Serve me a hit please, say Bollywood actors

The year 2010 sprung quite a few surprises and shockers in the industry. While some films received critical acclaim, they didn’t manage to set the cash registers ringing.

Of those, actor Abhishek Bachchan’s Raavan and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey failed to click at the box-office, while  Hrithik Roshan, who garnered a lot of critical acclaim for his paraplegic act in Guzaarish, failed to attract the moolah.

Roshan’s other much publicised Kites too failed to generate enough revenue in spite of the presence of the Latina hottie, Barbara Mori.

Actor Akshay Kumar too met with the same fate, barring Housefull that did pretty good business. His other films — Tees Maar Khan, Action Replayy and Khatta Meetha — were not only panned by the critics but were also box-office dismals.

Trade analyst Amod Mehra agrees that the year 2011 is crucial for these top stars. “As far as 2010 is concerned, these actors have really had a low profile. Hrithik Roshan does only one film a year, and it is important that the film does well, because he has only one film to bank on.  He has already made it as an actor, he needs to deliver a hit now.”

Mehra says that it applies to Bachchan as well. “Guru was the last solo-hit he delivered. Now he needs not one, but a couple of films to bounce back.”

However, Mehra says that it is not a big deal for Kumar who does multiple films a year. “Akshay is used to giving more flops than hits, so one more flop won’t make a big difference to him.”

A director on the condition of anonymity also agrees with Mehra, but adds, “Hrithik and Abhishek being star kids have to deal with a lot more pressure than Akshay. Abhishek has to live up to his father’s image while Hrithik, besides Dhoom, is yet to deliver a hit without his father.”

Ad guru Prasoon Joshi however feels that their brand values remain unaffected. “It is only the industry that gets affected by hits and flops. Even after a flop, if these actors were to make a public appearance today, they would be mobbed. So how does their brand value reduce?”