While promoting ‘Players’, Abhishek Bachchan told the media that he was moving away from experimental cinema (like ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’) because action movies were his real calling. Saif Ali Khan produced ‘Agent Vinod’ because a good Bond-like thriller gave him an adrenaline rush like no other. And Ajay Devgn feels action can never go wrong. Honestly, is there any truth to this? The first quarter of 2012 has been a disaster for the stylishly mounted action Bollywood films that have brought in the best foreign stunt directors, shot extensively overseas and left no stone unturned in their media blitzkreig. ‘Players’ shot in New Zealand, Russia and even the North Pole. ‘Agent Vinod’ toured the world – starting from Russia, Latvia, UK, South Africa, Morocco and Pakistan. ‘Tezz’ brought in the stunt director who worked on major Hollywood projects. Yet to what avail? What is also interesting to note is that while action has taken a beating, experimental cinema like ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ (above average), ‘Kahaani’ (super-hit) and ‘Vicky Donor’ (hit) have actually kept the Bollywood flag flying high. Guess when it comes to cinema, formula doesn’t always work.
