LAGE RAHO BOLLYWOOD

" I like ideas, especially movie ideas, that you can hold in your hand. If a person can tell me the idea in 25 words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie." Steven Spielberg may have grown up since he made that statement, gone on to the Holocaust and it's echoes in Munich, but it's a lesson Bollywood has memorised well last year. In 2006, Bollywood discovered it's future in the past. The year's three biggest hits- Dhoom:2, Krrish and Lage Raho Munna Bhai- are all sequels. Another hit, Don, was a remake.

But 2006 will be primarily remembered as the year Bollywood broke free. Rang De Basanti took Gen Next away from candlelight dinners to candlelight vigils. Lage Raho Munna Bhai brought Gandhism out of primary textbooks to college canteens. Omkara stirringly transported Shakespeare ot Saharanpur. And Dhoom:2, much like it's predecessor Dhoom, redefines celluloid sexiness as a lifestyle package: bad boys sandsurf in a Namibian desert, cool guys cruise on cooler bikes in virgin locales, and under-dressed girls play basketball in the rain.

Smaller filmmakers who had the courage to experiment were also rewarded by a fast-maturing audience. The long-delayed Khosla Ka Ghosla, where a middle-class family outwits land sharks, was one such film. But not all such movies clicked. Both Nagesh Kukunoor and Madhur Bhandarkar, who had directed offbeat hits (Iqbal and Page 3 respectively) faltered with Dor and Corporate. The movies delivered, not the paying public.

The year also showed that India's funny bone is getting better. Movies like Malamaal Weekly, Phir Hera Pheri, Tom, Dick and Harry, Golmaal, Apna Sapna Money Money and Pyar Ke Side Effects tickled the box-office in varying degrees.

Sooraj Barjatya's Vivah- a Hum Aapke Hain Kaun replay for the RDB generation- is the sleeper hit of the year. In Bihar, the movie is a blockbuster. Rajshri Productions proved once again a market still exists for the decent family drama on the big screen especially in smaller towns.

The return of Kajol in Aamir Khan superhit Fanna was also a much-awaited Bollywood event. And Naseeruddin Shah made a promising debut as director even though Yun Hota To Kya Hota flopped.

In 2006, Bollywood bounced back thanks to a string of superhit sequels. But some movies such as Lage Raho and Rang De Basanti didn't just make money. They slipped into your heart., tugged at your soul. This year Bollywood renewed our faith in the movies.