Friendship - a hit recipe in Bollywood

Before Dil Chahta Hai happened in 2001 romance and action thrillers were ruling the roost in Bollywood But the film about three urban youngsters not only proved to be a huge hit it also brought the theme of friendship back in vogueNew York is the latest film successfully exploring bonding among friends It comes after last years three big hits Dostana Rock On and Jaane TuYa Jaane Na which also revolved around changing equations among palsu00a0Filmmaker Kabir Khan who gave this years first big hit New York saidFriendship is an interesting human bond and this as a theme lends scope to have many interesting situations and stories It is a very interesting relationship to exploreWhen you have the theme of marriage then you might get stuck somewhere but with the subject of friends the opportunities are immense and many interesting stories and angles can be given to the film he told IANSHowever what is of prime importance is that the film is made well If the film is not made well then no theme can work whether friendship or something else he addedStarring John Abraham Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh New York narrated the story of three friendsBut Bollywood has experimented with the theme earlier in melodramatic movies like Dosti 1964 a sentimental drama on the friendship between two people one blind and the other crippled and Sangam 1964 where two friends Raj Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar fall in love with the same girl VyjayanthimalaActionoriented films like Sholay Dostana and Yaarana too had friendship as an integral part of the storylineIt was young filmmaker Farhan Akhtar who gave malebonding a new definition with his superhit Dil Chahta Hai which starred Aamir Khan Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan Their performances as chilled out urban youth struck the right chord with the multiplex audienceIn 2007 Govinda and Salman Khanstarrer Partner a lighthearted romantic comedy went on to be a huge box office successIn the recent past filmmakers have explored the bond successfully in blockbusters like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Jhankaar Beats Masti Mirch Masala Rang De Basanti and Heyy Baby These films were lighthearted and thoroughly entertained the viewersMumbaibased film historian SMM Ausaja feels people identify with such films and thats why they work at the box officeOver the years films on friendship have done quite well with films like Dosti Yaarana and of course Sholay being landmarks in this genre The main reason for their success is that people identify with such subjects When such themes are explored in movies they mostly make a mark he explainedFilm critic Omar Qureshi agreed Films with which people can identify always work Everyone can connect with films that revolve around friendships because everyone has a friend There is no one who doesnt have a single friendWhen the audience can relate to the situations in the film they get interested in the story Thus friendship films have been hits mostlyGeetika Joshi a 19yearold college student feels films like Jaane Tu or Rang De Basanti have more appeal because of the friendship angle rather than outandout love storiesI like films based on friends more After all friends are such an integral part of our lives today I go and watch such films with my pals and have a ball These are lighthearted and have a fun element she saidFilms on friends are young hip and very us they represent our generationI love such films said Uday Goswami a BPO employeeu00a0