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Film producer Prakash Jha on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking its direction to lift the ban imposed on the release of his film Aarakshan in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Counsel for Jha mentioned the petition before a bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir seeking urgent hearing of his plea as the film is scheduled to hit the screens today.
The bench accepted his plea and decided to hear the matter at 2 pm on Friday.
After Uttar Pradesh, the release of the film was banned in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh yesterday over certain controversial scenes and dialogues, which the director said he is ready to delete.
The UP government had on August 10 banned the film for two months citing law and order problem.
The ban imposed by Punjab government will be in force till a screening committee constituted by it previews the movie and submits its report.
The government feared that some scenes and dialogues in the film may trigger trouble.
Hours after the ban in Punjab was announced, the Andhra Pradesh government decided to suspend the exhibition of the film initially for a period of one week, or till a final decision is taken on the report of the Committee constituted for the purpose, whichever is earlier.
The AP government cited the likelihood of the film hurting the feelings of weaker sections that could lead to protests and agitations and breach of the peace and tranquillity in the State for suspending the film for a week.
satyam, remember i had stated this long back? that they need to mention in court no. 2 they did it but they did it late… imo, or weekend could have been saved imo.
*Honble Justice Altamus Kabir’s Bench is Court No. 2 of apex court.
Aarakshan had a decent 50-70% opening wherever it opened today. Delhi city was pretty good at around 60-70% while West Bengal was low. The film has been banned in UP, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh so will lose around 20% of its business.
The raging controversy over the last few days with the film being banned in various states probably helped the start a bit but not to the extent where people ran to watch it in the fear of it being banned in other states.
The film will have to open in the banned states before the weekend is out as the opening is not huge that it can compensate even some of the revenue loss from the banned states.
The other release of the week Phhir had a dull opening all over.
not sure what Nahata is saying here! Starts out by suggesting it will do awesome business if it has a full release but by the end he seems to saying ‘average’ business in every scenario!
Nahata gives it 2 stars (Taran had 4 stars) and here’s more on the box office from his review:
“On the whole, Aarakshan is an average entertainer. It is too lengthy and boring in parts but it has some excellent scenes and drama which would appeal more to the North Indians. Considering its high cost on the one hand and its ban in some states on the other, it would be an uphill task for the film to cover its cost unless the ban is lifted quickly. The long first weekend (Monday being a public holiday for Independence Day) will prove very beneficial for the film’s business. It must be added here that if the court were to lift the ban, the publicity that would follow would help the film’s collections to take a big leap so that the film could become a comfortably earning proposition.”
B.O. update: ‘Aarakshan’ opens well, but numbers will be affected
- By Taran Adarsh, August 12, 2011 – 16:45 IST
AarakshanThe much-in-news AARAKSHAN started well at most places, garnering 60% to 70% to 80% occupancy in morning and noon shows. The occupancy was better at multiplexes, while certain sectors reported 40% to 50% start. The film has not released in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, which means that the business will be badly hit since a big chunk of revenue will be lost in the process.
Talking from the business point of view, the revenue generated from these three states, especially Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, is huge. Also, in view of the fact that it’s a 4-day weekend [Monday, 15 August is a holiday], the producer/distributors will lose a substantial chunk of revenue if the movie doesn’t hit the screens in these states. Which also means that a big, fat total, keeping the 4-day weekend in mind, will be ruled out if the film doesn’t see a theatrical release.
However, the silver lining is that the film is being liked by the audience and that should help the film collect a good chunk over the weekend.
Javed Akhtar slams support for ‘Aarakshan’
New Delhi: Noted Lyricist Javed Akhtar lashed out at the film fraternity on Friday for coming out in support of Prakash Jha’s ‘Aarakshan’ which has been banned in some states. He said that the society itself was divided and only reacted when they themselves face problems. He also said that the fraternity is facing such problems since it is not united and has not supported each other in the past.
Akhtar also pointed out that earlier no one supported films like ‘Fanaa’ and ‘Water’, which were banned in some states.
“Where were the tweets and statements when ‘Fanaa’ was banned in Gujarat and Shabana Azmi’s ‘Water’ posters removed in 1992… They didn’t stand then… No media support, nothing…. I condemn what’s happening with ‘Aarakshan’ but they are paying a price for being quiet at that time.”
Akhtar’s reaction came after a flurry of Bollywood stars condenmed the ban on the movie.
Amitabh Bachchan had tweeted on a social networking site “Back from #aarakshan… Have cried at our helplessness in not making people understand that this art needs to be seen not banned!!”
Karan Johar also tweeted in support of ‘Aarkashan’ saying, “Cinema is a medium of expression…democracy allows the freedom of expression…is this only in theory??? And who stands accountable?? SAD.”
‘Aarakshan’, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, has been banned in Uttar Pradesh. An interim ban has been called on the movie in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
first thing first….it is really sad that in a democracy a film is banned like this….
reg. JA’s comment – let us pretend to forget who said those words – but the irony is that it is true….when fanaa was banned, every one including Big B chose to keep silent – WHY? and to expect now everyone come out and support his film – where are we going??? let Big B pledge that henceforth anyone’s film is banned on similar grounds – he will openly come out and support – will he do it?
yes but who was ‘first’? Bachchan has been attacked on many grounds far before anyone else. No one has publicly supported him either. Whether it was Raj Thackeray or anyone else. So there’s no issue of ‘priority’ here because no one says anything about anything!
that is also a valid point satyam!
but somewhere, someone will have to take initiative….maybe everyone can forget the past and come together for the first time and let the trend continue? i think it needs to be done here…but will they do it?……hmmmm….
I don’t think Fanaa’s problem was the same as this. Fanaa’s problems were based on an individual’s attempts at glorifying himself, while Arakshan’s problem is the subject itself which the politicians are trying to manupilate.
that’s unfair.. Aamir got involved in a political issue and refused to back down. His film lost considerable gross in Gujarat. Ahmedabad on its own is a very major center. So the idea that he enjoyed compromising the film’s gross to somehow glorify himself is more than a little strange.
Did he know he was compromising anything?
Why /hasn’t he taken a stand against this bullying of the film industry…since he loves to support and get involved.
Anyway, since we know we won’t agree it’s useless saying anything….and it’s not about Amir at all. Don’t jump at every word I say. Look, how I don’t do that every time something is said about SRK
My point here is that the situation is absolutely different.
August 11, 2011
Movie Review | ‘Aarakshan’
A Battle for India’s Soul
By RACHEL SALTZ
Nothing less than India’s soul is at stake in Prakash Jha’s “Aarakshan,” a Hindi movie about the battle — as intense as any gang war — between a righteous teacher and the hucksters who would make education a commodity available only to the privileged.
Mr. Jha likes to take political stories and turn them into pulpy, populist epics. His last film, “Rajneeti,” a sort of “Mahabharata” meets “The Godfather,” set in present-day Bhopal, was about corruption in a dynastic ruling family. Here he grapples with caste prejudice and the Indian version of affirmative action: the reserving of spots in schools for low or “backward” castes. (“Aarakshan” means reservation.)
To help tell his big story, he has enlisted Bollywood’s Mr. Big, Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Prabhakar Anand, a Bhopal college principal whose integrity costs him his job. Among his protégés is the low-caste Deepak (Saif Ali Khan).
“Tell us about your father,” job interviewers demand of Deepak in the opening scene. Yet even as the film works to overturn the idea that family status determines worth, it can’t help placing its hopes in a good daddy figure: namely, Mr. Bachchan’s Prabhakar, who looms as large to his students as the man who plays him does to generations of Indian moviegoers.
At times “Aarakshan” comes off like a pep rally for pluralism and inclusion. (“Just give me a chance and watch me take flight” go the lyrics to one song.) But Mr. Jha doesn’t stint on the melodrama, unabashedly pitting smirking corruption against heroic rectitude. Subtle it ain’t and subtle it needn’t be. It is, though, mostly involving (if Bollywood long, at 2 hours 45 minutes) and even occasionally stirring.
Javed Akhtar is all riled up because Shabana’s film was involved (and of course it helps to cite another film along with it).
I don’t like him.
It’s truly unfortunate to have the film banned in no less than 3 states. Hope all turns out well soon.
JA had no objection for MNIK support tweets. Division and hypocrisy are trademark of bollywood and JA leads the pack.
Not too long ago he had problem with AB’s omission of HR in the tweet and now this.
note : i had earlier stated someone needs to mention court no. 2 of Apex COurt as Court no.1 (Chief Justice of India’s Court)doesnt grant mentioning, if only they had done this a day ago matter could have been heard today and they could have saved collection of extended weekend, and as i suggested they have hired Harish Salve, India’s No. 1 lawyer of his generation along with Mukul Rohotgi the King of Delhi High COurt as people hail him, a deadly combo. But if only they had mentioned yesterday.
An apex court bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir said the matter will come up for hearing at 2 p.m.
The court passed the order after senior counsel Harish Salve and Mukul Rohtagi mentioned the matter before the court, seeking directions for the lifting of the ban imposed by the three state governments on the grounds of public order.
If someone says shahrukh an aamir in one film than their equivalent would be Harish Salve and Mukul Rohotgi in one matter.
Now lets see which other counsels come in to picture, i guess grand old daddy’s like nariman and sorabjee might be approached by otherside… its gonna be cracking.. in court no. 2 on Tuesday…
@satyam: please add “honble” before courts, and theres typo.. in Mukul Rohotgi the king of delhi high court, please delete last 3 words.. as the Rohotgi is India’s top 4 counsel right now.
The writ petition raises the following important questions of law for general public importance:
* When the Central Board of Film Certification, the statutory body constituted under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, has certified the petitioners’ film for public exhibition, could the states ban the exhibition of the film under their regulatory statutes of cinemas?
* Whether states could have banned the film when the examining committee of the Central Board of Film Certification comprised of members who were drawn from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and other backward castes.
* The ban on the film violates the petitioner’s fundamental rights under 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
Here is an excerpt from very interesting article..
Article 19 of the UDHR and ICCPR specifically endorse this right. However, this right is not absolute in any country; governments always prohibit certain types of expressions. Under international law, restrictions on free speech and expression are required to conform to a strict three part test: they must be provided by law, pursue an aim recognized as legitimate, and be necessary (i.e., proportionate) for the accomplishment of that aim. Amongst the aims considered legitimate are protection of the rights and reputations of others, the protection of national security and public order and morals[17]. We have also similar provision of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution which is guaranteed to all the citizens along with ‘reasonable’ restriction under Article 19(2) on certain grounds.[18]
ICCPR also recognizes this right ‘in the form of art’ which includes films. So far censorship of films in India is concerned, the power of legislation is vested with the Parliament according to Entry 60 [19] of the Union List of the Schedule VII under the Constitution. However, the States can also make laws on cinemas under Entry 33 [20] of the Sate List but subject to the provision of the central legislation. The prime legislation in this respect is the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as ‘1952 Act’) and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Rules’).
The Act was enacted to provide for the certification of cinematograph films for exhibition and for regulating their exhibition. The brief scheme of the statute is as follows. It empowers the Central Government to constitute a Censor Board consisting of up to 25 members for the purpose of sanctioning films for public exhibition. After examination of a film, either the Board sanctions the film for restricted or unrestricted public exhibition; or directs to carry out necessary modifications; or refuse to sanction the film for public exhibition. Section 5-B(1) provides the ground for the restriction for public exhibition which is in consonance with Article 19(2) of the Constitution. Sub-section 2 empowers the Central Government to issue necessary guidelines in this regard [21]. The Act also provides for Appellate tribunals from the decisions of the Board.
The Central Government is vested with revisional powers under Section 6(1) to call for the record of any proceeding in relation to any film at any stage, except a matter of appeal pending before the Tribunal, to give necessary order and the Board must dispose of the matter in conformity with such order. The proviso to this section enabled the Government not to disclose any fact in this respect which it considered to be against public interest. Penalties are also prescribed for contravention of the requirements of the Act. Under Part III, which deals with licensing for exhibition, section 13 empowers the Central Government or the Local Authority to suspend exhibition of a film in a UT/State or part of it where it may likely to cause breach of peace.
The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 1983 have been framed under Section 8 of the Act. The Rules deals in the procedural details of Board, the Examining Committee, Revising Committee, the Tribunal and related matters. It may be stated in this regard, under Rule 11, it specifically imposes a duty on the Board to assess public reactions to films. This may be by holding symposia or seminars of film critics, film writers, community leaders and persons engaged in the film industry and also by undertaking local or national surveys to study the impact of films on the public mind.
Apart from the statutory laws, the Indian Courts through its various judgments have contributed immensely to build up the jurisprudence in this respect. Some of those important judgments related to feature films, tele films and television serials are discussed below:
In K.A. Abbas v. Union of India[22], the constitutionality of censorship under the 1952 Act along with the Rules under it was challenged. But the Supreme Court upheld the consititionality within the ambit of Article 19(2) and added that films have to be treated separately from other forms of art and expression because a motion picture is ‘able to stir up emotions more deeply than any other product of art’. However, at the same time it cautioned that it should be ‘in the interests of society’.
Probably, the most important case so far the problem dealt here with is the case of Rangarajan v. P. Jagjivan Ram[23]. In an appeal before the Supreme Court the decision of the Madras High Court was challenged for revoking the ‘U-Certificate’ issued to a Tamil film called Ore Oru Gramathile (In One Village). As the film criticized the reservation policy of the Tamil Nadu Government, it was held that the reaction to the film in Tamil Nadu is bound to be volatile[24]. But the Supreme Court overturned the High Court decision while upholding the freedom of speech and expression. In doing so, the Court did acknowledge to have a compromise between the interest of freedom of expression and social interests. However, it went on to observe that the anticipated danger should not be remote, conjectural or far fetched but have proximate and direct nexus with the expression and equivalent of a spark in a powder keg.
The Court criticized the State and emphasized that freedom of expression cannot be suppressed on account of threat of demonstration and processions or threats of violence. It is the duty of the State to protect the freedom of expression since it is a liberty guaranteed against the State. The State cannot plead its inability to handle the hostile audience problem. (Emphasis added). As censorship is permitted only on the grounds under Article 19(2), the standard to be applied by the board or courts for judging the film should be that of an ordinary man of common sense and prudence and not that of an out of the ordinary or hypersensitive man.[25]
Another incident came up was regarding a serial Tamas which depicted the Hindu-Muslim and Sikh-Muslim tension before the partition of India[26]. Appeal was preferred before the Supreme Court from the judgment of Bombay High Court in Ramesh v. Union of India and Others [27], to restrain the screening of the serial as it was violative of Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution and Section 5B of the Act. The Supreme Court affirmed the High Court decision to dismiss the petition. Commenting on the reaction of the average men, the Court held that the average person would learn from the mistakes of the past and perhaps not commit those mistakes again. They concurred with the High Court that illiterates are not devoid of common sense and awareness in proper light is a first step towards that realization.
In Odyssey Communications Pvt. Ltd. v. Lokvidayan Sanghatana[28], an appeal was filed before the SC from an interim injunction issued by the Bombay High Court to stop the telecast of a serial Honi Anhoni on the Doordarshan which was not in public interest as it was likely to spread false or blind beliefs amongst the members of the public. The SC struck down the injunction because in its opinion the petitioners, apart from their own statements there is no prima-facie evidence to show that grave prejudice was being done to the public.
In Sree Raghavendra Films v Government of Andhra Pradesh and others [29], the exhibition of the film ‘Bombay’ in its Telugu version was suspended in exercise of the powers u/Sec.8(1) of the A.P. Cinemas Regulation Act,1955 [30], despite been certified by the Censor Board for unrestricted exhibition. The suspension was imposed citing the cause that it may hurt sentiments of certain communities. However, it was found that the authorities who passed the impugned order did not even watching the movie!! The Court quashed the order as being arbitrary and not based on proper material.
In Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Prof. Manubhai D. Shah, Doordrashan [31] refused to telecast a documentary film on the Bhopal Gas Disaster titled Beyond Genocide, in spite of the fact that the film won Golden Lotus award, being the best non-feature film of 1987 and was granted ‘U’ certificate by the Censor Board. The reasons cited by Doordarshan were inter alia, the political parties had been raising various issues concerning the tragedy, and the claims for compensation by victims were sub judice. Upholding the freedom of speech the Court held: ..Merely because it is critical of the State Government…is no reason to deny selection and publication of the film. So also pendency of claims for compensation does not render the matter sub judice so as to shut out the entire film from the community. The Court made it clear that subject to Article 19(2), a citizen has a right to publish, circulate and disseminate his views to mould public opinion on vital issues of national importance. Hence, any attempt to thwart or deny the same would offend Art. 19(1)(a). Under such circumstances, the burden would, therefore, heavily lie on the authorities that seek to impose them to show that the restrictions are reasonable and permissible in law.
Again an award winning documentary film, In Memory of Friends about the violence and terrorism in Punjab was rejected by Doordarshan even after been granted ‘U’ certificate by the Censor Board reasoning if such documentary is shown to people, it would create communal hatred and may even lead to a further violence. The court quashed the order emphasizing: The State cannot prevent open discussion and open expression, however, hateful to its policies. Everyone has a fundamental right to form his own opinion on any issue or general concern. He can form and inform by any legitimate means [32].
Even in the case of the Da Vinci controversy, the Supreme court rejected the writ petition by the All India Christians Welfare Association seeking a ban on the movie as it is ‘blasphemous’. The court found no point of objection when the Censor Board and the Central Government has given a green signal. It also held that that no predominantly Christian country had banned the film and there has been no definite reason forwarded by the petitioners to ban the movie in India. In the States of Andhara Pradesh [33], Kerala and Tamil Nadu [34], the respective High Courts quashed the bans imposed by the State Governments and also imposed costs on the governments. While upholding the right to freedom of speech and expression, the Courts found the act of Governments ‘irrational’ and ‘unconstitutional’. They were of the opinion that the bans were imposed mechanically due to the veto of a few people who objected rather than arriving at a decision based on informed satisfaction.
In all those cases of Da Vinci, it was alleged that the film violated inter alia, Article 25 [35]of the Constitution with respect to the Christian community. The Madras High Court reasoned: As regards the harmonious interpretation of Articles 25 and 19, it is clear from a reading of these provisions that the rights under Article 25 are subject to the other provisions of Part III, which means they are subject to Article 19(1). It was not also clear before the court how the exhibition of the film will interfere with anyone’s freedom of conscience or the right to profess, practise and propagate a particular religion. Moreover, according to the court, under no circumstances ‘blasphemy’ is a ground under Article 19(2).
It is important to note that in the case of Union of India v K.M. Shankarappa [36], the Supreme Court disapproved of the Government retaining powers by enacting Section 6(1). It held:
The Government has chosen to establish a quasi-judicial body which has been given the powers, inter alia, to decide the effect of the film on the public. Once a quasi-judicial body like the Appellate Tribunal, consisting of a retired Judge of a High Court or a person qualified to be a Judge of a High Court and other experts in the field, gives its decision that decision would be final and binding so far as the Executive and the Government is concerned. The Executive has to obey judicial orders. Thus, Section 6(1) is a travesty of the rule of law which is one of the basic structures of the Constitution. The Executive cannot sit in an appeal or review or revise a judicial order. At the highest, the Government may apply to the Tribunal itself for a review, if circumstances so warrant. But the Government would be bound by the ultimate decision of the Tribunal. (Emphasis added) This judgment stands till date.
How far are those activities justified?
In the previous section several cases cited make it crystal clear that so far motion pictures are concerned, the higher courts in India have zealously guarded the freedom of speech and expression and have shown optimum judicial activism. They have refused to scrap any movie without any compelling reason for restriction and which are not based on vague or unreasonable apprehensions. But time and again, similar protests have been raised to restrain the exercise of the freedom. On the other hand, as the statutory law is highly centralized and too much power has been given to the executive, it has become virtually become impossible to perform impartially. The legislation was intended to put restriction on ‘reasonable’ grounds but that has opened the floodgates for protests, litigations and all sorts of arbitrary acts.
We live in a democratic country and everyone has a right to communicate his views on different matters. Millions of views are circulated throughout the nation every day by different means. Many of them are not approved by majority of the Indians. But does that mean that those should be scrapped? Or the authors have to knock the doors of the courts if their pieces do not satisfy one billion population? Similarly, movie is the legitimate and the most important medium in which issues of general concern can be treated. Moreover, they are not openly screened for everyone. It is available to only those people who are willing to buy tickets, go to the theatres and watch them. Unwilling people can easily choose to stay away from the movies. The director or producer has a right to project his own messages which the others may not approve of. But that does not deter his right to ‘think out’ and give shape through his creations. ‘Free debate’ and ‘open discussion’ has been considered as an integral part of a democracy in both Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Rangarajan case [37]. Otherwise, democracy has no value and it is equivalent to a totalitarian regime. However, all the above incidents indicate nothing but assert that fact loudly, still we feel proud of being a part of world’s one of the biggest democracy!!
Whenever a movie falls out of the taste of the certain power-holders, they have orchestrated to ban the movie arbitrarily. But have those bans taken care of the right of the viewers generally? They are deprived of the movie simply because it does not suit a group of persons with whom they have no link. Thus, when a movie is banned the ‘right of the viewers’ is also offended. In the case of Secretary, Ministry of I & B v. Cricket Association of Bengal [38], it was held that freedom of speech and expression includes right to acquire information and to disseminate it to public at large. Hence, Article 19(1)(a) also includes the right of viewers. Again in Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India [39], it was held that the people have a right to be informed of the developments that take place in a democratic process. Here, we can take the example of the Da Vinci Code. The movie was banned in 7 states the result was over 20 crores of Indians were deprived from viewing the movie. The total Christian population in the country is 2.3%, while the states banned the movie has varied percentage of Christian residents. Kerala, which holds the largest number of Christians, the book had already been translated in Malayalam and widely circulated [40]. So whose ‘religious sentiments’ and ‘emotions’ are the States speaking of? Only because of protests by few organizations, the State Governments scrapped the movie without taking into consideration either of a vast majority of the people in the states or even the minority community which is projected to be against the screening of the movie. Moreover, if the justification forwarded by the State Governments banning the movie can be put forward by all other states, the movie can be banned in the whole country.
The Censor Board is supposed to be a large expert body carefully constituted to cater to the needs of different segments of the society. Moreover, the procedure for grant of certificate of exhibition to a film is quite elaborate. So its decisions must be given full weight. But the role and position of the Board is confusing. The members are appointed and virtually controlled by the Government. However, the irony is that the game is not confined to only scrapping of movies by the Board. Even a positive nod by the Board is not the final but depends on the Central Government. Already instances have been forwarded where either State Government or State-owned Doordarshan has scrapped movies even after being cleared by the Board and Central Government. In such circumstances, where does the importance of the Censor Board’s decisions lie? The statute provides for the construction of advisory panels which can only make recommendations to the Board [41]. However, in case of Rang De Basant, the Board invited defence minister and people from the forces; during Da Vinci they invited I & B minister along with representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India for their advice who actually had the final say. Next time to make a film on the terrorists will the terror groups be invited to certify the content? If in every case, people from respective spheres are to be called to verify the authenticity of the film and give binding recommendation then what is the rationale of having a statutory expert body? On the other hand, while films on Gujarat massacre were banned, highly provocative film like Gadar was allowed! Why this discrimination? At least the former pieces have basis on real facts but the latter was a product of wild imagination.
Another aspect of this phenomenon is that irrespective of the effect of the movies, there is always a call for a total ban without even exploring any other possibilities. In the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in State of Gujarat v Mirzapur Moti Kureshi Kassab Jamat [42], stated that a total prohibition under Article 19(2) to (6) must also satisfy the test that a lesser alternative would be inadequate.
The banning of films also has some other implications. While a film is banned, it does not only affect the freedom of speech and expression of the director or producer, it affects the economical aspects of many people which are also guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. Film making, distribution and screening are essential aspects of films business, if the film is banned, it affect all those aspects which defiantly falls under Article 19(1)(g)? But who will be responsible for it? Again, in many cases violent groups ransack theatres in protest against the screening of certain films. It definitely affects the property of the theatre hall owners [43]. But the right to property is inviolable under Article 300(A) of the Constitution without the authority of law. Hence, to allow one’s properties to be destroyed by some group of people is a clear deprivation of the right to property guaranteed by the Constitution. So finally in such cases, the State fails in its duty to secure its citizens’ of various constitutional and legal rights.
Thus, the above discussion makes it obvious that the bans on the movies under different circumstances have not been imposed on valid constitutional grounds but to serve the interests of different groups whether social, religious or political. Under no circumstances, the bans of aforementioned nature can be justified.
Conclusion:
The ‘reasonable’ restriction under Article 19(2) was invariably for public interest but it has been twisted on many occasions to strangulate the freedom of speech and expression. The result is that we have been deprived of several films as it does not satisfy the taste of ‘others’. If this is the case, the question arises do we really need this restriction? The First Amendment to the US Constitution states: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. Over 200 years has passed since that amendment and after witnessing all those arbitrary acts in our country, ‘reasonable restriction’ really needs consideration in the so-called globalized and liberal world. All the time the excuse of India being a diverse country with unique set of problems has been put forward and the need of restrictions has been over emphasized. But in reality the restrictions have served more in the negative sense than for positive development.
In today’s world with enormous improvement in information technology, restraining movies in the name of maintaining public peace, respecting emotions of people and similar reasons are simply ridiculous. There are numerous alternative sources through which the news and views depicted in the movies are articulated to the general public. So, restraining movies does not serve any purpose. On the other hand, it may actually give wrong message to the public through indirect interpretation. It is always the best that the viewers themselves watch it and form his/her own opinion. General public may be devoid of proper education but not always of common sense. It is the selfish, tampered groups who twist the subject matter and mislead other people to serve their own purposes. Conversely, no group takes the role of a proper guide. Neither Da Vinci nor the other instances dealt with in the article clearly prove that the imposed bans did have any strong legal foundation.
After analyzing all those incidents, judgments and statutory settings, the activities and rationale of having a censor board is also highly debatable. If at all we need to have such a body it needs to be more autonomous, whose decision will be the final rather than to be a puppet in the hands of the government. In this light, the judgment of Shankarappa is much needed adrenalin. Furthermore, scrapping movies even after the clearance by the Censor Board is not only an arbitrary act but a dangerous trend of heightened intolerance. On a whole, the courts have done a laudable job in this respect but time and again similar issues have been raised. Hence, a permanent solution is essential. One such effort may be to revamp the 1952 Act altogether. However, in the given circumstances of today’s world, it is better to have a rating body than a censor board. Again, power of limited censorship cannot be delegated to the states arbitrarily. They must have to satisfy the central authority as to why the ban in their territory is indispensable, and that there is no alternative left. The most important of all is that the censor board must be an autonomous body and to whom the Government can forward its suggestions/recommendations but the decision must be taken by the board alone independently.
While we enthusiastically profess right to information, we cannot sit back and ban films and hence, censor information. And if an unlawful means is adopted by any person(s) to stop screening of films, the Government has to ensure that law and order is maintained by taking appropriate actions against the person concerned. In case the Government fails in its obligation, it must be held for contempt of court. Hence it can be concluded, if democracy has to evolve, screening of films can never be denied for reasons based on mere speculation because banning films is equivalent to banning the right of freedom of speech and expression. And if such events persist, it reflects nothing but the words of the US Supreme Court justice.
Govt shouldn’t have banned a film like this at least.Afterall this is a film only and films are made to just to entertain people,no matter if some of those are issue based but the basic motive is always same.Besies this there is business aspect also which Govt should understand as such acts can turn some big guns bankrupt.
Aarakshan…doing well in major cities.
opening has been good…
calcutta theaters are packed houses..
bangolore is doing well and so is mumbai…
The film do even well on weekends and word of mouth is very good…lifting ban will even help the film more
Friday 12th August 2011 18.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Aarakshan has disappointed at single screens across the country. It had a low start at single screens of 25-30% and did not make much progress in the afternoon and evening shows.
CP Berar, CI, Maharashtra, Rajasthan or Delhi the single screens were not impressive. The reports from single screen theatres are also not encouraging. It seems the film is really dependent on multiplex business where the opening was decent.
North India which would have likely been a strong performer for the film especially UP but with the ban in UP and Punjab, the films collections will be halved from North India.
Strange to see Aarakshan doing well in multiplex not in single screen.One can understand with ZNMD doing well in Multiplex..but Aarakshan….
Aarakshan not opening big even-though prakash Jha last movie Rajneeti was huge hit prove one thing ,power of lady superstar Katrina…people forget to give her much credit,,,but if one look at most successful movies in last 5 year…Katrina overpower all actress in term of no of hits.
Bollywood blockbuster banned over fears of inter-caste violence
The makers of a Bollywood blockbuster which challenges India’s controversial reservation system for government jobs and college places have asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ban by three states who fear it could provoke inter-caste violence.
By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
3:53PM BST 12 Aug 2011
The film, “Aarakshan” or Reservation, starring Bollywood’s biggest star Amithabh Bachchan, has been accused of being “anti-Dalit” by groups which represent India’s estimated 500 million people of Untouchable and Backward castes.
Despite being approved by India’s censors for unrestricted release, it has been banned in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. There have also been calls for the film to be banned in Bihar and Maharashtra.
The film touches a raw nerve among India’s higher caste middle classes whose children must reach pass rates higher than 90 per cent to win college places, while a 49 per cent quota means “backward caste” pupils can secure places on much lower grades.
In the film, a private college principal, played by Amithabh Bachchan, is forced to resign over his support for reservations and is replaced by his high-caste, anti-quota deputy. He establishes a free tuition centre for poor students opposite the college, and the debate on one of India’s most divisive issues rages between them.
Low-caste groups have protested at dialogue they regard as offensive and the casting of major Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan as a bright Dalit boy because he is the son of a nabob, an Indian aristocrat, the legendary former cricket captain Tiger Pataudi.
They objected to one scene where an upper caste vice principal tells Mr Khan’s character: “Our kids study day and night and you people get the maximum seats,” and another where an upper caste student complains: “Now we have to do their work, we have to polish shoes.”
Resentment among higher castes has increased since 2006 when the government increased reservations to 49.5 per cent to include the so-called “Other Backward Castes.” It has coincided with increasingly high pass requirements for India’s most sought-after universities. In June one Delhi University college demanded pass rates of 100 per cent for the first time.
The attempt to ban the film however has caused outrage throughout India’s film industry. Amitabh Bachchan, India’s most celebrated actor, said a ban on the film would undermine India’s democracy and mean its people were living in “a most unfortunate fascist conditioning.”
Leading Indian film director Jag Mundra said the film had been exploited for political reasons by those who oppose a debate on caste reservations.
“I would like to ask these people: ‘If you loved one was in a hospital and needed a life-saving operation, and you knew the surgeon came in on a reservation, would you want that person to operate? How long do we make people suffer now to right the wrongs of the past?” he asked.
With Malice to one and all—-T
“The curious perplexing case of Javed Akhtar (and SRK..)”
Have found Javed Akhtars utterings (against support for Aarakshan)somewhat perplexing.
Usually find him quite sensible, reasonable and have felt that he should be given a more formal bigger role to represent his community.
As pointed out earlier, had a chance encounter with him briefly in Chicago !! Wont have bothered about something relatively insignificant, but since I like Javed Akhtar in general (both as a person, lyricist and personality) –made me pen something!
Recently however, he seems to be getting more “vocal” and even “combative”. If im not mistaken, he was the one (not even hritik) who openly quesitoned Bachchan about his tweets (excluding hritik). But this is nothing significant actually
And now this–being openly against “support for Aarakshan” comparing this to the protests against “fire” (lesbian theme)
It maybe a coincidence but it maybe related to his post znmd “euphoria”.
They say that certain “inner characteristics” manifest only during the peaks or troughs (and stay dormantly hidden during “normalcy”).
ZNMD has given us not only a good film and a female director but a brand new “pwer centre” film family in the Akhtars (boasting of an excellent lyricist and ex-script writer, two v good directors and one reasonable actor)….And if one considers Shabana Azmi to this mix, perhaps thats what is affecting the “mental balance” of a normally “stable” Javed akhtar…
In a very obtuse way, this reminds me of SRK who on a visit to London recently who mentioned “inshallah” atleast thrice in each sentence. Nothing wrong with it–just a contrast from when he was an “upcoming” star many years ago!!!!
Will have to add —to give them credit–farhan akhtar and shabana azmi have tweeted against aarakshan ban!!
My hunch is this film should/will do well inspite of the “ban”
as you said fire was based on lesbian theme and he has compared it to subject which is engulfing india on a much larger magnitude …
fanna was an individiual problem with political set up ( a certain akhtar also in the past has written speech against modi for miss sonia gandhi describing him as maut ka saudagar and got rajya sabha seat in return )
btw did mr akhtar will comment on this:
there is a film releasing called ra-one whose co-producer is karim morani currently in tihar jail for 2g scam and accused with sahid balwa(rumoured to be hand in hand with dawood for money laundering)
on to jha and bachchan ya it will benifi the movie… any controversy wheather good or bad gives you more eyeball but its time to to make half illetrate politicians shut up and the answer is law
moving to sc was a right step up and allready it yeilded results .. they lifted the ban on a.p and punjab from tommorrow
About Aarkakshan—-really like the above pensive pic of Bachchan–perhaps one of the best recent filmi moments of bachchan–not sure how he is used in this film.
But the initial reports suggest that this film wont be failure –the extent of success depends on many factors, protests etc.
But the bottomline is that Bachchan AGAIN seems to have emerged successful from this and seems to have “survived” the recent serial film failures.
And with the ever reliable KBC5 coming up, he seems “back to business” (after recent indifferent record).
Hope we get a chance to say the same about Bachchan (junior)!!
Problem with Aarkakshan is that its has great first half but boring and stretched out second half according to reviews.That is not a good sign,,,But still feel with no upcoming Big releases it will do well to be success in small level.
i think prakash jha lacks his clear vision this time… how stupid is to blame coaching classes for reservation… saif has been completly wasted… and some thing that prakash jha movie always has is sensible message and a razor sharp script… but this time its not as fine as it is always… Second half is absurd…
May be its a ok movie … but when it is Prakash jha expectations r high… And this time they were not met..
Just finished the night show. Housefull almost. First half is brilliant it is actually abt Aarakshan and is riveting. Second half is abt education but a bit too stretched for me. But Bachchan is stunning, he is so natural tht you connect and feel for him. He seems in great form and some of his scenes with Bajpai are plain brilliant acting Bajpai is great too. Saif was the surprise package, standing eye to eye with Bachchan and performing his best he delivers confidently. But editing in second half should have been much better. 2.45 mins is too much should have been cut short by atleast 20 mins or so and movie would have been much enjoyable. Neways a 3.5/5 for me most of it for the highly impressive first half.
i have absolutely (and didn’t have any) doubts that Big B’s performance here would be power-packed….cant wait to watch this one! after a long time,i am itching to watch a Big B film.
Continuing on my comments on Javed Akhtars recent utterings against support for aarakshan ^^^ read above…
Ya–im disappointed that the rare sane voices in his community are also indulging in this subtle “bias”
“btw did mr akhtar will comment on this:here is a film releasing called ra-one whose co-producer is karim morani currently in tihar jail for 2g scam and accused with sahid balwa(rumoured to be hand in hand with dawood for money laundering”—-Agree Iffron –although I will give Javed Akhtar the benefit of doubt—-think there is nothing communal in his stance—-his newfound “power” following some recent successes has something to do with it–btw he seems to be trying to “take on” bachchan publically albeit in a “rational” stance.
Thats quite common—to try it out against the “ultimate” to prove their “status” (secretly assured that Bachchan is v unlikely to retaliate in kind)
ps— Seems that the second half is long and dilutes the impact. Thats where “keeping the ears to the ground” is needed. Not sure if it is feasible at this stage, but if one were jha, one should edit atleast 20 min from the second halk(if one gets time from SC hearings!!!)
Earlier , i talked about ZNMD giving bollywood not only a good film and a good (&viable) thinking female director, but also a new “power centre” film family (changing the equations a bit)
Aarakshan was below the mark on day one due to the film being banned in Punjab, UP and Andhra. The film lost 75 lakhs in UP, 25 lakhs in Punjab and 15 lakhs in Nizam.
The film grossed around 4.75 crore nett on day one which is not very good but if it had complete all India release it would have done 6 crore nett which would have been a decent collection.
Aarakshan fared best in Rajasthan and CI but the film will not do well unless the ban is lifted quickly and picks up strongly over the weekend but reports do not indicate a big jump in collections on Saturday and Sunday.
First half is rivetting – though I did feel it got loud and over-dramatic at places. Second half gets totally derailed and the issue just disappears from the narrative. Also characters lack shades, and the complexities are not explored well enough. The film scores very highly on dialogues though and Bachchan lends it an eloquence that is music to the ears. But I will say the film does not live up to its potential at all. Political films are a great genre and highly watchable if intelligently done. Aarakshan has some moments, but it isn’t particularly well-crafted or imaginative.
There is lot abt Aarakshan in first half and yes second half is abt private coaching classes, second half is a bit too dragged, but the movie has its moments in second half as well although its the first half which is awesome.
Just back after seeing Aarakshan,
Acting of the movie is quite good,Bachchan was amazing throughout both as angry principal and sensitive father.Saif was good but role was quite small.Deepika surprise all with his fine act.Monaj was in rajneeti movie mode..Here also ,he was quite scene stellar.
Movie 2nd half drags a lot..could have been easily been edited 20 minutes.
Songs were complete downer…Either people to make good songs or make movie without songs….In Aarakshan, if there was no song it would have been much better.
Climax was not so good…What happen to manoj as principal??.
Also the dialogue are very heavy….at one point every actor started shouting at each other and that can give some real headache..
Why 2nd half became more of personal rivalry between bachchan and manoj???……rather than giving solution to complex issue of Reservation.
overall disappointed, prakash jha the director had a good script to make a powerful movie but alas now it not.
Solution to Aarakshan or Reservation is given by film as “Free Education to All ” irrespective or caste creed or language.Is it a feasible solution?or there is better answer to this complicated issue??How such mass scale free education can be organized in india….Surely prakash jha din’t give proper answer yet…
Andra pradesh lifts the ban.
according to exibitors the opens well.
Aarakhsan has some good luck..
advance bookings are also good.
personally I think the film second half is dragging and that will fall flat on Aarakhsan…
not sure of the technicalities /practicalities, but if it is so unanimously obvious by all reviews that the second half needs to be trimmed, is it not possible ?
Very good . But it missed UP especially where Jha films work big time. This is totally a Bachchan show and it proves that given the right role and director he can still open big today.
Watch this space–Farhan akhtar might just be the Milkha Singh that rakesh Mehra has been looking for—sense a jump in his career- pun intended…
Remember where u heard it first!!
Aarakshan to lose 40 per cent revenue
Bollywood isn’t always about entertainment. Even as Aarakshan’s release in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab and Andhra Pradesh (AP) hits hurdles, with filmmaker Prakash Jha moving the Supreme Court to revoke the bans, trade pundits went into cautious mode. After all, these three territories account for about 40 per cent of the total pie for the movie business in India.
“After Mumbai territory, Delhi-Uttar Pradesh-Punjab is the biggest market for Hindi films. If the movie is barred from releasing in UP and Punjab, makers are bound to suffer heavy losses,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, adding that the numbers would run into several crores. “But it’s too early in the day to gauge losses in terms of exact figures.”
Trade experts also point to the ‘piracy factor’. According to them, if a film doesn’t release in UP, Punjab or AP, pirated DVDs will capture the market, hitting the filmmakers badly. “If a movie doesn’t release in any state, don’t governments realise that people will end up watching pirated versions of it instead? It’ll cause harm to the filmmakers, distributors, as well as the government,” adds Adarsh.
Trade pundit Komal Nahta says, “In places like UP, where the film could have done very well, collections will be affected heavily. But AP is a small market, with its share being only about 10 per cent.” The controversy-ridden film has already opened in other states including Maharashtra. But a few early shows on Friday in places like Vashi, Nashik and Nagpur were cancelled, as cinema owners feared a security problem. “We had to cancel a few shows in these politically-sensitive locations. We didn’t want to take any risks,” says a multiplex official on condition of anonymity.
As per early estimates, cinema halls witnessed a general 40 to 50 per cent occupancy on Friday for the film. But Jha, who was kept busy with Supreme Court proceedings on Friday, also concedes that no filmmaker can afford to lose out on any territory. “If half of your home is demolished, how’d you feel? That’s how a filmmaker feels if a film is banned,” he says. Well, Jha could take strength from the support offered by a few of his colleagues. Actor Ajay Devgn says, “There is nothing objectionable in the film,” adding, “When people watch it, they will realise that there is nothing controversial.” Director Anurag Kashyap stated, “The film fraternity must come together especially when it’s such a big issue.”
Bachchan is ‘saddened’
Amitabh Bachchan has come out all guns blazing to blast a decision by three state governments to ban the release of Aarakshan. According to the 68-year-old actor, he is “saddened” that lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh had given in to “unsubstantiated rumour and belief, without any verification of its validity (sic),” Bachchan writes on his blog.
Big B, who plays principal Prabhakar Anand in the film, wonders, “What is the need then of the Censor Board, a statutory body instituted by you, the legislatures and parliamentarians that govern this land. You nominate what you believe, to disbelieve what you nominate! Better to remove it altogether then rather than give it disrespect,” he adds. “I do not care and never have cared about the fate of any film of mine, and I never shall. I do not care if this film does well or not, but I shall admit this … This film has shown a mirror to the country. This film has shown a path that needs to be taken for a better future.”
Aarakshan banned in Gurgaon as well. Now this will be a huge loss as it was housefull in Gurgaon and Gurgaon is a huge multiplex circuit.
GURGAON: Haryana is not among the states that have banned the screening of Prakash Jha’s film ” Aarakshan”, which is mired in a controversy because of its handling of the reservation issue. However, when people went to watch the film at multiplexes in Gurgaon on Saturday, they were in for a shock – an unannounced ban was in place.
The DT and PVR multiplexes did not show the film. Police officers had visited the multiplexes and imposed a ban. Police sources said this was done following reports of people protesting against the screening in Faridabad on Friday night.
It was not clear when the screening would resume. However, sources in police and the multiplexes said that the screening was unlikely to resume before Tuesday.
There was no official word on why the screening was stopped all of a sudden only in Gurgaon while the movie was being shown in the rest of Haryana. There seemed to be confusion regarding the police action. Police officers said they imposed the ban on the basis of instructions given to them by the district administration.
District administration officials were not available for comments. Police officers later said that they did not have the order in writing. An SHO of New Gurgaon, who did not want to be named, said, “We visited a few of the multiplexes in the malls to direct them to increase the security in the movie halls because of the opposition from various communities. No other directions were given to them.”
However, multiplex owners across Gurgaon said that the SHOs of their respective areas had directed them to stop the screening. Rahul Singh, senior vice president (operations) of PVR Gurgaon said: “The late night show on Friday was discontinued and the next morning’s show was also stopped midway. People had booked the shows online a week back and we had to refund them the amount. More than 3,000 online bookings were made in advance and the shows were running to packed houses. Saturday is usually the busiest day in cinema halls, and because of the closure, we are facing major financial losses.”
The managements of Gurgaon’s multiplexes said they were not given any written notification about the ban; only the SHOs of the areas had
visited the multiplexes directing them to stop showing the movie.
A DT Cinemas representative said that they had received the order from their corporate office and also the area SHO, who had asked them to stop the ongoing shows.
Aarakshan was below the mark on day one due to the film being banned in Punjab, UP and Andhra. The film lost 75 lakhs in UP, 25 lakhs in Punjab and 15 lakhs in Nizam.
The film grossed around 4.75 crore nett on day one which is not very good but if it had complete all India release it would have done 6 crore nett which would have been a decent collection.
Aarakshan fared best in Rajasthan and CI but the film will not do well unless the ban is lifted quickly and picks up strongly over the weekend but reports do not indicate a big jump in collections on Saturday and Sunday.
fri – 4.75 (minus up, punjab, ap)
sat – 6.50 (again minus,up,punja,ap)
Sun – 7.75 (as per early estimates again minus up,ap and punjab )
Monday (As per advance – should gross 6.5)
Long weeknd estimate – 4.75 +6.5+7.75+6.50 = around 24 cr to 25 cr.[ edited]
Dont behave like a total jerk… i have always supported Big b and abhishek movies on this blog….and that too with vengeance… I just posted wat i read… and even a fan has right to reject a movie he doesnt likes…. even though i m Abhishek bachchan die hard fan… i didnt like few movies of him… and i do criticize them too…
and abusing like this downgrades u as a person and a fan… u stop being a kidoo…
Why people are fighting over Arakhshan ??movie just an average movie…But Big B is really great in movie along with manoj bajpai…one thing that is disappointing is prakash jha the director…after rajneethi,he just falter in Arakhshan…
How on earth Prakash jha lost his memory and made a complete different second half??Such memory loss has not been seen from “Aamir” ghajjni days…
Moral of story : Great acting don’t make a great movie, if great script is missing.
A new “dad-son combo” developing here^^^ lol
Cool it guys…
Bachchan sr doesnt need/depend on such “defense” nor will he be brought down by any “misreportings”….
Peace!!
ps—viewing Aarakshan will need a long drive—something im lazy to do as of now(unless the reviews were downright awesome)
ps2–for those who know the technicalities, how difficult is it to trim the second half at this stage!!!
I am still perplexed how and why people judge a movie with a first half and second half ? For me it’s a movie in totality. Either the full story is well told or it has faltered.
Watched the movie last night and I am with the former here. Bachchan is simply first rate.
AP, Punjab lift Aarakshan ban
TNN | Aug 14, 2011, 02.49AM IST
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Theatres in Punjab refrained from screening Prakash Jha’s ” Aarakshan” even as a statement from Jha’s production house on Saturday claimed that the Punjab and Andhra Pradesh governments had cleared the screening of the movie by revoking the statewide ban imposed on it.
Some cinema hall owners in Patiala and Ludhiana told TOI that they were waiting for the edited version of the movie and only after they get necessary permission from the police authorities will they would decide on screening it. Both states set up special committee to see if there was anything objectionable in the film.
“It is reassuring to know that the right to freedom of expression is a real right for every Indian citizen. We are working towards getting the film released in Uttar Pradesh as well,” Jha said.
Jha had moved the Supreme Court on Friday challenging the ban on the film on grounds of hurting the sentiments of the backward castes.
The ban has cost Uttar Pradesh. In Lucknow, the film would have fetched Rs 35-40 lakhs in two days. “The film was expected to do well because of big names and good publicity,” said UP entertainment tax commissioner Captain S K Dwivedi. “Average collection in UP are quite similar to that in Maharashtra,” he explained.
In Chennai, around 100 PMK activists were rounded up by the police on Saturday when they were demanding a ban on the film in Tamil Nadu. PMK workers alleged the movie was “against the ethos of social justice” and demeans the reservation bill.
August 14, 2011, 12:14 pm
‘The Help’ Impresses, but ‘Glee’ Does Not
By BROOKS BARNES
A lavish marketing campaign and positive reviews powered “The Help” to better-than-expected results at the weekend box office, but moviegoers ignored a “Glee” concert movie, a troubling sign for that TV musical’s hopes of continued cultural dominance.
The No. 1 movie in North American theaters was a holdover: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Fox) sold an estimated $27.5 million in tickets for a stellar two-week total of $105 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. “The Help” (DreamWorks Studios/Disney) was second with about $25.5 million for a total of $35.4 million since opening on Wednesday; a notably large African-American audience turned out for this film, an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel.
“Final Destination 5” (Warner Brothers) was a soft third, taking in about $18.4 million, while “The Smurfs” (Sony Pictures Entertainment) chugged away in fourth place, with an estimated $13.5 million in sales for a three-week total of $101.5 million. The comedy “30 Minutes or Less” (Sony/Media Rights Capital) sputtered in fifth place with $13 million in ticket sales. “Glee 3-D” (Fox), took in $5.7 million, an 11th-place result.
As noted by Deadline.com, a tongue-in-cheek “Glee 3-D” publicity message, sent to reporters before the movie’s release, proved prescient: “For two years, we’ve been mercilessly bombarded with the pubescent nonsense of carnival sideshow freaks calling themselves ‘The Glee Club.’ And now, they’re trying to shove a 3-D concert movie down our throats.”
is democracy alive in the world’s largest secular state?
here, we also had a reservation policy for many years.
Mandela’s pragmatism, and near Gandhian approach ensured a change in mind-set, though there are still traces of the old guard trying to upset the apple cart.
India, with it’s massive population, and the bulk of it still economically disadvantaged, will find this “attitude” and responses from that sector, precisely because of deep-rooted ethnicity/cultural backgrounds..
.the more affluent, middle-class will push that type of prejudice in the back-burner——–
and carry on with the job of creating wealth!
Film has collected 18cr in its weekend which is very disappointing and as per BOI,it has lost around 2cr due to controversy.In case we add these 2cr then also it is never a healthy total.As the reports are not positive the film is gonna crash on Tuesday very badly.
How can 18cr be called a below average total by BOI! 18cr in itself is a good total and this is despite all the bans! And when Delhi Belly had a similar opening weekend total,the said it was great! Double standards!
Delhi Belly had no major star and also was a low budget movie but here scenario is different as Amitabh Bachchan,Saif Ali,Deepika starrer film collecting 18cr in its weekend is always below average.Despite huge promotions and so much controversy,the film should have opened huge.Big b went from every pillar to post to promote this film but results are discouraging.What is the fault of BOI here?Should they lie like IBOS?
18 cr if true is more than expectation .. today is holiday so might see a 25 cr extended weekend
u.p is the second biggest market after mumbai these days and gurgaon is the biggest multiplex scenario and movie lost out big way here ….off theme and fairly controversial stuff … one has to see how it holds out
@taran excuse me dude but your posts are always always negative toward Amitabh Bachchan and his movies! And now you are you are being inconsistent with your posts. Firstly,you have been the one that’s been stating that Amitabh is not such a big star b.o wise anymore,when Bbuddah and DB were releasing you were insinuating that Imran has a bigger b.o pull than BigB,and now u say that DB had no major star! Hypocritical much! And FYI Imran is considered as a major star today so DB did have a star,it had extensive promotions way more than Aarakshan,yet BOI were saying that DB figures were good but not Aarakshan! Vijay is right BOI are inaccurate and they always put down BigB’s films!
Btw your continous efforts to put AB down are getting stale,that’s like the only thing u post when you come here!Seems like you are secretly obsessed with Mr Bachchan! Don’t blame u since he has that effect on people even haters!
Aarakshan had an below average weekend of around 18 crore nett. The film had problems through the weekend as a few places which started on Friday were suspended on Saturday and then re-started on Sunday.
The film started screenings in Punjab on Sunday evening and as of Monday morning the film is now being screened all over apart from UP. The business lost over the first weekend days is around 2.75 crore nett. A clean release would have meant a near 21 crore nett total which would have been an okay result for the film.
The film has Independence Day holiday on Monday which should give the film another good day but the test will from Tuesday onwards.
Aarakshan Makes Rs 18 Cr At Box-Office Over Weekend
August 15th, 2011 by Koimoi.com Team
Exclusive report by Koimoi.com on the box-office status of Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan starrer Aarakshan.
The controversial Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aarakshan (read review), made Rs. 18 to Rs. 18.5 at the box-office on its first weekend (approx all-India net collections). The collections for the Prakash Jha film, which has been in the eye of the storm recently, improved slightly over the weekend.
Aarakshan started off with Rs. 4.75 crore on Friday (August 12). Collections improved over the next two days with the film raking in Rs. 6.25 to Rs. 6.5 crores on Saturday and Rs. 7 to Rs. 7.25 crore on Sunday.
The film, which dealt with the touchy topic of caste-based reservations in India, was banned in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh before its release citing “law-and-order problems”. Fortunately, the ban on the film was lifted in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday and the ban on Punjab removed from Sunday.
please don’t get hyper and try out yoga it will surely help and ya try to make your claim with logic just by shouting whole world knows this is that without even without proper fact and knowledge is pretty dangerous and make one look idiotic
boi or ibos roflmao … if they are sure about their number they would haver never put disclaimer (try to read what is written there)on their respective sites ….these are just estimation
btw just try to look at fairly transparent site called box office mojo for hollywood… they give numbers and not verdict as verdict is relative…
Box Office: Aarakshan takes good opening despite ban in 3 states
MUMBAI: Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan saw a decent opening at the box office despite not being released in territories like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.
The movie saw occupancy of approximately 60-70 per cent in places where it was screened.
While the film was passed by the Censor Board without any cuts, the release of Aarakshan was banned in the above mentioned states by the respective state governments due to fears that it may cause law and order problems. This in turn will lead to a substantial loss in revenue with Uttar Pradesh being an important and large market for Hindi films.
Amitabh Bachchan, who plays an important role in the film, wrote on his blog, “Without any knowledge of what the film contains, without any desire to determine the trust and the most basic principles of law of democracy, it has merely strengthened my and many others’ fear of the weakness it conveys of our belief in governance and its ethics.”
It remains to be seen whether the movie does manage to hit theaters in the three states over the weekend.
satyam,
the film is going in the right direction,
people seems to liking the film..
punjab lifts the ban aswell.
today being holiday in india the film will be helped..
18.5 crore 3 day weekend is very good considering the 3 banned states and underhand ban in Gurgaon as well as Ramzan period. BOI calling it below average is as usual negative way of reporting for Bachchan movies. Its a good opening not a below average one. And Monday holiday must have added another 5-6 crore which would make it a 24-25 crore extended weekend which is very good considering the issues.
Filmfan….I never said that Imran Khan is a bigger star than big b but what came to surface during the release time of D B and BHTB was that Imran was the winner at B.O but that never makes him bigger than big b.Who told you that Imran Khan is a big draw at B.O?His only two films have done well and both are Ak production and you can guess yourself that Amir was backing him in both cases.Here you yourself are making Imran bigger than big b not me. Whole world knows that Amitabh’s movies don’t do well at B.O and BOI simply reports the truth.Bachchan fans have become habitual of making hue and cry over this and abusing BOI has become a routine matter on this site.If a movie opens well and becomes a clean hit,how come any trade site can downplay that?In case any such site does that then how long can that site maintain crediblity and best example in this case is the fate of IBOS.No one except Bachchan believes in their reporting now.
@ Taran Lol there u go agaın makıng generalısıng comments,lıke the “whole world” knows thıs and that. Serıously dude ıt’s just u here that constantly brıngıng AB,down. As for Imran yeah I don’t see hım as a draw for me but I know other’s of my age,you know the campus goıng lot and alsı the school kıds for whom he ıs a major star and a b.o draw and the fılmfare portrays hım as one too! Anyways poınt I was makıng ıs that DB dıd have a star that’s Imran ıt dıd around the same busıness as Aarakshan and the latter had bans on ıt’s release. So your poınt u were tryıng to make ıs plaın sılly. BOI ıs a crap sıte btw.anyways arguıng wıth u ıs poıntless because u go on and on lıke a broken record wıth your ramblıngs!
I havent seen the film, but I can say this despite not watching it that Big B, the magnificient persona and actor that he is, should invest his time doing films like these having strong roles for him, rather than nodding at filmmakers like Puri Jagannath who give tributes to the angry man image of him.. It was a pity to see him reduced to an old caricature of himself in the film. Jagannath did nothing except making a fool of Bachchan and I was seriously pissed off with his ‘Look at me.. Im still so sexy n cool and give others a run for their money at this age’ demeanour
I understand why that didnt work for him.. Aarakshan, even though it might have its limitations, is a far better choice for him at this age.
tonymontana,
After watching bhtb i felt dissappointed
with the flashy image,i totally thought that Amitabh is gone as far he could as far as acting was concerned but again
Aarakshan changed and he has performed on power-pack
Chanakya himself wrote books…our people are busy with Plato and Socrates but no one cares to read our own (indian) great minds…total spinelessness we have Rooney! We don’t even know the names of the Books! Arghhhhh.
Did M S Dhoni just make a comment…..the (emphasis) cricket captain of our erstwhile deposed team?….well, what do u know…..I do agree that the performance of AB is tops, although I have not seen the movie….when I saw the trailer, I was thrilled and could not waait for its release…..will c it after the fasting season…….
When AB took on the role of Aarakshaan, he knew it was a controversial subject.
but the furore surrounding its banning is somewhat surprising…..Prakash Jha, of Raajneeti fame, has, once again flirted with a touchy subject—-and should be commended…..why should our bright directors (Om Prakash Mehra/Rang de…….) And KJo (My Name………) Not do something topical?
This is well worth a watch for a nice performance from Big B. Very much by far the central theme of the film, his role is well played. Bajpai again delivers another sly performance as a crooked prinicipal. Really enjoyed the theme of the film and though its lengthy, its pretty much engaging throughout.
Which ever movie has AB snr or AB jnr it will face the following:
1) ACtual figures = good, BOI = not upto the mark
2) Actual figures below average – BOI = disaster
3) Actual figures excellent – BOI – commission earner
SO all stars around can do a better opening than AB snr or AB jr
This should be the lesson for those who abuse BOI and label them as bigb haters.This is d point that i always wanted to make clear to some fanatics that whenever a film does well noone on this planet can downplay that.
what they said ? they have been caught again with their pants down again
most of their verdicts are bull shits ….
if you go by komal’s past street journals which are available onlineone can easily see how much of bachchan’s old movies are underreported so nothing surprising here
BOI = big b hater,
BOI is still crap site,anti-bachan site ,always pulling down Amitabh films.
Aarakshan is doing well all over & BOI have to eat “humble pie”..
taran and nahata himself have have admitted in their respective magzines that numbers from some far centres reach late ….. its an interesing trend that they may fight over the movie and allmost give same numbers which these days on par with portals
logically its not possible at all unless the parties have common stake
these guys are in this field for over 20 years and they know how to play with numbers
btw why jayshah stopped reporing ? have they stopped proving the numbers
indian box office is/was never scientific and its a reality compleate numbers tend to reach late if any have that ….even komal nahata and taran adarsh change their verdict in their respective annual rating which is totally opposite to what they say in media instantly
same number by all on all count is pratically impossible … its just another way to fool with different face/opinion….
aarakshan made me feel like i was watching a 1980 film…filled with cliches…it has good intentions but…its really like watching some natak feel to it…i and my fren went yesterday last show for the film 50 pc full…we were really bored throughout..i felt first half was reall bad second was better if all those unwanted cliches were not used….my fren tol me he felt like he was watching a bhojpuri movie….wish prakash jha had taken some help from karan johar to make it little more visually pleasing…bhopal seems to have really nyc girls…all the junior artists stood out some even overshadowed deepika..:P
Aarakshan did well on Independence Day as it collected around 6.50 crore nett as per early estimates which means a 25 crore nett total for four days. Independence day is one of the biggest holidays of the year and with it falling on Monday is a big boost for the film.
The film had its best day in East Punjab as all of the circuit was screening the film. In other circuits the drops ranged from 5-20% from its Sunday business.
The fate of the film will be decided over the next few days but with the Independence day collections, the 25 crore nett total in four day is decent collection.
The film has done good to decent business at multiplexes over the first four days while single screen business is low.
BOI is upto its usual tricks.Every word they right is corrupted.See how they try to play down the 6.5 crore Mon – “Independence day is one of the biggest holidays of the year and with it falling on Monday is a big boost for the film”.
The BO performance is really good. I would imagine 50 crores is a safe bet.
The Supreme Court today sought response from the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government on filmmaker Prakash Jha’s petition challenging the state government’s decision to ban screening of ‘Aarakshan’.
A bench of justices Mukundkam Sharma and A R Dave issued notice to the Centre and the state government asking them to file their response by Friday. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on August 19.
BOI has given a fare judgement again proving that it is one of the best Boxoffice site in india .
if anyone think they are underplaying Aarakshan success than Hrithik fans will believe they are more harsh on ZNMD by giving only Hit tag even though movie has collected 85 cr net.
First time in history of indian Cinema, a movie is called only hit even though it may cross 90 cr in india only.
Hope, BOI will give judgement to SRK,Akshay and Aamir movie’s considering same yardstick.
if znmd gets anything more than hit status it anyway will be ridiculous … budget is close to 65 cr ….proper box office sites tends to claim accountancy and transparency and they don’t hide
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Q. When Will ZNMD Be Called a BlockBuster ?
Saurav – Orrisa, India
A. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a high Budget Film with the budget being 55 cr. In Order to Call the Film a BlockBuster the Film Should Do Collections of Atleast 120 crores in India Only. But Looking at Current Situation it will not be able to go Beyond 90 cr. Hence, ZNMD Should be Rightly Called a Super Hit than a Blockbuster.
So according to this website @ 90 crore with budget of 55 crore, ZNMD should have been called Super hit.Taran is already calling it superhit.
Conclusion :BOI seems to be hrithik hater also, along with bachchans .
its the same thing which i said …..giving random example will not serve purpose like for instance i can easily then how by this logic my names is khan for e.g has hit status in india … it has not done that ….it was a loss making body for fox in india
and this logic automatically questions many of the verdicts as well which are not consistent forget numbers
znmd wil end its lifetime colection @ 86 cr,
almost all source has gvn hit status except taran as he usualy gves good commentary & verdict for d movie whch he rates high(i.e the moviez whch he take bribe, nowadays almost all moviez)
taran is corupt,
btw taran gvs same verdict to almost all movie i.e super hit
db sh
m2 sh
znmd sh
singham sh
or else he rate above avg for small sucess
i dnt thnk boi is underreporting bachans movie, wth they can do when bachans movie opens to disastrous\poor response, boi is only reliable source, its only sites whch changes its verdicts aftr caling it poor\disaster etc if its trends well.
taran is corrupt,since its bachan movie he is a corrupt,what a quote.
BOI are lousy site ,
according to them SHOLAY was superhit
Ashoka was a blocbuster when it could not even break a block…
Boi are a corrupt ,niusance and inaccurate site.
BOI declared bhootnath flopped on sunday but they could not see that surge began on monday onwards..
they are always under reporting bachan movies and even Aarakshan was same but then it came to them to eat a humble pie and admit that Aarakshan has done well…AARAKSHAN IS proper Amitabhs movie.
while he has taken credit for his failure and he can take credit for a hit film…
KBC 5 has started and he looks magic in that…
he should continue with this show and never to replaced by anyone else otherwise they always make a mess…
what is small sucess and big sucess anyways …roi (return for investment)for small sucess at times is bigger than high grossers ( who hardly give profits) …
how movie opens is always evident by one thing and that is number on print count and its not related what any xyz thinks or site operates btw there is hardly any diference between taran or nahata ( or the portal which conviniently agree on same number and only difference being verdict )
all have common stakes and its just being different face
“The egregious evilness of Manoj Bajpai (as Prabhakar’s nemesis Mithilesh Singh), who raises a glass of red wine, cackling madly at Prabhakar’s impending doom. (I was surprised there wasn’t a bottle of VAT 69 in that shot, held by a vamp with a gem in her navel and ostrich feathers in her hair.)
The choice for the audience, then, is finally this:whether to overlook the cinematic crudeness (but only by modern-day multiplex standards) and sink into a sturdily old-fashioned Hindi movie from the seventies or the fifties, when films still believed in being the change the filmmakers wanted to see, or to scoff at the rhetoric and the sentiment and the mirror held high in which we glimpse, shamefacedly, the warping of our society. I was frankly surprised by my engaged response to Aarakshan”—-lol
Sometimes movies are just an excuse to get entertained by B Rangan!!
When BOI say Aarakshan has a good Monday for a Bachchan film then take it that it has done extraordinary business on Monday. Overall the 4 days have been good considering ban and Ramzan and it should do atlleast 45 crore or so going fwd. BTW, KBC 5 has started and Bachchan is magic again. He seems to get better with age. The charisma is there alongwith unmatched humility and talent. These are some of the qualities which have made Bachchan outshine the actors of his generation as well as current generation .
Dino….Please don’t jump to the conclusion so early.Contentwise this movie is weak and weekday falls will definitly be huge.This movie needs 55cr to break even but that seems very unlikely to happen.This is a superint flop and nothing can save it from that.
The only way for Bachchan to deliver a clean hit is to make a movie either with Srk or Amir.With srk he has delivered hits like Mohabatein,K3G,VZ,KANK.So he needs srk badly otherwise a series of disasters is likely to come.
and ya last days you where busy putting up delhi belly and aakrakshan ….
learn to give credit where its due …. delhi belly has A tag(though i never liked it) but it put up a commendable number and similarly aakrakshan is an issue based movie which from on set in india have never grossed big
singham will touch 100 cr …. second ajay movie to do so in 2 years …… and somewhere i can feel bol bachchan will do so ( but again they should never destroy an evergreen classic like golmal)
have to say you act as compleate jerk( i have to say as you are a complate sort of nuisance on any topic) ….you are fit enough for shaan khan like thing only on blog
read on what context that comment was only … its you who have brought vz into context(with 3 min role of bachchan) and its you who said bachca n can give clean hit with ceratain srk…. learn to comprehend before calling other illogical with valid points
btw kank has crashed in india after first week and didn’t trended well( again you brought the example only)
on budget and everything nothing justifies its clean hit status … none in trade to called it as clean hit
KANK was not clean hit .. in fact it was clear flop as it crashed badly after weekend. Huhhh .. 42+ Crore overall Nett business for such a big movie which was expected 85+ Crore.. in 2006 .. was outright flop ..
satyam: since you have deleted most of taran’s comment delete mine to as most of them where in response and now look odd
55% drop from holidays is normal and the movie has no competition till bodyguard’s rellease… don’t see ramu movie vreating any waves… a half decent weekend will sail it through
i don’t need a low life to tell me anything about mentality and arrogance… what excuses first learn to talk properly for 5 min
and before anything you are seriously suffereing from Schizophrenia( of which anti bachnania is part of syndrome) … which is evident in any thread daily wheather we are dusussing hollywood classic or anything you start your daily rant
satyam: you better start moderation and check spammers
again BOI and boxoffice kings show their colours.The movie crashes very badly on tuesday 2.5 cr for tuesday if this is
true then its fallen around 50-60% now how does this indicate that the movie has no hope?
we have not even come to end of the week? as per the figures of BOI..assuming they are reading from gods mouth directly
2.5 * 3 = 7.5 + 25 = 32.5 with bans etc? again this has full weekend so how can we be so pre mature in jumping to conclusions.
i really cant believe why they are doing this? Taran go and seek some mental asylum… u r gone nuts..idiot will be you
and your family not us…
This is totally ridiculous. Again some creatures here and there looking to pull aarakhshan…but why…?
One thing i cant understand about BOI– they are very quick to dismiss films prospects starring Snr AB and ABHI.
They cant see the writing on the wall.
First they used independence day as an excuse to generalise the movie’s prospect. Given the fact the film
outstanding business they passed off by saying it did well.
As i said the movie did fall by 50 percent but it has grossed around 3.5 to 4 crores as per tarans tweet.
Now that they have passed a statement most of the anti AB creatures would have pre-mature ejaculations about
the movies prospects..
i expect to see these creatures to give reference to this…lol
At the end of the day the film will be a hit and no one can deny that…
till then lets watch these creatures to stoop different levels of insanity
Aarakshan will be not just a hit but a super hit,
Boi is just kidding,its their april fools day,
do not beleive a word what “taran” says,he jumps to his own conclusion,he is having a nightmare of Aarakshan.
he is gone weaker by day since Aarakshan release.
friday: aarakshan was slow.
saturday picks up and do wonderful bussiness
sunday was same
monday was very good.
tuesday :suddenly people realise that the film is average …CRASH happens and thats what taran thinks..
AARAKSHAN WILL RECOVER ITS MONEY AND BY COMING WEEKEND IT WILL DO WELL AGAIN
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Losing out on a golden opportunity
August 17, 2011 – 08:41 IST
I’ve often heard film-makers tell their publicists, let’s generate publicity/create controversy to hype the film. I am sure, Prakash Jha would never utter this sentence, but the fact remains that the publicity/controversy his film AARAKSHAN generated prior to its release only harmed the business prospects of his film. For, the producers/distributors of AARAKSHAN would stand to lose at least Rs 5 crores because of the ban imposed on the screening of the film in some states and also due to the harm caused by the controversies surrounding the film. Let’s face it, moviegoers — especially the family audiences — are skeptical to watch a film when political parties shout slogans and cops are stationed outside theatres.
Come to think of it, this was a 4-day weekend and what a weekend it would’ve been had AARAKSHAN got the benefit of a ‘smooth’, non-controversial release. Saturday, 13 August was Raksha Bandhan and Monday, 15 August was Independence Day… a long weekend indeed. Had it not been for the noise created by the politicians, AARAKSHAN would’ve easily collected Rs 35 cr + nett in its 4-day weekend.
This isn’t the first time! Prior to AARAKSHAN, several films were not allowed to release/were banned in various states. The question that crosses my mind is, won’t the audience watch those films on pirated DVDs in the process? Forget pirated DVDs, you can download a movie on your PC/laptop from various sites, sitting anywhere across the globe. The loss a film-maker/distributor undergoes in such a scenario is incalculable.
Talking of AARAKSHAN, the fate of the film now depends on how it fares on weekdays. Also, the film needs to perform in its second weekend as well, if it has to sail smoothly at the box-office.
BOI’s commentary is pathetic as usual. Will find support amongst its panty wearing fans but is patently delusionary. BOI is actually more lame than any other BO site as it tries to hide its agenda, unlike IBOS which wers it on its sleeve and is there for all to see.
yes saw that.. calling the Tue number a crash.. the thing is after a long 4 day weekend the Tue drop is generally more than it would be otherwise. I would expect a good second weekend here. But they’ve been at it with this film from day 1. Suddenly the lost revenue becomes the lowest number possible, the weekend jumps are minimal, so on and so forth. I do agree with Taran here that 35 crores would have been achieved with a normal release. After that 60 crores would have been doable if not 70. But it’s very hard to pick up the momentum later.
While the first half of movie deals with the debate of reservation( ironically jha avoided the mention of creamy layer and it titls mostly in favour of pro reservation)… the second half deals with one of the most maverick talisman of Indian education system who used the education as powerful tool for upliftment of poor and trodden in the time of reservation . Somewhere along the line on Prabhakar ANNAND you see the image of Annand Kumar and in super tabela you can feel the game changing SUPER 30 and
With aarakshan prakhash jha covers mostly uncovered reservation .While gangajal and apharan where more close to artstream cinema with rajneeti he has fully moved into commercial stream but he sensibilities is a mixed bag of artstream real cinema and commercial cinema which was evident in rajneeti and here to . While rajneeti dealt with the toal decay of democracy and how it can be manipulated with the godfather/mahabharata angle aakrakshan deals with the education system and its transformation.
First half is real and second half more commercial
peformance wise …. one man show totally amitabh bachchan who is aging like wine and keeps on getting better ….though vajpayee matched him mostly in aks but here bachchan totally give the lesson on how to to underplay ,pause and at times outbursts
saif totally lacks the diction on small town boy with humble background …..at times his english accent is evident but overall is decent
“The popularity of Super 30 can be gauged by the fact that Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan was happy to admit that he learnt the nuances of teaching mathematics from Anand Kumar in the Prakash-Jha produced film, Aarakshan, which revolves round the growing commercialisation of the Indian education system. Jha said he had called Anand to his Mumbai office for preparing viedo footages of his style of teaching”
second half is totally dedicated to him and its good to see portrayl of someone like him in indian cinema
‘at times i have seen only big b and aamir prasing him to hilt openly ……
Shame on u guyz,
u stil cal arakshan tue fig decent. it has 50% drop frm fri when movie was nt released in punjab, ap.
it releasd in ap, punjab on sun & fall flater on tue.
if arakshan has cmplte release then tue fig would cmes in lower side,
nowadays imran khan, emraan hashmi can cross 35 cr week 1 without any holiday,
i am nt bachan hater to be frank i lovd bhtb very much, bt my problem with arakshan as i felt sleepy in theatre,
cocept is good the film collection will be good.
Aarakshan proved that friday was slow but sat,sun,mon was very good collcetion but obviously the film will drop on weekdays..people do work for living…Aarakshan will do well again this coming weekend…
Again BOI is playing tricks, they didnt report the boxoffice collections for
Wednesday and Thursday in a fear that their hypthetical assumptions about the
movie may become false.
I would really think BOI is the least reliable source…..
August 12, 2011 at 7:49 AM
Prakash Jha moves SC over Aarakshan ban
Film producer Prakash Jha on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking its direction to lift the ban imposed on the release of his film Aarakshan in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Counsel for Jha mentioned the petition before a bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir seeking urgent hearing of his plea as the film is scheduled to hit the screens today.
The bench accepted his plea and decided to hear the matter at 2 pm on Friday.
After Uttar Pradesh, the release of the film was banned in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh yesterday over certain controversial scenes and dialogues, which the director said he is ready to delete.
The UP government had on August 10 banned the film for two months citing law and order problem.
The ban imposed by Punjab government will be in force till a screening committee constituted by it previews the movie and submits its report.
The government feared that some scenes and dialogues in the film may trigger trouble.
Hours after the ban in Punjab was announced, the Andhra Pradesh government decided to suspend the exhibition of the film initially for a period of one week, or till a final decision is taken on the report of the Committee constituted for the purpose, whichever is earlier.
The AP government cited the likelihood of the film hurting the feelings of weaker sections that could lead to protests and agitations and breach of the peace and tranquillity in the State for suspending the film for a week.
August 12, 2011 at 10:15 AM
satyam, remember i had stated this long back? that they need to mention in court no. 2 they did it but they did it late… imo, or weekend could have been saved imo.
*Honble Justice Altamus Kabir’s Bench is Court No. 2 of apex court.
August 12, 2011 at 7:50 AM
Aarakshan Has Decent Opening
Friday 12th August 2011 15.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Aarakshan had a decent 50-70% opening wherever it opened today. Delhi city was pretty good at around 60-70% while West Bengal was low. The film has been banned in UP, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh so will lose around 20% of its business.
The raging controversy over the last few days with the film being banned in various states probably helped the start a bit but not to the extent where people ran to watch it in the fear of it being banned in other states.
The film will have to open in the banned states before the weekend is out as the opening is not huge that it can compensate even some of the revenue loss from the banned states.
The other release of the week Phhir had a dull opening all over.
August 12, 2011 at 7:51 AM
those percentages for morning shows don’t just suggest ‘decent’ to me!
August 12, 2011 at 7:56 AM
Nahata on the film:
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/aarakshan-box-office-opening/
not sure what Nahata is saying here! Starts out by suggesting it will do awesome business if it has a full release but by the end he seems to saying ‘average’ business in every scenario!
August 12, 2011 at 7:59 AM
Nahata gives it 2 stars (Taran had 4 stars) and here’s more on the box office from his review:
“On the whole, Aarakshan is an average entertainer. It is too lengthy and boring in parts but it has some excellent scenes and drama which would appeal more to the North Indians. Considering its high cost on the one hand and its ban in some states on the other, it would be an uphill task for the film to cover its cost unless the ban is lifted quickly. The long first weekend (Monday being a public holiday for Independence Day) will prove very beneficial for the film’s business. It must be added here that if the court were to lift the ban, the publicity that would follow would help the film’s collections to take a big leap so that the film could become a comfortably earning proposition.”
http://www.koimoi.com/reviews/aarakshan-review/2/
video review here too where Nahata goes out of his way to praise Bachchan (praised him a lot for Bbuddah too but does more of it here).
August 12, 2011 at 8:04 AM
B.O. update: ‘Aarakshan’ opens well, but numbers will be affected
- By Taran Adarsh, August 12, 2011 – 16:45 IST
AarakshanThe much-in-news AARAKSHAN started well at most places, garnering 60% to 70% to 80% occupancy in morning and noon shows. The occupancy was better at multiplexes, while certain sectors reported 40% to 50% start. The film has not released in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, which means that the business will be badly hit since a big chunk of revenue will be lost in the process.
Talking from the business point of view, the revenue generated from these three states, especially Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, is huge. Also, in view of the fact that it’s a 4-day weekend [Monday, 15 August is a holiday], the producer/distributors will lose a substantial chunk of revenue if the movie doesn’t hit the screens in these states. Which also means that a big, fat total, keeping the 4-day weekend in mind, will be ruled out if the film doesn’t see a theatrical release.
However, the silver lining is that the film is being liked by the audience and that should help the film collect a good chunk over the weekend.
August 12, 2011 at 8:06 AM
and here’s Taran’s video review for the first time:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/broadband/video/bollywood-movie-reviews/XpzH8S12/3/Taran-Adarsh-Reviews-Aarakshan.html
August 12, 2011 at 8:12 AM
Javed Akhtar slams support for ‘Aarakshan’
New Delhi: Noted Lyricist Javed Akhtar lashed out at the film fraternity on Friday for coming out in support of Prakash Jha’s ‘Aarakshan’ which has been banned in some states. He said that the society itself was divided and only reacted when they themselves face problems. He also said that the fraternity is facing such problems since it is not united and has not supported each other in the past.
Akhtar also pointed out that earlier no one supported films like ‘Fanaa’ and ‘Water’, which were banned in some states.
“Where were the tweets and statements when ‘Fanaa’ was banned in Gujarat and Shabana Azmi’s ‘Water’ posters removed in 1992… They didn’t stand then… No media support, nothing…. I condemn what’s happening with ‘Aarakshan’ but they are paying a price for being quiet at that time.”
Akhtar’s reaction came after a flurry of Bollywood stars condenmed the ban on the movie.
Amitabh Bachchan had tweeted on a social networking site “Back from #aarakshan… Have cried at our helplessness in not making people understand that this art needs to be seen not banned!!”
Karan Johar also tweeted in support of ‘Aarkashan’ saying, “Cinema is a medium of expression…democracy allows the freedom of expression…is this only in theory??? And who stands accountable?? SAD.”
‘Aarakshan’, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, has been banned in Uttar Pradesh. An interim ban has been called on the movie in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
August 12, 2011 at 10:29 AM
first thing first….it is really sad that in a democracy a film is banned like this….
reg. JA’s comment – let us pretend to forget who said those words – but the irony is that it is true….when fanaa was banned, every one including Big B chose to keep silent – WHY? and to expect now everyone come out and support his film – where are we going??? let Big B pledge that henceforth anyone’s film is banned on similar grounds – he will openly come out and support – will he do it?
August 12, 2011 at 10:43 AM
yes but who was ‘first’? Bachchan has been attacked on many grounds far before anyone else. No one has publicly supported him either. Whether it was Raj Thackeray or anyone else. So there’s no issue of ‘priority’ here because no one says anything about anything!
August 12, 2011 at 12:12 PM
that is also a valid point satyam!
but somewhere, someone will have to take initiative….maybe everyone can forget the past and come together for the first time and let the trend continue? i think it needs to be done here…but will they do it?……hmmmm….
August 12, 2011 at 3:16 PM
I don’t think Fanaa’s problem was the same as this. Fanaa’s problems were based on an individual’s attempts at glorifying himself, while Arakshan’s problem is the subject itself which the politicians are trying to manupilate.
August 12, 2011 at 3:39 PM
that’s unfair.. Aamir got involved in a political issue and refused to back down. His film lost considerable gross in Gujarat. Ahmedabad on its own is a very major center. So the idea that he enjoyed compromising the film’s gross to somehow glorify himself is more than a little strange.
August 12, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Did he know he was compromising anything?
Why /hasn’t he taken a stand against this bullying of the film industry…since he loves to support and get involved.
Anyway, since we know we won’t agree it’s useless saying anything….and it’s not about Amir at all. Don’t jump at every word I say. Look, how I don’t do that every time something is said about SRK
My point here is that the situation is absolutely different.
August 12, 2011 at 8:20 AM
August 12, 2011 at 8:20 AM
August 12, 2011 at 9:01 AM
NY Times:
August 11, 2011
Movie Review | ‘Aarakshan’
A Battle for India’s Soul
By RACHEL SALTZ
Nothing less than India’s soul is at stake in Prakash Jha’s “Aarakshan,” a Hindi movie about the battle — as intense as any gang war — between a righteous teacher and the hucksters who would make education a commodity available only to the privileged.
Mr. Jha likes to take political stories and turn them into pulpy, populist epics. His last film, “Rajneeti,” a sort of “Mahabharata” meets “The Godfather,” set in present-day Bhopal, was about corruption in a dynastic ruling family. Here he grapples with caste prejudice and the Indian version of affirmative action: the reserving of spots in schools for low or “backward” castes. (“Aarakshan” means reservation.)
To help tell his big story, he has enlisted Bollywood’s Mr. Big, Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Prabhakar Anand, a Bhopal college principal whose integrity costs him his job. Among his protégés is the low-caste Deepak (Saif Ali Khan).
“Tell us about your father,” job interviewers demand of Deepak in the opening scene. Yet even as the film works to overturn the idea that family status determines worth, it can’t help placing its hopes in a good daddy figure: namely, Mr. Bachchan’s Prabhakar, who looms as large to his students as the man who plays him does to generations of Indian moviegoers.
At times “Aarakshan” comes off like a pep rally for pluralism and inclusion. (“Just give me a chance and watch me take flight” go the lyrics to one song.) But Mr. Jha doesn’t stint on the melodrama, unabashedly pitting smirking corruption against heroic rectitude. Subtle it ain’t and subtle it needn’t be. It is, though, mostly involving (if Bollywood long, at 2 hours 45 minutes) and even occasionally stirring.
August 12, 2011 at 9:20 AM
Javed Akhtar is all riled up because Shabana’s film was involved (and of course it helps to cite another film along with it).
I don’t like him.
It’s truly unfortunate to have the film banned in no less than 3 states. Hope all turns out well soon.
August 12, 2011 at 10:11 AM
JA had no objection for MNIK support tweets. Division and hypocrisy are trademark of bollywood and JA leads the pack.
Not too long ago he had problem with AB’s omission of HR in the tweet and now this.
August 12, 2011 at 10:12 AM
note : i had earlier stated someone needs to mention court no. 2 of Apex COurt as Court no.1 (Chief Justice of India’s Court)doesnt grant mentioning, if only they had done this a day ago matter could have been heard today and they could have saved collection of extended weekend, and as i suggested they have hired Harish Salve, India’s No. 1 lawyer of his generation along with Mukul Rohotgi the King of Delhi High COurt as people hail him, a deadly combo. But if only they had mentioned yesterday.
An apex court bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir said the matter will come up for hearing at 2 p.m.
The court passed the order after senior counsel Harish Salve and Mukul Rohtagi mentioned the matter before the court, seeking directions for the lifting of the ban imposed by the three state governments on the grounds of public order.
August 12, 2011 at 10:14 AM
If someone says shahrukh an aamir in one film than their equivalent would be Harish Salve and Mukul Rohotgi in one matter.
Now lets see which other counsels come in to picture, i guess grand old daddy’s like nariman and sorabjee might be approached by otherside… its gonna be cracking.. in court no. 2 on Tuesday…
August 12, 2011 at 10:20 AM
@satyam: please add “honble” before courts, and theres typo.. in Mukul Rohotgi the king of delhi high court, please delete last 3 words.. as the Rohotgi is India’s top 4 counsel right now.
ps- i couldnt as i cant edit from here.
August 12, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Questions of Law:
The writ petition raises the following important questions of law for general public importance:
* When the Central Board of Film Certification, the statutory body constituted under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, has certified the petitioners’ film for public exhibition, could the states ban the exhibition of the film under their regulatory statutes of cinemas?
* Whether states could have banned the film when the examining committee of the Central Board of Film Certification comprised of members who were drawn from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and other backward castes.
* The ban on the film violates the petitioner’s fundamental rights under 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
August 12, 2011 at 10:28 AM
Here is an excerpt from very interesting article..
Article 19 of the UDHR and ICCPR specifically endorse this right. However, this right is not absolute in any country; governments always prohibit certain types of expressions. Under international law, restrictions on free speech and expression are required to conform to a strict three part test: they must be provided by law, pursue an aim recognized as legitimate, and be necessary (i.e., proportionate) for the accomplishment of that aim. Amongst the aims considered legitimate are protection of the rights and reputations of others, the protection of national security and public order and morals[17]. We have also similar provision of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution which is guaranteed to all the citizens along with ‘reasonable’ restriction under Article 19(2) on certain grounds.[18]
ICCPR also recognizes this right ‘in the form of art’ which includes films. So far censorship of films in India is concerned, the power of legislation is vested with the Parliament according to Entry 60 [19] of the Union List of the Schedule VII under the Constitution. However, the States can also make laws on cinemas under Entry 33 [20] of the Sate List but subject to the provision of the central legislation. The prime legislation in this respect is the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as ‘1952 Act’) and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Rules’).
The Act was enacted to provide for the certification of cinematograph films for exhibition and for regulating their exhibition. The brief scheme of the statute is as follows. It empowers the Central Government to constitute a Censor Board consisting of up to 25 members for the purpose of sanctioning films for public exhibition. After examination of a film, either the Board sanctions the film for restricted or unrestricted public exhibition; or directs to carry out necessary modifications; or refuse to sanction the film for public exhibition. Section 5-B(1) provides the ground for the restriction for public exhibition which is in consonance with Article 19(2) of the Constitution. Sub-section 2 empowers the Central Government to issue necessary guidelines in this regard [21]. The Act also provides for Appellate tribunals from the decisions of the Board.
The Central Government is vested with revisional powers under Section 6(1) to call for the record of any proceeding in relation to any film at any stage, except a matter of appeal pending before the Tribunal, to give necessary order and the Board must dispose of the matter in conformity with such order. The proviso to this section enabled the Government not to disclose any fact in this respect which it considered to be against public interest. Penalties are also prescribed for contravention of the requirements of the Act. Under Part III, which deals with licensing for exhibition, section 13 empowers the Central Government or the Local Authority to suspend exhibition of a film in a UT/State or part of it where it may likely to cause breach of peace.
The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 1983 have been framed under Section 8 of the Act. The Rules deals in the procedural details of Board, the Examining Committee, Revising Committee, the Tribunal and related matters. It may be stated in this regard, under Rule 11, it specifically imposes a duty on the Board to assess public reactions to films. This may be by holding symposia or seminars of film critics, film writers, community leaders and persons engaged in the film industry and also by undertaking local or national surveys to study the impact of films on the public mind.
Apart from the statutory laws, the Indian Courts through its various judgments have contributed immensely to build up the jurisprudence in this respect. Some of those important judgments related to feature films, tele films and television serials are discussed below:
In K.A. Abbas v. Union of India[22], the constitutionality of censorship under the 1952 Act along with the Rules under it was challenged. But the Supreme Court upheld the consititionality within the ambit of Article 19(2) and added that films have to be treated separately from other forms of art and expression because a motion picture is ‘able to stir up emotions more deeply than any other product of art’. However, at the same time it cautioned that it should be ‘in the interests of society’.
Probably, the most important case so far the problem dealt here with is the case of Rangarajan v. P. Jagjivan Ram[23]. In an appeal before the Supreme Court the decision of the Madras High Court was challenged for revoking the ‘U-Certificate’ issued to a Tamil film called Ore Oru Gramathile (In One Village). As the film criticized the reservation policy of the Tamil Nadu Government, it was held that the reaction to the film in Tamil Nadu is bound to be volatile[24]. But the Supreme Court overturned the High Court decision while upholding the freedom of speech and expression. In doing so, the Court did acknowledge to have a compromise between the interest of freedom of expression and social interests. However, it went on to observe that the anticipated danger should not be remote, conjectural or far fetched but have proximate and direct nexus with the expression and equivalent of a spark in a powder keg.
The Court criticized the State and emphasized that freedom of expression cannot be suppressed on account of threat of demonstration and processions or threats of violence. It is the duty of the State to protect the freedom of expression since it is a liberty guaranteed against the State. The State cannot plead its inability to handle the hostile audience problem. (Emphasis added). As censorship is permitted only on the grounds under Article 19(2), the standard to be applied by the board or courts for judging the film should be that of an ordinary man of common sense and prudence and not that of an out of the ordinary or hypersensitive man.[25]
Another incident came up was regarding a serial Tamas which depicted the Hindu-Muslim and Sikh-Muslim tension before the partition of India[26]. Appeal was preferred before the Supreme Court from the judgment of Bombay High Court in Ramesh v. Union of India and Others [27], to restrain the screening of the serial as it was violative of Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution and Section 5B of the Act. The Supreme Court affirmed the High Court decision to dismiss the petition. Commenting on the reaction of the average men, the Court held that the average person would learn from the mistakes of the past and perhaps not commit those mistakes again. They concurred with the High Court that illiterates are not devoid of common sense and awareness in proper light is a first step towards that realization.
In Odyssey Communications Pvt. Ltd. v. Lokvidayan Sanghatana[28], an appeal was filed before the SC from an interim injunction issued by the Bombay High Court to stop the telecast of a serial Honi Anhoni on the Doordarshan which was not in public interest as it was likely to spread false or blind beliefs amongst the members of the public. The SC struck down the injunction because in its opinion the petitioners, apart from their own statements there is no prima-facie evidence to show that grave prejudice was being done to the public.
In Sree Raghavendra Films v Government of Andhra Pradesh and others [29], the exhibition of the film ‘Bombay’ in its Telugu version was suspended in exercise of the powers u/Sec.8(1) of the A.P. Cinemas Regulation Act,1955 [30], despite been certified by the Censor Board for unrestricted exhibition. The suspension was imposed citing the cause that it may hurt sentiments of certain communities. However, it was found that the authorities who passed the impugned order did not even watching the movie!! The Court quashed the order as being arbitrary and not based on proper material.
In Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Prof. Manubhai D. Shah, Doordrashan [31] refused to telecast a documentary film on the Bhopal Gas Disaster titled Beyond Genocide, in spite of the fact that the film won Golden Lotus award, being the best non-feature film of 1987 and was granted ‘U’ certificate by the Censor Board. The reasons cited by Doordarshan were inter alia, the political parties had been raising various issues concerning the tragedy, and the claims for compensation by victims were sub judice. Upholding the freedom of speech the Court held: ..Merely because it is critical of the State Government…is no reason to deny selection and publication of the film. So also pendency of claims for compensation does not render the matter sub judice so as to shut out the entire film from the community. The Court made it clear that subject to Article 19(2), a citizen has a right to publish, circulate and disseminate his views to mould public opinion on vital issues of national importance. Hence, any attempt to thwart or deny the same would offend Art. 19(1)(a). Under such circumstances, the burden would, therefore, heavily lie on the authorities that seek to impose them to show that the restrictions are reasonable and permissible in law.
Again an award winning documentary film, In Memory of Friends about the violence and terrorism in Punjab was rejected by Doordarshan even after been granted ‘U’ certificate by the Censor Board reasoning if such documentary is shown to people, it would create communal hatred and may even lead to a further violence. The court quashed the order emphasizing: The State cannot prevent open discussion and open expression, however, hateful to its policies. Everyone has a fundamental right to form his own opinion on any issue or general concern. He can form and inform by any legitimate means [32].
Even in the case of the Da Vinci controversy, the Supreme court rejected the writ petition by the All India Christians Welfare Association seeking a ban on the movie as it is ‘blasphemous’. The court found no point of objection when the Censor Board and the Central Government has given a green signal. It also held that that no predominantly Christian country had banned the film and there has been no definite reason forwarded by the petitioners to ban the movie in India. In the States of Andhara Pradesh [33], Kerala and Tamil Nadu [34], the respective High Courts quashed the bans imposed by the State Governments and also imposed costs on the governments. While upholding the right to freedom of speech and expression, the Courts found the act of Governments ‘irrational’ and ‘unconstitutional’. They were of the opinion that the bans were imposed mechanically due to the veto of a few people who objected rather than arriving at a decision based on informed satisfaction.
In all those cases of Da Vinci, it was alleged that the film violated inter alia, Article 25 [35]of the Constitution with respect to the Christian community. The Madras High Court reasoned: As regards the harmonious interpretation of Articles 25 and 19, it is clear from a reading of these provisions that the rights under Article 25 are subject to the other provisions of Part III, which means they are subject to Article 19(1). It was not also clear before the court how the exhibition of the film will interfere with anyone’s freedom of conscience or the right to profess, practise and propagate a particular religion. Moreover, according to the court, under no circumstances ‘blasphemy’ is a ground under Article 19(2).
It is important to note that in the case of Union of India v K.M. Shankarappa [36], the Supreme Court disapproved of the Government retaining powers by enacting Section 6(1). It held:
The Government has chosen to establish a quasi-judicial body which has been given the powers, inter alia, to decide the effect of the film on the public. Once a quasi-judicial body like the Appellate Tribunal, consisting of a retired Judge of a High Court or a person qualified to be a Judge of a High Court and other experts in the field, gives its decision that decision would be final and binding so far as the Executive and the Government is concerned. The Executive has to obey judicial orders. Thus, Section 6(1) is a travesty of the rule of law which is one of the basic structures of the Constitution. The Executive cannot sit in an appeal or review or revise a judicial order. At the highest, the Government may apply to the Tribunal itself for a review, if circumstances so warrant. But the Government would be bound by the ultimate decision of the Tribunal. (Emphasis added) This judgment stands till date.
How far are those activities justified?
In the previous section several cases cited make it crystal clear that so far motion pictures are concerned, the higher courts in India have zealously guarded the freedom of speech and expression and have shown optimum judicial activism. They have refused to scrap any movie without any compelling reason for restriction and which are not based on vague or unreasonable apprehensions. But time and again, similar protests have been raised to restrain the exercise of the freedom. On the other hand, as the statutory law is highly centralized and too much power has been given to the executive, it has become virtually become impossible to perform impartially. The legislation was intended to put restriction on ‘reasonable’ grounds but that has opened the floodgates for protests, litigations and all sorts of arbitrary acts.
We live in a democratic country and everyone has a right to communicate his views on different matters. Millions of views are circulated throughout the nation every day by different means. Many of them are not approved by majority of the Indians. But does that mean that those should be scrapped? Or the authors have to knock the doors of the courts if their pieces do not satisfy one billion population? Similarly, movie is the legitimate and the most important medium in which issues of general concern can be treated. Moreover, they are not openly screened for everyone. It is available to only those people who are willing to buy tickets, go to the theatres and watch them. Unwilling people can easily choose to stay away from the movies. The director or producer has a right to project his own messages which the others may not approve of. But that does not deter his right to ‘think out’ and give shape through his creations. ‘Free debate’ and ‘open discussion’ has been considered as an integral part of a democracy in both Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Rangarajan case [37]. Otherwise, democracy has no value and it is equivalent to a totalitarian regime. However, all the above incidents indicate nothing but assert that fact loudly, still we feel proud of being a part of world’s one of the biggest democracy!!
Whenever a movie falls out of the taste of the certain power-holders, they have orchestrated to ban the movie arbitrarily. But have those bans taken care of the right of the viewers generally? They are deprived of the movie simply because it does not suit a group of persons with whom they have no link. Thus, when a movie is banned the ‘right of the viewers’ is also offended. In the case of Secretary, Ministry of I & B v. Cricket Association of Bengal [38], it was held that freedom of speech and expression includes right to acquire information and to disseminate it to public at large. Hence, Article 19(1)(a) also includes the right of viewers. Again in Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India [39], it was held that the people have a right to be informed of the developments that take place in a democratic process. Here, we can take the example of the Da Vinci Code. The movie was banned in 7 states the result was over 20 crores of Indians were deprived from viewing the movie. The total Christian population in the country is 2.3%, while the states banned the movie has varied percentage of Christian residents. Kerala, which holds the largest number of Christians, the book had already been translated in Malayalam and widely circulated [40]. So whose ‘religious sentiments’ and ‘emotions’ are the States speaking of? Only because of protests by few organizations, the State Governments scrapped the movie without taking into consideration either of a vast majority of the people in the states or even the minority community which is projected to be against the screening of the movie. Moreover, if the justification forwarded by the State Governments banning the movie can be put forward by all other states, the movie can be banned in the whole country.
The Censor Board is supposed to be a large expert body carefully constituted to cater to the needs of different segments of the society. Moreover, the procedure for grant of certificate of exhibition to a film is quite elaborate. So its decisions must be given full weight. But the role and position of the Board is confusing. The members are appointed and virtually controlled by the Government. However, the irony is that the game is not confined to only scrapping of movies by the Board. Even a positive nod by the Board is not the final but depends on the Central Government. Already instances have been forwarded where either State Government or State-owned Doordarshan has scrapped movies even after being cleared by the Board and Central Government. In such circumstances, where does the importance of the Censor Board’s decisions lie? The statute provides for the construction of advisory panels which can only make recommendations to the Board [41]. However, in case of Rang De Basant, the Board invited defence minister and people from the forces; during Da Vinci they invited I & B minister along with representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India for their advice who actually had the final say. Next time to make a film on the terrorists will the terror groups be invited to certify the content? If in every case, people from respective spheres are to be called to verify the authenticity of the film and give binding recommendation then what is the rationale of having a statutory expert body? On the other hand, while films on Gujarat massacre were banned, highly provocative film like Gadar was allowed! Why this discrimination? At least the former pieces have basis on real facts but the latter was a product of wild imagination.
Another aspect of this phenomenon is that irrespective of the effect of the movies, there is always a call for a total ban without even exploring any other possibilities. In the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in State of Gujarat v Mirzapur Moti Kureshi Kassab Jamat [42], stated that a total prohibition under Article 19(2) to (6) must also satisfy the test that a lesser alternative would be inadequate.
The banning of films also has some other implications. While a film is banned, it does not only affect the freedom of speech and expression of the director or producer, it affects the economical aspects of many people which are also guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. Film making, distribution and screening are essential aspects of films business, if the film is banned, it affect all those aspects which defiantly falls under Article 19(1)(g)? But who will be responsible for it? Again, in many cases violent groups ransack theatres in protest against the screening of certain films. It definitely affects the property of the theatre hall owners [43]. But the right to property is inviolable under Article 300(A) of the Constitution without the authority of law. Hence, to allow one’s properties to be destroyed by some group of people is a clear deprivation of the right to property guaranteed by the Constitution. So finally in such cases, the State fails in its duty to secure its citizens’ of various constitutional and legal rights.
Thus, the above discussion makes it obvious that the bans on the movies under different circumstances have not been imposed on valid constitutional grounds but to serve the interests of different groups whether social, religious or political. Under no circumstances, the bans of aforementioned nature can be justified.
Conclusion:
The ‘reasonable’ restriction under Article 19(2) was invariably for public interest but it has been twisted on many occasions to strangulate the freedom of speech and expression. The result is that we have been deprived of several films as it does not satisfy the taste of ‘others’. If this is the case, the question arises do we really need this restriction? The First Amendment to the US Constitution states: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. Over 200 years has passed since that amendment and after witnessing all those arbitrary acts in our country, ‘reasonable restriction’ really needs consideration in the so-called globalized and liberal world. All the time the excuse of India being a diverse country with unique set of problems has been put forward and the need of restrictions has been over emphasized. But in reality the restrictions have served more in the negative sense than for positive development.
In today’s world with enormous improvement in information technology, restraining movies in the name of maintaining public peace, respecting emotions of people and similar reasons are simply ridiculous. There are numerous alternative sources through which the news and views depicted in the movies are articulated to the general public. So, restraining movies does not serve any purpose. On the other hand, it may actually give wrong message to the public through indirect interpretation. It is always the best that the viewers themselves watch it and form his/her own opinion. General public may be devoid of proper education but not always of common sense. It is the selfish, tampered groups who twist the subject matter and mislead other people to serve their own purposes. Conversely, no group takes the role of a proper guide. Neither Da Vinci nor the other instances dealt with in the article clearly prove that the imposed bans did have any strong legal foundation.
After analyzing all those incidents, judgments and statutory settings, the activities and rationale of having a censor board is also highly debatable. If at all we need to have such a body it needs to be more autonomous, whose decision will be the final rather than to be a puppet in the hands of the government. In this light, the judgment of Shankarappa is much needed adrenalin. Furthermore, scrapping movies even after the clearance by the Censor Board is not only an arbitrary act but a dangerous trend of heightened intolerance. On a whole, the courts have done a laudable job in this respect but time and again similar issues have been raised. Hence, a permanent solution is essential. One such effort may be to revamp the 1952 Act altogether. However, in the given circumstances of today’s world, it is better to have a rating body than a censor board. Again, power of limited censorship cannot be delegated to the states arbitrarily. They must have to satisfy the central authority as to why the ban in their territory is indispensable, and that there is no alternative left. The most important of all is that the censor board must be an autonomous body and to whom the Government can forward its suggestions/recommendations but the decision must be taken by the board alone independently.
While we enthusiastically profess right to information, we cannot sit back and ban films and hence, censor information. And if an unlawful means is adopted by any person(s) to stop screening of films, the Government has to ensure that law and order is maintained by taking appropriate actions against the person concerned. In case the Government fails in its obligation, it must be held for contempt of court. Hence it can be concluded, if democracy has to evolve, screening of films can never be denied for reasons based on mere speculation because banning films is equivalent to banning the right of freedom of speech and expression. And if such events persist, it reflects nothing but the words of the US Supreme Court justice.
August 12, 2011 at 10:42 AM
Govt shouldn’t have banned a film like this at least.Afterall this is a film only and films are made to just to entertain people,no matter if some of those are issue based but the basic motive is always same.Besies this there is business aspect also which Govt should understand as such acts can turn some big guns bankrupt.
August 12, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Aarakshan…doing well in major cities.
opening has been good…
calcutta theaters are packed houses..
bangolore is doing well and so is mumbai…
The film do even well on weekends and word of mouth is very good…lifting ban will even help the film more
August 12, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Aarakshan Disappoints At Single Screens
Friday 12th August 2011 18.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Aarakshan has disappointed at single screens across the country. It had a low start at single screens of 25-30% and did not make much progress in the afternoon and evening shows.
CP Berar, CI, Maharashtra, Rajasthan or Delhi the single screens were not impressive. The reports from single screen theatres are also not encouraging. It seems the film is really dependent on multiplex business where the opening was decent.
North India which would have likely been a strong performer for the film especially UP but with the ban in UP and Punjab, the films collections will be halved from North India.
August 12, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Strange to see Aarakshan doing well in multiplex not in single screen.One can understand with ZNMD doing well in Multiplex..but Aarakshan….
Aarakshan not opening big even-though prakash Jha last movie Rajneeti was huge hit prove one thing ,power of lady superstar Katrina…people forget to give her much credit,,,but if one look at most successful movies in last 5 year…Katrina overpower all actress in term of no of hits.
August 12, 2011 at 12:25 PM
suman,
I am surprised to that aswell..single screens should have had decent opening but it is completely opposite…weird
August 12, 2011 at 12:28 PM
KATRINA a queen of sheba..eveything she touches turns to gold
August 12, 2011 at 12:40 PM
Nikhat Kazmi:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Aarakshan/moviereview/9566235.cms
August 12, 2011 at 12:41 PM
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/reviews/2011/aarakshan-review-110811.html
August 12, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Telegraph (UK):
Bollywood blockbuster banned over fears of inter-caste violence
The makers of a Bollywood blockbuster which challenges India’s controversial reservation system for government jobs and college places have asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ban by three states who fear it could provoke inter-caste violence.
By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
3:53PM BST 12 Aug 2011
The film, “Aarakshan” or Reservation, starring Bollywood’s biggest star Amithabh Bachchan, has been accused of being “anti-Dalit” by groups which represent India’s estimated 500 million people of Untouchable and Backward castes.
Despite being approved by India’s censors for unrestricted release, it has been banned in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. There have also been calls for the film to be banned in Bihar and Maharashtra.
The film touches a raw nerve among India’s higher caste middle classes whose children must reach pass rates higher than 90 per cent to win college places, while a 49 per cent quota means “backward caste” pupils can secure places on much lower grades.
In the film, a private college principal, played by Amithabh Bachchan, is forced to resign over his support for reservations and is replaced by his high-caste, anti-quota deputy. He establishes a free tuition centre for poor students opposite the college, and the debate on one of India’s most divisive issues rages between them.
Low-caste groups have protested at dialogue they regard as offensive and the casting of major Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan as a bright Dalit boy because he is the son of a nabob, an Indian aristocrat, the legendary former cricket captain Tiger Pataudi.
They objected to one scene where an upper caste vice principal tells Mr Khan’s character: “Our kids study day and night and you people get the maximum seats,” and another where an upper caste student complains: “Now we have to do their work, we have to polish shoes.”
Resentment among higher castes has increased since 2006 when the government increased reservations to 49.5 per cent to include the so-called “Other Backward Castes.” It has coincided with increasingly high pass requirements for India’s most sought-after universities. In June one Delhi University college demanded pass rates of 100 per cent for the first time.
The attempt to ban the film however has caused outrage throughout India’s film industry. Amitabh Bachchan, India’s most celebrated actor, said a ban on the film would undermine India’s democracy and mean its people were living in “a most unfortunate fascist conditioning.”
Leading Indian film director Jag Mundra said the film had been exploited for political reasons by those who oppose a debate on caste reservations.
“I would like to ask these people: ‘If you loved one was in a hospital and needed a life-saving operation, and you knew the surgeon came in on a reservation, would you want that person to operate? How long do we make people suffer now to right the wrongs of the past?” he asked.
August 12, 2011 at 12:55 PM
With Malice to one and all—-T
“The curious perplexing case of Javed Akhtar (and SRK..)”
Have found Javed Akhtars utterings (against support for Aarakshan)somewhat perplexing.
Usually find him quite sensible, reasonable and have felt that he should be given a more formal bigger role to represent his community.
As pointed out earlier, had a chance encounter with him briefly in Chicago !! Wont have bothered about something relatively insignificant, but since I like Javed Akhtar in general (both as a person, lyricist and personality) –made me pen something!
Recently however, he seems to be getting more “vocal” and even “combative”. If im not mistaken, he was the one (not even hritik) who openly quesitoned Bachchan about his tweets (excluding hritik). But this is nothing significant actually
And now this–being openly against “support for Aarakshan” comparing this to the protests against “fire” (lesbian theme)
It maybe a coincidence but it maybe related to his post znmd “euphoria”.
They say that certain “inner characteristics” manifest only during the peaks or troughs (and stay dormantly hidden during “normalcy”).
ZNMD has given us not only a good film and a female director but a brand new “pwer centre” film family in the Akhtars (boasting of an excellent lyricist and ex-script writer, two v good directors and one reasonable actor)….And if one considers Shabana Azmi to this mix, perhaps thats what is affecting the “mental balance” of a normally “stable” Javed akhtar…
In a very obtuse way, this reminds me of SRK who on a visit to London recently who mentioned “inshallah” atleast thrice in each sentence. Nothing wrong with it–just a contrast from when he was an “upcoming” star many years ago!!!!
August 12, 2011 at 2:04 PM
Will have to add —to give them credit–farhan akhtar and shabana azmi have tweeted against aarakshan ban!!
My hunch is this film should/will do well inspite of the “ban”
August 12, 2011 at 3:04 PM
was never sensible and i found him never
as you said fire was based on lesbian theme and he has compared it to subject which is engulfing india on a much larger magnitude …
fanna was an individiual problem with political set up ( a certain akhtar also in the past has written speech against modi for miss sonia gandhi describing him as maut ka saudagar and got rajya sabha seat in return )
btw did mr akhtar will comment on this:
there is a film releasing called ra-one whose co-producer is karim morani currently in tihar jail for 2g scam and accused with sahid balwa(rumoured to be hand in hand with dawood for money laundering)
please elaborate sir on funding part
August 12, 2011 at 3:35 PM
on to jha and bachchan ya it will benifi the movie… any controversy wheather good or bad gives you more eyeball but its time to to make half illetrate politicians shut up and the answer is law
moving to sc was a right step up and allready it yeilded results .. they lifted the ban on a.p and punjab from tommorrow
August 12, 2011 at 1:05 PM
About Aarkakshan—-really like the above pensive pic of Bachchan–perhaps one of the best recent filmi moments of bachchan–not sure how he is used in this film.
But the initial reports suggest that this film wont be failure –the extent of success depends on many factors, protests etc.
But the bottomline is that Bachchan AGAIN seems to have emerged successful from this and seems to have “survived” the recent serial film failures.
And with the ever reliable KBC5 coming up, he seems “back to business” (after recent indifferent record).
Hope we get a chance to say the same about Bachchan (junior)!!
August 12, 2011 at 1:37 PM
Problem with Aarkakshan is that its has great first half but boring and stretched out second half according to reviews.That is not a good sign,,,But still feel with no upcoming Big releases it will do well to be success in small level.
August 12, 2011 at 1:58 PM
hmmm-suman– u seem to have seen it first day first show!!
or have u not yet seen it (like Mayawati & Co.)
August 12, 2011 at 3:46 PM
i think prakash jha lacks his clear vision this time… how stupid is to blame coaching classes for reservation… saif has been completly wasted… and some thing that prakash jha movie always has is sensible message and a razor sharp script… but this time its not as fine as it is always… Second half is absurd…
May be its a ok movie … but when it is Prakash jha expectations r high… And this time they were not met..
August 12, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Just finished the night show. Housefull almost. First half is brilliant it is actually abt Aarakshan and is riveting. Second half is abt education but a bit too stretched for me. But Bachchan is stunning, he is so natural tht you connect and feel for him. He seems in great form and some of his scenes with Bajpai are plain brilliant acting Bajpai is great too. Saif was the surprise package, standing eye to eye with Bachchan and performing his best he delivers confidently. But editing in second half should have been much better. 2.45 mins is too much should have been cut short by atleast 20 mins or so and movie would have been much enjoyable. Neways a 3.5/5 for me most of it for the highly impressive first half.
August 12, 2011 at 9:46 PM
i have absolutely (and didn’t have any) doubts that Big B’s performance here would be power-packed….cant wait to watch this one! after a long time,i am itching to watch a Big B film.
August 13, 2011 at 12:35 AM
Top 5: ‘Singham’ 89.63 cr, ‘ZNMD’ 86 cr
August 13, 2011 at 4:19 AM
Continuing on my comments on Javed Akhtars recent utterings against support for aarakshan ^^^ read above…
Ya–im disappointed that the rare sane voices in his community are also indulging in this subtle “bias”
“btw did mr akhtar will comment on this:here is a film releasing called ra-one whose co-producer is karim morani currently in tihar jail for 2g scam and accused with sahid balwa(rumoured to be hand in hand with dawood for money laundering”—-Agree Iffron –although I will give Javed Akhtar the benefit of doubt—-think there is nothing communal in his stance—-his newfound “power” following some recent successes has something to do with it–btw he seems to be trying to “take on” bachchan publically albeit in a “rational” stance.
Thats quite common—to try it out against the “ultimate” to prove their “status” (secretly assured that Bachchan is v unlikely to retaliate in kind)
ps— Seems that the second half is long and dilutes the impact. Thats where “keeping the ears to the ground” is needed. Not sure if it is feasible at this stage, but if one were jha, one should edit atleast 20 min from the second halk(if one gets time from SC hearings!!!)
August 13, 2011 at 4:25 AM
Earlier , i talked about ZNMD giving bollywood not only a good film and a good (&viable) thinking female director, but also a new “power centre” film family (changing the equations a bit)
lol Kjo now is “wanting ” farhan for his films—knowing kjo and his machinations,not surprised at all—-
(especially in this industry of “give and take”)—with all due resepct to Farhan akhtar who is the single biggest benificiary from znmd (along with zoya—more than hritik)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Karan-Johar-wants-Farhan-Akhtar-for-his-film/Article1-732490.aspx
August 13, 2011 at 9:09 AM
Aarakshan Has Below The Mark Day One
Saturday 13th August 2011 12.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Aarakshan was below the mark on day one due to the film being banned in Punjab, UP and Andhra. The film lost 75 lakhs in UP, 25 lakhs in Punjab and 15 lakhs in Nizam.
The film grossed around 4.75 crore nett on day one which is not very good but if it had complete all India release it would have done 6 crore nett which would have been a decent collection.
Aarakshan fared best in Rajasthan and CI but the film will not do well unless the ban is lifted quickly and picks up strongly over the weekend but reports do not indicate a big jump in collections on Saturday and Sunday.
August 13, 2011 at 12:18 PM
First half is rivetting – though I did feel it got loud and over-dramatic at places. Second half gets totally derailed and the issue just disappears from the narrative. Also characters lack shades, and the complexities are not explored well enough. The film scores very highly on dialogues though and Bachchan lends it an eloquence that is music to the ears. But I will say the film does not live up to its potential at all. Political films are a great genre and highly watchable if intelligently done. Aarakshan has some moments, but it isn’t particularly well-crafted or imaginative.
August 13, 2011 at 12:32 PM
so is it a bad script? and structuring?
also i have been getting updates on fb and sms that movie though has name of aaraksan is more about education , tution etc?
August 13, 2011 at 2:09 PM
There is lot abt Aarakshan in first half and yes second half is abt private coaching classes, second half is a bit too dragged, but the movie has its moments in second half as well although its the first half which is awesome.
August 13, 2011 at 12:54 PM
Just back after seeing Aarakshan,
Acting of the movie is quite good,Bachchan was amazing throughout both as angry principal and sensitive father.Saif was good but role was quite small.Deepika surprise all with his fine act.Monaj was in rajneeti movie mode..Here also ,he was quite scene stellar.
Movie 2nd half drags a lot..could have been easily been edited 20 minutes.
Songs were complete downer…Either people to make good songs or make movie without songs….In Aarakshan, if there was no song it would have been much better.
Climax was not so good…What happen to manoj as principal??.
Also the dialogue are very heavy….at one point every actor started shouting at each other and that can give some real headache..
Why 2nd half became more of personal rivalry between bachchan and manoj???……rather than giving solution to complex issue of Reservation.
overall disappointed, prakash jha the director had a good script to make a powerful movie but alas now it not.
August 13, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Solution to Aarakshan or Reservation is given by film as “Free Education to All ” irrespective or caste creed or language.Is it a feasible solution?or there is better answer to this complicated issue??How such mass scale free education can be organized in india….Surely prakash jha din’t give proper answer yet…
August 13, 2011 at 1:56 PM
Andra pradesh lifts the ban.
according to exibitors the opens well.
Aarakhsan has some good luck..
advance bookings are also good.
personally I think the film second half is dragging and that will fall flat on Aarakhsan…
August 13, 2011 at 4:49 PM
good to hear..
August 13, 2011 at 4:58 PM
not sure of the technicalities /practicalities, but if it is so unanimously obvious by all reviews that the second half needs to be trimmed, is it not possible ?
August 13, 2011 at 6:38 PM
taran_adarsh tweets
Aarashan shows big jump everywhere sat and sun….looking at 20-25 cr weekend
cheers
August 13, 2011 at 7:50 PM
great! without the release issues would have been a bigger total..
August 14, 2011 at 1:28 AM
Very good . But it missed UP especially where Jha films work big time. This is totally a Bachchan show and it proves that given the right role and director he can still open big today.
August 13, 2011 at 6:45 PM
Watch this space–Farhan akhtar might just be the Milkha Singh that rakesh Mehra has been looking for—sense a jump in his career- pun intended…
Remember where u heard it first!!
August 13, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Here everyone was spektic about how saif will play dalit professor. Now in most of the reviews they are saying he is good to great.
August 14, 2011 at 12:16 AM
yes but thankfully Indian reviewers have never been my standard for cinema!
August 13, 2011 at 11:12 PM
taran_adarsh tweets
Audience feedback. Tremendous appreciatio@snr bachchan hailedby one and all.
taran_adarsh tweets
tracking day 1 biz of Arakshan Business picked up rapidly in evening and night shows
taran_adarsh tweets
Friday figures in CI circuit:
Singham – 34.50 lakhs
znmd 22.50 lakhs
murder 2 25.30 lakhs
aarakhshan – 28.50 lakhs
friday – 4.50 crs (minus up,punjab,ap)
August 13, 2011 at 11:13 PM
satyam – ab sr delivers thenock out punch…..
cheers naren
August 13, 2011 at 11:14 PM
taran_adarsh tweets
Friday figures in CI circuit:
Singham – 34.50 lakhs
znmd 22.50 lakhs
murder 2 25.30 lakhs
aarakhshan – 28.50 lakhs
friday – 4.50 crs (minus up,punjab,ap)
one of the barometers of business
August 14, 2011 at 1:43 AM
Aarakshan to lose 40 per cent revenue
Bollywood isn’t always about entertainment. Even as Aarakshan’s release in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab and Andhra Pradesh (AP) hits hurdles, with filmmaker Prakash Jha moving the Supreme Court to revoke the bans, trade pundits went into cautious mode. After all, these three territories account for about 40 per cent of the total pie for the movie business in India.
“After Mumbai territory, Delhi-Uttar Pradesh-Punjab is the biggest market for Hindi films. If the movie is barred from releasing in UP and Punjab, makers are bound to suffer heavy losses,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, adding that the numbers would run into several crores. “But it’s too early in the day to gauge losses in terms of exact figures.”
Trade experts also point to the ‘piracy factor’. According to them, if a film doesn’t release in UP, Punjab or AP, pirated DVDs will capture the market, hitting the filmmakers badly. “If a movie doesn’t release in any state, don’t governments realise that people will end up watching pirated versions of it instead? It’ll cause harm to the filmmakers, distributors, as well as the government,” adds Adarsh.
Trade pundit Komal Nahta says, “In places like UP, where the film could have done very well, collections will be affected heavily. But AP is a small market, with its share being only about 10 per cent.” The controversy-ridden film has already opened in other states including Maharashtra. But a few early shows on Friday in places like Vashi, Nashik and Nagpur were cancelled, as cinema owners feared a security problem. “We had to cancel a few shows in these politically-sensitive locations. We didn’t want to take any risks,” says a multiplex official on condition of anonymity.
As per early estimates, cinema halls witnessed a general 40 to 50 per cent occupancy on Friday for the film. But Jha, who was kept busy with Supreme Court proceedings on Friday, also concedes that no filmmaker can afford to lose out on any territory. “If half of your home is demolished, how’d you feel? That’s how a filmmaker feels if a film is banned,” he says. Well, Jha could take strength from the support offered by a few of his colleagues. Actor Ajay Devgn says, “There is nothing objectionable in the film,” adding, “When people watch it, they will realise that there is nothing controversial.” Director Anurag Kashyap stated, “The film fraternity must come together especially when it’s such a big issue.”
Bachchan is ‘saddened’
Amitabh Bachchan has come out all guns blazing to blast a decision by three state governments to ban the release of Aarakshan. According to the 68-year-old actor, he is “saddened” that lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh had given in to “unsubstantiated rumour and belief, without any verification of its validity (sic),” Bachchan writes on his blog.
Big B, who plays principal Prabhakar Anand in the film, wonders, “What is the need then of the Censor Board, a statutory body instituted by you, the legislatures and parliamentarians that govern this land. You nominate what you believe, to disbelieve what you nominate! Better to remove it altogether then rather than give it disrespect,” he adds. “I do not care and never have cared about the fate of any film of mine, and I never shall. I do not care if this film does well or not, but I shall admit this … This film has shown a mirror to the country. This film has shown a path that needs to be taken for a better future.”
August 14, 2011 at 1:47 AM
Aarakshan banned in Gurgaon as well. Now this will be a huge loss as it was housefull in Gurgaon and Gurgaon is a huge multiplex circuit.
GURGAON: Haryana is not among the states that have banned the screening of Prakash Jha’s film ” Aarakshan”, which is mired in a controversy because of its handling of the reservation issue. However, when people went to watch the film at multiplexes in Gurgaon on Saturday, they were in for a shock – an unannounced ban was in place.
The DT and PVR multiplexes did not show the film. Police officers had visited the multiplexes and imposed a ban. Police sources said this was done following reports of people protesting against the screening in Faridabad on Friday night.
It was not clear when the screening would resume. However, sources in police and the multiplexes said that the screening was unlikely to resume before Tuesday.
There was no official word on why the screening was stopped all of a sudden only in Gurgaon while the movie was being shown in the rest of Haryana. There seemed to be confusion regarding the police action. Police officers said they imposed the ban on the basis of instructions given to them by the district administration.
District administration officials were not available for comments. Police officers later said that they did not have the order in writing. An SHO of New Gurgaon, who did not want to be named, said, “We visited a few of the multiplexes in the malls to direct them to increase the security in the movie halls because of the opposition from various communities. No other directions were given to them.”
However, multiplex owners across Gurgaon said that the SHOs of their respective areas had directed them to stop the screening. Rahul Singh, senior vice president (operations) of PVR Gurgaon said: “The late night show on Friday was discontinued and the next morning’s show was also stopped midway. People had booked the shows online a week back and we had to refund them the amount. More than 3,000 online bookings were made in advance and the shows were running to packed houses. Saturday is usually the busiest day in cinema halls, and because of the closure, we are facing major financial losses.”
The managements of Gurgaon’s multiplexes said they were not given any written notification about the ban; only the SHOs of the areas had
visited the multiplexes directing them to stop showing the movie.
A DT Cinemas representative said that they had received the order from their corporate office and also the area SHO, who had asked them to stop the ongoing shows.
August 14, 2011 at 9:26 AM
this is big indeed…
August 14, 2011 at 2:54 AM
Aarakshan was below the mark on day one due to the film being banned in Punjab, UP and Andhra. The film lost 75 lakhs in UP, 25 lakhs in Punjab and 15 lakhs in Nizam.
The film grossed around 4.75 crore nett on day one which is not very good but if it had complete all India release it would have done 6 crore nett which would have been a decent collection.
Aarakshan fared best in Rajasthan and CI but the film will not do well unless the ban is lifted quickly and picks up strongly over the weekend but reports do not indicate a big jump in collections on Saturday and Sunday.
August 14, 2011 at 5:12 AM
How much does Aarakshan have to make to be termed a hit?
August 14, 2011 at 5:23 AM
Arakhshan
picks up rapidly during the weekend
fri – 4.75 (minus up, punjab, ap)
sat – 6.50 (again minus,up,punja,ap)
Sun – 7.75 (as per early estimates again minus up,ap and punjab )
Monday (As per advance – should gross 6.5)
Long weeknd estimate – 4.75 +6.5+7.75+6.50 = around 24 cr to 25 cr.[ edited]
August 14, 2011 at 7:35 AM
Dont behave like a total jerk… i have always supported Big b and abhishek movies on this blog….and that too with vengeance… I just posted wat i read… and even a fan has right to reject a movie he doesnt likes…. even though i m Abhishek bachchan die hard fan… i didnt like few movies of him… and i do criticize them too…
and abusing like this downgrades u as a person and a fan… u stop being a kidoo…
August 14, 2011 at 9:29 AM
Naren, please watch your language. Even if someone is being negative on a film or star and for whatever reason don’t do this.
August 14, 2011 at 9:30 AM
great numbers, too bad so much of the gross is being lost.
August 14, 2011 at 8:01 AM
Why people are fighting over Arakhshan ??movie just an average movie…But Big B is really great in movie along with manoj bajpai…one thing that is disappointing is prakash jha the director…after rajneethi,he just falter in Arakhshan…
How on earth Prakash jha lost his memory and made a complete different second half??Such memory loss has not been seen from “Aamir” ghajjni days…
Moral of story : Great acting don’t make a great movie, if great script is missing.
August 14, 2011 at 8:51 AM
A new “dad-son combo” developing here^^^ lol
Cool it guys…
Bachchan sr doesnt need/depend on such “defense” nor will he be brought down by any “misreportings”….
Peace!!
ps—viewing Aarakshan will need a long drive—something im lazy to do as of now(unless the reviews were downright awesome)
ps2–for those who know the technicalities, how difficult is it to trim the second half at this stage!!!
August 14, 2011 at 9:08 AM
I know many ppl who have loved the second half as well. It’s just tht the first half overshadows it. Bachchan is excellent throughout.
August 14, 2011 at 9:42 AM
I am still perplexed how and why people judge a movie with a first half and second half ? For me it’s a movie in totality. Either the full story is well told or it has faltered.
Watched the movie last night and I am with the former here. Bachchan is simply first rate.
August 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM
AP, Punjab lift Aarakshan ban
TNN | Aug 14, 2011, 02.49AM IST
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Theatres in Punjab refrained from screening Prakash Jha’s ” Aarakshan” even as a statement from Jha’s production house on Saturday claimed that the Punjab and Andhra Pradesh governments had cleared the screening of the movie by revoking the statewide ban imposed on it.
Some cinema hall owners in Patiala and Ludhiana told TOI that they were waiting for the edited version of the movie and only after they get necessary permission from the police authorities will they would decide on screening it. Both states set up special committee to see if there was anything objectionable in the film.
“It is reassuring to know that the right to freedom of expression is a real right for every Indian citizen. We are working towards getting the film released in Uttar Pradesh as well,” Jha said.
Jha had moved the Supreme Court on Friday challenging the ban on the film on grounds of hurting the sentiments of the backward castes.
The ban has cost Uttar Pradesh. In Lucknow, the film would have fetched Rs 35-40 lakhs in two days. “The film was expected to do well because of big names and good publicity,” said UP entertainment tax commissioner Captain S K Dwivedi. “Average collection in UP are quite similar to that in Maharashtra,” he explained.
In Chennai, around 100 PMK activists were rounded up by the police on Saturday when they were demanding a ban on the film in Tamil Nadu. PMK workers alleged the movie was “against the ethos of social justice” and demeans the reservation bill.
August 14, 2011 at 12:38 PM
August 14, 2011, 12:14 pm
‘The Help’ Impresses, but ‘Glee’ Does Not
By BROOKS BARNES
A lavish marketing campaign and positive reviews powered “The Help” to better-than-expected results at the weekend box office, but moviegoers ignored a “Glee” concert movie, a troubling sign for that TV musical’s hopes of continued cultural dominance.
The No. 1 movie in North American theaters was a holdover: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Fox) sold an estimated $27.5 million in tickets for a stellar two-week total of $105 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. “The Help” (DreamWorks Studios/Disney) was second with about $25.5 million for a total of $35.4 million since opening on Wednesday; a notably large African-American audience turned out for this film, an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel.
“Final Destination 5” (Warner Brothers) was a soft third, taking in about $18.4 million, while “The Smurfs” (Sony Pictures Entertainment) chugged away in fourth place, with an estimated $13.5 million in sales for a three-week total of $101.5 million. The comedy “30 Minutes or Less” (Sony/Media Rights Capital) sputtered in fifth place with $13 million in ticket sales. “Glee 3-D” (Fox), took in $5.7 million, an 11th-place result.
As noted by Deadline.com, a tongue-in-cheek “Glee 3-D” publicity message, sent to reporters before the movie’s release, proved prescient: “For two years, we’ve been mercilessly bombarded with the pubescent nonsense of carnival sideshow freaks calling themselves ‘The Glee Club.’ And now, they’re trying to shove a 3-D concert movie down our throats.”
.
August 14, 2011 at 4:37 PM
satyam
I understand that but this guy but this shaurya went beyond the
limits of decency,
That doesnt mean i am right..anyway i will refrain from using
abusive words,
But yeah the tweets from taran_adarsh do inidcate all of the above…
regards
Naren
August 14, 2011 at 5:05 PM
Way above my expectations, this BO performance inspite of the ban.
August 14, 2011 at 5:20 PM
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/3d-format-rediscovered-by-hollywood-bollywood/1/17544.html
August 15, 2011 at 4:48 AM
is democracy alive in the world’s largest secular state?
here, we also had a reservation policy for many years.
Mandela’s pragmatism, and near Gandhian approach ensured a change in mind-set, though there are still traces of the old guard trying to upset the apple cart.
India, with it’s massive population, and the bulk of it still economically disadvantaged, will find this “attitude” and responses from that sector, precisely because of deep-rooted ethnicity/cultural backgrounds..
.the more affluent, middle-class will push that type of prejudice in the back-burner——–
and carry on with the job of creating wealth!
August 15, 2011 at 6:54 AM
Film has collected 18cr in its weekend which is very disappointing and as per BOI,it has lost around 2cr due to controversy.In case we add these 2cr then also it is never a healthy total.As the reports are not positive the film is gonna crash on Tuesday very badly.
August 15, 2011 at 7:02 AM
Gurgaon. film resumes there and morning showed around 45%-50% but because the film has positive responce the film advance booking looks very good.
August 15, 2011 at 7:26 AM
How can 18cr be called a below average total by BOI! 18cr in itself is a good total and this is despite all the bans! And when Delhi Belly had a similar opening weekend total,the said it was great! Double standards!
August 15, 2011 at 7:46 AM
BOI are toatal inaccurate,since its Amitabhs film…there a total will be very low anyway…who beleives them anyway
August 15, 2011 at 8:27 AM
Delhi Belly had no major star and also was a low budget movie but here scenario is different as Amitabh Bachchan,Saif Ali,Deepika starrer film collecting 18cr in its weekend is always below average.Despite huge promotions and so much controversy,the film should have opened huge.Big b went from every pillar to post to promote this film but results are discouraging.What is the fault of BOI here?Should they lie like IBOS?
August 15, 2011 at 8:36 AM
18 cr if true is more than expectation .. today is holiday so might see a 25 cr extended weekend
u.p is the second biggest market after mumbai these days and gurgaon is the biggest multiplex scenario and movie lost out big way here ….off theme and fairly controversial stuff … one has to see how it holds out
August 15, 2011 at 8:40 AM
@taran excuse me dude but your posts are always always negative toward Amitabh Bachchan and his movies! And now you are you are being inconsistent with your posts. Firstly,you have been the one that’s been stating that Amitabh is not such a big star b.o wise anymore,when Bbuddah and DB were releasing you were insinuating that Imran has a bigger b.o pull than BigB,and now u say that DB had no major star! Hypocritical much! And FYI Imran is considered as a major star today so DB did have a star,it had extensive promotions way more than Aarakshan,yet BOI were saying that DB figures were good but not Aarakshan! Vijay is right BOI are inaccurate and they always put down BigB’s films!
Btw your continous efforts to put AB down are getting stale,that’s like the only thing u post when you come here!Seems like you are secretly obsessed with Mr Bachchan! Don’t blame u since he has that effect on people even haters!
August 15, 2011 at 8:43 AM
lost out 2 cr is as idiotic as one could say also nizam(hyderabad ) is a fairly big center.. i guess the movie has resumed there from saturday …
do you first know on how many print db was released and in how many print aakrakshan is running
on to jha he again made controversy from nowhere just like his sonia gandhi like comparison with katrina’s character to incease eyeballs in rajneeti
August 15, 2011 at 8:48 AM
Aarakshan Has Below Average Weekend
Monday 15th August 2011 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Aarakshan had an below average weekend of around 18 crore nett. The film had problems through the weekend as a few places which started on Friday were suspended on Saturday and then re-started on Sunday.
The film started screenings in Punjab on Sunday evening and as of Monday morning the film is now being screened all over apart from UP. The business lost over the first weekend days is around 2.75 crore nett. A clean release would have meant a near 21 crore nett total which would have been an okay result for the film.
The film has Independence Day holiday on Monday which should give the film another good day but the test will from Tuesday onwards.
August 15, 2011 at 8:48 AM
Aarakshan Makes Rs 18 Cr At Box-Office Over Weekend
August 15th, 2011 by Koimoi.com Team
Exclusive report by Koimoi.com on the box-office status of Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan starrer Aarakshan.
The controversial Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aarakshan (read review), made Rs. 18 to Rs. 18.5 at the box-office on its first weekend (approx all-India net collections). The collections for the Prakash Jha film, which has been in the eye of the storm recently, improved slightly over the weekend.
Aarakshan started off with Rs. 4.75 crore on Friday (August 12). Collections improved over the next two days with the film raking in Rs. 6.25 to Rs. 6.5 crores on Saturday and Rs. 7 to Rs. 7.25 crore on Sunday.
The film, which dealt with the touchy topic of caste-based reservations in India, was banned in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh before its release citing “law-and-order problems”. Fortunately, the ban on the film was lifted in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday and the ban on Punjab removed from Sunday.
August 15, 2011 at 8:48 AM
please don’t get hyper and try out yoga it will surely help and ya try to make your claim with logic just by shouting whole world knows this is that without even without proper fact and knowledge is pretty dangerous and make one look idiotic
August 15, 2011 at 8:54 AM
boi or ibos roflmao … if they are sure about their number they would haver never put disclaimer (try to read what is written there)on their respective sites ….these are just estimation
btw just try to look at fairly transparent site called box office mojo for hollywood… they give numbers and not verdict as verdict is relative…
August 15, 2011 at 8:58 AM
BoC:
Box Office: Aarakshan takes good opening despite ban in 3 states
MUMBAI: Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan saw a decent opening at the box office despite not being released in territories like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.
The movie saw occupancy of approximately 60-70 per cent in places where it was screened.
While the film was passed by the Censor Board without any cuts, the release of Aarakshan was banned in the above mentioned states by the respective state governments due to fears that it may cause law and order problems. This in turn will lead to a substantial loss in revenue with Uttar Pradesh being an important and large market for Hindi films.
Amitabh Bachchan, who plays an important role in the film, wrote on his blog, “Without any knowledge of what the film contains, without any desire to determine the trust and the most basic principles of law of democracy, it has merely strengthened my and many others’ fear of the weakness it conveys of our belief in governance and its ethics.”
It remains to be seen whether the movie does manage to hit theaters in the three states over the weekend.
August 15, 2011 at 9:59 AM
satyam,
the film is going in the right direction,
people seems to liking the film..
punjab lifts the ban aswell.
today being holiday in india the film will be helped..
August 15, 2011 at 10:10 AM
agree, the numbers seem to be pretty good despite the lost revenue.
August 15, 2011 at 2:17 PM
18.5 crore 3 day weekend is very good considering the 3 banned states and underhand ban in Gurgaon as well as Ramzan period. BOI calling it below average is as usual negative way of reporting for Bachchan movies. Its a good opening not a below average one. And Monday holiday must have added another 5-6 crore which would make it a 24-25 crore extended weekend which is very good considering the issues.
August 15, 2011 at 9:07 AM
Lol,thıs ıs your famous lıne,fınd another way to make ur poınt!
August 15, 2011 at 9:09 AM
Filmfan….I never said that Imran Khan is a bigger star than big b but what came to surface during the release time of D B and BHTB was that Imran was the winner at B.O but that never makes him bigger than big b.Who told you that Imran Khan is a big draw at B.O?His only two films have done well and both are Ak production and you can guess yourself that Amir was backing him in both cases.Here you yourself are making Imran bigger than big b not me. Whole world knows that Amitabh’s movies don’t do well at B.O and BOI simply reports the truth.Bachchan fans have become habitual of making hue and cry over this and abusing BOI has become a routine matter on this site.If a movie opens well and becomes a clean hit,how come any trade site can downplay that?In case any such site does that then how long can that site maintain crediblity and best example in this case is the fate of IBOS.No one except Bachchan believes in their reporting now.
August 15, 2011 at 11:17 AM
@ Taran Lol there u go agaın makıng generalısıng comments,lıke the “whole world” knows thıs and that. Serıously dude ıt’s just u here that constantly brıngıng AB,down. As for Imran yeah I don’t see hım as a draw for me but I know other’s of my age,you know the campus goıng lot and alsı the school kıds for whom he ıs a major star and a b.o draw and the fılmfare portrays hım as one too! Anyways poınt I was makıng ıs that DB dıd have a star that’s Imran ıt dıd around the same busıness as Aarakshan and the latter had bans on ıt’s release. So your poınt u were tryıng to make ıs plaın sılly. BOI ıs a crap sıte btw.anyways arguıng wıth u ıs poıntless because u go on and on lıke a broken record wıth your ramblıngs!
August 15, 2011 at 12:43 PM
I havent seen the film, but I can say this despite not watching it that Big B, the magnificient persona and actor that he is, should invest his time doing films like these having strong roles for him, rather than nodding at filmmakers like Puri Jagannath who give tributes to the angry man image of him.. It was a pity to see him reduced to an old caricature of himself in the film. Jagannath did nothing except making a fool of Bachchan and I was seriously pissed off with his ‘Look at me.. Im still so sexy n cool and give others a run for their money at this age’ demeanour
I understand why that didnt work for him.. Aarakshan, even though it might have its limitations, is a far better choice for him at this age.
August 15, 2011 at 1:25 PM
tonymontana,
After watching bhtb i felt dissappointed
with the flashy image,i totally thought that Amitabh is gone as far he could as far as acting was concerned but again
Aarakshan changed and he has performed on power-pack
August 15, 2011 at 4:30 PM
agreed totally with Tonymontata,BHTB is the worst pick of him more than Aag.
August 16, 2011 at 2:22 AM
Beg to disagree… I loved AB in bhtb and would love to see him more roles like this!
August 15, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Satyam: Here is link…my ideal “brahman”:
August 16, 2011 at 9:32 AM
dimps thnks yaar.. any idea on a good book to read on chankaya?
August 16, 2011 at 9:43 AM
Chanakya himself wrote books…our people are busy with Plato and Socrates but no one cares to read our own (indian) great minds…total spinelessness we have Rooney! We don’t even know the names of the Books! Arghhhhh.
August 16, 2011 at 9:45 AM
Not just you and me Rooney…am talking about whole India/indians. Total pessimism hai, right now.
August 16, 2011 at 10:30 AM
ok ok miss but thats coz we dont know how to sell it.. it aint cool…..
we dont respect our history imo.. but i do
so i want to read it, i recently even started reading Gita.
see i knw Arthsastra written by great man, but i was thinking of reading some interpretation of the work as it is tough to understand.
August 16, 2011 at 9:55 PM
Tara hotu thodi links dikra…vachaJ ho-K
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8126007729/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=8121506557&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0QHY8ES9TR1YK66BMT8G
http://bss.sfsu.edu/mbar/ECON605/Arthashastra.pdf
http://www.bharatadesam.com/literature/kautilya_arthashastra/arthashastra.php
August 15, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Did M S Dhoni just make a comment…..the (emphasis) cricket captain of our erstwhile deposed team?….well, what do u know…..I do agree that the performance of AB is tops, although I have not seen the movie….when I saw the trailer, I was thrilled and could not waait for its release…..will c it after the fasting season…….
August 15, 2011 at 3:30 PM
When AB took on the role of Aarakshaan, he knew it was a controversial subject.
but the furore surrounding its banning is somewhat surprising…..Prakash Jha, of Raajneeti fame, has, once again flirted with a touchy subject—-and should be commended…..why should our bright directors (Om Prakash Mehra/Rang de…….) And KJo (My Name………) Not do something topical?
August 15, 2011 at 4:20 PM
This is well worth a watch for a nice performance from Big B. Very much by far the central theme of the film, his role is well played. Bajpai again delivers another sly performance as a crooked prinicipal. Really enjoyed the theme of the film and though its lengthy, its pretty much engaging throughout.
August 15, 2011 at 4:31 PM
haven’t been able to get to it yet unfortunately but hope to by the end of the week. Thanks for the take.
August 15, 2011 at 4:25 PM
policy of BOI,
Which ever movie has AB snr or AB jnr it will face the following:
1) ACtual figures = good, BOI = not upto the mark
2) Actual figures below average – BOI = disaster
3) Actual figures excellent – BOI – commission earner
SO all stars around can do a better opening than AB snr or AB jr
such is the madness followed by these “expterts”
August 15, 2011 at 10:22 PM
Fine piece by Rangan:
http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/aarakshan-845845/
August 16, 2011 at 1:49 AM
now Box Office India says Aarakashan collect well on independence day.
August 16, 2011 at 3:00 AM
This should be the lesson for those who abuse BOI and label them as bigb haters.This is d point that i always wanted to make clear to some fanatics that whenever a film does well noone on this planet can downplay that.
August 16, 2011 at 3:06 AM
what they said ? they have been caught again with their pants down again
most of their verdicts are bull shits ….
if you go by komal’s past street journals which are available onlineone can easily see how much of bachchan’s old movies are underreported so nothing surprising here
August 16, 2011 at 5:54 AM
BOI = big b hater,
BOI is still crap site,anti-bachan site ,always pulling down Amitabh films.
Aarakshan is doing well all over & BOI have to eat “humble pie”..
August 16, 2011 at 3:02 AM
off topic :
taran and nahata himself have have admitted in their respective magzines that numbers from some far centres reach late ….. its an interesing trend that they may fight over the movie and allmost give same numbers which these days on par with portals
logically its not possible at all unless the parties have common stake
these guys are in this field for over 20 years and they know how to play with numbers
btw why jayshah stopped reporing ? have they stopped proving the numbers
August 16, 2011 at 3:13 AM
*reporting*
indian box office is/was never scientific and its a reality compleate numbers tend to reach late if any have that ….even komal nahata and taran adarsh change their verdict in their respective annual rating which is totally opposite to what they say in media instantly
same number by all on all count is pratically impossible … its just another way to fool with different face/opinion….
August 16, 2011 at 3:39 AM
aarakshan made me feel like i was watching a 1980 film…filled with cliches…it has good intentions but…its really like watching some natak feel to it…i and my fren went yesterday last show for the film 50 pc full…we were really bored throughout..i felt first half was reall bad second was better if all those unwanted cliches were not used….my fren tol me he felt like he was watching a bhojpuri movie….wish prakash jha had taken some help from karan johar to make it little more visually pleasing…bhopal seems to have really nyc girls…all the junior artists stood out some even overshadowed deepika..:P
August 16, 2011 at 6:44 AM
taran adarsh says Aarakshan collected Rs.26 crores over extended weekened.
August 16, 2011 at 7:30 AM
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/top5/index.html
August 16, 2011 at 7:38 AM
BOI still underplaying things;
Aarakshan Collects Well On Independence Day
Tuesday 16th August 2011 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Aarakshan did well on Independence Day as it collected around 6.50 crore nett as per early estimates which means a 25 crore nett total for four days. Independence day is one of the biggest holidays of the year and with it falling on Monday is a big boost for the film.
The film had its best day in East Punjab as all of the circuit was screening the film. In other circuits the drops ranged from 5-20% from its Sunday business.
The fate of the film will be decided over the next few days but with the Independence day collections, the 25 crore nett total in four day is decent collection.
The film has done good to decent business at multiplexes over the first four days while single screen business is low.
August 16, 2011 at 7:55 AM
BOI is upto its usual tricks.Every word they right is corrupted.See how they try to play down the 6.5 crore Mon – “Independence day is one of the biggest holidays of the year and with it falling on Monday is a big boost for the film”.
The BO performance is really good. I would imagine 50 crores is a safe bet.
August 16, 2011 at 7:58 AM
If there was no ban then I think film collection would have been around 30cr but 26cr is still outstanding..
August 16, 2011 at 7:31 AM
this is definitely a very good number given all the bans.
August 16, 2011 at 9:33 AM
The Supreme Court today sought response from the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government on filmmaker Prakash Jha’s petition challenging the state government’s decision to ban screening of ‘Aarakshan’.
A bench of justices Mukundkam Sharma and A R Dave issued notice to the Centre and the state government asking them to file their response by Friday. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on August 19.
more here
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/aarakshan-sc-issues-notice-to-centre-up-govt/176116-8.html
August 16, 2011 at 12:14 PM
Satyam. Is there any thread possible on anna hazare movement against corruption? Plz consider it seriously.
August 16, 2011 at 12:21 PM
BOI has given a fare judgement again proving that it is one of the best Boxoffice site in india .
if anyone think they are underplaying Aarakshan success than Hrithik fans will believe they are more harsh on ZNMD by giving only Hit tag even though movie has collected 85 cr net.
First time in history of indian Cinema, a movie is called only hit even though it may cross 90 cr in india only.
Hope, BOI will give judgement to SRK,Akshay and Aamir movie’s considering same yardstick.
August 16, 2011 at 12:48 PM
if znmd gets anything more than hit status it anyway will be ridiculous … budget is close to 65 cr ….proper box office sites tends to claim accountancy and transparency and they don’t hide
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/cpages.php?pageName=disc
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August 16, 2011 at 1:04 PM
Taran adarsh #Singham 1st week 51 cr,2nd week 26 cr, 3rd week 12cr, 4th *wknd* 5.21 cr.
Total:Rs 94.21 cr nett.
Singham all set to touch 100 cr, 5 cr 4th weekend is huge with competition frm arakshan,
btw arakshan has huge drop on tue where i stays. i dnt no abt rest of d country,
August 16, 2011 at 1:17 PM
http://boxofficereport.net/why-isnt-znmd-a-blockbuster-what-are-its-actual-overseas-collections/
Q. When Will ZNMD Be Called a BlockBuster ?
Saurav – Orrisa, India
A. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a high Budget Film with the budget being 55 cr. In Order to Call the Film a BlockBuster the Film Should Do Collections of Atleast 120 crores in India Only. But Looking at Current Situation it will not be able to go Beyond 90 cr. Hence, ZNMD Should be Rightly Called a Super Hit than a Blockbuster.
So according to this website @ 90 crore with budget of 55 crore, ZNMD should have been called Super hit.Taran is already calling it superhit.
Conclusion :BOI seems to be hrithik hater also, along with bachchans .
August 16, 2011 at 1:27 PM
its the same thing which i said …..giving random example will not serve purpose like for instance i can easily then how by this logic my names is khan for e.g has hit status in india … it has not done that ….it was a loss making body for fox in india
and this logic automatically questions many of the verdicts as well which are not consistent forget numbers
August 16, 2011 at 1:31 PM
btw in india first budget itself is not transparent …. different sources at time give different budget …
its alll convenient by their means
August 16, 2011 at 1:32 PM
actually if a Bachchan had done this film they wouldn’t even have called it a hit let alone a superhit!
August 16, 2011 at 1:27 PM
znmd wil end its lifetime colection @ 86 cr,
almost all source has gvn hit status except taran as he usualy gves good commentary & verdict for d movie whch he rates high(i.e the moviez whch he take bribe, nowadays almost all moviez)
August 16, 2011 at 1:31 PM
Taran has called it a superhit.
August 16, 2011 at 2:01 PM
taran is corupt,
btw taran gvs same verdict to almost all movie i.e super hit
db sh
m2 sh
znmd sh
singham sh
or else he rate above avg for small sucess
i dnt thnk boi is underreporting bachans movie, wth they can do when bachans movie opens to disastrous\poor response, boi is only reliable source, its only sites whch changes its verdicts aftr caling it poor\disaster etc if its trends well.
August 16, 2011 at 2:13 PM
taran is corrupt,since its bachan movie he is a corrupt,what a quote.
BOI are lousy site ,
according to them SHOLAY was superhit
Ashoka was a blocbuster when it could not even break a block…
Boi are a corrupt ,niusance and inaccurate site.
BOI declared bhootnath flopped on sunday but they could not see that surge began on monday onwards..
they are always under reporting bachan movies and even Aarakshan was same but then it came to them to eat a humble pie and admit that Aarakshan has done well…AARAKSHAN IS proper Amitabhs movie.
while he has taken credit for his failure and he can take credit for a hit film…
KBC 5 has started and he looks magic in that…
he should continue with this show and never to replaced by anyone else otherwise they always make a mess…
August 16, 2011 at 2:13 PM
logic:
what is small sucess and big sucess anyways …roi (return for investment)for small sucess at times is bigger than high grossers ( who hardly give profits) …
how movie opens is always evident by one thing and that is number on print count and its not related what any xyz thinks or site operates btw there is hardly any diference between taran or nahata ( or the portal which conviniently agree on same number and only difference being verdict )
all have common stakes and its just being different face
August 16, 2011 at 2:20 PM
“The egregious evilness of Manoj Bajpai (as Prabhakar’s nemesis Mithilesh Singh), who raises a glass of red wine, cackling madly at Prabhakar’s impending doom. (I was surprised there wasn’t a bottle of VAT 69 in that shot, held by a vamp with a gem in her navel and ostrich feathers in her hair.)
The choice for the audience, then, is finally this:whether to overlook the cinematic crudeness (but only by modern-day multiplex standards) and sink into a sturdily old-fashioned Hindi movie from the seventies or the fifties, when films still believed in being the change the filmmakers wanted to see, or to scoff at the rhetoric and the sentiment and the mirror held high in which we glimpse, shamefacedly, the warping of our society. I was frankly surprised by my engaged response to Aarakshan”—-lol
Sometimes movies are just an excuse to get entertained by B Rangan!!
August 16, 2011 at 2:44 PM
When BOI say Aarakshan has a good Monday for a Bachchan film then take it that it has done extraordinary business on Monday. Overall the 4 days have been good considering ban and Ramzan and it should do atlleast 45 crore or so going fwd. BTW, KBC 5 has started and Bachchan is magic again. He seems to get better with age. The charisma is there alongwith unmatched humility and talent. These are some of the qualities which have made Bachchan outshine the actors of his generation as well as current generation .
August 16, 2011 at 8:01 PM
Hi Satyam, Wishing you a speedy recovery. Came to know from Amitji’s blog comments that you are bit under weather..Hope you get well soon..
August 17, 2011 at 12:15 PM
thank you Rajesh..
August 16, 2011 at 8:26 PM
Dino….Please don’t jump to the conclusion so early.Contentwise this movie is weak and weekday falls will definitly be huge.This movie needs 55cr to break even but that seems very unlikely to happen.This is a superint flop and nothing can save it from that.
August 16, 2011 at 8:35 PM
The only way for Bachchan to deliver a clean hit is to make a movie either with Srk or Amir.With srk he has delivered hits like Mohabatein,K3G,VZ,KANK.So he needs srk badly otherwise a series of disasters is likely to come.
August 16, 2011 at 9:02 PM
Taran – does it mean an idiot in some language?
Only a moron with nothing to say would come back for more punishment.
August 16, 2011 at 11:59 PM
Was Paa, Baghban, Cheeni Kum, Sarkar, Black, Waqt etc have SRK or Aamir ??????
And don’t worry .. Aarakshan is doing very well .. 26 Crore wekeend with BAN at three states is excellent .. it will comfortably touch 50 Crore now.
August 16, 2011 at 11:48 PM
as like paheli and kank(was not a clean hit in india under any scenario) ..
baaghban , paa , black , bunty and buli etc on inverstment where clean hits and trade callled it so… try to make logic
“55 cr to make it even” …..
where you got that
in media whatever i have seen its sold to utv at compleate at around 40-45cr (including satelite etc)…
only a disilusioneed call call it super flop or something
and at last grow up and make sense for once
August 17, 2011 at 12:00 AM
and ya last days you where busy putting up delhi belly and aakrakshan ….
learn to give credit where its due …. delhi belly has A tag(though i never liked it) but it put up a commendable number and similarly aakrakshan is an issue based movie which from on set in india have never grossed big
these are commendable number for this genre
August 17, 2011 at 12:08 AM
singham will touch 100 cr …. second ajay movie to do so in 2 years …… and somewhere i can feel bol bachchan will do so ( but again they should never destroy an evergreen classic like golmal)
August 17, 2011 at 12:37 AM
have to say you act as compleate jerk( i have to say as you are a complate sort of nuisance on any topic) ….you are fit enough for shaan khan like thing only on blog
read on what context that comment was only … its you who have brought vz into context(with 3 min role of bachchan) and its you who said bachca n can give clean hit with ceratain srk…. learn to comprehend before calling other illogical with valid points
btw kank has crashed in india after first week and didn’t trended well( again you brought the example only)
on budget and everything nothing justifies its clean hit status … none in trade to called it as clean hit
August 17, 2011 at 12:46 AM
and ya i will not refrain to call you with names if you start the thing
anyway will be difficult for aarakshan to hold simply because neither it have the masala nor the timepass quotient ….
i would lovced to be proved wrong anyway …….but ya 45-50cr on genre will be decent acheivment
August 17, 2011 at 12:48 AM
KANK was not clean hit .. in fact it was clear flop as it crashed badly after weekend. Huhhh .. 42+ Crore overall Nett business for such a big movie which was expected 85+ Crore.. in 2006 .. was outright flop ..
August 17, 2011 at 5:24 AM
satyam: since you have deleted most of taran’s comment delete mine to as most of them where in response and now look odd
55% drop from holidays is normal and the movie has no competition till bodyguard’s rellease… don’t see ramu movie vreating any waves… a half decent weekend will sail it through
August 17, 2011 at 3:53 PM
KANK was a success all right despite the crash in week 2.. I dont think anyone in the trade called it a flop.
It is, as a matter of fact, Abhishek Bachchan’s second biggest grosser after Dhoom 2
August 18, 2011 at 12:24 AM
No way .. Guru was ahead of KANK.
August 18, 2011 at 5:32 AM
and no one in trade called it hit … movie is judged by its business in india…
btw have watched aarakshan …writing a detailed review soon
August 17, 2011 at 2:11 AM
i don’t need a low life to tell me anything about mentality and arrogance… what excuses first learn to talk properly for 5 min
and before anything you are seriously suffereing from Schizophrenia( of which anti bachnania is part of syndrome) … which is evident in any thread daily wheather we are dusussing hollywood classic or anything you start your daily rant
satyam: you better start moderation and check spammers
August 17, 2011 at 3:50 AM
again BOI and boxoffice kings show their colours.The movie crashes very badly on tuesday 2.5 cr for tuesday if this is
true then its fallen around 50-60% now how does this indicate that the movie has no hope?
we have not even come to end of the week? as per the figures of BOI..assuming they are reading from gods mouth directly
2.5 * 3 = 7.5 + 25 = 32.5 with bans etc? again this has full weekend so how can we be so pre mature in jumping to conclusions.
i really cant believe why they are doing this? Taran go and seek some mental asylum… u r gone nuts..idiot will be you
and your family not us…
This is totally ridiculous. Again some creatures here and there looking to pull aarakhshan…but why…?
August 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM
Taran, Ra1 needs 125 cr to be average.Anything below that is flop.
I hope you agree with that.
August 17, 2011 at 5:37 AM
judst checked this guy claim on this site ….it says bhtb as flop roflmao
its a breakeven movie and was not a loss for any party wheather producer , distributors or exhibitors ….correct verdict would have been average
August 17, 2011 at 5:49 AM
One thing i cant understand about BOI– they are very quick to dismiss films prospects starring Snr AB and ABHI.
They cant see the writing on the wall.
First they used independence day as an excuse to generalise the movie’s prospect. Given the fact the film
outstanding business they passed off by saying it did well.
As i said the movie did fall by 50 percent but it has grossed around 3.5 to 4 crores as per tarans tweet.
Now that they have passed a statement most of the anti AB creatures would have pre-mature ejaculations about
the movies prospects..
i expect to see these creatures to give reference to this…lol
At the end of the day the film will be a hit and no one can deny that…
till then lets watch these creatures to stoop different levels of insanity
naren
August 17, 2011 at 6:41 AM
Aarakshan will be not just a hit but a super hit,
Boi is just kidding,its their april fools day,
do not beleive a word what “taran” says,he jumps to his own conclusion,he is having a nightmare of Aarakshan.
he is gone weaker by day since Aarakshan release.
friday: aarakshan was slow.
saturday picks up and do wonderful bussiness
sunday was same
monday was very good.
tuesday :suddenly people realise that the film is average …CRASH happens and thats what taran thinks..
AARAKSHAN WILL RECOVER ITS MONEY AND BY COMING WEEKEND IT WILL DO WELL AGAIN
August 17, 2011 at 8:40 AM
lol
August 17, 2011 at 8:09 PM
ironical, isnt it?
August 17, 2011 at 8:50 AM
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Losing out on a golden opportunity
August 17, 2011 – 08:41 IST
I’ve often heard film-makers tell their publicists, let’s generate publicity/create controversy to hype the film. I am sure, Prakash Jha would never utter this sentence, but the fact remains that the publicity/controversy his film AARAKSHAN generated prior to its release only harmed the business prospects of his film. For, the producers/distributors of AARAKSHAN would stand to lose at least Rs 5 crores because of the ban imposed on the screening of the film in some states and also due to the harm caused by the controversies surrounding the film. Let’s face it, moviegoers — especially the family audiences — are skeptical to watch a film when political parties shout slogans and cops are stationed outside theatres.
Come to think of it, this was a 4-day weekend and what a weekend it would’ve been had AARAKSHAN got the benefit of a ‘smooth’, non-controversial release. Saturday, 13 August was Raksha Bandhan and Monday, 15 August was Independence Day… a long weekend indeed. Had it not been for the noise created by the politicians, AARAKSHAN would’ve easily collected Rs 35 cr + nett in its 4-day weekend.
This isn’t the first time! Prior to AARAKSHAN, several films were not allowed to release/were banned in various states. The question that crosses my mind is, won’t the audience watch those films on pirated DVDs in the process? Forget pirated DVDs, you can download a movie on your PC/laptop from various sites, sitting anywhere across the globe. The loss a film-maker/distributor undergoes in such a scenario is incalculable.
Talking of AARAKSHAN, the fate of the film now depends on how it fares on weekdays. Also, the film needs to perform in its second weekend as well, if it has to sail smoothly at the box-office.
August 17, 2011 at 8:55 AM
itching to see it……….saw trailers……..must say the performances of three stars will garner some awards. come 2012-they are saif, manoj and AB
August 17, 2011 at 9:01 AM
BOI’s commentary is pathetic as usual. Will find support amongst its panty wearing fans but is patently delusionary. BOI is actually more lame than any other BO site as it tries to hide its agenda, unlike IBOS which wers it on its sleeve and is there for all to see.
August 17, 2011 at 9:06 AM
yes saw that.. calling the Tue number a crash.. the thing is after a long 4 day weekend the Tue drop is generally more than it would be otherwise. I would expect a good second weekend here. But they’ve been at it with this film from day 1. Suddenly the lost revenue becomes the lowest number possible, the weekend jumps are minimal, so on and so forth. I do agree with Taran here that 35 crores would have been achieved with a normal release. After that 60 crores would have been doable if not 70. But it’s very hard to pick up the momentum later.
August 17, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Relax guys,what is the fun to fight over these silly issues?
August 17, 2011 at 3:51 PM
Amitabh Bachchan’s worst films:
http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-big-b-and-his-most-recent-big-blunders/20110816.htm
August 17, 2011 at 6:35 PM
By Raja Sen. The tripe that he writes is not worth anyone’s time.
August 17, 2011 at 11:04 PM
Yes it definitly is.
August 18, 2011 at 5:41 AM
Any wednesday updates of Aarakshan?
August 18, 2011 at 6:06 AM
While the first half of movie deals with the debate of reservation( ironically jha avoided the mention of creamy layer and it titls mostly in favour of pro reservation)… the second half deals with one of the most maverick talisman of Indian education system who used the education as powerful tool for upliftment of poor and trodden in the time of reservation . Somewhere along the line on Prabhakar ANNAND you see the image of Annand Kumar and in super tabela you can feel the game changing SUPER 30 and
ironically jha belong to same state .
August 18, 2011 at 6:12 AM
With aarakshan prakhash jha covers mostly uncovered reservation .While gangajal and apharan where more close to artstream cinema with rajneeti he has fully moved into commercial stream but he sensibilities is a mixed bag of artstream real cinema and commercial cinema which was evident in rajneeti and here to . While rajneeti dealt with the toal decay of democracy and how it can be manipulated with the godfather/mahabharata angle aakrakshan deals with the education system and its transformation.
First half is real and second half more commercial
August 18, 2011 at 6:18 AM
peformance wise …. one man show totally amitabh bachchan who is aging like wine and keeps on getting better ….though vajpayee matched him mostly in aks but here bachchan totally give the lesson on how to to underplay ,pause and at times outbursts
saif totally lacks the diction on small town boy with humble background …..at times his english accent is evident but overall is decent
August 18, 2011 at 6:25 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Kumar
“The popularity of Super 30 can be gauged by the fact that Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan was happy to admit that he learnt the nuances of teaching mathematics from Anand Kumar in the Prakash-Jha produced film, Aarakshan, which revolves round the growing commercialisation of the Indian education system. Jha said he had called Anand to his Mumbai office for preparing viedo footages of his style of teaching”
second half is totally dedicated to him and its good to see portrayl of someone like him in indian cinema
‘at times i have seen only big b and aamir prasing him to hilt openly ……
August 18, 2011 at 7:09 AM
>and ironically jha belong to same state .
Why ironically?
August 18, 2011 at 1:41 PM
ironically because backdrop of story and shooting is bhopal like rajneeti but his inspiration is the guy from his home state
August 18, 2011 at 10:32 AM
Shame on u guyz,
u stil cal arakshan tue fig decent. it has 50% drop frm fri when movie was nt released in punjab, ap.
it releasd in ap, punjab on sun & fall flater on tue.
if arakshan has cmplte release then tue fig would cmes in lower side,
nowadays imran khan, emraan hashmi can cross 35 cr week 1 without any holiday,
i am nt bachan hater to be frank i lovd bhtb very much, bt my problem with arakshan as i felt sleepy in theatre,
August 18, 2011 at 11:24 AM
cocept is good the film collection will be good.
Aarakshan proved that friday was slow but sat,sun,mon was very good collcetion but obviously the film will drop on weekdays..people do work for living…Aarakshan will do well again this coming weekend…
August 18, 2011 at 4:43 PM
Again BOI is playing tricks, they didnt report the boxoffice collections for
Wednesday and Thursday in a fear that their hypthetical assumptions about the
movie may become false.
I would really think BOI is the least reliable source…..
August 19, 2011 at 4:43 AM
One full page article on Aarakshan in Hindustand Times shows that Aarakshan grossed Rs.58.5 Crores.
August 19, 2011 at 4:44 AM
sorry not article it is a poster
August 19, 2011 at 4:52 AM
Boxofficekings says aarakshan collected 37 crores in week one.