It was a far from vintage year with barely a handful of films being able to pull a significant profit at the box office. The undisputed heavy weight champ of the year was Javaid Shakh's Yeh Dil Apka Hua which scored a massive countrywide success and continues to draw reasonable crowds even into the ninth month of release.

Following is a breakdown of how the films released in 2002 fared at the Box Office:

A total of 62 films were released of which 26 were in Punjabi, while 18 each were in Pushto and Urdo – a rather humiliating state of affairs for the “national” language.

The first new film to be released in the new year was Iqbal Kashmiri’s hack job Shikari Hasina which featured Shaan, Baber Ali, Hasina, Jan Rembo, Shafqat Cheema and Ghulam Mohiuddin. The array of “stars” didn’t save the film though as it sank without a trace within a couple of weeks of its release. Apparently one of the young starlets who had pinned her hopes on the films success committed suicide after the film failed dismally…….what a waste! The next film up was a cheap Punjabi flick directed by Hasnain by the name of Jeeo Jatta starring Saud, Reema, Baber Ali, Bahar. The film bombed badly as did the other release in late January, Syed Noor’s Khuda Qasam starring Saud, Reema, Rembo, Shafqat Cheema and company. The film was not actually even directed by Noor but he took some cash to have his name plastered on the billboards, not that it helped any.

February saw the release of several films including Border which was hyped as a stinging reply to a film of the same name made in Bollywood. The hype alone saw the film draw sizeable crowds and the film managed to soldier on to become one of the few money earners of the year without being a huge success. This film was directed by Iqbal Kashmiri and starred Shaan, Sana, Moammer Rana and Baber Ali among others and could be termed an average earner. Another film to be released on the same day was madame Sangeeta’s typical Punjabi masala flick Dada Badmash starring Shaan, Saima, Meera, Moammer Rana, Resham and Yusuf Khan in the title role. The film, with hit songs by Naseebo Lal went on to become a smash hit and takes the runner up place to Yeh Dil Aapka Hua for 2002. Masood Butt's Jagga Tax with Shaan and Saima in the lead managed a good start but fizzled out rather rapidly. However the film did manage to recover its costs and could be termed an average earner. Parvez Rana who was 2001’s hot director went belly up first up this year with Baboo Khan starring Shaan and Saima which bit the dust in a big way.

The two films released during march both nose-dived rapidly – the first was Parvez Rana’s ham-fisted remake of the 1975 hit Wehshi Jat using the same name as the original. This version starring Shaan and Noor had a good start but soon fell flat on its face while Daud Butt’s cheap formula film Dosa starring a new hero also went belly up right from the first day – total disaster.

April saw the release of a cheap trashy flick - Rano Phadaybaaz - made to show off the talents of budding seductress Megha. The film also had some scenes shot in Hong Kong apparently, though the whole thing had the look of a really lousy home video, which is probably exactly what it was. This cheap crap was a huge flop for Megha and her plans for world domination were put on hold for the moment. Hasan Askari’s Chalo Ishq Larain, seen as a follow up to the hugely successful Tere Pyar Mein was hyped as a light, frothy romance shot in Dubai and so on………it turned out to be dull and turgid and the crowds stayed away turning the film into one of the years more expensive flops. The film starred Zara Shaikh and Meera and introduced Ali Haider and Imran Khan to the silver screen – better luck next time! Imtiaz Qureshi released his Badmash tey Qanoon but audiences have seemingly tired of the stale formula Punjabi flick (though you never can be sure) and this film too, fell by the wayside, lacking that special ingredient that it takes to click. Badmash tey Qanoon starred Shaan and Baber Ali as well as Sana and Noor. Syed Noor suffering from a long string of flops released his film Sholay at the end of the month and to some extent his run of dismal luck changed as the film didn’t add to his misery but managed to claw back its investment, if only just. The film could be termed a very moderate money earner. Sholay starred Shaan, Saima, Reema and Baber Ali among others.

Five movies were released during may of which the first was Daud Butt’s Chiragh Bali which managed to do reasonable business in the Punjab circuit and cant be considered a flop even if it was hardly a money spinner either. Shaan and Sana starred in this formula flick. Next up was director Hasnain’s Majho da Vair. The director had hoped to hit the jackpot just as he did a year ago with Asoo Billa however this time things didn’t work out and the film sank rapidly despite a reasonable showing in the rural areas on Punjab. Majho de Vair starre Shaan and Sana along with Baber Ali. On the 17th came Masood Butt’s Lahori Ghunda starring Shaan, Saima, Sana and Baber Ali, but this film failed very badly exiting cinemas in haste.

On the 24th of May Rashid Dogar’s film Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed starring Moammer Rana in the title role was released. The poorly constructed film died a quick death at the box office and added to the heap of flops for the year. Ghulam Mohiuddin, Saud, Noor and Shafqat Cheema also starred. On the last day of the month Syed Noor’s Behram Daku starring who else but Shaan and Saima arrived and failed miserably adding to Syed Noor’s woes.

June 14th brought Zahoor Gilani’s Ek Gujjar 100 Badmash starring Moammar Rana and Sana which proceded to become one of the biggest flops of the year. Prolific scriptwrite Nasir Adeeb returned to direction after quite a break with Ishtehari starring Shaan, Sana and Resham but this film failed to catch on at all.

July was the month that finally saw the industry breathe a sigh of relief as Javed Shaikh’s hugely anticipated Yeh Dil Apka Hua finally arrived and actually managed to live up to peoples expectations. The country took to this 80’s Bollywood style film in a huge way – loving the picturesque foreign locations and the pastel shades worn by the leading ladies and the rather polished musical score prepared by Bollywood experts. The crowds absolutely lapped it up and the film went on to become nothing short of a craze, raking in the bucks for months to come. Even after 9 months of release the film continues to run profitably at several centres all over the country. Yeh Dil Apka Hua lived up to expectations and has turned into one of the most profitable films produced in recent times. Hats off to Javed Shaikh and his team for pulling it off and silencing the many doubters in the process. Sangeeta hoped to continue her hot stread with Punjabi films and followed up the enormously successful Dada Badmash with Kaloo. This film starring Shaan, Saima, Baber Ali took a rousing start but settled down to become a steady money earner rather than the spectacular hit the producers hoped for. Eyebrows were raised at some of the vulgar dances that the Madame employed for this particular film, nothing unusual after the antics of Sher-e-Lahore from 2001. Parvez Rana tried to cash in on the truly bizarre “Buddha” revival and cast Yusuf Khan as the Buddha Sher but after a decent opening the film nose-dived and Rana was left with another blotch on his scoresheet. At the end of the month Parvez Rana added to his growing tally of flops with the Shaan, Moammer Rana, Saima, Resham film Toofan which sank almost as quickly as it arrived.

A whopping seven films were released during the month of august. First up was Pavez Rana’s Shaan, Saima starrer Raju Rocket which sank miserably within days of its release. Iqbal Kashmiri’s formula effort Baghawat starring Shaan, Sana, Nirma and Baber Ali suffered a similar fate fading from cinemas within a couple of weeks of its arrival. Sher e Pakistan was a hiccup for Madame Sangeeta and showed that the public was beginning to tire of her magic formula. Shaan and Saima were the lead pair for this effort. Atif Chaudhury, based on true events turned into the sleeper hit of the summer and made people notice Moammar Rana’s acting ability for perhaps the very first time. The film did roaring business in the Punjab circuit. However Parvez Rana’s next film Allah Rakha starring Shaan was a total write off. Shamim Ara’s much hyped return to the big time was released next – Kaun Banega Karorepati starring Moammar Rana, Noor and Reema. Alas for Ms. Ara the film failed to live up to expectations and came crashing down to a thudding halt sooner than had been hoped. The film was one of the years expensive flops.

September was a busy month with six releases arriving including Madame Sangeeta’s return to urdu films with Jehad. The move proved ill-judged as the film was a miserable flop. Jehad starred Shaan, Saime, Meera and Baber Ali. Shehzad Haider’s Tohfa Pyar da was next to open but despite Arbaz Khan’s strong performance and the presence of Shaan, Meera and Ghulam Mohiuddin, the film failed to make an impact. On the 27th Pervez Rana’s Raqasa was released and caused quite a stir with its saucy dances…..enough to get a buzz going around about the films high sleaze factor which then drew in the crowds and this utterly mediocre film managed to earn back its money keeping investors smiling. Among the cast were Shaan, Meera, Moamer Rana, Rehsam, laila and Khushboo.

Three films arrived in October, among them Director Hassan Askari’s Varyam which fared very poorly indeed and Madame Sangeeta’s Araeen da Kharaak which came tumbling down after a pleasing start. The third film of the month was Achoo Sheedy da Kharaak which ran into censor trouble and never recovered. The film starring Shaan, Saima, Baber Ali, Saud and Nargis was another of the years huge disasters.

November was mostly taken up by Ramazan but the eid that followed saw the arrival of some big guns. First up was Daud Pota’s well publicized Fire, but this flame failed to catch on and the film meekly surrendered at the box office rather quickly. The film famously reunited feuding beaties Reema and Meera who had vowed never to work with one another. Shaans home production Daku starring himself and Saima failed to click after taking a good start. The film fizzled out with alarming speed and was rendered a rather expensive flop for its investors. Iqbal Kashmiri’s Manila Ki Jasoos, an action adventure romp featuring Shaan, Baber Ali, Sana, Veena Malik and Resham also flattered to deceive and went tumbling after a promising start. Finally Syed Noor broke his long run of terrible luck with Buddha Gujjar starring Shaan, Saima and Yusuf Khan. This film clicked big time and went on to rake in some big bucks all over the country especially in the Lahore area. Madame Sangeeta surely exhausted her formula for Sher-e-Azam which had to be retiled after Badmash-e-Azam was rejected by the censors………sadly for the Madame, her last effort of the year bit the dust. Pehla Sajda was the final release of the year. Directed by Parvez Kaleem and starring a new untested cast the film bombed out of sight within three days! One film that slipped into cinemas during the long hot summer was Parvez Rana’s Atif Chaudhary starring Moammar Rana in the title role. This film apparently based on a true incident turned into the sleeper of the year and performed very strongly in the Punjab area becoming a solid money earner considering its cheap price tag and low budget. The film was a triumph for Moammar Rana who showed the masses that he was perhaps capable of some decent acting once in a blue moon!

The pushto scene produced 18 films of which about 50% managed to turn a profit – a far greater success rate than the rest of the country. The secret of their success is in their amazingly cheap production values coupled with the viewing audiences apparently amazingly low expectations and propensity to be very easily satisfied – a theory that makes little sense at all but then is there a more plausible explanation? Sadly it is said that Pushto films are cleaning up their act, so the likes of Saeed Ali Khan wont be plying his majestic form of sleaze in the very near future, especially as the bearded Moral Majority Association (MMA) are currently presiding over government.

E-mail OAK your Lollywood comments and questions