2018: Year Of Evolution In Bollywood

Shahrukh Khan recently completed twenty-seven years in Bollywood. Social media erupted and congratulated him for the achievement. This was one of the better days for King Khan, whose recent films have received a lot of criticism from the public. He is not alone. 2018 was a rough year for all the three Khans. Each of their films, Thugs of Hindostan, Zero and Race 3 were flops.

Last year can be seen as a passage of the baton from the Khans to the NextGen. Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayushman Khurana and Rajkumar Rao, all had massive hits. Though, the success of Sanju or Padmavat were expected, but movies like Stree, Andhadun, and Badhai Ho surprised everyone. Apart from those movies like Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety and Hichki were also appreciated.

Their success is because of one reason only. Indian moviegoers are judging the movies now by content rather than star-cast. For a long time, a Khan movie was a guaranteed hit. There was no ambiguity in that. People would go and fill the theatres, merely to watch their favourite heroes. The content of the movie didn't matter to them. That is not saying that earlier there were baseless movies, but the face mattered more than the words that were spoken.

The country is filled with youth. This generation was exposed to Hollywood from a very early age. They grew up not only watching Rang De Basanti, Dabangg or a My Name is Khan but also Star Wars, Mission Impossible and a Jurassic Park. They had a variety of movies to watch. They don't have the same bond with Bollywood superstars as the previous generations had. With no loyalty towards a particular star, and with so many options available, the content of the film had to the only differentiator. It became visible last year.

All the blockbuster movies last year had impressive performances and a solid story. Films that were devoid of this were rejected. The trend continued this year. Uri is the highest grossing movie this year. The appreciation of a good story has also expanded into TV. The success of TV Series like Sacred Games and Mirzapur shows us precisely that. Digital platforms like Netflix and prime video are making huge inroads into the TV sector. With easy access to the internet and mobile phones, they will continue to grow. The quality of Indian telly is also assisting them.

This is a welcome change. In the past few years, there was a dearth of content-driven cinema. Producers were afraid that those movies would not make enough money. But people have shown love and appreciation for them, and we can assume it is not going to change anytime soon.