires. I think large sections Indian audiences dont understand or appreciate those kinds of films. I mean with Khamoshi the audiences were disappointed because Nana Patekar didn't deliver any 'dialogues' - I mean you can't expect much with people of that mentality, they didn't go to see him for the performance, but to hear him speak!

No offense to any fans, but Bollywood films are aimed at simple minded people who don't like to think much, they just want to be entertained.
Unlike contemporary Indian cinema which has and is aimed at more 'intellectual' or mature audiences which have often got better acting, storyline and is more realistic, etc. Bollywood, on the other hand is more concerned with aping Hollywood and making pure commercial entertainers with a bit of escapism added.

All the films above appear to be bollywood-contemporary crossovers! Which is a risk in itself though maybe some could do average like Chandani Bar, Astitva, etc.

I second that! The list lost all credibilty with the inclusion of J.P. Dutta and Lajja.

Dil Se sucked. Mani Ratnam's worst movie, and yes, I knew what it was about......SRK dancing on a train can't save an absolutely muddled narrative. When I was watching it opening night in Toronto, I thought...perhaps it was a language issue for Mr Ratnam.

-Bh

also Lajja wasn't so Bad.

Wait, till YUVA HINDI BOMBS!

A movie doesn't have to depend on a strong narrative to be successful. Dil Se.. worked for me because it hit me on a personal level. The music, acting, cinematography and dialogue in tandem created a truly memorable film. After years of going to the cinema and watching either mindless action flicks (where the sounds of punches register first before the punch actually does) or candy-coated love stories (where some lame obstacle keeps the lovers apart), I was shocked and pleased to experience a film where I couldn't breathe after the final credits rolled. Even if Dil Se.. did not work on a few minor levels, I was willing to overlook that because at least Ratnam tried to do something new.

I thought the separate elements didn't add up to a whole. The cinematography, the music, the rare good performance from SRK, etc. So far I've found Ratnam's "guy pursuing reluctant girl who at some point falls in love" stories in Bombay, Alai Payuthey, and Dil Se a little unclear, especially in Dil Se. The girl falls in love with the guy, but why? I know love is often inexplicable, but give us some clue! The songs, as great as they are, mostly don't fit into the film. I think Dil Se and Ae Ajnabi are okay though. If one felt for the characters and was engrossed in the story, the ending was a smash, but it had no effect on me.

Dil Se has its flaws but so do all those films listed. In any case, Dil Se doesn't contain half the flaws Indian films usually do. The main problem for me was the unnecessary inclusion of the train song. Ironically, it's the only thing the audience loved.

For 1998, it was (or should have been) a lesson in aesthetics and technique for all Indian filmmakers.

Humbly, will ADD here Kamran..BAD NARRATIVE DO KILL THE FILM..ONE HUGE EXAMPLE was FILHAAL, really GOOD FILM, with BAD/CONFUSING NARRATIVE!

1942 A lOVE STORY/LAMHE! were DEMISE too

The article is really a list of personal likes and dislikes and unlike some peurile journo's rantings, fairly well articulated, and hence should be treated as such.

To some DIL SE is a classic to some not. To some LOC is and to some MOKSHA is......

as the classic Louis Armstrong crooned.....

"I say potayto, you say potaatoe
I say tomayto, you say tomaatoe,

POTAYTO, POTAATOE
TOMAYTO, TOMAATOE,

Lets call the whole thing off !"

So then can we simply call this reviewing biz off? Naah. Every person's entitled to his own two cent opinion, individual experiences notwithstanding....

I very much AGREE with you DUDE!

DIL SE had its WEEKNESSES! but that is NOT ALWAYS reason for FAILURE! IMHO, it is just FLAVOUR OF THE SEASON..

but on the OTHER HAND..I Dont think, LAJJA was a GREAT FILM!!nor KHAKEE..I prefer PUKAR to BOTH!