2019: When small films gave biggies a run for their bucks

MUMBAI: Hyper machismo, unrealistic storylines and characters have been ruling the roost in Bollywood for the longest time, but 2019 established the fact that the realistic, small-budget film could co-exist with the starry, larger-than-life entertainers. "War" or "Kabir Singh" may have hawked vintage Bollywood masala to rake it in big, but films like "Uri: The Surgical Strike", "Article 15" and "Bala" were also declared superhit despite being rooted in reality and sticking to modest budgets.

In just September, films like "Mission Mangal", "Batla House", "Saaho", "Chhichhore" and "Dream Girl" helped Bollywood mint Rs 700 crore just within a month.

Akshay's third release "Good Newwz" is set to wrap up the year. The film also features Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Singh and Kiara Advani. Initial response to the film is positive, after the trailer generated sufficient buzz. It is slated to hit the screens on Friday.

As the year comes to an end, IANS lists 10 films that ruled the hearts and mind of Bollywood buffs in 2019:

WAR
This was one of the most anticipated film of the year as fans wanted to see two Bollywood two hunks -- Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan -- together in one frame. Even though the storyline was not as great as compared to other films that released this year, the high-octane actioner, directed by Siddharth Anand, still managed to top the box-office charts, collecting a whopping Rs 318.00 crore, according to koimoi.com.

KABIR SINGH
Another blockbuster of 2019 is the Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani-starrer, which raked in Rs 278.24 crore. The romantic drama directed by Sandeep Vanga, is a remake of the filmmaker's Telugu superhit "Arjun Reddy". Shahid played Kabir, a surgeon who spirals into self-destruction when his girlfriend Preeti leaves him. The film was yet another rehash of the classic "Devdas" lore, and was primarily redeemed by its brilliant music.

URI: THE SURGICAL STRIKE
Starring Vicky Kaushal and Yami Gautam, the military actioner is a dramatised account of the retaliation to Pakistan's Uri attack of 2016. Aditya Dhar, who made his directorial debut with the film, won Best Director award at the 66th National Films Award, and Vicky was declared Best Actor. According to koimoi.com it collected Rs. 244.06 crores.

MISSION MANGAL
Akshay Kumar along with Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Nithya Menen, Sharman Joshi and HG Dattatreya played out a determined bunch that takes India to Mars, in this inspiring and feel-good film based on the nation's successful Mars Orbit Mission. The film has netted over Rs 200 crore in India.

GULLY BOY
At a time when rap music is the main ingredient of almost every Bollywood film, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar went a step further and made a musical drama on the lives of Indian street rappers Divine and Naezy. "Gully Boy" starred Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Siddhant Chaturvedi. The film minted Rs. 149.31 crore.

ARTICLE 15
Ayushmann Khurrana has hit the jackpot this year with back-to-back superhits -- "Article 15", "Dream Girl" and "Bala". "Article 15" follows a police investigation that commences after three teenage girls go missing from a small village. The film reminds us of Article 15 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

CHHICHHORE
"Dangal" director Nitesh Tiwari's new film, starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor, takes you back to the college days! It opened well at the multiplexes, managing a domestic business of Rs 7.32 crore on its opening day on September 6. The plot follows the life of seven friends from 1992 to present day. According to koimoi.com, it raked in a total of Rs. 150.36 crore.

BALA
Ayushmann continued his winning ways with "Bala", a film that focussed on a young man name Bala who lives in Kanpur and suffers from premature baldness. The story is about his lack of confidence and the societal pressure that comes in the wake. The film, according to koimoi.com, has seen a lifetime earning of over Rs 116.8 crore till date.

DABANGG 3
Salman Khan's latest release has crossed Rs 100 crore at the box-office, making it the superstar's 15th film crossing the benchmark. The film, an out and out masala entertainer, sees Salman as Chulbul Panday fighting baddies and romancing two actresses.

That apart, this year has been great for Kartik Aaryan, who scored back-to-back hits with "Lukka Chuppi" and "Pati Patni Aur Woh". Akshay Kumar's "Kesari" managed to cross Rs 150-crore mark, while "Housefull 4" scaled Rs 200 crore. The low-budget film, "The Tashkent Files", was declared a superhit despite earning just Rs 16.75 crore.

Source: IANS