2010 saw the revival of desi films/characters

Most of the movies that worked at the box-office this year were desi films. They either had characters from small towns or villages or had the rural backdrop. Till the onset of this year, most film-makers were of the opinion that the multiplex junta prefers to watch urban themes, while desi subjects/characters worked with a tiny minority at smaller centres. But the audience proved them wrong yet again.

The year 2010 witnessed a number of desi films striking gold at the box-office. Take the case of DABANGG, the biggest Hit of the year. It had a rural backdrop and its protagonist, Chulbul Pandey, was an uncouth and brash character. But the film worked big time at plexes as well as single screens. Ditto for ISHQIYA, which was set in a village or PEEPLI [LIVE], which, depicted the rural community. UDAAN too was about the father-son relationship in a small town of India, while TERE BIN LADEN threw light on a Laden lookalike. That's not all, even RAAJNEETI, which depicted the games politicians play, was set in India.

DO DOONI CHAAR and BAND BAAJA BAARAAT, though set in Delhi, had characters the desi or the middle class audience could relate to, while PHAS GAYE RE OBAMA had a small town backdrop. This doesn't imply that urban themes didn't find acceptance this year. They did. But the point to be noted is that desi films ruled the year 2010.

Katrina most profitable actress of 2010

Ajay Devgn and Katrina Kaif will be crowned the most profitable actors of 2010 at the 'ETC Bollywood Business Awards 2010 - Evaluating Movie Moghuls' today (December 28). First timer Abhinav Kashyap will get the most profitable director trophy.

"Figures talk, you cannot manipulate it, you cannot play games with it," said Ajay, who has had six releases this year including 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?' 'Raajneeti', 'Golmaal 3', and 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' and except 'Aakrosh' and 'Toonpur Ka Superhero', all his movies did good business.

The research done by ETC indicated that Indian audiences paid a cumulative sum of Rs.282 crore to watch Ajay's films throughout the year vis-a-vis Rs.142 crore to watch Katrina's 'Raajneeti' and 'Tees Maar Khan'.

Breaking all records is Salman Khan’s 'Dabangg' that has been named as the top grosser of the year. Debut director Abhinav Kashyap bagged the most profitable director trophy for the corrupt cop saga with audiences paying a cumulative sum of over Rs.140 crore to watch his film.

"It is a fair assessment of the recipient's work and his popularity and mass appeal," said Arbaaz Khan, winner of the most successful producer for 'Dabangg'.