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138 Responses to “Mausam, Speedy Singh, Mere Brother ki Dulhan and Bodyguard (ongoing), the rest of the box office”
B.O. update: ‘Mausam’ opening ranges from very good to dull
- By Taran Adarsh, September 23, 2011 – 16:58 IST
The much-awaited biggie MAUSAM fetched a heartening start at multiplexes of several centres. Places like Delhi, Indore, Bhopal, Jaipur and Punjab in particular reported the best opening, while at several other places, the opening ranged from ordinary to dull. While the plexes reported better occupancy, the single screens weren’t strong, despite the fact that the songs had become hugely popular prior to its release and the promotion has been superb. In fact, people within the industry were expecting a 90% + start across the board, at plexes as well as single screens.
The reports of the film are extremely mixed. While the first half has come in for unanimous praise, it’s the second hour that is attracting severe criticism. The response, therefore, is bound to be affected in days to come. It will be interesting to see how the film performs during the weekend as well as on weekdays, given the fact that it has no major opposition to contend with this week. Next Friday, of course, will witness a barrage of new films, so MAUSAM has just one week to score.
The second release of the week, SPEEDY SINGHS, opened to a weak response everywhere. In fact, the opening numbers were dismal.
Feel a bit bad for Mausam. I thought it would manage atleast 45 crores overall. Lets see.
BTW, BOI pegs it ‘landing cost’ at 60 crores. WTF is a landing cost?
Anyway, I think thats too high. If Mausam costs 60 crores, something Ra.One should be 200 crores.
Mausam has opened to below the mark collections at multiplexes this morning. The multiplex opening is around 35-40% with select multiplexes in Delhi and Punjab having 50% plus collections.
Its the prime multiplexes in the North which have opened pretty well like DT and PVR cinemas in Delhi city and the PVR, DT, Wave multiplexes in Punjab. But these places are the exception rather than the rule.
Outside these North India prime multiplexes the opening was around the 30-35% mark be it Mumbai, Pune, Surat or Kolkata. The single screen opening is likely to be lower.
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Mausam was not expected to open big but a slightly better opening than it has got was expected. The film should pick up over the weekend but the early public reports are mixed.
WEATHER WATCH
SADLY, MAUSAM IS A TEDIOUS TIME AT THE MOVIES AND IT’S NOT JUST THE LENGTH
Blue ink weeping from a chit of paper into a glass of water. Petals of a red rose fading into black as it silhouettes in the face of a full moon. Urdu letters being sealed on the surface as the mehndi dries into orange hues.
First-time director Pankaj Kapur, in association with master cinematographer Binod Pradhan and (the late) art director Samir Chanda, writes poetry on celluloid with Mausam. Yet, 20 reels later, after almost three hours in the theatre, you are neither moved nor touched, neither happy nor sad. Maybe just a little older.
What went wrong in the dark? The usual suspects — the overlong script and the lack of logic. But they may just be the red herrings in this mass murder by boredom.
Mausam is edited by one of the best editors of the country, Sreekar Prasad. His scissors have not lost their edge. It’s just that the story, which tries to explore romance against the backdrop of modern Indian history, had to be spun SO elaborately.
You can’t pack in the Babri Masjid demolition (1992), the Kargil war (1999) and the Godhra riots (2002) in one film — the 9/11 attack is there too, for a kiss of international crisis — and expect it to wash away as quickly as Dhobi Ghat. Kapur’s obvious idea here, mouthed by son Shahid Kapoor as a line in the film, is: “Mujhe koi bhi aisa nasha pasand nahin jo waqt ke saath utar jaaye.”
To achieve such epic aspirations, Kapur goes easy on practicality. If the boy and the girl are so much in love, how can they not get together for over a decade. Chop off their modes of communication… no appointments should be met, no phone calls must be answered, no letters are to be received.
Even that’s okay in the world of movie logic. Lovers are known to do silly things. Jesse and Celine never exchanged numbers or addresses in Before Sunrise. Such material codes are banal and prosaic in a big romance. You live in the moment and only when the moment’s gone you wonder how the next moment will arrive.
The real problem with Mausam is the casting. Throughout the running time Shahid tries to toe the line between being a star and being an actor. It’s like his Harry is constantly fighting the big canvas of the film and the subtle sensibilities of his father. The mannerisms appear and disappear at will — natural side-effects when you shoot a film over two years with long gaps in between.
And even though there’s enough time for fresh grey hair to sprout on your scalp, Sonam’s Aayat just doesn’t grow up. She is a girl when we first see her in Mallukot in 1992 and she remains a girl when she is last seen in Ahmedabad in 2002. It’s not just the squeaky voice or the wound up body language, the vagaries of time seem to change nothing inside her. Compare this performance with the similarly motivated Audrey Tautou (Amelie) in A Very Long Engagement and you know why you just don’t feel for this love story.
It’s only in the first hour — love and longing in the mustard fields and on the wet roofs of Punjab — that Mausam burns bright. That one-third of the film also showcases what Kapur is capable of, both as a writer and as a director. The note-exchanging song sequence is a wonder and his eye for detail is welcome.
Clearly, Kapur set out to make something pure and pristine. He wasn’t tendering a project like most of the big Bollywood productions we see every Friday. Even when he uses an old song — Abhi na jao chhod kar from Hum Dono — it’s not a noisy remixed version but just a voice without any instruments. The way he orchestrates the horror of the Gujarat riots to the pulsating beats of a traditional garba song is so satisfyingly unconventional.
But unfortunately all these little touches don’t stack up in Mausam. It needed two actors who could make you invest in them and redeem themselves over their buckets of tears and your buckets of popcorn. Shahid and Sonam just look good. [Especially Sonam who is dressed up quite beautifully by city designer Anamika Khanna.]
Also looking good are the frames in what is arguably the best shot Bollywood film in a long time. Binod Pradhan makes all the time and space count as his camera captures rustic India as gloriously as it does royal Scotland.
Pritam’s music is not his usual hit machine score. The songs underline the poignance of the moments and even if the tracks struggle to get a recall later, they work just right with the images on offer. The first paean to love — Rabba main toh mar gaya oye — clearly stands out.
Eternal and never-ending mean the same thing. But Mausam manages to be only the latter. Perhaps Kapur can take heart from these magic words of Gulzar: Kitne mausam guzaare… woh patte do bechaare… phir ugne ki chaahat mein… woh sehraon se guzaare….
“You can’t pack in the Babri Masjid demolition (1992), the Kargil war (1999) and the Godhra riots (2002) in one film — the 9/11 attack is there too, for a kiss of international crisis — and expect it to wash away as quickly as Dhobi Ghat.”
Remarkable!
I have heard that the second half is inferior elsewhere too. I’d still be interested in this for some of the camerawork but it seems like the second half might just be a bit too tedious. Not sure whether I should go.
Yeah Pitt is having arguably his finest year as an actor. I definitely want to see Moneyball. Wasn’t really all that interested in the subject matter (even as a baseball fan) but the reviews are overwhelmingly strong.
I may actually catch Drive on the screen again though. This has been one of those big-screen movies for me.
Moneyball is a must see for me. I have a love-hate relationship with Sabermetrics. I first got into it listening to Max Kellerrman on ESPN radio who used to do a show in the morning and is a huge Yankee fan.
I love the different way of looking at baseball statistics using the Sabermaetrics. But, I hate it as my baseball idol Derek Jeter tends to suffer if you apply Sabermetrics to his numbers. A lot of people will dispute if Oakland’s success in 2002 was entirely or even largely due to Moneyball. But, it is still a good story when a small market team with a small payroll does good.
I saw Moneyball last night despite having no love for baseball or Brad Pitt and I’m very glad I did. It’s a solidly great movie with an almost perfect blend of human draman, wry humour and some of the finest character performances I’ve seen this year, including by Pitt. Moneyball proves that entertainment doesn’t have to be mindless.
Shahid-Sonam’s Mausam Opens To Good Houses
September 23rd, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor starrer Mausam opened to houses ranging from good to very good across India. While multiplexes recorded collections between 50% and 100%, the attendance in single screen cinemas was quite dull.
Shahid Kapoor May Make A Loss
Mausam has cost Rs. 42 crore (excluding Shahid Kapoor’s complete remuneration). The sale of satellite rights has fetched around Rs. 12-13 crore; music rights must have fetched another Rs. 5 crore; this leaves Rs. 24-25 crore to be recovered from Indian and overseas theatrical business to break even.
While the film may just about cover its cost and possibly yield part commission to its distributors, Shahid Kapoor may not be lucky enough to get his balance remuneration because the film will not prove to be a profitable proposal beyond fetching part commission. In any case, Shahid Kapoor and his director-dad Pankaj Kapur own 50% of the negative of the film. The balance 50% is held by producers Eros International and Sheetal Talwar equally.
Mausam seems to have faltered at the BO. Have yet to see it but again makes one shake their head at the audiences today. Cannot claim without seeing it that tis a good film rejected by the audiences but it still crystallizes the idea that only certain kind of films succeed today.
yes agreed.. I am willing to accept all the criticism on this film but it also seems to be a genuine film with the script gone a bit haywire as opposed to a fake film where all the right buttons are pushed and even with lots of flaws such films work in a big way.
Mausam has had a good first day at the box office with collections around the 6.75 crore nett mark as per early estimates.
The film has fared well in North and Central parts of India while rest of the country had average collections but still its a relatively good number for the first day as it started slowly at most places.
It is the best opening day for a Shahid Kapoor film by a distance and now it remains how much growth it shows over the weekend. Normal weekend growth should see the film collect around 23 crore nett and with bigger jumps it may even hit the 25 crore nett mark for the weekend which would be a good result.
Hmmm—Shalini –may also check out “moneyball”—was also having issues bout watching a baseball and not v keen to watch Pitt rite now–in the otherwise exceptional tree of life, unlike others– didnt exactly like Pitt…
Loved Jessica chastains motherly soothing role– reminds me of my own…
“it also seems to be a genuine film with the script gone a bit haywire as opposed to a fake film where all the right buttons are pushed..”agree
Haven’t seen and may not be able to -sincce it is not showing in my local den multiplex..
But atleast by the promos looks like some decent effort has been put in.
Already there are efforts to bring it down by all n sundry–the main issue being –”it is slow”–c’mon wtf!!!
Does EVERY movie have to be a gag-a-second/gimmicky mindless Feelgood film .
Infact even enjoyed mere bro(although hated bodyguard)
But this somewhat proves that today’s audience are NOT ready for anything remotely innovative/ original /”slow”/thought provoking unless it comes laced with manipulative imagery/signals/hype/megastars to draw the initials in!!!
at this rate, one cannot blame the producers to churn stuff like golmaals, thanq, etc
It’s alright for us to opine and “critique” but are livelihoods are far from threatened & some of is are v lucky in this respect anyhow ..
But the average person dependent on film earnings cannot afford to take a risk …
If the audience start patronising the likes of raavan, dhobi ghat, etc even decently, it will start showing…
As of now– the multiplex paying patrons deserve the garbage they keep complaining about !!!!!
“I feel saddened by this news”–poor oldgold is now skewing towards ther other extreme.
“sadness” is an overused term– neither your (hopefully) or mine life/earnings are remotely affected–”concern” yes .
Suggest u have a few drinks with your boy/girlfriends: oldgold & for a start-contribute to the films gross by watching it in your cinema
Haha
Haven’t you heard of football fans committing suicide after the loss of a crucial match?
Now my reactions aren’t that extreme, but I do feel saddened that this film according to reports is not working.
Now, even feeling sad can be classified. The feeling ‘sad’ for things which ultimately don’t *affect* our lives, belongs to the category where it does affect a belief.
I really believed it would be liked.
Now, if you stop LOL all the time or rather after every line, you might sense these kinds of things too. LOL.
An offensive joke on actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan cracked by Indo-Canadian stand up comedian Russell Peters in Delhi on Thursday threatened to sour the relationship between actor Akshay Kumar and the Bachchan family. Until Akshay picked up the phone and made peace with Ash’s husband, Abhishek.
Akshay came under attack from outraged fans last week because it was he who hosted Russell Peters at a publicity event for his home production Speedy Singhs. Peters poked fun at Aishwarya’s acting ability, as well as her pregnant status. “What really angered people was that Akshay did not stand up for Ash when the really crude and uncalled remark was made by Peters, even though they have worked together and known each for so long,” said a source.
Ash’s fans expressed anger online, and Akshay ended up calling Abhishek. “As Russell was his guest, Akshay felt he should say something. Abhishek and he spoke, and Abhishek told him that he did not feel Akshay was at fault in anyway, and that Peters should be the one to apologise,” added a source
Rangan, as always never ceases ti surprise and is very encouraging.
GF’s hopes of him taking the film apart are dashed!
I am glad that Kapur has made the film he seems to have made and at the same time saddened ( yet again ) by the immaturity of this instant-gratification generation that complains the film is too slow.
satyam, i think u wrote that shahid doesn’t fit the bill here or something on those lines? after reading so many reviews, seems u were spot on….in-fact, no one has written many nice things about shahid-sonam chemistry also….
Came back after watching Mausam this afternoon. It isnt a bad film, but isnt a good one either.. It leaves one with a sense of disappointment, coz this one had so much of potential when it started.. The initial 30 minutes are a breeze of fresh air, charming and the best thing about it. The pace drops later and even though I did not mind it at all, the film repeats itself and you almost feel the story doesnt move forward except for repeating itself every 10 minutes..the story is very illogical and laughworthy in many scenes..
It had some wonderful moments but they were limited to the first half.
Also agree with many of the reviews that suggest that the cinematography had a major, major role to play in giving the feel to the film. Binod Pradhan is a genius..!
Mahesh Babu finally got a hit after 3 years with a mediocre comedy. To me,he has to stick with his no dialogue action movies. He looked awkward with comedy.
need a break—rechecked —wanted to see mausam but not showing anywhere near
The options—the rise of planet of apes vs friends with benefits.
guess may go as per satyam/tata/filmifan advice and may go with the former—final call on the spot &as per company…lol
After convincing the producers of Reema Kagti’s untitled film to reschedule their release date, the Tezz producers will now have to negotiate with Karan Johar, who has postponed the release of the Hrithik Roshan starrer Agneepath to January 26
Vickey Lalwani
Posted On Monday, September 26, 2011 at 03:21:22 AM
It seems that apart from investing in the action-thriller Tezz, the film’s producers have spent much of their time negotiating with other filmmakers for the coveted Republic Day release. On September 7, 2011 Mumbai Mirror, had reported that director Priyadarshan and producer Ratan Jain were trying to convince the producers of Reema Kagti’s untitled film to re-schedule the release of the Aamir Khan starrer. And just when the filmmakers of the Ajay Devgn starrer Tezz managed to avert a box-office clash with Aamir, they have another filmmaker to contend with.
A source informed that now Karan Johar wants to release his Hrithik Roshan starrer Agneepath on January 26. Initially, the film was supposed to release on January 13.
Interestingly, the industry has been abuzz with speculations that Dibakar Banerjee is also vying for the same release date for his film Shanghai. Reportedly, Jain has already called Johar and the two have decided to meet to discuss how to work around this clash.
“One of them needs to bend. It would be ridiculous if both Tezz and Agneepath release on the same date. In such a scenario, they would definitely cut into each other’s business,” explained the source.
While Jain and Johar have decided to work it out, many in the industry are questioning KJo’s reasons for postponing Agneepath’s release.
The source added, “One fails to understand why Karan decided to push Agneepath by a fortnight. Even though January 26 is a National holiday, it is not a commercially wise decision to have all three films release on the same day.”
When contacted, Jain confirmed that he will be meeting Johar soon to discuss a way out of the box-office clash. When asked if he would reschedule the release of Tezz if Johar was adamant to release Agneepath on January 26, the producer said, “Woh dekha jayega.
I haven’t thought so far. But if we hit the theatres on the same day, both the films would definitely incur some loss.”
Shah Rukh to prove his supremacy over Tom Cruise once again?
By Joginder Tuteja, September 26, 2011 – 11:02 IST
‘Kisme Kitna Hai Dum’ – This could well be a screaming headline this December when Shah Rukh Khan takes on none less than Tom Cruise and that too not just in his home territory but also overseas (which by the way is home away from home for him). His Don 2 would release in the immediate week after Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and this could well be a scary situation for the Top Gun superstar who has been facing quite some challenge from Khan, especially during last half a decade.
“Shah Rukh’s professional rivalry with Cruise started around the release of Om Shanti Om (2007) when the Farah Khan directed film ended up opening much bigger than Lions For Lambs. As per reports, while the Shah Rukh starrer had grossed $19 million worldwide in its opening weekend, Cruise could manage only $10.3 million on its opening weekend despite releasing globally over 45 markets. This was the time when it was first acknowledged even by world media that Khan was not just a force to reckon with Indians and NRIs but also global audience”, comments a senior filmmaker.
Shah Rukh had then shrugged away the comparison stating that Cruise was still a bigger superstar because he was getting paid much more than him. However, the equation continue to tilt towards Shah Rukh’s way when a popularity survey revealed that while 3.2 billion people knew him around the globe, only 2.7 billion across the world knew Tom Cruise.
“It was time for Shah Rukh too to take himself far more seriously”, says a close associate, “This is when he started thinking bigger than ever and started discussing amongst friends and advisors that Hollywood was going to be his next big goal. Ever since then news has been trickling in that he is devising a project with Leonardo DiCaprio.”
While writer Mushtaq Sheikh has confirmed on record that he is indeed writing a film for a two hero film that would feature Shah Rukh and Leonardo, closer home Khan has already taken two huge steps in this direction.
“First step in this direction is Ra.One where he has aimed for stepping into the superhero arena that has been otherwise reserved only for his Hollywood counterparts”, he continues, “On the other hand with Don 2, which is again a thriller franchise just like Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, he has dared to take on Cruise. He knows that Christmas is the time when audience worldwide watch movies in heavy volumes but the kind of release plans that have been devised for Don 2, it could well prove to be a heavy dent in Cruise starrer, if not entirely topple it.”
Well, this is one challenge that is sure to catch Tom Cruise unawares.
I’ve interacted with Joginder in the past on NG but I honestly feel sorry for him for the kinds of pieces he has to write these days. I’ve been seeing his stuff on SRK for a while now but this one takes the cake. As I said recently about some of his other pieces it should not be that transparent. Not sure who even among SRK’s fans could really buy this sort of narrative. Not just here but of the kind Joginder’s been dishing out for a while now. And I am not just talking about the propaganda here or the obviously compromised nature of this piece (I’m being polite here). But shouldn’t even spin have a little more intelligence to it? As I said I pity Joginder for having to write this stuff.
Joginder Paaji jas surely lost it.
First of all Cruise is probably least bothered how his film fares versus Ra.One and probably doesnt even know who SRK is. Plus, there is a lot of reworking of old ‘facts’ and assumptions. I have noticed this free fall in Joginder’s reporting of late and each new article tries to beat the stupidity of the one before. He always comes across as bing nice and humble. So, dont want to be too critical of him but he jsut churns out one rubbish article after other these days.
This has to be one of the dumbest articles I have ever read. Here is the deal: If DON 2 makes even 10 percent of what MI:4 will do worldwide, SRK should be made King of the World for one day!
Cruise is shshashaking in his boots. He is running scared of the Baadshah. They may not even release MI4 alongside Ra.1 in Germany. 3.2 billion know SRK. REALLY??
You guys are beiing sarcastic but it is actually true that Indain gov is thinking of making the release day of Ra.1 a publc hliday as probably no one will go to schools/offices and even businesses will be seating idle.Meanwhile, the meteorological department is thinking of declaring flood warnings because of you know what!
Mausam had a fair first weekend of around 20.50 crore nett as per early estimates but it failed to show much growth over the weekend. Saturday was similar to Friday while Sunday was a bit higher than Saturday. The opening is by far the biggest for a Shahid Kapoor starrer.
The collections at single screens dropped on Saturday while multiplexes at places also dropped on Saturday. Mausam is likely to find it tough going on Monday going by weekend trends.
The best performance for the film has come in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Rajasthan while West Bengal and Nizam are well below the mark.
Why Mausam May Not Cover Its Cost
September 26th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
There’s a misconception in the industry that Mausam has cost Rs. 60 crore to make, promote and release. The fact, however, is that the investment of Sheetal Talwar and Eros International in the film is not more than Rs. 42-45 crore. Given this, the first day’s opening figures weren’t as bad as the trade was making it out to be. Actually, it is not the entire trade but a few loud-mouthed people in the industry who were going on and on about how the film had opened to disastrous houses. Probably, they were unaware of both, the first day’s collections and the total cost of Mausam.
The Mausam Economics (Mausam Movie Stills)
Mausam Economics
The cost of Mausam, as mentioned, is Rs. 42-45 crore without counting Shahid Kapoor’s remuneration for the film. Satellite rights have fetched around Rs. 12-13 crore and the music rights must have sold for around Rs. 5 crore. Thus, Pankaj Kapoor’s film requires at least Rs. 25-27 crore from Indian and overseas theatrical business to break even. As Mausam has raked in Rs. 22 crore (all-India net collection) over the first weekend, the weekend business (distributors share) is only Rs. 11 crore. Therefore, it may not cover cost. And the cost reportedly does not include Shahid’s remuneration as he charged nominal fee only. If we include that, loss will be bigger.
And then people wonder why I obsess with this fact but note how a 42-45 crore film is being given kinder spin by Nahata than he does to 10-15 crore Bachchan films! First of all they try to reassure everyone that the high numbers are not right. Then even when they talk about a possible loss it’s in the mildest language. Meanwhile whether it’s Paa or DMD or Bbuddah or whatever somehow these films never do well enough relative to budget even if the budget is peanuts. On the other end a 150 crore film that SRK makes is a supposed to be a bargain! With the Bachchans it could be BnB or Guru or anything else. An Aarakshan did half the business of Rajneeti but given its theme and so on and the early release problems this is still a respectable total. But really it could be any result and these guys find the narrative to be negative on the Bachchans? Every single film, success or half-success (won’t even get into the failures). What’s the one film that escapes this narrative? Dostana! Excuse me if I snigger! Tomorrow if Abhishek has a 100 crore hit they’ll come around grudgingly. But why is the bar so high in this instance when others get such kind commentary with their own poor showings?! And to quote a quick factoid here Raavan had about 18 crores over its first weekend (just using the lowest numbers out there). This was June of 2010 and now in Sept of 2011 supposedly 20 crores for Mausam is ‘hey that’s not too bad’! Was Raavan a much bigger deal than Mausam? Sure. It was one of the major films out there and one of the awaited ones. However the usual suspects on Abhishek remember this only when his film doesn’t work! You can’t have it both ways (not that big a deal before release but after release suddenly it’s the biggest Bollywood production ever that hasn’t worked!). Months later Nahata said that Raavan didn’t work but it didn’t lose much either. Why? Because as I was pointing out at the time Rathnam is very good with his budgets despite unforeseen things that can happen with a difficult shoot like this. He’d spread the cost out across two versions and there was no way this was that expensive a film in any unusual sense. Months later Nahata admitted all of this but at the time this was the biggest disaster known to man. The same for D6. I’m not arguing these films worked or that they weren’t big box office failures or what have you. But the narrative is completely dishonest when it comes to just about any star at any level versus the Bachchans. And the reason I keep pointing out these things with fair regularity is that one can see examples of this just about every weekend. And the most recent example was once again Aarakshan where the negativity started early on despite the obvious release issues and so on. They didn’t call the numbers bad but they weren’t putting such positive spin on it either. A few weeks later Nahata suggested it was stable at the lower end. They are always completely dishonest with a Bachchan film.
Dookudu all set to become no.2
Updated on: Sep 26, 2011
Dookudu all set to become no.2
Dookudu collections are super strong on Monday too. It has already set a new record in the first weekend and is poised to break Magadheera first week record. As per the trends it is all set to break Pokiri and Robo records for sure. That means Dookudu will reach top 2 position in all time grosser list.
Magadheera record is far away at the moment and no one is daring to make a statement that it will beat that record in full run. Dookudu is sure to break Magadheera’s records in few territories though. Lot will depend on the other biggie Oosaravelli performance at the box office.
If Oosaravelli doesn’t prove good enough to compete with Dookudu then the latter will scale unimaginable heights. Dookudu is the latest example for Mahesh Babu’s craze and stamina.
It was expected that Dookudu would rake in great openings but what surprised everyone is its unbelievable figure on the first day.
According to producers, the movie collected Rs. 10.11 Crores (share amount) on day one. Not just in Andhra Pradesh, Dookudu set records in overseas market and other territories like Chennai.
Overseas, the film as collected an unprecedented 1 million dollars in USA.
Saturday and Sunday figures too are equally awesome. At this rate, trade pundits expect the movie to break the first week records of the Rs 21.5 Crores set by Magadheera.
It remains to be seen if it would actually cross that figure but it is a fact that the collections for the first three days are massive.
Couldnt catch Mausam since not showing —instead…..
Rise of the planet of apes—
Still nearly housefull
btw Had to ditch “friends with benefits” @ the last min.
Guess, sometimes one has to behave like a “good guy”. Certain segments get uncomfortable realtively quickly with such stuff…
Anyhow caught “the rise of the planet of apes”–was a “safer” option.
Much better than expected–A fitting
endearing, evocative—one gets invested/involved within minutes—slackens only slightly in the second half
A movie that has its heart at the right place.
This is what digital technology ought to be used for—for adding nuances unobtrusively–not for taking centre stage without a proper “stage”/premise…
Especially the first half was quite engaging and warm.
High point were Specially liked the warm moments between Franko, his dad and Caesar.
My picks amongst the actors were Franko and Lithgow–wonderful chemistry between dad/son and with Caesar
Really liked James Franco and the character he played . Frieda Pinto was just ok. Serkis nails it as the “more human than human” ape—but somehow Franco worked for me even more
The point where Caesar literally cries/begs not to be left behind was really moving ….
There are plenty of loopholes for this genre –but actually, technicalities dont matter that much beyond a point.
Again goes to prove–even in hollywood, if the “soul” is intact, and the basics of film making are taken care of , most dont care for the fine print.
“Oh, look!! The merry band of men have all come out in force to comment…..”
haha—reminds me of an “auteur oscar winning classic song” ….
Lets fulfill oldgolds fantasy….lol
SRK has decided to premiere his ambitious project in four of the world’s prominent cities
Kunal M Shah
Posted On Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 02:37:39 AM
To say that Shah Rukh Khan has left no stone unturned with regard to his ambitious project, RA.One is a major understatement. The actor’s grand promotional activities have made headlines. And now, as the time for the film’s release approaches, we hear that SRK has some more surprises up his sleeve.
A source revealed that the actor plans to premiere RA.One in four of the world’s most prominent cities, which include London, New York, Dubai and Toronto.
And his plans for the film’s promotions in India happen to be even more elaborate. SRK is all set to have press conferences in places that he has never visited before. These places include Lucknow, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jallandhar, Jaipur, Pune and a couple of other places, which are yet to be finalised.
It’s interesting, but why not promote Bollywood movies
abroad.
the market can be more important in Europe, United States, Australia, Russia, African and Arab Countries etc. ..
Lol@ ra4!!! Agree with tata…
A m8 has already been told about some “special” ra1 complementary tickets.
Anyhow more the merrier–can’t complain about freebies.
Srk live on YouTube to promote ra1
Unveiling the mother of all promotions…
Re: n places that he has never visited before. These places include Lucknow, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jallandhar, Jaipur, Pune
All those jaunts in NY and London has not left much time for him to visit the major cities in India! After all he has lived in India only for forty odd years. May be he is more familiar with Peshawar and Lahore and Islamabad.
How ridiculous is that?
Does the person writing even know what he/she’s writing?
He has NEVER visited Delhi?
He has NEVER visited Kolkota?
@rajen
No, I don’t think he’s very familiar with Peshawar and Lahore and Islamabad.
You know India got independent about 64 years ago, and he’s 45 LOL!!
Is he really Indian? I have my doubts.
Coz I have yet to see an INDIAN say that Pakistan is a good neighbour or when India and Pakistan paly in a cricket match, he does not know who to root for.
I am not a big SRK fan but that’s not correct at all….Just look at the Pak-India T20 Final in 2007 where SRK was seen chanting with every indian in the ground – CHAK DE INDIA…
If you don’t like the fact that SRK called Pakistan a ‘good neighbour’ then you must really hate Bachchan as well for doing his ‘aman ki asha’. Check out the article and some of Bachchan’s comments
Both SRK and Bachchan are saying and doing pretty much the same thing. There is no difference. Who is SRK pandering to in Pakistan? Does he need them as a market? don’t think so….and peace with Pakistan really means peace with Pakistanis. Everyone knows that the govt and politicians on both sides are corrupt and neither Pakis or Indians give two shit about their policy makers.
Without getting into this debate I will say that Pakistani audiences are certainly a big factor in the overseas markets and specially important for SRK when on films like KANK and MNIK a subpar Indian performance is balanced out (or at least that is the attempt) with overseas grosses. Even Yashraj have not been averse to this. Why is Ali Zafar, a Pakistani pop star, in MBKD, when dozens of Indian pop stars would be willing to do the same? Again I have no problem with all of this but there is definitely some pandering going on.
I doubt that the inclusion of Ali Zafar would drive the up the business of MBKD that much in Pakistan. He is popular in Pakistan but not the point where people would watch the movie because of him.
Again, SRK or any bollywood actor for that matter can’t count on Pakistani market to bring him some serious moolah. Most of the folks in Pakistan watch indian movies either on cable or on pirated dvds. SRK, Bachchan, Aamir…they can all pander all they want but Pakistan does not have the type of market where movies can run. Heck…..there are hardly any cinemas left in the country.
It is not just Pakistanis in Pakistan but the non-Indian Muslim fans worldwide which is what SRK panders to and it is no secret that he attracts the most communal of all fans.
The Paki audience in overseas market have pretty much the same taste as the Indian audience in the overseas market. SRK, Aamir, Akshay, Salman..the usual stuff. They really don’t care about Ali Zafar being in a bollywood movie.
that’s generally true but there are exceptions.. for example JA and UJ did disproportionately well in the US. In both cases I saw the film in a theater and there was a very disproportionate number of Pakistanis (mostly women). It’s not that Ali Zafar would pull in people who otherwise wouldn’t go but it is symbolically an important move. On MNIK (I’ve said this in the past at some length) this panders to a certain Muslim sense of grievance on many issues (not getting into a debate of whether the sense itself is justified or not). It so happens that in the markets that truly matter for Hindi cinema you get (barring the Mideast which still isn’t as big as the US and UK combined) mostly Pakistani Muslims, not Arabs (for example)! MNIK was absolutely loved by these groups. Now in general it is of course true that whether Indian or Pakistani people like the same stars and films and so on but there are distinctions. There are significant ones even within India. For example Sunny Deol with his Pakistan-bashing movies would cater to a certain audience in the North. So on and so forth. I don’t really intend a judgment call on anything I’m saying here (though I find Nazi Germany-like representations of post-9/11 america about as cartoonish as the terrorists in those Sunny Deol films.. of course Kasab’s demands for non-veg food and Bachchan’s videos and even an audience with Bachchan makes one re-think that!), just speaking to the pandering. Look at it this way — Ali Zafar is presumably not being cast for his thespian skills. What else could it be?! I know there’s a certain market for Pakistani ‘exotica’ in Indian itself but that’s not a huge factor driving the audiences. nor is MBDK’s gross just because of this by any means. But in cinema as in politics you start constructing certain ‘patterns’ and building coalitions and that’s what this is about. The overseas audience is SRK’s insurance policy. Imagine how KANK and MNIK would be measured without these numbers. And this has to be brought up because with no other star is the Indian and overseas performance so ‘asymmetrically’ linked. And in these overseas territories Pakistanis are a very big part of the draw. You know years ago when Sunny was making all those movies I was just referring to the guy who ran the Indian store I frequent used to complain about this. He was otherwise not too unfavorably disposed even to Modi but felt this was bad business. Why? Because he said that Pakistanis visiting his store refused to rent any Sunny Deol movie! Now the same guy in India wouldn’t be thinking about this stuff! So these national debates better overseas where there are different countries represented. The opposite is true for MNIK where the same audiences feel SRK is showing solidarity with them. You add to this mix some of SRK’s statements in other contexts and the dog whistles are quite clear. Doesn’t mean that other films are not big in these markets, Ghajini grossed more than RNBDJ in the US, but the point is that those performances are proportionate with their Indian results. But only with SRK do you see two major releases performing rather poorly in India but becoming massive overseas. The only other films I’ve seen behaving like this are UJ (disaster in India, $1 m in the US) and JA (had a barely decent initial in India but made about as much as OSO in the US!). Why? Again the Pakistani clientele made the difference. So a star could pander to this rather easily. And once more there are these distinctions within India too. I spend half the time here ranting against Indian multiplex audiences! So I don’t intend a political statement here. Just pointing out the facts without any judgment call implied.
Satyam…I will give you MNIK because it deals with events that are more recent but I serioulsy doubt that JA or UJ were fueled at the US box office by the Paki crowd. JA was a big prodcution and Hrithik in a big bollywood movie will get some fannies on the seats in US. UJ is a head scratcher to be honest. The movie absolutely bombed in India and I don’t think even the Paki crowd would sit through this one. I mean pakistani guys here don’t go to movies because it has a muslim theme. If you saw some pakistani familes in UJ or JA then you probably would see 10 times more in SIK or 3I or DABBANG.
As for Sunny Deol, you are right. Pakis can’t stand him because his movies were so over the top anti paki that it seemed he was purposely doing it to piss them off. Of course, most of those movies were just flat out bad. Sunny also doesn’t have much of a pull in US (probably more so in Canda becaues of the Sikh and Panjabi population).
In any case, this whole debate started because rajen was questioning SRK’s patriotism and I just felt that it was not right. Yes SRK has done some things here and there to question his patriotism is being totally unfair (haven’t we learned this already in Chak De India )
On JA the problem is that there is a massive disparity between a film opening to 23 crores or so in India and doing OSO-like numbers in the US. On UJ my own estimation would be that 90-95% of the audience was Pakistani women, the show I saw. On JA not as big because there were a lot of men here too but still the Pakistani contingent was much heavier than it otherwise is. Obviously this isn’t a scientific survey. Hrithik’s numbers in the US have actually not been anything like JA’s before or since. Barring D2 which had many other things going for it too. It’s not just the Muslim angle to the films by the way. Ash in period pieces seems to attract a crowd. It’s all about proportion though. I of course see Pakistani families for all kinds of movies but this was overwhelming for UJ and particularly pronounced for JA. Much as I was surprised to see a very decent crowd for Company when normally no one showed up for an RGV film but then I realized most people there were Keralites who were in it for Mohanlal. and sure enough the only real cheers that evening were for Mohanlal’s entry. But company otherwise didn’t do anything. UJ and JA were huge relative to their grosses in India. I also wouldn’t define it as a question of ‘Muslim’ themes as much as a set of concerns that play very well with the Pakistani audience. I’m not in any case suggesting anything ‘communal’ here. I’ve said in the past for example that nowhere is Ash bigger than in South India and in the US. But generally films like UJ and JA don’t attract a huge South Indian contingent.
On SRK my own sense is that a lot of his choices when it comes to expressing opinions on anything or catering to any sort of audience are simply cynical ones more often than not. Which is not to say he doesn’t have some affinity on some of these issues. But he tends to say provocative stuff to serve his ends. For example when he got up and said at a public event that he was asked questions on terrorism perhaps because he was a Muslim. Given his status in contemporary Indian cinema I think that’s a rather terrible thing to say. I’ve met many right-wingers who are ultra-nationalists on many issues or even politically incorrect on questions of minorities but you bring in SRK and suddenly all these objections drop. They were even defending him against the Sena! Now SRK could have spoken about Muslims in India suffering for some of these reasons of ‘suspicion’ and so on. That case could have been made. But he cast himself as victim which is also an old move of his. So it is this sort of statement that he comes up with every now and then. This too is comparable to his statements in other respects. Which is why I think a lot of it is cynical. I am not invested in the patriotism debate one way or the other but I don’t like cynical statements specially in some of these very charged contests. It’s a great disservice to both the majority and the Muslim minority in India to make that sort of statement.
By the way on the flip side (though this is hardly comparable) I don’t quite like Aamir’s ‘super-nationalist’ ‘message’ either. In this sense Salman is refreshing, he doesn’t go to either extreme!
one can even ignore neighbour part but the second comment was done at sahara function and even indian team was amused at that ….also some of his comments on aniversary of 26/11 twice where insensitive
due to public pressure he has to call off one of the shows for pakistani tv coincinciding with aniversary of 26/11
Mausam saw a big drop in collections on Monday as it collected around 2.50 crore nett which is a 60% plus drop compared with Friday.
The circuits in North India also dropped be it East Punjab or Delhi/UP although they were better than the rest of the country. Delhi/UP collected around 70 lakhs and East Punjab around 30 lakhs. Mumbai was around 80 lakhs.
The film is likely to finish around 30 crore nett for the first week but is unlikely to make much more as second week will see a big drop. The first week will be the highest ever for a Shahid Kapoor starrer.
more BOI spin.. to finish at 30 crores after a 20 crore or so weekend according to them it would have to remain completely stable at 2.5 crores the remainder of the week! But that’s not very likely for a film that is slipping. Will say that 2.5 crores on its own is not a bad number given the weekend. If it did remain stable at this level there would be some hope for it.
Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots may have broken all box-office records when it released in India in 2009, but the film’s popularity doesn’t seem to be fading. Almost two years later, the film released in Hong Kong recently and within two weeks, it has done business of over Rs 90 lakhs.
Only recently have Indian films started getting full-fledged international releases. In Taiwan, where the Rajkumar Hirani film had a longer box-office run as compared to other English releases, it raked in half a million dollars. The Vidhu Vinod Chopra-production is being aggressively promoted with print and advertising budget of about $1.5 million.
According to Sameer Rao, CEO of Vinod Chopra Films, “this is comparable to that of a major Hollywood release.”
SRK in general does not have to prove his “loyalty” any more than others including khans, bachchans, kapoors etc.
Having said that (unless one is blind/biased), there ARE issues vis a vis SRKs stance.
There is no point in enlisting the instances.
This is not on the basis of an odd instance but longterm patterns.
for eg—the v same people who are supposed to be “biased” like satyam & others here somehow dont have problems with Aamir or Salman..
and probably rightly so
There is absolutely NO problem with an indian supportin india, pakistani supporting pakistan, isreali supprting israel or a saudi supporting uae.
But it is the “grey area” of cross -national /dubious allegience that catches ones eye.
Unsurprisingly similar people do find themselves supporting these sort of sensibilities
With all due respect, “the cooldude” doesnt appear a “dude” and surprisingly some people only crop up on these type of issues.
The fact that they have to adopt a “different name” for these comments, shows their own “confusion at the subconscious level”.
If he/she really believes in his/her stance, why cant he/she write under the name he/she normally does.
The last part of your post reads like one of those dumb Taran Adarsh articles on Bollywood Hangama where he has a scoop but can’t give out the names….but gives out hints which all but give away the name. Instead of playing around with he/she, just say that you believe that I am oldisgold. As I told rajen down there, believe all you want to believe. It does not really matter to me.
Alex….apologies for not being here when you are around. I will try to be a bit more sensitive about it next time. Looking at your last post though, I do have a book recommendation if you don’t mind:
Re (haven’t we learned this already in Chak De India )
Really , what did we learn from CDI???
That given a decent script and a good director, SRK can faintly look like an actor?
Slickly marketed national jingoism can work at the BOI?
A Muslim can be patriotic?
Does not tell us anything about SRK’s allegiance which is neither to Pakistan or India but his narrow interests and aspirations. If it suits his purpose tomorrow, he will become an apologist for US.
Alex,
Dont blame you for thinking is not a dudeMost dudes thtat are SRK fans sound like dudettes! And, no matter how vehemently he claims not to be an SRK fan, his misinformed and weak but stubborn defense belies that fact!
I will leave the theory of ‘dude and dudettes’ aside right now. Believe whatever you want to believe…
As far as my comment above about CHAK DE INDIA, you completely missed the point. That was the movie where SRK was accused of being Paki friendly as well, only to come back and prove otherwise. I felt that your comment about SRK’s patriotism and Pakistan fell in somewhat of a same category. This is why I put a smily face in front of it so it’s not taken very seriously. It obviously didn’t work !!!
and here you go ranting again about SRK’s allegiance. First, you said that he ‘attracts the most communal fans’ ..something that you have not proved and now it’s about how SRK only cares about SRK. News Flash my friend: They all care about themselves. You seem to live in a world where only SRK is doing something wrong and everyone else in BW is an angel. You seem to have no problem with Bachchan talking with passion about Pakistan and it’s people but when SRK does it, he is either a)not patriotic and/or b)only looking out for himself. Get Real !!!
Shahid Kapoor, Taran Adarsh in Twitter war
Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 28, 2011
If you think you can mess with Shahid Kapoor (or his movies for that matter) and get away easily, think again! When film critic Taran Adarsh tweeted about his last week release Mausam’s declining business, the actor retorted back.
Taran had tweeted: “Shahid’s biggest opener, but also Shahid’s
biggest release in terms of print count & screens. Hence, numbers are below the mark. The business trends indicate a decline on weekdays.”
Shahid obviously did not take this lying down. He tweeted right back: “So all those trying so hard to screw mausam can go screw themselves .. Waise bhi aajkal kuchh logon ke adarsh buri tarha gir chuke hain.”
Well, the film critic was taken aback by the actor’s blunt response. He tweeted again: “Abusing and maligning me on a public platform won’t help. Instead, get a reality check and introspect the shortcomings of the film. Was in a muvie when I read it. Was shocked that he used such words on a public platform.”
Rs 25 cr nett in the opening weekend and Rs 40 cr in the opening week – that’s the yardstick these days. That’s the sentiment a lot of industry people communicate when they talk of big-budget films that are given an extensive release. And I don’t blame the industry people for feeling that way. Look at the success ratio in these four months [from June to September]. Films like READY, DOUBLE DHAMAAL, DELHI BELLY, MURDER 2, ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, SINGHAM, BODYGUARD and MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN not only started with a bang, but have had a successful run at the box-office.
One expected MAUSAM to fetch a flying start at the ticket window, given the fact that the promotion was at an all-time high and also because it had no major opposition to contend with on that particular Friday. But MAUSAM has not performed as expected. The opening weekend didn’t witness a major jump in business, while the performance of the film on weekdays is way below the mark. The business has witnessed substantial decline in every circuit.
What does one attribute the below the mark response to? Well, the word of mouth is far from positive. Sure, a section of the audience has liked the film, but a big chunk of movie-going audience hasn’t liked it. Plus, the excessive length seems to have proved a spoilsport. That’s not all, the youth of today — which should be the target audience for this love story — hasn’t taken to the film. Films like DELHI BELLY and MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN worked because the youth could connect with these two films. Like someone very rightly pointed out, the audience of today has no patience to watch slow-paced movies that have a running time of close to 3 hours.
The second release, SPEEDY SINGHS, showed hardly any speed at the ticket counters. The film met with a tepid response at the domestic box-office and that, very frankly, doesn’t come as a surprise.
Chennai Box-office- Sep 23 to 25
Chennai Box-office- Sep 23 to 25 | Tuesday, 27 September , 2011, 12:21
The CBO got hit by a storm called Mahesh Babu and his Dookudu. The film which released in 17 Chennai screens has grossed approximately Rs 60 lakhs in its opening weekend.
Dookudu has become the first Telugu film to open at the number one position, thanks to Mahesh’s star pull. Close on its heels is Engeyum Eppodhum, which has grossed Rs 55 lakhs in its second week, and now can be declared a super hit. EE is the number one Tamil film in the market at the moment.
Ajith’s Mankatha after four weeks at the top has started sliding and is at the number three position. Vandhaan Vendraan is at number four. Shahid Kapoor-Sonam’s Mausam is at number five.
satyam, I think you are the right person to correct anyone (mostly its alex adams, and I wish he would stop doing that)) who mistakes any person supporting SRK as me.
—————————
THis is a ridiculous point to use against SRK to bring him down.
Come on! Have you all no other tricks up your sleeve.
It’s a major accusation and not to be levelled so easily.
Haven’t seen some of those comments (probably noticed a couple from Alex) but no one should do this, specially when you don’t like it. Hopefully Alex will spare you going forward!
Cmon oldgold aunty (oops razia)
I did not even name u or anyone anywhere in this friendly “exchange” with “cooldude/dudette”
So amusing that many including oldgold think she is being mentioned.
Is she obsessed with my cumments which were by the way for Srk in general and a subset of his fanbase
Ps– note how I have also written some nice things(!!) about Srk elsewhere –as satyam will confirm
Satyam…unless you want this forum to turn into indolink part 2, please take some action against this nonsense. I don’t want to come here and waste my time replying to posts like these….
Cool down “cooldude”
This is unbecoming of your “cool” name
We haven’t yet started playing and u have got uncomfortable
Anyhow– chillax m8—
We know your time is invaluable( the rest of us like satyam, razia, myself are twiddling thumbs while typing away at their keyboards doing online geography courses )
Btw try out that book link I gave and feedback-thanx
This whole auntie/uncle talk is unnecessarily clogging the forum when we could be discussing this great new look Surya has! Alex I know you have a ‘never surrender’ ethic (!) but don’t think it’s fair to keep egging people on who are not quite appreciative of the banter. You shouldn’t keep calling Oldgold ‘Razia’ for example. Anyway I know you will praise my ‘gentlemanly’ spirit once again and agree to this..!
Force seems to have opened well at BO today. I had no hope but the good opening of a John movie suggests that anyone is now capable of scoring at BO with south remakes. Bolly audiences are lapping up south remakes especially action movies big time. I think Abhishek should try an outright action movie to improve his BO prospects soon before its to late IMO.
September 23, 2011 at 10:45 AM
B.O. update: ‘Mausam’ opening ranges from very good to dull
- By Taran Adarsh, September 23, 2011 – 16:58 IST
The much-awaited biggie MAUSAM fetched a heartening start at multiplexes of several centres. Places like Delhi, Indore, Bhopal, Jaipur and Punjab in particular reported the best opening, while at several other places, the opening ranged from ordinary to dull. While the plexes reported better occupancy, the single screens weren’t strong, despite the fact that the songs had become hugely popular prior to its release and the promotion has been superb. In fact, people within the industry were expecting a 90% + start across the board, at plexes as well as single screens.
The reports of the film are extremely mixed. While the first half has come in for unanimous praise, it’s the second hour that is attracting severe criticism. The response, therefore, is bound to be affected in days to come. It will be interesting to see how the film performs during the weekend as well as on weekdays, given the fact that it has no major opposition to contend with this week. Next Friday, of course, will witness a barrage of new films, so MAUSAM has just one week to score.
The second release of the week, SPEEDY SINGHS, opened to a weak response everywhere. In fact, the opening numbers were dismal.
September 23, 2011 at 10:47 AM
Top 5: ‘MBKD’ stands at Rs 54.61 cr after 2 weeks
September 23, 2011 at 11:03 AM
I like speedy singh movie.it should be super hit of this year.really awesome.mausam not good movie.
September 23, 2011 at 2:05 PM
Feel a bit bad for Mausam. I thought it would manage atleast 45 crores overall. Lets see.
BTW, BOI pegs it ‘landing cost’ at 60 crores. WTF is a landing cost?
Anyway, I think thats too high. If Mausam costs 60 crores, something Ra.One should be 200 crores.
September 23, 2011 at 10:56 PM
Mausam Opens Below The Mark
Friday 23rd September 2011 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mausam has opened to below the mark collections at multiplexes this morning. The multiplex opening is around 35-40% with select multiplexes in Delhi and Punjab having 50% plus collections.
Its the prime multiplexes in the North which have opened pretty well like DT and PVR cinemas in Delhi city and the PVR, DT, Wave multiplexes in Punjab. But these places are the exception rather than the rule.
Outside these North India prime multiplexes the opening was around the 30-35% mark be it Mumbai, Pune, Surat or Kolkata. The single screen opening is likely to be lower.
AdChoices
Mausam was not expected to open big but a slightly better opening than it has got was expected. The film should pick up over the weekend but the early public reports are mixed.
September 23, 2011 at 10:59 PM
Telegraph:
WEATHER WATCH
SADLY, MAUSAM IS A TEDIOUS TIME AT THE MOVIES AND IT’S NOT JUST THE LENGTH
Blue ink weeping from a chit of paper into a glass of water. Petals of a red rose fading into black as it silhouettes in the face of a full moon. Urdu letters being sealed on the surface as the mehndi dries into orange hues.
First-time director Pankaj Kapur, in association with master cinematographer Binod Pradhan and (the late) art director Samir Chanda, writes poetry on celluloid with Mausam. Yet, 20 reels later, after almost three hours in the theatre, you are neither moved nor touched, neither happy nor sad. Maybe just a little older.
What went wrong in the dark? The usual suspects — the overlong script and the lack of logic. But they may just be the red herrings in this mass murder by boredom.
Mausam is edited by one of the best editors of the country, Sreekar Prasad. His scissors have not lost their edge. It’s just that the story, which tries to explore romance against the backdrop of modern Indian history, had to be spun SO elaborately.
You can’t pack in the Babri Masjid demolition (1992), the Kargil war (1999) and the Godhra riots (2002) in one film — the 9/11 attack is there too, for a kiss of international crisis — and expect it to wash away as quickly as Dhobi Ghat. Kapur’s obvious idea here, mouthed by son Shahid Kapoor as a line in the film, is: “Mujhe koi bhi aisa nasha pasand nahin jo waqt ke saath utar jaaye.”
To achieve such epic aspirations, Kapur goes easy on practicality. If the boy and the girl are so much in love, how can they not get together for over a decade. Chop off their modes of communication… no appointments should be met, no phone calls must be answered, no letters are to be received.
Even that’s okay in the world of movie logic. Lovers are known to do silly things. Jesse and Celine never exchanged numbers or addresses in Before Sunrise. Such material codes are banal and prosaic in a big romance. You live in the moment and only when the moment’s gone you wonder how the next moment will arrive.
The real problem with Mausam is the casting. Throughout the running time Shahid tries to toe the line between being a star and being an actor. It’s like his Harry is constantly fighting the big canvas of the film and the subtle sensibilities of his father. The mannerisms appear and disappear at will — natural side-effects when you shoot a film over two years with long gaps in between.
And even though there’s enough time for fresh grey hair to sprout on your scalp, Sonam’s Aayat just doesn’t grow up. She is a girl when we first see her in Mallukot in 1992 and she remains a girl when she is last seen in Ahmedabad in 2002. It’s not just the squeaky voice or the wound up body language, the vagaries of time seem to change nothing inside her. Compare this performance with the similarly motivated Audrey Tautou (Amelie) in A Very Long Engagement and you know why you just don’t feel for this love story.
It’s only in the first hour — love and longing in the mustard fields and on the wet roofs of Punjab — that Mausam burns bright. That one-third of the film also showcases what Kapur is capable of, both as a writer and as a director. The note-exchanging song sequence is a wonder and his eye for detail is welcome.
Clearly, Kapur set out to make something pure and pristine. He wasn’t tendering a project like most of the big Bollywood productions we see every Friday. Even when he uses an old song — Abhi na jao chhod kar from Hum Dono — it’s not a noisy remixed version but just a voice without any instruments. The way he orchestrates the horror of the Gujarat riots to the pulsating beats of a traditional garba song is so satisfyingly unconventional.
But unfortunately all these little touches don’t stack up in Mausam. It needed two actors who could make you invest in them and redeem themselves over their buckets of tears and your buckets of popcorn. Shahid and Sonam just look good. [Especially Sonam who is dressed up quite beautifully by city designer Anamika Khanna.]
Also looking good are the frames in what is arguably the best shot Bollywood film in a long time. Binod Pradhan makes all the time and space count as his camera captures rustic India as gloriously as it does royal Scotland.
Pritam’s music is not his usual hit machine score. The songs underline the poignance of the moments and even if the tracks struggle to get a recall later, they work just right with the images on offer. The first paean to love — Rabba main toh mar gaya oye — clearly stands out.
Eternal and never-ending mean the same thing. But Mausam manages to be only the latter. Perhaps Kapur can take heart from these magic words of Gulzar: Kitne mausam guzaare… woh patte do bechaare… phir ugne ki chaahat mein… woh sehraon se guzaare….
September 23, 2011 at 11:00 PM
“You can’t pack in the Babri Masjid demolition (1992), the Kargil war (1999) and the Godhra riots (2002) in one film — the 9/11 attack is there too, for a kiss of international crisis — and expect it to wash away as quickly as Dhobi Ghat.”
Remarkable!
I have heard that the second half is inferior elsewhere too. I’d still be interested in this for some of the camerawork but it seems like the second half might just be a bit too tedious. Not sure whether I should go.
September 23, 2011 at 11:09 PM
Do yourself a favor and wait for Rangan to take it apart. Reading the post mortem from him will be a better use of your time.
September 23, 2011 at 11:11 PM
True! actually one could experience most of Bollywood far more profitably this way!
September 23, 2011 at 11:13 PM
Meanwhile Killer Elite seemed like a guilty pleasure but either the critics are guiltier of not relaxing a bit with this stuff or it’s pretty bad!
On another note Brad Pitt seems to be on a roll with the critics with first Tree of Life and now Moneyball.
September 23, 2011 at 11:25 PM
Yeah Pitt is having arguably his finest year as an actor. I definitely want to see Moneyball. Wasn’t really all that interested in the subject matter (even as a baseball fan) but the reviews are overwhelmingly strong.
I may actually catch Drive on the screen again though. This has been one of those big-screen movies for me.
September 24, 2011 at 2:31 AM
September 24, 2011 at 8:10 AM
Moneyball is a must see for me. I have a love-hate relationship with Sabermetrics. I first got into it listening to Max Kellerrman on ESPN radio who used to do a show in the morning and is a huge Yankee fan.
I love the different way of looking at baseball statistics using the Sabermaetrics. But, I hate it as my baseball idol Derek Jeter tends to suffer if you apply Sabermetrics to his numbers. A lot of people will dispute if Oakland’s success in 2002 was entirely or even largely due to Moneyball. But, it is still a good story when a small market team with a small payroll does good.
September 24, 2011 at 8:40 AM
I am quite conflicted about sabermetrics myself.. interested in this film though even if not as much as you are..
fun to watch the Red Sox squirming these days!
September 24, 2011 at 8:39 AM
I think Jay and Saket should work together on developing a Sabermetrics for cricket.
September 24, 2011 at 8:45 AM
this I’d sign up for!
On a related note Shoaib’s been in the news saying all sorts of stuff about everyone from Sachin to Akram:
http://www.rediff.com/cricket/slide-show/slide-show-1-shoaib-akhtar-reveals-controversially-yours-wasim-akram-waqar-younis/20110924.htm
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Sachin-no-good-in-Shoaib-s-book/H1-Article1-749501.aspx
though he later backtracked on some of the remarks claiming the usual context excuses and so on.
Meanwhile here’s Akram providing a real response to Shoaib including specifically on Sachin:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Shoaib-was-a-problem-and-remains-a-problem-Akram/H1-Article1-749566.aspx
September 24, 2011 at 11:09 AM
Shoaib sounds like a deluded soul.
September 24, 2011 at 12:51 PM
I saw Moneyball last night despite having no love for baseball or Brad Pitt and I’m very glad I did. It’s a solidly great movie with an almost perfect blend of human draman, wry humour and some of the finest character performances I’ve seen this year, including by Pitt. Moneyball proves that entertainment doesn’t have to be mindless.
September 25, 2011 at 6:58 PM
Lion King again at top
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/lion-king-chases-off-brad-pitt-remain-no-154529536.html
September 24, 2011 at 2:46 AM
September 23, 2011 at 11:02 PM
Rangan on contemporary tamil films:
http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/tamil-cinema-blues/
“… and starring the numerologically empowered Jiiva”
this line is to die for!
September 23, 2011 at 11:04 PM
Shahid-Sonam’s Mausam Opens To Good Houses
September 23rd, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor starrer Mausam opened to houses ranging from good to very good across India. While multiplexes recorded collections between 50% and 100%, the attendance in single screen cinemas was quite dull.
Shahid Kapoor May Make A Loss
Mausam has cost Rs. 42 crore (excluding Shahid Kapoor’s complete remuneration). The sale of satellite rights has fetched around Rs. 12-13 crore; music rights must have fetched another Rs. 5 crore; this leaves Rs. 24-25 crore to be recovered from Indian and overseas theatrical business to break even.
While the film may just about cover its cost and possibly yield part commission to its distributors, Shahid Kapoor may not be lucky enough to get his balance remuneration because the film will not prove to be a profitable proposal beyond fetching part commission. In any case, Shahid Kapoor and his director-dad Pankaj Kapur own 50% of the negative of the film. The balance 50% is held by producers Eros International and Sheetal Talwar equally.
September 24, 2011 at 8:23 AM
Mausam seems to have faltered at the BO. Have yet to see it but again makes one shake their head at the audiences today. Cannot claim without seeing it that tis a good film rejected by the audiences but it still crystallizes the idea that only certain kind of films succeed today.
September 24, 2011 at 8:41 AM
yes agreed.. I am willing to accept all the criticism on this film but it also seems to be a genuine film with the script gone a bit haywire as opposed to a fake film where all the right buttons are pushed and even with lots of flaws such films work in a big way.
September 24, 2011 at 3:15 PM
the colonized multiplex audiences will never boot for a movie which is slow in pace and also from what i heard it lacks a bit in screenplay
it seems pankaj has extracted good performance from his extended family(both from supriya and shahid)
September 24, 2011 at 8:36 AM
September 24, 2011 at 8:38 AM
Mausam Has Good To Decent First Day
Saturday 24th September 2011 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mausam has had a good first day at the box office with collections around the 6.75 crore nett mark as per early estimates.
The film has fared well in North and Central parts of India while rest of the country had average collections but still its a relatively good number for the first day as it started slowly at most places.
It is the best opening day for a Shahid Kapoor film by a distance and now it remains how much growth it shows over the weekend. Normal weekend growth should see the film collect around 23 crore nett and with bigger jumps it may even hit the 25 crore nett mark for the weekend which would be a good result.
September 24, 2011 at 8:38 AM
Mausam First Day Territorial Breakdown
Saturday 24th September 2011 14.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mausam collected around 6.50 crore nett on day one. The all India territorial breakdown is as follows.
Mumbai – 2.15 crore
Delhi/UP – 1.55 crore
East Punjab – 75 lakhs
West Bengal – 23 lakhs
Bihar – 12 lakhs
CP Berar – 31 lakhs
CI – 25 lakhs
Rajasthan – 39 lakhs
Nizam – 28 lakhs
Mysore – 31 lakhs
Others – 17 lakhs
TOTAL – 6.51 crore
September 24, 2011 at 12:44 PM
@satyam
OT
Are you sure that picture is from Jab Jab phool khile and not Raja Saheb?
September 24, 2011 at 12:57 PM
you are quite right.. it is Raja Saab.. correction made.. thanks..
September 24, 2011 at 1:01 PM
Hmmm—Shalini –may also check out “moneyball”—was also having issues bout watching a baseball and not v keen to watch Pitt rite now–in the otherwise exceptional tree of life, unlike others– didnt exactly like Pitt…
Loved Jessica chastains motherly soothing role– reminds me of my own…
September 24, 2011 at 1:12 PM
“it also seems to be a genuine film with the script gone a bit haywire as opposed to a fake film where all the right buttons are pushed..”agree
Haven’t seen and may not be able to -sincce it is not showing in my local den multiplex..
But atleast by the promos looks like some decent effort has been put in.
Already there are efforts to bring it down by all n sundry–the main issue being –”it is slow”–c’mon wtf!!!
Does EVERY movie have to be a gag-a-second/gimmicky mindless Feelgood film .
Infact even enjoyed mere bro(although hated bodyguard)
But this somewhat proves that today’s audience are NOT ready for anything remotely innovative/ original /”slow”/thought provoking unless it comes laced with manipulative imagery/signals/hype/megastars to draw the initials in!!!
at this rate, one cannot blame the producers to churn stuff like golmaals, thanq, etc
It’s alright for us to opine and “critique” but are livelihoods are far from threatened & some of is are v lucky in this respect anyhow ..
But the average person dependent on film earnings cannot afford to take a risk …
If the audience start patronising the likes of raavan, dhobi ghat, etc even decently, it will start showing…
As of now– the multiplex paying patrons deserve the garbage they keep complaining about !!!!!
September 24, 2011 at 1:15 PM
I feel saddened by this news, but hope it will pick up and trend well.
It can’t be more flawed than just about any other film.
September 24, 2011 at 1:25 PM
“I feel saddened by this news”–poor oldgold is now skewing towards ther other extreme.
“sadness” is an overused term– neither your (hopefully) or mine life/earnings are remotely affected–”concern” yes .
Suggest u have a few drinks with your boy/girlfriends: oldgold & for a start-contribute to the films gross by watching it in your cinema
Haha
September 24, 2011 at 4:20 PM
Haven’t you heard of football fans committing suicide after the loss of a crucial match?
Now my reactions aren’t that extreme, but I do feel saddened that this film according to reports is not working.
Now, even feeling sad can be classified. The feeling ‘sad’ for things which ultimately don’t *affect* our lives, belongs to the category where it does affect a belief.
I really believed it would be liked.
Now, if you stop LOL all the time or rather after every line, you might sense these kinds of things too. LOL.
September 24, 2011 at 2:01 PM
Off topic….Anil Kapoor is CNN.COM’s main page regarding an article about Prostitution in India !
September 24, 2011 at 4:15 PM
yep i saw it earlier as well…here is the link.
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/21/tradition-forces-daughters-into-prostitution/?hpt=hp_c1
September 24, 2011 at 3:17 PM
@shalini : i am awaiting for.moneyball hasnt released in this part of world.
i had seen trailer, thnks for.positive review.
September 25, 2011 at 8:27 AM
Akshay-Ash make peace
An offensive joke on actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan cracked by Indo-Canadian stand up comedian Russell Peters in Delhi on Thursday threatened to sour the relationship between actor Akshay Kumar and the Bachchan family. Until Akshay picked up the phone and made peace with Ash’s husband, Abhishek.
Akshay came under attack from outraged fans last week because it was he who hosted Russell Peters at a publicity event for his home production Speedy Singhs. Peters poked fun at Aishwarya’s acting ability, as well as her pregnant status. “What really angered people was that Akshay did not stand up for Ash when the really crude and uncalled remark was made by Peters, even though they have worked together and known each for so long,” said a source.
Ash’s fans expressed anger online, and Akshay ended up calling Abhishek. “As Russell was his guest, Akshay felt he should say something. Abhishek and he spoke, and Abhishek told him that he did not feel Akshay was at fault in anyway, and that Peters should be the one to apologise,” added a source
September 27, 2011 at 5:47 PM
this gets messier for the guy:
http://www.merinews.com/article/canadian-comedian-in-trouble-with-bachchans-over-nasty-remarks/15858790.shtml
and some of the original remarks posted here:
http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/mere-brother-ki-dulhan-bodyguard-ongoing-the-rest-of-the-box-office/#comment-105434
September 25, 2011 at 8:32 AM
Rangan on Mausam:
http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/%E2%80%9Cmausam%E2%80%9D-dil-vil-pyar-war/
his review now makes me think I shouldn’t miss this in the theater.
September 25, 2011 at 8:41 AM
Rangan, as always never ceases ti surprise and is very encouraging.
GF’s hopes of him taking the film apart are dashed!
I am glad that Kapur has made the film he seems to have made and at the same time saddened ( yet again ) by the immaturity of this instant-gratification generation that complains the film is too slow.
September 25, 2011 at 8:45 AM
and we also see once again how critics are quite merciless toward a film that doesn’t fit the established parameters..
September 25, 2011 at 6:21 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/pa-filmmaker-youll-movie-refund-161732635.html
September 25, 2011 at 6:42 PM
Interesting! Bollywood cannot offer the same or we’d have to return 95% of everything!
September 25, 2011 at 9:35 AM
satyam, i think u wrote that shahid doesn’t fit the bill here or something on those lines? after reading so many reviews, seems u were spot on….in-fact, no one has written many nice things about shahid-sonam chemistry also….
September 25, 2011 at 9:07 AM
Came back after watching Mausam this afternoon. It isnt a bad film, but isnt a good one either.. It leaves one with a sense of disappointment, coz this one had so much of potential when it started.. The initial 30 minutes are a breeze of fresh air, charming and the best thing about it. The pace drops later and even though I did not mind it at all, the film repeats itself and you almost feel the story doesnt move forward except for repeating itself every 10 minutes..the story is very illogical and laughworthy in many scenes..
It had some wonderful moments but they were limited to the first half.
September 25, 2011 at 9:09 AM
Also agree with many of the reviews that suggest that the cinematography had a major, major role to play in giving the feel to the film. Binod Pradhan is a genius..!
September 25, 2011 at 9:24 AM
thanks for your take Tony..
September 25, 2011 at 10:04 AM
Mahesh Babu finally got a hit after 3 years with a mediocre comedy. To me,he has to stick with his no dialogue action movies. He looked awkward with comedy.
September 25, 2011 at 11:19 AM
I thought there was action here as well?
September 25, 2011 at 12:02 PM
not much, what can we expect from Ready’s director?
Rajamouli, Puri and Vinayak are the best action directors in Telugu.
September 25, 2011 at 10:15 AM
need a break—rechecked —wanted to see mausam but not showing anywhere near
The options—the rise of planet of apes vs friends with benefits.
guess may go as per satyam/tata/filmifan advice and may go with the former—final call on the spot &as per company…lol
September 25, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Abhishek Bachchan injured again, fractures finger
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/newsinterviews/Abhishek-injured-again-fractures-finger/articleshow/10114250.cms
Not sure where to post this one. @Satyam did you see this news?
September 25, 2011 at 2:28 PM
It’s fine here.. I learnt about it when Bachchan mentioned it on his blog yesterday.. tweeted Abhishek about it.
September 25, 2011 at 6:18 PM
Agneepath’s Tezz challenge at the BO
After convincing the producers of Reema Kagti’s untitled film to reschedule their release date, the Tezz producers will now have to negotiate with Karan Johar, who has postponed the release of the Hrithik Roshan starrer Agneepath to January 26
Vickey Lalwani
Posted On Monday, September 26, 2011 at 03:21:22 AM
It seems that apart from investing in the action-thriller Tezz, the film’s producers have spent much of their time negotiating with other filmmakers for the coveted Republic Day release. On September 7, 2011 Mumbai Mirror, had reported that director Priyadarshan and producer Ratan Jain were trying to convince the producers of Reema Kagti’s untitled film to re-schedule the release of the Aamir Khan starrer. And just when the filmmakers of the Ajay Devgn starrer Tezz managed to avert a box-office clash with Aamir, they have another filmmaker to contend with.
A source informed that now Karan Johar wants to release his Hrithik Roshan starrer Agneepath on January 26. Initially, the film was supposed to release on January 13.
Interestingly, the industry has been abuzz with speculations that Dibakar Banerjee is also vying for the same release date for his film Shanghai. Reportedly, Jain has already called Johar and the two have decided to meet to discuss how to work around this clash.
“One of them needs to bend. It would be ridiculous if both Tezz and Agneepath release on the same date. In such a scenario, they would definitely cut into each other’s business,” explained the source.
While Jain and Johar have decided to work it out, many in the industry are questioning KJo’s reasons for postponing Agneepath’s release.
The source added, “One fails to understand why Karan decided to push Agneepath by a fortnight. Even though January 26 is a National holiday, it is not a commercially wise decision to have all three films release on the same day.”
When contacted, Jain confirmed that he will be meeting Johar soon to discuss a way out of the box-office clash. When asked if he would reschedule the release of Tezz if Johar was adamant to release Agneepath on January 26, the producer said, “Woh dekha jayega.
I haven’t thought so far. But if we hit the theatres on the same day, both the films would definitely incur some loss.”
September 26, 2011 at 8:54 AM
Midweek: ‘Mausam’ has Rs 21 cr + weekend
September 26, 2011 at 8:59 AM
Shah Rukh to prove his supremacy over Tom Cruise once again?
By Joginder Tuteja, September 26, 2011 – 11:02 IST
‘Kisme Kitna Hai Dum’ – This could well be a screaming headline this December when Shah Rukh Khan takes on none less than Tom Cruise and that too not just in his home territory but also overseas (which by the way is home away from home for him). His Don 2 would release in the immediate week after Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and this could well be a scary situation for the Top Gun superstar who has been facing quite some challenge from Khan, especially during last half a decade.
“Shah Rukh’s professional rivalry with Cruise started around the release of Om Shanti Om (2007) when the Farah Khan directed film ended up opening much bigger than Lions For Lambs. As per reports, while the Shah Rukh starrer had grossed $19 million worldwide in its opening weekend, Cruise could manage only $10.3 million on its opening weekend despite releasing globally over 45 markets. This was the time when it was first acknowledged even by world media that Khan was not just a force to reckon with Indians and NRIs but also global audience”, comments a senior filmmaker.
Shah Rukh had then shrugged away the comparison stating that Cruise was still a bigger superstar because he was getting paid much more than him. However, the equation continue to tilt towards Shah Rukh’s way when a popularity survey revealed that while 3.2 billion people knew him around the globe, only 2.7 billion across the world knew Tom Cruise.
“It was time for Shah Rukh too to take himself far more seriously”, says a close associate, “This is when he started thinking bigger than ever and started discussing amongst friends and advisors that Hollywood was going to be his next big goal. Ever since then news has been trickling in that he is devising a project with Leonardo DiCaprio.”
While writer Mushtaq Sheikh has confirmed on record that he is indeed writing a film for a two hero film that would feature Shah Rukh and Leonardo, closer home Khan has already taken two huge steps in this direction.
“First step in this direction is Ra.One where he has aimed for stepping into the superhero arena that has been otherwise reserved only for his Hollywood counterparts”, he continues, “On the other hand with Don 2, which is again a thriller franchise just like Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, he has dared to take on Cruise. He knows that Christmas is the time when audience worldwide watch movies in heavy volumes but the kind of release plans that have been devised for Don 2, it could well prove to be a heavy dent in Cruise starrer, if not entirely topple it.”
Well, this is one challenge that is sure to catch Tom Cruise unawares.
September 26, 2011 at 9:02 AM
I’ve interacted with Joginder in the past on NG but I honestly feel sorry for him for the kinds of pieces he has to write these days. I’ve been seeing his stuff on SRK for a while now but this one takes the cake. As I said recently about some of his other pieces it should not be that transparent. Not sure who even among SRK’s fans could really buy this sort of narrative. Not just here but of the kind Joginder’s been dishing out for a while now. And I am not just talking about the propaganda here or the obviously compromised nature of this piece (I’m being polite here). But shouldn’t even spin have a little more intelligence to it? As I said I pity Joginder for having to write this stuff.
September 26, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Joginder Paaji jas surely lost it.
First of all Cruise is probably least bothered how his film fares versus Ra.One and probably doesnt even know who SRK is. Plus, there is a lot of reworking of old ‘facts’ and assumptions. I have noticed this free fall in Joginder’s reporting of late and each new article tries to beat the stupidity of the one before. He always comes across as bing nice and humble. So, dont want to be too critical of him but he jsut churns out one rubbish article after other these days.
September 26, 2011 at 10:36 AM
This has to be one of the dumbest articles I have ever read. Here is the deal: If DON 2 makes even 10 percent of what MI:4 will do worldwide, SRK should be made King of the World for one day!
September 26, 2011 at 11:09 AM
The article had me in splits throughout
September 26, 2011 at 12:33 PM
“Well, this is one challenge that is sure to catch Tom Cruise unawares.”
No kidding!
September 26, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Cruise is shshashaking in his boots. He is running scared of the Baadshah. They may not even release MI4 alongside Ra.1 in Germany. 3.2 billion know SRK. REALLY??
September 26, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Actually, the only thing funnier than this article is SRK fans trying to find some validity in the comparision!
September 26, 2011 at 1:10 PM
you’re forgetting Poland…
September 26, 2011 at 1:13 PM
You guys are such killjoys. With so much criticism, there wouldn’t be another installment of this brilliant analytical series.
I was so looking forward to the next one, which I assume will tell me why Brad Pitt & Will Smith suffer from an erectile dysfunction because of SRK!
The current article has successfully answered why Tom Cruise had to adopt children in the first place…
September 26, 2011 at 1:22 PM
You guys are beiing sarcastic but it is actually true that Indain gov is thinking of making the release day of Ra.1 a publc hliday as probably no one will go to schools/offices and even businesses will be seating idle.Meanwhile, the meteorological department is thinking of declaring flood warnings because of you know what!
September 26, 2011 at 1:19 PM
Oh, look!! The merry band of men have all come out in force to comment.
Qalandar, where are you? You are being sorely missed.
September 26, 2011 at 3:24 PM
are you saying you believe the article?
September 27, 2011 at 3:35 AM
Of course! You don’t?
September 26, 2011 at 5:04 PM
Speaking of SRK – Cruise..how many people were awre of this astonoshing fact.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-07/did-you-know-/28357481_1_tom-cruise-ddlj-yash-chopra
September 26, 2011 at 9:04 AM
Mausam Has Fair First Weekend
Monday 26th September 2011 09.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mausam had a fair first weekend of around 20.50 crore nett as per early estimates but it failed to show much growth over the weekend. Saturday was similar to Friday while Sunday was a bit higher than Saturday. The opening is by far the biggest for a Shahid Kapoor starrer.
The collections at single screens dropped on Saturday while multiplexes at places also dropped on Saturday. Mausam is likely to find it tough going on Monday going by weekend trends.
The best performance for the film has come in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Rajasthan while West Bengal and Nizam are well below the mark.
September 26, 2011 at 9:05 AM
Once again as long as a Bachchan is not associated with a film BOI will give it the kindest possible spin!
September 26, 2011 at 9:06 AM
Why Mausam May Not Cover Its Cost
September 26th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
There’s a misconception in the industry that Mausam has cost Rs. 60 crore to make, promote and release. The fact, however, is that the investment of Sheetal Talwar and Eros International in the film is not more than Rs. 42-45 crore. Given this, the first day’s opening figures weren’t as bad as the trade was making it out to be. Actually, it is not the entire trade but a few loud-mouthed people in the industry who were going on and on about how the film had opened to disastrous houses. Probably, they were unaware of both, the first day’s collections and the total cost of Mausam.
The Mausam Economics (Mausam Movie Stills)
Mausam Economics
The cost of Mausam, as mentioned, is Rs. 42-45 crore without counting Shahid Kapoor’s remuneration for the film. Satellite rights have fetched around Rs. 12-13 crore and the music rights must have sold for around Rs. 5 crore. Thus, Pankaj Kapoor’s film requires at least Rs. 25-27 crore from Indian and overseas theatrical business to break even. As Mausam has raked in Rs. 22 crore (all-India net collection) over the first weekend, the weekend business (distributors share) is only Rs. 11 crore. Therefore, it may not cover cost. And the cost reportedly does not include Shahid’s remuneration as he charged nominal fee only. If we include that, loss will be bigger.
September 26, 2011 at 9:10 AM
And then people wonder why I obsess with this fact but note how a 42-45 crore film is being given kinder spin by Nahata than he does to 10-15 crore Bachchan films! First of all they try to reassure everyone that the high numbers are not right. Then even when they talk about a possible loss it’s in the mildest language. Meanwhile whether it’s Paa or DMD or Bbuddah or whatever somehow these films never do well enough relative to budget even if the budget is peanuts. On the other end a 150 crore film that SRK makes is a supposed to be a bargain! With the Bachchans it could be BnB or Guru or anything else. An Aarakshan did half the business of Rajneeti but given its theme and so on and the early release problems this is still a respectable total. But really it could be any result and these guys find the narrative to be negative on the Bachchans? Every single film, success or half-success (won’t even get into the failures). What’s the one film that escapes this narrative? Dostana! Excuse me if I snigger! Tomorrow if Abhishek has a 100 crore hit they’ll come around grudgingly. But why is the bar so high in this instance when others get such kind commentary with their own poor showings?! And to quote a quick factoid here Raavan had about 18 crores over its first weekend (just using the lowest numbers out there). This was June of 2010 and now in Sept of 2011 supposedly 20 crores for Mausam is ‘hey that’s not too bad’! Was Raavan a much bigger deal than Mausam? Sure. It was one of the major films out there and one of the awaited ones. However the usual suspects on Abhishek remember this only when his film doesn’t work! You can’t have it both ways (not that big a deal before release but after release suddenly it’s the biggest Bollywood production ever that hasn’t worked!). Months later Nahata said that Raavan didn’t work but it didn’t lose much either. Why? Because as I was pointing out at the time Rathnam is very good with his budgets despite unforeseen things that can happen with a difficult shoot like this. He’d spread the cost out across two versions and there was no way this was that expensive a film in any unusual sense. Months later Nahata admitted all of this but at the time this was the biggest disaster known to man. The same for D6. I’m not arguing these films worked or that they weren’t big box office failures or what have you. But the narrative is completely dishonest when it comes to just about any star at any level versus the Bachchans. And the reason I keep pointing out these things with fair regularity is that one can see examples of this just about every weekend. And the most recent example was once again Aarakshan where the negativity started early on despite the obvious release issues and so on. They didn’t call the numbers bad but they weren’t putting such positive spin on it either. A few weeks later Nahata suggested it was stable at the lower end. They are always completely dishonest with a Bachchan film.
September 27, 2011 at 12:33 AM
We have to live with this reality .. forever. Do we have any alternative ?? I wonder if SRK can deploy BOI, why not someone else ??
September 26, 2011 at 9:33 AM
Dookudu all set to become no.2
Updated on: Sep 26, 2011
Dookudu all set to become no.2
Dookudu collections are super strong on Monday too. It has already set a new record in the first weekend and is poised to break Magadheera first week record. As per the trends it is all set to break Pokiri and Robo records for sure. That means Dookudu will reach top 2 position in all time grosser list.
Magadheera record is far away at the moment and no one is daring to make a statement that it will beat that record in full run. Dookudu is sure to break Magadheera’s records in few territories though. Lot will depend on the other biggie Oosaravelli performance at the box office.
If Oosaravelli doesn’t prove good enough to compete with Dookudu then the latter will scale unimaginable heights. Dookudu is the latest example for Mahesh Babu’s craze and stamina.
September 26, 2011 at 9:33 AM
wow didn’t realize it was this big!
September 26, 2011 at 9:34 AM
Record openings for Dookudu
2011-09-26 10:55:08
Dookudu, Mahesh babu
It was expected that Dookudu would rake in great openings but what surprised everyone is its unbelievable figure on the first day.
According to producers, the movie collected Rs. 10.11 Crores (share amount) on day one. Not just in Andhra Pradesh, Dookudu set records in overseas market and other territories like Chennai.
Overseas, the film as collected an unprecedented 1 million dollars in USA.
Saturday and Sunday figures too are equally awesome. At this rate, trade pundits expect the movie to break the first week records of the Rs 21.5 Crores set by Magadheera.
It remains to be seen if it would actually cross that figure but it is a fact that the collections for the first three days are massive.
September 26, 2011 at 9:35 AM
that US number is incredible!
September 26, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Couldnt catch Mausam since not showing —instead…..
Rise of the planet of apes—
Still nearly housefull
btw Had to ditch “friends with benefits” @ the last min.
Guess, sometimes one has to behave like a “good guy”. Certain segments get uncomfortable realtively quickly with such stuff…
Anyhow caught “the rise of the planet of apes”–was a “safer” option.
Much better than expected–A fitting
endearing, evocative—one gets invested/involved within minutes—slackens only slightly in the second half
A movie that has its heart at the right place.
This is what digital technology ought to be used for—for adding nuances unobtrusively–not for taking centre stage without a proper “stage”/premise…
Especially the first half was quite engaging and warm.
High point were Specially liked the warm moments between Franko, his dad and Caesar.
My picks amongst the actors were Franko and Lithgow–wonderful chemistry between dad/son and with Caesar
Really liked James Franco and the character he played . Frieda Pinto was just ok. Serkis nails it as the “more human than human” ape—but somehow Franco worked for me even more
The point where Caesar literally cries/begs not to be left behind was really moving ….
There are plenty of loopholes for this genre –but actually, technicalities dont matter that much beyond a point.
Again goes to prove–even in hollywood, if the “soul” is intact, and the basics of film making are taken care of , most dont care for the fine print.
Summary–recommended
September 26, 2011 at 3:38 PM
“Oh, look!! The merry band of men have all come out in force to comment…..”
haha—reminds me of an “auteur oscar winning classic song” ….
Lets fulfill oldgolds fantasy….lol
Warning—to be taken “sportingly”
September 26, 2011 at 7:15 PM
RA.Four
SRK has decided to premiere his ambitious project in four of the world’s prominent cities
Kunal M Shah
Posted On Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 02:37:39 AM
To say that Shah Rukh Khan has left no stone unturned with regard to his ambitious project, RA.One is a major understatement. The actor’s grand promotional activities have made headlines. And now, as the time for the film’s release approaches, we hear that SRK has some more surprises up his sleeve.
A source revealed that the actor plans to premiere RA.One in four of the world’s most prominent cities, which include London, New York, Dubai and Toronto.
And his plans for the film’s promotions in India happen to be even more elaborate. SRK is all set to have press conferences in places that he has never visited before. These places include Lucknow, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jallandhar, Jaipur, Pune and a couple of other places, which are yet to be finalised.
September 27, 2011 at 4:12 AM
It’s interesting, but why not promote Bollywood movies
abroad.
the market can be more important in Europe, United States, Australia, Russia, African and Arab Countries etc. ..
September 27, 2011 at 6:22 AM
Lol@ ra4!!! Agree with tata…
A m8 has already been told about some “special” ra1 complementary tickets.
Anyhow more the merrier–can’t complain about freebies.
Srk live on YouTube to promote ra1
Unveiling the mother of all promotions…
September 27, 2011 at 8:19 AM
Re: n places that he has never visited before. These places include Lucknow, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jallandhar, Jaipur, Pune
All those jaunts in NY and London has not left much time for him to visit the major cities in India! After all he has lived in India only for forty odd years. May be he is more familiar with Peshawar and Lahore and Islamabad.
September 27, 2011 at 8:48 AM
How ridiculous is that?
Does the person writing even know what he/she’s writing?
He has NEVER visited Delhi?
He has NEVER visited Kolkota?
@rajen
No, I don’t think he’s very familiar with Peshawar and Lahore and Islamabad.
You know India got independent about 64 years ago, and he’s 45 LOL!!
September 27, 2011 at 11:47 AM
Is he really Indian? I have my doubts.
Coz I have yet to see an INDIAN say that Pakistan is a good neighbour or when India and Pakistan paly in a cricket match, he does not know who to root for.
September 27, 2011 at 12:04 PM
I am not a big SRK fan but that’s not correct at all….Just look at the Pak-India T20 Final in 2007 where SRK was seen chanting with every indian in the ground – CHAK DE INDIA…
September 27, 2011 at 12:12 PM
If you don’t like the fact that SRK called Pakistan a ‘good neighbour’ then you must really hate Bachchan as well for doing his ‘aman ki asha’. Check out the article and some of Bachchan’s comments
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/amankiasharticleshow/5400929.cms
September 27, 2011 at 12:44 PM
There is a big difference. I have no problems with having peace with Pakistan but am not fond of pandering to the Pakistanis whoch is what SRK does.
September 27, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Both SRK and Bachchan are saying and doing pretty much the same thing. There is no difference. Who is SRK pandering to in Pakistan? Does he need them as a market? don’t think so….and peace with Pakistan really means peace with Pakistanis. Everyone knows that the govt and politicians on both sides are corrupt and neither Pakis or Indians give two shit about their policy makers.
September 27, 2011 at 1:21 PM
Without getting into this debate I will say that Pakistani audiences are certainly a big factor in the overseas markets and specially important for SRK when on films like KANK and MNIK a subpar Indian performance is balanced out (or at least that is the attempt) with overseas grosses. Even Yashraj have not been averse to this. Why is Ali Zafar, a Pakistani pop star, in MBKD, when dozens of Indian pop stars would be willing to do the same? Again I have no problem with all of this but there is definitely some pandering going on.
September 27, 2011 at 1:52 PM
I doubt that the inclusion of Ali Zafar would drive the up the business of MBKD that much in Pakistan. He is popular in Pakistan but not the point where people would watch the movie because of him.
Again, SRK or any bollywood actor for that matter can’t count on Pakistani market to bring him some serious moolah. Most of the folks in Pakistan watch indian movies either on cable or on pirated dvds. SRK, Bachchan, Aamir…they can all pander all they want but Pakistan does not have the type of market where movies can run. Heck…..there are hardly any cinemas left in the country.
September 27, 2011 at 2:22 PM
not ‘in’ Pakistan. I am talking about Pakistani audiences overseas.
September 27, 2011 at 1:55 PM
It is not just Pakistanis in Pakistan but the non-Indian Muslim fans worldwide which is what SRK panders to and it is no secret that he attracts the most communal of all fans.
September 27, 2011 at 2:01 PM
‘it is no secret that he attracts the most communal of all fans.’
where is the evidence of this charge??
September 27, 2011 at 2:38 PM
The Paki audience in overseas market have pretty much the same taste as the Indian audience in the overseas market. SRK, Aamir, Akshay, Salman..the usual stuff. They really don’t care about Ali Zafar being in a bollywood movie.
September 27, 2011 at 3:10 PM
that’s generally true but there are exceptions.. for example JA and UJ did disproportionately well in the US. In both cases I saw the film in a theater and there was a very disproportionate number of Pakistanis (mostly women). It’s not that Ali Zafar would pull in people who otherwise wouldn’t go but it is symbolically an important move. On MNIK (I’ve said this in the past at some length) this panders to a certain Muslim sense of grievance on many issues (not getting into a debate of whether the sense itself is justified or not). It so happens that in the markets that truly matter for Hindi cinema you get (barring the Mideast which still isn’t as big as the US and UK combined) mostly Pakistani Muslims, not Arabs (for example)! MNIK was absolutely loved by these groups. Now in general it is of course true that whether Indian or Pakistani people like the same stars and films and so on but there are distinctions. There are significant ones even within India. For example Sunny Deol with his Pakistan-bashing movies would cater to a certain audience in the North. So on and so forth. I don’t really intend a judgment call on anything I’m saying here (though I find Nazi Germany-like representations of post-9/11 america about as cartoonish as the terrorists in those Sunny Deol films.. of course Kasab’s demands for non-veg food and Bachchan’s videos and even an audience with Bachchan makes one re-think that!), just speaking to the pandering. Look at it this way — Ali Zafar is presumably not being cast for his thespian skills. What else could it be?! I know there’s a certain market for Pakistani ‘exotica’ in Indian itself but that’s not a huge factor driving the audiences. nor is MBDK’s gross just because of this by any means. But in cinema as in politics you start constructing certain ‘patterns’ and building coalitions and that’s what this is about. The overseas audience is SRK’s insurance policy. Imagine how KANK and MNIK would be measured without these numbers. And this has to be brought up because with no other star is the Indian and overseas performance so ‘asymmetrically’ linked. And in these overseas territories Pakistanis are a very big part of the draw. You know years ago when Sunny was making all those movies I was just referring to the guy who ran the Indian store I frequent used to complain about this. He was otherwise not too unfavorably disposed even to Modi but felt this was bad business. Why? Because he said that Pakistanis visiting his store refused to rent any Sunny Deol movie! Now the same guy in India wouldn’t be thinking about this stuff! So these national debates better overseas where there are different countries represented. The opposite is true for MNIK where the same audiences feel SRK is showing solidarity with them. You add to this mix some of SRK’s statements in other contexts and the dog whistles are quite clear. Doesn’t mean that other films are not big in these markets, Ghajini grossed more than RNBDJ in the US, but the point is that those performances are proportionate with their Indian results. But only with SRK do you see two major releases performing rather poorly in India but becoming massive overseas. The only other films I’ve seen behaving like this are UJ (disaster in India, $1 m in the US) and JA (had a barely decent initial in India but made about as much as OSO in the US!). Why? Again the Pakistani clientele made the difference. So a star could pander to this rather easily. And once more there are these distinctions within India too. I spend half the time here ranting against Indian multiplex audiences! So I don’t intend a political statement here. Just pointing out the facts without any judgment call implied.
September 27, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Satyam…I will give you MNIK because it deals with events that are more recent but I serioulsy doubt that JA or UJ were fueled at the US box office by the Paki crowd. JA was a big prodcution and Hrithik in a big bollywood movie will get some fannies on the seats in US. UJ is a head scratcher to be honest. The movie absolutely bombed in India and I don’t think even the Paki crowd would sit through this one. I mean pakistani guys here don’t go to movies because it has a muslim theme. If you saw some pakistani familes in UJ or JA then you probably would see 10 times more in SIK or 3I or DABBANG.
As for Sunny Deol, you are right. Pakis can’t stand him because his movies were so over the top anti paki that it seemed he was purposely doing it to piss them off. Of course, most of those movies were just flat out bad. Sunny also doesn’t have much of a pull in US (probably more so in Canda becaues of the Sikh and Panjabi population).
In any case, this whole debate started because rajen was questioning SRK’s patriotism and I just felt that it was not right. Yes SRK has done some things here and there to question his patriotism is being totally unfair (haven’t we learned this already in Chak De India
)
September 27, 2011 at 4:01 PM
On JA the problem is that there is a massive disparity between a film opening to 23 crores or so in India and doing OSO-like numbers in the US. On UJ my own estimation would be that 90-95% of the audience was Pakistani women, the show I saw. On JA not as big because there were a lot of men here too but still the Pakistani contingent was much heavier than it otherwise is. Obviously this isn’t a scientific survey. Hrithik’s numbers in the US have actually not been anything like JA’s before or since. Barring D2 which had many other things going for it too. It’s not just the Muslim angle to the films by the way. Ash in period pieces seems to attract a crowd. It’s all about proportion though. I of course see Pakistani families for all kinds of movies but this was overwhelming for UJ and particularly pronounced for JA. Much as I was surprised to see a very decent crowd for Company when normally no one showed up for an RGV film but then I realized most people there were Keralites who were in it for Mohanlal. and sure enough the only real cheers that evening were for Mohanlal’s entry. But company otherwise didn’t do anything. UJ and JA were huge relative to their grosses in India. I also wouldn’t define it as a question of ‘Muslim’ themes as much as a set of concerns that play very well with the Pakistani audience. I’m not in any case suggesting anything ‘communal’ here. I’ve said in the past for example that nowhere is Ash bigger than in South India and in the US. But generally films like UJ and JA don’t attract a huge South Indian contingent.
On SRK my own sense is that a lot of his choices when it comes to expressing opinions on anything or catering to any sort of audience are simply cynical ones more often than not. Which is not to say he doesn’t have some affinity on some of these issues. But he tends to say provocative stuff to serve his ends. For example when he got up and said at a public event that he was asked questions on terrorism perhaps because he was a Muslim. Given his status in contemporary Indian cinema I think that’s a rather terrible thing to say. I’ve met many right-wingers who are ultra-nationalists on many issues or even politically incorrect on questions of minorities but you bring in SRK and suddenly all these objections drop. They were even defending him against the Sena! Now SRK could have spoken about Muslims in India suffering for some of these reasons of ‘suspicion’ and so on. That case could have been made. But he cast himself as victim which is also an old move of his. So it is this sort of statement that he comes up with every now and then. This too is comparable to his statements in other respects. Which is why I think a lot of it is cynical. I am not invested in the patriotism debate one way or the other but I don’t like cynical statements specially in some of these very charged contests. It’s a great disservice to both the majority and the Muslim minority in India to make that sort of statement.
By the way on the flip side (though this is hardly comparable) I don’t quite like Aamir’s ‘super-nationalist’ ‘message’ either. In this sense Salman is refreshing, he doesn’t go to either extreme!
September 27, 2011 at 3:12 PM
one can even ignore neighbour part but the second comment was done at sahara function and even indian team was amused at that ….also some of his comments on aniversary of 26/11 twice where insensitive
due to public pressure he has to call off one of the shows for pakistani tv coincinciding with aniversary of 26/11
facts is fact
September 27, 2011 at 8:34 AM
Mausam Drops Heavily On Monday
Tuesday 27th September 2011 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Mausam saw a big drop in collections on Monday as it collected around 2.50 crore nett which is a 60% plus drop compared with Friday.
The circuits in North India also dropped be it East Punjab or Delhi/UP although they were better than the rest of the country. Delhi/UP collected around 70 lakhs and East Punjab around 30 lakhs. Mumbai was around 80 lakhs.
The film is likely to finish around 30 crore nett for the first week but is unlikely to make much more as second week will see a big drop. The first week will be the highest ever for a Shahid Kapoor starrer.
September 27, 2011 at 8:40 AM
more BOI spin.. to finish at 30 crores after a 20 crore or so weekend according to them it would have to remain completely stable at 2.5 crores the remainder of the week! But that’s not very likely for a film that is slipping. Will say that 2.5 crores on its own is not a bad number given the weekend. If it did remain stable at this level there would be some hope for it.
September 27, 2011 at 8:41 AM
3 Idiots rakes in big at Hong Kong
Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots may have broken all box-office records when it released in India in 2009, but the film’s popularity doesn’t seem to be fading. Almost two years later, the film released in Hong Kong recently and within two weeks, it has done business of over Rs 90 lakhs.
Only recently have Indian films started getting full-fledged international releases. In Taiwan, where the Rajkumar Hirani film had a longer box-office run as compared to other English releases, it raked in half a million dollars. The Vidhu Vinod Chopra-production is being aggressively promoted with print and advertising budget of about $1.5 million.
According to Sameer Rao, CEO of Vinod Chopra Films, “this is comparable to that of a major Hollywood release.”
September 27, 2011 at 8:45 AM
These are serious numbers though one wishes Indian producers would refrain from the kind of idiotic (!) statement offered here towards the end.
September 27, 2011 at 5:02 PM
SRK in general does not have to prove his “loyalty” any more than others including khans, bachchans, kapoors etc.
Having said that (unless one is blind/biased), there ARE issues vis a vis SRKs stance.
There is no point in enlisting the instances.
This is not on the basis of an odd instance but longterm patterns.
for eg—the v same people who are supposed to be “biased” like satyam & others here somehow dont have problems with Aamir or Salman..
and probably rightly so
There is absolutely NO problem with an indian supportin india, pakistani supporting pakistan, isreali supprting israel or a saudi supporting uae.
But it is the “grey area” of cross -national /dubious allegience that catches ones eye.
Unsurprisingly similar people do find themselves supporting these sort of sensibilities
With all due respect, “the cooldude” doesnt appear a “dude” and surprisingly some people only crop up on these type of issues.
The fact that they have to adopt a “different name” for these comments, shows their own “confusion at the subconscious level”.
If he/she really believes in his/her stance, why cant he/she write under the name he/she normally does.
September 27, 2011 at 5:15 PM
Cooldude does appear from time to time.. have known him for a while.. and he uses the very same ID as far as I know..
“a saudi supporting uae”
?!
September 27, 2011 at 7:44 PM
The last part of your post reads like one of those dumb Taran Adarsh articles on Bollywood Hangama where he has a scoop but can’t give out the names….but gives out hints which all but give away the name. Instead of playing around with he/she, just say that you believe that I am oldisgold. As I told rajen down there, believe all you want to believe. It does not really matter to me.
September 27, 2011 at 5:59 PM
^^^ok—but where has he/she disappeared now lol
ps–my idea/info of the middle east is a bit limited. Yes know that saudi and uae are diiferent countries though….
September 27, 2011 at 7:31 PM
Alex….apologies for not being here when you are around. I will try to be a bit more sensitive about it next time. Looking at your last post though, I do have a book recommendation if you don’t mind:
September 28, 2011 at 9:37 AM
Just back—
Wow cooldude –u are soo intelligent
U even know how to quote and embed an amazon link
Btw wince u r good at geography– what is the latitude /longitude u are typing away from . Your ip address does seem a bit suspect lol
September 27, 2011 at 6:48 PM
Re (haven’t we learned this already in Chak De India
)
Really , what did we learn from CDI???
That given a decent script and a good director, SRK can faintly look like an actor?
Slickly marketed national jingoism can work at the BOI?
A Muslim can be patriotic?
Does not tell us anything about SRK’s allegiance which is neither to Pakistan or India but his narrow interests and aspirations. If it suits his purpose tomorrow, he will become an apologist for US.
Alex,
Dont blame you for thinking is not a dudeMost dudes thtat are SRK fans sound like dudettes! And, no matter how vehemently he claims not to be an SRK fan, his misinformed and weak but stubborn defense belies that fact!
September 27, 2011 at 7:26 PM
I will leave the theory of ‘dude and dudettes’ aside right now. Believe whatever you want to believe…
As far as my comment above about CHAK DE INDIA, you completely missed the point. That was the movie where SRK was accused of being Paki friendly as well, only to come back and prove otherwise. I felt that your comment about SRK’s patriotism and Pakistan fell in somewhat of a same category. This is why I put a smily face in front of it so it’s not taken very seriously. It obviously didn’t work !!!
and here you go ranting again about SRK’s allegiance. First, you said that he ‘attracts the most communal fans’ ..something that you have not proved and now it’s about how SRK only cares about SRK. News Flash my friend: They all care about themselves. You seem to live in a world where only SRK is doing something wrong and everyone else in BW is an angel. You seem to have no problem with Bachchan talking with passion about Pakistan and it’s people but when SRK does it, he is either a)not patriotic and/or b)only looking out for himself. Get Real !!!
September 27, 2011 at 7:34 PM
As far as me being an SRK fan, you might want to browse my comments on this forum.
September 28, 2011 at 7:56 AM
Shahid Kapoor, Taran Adarsh in Twitter war
Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 28, 2011
If you think you can mess with Shahid Kapoor (or his movies for that matter) and get away easily, think again! When film critic Taran Adarsh tweeted about his last week release Mausam’s declining business, the actor retorted back.
Taran had tweeted: “Shahid’s biggest opener, but also Shahid’s
biggest release in terms of print count & screens. Hence, numbers are below the mark. The business trends indicate a decline on weekdays.”
Shahid obviously did not take this lying down. He tweeted right back: “So all those trying so hard to screw mausam can go screw themselves .. Waise bhi aajkal kuchh logon ke adarsh buri tarha gir chuke hain.”
Well, the film critic was taken aback by the actor’s blunt response. He tweeted again: “Abusing and maligning me on a public platform won’t help. Instead, get a reality check and introspect the shortcomings of the film. Was in a muvie when I read it. Was shocked that he used such words on a public platform.”
September 28, 2011 at 7:57 AM
Good for Shahid!
September 28, 2011 at 7:59 AM
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Cloudy weather!
September 28, 2011 – 08:35 IST
Rs 25 cr nett in the opening weekend and Rs 40 cr in the opening week – that’s the yardstick these days. That’s the sentiment a lot of industry people communicate when they talk of big-budget films that are given an extensive release. And I don’t blame the industry people for feeling that way. Look at the success ratio in these four months [from June to September]. Films like READY, DOUBLE DHAMAAL, DELHI BELLY, MURDER 2, ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, SINGHAM, BODYGUARD and MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN not only started with a bang, but have had a successful run at the box-office.
One expected MAUSAM to fetch a flying start at the ticket window, given the fact that the promotion was at an all-time high and also because it had no major opposition to contend with on that particular Friday. But MAUSAM has not performed as expected. The opening weekend didn’t witness a major jump in business, while the performance of the film on weekdays is way below the mark. The business has witnessed substantial decline in every circuit.
What does one attribute the below the mark response to? Well, the word of mouth is far from positive. Sure, a section of the audience has liked the film, but a big chunk of movie-going audience hasn’t liked it. Plus, the excessive length seems to have proved a spoilsport. That’s not all, the youth of today — which should be the target audience for this love story — hasn’t taken to the film. Films like DELHI BELLY and MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN worked because the youth could connect with these two films. Like someone very rightly pointed out, the audience of today has no patience to watch slow-paced movies that have a running time of close to 3 hours.
The second release, SPEEDY SINGHS, showed hardly any speed at the ticket counters. The film met with a tepid response at the domestic box-office and that, very frankly, doesn’t come as a surprise.
September 28, 2011 at 8:09 AM
Chennai Box-office- Sep 23 to 25
Chennai Box-office- Sep 23 to 25 | Tuesday, 27 September , 2011, 12:21
The CBO got hit by a storm called Mahesh Babu and his Dookudu. The film which released in 17 Chennai screens has grossed approximately Rs 60 lakhs in its opening weekend.
Dookudu has become the first Telugu film to open at the number one position, thanks to Mahesh’s star pull. Close on its heels is Engeyum Eppodhum, which has grossed Rs 55 lakhs in its second week, and now can be declared a super hit. EE is the number one Tamil film in the market at the moment.
Ajith’s Mankatha after four weeks at the top has started sliding and is at the number three position. Vandhaan Vendraan is at number four. Shahid Kapoor-Sonam’s Mausam is at number five.
http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=14979978&cid=13525926
September 28, 2011 at 9:00 AM
satyam, I think you are the right person to correct anyone (mostly its alex adams, and I wish he would stop doing that)) who mistakes any person supporting SRK as me.
—————————
THis is a ridiculous point to use against SRK to bring him down.
Come on! Have you all no other tricks up your sleeve.
It’s a major accusation and not to be levelled so easily.
September 28, 2011 at 9:08 AM
Haven’t seen some of those comments (probably noticed a couple from Alex) but no one should do this, specially when you don’t like it. Hopefully Alex will spare you going forward!
September 28, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Cmon oldgold aunty (oops razia)
I did not even name u or anyone anywhere in this friendly “exchange” with “cooldude/dudette”
So amusing that many including oldgold think she is being mentioned.
Is she obsessed with my cumments which were by the way for Srk in general and a subset of his fanbase
Ps– note how I have also written some nice things(!!) about Srk elsewhere –as satyam will confirm
Anyhow liked that song –razia from thank you—haha
September 28, 2011 at 9:48 AM
Uncle ji, you are always accusing this or that srk fan of not writing under their original IDs and the hint is too broad to ignore.
September 28, 2011 at 9:55 AM
With all these uncles and aunties showing up Satyam’s worst nightmare has been realized – the forum has become a Johar film.
September 28, 2011 at 10:01 AM
^^Correction–there is no uncle here lol
Yes, aunties are and they do form on integral part of joharisn
September 28, 2011 at 10:26 AM
correction – there is no aunty here and uncle jis do form an integral part of ‘forced ‘young’ talk’.
September 28, 2011 at 10:44 AM
First of all, there no uncles here–
Anyhow assuming there are— don’t u have a fetish for them!!
Cmon razia –share all that in a darebare book
Hoho
September 28, 2011 at 10:58 AM
Ha!
September 28, 2011 at 9:57 AM
Hehe razia aunty—
Not good at those but found a link relevant to your situation—
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101219101653AApsHsT
Ps– that’s what happens– sometimes u press the right “buttons” & the “culprit” automatically presents him/herself
Such fun…
September 28, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Don’t worry razia– admit now that u have been outmanoeuvred and outthought (again )–yes haha
Cooldudette/dude–
Thanx for teaching us geography
Now a recommendation —good bedtime reading (when u have “done with” geography…
September 28, 2011 at 10:42 AM
Satyam…unless you want this forum to turn into indolink part 2, please take some action against this nonsense. I don’t want to come here and waste my time replying to posts like these….
thanks.
September 28, 2011 at 10:55 AM
Cool down “cooldude”
This is unbecoming of your “cool” name
We haven’t yet started playing and u have got uncomfortable
Anyhow– chillax m8—
We know your time is invaluable( the rest of us like satyam, razia, myself are twiddling thumbs while typing away at their keyboards doing online geography courses )
Btw try out that book link I gave and feedback-thanx
September 28, 2011 at 11:05 AM
This whole auntie/uncle talk is unnecessarily clogging the forum when we could be discussing this great new look Surya has! Alex I know you have a ‘never surrender’ ethic (!) but don’t think it’s fair to keep egging people on who are not quite appreciative of the banter. You shouldn’t keep calling Oldgold ‘Razia’ for example. Anyway I know you will praise my ‘gentlemanly’ spirit once again and agree to this..!
September 28, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Yes I will agree lol
Let’s spare the sensitive ones
Anyways off to enjoy some fun in the sun
Btw not sure If oldgold minds being called “razia”!!! Lol
September 29, 2011 at 8:11 AM
Taran on Force:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/14289/index.html
and Saheb Biwi aur Gangster:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/14370/index.html
September 30, 2011 at 5:40 AM
Force seems to have opened well at BO today. I had no hope but the good opening of a John movie suggests that anyone is now capable of scoring at BO with south remakes. Bolly audiences are lapping up south remakes especially action movies big time. I think Abhishek should try an outright action movie to improve his BO prospects soon before its to late IMO.
September 29, 2011 at 8:31 AM
BOI have suddenly stopped reported on the daily numbers for Mausam after Mon..!