Chandi Chowk to China - A lesson

For everybody concerned. I don't agree with the premise that content is the king in Bollywood. Om Shanti Om was unbearable in the second half. So were Welcome and Singh is King. And the less said about Ghajini, the better. In the business of movies, exclusivity is the key. A fact which was recognized by some superstars quite early. Aamir, SRK and Hrithik have restricted themselves to one film a year, which ensures if nothing else their movies get a great opening and hence break even. And more or less, their roles are different in every film even if they are low on content.

Aamir leads the way in this strategy. A look at his last five films(The Rising, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, TZP, Ghajini) gives you an idea of the way he has built his brand. Even though The Rising was not a super duper hit, it got a great initial which made it to break even(an added fact was that it was Aamir's first release in five years). Every movie since Aamir has been getting a new hairstyle and the media has been lapping it up. He has been living his characters through the media. The media's limited access to him has only added to the exclusivity factor. And the results are there for everyone to see.

Not many Bollywood commentors look at this fact but even SRK has been working on not more than two films per year. Since Paheli, he has not failed.

Akshay unfortunately has not learnt his lessons. His movies are neither high on content(Unlike Aamir's) and neither is he a great talker(Unlike SRK who visits every TV show and every reporter's house to promote his film). It worked for some time(Namaste London, Welcome, Singh is King) but now Brand Akshay Kumar is showing signs of cracking. Since any industry should not have a monopoly, a strong Brand Akshay Kumar is required to keep the Khans and Roshans in check. But the key question is can he salvage it?