BOOM July | Page 16

REPORT Flashback: Here’s how Bollywood fared in first half of 2015 A fter witnessing a massive slump in the first quarter of 2015, the Bollywood box office has been salvaged by mid-year, thanks to a string of hits and few flops...The first half of 2015 is drawing to a close and if the box office business over these six months is being labelled as average. Tanu Weds Manu Returns starring Kangana Ranaut and R Madhavan had a dream run at the BO, grossing close to Rs 150-crore at the domestic box office. A short supply of star-studded releases proved to be a boon of sorts for the industry's young guns as well as a handful of filmmakers who explored offbeat subjects with varying degrees of success. Deepika Padukone was seen in and as Piku, which became a hit courtesy the word-of-mouth publicity. The close-to-life content and presence of veterans like Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan in lead roles wooed the crowds. The year started on a dull note with a host of flops flooding the box office. However, the situation improved gradually. Akshay Kumar-starrer Baby was the first film of the year which made good money at the box office and was declared the first hit of 2015 and then came offbeat movies like Badlapur, Dum Laga Ke Haisha and NH10, which met with audience and critical appreciation. Anushka Sharma, who produced and