The year that has gone by saw Indian Cinema completing its glorious 100 years and impressed us by experimenting with new genres and story-lines while giving us the formula hits too. Rockying recalls movies that went onto bring cheer on our faces and those which brought tears for the producers.

BOX OFFICE KINGS

The undisputed ruler of box office in 2012 was Salman Khan. Star power works for us and this fact was reiterated with Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, which remained the highest earning movie in 2012 followed by his second hit Dabangg 2. Ek Tha Tiger went on to earn Rs 187 Cr, Dabangg 2, the year’s last movie, lapped up Rs 166 crore while Akshay Kumar’s Rowdy Rathore hit the mark of Rs 133 Cr in 2012. Salman was truly the King Khan of 2012!

REMAKE CHASKA

Hritikh Roshan’s Agneepath managed to rake in big bucks with its stylized take on the Amitabh Bachchan starrer from 1990 earning over Rs 125 crores and ending up as the fourth highest earner of the year. Hitmaker Rohit Shetty’s Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn starrer Bol Bachchan was also a remake of sorts, loosely based on the 1979 all-time hit Golmaal, and it cruised through into the 100 -crore club. South Indian movie remakes remained a huge box office draw with the superhit Rowdy Rathore and the comedy Son of Sardar proving that copying does pay at times!

THE YEAR OF HAPPY SURPRISES

The year 2012 will also be remembered as the year of freshness and experimentation. From comedy to suspense, thriller to drama, last year was a year of joyful surprises. Be it a sweet love story about a sperm donor in Vicky Donor or the tale of a stubborn atheist who questioned the existence of God in Oh My God, new stories and characters in Bollywood 2012 tasted sweet success. Realistic movies such Paan Singh Tomar and Gangs of Wasseypur wowed the critics and earned big bucks at the box office. The biggest successes in this category were two outstanding movies, Barfi and Kahaani, both boasting of amazing performances by its leads, Ranbir Kapoor and Vidya Balan. The indomitable Aamir Khan reminded us that he was never afraid of experimenting with his thriller Talaash (could not succeed though) while Sridevi brought a smile on all our faces with the simple and sweet English Vinglish.

STAR STRUCK DOWN!

Last year some of our favourite actors failed to make any impact on-screen despite mega hype and bloated budgets. Agent Vinod, Saif’s ambitious take and India’s answer to 007 failed to impress the audiences while the long awaited Joker turned out to be a sorry affair with aliens that somehow resembled kitchen vegetables. Even Shahrukh Khan starrer Jab Tak Hai Jaan, last directorial venture of romance king Yash Chopra could not manage to amuse the audience due to its huge list of loopholes. Madhur Bhandarkar tried to titillate us with Kareena in Heroine and faced rejection from the box office while Rani’s Aiyyaa only made us roll our eyes in disbelief. Still high on her sexiest belly moves though!

CONTROVERSY COCKTAIL

What’s our beloved industry without controversies? 2012 saw the war between SRK and Ajay Devgan camp boil over with an ugly clash over release dates and unfair practices. Porn star Sunny Leone found her way in Bollywood and despite starring in a flop is definitely here to stay. SRK was the king of controversies this year, being in the news for being tipsy and fighting with ground staff during the IPL as well as allegedly slapping Farah Khan’s hubby at a party.

THE NEWBIES

New names sparkled in Bollywood limelight with Ishaqzaade, Student of the Year and Vicky Donor giving us new promising names like Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Ayushmaan Khurrana to name a few .

Bollywood had a great run last year and we hope to see fresh ideas, stories and new talents hitting the silver screen this year too.

Happy 2013 movie buffs!!!

About the Author: Keeping her eyes closed, with long breaths and a gentle sound many mistake for snoring, actually helps Sonali think better. Or so she says. People question about these daily “thinking sessions”, mostly conducted on a comfortable couch or bed, while she claims that the long overdue best-seller she’s been working on (for quite some time now) will silence all the cynics. Till then she dreams on...