Good Hindi films do not come in a flood. They come like a one time phenomenon and usually there is a fairly large interval between two good films. The last good film I had seen was 'Kahani" where the story was the real hero of the movie. Recently I saw another good movie 'Special 26'. Its story also is the real hero of the movie.
In such movies it really does not matter who is portaying the lead role. Anyone would be suitable. But that is where the rub lies. If a lesser actor is taken will the audiences flock the theaters as they did for 'Kahani' and are now doing for 'Special 26'? Vidya Balan gathered many accolades as well as awards for her role in 'Kahani' but to the best of my knowledge its story writer did not win any award or recognition. Similarly Akshay Khanna is also being lauded for his role in Special 26.
The issue is that there are very few stories that are by itself so gripping, that it does not matter who is playing the lead roles, but you want the story to move on to its conclusion so that the questions that it raises get answered. Unlike the regular pot boilers regularly dished out by Bollywood, where you know what to expect,the story takes a back seat and you are left with only admiring the histrionics of the actors.
Movies with strong and gripping stories usually start slowly at the box office but gather momentum by word of mouth publicity which as we all know is the most reliable and trustworthy form of effective communication. This is what lifted a movie like "Paan Singh Tomar' and brought all round recognition to its lead actor Irfaan Khan. Similarly 'Special 26' is also gaining from word of mouth publicity after a slow start in comparison to the other co-release 'ABCD'.
Audiences should patronise strong story based movies like Kahani, Paan Singh Tomar and now Special 26 so that it will encourage the production of still better movies by Bollywood. Incidentally 'Special 26' is directed by Neeraj Pandey who had earlier given another fine movie 'Wednesday'.
So friends please go and watch a fine movie like Special 26 and enjoy the story inspired from true incidents and involves both real and fake CID in action.