Hindi
Besharam: Wasting Ranbir Kapoor… and family
Totally bankrupt of imagination or ideas, Besharam takes refuge in past formulas. The film has a dream cast and all the resources necessary at the makers’ disposal except, of course, talent on the part of the writers as well as the director. The film takes one back to certain forgettable films Shammi Kapoor did during 1960 which had titles which promised mediocre fare to start with: Janwar, Laat Saheb, Bluff Master, Budtameez etc. The hero in such a film had no character, no family background to boast of, lived a totally wayward life and yet dreamt of romancing a rich and khaandani ‘iklauti waris’ belle. So the story, if one may call it that, is sourced from that era and with a hangover from the director’s recent film Dabangg, the hero, Ranbir Kapoor, is expected to deliver a Shammi Kapoor-like vehicle in Salman Khan style!
Ranbir Kapoor is a car thief and the justification is that he is an orphan brought up in an orphanage and such a lad (at least in the films) is never expected to grow into a normal, law abiding citizen. So he steals cars in Delhi and sells them to a Sikh wheeler dealer in Chandigarh who, in turn, has a ready buyer for all such cars in Javed Jaffrey. Jaffrey is a bad man who needs a new car every day because he is into the hawala business; he collects crores in India and delivers the same in Switzerland after duly deducting his cut. Now, the hawala business is much older than cars and all it needs is a telephone and resources on both side, but never mind!
Ranbir may be the best in his business but the first car he is shown stealing is such a shoddy job he has half the police force, lead by Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, chasing him. At least that provides the film with its one customary chase sequence (with a futile attempt to make it funny). And since it is a Delhi film, there has to be one colourful shaadi sequence which can also bring the hero and the girl in contact. So Ranbir meets Pallavi Sharda landing up at a wedding in her brand new red Mercedes and, since she does not fall for Ranbir trying to act fresh, he decides to join the wedding celebrations as well and dance into her heart. But as soon as the naach-ganaa is over she gives Ranbir the cold shoulder again. Dejected he decides to take a car instead since he failed to take the girl with him.
Ranbir soon learns that the Mercedes he stole belongs to Pallavi, the very girl he is trying to woo, with a lot of encouragement from her mother, Himani Shivpuri. Now he embarks on a mission to get her car back, the fact that he has sold it to the maniacal killer Jaffrey notwithstanding. It is the least he can do for the girl he loves. Of course, Pallavi has to accompany him to Chandigarh so that she discovers the nobler side of him and the process of love can become a two-sided affair. It is time for action, this time of the jumping-from-rooftops kind. The car is recovered; the girl has fallen in love with the boy more than he ever loved her. And, just when they return to Delhi and think all is well, Jaffrey happens to miss a few crore hawala money stashed in the boot of the car. Jaffrey descends on Delhi with his army of goons armed with rocket launchers, machine guns and handguns.
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Producer: Sanjeev Gupta, Himanshu Kishan Mehra.
Director: Abhinav Singh Kashyap. Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Pallavi Sharda, Javed Jaffrey, Himani Shivpuri. |
The climax has to be a crowded affair, so gathered on screen are all the kids from the orphanage (which has only male occupants, it seems), Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, who were forgotten after the initial chase and bunch of policemen.
While the lack of creativity is glaringly obvious in scripting and direction, even when it comes to being crude, it is poor in taste and unnecessary! Who needs a watchman in the background in a scene picking his nose very consciously till he is told ‘Cut, very good’ or Rishi Kapoor sitting on the toilet and passing loud farts? It is unnecessary. The making is very crude. Choreography is all crowds and no grace. Dialogue needed some sharp one-liners. Musically, only one song is hummable though on familiar lines and that is Dilka jo haal hai… Performance wise, Ranbir is good in patches; he tries to be too loud which is unlike him (and, isn’t that a wig he is sporting!?). Rishi Kapoor is good. Neetu Singh is okay. Pallavi Sharda does not quite charm the viewer.
Besharam may have no worries commercially having recovered most of its investment even before its theatrical release backed by a national holiday (2nd October, Gandhi Jayanti) multiple screen release strategy, but the film does not do credit to its hero, Ranbir, or to Rishi and Neetu’s stature.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
