Hindi cinema's biggest star shone brighter than he has in ages, upstaging peers and well justifying that Badshah title: Everyone loved Chak De! India.
And, after winning over critics, audiences and hockey equipment manufacturers with a sincere performance, the King took his shirt off for Om Shanti Om, a heady, cheeky celebration of Bollywood inanity -- and, predictably, the hit of the year.
But what's this? For the first time since his 1991 debut, we are likely to see a year minus an SRK release. This is, by industry standards, a big deal.
While contemporaries like Aamir Khan have often taken sabbaticals, SRK has always, always tossed us at least a release or two each year. This just isn't his style. It wasn't planned, by the way. Khan was all set to work on a spectacular film called Robot, with Shankar - the man who directed Rajnikanth in that phenomenon called Sivaji -- but plans fell through. Also scrapped is a film with Munna Bhai director Rajkumar Hirani, and the result is the prolific megastar finds himself with a pretty open diary for the next eight to nine months. Your cue, producers -- but be prepared to fend off Karan Johar.
With the big cat away, everyone else is ready for the party. Corporate financiers are enhancing industry coffers without question, and Bollywood is geared up for an exciting, over-budget 2008. Here�s a look at films to wait for.
Jodhaa Akbar
Historicals haven't exactly set audiences agog in recent years, but all that might change with Ashutosh Gowariker's next film.
Hrithik Roshan plays Emperor Mohammudin Jalaluddin Akbar, and all theatres need is an extended scene with him warming up before he puts on those cumbersome layers of armour. This is a man who can amply carry a script-less film, and here he has both Ashu and Aishwarya Rai to help shoulder the burden. Now, if only the film weighs in at less than four hours...
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