While everyone remembers the 10th anniversary of Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om, let us remind the movie buffs that 9th November also marks the 10th anniversary of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya.
The year 2007 witnessed ‘Om Shanti Om vs Saawariya’ clash taking place at the Box Office. While on one hand, everybody was talking about Shah Rukh Khan’s famous ‘6 pack’ abs, people were equally excited to watch three new faces in Bollywood.
Two star kids and one model (also a daughter of famous sportsman) were being launched. Yes, we are talking about none other than Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor who debuted with Saawariya and Deepika Padukone who debuted alongside King Khan in OSO.
Not to forget, Arjun Rampal was making headlines for his unique look. All in all, the movie looked like a complete winner way before its release. There was no way it would fail is what it seemed then.
On the other hand, Bhansali was launching Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor’s son Ranbir Kapoor and Anil Kapoor’s daughter Sonam Kapoor. Ranbir instantly grabbed eyeballs, thanks to his ‘towel drop’ stint in the song ‘Jab Se Tere Naina’.
As a couple, Sonam and Ranbir looked great in the promos and a lot of hype was created over their affair too. Songs, like all Bhansali films, were great and became popular. Girls got a new hunk in B-town to swoon over! But was that enough to get footfalls in theatres same as OSO?
Om Shanti Om won hearts, while Saawariya had disappointed viewers. I have witnessed people actually walking out of the theatre in disgust, while there were seetis and taalis and tears during OSO. Obviously, the debacle of Saawariya was a big blow to the debutants and Bhansali.
However, look at them now. While Ranbir Kapoor is considered to be one of the biggest Bollywood stars to have emerged in the past decade, Sonam Kapoor is considered as one of the bankable actors in the industry, thanks to her Neerja performance.
In this industry you have to keep striving and working hard. The day you stop working you start thinking and get insecure. Failures are nothing but stepping stones to success which is why they come back over and over again.
