the biggest hit of 2005.

As the year comes to a close, it's time to take a look at the biggest hits of the past 12 months. Syed Firdaus Ashraf spoke to several trade analysts to find out which films made it to the top ten list. This is what he came up with.

No Entry

The biggest surprise hit of the year, from Boney Kapoor. The film had nothing new to offer. Even the plot was an old one. But Salman Khan proved, once again, that he's a rock star at the box office. Even though he had an extended guest appearance, he overpowered his costars Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan.

Bipasha Basu, who plays the saucy seductress, costarred along with Lara Dutta, Esha Deol and Celina Jaitley. "No Entry outdid every other film this year, making more than Rs 40 crore," says trade pundit Vinod Mirani.

Bunty Aur Babli

An unusual tale about a small town boy and girl who want to make it big in the city of dreams, Mumbai. The film saw the Bachchan father-son duo together for the first time. Besides, the song featuring them along with Aishwarya Rai -- Kajra re -- also emerged as one of the year's most popular songs.

"Comedy outdid the other film genres as both No Entry and Bunty Aur Babli became the biggest hits of this year," says Komal Nahta, editor of the trade weekly, Film Information. He added, "In fact, Bunty Aur Babli was a bigger hit overseas than No Entry." It reportedly made a little less than Rs 40 crore.

Kya Kool Hai Hum

A classic example of a good script, and a cast of non-stars. It had dirty jokes, dirty dialogues and double meanings galore, but the audiences did not shy away from it. It also made stars out of Tusshar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh. Produced at a low budget of about Rs 5 crore, it delivered good returns to Ekta Kapoor's production, and became it's first big hit, earning a little over Rs 10 crore.

And now, there's talk of a sequel.

Salaam Namaste

An unusual love story of a chef (Saif Ali Khan) and radio jockey (Preity Zinta) who fall in love in Australia and decide to live in together. Critics felt the bold theme was unexpected, considering it was a Yash Raj film. The controversial kiss between Saif and Preity made it worse. But the film became a hit, and made Saif bankable.

Reportedly made at about Rs 7 crore, the film earned twice as much.

Waqt: Race Against Time

Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar made Vipul Shah's emotional tale a big success, making this the first of Akshay's hits in 2005.

The trio had first worked together in the 2002 hit, Aankhen. What also got it attention was a rumour about an alleged affair between Akshay and Priyanka Chopra on the sets. The film, made at a high cost of Rs 15 crore, was able to earn Rs 20 crore.

Sarkar

For the first time, Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan played the role of father and son on the big screen. The film did exceedingly well in Mumbai, but was not a big hit in other centres. The story was loosely based on the Hollywood film, The Godfather. Believed to made at a cost of Rs 8 crore, it gave back double the amount to Ram Gopal Varma.

Bachchan's performance was so impressive that Varma has decided to remake the classic Sholay with him playing the role of Gabbar Singh.

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A film everyone had written off even before its release. Its future was then threatened when director Madhur Bhandarkar was accused of rape by an upcoming actress and model, Preetii Jain.

Made at a modest budget of under Rs 2 crore, the film got a lot of publicity and went on to become a big hit. The newness of the subject was appreciated by audiences, who found something different from the routine round of films screened.

Kaal

Oh! What a disappointment! That's what everyone said after watching Kaal on the big screen. But the film was a success. How? Marketing and planning. Produced jointly by Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar, and directed by Soham Shah, the film was released with more than 500 prints in the market. The duo also released a video album Kaal Dhamal before the film was released. Shah Rukh and Mallika Arora sizzled in the song that became a big hit.

The film generated more than Rs 10 crore, and got a great opening before dropping out.

Maine Pyaar Kyon Kiya

This film could have done much better had a controversy not erupted about Salman's link with the underworld before its release. The Hindustan Times released a four-year old tape of Salman allegedly threatening Aishwarya Rai and then claiming he had links with the underworld. Activists and supporters of the BJP forcefully withdrew the film from many theatres, causing losses to theatre owners and distributors. However, the film got a great opening at the box office. Salman's fans braved mobsters and went to watch it, making it a success.

Produced by Salman's brother Sohail Khan, the film made Rs 18 crore on an investment of Rs 12 crore.

Apaharan

Who could possibly be interested in Bihar's kidnapping industry? That's what most industry insiders felt when the promos of this film were released. However, Prakash Jha had a very good story to tell about a young man (Ajay Devgan) who aspires to become a policeman and ends up on the wrong side of the law.

The film was appreciated in every quarter of India, by critics as well as audiences. Made at a cost of around Rs 8 crore, it got back Rs 15 crore. It also revived the career of Ajay Devgan, who had a series of flops in the last two years.