Getting Bold! And that’s what has clicked for No One Killed Jessica and Yeh Saali Zindagi at the Box Office

Diversity in content seems to be the mantra for Bollywood in 2011. Five films that have been a total contrast to each other, but have done extremely well in their space either by garnering revenues or by basking on accolades, released in the first five weeks of the year. No One Killed Jessica, Yamla Pagla Deewana, Dhobi Ghat, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji and the most recently released Yeh Saali Zindagi have all been winners in their own right.

While NOKJ smashed the jinx in B-town that women oriented films generally don't do well at the counters, Sudhir Mishra’s YSZ with Irrfan Khan, Chitrangda Singh and Arunoday Singh has been hugely received for its quirky romantic quality with stellar performances. Trade pundit Taran Adarsh tells BT, “These are very exciting times for Bollywood. Diversity in content is certainly what the filmmakers are going for as they have began to trust that their audiences want to see good cinema and not brain dead films that they have been dishing out to them for all these years.”

He adds, “It looks like the industry is finally learning from their past mistakes and trying to undo the bloodbath of losses in 2009 and 2010. The year has began very well. NOKJ and YSZ have been films that have wowed one and all along with the other big releases. In the past we haven't had such an exciting opening to the year and looks like 2011 will certainly be remembered for bouquet films. The line-up for this year is also fab.”

Meanwhile another top trade analyst Amod Mehra believes that there is a gradual change in Indian cinema. “We still make majority of movies that crash at the box office because they are simply bad films. With films like these doing well, it should be an eye opener to filmmakers who feel no matter what you give, audiences will lap it up. Viewers are not willing to pay money for mediocrity. That’s been the best change that anyone could have hoped for. We have been shouting our lungs out all these years saying content is king. Finally, we are moving in the right direction.”