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201 Responses to “Enthiran (Robot), Anjaana Anjaani, Dabangg (ongoing) and all other box office insanity!”
Friday 1st October 2010 10.45 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Anjaana Anjaani has taken a big start at multiplexes in most major cities of India. The opening at multiplexes in North India can be called bumper. The first two shows (9.15, 10.35) at DT Chandigarh have gone 100% its similar at Wave Ludhiana where the 10.00 was 100% and next at 11.00 is also housefull.
The next shows also seem strong at the above theatres with around 60% tickets gone for the rest of the shows on Friday. Delhi and Gurgaon have seen many multiplexes record 90 -100% collections for early shows this morning while Noida was 90% plus.
The collections at single screens which started there first shows at around 10am may not have as good collections as multiplexes.
B.O. update: ‘AA’ opens to packed houses at plexes, ‘Robot’ starts slow
- By Taran Adarsh, October 1, 2010 – 15:16 IST
ANJAANA ANJAANI, riding on the star power of Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, opened to very good houses at multiplexes across the country. Multiplexes in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Hyderabad and other centres opened to almost packed house. The opening and noon shows were in 80% to 90% range. At several stations, they were 100% too. However, the single screens are expected to be slow not just for ANJAANA ANJAANI, but for ROBOT too since the audience hasn’t really gone out in mass-dominated Hindi belt.
ROBOT [Hindi version] has started slowly, its opening was 30% in morning and noon shows, but the reports are very good and the film is expected to grow by evening. The film has opened to an exceptional response in South.
just saw anjaana anjaani…
as i said i liked both of siddharth anands salaam namaste and bachna ae haseeno..
sid anand is slightly better and different from the umpteen kjo clones.
Anyhow coming back to AA..brief comments–
liked the first half–well executed.
atleast one doesnt get too many kjo-isms but there are the numerous “we are so very hep” vibes from eveyone on the screen.
Still the first half has flow, tempo and is good.
Priyanka chopra starts with a flourish. her opening few scenes including the drunk dialogue scene remings one briefly of the vintage bachchan “drunk” scenes ( obvioulsy pardon the slight exaggeration there)
The movie becomes a bit repetitive and slow at times in the second half. The childish fascination towards “losing ones virginity” gets to you at times.
Priyankas ultrahep “kiara” and ranbir “emerge” comfortably as virgins even after sleeping together fully drunk.
Liked the song haairat and its picturisation due to lucky alis vocals–even the effect of lucky alis videos (which are usually by mahesh mathai) are obvious in this..
Anyhow, i personally have no doubt in saying that Priyanka Chopra is one of the best actresses amongst the current lot–she literally rules a few scenes a la madhuri and sridevi (although not with the same consistency and command)
Ranbir shows improved range. His restraint and subtlety even in scenes where one can be tempted to overstate is refreshing.
Overall, a good film with an enjoyable first half and has its moments–but not to be seen with high expectations..
For the first time, I hve sensed that ranbir is in for much bigger things. Although people all around ahve been hyping him for so long but I still find him ( and the likes of imran, shahid) lacking majorly in screen presence.
Ranbir surprises in a few scenes by his restrained, mature handling.
As for Priyanka Chopra, she seems to be getting better and more confident.
The major plus point here is that tyou are dealing with a lead pair who are both v good actors, at the end of the day.
Priyankas looks can be a bit inconsistent —to go into gross detail, other than her lips, the rest of the facial features are usually quite impressive.
The adjoing row had a few smart alecs who dropped in a few hilarious choicest comments at appropriate junctures which added to the “impact”.
The second half drags a bit but thats exactly where one can hear a few muffled female sobs from the “multiplex types”!
Anyhow, personally prefer sid anands sensibilities over any of kjo clones.
Maybe im in a minority here, but enjoyed salaam namaste and loved saifs performance there–thts what you call effortless smoothness–not sure anyone will agree with me there!
*Box Office*: Endhiran opens big in Tamil Nadu, trails Anjaana Anjaani in other parts of India
Friday, October 01, 2010
Oct 1 saw release of the biggest Tamil film ever, Endhiran the Robot, starring Rajnikanth.
And as expected, Endhiran has made opening records in Tamil Nadu and recorded excellent collections in AP. In Karnataka, the collections are limited by the KFCC chamber regulation of limited prints for non-Kannada movies.
The film starring Rajnikanth and supported by Aishwarya Rai and Danny Denzopa. and billed as biggest release ever is however having a tough time in rest of India where even an ordinary Bollywood release Anjaana Anjaani starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra is registering higher collections despite mixed reports, especially in metro multiplexes of Bombay, Delhi, Chandigarh, Calcutta, Surat etc.. However the same was true for Shaad Ali’s Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom (Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Preity Zinta) in 2007 which released opposite Sivaji the Boss. Outside the south, a JBJ which was a Bollywood flop, had outperformed Sivaji the Boss in much of India and overseas.
Speaking of overseas, in UK, Enthiran has reportedly taken in over £50k from preview screenings. It may be able to do 300k pounds weekend. If so, that will be a record for Tamil films, though not for Indian films overall. Anjaana Anjaani may also be looking to do a similar ballpark there.
Anjaana Anjani meanwhile in India has received mixed reports from critics but has opened well in multiplexes. Occupancies for AA are in 60-70% range compared to 10/20% for Robot the Hindi dubbed version of Endhiran which needs a pickup to justify its relative large release in Bombay. But problem for Anjaana Anjani for itself also is that the Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra’s ‘hindi’ film is itself a Karan Johar type overseas set love story which prohibits a huge Hindi national single screen windfall where the turnouts are in the lower range. Many single screen centers theaters like those in centers like Chandrapur, MP are still opting to play the blockbuster Dabangg in its 4th week instead of other newer releases. This is bound to lower AA’s gross overall and so AA is not going to be another Rajneeti caliber grosser for Ranbir Kapoor. That film, viewers will recall, did a 130-140 crore gross just a few months back.
Dabangg meanwhile had another 22 crore gross week in week 3 and is closing in on the Rs. 200 crore mark soon.
A general point about Endhiran and Tamil cinema in general. Many people may be wondering how a Tamil film, of a spoken language of only about 60 million people, is even able to compare to a Hindi hit, of a spoken language of 600 million+ people. That is simply because a far higher percentage of the Tamil population is going to see an Endhiran than the percentage of Hindi speaking population of India is going to see a movie like Anjaana Anjaani. Enthiran will pretty much be the major moment and turnover generating movie for the Tamil industry overall for 2010/11. Whereas the Hindi film industry is not contained by or dependent on an AA for its overall multi-thousand crore+ turnover over the course of 2010 at the theatrical box office.
Among Hollywood releases last week, Beauty and the Beast has opened to a so so response. Resident Evil-Afterlife is holding steady.
Regardless of the final BO outcome of AA, Ranbir has sealed the deal here with the opening. An opening north of crores is on the cards after the Fri performance and it is solely due to Ranbir.
He is unbelievably popular amongst the younger crowds and in recent times no one has energized them to this extent.
On a separate note, watched MNIK finally and this one deserves a separate post and a proper review even so late in the game. Hopefully will get to it sooner rather than later.
There was no doubting Ranbir in this kind of a film at this point. Frankly it’s a bit expected, the resulting film would obiously have major play with its audience (which for me means no play at all!) and especially with this guy in the lead. Rajneeti was always more of a surprise and gave him more to work with, hopefully he doesn’t squander the opt. on this kind of film..
On MNIK – look forward to your thoughts though I’m not sure what to expect!
Box Office: Anjaana Anjaani nets Rs 80 million on opening day
MUMBAI: The Ranbir Kapoor – Priyanka Chopra starrer Anjaana Anjaani has opened well at the box office with almost 95 – 100 per cent occupancy in most centers like Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Vizag and Jaipur.
The movie saw net collections of approximately Rs 75 – 80 million (Rs 7.50 – 8 crore) on its opening day across India.
On the other hand, Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s much hyped film Robot (Hindi dubbed) has failed to draw audience to theaters. However the Tamil version Endhiran has opened to packed houses in Tamil Nadu and is all set to break records. Fox Star Studios’ Khichdi – The Movie too has had an average opening with around 30 – 35 per cent occupancy. Another small budget Hindi comedy – Benny Aur Babloo – saw a poor opening at the box office.
Anjaana Anjaani, directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, is a romantic comedy and has been appreciated by the younger crowds. While hopes were riding high on Robot, which is also supposed to be one of the most expensive Indian films, it has failed to live up to the expectations. However multiplexes are hopeful that the film will pick up over the weekend.
Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Inox Leisure associate vice president Rajender Singh Jyala said, “Anajana Anjaani has opened very well, with most of our properties opening to full houses. The weekend too looks very good. Robot had an average opening, it did not open as well as expected but the Tamil version Endhiran has opened really well. Khichidi has had an average opening too.”
Fun Cinemas senior vice president Deepak Saluja added, “All three films have had an average opening with around 30 – 35 per cent occupancy. This could be because people were still very reluctant to venture to the theaters because of the Ayodhya verdict. The weekend looks good and we are expecting both Anjana Anjaani and Robot to go up to 75 per cent. Khichidi has done average business.”
Anjaana Anjaani grossed a very good 7.25 crore nett on day one. The film lost around 1 crore nett business due to bandhs at various cities and many single screens including the huge Rajmandir theatre in Jaipur refusing to play the film as Eros have problems with some distributors. If the film had a clean release it would have had the biggest first day for its genre beating Love Aaj Kal. Even still Mumbai, Delhi/NCR and East Punjab performed extremely well. Business was badly hit in UP, CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan. The first day breakdown is as follows.
Rajinikanth starrer Endhiran has finally arrived, with a bang. We all know how the advance booking for the first two weeks in Chennai went out within minutes of the ticket counter opening, how people queued up to watch 4am shows on the Friday of release, and how audiences have been going berserk in cinema halls at the antics of their favourite star.
What remains to be seen, however, is whether India’s most expensive film ever – at a budget in excess of Rs150 crores – will be able to earn back its investment and make profits. Early reports indicate that it most certain will accomplish the gargantuan feat.
Sun Pictures, the owners of the film, are reported to have already earned Rs210 crores, clearly making a profit. “In the case of South films, things work differently,” explains trade analyst Amod Mehra. “Sun Pictures, who hold the satellite rights themselves, has made a handsome profit on the film.”
Even if we look at the box office prospects of the film, it seems like Endhiran is set to be the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema. “The films should earn a nett amount of Rs35-40 crores in only the south territories over the first weekend itself,” says Komal Nahta, editor of Film Information, adding that he’s only talking about the Tamil version.
“Then there are the Telugu versions, Hindi versions and the business that should come from the release of the Tamil version in other parts of India and overseas.”
The biggest Indian grosser of all time, 3 Idiots, earned a total nett amount of Rs202 crores from box office receipts. Endhiran seems set to break that record, mainly due to Rajinikanth’s appeal that goes beyond south India to many parts of the world, all of where the film has reportedly opened to packed houses. Screens in the US, Europe, Japan and Malaysia are all seeing unprecedented crowds for an Indian film, even Asian films.
“In places like Dubai, the fan frenzy is said to be unmatchable. Plus, in major south Indian cities, ticket prices have been hiked to unbelievable amounts – from Rs1500 to Rs3000 – in spite of which, shows in every cinema hall are House Full for the next 10 days,” says Nahta.
While the Telugu dubbed version of the film, Robo, has had a phenomenal opening as well, the Hindi dubbed version, Robot, has opened to average collections. “Having said that, the most a dubbed Hindi film earns is a little over a crore. Robot, the Hindi version, itself should do a business of over Rs10 crore. Now, that is saying something,” says Mehra.
Raavanan will be screened at the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in NYC. It will be followed by a conversation with Mani Ratnam. This is scheduled for Sat Nov 13 in the evening.
Saw anjaana anjaani last night. Better than IHLS, the basic premise is decent enough but alass this genre is getting butchered by very average treatment and plots. Priyanka is good screen presence to watch and somewhat overshadows Ranbir, her character is definitely the more fun one.
I’ll be watching it either today or tomorrow.. the difficulty is that I have to make a bit of a trip for the Tamil version, the Hindi would be easier except that I don’t like dubbed films and especially so here because Rajni has not dubbed for himself. But haven’t totally decided one way or the other.
Well, since you are actually a Tamil speaker (or am I wrong), I think you should go for the Tamil version. I would go if I could, even though I am not a Tamil speaker (though I can get by in Chennai. )
Priyanka is good screen presence to watch and somewhat overshadows Ranbir, her character is definitely the more fun one.—agree jayshah.
but have always found Priyanka quite talented. for eg cant even begin to compare her with her competitors like katrina. Strictly on acting skills, voice modulation and overall command over the medium, PC is really up there.
as for kareena, find her more spontaneous but not more talented than PC.
Ranbir shows improved range and skill–think he did v well in some key scenes and showed restraint.
this one was way better than IHLS (although drags in the 2nd half)
On Enthiran – the movie seems to be created havoc even in UK. It got the bigger screens over Anjaana Anjaani and the 6PM that left the theatre was packed! Daily shows practically every hour!
The big noise for the frame came from new regional and niche titles. The Tamil language Robots (the most expensive film ever produced in India) rewrote the record books with the biggest ever North American debut with a $2.1 million tally. The simultaneous release of Anjaana Anjaani from Bollywood’s Hindi sector was also impressive with a $560,000 bow. In Canada, the Brit import StreetDance 3D generated a hefty $423,000 and the indigenous Fubar II rang up $209,000 from just 30 venues.
If the ticket price hike is not to be considered for the 3 Idiots’ collections, why should it be a factor now? The same market forces that accepted the 3I price hike are in play here.
yes true.. though in the US I’ve only seen these kinds of hikes for Rajni’s films. In India it’s much more common for big releases. But I do agree which is why I myself made the point earlier that people are willing to pay as much as $40 for the film!
i feel so happy for rajini…..here is a….sorry THE SUPERSTAR….who doesn’t go out and give 100 interviews, who doesn’t have to ask his PR teams to work round the clock, who doesn’t have to give those politically correct statements before the release of films……RAJINI….Sirf naam hi kaafi hei….I salute this man, this hero……BIG B,aamir,srk,sallu,akki,hritik….all look so pale at this moment…..once a bus-conductor ruling millions and at the age of 60 can pull of such a monstrous hit…..can there be a better fairy tale which is so real? i am still waiting to watch it in theater….tickets are not available!
there should be a law against using those other stars in the same line as Bachchan!
On Rajni he has become a mass cult phenomenon, at the same time let’s not forget the last two films have been with Shankar! He appears once in two or three years in these massive films. He gets the entire base out there. Not taking anything away from him but he isn’t acting regularly anymore.
“there should be a law against using those other stars in the same line as Bachchan!”
Satyam – with due respect to BIG B or for that matter any other star of India – name one film which has got such tremendous BO response – and Rajini, I think has done it more than thrice after he turned 50 – i am not comparing past with present, i am comparing PRESENT with PRESENT.
There is no present without the past! But even sticking to the present I did mention some of the phenomenal work Bachchan has been doing. Or are you only interested in box office magnitude? It would be one thing if Bachchan were doing the kinds of films he did in the 80s and then did not have the same magnitude. But he’s walked away from all that. It’s like saying RDB didn’t make as much as Krrish! As many used to! It’s like saying Lagaan did half of what Gadar did! Is that the only thing that counts?
Or is it that Bachchan often does get the short end in many of your arguments?! Either by comparison with what very younger stars did just last week (!) or by being compared unfavorably to Aamir or to Rajnikant (which is a move I’ve seen in the Bombay media since Sivaji..).
By the way this does not diminish Rajni’s achievement in any sense (even if I did not start watching him yesterday! or suddenly start appreciating Southern superstars today! Incidentally the two stars who get short shrift in this debate are Mammootty and Mohanlal… they’ve been doing it since the early to mid-80s.. they’re still dominant and they still mix it up.. Mammootty far more than Mohanlal but nonetheless is capable of producing award worthy work as well as massive box office outcomes), I am just arguing against what I see as a certain polemic in code.
‘Or are you only interested in box office magnitude?”
Satyam, you are writing this as if this “box office magnitude” is something so common – my dear friend! that means the love of people…..people still want to spend their hard-earned money on a 60+ yrs hero dancing with a woman half his age, doing all sort of unimaginable things……the same thing people did for BIG B years ago……so yup! I AM only interested in B.O. magnitude of TODAY. Can BIG B or anyone else do it in India TODAY? I am not talking about KBC and endorsement and BIG BOSS and all those things….let us talk CELLULOID of today……Rajini rocks and at this moment, he deserves all the praise and BO success. And he has done it without any ho-halla!
well then it’s clear using your standard that Aamir became the top Hindi film star only in Dec 2008 when Ghajini released! Because every other year he was outgrossed by the competition. And even going forward we will judge Aamir’s achievements by how much he can outgross the competition in his 50th year and so on!
By the way when you say ‘today’ when does this begin? Last year, last month, last week..?
As for anyone else doing it well Mammootty and Mohanlal are doing it. They just do it in a language that doesn’t have enough reach. And NO ONE could do it in Bollywood in Rajni’s terms. Why? Because Hindi cinema lost its masala roots a long time ago. Had those roots been preserved, had Bachchan also clung to that history and also managed his career better I think he very easily could have been in this position and this is what I’ve argued for years. As for not looking at KBC well no one has created that kind of history on television either, no one at his age has done that many endorsements either. That too indicates a star of a certain magnitude. Otherwise why couldn’t a far younger SRK replicate his success on TV?!
Finally let’s be clear about the Hindi media hype. Both Sivaji and now Robot will still do negligibly in Hindi (relative to all the hype). And if it is only about getting massive hits why wasn’t the Hindi media comparing younger stars like SRK and so on unfavorably to Southern stars all these years (including younger ones who were sometimes getting massive hits)?
I made this point with Shivaji also but much as it this kind of hype that Rajni generates is stunning it is equally true that Shankar has mastered the circus act with him. This time he even had Ash besides the sci-fi theme. It’s like OSO on steroids! A film is designed like a circus, the star at the center is the minimal signature needed to keep the circus functioning smoothly, but the star is also ‘padded’ with these sorts of things. The last two Rajni films have been this way, before this there was Chandramukhi, a very un-Rajni film, but that was nevertheless a remake of a Malayalam hit and has since been one in Hindi as well. Before this there was a colossal flop in Baba. The last regular film he did was Padaiyappa in 1999! Rajni has basically done four films since 1999, basically once every three years! This is what one would call an artificially controlled experiment!
And again I am a huge Rajni fan, I have driven distances for his films and paid ticket prices that I wouldn’t for most major Hindi films. Not is it a knock on Rajni. At his age to get it done this way is still stunning. But there are factors here that call for analysis.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I’m a Big B fan but it is refreshing to see a star who keeps a low profile and is not out there giving a zillion interviews and appears only briefly when his movie releases. It works for him but I guess it would not work in BW now where marketing is crucial to get an opening.
thnx tyler
i think rajini made a genuine attempt to enter BW when BIG B was the reigning superstar – and i had read a zillion articles which said that BIG B played foul to prevent Rajini’s entry in BW – i didn’t believe any of them though – but Rajini, at that time also, never went out of his way to do PR/PUBLICITY – in fact he did none, gracefully went back to TAMIL cinema and rest…..is not yet HISTORY…it is HISTORY in making
On Bachchan playing foul to prevent Rajni’s entry surprising because I have never come across a single one! The only proper hit Rajni had in Hindi cinema was Andhaa Kanoon where Bachchan had a very special guest role! He did a number of other films but never amounted to much. The idea that Bachchan needed to stop him is ridiculous in the extreme. No Southern male star has ever become successful in Bollywood. Kamal’s example is even better. He too started with a bang in Ek Duje Ke Liye, did a number of films but again nothing happened. By the way in terms of PR/publicity Bachchan wasn’t even on talking terms with the media at the time (!) so I doubt he had the media on his side. LOL!
“BIG B played foul to prevent Rajini’s entry in BW ”
Never heard this before. But read the same being said about Kamal sir’s entry though. but what rajini sir achieved is incomparable to most stars..he became the biggiest superstar in history of indian cinema with enthiran. In Asia, he’s only next to Jackie Chan in terms of popularity..
Rajani, the 60+ year is still having the solid fan base, mostly youth. In case of AB, I don’t think he got much of fan base in youth. In bollywood, the youngsters moved on from AB, SRK and now Ranbir. In South, it rarely happens.
Too much of public appearances , ads, TV of Bollywood stars diluting the star effect.
true but that’s also because if you don’t offer the younger generation or for that matter an older one the essence of your ‘superstardom’ your appeal gets diluted. It is not that people in the South keep following superstars but that their superstars keep reinforcing their essential narrative. Bachchan hasn’t done this for 20 years. When Hum released in 1990 there was hysteria. But Bachchan walked away from that much as Bollywood was not capable of handling him at that point. But in fairness Bachchan has had roles and triumphs in this period that is beyond the wildest reach of most other superstars. Can you imagine anyone but him doing Black or Paa 32 and 36 years after he got his first hit with Zanjeer? And he’s still building on this. Now of course he could have handled all of this much better than he has. He could have had these roles but also been a mass superstar.
There is another angle to all of this also. In some ways Rajni’s phenomenon is enabled by (paradoxically) and inherent limitation. He can only do what he has been doing for so many years. Whatever the era he basically plays signature. But there is a certain crisis at the heart of his career which the Shankar ‘circuses’ mask. He doesn’t do regular stuff like Muthu or Padaiyappa at this point. It would be interesting to see what happens when it isn’t a Shankar film. He is of course a giant to remain appealing but it’s not as if there’s any pressure on him to reinvent. On the other hand this is always so with a superstar who is also an actor. This is true for Mammootty or Mohanlal or Kamal. Bachchan similarly. For him to also become the ultimate poster figure for the new consumer India he had to not remain the 80s superstar. You can do one or the other but not both.
The character is a homage to Sivaji.. The walk, laughing style, taking the piss out of others, mimicking goat, increasing/changing the tone etc is from thespian. This influence made Rajini one of the best actors of negative roles in Indian cinema. Then you could imagine what kind of GOD Sivaji really was.
Last 4 hits of Rajini all have Sivaji connection:
Padayappa – NT acted as Rajini’s father!
Chandramukhi – Sivaji Productions
Sivaji – He baptized himself after Barrister Rajinikanth role in Gouravam. But his real name was “Sivaji rao gaekward”. He didn’t feel worthy of using that name when Sivaji was still around. Of course! But years later as established superstar, he was confident enough to just use it as a character name. The film also has multiple tributes to Sivaji (& MGR, Kamal too)
Enthiran – Released on Sivaji’s birthdate. Chitti v2.0 is a homage.
There’s nothing to LOL here. Unless you want to disrespect the legend(s) of Tamil cinema.
If you’re suggesting that Rajini as a non-actor ala MGR. I’d worry about your health.
Sivaji is a GREAT Star too. He’s the ideal star-actor.
Both Kamal and Rajini are star-actors who came from KB’s school. MGR and Sivaji were rather different in the sense that MGR never really was an actor. I don’t care who established more in respective areas.
I’m baffled by how highly you place Sivaji Ganeshan. It’s not as if this is the first time I’ve come across Sivaji adulation (I certainly understand his importance within the tradition) but I’ve never encountered Sivaji-love on this level. I think it’s inspired me to revisit his works. I’ve seen my share back in the day but have to admit it’s never really made much of an impression.
You just have to face upto facts I’m afraid.. Sivaji could never match MGR just as Kamal could never match Rajni at the box office. Sivaji and Kamal are titans but they still lose out to the other two as box office forces.
As for those videos not sure who this proves anything..
With due respect to Rajini, it is like comparing an extremely successful Ranji player with an extremely successful test player when it comes to AB and Rajini. A Ranji player may hit a quadruple hundred but it is still not worth as much as a test century.
I take it you are making a distinction between “regional” and “national” films. But in what way are Hindi films any more national than the films of any other language? It has been stated that 40% of a Hindi film’s total gross comes from Mumbai alone, and something like 70% from Mumbai and Delhi. The rest come primarily from other Hindi speaking areas of the country. Though Hindi films are shown in some other metros like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and even Chennai, it is pointed out again and again that strong collections in those territories can make no real difference to the fate of a film. So aren’t Hindi films just as “regional” as Tamil or Telugu films? And if we are to look at overseas territories, a Tamil film that grosses more than the highest grossing Hindi film in the U.S. has legitimately beaten it, without any excuses of being a “regional” film. So your analogy is not apt. I think the case with Hindi films is more like the U.S. baseball championship being called the “World Series”, even though none other than American teams play in it.
Re.-think the case with Hindi films is more like the U.S. baseball championship being called the “World Series”, even though none other than American teams play in it.
Ya and that is why all the southern actors who as soon as they become successful want to do hindi films to get more recognition and all the failed Hindi film actors run to to do Southern films to get more money and then come back to their first love – hindi films if they earn name for themselves in southern cinema.
PS- I simply love Rajneekaant but to say he is above Big B is plain stupid.
Why should they? The comparison is about the collections of films. And perhaps we should wait until Rajni’s film career goes into the doldrums and he looks for a way to resurrect himself before making the comparison to KBC.
Hindi, may I remind you IS our national language.
After over 50 years of Independence, some have still not learned to live with the fact.
I come from Gujarat and Hindi is not my first language and have no dog in the North vs South fight but have no problem accepting that Hindi is our nationa llanguage and spoken by the OVERWHELMING majority.
Just a little information. Hindi is not our national language. There is no national language as per our constitution. Hindi and english are the official languaes of the central government only. Each state can adopt their own languages for their official use. You can do a google search to know the truth of this statement
yes true.. and this is the first time than a non-Hindi movie has taken the top spot.. it combines the Tamil, Telugu, Hindi versions but nonetheless a feat.
BO Update: Rajnikanth outinitials SRK in USA; Endhiran leaves Anjana Anjani behind in India
Monday, October 04, 2010
That Endhiran was setting records in India was a possibility given that half of Tamil Nadu appeared to be watching the movie on Friday. The joke in Tamil circles is that the “parking lot collection for Endhiran is higher than the entire box office collection of Anjaana Anjaani”, the Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer. That is not true but clearly Endhiran was going to put up a bumper figure in India as even the Hindi version showed a jump on Saturday. At this point it appears that Endhiran has done atleast Rs. 40 crores gross in its opening weekend from the South and a similar nett (due to fact that entertainment tax is very low or rather 0 in Tamil Nadu for Tamil films). The Hindi version Robot has done another 12-13 crores gross. The record holder for Indian films is Dabangg right now, last month’s Salman Khan starrer which did a Rs. 70 crores opening weekend gross (49-50 crores weekend net) in India last month over its 3 day weekend. The overall current raw grossing topper is Raju Hirani’s 3 Idiots which registered an all India gross of approximately Rs. 300 crores apart from $2.5 million in UK and $6.5 million in USA.
Speaking of USA, what has come as the bigger surprise is the film Endhiran/Robot may have set a new record for Indian films in USA box office by taking in over $2 million for a 3 day weekend. That beats even the US opening weekend mark set by Shahrukh Khan’s My Name is Khan, which failed to impress much in India, but took a big number in USA atleast at around $1.9 million for a 3 day weekend opening. But Endhiran has taken a bigger opening with its core audience in India and beaten the likes of Shah Rukh Khan starrer MNIK overseas in US also. The irony is Shahrukh Khan was also in consideration for Robot before Rajnikanth decided to make it. If the film can sustain, it may even catch 3I’s mark of $6.5 million in US.
Nonetheless now the question will be how long does Endhiran show legs and how long before a Bollywood film takes back the opening bonanza marks. As mentioned earlier, a very large percentage of Tamil Nadu, and to a lesser extent Andhra Pradesh expatriates have shown up for Rajnikanth’s Endhiran. If a similar percentage of Hindi states citizenry showed up en masse behind a Hindi movie, the opening generated would be much much bigger than Endhiran. But this kind of intensity in middle India can not be generated by a Karan Johar type overseas pseudo-pop cinema like Anjaana Anjaani or on the other extreme, a Raavan (Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai) type cultural inversion.
As for Ranbir Kapoor’s Anjaana Anjani the film had a decent opening on Friday but the overseas set love story with Priyanka Chopra was losing steam by Sunday. It looks to have had about a 38-40 crore gross weekend.
IBOS seem to be talking about gross far more than net of late.. It makes a certain sense as we then know how much a film has made before India’s crazy and chaotic tax issues pop up state by state and even theater by theater (single screen/multiplex divide)!
I will say this (and here the Ash factor is very important) but I’ve seen some Hindi speakers take an interest in Robot who’ve never seen a Rajni film or any sort of Tamil film before this. If the film can make a significant mark in Hindi that’s fantastic.
“I will say this (and here the Ash factor is very important) but I’ve seen some Hindi speakers take an interest in Robot who’ve never seen a Rajni film or any sort of Tamil film before this.”–Agree, i am one of those who might watch their first rajni film (dubbed robot) apart from “hum”…
Have always found kamal hassan an outstanding actor and star in the relatively little i have seen of him. Unlike others, I found him outstanding in hey raam–think he directed it as well…
But have never understood the “rajni magic”.
But i am a firm believer that when a person has as many hysterical fans as rajni has, there HAS to be something tangible to it.
SO MANY CANNOT be wrong.
Must add, that the involvement of shankar, ash, rehman add a lot of value for people like me who are not familiar to rajni.
agree somewhat with rajen here and share the “fascination” with rajni.
NOT to belittle his standing or talent.
Numbers dont really matter and if some people get kicks out of saying that he is asias 1st or 2nd or 3rd biggest star , i dont have qualms about it…
But there is something about the “northern media” this time, who seems to have suddenly “discovered” the iconicity of rajni—
cmon man, this guy has been around for ages and there were seldom any celebratory articles on rajni dealing with superlatives in every half sentence.
Perhaps, numbers dont lie and if someone is producing hysteria like this, media and everyone sits up to take notice.
However, discounting for the lamguage barrier, even if rajni stars in a bollywood NON-DUBBED hindi solo film, it will be wortwhile to see the result.
Having said that, I applaud this mans pulling power, singular style and success–his off screen persona and humility is also a treat to watch—something to learn for the “kings” of bollywood.
Dont get me wrong.
I am on board with the Rajini phenomenon and am fascinated by it as long as perspective is maintained.
If comparisions are to be made, one can say a bigger percentage of his target audience show up to watch Rajini as compared to any other star. But, his target audience is certainly not as big as some stars. To have some credibility in non-Tamil audiences they needed to get Aish on board. AB or for that matter SRK doesnt need South Indian heroines to work on Bangalore or Chennai.
I think it is just ridiculous to suggest that Hindi films are watched only in the Hindi belt.
$2.1 in North America is a fabulous number but too many facts come in the way of interpreting it as a sign of greater BO success than 3I or Rajini being a greater Pan-Indian star than Aamir or SRK.
Anjaana Anjaani had a good weekend of 24 crore nett as per early estimates. The film had a troubled weekend in that Friday was affected with bandhs and release disputes and then Sunday it took a hit in its best area Delhi NCR due to the commonwealth games.The film lost around 1.50 crore nett due to release problems and commonwealth games.
The film will be a big earner for makers as costs are pretty low and the film has earned well from satellite and music while overseas has also contributed well. The Indian theatrical business will depend on what happens on the weekdays at the multiplexes. Mumbai, Delhi/UP and East Punjab have fared best. In the South it had huge competition in the form of Endhiran and the CP CI Rajasthan belt suffered from release problems.
The daily breakdowns were 7.25 crore for Friday, 8.75 crore for Saturday and 8 crore nett for Sunday. Sunday suffered mainly as collections in Delhi/UP and East Punjab dropped due to the commonwealth games
I thought it was all about distribution costs, suddenly it’s all about the ‘makers’! Taran has pulled this one lately too on a number of films like IHLS and we are family (ah.. Johar!).
They’ll change their tune eventually but they try hard when a Bachchan is not connected with the film!
according to IBOS it’s 12-13 crores gross. The nett will obviously be much lower. As I said the Hindi media hypes these things crazily but the Hindi collections for both Sivaji and so far Robot have been negligible. I think it would be creditable if Robot got to even 20 crores but it would have to be very stable to do that. And this would still be good relative to the history of dubbed films. Otherwise 20 crores is itself a very minor number.
yeah and a Rajni film in Telugu is more or less like a major local release..
historically market penetration in TN and then Andhra has also been greatest (per capita theaters).. so you can really get massive returns from each of these states, you combine them and it’s historic. This is not accounting for Kerala and Karnataka.
12 crores is the gross number according to IBOS.. and since they’re celebrating this film’s impact and comparing it very favorably to Hindi grossers I think they’ve love a higher number.
And, Satyam sorry for cluttering up this post about Rajini celebration with inconvinient facts.
And any body who wants to argue this matter using FACTS and not cliches like ‘Hindi belt is not India’ or ridiculous statements like ‘Hindi films are regional’ is welcome to do so.
Public thinks ‘Robot’ is a dubbed film, so inspite of appreciation it has sinked today.. AA also did without any murmur… At many places collections of Dabangg in 4th wk are better than both these films ..
I think you take the “circus” bit (about Rajini, often regurgitated by few bachchan fans) too literally. These overt gimmicks & gestures (in his masala avatars) might not work on face value. Even I don’t share the taste for it. Yet, I acknowledge there’s a great actor lost somewhere. He had acted in diverse roles. You could see that in Scientist character, Innocent chitti and Evil Chitti – only two other actors could have done it – Sivaji and Kamal. Btw, thank god it wasn’t done by SRK. (Shudders)
One thing that ‘Southern fans’ dont appreciate or acknowledge is that there a lot of cultural influences at play in this massive adulation enjoyed by the stars. Imagine people immolating themselves at news of MGR’s illness! He was an average actor and a worse politican.
Yes, the South idolises its stars way more than the rest of the country does.
Does it make their stars bigger ( not physically. That they are like Sivaji) or batter?
Idont think so and most sane people would agree.
“He was an average actor and a worse politican.”
Worse politician?
MGR – Average actor? I’d say worse. He was a non-actor.
OTOH Rajini is NOT. What if he became more of a star while curbing his acting talent (that he displayed in his earlier films.)? TFI is about duos. Top two stars of old generation are MGR and Sivaji, while top two stars of next generation was Kamal and Rajini. It’s not like Sivaji had never topped MGR in box office. He had dominated at different periods. Similarly Kamal dominated Rajini for periods. But in terms of acting, MGR was never an actor. Rajini was a fantastic actor when he first started and IMO, still has ability in him.
Rajni even over 60 is a bigger superstar than any other star anywhere in the world, and that includes AB. Just see the euphoria surrounding Robot…it’s just unbelievable. I am not a fan but I have not seen anything like this.
Yes, he is not watched all over India, but that’s just because it’s a language issue, and a lot of north indians shy away from anything southern.
Rajen, I explained that’s a language issue. And despite that, he is the highest paid star in India and second highest in Asia. Only Jackie Chan makes more money, and that’s because he got into Hollywood.
In the wake of Rajni’s blockbuster, King Khan called for a day-long meeting with the RA.One team, deciding to make it the first-ever interactive gaming flick
The spectacular success of Rajnikanth’s Robot has made Shah Rukh Khan and his team of RA.One sit up and become doubly alert about their pet project.
An SOS meeting was summoned at Mannat on Sunday. Those present at the meeting included director Anubhav Sinha, sound recordist Resul Pookutty and producer Shah Rukh.
After viewing the rushes, a number of vital strategic ideas were devised, following a heated debate, after which everyone let their hair down at a Bandra bar. The most startling resolution during the day-long meeting was to convert RA.One into a full-fledged gaming movie. Sound designer Resul Pookutty says, “The challenge with RA.One is to create a balance between the two distinctly different worlds of gaming and movies.
We met at Shah Rukh’s home on Sunday and watched the film. And yes, we’ve come up with a number of strategies to make RA.One different from all other super-hero films.”
Says a source, “The climax of the film will actually allow audiences to play the RA.One game in theatres as they watch the film. This kind of participative cinema has never been done before in any part of the world.” We can’t wait to push the right buttons.
It has also been decided that a super-hero film without the drama and emotions won’t appeal to Indian audiences. Says the source, “Shah Rukh feels Robot worked so well because it combines special effects with emotions and drama. In RA.One he wants the spectacle and the emotions in equal measures.” Shah Rukh has invited Martin Walsh, the editor of Rob Marshal’s musical feature film Chicago, to edit RA.One. Says the source, “The choice was between the editor of Avatar and Chicago. Shah Rukh has chosen the latter because he feels Chicago is closer to the pulse of a Bollywood drama than Avatar.”
Says the source, “The choice was between the editor of Avatar and Chicago. Shah Rukh has chosen the latter because he feels Chicago is closer to the pulse of a Bollywood drama than Avatar.”
LOL really, maybe because Chicago has songs…this is such a BS news.
Aamir after the show was over wanted to ‘eat his brain’ – Shankars that is – to find out how he managed to conquer that world that he so effectively portrayed on screen.
Aishwarya looked smashing and danced like she had never danced before. Rajni … what can one say for this man. He is just unbelievable. The film is a roller coaster ride of fun and ecstasy and events of mammoth proportions.
Rajni was incredible, Aishwarya was colorful and danced like a dream and content and delivery was simply extraordinary.
Aamir after the show was over wanted to ‘eat his brain’ – Shankars that is – to find out how he managed to conquer that world that he so effectively portrayed on screen.
Demystifying India’s highest paid film-maker — the elusive S Shankar
Meena Iyer
Posted On Monday, October 04, 2010 at 10:48:13 PM
If you join the dots from S Shankar’s first film Gentleman (1993) to his latest Robot (2010) you’ll notice a common thread. For one, he has the finger on the pulse of the mainstream cinegoer. Plus, he knows how to embellish his work with gloss and grandeur at a scale still unimaginable by most filmmakers.
Real Indian palaces, heritage sights, Machu-Pichu, seven wonders of the world…he’s exploited them all long before Bollywood found their address.
But to grant the devil his due — his movies are not just special-effects ridden; there is a definite plot with a message. Also, the budgets get more phenomenal each time.
His first blockbuster Gentleman (1993) (with its iconic Chik paku raile number that introduced the world to Prabhu Deva’s dancing skills) brought a new style of filmmaking but his 90s protagonist is just a different avatar of Bollywood 70s phenomenon — Salim-Javed’s ‘angry young man’. Quite like Amitabh Bachchan, Shankar’s hero has invariably been taking on the system, film after film. But where he leaves his contemporaries way behind is his technical wizardry. A fact just reiterated by his latest Robot (Endhiran, Tamil).
Comparisons to West
Two days after the release of the ` 150 crore film, Kollywood’s Shankar is drawing comparisons to none other than James Cameron. Both are August born; both spare no expense when it comes to their budgets and cinematic vision. And quite like Avatar, the highest worldwide grosser, Robot too has opened to a thunderous start.
The filmmaker himself remains remarkably modest about being “India’s Cameron quotient.” “Stop pulling my leg,’’ he says. “I don’t need any more spotlight on me than that is already there,” he laughs.
But with an enviable track record of seven of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema, Shankar is on the verge of rewriting history with his eight one. Trade sources confirm that Endhiran, has broken the record of the highest box office collections for a Tamil film — the film, they say, will cross the ` 250 crore mark.
Decoding the director
So what’s Shankar all about? Born in a fairly affluent family in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, he worked as a quality control supervisor till the movie bug bit him. On a telephone call he still introduces himself as, “Hi I’m Shankar, the director,’’ and when you incredulously ask him why he says that, he replies, “my films and I are twins, joined at the hip.’’
But while his on-screen heroes are the robust Robinhood-rascala amalgamation, Shankar himself is the anti-thesis. He’s more like a quiet mouse on set, rather than like a megalomaniac wielding the megaphone. And he lets his ADs have a field day liaising with Bollywood beauties and the crew.
But quiet demeanor apart, with his baseball cap and huge sun-shades, Shankar is the boss. He has worked with the legends of Tamil cinema — Kamal Haasan (Indian) and Rajnikanth (Sivaji-The Boss, Endhiran-Robot) but is neither in awe of his subject nor does he brook any interference. As he says, “Rajnikanth is the ultimate for any film-maker. His demi-God status aside, he’s the most obedient actor I’ve worked with. He doesn’t leave the set once he reports for work…and he still maintains a child-like curiosity about everything related to a film.’’
What makes him work
One of his assistant directors says the secret of his success lies in his engineering background — he goes about fixing each nut and bolt step by step while filmmaking. Robot was originally planned five years ago with Priety Zinta and Kamal Hasan. The monies didn’t drop at that point. It was then revived with Shah Rukh Khan. Story goes when Shankar went to Orange County (with his wife, son, daughters Aditi and Aishwarya and team of writers) to give Shah Rukh a detailed narration, he had every colour scheme, every frame and other minute details worked out. Shah Rukh was visibly impressed but the deal fell through and the Rajni came on board.
He is also a tough cookie to please. A stickler for punctuality, years ago, when Manisha Koirala (Indian, Mudalvan) walked in just a few minutes late on a couple of occasions, he had turned shades of purple. And one has seen him lapse into complete silence after he and the Nepali actress had a slight altercation about a scene.
Of course all this doesn’t compromise his work relations. The next morning, he sorted the matter with Manisha and shooting progressed at a brisk pace.
A simple man
In personal life he’s a plain-dresser. Though he arrives in a high-end automobile (he earlier drove a Merc but after his association with Shah Rukh, switched to a BMW) he has no shenanigans attached to his name. He’s the kind of guy who has no hesitation to eat food at roadside joints, goes about his work-home-work routine and shuns parties save for the occasional awards function.
But his budgets are the opposite. Ask him about why his budgets always get more prominence than his reviews, and he says, “I don’t know the intention of the press when it highlights the budgets of movies. In my movies the money has always been well-spent. In Robot, the animatronics used is of the same calibre of The Jurassic Park, Terminator and Avatar. And since it was also done at the Stan Winston Studios in the US, the SFX cost huge money. I only put my money where my mouth is. Robot needed high-end technical effects. If Indian cinema had a wider release, then I would have spent at least half of what Avatar did on SFX. However, I’ve always believed in bringing in something new via technology in every film of mine. And it is because of the novelty element that my films have a repeat value.”
“I think it’s wrong to talk about my movie budgets constantly. There is an equal amount of blood and sweat invested in the effort. The film took two years to make and we had a huge foreign crew involved. Every member of my unit and the foreign crew has worked so hard on this film that the money pales in comparison to the effort put in.’’
The journey ahead
Fair enough, but one wonders whether it is personal angst that is responsible for the Robinhood characters he writes. Says Shankar, “I’m a common man. And I’m fully aware of what is happening around me. As a journalist you have a pen that you use to highlight injustice. As a director, I have another medium to do exactly the same.’’
But the films he patronises are vastly different from the ones he makes. A self-confessed Mani Ratnam admirer, the other three films that have left an indelible mark on him are Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai and Raj Kumar Hirani’s 3-Idiots. “When I’m in between scripts the only things I make time for are watching movies,” he says.
And though his movies leave gadget freaks gasping, he’s technologically challenged in real life. “All the technology is reserved for my films. I don’t even what hidden features my cell-phone has,’’ he laughs.
As he gets into his vehicle to visit the local Chennai theatres for reactions, he adds, “People want to know what I’m making next. I usually have some idea stashed away in my head for my next film even before the earlier one has wrapped. In 17 years, I have directed 10 films. I guess I have been prolific. But, this time around I want to wait for the hangover of Robot to subside. What I really need at this point is to splash some water on my face, clear my head and go for a long drive and feel the breeze blow.’’
Rajni is a force and event that has never happenned in Indian Cinema and will never happen. I have followed AB very closely from early 80′s and never in his peak could he create such an aura, so much adulation across genders, age groups – the Rajni appeal mystery is something that no one (Sherlock Holmes incl) can ever solve.
He just has to turn up to make the people turn up at the halls.
BTW regd the flop Baba – it grossed more than Vijay’s biggest hit Kushi at that time. So much for comparison with anybody.
Look at Endhiran – an ordinary movie with great visuals – will any producer ever put so much money on anybody except Rajni and still expect to make a huge profit. Will any other star at this budget there was no recovery model. Rajni has completely made Shankar’s dream come true. End of Discussion.
Satyam, Rajen – I think you are being very biased. Rajni is the single biggest box office force in the history of Indian cinema. EVER. His grosses (are higher than many hindi movies). You can find many other attributes/ parameters like language/ star-actor/ chosen career path/ death of bollywood masala on how AB or any one else is better than Rajni. Please yourself!
Opening Numbers: Endhiran (Tamil) v Dabangg v Three Idiots
Monday 4th October 2010 20.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Endhiran (Tamil) and its Telugu and Hindi versions combined have given the largest first weekend distributor share ever in India. As per general industry estimates the shares were 25 crore for Tamil version, 13 crore for Telugu version and 4 crore for Hindi version. The total distributor share being 42 crore. Dabangg was 30 crore approx and Three Idiots 21.75 crore approx.
The film has also the highest first weekend nett collections ever in India at 56 crore nett. Dabanng was 49 crore nett and Three Idiots 38 crore nett.
But in terms of the amount collected at the ticket counter it remained below the Salman Khan All Time Blockbuster Dabangg. All three versions of Endhiran had a gross figure of 62 crore over its first weekend while Dabangg picked up 65 crore over a similar period with Three Idiots at a 50.50 crore gross.
Endhiran (Tamil) figures alone without dubbed versions was 25 crore distributor share, 31 crore nett and gross.
The collections of Anjaana Anjaani dropped around 55-60% on Monday from Friday collections.
The film grossed around 2.75-3 crore nett on Monday taking the four day total to 26.50-26.75 crore nett. The weekday business looks like adding around the 9 crore nett mark.
Robot also dropped with collections of 1.25 crore nett on Monday. The drop is 25% from Friday but Friday was very low. The drop was 60% plus from its Saturday and Sunday business.
Enthiran to beat Magadheera collections?
By Moviebuzz | Tuesday, 05 October , 2010, 10:44
The Enthiran wave is sweeping south India, and in Andhra, its Telugu dubbed version Robot is a mega blockbuster.
The trade says it has taken a super opening, similar to a Telugu superstar movie. The buzz is that the collections are sure to exceed the super hit Maghadheera in all release centres!
The leading business paper The Economic Times has reported that Enthiran and its Hindi version Robot has “grossed around Rs 50 Crore in its opening weekend in India”.
Most of the multiplex owners told the business daily: “ Robot opening on Friday was 45 to 50 percent but picked up during Saturday and Sunday due to good word of mouth and firmed up around 85 percent which is fantastic for a dubbed film. On the other hand in south there is 100 percent occupancy and in some places tickets are sold in black for Rs 5000!”
Move over Shah Rukh Khan; there’s a new king in tinsel town. He’s 61, a god in South India, and now, superstar Rajinikanth has taken over Bollywood fans, too. His latest film, Enthiran-The Robot, has broken all opening weekend sales recorded by any Bollywood film, ever. With box office
collection worth a whopping R56 crore on its first weekend, the film has overshot the record set by Salman Khan’s Dabangg, by 17 per cent.
Even in North India, where it’s mostly Bollywood films that have done well, the movie is a top grosser, beating Anjaani Anjaani, which released on the same day. “We didn’t expect such a great response in the North sector. We’re planning to increase the number of shows in Delhi this weekend — that’s how phenomenal the response has been,” says Shirish Handa of Fun Cinemas.
Enthiran“Rajinikanth is now the baadshah of the box office, and the numbers prove it,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “Robot has put him on an unmatchable level. His demand is growing both in North India and internationally.”
It’s not just multiplexes that are raking in the moolah. Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani theatre in Purnia, Bihar, insists that both the classes and the masses seem to love the actor in his latest avatar. “We’ve never witnessed something like this earlier. The shows remain full even on Mondays.”
Till three years ago, Rajinikanth’s films would only take South India by storm. The turning point was Sivaji – The Boss (2007). Even the Tamil version was a hit in Mumbai. Now, Robot is repeating the success story like never before. “It’s not Batman or Superman, no blonde-haired, white-skinned super hero saving the world… he is our very own Chitti — one we can all relate to,” says film critic Anupama Chopra.
Setting a huge recording for a Tamil film which was also dubbed into Telugu and Hindi, the Rajnikanth juggernaut Endhiran (Robot) grossed over the weekend an estimated $1.56 million in North America.
While Robot, which was showing in 139 theaters is the toast of the town, the romantic film Anjaana Anjaani had a decent opening. It grossed $517,000 in 91 theaters.
This is an awesome gross for any Indian film, particularly a Tamil film, said a distributor who asked not to be named. But people forget a number of theaters doubled the admission price for many shows to $25, some even charged $40 which would be more than the Imax admission price for Avatar.
Robot became the bigger weekend opening film in North America not only for Rajnikanth but also Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Many diehard Rajnikanth fans at universities, even those who have just started their studies and have to watch out for every penny spent, saw the film mostly on Friday or Saturday.
To some in New York meant not going to the Diwali mela which attracts over 100,000 people. Several newly migrated students from Tamil Nadu and other southern states, especially those enrolled at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, said they did not feel homesick for many days, in anticipation of seeing Robot.
The Diwali mela would be there next year, said some but the thrill of seeing Robot would not be around.
According to Robot distributor, the film took $170,000 for the Hindi version (39 locations), $330,000 (Telugu, 33 locations) while the Tamil version grossed $1.1 million at 64 venues.
How the film will hold in the coming three weeks will shape its final box office. Most hit films tumble by about 65 percent in the second week By conservative estimate, Robot would end up with $2.5 million in North America.
The movie is also expected to do solid business in the United Kingdom with its 180,000 Tamil population.
The three-day gross in North America, the UK, France, Singapore and Malaysia could exceed $3 million.
The film which reportedly cost $31 million, with additional $10 million for prints and publicity will have to earn about $80 million through ticket sales and revenue form ancillary markets including music and TV rights.
Many young viewers who said they would have loved to see it the second time in the opening weekend, also confessed that they would be seeing it again after two weeks when the admission rates would be the standard $10.
Shankar is one director who has more brand value than Rajnikant in AP. His films with Arjun, Prabhudeva and Vikram did wonders in the past. His last movie with Rajnikant did well at box office despite mixed talk. Robo is an example of what a director like Shankar and a hero like Rajni can cumulatively deliver if it gets a hit talk. Robo is creating sensation all over by breaking most of the first week records in spite of having to pay an addition 7% as entertainment tax to the government for being a dubbed movie.
In 90% of the centers it is released, Robo went housefuls for 3 days in all theatres. In a place like Gudiwada, Robo was released in 4 theaters and was houseful for all shows in three days. Robo is going to collect a share of 11 lacs in the first week in Gudiwada. In a place like Machilipatnam, Robo was released in 3 theaters and went for housefuls in all three theatres. This movie is going to collect a share of more than 8 lacs in Machilipatnam for the first week.
The impact and power of Robo is such that it collected a share of 1.6 crores per day in Nizam for the first three days. Robo is poised to collect a share of minimum of 7 crores and a maximum of 8 crores in the first week in Nizam if this trend continues.
The expected share for Robo in entire Andhra Pradesh is going to be a minimum of 16.5 crores and a maximum of 20 crores. The following is the expected minimum share with the break-up
It’s silly to state Shankar is bigger than Rajni in Andhra. The latter is a pan-Southern star. Yes he’s had other hits there but the truly extraordinary one was Anniyan because Vikram himself has been the truest pan-Southern star after Rajni.
I don’t think Vikram had lot of fans in Andhra. Many of his films flopped except Anniyan. All Shankar’s movies fared very well. Kama, Rajnai and now Surya are the most favourites.
Good to see Surya mentioned. hehe. Though i’m not sure. Rajini sir n kamal sir are the top heroes in Andhra. no doubt. Vikram’s anniyan is only hit in andra..bt because of shankar alone.. kandasaamy was a big flop. i think surya will overtake him personally..
Will overtake?
——
Last time I checked, he overtook Vikram for few years now..
As for Vikram’s boxoffice power in Andhra. It’s almost non-existent. Whatever is left, is because of how Shankar launched him in Anniyan. Otherwise, purely as a star, Vishal (reddy), has more star power in Andhra.
Like the actor Vikram, but as a star, he’s fading out so badly. He needs to get back to his roots, i.e work with Bala.
Moreover, he should forget having large gaps between films. He’s no Ajith (whose stardom bewilders me even today)!
actually his Anniyan did at least as well in Andhra as in TN. His Arul which didn’t work in TN did way better in Andhra. Yes Kandasamy and Villain both didn’t work in Telugu but every other film of his that was a hit in Tamil was dubbed and worked in Telugu too.
f you join the dots from S Shankar’s first film Gentleman (1993) to his latest Robot (2010) you will notice a common thread. For one, he has the finger on the pulse of the cinegoer. Plus, he knows how to embellish his work with gloss and grandeur at a scale still unimaginable by most filmmakers.
Real Indian palaces, heritage sights, Machu-Pichu, seven wonders of the world…he’s exploited them all long before Bollywood found their address.
But to grant the devil his due – his movies are not just special-effects ridden; there is a definite plot with a message. Also, the budgets get more phenomenal each time.
His first blockbuster Gentleman (1993) (with its iconic Chik paku Raile number that introduced the world to Prabhu Deva’s dancing skills) brought a new style of filmmaking but his 90s protagonist is just a different avatar of Bollywood 70s phenomenon — Salim-Javed’s ‘angry young man’. Quite like Amitabh Bachchan, Shankar’s hero has invariably been taking on the system, film after film. But where he leaves his contemporaries way behind is his technical wizardry. A fact just reiterated by his latest Robot (Endhiran, Tamil).
Comparisons to West
Two days after the release of the Rs 150 crore film, Kollywood’s Shankar is drawing comparisons to none other than James Cameron. Both are August born; both spare no expense when it comes to their budgets and cinematic vision. And quite like Avatar, the highest worldwide grosser, Robot too has opened to a thunderous start.
The filmmaker himself remains remarkably modest about being “India’s Cameron quotient.” “Stop pulling my leg,’’ he says. “I don’t need any more of the spotlight on me than that is already there,’’ he laughs.
But with an enviable track record of seven of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema, Shankar is on the verge of rewriting history with his eight one. Trade sources confirm that Endhiran, has broken the record of the highest box office collections for a Tamil film — the film, they say, will cross the Rs 250 crore mark.
not sure abt 250 crores..the film should hav been made within 100 crores..not 175 as they claim..around 150-200 crores is a reasonable return..besides sun tv network have already got large revenue because of robo exclusives…n they will get lot in tv telecast too..
what has been completely ridiculous and this began with Sivaji has been the Hindi media going just over the top. Because Sivaji did negligible business in Hindi and so far Enthiran has not done too much better either. It’s really nothing. Yes it can be a massive grosser just on the strength of its Tamil and Telugu versions but Rajni didn’t become so big yesterday! There have been other massive grossers in Tamil and Telugu and no one has talked about them. Yes Rajni in these Shankar films creates these pan-Southern monsters (no pun intended!) but how does this affect a Hindi industry where these films have done nothing. This has become since Sivaji completely a media propaganda game. Look at Taran here:
In Hindi the film even by the highest IBOS count has not done more than 8 crores or so through Mon. And they’re comparing it to Dabangg and 3I?! If the point is that it’s done hugely in the South well many do. They regularly have blockbusters and some huge moneyspinners and of course many regular successes. It’s not like Hindi where very little works. They have a vastly more healthy structure when it comes to economics of filmmaking (and otherwise!). Sow what’s new here?!
A few things as I see it. The Bombay media which has always been hopelessly pro-SRK has in the post-SRK era either accepted other stars are the top ones grudgingly (so you had Aamir being called the top one after Ghajini! After he literally got the biggest gross.. the rest of the decade they refused to give him anything) or Akshay after he had 4-5 back to back hits at one point. Today some are even talking about Salman in a similar vein. But there has always been a certain anti-Bachchan sentiment to all of this. I have discussed this in detail many times but we’ve seen how time and time again Bachchan successes are treated extremely dishonestly in most of the media. Even Abhishek who has had a much more patchy box office record is denied the simple writeups even when he does have winners. Of course historically also Bachchan has never had good relations with the media and it was ideological even then. So for example check out Taran on BnB or Paa and now on Anjaana Anjaani. There is definitely a Bachchan resistance in the Bombay media. The Rajnikant thing is then another way of saying ‘see he’s India’s real superstar, not Bachchan’! They did so literally when Sivaji released. Now one can debate what each superstar has done or meant and has designed his career at different stages but this sort of comparison is gravely misleading. And to add to what I said yesterday in many ways Mammootty and Mohanlal are at least as strong in their industry and keep producing mass hits and they do multiple films every single year and they also seem to have a viable future even at this point because they do (specially in Mammootty’s case) a variety of subjects. But also the Shankar stuff cannot be taken as simply a measure of Rajni’s stardom. For obvious reasons. The problem is that Rajni at his age just cannot do regular masala anymore. For one (and unlike bachchan) he just doesn’t have the physical energy and agility that Bachchan does even at his age. So you can’t do regular action and dances and so on with Rajni. and with a Robot you can make him look physically impressive without it seeming gimmicky. Can’t do this in a regular film.
What Rajni is doing nonetheless is astonishing. One could hardly question this. But unless the plan is to keep doing super-productions with Shankar once in 3 years I am not sure what the future would hold for Rajni going forward. He’s done 4 films in the last 11 years! Talk about maximizing your initial! Even if the Bombay media is too illiterate to understand all of this history the Hindi box office can certainly be understood for what it is and these films have done nothing in Hindi (if Robot suddenly has a strong second weekend it’s another matter! But there are no signs this is true).
So it’s partly an anti-Bachchan narrative that’s running but it’s ultimately an ideological game where the Bachchans have never been on the right side of it. The only way to defeat the structure is to have constant hits the way Aamir did but even he wasn’t given his due until he had the biggest grosser. Of course the media has now moved on from SRK too. They still give him the benefit of the doubt a great deal but they are excited by any star who has a big one. Except a Bachchan! The principal thrust of all the Hindi commentary on Sivaji and now Robot is to basically deconstruct Bachchan. But there is also a certain element of condescension here. The same reviewers who otherwise give good reviews only to banal multiplex fare suddenly become the greatest fans of masala when it comes to Rajni. And not just masala they don’t even mind all the stuff they would find hopelessly regressive in a Hindi film!
I dont know why you are feeling so insecure for Ab. It is just that a rajini film has released which is a nice film and people are liking it and it is doing good business.Quite normal. I cant find where amitabh bacchan comes into all this.Does it mean that anybody who likes rajini automatically hates ab.
you need to read everything I’ve said on the subject!
It’s a problem sometimes because one is called a partisan no matter which way one goes. A little earlier today I had to not approve a comment from someone because the tone I felt was needlessly abrasive. But this guy basically was accusing me of having a Vikram agenda because I dared to say he was a pan-Southern star or that his films worked in Telugu.
“But there is also a certain element of condescension here. The same reviewers who otherwise give good reviews only to banal multiplex fare suddenly become the greatest fans of masala when it comes to Rajni. And not just masala they don’t even mind all the stuff they would find hopelessly regressive in a Hindi film!”
I think this is more the case than anything else. As I’d mentioned in my piece on the film, I think in Indian media in general, Rajini has become the modern face of masala cinema, the icon most closely associated with what people know as (or mistake for) masala. I can’t speak to how much of that is a result of a calculated effort to deconstruct Bachchan, or anyone else, but more often than not this ‘masala-king’ role that’s been accorded to Rajini almost seems, especially in the case of the Hindi media, in part an effort to deconstruct Rajini himself and the tradition he’s come to represent. He is little more than a real, live, Quickgun Murugan for them. I don’t sense this as much with the Enthiran adulation, much of which seems sincere to me, but in the general celebratory attitude towards Rajini in recent years which is sometimes laced with an undercurrent of heckling. So he can be enjoyed but only enjoyed as one would enjoy kitsch. Not to be taken seriously. So many of the pieces written on Enthiran don’t really engage with it in a serious way but just applauds all the crazy masala fun to be had. This is perfectly fine but one should never mistake all this adulation as a wholly positive occurrence.
yes this is a fair summation of things.. I certainly agree that while Sivaji confirmed the bias Robot really made them sit up! Also with the anti-Bachchan thing I didn’t mean something calculated.. just that it’s all part of a larger ideological wellspring.
Chennai Box-Office- October 1 to 3
Tuesday, 05 October , 2010, 19:31
Rajinikanth’s Enthiran has taken Chennai by storm. Out of 100 screens in Chennai city and its suburbs,, nearly 80 were screening the Sun Picture produced, Shankar directed entertainment extravaganza. The film has taken the Box Office cake, leaving last week’s number one Boss Engira Baskaran with a handful of shows in limited screens!
This week, the CBO feels that other films are irrelevant. And from No.1 to No.5, it is Rajinikanth’s Enthiran all the way. Case in point, a multiplex that was to screen an English film for an evening show cancelled it, and played a special corporate show of the Rajinikant entertainer!
Rajinikanth’s Enthiran playing at close to 50 screens had 100 % occupancy, as most of the tickets were pre-sold. Sun Pictures and the distributor are yet to come out with official figures, but the trade buzz is that in three days the film would’ve taken a share of around Rs Two crores, which is excellent!
Dabangg has seen its first major weekly drop in its fourth week. The collections were down 70% at multiplexes as Anjaana Anjaani dominated screen space.
Dabangg will still manage around 6 crore nett business over its fourth week which will take its four week nett business to near 140 crore. The single screens in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and MP are showing a better turnout than the new releases Anjaana Anjaana and Robot on the weekdays.The four week distributor share will be a huge 77.50 crore and the 80 mark should be crossed by the end of the sixth week.
Satyam,
I appreciate your long comment and agree with most of it.
But, I dont even want to bring up the anti-Bachchan bias into it, lest one gets labelled as a conspiracy theorist.
Lets analyse the cold,hard facts.
Whats is the budget,what is it sold for, what are the nett collections, other costs and other sources of revenue.
BTW, 2.1 million for US has not been validated anywhere else so far.
Fans of all kinds of stars are trying to make more of it than it really is just so that they can use it as a stick to beat the star they are not a fan of.
thank god. amitab is safe. now now in safeguarding amitab dont enter into an anti rajini bias. He is just a simpleton. Nothing much in hindi belt. he just doesn’t have the physical energy and agility that Bachchan does even at his age. So he can’t do regular action and dances and so on .But unless the plan is to keep doing super-productions with Shankar once in 3 years nobody is sure what the future would hold for Rajni going forward.
such a poor fellow. Kindly let him live and grab a few odd crores thrown at him in the hindi belt.
I dont know what is wrong with satyam. He takes everything against bachchan. Big b did way better in his prime. But now he is more focussed to characher roles than starry. But definitely tis puts shame to current generation of so called superstars that a regional film beats their biggest by a margin.
One can lament Rajini’s choice of words but one laments more the ground realities that forces these mega stars to kow tow to forces like Thackeray. Rajini is certainly not the first megastar who has had to do this nor will he be the last. Even SRK, Big B have had to make conciliatory gestures to this goonda. So, one has to cut Rajini some slack here.
September 30, 2010 at 11:29 PM
September 30, 2010 at 11:31 PM
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/blockbuster-gains-on-small-screen/689527/0
September 30, 2010 at 11:39 PM
Endhiran Release Celebrations from Theatres in Chennai
http://chennaionline.com/specials/Endhiran/Webcast/index.aspx
October 1, 2010 at 3:16 AM
NDTV REVIEW
http://moviejunkie.ndtv.com/movies/review-robot.html
October 1, 2010 at 5:05 AM
The now obligatory video of fan reception of their hero:
http://ishare.rediff.com/video/entertainment/on-screen-thrilled-rajni-fans-celebrate-endhiran/2160683
October 1, 2010 at 5:09 AM
Anjaana Anjaani Takes Big Start At Multiplexes
Friday 1st October 2010 10.45 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Anjaana Anjaani has taken a big start at multiplexes in most major cities of India. The opening at multiplexes in North India can be called bumper. The first two shows (9.15, 10.35) at DT Chandigarh have gone 100% its similar at Wave Ludhiana where the 10.00 was 100% and next at 11.00 is also housefull.
The next shows also seem strong at the above theatres with around 60% tickets gone for the rest of the shows on Friday. Delhi and Gurgaon have seen many multiplexes record 90 -100% collections for early shows this morning while Noida was 90% plus.
The collections at single screens which started there first shows at around 10am may not have as good collections as multiplexes.
October 1, 2010 at 6:28 AM
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/decoding-a-superstar/690928/0
October 1, 2010 at 8:25 AM
B.O. update: ‘AA’ opens to packed houses at plexes, ‘Robot’ starts slow
- By Taran Adarsh, October 1, 2010 – 15:16 IST
ANJAANA ANJAANI, riding on the star power of Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, opened to very good houses at multiplexes across the country. Multiplexes in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Hyderabad and other centres opened to almost packed house. The opening and noon shows were in 80% to 90% range. At several stations, they were 100% too. However, the single screens are expected to be slow not just for ANJAANA ANJAANI, but for ROBOT too since the audience hasn’t really gone out in mass-dominated Hindi belt.
ROBOT [Hindi version] has started slowly, its opening was 30% in morning and noon shows, but the reports are very good and the film is expected to grow by evening. The film has opened to an exceptional response in South.
October 1, 2010 at 9:17 PM
If AA crosses 50cr…then the credit clearly goes to RK’s star power. Priyanka has zero star power. This will be Ranbir’s year to take.
October 1, 2010 at 8:26 AM
Top 5: ‘Dabangg’ collects Rs 16 cr in Week 3, total: Rs 131.5 cr nett
October 1, 2010 at 8:28 AM
October 1, 2010 at 1:39 PM
Excellent reviews everywhere. The trailors were so bad, outcome is surprise.
October 1, 2010 at 1:40 PM
yeah this looks like a very big one and I think will have more legs than Sivaji.. hope to watch it very soon..
October 1, 2010 at 7:09 PM
just saw anjaana anjaani…
as i said i liked both of siddharth anands salaam namaste and bachna ae haseeno..
sid anand is slightly better and different from the umpteen kjo clones.
Anyhow coming back to AA..brief comments–
liked the first half–well executed.
atleast one doesnt get too many kjo-isms but there are the numerous “we are so very hep” vibes from eveyone on the screen.
Still the first half has flow, tempo and is good.
Priyanka chopra starts with a flourish. her opening few scenes including the drunk dialogue scene remings one briefly of the vintage bachchan “drunk” scenes ( obvioulsy pardon the slight exaggeration there)
The movie becomes a bit repetitive and slow at times in the second half. The childish fascination towards “losing ones virginity” gets to you at times.
Priyankas ultrahep “kiara” and ranbir “emerge” comfortably as virgins even after sleeping together fully drunk.
Liked the song haairat and its picturisation due to lucky alis vocals–even the effect of lucky alis videos (which are usually by mahesh mathai) are obvious in this..
Anyhow, i personally have no doubt in saying that Priyanka Chopra is one of the best actresses amongst the current lot–she literally rules a few scenes a la madhuri and sridevi (although not with the same consistency and command)
Ranbir shows improved range. His restraint and subtlety even in scenes where one can be tempted to overstate is refreshing.
Overall, a good film with an enjoyable first half and has its moments–but not to be seen with high expectations..
October 1, 2010 at 8:16 PM
thanks for your take Alex..
October 1, 2010 at 7:16 PM
Thanks, Alex.
OT: Last week’s SRGMP with Ranbir- Priyanka might have been good but it is a different league altogether with Rishi.
October 1, 2010 at 8:29 PM
For the first time, I hve sensed that ranbir is in for much bigger things. Although people all around ahve been hyping him for so long but I still find him ( and the likes of imran, shahid) lacking majorly in screen presence.
Ranbir surprises in a few scenes by his restrained, mature handling.
As for Priyanka Chopra, she seems to be getting better and more confident.
The major plus point here is that tyou are dealing with a lead pair who are both v good actors, at the end of the day.
Priyankas looks can be a bit inconsistent —to go into gross detail, other than her lips, the rest of the facial features are usually quite impressive.
The adjoing row had a few smart alecs who dropped in a few hilarious choicest comments at appropriate junctures which added to the “impact”.
The second half drags a bit but thats exactly where one can hear a few muffled female sobs from the “multiplex types”!
Anyhow, personally prefer sid anands sensibilities over any of kjo clones.
Maybe im in a minority here, but enjoyed salaam namaste and loved saifs performance there–thts what you call effortless smoothness–not sure anyone will agree with me there!
October 1, 2010 at 10:01 PM
IBOS:
*Box Office*: Endhiran opens big in Tamil Nadu, trails Anjaana Anjaani in other parts of India
Friday, October 01, 2010
Oct 1 saw release of the biggest Tamil film ever, Endhiran the Robot, starring Rajnikanth.
And as expected, Endhiran has made opening records in Tamil Nadu and recorded excellent collections in AP. In Karnataka, the collections are limited by the KFCC chamber regulation of limited prints for non-Kannada movies.
The film starring Rajnikanth and supported by Aishwarya Rai and Danny Denzopa. and billed as biggest release ever is however having a tough time in rest of India where even an ordinary Bollywood release Anjaana Anjaani starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra is registering higher collections despite mixed reports, especially in metro multiplexes of Bombay, Delhi, Chandigarh, Calcutta, Surat etc.. However the same was true for Shaad Ali’s Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom (Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Preity Zinta) in 2007 which released opposite Sivaji the Boss. Outside the south, a JBJ which was a Bollywood flop, had outperformed Sivaji the Boss in much of India and overseas.
Speaking of overseas, in UK, Enthiran has reportedly taken in over £50k from preview screenings. It may be able to do 300k pounds weekend. If so, that will be a record for Tamil films, though not for Indian films overall. Anjaana Anjaani may also be looking to do a similar ballpark there.
Anjaana Anjani meanwhile in India has received mixed reports from critics but has opened well in multiplexes. Occupancies for AA are in 60-70% range compared to 10/20% for Robot the Hindi dubbed version of Endhiran which needs a pickup to justify its relative large release in Bombay. But problem for Anjaana Anjani for itself also is that the Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra’s ‘hindi’ film is itself a Karan Johar type overseas set love story which prohibits a huge Hindi national single screen windfall where the turnouts are in the lower range. Many single screen centers theaters like those in centers like Chandrapur, MP are still opting to play the blockbuster Dabangg in its 4th week instead of other newer releases. This is bound to lower AA’s gross overall and so AA is not going to be another Rajneeti caliber grosser for Ranbir Kapoor. That film, viewers will recall, did a 130-140 crore gross just a few months back.
Dabangg meanwhile had another 22 crore gross week in week 3 and is closing in on the Rs. 200 crore mark soon.
A general point about Endhiran and Tamil cinema in general. Many people may be wondering how a Tamil film, of a spoken language of only about 60 million people, is even able to compare to a Hindi hit, of a spoken language of 600 million+ people. That is simply because a far higher percentage of the Tamil population is going to see an Endhiran than the percentage of Hindi speaking population of India is going to see a movie like Anjaana Anjaani. Enthiran will pretty much be the major moment and turnover generating movie for the Tamil industry overall for 2010/11. Whereas the Hindi film industry is not contained by or dependent on an AA for its overall multi-thousand crore+ turnover over the course of 2010 at the theatrical box office.
Among Hollywood releases last week, Beauty and the Beast has opened to a so so response. Resident Evil-Afterlife is holding steady.
October 1, 2010 at 11:37 PM
On Sunday We will watch Robot….
October 2, 2010 at 8:14 AM
Regardless of the final BO outcome of AA, Ranbir has sealed the deal here with the opening. An opening north of crores is on the cards after the Fri performance and it is solely due to Ranbir.
He is unbelievably popular amongst the younger crowds and in recent times no one has energized them to this extent.
On a separate note, watched MNIK finally and this one deserves a separate post and a proper review even so late in the game. Hopefully will get to it sooner rather than later.
October 2, 2010 at 10:36 AM
There was no doubting Ranbir in this kind of a film at this point. Frankly it’s a bit expected, the resulting film would obiously have major play with its audience (which for me means no play at all!) and especially with this guy in the lead. Rajneeti was always more of a surprise and gave him more to work with, hopefully he doesn’t squander the opt. on this kind of film..
On MNIK – look forward to your thoughts though I’m not sure what to expect!
October 2, 2010 at 8:14 AM
sorry should read ‘north of 30 crores’.
October 2, 2010 at 9:34 AM
BoC:
Box Office: Anjaana Anjaani nets Rs 80 million on opening day
MUMBAI: The Ranbir Kapoor – Priyanka Chopra starrer Anjaana Anjaani has opened well at the box office with almost 95 – 100 per cent occupancy in most centers like Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Vizag and Jaipur.
The movie saw net collections of approximately Rs 75 – 80 million (Rs 7.50 – 8 crore) on its opening day across India.
On the other hand, Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s much hyped film Robot (Hindi dubbed) has failed to draw audience to theaters. However the Tamil version Endhiran has opened to packed houses in Tamil Nadu and is all set to break records. Fox Star Studios’ Khichdi – The Movie too has had an average opening with around 30 – 35 per cent occupancy. Another small budget Hindi comedy – Benny Aur Babloo – saw a poor opening at the box office.
Anjaana Anjaani, directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, is a romantic comedy and has been appreciated by the younger crowds. While hopes were riding high on Robot, which is also supposed to be one of the most expensive Indian films, it has failed to live up to the expectations. However multiplexes are hopeful that the film will pick up over the weekend.
Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Inox Leisure associate vice president Rajender Singh Jyala said, “Anajana Anjaani has opened very well, with most of our properties opening to full houses. The weekend too looks very good. Robot had an average opening, it did not open as well as expected but the Tamil version Endhiran has opened really well. Khichidi has had an average opening too.”
Fun Cinemas senior vice president Deepak Saluja added, “All three films have had an average opening with around 30 – 35 per cent occupancy. This could be because people were still very reluctant to venture to the theaters because of the Ayodhya verdict. The weekend looks good and we are expecting both Anjana Anjaani and Robot to go up to 75 per cent. Khichidi has done average business.”
October 2, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Anjaana Anjaani First Day Business
Saturday 2nd October 2010 17.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Anjaana Anjaani grossed a very good 7.25 crore nett on day one. The film lost around 1 crore nett business due to bandhs at various cities and many single screens including the huge Rajmandir theatre in Jaipur refusing to play the film as Eros have problems with some distributors. If the film had a clean release it would have had the biggest first day for its genre beating Love Aaj Kal. Even still Mumbai, Delhi/NCR and East Punjab performed extremely well. Business was badly hit in UP, CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan. The first day breakdown is as follows.
Mumbai – 2.95 crore
Delhi/UP – 1.70 crore
East Punjab – 78 lakhs
West Bengal – 35 lakhs
CP Berar – 15 lakhs
CI – 10 lakhs
Rajasthan – 33 lakhs
Nizam/Andhra – 35 lakhs
Mysore – 30 lakhs
Others – 25 lakhs
TOTAL – 7.26 crore
October 2, 2010 at 3:06 PM
Rajinikanth starrer Endhiran has finally arrived, with a bang. We all know how the advance booking for the first two weeks in Chennai went out within minutes of the ticket counter opening, how people queued up to watch 4am shows on the Friday of release, and how audiences have been going berserk in cinema halls at the antics of their favourite star.
What remains to be seen, however, is whether India’s most expensive film ever – at a budget in excess of Rs150 crores – will be able to earn back its investment and make profits. Early reports indicate that it most certain will accomplish the gargantuan feat.
Sun Pictures, the owners of the film, are reported to have already earned Rs210 crores, clearly making a profit. “In the case of South films, things work differently,” explains trade analyst Amod Mehra. “Sun Pictures, who hold the satellite rights themselves, has made a handsome profit on the film.”
Even if we look at the box office prospects of the film, it seems like Endhiran is set to be the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema. “The films should earn a nett amount of Rs35-40 crores in only the south territories over the first weekend itself,” says Komal Nahta, editor of Film Information, adding that he’s only talking about the Tamil version.
“Then there are the Telugu versions, Hindi versions and the business that should come from the release of the Tamil version in other parts of India and overseas.”
The biggest Indian grosser of all time, 3 Idiots, earned a total nett amount of Rs202 crores from box office receipts. Endhiran seems set to break that record, mainly due to Rajinikanth’s appeal that goes beyond south India to many parts of the world, all of where the film has reportedly opened to packed houses. Screens in the US, Europe, Japan and Malaysia are all seeing unprecedented crowds for an Indian film, even Asian films.
“In places like Dubai, the fan frenzy is said to be unmatchable. Plus, in major south Indian cities, ticket prices have been hiked to unbelievable amounts – from Rs1500 to Rs3000 – in spite of which, shows in every cinema hall are House Full for the next 10 days,” says Nahta.
While the Telugu dubbed version of the film, Robo, has had a phenomenal opening as well, the Hindi dubbed version, Robot, has opened to average collections. “Having said that, the most a dubbed Hindi film earns is a little over a crore. Robot, the Hindi version, itself should do a business of over Rs10 crore. Now, that is saying something,” says Mehra.
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_endhiran-is-set-to-be-india-s-biggest-blockbuster_1446751
October 2, 2010 at 3:06 PM
Above Title : Endhiran is set to be India’s biggest blockbuster
October 2, 2010 at 6:15 PM
October 2, 2010 at 6:15 PM
October 2, 2010 at 6:58 PM
surprised at the endhiran response.
is the hindi robot being shown overseas–will have to catch it , seems
October 2, 2010 at 10:14 PM
yes it is..
October 2, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Rajnikanth Starer Endhiran/Robot has opened to huge response in the USA grossing approx 450 Thousand US Dollars from 89 screens.
Movie is looking towards 1.5 Million Dollar weekend, which is huge by any means.
http://boxofficekings.com/?p=854
October 2, 2010 at 10:14 PM
stunning! But of course ticket prices are mostly in the 20-25 range with some places even higher.
October 2, 2010 at 10:03 PM
FYI
Raavanan will be screened at the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in NYC. It will be followed by a conversation with Mani Ratnam. This is scheduled for Sat Nov 13 in the evening.
http://www.miaacfilmfest.org/
October 2, 2010 at 10:11 PM
oh wow, should check this out!
October 2, 2010 at 11:48 PM
Lucky u dude!.. btw my good news is only this that my iruvar dream might come true in november
they have applied for permission 
to screen it.
ps -thats another matter i might be out of town in diwali
October 3, 2010 at 11:39 AM
oh wow!
October 2, 2010 at 10:13 PM
the site doesn’t have any details though..
October 3, 2010 at 9:07 PM
Soooooo in.
October 3, 2010 at 6:54 AM
Saw anjaana anjaani last night. Better than IHLS, the basic premise is decent enough but alass this genre is getting butchered by very average treatment and plots. Priyanka is good screen presence to watch and somewhat overshadows Ranbir, her character is definitely the more fun one.
October 3, 2010 at 7:13 AM
Better than IHLS is hardly a compliment ..hehe
How does it compare to say BACHCHNA AE HASEENO (a far more enjoyable love story with Ranbir?)
October 4, 2010 at 3:46 PM
BeH is way better story wise, much better movie overall
October 3, 2010 at 8:01 AM
thanks.. more or less what I expected barring the fact that I didn’t think Priyanka would be better than Ranbir..
October 3, 2010 at 8:08 AM
Satyam, you seen ROBOT yet?
October 3, 2010 at 8:14 AM
I’ll be watching it either today or tomorrow.. the difficulty is that I have to make a bit of a trip for the Tamil version, the Hindi would be easier except that I don’t like dubbed films and especially so here because Rajni has not dubbed for himself. But haven’t totally decided one way or the other.
October 3, 2010 at 8:33 AM
Ok cool.. looking forward to your review. Ps: Where’s the OUATIM post??
Hope you enjoy the video below…
October 3, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Well, since you are actually a Tamil speaker (or am I wrong), I think you should go for the Tamil version. I would go if I could, even though I am not a Tamil speaker (though I can get by in Chennai.
)
October 3, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Priyanka is good screen presence to watch and somewhat overshadows Ranbir, her character is definitely the more fun one.—agree jayshah.
but have always found Priyanka quite talented. for eg cant even begin to compare her with her competitors like katrina. Strictly on acting skills, voice modulation and overall command over the medium, PC is really up there.
as for kareena, find her more spontaneous but not more talented than PC.
Ranbir shows improved range and skill–think he did v well in some key scenes and showed restraint.
this one was way better than IHLS (although drags in the 2nd half)
October 3, 2010 at 6:55 AM
On Enthiran – the movie seems to be created havoc even in UK. It got the bigger screens over Anjaana Anjaani and the 6PM that left the theatre was packed! Daily shows practically every hour!
October 3, 2010 at 7:35 AM
LOVE IT…….just brilliant!!
October 3, 2010 at 4:57 PM
Robot Does 2.1 Million Weekend in USA
The big noise for the frame came from new regional and niche titles. The Tamil language Robots (the most expensive film ever produced in India) rewrote the record books with the biggest ever North American debut with a $2.1 million tally. The simultaneous release of Anjaana Anjaani from Bollywood’s Hindi sector was also impressive with a $560,000 bow. In Canada, the Brit import StreetDance 3D generated a hefty $423,000 and the indigenous Fubar II rang up $209,000 from just 30 venues.
http://moviecitynews.com/2010/10/weekend-box-office-report-october-3/
October 3, 2010 at 5:39 PM
fantastic indeed.. ticket prices were hiked but of course people were also willing pay them!
October 3, 2010 at 7:57 PM
If the ticket price hike is not to be considered for the 3 Idiots’ collections, why should it be a factor now? The same market forces that accepted the 3I price hike are in play here.
October 3, 2010 at 9:08 PM
yes true.. though in the US I’ve only seen these kinds of hikes for Rajni’s films. In India it’s much more common for big releases. But I do agree which is why I myself made the point earlier that people are willing to pay as much as $40 for the film!
October 3, 2010 at 5:49 PM
At many places, Hindi Robot is prices area not hiked.
October 3, 2010 at 8:49 PM
SM, I am watching the Tamil version tomorrow..
October 3, 2010 at 9:04 PM
Great! I’ll await your comments.
October 3, 2010 at 9:37 PM
i feel so happy for rajini…..here is a….sorry THE SUPERSTAR….who doesn’t go out and give 100 interviews, who doesn’t have to ask his PR teams to work round the clock, who doesn’t have to give those politically correct statements before the release of films……RAJINI….Sirf naam hi kaafi hei….I salute this man, this hero……BIG B,aamir,srk,sallu,akki,hritik….all look so pale at this moment…..once a bus-conductor ruling millions and at the age of 60 can pull of such a monstrous hit…..can there be a better fairy tale which is so real? i am still waiting to watch it in theater….tickets are not available!
October 3, 2010 at 9:53 PM
there should be a law against using those other stars in the same line as Bachchan!
On Rajni he has become a mass cult phenomenon, at the same time let’s not forget the last two films have been with Shankar! He appears once in two or three years in these massive films. He gets the entire base out there. Not taking anything away from him but he isn’t acting regularly anymore.
October 4, 2010 at 6:49 AM
“there should be a law against using those other stars in the same line as Bachchan!”
Satyam – with due respect to BIG B or for that matter any other star of India – name one film which has got such tremendous BO response – and Rajini, I think has done it more than thrice after he turned 50 – i am not comparing past with present, i am comparing PRESENT with PRESENT.
October 4, 2010 at 6:51 AM
CORRECTION:
“name one film which has got such tremendous BO response AFTER THE STAR has turned 50″
October 4, 2010 at 7:45 AM
Agree………… one cant hv double rules even one is blind worshipper…
October 4, 2010 at 9:09 AM
There is no present without the past! But even sticking to the present I did mention some of the phenomenal work Bachchan has been doing. Or are you only interested in box office magnitude? It would be one thing if Bachchan were doing the kinds of films he did in the 80s and then did not have the same magnitude. But he’s walked away from all that. It’s like saying RDB didn’t make as much as Krrish! As many used to! It’s like saying Lagaan did half of what Gadar did! Is that the only thing that counts?
Or is it that Bachchan often does get the short end in many of your arguments?! Either by comparison with what very younger stars did just last week (!) or by being compared unfavorably to Aamir or to Rajnikant (which is a move I’ve seen in the Bombay media since Sivaji..).
By the way this does not diminish Rajni’s achievement in any sense (even if I did not start watching him yesterday! or suddenly start appreciating Southern superstars today! Incidentally the two stars who get short shrift in this debate are Mammootty and Mohanlal… they’ve been doing it since the early to mid-80s.. they’re still dominant and they still mix it up.. Mammootty far more than Mohanlal but nonetheless is capable of producing award worthy work as well as massive box office outcomes), I am just arguing against what I see as a certain polemic in code.
October 4, 2010 at 9:32 AM
‘Or are you only interested in box office magnitude?”
Satyam, you are writing this as if this “box office magnitude” is something so common – my dear friend! that means the love of people…..people still want to spend their hard-earned money on a 60+ yrs hero dancing with a woman half his age, doing all sort of unimaginable things……the same thing people did for BIG B years ago……so yup! I AM only interested in B.O. magnitude of TODAY. Can BIG B or anyone else do it in India TODAY? I am not talking about KBC and endorsement and BIG BOSS and all those things….let us talk CELLULOID of today……Rajini rocks and at this moment, he deserves all the praise and BO success. And he has done it without any ho-halla!
October 4, 2010 at 9:51 AM
well then it’s clear using your standard that Aamir became the top Hindi film star only in Dec 2008 when Ghajini released! Because every other year he was outgrossed by the competition. And even going forward we will judge Aamir’s achievements by how much he can outgross the competition in his 50th year and so on!
By the way when you say ‘today’ when does this begin? Last year, last month, last week..?
As for anyone else doing it well Mammootty and Mohanlal are doing it. They just do it in a language that doesn’t have enough reach. And NO ONE could do it in Bollywood in Rajni’s terms. Why? Because Hindi cinema lost its masala roots a long time ago. Had those roots been preserved, had Bachchan also clung to that history and also managed his career better I think he very easily could have been in this position and this is what I’ve argued for years. As for not looking at KBC well no one has created that kind of history on television either, no one at his age has done that many endorsements either. That too indicates a star of a certain magnitude. Otherwise why couldn’t a far younger SRK replicate his success on TV?!
Finally let’s be clear about the Hindi media hype. Both Sivaji and now Robot will still do negligibly in Hindi (relative to all the hype). And if it is only about getting massive hits why wasn’t the Hindi media comparing younger stars like SRK and so on unfavorably to Southern stars all these years (including younger ones who were sometimes getting massive hits)?
I made this point with Shivaji also but much as it this kind of hype that Rajni generates is stunning it is equally true that Shankar has mastered the circus act with him. This time he even had Ash besides the sci-fi theme. It’s like OSO on steroids! A film is designed like a circus, the star at the center is the minimal signature needed to keep the circus functioning smoothly, but the star is also ‘padded’ with these sorts of things. The last two Rajni films have been this way, before this there was Chandramukhi, a very un-Rajni film, but that was nevertheless a remake of a Malayalam hit and has since been one in Hindi as well. Before this there was a colossal flop in Baba. The last regular film he did was Padaiyappa in 1999! Rajni has basically done four films since 1999, basically once every three years! This is what one would call an artificially controlled experiment!
And again I am a huge Rajni fan, I have driven distances for his films and paid ticket prices that I wouldn’t for most major Hindi films. Not is it a knock on Rajni. At his age to get it done this way is still stunning. But there are factors here that call for analysis.
October 3, 2010 at 10:04 PM
What a gracious comment from an Aamir fan. Kudos
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I’m a Big B fan but it is refreshing to see a star who keeps a low profile and is not out there giving a zillion interviews and appears only briefly when his movie releases. It works for him but I guess it would not work in BW now where marketing is crucial to get an opening.
October 4, 2010 at 6:53 AM
i think rajini made a genuine attempt to enter BW when BIG B was the reigning superstar – and i had read a zillion articles which said that BIG B played foul to prevent Rajini’s entry in BW – i didn’t believe any of them though – but Rajini, at that time also, never went out of his way to do PR/PUBLICITY – in fact he did none, gracefully went back to TAMIL cinema and rest…..is not yet HISTORY…it is HISTORY in making
October 4, 2010 at 9:33 AM
On Bachchan playing foul to prevent Rajni’s entry surprising because I have never come across a single one! The only proper hit Rajni had in Hindi cinema was Andhaa Kanoon where Bachchan had a very special guest role! He did a number of other films but never amounted to much. The idea that Bachchan needed to stop him is ridiculous in the extreme. No Southern male star has ever become successful in Bollywood. Kamal’s example is even better. He too started with a bang in Ek Duje Ke Liye, did a number of films but again nothing happened. By the way in terms of PR/publicity Bachchan wasn’t even on talking terms with the media at the time (!) so I doubt he had the media on his side. LOL!
October 4, 2010 at 9:49 AM
“BIG B played foul to prevent Rajini’s entry in BW ”
Never heard this before. But read the same being said about Kamal sir’s entry though. but what rajini sir achieved is incomparable to most stars..he became the biggiest superstar in history of indian cinema with enthiran. In Asia, he’s only next to Jackie Chan in terms of popularity..
October 4, 2010 at 12:29 PM
This foulplay about Rajni entry is certainly new.. Like you, have read and heard about Kamal’s entry being thwarted by Bachchan…
October 3, 2010 at 10:06 PM
Rajani, the 60+ year is still having the solid fan base, mostly youth. In case of AB, I don’t think he got much of fan base in youth. In bollywood, the youngsters moved on from AB, SRK and now Ranbir. In South, it rarely happens.
Too much of public appearances , ads, TV of Bollywood stars diluting the star effect.
October 3, 2010 at 11:12 PM
true but that’s also because if you don’t offer the younger generation or for that matter an older one the essence of your ‘superstardom’ your appeal gets diluted. It is not that people in the South keep following superstars but that their superstars keep reinforcing their essential narrative. Bachchan hasn’t done this for 20 years. When Hum released in 1990 there was hysteria. But Bachchan walked away from that much as Bollywood was not capable of handling him at that point. But in fairness Bachchan has had roles and triumphs in this period that is beyond the wildest reach of most other superstars. Can you imagine anyone but him doing Black or Paa 32 and 36 years after he got his first hit with Zanjeer? And he’s still building on this. Now of course he could have handled all of this much better than he has. He could have had these roles but also been a mass superstar.
There is another angle to all of this also. In some ways Rajni’s phenomenon is enabled by (paradoxically) and inherent limitation. He can only do what he has been doing for so many years. Whatever the era he basically plays signature. But there is a certain crisis at the heart of his career which the Shankar ‘circuses’ mask. He doesn’t do regular stuff like Muthu or Padaiyappa at this point. It would be interesting to see what happens when it isn’t a Shankar film. He is of course a giant to remain appealing but it’s not as if there’s any pressure on him to reinvent. On the other hand this is always so with a superstar who is also an actor. This is true for Mammootty or Mohanlal or Kamal. Bachchan similarly. For him to also become the ultimate poster figure for the new consumer India he had to not remain the 80s superstar. You can do one or the other but not both.
October 4, 2010 at 1:13 AM
Satyam – A friend’s review of Endhiran. Now this friend is a mad Rajni fan ( Who isnt?) and flew down to Chennai to catch it first day, first show.
http://sharmilasays.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/enthiran-uncharted-territory-by-venkat/
October 4, 2010 at 2:19 AM
Evil Chitti (laughs) : uhahahahahahahaha enna alika yaralayum mudiyadhu. What an actor. DOT.
October 4, 2010 at 9:50 AM
Superb acting by Thalaivar. Chitti V2.0 FTW!
October 4, 2010 at 12:38 PM
The character is a homage to Sivaji.. The walk, laughing style, taking the piss out of others, mimicking goat, increasing/changing the tone etc is from thespian. This influence made Rajini one of the best actors of negative roles in Indian cinema. Then you could imagine what kind of GOD Sivaji really was.
Last 4 hits of Rajini all have Sivaji connection:
Padayappa – NT acted as Rajini’s father!
Chandramukhi – Sivaji Productions
Sivaji – He baptized himself after Barrister Rajinikanth role in Gouravam. But his real name was “Sivaji rao gaekward”. He didn’t feel worthy of using that name when Sivaji was still around. Of course! But years later as established superstar, he was confident enough to just use it as a character name. The film also has multiple tributes to Sivaji (& MGR, Kamal too)
Enthiran – Released on Sivaji’s birthdate. Chitti v2.0 is a homage.
October 4, 2010 at 12:45 PM
LOL!
However Rajni is in the MGR mold and not in the Sivaji one. Actually Kamal is Sivaji to Rajni’s MGR.
October 4, 2010 at 12:50 PM
There’s nothing to LOL here. Unless you want to disrespect the legend(s) of Tamil cinema.
If you’re suggesting that Rajini as a non-actor ala MGR. I’d worry about your health.
Sivaji is a GREAT Star too. He’s the ideal star-actor.
Both Kamal and Rajini are star-actors who came from KB’s school. MGR and Sivaji were rather different in the sense that MGR never really was an actor. I don’t care who established more in respective areas.
October 4, 2010 at 12:59 PM
I’m baffled by how highly you place Sivaji Ganeshan. It’s not as if this is the first time I’ve come across Sivaji adulation (I certainly understand his importance within the tradition) but I’ve never encountered Sivaji-love on this level. I think it’s inspired me to revisit his works. I’ve seen my share back in the day but have to admit it’s never really made much of an impression.
October 4, 2010 at 1:09 PM
Sivaji-love on this level? You’re rather ignorant I’m afraid.
Pudhiya Paravai was re-released after 46 years in Shanthi theater, I’m afraid I couldn’t like up to this sort of adulation:
October 4, 2010 at 1:25 PM
You just have to face upto facts I’m afraid.. Sivaji could never match MGR just as Kamal could never match Rajni at the box office. Sivaji and Kamal are titans but they still lose out to the other two as box office forces.
As for those videos not sure who this proves anything..
October 4, 2010 at 1:11 PM
October 4, 2010 at 1:12 PM
October 4, 2010 at 1:13 PM
October 4, 2010 at 1:14 PM
“I’m afraid I couldn’t like up to this sort of adulation.”
Apparently you haven’t been reading yourself!
And in terms of ignorance I’ll plead guilty as I’d already made it clear I’ve not mined the depths of your almighty. Apologies.
October 4, 2010 at 8:06 AM
With due respect to Rajini, it is like comparing an extremely successful Ranji player with an extremely successful test player when it comes to AB and Rajini. A Ranji player may hit a quadruple hundred but it is still not worth as much as a test century.
October 4, 2010 at 8:18 AM
or like comparing a guy who wins his local Vidhan Sabha seat by a whopping margin for 30 years straight to the Prime Minister of the country!
October 4, 2010 at 8:30 AM
I take it you are making a distinction between “regional” and “national” films. But in what way are Hindi films any more national than the films of any other language? It has been stated that 40% of a Hindi film’s total gross comes from Mumbai alone, and something like 70% from Mumbai and Delhi. The rest come primarily from other Hindi speaking areas of the country. Though Hindi films are shown in some other metros like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and even Chennai, it is pointed out again and again that strong collections in those territories can make no real difference to the fate of a film. So aren’t Hindi films just as “regional” as Tamil or Telugu films? And if we are to look at overseas territories, a Tamil film that grosses more than the highest grossing Hindi film in the U.S. has legitimately beaten it, without any excuses of being a “regional” film. So your analogy is not apt. I think the case with Hindi films is more like the U.S. baseball championship being called the “World Series”, even though none other than American teams play in it.
October 4, 2010 at 2:46 PM
Re.-think the case with Hindi films is more like the U.S. baseball championship being called the “World Series”, even though none other than American teams play in it.
Ya and that is why all the southern actors who as soon as they become successful want to do hindi films to get more recognition and all the failed Hindi film actors run to to do Southern films to get more money and then come back to their first love – hindi films if they earn name for themselves in southern cinema.
PS- I simply love Rajneekaant but to say he is above Big B is plain stupid.
October 4, 2010 at 8:34 AM
Re: So aren’t Hindi films just as “regional” as Tamil or Telugu films?
Hmmmmmm, no.
October 4, 2010 at 8:52 AM
Explain or refute; mere assertion doesn’t convince.
October 4, 2010 at 8:36 AM
People making these absolutely ridiculous comparisions, just imagine for a moment Rajini doing a KBC.
‘Nuff said.
October 4, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Why should they? The comparison is about the collections of films. And perhaps we should wait until Rajni’s film career goes into the doldrums and he looks for a way to resurrect himself before making the comparison to KBC.
October 4, 2010 at 9:22 AM
well said!
Rajini sir doesn’t need to do KBC. Simple.
October 4, 2010 at 8:42 AM
Hindi, may I remind you IS our national language.
After over 50 years of Independence, some have still not learned to live with the fact.
I come from Gujarat and Hindi is not my first language and have no dog in the North vs South fight but have no problem accepting that Hindi is our nationa llanguage and spoken by the OVERWHELMING majority.
October 4, 2010 at 8:51 AM
But Hindi films do the “overwhelming majority” of their business only in the Hindi speaking areas of the country.
October 5, 2010 at 8:11 AM
Just a little information. Hindi is not our national language. There is no national language as per our constitution. Hindi and english are the official languaes of the central government only. Each state can adopt their own languages for their official use. You can do a google search to know the truth of this statement
October 4, 2010 at 8:55 AM
Stop comparisons!!!
AB tweets:
T143 -ROBOT a sensation all over .. Rajni you are just unbelievable my friend ..many more accolades your way ..!
October 4, 2010 at 9:21 AM
According to me, rajini sir is a great actor.
Enthiran rocks.
Beat MNIK record in overseas as an INDIAN movie. Not Tamil, telugu or Hindi.
October 4, 2010 at 9:26 AM
yes true.. and this is the first time than a non-Hindi movie has taken the top spot.. it combines the Tamil, Telugu, Hindi versions but nonetheless a feat.
October 4, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Yes. Only possible because of one and only SUPERSTAR!
October 4, 2010 at 9:25 AM
IBOS:
BO Update: Rajnikanth outinitials SRK in USA; Endhiran leaves Anjana Anjani behind in India
Monday, October 04, 2010
That Endhiran was setting records in India was a possibility given that half of Tamil Nadu appeared to be watching the movie on Friday. The joke in Tamil circles is that the “parking lot collection for Endhiran is higher than the entire box office collection of Anjaana Anjaani”, the Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer. That is not true but clearly Endhiran was going to put up a bumper figure in India as even the Hindi version showed a jump on Saturday. At this point it appears that Endhiran has done atleast Rs. 40 crores gross in its opening weekend from the South and a similar nett (due to fact that entertainment tax is very low or rather 0 in Tamil Nadu for Tamil films). The Hindi version Robot has done another 12-13 crores gross. The record holder for Indian films is Dabangg right now, last month’s Salman Khan starrer which did a Rs. 70 crores opening weekend gross (49-50 crores weekend net) in India last month over its 3 day weekend. The overall current raw grossing topper is Raju Hirani’s 3 Idiots which registered an all India gross of approximately Rs. 300 crores apart from $2.5 million in UK and $6.5 million in USA.
Speaking of USA, what has come as the bigger surprise is the film Endhiran/Robot may have set a new record for Indian films in USA box office by taking in over $2 million for a 3 day weekend. That beats even the US opening weekend mark set by Shahrukh Khan’s My Name is Khan, which failed to impress much in India, but took a big number in USA atleast at around $1.9 million for a 3 day weekend opening. But Endhiran has taken a bigger opening with its core audience in India and beaten the likes of Shah Rukh Khan starrer MNIK overseas in US also. The irony is Shahrukh Khan was also in consideration for Robot before Rajnikanth decided to make it. If the film can sustain, it may even catch 3I’s mark of $6.5 million in US.
Nonetheless now the question will be how long does Endhiran show legs and how long before a Bollywood film takes back the opening bonanza marks. As mentioned earlier, a very large percentage of Tamil Nadu, and to a lesser extent Andhra Pradesh expatriates have shown up for Rajnikanth’s Endhiran. If a similar percentage of Hindi states citizenry showed up en masse behind a Hindi movie, the opening generated would be much much bigger than Endhiran. But this kind of intensity in middle India can not be generated by a Karan Johar type overseas pseudo-pop cinema like Anjaana Anjaani or on the other extreme, a Raavan (Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai) type cultural inversion.
As for Ranbir Kapoor’s Anjaana Anjani the film had a decent opening on Friday but the overseas set love story with Priyanka Chopra was losing steam by Sunday. It looks to have had about a 38-40 crore gross weekend.
October 4, 2010 at 9:28 AM
IBOS seem to be talking about gross far more than net of late.. It makes a certain sense as we then know how much a film has made before India’s crazy and chaotic tax issues pop up state by state and even theater by theater (single screen/multiplex divide)!
October 4, 2010 at 9:59 AM
I will say this (and here the Ash factor is very important) but I’ve seen some Hindi speakers take an interest in Robot who’ve never seen a Rajni film or any sort of Tamil film before this. If the film can make a significant mark in Hindi that’s fantastic.
October 4, 2010 at 3:50 PM
“I will say this (and here the Ash factor is very important) but I’ve seen some Hindi speakers take an interest in Robot who’ve never seen a Rajni film or any sort of Tamil film before this.”–Agree, i am one of those who might watch their first rajni film (dubbed robot) apart from “hum”…
Have always found kamal hassan an outstanding actor and star in the relatively little i have seen of him. Unlike others, I found him outstanding in hey raam–think he directed it as well…
But have never understood the “rajni magic”.
But i am a firm believer that when a person has as many hysterical fans as rajni has, there HAS to be something tangible to it.
SO MANY CANNOT be wrong.
Must add, that the involvement of shankar, ash, rehman add a lot of value for people like me who are not familiar to rajni.
October 4, 2010 at 3:58 PM
agree somewhat with rajen here and share the “fascination” with rajni.
NOT to belittle his standing or talent.
Numbers dont really matter and if some people get kicks out of saying that he is asias 1st or 2nd or 3rd biggest star , i dont have qualms about it…
But there is something about the “northern media” this time, who seems to have suddenly “discovered” the iconicity of rajni—
cmon man, this guy has been around for ages and there were seldom any celebratory articles on rajni dealing with superlatives in every half sentence.
Perhaps, numbers dont lie and if someone is producing hysteria like this, media and everyone sits up to take notice.
However, discounting for the lamguage barrier, even if rajni stars in a bollywood NON-DUBBED hindi solo film, it will be wortwhile to see the result.
Having said that, I applaud this mans pulling power, singular style and success–his off screen persona and humility is also a treat to watch—something to learn for the “kings” of bollywood.
October 4, 2010 at 3:59 PM
You’ve only seen HUM. As per your own admission, Tht’s not good enough. Anyways, Watch Robot…
October 4, 2010 at 9:39 AM
Dont get me wrong.
I am on board with the Rajini phenomenon and am fascinated by it as long as perspective is maintained.
If comparisions are to be made, one can say a bigger percentage of his target audience show up to watch Rajini as compared to any other star. But, his target audience is certainly not as big as some stars. To have some credibility in non-Tamil audiences they needed to get Aish on board. AB or for that matter SRK doesnt need South Indian heroines to work on Bangalore or Chennai.
I think it is just ridiculous to suggest that Hindi films are watched only in the Hindi belt.
October 4, 2010 at 9:51 AM
$2.1 in North America is a fabulous number but too many facts come in the way of interpreting it as a sign of greater BO success than 3I or Rajini being a greater Pan-Indian star than Aamir or SRK.
October 4, 2010 at 9:54 AM
BOI:
Anjaana Anjaani had a good weekend of 24 crore nett as per early estimates. The film had a troubled weekend in that Friday was affected with bandhs and release disputes and then Sunday it took a hit in its best area Delhi NCR due to the commonwealth games.The film lost around 1.50 crore nett due to release problems and commonwealth games.
The film will be a big earner for makers as costs are pretty low and the film has earned well from satellite and music while overseas has also contributed well. The Indian theatrical business will depend on what happens on the weekdays at the multiplexes. Mumbai, Delhi/UP and East Punjab have fared best. In the South it had huge competition in the form of Endhiran and the CP CI Rajasthan belt suffered from release problems.
The daily breakdowns were 7.25 crore for Friday, 8.75 crore for Saturday and 8 crore nett for Sunday. Sunday suffered mainly as collections in Delhi/UP and East Punjab dropped due to the commonwealth games
October 4, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Ha, BOI making excuses for Anjaana..!
I thought it was all about distribution costs, suddenly it’s all about the ‘makers’! Taran has pulled this one lately too on a number of films like IHLS and we are family (ah.. Johar!).
They’ll change their tune eventually but they try hard when a Bachchan is not connected with the film!
October 4, 2010 at 9:57 AM
and as is almost always the case these days Taran and BOI say identical things:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/top5/index.html
October 4, 2010 at 9:55 AM
AA’s figures are a bit disappointing overall according to me.
BTW, how much did Robot make ( the Hindi version)?
October 4, 2010 at 10:01 AM
according to IBOS it’s 12-13 crores gross. The nett will obviously be much lower. As I said the Hindi media hypes these things crazily but the Hindi collections for both Sivaji and so far Robot have been negligible. I think it would be creditable if Robot got to even 20 crores but it would have to be very stable to do that. And this would still be good relative to the history of dubbed films. Otherwise 20 crores is itself a very minor number.
October 4, 2010 at 10:03 AM
Oh, my! Thanks.
So much for the biggest star theory.
October 4, 2010 at 10:13 AM
I don’t think it is too low for Hindi People who watches regular Hindi movies from Andhra and TN are opting for their versions.
October 4, 2010 at 10:16 AM
You mean to say 6-crores nett for the weekend is not LOW?
BTW, 28 crores out of Dabangg’s 49 crore weekend came from Mumbai-Delhi territory. And last time I checked Mumbai was not even in the Hindi Belt.
October 4, 2010 at 10:21 AM
yeah and a Rajni film in Telugu is more or less like a major local release..
historically market penetration in TN and then Andhra has also been greatest (per capita theaters).. so you can really get massive returns from each of these states, you combine them and it’s historic. This is not accounting for Kerala and Karnataka.
October 4, 2010 at 10:29 AM
Telugu they bought the rights for 30 crores, expecting to amke profit. It is a hit even in small centers.
October 4, 2010 at 10:31 AM
It’s going to be huge in Telugu.. the budget figures on the film range from 150-175 crores but Shankar is known for hyping the figures crazily.
October 4, 2010 at 12:40 PM
From twitter:
First 3 days openings in Andhra are so good. On par with Magadheera. Will become one of the biggest hits. Overall revenue depends on Khaleja
October 4, 2010 at 10:20 AM
I’ve heard it is 12 crores. We know what mumbai audience want. They don’t watch 60+ old hero.
Give the credit where it desrves.
October 4, 2010 at 10:23 AM
12 crores is the gross number according to IBOS.. and since they’re celebrating this film’s impact and comparing it very favorably to Hindi grossers I think they’ve love a higher number.
October 4, 2010 at 10:20 AM
And, Satyam sorry for cluttering up this post about Rajini celebration with inconvinient facts.
And any body who wants to argue this matter using FACTS and not cliches like ‘Hindi belt is not India’ or ridiculous statements like ‘Hindi films are regional’ is welcome to do so.
October 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM
prakashjaju Twitter:
Public thinks ‘Robot’ is a dubbed film, so inspite of appreciation it has sinked today.. AA also did without any murmur… At many places collections of Dabangg in 4th wk are better than both these films ..
October 4, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Re: In Asia, he’s only next to Jackie Chan in terms of popularity..
LOL.That exemplifies how ridiculous this debate is.
October 4, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Hindi = National language. Hindi cinema = National. Tamil is ONLY Regional. National > Regional.
Great fun reading it. kthxbye.
OSN, you should stop attaching “sir” to both Rajni, and Kamal. They weren’t knighted by the Queen.
October 4, 2010 at 3:08 PM
OSN, you should stop attaching “sir” to both Rajni, and Kamal
Sir Rajnee Kant = SRK
LOL!!!
October 4, 2010 at 12:44 PM
Last heard, Barnum and Bailey and Ringling brothers are headed to Tamil Nadu as htey believe they have a good chance of finding an audience there.
October 4, 2010 at 1:04 PM
I think you take the “circus” bit (about Rajini, often regurgitated by few bachchan fans) too literally. These overt gimmicks & gestures (in his masala avatars) might not work on face value. Even I don’t share the taste for it. Yet, I acknowledge there’s a great actor lost somewhere. He had acted in diverse roles. You could see that in Scientist character, Innocent chitti and Evil Chitti – only two other actors could have done it – Sivaji and Kamal. Btw, thank god it wasn’t done by SRK. (Shudders)
October 4, 2010 at 1:31 PM
Rajini acknowledging Sivaji influence:
(on imitating Sivaji & that he became an actor because of Sivaji’s acting )
October 4, 2010 at 1:33 PM
(how Sivaji brought style to acting, and how his technique is derived from him..he even says 100% FFS!)
October 4, 2010 at 1:33 PM
One thing that ‘Southern fans’ dont appreciate or acknowledge is that there a lot of cultural influences at play in this massive adulation enjoyed by the stars. Imagine people immolating themselves at news of MGR’s illness! He was an average actor and a worse politican.
Yes, the South idolises its stars way more than the rest of the country does.
Does it make their stars bigger ( not physically. That they are like Sivaji) or batter?
Idont think so and most sane people would agree.
October 4, 2010 at 1:42 PM
On a somewhat related note:
http://indiablogs.searchindia.com/2008/08/29/why-do-tamils-burn-themselves/
October 4, 2010 at 1:44 PM
I better stop this seemingly anti- Rajini tirade, otherwsie some Tamilian somewhere will self-immolate himself!
October 4, 2010 at 1:47 PM
“He was an average actor and a worse politican.”
Worse politician?
MGR – Average actor? I’d say worse. He was a non-actor.
OTOH Rajini is NOT. What if he became more of a star while curbing his acting talent (that he displayed in his earlier films.)? TFI is about duos. Top two stars of old generation are MGR and Sivaji, while top two stars of next generation was Kamal and Rajini. It’s not like Sivaji had never topped MGR in box office. He had dominated at different periods. Similarly Kamal dominated Rajini for periods. But in terms of acting, MGR was never an actor. Rajini was a fantastic actor when he first started and IMO, still has ability in him.
October 4, 2010 at 3:03 PM
While you guys are busy fighting, I’ll post some beautiful pictures:
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on Condé Nast Traveller (India) October 2010
Photos – http://www.cntraveller.in/content/behind-scene-0
October 4, 2010 at 3:07 PM
and some more
Aishwarya on HiBlitz:(Un)Covered
http://www.highheelconfidential.com/aishwarya-rai-in-sabyasachi-couture-onn-hiblitz-oct-2010-cover/#comments
October 4, 2010 at 3:30 PM
Rajni even over 60 is a bigger superstar than any other star anywhere in the world, and that includes AB. Just see the euphoria surrounding Robot…it’s just unbelievable. I am not a fan but I have not seen anything like this.
Yes, he is not watched all over India, but that’s just because it’s a language issue, and a lot of north indians shy away from anything southern.
October 4, 2010 at 3:34 PM
Re: Yes, he is not watched all over India,
Exactly. A storm in a tea cup does not make a typhoon.
October 4, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Bollywood legends salute Rajinikanth
02:18 at 11:51 PM, October 4, 2010
http://www.tubaah.com/details.php?video_id=167432
October 4, 2010 at 4:56 PM
Rajen, I explained that’s a language issue. And despite that, he is the highest paid star in India and second highest in Asia. Only Jackie Chan makes more money, and that’s because he got into Hollywood.
October 4, 2010 at 6:13 PM
Forget Robot.
The KJo -SRK BO story
The backdoor BO
http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?sectionName=Business&contentId=8007556&programId=1073754899&pageTypeId=1073754893&contentType=EDITORIAL
October 4, 2010 at 6:36 PM
What else he can say? I am sure he never forgets Robot or 3-Idiots.
October 4, 2010 at 6:17 PM
Robot’s success pushes SRK’s panic buttons
In the wake of Rajni’s blockbuster, King Khan called for a day-long meeting with the RA.One team, deciding to make it the first-ever interactive gaming flick
The spectacular success of Rajnikanth’s Robot has made Shah Rukh Khan and his team of RA.One sit up and become doubly alert about their pet project.
An SOS meeting was summoned at Mannat on Sunday. Those present at the meeting included director Anubhav Sinha, sound recordist Resul Pookutty and producer Shah Rukh.
After viewing the rushes, a number of vital strategic ideas were devised, following a heated debate, after which everyone let their hair down at a Bandra bar. The most startling resolution during the day-long meeting was to convert RA.One into a full-fledged gaming movie. Sound designer Resul Pookutty says, “The challenge with RA.One is to create a balance between the two distinctly different worlds of gaming and movies.
We met at Shah Rukh’s home on Sunday and watched the film. And yes, we’ve come up with a number of strategies to make RA.One different from all other super-hero films.”
Says a source, “The climax of the film will actually allow audiences to play the RA.One game in theatres as they watch the film. This kind of participative cinema has never been done before in any part of the world.” We can’t wait to push the right buttons.
It has also been decided that a super-hero film without the drama and emotions won’t appeal to Indian audiences. Says the source, “Shah Rukh feels Robot worked so well because it combines special effects with emotions and drama. In RA.One he wants the spectacle and the emotions in equal measures.” Shah Rukh has invited Martin Walsh, the editor of Rob Marshal’s musical feature film Chicago, to edit RA.One. Says the source, “The choice was between the editor of Avatar and Chicago. Shah Rukh has chosen the latter because he feels Chicago is closer to the pulse of a Bollywood drama than Avatar.”
RA.One is 80 per cent complete. The remaining 20 per cent would be completed only when Shah Rukh is sure that James Cameron’s Avatar and not Shankar’s Robot is given a run for its money. Beep, beep. Game Over.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/2010100520101005024004196d20078ff/Robot%E2%80%99s-success-pushes-SRK%E2%80%99s-panic-buttons.html
October 4, 2010 at 9:23 PM
I think Hindi filmmakers should hang their heads in shame after watching this. There’s nothing they’ll be able to do that will even be close!
October 4, 2010 at 10:10 PM
Good to hear positive response from you. I will be watching it this week.
October 4, 2010 at 6:18 PM
MORE STUPID HOGWASH:
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6917723-endhiran-the-robot-takes-2nd-slot-in-us-box-office
October 4, 2010 at 7:12 PM
Says the source, “The choice was between the editor of Avatar and Chicago. Shah Rukh has chosen the latter because he feels Chicago is closer to the pulse of a Bollywood drama than Avatar.”
LOL really, maybe because Chicago has songs…this is such a BS news.
October 4, 2010 at 7:15 PM
From AB’s blog:
Aamir after the show was over wanted to ‘eat his brain’ – Shankars that is – to find out how he managed to conquer that world that he so effectively portrayed on screen.
October 4, 2010 at 9:21 PM
just saw it. It is I think FANTASTIC. Shankar’s best work. Amazing stuff. I will be watching it again. Piece to follow.
October 4, 2010 at 9:31 PM
I think it’s a crime to miss this one on the big screen!
October 4, 2010 at 7:16 PM
From AB’s blog:
Aishwarya looked smashing and danced like she had never danced before. Rajni … what can one say for this man. He is just unbelievable. The film is a roller coaster ride of fun and ecstasy and events of mammoth proportions.
Rajni was incredible, Aishwarya was colorful and danced like a dream and content and delivery was simply extraordinary.
Aamir after the show was over wanted to ‘eat his brain’ – Shankars that is – to find out how he managed to conquer that world that he so effectively portrayed on screen.
October 4, 2010 at 11:09 PM
Chennai cool
Demystifying India’s highest paid film-maker — the elusive S Shankar
Meena Iyer
Posted On Monday, October 04, 2010 at 10:48:13 PM
If you join the dots from S Shankar’s first film Gentleman (1993) to his latest Robot (2010) you’ll notice a common thread. For one, he has the finger on the pulse of the mainstream cinegoer. Plus, he knows how to embellish his work with gloss and grandeur at a scale still unimaginable by most filmmakers.
Real Indian palaces, heritage sights, Machu-Pichu, seven wonders of the world…he’s exploited them all long before Bollywood found their address.
But to grant the devil his due — his movies are not just special-effects ridden; there is a definite plot with a message. Also, the budgets get more phenomenal each time.
His first blockbuster Gentleman (1993) (with its iconic Chik paku raile number that introduced the world to Prabhu Deva’s dancing skills) brought a new style of filmmaking but his 90s protagonist is just a different avatar of Bollywood 70s phenomenon — Salim-Javed’s ‘angry young man’. Quite like Amitabh Bachchan, Shankar’s hero has invariably been taking on the system, film after film. But where he leaves his contemporaries way behind is his technical wizardry. A fact just reiterated by his latest Robot (Endhiran, Tamil).
Comparisons to West
Two days after the release of the ` 150 crore film, Kollywood’s Shankar is drawing comparisons to none other than James Cameron. Both are August born; both spare no expense when it comes to their budgets and cinematic vision. And quite like Avatar, the highest worldwide grosser, Robot too has opened to a thunderous start.
The filmmaker himself remains remarkably modest about being “India’s Cameron quotient.” “Stop pulling my leg,’’ he says. “I don’t need any more spotlight on me than that is already there,” he laughs.
But with an enviable track record of seven of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema, Shankar is on the verge of rewriting history with his eight one. Trade sources confirm that Endhiran, has broken the record of the highest box office collections for a Tamil film — the film, they say, will cross the ` 250 crore mark.
Decoding the director
So what’s Shankar all about? Born in a fairly affluent family in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, he worked as a quality control supervisor till the movie bug bit him. On a telephone call he still introduces himself as, “Hi I’m Shankar, the director,’’ and when you incredulously ask him why he says that, he replies, “my films and I are twins, joined at the hip.’’
But while his on-screen heroes are the robust Robinhood-rascala amalgamation, Shankar himself is the anti-thesis. He’s more like a quiet mouse on set, rather than like a megalomaniac wielding the megaphone. And he lets his ADs have a field day liaising with Bollywood beauties and the crew.
But quiet demeanor apart, with his baseball cap and huge sun-shades, Shankar is the boss. He has worked with the legends of Tamil cinema — Kamal Haasan (Indian) and Rajnikanth (Sivaji-The Boss, Endhiran-Robot) but is neither in awe of his subject nor does he brook any interference. As he says, “Rajnikanth is the ultimate for any film-maker. His demi-God status aside, he’s the most obedient actor I’ve worked with. He doesn’t leave the set once he reports for work…and he still maintains a child-like curiosity about everything related to a film.’’
What makes him work
One of his assistant directors says the secret of his success lies in his engineering background — he goes about fixing each nut and bolt step by step while filmmaking. Robot was originally planned five years ago with Priety Zinta and Kamal Hasan. The monies didn’t drop at that point. It was then revived with Shah Rukh Khan. Story goes when Shankar went to Orange County (with his wife, son, daughters Aditi and Aishwarya and team of writers) to give Shah Rukh a detailed narration, he had every colour scheme, every frame and other minute details worked out. Shah Rukh was visibly impressed but the deal fell through and the Rajni came on board.
He is also a tough cookie to please. A stickler for punctuality, years ago, when Manisha Koirala (Indian, Mudalvan) walked in just a few minutes late on a couple of occasions, he had turned shades of purple. And one has seen him lapse into complete silence after he and the Nepali actress had a slight altercation about a scene.
Of course all this doesn’t compromise his work relations. The next morning, he sorted the matter with Manisha and shooting progressed at a brisk pace.
A simple man
In personal life he’s a plain-dresser. Though he arrives in a high-end automobile (he earlier drove a Merc but after his association with Shah Rukh, switched to a BMW) he has no shenanigans attached to his name. He’s the kind of guy who has no hesitation to eat food at roadside joints, goes about his work-home-work routine and shuns parties save for the occasional awards function.
But his budgets are the opposite. Ask him about why his budgets always get more prominence than his reviews, and he says, “I don’t know the intention of the press when it highlights the budgets of movies. In my movies the money has always been well-spent. In Robot, the animatronics used is of the same calibre of The Jurassic Park, Terminator and Avatar. And since it was also done at the Stan Winston Studios in the US, the SFX cost huge money. I only put my money where my mouth is. Robot needed high-end technical effects. If Indian cinema had a wider release, then I would have spent at least half of what Avatar did on SFX. However, I’ve always believed in bringing in something new via technology in every film of mine. And it is because of the novelty element that my films have a repeat value.”
“I think it’s wrong to talk about my movie budgets constantly. There is an equal amount of blood and sweat invested in the effort. The film took two years to make and we had a huge foreign crew involved. Every member of my unit and the foreign crew has worked so hard on this film that the money pales in comparison to the effort put in.’’
The journey ahead
Fair enough, but one wonders whether it is personal angst that is responsible for the Robinhood characters he writes. Says Shankar, “I’m a common man. And I’m fully aware of what is happening around me. As a journalist you have a pen that you use to highlight injustice. As a director, I have another medium to do exactly the same.’’
But the films he patronises are vastly different from the ones he makes. A self-confessed Mani Ratnam admirer, the other three films that have left an indelible mark on him are Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai and Raj Kumar Hirani’s 3-Idiots. “When I’m in between scripts the only things I make time for are watching movies,” he says.
And though his movies leave gadget freaks gasping, he’s technologically challenged in real life. “All the technology is reserved for my films. I don’t even what hidden features my cell-phone has,’’ he laughs.
As he gets into his vehicle to visit the local Chennai theatres for reactions, he adds, “People want to know what I’m making next. I usually have some idea stashed away in my head for my next film even before the earlier one has wrapped. In 17 years, I have directed 10 films. I guess I have been prolific. But, this time around I want to wait for the hangover of Robot to subside. What I really need at this point is to splash some water on my face, clear my head and go for a long drive and feel the breeze blow.’’
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/25/20101004201010042248138899446e09/Chennai-cool.html
October 4, 2010 at 11:18 PM
One Sun. One Moon. One Rajni. DOT.
Rajni is a force and event that has never happenned in Indian Cinema and will never happen. I have followed AB very closely from early 80′s and never in his peak could he create such an aura, so much adulation across genders, age groups – the Rajni appeal mystery is something that no one (Sherlock Holmes incl) can ever solve.
He just has to turn up to make the people turn up at the halls.
BTW regd the flop Baba – it grossed more than Vijay’s biggest hit Kushi at that time. So much for comparison with anybody.
Look at Endhiran – an ordinary movie with great visuals – will any producer ever put so much money on anybody except Rajni and still expect to make a huge profit. Will any other star at this budget there was no recovery model. Rajni has completely made Shankar’s dream come true. End of Discussion.
October 4, 2010 at 11:25 PM
Satyam, Rajen – I think you are being very biased. Rajni is the single biggest box office force in the history of Indian cinema. EVER. His grosses (are higher than many hindi movies). You can find many other attributes/ parameters like language/ star-actor/ chosen career path/ death of bollywood masala on how AB or any one else is better than Rajni. Please yourself!
But this cake is Rajni’s and he will eat it too!
October 4, 2010 at 11:35 PM
Opening Numbers: Endhiran (Tamil) v Dabangg v Three Idiots
Monday 4th October 2010 20.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Endhiran (Tamil) and its Telugu and Hindi versions combined have given the largest first weekend distributor share ever in India. As per general industry estimates the shares were 25 crore for Tamil version, 13 crore for Telugu version and 4 crore for Hindi version. The total distributor share being 42 crore. Dabangg was 30 crore approx and Three Idiots 21.75 crore approx.
The film has also the highest first weekend nett collections ever in India at 56 crore nett. Dabanng was 49 crore nett and Three Idiots 38 crore nett.
But in terms of the amount collected at the ticket counter it remained below the Salman Khan All Time Blockbuster Dabangg. All three versions of Endhiran had a gross figure of 62 crore over its first weekend while Dabangg picked up 65 crore over a similar period with Three Idiots at a 50.50 crore gross.
Endhiran (Tamil) figures alone without dubbed versions was 25 crore distributor share, 31 crore nett and gross.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=2086&nCat=box_office_news
October 5, 2010 at 9:02 AM
BOI:
The collections of Anjaana Anjaani dropped around 55-60% on Monday from Friday collections.
The film grossed around 2.75-3 crore nett on Monday taking the four day total to 26.50-26.75 crore nett. The weekday business looks like adding around the 9 crore nett mark.
Robot also dropped with collections of 1.25 crore nett on Monday. The drop is 25% from Friday but Friday was very low. The drop was 60% plus from its Saturday and Sunday business.
October 5, 2010 at 9:24 AM
Enthiran to beat Magadheera collections?
By Moviebuzz | Tuesday, 05 October , 2010, 10:44
The Enthiran wave is sweeping south India, and in Andhra, its Telugu dubbed version Robot is a mega blockbuster.
The trade says it has taken a super opening, similar to a Telugu superstar movie. The buzz is that the collections are sure to exceed the super hit Maghadheera in all release centres!
The leading business paper The Economic Times has reported that Enthiran and its Hindi version Robot has “grossed around Rs 50 Crore in its opening weekend in India”.
Most of the multiplex owners told the business daily: “ Robot opening on Friday was 45 to 50 percent but picked up during Saturday and Sunday due to good word of mouth and firmed up around 85 percent which is fantastic for a dubbed film. On the other hand in south there is 100 percent occupancy and in some places tickets are sold in black for Rs 5000!”
October 5, 2010 at 10:26 AM
It is matching with MagaDheera so far. Two big releases coming up in next two weeks which could change the trending.
October 5, 2010 at 3:22 PM
Rajinikanth beats the Khans
Minakshi Saini, Hindustan Times
Move over Shah Rukh Khan; there’s a new king in tinsel town. He’s 61, a god in South India, and now, superstar Rajinikanth has taken over Bollywood fans, too. His latest film, Enthiran-The Robot, has broken all opening weekend sales recorded by any Bollywood film, ever. With box office
collection worth a whopping R56 crore on its first weekend, the film has overshot the record set by Salman Khan’s Dabangg, by 17 per cent.
Even in North India, where it’s mostly Bollywood films that have done well, the movie is a top grosser, beating Anjaani Anjaani, which released on the same day. “We didn’t expect such a great response in the North sector. We’re planning to increase the number of shows in Delhi this weekend — that’s how phenomenal the response has been,” says Shirish Handa of Fun Cinemas.
Enthiran“Rajinikanth is now the baadshah of the box office, and the numbers prove it,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. “Robot has put him on an unmatchable level. His demand is growing both in North India and internationally.”
It’s not just multiplexes that are raking in the moolah. Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani theatre in Purnia, Bihar, insists that both the classes and the masses seem to love the actor in his latest avatar. “We’ve never witnessed something like this earlier. The shows remain full even on Mondays.”
Till three years ago, Rajinikanth’s films would only take South India by storm. The turning point was Sivaji – The Boss (2007). Even the Tamil version was a hit in Mumbai. Now, Robot is repeating the success story like never before. “It’s not Batman or Superman, no blonde-haired, white-skinned super hero saving the world… he is our very own Chitti — one we can all relate to,” says film critic Anupama Chopra.
Enthiran Domestic opening R56 crore, Worldwide opening R160 crore
Dabangg Domestic opening R48 crore, Worldwide opening R90 crore
3 idiots Domestic opening R38 crore, Worldwide opening R90 crore
My Name is Khan Domestic opening R30 crore, Worldwide opening R85 crore
Inputs from Hiren Kotwani
October 5, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Rajnikanth juggernaut takes over US box office
Next
Arthur J Pais in New York
Setting a huge recording for a Tamil film which was also dubbed into Telugu and Hindi, the Rajnikanth juggernaut Endhiran (Robot) grossed over the weekend an estimated $1.56 million in North America.
While Robot, which was showing in 139 theaters is the toast of the town, the romantic film Anjaana Anjaani had a decent opening. It grossed $517,000 in 91 theaters.
This is an awesome gross for any Indian film, particularly a Tamil film, said a distributor who asked not to be named. But people forget a number of theaters doubled the admission price for many shows to $25, some even charged $40 which would be more than the Imax admission price for Avatar.
Robot became the bigger weekend opening film in North America not only for Rajnikanth but also Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Many diehard Rajnikanth fans at universities, even those who have just started their studies and have to watch out for every penny spent, saw the film mostly on Friday or Saturday.
To some in New York meant not going to the Diwali mela which attracts over 100,000 people. Several newly migrated students from Tamil Nadu and other southern states, especially those enrolled at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, said they did not feel homesick for many days, in anticipation of seeing Robot.
The Diwali mela would be there next year, said some but the thrill of seeing Robot would not be around.
According to Robot distributor, the film took $170,000 for the Hindi version (39 locations), $330,000 (Telugu, 33 locations) while the Tamil version grossed $1.1 million at 64 venues.
How the film will hold in the coming three weeks will shape its final box office. Most hit films tumble by about 65 percent in the second week By conservative estimate, Robot would end up with $2.5 million in North America.
The movie is also expected to do solid business in the United Kingdom with its 180,000 Tamil population.
The three-day gross in North America, the UK, France, Singapore and Malaysia could exceed $3 million.
The film which reportedly cost $31 million, with additional $10 million for prints and publicity will have to earn about $80 million through ticket sales and revenue form ancillary markets including music and TV rights.
Many young viewers who said they would have loved to see it the second time in the opening weekend, also confessed that they would be seeing it again after two weeks when the admission rates would be the standard $10.
October 5, 2010 at 8:59 PM
What happened to 2.1 millio RECORD BREAKING weekend?
October 5, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Add the 3 versions and it come to slightly more than the $2.06 million.
October 5, 2010 at 10:35 PM
The exact amount for all three versions combined is $2,166,178.
His numbers are incomplete.
October 5, 2010 at 4:53 PM
Thackeray is like God to me, says SRK ( Sir Rajnee Kanth)
Superstar Rajinikanth who met Bal Thackeray said that the Shiv Sena chief is “like God” to him.
The 60-year-old actor drove to Thackeray’s residence at ‘Matoshree’ in suburban Bandra and sought the Sena chief’s blessings.
After meeting Thackeray, Rajinikanth compared the Sena chief to God. “He is like God to me,” the actor said.
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?ID=ENTEN20100155441&keyword=BOLLYWOOD&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA
October 5, 2010 at 5:23 PM
Et tu Rajni?
October 5, 2010 at 7:44 PM
Any smart Rajini jokes when it comes to Thackeray?
Disapponting.
October 5, 2010 at 11:32 PM
Robo shakes box office in AP and USA
Shankar is one director who has more brand value than Rajnikant in AP. His films with Arjun, Prabhudeva and Vikram did wonders in the past. His last movie with Rajnikant did well at box office despite mixed talk. Robo is an example of what a director like Shankar and a hero like Rajni can cumulatively deliver if it gets a hit talk. Robo is creating sensation all over by breaking most of the first week records in spite of having to pay an addition 7% as entertainment tax to the government for being a dubbed movie.
In 90% of the centers it is released, Robo went housefuls for 3 days in all theatres. In a place like Gudiwada, Robo was released in 4 theaters and was houseful for all shows in three days. Robo is going to collect a share of 11 lacs in the first week in Gudiwada. In a place like Machilipatnam, Robo was released in 3 theaters and went for housefuls in all three theatres. This movie is going to collect a share of more than 8 lacs in Machilipatnam for the first week.
The impact and power of Robo is such that it collected a share of 1.6 crores per day in Nizam for the first three days. Robo is poised to collect a share of minimum of 7 crores and a maximum of 8 crores in the first week in Nizam if this trend continues.
The expected share for Robo in entire Andhra Pradesh is going to be a minimum of 16.5 crores and a maximum of 20 crores. The following is the expected minimum share with the break-up
Robo expected 1st week share in AP
S. No. Territory Share (crore rupees)
1 Nizam 7.0
2 Ceded 3.2
3 Vizag 1.3
4 Nellore 0.8
5 East Godari 1.1
6 West Godari 0.9
7 Guntur 1.35
8 Krishna 1.0
Total 16.65 (minimum)
http://www.idlebrain.com/trade/robo-1stweekshare.html
October 5, 2010 at 11:35 PM
It’s silly to state Shankar is bigger than Rajni in Andhra. The latter is a pan-Southern star. Yes he’s had other hits there but the truly extraordinary one was Anniyan because Vikram himself has been the truest pan-Southern star after Rajni.
October 6, 2010 at 4:22 AM
“Vikram himself has been the truest pan-Southern star after Rajni.”
——————–
uhahahahahahahahahahaha (Evil Chitti laugh.)
October 6, 2010 at 8:12 AM
I don’t think Vikram had lot of fans in Andhra. Many of his films flopped except Anniyan. All Shankar’s movies fared very well. Kama, Rajnai and now Surya are the most favourites.
October 6, 2010 at 8:15 AM
Good to see Surya mentioned. hehe. Though i’m not sure. Rajini sir n kamal sir are the top heroes in Andhra. no doubt. Vikram’s anniyan is only hit in andra..bt because of shankar alone.. kandasaamy was a big flop. i think surya will overtake him personally..
October 6, 2010 at 11:59 AM
Will overtake?
——
Last time I checked, he overtook Vikram for few years now..
As for Vikram’s boxoffice power in Andhra. It’s almost non-existent. Whatever is left, is because of how Shankar launched him in Anniyan. Otherwise, purely as a star, Vishal (reddy), has more star power in Andhra.
Like the actor Vikram, but as a star, he’s fading out so badly. He needs to get back to his roots, i.e work with Bala.
Moreover, he should forget having large gaps between films. He’s no Ajith (whose stardom bewilders me even today)!
October 6, 2010 at 8:36 AM
actually his Anniyan did at least as well in Andhra as in TN. His Arul which didn’t work in TN did way better in Andhra. Yes Kandasamy and Villain both didn’t work in Telugu but every other film of his that was a hit in Tamil was dubbed and worked in Telugu too.
October 6, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Maza failed too for Vikram.
October 6, 2010 at 1:27 PM
Majaa didn’t do too badly in Tamil for the kind of low profile subject it was.
October 6, 2010 at 4:29 AM
Pan, nonstick Pan-Southern aside…Simply put, Shankar’s reach in Andhra is legendary.
October 6, 2010 at 7:53 AM
Shanker interview, cool read.. guys-
f you join the dots from S Shankar’s first film Gentleman (1993) to his latest Robot (2010) you will notice a common thread. For one, he has the finger on the pulse of the cinegoer. Plus, he knows how to embellish his work with gloss and grandeur at a scale still unimaginable by most filmmakers.
Real Indian palaces, heritage sights, Machu-Pichu, seven wonders of the world…he’s exploited them all long before Bollywood found their address.
But to grant the devil his due – his movies are not just special-effects ridden; there is a definite plot with a message. Also, the budgets get more phenomenal each time.
His first blockbuster Gentleman (1993) (with its iconic Chik paku Raile number that introduced the world to Prabhu Deva’s dancing skills) brought a new style of filmmaking but his 90s protagonist is just a different avatar of Bollywood 70s phenomenon — Salim-Javed’s ‘angry young man’. Quite like Amitabh Bachchan, Shankar’s hero has invariably been taking on the system, film after film. But where he leaves his contemporaries way behind is his technical wizardry. A fact just reiterated by his latest Robot (Endhiran, Tamil).
Comparisons to West
Two days after the release of the Rs 150 crore film, Kollywood’s Shankar is drawing comparisons to none other than James Cameron. Both are August born; both spare no expense when it comes to their budgets and cinematic vision. And quite like Avatar, the highest worldwide grosser, Robot too has opened to a thunderous start.
The filmmaker himself remains remarkably modest about being “India’s Cameron quotient.” “Stop pulling my leg,’’ he says. “I don’t need any more of the spotlight on me than that is already there,’’ he laughs.
But with an enviable track record of seven of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema, Shankar is on the verge of rewriting history with his eight one. Trade sources confirm that Endhiran, has broken the record of the highest box office collections for a Tamil film — the film, they say, will cross the Rs 250 crore mark.
http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/26/20101003201010030201025687cf885c8/Chennai-cool.html
October 6, 2010 at 7:55 AM
read more from link
October 6, 2010 at 8:08 AM
250 crores! LOL.
October 6, 2010 at 8:20 AM
not sure abt 250 crores..the film should hav been made within 100 crores..not 175 as they claim..around 150-200 crores is a reasonable return..besides sun tv network have already got large revenue because of robo exclusives…n they will get lot in tv telecast too..
October 6, 2010 at 8:26 AM
I would love for someone to analyse the economics of this film.
The BO reporting here is somewhat orgasmic and doesnt reflect the true picture.
October 6, 2010 at 9:24 AM
what has been completely ridiculous and this began with Sivaji has been the Hindi media going just over the top. Because Sivaji did negligible business in Hindi and so far Enthiran has not done too much better either. It’s really nothing. Yes it can be a massive grosser just on the strength of its Tamil and Telugu versions but Rajni didn’t become so big yesterday! There have been other massive grossers in Tamil and Telugu and no one has talked about them. Yes Rajni in these Shankar films creates these pan-Southern monsters (no pun intended!) but how does this affect a Hindi industry where these films have done nothing. This has become since Sivaji completely a media propaganda game. Look at Taran here:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/business_talk/index.html
In Hindi the film even by the highest IBOS count has not done more than 8 crores or so through Mon. And they’re comparing it to Dabangg and 3I?! If the point is that it’s done hugely in the South well many do. They regularly have blockbusters and some huge moneyspinners and of course many regular successes. It’s not like Hindi where very little works. They have a vastly more healthy structure when it comes to economics of filmmaking (and otherwise!). Sow what’s new here?!
A few things as I see it. The Bombay media which has always been hopelessly pro-SRK has in the post-SRK era either accepted other stars are the top ones grudgingly (so you had Aamir being called the top one after Ghajini! After he literally got the biggest gross.. the rest of the decade they refused to give him anything) or Akshay after he had 4-5 back to back hits at one point. Today some are even talking about Salman in a similar vein. But there has always been a certain anti-Bachchan sentiment to all of this. I have discussed this in detail many times but we’ve seen how time and time again Bachchan successes are treated extremely dishonestly in most of the media. Even Abhishek who has had a much more patchy box office record is denied the simple writeups even when he does have winners. Of course historically also Bachchan has never had good relations with the media and it was ideological even then. So for example check out Taran on BnB or Paa and now on Anjaana Anjaani. There is definitely a Bachchan resistance in the Bombay media. The Rajnikant thing is then another way of saying ‘see he’s India’s real superstar, not Bachchan’! They did so literally when Sivaji released. Now one can debate what each superstar has done or meant and has designed his career at different stages but this sort of comparison is gravely misleading. And to add to what I said yesterday in many ways Mammootty and Mohanlal are at least as strong in their industry and keep producing mass hits and they do multiple films every single year and they also seem to have a viable future even at this point because they do (specially in Mammootty’s case) a variety of subjects. But also the Shankar stuff cannot be taken as simply a measure of Rajni’s stardom. For obvious reasons. The problem is that Rajni at his age just cannot do regular masala anymore. For one (and unlike bachchan) he just doesn’t have the physical energy and agility that Bachchan does even at his age. So you can’t do regular action and dances and so on with Rajni. and with a Robot you can make him look physically impressive without it seeming gimmicky. Can’t do this in a regular film.
What Rajni is doing nonetheless is astonishing. One could hardly question this. But unless the plan is to keep doing super-productions with Shankar once in 3 years I am not sure what the future would hold for Rajni going forward. He’s done 4 films in the last 11 years! Talk about maximizing your initial! Even if the Bombay media is too illiterate to understand all of this history the Hindi box office can certainly be understood for what it is and these films have done nothing in Hindi (if Robot suddenly has a strong second weekend it’s another matter! But there are no signs this is true).
So it’s partly an anti-Bachchan narrative that’s running but it’s ultimately an ideological game where the Bachchans have never been on the right side of it. The only way to defeat the structure is to have constant hits the way Aamir did but even he wasn’t given his due until he had the biggest grosser. Of course the media has now moved on from SRK too. They still give him the benefit of the doubt a great deal but they are excited by any star who has a big one. Except a Bachchan! The principal thrust of all the Hindi commentary on Sivaji and now Robot is to basically deconstruct Bachchan. But there is also a certain element of condescension here. The same reviewers who otherwise give good reviews only to banal multiplex fare suddenly become the greatest fans of masala when it comes to Rajni. And not just masala they don’t even mind all the stuff they would find hopelessly regressive in a Hindi film!
October 6, 2010 at 10:39 AM
I dont know why you are feeling so insecure for Ab. It is just that a rajini film has released which is a nice film and people are liking it and it is doing good business.Quite normal. I cant find where amitabh bacchan comes into all this.Does it mean that anybody who likes rajini automatically hates ab.
October 6, 2010 at 10:43 AM
you need to read everything I’ve said on the subject!
It’s a problem sometimes because one is called a partisan no matter which way one goes. A little earlier today I had to not approve a comment from someone because the tone I felt was needlessly abrasive. But this guy basically was accusing me of having a Vikram agenda because I dared to say he was a pan-Southern star or that his films worked in Telugu.
October 6, 2010 at 10:45 AM
“But there is also a certain element of condescension here. The same reviewers who otherwise give good reviews only to banal multiplex fare suddenly become the greatest fans of masala when it comes to Rajni. And not just masala they don’t even mind all the stuff they would find hopelessly regressive in a Hindi film!”
I think this is more the case than anything else. As I’d mentioned in my piece on the film, I think in Indian media in general, Rajini has become the modern face of masala cinema, the icon most closely associated with what people know as (or mistake for) masala. I can’t speak to how much of that is a result of a calculated effort to deconstruct Bachchan, or anyone else, but more often than not this ‘masala-king’ role that’s been accorded to Rajini almost seems, especially in the case of the Hindi media, in part an effort to deconstruct Rajini himself and the tradition he’s come to represent. He is little more than a real, live, Quickgun Murugan for them. I don’t sense this as much with the Enthiran adulation, much of which seems sincere to me, but in the general celebratory attitude towards Rajini in recent years which is sometimes laced with an undercurrent of heckling. So he can be enjoyed but only enjoyed as one would enjoy kitsch. Not to be taken seriously. So many of the pieces written on Enthiran don’t really engage with it in a serious way but just applauds all the crazy masala fun to be had. This is perfectly fine but one should never mistake all this adulation as a wholly positive occurrence.
October 6, 2010 at 10:58 AM
yes this is a fair summation of things.. I certainly agree that while Sivaji confirmed the bias Robot really made them sit up! Also with the anti-Bachchan thing I didn’t mean something calculated.. just that it’s all part of a larger ideological wellspring.
October 6, 2010 at 11:28 AM
I think robo is an aishwaryarai bacchan film too. Do you think people needlessly make much of a aiswarya bacchan film to propagate anti bacchan bais.
October 6, 2010 at 9:35 AM
Chennai Box-Office- October 1 to 3
Tuesday, 05 October , 2010, 19:31
Rajinikanth’s Enthiran has taken Chennai by storm. Out of 100 screens in Chennai city and its suburbs,, nearly 80 were screening the Sun Picture produced, Shankar directed entertainment extravaganza. The film has taken the Box Office cake, leaving last week’s number one Boss Engira Baskaran with a handful of shows in limited screens!
This week, the CBO feels that other films are irrelevant. And from No.1 to No.5, it is Rajinikanth’s Enthiran all the way. Case in point, a multiplex that was to screen an English film for an evening show cancelled it, and played a special corporate show of the Rajinikant entertainer!
Rajinikanth’s Enthiran playing at close to 50 screens had 100 % occupancy, as most of the tickets were pre-sold. Sun Pictures and the distributor are yet to come out with official figures, but the trade buzz is that in three days the film would’ve taken a share of around Rs Two crores, which is excellent!
http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14958051&cid=13525926
October 6, 2010 at 9:44 AM
BOI:
Dabangg has seen its first major weekly drop in its fourth week. The collections were down 70% at multiplexes as Anjaana Anjaani dominated screen space.
Dabangg will still manage around 6 crore nett business over its fourth week which will take its four week nett business to near 140 crore. The single screens in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and MP are showing a better turnout than the new releases Anjaana Anjaana and Robot on the weekdays.The four week distributor share will be a huge 77.50 crore and the 80 mark should be crossed by the end of the sixth week.
October 6, 2010 at 10:18 AM
Satyam,
I appreciate your long comment and agree with most of it.
But, I dont even want to bring up the anti-Bachchan bias into it, lest one gets labelled as a conspiracy theorist.
Lets analyse the cold,hard facts.
Whats is the budget,what is it sold for, what are the nett collections, other costs and other sources of revenue.
BTW, 2.1 million for US has not been validated anywhere else so far.
Fans of all kinds of stars are trying to make more of it than it really is just so that they can use it as a stick to beat the star they are not a fan of.
October 6, 2010 at 10:28 AM
fair enough.. in a nutshell it has done nothing much in Hindi so far..
October 6, 2010 at 11:49 AM
thank god. amitab is safe. now now in safeguarding amitab dont enter into an anti rajini bias. He is just a simpleton. Nothing much in hindi belt. he just doesn’t have the physical energy and agility that Bachchan does even at his age. So he can’t do regular action and dances and so on .But unless the plan is to keep doing super-productions with Shankar once in 3 years nobody is sure what the future would hold for Rajni going forward.
such a poor fellow. Kindly let him live and grab a few odd crores thrown at him in the hindi belt.
October 6, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Lol! Sari nakkal (English translation: Sarcasm at best!)
October 6, 2010 at 11:51 AM
The film has made necessary impact, that is the major success itself. I am doubtful whether it makes much profit.
October 6, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Salman’s opening numbers on Big Boss better than Bachchan’s:
http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html?sid=28452_Salman+Khan+beats+Big+B+and+Shilpa+Shetty+in+Bigg+Boss
October 6, 2010 at 10:26 PM
I dont know what is wrong with satyam. He takes everything against bachchan. Big b did way better in his prime. But now he is more focussed to characher roles than starry. But definitely tis puts shame to current generation of so called superstars that a regional film beats their biggest by a margin.
October 6, 2010 at 10:46 PM
Variety
‘Endhiran’ takes $2 million in US bow
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118025283.html?categoryId=1278&cs=1
October 7, 2010 at 4:32 AM
Thackeray’s like God: Rajnikanth
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Thackerays-like-God-Rajnikanth/articleshow/6698743.cms
October 7, 2010 at 4:42 AM
Stupid confession to make..
October 7, 2010 at 8:05 AM
One can lament Rajini’s choice of words but one laments more the ground realities that forces these mega stars to kow tow to forces like Thackeray. Rajini is certainly not the first megastar who has had to do this nor will he be the last. Even SRK, Big B have had to make conciliatory gestures to this goonda. So, one has to cut Rajini some slack here.