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337 Responses to “Mere Brother ki Dulhan & Bodyguard (ongoing), the rest of the box office (last week’s post updated)”
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has taken a very good opening of 80% plus at multiplexes at most places in the country. Delhi NCR and Punjab were super strong as was Ahmedabad.
Places like Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad saw full houses at some of the shows. The opening was bit lower in places like Nagpur and Jodhpur but still at 70% which is good.
The fresh promos, hit music and very entertaining look of the film did the trick and got Mere Brother Ki Dulhan a very good start and it is all set to have a very good weekend at the box office.
Bodyguard has grossed a humungous 109-110 crore nett as per early estimates in its extended nine day first week. The film smashed all box office records initially as four of its first five days were amongst the biggest ever. It also held up very well on Monday.
The falls in the business started from Tuesday as the film had a huge release and for Bodyguard technically it was the end of the week. The seven day business also broke every circuit record apart from Mysore and Tamil Nadu/Kerala. The business on Monday was 8.50 crore nett while Thursday was around the 4.25 crore nett mark.
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The start to the second week (today) is likely to see a further drop as its screen space in multiplexes is reduced by 40%. Tomorrow should see a jump and it is that jump which determine its second week business and its lifetime business. At the moment its is heading for a finish in the 135-145 crore nett range.
MBKD again underlines the lure of Katrina. She is becoming a bonafide BO force, something of a rarity amongst female leads these days. Saw her on KBC and she is a refreshing change.
On a different note, there was a fifteen second preview of an upcoming Ranbir Kapoor apprearance on KBC and it reminded me why I thought this guy was going to tgo to he top.
Katrina has an uncanny sense about the box office. She’s picked winners across different genres. Her appeal continues to mystify me. She seems somewhat insipid-looking and I haven’t been able to discover any kind of talent in her so far! This is not the Hema Malini model where you had an utterly gorgeous actress who was also a great dancer even if she couldn’t act at all most days.
B.O. update: ‘M.B.K.D.’ takes a flying start
- By Taran Adarsh, September 9, 2011 – 16:11 IST
The film industry is back in form! Last week, BODYGUARD opened to an overwhelming, record-breaking start and now, MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN has also embarked on a fantastic start at the ticket window. The film had an 80% to 90% start at most screens across the country [at several places it was 100%], making its distributors jump with joy.
The fresh pairing coupled with the vibrant and eye-catching promos as well as the hit musical score have contributed to the terrific start. The youth has thronged in large numbers and the Day 1 as well as the Weekend 1 numbers are expected to be big.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan took a huge opening in Ahmedabad with many multiplexes being 100% and others near 100%. The audience counts for the morning are below.
Katrina-Imran’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Off To A Good Start At Box-Office
September 9th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Yash Raj Films’ Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opened to impressive houses this (9 September) morning. The initial generally ranged from 60-80% but was even 100% at several centres in North India. For instance Silver City and Movie World multiplexes at Ghaziabad drew full houses in the morning shows – and this in spite of heavy rains. Even at Spice multiplex, Noida, the four morning shows were all packed to capacity.
The hit songs and the colourful look of the film seem to have lured the audiences to the cinemas resulting in the good initial.
Bodyguard Nets Rs. 101.45 Crore In Seven Days!
September 7th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Bodyguard has crossed the Rs. 100 crore net mark within the first seven days of its release. The Salman Khan starrer has collected a historic Rs. 101.45 crore (all-India net) at the box-office till Tuesday (September 6).
While Bodyguard thrilled audiences and raked in a superb Rs. 86.35 crore over its five-day weekend, the film added another Rs. 8.75 crore and Rs. 6.35 crore to its kitty on Monday and Tuesday respectively. After breaking all opening day and weekend records, the film is on its way to breaking more records by the end of its first week at the theatres.
I find Katrina to be a fairly classy presence off-screen. She is not fake like Aishwarya nor she is into shooting her mouth off like Kareena. I think she is fairly grounded and has a very good sense of reality.
I saw MBKD today. I went expecting a brainless, saccharine movie that would be salvaged solely by the cuteness of the male leads. It was totally brainless and saccharine, but I ended up liking it a little more than I had expected to. The music is catchy, the songs are well choreographed and (shockingly enough) Katrina made an endearing lead!
She has the biggest role in the movie, and I was reluctantly impressed by her. She’s never been particularly talented, and I think she was quite average looking at the beginning of her career, but with hard work (and lots of cosmetic surgery, I’m sure), she has really transformed herself into a glamorous, super-fit (if generic) beauty, a graceful dancer and a charismatic actress. That’s right- despite her lack of acting skills, the extremely mediocre material she was stuck with and the manic, OTT nature of her character- she actually managed to charm me. And it’s not like I’m a biased fan- I’ve hated her in everything pre-ZNMD.
I really think she should start charging at least 10 crore per film from now on. Its preposterous that Imran Khan gets paid more than her (and gets first billing in the film credits). She has the most stellar B.O. record of any of the current film stars (male OR female) in terms of the percentage of her films that are hits. She’s the only actress today who has a significant box office draw and she’s a perfect fit for the vapid glamour doll-item girl-superficially westernized heroine prototype that is unfortunately so popular today.
And I think that she should maintain a balance between playing the insignificant trophy girlfriend in big blockbusters, and doing fluffy, light-hearted rom-coms like this where she has the main role. This kind of role is tailor made for her- superficial romantic film, super-cute one-dimensional character, sexy songs. It’ll really help build a fan following that comes to watch films solely for her.
If she plays her cards right, she could become the next female superstar after Madhuri Dixit. I don’t think that she has even an iota of MD’s talent or screen presence, but she does seem to have some mysterious quality that makes the masses adore her. I don’t think that she’s just another hot bikini body who’ll be easily forgotten and replaced in a few years (which is sadly the case with almost all the other actresses). And ofcourse, she has plastic surgery to ensure that she will always look several years younger than she actually is (I cannot believe that she is only 27, she looked much, much older than 18 in Boom).
Yet to see the film but I am in total agreement about Katrina. She is THE female superstar of the present generation, be it due to luck or movie selection or whatever. BOwise, she IS the Madhuri/Sridevi of present times and while not electric, she is getting comfotable, perfermance-wise. I do think she is exrtremely good looking ad dwhile some may consider her plasticky, there is a definite charm. And, she is genuinely popular.
I will probably end up catching it this weekend in theatres. Not out of choice, I may add. And no, not because I am being cajoled by a bevy of ‘nubile’ Mila Kunis look alikes. Much better – my daughters.
agree somewhat with annoyed’s reading of katrina…didn’t know ZNMD wAs a watershed for katrina forothers too!!
“Much better – my daughters”– rajen uncle is also going to enjoy the katrina show with his daughters — all the best!!! Lol
Btw it was damn busy today but chances for catching mere brother tomorrow seem bright.
Illustrative of katrinas starpower — the multiplex that did not show the many Bollywood biggies is showing my brother…
Ps liked katrina in choo mantar
Mumbai, Sep 10 (IANS) In Bollywood, every actor tries his best to reach the top of the ladder and become number one, but according to Aamir Khan, who himself is credited with blockbuster hits like ‘Ghajini’ and ’3 Idiots’, Salman Khan is presently the number one box office star.
‘According to me Salman is ahead of me. In the manner in which his film ‘Bodyguard’ has got an opening, it has broken all records and today according to me, if there is anyone who is the number one box office star, then that is Salman,’ said Aamir.
‘He has proved with this film that he is ahead of all of us. I am very happy that his film is doing well. My good wishes are with him,’ Aamir told reporters here at the music launch of the film ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster’,’ he added.
‘Few days back I even had a chat with him on phone because he is in America. I’m glad that his health is also much better now. Infact I was the one who gave him the good news of the massive opening box collections of ‘Bodyguard’,’ said Amir.
‘I had texted his sister Alvira and I had told her that when Salman comes out of his surgery then show him my text first. I wanted to be the first one to give him this great news,’ he added.
When asked from the 46-year-old actor that since he shares such a great camaraderie with Salman, would he like to work with him again in a film, Aamir responded with a yes.
‘I would love to work with Salman. We have a great tuning so if we work together, it will be great fun. But till the time we don’t get a good script, a script that excites both of us, we can’t work together,’ said Aamir, who has shared screen space with Salman in the past in the film ‘Andaz Apna Apna’.
I am the 100 crore heroine: Kareena
Minakshi Saini, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 08, 2011
Kareena Kapoor has registered a lot of ‘firsts’ in her name. The 30-year-old has become the first actor to have delivered three blockbuster hits that have crossed the Rs 100cr mark, she is the first actor to have worked with the three Khans of Bollywood one after the other — Salman in Bodyguard,
related stories
“I am the 100 crore heroine — that’s what I get to hear from everyone around me. It is only because I have three films, Bodyguard, 3 Idiots and Golmaal 3, that have crossed the 100 crore mark at the box office collection,” she says with pride. “This is the first time any actor has earned such numbers. But I was prepared for this response, as I started my preparation ever since I was nine years of age, and would have done anything to get here,” she adds.
So does that make her the number one heroine in Bollywood? “Please keep me at number 100, as I don’t want to be part of this number game, but yes, I know I deserve what I have got, and I have really worked hard for it. Today, I am proud to say that I was competing with myself to up those numbers.”
Now that her career is going great, is she preparing to marry beau Saif Ali Khan in February next year, as rumour has it? “No preparations are on. Both Saif and I are concentrating on Agent Vinod. We will let everyone know once things get finalised. Right now, Saif’s father’s health is our prime concern. We are planning to come to Delhi to see him soon,” she says. Saif’s father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, is suffering from a lung disease.
LOL, appearing with Salman and Aamir in these films has given Kareena the wrong idea about what’s really drawing the audience in! But then Kareena has also always been the girl in a hurry, always been overconfident about herself and this sort of statement is par for the course for her.
With katrina Kaif (though I’d take Kareena over her) you can easily tell she’s a very genuine draw who has a very impressive box office track record across genres that cannot just be chalked up to other factors. But does Kareena believe it matters whether she or anyone else is in G3 or 3I or Bodyguard?! Sure she’s one of the major actresses currently but even that is almost a default position. Sadly there’s never been a poorer time for actresses in Bollywood than the current period. There are at best 2.5 major actresses!
very aptly put satyam….can’t agree more….i think producers have simply been in awe of ms. kapoor….despite many flops – she kept getting big banner films…and was finally lucky to be part of three 100 cr films….and her forthcoming releases with aamir, srk, saif….well all will be B.O. monsters….so yeah! in 2.5 major actresses…..she will still be counted one of those for years to come……at-least 3-5…..not bad….
kareena has always been self-congratulatory and arrogant, so this comment by her is hardly a surprise. frankly, i find her overrated. talented, yes, but definitely overrated in terms of acting prowess and box-office pull.
Kareena kapoor is pathetic both on and off screen.
Don’t even want to exert time to find the right single word to describe her….i announce an award for anybody suggesting an apt one…lol
Katrina in real life interviews does appear grounded , sensible and Importantly “thinks” before speaking …
She has worked v hard for her success . She has come a long way from “boom” ..somehow never found her devilishly good looking though….
I think that both Kareena and Katrina have extremely dislikeable offscreen images. Bebo is super self-absorbed and says a lot of rubbish without ever thinking about how terrible it makes her sound. And Kat is the other extreme- she’s too diplomatic and tries too hard to be the prim, proper Indian girl (perhaphs because she feels she has to prove her desi-ness?). I mean, come on, she’s a glamorous young actress but she acts like the headmistress of a prestigious girl’s school or something! She’s always so dull and sensible, she has this really fake facade, and doesn’t even let the tiniest hint of her real personality through. I find her ‘perfect bahu’ act especially annoying and hypocritcal considering that she’s best known for her sexy item numbers.
But I think that most Bollywood actresses (and actors) really need better PR people.They generally come across as either sleazy (mostly the men), spoilt or totally vapid and uninteresting. If they weren’t celebrities, I don’t think that I would even want to have drink with a lot of them! Of all the Bollywood actresses I think that Lara Dutta has the best offscreen image- she’s sophisticated, witty, intelligent and does not pretend to be some innocent little girl. I I really like Madhuri, Juhi and Kajol as well, they seem much more real than the present lot. And Nandita Das is just lovely. From the filmmakers, I think that Zoya Akhtar is very endearing and Farah Khan is abrasive, but atleast she’s entertaining.
“I find her ‘perfect bahu’ act especially annoying and hypocritcal considering that she’s best known for her sexy item numbers.”–lol annoyed.
But she does “play” this part well –she does appear quite disciplined btw.
Just watched clips of katrina-Imran on kbc with bachchan.
Overall mood was good and katrina(&even bachchan) were relatively uninhibited- good rapport….
Imran comes across as a very nice person(but not a star)
Bachchan made Kat slap Imran quite a few times deliberately (maybe payback for DB-bhtb..)
the same opening as ZNMD.. either it has opened beyond expectations or the older film didn’t open as strongly as it could have, Of course it trended extremely well. MBKD is not likely to make 90 crores!
Bodyguard grossed around 2.75 crore nett as per early estimates on the first day of its second week. The film lost a lot of screen space due to the release of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan at multiplexes.
Saturday should see a jump and Sunday will be very strong and weekend business should come in between 13-15 crore nett depending on the growth over the weekend.
Earlier Salman blockbusters like Dabangg and Ready showed huge growth over the second weekend but both films had open runs but here Bodyguard has competition in the form of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.
this is way too low for the second Fri. And a 13-15 crore weekend wouldn’t be much either, And of course BOI’s dishonesty continues. A film has come down to 2.75 crores on the second Fri and they’re pretending it’s about screen space. Really?! A juggernaut like Bodyguard is getting so badly damaged by MPDKH which has just made 7.35 crores?! And if screen space is such a big issue how will the film do better over the weekend?!
Ready had 4.5-4.75 crores on the second Fri according to BOI:
And there they were talking about competition from X-Men and Shaitan!
what annoys one in each of these cases is not the ‘lie’ itself but the insulting lack of intelligence with which it is framed! Even with the Ghajini juggernaut RNBDJ was quite stable on its own. But we are to believe that Ready and Bodyguard are being derailed by this sort of competition!
in total agreement satyam. this is a huuuuuge drop. after a 110 opening..if it gets to only 140…thats pretty damn pathetic. this doesn’t take anything away from sallu bhai, the movie is just plain bad.
Bodyguard’s phenomenal success makes Salman Khan ‘King of Bollywood’
Aroon Purie | September 9, 2011 | 19:47
He’s an actor who can’t really act, his dancing is somewhat peculiar, at 45 he’s kind of ageing, he has a great body but so do his peers. So, what makes this actor a superstar? I think it’s because Salman Khan is a cool dude. Women, of course, drool over his body but I believe his fans love him because of his bad/good boy image, his nonchalance and above all, because he doesn’t ever seem to take himself too seriously. He’s the king of two other very successful Khans because he has, particularly in the last year, set the box office cash registers ringing like never before. In an industry where receipts at the box office, more than awards or critical acclaim, are the ultimate measure of success, Salman Khan truly stands out. The huge success of his latest film Bodyguard, which has grossed over Rs 110 crore in just one week in India, the highest-ever first week collection for a Bollywood film, confirms a trend of blockbuster hits that began with Wanted in 2009, was consolidated by Dabangg in 2010, and highlighted by Ready, released in June this year.
In an acting career that has spanned 23 years, Salman Khan has had many successful films. Ironically enough, for a man who spent much of the initial phase of his career as a romantic hero-think back to iconic films like Maine Pyaar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun-his most recent successes have come in action hero roles. His complete switchover to action hero roles is recent. At an IIFA awards function in 2006 when asked by Hollywood action man Jean Claude Van Damme if he would co-star in a movie with him, Salman replied, “I am a romantic hero, I don’t do action.”
But then you can always expect Salman to defy conventional wisdom even if it is his own. He was the first of the big stars to take off his shirt and bare his toned upper body-waxed chest, bulging biceps and enviable six-pack-way back in the 1990s when it was hardly fashionable to do so. It is a routine he has stuck to religiously since, as was evident in Dabangg and Bodyguard. He knows that audiences lap it up. Other filmmakers have a formula for genres like romantic comedy, thrillers or slice of life but in Salman’s recent films, he’s the formula. That’s the USP (Unique Selling Point). There are set pieces which Salman will do in his films and that’s what keeps the fans coming back for more.
Our cover story is written by Editor Kaveree Bamzai, along with Senior Correspondent Nishat Bari and Principal Correspondent Gunjeet Sra. The story analyses the reasons behind Salman’s phenomenal success, from the rigorous exercise regimen that keeps his body in shape, to the closed circle of trusted friends and family he works with. He has an uncanny ability to bond with the masses both off and on screen. For this story, Salman agreed to speak to Bamzai over the telephone from the US where he is recovering after a surgery to cure trigeminal neuralgia, a very painful disorder of the facial nerves. When asked about his success, Salman was quick to say, “It’s no big deal. You can’t go mad about these things.” As always, the cool dude!
Seems after the dust settles down—bodyguard seems poised to take the same position I suspected initially (though ready may still get threatened–although prefered ready much more)—
dabang->>ready>=bodyguard>wanted
“Women, of course, drool over his body “–hmm-think that is a point but not sure how much weightage this has over his fandom/fanbase/box office amongst females–maybe females here can shed light
“Women, of course, drool over his body “–hmm-think that is a point but not sure how much weightage this has over his fandom/fanbase/box office amongst females–maybe females here can shed light
Salman is superhot and his body is definitely a factor for me liking him! However, it’s not just that, he just has this charm about him! Loved him as the sweet Prem in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and the Macho Hero in Dabangg! Actually quite difficult to explain what makes him so attractive! I think he’s what you would call the “Asli” filmy hero! Also think his fanbase among woman,stems among many different generations, my mom(who is incidently younger than him,lol) really loves Sallu as do I and my sister loves him too, actually even my Nani likes him!
agree—-Nothing like an authentic macho hero
“my mom(who is incidently younger than him,lol) really loves Sallu as do I and my sister loves him too, actually even my Nani likes him!”—that clinches it really—nothing more can be added –haha
the beauty of the body is temporary: maximum 50 years and then?? (as Van Dame, and others). we can have 10 Actors on top
Why diliberate ? salman /aamir /SRK or other ?
the best solution/ HAVE A CHOICE
the results of box office We’ll see after 5 years the peak of his career it’s now (up to 50 years) …
is proved even in Hollywood
but “great actors with great talent ” the best
roles are between 35-50 years (best scenaros) even great directors like—- C. Etswood say it …
Yeah, ofcourse don’t expect him to be the no 1 hero above
the age of 50,but for now we can love his “awesomeness”,right! Will still love him even when he’s playing the role of someone’s father lol! I really like Sallu!
is good you like Sallu it’s your choice….
Bachchans and the actors of his generation is leaving the “throne” to Khans and khans will leave Hritik, Junior Bachchan etc. ..after 5 years Abhi , Hritik, Said will “regine” if we can tell like that, I don’t like the word “reign” this is not an empire, or absolute monarchy … lol
“But with Salman,it’s not just his body! Even if he doesn’t take off his shirt he would be just as appealing!”–hmmm—guess it is the overall “package”—eyes, attitude, charisma?
anyhow will have to choose between Mila Kunis-”friends with benefits” or Katrina Kaifs “Mere bro ki shaadi” tomorrow—will have to take votes lol
Yeah, eyes,attitude,charisma,coolness everything! Some actors just have that X-Factor about them, for me Sallu has that! Fell in love with him as a kid watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, and have loved him ever since!
“Fell in love with him as a kid watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, and have loved him ever since!”—wow filmifan–so it was love @1st sight lol
Transcendental love sees no age, race, boundary (and sex) hhahahaha
Anyhow,–tata and filmifan—sample some good french poetry —
I have written it—JOking—this is as “original” as SRKs Don or Kjos agneepath lol—
Salut! bois couronnés d’un reste de verdure!
Feuillages jaunissants sur les gazons épars!
Salut, dernier beaux jours! le deuil de la nature
Convient à la douleur et plaît à mes regards!
Je suis d’un pas rêveur le sentier solitaire,
J’aime à revoir encor, pour la dernière fois,
Ce soleil pâlissant, dont la faible lumière
Perce à peine à mes pieds l’obscurité des bois!
Oui, dans ces jours d’automne où la nature expire,
A ses regards voilés je trouve plus d’attraits,
C’est l’adieu d’un ami, c’est le dernier sourire
Des lèvres que la mort va fermer pour jamais!
Well, its nothing objectionable…
Attempted translation—enjoy
Greetings, forests crowned with remaining green!
Yellowing foliage on the sparse grass!
Greetings, last gorgeous days! nature’s mourning
Evokes my pain and gratifies my eyes!
I walk the lonely path in dreamy steps,
And want to see again, for the last time,
This waning sun and pale whose feeble light
Barely pierces the woods’ dark at my feet!
Yes, in these autumn days when nature dies,
In her veiled looks I find a great allure,
A friend’s farewell, and the very last smile
From the lips that death will forever close!
is good you like Sallu it’s your choice….
Bachchans and the actors of his generation is leaving the “throne” to Khans and khans will leave Hritik, Junior Bachchan etc. ..after 5 years Abhi , Hritik, Said will “regine” if we can tell like that, I don’t like the word “reign” this is not an empire, or absolute monarchy … lol
@ tata- Agree no one can be number one forever, but many of these stars have their own place in the industry and will be remembered for that.
if the public was intelligent enough,
he does not remember the PLACE, but he looks at his works
and thanks to that, his art will live and will not die …
“he was my first Bollywood hero crush, *blush blush*!”–hmm tell us more
oh cmon filmifan, we can already see your cheeks turning oh-so red….lol”
-LOL LOL
Yes tata–true art stands the test of time.
Similarly I’m not thy at bothered by remakes as an example of BachchAns films–
Whatever is strong will survive — if it does not, it did not deserve to …lol
ok so filmifan—if u have stopped blushing now, pray tell us about any other crushes besides salman lol
ps–but agree that “love @1st sight” is the strongest hehe
Lol, Alex, I think Sallu is my only filmy crush!
Amitji ofcourse is my absolute favourite, love him, watched allmost all his films! It’s because of my interest in Mr Bachchan that I started watching older films in the first place and got to know the stars of yesteryear, really love the 70′s cinema.
I do like Hrithik,Abhishek,Aamir and the guy you like to call a “Choco puppy” Ranbir a lot!
“alex you have to change your name is “Indian lover” like that you will maby have a biggg fan club;)”—hahaha
Thanx Tata—
Infact may change the name to “international/universal lover”—
dont believe in manmade boundaries like nationalities lol
Nice idea of a fanclub—hmmm….lol
lol now back to some actual “work” on the computer briefly.
Lets see how long can stand it …lol –tata/filmifan…hehe
and filmifan–how bout your exams … joking
“Once Upon a Time in America”- commercial real commercial failure in the box office . The film only made 2.5 million dollars in revenue. 40 mill budjet..
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan showed good growth on Saturday as business at multiplexes in big cities showed good jumps across India. The Saturday territorial numbers of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan are below. Friday numbers are in brackets. Figures in lakhs.
Bodyguard has grossed 116.50 crore nett in eleven days and is in fourth place in the all time list as as far as nett business goes. Bodygaurd grossed 109.50 crore nett in week one and has added 7 crore nett approx on its second Friday and Saturday. It should cross Ready in after its second weekend and head for a 135-140 crore nett lifetime finish. The top ten at present are as follows.
classic BOI! Bodyguard has low numbers at this point so they’re not specifying Sat separately. According to them Fri was 2.75 crores. so Sat is about 4 crores or so given their total for the two days. This is again ridiculously low for a second weekend and specially given the initial numbers. This film is trending significantly worse than Ready. The film opened with very massive numbers and obviously Salman made his point as a star but otherwise to go from 110 crores to 135 crores is to really have the trending of a flop. Unfortunately in India the trade/media conveniently continues to look at the overall number and not the rest. No one does it this way in Hollywood. If a film opens at 100 m no one calls it a hit at 150 m! The film will be doing 80% or so of its gross in its initial week or something. This is actually more or less the trending of Tees maar Khan! The difference is simply the opening for which Salman gets the credit but if things stay this way this is by no means even close to Ready. That film made 60% of the gross in the initial period. No comparison. Clearly Bodyguard has not been liked.
Even otherwise let’s look at the record. Dabanng didn’t trend like Ghajini, Ready trended somewhat worse than Dabanng. Bodyguard is far worse. Not even introducing the 3I trending into the picture. These other stats are crucial. Because eventually a film will cross 3I with not even half that film’s trending!
What this shows is that Salman is massive at the box office but his films still leave something to be desired. Dabanng has been extraordinarily iconic but even this film couldn’t be as stable as Ghajini. And I am frankly not surprised.
Getting back to BOI they are rather fond of stating for certain other films (!) that the drop between the first and second weekend was 70-80% or whatever. So what is it here for the same?!
BG has actually crumbled but no one will say this in light of the phenomenal opening. Some of it is due to the massive opening and front loading but a lot has to do with the movie not being really liked. Salman has shown that he can open a movie like no one else but he needs to show that it can sustain too. Sadly, the fact that the attrition was so rapid will be lost on the vast majority.
What has been amusing is the twists and turns in the commentary from BOI. One day it says it can cross 3I then it says it cna cross Dabangg then next day may be Ready only. Then again it says may not cross any of them and then again it says it will cross Ready and Dabangg and now finally it says it will end between Ready and Dabangg!
^^Its worthwhile to know that my initial impressions are being confirmed on bodyguard lol.
Saw bodyguard first weekend at the height of the salman/festival euphoria where there were talks of this one breaking every record including 3I.
At that time, (as satyam may confirm) i had hesitatingly suggested that this will die before dabang (forget 3I) and even “ready” may prove handful—good to see figures confirming the same (slowly but surely)
V few bollywood films release in the local plex and get taken off before u know.
Due to this watched “mere brother..today. Also listened to tata (thanx tata) who told me not to watch “films like friends with benefits” lol.
Went with minimal expectations and found it better than expectations (better than the recent bodyguard).
Some quick unbiased bulletpoints—
One can find umpteen loopholes and problems here but lets get the perspective right (and expectations low)–Once that is clarified—–
>Katrina kaif is the “hero” here and steals the show.
She is not “outstanding” but knowing her background/range/previous acting capabilities, one cannot but admire the marked progression.
infact in some scenes, she plays to the galleries like a veteran star..
She carries the film on her shoulders esp the first half
>yashraj continues the crowd pleasing “marriage” theme and presses the right buttons for a reasonable family fare
>Have not seen him before, but ali zafar makes the most of his few scenes and shows good comic timing and needless to say overshadows imran in the shared scenes
also liked the “bhang” song which apparently this guy has actually sung—and the setting /tempo/katrina here is good
>imran continues to be the supporting actor to Katrina (and to other actors wherever/whichever he shares screen with)
However he is correctly cast in his passive character.
Unsurprisingly Katrina literally and physically “hijacks” him
>>Music is good and effective . Surprising that this is the same guy who gave music is some recent gowarikar duds like Khelein, rashee..
>Liked the guy playing katrinas bro and his mnik/asperger syndorme act was more hilarious/effective than the “original”
>both “dads” were good–especially in the last “car” scene where this film seemed aptly described as “how to fool ones parents”
>KNowing the tastes and sensibities of multiplex audiences –this one should trend well
Great review Alex!
Seems like you kinda enjoyed it, maybe a good movie to check out just for a one time watch eh.
Seems like Kat is growing on you lol! First ZNMD and now MBKD!
So Ali Zafar overshadows Imran, hmmm not surprised actually, have liked Ali since I watched “Tere Bin Laden”!
Yeah, have also liked the bhang song-”Madhubala”- super catchy!
Might just check it out this weekend!
Thanks filmifan…seems u r “burning midnight oil”– hopefully studying lol
Ya think it maybe a good watch if u dot go with major expectations — intact suggest ucjeck this instead of bodyguard which has nothing but salman– (plus there is kareena to endure!!!)
“seems like Kat is growing on you”– surprising but maybe true.
Check it out and let me know if she is actually good here.
‘Contagion’ cleans up box office with first place
By DERRIK J. LANG – AP Entertainment Writer | AP – 1 hr 28 mins ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Contagion” infected enough moviegoers to catch the top spot at the box office.
The Warner Bros. pandemic thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring an A-list cast that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow coughed up $23.1 million in its first weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film’s contagious opening marked the beginning of the fall movie season by exceeding the studio’s estimates.
“I think Steven Soderbergh made a compelling movie that tapped into that fear that many of us have about illnesses, viruses and pandemics,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. general sales manager. “It’s like a train or car accident. You can’t look away. You prefer not to think about it, but when it’s presented to you, you want to learn more.”
Despite the breakout success of “Contagion,” it was the lowest grossing weekend of the year so far for the film industry, according to Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. Dergarabedian said that’s typical for the weekend after Labor Day and expected business to pick up in the coming weeks as the Academy Awards race begins.
“There are some great titles that are on the way,” said Dergarabedian. “I see several promising films — Oscar contenders like ’50/50,’ ‘The Descendants’ and ‘Ides of March,’ and even potential big moneymakers like ‘Real Steel.’”
“The Help,” the acclaimed DreamWorks Pictures drama distributed by Disney about black Southern maids speaking out during the civil-rights movement, slipped to No. 2 with $8.7 million after three straight weeks at the top, bringing its domestic total to $137 million.
“Warrior,” the Lionsgate mixed-martial arts drama starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, punched up a $5.6 million debut in the No. 3 position. David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said he expects “Warrior” to mirror the simmering success of “The Help.”
“The film has gotten unbelievable reviews,” said Spitz. “The audience reaction we’re getting on the movie is consistent. People like the film. It’s a slow burn. We think we’re going to be in theaters for a long time.”
Overseas, the family smash “The Smurfs” continued to dominate, pulling in $14.9 million to pad its international total to $321.2 million and its worldwide haul to $457.2 million. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” again came in second internationally with $12.5 million, lifting its overseas take to $207.6 million and its worldwide total to $375.4 million.
___
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Contagion,” $23.1 million. ($2.1 million international.)
2. “The Help,” $8.7 million.
3. “Warrior,” $5.6 million.
4. “The Debt,” $4.9 million. ($1.5 million international.)
5. “Colombiana,” $4 million.
6. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.8 million. ($12.5 million international.)
7. “Shark Night 3D,” $3.5 million. ($500,000 international.)
“yes you did say that..”—thanks for confirming that , satyam…
In continuation with my post above about mere brother–to add–
After a long time (dont remember how long) does one see the heroine dominate proceedings like this.
Infact another girl (who accompanied ) and who is a sworn katrina hater loved Kat here..
This guy Ali Zafar may have some good days lined ahead and may get good offers–watch this space!!!
The fact is that camera captures everything and does not only take “nationality/background/contacts” etc into account..
Nobody has a “birthright” to these things and Katrina here proves that…
ps—Looking forward to Contagion –like the theme and also like the cast of Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard, & paltrow
tata–j’ai écouté vous. N’a pas observé le ” ; amis avec le benefits” ; mais ” de montre ; seul brother” ; comme vous avez conseillé. N’était pas mauvais–lisez ma revue
I am very happy, today I posed on twitter some videos I made for Abhishek Bachchan. And he REPLY direct:
“”"” @ hakobian64 thank you so much Ani. that’s so sweet of you. big hug!”"”"
This did not wonderful ?? he loved my work !!!
Wow tata–thats good.
Even Abhi gives you a big hug (like me)…lol
Can you plz post some of those videos here.
Sure Satyam will also like them (infact may go orgasmic lol)
Sorry Satyam. For the end of this thread .. I hope that Alex also has read, is that it will Not Repeat .. Thank you! I agree that we are here to discuss the cinema.
Bodyguard had 50 crores on its first three days (Wed — 21, Thu — 17 or so, Fri — 13.5 — all BOI numbers). If it had opened on Fri it would have done at least this over the weekend if not more. Off this number the second weekend of 14 crores (also Taran’s number) is almost a 75% drop. Even looking at the Fri-Sun number for the first weekend (hardly fair since the film opened two days earlier and drops were apparent even in the initial period — BOI themselves commented on this) the film made 35 crores which means then a 65% drop over the second weekend. So by any stretch this film has seen massive drops. And one could do the same math going from the first to the second week.
I think it’s a combination of factors. The right star combo, the right sort of project, the right ‘vibe’ if you will and so on. But the bigger star cannot necessarily be bigger than the ‘lesser’ competition given certain formats. Imran Khan is assuredly nowhere in Hrithik’s league as a star but in the right project that difference can be effaced. It’s always about whether stars are playing to their strengths or their strongest audience base(s). With ZNMD Hrithik isn’t. He’s strongest when it’s something like Krrish or Dhoom or something similar where the audience gets to see a Hrithik they ‘idealize’. But Imran is closer to his best possible performance with MBKD (at least in terms of the opening). The thing with Katrina is that she definitely has a following but she has very impressive instincts when it comes to picking projects. Rajneeti and ZNMD didn’t make 90 crores a piece just because she was in them! But she seems to be able to spot the scripts with right potential and where even if she doesn’t have enormous footage the role matters in some important sense. This is unlike the Kareena model where she’s just in a number of big films. No one believes the gross of 3I or Bodgyguard or G3 would have been any different without her and with one of the other top 3-4 actresses. Even though I prefer her to Katrina by a margin I think the latter is adding something intangible to projects in ways that kareena cannot hope to. The overall point here is that one cannot just look at the numbers, whether hits or flops, one also has to consider at how the star in question functions in each.
Mausam has been postponed to 23rd September from 16th September. The film film has problems as the India Air Force has not given the film a no objection certificate andthis certificate must be given so that the censor board can pass the film
The postponement will give the makers a chance to change or cut the scenes that the Indian Air Force is objecting to.
This will have a huge affect to the films releasing on 23rd like Hum Tum Aur Shabana, Speedy Singhs, U R My Jaan etc
DO THIS MAN A FAVOUR…
Who said legends are above petty behaviour? A respected senior star reportedly called up a prominent Bollywood trade analyst last week to complain that the first-day box-office estimates that the analyst had announced for the new Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard were “ridiculously inaccurate” and “much higher” than the “real numbers”. The star is believed to have chided the analyst for his “over-enthusiasm”, and for misleading people in the industry and beyond who took his information seriously.
After explaining that these were estimates obtained from various distributors across the country, and after assuring the veteran star that the film’s business was indeed looking very good, the trade analyst decided not to declare any further estimates until actual figures were in, out of respect for the senior.
But when the real numbers started coming in, it became clear that the film had performed much better than had been originally estimated, making as much as Rs 22 crore on its opening day alone—a record even the film’s makers hadn’t anticipated. The analyst waited patiently for the star to call and offer an apology for his earlier unnecessary attack. Not surprisingly, the star never called. No apology was offered.
The analyst still can’t decide if the star’s initial outburst was on account of a genuine concern for accurate reportage (bah!) or for the simple reason that very few in Bollywood can happily digest good news concerning someone other than themselves!
“Imran Khan is assuredly nowhere in Hrithik’s league as a star but in the right project that difference can be effaced. It’s always about whether stars are playing to their strengths or their strongest audience base(s). “—agree
Forget Imran, give hritik a few good ones and then back to his strength genre Krish etc–he can kick anybodys ass.Its just that kites, guzaarish etc have affected him but he will be back to wherre he belongs after agneepath and then the krish sequel…
Having said that—-Imran is more or less incidental in MBKS—its Katrinas show all the way
Shes nothing great here also but somehow you enjoy her uninhibited act. Check out the “suicide scene” or the scene where she teaches the other girl(who was also not bad) that all a guy needs is a “lollypop”..lol
“Forget Imran, give hritik a few good ones and then back to his strength genre Krish etc–he can kick anybodys ass.Its just that kites, guzaarish etc have affected him but he will be back to wherre he belongs after agneepath and then the krish sequel…”
yes but the problem is that if you’re a star like Hrithik you’re likely to feel the pressure to keep doing ‘different’. Hence he cannot keep doing Krrish or it results in a loss of prestige. The films on the other hand that do give him prestige are not likely to maximize his star signature. And ZNMD is the best example of this. Much as Guzaarish is in a different way. It is very hard to thread the needle and get a different film that is commercially successful but also does a great deal for the lead star. Now if you keep getting hits even this way you of course increase your market value. But that is not always the same as rising in the estimation of the audience. To put all of this differently if you are a star minimally acceptable in different stuff you cannot just be a more prestigious version of Salman. If Hrithik kept doing krrish or the Dhoom kind of genre he could probably deliver the Salman kind of result. But precisely because he is Hrithik he cannot do this. Salman himself wouldn’t be Salman if he had just SRK’s reputation as actor forget Aamir’s. In any industry of the world the ‘box office through dumb films’ option exists only for those who cannot really be cast in anything resembling half-serious. So Will Smith wouldn’t be doing what he does (though some of his thrillers are reasonably intelligent) if he could have Leo’s career!
The trade and media establishment in India not to mention some of the websites and blogs continually peddle the idea that the gross is all that matters. It isn’t. Obviously you need minimal success as a star relative to your bracket but to further define yourself something more is needed. The Bachchan kind of star is obviously rare who could get the best directors in any given genre. For everyone else it’s a question of choices. If you have RDB you need a good gross not the biggest out there as the critical acclaim (not to mention iconic appeal) of such a work will account for the shortfall. On the other hand if you’re like Salman in his current phase you can end all prestige debates and so on by just producing massive numbers in continually and make hay while this phase lasts.
Getting back to hrithik and even though he’s finally doing another part I think he’s been paralyzed a bit even on this score for one simple reason. He cannot produce the biggest gross possible anymore. There are multiple 100 plus grossers around. The 3I gross is still not going to be breached anytime soon. But then there are other such potential projects around the corner. Certainly there’s D3. The problem then is: if you do your strength genre which actually isn’t a real prestige deal (with krrish certainly) and then you can’t guarantee an astonishing gross there’s a problem. In an odd sense I think what’s pushed Hrithik much more toward different stuff than he was earlier prone to doing is that he’s seen some of the grossers Aamir has thrown up and realized that those cannot for all practical purposes be bettered (Salman hasn’t bettered even Ghajini’s gross all things accounted for). But he nonetheless needs some sort of big deal at some point where he’s at the center of it. He’s not had this since ’06. agneepath could certainly be a 100 crore grosser but I suspect he’s going to be lost in the crowd here (though the media will crow about the performance).
In many ways this is the Hollywood paradigm that’s increasingly taking over where even the biggest box office stars cannot (and paradoxically) necessarily get the biggest grosses or really beat the competition.
^^^^It was good to “squeeze out” that writeup from satyam…lol
The problem with Hritik is that somehow inspite of all those blockbusters, he still does not possess that gravitas of a true “heavyweight”
Difficult to pinpoint–is it a problem with his voice,personality or his lacl of downright bad-ass assholery–the types possessed by the likes of “selfproclaimed kings…
But this may change with age n maturity…
LOL, there are few pleasures (if any) in contemporary film criticism whether in India or the US/UK (just the three I am familiar with) to equal Rangan’s pieces and especially so on mediocre/bad films!
What I also like about Rangan (that even some very ‘serious’ film critics in the West often lack) is the ability to be both critic and ‘fan of the movies’ at one and the same time. His writing no matter how serious is never divorced from the ordinary pleasures of watching movies. I have all the respect in the world for academic monographs on cinema but a lot of times critics in the US (for example), and much as I like their work, tend to sound too jaded if not cynical in review after review. Perhaps this is because those in the latter group are watching far too much on a weekly basis to retain any sense of ‘innocence’! And again Rangan wears his knowledge and exposure to the field very lightly in more ways than one.
“His writing no matter how serious is never divorced from the ordinary pleasures of watching movies”
pronto! agreed. Satyam, I want you to have this ordinary pleasures when u watch srk’s movies too dont be so harsh on the guy – u and me – both are not srk-fan but we have to give him as he commands solid B.O. hold – and it is not that he is doing all the trash….sallu-bhai is doing more trash than him but gets away….:-)
I dont think if a movie trashed by a critic succeeds at the BO, it amounts to a mocekry of the critic. The critics are there to do an ‘unbiased’ critical evaluation of the merits or lack there of in a film. BO hardly has anything to do with it. Yes, critics may be out of sync with what public wants. But thats a different matter. Komal and Taran review films with an eye on the BO which actually makes them poor reviewers.
I don’t even watch most of these Salman films. Much as I didn’t watch most of Akshay’s comedies. But here’s the big difference — Salman isn’t pretentious about his movies. He wasn’t even pretentious about Dabanng let alone this other stuff. In fact for some years now I’ve really liked his off screen stance which has been all about not buying the media spiel about most stars including himself. He was on Saregama recently and when asked about his success and so on he talked about how he was lucky at the moment and had it good but that he was ready for failure too as he’d seen it but also that in his profession everything that went up and no matter how high would necessarily come down. Found his statement quite endearing. What does one get from SRK on the other hand? The Anil Kapoor (of once upon a time) response — I am beyond competition, I only compete with myself.. on and on.
So it’s not about the films as much (even if I object to many of his films on many grounds I would be less harsh if there wasn’t a great deal of the off screen posturing that goes hand in hand with it) as it is about this sort of stuff. When I think SRK has made a film I will minimally enjoy I show up in the theater for it but he doesn’t make many that I can enjoy! I was rooting for Akshay when he was having a good run but other than Bhool Bhulaiya which I saw in the theater I didn’t see a single film of his even on DVD (saw bits of a few). And with Salman I might watch Ek Tha Tiger in the theater, the rest are too much even for home viewing! I might well see don 2 on the big screen, Ra 1 looks poor unless the reviews suggest completely otherwise in which case I might. So irrespective of how I feel about a star I usually judge things based on the film unless I really like the star a lot. But even here when I watch just about all Aamir or Abhishek films in the theater these actors generally make films that are up my alley for one reason or another. Of course people show up more for their favorite stars in any case.
As for the box office I’m not denying SRK’s ‘hold’ as you put it but I also don’t accept on faith that he is where Aamir is or where Salman currently is. In at least half a decade he hasn’t demonstrated to me that he is really up there at the very top with the exception of OSO which was a circus of a campaign and a film! So let’s see him get comparable results first. Other than this I don’t deny his status but this isn’t what the debate is about on Ra 1. at least not today.
that last para. is very true satyam. while sallu is quite frank and unpretentious about what he dishes out – aamir also is forthcoming with he is offering – in this regard, srk probably fails (at-least for the films he produces – that last film he produced – always kabhi….no one seem to knew what was it about….srk himself looked disinterested in promoting it)….that anil kapoor comparison was too good loved it….
I should also make this related point — sometimes I might seem softer on an Aamir or an Abhishek when they do run of the mill stuff but this is for a reason and it’s not that I prefer these actors to others or what have you. actors who are by and large devoted to meaningful cinema or at least relatively intelligent entertainment are not likely to suddenly do junk even for the box office. So Aamir throughout this past decade could have done some obvious genres but he chose not to. He eventually hit it big with Ghajini and then 3I but he wasn’t in a rush to get there. Even when he did masala it was a somewhat pioneering move for contemporary Bollywood but leaving this aside he precisely didn’t do films like Ready or Bodyguard but something a lot more serious and meaningful. and additionally took a certain risk as this audience would not have seemed best placed to produce big numbers for a subject which is quite dark in many ways. Even earlier when he did Fanaa this was just about the best film for Yashraj at that point of time. Why? Because this film hearkened back to certain 60s story-lines with an admixture from the 70s. But even in this film there was real loss. An unrepentant terrorist hero was certainly a far cry from the ‘totally happy’ films Yashraj otherwise did at that time. Not that Fanaa is a ‘fine’ film by any means. But it’s not too bad either (except in the eyes of certain SRK fans who’ve otherwise spent a lifetime supporting junk films with their favorite star). The point again is that when a star decides on an overall meaningful trajectory even the choices made purely for the box office are likely to be somewhat better than those of others. I’d be surprised if D3 weren’t a better film than the previous two, would be stunned if it weren’t at least better than the last one.
Take Abhishek currently. Here’s a guy who needs the box office in a big way. Leaving aside the fact that he pushed his luck as far as humanly possible with his meaningful choices the fact is that even now when he starts doing a lot more commercial stuff designed for box office returns he’s not scraping the bottom of the barrel. What’s the difference? Well an official Italian Job remake is likely to be a far better film for the genre than most others tend to make, i.e. those who are masala roots like Abbas-Mustaan. Similarly Rohit Shetty makes junk with Golmaal but that’s not the sort of film even the loosest of Golmaal remakes is likely to be. Much as for the genre All the Best was way better than most of its kind.
By and large actors who make meaningful choices don’t suddenly do the worst out there. Unless they have no other career option left of course. There’s a difference between doing a set of films for this reason and also trying to get box office success with such a mix and quite another to do films solely for the box office with the ‘mix’ then becoming a way of propping up the resume. In other words one kind of star does a meaningful film because he (or she) thinks it’s worthwhile and it might work at the box office. Another star makes a much more cynical decision of doing meaningful only as a way of adding to the brandname without any serious commitment to the latter. It’s fair to say that no star starts out thinking that the best option is to get to box office glory doing junk or repeating oneself in totally mediocre films. But sooner or later every star faces such a choice and then the question becomes whether the path chosen is sincere or simply an exercise in ‘selling’ oneself. In Aamir or Abhishek’s ideal word all box office hits would be made by people like Rathnam or Mehra or Hirani (and those loosely belonging to such a group). With most of the other stars though there is no such deep commitment. and the way one can tell them apart is that one kind of star will make those decisions by going against prevailing trends at some real cost to himself while the other will do so only when it’s a relatively safe decision.
And so with certain stars I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. If Aamir does Dhoom I know it’s still disposable cinema but I expect something better ‘for’ the genre. I have no such confidence with many other stars. And incidentally I too enjoy disposable cinema as much as anyone else. But there has to be a minimal standard of ‘quality’ implied somewhere. The Golmaal series is just beyond me as was most of the Akshay stuff as is much of the current Salman stuff. For ideological reasons I might want Salman to keep getting 100 crores much as I felt the same about Akshay once but that’s a different debate and it is premised at least partially on the fact that I don’t consider most of the Salman/Akshay stuff really worse than multiplex fare like MBKD or KHNH or whatever. Again when something is better I can spot it. I didn’t mind Lafangey Parindey though it could have been way better. So this isn’t some ‘cineaste’ argument about only being into cinema for cutting edge entertainment or whatever. Far from it. As a pure viewer I’d rather take big scale commercial cinema (when it’s done right) over most other kinds that I might otherwise esteem more. Similarly with certain actors I just don’t expect them to sign up for total junk or completely cynical films.
“Mere Brother Ki Dulhan is almost worth watching for the smouldering train-wreck that is Kaif’s performance.”
Amidst all the plaudits for her admittedly impressive success rate, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of the OTHER truth about Katrina Kaif. Especially when it’s done as hilariously as Rangan does it.
I fing brangans reviews bigger “events” than some films they are reviewing.
There are rare exceptions.
For eg–in Dellly Belly, he skewed to one extreme and became an unashamed fanboy and started seeing a “design” or a “masterstroke’ even at the mention of “blowjob” or swear wordz…
IN that respect, found even the review of Satyam (and even yours truly) better and appropriate.
In MBKS, he seems to have skewed to the other extreme.
Its a matter of taste and mood, but found Katrinas act and this film better than this “review”.
One shouldnt let snobbishness and other bias to “take over” ones thoughts.
An example—Had real issues with the other guy , ali zafar who initially came across like a monkeyfaced srk/kishore kumar wannabe. But within a few scenes, i was happy to change my view and openly acknowledge it.
To be frank—wont be proud of myself seeing and enjoying a movie like this.
But once I find it more than decent, wont hide my appreciation just to avoid being seen as enjoying something “downmarket”….
thats also where for eg even Satyam trumps brangan—for eg openly admitting to love raj kiran and ramsay brothers….lol
Unlike brangan, dont care a damn about being seen enjoying an undoubtedly “downmarket” stuff….
Liked the spirit and ethos of this bhang song—–
Enjoy and leave behind bias/hangups
(and have some bhang)….lol
What a change for me—Salman after dabang and Katrina after znmd/mbks—Before these films, these two were laughable taboos for me–time for these two to “climax” together—–pun intended…
^^^and keeping the theme of “cinema” , the above song is for the academic cinematic attention & appreciation especially of tata, filmifan and even oldgold —-hahaha
Despite the Indian Air Force holding back the no objection certificate to the film, censor board has decided to give it a go ahead
Subhash K Jha
Posted On Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 05:07:40 AM
Demanding changes in a fight sequence, the Indian Air Fore held back the no objection certificate for Pankaj Kapoor’s September 16 release Mausam (Mumbai Mirror, September 9, 2011). However the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has given a green signal to the film, bypassing the IAF’s demands. On Tuesday, September 13, the film will be issued a censor certificate regardless of IAF’s objections.
When contacted, the chief executive officer of the censor board, Ms Pankaj Thakur said, “The CBFC has nothing to do with the so-called NOC. We’re given to understand that the Air Force wants certain cuts in the film as per an MOU signed between the producer and the Air Force. The CBFC was not a party to any such agreement.”
Mausam, has thus been given an all-clear by the censor board. “We’ve certified Mausam as per the procedure laid down under the Cinematograph Act. However, the CBFC would like to clarify that the censor certificate has been issued without prejudice to the MOU if any signed between the Air Force and the producer,” said Ms Thakur.
“Mausam was examined on Monday as per the guidelines prescribed .We considered involving some retired officer from the Air Force in the examining committee. But later we decided to depend upon the judgement of our own advisory panel. The censor certificate will be issued on Tuesday,” confirmed the CEO of the censor board.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan held up well on Monday with business around the 3.75-4 crore nett mark on Monday. The four day business is around 29 crore nett and the week should go to around 37-38 crore nett.
The film is doing well in Delhi/UP ans East Punjab but on Monday it held up very well at places like CI and Rajasthan,
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan keeps the phenomenal run going at the box office which started in June. From June there has been eight box office winners with only Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap and Aarakshan emerging the disappointments out of the major releases. An 8/10 ratio with major releases over a three month period has probably not been seen since the early eighties.
of course won’t comment on their rating of those two Bachchan films and other ratings for films with similar grosses or those with somewhat higher grosses but far more expensive budgets and so on.
will agree though that this period has been a very good one for the industry and films in all kinds of genres have done well..
Taran Adarsh pegs it at 1.75 crores, which he usually revises upwards. That’s 132 crores according to him…and counting.
By the end of this week, the figure will be close to 136-137 crores. Not bad at all for the kind of film Bodyguard is (I actually couldn’t read the film’s synopsis in one or any sitting).
and it has a big number but it’s trending has been poor.. What’s happening with many of these films is that the bulk of the gross comes in the first 5-7 days. It’s not been Ghajini-like trending for any of these Salman films so far, not even Dabanng. And the 3I trending was even superior to Ghajini’s.
that is quite right.. but this cannot be held against the star who creates better trending.. because the value of the star is factored into this as well.. with Aamir I might be willing to watch a movie with good WOM where I might not be as persuaded with Devgan. Ultimately no star can make bad movies run beyond an initial. But we can’t penalize those stars who have the initial and who also do good films that last longer at the box office.
>Star power indicates the initial, trending happens with quality of the movie.
I agree with the first part, but the second, not really.
A film trends if it’s liked by the public, which doesn’t translate into then being ‘good’ films.
Both Gajhani and 3i were liked by the public, so trended well, but they weren’t necessarily good films especially Gajhani.
i agree with oldgold. never commented on a forum before but reading all your posts has made me a bit annoyed. its fashionable to bash salmans movie cos hes the so called ‘rubbish’ one out of the 3 khans. which i completely disagree with. if you look at the whole career graph salman has worked with new directors small banners with not very good story lines and has made them hits on the basis of his acting and charisma. his movies are hits cos of him and no one else. earlier people used to say salman can only give hits with rajshri or bhansali but he gave hits without them but they struggled to do the same. the other two khans – wont say much about srk as i think you’ve already sort of said what i think about him but he can only give hits with big banners.
as for aamir – he is quite pretentious about his serious cinema. he has been absent for most of his career and has made some atrociously bad movies. 3 idiots wasn’t a spectacular movie – i personally didnt think much of it and found aamirs character annoying and condescending. unlike sanjay from munnabhai – who you fall in love with and you walk out wanting to be a better person by doing small gestures like jaadu ki jaapi – i didnt get that feeling with 3 idiots. im sorry but peeing outside your professor house will get you expelled from any college/uni from around the world. the film missed the main point in my view that the pressure was put by families on student. teachers were just doing their job – yeah they could make the subject more interesting but how much mire interesting can engineering really be. it was the pressures of getting a job and earning a living. its all well saying we should all do things we love but when u have a family of 5 to support pleasures take a back seat and reality takes lead im afraid. besides i found the toilet humour annoying. so even though salmans movies aren’t brilliant dont think the other khans should be filled with their self importance too much because not many indian films are good. one of my favourite movies oif all times was khamoshi which didnt do well but it had good performances and a good story to tell. so i agree that initial is down to the star – which salman has proved he is the biggest at the moment. trending will depend if the public fall in love with the product but a hit movie isn’t always a good movie and a flop movie isnt always a bad movie!
Not sure whose comment you’re responding to here. Will say you’re unintentionally hilarious when you accuse Aamir of doing some atrocious movies (Mela is the only one I’d classify as such over the last 15 years or more of his career) and then celebrate Salman’s choice of films! As for 3I I can accept someone not liking this but then one should also dislike 99% of films Salman has ever done. There should be some consistency here. So you’re giving Salman a pass for his bad films, meanwhile you are questioning a lot of Aamir’s choices. Is this an honest criticism? To be brutally honest I find most criticism of 3I simple not credible from the sources who have questioned it. SRK fans who didn’t mind a number of SRK films including something like KHNH where ‘coke’ was pronounced ‘cock’, ‘hall’ was pronounced’ hole’ by a stereotypical Gujarati character in suggestive ways, who also also don’t mind rather vulgar humor on SRK’s part on stage and so on. Similarly Salman is the star otherwise best known for riding his towel (!) in a hit video, isn’t there something suggestive here? What about stripping at the drop of a hat? What about all his farting in HDDCS? And I could go on. let’s be consistent here!
The truth as far as I’m concerned is quite plain — one can object to many or most of Aamir’s choices over the past decade but using the very same standards one should dismiss 99% of all films made by all other stars. Otherwise one is just engaging in opportunistic criticism. Even if I take your 3I criticism as face value that’s just one film. He has tons of others. And this ‘fake’ charge is another one of those stale ones leveled at him. If he’s ‘pretentious’ and the others are genuinely ‘dumb’ I guess I’d take ‘fake’ any day of the week!
*In short*, I think what one wants to say is…Amir’s films aren’t *that* good (as is made out to be, here) and others’ films aren’t *that* bad as made out to be, here.
One is allowed to celebrate anything one wishes.. but regrettably I have a certain interest in the facts.. and these are the first casualty in many of these discussions.. I’ve been saying at every turn that what Salman has been doing is stupendous and I want his run to continue.. but I don’t see the kind of strength in his numbers that Ghajini displayed let alone 3I. The problem is that people like yourself have an issue with the stubbornness of facts! Just because you dislike Aamir and would love very much for someone to cross those benchmarks in the most comprehensive sense doesn’t mean the Gods will comply! These things have to be earned! And extraordinarily well as Salman has been doing there is a tendency in the media (for various reasons) as well as on blogs to completely exaggerate things and lose all perspective. 100 is clearly the new 70 or 80 crores. In fact more films are now touching 100 crores or just falling short than was the case with the 80 crore mark over a few years. It’s partly about masala films having minimal appeal across the board and partly a question of multiplex inflation. Just over the past year or two we’ve had Rajneeti, ZNMD, G3, Singham, three Salman films that have done a minimum of 90 crores. Salman’s initial is another level altogether, no one could argue with this but the 100 crore barrier is very ‘breachable’ at this point provided a star is in the zone and it’s the right kind of film. The perspective I’m trying to provide here is not meant to reduce Salman’s achievement but to suggest that crossing the 100 crore barrier each time isn’t historic the way it is being portrayed. It’s like OSO did 80 crores or whatever. A year before this D2 did the same. These were the biggest numbers at the time. But 100 crores carrier a certain psychological bang. This is fine as long as it isn’t commonly happening. But when you have a number of films getting to that number it is clearly a new ‘normal’ or potentially possibly for blockbuster-type films. Again here with respect to Ghajini Aamir crossed that barrier in Dec 2008 and no other film even got close to this mark before 2010. Similarly Aamir crossed 200 crores in Dec 2009 and two years later we still don’t have a film anywhere close to that number even with inflation and so on. There is a difference. Despite this I’ve said more than a few times that even 3I still isn’t the HAHK kind of blockbuster.
>but I don’t see the kind of strength in his numbers that Ghajini displayed let alone 3I.
Since you have repeated yourself, let me repeat myself.
People are allowed to celebrate any achievement, regardless of whether it beat Gajhani or 3i. Period.
>Just because you dislike Aamir and would love very much for someone to cross those benchmarks in the most comprehensive sense doesn’t mean the Gods will comply!
That’s absolutely true, but I’m not talking of any crossings of any benchmarks. Just celebrations of achievement regardless of whether it beat Gajhani or 3i.
If todays 100cr is the 80 crore of yore, does that negate achieving something?
Why are you being such a stuffed shirt?
If for nothing else I would like some film to cross these benchmarks asap to be free of your preachings about it.
Do you want to pass a rule around that no one is to be happy about a film’s success unless a film crosses the 3i gajhani achievements, which initself was achieved, as now, with increased number of prints and raising of ticket prices much beyond any raise till then.
LOL, nice try at changing the topic. Suddenly I’m the grinch who’s against happiness! I’m only against drunken orgies of hyperbole! Like comparing Salman to Rajni! I know you are very irritated that those highest Aamir benchmarks are not being crossed. But hey don’t shoot the messenger. I’m only pointing it out. And if you’re a little patient D3 might create new ones!
I’m absolutely on topic. Actually it’s you who is going on and on and on about 3i and gajhani the moment BG numbers get discussed. I’m sure everyone has got it that it isn’t as great as that of the holy two, and that it hasn’t been repeated much etc etc
I’m a very very patient person and hardly ever get irritated especially about something unrelated to myself.
The crossing of benchmarks is your diet not mine otherwise I would have expressed disappontment at BG etc
Now if I were to get some percentage from this I would be very much interested.
Majority of the films I like are BO flops/mediocre. Why should I care. I’m only and only interested in the number of people that watched the film.
The number of people who watched those Aamir films is also greater. Just to get that fact out of the way! Much as the number of people who watched Raja Hindustani probably exceeds that of every SRK film with the exception of DDLJ. And the reason I introduce SRK here is because you have a special problem with Aamir and you keep introducing him too.
As for why I keep bringing it up I think many people first fudge the facts and then play victim when quizzed about this stuff. So there were lots of pieces about Dabanng crossing Ghajini and so on. Which I obviously accept but that’s not the whole story. So on and so forth. I’ve said the very same for years about every star relative to the facts. And this might be a novel concept for many partisans but the way I feel about SRK as an actor or the way he conducts himself has nothing to do with how I judge the box office of his films. Which is why a little earlier today despite Aadmi’s taunt I pointed out that RNBDJ had trended well. I’ve been saying the same about Singham recently. This is not an ‘interest’ I developed overnight. I’ve always said this. And this is not just a personal quirk. This is the way it’s done the world over. Take Hollywood. If Bodyguard had released in Hollywood they would have called it a disappointment. Because no sane person just looks at the numbers on the initial side and forgets the rest. If The Dark Knight opens massively it is expected to sustain. The rules don’t change just because the numbers are huge. A massive initial is supposed to be a bonus on a film expected to trend well, not something ‘in lieu’ of the latter. Of course any distributor loves a huge initial as a certain safety net is created but no distributor would consider Bodyguard’s run optimal. I’ve said this again and again for as long as I can remember on these online forums. I was saying this when VZ released even though by today’s standards VZ was actually a rather good trender. Much as by today’s standards MP is a plain hit. Biggest initial of its time (around 17 crores) followed by a 28-30 crore total. How is this worse than Bodyguard? In fact it’s way better retention than Bodyguard even taking the lower end of that total. I could multiply these examples by and order of magnitude and quote stuff I’ve said in the past and with many different stars. Said the same for LAK and APKGK, big initials, weak follow-through.
The reason I get into all of this is because one keeps coming across ridiculous arguments that pretend it’s all about the initial these days and films don’t trend as well and so on. Aamir’s films prove that’s complete bunk, Rajneeti proves the very same as does Singham as does ZNMD. Very different films, very different genres, very different stars! Conveniently people like yourself don’t object when there’s all kind of idiotic hyperbole being offered, you even support it at times, but when I launch a counter-argument you’re suddenly upset about why I’m obsessing with this. I only repeat the counter-argument as many times as the original exaggerated claim is! This is not about supporting Aamir or anyone else. If someone cross Ghajini or 3I with the right trending I will have no problem with it. Incidentally I’ve also said that Salman can still get away with this sort of trending because ultimately these aren’t the most expensive films around (this won’t be true for ETT necessarily). However when it’s a question of Ra 1 or Don 2 the very same numbers will mean far less because of massive production costs (130 crores or more for Ra 1 according to Nahata! he said this weeks ago and he’s certainly a friend of SRK!). Still if these films get the Salman kind of graph the very least one can say is that the audience liked/disliked the films equally. But my point goes to those bogus trade reports where 10 or 20 or 30 crore films have to clear the highest bars to become hits but 100 crore films are profitable even before release!
In each instance I am simply interested in cutting through the clear propaganda. which is so obvious at every point. I have nothing against Salman’s box office. It speaks for itself. I hope he can keep it up. I say this as someone who’s never been a fan of his and who will never watch most of his Bodyguard-like films. But the facts are important or at least I am invested in them. I have been so at every level and consistently down the years. As best as I can understand them. But there is no partisanship here. However when hyperbole is engaged in most of the time it’s not ‘innocent’. It is the stuff of propaganda. And this must be argued against. I have done this for the longest time. If you or someone else is bored with this stuff that’s tough! But allow me to be a bit skeptical about your impatience when it comes to matters concerning Aamir!
to stress the same point once more if SRK crosses 3I with one of his films and does it with good trending no one will be pointing this out more than myself. The same goes with respect to other potential benchmarks.
It’s rather simple math actually. Unlike you I’ve spent some time on this stuff. RH for example gross as much or more than KKHH. But the RH target audience was much more a smaller center one where ticket prices are always lower. KKHH on the other hand didn’t do much in these smaller centers if anything and this by Johar’s own admission. So how does RH then gross as much as KKKH? By selling more tickets! By the way KKHH released a year later than RH so even the slight inflation advantage in that period favors KKHH. And once you’ve accounted for KKHH you’ve accounted for every SRK film with the exception of DDLJ because none of the other films (not even K3G) really outgrossed KKHH even as an absolute matter all the way till you get to OSO (or Don if you want to believe some dubious reports on its gross). Again these things are important if one is willing to seriously argue about things and accept facts. But if one doesn’t like facts the easiest thing is to attack the messenger!
For the benefit of others (you might be beyond persuasion on this score) I offer here an older comment on SRK as an example of why my feelings on a star don’t cloud my thinking on the facts as I understand them:
[I think one has to be careful about not going too far in the other direction in terms of understanding what SRK’s place has been relative to his peers. I have most often argued ‘against’ him not as an absolute but as a way of countering claims on the other side that I found frankly absurd and completely removed from any evidence. Every star has such fans but SRK has them in abundance for the simple reason that he has always represented a new Indian/diaspora dispensation in a strong ideological sense. To put it another way many belonging to these ‘groups’ perceive any questioning of his status as an interrogation of their own basic identities. I have noticed in some instances people who are not even huge fans of SRK in the first instance but who are nonetheless ‘moored’ to him by the same considerations. Again all stars represent ideological positions in some minimal sense and hence have such followers. But the SRK structure is founded on a certain distortion of the past and takes this as its very defining condition. A quick example: there are fanatical followers of Salman Khan who in most cases are not necessarily trying to prove that he’s the biggest star out there but the most ‘unique’ or ‘special’ one. The claim instantly becomes subjective. The SRK counterparts are more likely to say ‘he’s the biggest since Bachchan’ or maybe even ‘bigger than Bachchan’ and ‘even if he isn’t there were no DVDs when Bachchan was around’ (this is not even caricature)! The second claim is a much more ‘objective’ one but it also has the attendant move of trying to cancel out or deconstruct history where it cannot be denied. So first say he’s the biggest but if this is challenged too much go on to say that even if he isn’t the biggest what really matters is what happened in the last 20 years! A kind of ‘Joharism’ if you will where you very slyly, driven by both anxiety and ambition, superficially celebrate the past in the most generalized sense but constantly insinuate in other ways that the present is what counts and is in any case the ‘refined’ version of the ‘cruder’ past. so on and so forth. If you argue with true-blue SRK fans you will find very few not susceptible to this kind of explanation.
Even as one battles this sort of nonsense (though I do take it seriously in an ideological sense because it also says something about a generational blindness that has the same attitude towards larger questions of history and culture… as I’ve framed it in the past Amol Palekar got tired of taking a bus or more precisely his kid got a job at Citibank and he sees no virtue in his father’s life at all because it did not lead to this consumer paradise) it is important not to go too far to the other extreme. Yes I have always questioned SRK’s ‘superstardom’ because I do not subscribe to the cheapened definition of this term such as it is bandied about today. Every other star with a couple of hits is called a superstar! I haven’t seen one since Bachchan and in the truest, most specific sense of the term there were only two with Rajesh Khanna being the other one (restricting oneself to Hindi cinema). But SRK has been a very important cultural force for the very audiences I have just defined. This was a small share of the pie, I’ve often talked about how the rest of the audience was shut out of the system, but it was at any rate the dominant one and also one which was most represented in the media. In other words Raja Hindustani was a massive hit but it’s influence was zilch. Because people weren’t really making films for a small center audience anymore. Ditto for Karan Arjun or Gadar or whatever. These films did not really fulfill the aspirations of ‘new India’ and hence were written out of the narrative rather easily. Which is to say the media didn’t discuss them much beyond their obvious box office story because they didn’t think (rightly so) that it made good copy for their consumers. This then allowed ‘Joharism’ to completely dominate the media agenda. When SRK started facing more real competition (this wasn’t Salman or Aamir in the 90s who could rarely compete with him on the turf that truly mattered but Aamir after Lagaan, a reinvented Bachchan, a new instant star in Hrithik and so on.. in each of these latter cases SRK’s aspirational narrative got damaged.. because some of what this very ‘new India’ desired was represented by those other forces.. with time over the past decade the SRK narrative went into eclipse even as he became paradoxically much more consistent as a box office star.. though he couldn’t dominate the opposition anymore even on his best days which wasn’t so in the 90s) this very media structure became more and more hyperbolic and it is then that various other ‘scams’ were peddled including the ‘Bachchan, then SRK’ narrative or even the ‘Bachchan=SRK’ one. These last ones never quite got off the ground, these were a bridge too far for even the most ideological folks.
But having said all this and having accounted for these structural factors SRK was still the most important cultural presence beginning around the mid-90s and onwards for this new audience coalition that became in this new Bollywood economy the driver of the box office. For the diaspora audience he was even Bachchanesque (the overseas box office again confirms this aspect of the story.. though even here it wasn’t the same for him after the middle of the last decade or maybe a bit after.. not that he did any worse, the competition did far better). His immediate peers represented nothing as important for their respective bases. In other words yes Aamir and Salman for very different reasons weren’t doing films that even when successful defined those years but also they did not quite mean anything ideologically in any comparable sense. Aamir even less than Salman. So even when they had big ones (HAHK incidentally has to be excepted, this was perceived as a total Madhuri show as surely as Mr India became a Sridevi show.. and not surprisingly HAHK as a supergrosser actually matters less in Salman’s career than any other success of his at any level.. this certainly did not lead to any big opportunities for him… on some of the other BnB and No Entry did more or less the same, depending on who you believe one or the other was ahead.. No Entry was sold on Salman’s name but it would be too much to say that the film grossed as much because of him when he had a very limited role in it.. similarly Biwi No 1 was the biggest grosser that year but it wasn’t really comparable to the biggest SRK or Aamir had not so long ago before it… again not all ‘biggest grossers’ of the year are the same.. one has to look at the competition) those were recognized as box office successes and that was it. Karan Arjun is a classic example where even SRK couldn’t overcome this aspirational hump. So a big success that didn’t mean anything in the longer span. Salman reinvented himself with Dhawan but this was hardly a prestige-enhancing phase. Similarly Aamir was quite consistent mixing it up. he even had a very ‘cool’ moment with Rangeela. But once more his narrative did not change. Now as a purely box office matter these stars are not as far removed in the 90s as might seem to be the case once one accounts for SRK’s Yashraj/Johar stuff. You can’t hold this against SRK except that he also did lots of other films and maintained a success ratio far worse than Aamir’s and certainly no better than Salman’s. It would be different if he just did those film multiple times a year. But he had one every year, sometimes one in two years and in between there was nothing. Everything else either underperformed or flopped really into the early part of the last decade.
This box office story however which I have discussed at length in the past nonetheless left two advantages for SRK. The cultural currency and of course the most prestigious grossers of the age. And these things mattered.
Over the last decade though it’s been a different story. Again I won’t repeat everything here. I’ve discussed Aamir at length but really with Dabanng for the very first time in his career Salman is genuinely one up on SRK. Because so much of ‘Joharism’ has involved an obsession with gross. Well here’s a monster in Dabanng! But it’s important not to read all of this into the 90s. Aamir really became a very different creature post-Lagaan even if he was moving towards this in the 90s. Specially over time he put himself completely in the driver’s seat and put prestige cinema at the forefront. SRK’s box office though not quite the hot deal his partisans pretend it is was nonetheless the most important story of the period with the audiences that mattered. Today things have changed. The cinema has changed, the smaller centers have shown they can still be a factor, specially when they have multiplexes, also the more dominant multiplex segments have also evolved to a degree. All of this has led to some important reconfigurations. Shahrukh hasn’t quite made the right adjustments. But it was very different in the 90s and while Aamir and Salman were extremely important and considered among the top A-stars it would be a stretch to say they were on exactly the same footing as SRK, given the system as it was.]
it doesn’t even matter what one thinks about katrina kaif’s acting talent or lack thereof. she’s easily more commercially viable than any bollywood actress—or actor, for that matter—you can possibly think of. funny thing is, most don’t fully understand her appeal/immense popularity, and that includes yours truly. she’s miss box-office…almost every movie she stars in is a hit!
Dabangg trended well – it almost tripled it’s weekend
Ready wasn’t too bad – it tripled its weekend
Bodyguard is behind these two and am disappointed that it will just cross Dabangg figures, considering it’s start.
Anyway one can say what they want Salman has left a mark within last 12 months and now watch out for a ‘real’ biggie Ek Tha Tiger. The above 3 were all small films compared to ETT.
It’s not about the weekend.. it’s about week 1 relative to overall gross..
Ghajini more or less doubled its week 1 gross, 3I made 2.5 times that number. Dabanng could not double this number nor could Ready. And Bodyguard is doing worse than this and incidentally I’d be surprised if it passed Dabanng or even equaled it. If you just looked at weekend Dabanng just about triples it while 3I is five times that number! Ghajini too triples it more or less. The problem with Salman though is that all his films are top heavy. Almost all have made most of their gross in the first 5-7 days. Singham on the other hand didn’t open as big for sure but had very solid trending.
On ETT I am still a naysayer. Salman’s initial is not in doubt at all but the model to look at here is Sunny Deol’s Hero. His first collaboration with Anil Sharma after Gadar. This was a refined deal, quite a watchable film and yet it fizzled out after the big initial. Because with certain stars you have to keep it ‘massy’. Now it could be that there are more mass elements in ETT than we think (though I doubt it looking at the director’s previous work). I think the Salman kind of star can easily fall between two stools for this sort of thing. Not hardcore enough for the real base, not credible enough for the rest. Of course matching the Bodyguard or even Ready trending shouldn’t be hard but I am skeptical that this will be his biggest winner. But hey if it happens I’ll cheer this too and this is one I might actually watch in the theater unlike the others!
A ” contagion” quote I liked:: Blogging isn’t writing. It’s graffiti with punctuation.
Btw if time (&situation) permits may catch contagion today–/
Other contenders -rise of..apes & friends with benefits(sorry tata lol)
Any recommendations — any1 watched contagion here?
Cmon guys — time to outgrow katrina kaif…. Lol
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Attracting ample baaraatis
September 14, 2011 – 08:18 IST
Finally, after years, sorry decades, the film industry is seeing such good times. 2011 has proved a significant year for Bollywood. Right from the onset of this year to BODYGUARD last week and MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN last Friday, the business has witnessed a major turnaround. Not too long ago, a film-maker/Studio would find it excruciatingly difficult to recover the investment, but the right economics, coupled with choosing mass-friendly scripts, have done the trick. Of course, the invaluable contribution of the stars cannot be overlooked either.
Last week’s BODYGUARD will ensure profits of at least Rs 40 cr to Rs 45 cr [yes, you read it right!], while the new release, MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN, has attracted ample baaraatis [read moviegoers] as well. The trade is gung-ho about MAUSAM too. It should start with a bang. There’s a flipside, but we will talk about that later.
First, let’s see where MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN stands as far as its business is concerned. Having collected an impressive Rs 25.6 cr nett in its opening weekend, the film has already ensured profits for its producers, who are also its distributors – Yash Raj. Having cost YRF close to Rs 30 cr [inclusive of P & A], the Studio has already recovered a big chunk of its investment – close to Rs 20 cr – from sale of Satellite Rights. Which means, the balance amount of Rs 10 cr has to be recovered from the whole of India, entire Overseas, Music Rights and of course, Home Video.
In view of the fact that MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN has had a super weekend, the 3-day share itself works out to close to Rs 12 cr +, from India theatrical business alone. Which means, YRF are in profits from Monday itself. Mind you, I am not accounting the business it has accumulated in Overseas markets, since the business from India alone would suffice.
Now the flipside. There’s no breathing space for films anymore. You have to score in the opening weekend itself and pack decent numbers on weekdays. Else, a new biggie would not only eat your share of screens at cineplexes, but also gobble away a substantial chunk of your revenue in the next weekend. While BODYGUARD had an extensive release during Eid, the cineplexes had to make way for MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN last Friday and now, the screen count of MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN would be reduced considerably to accommodate MAUSAM when it releases. This would be regular occurrence in times to come.
In a scenario like this, the question is, how will medium-budget or low cost films find an outlet? The right shows and right screens? Your guess is as good as mine!
Some time since i commented here. Well, read the last few comments here–and found myself agreeing TOTALLY with these words from Satyam (sep 13,7.56 pm) who had responded to one Sammy (who contends that Aamir is pretentious about serious cinema–and now i am outraged totally). Anyway, let me repeat Satyam’s words–
Not sure whose comment you’re responding to here. Will say you’re unintentionally hilarious when you accuse Aamir of doing some atrocious movies (Mela is the only one I’d classify as such over the last 15 years or more of his career) and then celebrate Salman’s choice of films! As for 3I I can accept someone not liking this but then one should also dislike 99% of films Salman has ever done. There should be some consistency here. So you’re giving Salman a pass for his bad films, meanwhile you are questioning a lot of Aamir’s choices. Is this an honest criticism? To be brutally honest I find most criticism of 3I simple not credible from the sources who have questioned it. SRK fans who didn’t mind a number of SRK films including something like KHNH where ‘coke’ was pronounced ‘cock’, ‘hall’ was pronounced’ hole’ by a stereotypical Gujarati character in suggestive ways, who also also don’t mind rather vulgar humor on SRK’s part on stage and so on. Similarly Salman is the star otherwise best known for riding his towel (!) in a hit video, isn’t there something suggestive here? What about stripping at the drop of a hat? What about all his farting in HDDCS? And I could go on. let’s be consistent here!
Well said Satyam.That image of salman riding a towel–have all his fans forgotten this horrible scene?
Aamir’s Mela was truly bad, his one unforgivable film; and the peeing in bottle scene was an ‘indicated, understood’ scene. bad enough–but Salman riding a towel– that was one yuck scene, in your face. How easily salman’s fans excuse him such transgressions. I am happy for his recent successes–but Ready had regressive dialogue, in true tradition of south masala ; terrible film really, even if it became a hit.
Yo LS…
nice to hear from u back.
What have u been reading– anything easy light but still nice (non fiction)?
Agree about salmans “towel scene”– even I found it uncomfortable (to perform)lol
Ps— sudden free time on official trip.
Being introduced to art gallery stuff–wow
What art from 12-15 century!!
“chastity”– women having to prove virginity by carrying water in a sieve lmao lol
As always, won’t spare even art in my “numbers game”.
Will have to hand it to van gogh, in general.
But found seurats –beyond Impressionism an “eye opener”— if any1 interested…lol
Hello Aex. Was in fact today re-reading an old favourite from my book shelf– the second book of David Niven’s two part autobiography. The first is called the Moon’s a Bolloon and the second is ‘Bring on the empty horses’. Both books were my lucky finds–found them one by one during my ‘old books browsing ‘ jaunts–was really happy to pick up the second one, since i’d enjoyed the first. Both of Niven’s books are hugely witty and enjoyable. Have managed to collect a few really good out of print books, this way. Once found the original story account of the Sound of Music family.
And my interest in good cinema + good books is well satisfied with such books. Have managed over the years to read (vide some years with British Council library) some terrific film related books– bios and autobios of Michael Caine , Audrey Hepburn, Blake Edwards, the unauthorized bio of Madonna (apparently Sean Penn was truly badly behaved), a book titled ‘It’s only a film Ingrid’…..wish we had more film related books here in India. I have just two–a collection of articles about Bollywood greats and The spirit of Lagaan by Satyajit Bhatkal. Both are well written, witty and readable without being hagiographic…but we need more. Oh yes, read the Leela Naidu bio, recently… my library had it. They also had the bios of Rajnikant. AR Rahman and Shivaji Ganesan–good stuff, but nothing really fine and funny.
Thanx LS–u seem a prolific reader.
Seems fine– unless in audio format, may need to employ some1 just to read these out to me lol
If interested in nonfiction, try the autobiography of Iacocca and also the bush/ Blair audio….
Will just quote a couple of funny bits from David Niven’s second book.
From Bring on the Empty Horses , front page blurb.
Here is Niven at his best. He and Errol Flynn were filming the Charge of the Light Brigade for a director Michael Curtiz, ‘whose Hungarian-orientated English was a joy to us all. High on the rostrum he decided the moment had come to order the arrival on the scene of a hundred riderless chargers. “Okay, ” he yelled into a megaphone, “Bring on the empty horses!” ‘
From the author’s preface/intro piece–
To be an actor it is essential to be an egomaniac, otherwise it just doesn’t work. The supreme act of egomania is to sit down and write one hundred and thirty thousand words about oneself. That I have already done in The Moon….so you will be relieved to learn that this is not a book about David Niven…at least, it is not meant to be. Unfortunately, the actor’s urge to take up a firm position at center stage is a strong one and if, despite valiant efforts to remain in the wings, I have, on occasion, eased myself forward, I apologize.
*********************************************************
Just remembered that i have this great little book on my shelf–it’s a collection of quotes and it’s called Funny Ladies.
Here’s a sampler, from the ‘actors and acting’ section.
‘She’s okay if you like talent’. Ethal Merman, on her friend Mary Martin.
^^good one there : oldgold
Though pray tell us how u were reminded of THIS one from
LS’ s nice post lol
Did u mean LS cannot write? Cmon that’s not fair -haha
Also was expecting something on “erotomania” from you (from your fascination for “Jude” explicitness) like the one on “egomania” by LS — (joking) lol
Bodyguard Has completed two weeks (14 days) at the box office and its total is around 127 crore. It collected 109.50 crore in its nine day first week then 14 crore nett in its second weekend while second Monday was around 1.85 crore nett and Tuesday around 1.65 crore nett. The biggest two week grossers ever are as follows.
Hmmm.
How about the lowest First day to Fifteenth day collections ratio?
It is really stupid to look at this things in isolation.
BG opened massively and earned quite a bit of money for everyone.
Salman’s pull is undeniable. Overanalysing numbers and coming up with these ridiculous records is however, stupid.
BTW, if anyone wants a good laugh – try reading Joginder Tuteja’s Ra.1 music review. A lesson in how not to review!
Just a sample: ‘It isn’t just the grandest score of the year but is also one of the hugest ever that has come out of Bwood”’
And when bose DK was declared as iconic and anthem and what not?
The media does it for everyone.
There is a lot about Salman at present. When D3 or dhuaan are going to be released there’ll be a lot of exaggeration there as well.
I think the media hype is as bad in India as it is in America over celebrities.
One can’t mix up different kinds of claims. On DB it did strike an ‘alternative’ chord with an important cross-section of the audience. It had a cult element to it. The media was focusing on this. Don’t think there was any great exaggeration here. What you’re referring to in terms of the breathless media reporting on all kinds of topics (not just the film media) is a very different matter altogether. That’s the nature of the beast but in certain instances let’s say that it’s a lot more breathless than in other case. Aamir has never got the kind of fawning attention that some other stars get. He got it after Ghajini but also after many years of important critical and commercial successes when he didn’t get as much attention as he deserved. and I was saying this at the time. So just because there’s a general atmosphere of hyperbole doesn’t mean everyone’s an equal beneficiary. Check out the music review of Ra One on Bollywoodhungama. I have not seen this level of hyperbole anywhere else for any kind of soundtrack by that writer. With Abhishek the media/trade is largely hostile. Good reviews for one film or another don’t change that. Sure if he suddenly starts getting 100 crore hits that might change but that still wouldn’t argue against my point. Because many other stars don’t have to do the same to avoid hostile treatment. As for D3 or Dhuaan if there is exaggeration on the facts I shall say the same then as well. Years ago D2 trended well and my counter-intuitive claim was that this film could have done 100 crores had it just been a better script.
On the US there’s no comparison. This is a celebrity obsessed culture but there is never an exaggeration of basic facts. Because everything is verifiable, people who crunch numbers aren’t in bed with various stars and so on.
>As for D3 or Dhuaan if there is exaggeration on the facts I shall say the same then as well.
I think almost everyone, including me, is saying this is an exaggeration.
I hate ‘fusion’, the reason I don’t like the new AR rahman, but somehow I have liked all the songs of this (the blend here is really good), except one, Right by me.(and chchamak chhallo is not that good)..so I’m ready to accept there must be something different if even I have liked it, but of course one doesn’t come up with a statement like this. I wouldn’t.
But my comment was in response to your;
>what’s going on here is so transparent..
That’s why I said, it will happen in the future for other stars too.
It was not to say you won’t accept this fact then.
I think there was a lot of fusion on R D Burman’s part as well. Unless you didn’t like a lot of his stuff too. Not that I am arguing against such a preference on your part.
On ‘exaggeration’ here’s the problem — I don’t see this as something abstract. It is so only in terms of defining the nature of the beast (the 24/7 media cycle). Even here it’s not just about exaggeration but about inducing a sense of constant alert in the viewer with news flashes, crawls and all kinds of audio-visual stimuli. So if there’s a car chase on screen the footage doesn’t exaggerate anything. It just intensely focuses on something that isn’t important at all. Reality is converted into hyper-reality by the media.
But ‘exaggeration’ is something far more specific when it comes to specific public figures and is often served to advance a narrative. For example why is it that Aamir or Salman (or whoever) actually have to prove that they can get 100 crores while with SRK this is presented as a logical conclusion. So if anyone can get 100 he can too, if anyone can get 200 he can too. Why? Why doesn’t Hrithik get the same benefit of the doubt when he too has been one of the biggest box office openers over the last decade. Now other things might be exaggerated about Hrithik, his performances and so on but his box office isn’t in the same way. Similarly Abhishek’s negatives are exaggerated in the opposite direction. So on and so forth. It’s all ‘exaggeration’ but it serves very different ends. Today the media apparatus favors Aamir after a decade of simply unparalleled success within his generation of stars and beyond. But with other stars the bar is not that high. Forget SRK, Salman just had one Wanted after ages in the wilderness and there was that whole ‘Salman is back’ nonsense. Given that much time any star can get back! Devgan’s back too! Aamir never got this kind of benefit, not even after his super 2006. After Ghajini things changed but he’s also been playing to media a lot more in terms of availability and additionally creating the right buzz with different looks and so on, all of which makes a difference. If SRK had had Lagaan the media would have called him the planet’s greatest star right then! With Aamir despite all the Oscar hype and so on things dissipated quickly (as a matter of narrative, not with the audiences of course). And then when MP didn’t worked it’s failure was completely exaggerated. RDB then turned the tide. I could go on. Again with hrithik the ‘exaggeration’ (not entirely spontaneous!) is usually about his performance and how he looks. But he’s never had leeway on his flops whether earlier or now.
This is why I’ve always said that people who buy the BOI worldview or that of Taran or Nahata, it is because they are invested in it at some level or the other. Not because they’re dolts and completely puzzled about the ‘facts’. They like what they read. And over the years many who have pushed these narratives even on blogs have had questionable credibility to say the least.
Cmon guyz cool it lol.
Firstly–
“it was the word ‘talent’.”–I seee
Ok let’s grant it–let me give oldgold a pat on the back…
Btw as for this Srk /aamir thing– feel that oldgold literally “loves” & this is not the superficial types but the transcendental types– in this case– Srk…certain things are beyond reason lol
So she should have our “support”& “protection” for expressing this (&infact nurturing it)lol
Cheers folks
just to respond to someone who was ‘outraged’ by myh comment. i never once suggested that salman khan does serious or good cinema. i think salman is the only actor who is quite honest about his work and doesn’t take himself seriously or his movies seriously. he says himself his movies are for those who want to have fun – yet he is always criticised for his movies etc. aamir on the other hand bleats on about doing serious cinema so he is therefore open to more criticism for his movies as he purports to have higher standards than others and is classed as a genious. if you claim yourself to be superior and better than others then you should be judged by higher standards also.
as for satyam saying that aamir only atrocious movie was mela what about atank hi atank, love love love, jawani zindabad,parampara, afsana pyar ka etc etc.
also its easy giving hits with big directors etc. not so easy when you dont work with such big directors.
i dont have an issue with any of the actors and enjoy all the 3 khans in their movies but what gets my goat is how the other two aamir khan and srk think they are better when i dont think they neccesarily are. they may take their work more seriously than salman does – who clearly doesnt take as much interest but neither of the other two have done mind blowing performances where ive thought no other actor can do. they ve been good but not brilliant. and 3 idiots and ghajini are good movies (tho personally i didnt like 3 idiots but i know im in the minority here) but theyre not excellent or ground breaking movies. as oldgold said i dont really care if movies are hits or trend well – most of the time the movies i like are flops but i dont care cos i like them.
i just think people need to get real and realise that majjority of movies in india are popcorn stuff – good timepass stuff and theres nothing wrong with that but they dont make groundbreaking or serious cinema and if they do they dont work. i mean i dont see bollywood making a ‘bol’ or ‘khuda ke liye’.
the point is – if u say you’re better than the rest then you should expect to be judged by higher standards. simples!
Just because Salman hasn’t done serious stuff too often or hardly ever doesn’t mean that others haven’t either. Again your criticism relies on Aamir films that he did right after QSQT (safe to say that phase is an outlier in his career, he never repeated those mistakes), one Aatank hi Aatank which was delayed for a very long time and then released but wasn’t reflective of the decisions Aamir was making at the time, and one Mela. If you look at Aamir’s career post HHRPK in 1994 and then move forward to the present day I think there is only one film I would classify as junk and this is Mela. I am hardly a fan of Aatank.. but it’s not the worst movie experience out there. Even if you included this you have two films. Other than these there is no film that any reasonable person could call terrible or bad relative to the standards of the industry. So you have to set up this very insincere argument to somehow make your case. Why? Because you pick one film from 1992, one from 2001 to make the case against Aamir when with Salman one could go more or less chronologically year by year and one would be hard pressed to find the ‘good’ films! Or else it depends on deconstructing stuff like Ghajini and 3I. Which would be fine except that then I wonder how you can bear to watch anything in Salman’s career barring perhaps 3-4 films! Leaving this aside what actor hasn’t done bad films? There are very many. But the point relates to about the general trajectory of one’s career. It’s like Akshay Kumar has mostly junk films. It’s just a statement of fact. So yes Aamir should be judged by higher standards and by any such reasonable standard there’s a difference of light years between the films he’s done and the ones Salman has. That’s evident even today. When Salman does ETT this sounds like a great serious project for him. For Aamir this would seem like run of the mill stuff pitched at the box office. we saw what happened when he did Fanaa! Just Fanaa is better than 95% of films Salman has ever done! All of this is not an argument against Salman. These are the facts. And this is the sort of thing SRK fans sometimes pull also. Fanaa is bad, Ghajini is ordinary, what’s so great about 3I? and so on. And what do these people otherwise love? RNBDJ and KHNH and what not! The problem with these ‘debates’ a lot of times is just a basic lack of sincerity and honesty.
also – just to add didn’t ghajini and 3 idiots have 3 clear weeks of its release with no competition?? im not a film expert like yourself but im sure if theres no competition with a big release then surely that movie is gonna do better. im sure bodyguards second week collections wouldve been better had mbkd hadnt released – no??
anyway personally i never see a movie twice at the cinemas no matter how good it is – rather watch something new.
But one then has to account for all kinds of competition for all kinds of stars.. one can’t suddenly start picking examples.. Bodyguard incidentally started slipping on the very second day and even when it rose a bit on the weekend it still didn’t get to those first day numbers. When I saw its trending over the first three days I was pretty sure it would do a quick fade. But let me provide a SRK example here. RNBDJ did well even with the Ghajini competition but not just this, it even trended well. So if Ghajini couldn’t derail RNBDJ it’s hard to believe that Imran Khan was doing a number on Salman and that too a film that had the biggest opening day ever!
1. Guddu
2. English Babu Desi Mem
3. Koyla
4. Maya MemSaab (Z Grade stuff)
5. King Uncle
6. Pahla Nasha
7. Dil Ashna Hai
8. Zamana Deewana
9. Oh Darling Ye Hai India
10. Trimurti
11. English Babu Desi Mem
12. Army
13. Dushman Duniya Ka
14. Gudgudee
15. Achanak
16. Gajgamini
17. One Two Ka Four
18. Ye Lamhe Judaai Ke
19. Shakti-The Power
20. I see you
21. Dulha Mil Gaya
Wowwwwww .. out of 40 Odd movies he has done … 21 are simply Horrible and D grade stuff and i am not counting all flops … otherwise Ashoka, Paheli, Swadesh etc were there .. but these are better movies.
According to Satyam, SRK has never given the biggest grosser of its time post DDLJ..
By that logic, Aamir shouldnt be what he is as he didnt give the biggest grosser of his time between Raja Hindustani and Ghajini..
Ishq was a small hit.
Mann was average/below average
mela was flop
DCH was average
MP was above average
RDB didnt gross as much as RH/DDLJ/KKHH even 10 years after their release.
Fanaa fell short of Krrish’s gross
TZP didnt even gross as much as CDI / Welcome that year
Finally had something with Ghajini ..
Aamir was definitely not in top pre Ghajini .. His stardom was growing post RDB .. and post Ghajini .. he became top star. Now Salman who was not even in top 5 before wanted .. now has top spot ..
Thing is post Amitabh .. no one dominate number one position for long .. It was only Bachchan who hold this position for upto 18 Years .. (1975-1992).
Wasn’t SRK the biggest superstar post DDLJ unlike Aamir who was just a small star so how are you expecting him to give the biggest hit? Isn’t SRK who is supposed to do so as he is the biggest globally recognized star?
@ The Bollywood Fan. This is eles here from Aamir’s blog–you may remeber me, or not. We used to have some fun times there, many of us–but the place is now sadly neglected by its host. Ah well; hello and hope to visit your site again.
And as for the discussion here–Aamir is generally dragged in by a certain puranisona, whether warranted or not! To clarify–many of us Aamir fans are not all anti SRK; I quite like SRK for certain qualities and his successful film career. It’s very brave of him to invest so much money and faith in Ra-one—and I hope it pays off completely; I’m sure it will, considering his humugous fan base throughout the world–and then many SRK fans will become more insufferably anti-Aamir than before! That will be the only downside of Ra-one’s success–but that’s to be expected I guess. Salman fans are partying away on various Bolly fora, next it’s going to be SRk fans—wish such partying did not involve pulling down of rival actors; but tht’s exactly what’s happening–and shamefully, the filmi media too is indulging in this game of crowning one and pulling of another’s gilded seat. Silly and immature attitude towards the cycle of success and failure…but there it is.
Dear Lalsub, I don’t think we had a discussion before but I know you from NG and Aamir’s blog too.
And I don’ have any problem with SRK at all, In fact I quite liked some of his movies, don’t udnerstand why SRK fans hate Aamir to such extent. Salman and Hrithik fans love Aamir even Akshay fans too.
Most of Aamir haters are SRK fans!
^^^agree bollywood fan
“Most of Aamir haters are SRK fans!”—u have a point—not sure why…
There is perhaps an inherent “dichotomy” and thats WHY they become big srk fans in the first place.
Anyhow, any new theories on this would be welcum
Also if u are an srk fan, plz help oldgold aunty in the other ra1 thread–she needs it hahaha
LOL AD, well, I’m a huge Aamir fan since many years, don’t have any problem with SRK. I love Sallu a lot too.
But I’m really stunned to see a fangirl like Oldgold having such hatred towards Aamir. I mean one wonders what the hell did the guy do to her? Anyways I’m not forcing anyone to like Aamir but hell I personnaly can’t hate anyone even in real life this way let alone a Filmstar!
Well hope OldGold forgives Aamir soon.
That’s completely unfair. There are many Aamir fans here who don’t say much about SRK. For some others including myself whatever I say about Aamir isn’t connected at all with what I say about SRK. In some contexts a comparison comes up just as today Salman has set some extraordinary benchmarks and it remains to be seen whether SRK can match them. In fact you’re the one person here who mentions something about Aamir almost a 100% of the time in any SRK context. Anytime someone says something about SRK you don’t like you bring up Aamir. Even if you think some of us are unfair to SRK (you’re within your rights to do so as not just any SRK fan but someone who’s even willing to deconstruct Bachchan — Don — to support SRK, this notable only because you otherwise like Bachchan) 95% of the time the discussion has nothing to do with Aamir or anyone else at all. If we’re discussing the box office comparisons are natural. But I don’t need Aamir’s films to call RNBDJ a junk film! And so on.
Exactly!!!
I see no one expect oldgold mentionning Aamir here, I mean the discussion is about SRK and his films right? Then give the man a break why are you behind him? If someone doesn’t like SRK does that mean he is necesserly an Aamir fan?
I know many Sallu fans who hate SRK and to the core, AKshay fans too hell even Hrithik fans sometimes!!
Why all this hatred towards a filmstar? Someone who you have never met(pobably), who did nothing to you so why this hatred why?????
Come on, all of you.
What difference does it make whether you bash SRK in a different post and wax eloquent over Amir in a different post.
It doesn’t make a difference to the opinion being propogated that “we are mocking SRK, his films, his ways/behaviour as compared to Amir’s.”
Or
“we are the intelligent ones while the fans of SRK are…” ummm…what are those adjectives used rajen, satyam…anyone?
I think you’re really wading deep into conspiracy territory here! One could make any sort of connection this way! Any praise of an actor could be seen as underhanded dissing of another one. or to praise one and do the opposite with another could be seen as a conspiracy!
Oddly there is a connection and it’s rather obvious. If one likes meaningful entertainment one rates those films highly that exhibit such. So on my part I praise Rathnam whether Abhishek acts in his films or SRK (I’ve actually praised Dil Se more than Guru and Yuva in many contexts). similarly and despite some shortcomings I have always on the whole been positive about Swades. The thing is that as far as I’m concerned Aamir or Abhishek engage in a lot more of such efforts. Incidentally I was even rather kind to MNIK. But there is a consistency here. Not like those fans including yourself who manage to like anything their favorite stars in and similarly those again including yourself who are willing to deconstruct any and everything to ‘protect’ the favored one. I don’t support films like Raja Hindustani! Nor do I extol the virtues of Dostana (even if I found it progressive in certain ways). I am not excited about Italian Job and Bol Bachchan. I’ve repeated these examples again and again but if one refuses to argue rationally nothing can be done about it. Incidentally I believe Rajen was rather kind to MNIK as well. It should be pretty obvious what’s going on here. I’ve said far worse about akshay’s films and salman’s films. Doing KHNH or RNBDJ is the same kind of deal for me. When an actor attempts something meaningful even if I don’t ultimately care for the film I don’t attack it either other than within the bounds of a serious ideological discussion.
The problem which many SRK fans have is that they are completely incapable of imagining a worldview where their favorite isn’t somehow an integral part of the discussion. Whether it’s about the box office or about meaningful cinema. I’ve said a lot about hrithik or Salman over the years too but very rarely have I been attacked for this. Do I have deeper objections with respect to SRK and Johar? Of course! And I’ve laid these out at length. The problem is that one launches a discussion fans like yourself suggest that the entire argument has been constructed to denigrate SRK! The fact that on the very same grounds I’ve castigated many other stars including Bachchan on his own blog is conveniently ignored. So there is consistent and overwhelming ideological evidence here. Of course since the fan just cannot imagine a world where SRK isn’t spoken about except in positive terms he or she is then forced to created increasingly ‘daft’ reasons for why the opposition is reacting a certain way to him. And I’ve said this before too. Sometimes one comes across other star fans too who get upset when their favorite is questioned. But with no other set of star fans does one consistently get the sense, as with SRK fans, that the mere questioning of him is a completely illegitimate activity on any level whatsoever.
And again one can dismiss everything or try all kinds of weak and stale humor to get around these ‘debates’ but this doesn’t change anything. There is no moral duty to like SRK and agree with his project! It’s precisely this sort of structure that I have always resisted. This tendency to try and end all debate when he’s the subject. You are a prime candidate for everything I’m saying here. But of course one can nonetheless cling to one’s point and insist the other is biased or whatever. There are options in life that rescue one from any sort of rational debate. To repeat what I started out with it is so obvious as to why I like Aamir’s work or Abhishek’s and not SRK’s (or why I have supported Akshay and Salman at the box office despite finding most of their films unwatchable) that it would take less than an Einstein to figure this out!
Let’s all relax guys! rI could respond to some of the comments here but I’d be repeating myself (a novel concept for me!) and more than this don’t want the forum to be clogged with the very same stuff again and again. A proper box office discussion is fine but when it’s often less than this in these threads.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has remained pretty steady on the weekdays and will finish the week with around 37.50 crore nett. It will be the fifth biggest opening week of the year.
The postponement of Mausam by one week gives Mere Brother Ki Dulhan a good chance to get around the 60 crore nett lifetime mark as the fall in the second week will be much smaller than it would have been if Mausam had been released this week. Multiplexes are keeping it on 8-10 shows daily in its second week.
It should also become the highest earner of Imran Khan which till date is Delhi Belly with a distributor share of 27.50 crore approx.
It ceratinly has been a good year from Imran. For a while, it looked like he had squandered away the oppurtunities provided by a great start in JTYJN but atleast he has stabilised as of now. Mind you, am not a particular fan of any of his recent movies and a lot of success is nto directly attributable to him but he definitely has a following amonst the younger set, particularly females. I wish he gets something substantial to see if he can really act.
Rana Daggubati’s father tries to stop Mausam’s release in the south
By Subhash K. Jha, September 15, 2011 – 11:04 IST
Mausam If reliable reports coming from the South are to be believed, then a very powerful lobby from Hyderabad helmed by producer Suresh Babu who is Rana Daggubati’s father, is targeting for ban on Pankaj Kapoor’s Mausam in the South.
Says a source, “It’s a dispute between one of the Mausam producers Madhu Mantena and Suresh Babu. Sauresh Babu claims Mantena owes him Rs. 3 crores from an earlier deal during the release of Rann that Mantena had produced. Mantena, however, is clear that whatever the financial dispute over Rann, it does not involve Mantena. In retaliation, Suresh Babu has used his huge influence in the South for distributors and exhibitors to boycott Mausam unless the Rs. 3-crore alleged dues are cleared.”
Mantena is evasive on the matter. He finally admits, “Yes, there is an issue with Rana’s father. We’re trying to solve it amicably. But there seems no scope for discussion.”
When contacted Rana Daggubati did not deny the dispute between his dad and Mantena.
Says Rana, “I’m a professional actor and not too linked with the production and distribution arm of the company. With regards to this particular matter, I’m not too sure of the details of the deal structure that Madhu had with the company in the past. It wouldn’t be right for me to comment on this.”
Major Blow for Kollywood- 100% tax increase
2011-09-15 09:35:09
The Tamil Nadu state government has increased entertainment tax (ET) in cinema theatres by 100 %.
A Bill passed by the state assembly on Wednesday (Sep 14) included DTH service providers to pay 30% tax and IPL matches in Chennai have also been brought under the entertainment tax net.
Cinema theatres in Tamil Nadu will have to pay double the tax on every ticket sold. At the moment ET in 10 Corporations and 22 Municipalities is 15 % of the gross ticket amount which has been increased to 30%.
In Panchayat areas the ET is currently 10%, which has been increased to 20%.
It means in Chennai city out of every Rs 120 ticket sold, the industry (Theatre & Distributor/Producer) was getting back Rs 102, when it was 15% tax.
Now for every Rs 120 ticket sold only Rs 84 will come back to the industry with ET at 30 %!
The government has made it clear that there is a cap on ticket charges and old rates will be applicable. The theatres will not be able to charge the audiences more because of the cap.
The new ET is going to badly effect box-office collections, as the government will take away an additional 15 %, leaving the industry to fend for itself. It is badly going to hit small films more than the biggies. A veteran producer and exhibitor said : “The industry stands to lose 15% of revenue. We will meet the CM and request her to reconsider this decision. As per the cap we cannot pass it on to the consumers.”
Chennai Box Office (Sep 9 – 11)
Chennai Box Office (Sep 9 – 11) | Tuesday, 13 September , 2011, 17:33
There is no real competition to Ajith`s Mankatha the clear number one at CBO. The film in 12 days has taken a distributors share of approximately Rs 3.25 Crore from Chennai city, which is phenomenal.
Way down in the number two position is Kanchana, which is still doing well in multiplexes and single screens. In the third place is the new youth Bollywood movie Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, which benefited due to a large number of shows in multiplexes.
At number four is Final Destination 5, which continues to do decent business. And the big surprise is that Deivathirumagal has made a comeback to the fifth place at CBO due to its strong weekend collections in multiplexes.
Ajith has definitely thrown up some remarkable numbers this time. True A-list numbers as opposed to some of the previous hype which was less than warranted. Meanwhile Vikram too has a hit in a different subject.
Did hope that post Raavanan Ratnam would stick to Vikram for the next Tamil film..or at least resurrect Madhavan. Bottomline I’m glad (if some rumors are to believed) he’s making a Tamil film and not a bilingual deal…
I think the point to be discussed vis-a-vis Bodyguard is not how it’s trending, but how did it even get to its present day number?
By all accounts, this is a pretty mediocre film. I don’t think even Salman fans will come out to defend this one.
Even more surprising is the fact that Bodyguard has made more money overseas than ZNMD! This is a clear indicator of just how popular Salman is at the moment.
I think his TV shows (DKD, Big Boss) are the most significant factors behind his current upswing. He should do more TV shows and less films; Preserve his mass appeal to select films and even more records will get shattered.
Just imagine if Dabangg had released today after 2 consecutive 100 crore grossers, it’d have done 150 crores easily in its extended opening week alone!
I’m no fan of Salman Khan, but it sure looks like he has a genuine connection with the movie-going audience in India. He always had a fan following, but since his TV appearances, he has grown his base. He needs to follow it up by choosing good scripts though.
Incidentally, he’s the only star, apart from AB, who has benefitted in a huge way by working in TV shows.
He succeeded where SRK, Akki & Hrithik failed. Of course, Aamir didn’t even bother with making an appearance on TV. And that helps too. His ‘exclusivity’ is a big reason behind the grand openings that he commands these days.
One final point about Sallu’s TV appearances: he didn’t benefit from the format of the show; it’s actually the reverse. The shows benefitted from his ‘bindaas’ attitude on display. He was always one with the audience, cracking jokes, teasing filmi colleagues on his own show. He clearly had fun, and in the process won over quite a few fans. More than ‘quite a few’ actually…
will agree with your point on Salman being benefited by TV but would also add that Dabanng offered a complete reset to his career and of the kind stars rarely see. The clock just restarted with this film for him. Remember after Wanted he had veer which didn’t do anything and London Dreams which did as poorly. But currently he’s in the post-Dabanng zone. Where you’re again right is that if he doesn’t do somewhat better scripts even for this format he will see diminishing returns relatively soon. But the whole problem is that when you hit it big with films like Ready and Bodyguard people are quite likely to offer you the same sort of stuff again. Even otherwise the very best Bombay directors are not going to get attracted to Salman anytime soon! And this is where the star who doesn’t have the reputation of an actor is ultimately hamstrung. Because the possibility of a certain kind of project is simply foreclosed. ETT is just about the best he’ll get and I’d be surprised if it did better than the Ready kind of film overall.
Would disagree a touch on the Bachchan analogy. I think Bachchan through these TV stints and most of his ads offers a greater connection with his older (younger!) self than do most of his film outings over the last 15 years or so. The demand for him has always been there but the audience hasn’t often found the bachchan they seek in the films. Hence there is often a sharp gap on the numbers. He’s had success in films, he’s had some very acclaimed commercial successes. But on TV he beats the competition in absolute terms. So for example his current KBC (his fourth such outing) is handily beating Hrithik’s dance show. Even Salman’s shows have never been close to these kinds of ratings consistently (though he’s done better than his other peers for sure). It’s certainly true that Salman’s movie market was under-represented for most of the past decade. He was in the doldrums most of those years (this too ties to my other point.. if you’re not considered a true actor you have nothing when you’re down on your luck). Now the return of masala helps him as his base really becomes an important part of the deal. The multiplexes have transferred some of their Akshay affections to him (!), who incidentally has been totally foolish not to jump on the masala bandwagon much earlier.
“Incidentally, he’s the only star, apart from AB, who has benefitted in a huge way by working in TV shows.”
Looking at the collections of AB’s movies recently don’ think he benefited here like Salman. Even Salman I don’t think benefited from TV appearance. The only thing which changed Salman’s career is Wanted. Ajay Devgan’s Singham is doing 100 crores is a proof of that. It tells a lot about people’s choice.
Well, for starters, AB isn’t exactly playing roles that tie to his image on KBC! Salman, on the other hand, is…
The point is, AB’s TV sojourn has been a huge success as the TRPs indicate. And only Salman has been able to “grow” his fan-base by venturing into television.
Also, Wanted happened after DKD. Not the other way round. Wanted and Dabangg don’t exist in a vacuum. The cause and effect relationship may not be 100%, but it certainly is there.
Not saying they exist in a vacuum but DKD never had the kinds of numbers that would suggest a sudden new reinvention for the star. Which is not to say that people didn’t like him here or that he didn’t increase his audience to some degree. But it’s hard to see how this could have led to huge box office results when these results were not that remarkable on TV. I just have a different theory about this. There was a market for Salman, under-represented for some of the reasons I mentioned earlier. Finally the masala turn started happening and Salman did Wanted at the right time. A remake of the biggest Telugu grosser ever before Magadheera. It did very well in Hindi but the 60 crore gross or so wasn’t that extraordinary. The film did extremely well in single/double screens while multiplexes were ok to barely decent. It’s fair to say that many who probably saw Wanted at home also liked it. So a follow-up to Wanted would have done better anyway (assuming a certain quality.. this wasn’t true for Veer!). But Dabanng just clicked instantly in terms of the trailers and the music and so on. The only question was whether the somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude of the film as displayed in the trailer would work in a big way. But the whole combo just clicked in a massive way. His base audience had been waiting for this sort of deal from him for a long time but the tone and aesthetics of Dabanng brought the multiplexes on board too. The rest is history. So again I’m not saying DKD didn’t help. But I’d say Wanted helped more (his first hit in really ages) and Dabanng just reset everything. So check out Wanted’s initial after DKD and Veer’s after Wanted. But then look at how Dabanng opened and how everything has been opening since. I think Dabanng is quite clearly the dividing line. Which doesn’t at all mean that it came in a vacuum.
Yes, there is definitely a point at which Salman hit Ctrl+Alt+Del
And I think that happened with DKD. Everything else since then can be traced as a gradual progression (Veer had Salman in a really weird getup, mouthing lines like ‘Mere Dadda ki talwaar’ etc, which doesn’t really cut much ice with the multiplex audience, I think!). This “progression” is much like the snowball effect until it reached an avalanche. Or the avalanche *still* lies ahead, which is a scary thought. Not for film distributors though.
In many ways I’d like Salman’s run to continue although I’m not really going to watch most of his films. His is a genuine connection with the masses, and it’d be a shame if it went sour for whatever reason…
yeah I enjoyed him in Dabanng, didn’t think too much of the film but the stuff he’s done since then isn’t really something I’d check out anywhere though some here like Ready.
the thing is Saket that the Salman kind of star paradoxically depends on the Bodyguard kind of film. Perhaps something better but not a whole lot. If Salman started doing Aamir’s kind of cinema (RDB and the like) he’d actually be less successful. Because I don’t think the audience sees him that way,. Much as Akshay had all those hit comedies for a while but the audience didn’t want him to do ‘serious’ stuff. Some stars are just not perceived that way. Alternatively there are other stars who couldn’t keep doing non-serious stuff. It would give them box office success upto a point but it would eventually deconstruct their signature. For example Aamir’s prestige depends on his doing serious entertainment more often than not. He couldn’t just do D3 and Fanaa all the time.
On your larger point I think this current multiplex audience is by and large pretty bankrupt. They just don’t want anything serious. When you see a film like G3 doing the way it did you just know most serious films don’t have a chance unless they’re unusually entertaining or have an overall appealing package. In every age there is a market for ‘stupid cinema’ but it’s been particularly lucrative in this age. And even the ‘serious’ stuff that has really sold well has been of the kind that the multiplex audiences didn’t have a serious ideological objection to and equally the films in questions were also ‘entertainers’ for one reason or another. Unlike say the 70s there is I would suggest no example in the last 20 years of a film that truly puts the multiplex audience in an uncomfortable spot in terms of their ‘values’ and ‘beliefs’ and really hits it out of the park. None whatsoever. Which is why when it’s a film like Delhi 6 one can certainly find it flawed in many ways but that’s beside the point. That’s not the reason it didn’t do well. Because far more flawed films work in all kinds of formats. The perspective of D6 just isn’t one the audiences are willing to embrace. And there are other examples too with other stars.
Today cinema has just become something to be consumed. No one’s looking for the ‘experience’ which every serious film entails. Whenever I revisit some iconic stuff from the 70s (even some stuff I don’t like.. for example Roti Kapada aur Makaan) I always wonder how today’s audiences would react to those films. They’d run out of the theaters shrieking and screaming! It’s not just about G3. In an age where the target audience thinks ZNMD is a perfect expression of ‘finding yourself’, where DB is considered the height of subversion you can tell how challenged anything half-serious is going to be.
Don’t disagree with you at all. But there’s a difference (a huge one) between Golmaal 3 & Bodyguard’s opening and closing figures. It’s true that mindless stuff often works, but to get these kind of numbers (especially overseas, where G3 did squat) requires a “genuine” connection with the audience. One can even see why G3 worked; comedies like SIK, Welcome along with some of Dhawan’s films worked too. It can be attributed to the genre as well.
But how does one define Bodyguard? It’s certainly NOT a comedy and it’s not exactly an action-masala kind of a deal. It’s just a bad film. Bad ‘masala’ film, some people would say. It still made at least 10 times the money it deserves to make!
Now Singham has also crossed the 100 crore barrier, but it limped towards the goal-post. And it was a pure action-masala kind of a deal that probably gets more support out of single screens compared to other genres. Bodyguard’s numbers are simply out of line with all “extrinsic” factors except for the one that points towards Salman’s popularity.
It’s absolutely true that Salman is in the zone right now. Not underrating this factor at all. But it’s also about cumulative initials at this point given that he’s red hot. For example if you switch the releases of Ready and Bodyguard I think the initials would be proportionately affected too. Bodyguard would open as big as Ready did while the latter would open even bigger as Bodyguard did. But Bodyguard still wouldn’t trend better than it has at this moment. When a star is that hot people show up blindly as long as there is minimal consistency in terms of genres. and each success just adds to the initial.
On Singham I’d give it more credit than you. Precisely because Devgan is not where Salman is and also because Singham as you’ve said is far more pure action with not enough comedy relief and so on that it’s strong trending is that much more noteworthy. The film was very stable in getting to 100 crores. It didn’t open as big as these Salman films but it was more stable than the latter. And this kind of action has not got big numbers in ages (barring Ghajini). You’re right on the single screen appeal here but without minimal multiplex support you can’t get to 100 crores. Note how ZNMD did very well in the multiplexes (though MBKD has been keeping pace with it more or less through the first week) and went upto 90 crores but still couldn’t catch Singham. That’s pretty remarkable. Finally Salman’s films themselves have a huge single/double screen factor to them.
Interesting point. I’ll admit that although I find Salman mostly a terrible actor in his recent run of films (save Dabangg) he has in the past few years become a pretty fun, interesting guy to watch outside the movies. Still not a fan of his work in any sense but what he’s managed to do is marry his offscreen “I-don’t-give-a-shit” appeal to his onscreen roles. Of course this doesn’t make the movies any better (often quite the opposite) but it does explain the run he’s had to someone (like myself) who is otherwise perplexed at how these films are being lapped up.
agreed mostly here.. certainly off-screen I’ve found him to be one of the best Bollywood figures (and there are very few on such a list). Did like him a lot in Dabanng.
gf, agreed – i don’t know whether u’ve seen BG – there is a dialogue which raj babbar says to sallu’s character in the film “tumhara mann saaf hei” – and actually the guy looks like a pure-hearted man – and to me – this connects a very big time with indian audiences who are always game for genuine emotions….
though again it’s important to concentrate on the reset Dabanng provided. And this is a classic example of how the past gets rewritten. For most of the last decade Salman seemed quite irrelevant to the power equations. Not much worked and he hardly had any important projects in any case. Suddenly all of that is forgotten. Don’t think he acquired a heart of gold after Dabanng! These ‘reset’ buttons are crucial in the lives of public figures. However Salman might have been doing before Dabanng after this film he’s zoomed right to the top in terms of drawing initials. And he’s doing it consistently. Just as failure creates a million reasons success creates a million excuses! Or better still the reasons for failure even becomes reasons for success. Yes, often the very same factors!
salman is and will remain the “prem” of sooraj barjatya school and despite all his brat, macho stuff – he strikes the best with his endearingly pure-hearted hero-image who stands for all that is good…..to me, this is his USP. and public simply luvs him since Maine Pyar Kiya days…. and now he is at such a stage that no matter what the script is….people go to see him….big b, rajni have enjoyed this status….anyone else? i don’t think so…not putting aamir’s name here because he does only one film a year….
Saket,
Salman has a huge following for sure. Probably the biggest amongst the present generation. Am not sure if TV has added to his appeal tho I should add that I have always found him quite likeable on DKD. There is a genuineness about him that I think people like. Plus, he is quite good at the kind of films he does without having to display great acting prowess.
Coming after Dabangg abd Ready also obviously helped tho by all accounts it is the poorest of the three. Plus, the public taste has also devolved. There isa lot that is good about the youth and the successful people in the present India but ability to appreciate good cinema is not at the top of those attributes. The biggest point in the case is the mind-numbing success of trash like Golmaal 3. So, I am not actually surprised at the success of BG or even the magnitude of the success.
It is not that trashy films have not done well in the past but these days most films that run are kind of trashy. ZNMD is an exception. I use the word trashy rather loosley. What I mean is rather uninspiring and insipid masla. In all probability, Don2 aqnd Ra.1 will join the list of huge money spinners without actually being the kind of films that we like.
Hmm did not know about this..^^^tata
So there is action in Bol bachchan which apparently is a remake of a comedy “golmal”
Seems some action has been squeezed in…
Btw not sure which heroine is opposite abhi.
Last heard– there was “musical chairs” goin on — nobody actually confirmed ?
that’s what some of the stories have led me to believe too and which might explain why Genelia didn’t do the film as she was being cast for the part Prachi’s now doing.
Seeing some of the “depth” of “love” and “devotion” for some of the stars, one is reminded of this song.-below
Also, tata– this is a “classic” in the true cinematic traditions — don’t worry– satyam can’t/won’t object to these cinematic “legends”– hahaha
(somehow couldn’t find the lyrics translated link..)
just to apoint – im not bashing any actor. as i said before i like all 3 khans but aamir does do 1 movie per year so if its not a hit then something is seriously wrong. as for salman i think majority of the time his movies let him down rather than him letting the movies down. if he was as bad an actor as everyone makes out he would be rubbish in the rubbish movies he does but in fact in all his movies he is the saving grace. when srk or aamir have acted in rubbish movies or scripts there acting has been bad in those movies too whereas salman is still watchable in his bad movies. the reason why im looking forward to ETT cos this will be the first time salman will be backed by a good production house, a decent director and hopefully a good script. so it should be a well made movie. and i believe we shall see salman as the true actor in this movie. but i suppose we shall all wait and see.
the point about him being genuine and generous is true – his innocence is his charm. salman has a heart of gold and therefore the audience feel for him and he isnt pretentious or thinks hes beeter than anyone. he is humble therefore he has gods grace on him
I know many Salman fans are slightly apprehensive about ETT but I am so kicked up about that film. It will take Salman to another level (I am sure of it). More than YRF I have trust in the director Kabir and hopefully it will be a kick ass film.
Yes, it’s not what he’s done in his last few films but that’s where the excitement comes from. It will release roughly 9 months after Bodyguard which is a substantial amount of time.
It will have an astonishing initial without doubt.. And again I don’t have doubts about whether it will be ‘good’. I am just unsure if Salman’s target audience is looking for the New York kind of director. It’s just a very different kind of aesthetic from Ready and Bodyguard to put it mildly. Unless of course Kabir Khan adds some real masala here.
“this will be the first time salman will be backed by a good production house, a decent director and hopefully a good script.”
I doubt he’d get a better deal from YRF & Kabir Khan compared to what he got out of Dabangg. That was a ‘real’ script, with a real director at the helm.
ETT excites me more than any other Salman project and some stills from the film that I saw were quite good. I have no doubts that this will be a much better film than any of his recent hits ( including Dbangg) but at the same time, I am not sure enough Salman fans will show up after what will definitely be a very good opening to make it another top grosser. Not that it would bother me in the slightest if the film is good.
agree.. Dabanng was tailor made for him in many ways. Certainly it was impossible not to like him here. On ETT he’ll probably get a good film but whether it will play to his strengths in the same way is questionable. Of course an extraordinary initial is guaranteed.
If aamir gets credot for doing RDB,then he loses points for the flop of DG.You dont talk about flop of DG,but that also counts.
Aamir attempted a different film in DG and flopped.
Top All Time Second Weeks Bodyguard Not In Top Ten
Friday 16th September 2011 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard recorded the biggest first week ever but is not in the top ten as far as all time second weeks go. Despite being the biggest grosser of 2011 till date, its second week is behind Ready and Singham in 2011. Below are top fifteen second weeks of all time. (Nett Figures).
A very telling stat.. Salman should be a bit more careful about some of these films.. a couple of films that trend like this and the initial starts getting affected.. it’s pretty shocking that the film’s second week was actually only slightly ahead of JTYJN in absolute terms. And of course this means it’s actually way behind adjusted for inflation and screens. The fact is that in any reasonable sense of the word Bodyguard has been a tank after the first 5-7 day initial. The cracks were apparent even over the first three days. Sure, this is not an expensive super-production so that total gross still makes this a very profitable film for everyone concerned but Hollywood would define this kind of trending as an extreme disappointment if not indeed a flop and I think rightly so. It’s way behind Ready on that week 2 number. Just no comparison.
Karan Johar pushes Agneepath release to January 26, 2012
By Bollywood Hungama News Network, September 16, 2011 – 12:10 IST
Every big filmmaker these days wishes to release his film during a festive / holiday weekend. Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard which recently released during Eid / Ganpati raked in the moolah and now even SRK starrer Ra.One is expected to open huge this Diwali.
Reema Kagti’s untitled Aamir Khan starrer and Venus’ multi-starrer Tezz were supposed to release on Republic Day (Jan 26) weekend next year. However, Aamir feels that the post-production may take some time and hence has decided to arrive at a later date.
With one slot open on the Republic Day weekend, Karan Johar has now shifted the release date of his magnum opus Agneepath from Jan 13 to Jan 26. Karan tweeted, “AGNEEPATH is now releasing on the 26th of January, 2012″.
Meanwhile the makers of Priyadarshan directed Tezz, Venus Films, have confirmed that they are in no mood to change the release date of the film. Tezz stars Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Kangna Ranaut and Sameera Reddy.
Also, Dibarkar Banerjee’s Shanghai which stars Abhay Deol and Emraan Hashmi is scheduled to release on the Republic Day next year as of now.
So, on the Republic Day next year, get ready to witness the big clash between Agneepath, Tezz and Shanghai
I don’t regard DG as a flop by any stretch. Sure it fell rapidly after a good initial (for the genre). But normally such a film would have made Rs 2!
So trending is not applicable to DG but applicable to non aamir films.This is not an honest argument,When you set a parametre then you should apply to all stars.
Satyam,if you believe in what you write,then dont close this blog.Dont run away.Keep posting here.
ON this talk of stars capitalsing on their telly shows—
Feel that nobody has done it better than salman khan…
Hated him earlier but found him honest/endearing in the little that i saw him in 10kadum and big brother…
KNow Salman fans wont like to hear this, but to me his entire filmography may is less significant than Dabang and a few scenes in Tere Naam….
ps—bachchan has been undoubtedly fluid and more than adept in kbc4. But to me, he is somehow getting repetitive/predictable. To add, his beard and glasses need to go as far as styling is concerned.
Recently watched a bit of dabang again on telly..Feel people still dont give it enuf weightage.
The films script, setting, characterisation and “conflicts” were quite cunningly intertwined. Be it the “difficult relationship” between salman and his father, or the off-on one with his bro—he hits him but even feels sorry for doing so, Manjrekar calling his daughter “erotta” etc etc
There were some subtle nuances which were masala heartland redux repackaged for the current generations sensibilties helmed by the ideal vehicle for this attitude.
If there is ONE actor in the history of bollywood—the same actor fortunately got to play this character–needless to say, a character which i really liked and was bit close for comfort lol
The plump heroine asks Salman –why do you behave like this
To which he says—”stay with me for some time and you will realise (and agree) to why i do what i do”….!! lol
“Compare this to a Sholay, which went on to become a phenomenon in the Hindi film industry. “The craze for Sholay grew with every passing day,” says Sippy. Shohini Ghosh, professor at AKJ Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, remembers watching it in Calcutta: “We didn’t have a vocabulary to express but knew we had seen something never done before. Sholay defined the craft of cinema for us the way Ray defined our appreciation of the art of filmmaking.” Adman Santosh Desai recalls how the “scale of experience” stayed much after the film was over. It wasn’t about box-office collection. “It was about contributing to cinema. Can any recent blockbuster claim to find a permanent place in our cinema history?” asks Ghosh.
Desai compares contemporary blockbusters to a cloudburst and those of yore to a monsoon downpour. “They seeped in, entered the popular consciousness, grew over a period of time,” he says. “Now they are not being tested in a serious way.” So a Ready or Singham come and go without leaving any mark or influence behind it. “The formula is getting more quickfix and shallow. In the age of instantism, depth is anyhow not possible,” says media commentator Sudheesh Pachauri. “As a result, what you get is not a film but a series of cues to the viewer to get excited about the star,” says social anthropologist Shiv Visvanathan. “There are no myths, nuances and folklore of popular cinema. Everything is reduced to simplistic mass consumption.” He has a new term for them: blockhead-busters. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt puts it best: “Cinema has lost its soul and become a spectacle-delivering agency. It was a tool to inspire, usher in change and complexity. It has now become an amusement park of stars.””
In other news, turned up to watch Rahul Dravid bat for the last time in ODIs. The weather was shit and the end result left me depressed, but it will remain one of the most cherished moments of my life…
Guess which song were the desis singing? These were 2nd or 3rd generation Indians and they were all crooning ‘Yeh Dosti…Hum Nahin Todenge’ from Sholay, for some reason.
Met Dravid briefly in practice\
Took an autograph
Really like him as a person —a true “silent” icon
Engalnd cream india—tests 4-0, one dayers 3-0, t20 1-0
Cant remember a more comprehensive drubbing
(injuries nothwithstanding) Raise a toast to England–welldone
Have met a few celebrities but have rarely taken an autograph…
This time i did since like rahul dravid beyond cricket.
btw Kent which he played for has only superlatives to say about him.
CANTERBURY: It has been 11 years since Rahul Dravid spent a summer in Kent playing county cricket but fans here still talk of the senior Indian batsman as one of their own and a benchmark for consummate professionalism.
Dravid’s figures — 1221 runs from 16 matches at 55.50 with two centuries — aren’t too phenomenal.
But those few months are still spoken of with awe and admiration for the much-liked batsman. It is still impossible to initiate a discussion on Dravid the person before locals have spoken about his cricket and cricketing manners.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan was steady on its eighth day at the box office as it picked up around 2.75 crore nett. The collections were more than the previous day.
The weekend for the film is likely to give a healthy 10-11 crore nett. The film is doing very well in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mumbai while West Bengal and Mysore are also good. Single screen dominated circuits like Bihar CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan are not that strong. In these circuits it is just the multiplexes which are doing decent business.
The 8th day business of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan again illustrates the importance of an open week as if Mausam had released as per schedule then Mere Brother Ki Dulhan would have been in the 1.50 crore nett range for its 8th day.
“But I’m really stunned to see a fangirl like Oldgold having such hatred towards Aamir. I mean one wonders what the hell did the guy do to her? Anyways I’m not forcing anyone to like Aamir but hell I personnaly can’t hate anyone even in real life this way let alone a Filmstar!”
hahahaha Bollywoodfan…
Ya even i wonder now what has aamir done to her but lets not get personal here…
Hope I have been able to “reform” oldgold (with your help)
And she will (secretly) thank us lol
isn’t it amazing? the girl has lady-luck showering all her fortunes on her…..mbkd 50 cr? comeon! i thought it wud be an average hit…..but now we will have to see if KK is in a movie…u never know!
Weekend Report: ‘Lion King’ Reclaims Box Office Crown
by Ray Subers
The Lion King
September 18, 2011
All three genuinely new releases combined to make less than the 3D re-release of The Lion King this weekend, reaffirming the Disney animated classic’s continued popularity a whole 17 years after its initial run. Drive fared best among the other openers, though its debut was unremarkable, while Straw Dogs and I Don’t Know How She Does It failed to generate any interest.
The first re-release to debut on top of the charts since Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi back in March 1997, The Lion King earned an estimated $29.3 million from 2,330 locations, which is the fifth-highest September opening ever. It also grossed over twice as much as the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D re-release earned in October 2009. Including its record-breaking run in 1994 and an IMAX re-release in 2002, The Lion King has now earned a total of $357.8 million, and this weekend alone leapt from 25th to 17th on the all-time domestic chart. Distributor Walt Disney Pictures reported that the audience was 59 percent under 25 years old and 56 percent female, and 3D presentations accounted for 92 percent of the gross.
On the surface, The Lion King’s success seems surprising given the declining interest families have shown towards 3D lately and the fact that the Blu-ray is set for release just a few weeks from now. That’s failing to take in to account the incredible popularity of The Lion King, though: between its original 1994 release and its 2002 IMAX re-release, the movie was the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated movie of all-time with $328.5 million, or the equivalent of over $600 million adjusted for ticket price inflation. While it’s possible to view this weekend as a positive one for 3D, it’s a mistake to expect that all major 3D re-releases will receive equally warm receptions.
Last weekend’s winner Contagion declined a light 35 percent to an estimated $14.5 million, which brought its 10-day total to $44.2 million. That drop is about in line with last September’s The Town, which indicates that Contagion should be headed for a final tally around $80 million.
Drive shifted in to third place with an estimated $11 million from 2,886 locations. That’s ahead of similar R-rated thrillers like Eastern Promises ($5.7 million) and Shoot ‘Em Up ($5.7 million), but a bit behind 2007′s The Brave One ($13.5 million). According to Bob Berney, FilmDistrict’s President of Theatrical Distribution, the audience was primarily young male, though there was also a mix of older arthouse and genre fans. The movie received a harsh “C-” CinemaScore, though that’s not entirely surprising for an ultra-violent arthouse movie.
Drive has received endless amounts of Internet hype since its very well-received debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May (Nicholas Winding Refn took home the Best Director prize). That kind of buzz can have an effect in major cities like Los Angeles and New York, but as this weekend showed it’s tough to translate to mainstream audiences. Also, while Ryan Gosling is all the rage in Hollywood right now, his top opening ever was 2004′s The Notebook with just $13.5 million (that excludes Crazy, Stupid, Love., which was billed as a Steve Carell-led ensemble rom-com). Considering Drive’s genre and lukewarm word-of-mouth, it’s unlikely it holds on very well in coming weeks.
The Help continued its remarkable run by easing 28 percent to an estimated $6.4 million. Through nearly six weeks in theaters, the period drama has earned $147.4 million.
Straw Dogs opened in fifth place with a paltry estimated $5 million from 2,408 theaters. That’s a fraction of comparable movies like Lakeview Terrace ($15 million) and The Last House on the Left ($14 million). According to distributor Sony/Screen Gems, the audience was 51 percent female and 54 percent over the age of 25.
Considering it’s a remake of a somewhat obscure movie from 40 years ago, Straw Dogs faced an uphill battle from its inception. It wasn’t helped much by an underwhelming marketing campaign that focused on the climactic home invasion without providing audiences any reason to care about or root for James Marsden and Kate Bosworth’s characters. This marks 2011′s third disappointing remake following Arthur ($33 million) and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ($22.7 million and counting), and next month sees the release of three more (Footloose, The Three Musketeers and The Thing, which appears to function as a prequel and a remake).
I Don’t Know How She Does It was the biggest loser this weekend, as it barely registered with an estimated $4.5 million. Its opening was less than Sarah Jessica Parker’s 2009 bomb Did You Hear About the Morgans? ($6.6 million), and also just over half of last September’s You Again ($8.4 million). Distributor The Weinstein Company indicated that the audience was 80 percent female, and the movie received a “B-” CinemaScore.
I Don’t Know How She Does It was another example of muddled marketing. The trailer and initial posters focused on Parker’s character, but recent commercials portrayed it as an ensemble comedy by prominently featuring TV actresses Olivia Munn and Christina Hendricks. Its biggest problem, though, was its unpleasant premise: why would women want to pay to watch someone else struggle to balance work and family when they’re busy doing that on a daily basis?
While many fans held out hope that it would have strong legs, mixed martial arts drama Warrior collapsed 47 percent to an estimated $2.77 million in its second round. Through two weekends, the Lionsgate release has tallied just $9.91 million.
Comedy concert movie Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain more than doubled its theater count to 230 and dipped 40 percent to $1.15 million. Its total now sits at $3.59 million. That’s way ahead of Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, which plummeted 73 percent to $380,000 for an awful 10-day total of $2.32 million.
The whore has spoken:
A ‘report’ by Komal Nak-katta:
There have been whispers in trade circles that Shah Rukh Khan’s reckless spending on Ra.One may cost him dear. Although nobody knows for sure what the budget of the costliest Hindi film actually is, it is estimated that the superstar-producer may have spent around Rs. 125 crore to make the film. If one were to add another Rs. 25 crore as cost of promotion and release, the total investment in the computer graphics-heavy Ra.One would be Rs. 150 crore. Shah Rukh plans to convert the film into 3D.
However, the position is not as grim as is being made out to be by the industry people. Rather, there’s every chance that Ra.One will cover its huge cost and, in fact, fetch profits. Here’s how:
Ra.One: Projected Overseas Business – Rs. 45 crore
Shah Rukh Khan is the badshah among Bollywood actors in the Overseas circuit. At least ten of his starrers figure in the Top 20 list of Bollywood films in the US and the UK. His last release, My Name Is Khan, crossed the Rs. 35 crore-mark abroad. Given the fact that it would be almost after two years that a Shah Rukh film would be releasing, one can safely estimate the business of Ra.One to increase by 20% over that of MNIK. Besides, Ra.One is being dubbed in German and given King Khan’s supreme popularity in Germany, one can safely add another couple of crore rupees to the Overseas business of Ra.One from the German version. Therefore, a figure of Rs. 45 crore seems achievable for Ra.One. We are talking of distributor’s share here, not net collection.
How Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One Will Recover Its Rs. 150 CroreThe five-day net collection of Ra.One could go up to Rs. 100 or even 110 crore!
Ra.One: Satellite Rights – Rs. 40 crore
It is rumoured that Shah Rukh Khan will be richer by Rs. 40 crore when his deal for satellite rights of Ra.One goes through.
Ra.One: Music Rights – Rs. 7 crore
King Khan couldn’t have settled for anything less than Rs.7 crore for the audio rights of his super-hero extravaganza. The figure may be higher than this, but not lower, for sure.
Ra.One: Tamil & Telugu Dubbed Versions’ Business – Rs. 1 crore
In the worst case scenario, the 3D and 2D versions of the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions of Ra.One can be expected to yield a combined share of Rs. 1 crore.
Ra.One: India Theatrical Business – Rs. 70 crore
Since Ra.One will come on the festive occasion of Diwali and will be released on a Wednesday (October 26), the five-day weekend (Oct. 26-30) can be safely expected to be bountiful. On a conservative estimate, the film could net Rs. 90 crore in the five-day weekend. For a net of Rs. 90 crore, the distributor’s share would easily amount to Rs. 50 crore. So, this would likely be the share for the first five-day weekend. Add a share of at least Rs. 8 crore for the balance four days and you have Rs. 58 crore at the end of the first week itself. Fetching another Rs. 12 crore in the subsequent weeks should not be a problem for the film. Of course, the five-day net collection of Rs. 90 crore is only an estimation. This figure could go up to Rs. 100 or even 110 crore. In that case, the first weekend’s share could go up to Rs. 55 or even 58 crore! If that were to happen, the first week’s India share alone could be Rs. 70 crore.
More: Can Ra.One Break Bodyguard’s Record?
So, what does the total business figure come to?
Overseas : Rs. 45 crore
Satellite : Rs. 40 crore
Music : Rs. 7 crore
Tamil/Telugu : Rs. 1 crore
India : Rs. 70 crore
Total : Rs. 163 crore
The calculations and estimations reveal that Ra.One may, after all, not be the risky proposal it is assumed to be by the trade people. Only if, God forbid, the film doesn’t find acceptance will recovery of the unduly high cost of the film be an impossibility for producer Shah Rukh Khan.
remember this piece! But at least MNIK had a supreme overseas performance. The Ra One kind of subject won’t have that. Or at least it would be a first if such a subject did massively well in these markets. Hrithik’s Krrish films for example did well enough but underperformed relative to how he did with other big films of his. But getting back to the piece note how no matter what the cost of a SRK film is it is always a ‘steal’!
Re: Only if, God forbid, the film doesn’t find acceptance will recovery of the unduly high cost of the film be an impossibility for producer Shah Rukh Khan.
Wow, what mind numbingly brilliant analysis!
Really, people have to like the film for it to make money? How did he come up with such an original conclusion. I would have never in a lillion years thought of that.
btw watched parts of Baz Luhmanns “australia”
>not exactly the masterpiece and is inconsistent—but looks epic kitsch esp on bluray.
Not the best from Nicole Kidman… but she is not bad]
Talking of kidman–reminds me —seems time soon for another revisit/ reappraisal of —”eyes wide shut”—this kubrik work needs multiple viewings imo—dont wanna get started on it lol
Like the twilight space of altered consciousness(es) it operates in between real & illusion…..
Mausam: Craze About The Film Is Building Up
September 20th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Mausam Movie Preview (Mausam Movie Poster)Good expectations. Two songs of Mausam – Rabba and Saj Dhaj Ke – are already big hits. The other songs are also gaining popularity. Craze about the film is building up and there is curiosity among the audiences, especially given the fact that the movie has been directed by actor Shahid Kapoor’s father, Pankaj Kapur.
The one week delay and IAF controversy has helped the buzz increase immensely which was very much non-existent earlier this should get a decent initial now.
will check it out if reviews are half-good. Plus I also need something to recover from the experience of MBKD (even if it was home viewing!). The best thing I can say about this film is that it’s more engaging than Break ke baad. Otherwise it’s one miserably uninspiring film where as Rangan rightly pointed out even true romance is not risked in an ostensibly romantic story! One could read this film as a weird spoof of Pardes! There are useless film allusions designed for nothing more than instant laughter. The current Yashraj formula (or part of it) of lots of Delhi + lots of festivity continues. Katrina meanwhile does an appalling acting job (even by her illustrious standards) that is one long screech of a performance. The two male leads do much better. Ali Zafar seemed surprisingly at ease and had some good chemistry with Imran. Meanwhile the latter even with some of the goofy oddness that is becoming rather stale by this point nonetheless appeared very restrained in front of Kaif and one had to be thankful for this small mercy. With Katrina it’s not just about the shrieking and lack of voice modulation, even in terms of her expressiveness one could see her trying to play the hyper character but she displayed utter lack of control. I am constantly amazed by her success story. with this audience though you could do a Deewar remake with Imran Khan and they’d be cheering.
haha–so even satyam could not resist mere brother –albeit hiding @home…lol
btw wont be so harsh on katrina.
Usually (as in the case of Kareena/bodyguard)–i am left wondering whats the big deal—even in Delly belly(although this is not comparable in any way) was wondering how and why b rangan was suddenly seeing masterstrokes/cinematic greatness even at the mention of “blowjob” etc for eg.
In this case (esp after znmd) found katrina good.
One has to get the essence /mood right here
One cannot go to watch this movie expecting even raanis yuva/aishwaryas JA performance here (forget raanis Black!)
“see her trying to play the hyper character but she displayed utter lack of control”—exactly—she IS meant to be “hyper” and display “utter lack of control”
My reading may be clouded by my very recent (post znmd)liking of katrina but not enuf.
Must say —she played this over the top character much better than i expected
After a long while (after sridevi/madhuri or rani/aishwarya at her peak), one got a sense that one is watchign a female superstar (albeit only briefly and in spurts)
Ps-know that i would have never believed that im (of all people) defending a katrina kaif performance (and that too in terms of acting)–but there u are.
INfact her role of someone born abroad and back in india just in college and with such mental attitude–cannot think of anyone who could have played it better —within the escapist confines of bollywood box office cinema
I never have fixed/rigid opinions–neither “like” nor “dislike” is permanent. Also dont bother if a certain liking/edorsement may be seen as “downmarket” or “not acceptable”…..
Having said that– wont classify myself as a katrina fan–may change with her very next film(seems more likely)
IN other words—my sort of “fans”( are easy to acquire but nearly impossible to maintain ..
So what’s so special about this date — 30 September? Okay, it’s that [auspicious] time of the year when people start/begin/embark upon new ventures… in this case, release new movies. Also, Sunday, 2 October is Gandhi Jayanti [national holiday], so the business is bound to be optimum on this date. Besides, the flow of biggies begin from 6 October onwards [RASCALS has already created a strong buzz], which explains why producers/Studios are in no mood to release films in the same week as the biggies. But why this mad rush to release so many films on 30 September? I fail to understand that.
As many as 6 Hindi films were slated for release on this date — FORCE, HUM TUM SHABANA, SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER, SOUNDTRACK, CHARGESHEET and TERE MERE PHERE. Mind you, I am not adding the Hollywood films as well as non-Hindi films that are also slated for release in this week.
What’s shocking is that these films are produced/distributed by names who have years of experience. And each of those star known names in the cast. The distributors/film-makers are well aware that it’s unhealthy to have so many films clashing in the same week. Of course, the business is bound to be divided, but I wish to pose a pertinent question: How will films manage [ample] screens and shows at cineplexes/single screens? The distributors are bound to feel the heat at metros, despite the presence of so many plexes, and more so at centres that have not more than 5/6/7 cinemas.
Also, most importantly, the audience may not be in a mood to watch so many films in one week, which means that despite all the love and labour that has gone into the making of these film[s], a few of them would suffer only because the release period was not right. I have often heard producers grumbling, when the movie has suffered due to this reason, that their film/s failed due to lack of right theatres/too many films in the week. But when do we ever learn from mistakes committed by others?
I am already hearing protests from various distributors. I am sure, even the film-makers are well aware that it’s professional harakiri to have so many films release on a single Friday. But the question is, who will make the first move? Everyone’s hoping that at least 2/3 films would shift to a later date, but, as of now, the 6 films continue to stay firm on their decision. Let’s hope better sense prevails. Jaago, film-makers jaago!
Bodyguard had a steady third weekend by collecting 5.25-5.50 crore nett and taking its it total to 135.50 crore nett approx after its third weeeknd. The approx weekend breakdown is 1.15 crore nett on Friday, 1.75 crore nett on Saturday and 2.50 crore nett on Sunday.
The drop from second weekend is 60% and the film should do around 8.50 crore nett in its third week. The postponement of Masuam helped the collections in the third weekend especially multiplex dominated circuits like East Punjab where the drop was just 50% from last week.
In its third weekend Bodyguard grossed around 1.60 crore in Mumbai, 1.20 crore in Delhi/UP and 60 lakhs in East Punjab.
I hate Bollywood: Russell Peters
By: Agencies Date: 2011-09-21 Place: New Delhi
He is working in Bollywood star Akshay Kumar’s production ‘Speedy Singhs’ but Indo-Canadian stand-up comedian Russell Peters says he finds the Mumbai-based film industry awful.
‘Speedy Singhs’ is the dubbed version of Akshay’s international production ‘Breakaway’ with a backdrop of ice-hockey. Peters, 40, who was born in Canada to Anglo-Indian parents and has been doing stand-up comedy since the age of 19, says he hates Bollywood films and has never seen one in his life and does not plan to star in one.
“I hate Bollywood. The movies are all garbage, just terrible. It’s my opinion, obviously there are billions who like and love them. I don’t like all the singing, dancing and all the dramatic crying. I have never seen a Bollywood film in my life. I have refused doing it earlier and will do so in future. But I hope some filmmakers take a chance of making real movies,” Peters told PTI.
The comedian does not have very kind views about Bollywood actors too, who he thinks are “just pretty faces”. “I don’t think Indian actors are good, a couple of them are like Anupam (Kher) but not many are there like him in the industry. There are thousand of actors and actresses in the industry but you can count on hand how many of them are really good, rest of them are just pretty faces.”
Peters is known for his mocking Indians in his stand-up shows and has acted in Hollywood films before like ‘Lord Have Mercy’ and ‘Comedy Now’.
This is the first time he has worked in an Indian production with an India starcast.
The film also stars Anupam Kher, Vinay Virmani, Hollywood actress Camilla Belle and Gurpreet Guggi. The film releases this week.
September 9, 2011 at 2:36 AM
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Takes Very Good Opening
Friday 9th September 2011 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has taken a very good opening of 80% plus at multiplexes at most places in the country. Delhi NCR and Punjab were super strong as was Ahmedabad.
Places like Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad saw full houses at some of the shows. The opening was bit lower in places like Nagpur and Jodhpur but still at 70% which is good.
The fresh promos, hit music and very entertaining look of the film did the trick and got Mere Brother Ki Dulhan a very good start and it is all set to have a very good weekend at the box office.
September 9, 2011 at 2:37 AM
Bodyguard Extended First Week Business
Friday 9th September 2011 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard has grossed a humungous 109-110 crore nett as per early estimates in its extended nine day first week. The film smashed all box office records initially as four of its first five days were amongst the biggest ever. It also held up very well on Monday.
The falls in the business started from Tuesday as the film had a huge release and for Bodyguard technically it was the end of the week. The seven day business also broke every circuit record apart from Mysore and Tamil Nadu/Kerala. The business on Monday was 8.50 crore nett while Thursday was around the 4.25 crore nett mark.
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The start to the second week (today) is likely to see a further drop as its screen space in multiplexes is reduced by 40%. Tomorrow should see a jump and it is that jump which determine its second week business and its lifetime business. At the moment its is heading for a finish in the 135-145 crore nett range.
September 9, 2011 at 9:16 AM
MBKD again underlines the lure of Katrina. She is becoming a bonafide BO force, something of a rarity amongst female leads these days. Saw her on KBC and she is a refreshing change.
On a different note, there was a fifteen second preview of an upcoming Ranbir Kapoor apprearance on KBC and it reminded me why I thought this guy was going to tgo to he top.
September 9, 2011 at 9:58 AM
Katrina has an uncanny sense about the box office. She’s picked winners across different genres. Her appeal continues to mystify me. She seems somewhat insipid-looking and I haven’t been able to discover any kind of talent in her so far! This is not the Hema Malini model where you had an utterly gorgeous actress who was also a great dancer even if she couldn’t act at all most days.
September 9, 2011 at 2:04 PM
one more lady in indian cinema who has done that …
hardly any acting talent but was giving one grosser after another ….praveen babi
unfortunately such sort of things hardly have any shelf life
September 9, 2011 at 10:00 AM
B.O. update: ‘M.B.K.D.’ takes a flying start
- By Taran Adarsh, September 9, 2011 – 16:11 IST
The film industry is back in form! Last week, BODYGUARD opened to an overwhelming, record-breaking start and now, MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN has also embarked on a fantastic start at the ticket window. The film had an 80% to 90% start at most screens across the country [at several places it was 100%], making its distributors jump with joy.
The fresh pairing coupled with the vibrant and eye-catching promos as well as the hit musical score have contributed to the terrific start. The youth has thronged in large numbers and the Day 1 as well as the Weekend 1 numbers are expected to be big.
September 9, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Does another hit makes any difference mamu’s Imran? He is the least charming actor in the current generation.
September 9, 2011 at 10:05 AM
Ahmedabad: Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Huge Opening
Friday 9th September 2011 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan took a huge opening in Ahmedabad with many multiplexes being 100% and others near 100%. The audience counts for the morning are below.
9.15 Cinemax Devarc – 281 100%
9.00 City Gold Ashram – 305 100%
9.30 Shiv – 353 100%
9.00 Wide Angle – 510 100%
9.30 Cinemax Gandhinagar – 220 100%
9.30 City Gold Motera – 330 100%
9.00 Rajhans – 269 90%
9.00 PVR – 124 80%
9.00 Big – 192 80%
September 9, 2011 at 10:05 AM
Taran’s review:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/14356/index.html
September 9, 2011 at 10:07 AM
http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-mere-brother-ki-dulhan/20110909.htm
September 9, 2011 at 11:50 AM
it seems non of our blogger of this site has seen mbdk.as have not seen any comment yet..
September 9, 2011 at 3:41 PM
Katrina-Imran’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Off To A Good Start At Box-Office
September 9th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Yash Raj Films’ Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opened to impressive houses this (9 September) morning. The initial generally ranged from 60-80% but was even 100% at several centres in North India. For instance Silver City and Movie World multiplexes at Ghaziabad drew full houses in the morning shows – and this in spite of heavy rains. Even at Spice multiplex, Noida, the four morning shows were all packed to capacity.
The hit songs and the colourful look of the film seem to have lured the audiences to the cinemas resulting in the good initial.
September 9, 2011 at 3:41 PM
Bodyguard Nets Rs. 101.45 Crore In Seven Days!
September 7th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Bodyguard has crossed the Rs. 100 crore net mark within the first seven days of its release. The Salman Khan starrer has collected a historic Rs. 101.45 crore (all-India net) at the box-office till Tuesday (September 6).
While Bodyguard thrilled audiences and raked in a superb Rs. 86.35 crore over its five-day weekend, the film added another Rs. 8.75 crore and Rs. 6.35 crore to its kitty on Monday and Tuesday respectively. After breaking all opening day and weekend records, the film is on its way to breaking more records by the end of its first week at the theatres.
September 9, 2011 at 4:12 PM
I find Katrina to be a fairly classy presence off-screen. She is not fake like Aishwarya nor she is into shooting her mouth off like Kareena. I think she is fairly grounded and has a very good sense of reality.
September 9, 2011 at 4:22 PM
Now if she cold only channel some of that sense into her onscreen performances!
September 9, 2011 at 9:15 PM
^^agree Henry about katrina
Though this “fakeness” bit about aishwarya is exaggerated– she was/is fine… Wishing her all the best
September 9, 2011 at 4:43 PM
Given the number of fans she has attracted, it appears she doesn’t even need to.
September 9, 2011 at 7:08 PM
I saw MBKD today. I went expecting a brainless, saccharine movie that would be salvaged solely by the cuteness of the male leads. It was totally brainless and saccharine, but I ended up liking it a little more than I had expected to. The music is catchy, the songs are well choreographed and (shockingly enough) Katrina made an endearing lead!
She has the biggest role in the movie, and I was reluctantly impressed by her. She’s never been particularly talented, and I think she was quite average looking at the beginning of her career, but with hard work (and lots of cosmetic surgery, I’m sure), she has really transformed herself into a glamorous, super-fit (if generic) beauty, a graceful dancer and a charismatic actress. That’s right- despite her lack of acting skills, the extremely mediocre material she was stuck with and the manic, OTT nature of her character- she actually managed to charm me. And it’s not like I’m a biased fan- I’ve hated her in everything pre-ZNMD.
I really think she should start charging at least 10 crore per film from now on. Its preposterous that Imran Khan gets paid more than her (and gets first billing in the film credits). She has the most stellar B.O. record of any of the current film stars (male OR female) in terms of the percentage of her films that are hits. She’s the only actress today who has a significant box office draw and she’s a perfect fit for the vapid glamour doll-item girl-superficially westernized heroine prototype that is unfortunately so popular today.
And I think that she should maintain a balance between playing the insignificant trophy girlfriend in big blockbusters, and doing fluffy, light-hearted rom-coms like this where she has the main role. This kind of role is tailor made for her- superficial romantic film, super-cute one-dimensional character, sexy songs. It’ll really help build a fan following that comes to watch films solely for her.
If she plays her cards right, she could become the next female superstar after Madhuri Dixit. I don’t think that she has even an iota of MD’s talent or screen presence, but she does seem to have some mysterious quality that makes the masses adore her. I don’t think that she’s just another hot bikini body who’ll be easily forgotten and replaced in a few years (which is sadly the case with almost all the other actresses). And ofcourse, she has plastic surgery to ensure that she will always look several years younger than she actually is (I cannot believe that she is only 27, she looked much, much older than 18 in Boom).
September 9, 2011 at 8:03 PM
Yet to see the film but I am in total agreement about Katrina. She is THE female superstar of the present generation, be it due to luck or movie selection or whatever. BOwise, she IS the Madhuri/Sridevi of present times and while not electric, she is getting comfotable, perfermance-wise. I do think she is exrtremely good looking ad dwhile some may consider her plasticky, there is a definite charm. And, she is genuinely popular.
I will probably end up catching it this weekend in theatres. Not out of choice, I may add. And no, not because I am being cajoled by a bevy of ‘nubile’ Mila Kunis look alikes. Much better – my daughters.
September 9, 2011 at 8:49 PM
“Much better – my daughters.”
Always a very good and perfectly justifiable reason.
September 11, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Rajen saab, aap der se aaye lekin durust aaye.
Oomph-e-Katrina ke jaado ne aakhirkar aapke dil ko jeet hi liya.
September 9, 2011 at 8:48 PM
thanks for the take on the film.. good read..
September 9, 2011 at 8:33 PM
agree somewhat with annoyed’s reading of katrina…didn’t know ZNMD wAs a watershed for katrina forothers too!!
“Much better – my daughters”– rajen uncle is also going to enjoy the katrina show with his daughters — all the best!!! Lol
Btw it was damn busy today but chances for catching mere brother tomorrow seem bright.
Illustrative of katrinas starpower — the multiplex that did not show the many Bollywood biggies is showing my brother…
Ps liked katrina in choo mantar
September 9, 2011 at 8:54 PM
Salman is number one box office star: Aamir Khan
Mumbai, Sep 10 (IANS) In Bollywood, every actor tries his best to reach the top of the ladder and become number one, but according to Aamir Khan, who himself is credited with blockbuster hits like ‘Ghajini’ and ’3 Idiots’, Salman Khan is presently the number one box office star.
‘According to me Salman is ahead of me. In the manner in which his film ‘Bodyguard’ has got an opening, it has broken all records and today according to me, if there is anyone who is the number one box office star, then that is Salman,’ said Aamir.
‘He has proved with this film that he is ahead of all of us. I am very happy that his film is doing well. My good wishes are with him,’ Aamir told reporters here at the music launch of the film ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster’,’ he added.
‘Few days back I even had a chat with him on phone because he is in America. I’m glad that his health is also much better now. Infact I was the one who gave him the good news of the massive opening box collections of ‘Bodyguard’,’ said Amir.
‘I had texted his sister Alvira and I had told her that when Salman comes out of his surgery then show him my text first. I wanted to be the first one to give him this great news,’ he added.
When asked from the 46-year-old actor that since he shares such a great camaraderie with Salman, would he like to work with him again in a film, Aamir responded with a yes.
‘I would love to work with Salman. We have a great tuning so if we work together, it will be great fun. But till the time we don’t get a good script, a script that excites both of us, we can’t work together,’ said Aamir, who has shared screen space with Salman in the past in the film ‘Andaz Apna Apna’.
September 9, 2011 at 8:56 PM
I am the 100 crore heroine: Kareena
Minakshi Saini, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 08, 2011
Kareena Kapoor has registered a lot of ‘firsts’ in her name. The 30-year-old has become the first actor to have delivered three blockbuster hits that have crossed the Rs 100cr mark, she is the first actor to have worked with the three Khans of Bollywood one after the other — Salman in Bodyguard,
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“I am the 100 crore heroine — that’s what I get to hear from everyone around me. It is only because I have three films, Bodyguard, 3 Idiots and Golmaal 3, that have crossed the 100 crore mark at the box office collection,” she says with pride. “This is the first time any actor has earned such numbers. But I was prepared for this response, as I started my preparation ever since I was nine years of age, and would have done anything to get here,” she adds.
So does that make her the number one heroine in Bollywood? “Please keep me at number 100, as I don’t want to be part of this number game, but yes, I know I deserve what I have got, and I have really worked hard for it. Today, I am proud to say that I was competing with myself to up those numbers.”
Now that her career is going great, is she preparing to marry beau Saif Ali Khan in February next year, as rumour has it? “No preparations are on. Both Saif and I are concentrating on Agent Vinod. We will let everyone know once things get finalised. Right now, Saif’s father’s health is our prime concern. We are planning to come to Delhi to see him soon,” she says. Saif’s father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, is suffering from a lung disease.
September 9, 2011 at 8:59 PM
LOL, appearing with Salman and Aamir in these films has given Kareena the wrong idea about what’s really drawing the audience in! But then Kareena has also always been the girl in a hurry, always been overconfident about herself and this sort of statement is par for the course for her.
With katrina Kaif (though I’d take Kareena over her) you can easily tell she’s a very genuine draw who has a very impressive box office track record across genres that cannot just be chalked up to other factors. But does Kareena believe it matters whether she or anyone else is in G3 or 3I or Bodyguard?! Sure she’s one of the major actresses currently but even that is almost a default position. Sadly there’s never been a poorer time for actresses in Bollywood than the current period. There are at best 2.5 major actresses!
September 9, 2011 at 10:25 PM
very aptly put satyam….can’t agree more….i think producers have simply been in awe of ms. kapoor….despite many flops – she kept getting big banner films…and was finally lucky to be part of three 100 cr films….and her forthcoming releases with aamir, srk, saif….well all will be B.O. monsters….so yeah! in 2.5 major actresses…..she will still be counted one of those
for years to come……at-least 3-5…..not bad….
September 11, 2011 at 11:48 AM
U forget that she is a ‘Kapoor’. Every one of them gets enough chances to flop. They collect a few hits by default.
September 19, 2011 at 5:47 PM
kareena has always been self-congratulatory and arrogant, so this comment by her is hardly a surprise. frankly, i find her overrated. talented, yes, but definitely overrated in terms of acting prowess and box-office pull.
September 9, 2011 at 10:07 PM
Kareena is another SRK in boasting shamelessly.
September 9, 2011 at 9:08 PM
Kareena kapoor is pathetic both on and off screen.
Don’t even want to exert time to find the right single word to describe her….i announce an award for anybody suggesting an apt one…lol
Katrina in real life interviews does appear grounded , sensible and Importantly “thinks” before speaking …
She has worked v hard for her success . She has come a long way from “boom” ..somehow never found her devilishly good looking though….
September 9, 2011 at 11:09 PM
Even after giving so many hits, Katrina has never made such stupid statements like Kareena.
September 9, 2011 at 11:59 PM
I think that both Kareena and Katrina have extremely dislikeable offscreen images. Bebo is super self-absorbed and says a lot of rubbish without ever thinking about how terrible it makes her sound. And Kat is the other extreme- she’s too diplomatic and tries too hard to be the prim, proper Indian girl (perhaphs because she feels she has to prove her desi-ness?). I mean, come on, she’s a glamorous young actress but she acts like the headmistress of a prestigious girl’s school or something! She’s always so dull and sensible, she has this really fake facade, and doesn’t even let the tiniest hint of her real personality through. I find her ‘perfect bahu’ act especially annoying and hypocritcal considering that she’s best known for her sexy item numbers.
But I think that most Bollywood actresses (and actors) really need better PR people.They generally come across as either sleazy (mostly the men), spoilt or totally vapid and uninteresting. If they weren’t celebrities, I don’t think that I would even want to have drink with a lot of them! Of all the Bollywood actresses I think that Lara Dutta has the best offscreen image- she’s sophisticated, witty, intelligent and does not pretend to be some innocent little girl. I I really like Madhuri, Juhi and Kajol as well, they seem much more real than the present lot. And Nandita Das is just lovely. From the filmmakers, I think that Zoya Akhtar is very endearing and Farah Khan is abrasive, but atleast she’s entertaining.
September 10, 2011 at 7:13 AM
“I find her ‘perfect bahu’ act especially annoying and hypocritcal considering that she’s best known for her sexy item numbers.”–lol annoyed.
But she does “play” this part well –she does appear quite disciplined btw.
Just watched clips of katrina-Imran on kbc with bachchan.
Overall mood was good and katrina(&even bachchan) were relatively uninhibited- good rapport….
Imran comes across as a very nice person(but not a star)
Bachchan made Kat slap Imran quite a few times deliberately (maybe payback for DB-bhtb..)
September 10, 2011 at 8:09 AM
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan First Day Territorial Breakdown
Saturday 10th September 2011 13.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has had a good first day of 7.50 crore nett approx. The territorial breakdown is a s follows.
Mumbai – 2.54 crore
Delhi/UP – 1.70 crore
East Punjab – 81 lakhs
West Bengal – 40 lakhs
Bihar – 12 lakhs
CP Berar – 28 lakhs
CI -25 lakhs
Rajasthan – 42 lakhs
Nizam – 32 lakhs
Mysore – 35 lakhs
Others – 18 lakhs
TOTAL – 7.37 crore
AdChoices
September 10, 2011 at 8:10 AM
Top Opening Days 2011 MBKD 7th
Saturday 10th September 2011 17.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has had the seventh biggest opening day of the year. The top ten opening days of 2011 are as follows.
1. Bodyguard – 21.25 crore (apprx)
2. Ready – 13.33 crore
3. Singam – 8.77 crore
4. Yamla Pagla Deewana – 7.63 crore
5. Double Dhamaal – 7.58 crore
6. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 7.52 crore
7. Mere Brother Ki Dulhan – 7.35 crore (apprx)
8. Murder 2 – 6.71 crore
9. Delhi Belly – 6.05 crore
10. Thank You – 4.90 crore
September 10, 2011 at 8:12 AM
the same opening as ZNMD.. either it has opened beyond expectations or the older film didn’t open as strongly as it could have, Of course it trended extremely well. MBKD is not likely to make 90 crores!
September 10, 2011 at 8:13 AM
Bodyguard Second Week First Day
Saturday 10th September 2011 10.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard grossed around 2.75 crore nett as per early estimates on the first day of its second week. The film lost a lot of screen space due to the release of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan at multiplexes.
Saturday should see a jump and Sunday will be very strong and weekend business should come in between 13-15 crore nett depending on the growth over the weekend.
Earlier Salman blockbusters like Dabangg and Ready showed huge growth over the second weekend but both films had open runs but here Bodyguard has competition in the form of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.
September 10, 2011 at 8:14 AM
this is way too low for the second Fri. And a 13-15 crore weekend wouldn’t be much either, And of course BOI’s dishonesty continues. A film has come down to 2.75 crores on the second Fri and they’re pretending it’s about screen space. Really?! A juggernaut like Bodyguard is getting so badly damaged by MPDKH which has just made 7.35 crores?! And if screen space is such a big issue how will the film do better over the weekend?!
Ready had 4.5-4.75 crores on the second Fri according to BOI:
http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/shaitan-ready-ongoing-the-remaining-box-office/#comment-94753
And there they were talking about competition from X-Men and Shaitan!
what annoys one in each of these cases is not the ‘lie’ itself but the insulting lack of intelligence with which it is framed! Even with the Ghajini juggernaut RNBDJ was quite stable on its own. But we are to believe that Ready and Bodyguard are being derailed by this sort of competition!
September 10, 2011 at 6:29 PM
in total agreement satyam. this is a huuuuuge drop. after a 110 opening..if it gets to only 140…thats pretty damn pathetic. this doesn’t take anything away from sallu bhai, the movie is just plain bad.
September 10, 2011 at 8:29 AM
LOL on BOI’s comment of Bodyguard having competition in form of MBKD
September 10, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Did delhi belly trend well?
September 10, 2011 at 11:58 AM
India Today:
Bodyguard’s phenomenal success makes Salman Khan ‘King of Bollywood’
Aroon Purie | September 9, 2011 | 19:47
He’s an actor who can’t really act, his dancing is somewhat peculiar, at 45 he’s kind of ageing, he has a great body but so do his peers. So, what makes this actor a superstar? I think it’s because Salman Khan is a cool dude. Women, of course, drool over his body but I believe his fans love him because of his bad/good boy image, his nonchalance and above all, because he doesn’t ever seem to take himself too seriously. He’s the king of two other very successful Khans because he has, particularly in the last year, set the box office cash registers ringing like never before. In an industry where receipts at the box office, more than awards or critical acclaim, are the ultimate measure of success, Salman Khan truly stands out. The huge success of his latest film Bodyguard, which has grossed over Rs 110 crore in just one week in India, the highest-ever first week collection for a Bollywood film, confirms a trend of blockbuster hits that began with Wanted in 2009, was consolidated by Dabangg in 2010, and highlighted by Ready, released in June this year.
In an acting career that has spanned 23 years, Salman Khan has had many successful films. Ironically enough, for a man who spent much of the initial phase of his career as a romantic hero-think back to iconic films like Maine Pyaar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun-his most recent successes have come in action hero roles. His complete switchover to action hero roles is recent. At an IIFA awards function in 2006 when asked by Hollywood action man Jean Claude Van Damme if he would co-star in a movie with him, Salman replied, “I am a romantic hero, I don’t do action.”
But then you can always expect Salman to defy conventional wisdom even if it is his own. He was the first of the big stars to take off his shirt and bare his toned upper body-waxed chest, bulging biceps and enviable six-pack-way back in the 1990s when it was hardly fashionable to do so. It is a routine he has stuck to religiously since, as was evident in Dabangg and Bodyguard. He knows that audiences lap it up. Other filmmakers have a formula for genres like romantic comedy, thrillers or slice of life but in Salman’s recent films, he’s the formula. That’s the USP (Unique Selling Point). There are set pieces which Salman will do in his films and that’s what keeps the fans coming back for more.
Our cover story is written by Editor Kaveree Bamzai, along with Senior Correspondent Nishat Bari and Principal Correspondent Gunjeet Sra. The story analyses the reasons behind Salman’s phenomenal success, from the rigorous exercise regimen that keeps his body in shape, to the closed circle of trusted friends and family he works with. He has an uncanny ability to bond with the masses both off and on screen. For this story, Salman agreed to speak to Bamzai over the telephone from the US where he is recovering after a surgery to cure trigeminal neuralgia, a very painful disorder of the facial nerves. When asked about his success, Salman was quick to say, “It’s no big deal. You can’t go mad about these things.” As always, the cool dude!
September 10, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Seems after the dust settles down—bodyguard seems poised to take the same position I suspected initially (though ready may still get threatened–although prefered ready much more)—
dabang->>ready>=bodyguard>wanted
“Women, of course, drool over his body “–hmm-think that is a point but not sure how much weightage this has over his fandom/fanbase/box office amongst females–maybe females here can shed light
September 10, 2011 at 2:17 PM
“Women, of course, drool over his body “–hmm-think that is a point but not sure how much weightage this has over his fandom/fanbase/box office amongst females–maybe females here can shed light
Salman is superhot and his body is definitely a factor for me liking him! However, it’s not just that, he just has this charm about him! Loved him as the sweet Prem in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and the Macho Hero in Dabangg! Actually quite difficult to explain what makes him so attractive! I think he’s what you would call the “Asli” filmy hero! Also think his fanbase among woman,stems among many different generations, my mom(who is incidently younger than him,lol) really loves Sallu as do I and my sister loves him too, actually even my Nani likes him!
September 10, 2011 at 2:25 PM
agree—-Nothing like an authentic macho hero
“my mom(who is incidently younger than him,lol) really loves Sallu as do I and my sister loves him too, actually even my Nani likes him!”—that clinches it really—nothing more can be added –haha
anyhow a nice rahman infectious one–enjoy
an akon 1
September 10, 2011 at 2:32 PM
anyone watched “friends with benefits”—any good?
may catch this romcom
September 10, 2011 at 2:45 PM
the beauty of the body is temporary: maximum 50 years and then?? (as Van Dame, and others). we can have 10 Actors on top
Why diliberate ? salman /aamir /SRK or other ?
the best solution/ HAVE A CHOICE
September 10, 2011 at 2:47 PM
But with Salman,it’s not just his body! Even if he doesn’t take off his shirt he would be just as appealing!
September 10, 2011 at 2:58 PM
the results of box office We’ll see after 5 years
the peak of his career it’s now (up to 50 years) …
is proved even in Hollywood
but “great actors with great talent ” the best
roles are between 35-50 years (best scenaros) even great directors like—- C. Etswood say it …
September 10, 2011 at 3:06 PM
Yeah, ofcourse don’t expect him to be the no 1 hero above
the age of 50,but for now we can love his “awesomeness”,right! Will still love him even when he’s playing the role of someone’s father lol! I really like Sallu!
September 10, 2011 at 3:24 PM
is good you like Sallu it’s your choice….
Bachchans and the actors of his generation is leaving the “throne” to Khans and khans will leave Hritik, Junior Bachchan etc. ..after 5 years Abhi , Hritik, Said will “regine” if we can tell like that, I don’t like the word “reign” this is not an empire, or absolute monarchy … lol
September 10, 2011 at 2:47 PM
^^A valid point tata—well said
btw have u seen “friends with benefits”?—recommended?
September 10, 2011 at 3:32 PM
I don’t like the subjects like this.This was not my type
of films sorry!!
September 10, 2011 at 2:55 PM
“But with Salman,it’s not just his body! Even if he doesn’t take off his shirt he would be just as appealing!”–hmmm—guess it is the overall “package”—eyes, attitude, charisma?
anyhow will have to choose between Mila Kunis-”friends with benefits” or Katrina Kaifs “Mere bro ki shaadi” tomorrow—will have to take votes lol
September 10, 2011 at 3:09 PM
Yeah, eyes,attitude,charisma,coolness everything! Some actors just have that X-Factor about them, for me Sallu has that! Fell in love with him as a kid watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, and have loved him ever since!
September 10, 2011 at 3:14 PM
“Fell in love with him as a kid watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, and have loved him ever since!”—wow filmifan–so it was love @1st sight lol
Transcendental love sees no age, race, boundary (and sex) hhahahaha
September 10, 2011 at 3:32 PM
so it was love @1st sight – Hehe, yeah you can say it was something like that, he was my first Bollywood hero crush, *blush blush*!
September 10, 2011 at 3:35 PM
“he was my first Bollywood hero crush, *blush blush*!”–hmm tell us more
oh cmon filmifan, we can already see your cheeks turning oh-so red….lol
September 10, 2011 at 3:11 PM
Anyhow,–tata and filmifan—sample some good french poetry —
I have written it—JOking—this is as “original” as SRKs Don or Kjos agneepath lol—
Salut! bois couronnés d’un reste de verdure!
Feuillages jaunissants sur les gazons épars!
Salut, dernier beaux jours! le deuil de la nature
Convient à la douleur et plaît à mes regards!
Je suis d’un pas rêveur le sentier solitaire,
J’aime à revoir encor, pour la dernière fois,
Ce soleil pâlissant, dont la faible lumière
Perce à peine à mes pieds l’obscurité des bois!
Oui, dans ces jours d’automne où la nature expire,
A ses regards voilés je trouve plus d’attraits,
C’est l’adieu d’un ami, c’est le dernier sourire
Des lèvres que la mort va fermer pour jamais!
September 10, 2011 at 3:12 PM
Errrm, unfortunately cannot understand a single word of what you have written Alex!
September 10, 2011 at 3:26 PM
très jolie , magnifique, je n’ai pas compris d’où vient ses lignes…
September 10, 2011 at 3:20 PM
Well, its nothing objectionable…
Attempted translation—enjoy
Greetings, forests crowned with remaining green!
Yellowing foliage on the sparse grass!
Greetings, last gorgeous days! nature’s mourning
Evokes my pain and gratifies my eyes!
I walk the lonely path in dreamy steps,
And want to see again, for the last time,
This waning sun and pale whose feeble light
Barely pierces the woods’ dark at my feet!
Yes, in these autumn days when nature dies,
In her veiled looks I find a great allure,
A friend’s farewell, and the very last smile
From the lips that death will forever close!
September 10, 2011 at 3:24 PM
Thanks for translating! Really Love it!
So Alex you know French, that’s pretty awesome!
September 10, 2011 at 3:32 PM
“très jolie , magnifique,…”—Thanx buddies–tata and filmifan–(taking a bow…)
il vient d’un passage appelé le ” ; autumn” ;
September 10, 2011 at 3:35 PM
is good you like Sallu it’s your choice….
Bachchans and the actors of his generation is leaving the “throne” to Khans and khans will leave Hritik, Junior Bachchan etc. ..after 5 years Abhi , Hritik, Said will “regine” if we can tell like that, I don’t like the word “reign” this is not an empire, or absolute monarchy … lol
@ tata- Agree no one can be number one forever, but many of these stars have their own place in the industry and will be remembered for that.
September 10, 2011 at 3:42 PM
if the public was intelligent enough,
he does not remember the PLACE, but he looks at his works
and thanks to that, his art will live and will not die …
September 10, 2011 at 3:44 PM
lol ok place, works meant to say the same thing
September 10, 2011 at 3:53 PM
lol ok,I realized place = king, queen, prince, god , looser ..
Because all the actors in Bollywood are their status … lol
September 10, 2011 at 3:37 PM
“he was my first Bollywood hero crush, *blush blush*!”–hmm tell us more
oh cmon filmifan, we can already see your cheeks turning oh-so red….lol”
-LOL LOL
September 10, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Many artists celebrated at the time, they remain in oblivion after..only the universal art that speaks to all generations,
rest over time
September 10, 2011 at 3:54 PM
Yes tata–true art stands the test of time.
Similarly I’m not thy at bothered by remakes as an example of BachchAns films–
Whatever is strong will survive — if it does not, it did not deserve to …lol
September 10, 2011 at 4:02 PM
same example if they arrive to do a remake that means the subject is very current ..
we have while writing, in crisis of good subject
September 10, 2011 at 3:59 PM
That’s true also!
Actually, it’s really sad to see some celebrated stars of yesteryers that are almost forgotten now!
September 10, 2011 at 3:50 PM
ok so filmifan—if u have stopped blushing now, pray tell us about any other crushes besides salman lol
ps–but agree that “love @1st sight” is the strongest hehe
September 10, 2011 at 3:57 PM
alex you have to change your name is “Indian lover” like that you will maby have a biggg fan club;) joke
September 10, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Lol, Alex, I think Sallu is my only filmy crush!
Amitji ofcourse is my absolute favourite, love him, watched allmost all his films! It’s because of my interest in Mr Bachchan that I started watching older films in the first place and got to know the stars of yesteryear, really love the 70′s cinema.
I do like Hrithik,Abhishek,Aamir and the guy you like to call a “Choco puppy” Ranbir a lot!
September 10, 2011 at 4:01 PM
“alex you have to change your name is “Indian lover” like that you will maby have a biggg fan club;)”—hahaha
Thanx Tata—
Infact may change the name to “international/universal lover”—
dont believe in manmade boundaries like nationalities lol
Nice idea of a fanclub—hmmm….lol
September 10, 2011 at 4:05 PM
you are universal…. but seen as we are in the context of bollywood
September 10, 2011 at 4:15 PM
lol—with a warm hug to both filmifan & tata—once again pertinent and one of my favorites —–on popular demand….
Enjoy —with lyrics
September 10, 2011 at 4:31 PM
lol now back to some actual “work” on the computer briefly.
Lets see how long can stand it …lol –tata/filmifan…hehe
and filmifan–how bout your exams … joking
September 10, 2011 at 4:35 PM
I watch now the movie “Once Upon a Time in America,” …superbe…. beautiful music … .. legendary film …
September 10, 2011 at 5:21 PM
“Once Upon a Time in America”- commercial real commercial failure in the box office . The film only made 2.5 million dollars in revenue. 40 mill budjet..
September 10, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Lol,yeah Alex,I so need to get back to my studying! Technology can be a very bad thing sometimes lol!
September 11, 2011 at 9:05 AM
lol filmifan/tata—arghhh, been working nonstop.
deserve a break now. lol
seems goin for “mere brother”/”friends with benefits”—fun n gamez
September 11, 2011 at 9:14 AM
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan: Good Growth On Saturday
Sunday 11th September 2011 14.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan showed good growth on Saturday as business at multiplexes in big cities showed good jumps across India. The Saturday territorial numbers of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan are below. Friday numbers are in brackets. Figures in lakhs.
Mumbai – 305 (254)
Delhi/UP – 195 (170)
East Punjab – 95 (81)
West Bengal – 45 (37)
Bihar – 13 (12)
CP Berar – 31 (28)
CI – 27 (25)
Rajasthan – 46 (41)
Nizam – 37 (32)
Mysore – 49 (37)
Others – 20 (18)
TOTAL – 863 (735)
September 11, 2011 at 9:15 AM
Bodyguard In Fourth Place After Eleven Days
Sunday 11th September 2011 15.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard has grossed 116.50 crore nett in eleven days and is in fourth place in the all time list as as far as nett business goes. Bodygaurd grossed 109.50 crore nett in week one and has added 7 crore nett approx on its second Friday and Saturday. It should cross Ready in after its second weekend and head for a 135-140 crore nett lifetime finish. The top ten at present are as follows.
1. Three Idiots – 202.50 crore
2. Dabangg – 140 crore
3. Ready – 121.25 crore
4. Bodyguard – 116.50 crore (11 days)
5. Ghajini – 114.75 crore
6. Golmaal 3 – 107.50 crore
7. Singham – 97.75 crore
8. Raajneeti – 93 crore
9.Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 89.75 crore
10. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi – 86.75 crore
September 11, 2011 at 9:26 AM
classic BOI! Bodyguard has low numbers at this point so they’re not specifying Sat separately. According to them Fri was 2.75 crores. so Sat is about 4 crores or so given their total for the two days. This is again ridiculously low for a second weekend and specially given the initial numbers. This film is trending significantly worse than Ready. The film opened with very massive numbers and obviously Salman made his point as a star but otherwise to go from 110 crores to 135 crores is to really have the trending of a flop. Unfortunately in India the trade/media conveniently continues to look at the overall number and not the rest. No one does it this way in Hollywood. If a film opens at 100 m no one calls it a hit at 150 m! The film will be doing 80% or so of its gross in its initial week or something. This is actually more or less the trending of Tees maar Khan! The difference is simply the opening for which Salman gets the credit but if things stay this way this is by no means even close to Ready. That film made 60% of the gross in the initial period. No comparison. Clearly Bodyguard has not been liked.
Even otherwise let’s look at the record. Dabanng didn’t trend like Ghajini, Ready trended somewhat worse than Dabanng. Bodyguard is far worse. Not even introducing the 3I trending into the picture. These other stats are crucial. Because eventually a film will cross 3I with not even half that film’s trending!
What this shows is that Salman is massive at the box office but his films still leave something to be desired. Dabanng has been extraordinarily iconic but even this film couldn’t be as stable as Ghajini. And I am frankly not surprised.
Getting back to BOI they are rather fond of stating for certain other films (!) that the drop between the first and second weekend was 70-80% or whatever. So what is it here for the same?!
September 11, 2011 at 12:27 PM
BG has actually crumbled but no one will say this in light of the phenomenal opening. Some of it is due to the massive opening and front loading but a lot has to do with the movie not being really liked. Salman has shown that he can open a movie like no one else but he needs to show that it can sustain too. Sadly, the fact that the attrition was so rapid will be lost on the vast majority.
What has been amusing is the twists and turns in the commentary from BOI. One day it says it can cross 3I then it says it cna cross Dabangg then next day may be Ready only. Then again it says may not cross any of them and then again it says it will cross Ready and Dabangg and now finally it says it will end between Ready and Dabangg!
September 11, 2011 at 4:41 PM
^^Its worthwhile to know that my initial impressions are being confirmed on bodyguard lol.
Saw bodyguard first weekend at the height of the salman/festival euphoria where there were talks of this one breaking every record including 3I.
At that time, (as satyam may confirm) i had hesitatingly suggested that this will die before dabang (forget 3I) and even “ready” may prove handful—good to see figures confirming the same (slowly but surely)
September 11, 2011 at 4:44 PM
yes you did say that..
September 11, 2011 at 6:03 PM
je n’ai pas aimé ni Dabang, ni Ready ( vraiment des films (cinématographiquement de bas de gamme ..) dessolée pour les fans …
September 11, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Just came watching mbkd..
i would say.. a Harmless movie.. one time watchable if you have nothing to do
hmm.. all the young actors .. Imran/Katrina/Ali ..everyone needs to improve in acting department.
September 11, 2011 at 4:36 PM
V few bollywood films release in the local plex and get taken off before u know.
Due to this watched “mere brother..today. Also listened to tata (thanx tata) who told me not to watch “films like friends with benefits” lol.
Went with minimal expectations and found it better than expectations (better than the recent bodyguard).
Some quick unbiased bulletpoints—
One can find umpteen loopholes and problems here but lets get the perspective right (and expectations low)–Once that is clarified—–
>Katrina kaif is the “hero” here and steals the show.
She is not “outstanding” but knowing her background/range/previous acting capabilities, one cannot but admire the marked progression.
infact in some scenes, she plays to the galleries like a veteran star..
She carries the film on her shoulders esp the first half
>yashraj continues the crowd pleasing “marriage” theme and presses the right buttons for a reasonable family fare
>Have not seen him before, but ali zafar makes the most of his few scenes and shows good comic timing and needless to say overshadows imran in the shared scenes
also liked the “bhang” song which apparently this guy has actually sung—and the setting /tempo/katrina here is good
>imran continues to be the supporting actor to Katrina (and to other actors wherever/whichever he shares screen with)
However he is correctly cast in his passive character.
Unsurprisingly Katrina literally and physically “hijacks” him
>>Music is good and effective . Surprising that this is the same guy who gave music is some recent gowarikar duds like Khelein, rashee..
>Liked the guy playing katrinas bro and his mnik/asperger syndorme act was more hilarious/effective than the “original”
>both “dads” were good–especially in the last “car” scene where this film seemed aptly described as “how to fool ones parents”
>KNowing the tastes and sensibities of multiplex audiences –this one should trend well
September 14, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Great review Alex!
Seems like you kinda enjoyed it, maybe a good movie to check out just for a one time watch eh.
Seems like Kat is growing on you lol! First ZNMD and now MBKD!
So Ali Zafar overshadows Imran, hmmm not surprised actually, have liked Ali since I watched “Tere Bin Laden”!
Yeah, have also liked the bhang song-”Madhubala”- super catchy!
Might just check it out this weekend!
September 14, 2011 at 12:24 PM
Thanks filmifan…seems u r “burning midnight oil”– hopefully studying lol
Ya think it maybe a good watch if u dot go with major expectations — intact suggest ucjeck this instead of bodyguard which has nothing but salman– (plus there is kareena to endure!!!)
“seems like Kat is growing on you”– surprising but maybe true.
Check it out and let me know if she is actually good here.
September 11, 2011 at 5:42 PM
‘Contagion’ cleans up box office with first place
By DERRIK J. LANG – AP Entertainment Writer | AP – 1 hr 28 mins ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Contagion” infected enough moviegoers to catch the top spot at the box office.
The Warner Bros. pandemic thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring an A-list cast that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow coughed up $23.1 million in its first weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film’s contagious opening marked the beginning of the fall movie season by exceeding the studio’s estimates.
“I think Steven Soderbergh made a compelling movie that tapped into that fear that many of us have about illnesses, viruses and pandemics,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. general sales manager. “It’s like a train or car accident. You can’t look away. You prefer not to think about it, but when it’s presented to you, you want to learn more.”
Despite the breakout success of “Contagion,” it was the lowest grossing weekend of the year so far for the film industry, according to Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. Dergarabedian said that’s typical for the weekend after Labor Day and expected business to pick up in the coming weeks as the Academy Awards race begins.
“There are some great titles that are on the way,” said Dergarabedian. “I see several promising films — Oscar contenders like ’50/50,’ ‘The Descendants’ and ‘Ides of March,’ and even potential big moneymakers like ‘Real Steel.’”
“The Help,” the acclaimed DreamWorks Pictures drama distributed by Disney about black Southern maids speaking out during the civil-rights movement, slipped to No. 2 with $8.7 million after three straight weeks at the top, bringing its domestic total to $137 million.
“Warrior,” the Lionsgate mixed-martial arts drama starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, punched up a $5.6 million debut in the No. 3 position. David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said he expects “Warrior” to mirror the simmering success of “The Help.”
“The film has gotten unbelievable reviews,” said Spitz. “The audience reaction we’re getting on the movie is consistent. People like the film. It’s a slow burn. We think we’re going to be in theaters for a long time.”
Overseas, the family smash “The Smurfs” continued to dominate, pulling in $14.9 million to pad its international total to $321.2 million and its worldwide haul to $457.2 million. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” again came in second internationally with $12.5 million, lifting its overseas take to $207.6 million and its worldwide total to $375.4 million.
___
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Contagion,” $23.1 million. ($2.1 million international.)
2. “The Help,” $8.7 million.
3. “Warrior,” $5.6 million.
4. “The Debt,” $4.9 million. ($1.5 million international.)
5. “Colombiana,” $4 million.
6. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.8 million. ($12.5 million international.)
7. “Shark Night 3D,” $3.5 million. ($500,000 international.)
8. “Apollo 18,” $2.9 million. ($425,000 international.)
9. “Our Idiot Brother,” $2.7 million.
10. “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,” $2.5 million. ($425,000 international.)
September 11, 2011 at 6:01 PM
“yes you did say that..”—thanks for confirming that , satyam…
In continuation with my post above about mere brother–to add–
After a long time (dont remember how long) does one see the heroine dominate proceedings like this.
Infact another girl (who accompanied ) and who is a sworn katrina hater loved Kat here..
This guy Ali Zafar may have some good days lined ahead and may get good offers–watch this space!!!
The fact is that camera captures everything and does not only take “nationality/background/contacts” etc into account..
Nobody has a “birthright” to these things and Katrina here proves that…
ps—Looking forward to Contagion –like the theme and also like the cast of Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard, & paltrow
September 11, 2011 at 6:08 PM
moi aussi je veux voir Contagion . trd: I want to see
contagion
September 11, 2011 at 6:16 PM
“moi aussi je veux voir Contagion”–observons ensemble la contagion. lol
by the way–what do you think about Marion cotillard and Melanie Laurent
September 11, 2011 at 6:23 PM
she is beautiful in “” Mome” she plays very well .. but in the other films I am perplexed (as ex. Inception) not equal to Di Caprio I think
September 11, 2011 at 6:07 PM
tata–j’ai écouté vous. N’a pas observé le ” ; amis avec le benefits” ; mais ” de montre ; seul brother” ; comme vous avez conseillé. N’était pas mauvais–lisez ma revue
September 11, 2011 at 6:10 PM
j’ai lu , merci … Dommage pour l’instant je ne peux pas regarder MBrother…
September 11, 2011 at 6:19 PM
I am very happy, today I posed on twitter some videos I made for Abhishek Bachchan. And he REPLY direct:
“”"” @ hakobian64 thank you so much Ani. that’s so sweet of you. big hug!”"”"
This did not wonderful ?? he loved my work !!!
September 11, 2011 at 6:23 PM
Wow tata–thats good.
Even Abhi gives you a big hug (like me)…lol
Can you plz post some of those videos here.
Sure Satyam will also like them (infact may go orgasmic lol)
September 11, 2011 at 6:26 PM
if Satyam allows me??? This Is The tribute to Guru: my work
September 11, 2011 at 6:27 PM
http://youtu.be/gZ50F_yxP60 part 1
September 11, 2011 at 6:27 PM
im sure Satyam wont mind it esp when it is related to guru
September 11, 2011 at 6:28 PM
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVWdMfrwaEg
September 11, 2011 at 8:36 PM
I don’t mind the videos but you guys are burying the forum with these extended private exchanges!
September 12, 2011 at 5:08 AM
Sorry Satyam. For the end of this thread .. I hope that Alex also has read, is that it will Not Repeat .. Thank you! I agree that we are here to discuss the cinema.
September 11, 2011 at 6:29 PM
September 11, 2011 at 6:30 PM
game movie :
September 11, 2011 at 6:31 PM
tata—thats brilliant….wow
de là où est la musique de fond de ceci
September 11, 2011 at 6:41 PM
in First Guru – The Gaudfadher theme
2 Guru E.MORRICONE “ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA” 2 BO
In Game “James Bond BO”
thank youuu
September 11, 2011 at 6:39 PM
The best part is the background music in these ones.
de là où est la musique de fond de ceci. vous avez fait la musique vous-même
September 11, 2011 at 6:42 PM
la musique est le montage un peu serré change tout , n’est-ce pas???
September 11, 2011 at 6:46 PM
Perhaps these deserve a separate thread…
btw how was “once upon a time in america”.
How do u feel about Melanie Laurent
September 11, 2011 at 6:47 PM
here funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFymC26JNpY
September 11, 2011 at 6:55 PM
pas mal mais pas grand non plu
September 12, 2011 at 2:09 PM
WOW j’ai trouvé quelqu’un qui comprend le français!!! Chui contente!
September 11, 2011 at 6:50 PM
“once upon a time in america”. – is a EPIC film
I am so “small” for critic such a “big” movie
very provocative film
September 11, 2011 at 7:02 PM
haha
oubliez les films épiques–a aimé votre robe dans le concert de bach
September 11, 2011 at 7:03 PM
ahhhhhhh lol, pas les films, pas les concerts, mais la Robeeee !! merciii
September 11, 2011 at 7:09 PM
lol
you performed (and looked) great in the Bach concert –wink wink
September 11, 2011 at 7:12 PM
thank you very much,I have already recorded new videos
coming soon on the net
September 11, 2011 at 7:16 PM
merci—Je ne veux pas partager vos vidéos avec d’autres—
vous avez des plans à exécuter en Angleterre
September 11, 2011 at 7:18 PM
non for the moment
September 11, 2011 at 7:22 PM
lol
c’est très bien. Vous exécutez en France de nos jours. Je prévois de partir en vacances à Orlando le mois prochain. Tous concerts en Amérique
September 11, 2011 at 7:31 PM
veuillez jouer de la musique pour me mettre pour dormir. Ou même meilleur–donnez-juste moi un sourire- good night
September 11, 2011 at 7:32 PM
good night
)))
September 12, 2011 at 7:54 AM
Midweek: ‘M.B.K.D.’ rocks, ‘Bodyguard’ 3rd biggest grosser
September 12, 2011 at 8:04 AM
Bodyguard Has 14 Crore Nett Second Weekend
Bodyguard has grossed around 14 crore nett in its second weekend. The total is good as it had an extended first week.
The film showed a drop on Friday but had a huge jump on Saturday across the board. The daily collections were as follows.
Friday – 3.10 crore bett
Saturday – 4.70 crore nett
Sunday – 6.25 crore nett (approx)
The second week is looking at a 21-22 crore nett total and Bodyguard now stands at around 123.50 crore nett after its second weekend.
September 12, 2011 at 8:11 AM
Bodyguard had 50 crores on its first three days (Wed — 21, Thu — 17 or so, Fri — 13.5 — all BOI numbers). If it had opened on Fri it would have done at least this over the weekend if not more. Off this number the second weekend of 14 crores (also Taran’s number) is almost a 75% drop. Even looking at the Fri-Sun number for the first weekend (hardly fair since the film opened two days earlier and drops were apparent even in the initial period — BOI themselves commented on this) the film made 35 crores which means then a 65% drop over the second weekend. So by any stretch this film has seen massive drops. And one could do the same math going from the first to the second week.
September 12, 2011 at 8:14 AM
meanwhile at 26 crores MBKD has had exactly the same weekend as ZNMD much as it had the same opening day. Still doubt it will trend as well.
September 12, 2011 at 2:08 PM
So that means either Imran Khan and Hrithik Roshan have equal BO pull or Katrina is the queen of BO.
September 12, 2011 at 2:52 PM
I think it’s a combination of factors. The right star combo, the right sort of project, the right ‘vibe’ if you will and so on. But the bigger star cannot necessarily be bigger than the ‘lesser’ competition given certain formats. Imran Khan is assuredly nowhere in Hrithik’s league as a star but in the right project that difference can be effaced. It’s always about whether stars are playing to their strengths or their strongest audience base(s). With ZNMD Hrithik isn’t. He’s strongest when it’s something like Krrish or Dhoom or something similar where the audience gets to see a Hrithik they ‘idealize’. But Imran is closer to his best possible performance with MBKD (at least in terms of the opening). The thing with Katrina is that she definitely has a following but she has very impressive instincts when it comes to picking projects. Rajneeti and ZNMD didn’t make 90 crores a piece just because she was in them! But she seems to be able to spot the scripts with right potential and where even if she doesn’t have enormous footage the role matters in some important sense. This is unlike the Kareena model where she’s just in a number of big films. No one believes the gross of 3I or Bodgyguard or G3 would have been any different without her and with one of the other top 3-4 actresses. Even though I prefer her to Katrina by a margin I think the latter is adding something intangible to projects in ways that kareena cannot hope to. The overall point here is that one cannot just look at the numbers, whether hits or flops, one also has to consider at how the star in question functions in each.
September 12, 2011 at 1:38 PM
Mausam Postponed To 23rd September
Monday 12th September 2011 19.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mausam has been postponed to 23rd September from 16th September. The film film has problems as the India Air Force has not given the film a no objection certificate andthis certificate must be given so that the censor board can pass the film
The postponement will give the makers a chance to change or cut the scenes that the Indian Air Force is objecting to.
This will have a huge affect to the films releasing on 23rd like Hum Tum Aur Shabana, Speedy Singhs, U R My Jaan etc
September 12, 2011 at 3:31 PM
DO THIS MAN A FAVOUR…
Who said legends are above petty behaviour? A respected senior star reportedly called up a prominent Bollywood trade analyst last week to complain that the first-day box-office estimates that the analyst had announced for the new Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard were “ridiculously inaccurate” and “much higher” than the “real numbers”. The star is believed to have chided the analyst for his “over-enthusiasm”, and for misleading people in the industry and beyond who took his information seriously.
After explaining that these were estimates obtained from various distributors across the country, and after assuring the veteran star that the film’s business was indeed looking very good, the trade analyst decided not to declare any further estimates until actual figures were in, out of respect for the senior.
But when the real numbers started coming in, it became clear that the film had performed much better than had been originally estimated, making as much as Rs 22 crore on its opening day alone—a record even the film’s makers hadn’t anticipated. The analyst waited patiently for the star to call and offer an apology for his earlier unnecessary attack. Not surprisingly, the star never called. No apology was offered.
The analyst still can’t decide if the star’s initial outburst was on account of a genuine concern for accurate reportage (bah!) or for the simple reason that very few in Bollywood can happily digest good news concerning someone other than themselves!
September 12, 2011 at 4:26 PM
“Imran Khan is assuredly nowhere in Hrithik’s league as a star but in the right project that difference can be effaced. It’s always about whether stars are playing to their strengths or their strongest audience base(s). “—agree
Forget Imran, give hritik a few good ones and then back to his strength genre Krish etc–he can kick anybodys ass.Its just that kites, guzaarish etc have affected him but he will be back to wherre he belongs after agneepath and then the krish sequel…
Having said that—-Imran is more or less incidental in MBKS—its Katrinas show all the way
Shes nothing great here also but somehow you enjoy her uninhibited act. Check out the “suicide scene” or the scene where she teaches the other girl(who was also not bad) that all a guy needs is a “lollypop”..lol
September 12, 2011 at 4:49 PM
“Forget Imran, give hritik a few good ones and then back to his strength genre Krish etc–he can kick anybodys ass.Its just that kites, guzaarish etc have affected him but he will be back to wherre he belongs after agneepath and then the krish sequel…”
yes but the problem is that if you’re a star like Hrithik you’re likely to feel the pressure to keep doing ‘different’. Hence he cannot keep doing Krrish or it results in a loss of prestige. The films on the other hand that do give him prestige are not likely to maximize his star signature. And ZNMD is the best example of this. Much as Guzaarish is in a different way. It is very hard to thread the needle and get a different film that is commercially successful but also does a great deal for the lead star. Now if you keep getting hits even this way you of course increase your market value. But that is not always the same as rising in the estimation of the audience. To put all of this differently if you are a star minimally acceptable in different stuff you cannot just be a more prestigious version of Salman. If Hrithik kept doing krrish or the Dhoom kind of genre he could probably deliver the Salman kind of result. But precisely because he is Hrithik he cannot do this. Salman himself wouldn’t be Salman if he had just SRK’s reputation as actor forget Aamir’s. In any industry of the world the ‘box office through dumb films’ option exists only for those who cannot really be cast in anything resembling half-serious. So Will Smith wouldn’t be doing what he does (though some of his thrillers are reasonably intelligent) if he could have Leo’s career!
The trade and media establishment in India not to mention some of the websites and blogs continually peddle the idea that the gross is all that matters. It isn’t. Obviously you need minimal success as a star relative to your bracket but to further define yourself something more is needed. The Bachchan kind of star is obviously rare who could get the best directors in any given genre. For everyone else it’s a question of choices. If you have RDB you need a good gross not the biggest out there as the critical acclaim (not to mention iconic appeal) of such a work will account for the shortfall. On the other hand if you’re like Salman in his current phase you can end all prestige debates and so on by just producing massive numbers in continually and make hay while this phase lasts.
Getting back to hrithik and even though he’s finally doing another part I think he’s been paralyzed a bit even on this score for one simple reason. He cannot produce the biggest gross possible anymore. There are multiple 100 plus grossers around. The 3I gross is still not going to be breached anytime soon. But then there are other such potential projects around the corner. Certainly there’s D3. The problem then is: if you do your strength genre which actually isn’t a real prestige deal (with krrish certainly) and then you can’t guarantee an astonishing gross there’s a problem. In an odd sense I think what’s pushed Hrithik much more toward different stuff than he was earlier prone to doing is that he’s seen some of the grossers Aamir has thrown up and realized that those cannot for all practical purposes be bettered (Salman hasn’t bettered even Ghajini’s gross all things accounted for). But he nonetheless needs some sort of big deal at some point where he’s at the center of it. He’s not had this since ’06. agneepath could certainly be a 100 crore grosser but I suspect he’s going to be lost in the crowd here (though the media will crow about the performance).
In many ways this is the Hollywood paradigm that’s increasingly taking over where even the biggest box office stars cannot (and paradoxically) necessarily get the biggest grosses or really beat the competition.
September 12, 2011 at 5:06 PM
^^^^It was good to “squeeze out” that writeup from satyam…lol
The problem with Hritik is that somehow inspite of all those blockbusters, he still does not possess that gravitas of a true “heavyweight”
Difficult to pinpoint–is it a problem with his voice,personality or his lacl of downright bad-ass assholery–the types possessed by the likes of “selfproclaimed kings…
But this may change with age n maturity…
September 12, 2011 at 4:39 PM
Rangan review
http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/mere-brother-ki-dulhan-white-knuckle-bride/
September 12, 2011 at 4:52 PM
LOL, there are few pleasures (if any) in contemporary film criticism whether in India or the US/UK (just the three I am familiar with) to equal Rangan’s pieces and especially so on mediocre/bad films!
September 12, 2011 at 4:55 PM
What I also like about Rangan (that even some very ‘serious’ film critics in the West often lack) is the ability to be both critic and ‘fan of the movies’ at one and the same time. His writing no matter how serious is never divorced from the ordinary pleasures of watching movies. I have all the respect in the world for academic monographs on cinema but a lot of times critics in the US (for example), and much as I like their work, tend to sound too jaded if not cynical in review after review. Perhaps this is because those in the latter group are watching far too much on a weekly basis to retain any sense of ‘innocence’! And again Rangan wears his knowledge and exposure to the field very lightly in more ways than one.
September 13, 2011 at 8:50 AM
“His writing no matter how serious is never divorced from the ordinary pleasures of watching movies”
pronto! agreed. Satyam, I want you to have this ordinary pleasures when u watch srk’s movies too
dont be so harsh on the guy – u and me – both are not srk-fan but we have to give him as he commands solid B.O. hold – and it is not that he is doing all the trash….sallu-bhai is doing more trash than him but gets away….:-)
September 13, 2011 at 8:55 AM
btw, the way paying public is making a mockery of some critics by making films like dabaang, reddy, BG, MBKD…..superhits/BB…..its real fun to watch
September 13, 2011 at 9:06 AM
I dont think if a movie trashed by a critic succeeds at the BO, it amounts to a mocekry of the critic. The critics are there to do an ‘unbiased’ critical evaluation of the merits or lack there of in a film. BO hardly has anything to do with it. Yes, critics may be out of sync with what public wants. But thats a different matter. Komal and Taran review films with an eye on the BO which actually makes them poor reviewers.
September 13, 2011 at 9:14 AM
I don’t even watch most of these Salman films. Much as I didn’t watch most of Akshay’s comedies. But here’s the big difference — Salman isn’t pretentious about his movies. He wasn’t even pretentious about Dabanng let alone this other stuff. In fact for some years now I’ve really liked his off screen stance which has been all about not buying the media spiel about most stars including himself. He was on Saregama recently and when asked about his success and so on he talked about how he was lucky at the moment and had it good but that he was ready for failure too as he’d seen it but also that in his profession everything that went up and no matter how high would necessarily come down. Found his statement quite endearing. What does one get from SRK on the other hand? The Anil Kapoor (of once upon a time) response — I am beyond competition, I only compete with myself.. on and on.
So it’s not about the films as much (even if I object to many of his films on many grounds I would be less harsh if there wasn’t a great deal of the off screen posturing that goes hand in hand with it) as it is about this sort of stuff. When I think SRK has made a film I will minimally enjoy I show up in the theater for it but he doesn’t make many that I can enjoy! I was rooting for Akshay when he was having a good run but other than Bhool Bhulaiya which I saw in the theater I didn’t see a single film of his even on DVD (saw bits of a few). And with Salman I might watch Ek Tha Tiger in the theater, the rest are too much even for home viewing! I might well see don 2 on the big screen, Ra 1 looks poor unless the reviews suggest completely otherwise in which case I might. So irrespective of how I feel about a star I usually judge things based on the film unless I really like the star a lot. But even here when I watch just about all Aamir or Abhishek films in the theater these actors generally make films that are up my alley for one reason or another. Of course people show up more for their favorite stars in any case.
As for the box office I’m not denying SRK’s ‘hold’ as you put it but I also don’t accept on faith that he is where Aamir is or where Salman currently is. In at least half a decade he hasn’t demonstrated to me that he is really up there at the very top with the exception of OSO which was a circus of a campaign and a film! So let’s see him get comparable results first. Other than this I don’t deny his status but this isn’t what the debate is about on Ra 1. at least not today.
September 13, 2011 at 10:43 AM
that last para. is very true satyam. while sallu is quite frank and unpretentious about what he dishes out – aamir also is forthcoming with he is offering – in this regard, srk probably fails (at-least for the films he produces – that last film he produced – always kabhi….no one seem to knew what was it about….srk himself looked disinterested in promoting it)….that anil kapoor comparison was too good
loved it….
September 13, 2011 at 12:38 PM
I should also make this related point — sometimes I might seem softer on an Aamir or an Abhishek when they do run of the mill stuff but this is for a reason and it’s not that I prefer these actors to others or what have you. actors who are by and large devoted to meaningful cinema or at least relatively intelligent entertainment are not likely to suddenly do junk even for the box office. So Aamir throughout this past decade could have done some obvious genres but he chose not to. He eventually hit it big with Ghajini and then 3I but he wasn’t in a rush to get there. Even when he did masala it was a somewhat pioneering move for contemporary Bollywood but leaving this aside he precisely didn’t do films like Ready or Bodyguard but something a lot more serious and meaningful. and additionally took a certain risk as this audience would not have seemed best placed to produce big numbers for a subject which is quite dark in many ways. Even earlier when he did Fanaa this was just about the best film for Yashraj at that point of time. Why? Because this film hearkened back to certain 60s story-lines with an admixture from the 70s. But even in this film there was real loss. An unrepentant terrorist hero was certainly a far cry from the ‘totally happy’ films Yashraj otherwise did at that time. Not that Fanaa is a ‘fine’ film by any means. But it’s not too bad either (except in the eyes of certain SRK fans who’ve otherwise spent a lifetime supporting junk films with their favorite star). The point again is that when a star decides on an overall meaningful trajectory even the choices made purely for the box office are likely to be somewhat better than those of others. I’d be surprised if D3 weren’t a better film than the previous two, would be stunned if it weren’t at least better than the last one.
Take Abhishek currently. Here’s a guy who needs the box office in a big way. Leaving aside the fact that he pushed his luck as far as humanly possible with his meaningful choices the fact is that even now when he starts doing a lot more commercial stuff designed for box office returns he’s not scraping the bottom of the barrel. What’s the difference? Well an official Italian Job remake is likely to be a far better film for the genre than most others tend to make, i.e. those who are masala roots like Abbas-Mustaan. Similarly Rohit Shetty makes junk with Golmaal but that’s not the sort of film even the loosest of Golmaal remakes is likely to be. Much as for the genre All the Best was way better than most of its kind.
By and large actors who make meaningful choices don’t suddenly do the worst out there. Unless they have no other career option left of course. There’s a difference between doing a set of films for this reason and also trying to get box office success with such a mix and quite another to do films solely for the box office with the ‘mix’ then becoming a way of propping up the resume. In other words one kind of star does a meaningful film because he (or she) thinks it’s worthwhile and it might work at the box office. Another star makes a much more cynical decision of doing meaningful only as a way of adding to the brandname without any serious commitment to the latter. It’s fair to say that no star starts out thinking that the best option is to get to box office glory doing junk or repeating oneself in totally mediocre films. But sooner or later every star faces such a choice and then the question becomes whether the path chosen is sincere or simply an exercise in ‘selling’ oneself. In Aamir or Abhishek’s ideal word all box office hits would be made by people like Rathnam or Mehra or Hirani (and those loosely belonging to such a group). With most of the other stars though there is no such deep commitment. and the way one can tell them apart is that one kind of star will make those decisions by going against prevailing trends at some real cost to himself while the other will do so only when it’s a relatively safe decision.
And so with certain stars I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. If Aamir does Dhoom I know it’s still disposable cinema but I expect something better ‘for’ the genre. I have no such confidence with many other stars. And incidentally I too enjoy disposable cinema as much as anyone else. But there has to be a minimal standard of ‘quality’ implied somewhere. The Golmaal series is just beyond me as was most of the Akshay stuff as is much of the current Salman stuff. For ideological reasons I might want Salman to keep getting 100 crores much as I felt the same about Akshay once but that’s a different debate and it is premised at least partially on the fact that I don’t consider most of the Salman/Akshay stuff really worse than multiplex fare like MBKD or KHNH or whatever. Again when something is better I can spot it. I didn’t mind Lafangey Parindey though it could have been way better. So this isn’t some ‘cineaste’ argument about only being into cinema for cutting edge entertainment or whatever. Far from it. As a pure viewer I’d rather take big scale commercial cinema (when it’s done right) over most other kinds that I might otherwise esteem more. Similarly with certain actors I just don’t expect them to sign up for total junk or completely cynical films.
September 12, 2011 at 5:29 PM
“Mere Brother Ki Dulhan is almost worth watching for the smouldering train-wreck that is Kaif’s performance.”
Amidst all the plaudits for her admittedly impressive success rate, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of the OTHER truth about Katrina Kaif. Especially when it’s done as hilariously as Rangan does it.
September 12, 2011 at 5:15 PM
I fing brangans reviews bigger “events” than some films they are reviewing.
There are rare exceptions.
For eg–in Dellly Belly, he skewed to one extreme and became an unashamed fanboy and started seeing a “design” or a “masterstroke’ even at the mention of “blowjob” or swear wordz…
IN that respect, found even the review of Satyam (and even yours truly) better and appropriate.
In MBKS, he seems to have skewed to the other extreme.
Its a matter of taste and mood, but found Katrinas act and this film better than this “review”.
One shouldnt let snobbishness and other bias to “take over” ones thoughts.
An example—Had real issues with the other guy , ali zafar who initially came across like a monkeyfaced srk/kishore kumar wannabe. But within a few scenes, i was happy to change my view and openly acknowledge it.
To be frank—wont be proud of myself seeing and enjoying a movie like this.
But once I find it more than decent, wont hide my appreciation just to avoid being seen as enjoying something “downmarket”….
thats also where for eg even Satyam trumps brangan—for eg openly admitting to love raj kiran and ramsay brothers….lol
September 12, 2011 at 5:25 PM
Unlike brangan, dont care a damn about being seen enjoying an undoubtedly “downmarket” stuff….
Liked the spirit and ethos of this bhang song—–
Enjoy and leave behind bias/hangups
(and have some bhang)….lol
September 12, 2011 at 5:40 PM
What a change for me—Salman after dabang and Katrina after znmd/mbks—Before these films, these two were laughable taboos for me–time for these two to “climax” together—–pun intended…
Enjoy–
September 12, 2011 at 6:01 PM
^^^and keeping the theme of “cinema” , the above song is for the academic cinematic attention & appreciation especially of tata, filmifan and even oldgold —-hahaha
September 12, 2011 at 10:26 PM
Mausam gets the green signal
Despite the Indian Air Force holding back the no objection certificate to the film, censor board has decided to give it a go ahead
Subhash K Jha
Posted On Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 05:07:40 AM
Demanding changes in a fight sequence, the Indian Air Fore held back the no objection certificate for Pankaj Kapoor’s September 16 release Mausam (Mumbai Mirror, September 9, 2011). However the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has given a green signal to the film, bypassing the IAF’s demands. On Tuesday, September 13, the film will be issued a censor certificate regardless of IAF’s objections.
When contacted, the chief executive officer of the censor board, Ms Pankaj Thakur said, “The CBFC has nothing to do with the so-called NOC. We’re given to understand that the Air Force wants certain cuts in the film as per an MOU signed between the producer and the Air Force. The CBFC was not a party to any such agreement.”
Mausam, has thus been given an all-clear by the censor board. “We’ve certified Mausam as per the procedure laid down under the Cinematograph Act. However, the CBFC would like to clarify that the censor certificate has been issued without prejudice to the MOU if any signed between the Air Force and the producer,” said Ms Thakur.
“Mausam was examined on Monday as per the guidelines prescribed .We considered involving some retired officer from the Air Force in the examining committee. But later we decided to depend upon the judgement of our own advisory panel. The censor certificate will be issued on Tuesday,” confirmed the CEO of the censor board.
September 13, 2011 at 9:35 AM
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Holds Up On Monday
Tuesday 13th September 2011 15.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan held up well on Monday with business around the 3.75-4 crore nett mark on Monday. The four day business is around 29 crore nett and the week should go to around 37-38 crore nett.
The film is doing well in Delhi/UP ans East Punjab but on Monday it held up very well at places like CI and Rajasthan,
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan keeps the phenomenal run going at the box office which started in June. From June there has been eight box office winners with only Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap and Aarakshan emerging the disappointments out of the major releases. An 8/10 ratio with major releases over a three month period has probably not been seen since the early eighties.
September 13, 2011 at 9:37 AM
no Mon numbers for Bodyguard!
of course won’t comment on their rating of those two Bachchan films and other ratings for films with similar grosses or those with somewhat higher grosses but far more expensive budgets and so on.
will agree though that this period has been a very good one for the industry and films in all kinds of genres have done well..
September 13, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Taran Adarsh pegs it at 1.75 crores, which he usually revises upwards. That’s 132 crores according to him…and counting.
By the end of this week, the figure will be close to 136-137 crores. Not bad at all for the kind of film Bodyguard is (I actually couldn’t read the film’s synopsis in one or any sitting).
September 13, 2011 at 12:17 PM
LOL!
September 13, 2011 at 12:44 PM
and it has a big number but it’s trending has been poor.. What’s happening with many of these films is that the bulk of the gross comes in the first 5-7 days. It’s not been Ghajini-like trending for any of these Salman films so far, not even Dabanng. And the 3I trending was even superior to Ghajini’s.
September 13, 2011 at 12:58 PM
Star power indicates the initial, trending happens with quality of the movie.
September 13, 2011 at 1:05 PM
that is quite right.. but this cannot be held against the star who creates better trending.. because the value of the star is factored into this as well.. with Aamir I might be willing to watch a movie with good WOM where I might not be as persuaded with Devgan. Ultimately no star can make bad movies run beyond an initial. But we can’t penalize those stars who have the initial and who also do good films that last longer at the box office.
September 13, 2011 at 4:11 PM
>Star power indicates the initial, trending happens with quality of the movie.
I agree with the first part, but the second, not really.
A film trends if it’s liked by the public, which doesn’t translate into then being ‘good’ films.
Both Gajhani and 3i were liked by the public, so trended well, but they weren’t necessarily good films especially Gajhani.
September 13, 2011 at 4:29 PM
“A film trends if it’s liked by the public, which doesn’t translate into then being ‘good’ films.”
As the fan of a certain star you should know!
September 13, 2011 at 6:41 PM
DUH???
September 13, 2011 at 5:42 PM
i agree with oldgold. never commented on a forum before but reading all your posts has made me a bit annoyed. its fashionable to bash salmans movie cos hes the so called ‘rubbish’ one out of the 3 khans. which i completely disagree with. if you look at the whole career graph salman has worked with new directors small banners with not very good story lines and has made them hits on the basis of his acting and charisma. his movies are hits cos of him and no one else. earlier people used to say salman can only give hits with rajshri or bhansali but he gave hits without them but they struggled to do the same. the other two khans – wont say much about srk as i think you’ve already sort of said what i think about him but he can only give hits with big banners.
as for aamir – he is quite pretentious about his serious cinema. he has been absent for most of his career and has made some atrociously bad movies. 3 idiots wasn’t a spectacular movie – i personally didnt think much of it and found aamirs character annoying and condescending. unlike sanjay from munnabhai – who you fall in love with and you walk out wanting to be a better person by doing small gestures like jaadu ki jaapi – i didnt get that feeling with 3 idiots. im sorry but peeing outside your professor house will get you expelled from any college/uni from around the world. the film missed the main point in my view that the pressure was put by families on student. teachers were just doing their job – yeah they could make the subject more interesting but how much mire interesting can engineering really be. it was the pressures of getting a job and earning a living. its all well saying we should all do things we love but when u have a family of 5 to support pleasures take a back seat and reality takes lead im afraid. besides i found the toilet humour annoying. so even though salmans movies aren’t brilliant dont think the other khans should be filled with their self importance too much because not many indian films are good. one of my favourite movies oif all times was khamoshi which didnt do well but it had good performances and a good story to tell. so i agree that initial is down to the star – which salman has proved he is the biggest at the moment. trending will depend if the public fall in love with the product but a hit movie isn’t always a good movie and a flop movie isnt always a bad movie!
September 13, 2011 at 7:56 PM
Not sure whose comment you’re responding to here. Will say you’re unintentionally hilarious when you accuse Aamir of doing some atrocious movies (Mela is the only one I’d classify as such over the last 15 years or more of his career) and then celebrate Salman’s choice of films! As for 3I I can accept someone not liking this but then one should also dislike 99% of films Salman has ever done. There should be some consistency here. So you’re giving Salman a pass for his bad films, meanwhile you are questioning a lot of Aamir’s choices. Is this an honest criticism? To be brutally honest I find most criticism of 3I simple not credible from the sources who have questioned it. SRK fans who didn’t mind a number of SRK films including something like KHNH where ‘coke’ was pronounced ‘cock’, ‘hall’ was pronounced’ hole’ by a stereotypical Gujarati character in suggestive ways, who also also don’t mind rather vulgar humor on SRK’s part on stage and so on. Similarly Salman is the star otherwise best known for riding his towel (!) in a hit video, isn’t there something suggestive here? What about stripping at the drop of a hat? What about all his farting in HDDCS? And I could go on. let’s be consistent here!
The truth as far as I’m concerned is quite plain — one can object to many or most of Aamir’s choices over the past decade but using the very same standards one should dismiss 99% of all films made by all other stars. Otherwise one is just engaging in opportunistic criticism. Even if I take your 3I criticism as face value that’s just one film. He has tons of others. And this ‘fake’ charge is another one of those stale ones leveled at him. If he’s ‘pretentious’ and the others are genuinely ‘dumb’ I guess I’d take ‘fake’ any day of the week!
September 13, 2011 at 8:13 PM
*In short*, I think what one wants to say is…Amir’s films aren’t *that* good (as is made out to be, here) and others’ films aren’t *that* bad as made out to be, here.
September 13, 2011 at 11:12 PM
yes but even accepting that position ‘not as good as advertised’ still ought to best ‘not as bad as advertised’!
September 14, 2011 at 4:29 AM
Did anyone ‘advertise’ that the trending has been better than 3i or gajhani?
Are you saying here that no one is allowed to rejoice at any success because it wasn’t as good as the other two?
You are such a fanboy!!!!
September 14, 2011 at 8:29 AM
One is allowed to celebrate anything one wishes.. but regrettably I have a certain interest in the facts.. and these are the first casualty in many of these discussions.. I’ve been saying at every turn that what Salman has been doing is stupendous and I want his run to continue.. but I don’t see the kind of strength in his numbers that Ghajini displayed let alone 3I. The problem is that people like yourself have an issue with the stubbornness of facts! Just because you dislike Aamir and would love very much for someone to cross those benchmarks in the most comprehensive sense doesn’t mean the Gods will comply! These things have to be earned! And extraordinarily well as Salman has been doing there is a tendency in the media (for various reasons) as well as on blogs to completely exaggerate things and lose all perspective. 100 is clearly the new 70 or 80 crores. In fact more films are now touching 100 crores or just falling short than was the case with the 80 crore mark over a few years. It’s partly about masala films having minimal appeal across the board and partly a question of multiplex inflation. Just over the past year or two we’ve had Rajneeti, ZNMD, G3, Singham, three Salman films that have done a minimum of 90 crores. Salman’s initial is another level altogether, no one could argue with this but the 100 crore barrier is very ‘breachable’ at this point provided a star is in the zone and it’s the right kind of film. The perspective I’m trying to provide here is not meant to reduce Salman’s achievement but to suggest that crossing the 100 crore barrier each time isn’t historic the way it is being portrayed. It’s like OSO did 80 crores or whatever. A year before this D2 did the same. These were the biggest numbers at the time. But 100 crores carrier a certain psychological bang. This is fine as long as it isn’t commonly happening. But when you have a number of films getting to that number it is clearly a new ‘normal’ or potentially possibly for blockbuster-type films. Again here with respect to Ghajini Aamir crossed that barrier in Dec 2008 and no other film even got close to this mark before 2010. Similarly Aamir crossed 200 crores in Dec 2009 and two years later we still don’t have a film anywhere close to that number even with inflation and so on. There is a difference. Despite this I’ve said more than a few times that even 3I still isn’t the HAHK kind of blockbuster.
September 14, 2011 at 9:01 AM
>but I don’t see the kind of strength in his numbers that Ghajini displayed let alone 3I.
Since you have repeated yourself, let me repeat myself.
People are allowed to celebrate any achievement, regardless of whether it beat Gajhani or 3i. Period.
>Just because you dislike Aamir and would love very much for someone to cross those benchmarks in the most comprehensive sense doesn’t mean the Gods will comply!
That’s absolutely true, but I’m not talking of any crossings of any benchmarks. Just celebrations of achievement regardless of whether it beat Gajhani or 3i.
If todays 100cr is the 80 crore of yore, does that negate achieving something?
Why are you being such a stuffed shirt?
If for nothing else I would like some film to cross these benchmarks asap to be free of your preachings about it.
Do you want to pass a rule around that no one is to be happy about a film’s success unless a film crosses the 3i gajhani achievements, which initself was achieved, as now, with increased number of prints and raising of ticket prices much beyond any raise till then.
September 14, 2011 at 9:13 AM
LOL, nice try at changing the topic. Suddenly I’m the grinch who’s against happiness! I’m only against drunken orgies of hyperbole! Like comparing Salman to Rajni! I know you are very irritated that those highest Aamir benchmarks are not being crossed. But hey don’t shoot the messenger. I’m only pointing it out. And if you’re a little patient D3 might create new ones!
September 14, 2011 at 10:13 AM
I’m absolutely on topic. Actually it’s you who is going on and on and on about 3i and gajhani the moment BG numbers get discussed. I’m sure everyone has got it that it isn’t as great as that of the holy two, and that it hasn’t been repeated much etc etc
I’m a very very patient person and hardly ever get irritated especially about something unrelated to myself.
The crossing of benchmarks is your diet not mine otherwise I would have expressed disappontment at BG etc
Now if I were to get some percentage from this I would be very much interested.
Majority of the films I like are BO flops/mediocre. Why should I care. I’m only and only interested in the number of people that watched the film.
September 14, 2011 at 10:45 AM
The number of people who watched those Aamir films is also greater. Just to get that fact out of the way! Much as the number of people who watched Raja Hindustani probably exceeds that of every SRK film with the exception of DDLJ. And the reason I introduce SRK here is because you have a special problem with Aamir and you keep introducing him too.
As for why I keep bringing it up I think many people first fudge the facts and then play victim when quizzed about this stuff. So there were lots of pieces about Dabanng crossing Ghajini and so on. Which I obviously accept but that’s not the whole story. So on and so forth. I’ve said the very same for years about every star relative to the facts. And this might be a novel concept for many partisans but the way I feel about SRK as an actor or the way he conducts himself has nothing to do with how I judge the box office of his films. Which is why a little earlier today despite Aadmi’s taunt I pointed out that RNBDJ had trended well. I’ve been saying the same about Singham recently. This is not an ‘interest’ I developed overnight. I’ve always said this. And this is not just a personal quirk. This is the way it’s done the world over. Take Hollywood. If Bodyguard had released in Hollywood they would have called it a disappointment. Because no sane person just looks at the numbers on the initial side and forgets the rest. If The Dark Knight opens massively it is expected to sustain. The rules don’t change just because the numbers are huge. A massive initial is supposed to be a bonus on a film expected to trend well, not something ‘in lieu’ of the latter. Of course any distributor loves a huge initial as a certain safety net is created but no distributor would consider Bodyguard’s run optimal. I’ve said this again and again for as long as I can remember on these online forums. I was saying this when VZ released even though by today’s standards VZ was actually a rather good trender. Much as by today’s standards MP is a plain hit. Biggest initial of its time (around 17 crores) followed by a 28-30 crore total. How is this worse than Bodyguard? In fact it’s way better retention than Bodyguard even taking the lower end of that total. I could multiply these examples by and order of magnitude and quote stuff I’ve said in the past and with many different stars. Said the same for LAK and APKGK, big initials, weak follow-through.
The reason I get into all of this is because one keeps coming across ridiculous arguments that pretend it’s all about the initial these days and films don’t trend as well and so on. Aamir’s films prove that’s complete bunk, Rajneeti proves the very same as does Singham as does ZNMD. Very different films, very different genres, very different stars! Conveniently people like yourself don’t object when there’s all kind of idiotic hyperbole being offered, you even support it at times, but when I launch a counter-argument you’re suddenly upset about why I’m obsessing with this. I only repeat the counter-argument as many times as the original exaggerated claim is! This is not about supporting Aamir or anyone else. If someone cross Ghajini or 3I with the right trending I will have no problem with it. Incidentally I’ve also said that Salman can still get away with this sort of trending because ultimately these aren’t the most expensive films around (this won’t be true for ETT necessarily). However when it’s a question of Ra 1 or Don 2 the very same numbers will mean far less because of massive production costs (130 crores or more for Ra 1 according to Nahata! he said this weeks ago and he’s certainly a friend of SRK!). Still if these films get the Salman kind of graph the very least one can say is that the audience liked/disliked the films equally. But my point goes to those bogus trade reports where 10 or 20 or 30 crore films have to clear the highest bars to become hits but 100 crore films are profitable even before release!
In each instance I am simply interested in cutting through the clear propaganda. which is so obvious at every point. I have nothing against Salman’s box office. It speaks for itself. I hope he can keep it up. I say this as someone who’s never been a fan of his and who will never watch most of his Bodyguard-like films. But the facts are important or at least I am invested in them. I have been so at every level and consistently down the years. As best as I can understand them. But there is no partisanship here. However when hyperbole is engaged in most of the time it’s not ‘innocent’. It is the stuff of propaganda. And this must be argued against. I have done this for the longest time. If you or someone else is bored with this stuff that’s tough! But allow me to be a bit skeptical about your impatience when it comes to matters concerning Aamir!
September 14, 2011 at 11:13 AM
to stress the same point once more if SRK crosses 3I with one of his films and does it with good trending no one will be pointing this out more than myself. The same goes with respect to other potential benchmarks.
September 14, 2011 at 11:14 AM
>The number of people who watched those Aamir films is also greater.
Ok then. You say it with such authority. So that’s another feather in your cap.
>Much as the number of people who watched Raja Hindustani probably exceeds that of every SRK film with the exception of DDLJ
LOL!! Accept it satyam.
You are a fanboy!!
September 14, 2011 at 11:27 AM
It’s rather simple math actually. Unlike you I’ve spent some time on this stuff. RH for example gross as much or more than KKHH. But the RH target audience was much more a smaller center one where ticket prices are always lower. KKHH on the other hand didn’t do much in these smaller centers if anything and this by Johar’s own admission. So how does RH then gross as much as KKKH? By selling more tickets! By the way KKHH released a year later than RH so even the slight inflation advantage in that period favors KKHH. And once you’ve accounted for KKHH you’ve accounted for every SRK film with the exception of DDLJ because none of the other films (not even K3G) really outgrossed KKHH even as an absolute matter all the way till you get to OSO (or Don if you want to believe some dubious reports on its gross). Again these things are important if one is willing to seriously argue about things and accept facts. But if one doesn’t like facts the easiest thing is to attack the messenger!
For the benefit of others (you might be beyond persuasion on this score) I offer here an older comment on SRK as an example of why my feelings on a star don’t cloud my thinking on the facts as I understand them:
[I think one has to be careful about not going too far in the other direction in terms of understanding what SRK’s place has been relative to his peers. I have most often argued ‘against’ him not as an absolute but as a way of countering claims on the other side that I found frankly absurd and completely removed from any evidence. Every star has such fans but SRK has them in abundance for the simple reason that he has always represented a new Indian/diaspora dispensation in a strong ideological sense. To put it another way many belonging to these ‘groups’ perceive any questioning of his status as an interrogation of their own basic identities. I have noticed in some instances people who are not even huge fans of SRK in the first instance but who are nonetheless ‘moored’ to him by the same considerations. Again all stars represent ideological positions in some minimal sense and hence have such followers. But the SRK structure is founded on a certain distortion of the past and takes this as its very defining condition. A quick example: there are fanatical followers of Salman Khan who in most cases are not necessarily trying to prove that he’s the biggest star out there but the most ‘unique’ or ‘special’ one. The claim instantly becomes subjective. The SRK counterparts are more likely to say ‘he’s the biggest since Bachchan’ or maybe even ‘bigger than Bachchan’ and ‘even if he isn’t there were no DVDs when Bachchan was around’ (this is not even caricature)! The second claim is a much more ‘objective’ one but it also has the attendant move of trying to cancel out or deconstruct history where it cannot be denied. So first say he’s the biggest but if this is challenged too much go on to say that even if he isn’t the biggest what really matters is what happened in the last 20 years! A kind of ‘Joharism’ if you will where you very slyly, driven by both anxiety and ambition, superficially celebrate the past in the most generalized sense but constantly insinuate in other ways that the present is what counts and is in any case the ‘refined’ version of the ‘cruder’ past. so on and so forth. If you argue with true-blue SRK fans you will find very few not susceptible to this kind of explanation.
Even as one battles this sort of nonsense (though I do take it seriously in an ideological sense because it also says something about a generational blindness that has the same attitude towards larger questions of history and culture… as I’ve framed it in the past Amol Palekar got tired of taking a bus or more precisely his kid got a job at Citibank and he sees no virtue in his father’s life at all because it did not lead to this consumer paradise) it is important not to go too far to the other extreme. Yes I have always questioned SRK’s ‘superstardom’ because I do not subscribe to the cheapened definition of this term such as it is bandied about today. Every other star with a couple of hits is called a superstar! I haven’t seen one since Bachchan and in the truest, most specific sense of the term there were only two with Rajesh Khanna being the other one (restricting oneself to Hindi cinema). But SRK has been a very important cultural force for the very audiences I have just defined. This was a small share of the pie, I’ve often talked about how the rest of the audience was shut out of the system, but it was at any rate the dominant one and also one which was most represented in the media. In other words Raja Hindustani was a massive hit but it’s influence was zilch. Because people weren’t really making films for a small center audience anymore. Ditto for Karan Arjun or Gadar or whatever. These films did not really fulfill the aspirations of ‘new India’ and hence were written out of the narrative rather easily. Which is to say the media didn’t discuss them much beyond their obvious box office story because they didn’t think (rightly so) that it made good copy for their consumers. This then allowed ‘Joharism’ to completely dominate the media agenda. When SRK started facing more real competition (this wasn’t Salman or Aamir in the 90s who could rarely compete with him on the turf that truly mattered but Aamir after Lagaan, a reinvented Bachchan, a new instant star in Hrithik and so on.. in each of these latter cases SRK’s aspirational narrative got damaged.. because some of what this very ‘new India’ desired was represented by those other forces.. with time over the past decade the SRK narrative went into eclipse even as he became paradoxically much more consistent as a box office star.. though he couldn’t dominate the opposition anymore even on his best days which wasn’t so in the 90s) this very media structure became more and more hyperbolic and it is then that various other ‘scams’ were peddled including the ‘Bachchan, then SRK’ narrative or even the ‘Bachchan=SRK’ one. These last ones never quite got off the ground, these were a bridge too far for even the most ideological folks.
But having said all this and having accounted for these structural factors SRK was still the most important cultural presence beginning around the mid-90s and onwards for this new audience coalition that became in this new Bollywood economy the driver of the box office. For the diaspora audience he was even Bachchanesque (the overseas box office again confirms this aspect of the story.. though even here it wasn’t the same for him after the middle of the last decade or maybe a bit after.. not that he did any worse, the competition did far better). His immediate peers represented nothing as important for their respective bases. In other words yes Aamir and Salman for very different reasons weren’t doing films that even when successful defined those years but also they did not quite mean anything ideologically in any comparable sense. Aamir even less than Salman. So even when they had big ones (HAHK incidentally has to be excepted, this was perceived as a total Madhuri show as surely as Mr India became a Sridevi show.. and not surprisingly HAHK as a supergrosser actually matters less in Salman’s career than any other success of his at any level.. this certainly did not lead to any big opportunities for him… on some of the other BnB and No Entry did more or less the same, depending on who you believe one or the other was ahead.. No Entry was sold on Salman’s name but it would be too much to say that the film grossed as much because of him when he had a very limited role in it.. similarly Biwi No 1 was the biggest grosser that year but it wasn’t really comparable to the biggest SRK or Aamir had not so long ago before it… again not all ‘biggest grossers’ of the year are the same.. one has to look at the competition) those were recognized as box office successes and that was it. Karan Arjun is a classic example where even SRK couldn’t overcome this aspirational hump. So a big success that didn’t mean anything in the longer span. Salman reinvented himself with Dhawan but this was hardly a prestige-enhancing phase. Similarly Aamir was quite consistent mixing it up. he even had a very ‘cool’ moment with Rangeela. But once more his narrative did not change. Now as a purely box office matter these stars are not as far removed in the 90s as might seem to be the case once one accounts for SRK’s Yashraj/Johar stuff. You can’t hold this against SRK except that he also did lots of other films and maintained a success ratio far worse than Aamir’s and certainly no better than Salman’s. It would be different if he just did those film multiple times a year. But he had one every year, sometimes one in two years and in between there was nothing. Everything else either underperformed or flopped really into the early part of the last decade.
This box office story however which I have discussed at length in the past nonetheless left two advantages for SRK. The cultural currency and of course the most prestigious grossers of the age. And these things mattered.
Over the last decade though it’s been a different story. Again I won’t repeat everything here. I’ve discussed Aamir at length but really with Dabanng for the very first time in his career Salman is genuinely one up on SRK. Because so much of ‘Joharism’ has involved an obsession with gross. Well here’s a monster in Dabanng! But it’s important not to read all of this into the 90s. Aamir really became a very different creature post-Lagaan even if he was moving towards this in the 90s. Specially over time he put himself completely in the driver’s seat and put prestige cinema at the forefront. SRK’s box office though not quite the hot deal his partisans pretend it is was nonetheless the most important story of the period with the audiences that mattered. Today things have changed. The cinema has changed, the smaller centers have shown they can still be a factor, specially when they have multiplexes, also the more dominant multiplex segments have also evolved to a degree. All of this has led to some important reconfigurations. Shahrukh hasn’t quite made the right adjustments. But it was very different in the 90s and while Aamir and Salman were extremely important and considered among the top A-stars it would be a stretch to say they were on exactly the same footing as SRK, given the system as it was.]
September 14, 2011 at 12:10 PM
>more if SRK crosses 3I with one of his films and does it with good trending no one will be pointing this out more than myself.
O.K. Just don’t bring it up every time the success of another film is being splashed if it doesn’t cross the benchmark of SRK film.
But I trust you’ll be belittling that achievement by forming theories about the time/inflation/increased capacity etc etc
September 13, 2011 at 6:34 PM
it doesn’t even matter what one thinks about katrina kaif’s acting talent or lack thereof. she’s easily more commercially viable than any bollywood actress—or actor, for that matter—you can possibly think of. funny thing is, most don’t fully understand her appeal/immense popularity, and that includes yours truly. she’s miss box-office…almost every movie she stars in is a hit!
September 13, 2011 at 6:45 PM
i should’ve added “with the exception of salman khan” when i included actors
September 13, 2011 at 9:08 PM
Dabangg trended well – it almost tripled it’s weekend
Ready wasn’t too bad – it tripled its weekend
Bodyguard is behind these two and am disappointed that it will just cross Dabangg figures, considering it’s start.
Anyway one can say what they want Salman has left a mark within last 12 months and now watch out for a ‘real’ biggie Ek Tha Tiger. The above 3 were all small films compared to ETT.
September 13, 2011 at 11:10 PM
It’s not about the weekend.. it’s about week 1 relative to overall gross..
Ghajini more or less doubled its week 1 gross, 3I made 2.5 times that number. Dabanng could not double this number nor could Ready. And Bodyguard is doing worse than this and incidentally I’d be surprised if it passed Dabanng or even equaled it. If you just looked at weekend Dabanng just about triples it while 3I is five times that number! Ghajini too triples it more or less. The problem with Salman though is that all his films are top heavy. Almost all have made most of their gross in the first 5-7 days. Singham on the other hand didn’t open as big for sure but had very solid trending.
On ETT I am still a naysayer. Salman’s initial is not in doubt at all but the model to look at here is Sunny Deol’s Hero. His first collaboration with Anil Sharma after Gadar. This was a refined deal, quite a watchable film and yet it fizzled out after the big initial. Because with certain stars you have to keep it ‘massy’. Now it could be that there are more mass elements in ETT than we think (though I doubt it looking at the director’s previous work). I think the Salman kind of star can easily fall between two stools for this sort of thing. Not hardcore enough for the real base, not credible enough for the rest. Of course matching the Bodyguard or even Ready trending shouldn’t be hard but I am skeptical that this will be his biggest winner. But hey if it happens I’ll cheer this too and this is one I might actually watch in the theater unlike the others!
September 14, 2011 at 6:18 PM
didn’t ghajini and 3 idiots have 3 clear weeks with no competition?? makes it bit easier to trend well when you have open weeks??
September 15, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Why didn’t Dabangg do so then?
September 14, 2011 at 7:18 AM
RNBDJ trended superbly well… it grossed over 10 times its initial day, and 30 times its first show..
September 14, 2011 at 8:15 AM
@aadmi
That’s quite impressive trending.
LOL @ jeevan getting worse in his attempts at getting some reaction.
September 14, 2011 at 8:31 AM
RNBDJ was actually a good trender. Doubled its week 1.
September 13, 2011 at 11:17 PM
A ” contagion” quote I liked:: Blogging isn’t writing. It’s graffiti with punctuation.
Btw if time (&situation) permits may catch contagion today–/
Other contenders -rise of..apes & friends with benefits(sorry tata lol)
Any recommendations — any1 watched contagion here?
Cmon guys — time to outgrow katrina kaif…. Lol
September 13, 2011 at 11:46 PM
yeah liked Contagion.. didn’t think it was awesome but found it worthwhile.
September 14, 2011 at 12:48 AM
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Attracting ample baaraatis
September 14, 2011 – 08:18 IST
Finally, after years, sorry decades, the film industry is seeing such good times. 2011 has proved a significant year for Bollywood. Right from the onset of this year to BODYGUARD last week and MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN last Friday, the business has witnessed a major turnaround. Not too long ago, a film-maker/Studio would find it excruciatingly difficult to recover the investment, but the right economics, coupled with choosing mass-friendly scripts, have done the trick. Of course, the invaluable contribution of the stars cannot be overlooked either.
Last week’s BODYGUARD will ensure profits of at least Rs 40 cr to Rs 45 cr [yes, you read it right!], while the new release, MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN, has attracted ample baaraatis [read moviegoers] as well. The trade is gung-ho about MAUSAM too. It should start with a bang. There’s a flipside, but we will talk about that later.
First, let’s see where MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN stands as far as its business is concerned. Having collected an impressive Rs 25.6 cr nett in its opening weekend, the film has already ensured profits for its producers, who are also its distributors – Yash Raj. Having cost YRF close to Rs 30 cr [inclusive of P & A], the Studio has already recovered a big chunk of its investment – close to Rs 20 cr – from sale of Satellite Rights. Which means, the balance amount of Rs 10 cr has to be recovered from the whole of India, entire Overseas, Music Rights and of course, Home Video.
In view of the fact that MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN has had a super weekend, the 3-day share itself works out to close to Rs 12 cr +, from India theatrical business alone. Which means, YRF are in profits from Monday itself. Mind you, I am not accounting the business it has accumulated in Overseas markets, since the business from India alone would suffice.
Now the flipside. There’s no breathing space for films anymore. You have to score in the opening weekend itself and pack decent numbers on weekdays. Else, a new biggie would not only eat your share of screens at cineplexes, but also gobble away a substantial chunk of your revenue in the next weekend. While BODYGUARD had an extensive release during Eid, the cineplexes had to make way for MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN last Friday and now, the screen count of MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN would be reduced considerably to accommodate MAUSAM when it releases. This would be regular occurrence in times to come.
In a scenario like this, the question is, how will medium-budget or low cost films find an outlet? The right shows and right screens? Your guess is as good as mine!
September 14, 2011 at 5:29 AM
Some time since i commented here. Well, read the last few comments here–and found myself agreeing TOTALLY with these words from Satyam (sep 13,7.56 pm) who had responded to one Sammy (who contends that Aamir is pretentious about serious cinema–and now i am outraged totally). Anyway, let me repeat Satyam’s words–
Not sure whose comment you’re responding to here. Will say you’re unintentionally hilarious when you accuse Aamir of doing some atrocious movies (Mela is the only one I’d classify as such over the last 15 years or more of his career) and then celebrate Salman’s choice of films! As for 3I I can accept someone not liking this but then one should also dislike 99% of films Salman has ever done. There should be some consistency here. So you’re giving Salman a pass for his bad films, meanwhile you are questioning a lot of Aamir’s choices. Is this an honest criticism? To be brutally honest I find most criticism of 3I simple not credible from the sources who have questioned it. SRK fans who didn’t mind a number of SRK films including something like KHNH where ‘coke’ was pronounced ‘cock’, ‘hall’ was pronounced’ hole’ by a stereotypical Gujarati character in suggestive ways, who also also don’t mind rather vulgar humor on SRK’s part on stage and so on. Similarly Salman is the star otherwise best known for riding his towel (!) in a hit video, isn’t there something suggestive here? What about stripping at the drop of a hat? What about all his farting in HDDCS? And I could go on. let’s be consistent here!
Well said Satyam.That image of salman riding a towel–have all his fans forgotten this horrible scene?
Aamir’s Mela was truly bad, his one unforgivable film; and the peeing in bottle scene was an ‘indicated, understood’ scene. bad enough–but Salman riding a towel– that was one yuck scene, in your face. How easily salman’s fans excuse him such transgressions. I am happy for his recent successes–but Ready had regressive dialogue, in true tradition of south masala ; terrible film really, even if it became a hit.
September 14, 2011 at 5:40 AM
Yo LS…
nice to hear from u back.
What have u been reading– anything easy light but still nice (non fiction)?
Agree about salmans “towel scene”– even I found it uncomfortable (to perform)lol
Ps— sudden free time on official trip.
Being introduced to art gallery stuff–wow
What art from 12-15 century!!
“chastity”– women having to prove virginity by carrying water in a sieve lmao lol
September 14, 2011 at 5:57 AM
As always, won’t spare even art in my “numbers game”.
Will have to hand it to van gogh, in general.
But found seurats –beyond Impressionism an “eye opener”— if any1 interested…lol
September 14, 2011 at 6:03 AM
Hello Aex. Was in fact today re-reading an old favourite from my book shelf– the second book of David Niven’s two part autobiography. The first is called the Moon’s a Bolloon and the second is ‘Bring on the empty horses’. Both books were my lucky finds–found them one by one during my ‘old books browsing ‘ jaunts–was really happy to pick up the second one, since i’d enjoyed the first. Both of Niven’s books are hugely witty and enjoyable. Have managed to collect a few really good out of print books, this way. Once found the original story account of the Sound of Music family.
And my interest in good cinema + good books is well satisfied with such books. Have managed over the years to read (vide some years with British Council library) some terrific film related books– bios and autobios of Michael Caine , Audrey Hepburn, Blake Edwards, the unauthorized bio of Madonna (apparently Sean Penn was truly badly behaved), a book titled ‘It’s only a film Ingrid’…..wish we had more film related books here in India. I have just two–a collection of articles about Bollywood greats and The spirit of Lagaan by Satyajit Bhatkal. Both are well written, witty and readable without being hagiographic…but we need more. Oh yes, read the Leela Naidu bio, recently… my library had it. They also had the bios of Rajnikant. AR Rahman and Shivaji Ganesan–good stuff, but nothing really fine and funny.
September 14, 2011 at 6:17 AM
Thanx LS–u seem a prolific reader.
Seems fine– unless in audio format, may need to employ some1 just to read these out to me lol
If interested in nonfiction, try the autobiography of Iacocca and also the bush/ Blair audio….
September 14, 2011 at 6:37 AM
Will just quote a couple of funny bits from David Niven’s second book.
From Bring on the Empty Horses , front page blurb.
Here is Niven at his best. He and Errol Flynn were filming the Charge of the Light Brigade for a director Michael Curtiz, ‘whose Hungarian-orientated English was a joy to us all. High on the rostrum he decided the moment had come to order the arrival on the scene of a hundred riderless chargers. “Okay, ” he yelled into a megaphone, “Bring on the empty horses!” ‘
From the author’s preface/intro piece–
To be an actor it is essential to be an egomaniac, otherwise it just doesn’t work. The supreme act of egomania is to sit down and write one hundred and thirty thousand words about oneself. That I have already done in The Moon….so you will be relieved to learn that this is not a book about David Niven…at least, it is not meant to be. Unfortunately, the actor’s urge to take up a firm position at center stage is a strong one and if, despite valiant efforts to remain in the wings, I have, on occasion, eased myself forward, I apologize.
*********************************************************
Just remembered that i have this great little book on my shelf–it’s a collection of quotes and it’s called Funny Ladies.
Here’s a sampler, from the ‘actors and acting’ section.
‘She’s okay if you like talent’. Ethal Merman, on her friend Mary Martin.
Ok, pushing off.
September 14, 2011 at 7:02 AM
LS–As expected, u come up witha nice and pertinent one- this 1 on egomania.
Cheers
September 14, 2011 at 8:04 AM
I’m reminded of a quote by Robert Benchley (the American humourist);
“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.”
LOL!
September 14, 2011 at 9:04 AM
^^good one there : oldgold
Though pray tell us how u were reminded of THIS one from
LS’ s nice post lol
Did u mean LS cannot write? Cmon that’s not fair -haha
Also was expecting something on “erotomania” from you (from your fascination for “Jude” explicitness) like the one on “egomania” by LS — (joking) lol
September 14, 2011 at 9:58 AM
It was the word ‘talent’.
September 14, 2011 at 8:35 AM
Bodyguard At 127 Crore Nett After 14 Days
Wednesday 14th September 2011 10.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard Has completed two weeks (14 days) at the box office and its total is around 127 crore. It collected 109.50 crore in its nine day first week then 14 crore nett in its second weekend while second Monday was around 1.85 crore nett and Tuesday around 1.65 crore nett. The biggest two week grossers ever are as follows.
1. Three Idiots – 135.29 crore
2. Bodyguard – 127 crore (approx)
3. Dabangg – 116.54 crore
4. Ready – 102.05 crore
5. Golmaal 3 – 94.21 crore
6. Ghajini – 89.92 crore
7. Raajneeti – 77.93 crore
8. Singham – 73.72 crore
9. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi – 66.80 crore
10. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 64.45 crore
September 14, 2011 at 8:36 AM
LOL, might as well focus on the total when the film is doing under 2 crores crores on weekdays!
September 14, 2011 at 8:50 AM
Hmmm.
How about the lowest First day to Fifteenth day collections ratio?
It is really stupid to look at this things in isolation.
BG opened massively and earned quite a bit of money for everyone.
Salman’s pull is undeniable. Overanalysing numbers and coming up with these ridiculous records is however, stupid.
BTW, if anyone wants a good laugh – try reading Joginder Tuteja’s Ra.1 music review. A lesson in how not to review!
Just a sample: ‘It isn’t just the grandest score of the year but is also one of the hugest ever that has come out of Bwood”’
September 14, 2011 at 8:58 AM
I read that review and found it rather sad.. what’s going on here is so transparent..
September 14, 2011 at 10:23 AM
And when bose DK was declared as iconic and anthem and what not?
The media does it for everyone.
There is a lot about Salman at present. When D3 or dhuaan are going to be released there’ll be a lot of exaggeration there as well.
I think the media hype is as bad in India as it is in America over celebrities.
September 14, 2011 at 10:55 AM
One can’t mix up different kinds of claims. On DB it did strike an ‘alternative’ chord with an important cross-section of the audience. It had a cult element to it. The media was focusing on this. Don’t think there was any great exaggeration here. What you’re referring to in terms of the breathless media reporting on all kinds of topics (not just the film media) is a very different matter altogether. That’s the nature of the beast but in certain instances let’s say that it’s a lot more breathless than in other case. Aamir has never got the kind of fawning attention that some other stars get. He got it after Ghajini but also after many years of important critical and commercial successes when he didn’t get as much attention as he deserved. and I was saying this at the time. So just because there’s a general atmosphere of hyperbole doesn’t mean everyone’s an equal beneficiary. Check out the music review of Ra One on Bollywoodhungama. I have not seen this level of hyperbole anywhere else for any kind of soundtrack by that writer. With Abhishek the media/trade is largely hostile. Good reviews for one film or another don’t change that. Sure if he suddenly starts getting 100 crore hits that might change but that still wouldn’t argue against my point. Because many other stars don’t have to do the same to avoid hostile treatment. As for D3 or Dhuaan if there is exaggeration on the facts I shall say the same then as well. Years ago D2 trended well and my counter-intuitive claim was that this film could have done 100 crores had it just been a better script.
On the US there’s no comparison. This is a celebrity obsessed culture but there is never an exaggeration of basic facts. Because everything is verifiable, people who crunch numbers aren’t in bed with various stars and so on.
September 14, 2011 at 11:27 AM
>As for D3 or Dhuaan if there is exaggeration on the facts I shall say the same then as well.
I think almost everyone, including me, is saying this is an exaggeration.
I hate ‘fusion’, the reason I don’t like the new AR rahman, but somehow I have liked all the songs of this (the blend here is really good), except one, Right by me.(and chchamak chhallo is not that good)..so I’m ready to accept there must be something different if even I have liked it, but of course one doesn’t come up with a statement like this. I wouldn’t.
But my comment was in response to your;
>what’s going on here is so transparent..
That’s why I said, it will happen in the future for other stars too.
It was not to say you won’t accept this fact then.
September 14, 2011 at 11:42 AM
I think there was a lot of fusion on R D Burman’s part as well. Unless you didn’t like a lot of his stuff too. Not that I am arguing against such a preference on your part.
On ‘exaggeration’ here’s the problem — I don’t see this as something abstract. It is so only in terms of defining the nature of the beast (the 24/7 media cycle). Even here it’s not just about exaggeration but about inducing a sense of constant alert in the viewer with news flashes, crawls and all kinds of audio-visual stimuli. So if there’s a car chase on screen the footage doesn’t exaggerate anything. It just intensely focuses on something that isn’t important at all. Reality is converted into hyper-reality by the media.
But ‘exaggeration’ is something far more specific when it comes to specific public figures and is often served to advance a narrative. For example why is it that Aamir or Salman (or whoever) actually have to prove that they can get 100 crores while with SRK this is presented as a logical conclusion. So if anyone can get 100 he can too, if anyone can get 200 he can too. Why? Why doesn’t Hrithik get the same benefit of the doubt when he too has been one of the biggest box office openers over the last decade. Now other things might be exaggerated about Hrithik, his performances and so on but his box office isn’t in the same way. Similarly Abhishek’s negatives are exaggerated in the opposite direction. So on and so forth. It’s all ‘exaggeration’ but it serves very different ends. Today the media apparatus favors Aamir after a decade of simply unparalleled success within his generation of stars and beyond. But with other stars the bar is not that high. Forget SRK, Salman just had one Wanted after ages in the wilderness and there was that whole ‘Salman is back’ nonsense. Given that much time any star can get back! Devgan’s back too! Aamir never got this kind of benefit, not even after his super 2006. After Ghajini things changed but he’s also been playing to media a lot more in terms of availability and additionally creating the right buzz with different looks and so on, all of which makes a difference. If SRK had had Lagaan the media would have called him the planet’s greatest star right then! With Aamir despite all the Oscar hype and so on things dissipated quickly (as a matter of narrative, not with the audiences of course). And then when MP didn’t worked it’s failure was completely exaggerated. RDB then turned the tide. I could go on. Again with hrithik the ‘exaggeration’ (not entirely spontaneous!) is usually about his performance and how he looks. But he’s never had leeway on his flops whether earlier or now.
This is why I’ve always said that people who buy the BOI worldview or that of Taran or Nahata, it is because they are invested in it at some level or the other. Not because they’re dolts and completely puzzled about the ‘facts’. They like what they read. And over the years many who have pushed these narratives even on blogs have had questionable credibility to say the least.
September 14, 2011 at 12:32 PM
>Unless you didn’t like a lot of his stuff too.
You’re right, I didn’t. Liked his father’s music much better.
>I don’t see this as something abstract.
It’s just like the statements you make and wax eloquent over your views and opinion about a star.
September 14, 2011 at 1:51 PM
Rajen, if that music review humored you, try this one by the same guy. This isn’t mere a**licking, it’s having your whole head inside it!!!
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2011/09/07/7893/index.html
September 14, 2011 at 3:01 PM
yes saw this some days ago myself..
September 14, 2011 at 12:12 PM
Cmon guyz cool it lol.
Firstly–
“it was the word ‘talent’.”–I seee
Ok let’s grant it–let me give oldgold a pat on the back…
Btw as for this Srk /aamir thing– feel that oldgold literally “loves” & this is not the superficial types but the transcendental types– in this case– Srk…certain things are beyond reason lol
So she should have our “support”& “protection” for expressing this (&infact nurturing it)lol
Cheers folks
September 14, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Btw briefly saw hugh Hackman in the premier of “real steel”.
Big crowds–We didn’t bother to wait for the movie though
September 14, 2011 at 6:32 PM
just to respond to someone who was ‘outraged’ by myh comment. i never once suggested that salman khan does serious or good cinema. i think salman is the only actor who is quite honest about his work and doesn’t take himself seriously or his movies seriously. he says himself his movies are for those who want to have fun – yet he is always criticised for his movies etc. aamir on the other hand bleats on about doing serious cinema so he is therefore open to more criticism for his movies as he purports to have higher standards than others and is classed as a genious. if you claim yourself to be superior and better than others then you should be judged by higher standards also.
as for satyam saying that aamir only atrocious movie was mela what about atank hi atank, love love love, jawani zindabad,parampara, afsana pyar ka etc etc.
also its easy giving hits with big directors etc. not so easy when you dont work with such big directors.
i dont have an issue with any of the actors and enjoy all the 3 khans in their movies but what gets my goat is how the other two aamir khan and srk think they are better when i dont think they neccesarily are. they may take their work more seriously than salman does – who clearly doesnt take as much interest but neither of the other two have done mind blowing performances where ive thought no other actor can do. they ve been good but not brilliant. and 3 idiots and ghajini are good movies (tho personally i didnt like 3 idiots but i know im in the minority here) but theyre not excellent or ground breaking movies. as oldgold said i dont really care if movies are hits or trend well – most of the time the movies i like are flops but i dont care cos i like them.
i just think people need to get real and realise that majjority of movies in india are popcorn stuff – good timepass stuff and theres nothing wrong with that but they dont make groundbreaking or serious cinema and if they do they dont work. i mean i dont see bollywood making a ‘bol’ or ‘khuda ke liye’.
the point is – if u say you’re better than the rest then you should expect to be judged by higher standards. simples!
September 15, 2011 at 11:34 AM
Just because Salman hasn’t done serious stuff too often or hardly ever doesn’t mean that others haven’t either. Again your criticism relies on Aamir films that he did right after QSQT (safe to say that phase is an outlier in his career, he never repeated those mistakes), one Aatank hi Aatank which was delayed for a very long time and then released but wasn’t reflective of the decisions Aamir was making at the time, and one Mela. If you look at Aamir’s career post HHRPK in 1994 and then move forward to the present day I think there is only one film I would classify as junk and this is Mela. I am hardly a fan of Aatank.. but it’s not the worst movie experience out there. Even if you included this you have two films. Other than these there is no film that any reasonable person could call terrible or bad relative to the standards of the industry. So you have to set up this very insincere argument to somehow make your case. Why? Because you pick one film from 1992, one from 2001 to make the case against Aamir when with Salman one could go more or less chronologically year by year and one would be hard pressed to find the ‘good’ films! Or else it depends on deconstructing stuff like Ghajini and 3I. Which would be fine except that then I wonder how you can bear to watch anything in Salman’s career barring perhaps 3-4 films! Leaving this aside what actor hasn’t done bad films? There are very many. But the point relates to about the general trajectory of one’s career. It’s like Akshay Kumar has mostly junk films. It’s just a statement of fact. So yes Aamir should be judged by higher standards and by any such reasonable standard there’s a difference of light years between the films he’s done and the ones Salman has. That’s evident even today. When Salman does ETT this sounds like a great serious project for him. For Aamir this would seem like run of the mill stuff pitched at the box office. we saw what happened when he did Fanaa! Just Fanaa is better than 95% of films Salman has ever done! All of this is not an argument against Salman. These are the facts. And this is the sort of thing SRK fans sometimes pull also. Fanaa is bad, Ghajini is ordinary, what’s so great about 3I? and so on. And what do these people otherwise love? RNBDJ and KHNH and what not! The problem with these ‘debates’ a lot of times is just a basic lack of sincerity and honesty.
September 14, 2011 at 6:49 PM
also – just to add didn’t ghajini and 3 idiots have 3 clear weeks of its release with no competition?? im not a film expert like yourself but im sure if theres no competition with a big release then surely that movie is gonna do better. im sure bodyguards second week collections wouldve been better had mbkd hadnt released – no??
anyway personally i never see a movie twice at the cinemas no matter how good it is – rather watch something new.
September 14, 2011 at 10:54 PM
Dabangg too had 3 clear weeks….
September 15, 2011 at 11:24 AM
But one then has to account for all kinds of competition for all kinds of stars.. one can’t suddenly start picking examples.. Bodyguard incidentally started slipping on the very second day and even when it rose a bit on the weekend it still didn’t get to those first day numbers. When I saw its trending over the first three days I was pretty sure it would do a quick fade. But let me provide a SRK example here. RNBDJ did well even with the Ghajini competition but not just this, it even trended well. So if Ghajini couldn’t derail RNBDJ it’s hard to believe that Imran Khan was doing a number on Salman and that too a film that had the biggest opening day ever!
September 15, 2011 at 5:24 AM
List of D Grade movies of SRK :
1. Guddu
2. English Babu Desi Mem
3. Koyla
4. Maya MemSaab (Z Grade stuff)
5. King Uncle
6. Pahla Nasha
7. Dil Ashna Hai
8. Zamana Deewana
9. Oh Darling Ye Hai India
10. Trimurti
11. English Babu Desi Mem
12. Army
13. Dushman Duniya Ka
14. Gudgudee
15. Achanak
16. Gajgamini
17. One Two Ka Four
18. Ye Lamhe Judaai Ke
19. Shakti-The Power
20. I see you
21. Dulha Mil Gaya
Wowwwwww .. out of 40 Odd movies he has done … 21 are simply Horrible and D grade stuff and i am not counting all flops … otherwise Ashoka, Paheli, Swadesh etc were there .. but these are better movies.
September 15, 2011 at 6:26 AM
According to Satyam, SRK has never given the biggest grosser of its time post DDLJ..
By that logic, Aamir shouldnt be what he is as he didnt give the biggest grosser of his time between Raja Hindustani and Ghajini..
Ishq was a small hit.
Mann was average/below average
mela was flop
DCH was average
MP was above average
RDB didnt gross as much as RH/DDLJ/KKHH even 10 years after their release.
Fanaa fell short of Krrish’s gross
TZP didnt even gross as much as CDI / Welcome that year
Finally had something with Ghajini ..
September 15, 2011 at 8:11 AM
Aamir was definitely not in top pre Ghajini .. His stardom was growing post RDB .. and post Ghajini .. he became top star. Now Salman who was not even in top 5 before wanted .. now has top spot ..
Thing is post Amitabh .. no one dominate number one position for long .. It was only Bachchan who hold this position for upto 18 Years .. (1975-1992).
September 15, 2011 at 11:07 AM
Wasn’t SRK the biggest superstar post DDLJ unlike Aamir who was just a small star so how are you expecting him to give the biggest hit? Isn’t SRK who is supposed to do so as he is the biggest globally recognized star?
September 15, 2011 at 1:01 PM
@ The Bollywood Fan. This is eles here from Aamir’s blog–you may remeber me, or not. We used to have some fun times there, many of us–but the place is now sadly neglected by its host. Ah well; hello and hope to visit your site again.
And as for the discussion here–Aamir is generally dragged in by a certain puranisona, whether warranted or not! To clarify–many of us Aamir fans are not all anti SRK; I quite like SRK for certain qualities and his successful film career. It’s very brave of him to invest so much money and faith in Ra-one—and I hope it pays off completely; I’m sure it will, considering his humugous fan base throughout the world–and then many SRK fans will become more insufferably anti-Aamir than before! That will be the only downside of Ra-one’s success–but that’s to be expected I guess. Salman fans are partying away on various Bolly fora, next it’s going to be SRk fans—wish such partying did not involve pulling down of rival actors; but tht’s exactly what’s happening–and shamefully, the filmi media too is indulging in this game of crowning one and pulling of another’s gilded seat. Silly and immature attitude towards the cycle of success and failure…but there it is.
September 17, 2011 at 11:47 AM
Dear Lalsub, I don’t think we had a discussion before but I know you from NG and Aamir’s blog too.
And I don’ have any problem with SRK at all, In fact I quite liked some of his movies, don’t udnerstand why SRK fans hate Aamir to such extent. Salman and Hrithik fans love Aamir even Akshay fans too.
Most of Aamir haters are SRK fans!
September 17, 2011 at 11:51 AM
^^^agree bollywood fan
“Most of Aamir haters are SRK fans!”—u have a point—not sure why…
There is perhaps an inherent “dichotomy” and thats WHY they become big srk fans in the first place.
Anyhow, any new theories on this would be welcum
Also if u are an srk fan, plz help oldgold aunty in the other ra1 thread–she needs it hahaha
September 17, 2011 at 12:16 PM
LOL AD, well, I’m a huge Aamir fan since many years, don’t have any problem with SRK. I love Sallu a lot too.
But I’m really stunned to see a fangirl like Oldgold having such hatred towards Aamir. I mean one wonders what the hell did the guy do to her? Anyways I’m not forcing anyone to like Aamir but hell I personnaly can’t hate anyone even in real life this way let alone a Filmstar!
Well hope OldGold forgives Aamir soon.
September 15, 2011 at 8:53 AM
Blatnntly plagiarised from another site:
KBC question. Who is the biggest? SRK, Sallu, Anna, Obama.
Phone a friend Big B suggests to the confused contestant. Contestant asks him to connect him to SRK. BigB obliges with his habitual grace.
BigB. Hello SRK, how are you?
SRK. I am big.Bigger. Biggest.
BigB, I am asking how are you?
SRK. I am great, greater and the greatest.
BigB gives up with a big sigh.
September 15, 2011 at 10:05 AM
KBC question. Who is number one in Bollywood? SRK, Sallu, Amir or any other.
Phone a friend Big B suggests to the confused contestant. Contestant asks him to connect him to Amir. BigB obliges with his habitual grace.
BigB. Hello Amir, how are you?
Amir. Sallu said I am number one. (my back was very itchy so he was scratching. SRK scratches his own back).
BigB, I am asking how are you?
Amir. Sallu is number one. (his back was feeling itchy so I was scratching. SRK scratches his own back)
BigB gives up with a big sigh.
September 15, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Actually I’m cringing at such tastes in humour.
September 15, 2011 at 10:16 AM
Typical SRK fan to defend SRK needs Aamir.
September 15, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Typical Amir fan bashes SRK, at least on this blog.
September 15, 2011 at 10:33 AM
Feeling bad?
September 15, 2011 at 10:40 AM
DUH??!!
September 15, 2011 at 11:19 AM
That’s completely unfair. There are many Aamir fans here who don’t say much about SRK. For some others including myself whatever I say about Aamir isn’t connected at all with what I say about SRK. In some contexts a comparison comes up just as today Salman has set some extraordinary benchmarks and it remains to be seen whether SRK can match them. In fact you’re the one person here who mentions something about Aamir almost a 100% of the time in any SRK context. Anytime someone says something about SRK you don’t like you bring up Aamir. Even if you think some of us are unfair to SRK (you’re within your rights to do so as not just any SRK fan but someone who’s even willing to deconstruct Bachchan — Don — to support SRK, this notable only because you otherwise like Bachchan) 95% of the time the discussion has nothing to do with Aamir or anyone else at all. If we’re discussing the box office comparisons are natural. But I don’t need Aamir’s films to call RNBDJ a junk film! And so on.
September 15, 2011 at 11:29 AM
Exactly!!!
I see no one expect oldgold mentionning Aamir here, I mean the discussion is about SRK and his films right? Then give the man a break why are you behind him? If someone doesn’t like SRK does that mean he is necesserly an Aamir fan?
I know many Sallu fans who hate SRK and to the core, AKshay fans too hell even Hrithik fans sometimes!!
Why all this hatred towards a filmstar? Someone who you have never met(pobably), who did nothing to you so why this hatred why?????
September 15, 2011 at 3:18 PM
Come on, all of you.
What difference does it make whether you bash SRK in a different post and wax eloquent over Amir in a different post.
It doesn’t make a difference to the opinion being propogated that “we are mocking SRK, his films, his ways/behaviour as compared to Amir’s.”
Or
“we are the intelligent ones while the fans of SRK are…” ummm…what are those adjectives used rajen, satyam…anyone?
It’s all underhand, just like Amir’s ways.
September 15, 2011 at 4:04 PM
I think you’re really wading deep into conspiracy territory here! One could make any sort of connection this way! Any praise of an actor could be seen as underhanded dissing of another one. or to praise one and do the opposite with another could be seen as a conspiracy!
Oddly there is a connection and it’s rather obvious. If one likes meaningful entertainment one rates those films highly that exhibit such. So on my part I praise Rathnam whether Abhishek acts in his films or SRK (I’ve actually praised Dil Se more than Guru and Yuva in many contexts). similarly and despite some shortcomings I have always on the whole been positive about Swades. The thing is that as far as I’m concerned Aamir or Abhishek engage in a lot more of such efforts. Incidentally I was even rather kind to MNIK. But there is a consistency here. Not like those fans including yourself who manage to like anything their favorite stars in and similarly those again including yourself who are willing to deconstruct any and everything to ‘protect’ the favored one. I don’t support films like Raja Hindustani! Nor do I extol the virtues of Dostana (even if I found it progressive in certain ways). I am not excited about Italian Job and Bol Bachchan. I’ve repeated these examples again and again but if one refuses to argue rationally nothing can be done about it. Incidentally I believe Rajen was rather kind to MNIK as well. It should be pretty obvious what’s going on here. I’ve said far worse about akshay’s films and salman’s films. Doing KHNH or RNBDJ is the same kind of deal for me. When an actor attempts something meaningful even if I don’t ultimately care for the film I don’t attack it either other than within the bounds of a serious ideological discussion.
The problem which many SRK fans have is that they are completely incapable of imagining a worldview where their favorite isn’t somehow an integral part of the discussion. Whether it’s about the box office or about meaningful cinema. I’ve said a lot about hrithik or Salman over the years too but very rarely have I been attacked for this. Do I have deeper objections with respect to SRK and Johar? Of course! And I’ve laid these out at length. The problem is that one launches a discussion fans like yourself suggest that the entire argument has been constructed to denigrate SRK! The fact that on the very same grounds I’ve castigated many other stars including Bachchan on his own blog is conveniently ignored. So there is consistent and overwhelming ideological evidence here. Of course since the fan just cannot imagine a world where SRK isn’t spoken about except in positive terms he or she is then forced to created increasingly ‘daft’ reasons for why the opposition is reacting a certain way to him. And I’ve said this before too. Sometimes one comes across other star fans too who get upset when their favorite is questioned. But with no other set of star fans does one consistently get the sense, as with SRK fans, that the mere questioning of him is a completely illegitimate activity on any level whatsoever.
And again one can dismiss everything or try all kinds of weak and stale humor to get around these ‘debates’ but this doesn’t change anything. There is no moral duty to like SRK and agree with his project! It’s precisely this sort of structure that I have always resisted. This tendency to try and end all debate when he’s the subject. You are a prime candidate for everything I’m saying here. But of course one can nonetheless cling to one’s point and insist the other is biased or whatever. There are options in life that rescue one from any sort of rational debate. To repeat what I started out with it is so obvious as to why I like Aamir’s work or Abhishek’s and not SRK’s (or why I have supported Akshay and Salman at the box office despite finding most of their films unwatchable) that it would take less than an Einstein to figure this out!
September 15, 2011 at 5:55 PM
Aamir – “Shahrukh always likes to be in the second position”
SRK – “I am happy to come second to Aamir”
Look up Google and you’ll come to know who’s the latest I me myself in Bwood
September 15, 2011 at 9:06 AM
Let’s all relax guys! rI could respond to some of the comments here but I’d be repeating myself (a novel concept for me!) and more than this don’t want the forum to be clogged with the very same stuff again and again. A proper box office discussion is fine but when it’s often less than this in these threads.
September 15, 2011 at 9:07 AM
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Remains Steady On Weekdays
Thursday 15th September 2011 109.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan has remained pretty steady on the weekdays and will finish the week with around 37.50 crore nett. It will be the fifth biggest opening week of the year.
The postponement of Mausam by one week gives Mere Brother Ki Dulhan a good chance to get around the 60 crore nett lifetime mark as the fall in the second week will be much smaller than it would have been if Mausam had been released this week. Multiplexes are keeping it on 8-10 shows daily in its second week.
It should also become the highest earner of Imran Khan which till date is Delhi Belly with a distributor share of 27.50 crore approx.
September 15, 2011 at 9:12 AM
as some of us were saying earlier this year Imran has had two successes and his best year yet..
September 15, 2011 at 9:23 AM
It ceratinly has been a good year from Imran. For a while, it looked like he had squandered away the oppurtunities provided by a great start in JTYJN but atleast he has stabilised as of now. Mind you, am not a particular fan of any of his recent movies and a lot of success is nto directly attributable to him but he definitely has a following amonst the younger set, particularly females. I wish he gets something substantial to see if he can really act.
September 15, 2011 at 9:31 AM
I think Johar should just make Dostana 2 with Ranbir and Imran..
September 15, 2011 at 9:13 AM
Rana Daggubati’s father tries to stop Mausam’s release in the south
By Subhash K. Jha, September 15, 2011 – 11:04 IST
Mausam If reliable reports coming from the South are to be believed, then a very powerful lobby from Hyderabad helmed by producer Suresh Babu who is Rana Daggubati’s father, is targeting for ban on Pankaj Kapoor’s Mausam in the South.
Says a source, “It’s a dispute between one of the Mausam producers Madhu Mantena and Suresh Babu. Sauresh Babu claims Mantena owes him Rs. 3 crores from an earlier deal during the release of Rann that Mantena had produced. Mantena, however, is clear that whatever the financial dispute over Rann, it does not involve Mantena. In retaliation, Suresh Babu has used his huge influence in the South for distributors and exhibitors to boycott Mausam unless the Rs. 3-crore alleged dues are cleared.”
Mantena is evasive on the matter. He finally admits, “Yes, there is an issue with Rana’s father. We’re trying to solve it amicably. But there seems no scope for discussion.”
When contacted Rana Daggubati did not deny the dispute between his dad and Mantena.
Says Rana, “I’m a professional actor and not too linked with the production and distribution arm of the company. With regards to this particular matter, I’m not too sure of the details of the deal structure that Madhu had with the company in the past. It wouldn’t be right for me to comment on this.”
September 15, 2011 at 9:41 AM
Major Blow for Kollywood- 100% tax increase
2011-09-15 09:35:09
The Tamil Nadu state government has increased entertainment tax (ET) in cinema theatres by 100 %.
A Bill passed by the state assembly on Wednesday (Sep 14) included DTH service providers to pay 30% tax and IPL matches in Chennai have also been brought under the entertainment tax net.
Cinema theatres in Tamil Nadu will have to pay double the tax on every ticket sold. At the moment ET in 10 Corporations and 22 Municipalities is 15 % of the gross ticket amount which has been increased to 30%.
In Panchayat areas the ET is currently 10%, which has been increased to 20%.
It means in Chennai city out of every Rs 120 ticket sold, the industry (Theatre & Distributor/Producer) was getting back Rs 102, when it was 15% tax.
Now for every Rs 120 ticket sold only Rs 84 will come back to the industry with ET at 30 %!
The government has made it clear that there is a cap on ticket charges and old rates will be applicable. The theatres will not be able to charge the audiences more because of the cap.
The new ET is going to badly effect box-office collections, as the government will take away an additional 15 %, leaving the industry to fend for itself. It is badly going to hit small films more than the biggies. A veteran producer and exhibitor said : “The industry stands to lose 15% of revenue. We will meet the CM and request her to reconsider this decision. As per the cap we cannot pass it on to the consumers.”
September 15, 2011 at 9:42 AM
Chennai Box Office (Sep 9 – 11)
Chennai Box Office (Sep 9 – 11) | Tuesday, 13 September , 2011, 17:33
There is no real competition to Ajith`s Mankatha the clear number one at CBO. The film in 12 days has taken a distributors share of approximately Rs 3.25 Crore from Chennai city, which is phenomenal.
Way down in the number two position is Kanchana, which is still doing well in multiplexes and single screens. In the third place is the new youth Bollywood movie Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, which benefited due to a large number of shows in multiplexes.
At number four is Final Destination 5, which continues to do decent business. And the big surprise is that Deivathirumagal has made a comeback to the fifth place at CBO due to its strong weekend collections in multiplexes.
http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=14979023&cid=13525926
September 15, 2011 at 9:43 AM
Ajith has definitely thrown up some remarkable numbers this time. True A-list numbers as opposed to some of the previous hype which was less than warranted. Meanwhile Vikram too has a hit in a different subject.
September 15, 2011 at 4:41 PM
I was somewhat disheartened to see this, hope it’s a rumor:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/showbiz/kollywood/mani-ratnam-ropes-ajith-022
Did hope that post Raavanan Ratnam would stick to Vikram for the next Tamil film..or at least resurrect Madhavan. Bottomline I’m glad (if some rumors are to believed) he’s making a Tamil film and not a bilingual deal…
September 15, 2011 at 4:49 PM
the rumors about a Tamil film have been pretty consistent but stories about the subject and cast have fluctuated wildly. I too hope Ajith isn’t cast.
September 15, 2011 at 12:23 PM
I think the point to be discussed vis-a-vis Bodyguard is not how it’s trending, but how did it even get to its present day number?
By all accounts, this is a pretty mediocre film. I don’t think even Salman fans will come out to defend this one.
Even more surprising is the fact that Bodyguard has made more money overseas than ZNMD! This is a clear indicator of just how popular Salman is at the moment.
I think his TV shows (DKD, Big Boss) are the most significant factors behind his current upswing. He should do more TV shows and less films; Preserve his mass appeal to select films and even more records will get shattered.
Just imagine if Dabangg had released today after 2 consecutive 100 crore grossers, it’d have done 150 crores easily in its extended opening week alone!
I’m no fan of Salman Khan, but it sure looks like he has a genuine connection with the movie-going audience in India. He always had a fan following, but since his TV appearances, he has grown his base. He needs to follow it up by choosing good scripts though.
September 15, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Incidentally, he’s the only star, apart from AB, who has benefitted in a huge way by working in TV shows.
He succeeded where SRK, Akki & Hrithik failed. Of course, Aamir didn’t even bother with making an appearance on TV. And that helps too. His ‘exclusivity’ is a big reason behind the grand openings that he commands these days.
One final point about Sallu’s TV appearances: he didn’t benefit from the format of the show; it’s actually the reverse. The shows benefitted from his ‘bindaas’ attitude on display. He was always one with the audience, cracking jokes, teasing filmi colleagues on his own show. He clearly had fun, and in the process won over quite a few fans. More than ‘quite a few’ actually…
September 15, 2011 at 12:54 PM
will agree with your point on Salman being benefited by TV but would also add that Dabanng offered a complete reset to his career and of the kind stars rarely see. The clock just restarted with this film for him. Remember after Wanted he had veer which didn’t do anything and London Dreams which did as poorly. But currently he’s in the post-Dabanng zone. Where you’re again right is that if he doesn’t do somewhat better scripts even for this format he will see diminishing returns relatively soon. But the whole problem is that when you hit it big with films like Ready and Bodyguard people are quite likely to offer you the same sort of stuff again. Even otherwise the very best Bombay directors are not going to get attracted to Salman anytime soon! And this is where the star who doesn’t have the reputation of an actor is ultimately hamstrung. Because the possibility of a certain kind of project is simply foreclosed. ETT is just about the best he’ll get and I’d be surprised if it did better than the Ready kind of film overall.
Would disagree a touch on the Bachchan analogy. I think Bachchan through these TV stints and most of his ads offers a greater connection with his older (younger!) self than do most of his film outings over the last 15 years or so. The demand for him has always been there but the audience hasn’t often found the bachchan they seek in the films. Hence there is often a sharp gap on the numbers. He’s had success in films, he’s had some very acclaimed commercial successes. But on TV he beats the competition in absolute terms. So for example his current KBC (his fourth such outing) is handily beating Hrithik’s dance show. Even Salman’s shows have never been close to these kinds of ratings consistently (though he’s done better than his other peers for sure). It’s certainly true that Salman’s movie market was under-represented for most of the past decade. He was in the doldrums most of those years (this too ties to my other point.. if you’re not considered a true actor you have nothing when you’re down on your luck). Now the return of masala helps him as his base really becomes an important part of the deal. The multiplexes have transferred some of their Akshay affections to him (!), who incidentally has been totally foolish not to jump on the masala bandwagon much earlier.
September 16, 2011 at 12:39 AM
“Incidentally, he’s the only star, apart from AB, who has benefitted in a huge way by working in TV shows.”
Looking at the collections of AB’s movies recently don’ think he benefited here like Salman. Even Salman I don’t think benefited from TV appearance. The only thing which changed Salman’s career is Wanted. Ajay Devgan’s Singham is doing 100 crores is a proof of that. It tells a lot about people’s choice.
September 16, 2011 at 3:35 AM
Well, for starters, AB isn’t exactly playing roles that tie to his image on KBC! Salman, on the other hand, is…
The point is, AB’s TV sojourn has been a huge success as the TRPs indicate. And only Salman has been able to “grow” his fan-base by venturing into television.
September 16, 2011 at 3:36 AM
Also, Wanted happened after DKD. Not the other way round. Wanted and Dabangg don’t exist in a vacuum. The cause and effect relationship may not be 100%, but it certainly is there.
September 16, 2011 at 9:10 AM
Not saying they exist in a vacuum but DKD never had the kinds of numbers that would suggest a sudden new reinvention for the star. Which is not to say that people didn’t like him here or that he didn’t increase his audience to some degree. But it’s hard to see how this could have led to huge box office results when these results were not that remarkable on TV. I just have a different theory about this. There was a market for Salman, under-represented for some of the reasons I mentioned earlier. Finally the masala turn started happening and Salman did Wanted at the right time. A remake of the biggest Telugu grosser ever before Magadheera. It did very well in Hindi but the 60 crore gross or so wasn’t that extraordinary. The film did extremely well in single/double screens while multiplexes were ok to barely decent. It’s fair to say that many who probably saw Wanted at home also liked it. So a follow-up to Wanted would have done better anyway (assuming a certain quality.. this wasn’t true for Veer!). But Dabanng just clicked instantly in terms of the trailers and the music and so on. The only question was whether the somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude of the film as displayed in the trailer would work in a big way. But the whole combo just clicked in a massive way. His base audience had been waiting for this sort of deal from him for a long time but the tone and aesthetics of Dabanng brought the multiplexes on board too. The rest is history. So again I’m not saying DKD didn’t help. But I’d say Wanted helped more (his first hit in really ages) and Dabanng just reset everything. So check out Wanted’s initial after DKD and Veer’s after Wanted. But then look at how Dabanng opened and how everything has been opening since. I think Dabanng is quite clearly the dividing line. Which doesn’t at all mean that it came in a vacuum.
September 17, 2011 at 9:38 AM
Yes, there is definitely a point at which Salman hit Ctrl+Alt+Del
And I think that happened with DKD. Everything else since then can be traced as a gradual progression (Veer had Salman in a really weird getup, mouthing lines like ‘Mere Dadda ki talwaar’ etc, which doesn’t really cut much ice with the multiplex audience, I think!). This “progression” is much like the snowball effect until it reached an avalanche. Or the avalanche *still* lies ahead, which is a scary thought. Not for film distributors though.
In many ways I’d like Salman’s run to continue although I’m not really going to watch most of his films. His is a genuine connection with the masses, and it’d be a shame if it went sour for whatever reason…
September 17, 2011 at 10:46 AM
yeah I enjoyed him in Dabanng, didn’t think too much of the film but the stuff he’s done since then isn’t really something I’d check out anywhere though some here like Ready.
September 15, 2011 at 12:44 PM
the thing is Saket that the Salman kind of star paradoxically depends on the Bodyguard kind of film. Perhaps something better but not a whole lot. If Salman started doing Aamir’s kind of cinema (RDB and the like) he’d actually be less successful. Because I don’t think the audience sees him that way,. Much as Akshay had all those hit comedies for a while but the audience didn’t want him to do ‘serious’ stuff. Some stars are just not perceived that way. Alternatively there are other stars who couldn’t keep doing non-serious stuff. It would give them box office success upto a point but it would eventually deconstruct their signature. For example Aamir’s prestige depends on his doing serious entertainment more often than not. He couldn’t just do D3 and Fanaa all the time.
On your larger point I think this current multiplex audience is by and large pretty bankrupt. They just don’t want anything serious. When you see a film like G3 doing the way it did you just know most serious films don’t have a chance unless they’re unusually entertaining or have an overall appealing package. In every age there is a market for ‘stupid cinema’ but it’s been particularly lucrative in this age. And even the ‘serious’ stuff that has really sold well has been of the kind that the multiplex audiences didn’t have a serious ideological objection to and equally the films in questions were also ‘entertainers’ for one reason or another. Unlike say the 70s there is I would suggest no example in the last 20 years of a film that truly puts the multiplex audience in an uncomfortable spot in terms of their ‘values’ and ‘beliefs’ and really hits it out of the park. None whatsoever. Which is why when it’s a film like Delhi 6 one can certainly find it flawed in many ways but that’s beside the point. That’s not the reason it didn’t do well. Because far more flawed films work in all kinds of formats. The perspective of D6 just isn’t one the audiences are willing to embrace. And there are other examples too with other stars.
Today cinema has just become something to be consumed. No one’s looking for the ‘experience’ which every serious film entails. Whenever I revisit some iconic stuff from the 70s (even some stuff I don’t like.. for example Roti Kapada aur Makaan) I always wonder how today’s audiences would react to those films. They’d run out of the theaters shrieking and screaming! It’s not just about G3. In an age where the target audience thinks ZNMD is a perfect expression of ‘finding yourself’, where DB is considered the height of subversion you can tell how challenged anything half-serious is going to be.
September 16, 2011 at 3:51 AM
Don’t disagree with you at all. But there’s a difference (a huge one) between Golmaal 3 & Bodyguard’s opening and closing figures. It’s true that mindless stuff often works, but to get these kind of numbers (especially overseas, where G3 did squat) requires a “genuine” connection with the audience. One can even see why G3 worked; comedies like SIK, Welcome along with some of Dhawan’s films worked too. It can be attributed to the genre as well.
But how does one define Bodyguard? It’s certainly NOT a comedy and it’s not exactly an action-masala kind of a deal. It’s just a bad film. Bad ‘masala’ film, some people would say. It still made at least 10 times the money it deserves to make!
Now Singham has also crossed the 100 crore barrier, but it limped towards the goal-post. And it was a pure action-masala kind of a deal that probably gets more support out of single screens compared to other genres. Bodyguard’s numbers are simply out of line with all “extrinsic” factors except for the one that points towards Salman’s popularity.
September 16, 2011 at 9:02 AM
It’s absolutely true that Salman is in the zone right now. Not underrating this factor at all. But it’s also about cumulative initials at this point given that he’s red hot. For example if you switch the releases of Ready and Bodyguard I think the initials would be proportionately affected too. Bodyguard would open as big as Ready did while the latter would open even bigger as Bodyguard did. But Bodyguard still wouldn’t trend better than it has at this moment. When a star is that hot people show up blindly as long as there is minimal consistency in terms of genres. and each success just adds to the initial.
On Singham I’d give it more credit than you. Precisely because Devgan is not where Salman is and also because Singham as you’ve said is far more pure action with not enough comedy relief and so on that it’s strong trending is that much more noteworthy. The film was very stable in getting to 100 crores. It didn’t open as big as these Salman films but it was more stable than the latter. And this kind of action has not got big numbers in ages (barring Ghajini). You’re right on the single screen appeal here but without minimal multiplex support you can’t get to 100 crores. Note how ZNMD did very well in the multiplexes (though MBKD has been keeping pace with it more or less through the first week) and went upto 90 crores but still couldn’t catch Singham. That’s pretty remarkable. Finally Salman’s films themselves have a huge single/double screen factor to them.
September 15, 2011 at 1:10 PM
Interesting point. I’ll admit that although I find Salman mostly a terrible actor in his recent run of films (save Dabangg) he has in the past few years become a pretty fun, interesting guy to watch outside the movies. Still not a fan of his work in any sense but what he’s managed to do is marry his offscreen “I-don’t-give-a-shit” appeal to his onscreen roles. Of course this doesn’t make the movies any better (often quite the opposite) but it does explain the run he’s had to someone (like myself) who is otherwise perplexed at how these films are being lapped up.
September 15, 2011 at 1:12 PM
agreed mostly here.. certainly off-screen I’ve found him to be one of the best Bollywood figures (and there are very few on such a list). Did like him a lot in Dabanng.
September 15, 2011 at 1:38 PM
gf, agreed – i don’t know whether u’ve seen BG – there is a dialogue which raj babbar says to sallu’s character in the film “tumhara mann saaf hei” – and actually the guy looks like a pure-hearted man – and to me – this connects a very big time with indian audiences who are always game for genuine emotions….
September 15, 2011 at 1:45 PM
though again it’s important to concentrate on the reset Dabanng provided. And this is a classic example of how the past gets rewritten. For most of the last decade Salman seemed quite irrelevant to the power equations. Not much worked and he hardly had any important projects in any case. Suddenly all of that is forgotten. Don’t think he acquired a heart of gold after Dabanng! These ‘reset’ buttons are crucial in the lives of public figures. However Salman might have been doing before Dabanng after this film he’s zoomed right to the top in terms of drawing initials. And he’s doing it consistently. Just as failure creates a million reasons success creates a million excuses! Or better still the reasons for failure even becomes reasons for success. Yes, often the very same factors!
September 15, 2011 at 9:50 PM
salman is and will remain the “prem” of sooraj barjatya school and despite all his brat, macho stuff – he strikes the best with his endearingly pure-hearted hero-image who stands for all that is good…..to me, this is his USP. and public simply luvs him since Maine Pyar Kiya days…. and now he is at such a stage that no matter what the script is….people go to see him….big b, rajni have enjoyed this status….anyone else? i don’t think so…not putting aamir’s name here because he does only one film a year….
September 16, 2011 at 3:53 AM
“Still not a fan of his work in any sense but what he’s managed to do is marry his offscreen “I-don’t-give-a-shit” appeal to his onscreen roles. ”
Exactly!
September 15, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Saket,
Salman has a huge following for sure. Probably the biggest amongst the present generation. Am not sure if TV has added to his appeal tho I should add that I have always found him quite likeable on DKD. There is a genuineness about him that I think people like. Plus, he is quite good at the kind of films he does without having to display great acting prowess.
Coming after Dabangg abd Ready also obviously helped tho by all accounts it is the poorest of the three. Plus, the public taste has also devolved. There isa lot that is good about the youth and the successful people in the present India but ability to appreciate good cinema is not at the top of those attributes. The biggest point in the case is the mind-numbing success of trash like Golmaal 3. So, I am not actually surprised at the success of BG or even the magnitude of the success.
It is not that trashy films have not done well in the past but these days most films that run are kind of trashy. ZNMD is an exception. I use the word trashy rather loosley. What I mean is rather uninspiring and insipid masla. In all probability, Don2 aqnd Ra.1 will join the list of huge money spinners without actually being the kind of films that we like.
September 15, 2011 at 1:50 PM
you know that Abhishek had an accident while doing action scene for ‘BolBachchan’ in Jaipur ,cut near his eye , 6 stitches…
September 15, 2011 at 1:56 PM
http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/abhishek-devgan-kareena-in-rohit-shettys-bol-bachchan/#comment-104680
September 15, 2011 at 2:10 PM
Hmm did not know about this..^^^tata
So there is action in Bol bachchan which apparently is a remake of a comedy “golmal”
Seems some action has been squeezed in…
Btw not sure which heroine is opposite abhi.
Last heard– there was “musical chairs” goin on — nobody actually confirmed ?
September 16, 2011 at 6:07 AM
Abhishek is opposite Asin I think.I’ve heard that Abhishek and Prachi are siblings and Ajay and Asin are siblings in Bol Bachchan.
September 16, 2011 at 8:48 AM
that’s what some of the stories have led me to believe too and which might explain why Genelia didn’t do the film as she was being cast for the part Prachi’s now doing.
September 15, 2011 at 3:35 PM
Seeing some of the “depth” of “love” and “devotion” for some of the stars, one is reminded of this song.-below
Also, tata– this is a “classic” in the true cinematic traditions — don’t worry– satyam can’t/won’t object to these cinematic “legends”– hahaha
(somehow couldn’t find the lyrics translated link..)
September 15, 2011 at 7:25 PM
just to apoint – im not bashing any actor. as i said before i like all 3 khans but aamir does do 1 movie per year so if its not a hit then something is seriously wrong. as for salman i think majority of the time his movies let him down rather than him letting the movies down. if he was as bad an actor as everyone makes out he would be rubbish in the rubbish movies he does but in fact in all his movies he is the saving grace. when srk or aamir have acted in rubbish movies or scripts there acting has been bad in those movies too whereas salman is still watchable in his bad movies. the reason why im looking forward to ETT cos this will be the first time salman will be backed by a good production house, a decent director and hopefully a good script. so it should be a well made movie. and i believe we shall see salman as the true actor in this movie. but i suppose we shall all wait and see.
the point about him being genuine and generous is true – his innocence is his charm. salman has a heart of gold and therefore the audience feel for him and he isnt pretentious or thinks hes beeter than anyone. he is humble therefore he has gods grace on him
September 15, 2011 at 7:52 PM
I know many Salman fans are slightly apprehensive about ETT but I am so kicked up about that film. It will take Salman to another level (I am sure of it). More than YRF I have trust in the director Kabir and hopefully it will be a kick ass film.
Yes, it’s not what he’s done in his last few films but that’s where the excitement comes from. It will release roughly 9 months after Bodyguard which is a substantial amount of time.
September 15, 2011 at 8:02 PM
It will have an astonishing initial without doubt.. And again I don’t have doubts about whether it will be ‘good’. I am just unsure if Salman’s target audience is looking for the New York kind of director. It’s just a very different kind of aesthetic from Ready and Bodyguard to put it mildly. Unless of course Kabir Khan adds some real masala here.
September 16, 2011 at 3:55 AM
“this will be the first time salman will be backed by a good production house, a decent director and hopefully a good script.”
I doubt he’d get a better deal from YRF & Kabir Khan compared to what he got out of Dabangg. That was a ‘real’ script, with a real director at the helm.
September 16, 2011 at 8:35 AM
ETT excites me more than any other Salman project and some stills from the film that I saw were quite good. I have no doubts that this will be a much better film than any of his recent hits ( including Dbangg) but at the same time, I am not sure enough Salman fans will show up after what will definitely be a very good opening to make it another top grosser. Not that it would bother me in the slightest if the film is good.
September 16, 2011 at 9:12 AM
agree.. Dabanng was tailor made for him in many ways. Certainly it was impossible not to like him here. On ETT he’ll probably get a good film but whether it will play to his strengths in the same way is questionable. Of course an extraordinary initial is guaranteed.
September 16, 2011 at 2:31 AM
If aamir gets credot for doing RDB,then he loses points for the flop of DG.You dont talk about flop of DG,but that also counts.
Aamir attempted a different film in DG and flopped.
September 16, 2011 at 8:55 AM
I don’t regard DG as a flop by any stretch. Sure it fell rapidly after a good initial (for the genre). But normally such a film would have made Rs 2!
September 17, 2011 at 5:20 AM
Blessing your ignorance can you give me one link of one trade which called DG a Flop?
September 16, 2011 at 9:14 AM
Top All Time Second Weeks Bodyguard Not In Top Ten
Friday 16th September 2011 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard recorded the biggest first week ever but is not in the top ten as far as all time second weeks go. Despite being the biggest grosser of 2011 till date, its second week is behind Ready and Singham in 2011. Below are top fifteen second weeks of all time. (Nett Figures).
1. Three Idiots – 56.42 crore
2. Dabangg – 35.97 crore
3. Ready – 32.68 crore crore
4. Golmaal 3 – 31.92 crore
5. Ghajini – 26.50 crore
6. Singham – 24.95 crore
7. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi – 24.56 crore
8. Raajneeti – 23.92 crore
9. Om Shanti Om – 22.18 crore
10. Dhoom 2 – 21.07 crore
11. Bodyguard – 20 crore (approx)
12. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 19.53 crore
13. Welcome – 19.44 crore
14. Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na – 18.34 crore
15. Partner – 18.30 crore
September 16, 2011 at 9:19 AM
A very telling stat.. Salman should be a bit more careful about some of these films.. a couple of films that trend like this and the initial starts getting affected.. it’s pretty shocking that the film’s second week was actually only slightly ahead of JTYJN in absolute terms. And of course this means it’s actually way behind adjusted for inflation and screens. The fact is that in any reasonable sense of the word Bodyguard has been a tank after the first 5-7 day initial. The cracks were apparent even over the first three days. Sure, this is not an expensive super-production so that total gross still makes this a very profitable film for everyone concerned but Hollywood would define this kind of trending as an extreme disappointment if not indeed a flop and I think rightly so. It’s way behind Ready on that week 2 number. Just no comparison.
September 16, 2011 at 9:26 AM
Karan Johar pushes Agneepath release to January 26, 2012
By Bollywood Hungama News Network, September 16, 2011 – 12:10 IST
Every big filmmaker these days wishes to release his film during a festive / holiday weekend. Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard which recently released during Eid / Ganpati raked in the moolah and now even SRK starrer Ra.One is expected to open huge this Diwali.
Reema Kagti’s untitled Aamir Khan starrer and Venus’ multi-starrer Tezz were supposed to release on Republic Day (Jan 26) weekend next year. However, Aamir feels that the post-production may take some time and hence has decided to arrive at a later date.
With one slot open on the Republic Day weekend, Karan Johar has now shifted the release date of his magnum opus Agneepath from Jan 13 to Jan 26. Karan tweeted, “AGNEEPATH is now releasing on the 26th of January, 2012″.
Meanwhile the makers of Priyadarshan directed Tezz, Venus Films, have confirmed that they are in no mood to change the release date of the film. Tezz stars Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Kangna Ranaut and Sameera Reddy.
Also, Dibarkar Banerjee’s Shanghai which stars Abhay Deol and Emraan Hashmi is scheduled to release on the Republic Day next year as of now.
So, on the Republic Day next year, get ready to witness the big clash between Agneepath, Tezz and Shanghai
September 17, 2011 at 5:23 AM
OMG Aamir postponed Dhuan?
September 16, 2011 at 9:26 AM
Top 5: ‘M.B.K.D.’ has 38 cr + Week 1, very good
September 16, 2011 at 9:48 AM
I don’t regard DG as a flop by any stretch. Sure it fell rapidly after a good initial (for the genre). But normally such a film would have made Rs 2!
So trending is not applicable to DG but applicable to non aamir films.This is not an honest argument,When you set a parametre then you should apply to all stars.
Satyam,if you believe in what you write,then dont close this blog.Dont run away.Keep posting here.
September 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM
I do look at trending but I also don’t apply the same standards to DG and TMK!
Now whether I should take lessons in honesty from you or sanity is something that genuinely perplexes me..
September 17, 2011 at 5:12 AM
Yeah Akshay(Joker) Kumar could have made DG an ATBB, like he did for different movies like Tasveer and Patiala House.
September 16, 2011 at 6:32 PM
ON this talk of stars capitalsing on their telly shows—
Feel that nobody has done it better than salman khan…
Hated him earlier but found him honest/endearing in the little that i saw him in 10kadum and big brother…
KNow Salman fans wont like to hear this, but to me his entire filmography may is less significant than Dabang and a few scenes in Tere Naam….
ps—bachchan has been undoubtedly fluid and more than adept in kbc4. But to me, he is somehow getting repetitive/predictable. To add, his beard and glasses need to go as far as styling is concerned.
September 16, 2011 at 6:37 PM
Recently watched a bit of dabang again on telly..Feel people still dont give it enuf weightage.
The films script, setting, characterisation and “conflicts” were quite cunningly intertwined. Be it the “difficult relationship” between salman and his father, or the off-on one with his bro—he hits him but even feels sorry for doing so, Manjrekar calling his daughter “erotta” etc etc
There were some subtle nuances which were masala heartland redux repackaged for the current generations sensibilties helmed by the ideal vehicle for this attitude.
If there is ONE actor in the history of bollywood—the same actor fortunately got to play this character–needless to say, a character which i really liked and was bit close for comfort lol
The plump heroine asks Salman –why do you behave like this
To which he says—”stay with me for some time and you will realise (and agree) to why i do what i do”….!! lol
September 16, 2011 at 8:39 PM
http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/dabangg-the-sadness-of-light-masala/
September 16, 2011 at 10:58 PM
Outlook:
http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?278248
“Compare this to a Sholay, which went on to become a phenomenon in the Hindi film industry. “The craze for Sholay grew with every passing day,” says Sippy. Shohini Ghosh, professor at AKJ Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, remembers watching it in Calcutta: “We didn’t have a vocabulary to express but knew we had seen something never done before. Sholay defined the craft of cinema for us the way Ray defined our appreciation of the art of filmmaking.” Adman Santosh Desai recalls how the “scale of experience” stayed much after the film was over. It wasn’t about box-office collection. “It was about contributing to cinema. Can any recent blockbuster claim to find a permanent place in our cinema history?” asks Ghosh.
Desai compares contemporary blockbusters to a cloudburst and those of yore to a monsoon downpour. “They seeped in, entered the popular consciousness, grew over a period of time,” he says. “Now they are not being tested in a serious way.” So a Ready or Singham come and go without leaving any mark or influence behind it. “The formula is getting more quickfix and shallow. In the age of instantism, depth is anyhow not possible,” says media commentator Sudheesh Pachauri. “As a result, what you get is not a film but a series of cues to the viewer to get excited about the star,” says social anthropologist Shiv Visvanathan. “There are no myths, nuances and folklore of popular cinema. Everything is reduced to simplistic mass consumption.” He has a new term for them: blockhead-busters. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt puts it best: “Cinema has lost its soul and become a spectacle-delivering agency. It was a tool to inspire, usher in change and complexity. It has now become an amusement park of stars.””
September 17, 2011 at 2:23 AM
I liked Desai’s view on contemporary blockbusters.. would read the whole article now
September 17, 2011 at 9:48 AM
In other news, turned up to watch Rahul Dravid bat for the last time in ODIs. The weather was shit and the end result left me depressed, but it will remain one of the most cherished moments of my life…
September 17, 2011 at 9:55 AM
Guess which song were the desis singing? These were 2nd or 3rd generation Indians and they were all crooning ‘Yeh Dosti…Hum Nahin Todenge’ from Sholay, for some reason.
September 17, 2011 at 10:05 AM
did u watch it live in cardiff
i missed it–was workin
September 17, 2011 at 9:54 AM
Met Dravid briefly in practice\
Took an autograph
Really like him as a person —a true “silent” icon
Engalnd cream india—tests 4-0, one dayers 3-0, t20 1-0
Cant remember a more comprehensive drubbing
(injuries nothwithstanding) Raise a toast to England–welldone
September 17, 2011 at 10:00 AM
In Test matches, England beat Dravid 4-0. He was the only one who turned up from the Indian side…
September 17, 2011 at 10:44 AM
LOL, true!
September 17, 2011 at 10:01 AM
Have met a few celebrities but have rarely taken an autograph…
This time i did since like rahul dravid beyond cricket.
btw Kent which he played for has only superlatives to say about him.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-27/top-stories/29935789_1_rahul-dravid-cricket-shane-warne
CANTERBURY: It has been 11 years since Rahul Dravid spent a summer in Kent playing county cricket but fans here still talk of the senior Indian batsman as one of their own and a benchmark for consummate professionalism.
Dravid’s figures — 1221 runs from 16 matches at 55.50 with two centuries — aren’t too phenomenal.
But those few months are still spoken of with awe and admiration for the much-liked batsman. It is still impossible to initiate a discussion on Dravid the person before locals have spoken about his cricket and cricketing manners.
September 17, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan Has Good 8th Day
Saturday 16th September 2011 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan was steady on its eighth day at the box office as it picked up around 2.75 crore nett. The collections were more than the previous day.
The weekend for the film is likely to give a healthy 10-11 crore nett. The film is doing very well in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mumbai while West Bengal and Mysore are also good. Single screen dominated circuits like Bihar CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan are not that strong. In these circuits it is just the multiplexes which are doing decent business.
The 8th day business of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan again illustrates the importance of an open week as if Mausam had released as per schedule then Mere Brother Ki Dulhan would have been in the 1.50 crore nett range for its 8th day.
September 17, 2011 at 10:56 AM
It is still totally keeping pace with ZNMD..
September 17, 2011 at 12:23 PM
“But I’m really stunned to see a fangirl like Oldgold having such hatred towards Aamir. I mean one wonders what the hell did the guy do to her? Anyways I’m not forcing anyone to like Aamir but hell I personnaly can’t hate anyone even in real life this way let alone a Filmstar!”
hahahaha Bollywoodfan…
Ya even i wonder now what has aamir done to her but lets not get personal here…
Hope I have been able to “reform” oldgold (with your help)
And she will (secretly) thank us lol
September 17, 2011 at 12:38 PM
LOL! AD da! i’ll help u sure!
September 17, 2011 at 6:26 PM
btw salmans new romanian girlfriend??
http://english.samaylive.com/entertainment-news/676493434/salman-khan-s-new-girlfriend-is-iulia-vantur-.html
September 19, 2011 at 7:44 AM
Midweek: ‘M.B.K.D.’ touches Rs 50 cr in 10 days, Hit
September 19, 2011 at 7:45 AM
Katrina really has unerring instinct in terms of the box office. For this one has to respect her (if nothing else!).
September 19, 2011 at 8:41 AM
isn’t it amazing? the girl has lady-luck showering all her fortunes on her…..mbkd 50 cr? comeon! i thought it wud be an average hit…..but now we will have to see if KK is in a movie…u never know!
September 19, 2011 at 9:21 AM
it’s actually more or less keeping pace with ZNMD upto this point.
September 19, 2011 at 8:10 AM
Weekend Report: ‘Lion King’ Reclaims Box Office Crown
by Ray Subers
The Lion King
September 18, 2011
All three genuinely new releases combined to make less than the 3D re-release of The Lion King this weekend, reaffirming the Disney animated classic’s continued popularity a whole 17 years after its initial run. Drive fared best among the other openers, though its debut was unremarkable, while Straw Dogs and I Don’t Know How She Does It failed to generate any interest.
The first re-release to debut on top of the charts since Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi back in March 1997, The Lion King earned an estimated $29.3 million from 2,330 locations, which is the fifth-highest September opening ever. It also grossed over twice as much as the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D re-release earned in October 2009. Including its record-breaking run in 1994 and an IMAX re-release in 2002, The Lion King has now earned a total of $357.8 million, and this weekend alone leapt from 25th to 17th on the all-time domestic chart. Distributor Walt Disney Pictures reported that the audience was 59 percent under 25 years old and 56 percent female, and 3D presentations accounted for 92 percent of the gross.
On the surface, The Lion King’s success seems surprising given the declining interest families have shown towards 3D lately and the fact that the Blu-ray is set for release just a few weeks from now. That’s failing to take in to account the incredible popularity of The Lion King, though: between its original 1994 release and its 2002 IMAX re-release, the movie was the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated movie of all-time with $328.5 million, or the equivalent of over $600 million adjusted for ticket price inflation. While it’s possible to view this weekend as a positive one for 3D, it’s a mistake to expect that all major 3D re-releases will receive equally warm receptions.
Last weekend’s winner Contagion declined a light 35 percent to an estimated $14.5 million, which brought its 10-day total to $44.2 million. That drop is about in line with last September’s The Town, which indicates that Contagion should be headed for a final tally around $80 million.
Drive shifted in to third place with an estimated $11 million from 2,886 locations. That’s ahead of similar R-rated thrillers like Eastern Promises ($5.7 million) and Shoot ‘Em Up ($5.7 million), but a bit behind 2007′s The Brave One ($13.5 million). According to Bob Berney, FilmDistrict’s President of Theatrical Distribution, the audience was primarily young male, though there was also a mix of older arthouse and genre fans. The movie received a harsh “C-” CinemaScore, though that’s not entirely surprising for an ultra-violent arthouse movie.
Drive has received endless amounts of Internet hype since its very well-received debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May (Nicholas Winding Refn took home the Best Director prize). That kind of buzz can have an effect in major cities like Los Angeles and New York, but as this weekend showed it’s tough to translate to mainstream audiences. Also, while Ryan Gosling is all the rage in Hollywood right now, his top opening ever was 2004′s The Notebook with just $13.5 million (that excludes Crazy, Stupid, Love., which was billed as a Steve Carell-led ensemble rom-com). Considering Drive’s genre and lukewarm word-of-mouth, it’s unlikely it holds on very well in coming weeks.
The Help continued its remarkable run by easing 28 percent to an estimated $6.4 million. Through nearly six weeks in theaters, the period drama has earned $147.4 million.
Straw Dogs opened in fifth place with a paltry estimated $5 million from 2,408 theaters. That’s a fraction of comparable movies like Lakeview Terrace ($15 million) and The Last House on the Left ($14 million). According to distributor Sony/Screen Gems, the audience was 51 percent female and 54 percent over the age of 25.
Considering it’s a remake of a somewhat obscure movie from 40 years ago, Straw Dogs faced an uphill battle from its inception. It wasn’t helped much by an underwhelming marketing campaign that focused on the climactic home invasion without providing audiences any reason to care about or root for James Marsden and Kate Bosworth’s characters. This marks 2011′s third disappointing remake following Arthur ($33 million) and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ($22.7 million and counting), and next month sees the release of three more (Footloose, The Three Musketeers and The Thing, which appears to function as a prequel and a remake).
I Don’t Know How She Does It was the biggest loser this weekend, as it barely registered with an estimated $4.5 million. Its opening was less than Sarah Jessica Parker’s 2009 bomb Did You Hear About the Morgans? ($6.6 million), and also just over half of last September’s You Again ($8.4 million). Distributor The Weinstein Company indicated that the audience was 80 percent female, and the movie received a “B-” CinemaScore.
I Don’t Know How She Does It was another example of muddled marketing. The trailer and initial posters focused on Parker’s character, but recent commercials portrayed it as an ensemble comedy by prominently featuring TV actresses Olivia Munn and Christina Hendricks. Its biggest problem, though, was its unpleasant premise: why would women want to pay to watch someone else struggle to balance work and family when they’re busy doing that on a daily basis?
While many fans held out hope that it would have strong legs, mixed martial arts drama Warrior collapsed 47 percent to an estimated $2.77 million in its second round. Through two weekends, the Lionsgate release has tallied just $9.91 million.
Comedy concert movie Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain more than doubled its theater count to 230 and dipped 40 percent to $1.15 million. Its total now sits at $3.59 million. That’s way ahead of Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, which plummeted 73 percent to $380,000 for an awful 10-day total of $2.32 million.
September 19, 2011 at 11:44 PM
Saw it yesterday for the first time. Liked it. It was in 3 D but thought there was no need of it.
September 20, 2011 at 5:51 AM
first time? Really?! Wow.
September 19, 2011 at 10:17 AM
The whore has spoken:
A ‘report’ by Komal Nak-katta:
There have been whispers in trade circles that Shah Rukh Khan’s reckless spending on Ra.One may cost him dear. Although nobody knows for sure what the budget of the costliest Hindi film actually is, it is estimated that the superstar-producer may have spent around Rs. 125 crore to make the film. If one were to add another Rs. 25 crore as cost of promotion and release, the total investment in the computer graphics-heavy Ra.One would be Rs. 150 crore. Shah Rukh plans to convert the film into 3D.
However, the position is not as grim as is being made out to be by the industry people. Rather, there’s every chance that Ra.One will cover its huge cost and, in fact, fetch profits. Here’s how:
Ra.One: Projected Overseas Business – Rs. 45 crore
Shah Rukh Khan is the badshah among Bollywood actors in the Overseas circuit. At least ten of his starrers figure in the Top 20 list of Bollywood films in the US and the UK. His last release, My Name Is Khan, crossed the Rs. 35 crore-mark abroad. Given the fact that it would be almost after two years that a Shah Rukh film would be releasing, one can safely estimate the business of Ra.One to increase by 20% over that of MNIK. Besides, Ra.One is being dubbed in German and given King Khan’s supreme popularity in Germany, one can safely add another couple of crore rupees to the Overseas business of Ra.One from the German version. Therefore, a figure of Rs. 45 crore seems achievable for Ra.One. We are talking of distributor’s share here, not net collection.
How Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One Will Recover Its Rs. 150 CroreThe five-day net collection of Ra.One could go up to Rs. 100 or even 110 crore!
Ra.One: Satellite Rights – Rs. 40 crore
It is rumoured that Shah Rukh Khan will be richer by Rs. 40 crore when his deal for satellite rights of Ra.One goes through.
Ra.One: Music Rights – Rs. 7 crore
King Khan couldn’t have settled for anything less than Rs.7 crore for the audio rights of his super-hero extravaganza. The figure may be higher than this, but not lower, for sure.
Ra.One: Tamil & Telugu Dubbed Versions’ Business – Rs. 1 crore
In the worst case scenario, the 3D and 2D versions of the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions of Ra.One can be expected to yield a combined share of Rs. 1 crore.
Ra.One: India Theatrical Business – Rs. 70 crore
Since Ra.One will come on the festive occasion of Diwali and will be released on a Wednesday (October 26), the five-day weekend (Oct. 26-30) can be safely expected to be bountiful. On a conservative estimate, the film could net Rs. 90 crore in the five-day weekend. For a net of Rs. 90 crore, the distributor’s share would easily amount to Rs. 50 crore. So, this would likely be the share for the first five-day weekend. Add a share of at least Rs. 8 crore for the balance four days and you have Rs. 58 crore at the end of the first week itself. Fetching another Rs. 12 crore in the subsequent weeks should not be a problem for the film. Of course, the five-day net collection of Rs. 90 crore is only an estimation. This figure could go up to Rs. 100 or even 110 crore. In that case, the first weekend’s share could go up to Rs. 55 or even 58 crore! If that were to happen, the first week’s India share alone could be Rs. 70 crore.
More: Can Ra.One Break Bodyguard’s Record?
So, what does the total business figure come to?
Overseas : Rs. 45 crore
Satellite : Rs. 40 crore
Music : Rs. 7 crore
Tamil/Telugu : Rs. 1 crore
India : Rs. 70 crore
Total : Rs. 163 crore
The calculations and estimations reveal that Ra.One may, after all, not be the risky proposal it is assumed to be by the trade people. Only if, God forbid, the film doesn’t find acceptance will recovery of the unduly high cost of the film be an impossibility for producer Shah Rukh Khan.
Otherwise, SRK doesn’t need to really worry
September 19, 2011 at 11:37 AM
“The whore has spoken”
Truer words were never spoke about Nahata and his ilk.
The Nobel math winners of Bollywood’s trade establish how it’s safer to invest 150 crores on films rather than 20.
September 19, 2011 at 3:48 PM
http://www.thefilmstreetjournal.com/2009/08/my-name-is-khan-for-rs-80-crore-dont-be-foxed%e2%80%93its-actually-a-steal/
September 19, 2011 at 4:00 PM
remember this piece! But at least MNIK had a supreme overseas performance. The Ra One kind of subject won’t have that. Or at least it would be a first if such a subject did massively well in these markets. Hrithik’s Krrish films for example did well enough but underperformed relative to how he did with other big films of his. But getting back to the piece note how no matter what the cost of a SRK film is it is always a ‘steal’!
September 19, 2011 at 10:22 AM
Re: Only if, God forbid, the film doesn’t find acceptance will recovery of the unduly high cost of the film be an impossibility for producer Shah Rukh Khan.
Wow, what mind numbingly brilliant analysis!
Really, people have to like the film for it to make money? How did he come up with such an original conclusion. I would have never in a lillion years thought of that.
September 19, 2011 at 11:38 AM
of course the bar for people ‘not accepting’ the film is somewhat lower than the new Umrao Jaan’s number.
September 19, 2011 at 6:15 PM
btw watched parts of Baz Luhmanns “australia”
>not exactly the masterpiece and is inconsistent—but looks epic kitsch esp on bluray.
Not the best from Nicole Kidman… but she is not bad]
September 19, 2011 at 6:17 PM
Talking of kidman–reminds me —seems time soon for another revisit/ reappraisal of —”eyes wide shut”—this kubrik work needs multiple viewings imo—dont wanna get started on it lol
Like the twilight space of altered consciousness(es) it operates in between real & illusion…..
September 20, 2011 at 10:19 AM
Mausam: Craze About The Film Is Building Up
September 20th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Mausam Movie Preview (Mausam Movie Poster)Good expectations. Two songs of Mausam – Rabba and Saj Dhaj Ke – are already big hits. The other songs are also gaining popularity. Craze about the film is building up and there is curiosity among the audiences, especially given the fact that the movie has been directed by actor Shahid Kapoor’s father, Pankaj Kapur.
September 20, 2011 at 2:22 PM
The one week delay and IAF controversy has helped the buzz increase immensely which was very much non-existent earlier this should get a decent initial now.
September 20, 2011 at 3:34 PM
will check it out if reviews are half-good. Plus I also need something to recover from the experience of MBKD (even if it was home viewing!). The best thing I can say about this film is that it’s more engaging than Break ke baad. Otherwise it’s one miserably uninspiring film where as Rangan rightly pointed out even true romance is not risked in an ostensibly romantic story! One could read this film as a weird spoof of Pardes! There are useless film allusions designed for nothing more than instant laughter. The current Yashraj formula (or part of it) of lots of Delhi + lots of festivity continues. Katrina meanwhile does an appalling acting job (even by her illustrious standards) that is one long screech of a performance. The two male leads do much better. Ali Zafar seemed surprisingly at ease and had some good chemistry with Imran. Meanwhile the latter even with some of the goofy oddness that is becoming rather stale by this point nonetheless appeared very restrained in front of Kaif and one had to be thankful for this small mercy. With Katrina it’s not just about the shrieking and lack of voice modulation, even in terms of her expressiveness one could see her trying to play the hyper character but she displayed utter lack of control. I am constantly amazed by her success story. with this audience though you could do a Deewar remake with Imran Khan and they’d be cheering.
September 21, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Re: with this audience though you could do a Deewar remake with Imran Khan and they’d be cheering.
Now, now be careful.Dont give KJo any more ideas.
September 20, 2011 at 4:19 PM
haha–so even satyam could not resist mere brother –albeit hiding @home…lol
btw wont be so harsh on katrina.
Usually (as in the case of Kareena/bodyguard)–i am left wondering whats the big deal—even in Delly belly(although this is not comparable in any way) was wondering how and why b rangan was suddenly seeing masterstrokes/cinematic greatness even at the mention of “blowjob” etc for eg.
In this case (esp after znmd) found katrina good.
One has to get the essence /mood right here
One cannot go to watch this movie expecting even raanis yuva/aishwaryas JA performance here (forget raanis Black!)
“see her trying to play the hyper character but she displayed utter lack of control”—exactly—she IS meant to be “hyper” and display “utter lack of control”
My reading may be clouded by my very recent (post znmd)liking of katrina but not enuf.
Must say —she played this over the top character much better than i expected
After a long while (after sridevi/madhuri or rani/aishwarya at her peak), one got a sense that one is watchign a female superstar (albeit only briefly and in spurts)
Ps-know that i would have never believed that im (of all people) defending a katrina kaif performance (and that too in terms of acting)–but there u are.
INfact her role of someone born abroad and back in india just in college and with such mental attitude–cannot think of anyone who could have played it better —within the escapist confines of bollywood box office cinema
I never have fixed/rigid opinions–neither “like” nor “dislike” is permanent. Also dont bother if a certain liking/edorsement may be seen as “downmarket” or “not acceptable”…..
Having said that– wont classify myself as a katrina fan–may change with her very next film(seems more likely)
IN other words—my sort of “fans”( are easy to acquire but nearly impossible to maintain ..
September 21, 2011 at 8:09 AM
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Sheer madness!
September 21, 2011 – 07:58 IST
So what’s so special about this date — 30 September? Okay, it’s that [auspicious] time of the year when people start/begin/embark upon new ventures… in this case, release new movies. Also, Sunday, 2 October is Gandhi Jayanti [national holiday], so the business is bound to be optimum on this date. Besides, the flow of biggies begin from 6 October onwards [RASCALS has already created a strong buzz], which explains why producers/Studios are in no mood to release films in the same week as the biggies. But why this mad rush to release so many films on 30 September? I fail to understand that.
As many as 6 Hindi films were slated for release on this date — FORCE, HUM TUM SHABANA, SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER, SOUNDTRACK, CHARGESHEET and TERE MERE PHERE. Mind you, I am not adding the Hollywood films as well as non-Hindi films that are also slated for release in this week.
What’s shocking is that these films are produced/distributed by names who have years of experience. And each of those star known names in the cast. The distributors/film-makers are well aware that it’s unhealthy to have so many films clashing in the same week. Of course, the business is bound to be divided, but I wish to pose a pertinent question: How will films manage [ample] screens and shows at cineplexes/single screens? The distributors are bound to feel the heat at metros, despite the presence of so many plexes, and more so at centres that have not more than 5/6/7 cinemas.
Also, most importantly, the audience may not be in a mood to watch so many films in one week, which means that despite all the love and labour that has gone into the making of these film[s], a few of them would suffer only because the release period was not right. I have often heard producers grumbling, when the movie has suffered due to this reason, that their film/s failed due to lack of right theatres/too many films in the week. But when do we ever learn from mistakes committed by others?
I am already hearing protests from various distributors. I am sure, even the film-makers are well aware that it’s professional harakiri to have so many films release on a single Friday. But the question is, who will make the first move? Everyone’s hoping that at least 2/3 films would shift to a later date, but, as of now, the 6 films continue to stay firm on their decision. Let’s hope better sense prevails. Jaago, film-makers jaago!
September 21, 2011 at 8:18 AM
Bodyguard Is Steady In Third Weekend
Monday 19th September 2011 10.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Bodyguard had a steady third weekend by collecting 5.25-5.50 crore nett and taking its it total to 135.50 crore nett approx after its third weeeknd. The approx weekend breakdown is 1.15 crore nett on Friday, 1.75 crore nett on Saturday and 2.50 crore nett on Sunday.
The drop from second weekend is 60% and the film should do around 8.50 crore nett in its third week. The postponement of Masuam helped the collections in the third weekend especially multiplex dominated circuits like East Punjab where the drop was just 50% from last week.
In its third weekend Bodyguard grossed around 1.60 crore in Mumbai, 1.20 crore in Delhi/UP and 60 lakhs in East Punjab.
September 21, 2011 at 8:21 AM
I hate Bollywood: Russell Peters
By: Agencies Date: 2011-09-21 Place: New Delhi
He is working in Bollywood star Akshay Kumar’s production ‘Speedy Singhs’ but Indo-Canadian stand-up comedian Russell Peters says he finds the Mumbai-based film industry awful.
‘Speedy Singhs’ is the dubbed version of Akshay’s international production ‘Breakaway’ with a backdrop of ice-hockey. Peters, 40, who was born in Canada to Anglo-Indian parents and has been doing stand-up comedy since the age of 19, says he hates Bollywood films and has never seen one in his life and does not plan to star in one.
“I hate Bollywood. The movies are all garbage, just terrible. It’s my opinion, obviously there are billions who like and love them. I don’t like all the singing, dancing and all the dramatic crying. I have never seen a Bollywood film in my life. I have refused doing it earlier and will do so in future. But I hope some filmmakers take a chance of making real movies,” Peters told PTI.
The comedian does not have very kind views about Bollywood actors too, who he thinks are “just pretty faces”. “I don’t think Indian actors are good, a couple of them are like Anupam (Kher) but not many are there like him in the industry. There are thousand of actors and actresses in the industry but you can count on hand how many of them are really good, rest of them are just pretty faces.”
Peters is known for his mocking Indians in his stand-up shows and has acted in Hollywood films before like ‘Lord Have Mercy’ and ‘Comedy Now’.
This is the first time he has worked in an Indian production with an India starcast.
The film also stars Anupam Kher, Vinay Virmani, Hollywood actress Camilla Belle and Gurpreet Guggi. The film releases this week.
September 21, 2011 at 8:24 AM
“I hate Bollywood. The movies are all garbage, just terrible.”
“I have never seen a Bollywood film in my life. I have refused doing it earlier and will do so in future.”
Hmm… lots of strong opinions for someone who’s never seen the movies!
I’ve seen a lot of his stand-up stuff.. he’s quite funny but looks like he has something ‘personal’ with respect to Bollywood.
September 21, 2011 at 8:29 AM
What a loser. Why have someone like him working in a Bollywood film? He can take his views and shove them up his cold Canadian a#$.
September 21, 2011 at 9:49 AM
all one needs to do is to send this article to Bal Thackrey and co. and then invite peters to Mumbai