Romance, terror, spook thrillers ruled box office

New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) Bollywood might have faced a low with close to Rs.700 crore (Rs.7 billion) losses this year, but it definitely had its high with hits like "Wanted", "Dev D" and "Kaminey".

IANS picks 10 top Bollywood movies that saved the industry from doomsday in 2009.

1. "Love Aaj Kal": Director Imtiaz Ali's third outing got a mixed response from both critics and audiences. Made at Rs.48 crore, it, however, did business of about Rs.75 crore in its first week itself. Spanning two different eras, the romantic drama starred Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and newcomer Giselle Monteiro.

2. "De Dana Dan": Helmed by Priyadarshan, the fun film with an ensemble cast, including Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy, kicked off with waiting queues at the ticket counters. Made at a budget of Rs.37 crore, it managed to rake in around Rs.68 crore at the domestic box office and is still running.

3. "Kaminey": An instant hit, the Rs.35 crore crime thriller took director Vishal Bhardwaj and actor Shahid Kapoor to a different level. Also starring Priyanka Chopra, the film's box office earning was close to Rs.63.75 crore in India.

4. "All The Best": Director Rohit Shetty offered the laugh riot as a Diwali treat. It opened to a slow start, but picked up gradually, thanks to word of mouth. Starring Ajay Devgn, Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan and Mugdha Godse, it grossed Rs.50 crore out of its about Rs.30 crore investment.

5. "New York": The movie broke the dry spell at the ticket counters as the first hit after the producer-distributor and multiplex strike over revenue sharing got over. Director Kabir Khan's film dealt with terrorism that had John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh as key players and audiences appreciated his endeavour by turning it into a hit.

6. "Wake Up Sid": It was neither a run-of-the-mill love story, nor an expensive film. Also, the film had an unusual lead pair - Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma. But it managed to hit bull's eye. Made on a low budget of Rs.15 crore vis-a-vis its banner that is Dharma Productions, debutant director Ayan Mukherjee's film collected Rs.42.75 crore in India.

7. "Wanted": The Salman Khan starrer adrenaline pumping thriller showed the power of single-screen theatres in the country as the maximum collections came from there. Directed by Prabhudheva, the film's total cost was Rs.35 crore but it recovered the investment by earning Rs.38 crore in its first week itself.

8. "Raaz - The Mystery Continues": An unexpected success and the first hit of the year, the movie proved that content rules at the box office. Made on a shoe-string budget of Rs.9 crore, producers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt managed to earn Rs.33 crore in India. Director Mohit Suri's film had Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut and Adhyayan Suman in the lead roles.

9. "Dev D": Again a low-budget film with not so big stars like Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin, it redefined Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic "Devdas". Director Anurag Kashyap presented the doomed love story with punk and grunge and people loved watching the tragic love story in its new avatar. While the total money invested in the movie was Rs.6 crore, it earned Rs.23.25 crore.

10. "13B": Rs.6 crore was spent on the making of director Vikram K. Kumar's spooky thriller. Starring R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra, it released simultaneously in its Hindi and Tamil versions and made Rs.22.5 crore in both languages combined.

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Love Aaj Kal