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465 Responses to “Rockstar, the rest of the box office”
Chennai Box-Office (November 4 to 6)
Chennai Box-Office (November 4 to 6) | Wednesday, 09 November , 2011, 17:46
The Diwali releases have ignited the CBO, though heavy rains over the weekend have dampened it.
Vijay`s Velayudham with more number of screens in the second week has overtaken the collections of 7aum Arivu, which is now in the number two position.
In the third place is Ra. One, which has fizzled out in its second week. Engeyum Eppothum is steady at number four and in the fifth position is the Hollywood flick In Time, which opened well in multiplexes.
So, did I. Was wondering how it is such a huge hit. Even the songs were disappointing. One thing that struck me particularly was the excessive use of English words in the dialogues-do not know whether that is a recent trend.
Unfortunately the English in dialogs is a recent trend, but this film took it to a whole new level. I thought they tried to pack in as many of Mahesh’s “greatest hits” moments as they could, and, from the crowd around me, everyone else seemed to love them. So I guess that’s how it became a hit. Also, there are rumors that it’s not as big a hit as it’s being made out to be.
Rockstar had a good advance yesterday as advance counters opened yesterday at multiplexes. The single screens are not as strong going by good single screens like Delite and Liberty in Delhi which are good barometers as they are advance theatres.
The youth in major centres is likely to be out in full force on Friday as the advance is much stronger at multiplexes which are close to colleges and universities or other big educational institutes.
It will be interesting to see how well Rockstar can open in mass circuits like CPCI as films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and even a more massy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan put up numbers which were on the lower side on their respective first days.
and if the reviews continue this way this will be an easy major success for Ranbir. As I said the other day he had a significant one in 2009 with AJPKGK, a smaller one in WUS, in 2010 he had Rajneeti, this year it might be Rockstar for him. so he’s certainly taking the momentum forward..
^^^Bliss: who the heck is ani guha? Lol
Hmm–seems my “hunch” is coming true (again)
Had a v good vibe about this movie ever since I’ve checked out the music (& the heroine)
Seems even the director hasn’t done a bad job
I got this sense of a “transition” with the relative failure and the (probable) coming of age of ranbir…
This movie may give Bollywood a” superstar”
and a new interesting heroine
Agree ted
Infact his choice of films is the main reason of his success till now
Also: he has avoided the second /younger hero deals even with SRK/aamir etc
Have not noticed it till now but there seems a “pattern” to his moves
Btw even his moves with “girlfriend(s)” isn’t bad–though feel his “exploits” have been exaggerated
films are like campaigns in a sense.. stars who try and speak to one constituency or another do better more often than not all else being equal. On the other hand stars whose choices don’t have this sort of obvious ‘pitch’ then need to make this up with outstanding films so as to get a little bit of every constituency minimally. Now the interesting thing here is that the former is the path to becoming a solid star, even a major star but to be ‘defining’ you need to do the latter. Either get attached to a kind of cinema that does not yet exist but does have a constituency waiting for it or even if there isn’t a constituency do you kind of films but somehow make them work with the right scripts and so on. These stars are conversation changing stars. The other are just very successful ones. The textbook example here is Dharmendra. An important star for very many years once he became successful but he was never controlling the conversation, never coming up with the new genres et al. Even though he had many iconic films in different eras he wasn’t Rajesh Khanna or Rajendra Kumar or Bachchan. It’s not just about degree of success here but also the ‘unique’ calling card of the star. Over the last twenty years or more only two stars have really done this. First SRK who really became the hero of the new paradigm. Then Aamir who went the other way and has become synonymous with prestige in a very singular sense. Every other star falls in between. Take Salman in the present age. Started out as a chocolate hero, then became a Dhawan star, finally and most successfully now a kind of comic-masala hero. But none of these phases ‘reinvent’ the industry in any sense. He like Dharmendra takes advantage of what ‘is’. And so the argument is in many ways a counter-intuitive one. The box office might work in a big way for such stars but for relatively temporary periods because they generally aren’t able to control the conversation either in a box office sense or in a prestige sense for every long. Dharmendra is still the best example of such a star or the most successful such example. Not many ‘top’ stars in Bollywood history have been more iconic than him. To phrase it differently certain stars do the ‘right’ films, certain others make their choices seem ultimately ‘right’.
Nice interview.
They spoke a lot of hindi and very well too. Ranbir speaks very well unlike many others. Hrithik puts in a lot of English, even Saif.
But I’m wondering about Nargis. Will she speak hindi at some point or just speak English with an American accent?
Somehow this emphasises the fact that the heroine is just there to look good and attractive (for the men) and that’s all there is to it.
Ya think she may have a problem with the hindi diction…
But if someone like katrina has more than survived, why not her
Not seen much of “acting” in promos but my impression is that she has better presence and emoting than katrina had in boom!!! Lol
Reminds me somewhat of preity zinta–part of liked her in the initial stages (not the IPL phase!!)
Anyhow even she is weak in certain aspects : we shall teach her—what are “fans” for
Have NEVER seen anything special in ranbir kapoor (except in rocket Singh –more to do. With script/director there)
But v recently the rockstar promos have made me sit back–
Is this the guy who can really reach and stay at the top- still don’t think so –but am not v sure now
Just saw parts of his interview with tran adarsh–who asked him–“will u u break the khan monopoly ”
He replied -not sure of anyone’s monopoly—but will definitely achieve bigger heights –will be the best actor and hero–something like that
Not easy to make such claims
Will watch this movie over this weekend to judge but this movie seems promising
My curiosity will be –how this does compared kto the mega hyped biggest release ra1— -any predictions?
Yes, I caught this last night at the gym, it was refreshing — although Barkha Dutt has begun to irritate me with her ultra-soft puff interviews (example of Priyanka Gandhi in 2009 before the election; the one with Fatima Bhutto on the eve of the latter’s Indian book launch)…
But, again, with so many loopholes in terms of doctor not able to justify Heer’s (Nargis) death and no logic in police chasing Jordan in a foreign country where he has committed no crime where the audience will be left assuming and presuming things, Imtiaz Ali disappoints
Totally clattered post interval sequences, non-crisp editing and screenplay are the drawbacks.
Overall, Rockstar is a one-time watch and worth a treat for both fans and non-fans of Ranbir Kapoor who does justice to his character at every moment in the film.
might check it out even if it’s just decent.. because I think the soundtrack deserves a proper theatrical experience.. the only thing with Imtiaz Ali is that I did the same for LAK and was pretty bored with the film. I certainly expect something better in Rockstar no matter what but the story arc seems somewhat similar in terms of a relationship developing over time. My other problem is that my local theater is not showing Hindi films anymore so now it’s a higher bar for me to drive elsewhere for it! Still have to catch up with the new Almodovar though it’s now playing at my end and of course this weekend it will be J Edgar before all else. All said and done I’d rather watch Rockstar than not, even looking forward to it strangely enough. Just a question of now getting there.
Here’s an article (though “attack” might be more accurate) about the move to front ended movies in Bollywood. It’s triggered by Ra.One, but attacks all three of Salman, Aamir, & SRK for their “bad” films manipulating the market. I don’t necessarily disagree on the points made, but I do wonder why the column is restricted to Hindi films. I think the criticisms he levels at the three Khans can equally well apply to commercial Telugu films and possiblly Tamil films as well (though I’m not as familiar with them). Anyway, read it and judge for yourselves. I’m putting it here because it does have to do with box office in a way.
I haven’t seen Ghajini, but I have read quite a few comments pro and con. It is certainly not as universally acclaimed as 3 Idiots, for instance, though even 3I is not admired by everyone (including me). But. leaving aside the guy’s opinions on films, the point he makes about the overemphasis on the opening of a film these days, and a film being judged only on its box office performance, are valid, i think.
Oh, he also calls 3 idiots manipulative. Well, sure it is, but it’s still a very entertaining films. If you hate everything, then why even watch Bollywood films?
I prefer Ghajini over almost every Aamir film (barring Lagaan and TZP). To me, that is what authentic ‘masala’ should be like – dark, powerful, and cathartic.
Mangal Pandey is probably my favorite Aamir film from the post-Lagaan period, but Ghajini is a close second; certainly prefer it by miles and miles to Fanaa.
Also, Henry, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, summarizing in a few words what I love about masala…
I disagree with Henry’s definition of what masala “should be”. To me the origin of the term “masala” is derived from the idea of “navarasas” in a work of art — that is all the variety of human emotions were supposed to be portrayed in the work for it to be considered complete and artistic. This concept is very much there in the classical Sanskrit drama and the other entertainment forms which derived from that, including movies. When the term “masala” first started to be used, I remember it being used in a derogatory sense, where any one of the nine rasas were exaggerated beyond realism or naturalism, in order to woo viewers. It was also used when people felt the filmmakers were introducing elements that were not compatible with the story or the rest of the film. So a dance by Helen would be included to add “masala” to the film and make it more saleable. Similarly, as we continue to the present day, we have the item number, and the excess of fights in Telugu and Tamil films. Conversely, an “art film” (as they used to be called) was considered unappealing because it didn’t have sufficient masala, and was too bland. Here the analogy was with cooking, where having appropriate spices to prevent a dish from being too bland was considered to be necessary.
So the dark, brooding, “cathartic” type of film might be a fine film, but it is not necessarily what “masala” either is or “should be.” I would argue instead that it cannot be masala, since such a film usually has one overriding emotional tone, rather than a variety of them in balance, complementing and reinforcing each other.
But Ghajini is not merely a dark, brooding, cathartic kind of film — it is a masala film that also has dark, brooding, and cathartic elements. For me, a masala film without any of these elements is less satisfying. But I completely disagree that a masala film CANNOT be considered masala if it has these elements – of all film labels, surely “masala” is one of the most capacious. Of course you haven’t seen Ghajini, but given its long romantic track; action; villain; and sense of loss, I would argue that the film does in fact have a variety of emotions “in balance, complementing and reinforcing each other.” [Take love: the loss here adds to its resonance and meaning, in a way it is difficult for any romance in one of the contemporary Bollycomedies to.]
I don’t think we’re disagreeing, Qalandar. I was objecting to Henry’s characterization that masala “should” consist of only “dark, brooding, cathartic” elements. My point is that if that is all there is, it cannot be masala, since there is no complexity to the emotional tone. If Ghajini has all the elements you say, then it’s masala, where the final impression left to the viewer (I’m guessing) is dark and cathartic. After all, there were plenty of masala films that were tragedies, too. They did not all have happy endings. At the same time, as Satyam noted below, there are also masala films where the overarching or final impression is a humorous one. Which type of masala film appeals to a particular viewer is a matter of personal taste.
Q, in M.P. – for me, director ketan mehta blew up the entire film with just one “sick” scene – there is a watchman/sentry who peeps into the bedroom of british couple making love and he is shown masturbating – disgusting! i wonder what was the need to show such a scene in this kind of film and how on earth aamir agreed to this scene part of such a film!!!! till this date, i haven’t understood…
ideaunique: what is sick about it? That and the scene with the woman who deprives her own child of milk while feeding her employer’s child, symbolizes for me the corruption that colonialism wreaks. But the scene you are referring to also symbolizes the hypnotic power of the colonial other — a lifestyle to emulate, to watch, to simultaneously dismiss as nothing more than lewd diversion, and yet to never catch up with…
that is absolutely right Q – but was it really necessary to show in this film about the beginning of freedom fight and about mangal pandey? to me, it was unnecessary diversion…and has left a very bad taste….the scene wud have been good in “Maaya memsaab” 😉
I think he is refferring to a scene when the sentry is sitting outside and with the help of a rope fanning the lady that is sleeping in the bedroom and he is watching her through peephole there, I dont remember seeing her making love to her husband though.
Reporter: Are you aware of an impersonator out there?
Hulk: AAAAAAAAGHHHHHGRRRRRRRRR!!! WHOOOOOO??? **powerful cathartic noise emanating from the dark cave like mouth**
Reporter: *trembling* – the a..a..actor who tried to impersonate your dark, powerful, cathartic noise as well as your physique in a film titled in English as *hulk practices memento*
agreed and this is what my preference is as well though of course there’s also the parallel ‘comic-masala’ tradition. sometimes the two co-exist in the same film, sometimes the films are largely comedies.
after the first one I thought that this would probably be a very well-reviewed film but everyone’s now talking about the screenplay being problematic. Here’s taran:
“but everyone’s now talking about the screenplay being problematic. Here’s taran:”
Ohmygod! Now we have to take taran’s views on screenplay seriously! I remember how he had dismissed DCH on the same ground. Of course, fresh on my mind is his wholehearted approval of ra_One as the perfect script witha plenty of soul.
I’m not taking Taran’s views on it seriously but this is the sort of movie he would have supported all else being equal.. in fact this applies to the other reviewers too. This is the kind of film that reviewers would ‘want’ to support. The reviews as a whole for me are indicative of box office trending, I don’t take them seriously otherwise, whether positive or negative. Barring exceptions.
Rockstar is surprisingly opening to bad-to-average reviews across the board. Given the Indian reviewing scene, this could also mean that the films is actually good 😉 I mean, it isn’t a bad thing when Nahata and Adarsh give your film a 2 1/2 rating. Seriously though, the audience reaction will matter. Overheard some people say that the romance works but is fantastical and the personal journey is too internal and dark even. If this film doesn’t work, this will be the second time after Delhi-6 that a fantastic Rahman album will belong to an unsuccessful film. Plan to check this out tonight however.
Hmmm—actually that sort of negative reaction means the film will be to my liking
The “internal dark” bit seems interesting
Can’t rule out motivated propaganda
The film seems to be getting mixed reviews,but one things seems to be consistent and that seems to be the praise for Ranbir’s performance! Really really really happy for him! Truly hope that this film turns out to be a huge box office success for him!
Elsewhere, I had predicted Filmfare Awards for Ranbir and Rahman, and I stand by it. And yes, 2,5 / 3 stars by Taran and Komal, means the chance of it being a good film is good. When was it last that any mainstream film tried a dark and depressing romance? Devdas? Guzaarish? This one is going to do better than those two, box-office wise even,
I have made the same claim else where along with Utkal, and I dont think it is entirely true Satyam, Where Chake De was critically acclaimed and just a moderate success (ofcourse going by SRK”s standards at BO collections) I believe he had bagged the award that year over Abhishek Bachchan’s Guru. I really can not comment on who really deserved it, have not seen Chak De and have no desire to do so ever.
CDI was a very good success though for that kind of film. It got important tax breaks early on but still it was a small film and did very well. Rockstar doesn’t need to be a 90 crore grosser but it has to be stable with some cross-section of the audience. That can get him the award specially as it’s a late release and this always helps. Having said that not sure why anyone would be invested in winning a Filmfare award when otherwise great performances in films like Krrish routinely win it!
should say that Nahata and Adarsh are generally not the most reliable guides (assuming they’re just being honest, which day is about as frequent in their lives as Feb 29) when it comes to youth-targeted multiplex fare. They keep coming up with refrains like ‘it will only appeal in multiplexes’. well that’s most of the game these days!
Atyant Sach kaha, Ek woh jo “Nahata” nahin hai aur baas maarta hai, aur doosra woh jiske “Adarsh” bik chuke hai. I know really bad one there, Had to say it though..lol.
Have also been requested to do another role–Some “students of music” will also be “introduced “/ initiated to Bollywood by yours truly via this film
Good to “guide”
In spite of this I hope the film succeeds, to some extent at least. I’m disappointed, because I really wanted Ranbir to have a major success.
Somewhere in the comments above I read a ‘spoiler’. It’s really bad how people just write that without any thought.
I hope and pray that people will not give out Talaash spoilers.
I’ve now come to the conclusion that Indian viewers don’t understand the concept of “spoilers” or “suspense.” Witness the multitude of award ceremonies where the winners are announced weeks before the program is telecast. That never happens with the multitude of American award shows. Similarly, big winners on various game shows are also announced before the episode actually airs. And these announcements are shown repeatedly on TV, in order to build up viewership. It seems to work, too. So there must be something in the psyche of Indian audiences that doesn’t care about suspense, or not knowing what will happen, and prefers certainly over uncertainty.
I think that’s why even the critics used to routinely give away the entire plot in their reviews, especially if there was any “twist” or surprise ending to the film. This used to drive me when I first started to follow Bollywood, about ten years ago. In the past few years, perhaps in their efforts to emulate Hollywood and show that they are also capable of “international standards”, this practice has stopped, for which I am thankful.
Rockstar Opens To Good Houses
November 11th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Rockstar Movie PosterRockstar may not exactly have been off to a rocking start today (11th November) at the box-office but the opening ranged from good to excellent. In several multiplexes at places like Ghaziabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, etc, the opening show collections were 90-100 per cent. In multiplexes of smaller towns and cities, the initial ranged between 40 and 60 per cent. For instance, Bioscope multiplex of Jodhpur recorded a show of 47.77 per cent at 12.45 p.m.
At PVR multiplex in Gorakhpur, the first show had 163 audience as against a full house capacity of 332 persons. The second show had 221 persons. In Bombay the PVR multiplex at Mulund saw 201 persons in the first show, 149 persons in the second show and 270 in the third show. The screen showing Rockstar has a capacity of 420 people. At PVR Phoenix in Bombay, the admits in shows 1 and 2 were 102 and 175 respectively. The housefull capacity is 272 persons. The corresponding figure at PVR Juhu, Bombay, were 137 and 165 respectively as against a capacity of 333 persons per show.
In Baroda the PVR multiplex sold 309 tickets in the first show and 272 tickets in the second show. The housefull capacity is 563 persons. Attendance at PVR multiplex in Surat was not very encouraging. Tickets sold in shows 1, 2, 3 and 4 at the multiplex were 65, 12, 88 and 169 respectively. Seating capacity of the auditorium is 371. In Ahmedabad the 9 a.m. shows at Wide Angle, Cinemax Dev Arc and Shiv Cinemax were housefull. Likewise, Big multiplex in Ahmedabad drew a full house at 9 a.m. At Cinemax, Gandhinagar, the first show had only 91 persons in attendance.
Single-screen cinemas all over generally recorded lesser collections than multiplexes.
Ra.One (Hindi) has grossed around 15.50 crore nett in week two. The collections after two weeks are around 113 crore nett. The drop from the extended first week is 84%. Bodyguard which had a similar extended first week dropped 81% in its second week.
Even though the film has a big drop in its second week, the overall total is good though with the release of Rockstar today only another 5 crore at best can be expected which will mean it will stay below the 120 crore nett mark. A holiday on Monday has helped collections in week two.
The final nett gross will be the fifth highest ever after Three Idiots, Bodyguard, Dabangg and Ready.
Rockstar: Good In Multiplexes Lower In Single Screens
Friday 11th November 2011 16.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar opened to a good response at multiplexes with collections on average in the 60-70% range but the single screen response was just around 30-40%. Circuits like Rajasthan and CPCI may put up dent collections for day one as although single screens are weak, the multiplexes have good numbers.
The film will come out with a good first day on the strength of multiplexes in metros but it may find it hard to show big growth on Saturday and Sunday.
Rockstar has mixed reports and will find it tough at single screens as opening is on the lower side and unlikely to make much headway in mass centres.
If the film is to score it will be heavily dependent on high end multiplexes in places like Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bangalore.
Vidya Balan’s oomph could beat Ranbir’s Rockstar appeal: Trade experts
Vidya Balan’s sexy avatar, itsy bitsy clothes, cleavage-showing blouses and raunchy dance numbers in The Dirty Picture are receiving jaw-dropping reactions. Fans and trade pundits say the masala movie is expected to beat the musical treat Rockstar, the fun-filled Desi Boyz and the action thriller Don 2.
Directed by Milan Luthria, The Dirty Picture is said to be the tragic tale of a southern sex symbol’s rise and fall and Vidya is playing the voluptuous woman who was loved and desired in the 1980s and 1990s.
Leaving behind the grace and charm she showed in her first film Parineeta and then again in films like Paa and No One Killed Jessica, Vidya has done everything – from wearing garish clothes to showing meat to making provocative dance moves – to make her character believable.
In fact, she has surpassed her own portrayal of a sexually charged woman in Ishiqya.
When launched, the film grabbed attention as it was touted as a biopic on southern sex symbol Silk Smitha who had committed suicide in 1996. But recently when the late actor’s brother objected and filed a complaint against the content of the film, the makers said it’s not based on anyone’s life.
Vidya pulled out all stops at the music launch of the movie when she gave an adrenaline pumping performance along with co-star Naseeruddin Shah.
Criticism and complaints notwithstanding, the trade pundits forecast that amidst the four big releases – the Vidya starrer, produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures, will take the cake when it hits the screen on December 2.
TN Kapoor, of Bharti Film Distributors in Indore, told IANS: ” The Dirty Picture is likely to do good business as it has got mass appeal. Vidya’s already generated a lot of buzz with the way she is presenting herself in the film.”
Ranbir Kapoor’s musical saga Rockstar is releasing Friday and TN Kapoor said: “Rockstar is for youngsters and caters to the audiences of bigger cities. It may do well.”
Set in London, Desi Boyz, releasing on December 25, will see the hit team of Akshay Kumar and John Abraham. “Desi Boyz is good but whatever little I have heard about the story, I don’t think the audiences will be able to digest it. But since it is a solo release, people would definitely go and watch it as they wouldn’t have any other option to choose from,” said TN Kapoor.
Ranbir and director Imtiaz Ali have rocked the nation with their promotional events and the promos of the film have generated curiosity among the masses.
But Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan, said, “Rockstar is for the multiplex audiences and I don’t find anything extraordinary in Desi Boyz and Don 2. All the three films are made at a budget of over Rs 70 crore and it often becomes difficult to recover so much cost.
“I feel The Dirty Picture will work more than other films as it has appeal for both mass and class. The Dirty Picture will not only work in the metros but it is likely to work in B and C class cities like Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Bareilly among others.”
Vidya has been one of the few actresses who has spent most of her screen time looking old, unglamorous and now even vulgar to earn that highest spot in the creative field.
Her endeavour may be earning flak for her sexy avatar, but the actress was quoted as saying that she had a blast doing the film and that “I have given it my all”.
Businesswise this year is said to be better compared to 2010. Some fell flat at the box office, some recovered the cost and some appealed to the public and spun profit.
Some big budget disappointments were Game, Thank You, Dum Maaro Dum, Rascals, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Mausam and Patiala House.
But No One Killed Jessica, Yamla Pagal Deewana, Tanu Weds Manu, Bodyguard, Ready, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Singham and RA.One set the cash registers ringing and bailed out the filmmakers by earning profit.
Don 2 will be the last big release of the year. Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the film will reach the theatres on December 23.
I still might give this a shot. The film was ultimately more about the “Rahman concert” experience in a theater for me than a really good film. The latter isn’t something one should expect from Imtiaz Ali.
Haven’t seen Socha na tha. Jab We Met was nice enough and an appropriate ‘downsizing’ of the genre but I don’t find this to be a ‘great’ film by any stretch. But either way in LAK Imtiaz Ali walked away from all this and completely Joharized himself. Rockstar seems a lot more rooted in this sense, at least based on the trailers. Do think Imtiaz ali could make a really good film with the right script. He’s never going to be auteur of any sort but he can do better than he has been. And here Rockstar might well be a step in the right direction.
I haven’t been able to get my hands on Socha Na Tha. There’s a version on youtube that’s not very clear. My local Indian store doesn’t carry it and Netflix doesn’t have it either. Can’t say it’s on my ‘to buy’ list!
Ha! Might as well since I’m told by certain folks that I cannot adequately judge this film unless I watch it on the best kind of IMAX screen there is. Unless of course I end up liking it in which case these are ‘process’ issues!
You definitely shoudl trya and catch this soon, I would rate Socha Na tha as Imtiaz’s best work. Don’t know how to put it in words like you guys, But felt it was a fresh approach towards story telling, beautifully told. it really works from the script level, Didn’t find any scene boring, defintely interesting approach. I am sure you would like it.
The thing is Imitiaz Ali has made the same film three times now and with each film the formula has gotten progressively more, well, formulaic. Socha Na Tha was and remains his best film but really he hasn’t re-written the game or anything. It’s a pleasant movie with some nice performances. JWM I found passable, worth a single watch, really, (and only if you’re into this sort of thing) and LAK felt like the height of fakery. It’s a bit insuting after the third go-around. Rockstar actually looks like it’s more of the same at baseline, but it’s gussied up in some nice Rahman duds.
‘Rockstar’ is soul stirring: Anurag Kashyap
By: IANS Date: 2011-11-11 Place: New Delhi
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says Ranbir Kapoor is “awesome” in “Rockstar” and describes the film as Imtiaz Ali’s best work.
“Rockstar is easily Imtiaz Ali’s best. This is how a love story should be told. Soul stirring. Still assimilating,” Kashyap wrote on microblogging site Twitter.
“‘Rockstar’ is unlike most films…no cacophony of sounds…quiet…no unnecessary background to propel it forward…Ranbir is just awesome. It is not ‘Jab We Met’…its come from somewhere with in Imtiaz. It’s his labour of love,” he added.
Released Friday, “Rockstar” chronicles the journey of an aspiring singer Janardhan Jakhar, who wants to make it big in the music world and what he endures to earn fame. It introduces two new faces – Pakistani-American model Nargi Fakhri and Brazilian model Moufid Aziz.
Kashyap, known for making unconventional films like “Black Friday” and “Dev D”, also calls it a “coming of age film”.
“Such an unexpected film.. does not take any easy route.. does not become a clap trap or a crowd pleaser.. It’s just so heartfelt…,” Anurag wrote.
“‘Rockstar’ is not so much about rock as it is an individual’s story..it’s another kind of coming of age film…just can’t get it out of my head,” he added.
Kashyap’s soul is stirred rather easily when it comes to his friend’s film! He had kind things to say about LAK too. Now to be honest Rockstar based on some of the reviews does sound more interesting than the normal film but for Kashyap to go so overboard with this stuff when he has nothing to say about 99.9% of other mainstream films is a bit hard to digest. The thing is it’s rather easy to attack everyone else for ‘compromise’ in one’s industry but how about some elementary honesty at this very basic level?! I could still take this stuff more seriously if he hadn’t also praised LAK.
Absolutely. He’s totally bankrupt in this way. Any time one of his inner circle of hipster indie filmmaker (and Imtiaz Ali now hardly qualifies as even this!) friends comes out with something, it becomes the modern age’s answer to Ray.
my cousin and his wife ( 32 yrs old) just saw the movie in Moradabad-
his verdict-
awesome music and very well used in the movie- koi gaana poora nahee hai….
not everyone will like it
comedy in the fist half is Palang-tod..(eg.- shadi sey pehley tere saare.keeda maarney hain, whatever he meant by that)
lots of drama. in the second half.
Ranbir Kapoor – very good acting- has two roles- 1.lallu, 2. Rockstar and in both has performed very well… lekin ussko guitar pakadna nahee aaya….
Nargis is hot…..
Ending is very Sudden and does not feel like a proper climax…
he saw the evening show was 85% full, but night show is housefull…
P.S.- Per him- general perception in India is that RA1 has bombed ….
Thanx for that note rocky
Well, maybe anurag kashyap is just saying good things about a friend but still…
Find him more creditable than kjo or his cohorts
So rocky : your cousin or his wife found nargi f “hot”–lol
Anyhow —a point to note here ….
A movie has certain limitations/characteristics
A “love story” if authentic and even if “Oscar winning ” WILL remain a love story at the end of the day
And that’s how it has to be judged by
So if someone doesn’t love romcoms or love stories–well thats fine. Its just that h the movie ought not suddenly be compared to pather panchali or schindlers list!!
Inspite of his limitations & issues , somehow in all his films , imtiaz Ali has shown some insight and seems more tolerable than kjo and his many partners/directors
Don’t care about “reviews” or box office–catapulted by one of rahmans ALLTIME best music –this film seems poised to be “game changer” for all involved and finally one may get a “deep” “introspective” “musical journey “–pardon all the (sic!) cliches
So hit the theatres folks –(& help me get my investment back lol)
Honestly, The songs are way to good to be missed here, It needs a proper viewing experience just as it demands hearing. I dont really understand music too much like you guys do, But can tell a difference between good or bad. Can’t analyze it more than that. That being said, No doubt ARR has outdone himself here, But what I find equally praise worthy are the lyrics (again dont know too much poetry or shayari, no my thing) but it is so easy to understand and at the same time it is so deep and meaning ful (reminds of Gulzar’s earlier works, Just your everyday words with lot of meaning to it when all put together) I say take a bow Ishrat Kamil. Wonderfully written songs.
Absolutely, Songs are just the bonus point for me, But overall movie looks really good. Something that I know I would like. Unless it really disappoints, and Honestly I dont look at the reviews for the movies that I am looking forward to. But woud certainly love to read your views, Also, still AWAITING ARAKSHAN VIEWS from you sir, WE ARE NOT LETTTING YOU OFF THE HOOK on this one. Jaldi karo, Kyun tadpa rahe ho? LOL>
@rocky : general perception in india ra.one not only bomb thats an understatement,, its a fiasco.
Theres a difference between bomb( a failure) and fiasco.
There’s a diffrence between a bomb and a fiasco. A failure is merely the absence of success. Any fool can achieve failure. But a fiasco, a fiasco is a disaster of epic propotions. A fiasco is a folk tale told to other’s to make other people feel more alive because it didn’t happen to them.
ps- quote is from elizabethtown, a movie that i simply love
Going by early reviews and box-office reports of Rockstar , it does seem not much will happen here. Ranbir just let go a great opportunity to move the debate or as Satyam puts ‘the narrative’ towards him.
With that early tweet by Anupama Chopra on the movie and esp Ranbir, I was gearing up for a media shift in the narrative putting Ranbir on a pedestal and possible replacement for still dominating but stale Khandom.
More than the Ra 1 box-office performance, audience is more miffed with srk and his antics offscreens and is yearning for a change. Add to this Sallu, who may have given blockbusters but hasn’t captured minds of the movie going audience. Aamir is in too selective a mode for much chatter.
On an aside – With Don2, SRK is getting ready to be minced meat with so much scope to ham and being ridiculed.
YRF will once again be the savior of sorts la 2000 when Mohabattein tilted the scale back in his favor against Hritik.
Here’s the thing, when you do ‘different’ even in a relative commercial sense, let alone in a truly offbeat one it’s hard to get that big success. Having said that this film could still be a good grosser if it satisfies the base ‘youth’ audience.
Yeah whatever the story here the acclaim seems to be pretty consistent for his work in it and not just by the usual group of flunkies. Waiting for the Rangan verdict on this one before I pull the trigger and actually buy a ticket.
As of now, there is no universal acclaim from audience and this wont be a resounding success story to bring out the fence sitters in declaring a much needed change at the helm.
As for the reviews, they are mostly kind to big actors for a poor movie so as to avoid the ire of the stars.
Saw Rockstar in the evening hugely disappointed. Script has a lot of loose ends and screenplay gets erratic in places. Ranbir is strictly ok and has the same kind of expression throughout the movie , Nargis is good. Music is awesome though and Kun Faya kun is magic on the big screen alongwith Sadda haq. JVM and LAK were much better movies than this. Will give it a generous 2/5 manily for music. I won’t be suprised if this movie collapses after a good weekend.
Tony: I guess thus this movie is getting mixed reports due to varied opinions on it. I know many have liked Ranbir in it and he might win awards and all for it but I alongwith the friends I went with thought he failed to create an impact with his performance as the role was perfectly suited to bring out a great performance but his expressions remained the same throughout. No doubt hes much better than most from this generation but I would pick a Rocket singh performance to this anyday. Nargis made a confident debut in my opinion shes not just a barbie doll.
yeah surprised about this.. will still check it out though.. have hardly missed any Eastwood film (directed or otherwise) in the theater in a very long time.
Seeing it tomorrow. Have a sense from certain critics I prefer that I’ll enjoy this one. Given the interesting political charge of Eastwood’s cinema in the past decade something like this where the politics is an overt theme, is unmissable. Not to mention Leo is getting mostly great reviews.
“have hardly missed any Eastwood film (directed or otherwise) in the theater in a very long time.”
Man, I can’t get over the fact that many of your choices are so similar to mine, I have yet to miss any Eastwood movie myself, (Netlix ka paisa vasool kar diya, lol)though not lucky enough to watch em all in theaters. On similar taste, I say we met up sometime and talk films and nothing more Sir. Would love to meet up someday and learn a few things.
Guys, back off not Kissing @ss, Genuinely admiring Mr. Satyam here. Very rare when you meet someone with similar taste in films as yours.
LOL, true! I intended some humor which is why I mentioned his spouse at the end! Though it still sounded a bit weird.. but then I moved onto something else!
Lol,ofcourse I do sm, I even tried to restrain myself from using it atf first, then went along with it,what heck I thought, I am a married man now, how much damage can it possibly do. Lol. And no harm in saying that whenit involves two filmbuffs.lol
I watched it today and I’d like to say I loved it..
The best thing about the film, apart from the undoubtable Rahman magic evident throughout, is Ranbir’s outstanding performance, cinematography and the picturization of the songs. It wont be wrong to call him the best star-actor of this generation.. he performed the challenging role with effortless ease n majesty
despite the film being flawed on certain parameters, it carries soul.. and that’s why i suspect this will be one of imtiaz ali and ranbir’s good films years down the line..
by all means, watch it on the big screen Satyam. i say this considering how big a Rahman admirer you are.. It DESERVES to be seen on the big screen.. Imtiaz Ali was sensible enough to exploit Rahman’s magic to the fullest by backing it up with good placement of songs and awesome picturization.
This was essentially a Soulful Musical Drama. Screenplay suffers in portions but it deserves to be seen! Imtiaz Ali has come up with something unique and beautiful.
yes absolutely.. I am watching this on the big screen over the next couple of days or so.. I was inclined to do so anyway for the soundtrack but I am also encouraged by some of the stuff I’m hearing about this. would have seen it tonight as a matter of fact but my local theater doesn’t screen Hindi films anymore. But hopefully between tomorrow and Sun I’ll get it done.
btw let me say this – Nargis’ performance got on my nerves.. she ruined almost all the scenes she was a part of.. with a better actress, the chemistry between the lead pair would’ve worked wonders..
B.O. update: ‘Rockstar’ starts well at plexes, lesser at single screens
– By Taran Adarsh, November 11, 2011 – 17:11 IST
As expected, ROCKSTAR embarked on a solid start at multiplexes of almost all major centres. At places, the opening was nearly 100%, while the opening numbers at several stations were in 70% to 80% range. In fact, the strong opening didn’t come as a surprise since the film boasts of the Imtiaz Ali – Ranbir Kapoor – A.R. Rahman combo. However, the response at single screens was not strong, with several screens opening to 40% to 50% range.
ROCKSTAR is expected to gross impressive figures on Day 1 thanks to the contribution from plexes. However, the weekend numbers will mirror where the film stands, since the word of mouth is extremely mixed.
Well I missed how much the market has grown but overall I was getting to Ready, ZNMD, Bodyguard being hits and Ra.One unsure/question mark. I guess on that score it was pretty good!
Agreed, Tony Montana. I loved it too. After a long time, I have seen such a grand, passionate Hindi musical. Even Nargis Fakhri grew on me by the end despite a very inconsistent performance. Also, the film has great production values, and uses a brilliant Rahman soundtrack in the best possible fashion.
Imtiaz Ali might be making the same film over and over again, but he gets it right almost every time.
agree.. going by some reviews, I think the critics didnt really understand the essence of the movie and thereby blaming the ‘inconsistencies’ in the screenplay. This was essentially meant to be a movie where the music reflects the soul, the desires, ambitions, and innermost feelings of its protagonist. Its a story told through tracks, and the lyrics were deeply meaningful. Be it Sadda Haq, Kun Faya Kun, Hawa Hawa, Jo bhi mai, Tum ko, Phir se Udd Chala, Aur ho they’re all meant to be the most essential ingredients of the screenplay. If people think that the movie faltered in spite of great music, I humbly disagree. Coz here the music pof the film just cannot be termed as something that’s separate to the screenplay. It very much belongs to it, it’s a character , and its on the lines of the tracks that the movie works big time.
So what else is left? The performances – Ranbir carries an aura around him and it’s hard to imagine anyone else from the current generation of Bollywood actors who could’ve played the role so well. The direction – spot on.
Only blemish I could see, on technical terms, was Nargis’ acting. Like I said before, she tried her best to ruin every scene she was a part of, especially in the initial portions of the film. She was somewhat bearable in the second half but then, had inflicted enough damage by then.
Anyways, that’s why I say, the reviewers who consider Rockstar’s music as a separate aspect on the basis of which the film cannot be judged on the whole, they’re terribly mistaken.
While I do respect some people’s negative views, is it necessary for a filmmaker to spoon-feed its audience everytime? While the ending came across as confusing to some, I thought Imtiaz left it for the audience to analyze what happens at the end..
probably they could’ve found the ending better if Ranbir sang for Nargis, she became all right and they meet at the end..?!!!
The story wasnt weak.. If you consider music to be an essential part of the film (which it definitely is – and a major, major aspect of the film), you’ll realize how every song shapes up the characters, and reflect the turning point in the protagonist lives..
the Jo Bhi mai song, if you listen to it properly for an instance, reveals Jordan’s character..
This is essentially a Hindi musical, and isnt what it is without Rahman’s songs.. – tell you what, that’s what I feel was the purpose behind the film. It was meant to be a musical..
As far as Jordan’s reactions were concerned – what made him lash out at the media – there are is a lot of stuff about human nature that just cannot be explained.. can people explain the logic behind every action that they take? but still, like i said, if you want to be spoon-fed oin every detail, Imtiaz did leave subtle hints into the screenplay..
anyways not people’s fault.. we’ve grown up on 3 idiots like sensibilities in cinema and it’s hard for us to immediately lap up something that comes across as a different approach to narration of a story..
Rockstar had an excellent first day of around 10 crore nett as per early estimates despite the mixed reports. The multiplex business was excellent across India with high end multiplexes being phenomenal. Despite the mixed reports evening and night shows at multiplexes were 80-100% at multiplexes in big cities. Mysore circuit was extraordinary. The Delhi NCR area was also excellent but UP was just average.
The opening is mainly due to the star power of Ranbir Kapoor who is a craze amongst the urban youth and the youthfull theme of the film and now normal weekend growth can take the weekend business to around 32-33 crore nett which would be an excellent total for a film being carried by just multiplexes.
It will be interesting to seen how the film goes over the weekend but looks certain to go over 30 crore nett which was the weekend number suggested by the buzz of the film.
Rockstar had a 10cr first day according to latest reports. It’s a good opening. Proves that Ranbir can definitely ensure a good opening. If the film remains stable during the week end, it will most probably be safe.
Rockstar collected an excellent 10.50 crore nett approx on its first day thanks to huge business at multiplexes. The territorial breakdown of the first day is as follows.
Thanx tony Montana —that seems an apt take on rockstar.
Think u have got the premise of this exercise right –most people get carried away by numerous distractions like the title ,”story”
This is primarily the journey of a musicians phases expressed via his music
Havent seen it yet but that’s my impression from the promos
Will be seeing it primarily as an ar rehman “concert anthemic” experience topped up with some “visual accompaniment ”
So yes: the lead actor here is ar rehmans music
Everything else is a supporting act.
Ps—about nargis f–will have to watch the movie myself
But again: she was not meant to pitch in a rani-black or mother India-nargis epic performance
Have been told by a common friend that she flew from Copenhagen for timid auction neve having acted before and not knowing any Hindi before….. She was signed up because of a “connect ” with the character as per imtiaz Ali.
A certain “rawness”‘& ” immaturity ” was needed for this role.
Anyhow my final verdict on her after seeing the movie myself
Ps– the company whilst watching the movie around may be more distracting than the onscreen antics of rockstar
“most people get carried away by numerous distractions like the title ,story
This is primarily the journey of a musicians phases expressed via his music
Havent seen it yet but that’s my impression from the promos
Will be seeing it primarily as an ar rehman “concert anthemic” experience topped up with some “visual accompaniment ”
So yes: the lead actor here is ar rehmans music
Everything else is a supporting act.”
— spot on alex, that’s what I wanted to convey.. The film’s essentially all about music, while the rest of it merely acts as a backdrop. I appreciate Imtiaz’s vision and would like to say he, in my books, succedded what he wanted to convey.
It might be one of the rare occasions when it comes to Hindi cinema that music owns a film.. This is probably Imtiaz ‘s tribute to the power of music in shaping up people’s lives. Though Rahman comes up with unbelievable music, its ultimately not about Rahman. Its about passion, self-destruction, desires, and above all a story told through tracks.. and a journey of life unravelled through tracks.
Yes: tony Montana
Also had a brief chat with some “friends” closely involved in the making of this film
Apart from music & it’s power & the “musical romance”–the bigger deeper theme here is —-can one achieve “greatness” from “ordinary”lives?
Or seen contrarily—
Ie does “rejection”/ “extraordinary hardship” AID a person to rise above the mundane to scale heights
Hope the director has been able to push through THIS theme among the din–will have to see….
the most interesting comparison here is ZNMD which had 7.5 crores on day 1 according to the same source.
In other words if Rockstar sustained it could certainly have a shot at a 100 crore gross. Clearly the film has that kind of ‘base’ to put up those numbers.
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar Nets Rs. 11 Cr On Friday
November 12th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Rockstar Movie PosterThe initial of Rockstar was excellent on the opening day (Friday, 11 November).The film has netted Rs. 11 crore, early figures indicate.
The film had taken a good to very good opening on Friday, with multiplexes in cities seeing the maximum footfalls while single-screen cinemas in smaller cities and towns seeing the least. Collections picked up in the evening and night shows.
Seeing it today. Hopefully.
After the endorsements from Henry and Tonymontana, I am anticipating this one quite a bit. 11 crore first day is awesome. Someone predicted before Saawariyan that yeh lambi race ks ghoda hai. Am not sure who!
As pointed out ealier–the “fatwa” -anyone not checking this out in the theatre will be “persecuted” against here and those claiming to not like it (ESP in comparison to kjo/Srk/ra1 standards) will be duly noted
And undue criticism of the the apparent (lack of )acting capabilities of nargis f will not be taken lightly .
She hasn’t been cast in the movie to act–c’mon guys—haha
Contribute to the monetary returns and hit the theatres
Hahaha
Words from a wise man that I trust:
Ranbir Kapoor gives a performance for the history books. Not since Abhishek in Guru has a star-actor so owned and lived a part.
His full review is awaited and should follow soon.hopefully.
Normally I would be skeptical of accepting it in the case of any other regular actor.. But I wont have any problems in accepting that statement in Ranbir’s case..
Mayank Shekhar:
As Bollywood hero though, Ranbir, for a change, deserves all the national attention. We haven’t quite come across a full-on Hindi film-star since Aamir Khan (26 years ago), Hrithik Roshan (11 years ago), who’s this competent, dedicated and original an actor
DNA:
The film here clearly belongs to Ranbir and he proves that he is the Rockstar when it comes to romancing the camera. The passion, anger and intensity that he stirs up and his natural progression from a simpleton to a heartbroken singer make the film worth your money.
Masand:
But ‘Rockstar’ belongs to Ranbir Kapoor over everyone else. It’s a riveting performance – from Janardan’s rough edges to Jordan’s wildly unpredictable ways – and Ranbir roots it in the real. Watch how he seizes the stage in the Sadda haq number and virtually makes the track his own. For Ranbir alone, this film deserves a watch.
TOI:
If Rockstar keeps you engaged even after you have given up on the story by the end, it is only because of Ranbir Kapoor. From his innocence in the opening reels to his arrogance in the climax, Ranbir breathes life into Jordan and keeps you riveted. Whether he adlibs his songs, gives a dance-tribute to Shammi Kapoor or dictates the concert crowd, Ranbir gives cent percent to his character.
Rediff:
‘Yeh bada jaanwar hai. Yeh chhote pinjre mein nahi samayega.’
Indeed, Ranbir Kapoor [ Images ] is not an everyday occurrence. He’s proved himself to be more than a portfolio and a surname with his absolutely marvelous ability to connect with the audience in a brand new skin each and every time. And that he’s accomplished this in merely four years and 9 films is no mean feat. Therefore, even though, the above-mentioned prediction, coming in the astute words of Shammi Kapoor [ Images ], is meant for the unruly, untamed genius of Janardhan Jakhar aka Jordan, it holds true for his grand nephew as well. Our lad is meant for epic things.
at the end of the day, this is Ranbir’s tour de force and there’s nothing derivative about his performance, which aspires to be a reference point in its own. Whether he’s the guideless lout from St Stephen’s, a subject of indignation at the hands of his family, a lovelorn Romeo barred from consummating his relationship or a badass, unwilling rockstar. Ranbir’s heads-on approach to Jordan is rich in texture, nuances and caliber placing him far ahead of his immediate colleagues and in direct contention with the Khans, in bent if not box-office.
Make your own answers. Because, at the end of the day, this is Ranbir’s tour de force and there’s nothing derivative about his performance, which aspires to be a reference point in its own. Whether he’s the guideless lout from St Stephen’s, a subject of indignation at the hands of his family, a lovelorn Romeo barred from consummating his relationship or a badass, unwilling rockstar. Ranbir’s heads-on approach to Jordan is rich in texture, nuances and caliber placing him far ahead of his immediate colleagues and in direct contention with the Khans, in bent if not box-office.
Ranbir has proved once again that he is an awesome actor. Ranbir has been able to pull off the role with aplomb. He will be remembered always for his extraordinary performance in Rockstar
There are tons more along the same line.
I posted this for the benifit of some idoit who was claiming RANBIR has wasted an oppurtunity and didnt get universal acclaim.
someone above said nargis was better than ranbir !
btw i dont really buy that expressions are the most important thing when it comes to acting, as this person believed. The body language has to be in tune with the expressions, as I feel. Otherwise SRK would’ve been the greatest actor in the world, with a stock of five expressions used alongside a quivering body, without needing to understand the context of a scene
I guess ur referring to me tony but I never said Nargis was better than RK I just said Nargis was a good confident debut whereas Ranbir I found strictly ok in the movie which ofcourse does not make RK worse than Nargis at all there is no comparison actually. On the expressions front I still think he felt short. BTW, Guru is a brilliant example of expressions combined with body language and Abhishek cracked Guru brilliantlly and its just that in the dictionary of the media there is no kind word to say for Abhi even for a performance which was excellent in all aspects. Again I like Ranbir its just that after Rocket singh I have high expectations from him.
yeah can’t agree with the Guru comparison or for that matter some other Abhishek performances (most recently in DMD). I am also inclined to agree that Rocket singh probably remains Ranbir’s best (like him in many respects in Saawariya too). On the other hand he has to be more of a star-actor to carry Rockstar and I think he does that here.
zmiShabana Azmi shabana
Rockstar is terrific. Hats off to Imtiaz Ali AR Rahman Irshad Kamil Anil Mehta. Towering above all is Ranbirs soul stirring performance.
Ranbir has definitely had his breakout ‘star-actor’ moment here. This has been the most praised performance in recent memory. And yes one can set apart this kind of acclaim from the run of the mill sort that every star in every other hit film gets. Abzee mentioned the Guru context. I certainly think I have not seen a more superlatively praised performance in the media since. And I said the same about Guru at the time. For all the hype over every other film and performance you can still separate those performances that have genuinely impressed people from those that are praised as part of the course.
yeah I’m hearing many complaints about the second half. Might be hard for the film to hold up in a serious sense. The second half being liked less is always tricky anyway. And this is a rather long film too. But Ranbir might have a Yuva kind of box office deal here as opposed to a Guru one. Either way he has his breakthrough moment.
I’d say it was the opposite. Abhishek got stupendous reviews while the film wasn’t reviewed as well as the performance. In fact no Rathnam film has ever received a great review from the Bombay media. Guru was called good but not extraordinary.
Media has claimed that Abhishek acted well because of Mani’s movie. If I remember he didn’t get the well deserved credit.
SRK suddenly woke up the same year with good performance for chak De India to grab all awards.
some of those negative stories developed in some quarters later but when Guru released there was no doubt about the kind of praise he received.. SRK winning wasn’t surprising either. They always find excuses to give it to him.
But if you’re looking for the media to ever be this positive on Abhishek as a matter of course (do think you have the wrong sense on the Guru reception) that’s just no going to happen. It didn’t happen when his father was at his peak. The media attacked him for encouraging violence for box office hits, not being a true actor like Dilip Kumar (some even compared him unfavorably to Rajesh Khanna), the magazines often had unflattering images of his on the cover, the trade would find excuses to give ‘lesser’ verdicts for his films, on and on. There was a Star&Style cover in 1978 which said that the year would be a contest between Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna which was the greatest joke imaginable!
Will say this though — even in the 24/7 news cycle you cannot buy authenticity and a reputation one way or the other. All the hype in the world, all the favorable media narratives and what not still couldn’t really convince most people that SRK was a ‘fine’ actor. Yes certain other narratives can be made part of the blood stream. As I was saying the other day Ranbir was supposedly a thespian even before a single film had released and that narrative has been maintained even though so far (not talking about Rockstar) there was hardly anything extraordinary in the performances or his physicality and so on. Or you have Hrithik celebrated for learning Urdu one day, Spanish the next, the most dedicated in every sense whereas Abhishek’s the guy taking it easy and what not. These narratives do have a certain impact when relentlessly pursued. But still this is never the difference between box office failure and success, never the defining factor in the audience’s basic sense of a star. So as a general rule no one really considers Hrithik a serious actor, irrespective of all the puff pieces. people similarly don’t doubt Abhishek’s talents, they have serious problems with what he’s been upto. Despite everything he got good to very good reviews for DMD, again better than the film overall.
The problem is that if we only look at some of the blogosphere chatter or the media narratives we develop a one-sided view of things. Anecdotal opinion otherwise can often be extremely different. People read a lot of this stuff and don’t buy it. So on and so forth. But again as a general matter ABhishek will never get the kind of pass on either his performance or his box office that other stars routinely get. and once more his father never did either. He too was often denied awards that he should have been winning every single year. But in general the narrative was framed in uncharitable and often malicious ways. With his box office it didn’t matter. But it doesn’t matter even to a lesser star. There’s a reason Abhishek got the prestige projects that even his peers with a more proven box office track record couldn’t. When many of those films didn’t work he ran into problems, which would happen with anyone. Because the distributors are looking at their returns and not at who’s getting the best puff pieces. The distributors know that Abhishek’s films wouldn’t work with anyone else either but they also wonder at his judgment beyond a point. This is an important distinction. And incidentally one that explains why Abhishek even today despite being at an all time low, at least before DMD has nonetheless been able to land some of these big films. So take Players for example. Abbas-Mustaan biggest commercial project. Rohit Shetty has Devgan and Abhishek in a film that’s even called ‘Bol Bachchan’ and so on. Whether the media starts making Abhishek incidental to the latter or whatever doesn’t change the obvious.
So again it’s two different debates here. One is about the reality of how well Abhishek does or does not. The other is about how the media represents that reality relative to that of his peers. I would suggest one shouldn’t really be too bothered about the latter because things aren’t really going to change in this sense. Unless of course he produces a 3I! Even here his father who did far more than this couldn’t dispel the negativity. Which is why I keep insisting on the ideological angle of things. Cinema is an exemplary site for ideological battles to come through.
of course remember that people here also think Imtiaz Ali has made a poor film in the second half. No one had a problem with Rathnam on Guru though they ripped him on Dil se and Raavan and were not too positive on Yuva either.
Ultimately even in this compromised Bombay film media where every word is abused beyond belief to produce the latest banality on every new release and performance genuine buzz still cannot be manufactured this way (though this word itself is quite abused — ‘buzz’!). The kind of buzz RDB had was quite different, the way Abhishek was praised for Guru (or Yuva in a similar sense) was quite different. And of course Bachchan on Black and Paa. Now we have Ranbir receive this kind of attention for Rockstar. One doesn’t have to agree with the praise in each of these cases but one should notice the ‘difference’. And note here how for all the prestige Aamir enjoys he’s never had a performance receive this kind of extraordinary praise, let alone any of his peers.
Lambi race ka ghoda …yes ek tha lambi race ka ghoda…‘Abisek’. instead of a guitar here, he is been holding your so called ‘phallic symbol’ for 12 years. Aukaat 5 cr Game bajana ne ki.
As I said much earlier you are essentially a knickers and panty man continue to live your Abhi wet dreams via Ranbir now. 4 years on the sidelines and many more to come.
But you better watch your language next time… there are lots of forums and blogs to go and abuse and would not hesitate to give you a BoseDK treatment but respect and admiration for Satyam and his blogs prevents.
MS Dhoni, even taking Rajen’s initial comment into consideration this is a bit over the line. Anyway Rajen can take care of himself so I’m letting this comment stand. Thanks for what you’ve said at the end. Hopefully this won’t degenerate any further from here.
SrBachchan Amitabh Bachchan
T 557 – Its late but not without cause .. just back from ‘RockStar’ and living in the brilliance of all – Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir, AR and Nargis
Good going folks…
Carry on the frenzy ( @ the ticket counter)
Guess the last couple of weeks have indeed signalled the official “dethronement” of a “king” and the possible “crowning” of a new one–as per my initial hunch
This movie interested me ever since I heard portions of “Saada Haq” primarily due to AR Rahmans superlative score
Still have not changed my mind on Nargis F (though some people have picked up her lack of acting skills etc–will see tomorrow)
Though ranbir has been reasonably good, Was not really convinced if Ranbir can really step his game enuf to “take over” @ the top….
Just a one-second visual of the bearded sorrowful Ranbir gulping down alcohol in the car gave me hope that perhaps he can..
Mostly it is moments that are more significant….
Seems it is being vindicated (though still have issues about ranbirs phyciality and presence)
Finally, have a lot of faith in “genes”
Inspite of what any tom dick or harry says
Someone with the genetic pool of acting that Ranbir has in his family, it does matter ….
Hope the other “star son” who has till now worked hard to negate the combined effects of genes, privilege and favourable circumstances to court repeated failure, finally respects his unique position, legacy (and genes)….
Except that most of the people in that gene pool weren’t really considered fine actors! The problem with the other star son is that if he just had more box office success most people wouldn’t have 99% of the objections! I don’t correlate performance with great box office success. For example Abhishek in DMD is as good as he is anywhere barring in something like Guru (which is not necessarily ‘better’ but certainly larger than life). I can certainly understand a fan’s frustration in this regard but I just refuse to incorporate the media narrative in these matters. Specially when a film can be unanimously celebrated for looking like Players (Faridoon’s words) and be hysterically ripped for being Raavan. And my point as always here is that even as the box office is a necessity for any star let’s have a level playing field. If the media is practicing its agendas let’s not fall for this. Let’s try to develop a critical culture at least in a limited sense. One is free to not like Abhishek in many of these films but the framing doesn’t have to be the media one. I think one has to be quite vigilant in this regard because even without intending to one can be sucked in. Which is what I was trying to get at in the Ra One piece. About how the terms of the debate had been shaped here. The reason I cut Abhishek some slack is that it’s so easy to go in for the low hanging fruit of the box office that it’s remarkable to see someone resist this as long as he did. It’s quite silly to attack him for this when it takes half a brain to do far more obvious things and keep everyone happy. Anjaana Anjaani is what Abhishek never did once he had his initial flush with success. Even Drona was an experiment gone disaster but it wasn’t banal as an idea like BeH or AA or many others. I have a certain admiration for this. Precisely because it is so hard to find major commercial stars take these sorts of risks. Not just calculated ones. Whether one thinks he went too far or not is a different debate. But if one simply rips him as a fan one has bought wholesale into the media narrative that it’s only about success. It’s not that easy to split the difference as we see with Rockstar. Let’s see how much this does eventually. abhishek’s problem was that he persisted with films like Rockstar and Rocket Singh and did not really do stuff like AA or APKGK or whatever, films that bring you a certain initial even in the worst case scenario. And sure there was some bad luck too. He wasn’t a genius when he selected BnB and Guru and BM and not a fool when he selected D6 and Raavan! DMD was fine once again but clearly his box office damage affected the initial.
All of this doesn’t mean he hasn’t been losing momentum after Guru. Certainly Raaavan completed a circle for him in this sense but his failures have also been greatly exaggerated in many quarters. He had decent success with Dostana, got good reviews too. In Paa again he got this despite his father having the important role. DMD was fine recently. Sure it’s been inconsistent. he’s hurt his narrative, he needs a big one now, he needs a more balanced mix once he gets success, all of this is true. But there’s been nothing wrong with his performances most of the time. And even his failure has been far less in absolute terms than what Salman had been displaying for years. or Devgan for that matter. Sure Abhishek’s expectations were higher for obvious reasons once he became successful but the media-trade have also done their best to create a narrative which then gets consumed on the blogosphere. And my own effort here has been to resist this (as I do anwyhere else for that matter).
If Abhishek had done Rockstar he would have been praised for the performance but this very same trade apparatus would have called the film dead on arrival. They would have said it opened well in select multiplexes, that single screens did nothing and what not. Expecting a drop based on WOM they would have justified all of this. we’ve all seen this before. Just recently ZNMD supposedly had a super initial. Suddenly Ranbir has done significantly better just a few months later! Is Ranbir bigger than Hrithik all of a sudden?! It’s not just Abhishek’s issues. Just consider the kind of commentary others receive when they fail.
kjohar25 Karan Johar
Been shooting crazy hours..hectic but super fun…watched ROCKSTAR…and am a certified Ranbir Kapoor fan!! His performance is unbelievable
he could have come out for DMD rather easily! And here he’s at the Paa premiere cornered by the media. This is very different from taking the lead on twitter and so on.
Yes:getting “considered fine actors” is one thing
and btw im personally not a big fan /taker of the “Kapoor legacy”….
But many people who follow bollywood (esp the older crowd as im told) are into it in a biggish way
One also cannot ignore that the same family tree gave Prithvi, Raj, Shammi. Shashi, Rishi , Karisma, and Kareena (even if takes out Randhir and other peripheral Kapoors)
Whatever issues one may have with either of them—for eg I hate Kareena and kArisma predominantly for their looks, but one cannot say that either of them cannot act…
Also, they all have a certain “comfort factor/ spontaneity” in front of the camera that some “groomed/ honed/ rehearsed biggies” dont….
btw even abhishreks worst critics cannot/ should not say that he cannot act–which makes his serial “failure” even more “creditable”.
Every “game” has some unwritten rules to succeed-& box office is an important element whether one likes it or not- Given the time. backing and background he has had, he should have picked up some script sense and contact with ground reality earlier
“Is Ranbir bigger than Hrithik all of a sudden?!”–the answer is “no”.
But these two are definitely the future as of now….
But I’m not arguing about the box office at all.. by the way how can Hrithik and Ranbir equally be the future when one has just arrived and the other has been around for almost 12 years made more notable for the fact that he was an instant huge success?! Unless of course he reinvents himself completely as Aamir did after Lagaan. Don’t think you can get it done just with hits. That works if you’ve not had enough success a la Abhishek. When your standing is hardly in doubt in box office terms you have to either get superlative reviews as an actor or have that equation changing project.
As to what seems to be the case ‘now’ I guess I’ve always had very little use for this word!
in the post-khan crowd, hritik was the only real credible consistent star/actor —-now seems ranbir has joined him
He is junior to hritik but the “time gap” is obviously not the same as between bachchan sr and the khan troika for eg…
Who goes where also depends on their choices from now on.
But dont see anyone else in this age group.
Having said that –not to say that the likes of khans, akshay, devgun will suddenly bow away…
ps—have noted suddenly how the srk fans have suddenly become invisible infact gone into “hiding”–typical selectivity lol
Who are the SRK fans here besides Old Gold? Maybe NyKavi? Well, NyKavi continues to be active and Old Gold is active on the Don 2 threads (which is where you expect the SRK fans to be). Why would they care about Ranbir’s film? I’m genuinely puzzled by this comment.
As the phrase goes..Jal main rehakar magar se bair (It is foolist to fight crocodile in water). Satyam Bhayya tumne kisi SRK fan ko is layak rakha hi kahan hai ki wo is blog main aa kar SRK ki baat kar sake.
Sunday 13th November 2011 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar showed good growth on Saturday considering that collections were very good to on day one. The film collected around 11.25 crore nett on Saturday as per early estimates. The growth came mainly from high end multiplexes where collections jumped 15-30% and reached occupancies of 90%. Most multiplexes in the PVR, Inox and DT chains showed jumps in this range.
Other multiplexes were similar to Friday or with small gains depending on the location while mass centres were similar or down a bit. Looking at trends on Saturday, the film does have acceptance with a certain section of the audience in the metros and it remains to be seen where this audience can take the film.
The two day collections are around 21.50-21.75 crore nett and the weekend is looking at a 33-35 crore nett total and if the weekend comes out towards the high end of the range it is likely to indicate a hit film.
feel sorry for him.. if all it took was such interviews to rewrite the fate of a film a star would never have any problems.. but also a star should never seem this desperate..
Lol..did you even watch the full interview or just the beginning portion.
““Don’t forget this, RA1 is biggest hit in Hindi cinema”
This is not SRK’s statement. This is what his daughter wished him on his birthday (“Don’t WORRY Ra one is biggest hit in Indian cinema”).
Do you think he is such a fool that he does not know trade figures of 3I or BG? In some other blog i found some of the guys even with out watching the full interview thought it’s SRK’s statement.
I like the attitude.
It’s a good thing to be satisfied with what one’s film made. To crib and complain that it didn’t make as much as he expected would be a bad way of looking at things and a very defeatist kind of outlook.
But I do feel sorry for people who can really rejoice someone’s failure (according to them) endlessly.
Hmmmm. I wonder why.
PS: I couldn’t watch the clip because it isn’t playing on my computer. My comments are based on what people are quoting here.
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar Saturday trends: 10% to 15% decline in certain circuits. Delhi-U.P. and Punjab strong. Mumbai figures awaited.
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar multiplexes extra-ordinary on Sat. Will contribute enormously to Sat figure & compensate for slight decline in mass centres.
I will be happy if this becomes a hit, at least for Ranbir’s and Imtiaz’s sake.
Its not a perfect film (somehow cannot forgive Imtiaz for casting Nargis) but one that lingers in your memory. Blame it on the music, or Ranbir, or dialogues, there’s something about the film that makes me want to check it in theatres again.
and like Qalandar mentioned in his review, this one is still miles ahead of the crap his peers dish out regularly in contemporary Bollywood, in the name of multiplex/youth oriented films.
Btw I dont know how I missed out one aspect of Imtiaz I simply love – His dialogues are worth dying for. Be it Socha Na tha or JWM, his films have always boasted of excellent conversations, laced with humour and drama. and Rockstar is no different.
As I say, even though the film has some loopholes (Nargis and the editing for instance), the positives (music, cinematography, picturization of songs, dialogues, a soulful narrative and above all Ranbir) to fall in love with it
There does seem to be some kind of good will prevailing between the Bachans and Ranbir. Bachan praising Ranbir and Rockstar makes it quite obvious. I also remember Ranbir recently saying that as an actor he relates himself more to Abhishek than Hrithik.
I am glad to see Ranbir doing well. He is spontaneous and natural as an actor. He certainly is much better than Imran for e.g. who I find extremely wooden and stiff at times.
and in addition to the examples you point out there was a clear affection discernible on Bachchan’s side when Ranbir showed up on KBC much as the respect Ranbir displayed showed true class.
Hey! Who said SRK *fan* (the only one here) has gone into hiding?
I *mostly* never comment from Friday evenings on till Sunday evenings.
I have a life you know.
And before Friday evening I commented expressing my hopes of Rockstar becoming a success – for two reasons;
-fed up of the Khans dominating and waiting for a change
-I liked Ranbir in Rocket Singh
Can’t like Nargis. Her mouth reminds me of a cross between a crocodiles mouth and that of an alligator. And I really really don’t want another Katrina Kaif.
So I hope all the accolades will fall in Ranbir’s lap and that he’ll benefit from the film and Nargis will soon be forgotten.
Imtiaz should have given her another name. The name Nargis has been taken.
“Imtiaz should have given her another name. The name Nargis has been taken.”–who has taken that name–you old gold? Lol
As for “alligators and crocodiles”—–mind it, old gold lol
I’m about to pull out my “gun”!!!
Suggest u visit some zoo (with your grandchildren!!lol) to know what they look like
Finally caught rockstar today
Watched it in a multiplex conventionally Not showing Bollywood but was still nearly houseful
Incidentally ra1 was due for one more week but has been (unceremoniously!) taken off after just one week!!
Am a bit “preoccupied” and spent but a few words–
Rockstar—–“curtain raiser”
Anyhow: Let’s get the premise right
This needs to be seen (& judged) as a “musical love story” in the Bollywood tradition WITH box office responsibility
Lets come down from our “high horses” and first stop comparing this with stuff like pather panchali, schindlers list or even tree of life!!!
Though comparisons with the kjo/yrf world may not be out of order….
Feel given all the compulsions of this fare, it is a v good film
Infact perhaps difficult to find faults on most things unless one is being a nit picker or trying to show off ones own knowledge or taste of cinema by picking up some obvious /elementary errors
This is basically a premise and excuse to enjoy/ celebrate/ revel in rahmans brilliance
Imtiaz Ali handles most songs well and weaves them into the narrative well
Infact the director deserves credit on most fronts –cannot think of an obvious problem–will dissect later in detail
C’mon let’s shed ones snobbishness and biases and see/ judge something for what it is and not the way it should be perceived as according to a predecided set of “notions”
So Imtiaz Ali has delivered……
Ranbir has formally arrived, as per my initial hunch. This is his “guru” moment except that unlike in abhishreks case this is not the “oasis in a desert” (box office wise)
Liked the small but significant role of shammi kapoor and the way it was used . His eyes in the v brief cameo showed what legacy/genes are and the subtle “passing over the baton” bit was more than symbolic
Which brings me to the area where my views probably differ from everyone —I was surprised as to how my initial hunch was wrong going by reports.
But I’m relieved to say that my hunch wasn’t wrong
This is a person who hasn’t spoken Hindi before and has never acted before, infact never lived in India
I was SO glad that one of the “usual suspects” or one of the so-called “skillful” actresses that abound Bollywood was not used here
There is a certain rehearsed repetitive predictable cliched actions that comes with it
One cannot replace the “rawness”
An actor who is THAT new is essentially “unspoilt” and even “virginal” (no pun intended) in terms of style
Infact I liked the lack of “technique”
Such a person tries to replace it by actually “feeling those feelings” which unfortunately is not done/needed by the “veterans”
So damn the “lack of skilful actress” bit–found nargis fakhri not worse than any other female debut in recent times in Bollywood
(Obviously it helps that I found her gorgeous and even ethereal in some places )
thanks for your take Alex.. must say I was quite taken in by the new girl myself (!). And yeah her ‘notes’ as an actress are completely scattered more often than not. But she’s not that bad either. Or at least I didn’t really have a great problem with her in this film.
LOL! Yeah qalandar has been too harsh on her. It’s certainly true she’s no actress and worse still she’s often trying to be one which perhaps makes it worse. Nonetheless I think he does leave an impression and I think Imtiaz Ali could have worked a bit wisely around her deficiencies as an actress. But yeah I’d take her over Katrina Kaif any day of the week.
“But yeah I’d take her over Katrina Kaif any day of the week.”—take her for what?? Lol–plz clarify
Also qalander extreme reactions at her probably have a “deeper” pathogenesis
Don’t think his taste is at fault
Perhaps sometimes the subconscious adopts a “pseudohatred” like reaction to preclude any possible “conflicts”
Also won’t even take this “learning acting” bit
Thought she did v well and perhaps better than some “skillful” /rehearsed/regurgitating ones could do
The likes of which who can blurt out lengthy KHNH, KKHH, DTPH dialogues in under 10 sec (while asleep!!!!)
Lol well even this review of qalander is mostly “on the money”
Except on the “tone and compulsive default criticism ” lol
Anyhow the “perennial girly giggles” suggested that ranbirs fan count has risen markedly
And the “she is hot” comment from the male creatures was expected
Also happy to see that imitiaz didn’t massacre any Rahman song ( though hawa hawa) had more potential
Also songs were picturised partly which was a slight disappoitment only but maintained good “flow”
Saw the film (sm won’t approve 😀 ).
Not good at writing reviews so just some points.
-Liked it, especially the first half. It was devoid of all the ‘wannabe’ elements of most films.
-Ranbir Kapoor and the music were the best parts.
-liked the music better in the film, and I’m hoping the enjoyment of listening to it will now increase.
-Inspite of his superb acting I felt a great dislike for Jordan towards the second half.
-I wouldn’t call it a love story. Jordan didn’t seem to have any feelings. It was just blind obsession. His insistance on wanting to quickly kiss before they throw him out while she’s lying sick was the limit. So I’m not sure if we were supposed to feel for this character at all.
-I still find Nargis’ mouth weird, but she wasn’t that bad. I was impressed that she was not shown like deepti or Bipasha etc in their shorty western clothes.
-special mention of a scene ;
When his well wisher (Katara?) asks him;
kabhi pyaar kiya hai? Ranbir looks up in thinking pose – it was fleeting, but the idea of him thinking about it with that expression, had me guffawing long after.
-special mention also of the diction of various characters. They spoke and pronounced the words well unlike a whole lot of people who role their ‘r’s and speak in such a sing song way.
Hmmm so oldgold good points there
“His insistance on wanting to quickly kiss before they throw him out while she’s lying sick was the limit”–thanx for adding that “female perspective”—actually had similar reactions from some female coviewers
Now thinking of it-there’s a point
But perhaps he wanted to “help out” by increAsing her “blood count” by the “magic touch” lol
Ps– didn’t know sm has to approve every film u watch
And how did u manage to watch it in a cinema –or did u take the satyam/ra1 route lol
Lol–think satyam, has watched this one also the ra1 way….
Guess the real impact of the music here is only on the big screen
Hope u didnt catch another flight for this one
But u should have watched it on the big screen (with your grand children lol)
Weekend Report: Olympian Debut for ‘Immortals’
by Ray Subers
Immortals
November 13, 2011
Immortals may not have been the next 300, but it was at least strong enough to claim the top spot at the box office this weekend. Jack and Jill opened lower than most major Adam Sandler movies, and only $500,000 currently separates it from strong holdover Puss in Boots. The weekend’s third new movie, J. Edgar, failed to exceed modest expectations. With three movies over $25 million, overall box office was up at least 12 percent from the same period last year.
Immortals debuted to an estimated $32 million, which is less than half of 300’s $70.9 million and also way off from Clash of the Titans’s $61.2 million. While those are both very similar movies, it’s a slightly unfair comparison given the marketing dominance exercised by their distributor Warner Bros. In its own right, Immortals was actually very impressive. It is distributor Relativity Media’s best opening ever by a long shot (Limitless was the previous high with $18.9 million), and it’s also the top opening for a movie not released by a big six studio since Lionsgate’s The Expendables debuted to $34.8 million last August. Finally, it’s the second-highest opening for an R-rated 3D movie ever behind Jackass 3-D’s $50.4 million, with 3D showings accounting for a substantial 66 percent of the weekend gross. The movie’s audience was 60 percent male, 75 percent under the age of 35, and 35 percent Hispanic. Immortals received a “B” CinemaScore, and a “B+” from the under-25 crowd.
Jack and Jill claimed an estimated $26 million, which is lower than February’s Adam Sandler-Dennis Dugan collaboration Just Go With It ($30.5 million). In fact, the only traditional Sandler comedy that has opened lower in the last 10 years is Funny People ($22.6 million). Still, it’s an odd time of year for a Sandler movie (most open in the Summer), and the opening is close enough to his standard range that it in no way indicates that his star is fading. 53 percent of Jack and Jill’s audience was families, while 52 percent were female and 57 percent were 25 years of age and older. On Friday, the movie received a “B” CinemaScore (and an “A-” from those under 18 years old).
After holding the top spot for two weekends in a row, Puss in Boots dipped a light 23 percent to an estimated $25.5 million. On Saturday it passed $100 million, and its total now rests at $108.8 million. It’s about even with last November’s Megamind through the same point, albeit with a much higher third weekend gross, and it should wind up with over $150 million if it isn’t completely stomped on by Happy Feet Two, Arthur Christmas, and The Muppets in the next two weeks.
Tower Heist fell 45 percent to $13.2 million for a total of $43.9 million. Thanks to Tower Heist’s grosses, distributor Universal Pictures passed $1 billion for the year on Saturday. This is the first year Universal has reached this milestone since 2008, and it’s the fifth studio to do so in 2011 after Paramount, Warner Bros., Disney and Sony.
J. Edgar opened in fifth place with an estimated $11.5 million from 1,910 theaters. That’s a bit off from director Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, which debuted to $12 million last October. Still, that movie was playing at slightly more venues (2,181) and had a lower per-theater average. J. Edgar’s audience was 94 percent over the age of 25 and 54 percent female, and the movie received a “B” CinemaScore.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas fell 55 percent to $5.9 million to bring its 10-day total to $23.2 million. That decline was an improvement over predecessor Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay’s 59 percent, but the weekend gross and gross-to-date are both lower.
Rockstar had a very good first weekend as it collected around 33.75 crore nett. The film showed a 8-10% jump on Saturday and a similar jump on Sunday. The growth in not big but still the film managed to grow on each day.
The growth on Sunday came from mass centres as single screens and multiplexes in these areas showed a jump. The high end multiplexes could not go much further as they were at optimum or near optimum levels on Saturday. The best business for Rockstar has come in places like Mumbai city, Pune, Delhi city and Bangalore.
The opening weekend is similar to Ranbir Kapoor’s Raajneeti released last year and that film went on to cross the 90 crore nett mark. Although that scenario can’t be totally ruled out for Rockstar it will be tough as Raajneeti had more universal acceptance.
It will all depend on Monday and a 6.50 crore nett plus Monday will give it a chance for 90 crore nett.
Just going from Fri to Sat there was negligible ‘growth’ (using BOI numbers in each case). Sun too is only a crore (or less) greater than the Sat number. So the film has mostly remained at a plateau over the weekend though it clearly started out strong and without a unanimous verdict the numbers are not exactly surprising.
Clearly some have loved it, a larger cross section has found it ok, and many have disliked it as well. How these percentages stack up remains to be seen. I’d be surprised if this film wasn’t some kind of success but I can also see the opposite scenario. Because this isn’t a movie that offers that many ‘frills’ in the second half. Rajneeti is not a fair comparison. That was a very entertaining film which just about everyone liked.
Assuming the film does 45 crores or so over the first week I’d say (leaving aside cost issues) that less than average trending here would be acceptable. Just based on the kind of film it is. In other words one would normally expect a film with this sort of start to double its initial or fall a bit short. However a number of recent ‘hits’ haven’t done that including Imtiaz Ali’s own LAK and Rambir’s own APKGK. So even 75-80 crores would be acceptable here. Why? Because given the mixed reaction to the film it wouldn’t be able to get even to that lower mark without some cross-section of the audience liking it a lot. anything less than 70 and that’s a different picture altogether though again those two films I’ve just mentioned started around 40 or so, then ended up in the mid-60s, which is to say had relatively quick fades, and everyone was calling them hits without question.
the ZNMD comparison is again the best one here. Rockstar opened at 10.5 crores to ZNMD’s 7.5 (again going by BOI figures each way) but the latter showed better jumps over the weekend. It eventually ended up around 26-27 crores, well behind Rockstar but it also remained very stable. It was liked by just about everyone in its target audience. Even with the 7-8 crore initial lead it’s hard to imagine Rockstar can match the 90 crore total of that film. But the weekdays should of course reveal how much relative strength or weakness it has.
I agree somewhat tho I see it differently.
It has opened beyond what people had imagined. So, the first thing is Ranbir’s star power and pull. Unlike films that opened big and fail to show jump on Sat ( which I believe is even more crucial than Sun unless Fri was just HUGE),it has shown jumps on Sat and Sun.
Do agree tho that ZNMD has better growth and this film is not going to have those kind of legs. It is not going to crash either.
To add to rajen’s point, the film must be analyzed when analyzing the box office performance: thus, whatever Rockstar’s ultimate fate, if it makes real money it will definitely redound to Ranbir’s credit, because everyone agrees that he and ARR represent a lot of what is right about the film (by contrast, it’s far more difficult to make the same case for Rajneeti).
for all these reasons I said in the longer comment above that it didn’t really need to do 90 crores like ZNMD. But this is a better comparison than the foolish one being offered by BOI in Rajneeti.
Now this is what I call a solid guy. Instead of trumpetingthe weekend numbers here is what he has to say:
When asked about the success of his movie, Ranbir had this to say.
“I have faith in myself and I work very hard, but let’s wait and see whether the film holds audience interest beyond the weekend or falls on Monday,” says Ranbir Kapoor. “It is the curiosity that brings people into a film initially, (but) it is the longevity of a film that matters eventually.”
Rockstar is holding up well on Monday. The multiplex collections in big centres are down in the range of 30-50% from Friday.
The fall is bigger in mass centres but the contributions are also less as film has not done well in these areas from day one. Single screens are down from there low levels on Monday and in most single screens it will only survive a week or two.
It is almost certain that the Monday fall is likely to be less than 50% from Friday and collections could even be around 6 crore nett. Rockstar has been accepted by the urban youth and lifetime distributor share could head towards 40 crore.
Rockstar Makes Rs. 35 Crore Over Weekend
November 14th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rockstar has collected Rs. 35 crore over its first weekend at the box-office. The film had taken an excellent opening (Rs. 11 crore in all-India net collections) on its opening day (Friday, November 11).
The film, directed by Imtiaz Ali, collected another Rs. 11.5 crore on Saturday and Rs. 12.5 crore on Sunday, taking the 3-day tally to Rs. 35 crore net.
Editor’s Comment
The weekend collections of Rockstar are very good. This, in spite of very mixed reports that the film had received. Overall, it was a very good weekend.
Rockstar: Will The Dream Run Continue?
by Aatmi Doshi (November 14, 2011)
Rockstar has earned extraordinary weekend collections. And even though today (Monday) is a working day, the film has sustained its box-office collections. Will it be able to further maintain its run at the ticket counter? Box Office India spoke to the programmers of various multiplexes chains across India.
Anshu Kapoor of Fun Cinemas: The response to Rockstar has been outstanding. At Fun Cinemas all over India, there has been a slight drop today as it is a working day. All the screenings have registered 60 per cent of occupancy.
Mukesh Unchade of PVR Cinemas: There has been no drop for any of the shows across all PVR cinemas in the country. Every show of Rockstar at PVR has had a minimum 100 viewers. It is undoubtedly superb.
Satish Kondvikar of Inox: The film is having a smooth run. In the forthcoming week, we have seven to eight shows daily. What else can you expect? It is a flawless movie and the young generation loves it!
A Hameed of Movie Time: The film is outstanding and has received a good response. The total weekend collections at Movie Time outlets were about Rs 45 lakh all over India. Collections of the film have fallen today and occupancy is about 25 per cent.
Jitendra Chauhan of Satyam: Across Satyam outlets, Rockstar has done business of 90-95 per cent in Delhi and in other places, 80-85 per cent. There is a slight drop in business today and the occupancy across Satyam outlets is 55-60 per cent.
Good to see at least one of the nextgen stepping up and burnishing their commercial credentials. If not, we would be stuck with the ageing Khans, Akki and Devgan for the next 5 yrs. Now finally, producers will have the balls to bet on the likes of Ranbir. HR is a special case though, he is nearing 40 and will be fighting Ranbir who is fully 10 yrs younger!
The WOM here is definitely on the positive side.
I got woken up middle of Sun night with a phone call from India from a family member to recommend Rockstar!
Saw Rockstar last night.
Didn’t like it much.
1st half is good but it is a hard task to survive the 2nd half.
Movie sometimes is dragging with no way or proceeding the story.
Ranbir has excelled in the role of both JJ and Jordan. As i earlier said, he has the potential to make it big.
nargis.. oh dear.. what a horrible acting!!!!!! nope she wont make it big in bollywood.
And do not think this is love, it was more of obsession and desire for kiss, sex and physical touch!!! Emotion to connect with their sadness was missing!!!
But one thing is sure, RK has given one of his best performances till date. And i will not mind saying it to be an award winning performance!!!
“And do not think this is love, it was more of obsession and desire for kiss, sex and physical touch!!! Emotion to connect with their sadness was missing!!!”
I found it refreshing that Imtiaz didn’t shy away from showing the physical aspect of romantic love. But I didn’t think the emotions were missing either.
Henry: plus, this whole dichotomy between “love” and “the physical aspect” is in any event juvenile — that’s one aspect I’m not displeased to see the likes of Imtiaz Ali get beyond…
I don’t think it’s juvenile.
The sooner people stop thinking and discussing that ‘sex’ is a symbol of adulthood the sooner they will *really* come of age and maturity, which in my opinion comes from *being responsible*
I sincerely hope this ‘getting beyond’ doesn’t take root as this will be another weapon to glorify male domination in the industry with horny heroes ‘in love’ with heroines who will further sink to item/’going beyond’ levels.
That isn’t what I was referring to at all: I was referring to the dichotomy between “love” and “physical attraction”, which to my mind is illusory. The two are so inextricably intertwined that it’s nice to see love stories explicitly acknowledging what is inescapably true.
[Aside: not the point I was making, but the idea of “horny heroes” and women “sink[ing]” itself implicitly seems to legitimize a view that sex is something men want, whereas women want “love” — perpetuating the very dichotomy I see as problematic. Where I completely agree with you, and have so stated on this blog several times, is on the selling of sex as a ticket to modernity — which I abhor, and is more about an ‘aspirational’ lifestyle than either love or sex.]
I wasn’t expressing my POV regarding love and sex in general or in ones private lives, but how things will turn out in films. The heroines today have sunk and will sink further with this wannabe attitude which even Imtiaz showed to the hilt in LAK and a hint of it here.
Re: “The heroines today have sunk and will sink further with this wannabe attitude…”
Agreed: under the smokescreen of social liberalism, roles for women have been declining and getting ever more strait-jacketed/narrow in scope (the likes of Jaya Bhaduri couldn’t even get a job in the industry today). This is true even in playback singing, where duets are much rarer (unless we are talking of sexualized numbers)…
Re:That isn’t what I was referring to at all: I was referring to the dichotomy between “love” and “physical attraction”, which to my mind is illusory. The two are so inextricably intertwined that it’s nice to see love stories explicitly acknowledging what is inescapably true.
Thats an intriguing claim.
Thats a worthwhile discussion to be had and I am not sure I entirely agree. Depends on how one defines love and again it is a perpective that DOES change with biological age.
Tuesday 15th November 2011 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar had a good Monday as it collected around 5.75-6 crore nett approx as per early estimates. The drop is around 40% from Friday. The four day collections is 39 crore nett and the week should finish around 50 crore nett plus.
Multiplexes in big urban centres held up well but single screens fell badly from already low levels.
The film was helped by holidays in some places for Children’s day. Rockstar should reach around 75 crore nett but it will depend on the second weekend as there are big drops in mass centres and multiplexes outside the metros could also see drops on the weekdays. The film held up well in the Delhi/Punjab belt on Monday.
Excellent review all around. His description of the music parallels my own experience with the soundtrack here:
“But even if Jordan needn’t have been a musician for this movie to work, his story is undoubtedly charted through AR Rahman’s music, which fits the narrative far better than it serves as a standalone listening experience. (Every time I heard the songs, I had that close-but-no-cigar feeling.)”
It should definitely be checked out though I think he’s closer to the mark on Rockstar than on Mausam. Because whether one shares his experience of the former or not there are certain things that Rockstar does very well and these then carry the film, more for some than for others of course. Mausam though is never as ‘good’ as its strengths and hence its weaknesses drag down the film far more. Still this is an appropriate juxtaposition on Rangan’s part for all the reasons he’s pointed out.
Hmmm, the after glow of the film seems to be making Satyam and GF a little less harsher on the film ( not that you were too harsh to begin with). But, it is true. It IS a film that lingers on and stays with you for a while.
Ha! As I said yesterday I will hopefully check it out another time (would have done so relatively soon had it been playing nearby). But there’s no question that the film has stayed on my mind quite a bit. and I only stress on this fact not as something completely surprising but because I concede this film has had that effect on me in spite of the otherwise important deficiencies I recognize in it. Perhaps a reason to reconsider the latter.
On a related note while I always thought this was a very strong soundtrack I admired it more than I loved it. But here too the film has helped quite a bit. The soundtrack just opens up in a somewhat different light. This is so anyway with Rahman (and in any case I had been mostly listening to this for some weeks) but here it provides the texture of the film more than anything else and so one just appreciates it in a completely new way.
The film is far from perfect but, yes, it does manage to leave a residue which is rare in this day. To my mind what lingers is entirely the memory of the music and song sequences more than actual scenes.
I read Satyam’s Q’s and GF’s reviews and wanted to comment after I have seen Rockstar..but man Rangan’s review has forced me to comment- the very best review of any movie so far… brilliant and in detail analysis in easy to read style …easy to understand and grasp the theme and subtle points of the movie.
Aside- I am reading a lot about how this movie is Rehman and Rehaman’s alone.
If that was true Yuvraj, Raavan and D-6 would have been a super hits !!!( I love the music and have great respect for rehman)
but in all honesty -The director chooses the situation and the approves the music and lyrics and weaves them in the storyline.
Don’t have poor Imtiaz Ali shout- Saada Haq, Aithe Rakh !!!!! give him his due……..
But the way the music has been used in Rockstar is hardly like those other examples. The only comparable one in this sense is RDB, at least to my mind. Of course this doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t have any other strengths. But Rahman I think in more significant here than he is when he does a normal soundtrack. In D6 it’s quite the opposite. Here my complaint always was that totally unlike RDB Mehra did not do justice to the music at all. Some of the key songs were cropped or not introduced with the right cues. The all-important exception was Dil Gira (one of the great music videos of Hindi cinema to my mind). So I think it’s not Rahman as much as the fact that the composer’s work is definitive for the film’s texture. This is certainly not the case in every other instance. Having said that it would be silly to say that this is just a music video of a film. Obviously it isn’t!
Agree with everything Satyam has said. But let’s frame this differently: on the merit of Jab We Met, Socha Na Tha and Love Aaj Kal can anyone seriously say that Imtiaz Ali has had a history of using music in the way it has been used here?! I definitely don’t mean to rob him of any credit but there’s nothing to suggest from his past work that he makes all the difference here. It’s in fact exactly the opposite. No one “alone” deserves the credit but there are some contributions to the totality of a creative work that are more important than others. To my mind Rahman’s contribution stands head and shoulder above everyone else’s here, and at my own risk I’ll say that includes Ranbir!
Thanks for the inputs Satyam and GF….
agree on D-6 , as good as that album is ( major factor were the the lyrics as well) was not used well in the movie.
On Imtiaz- JWM had dream soundtrack, LAK had a pretty decent soundtrack and WAS used very efficienly by Imitiaz in both the movies.
Socha Na tha did not need any music……
ofc Rockstar is atleast 10 times better than JWM and LAK …
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar Nets Rs. 6 Cr On Monday; 4-Day Total 41 Crore
November 15th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
After scoring a very good weekend at the box-office (Rs. 35 crore all-India net), Rockstar make a good Rs. 5.5 to Rs. 6 crore on Monday, November 14, 2011, largely owing to the good collections from the Delhi and East Punjab circuits. However, collections of the film saw a fall in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Rockstar had collected Rs. 11 crore on Friday, Rs. 11.5 crore on Saturday and Rs. 12.5 crore on Sunday. This takes the 4-day total of the film Rs. 40.5 to Rs. 41 crore (approx. all-India net).
“on the merit of Jab We Met, Socha Na Tha and Love Aaj Kal can anyone seriously say that Imtiaz Ali has had a history of using music in the way it has been used here?”
I think the music was used really well in all his films but Rockstar is definitely in a league of its own. That’s also perhaps the latter is a musical and gave Imtiaz the opportunity to really show his strengths.
Interestingly, all his films so far end with songs.
Hasn’t done too well in the US, specially relative to the screen count. Should end up with a million. In India too it’s a major metro affair at this point. It’s really doing nothing elsewhere so it really needs to stay stable in these. Basically the top 7-10 metros. Today judging by BOI’s commentary they don’t seem too confident of even 75 crores. If I were betting I’d say it looks like 65-70 at this point. But I could be wrong and it might have a stronger base of people who really loved it in which case 75 crores should be possible. But I think the narrative on this film is more or less baked in. And it is obviously a success on this score. Leaving aside cost issues and the like do think that one can live with a 75 crore gross on this one. This sort of trending wouldn’t be good enough for many other subjects but all things considered it’s acceptable here.
Ra One meanwhile has truly underperformed with it’s 190 screen count. Even Don earlier had a much lower per screen average than other films in that 2-2.5m range. But it’s even lower for this one.
5 marketing lessons from Ra.One
Last updated on: November 15, 2011 13:22 IST
Ra.One was an attack on the senses, unless of course you are an Arjun Rampal fan.
And it’s official now that Ra.One is nowhere near a blockbuster hit that it was expected to be. It is no 3 Idiots. It is not even a Bodyguard.
As trade analyst Taran Adarsh wrote in a recent column “As for Eros/Red Chillies, well, Ra.One would ensure profits for sure, but when you attempt a film of this magnitude, you expect the profits to be in the Rs 30-crore (Rs 300 million) to Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) range. That might not be the case here!”
Amod Mehra, a trade analyst, told Rediff.com sometime back, “If things go well, the producers (Shah Rukh Khan and Eros Entertainment) will at the most be able to break even, but the sub-distributors are 100 per cent going to lose money. There are no two ways about it. They will lose an estimated 30 to 40 per cent of their money.”
Given these details there are few interesting marketing lessons that can be learnt here.
Sorry to break up the anti-SRK celebration, but this is a most idiotic and amateurish pretense at “journalism”, which is not even factually correct. It is typical of the types of articles one sees by “journalists” at Rediff or TOI, where the editor sets the conclusion, and the writer scrambles to fill the space with some loosely connected words (one cannot call them “supporting arguments” or “evidence”) that may have something vaguely connected with the topic at hand.
There are undoubtedly lessons to be learned from the Ra.One experience, by all, but this article doesn’t teach them.
I dont know SM, I felt otherwise. Can’t argue with what you have to say either. They did point out some decent examples that go in hand with this situation (the Cola example was pretty solid I thought)
The Coke example actually belies their argument — it was later discovered that that whole “new Coke” campaign was orchestrated to revive the market for “Classic Coke”, which was badly losing to Pepsi at the time. I know, I lived through that era. 🙂 (Also, the so-called “classic coke” was made sweeter anyway, a few years down the line, changing its original formula. I stopped drinking it.)
Not all of SRK’s successes are of him in the role of a “sophisticated guy next door getting the girl” (begging the question, can a “guy next door” be sophisticated? Isn’t the essence of such a characterization one who is *not* sophisticated?). Examples are OSO, MHN, especially Chalte Chalte, where the main conflict between the couple arose from the fact that he wasn’t sophisticated and she was. Also, he didn’t “get the girl after a lot of hiccups”, he got her before the interval, then lost her in the second half after a series of escalating conflicts. Similarly his character in Veer Zaara was from a village! True, he became a military officer later, but his values were portrayed to be that of the village. Similarly not all of his films with “relentless promotion” (which started with Don) were failures. As for Salman’s films, they could hardly be said to have had any promotion at all till Wanted, never mind “relentless promotion.” And while the writer proclaims that all of Salman’s films are guaranteed to be bad, s/he then brings up HAHK as an example of a quality film with little fanfare, which succeeds because of good content, but forgets to mention that it is a Salmam film. The whole article was extremely sloppy and slapdash.
even rockstar delared success in just one week-end,pity srk super hero,sorry oops super zero ra one not recovered the hafty sum,no dare-devil willbe attempting this debacle…lesson learnt.
SRK definitely has lessons to learn
Also losses to withstand -the exact numbers can be debated by everyone (including the income tax sleuths)
But that’s not his main problem
For someone getting fuelled and motivated by the idea of continuing to be the “best”—-
It is the ability to be able to reconcile and accept that the phase is now over….
And this is not the same as ANY of his contemporaries or juniors.
When this happens to someone like Srk (not talking about his acting a imity of lack thereof. It his significance and place )::
It is difficult to deal
And this is perhaps just the beginning
The biggest casualty will be his confidence and self belief which is the most lethal–more than any adversary or competition
(Let’s see how he deals with it.. He may do well to study Rajesh khannas situation post 80s)
Clearly, The Vigil Idiot quite simply does not understand Hindi cinema and equates everything to Hollywood sensibilities. His tasteless sarcasm only borders around the aspect that ‘A film where some of the plot elements do not make sense automatically means that it’s a terrible film’. This guy is a pseudo-intellectual who deals in offering offensive cartoon strips
Well, yeah obviously he offers offensive cartoon strips! Don’t think that’s a problem. The psuedo-intellectual bit is not a fair accusation. Nor is the idea that he doesn’t understand Hindi cinema, at least, to my mind. I’ll say this: The Vigil Idiot sometimes seems redundant because bad Hindi films are soft targets and the worst of them can be so obviously “deficient” that making fun of them seems too easy a task, but when he nails it some of these pieces are priceless.
>Clearly, The Vigil Idiot quite simply does not understand Hindi cinema and equates everything to Hollywood sensibilities.
LOL!! When a film liked by an individual gets this treatment this is the typical reaction 😉
Though I agree about the Hollywood sensibilities of many people, not just the vigil idiot.
Guess GF just cannot see any or appreciate anything beyond Mallika sherawat, Pamela Anderson, Ayesha Takia, Lindsay Lohan, Courtney Love and Katie Price
Wmdering what they have in common ….lol any guesses
Whatever lol
Dont mind her in either!!
Incidentally just remembered what her pout reminds me of
Brigette Bardot!!!
I maintain that she is one of the most interesting actresses to hit bollywood in recent cinema–inspite of the apparent “naively ” of this statement
Maybe I’m biased —but who says one has to go by verifiable mathematical equations here
Probably from some comments, it appeared that I’m a “die hard” fan….
Some one sent me this link to “help out” —-ROTFLOL
nargis f relaxing in yosemite !!!
Ra.One had a heavy fall in week three as Rockstar released which left Ra.One with little screen space. Ra.One is looking to gross to around 1.75 crore nett in week three which is a near 90% drop from week two.
The film had done all work initially so it has still become a huge grosser and final business will be around the 115 crore nett range.
In Mumbai the distributor share will be 22.50 crore making it the seventh highest of all time. In Delhi/UP it will be around 13 cr making it the sixth highest off all time.
In East Punjab it will do a share of around 4.80 crore which is ninth highest of all time. Best performance is in Mysore where it will do a share of 3.50 crore, the second highest of all time.
Anyway so what if it didn’t match 3I, so what if it didn’t measure upto BG, so what if it also didn’t quite touch Ready, it at least did as much as Ghajini! No small feat here. Let’s not be petty sticklers here and talk about screen counts and inflation and what not.
Will say this in all fairness. A week 3 number of 1.75 crores given the first week number of 100 crores or whatever it was is definitely a genuine record not likely to be surpassed anytime soon..
Damn you Rockstar! Swallowed up all the screens! Disgusting!
Do you have any idea about the expansion in number of screens for Hindi films in, say, the last five years. I think it was here that I read a year or two ago that the per capita screen numbers are much higher in AP & Tamil Nadu. If “Bollywood” claims to be the biggest of the Indian film industries in terms of viewership, why is the number of screens so low? And why doesn’t anyone want to invest in building more single screen theaters in small towns? It seems to me to be an opportunity waiting for exploitation.
(I was in Amritsar about three years ago, and was very surprised to see only one movie theater in all my wanderings around town, and that, too, in a shamefully rundown condition. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to go there to see a movie, even the stereotypical single male viewer. And yet Amritsar isn’t exactly a little village. Really brought home to me the statistics I’d read about number of screens for Hindi films.)
Obviously, if there were more screens available, we wouldn’t have situations like Ra.One taking over 95% of available screens for two weeks, or other films being “scared” to open along side big ones, and all 15 small films opening in the same week, as we have now. It would only be better for the industry as a whole, and also for those film makers who want to make somewhat offbeat films. Why doesn’t anyone talk about the number of available screens when they talk about the state of the industry?
Don’t know the exact numbers on the multiplex expansion. It is true that per capita the highest numbers have been in TN and Andhra. Specially in the former cinema was another way of doing Dravidian politics and so you had besides a larger number of screens also a much greater reliance on traveling theaters. Which is why even today you see big films in Tamil and Telugu often gross disproportionately more relative to the Bollywood competition. Now this wasn’t true of course once upon a time when Bollywood relied equally on its smaller centers. Even with less absolute market penetration it was still a bigger audience pool. However the interesting thing in one sense today is that multiplexes are changing the landscape even in this sense. smaller centers are suddenly becoming players once more. This is really what explains much of the huge masala grosses. 5 years ago you had very multiplexes in B centers and so on. Today it is increasingly the case that such centers have a multiplex which suddenly jacks up the gross. And then when you combine a number of smaller centers that have these multiplexes the gross is no longer insignificant. Now some of this is complicated by the fact that in the small centers too you start creating a more elite audience that can afford multiplex rates. This is unfortunate but somewhat balanced out by the fact that tastes are nonetheless different here. So the audience wouldn’t show up in the same numbers for ZNMD as it would for Singham (note how the latter despite not opening anything like the Salman starrers nonetheless managed to outgross the former by 10 crores or so).
And yes occupancies should be part of the conversation but conveniently aren’t. Anything that provides a good and reliable metric in these matters is suppressed. see this older comment.
I had once read in a piece (from ~5-7 years ago) that 40% of ALL cinema screens in India were in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, an astounding figure, if true.
4 weeks ago – It will beat 3 Idiots
3 weeks ago – It will beat Bodyguard
2 weeks ago – It will beat Dabangg
1 week ago – It will beat Ready
Today – It beats Ghajini or will it?!?!?!?!
ROCKSTAR has under-performed in key international markets. The film was expected to fetch a flying start, but the opening weekend business is at par with Ranbir’s last release ANJAANA ANJAANI. Ideally, it should’ve grossed better figures in view of the fact that Imtiaz Ali – Ranbir Kapoor – A.R. Rahman is a bigger combo.
Weekend: November 11 – 13, 2011.
U.K. BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected £ 1,84,592 [approx. Rs. 1.48 crores] on 53 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 3,483… ANJAANA ANJAANI was 1,81,428 on 54 screens.
RA.ONE: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 51,250 on 35 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 1,464. Total: £ 13,88,038 [approx. Rs. 11.12 crores].
7 AUM ARIVU [Tamil]: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 3,779 on 4 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 945. Total: £ 1,67,524 [approx. Rs. 1.34 crores].
VELAYUDHAM [Tamil]: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 2,335 on 2 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 1,168. Total: £ 1,59,244 [approx. Rs. 1.28 crores].
MAUSAM: In its eighth weekend, the film has collected £ 480 on 1 screen. Total: £ 3,80,421 [approx. Rs. 3.05 crores].
RASCALS: In its sixth weekend, the film has collected £ 242 on 1 screen. Total: £ 2,34,483 [approx. Rs. 1.88 crores].
U.S.A. BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected $ 6,12,235 [approx. Rs. 3.07 crores] on 112 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 5,466 … ANJAANA ANJAANI was 5,17,608 on 91 screens.
RA.ONE: In its third weekend, the film has collected $ 1,18,611 on 189 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 628. Total: $ 24,43,659 [approx. Rs. 12.27 crores].
AUSTRALIA BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected Aus. $ 99,676 [approx. Rs. 51.33 lacs] on 13 screens, with the per screen average working out to Aus. $ 7,667 … ANJAANA ANJAANI was 1,29,198 on 13 screens.
NEW ZEALAND BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected NZ$ 21,547 [approx. Rs. 8.49 lacs] on 9 screens, with the per screen average working out to NZ$ 2,394.
FIJI BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected FJD 5,326 [approx. Rs. 1.47 lacs] on 2 screens, with the per screen average working out to FJD 2,663.
the overall net gross for Ra.one including overseas and all versions would come around 180-190 crores… thats on par with bodyguards worldwide nett..and only less then 3 idiots…not bad for a totally rejected film..!
Really??
Whichever way one spins it, it is a flop,fiasco and a disaster all rolled in one.From 100 crores in week one to 1.75 in week three says it all.
One can spin all one wants and get dizzy but this is a film that is thoroughly rejected even if a lot of people did see it over the first five days.
Fetching a dream start at the ticket window is now a habit for the Khans. Aamir, Salman and SRK have drawn audiences in hordes, consistently, in film after film. The opening day, opening weekend and Week 1 business has been massive. Besides the three Khans, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan have been very consistent as far as box-office is concerned. Amongst youngsters, Emraan Hashmi and Imran Khan are distributors’ fav as well. There’s one more name that has time after time delivered at the ticket counters — Ranbir Kapoor.
You are as good — or bad — as your last Friday. With RAAJNEETI, ANJAANA ANJAANI and now ROCKSTAR, Ranbir has entrenched himself in the most dependable actor category, sharing the limelight with the three Khans. Sure, RAAJNEETI was a multi-starrer, but ANJAANA ANJAANI and ROCKSTAR are solo leads and though ANJAANA ANJAANI fizzled out after a fab start, ROCKSTAR has emerged Ranbir’s biggest opener ever… in fact, it’s amongst the biggest openers of 2011.
If one were to get specific, the plexes have generated more than 70% of revenue in this case [ROCKSTAR]. Urban centres like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Hyderabad have contributed huge numbers, while the heartland hasn’t been as responsive. In fact, the performance of ROCKSTAR is very similar to ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, with plexes contributing a fat sum to the booty. A section of the audience has loved the film and it is this section that will ensure a safe run on weekdays [Monday and Tuesday were rock-steady].
Now let’s look at the economics of ROCKSTAR. The film has cost Eros approx Rs 60 cr to Rs 63 cr, inclusive of P & A, of which Rs 25 cr has been recovered from the sale of Satellite and Audio Rights. The balance amount — Rs 37 cr approx — has to be recovered from India and Overseas theatrical. While the business in the international markets is fair [actually, not as expected], the onus will be on the domestic business to deliver.
At the rate ROCKSTAR is faring, the distributors are sure to recover the costs and also make profits. How profitable will this film be, only time will tell. But one thing is for sure — Ranbir Kapoor will be discussed animatedly in times to come. Like all superstars are!
Rockstar collections had a noticeable fall on Tuesday as the film collected around 4.25-4.50 crore nett from the 5.75 crore nett on Monday. The fall from Monday is 25% approx. The film has collected a good 43.25 crore nett approx in five days but on Tuesday collections at multiplexes fell as well as the single screens.
The week will end around the 50 crore nett but it will be the second weekend business of the film that will decide if it is a hit or not. On Tuesday even the stronger circuits like East Punjab and Delhi saw 20% plus falls while CPCI Rajasthan had even bigger falls. Gujarat is also on a downward trend.
The film is sustaining best at high end multiplex chains like PVR and Inox and these type of multiplex films normally see a big jump on second Saturday and that is likely to be the case with Rockstar as well.
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar: 5-Day Total Rs. 45 Crore
November 16th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar has collected an estimated Rs. 4 crore (all-India net) on its fifth day (Tuesday, November 15) at the box-office. This takes the 5-day tally of the film to Rs. 45 crore (approx. all-India net).
After an excellent start on Friday, November 11, and a good weekend of Rs. 35 crore, the collections of Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar have dropped. The film had collected Rs. 5.5 crore to Rs. 6 crore on Monday.
‘Ranbir’s fan following has increased with Rockstar’
November 16, 2011 16:24 IST
With rave reviews and great box office collections, Rockstar seems to be an important film in Ranbir Kapoor’s [ Images ] career. But is it his biggest hit yet? We decided to ask the trade pundits.
“It is biggest sole opener in Ranbir Kapoor’s career. But Rajneeti was a bigger hit,” says media professional and industry observer Abhijit Mhamunkar.
He claims that Ranbir’s fan following has increased because of the response the film has generated. “Now, Ranbir is above his contemporaries like Shahid Kapoor [ Images ] or Imran Khan [ Images ]. They have not generated such an opening in any of their films so far. At the top of the list are the Khans, then comes Ajay Devgn [ Images ] and Hrithik Roshan [ Images ]. After that is Ranbir,” he says.
“The first weekend’s collection of Rockstar was Rs 33.75 crores. It was around Rs 5.75 – 6 crores. The first four days’ collections was around Rs 39 crores. The collections started falling from Monday onwards — it dropped about 50 percent. But college students are still going and watching the film through the week. Plus, next week, there is a very small film releasing: Shakal Pe Mat Ja. So he gets another open week.”
However, single screen theatres saw bad openings, and the collections further dropped in the week, he claims.
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Then again, the target audience for Rockstar was the multiplex audience, and they have responded positively.
“The biggest plus point of the film is Ranbir Kapoor’s performance. The second highlight is the music. The negative point is the fractured narrative in the second half but those who like the film will ignore this problem,” he explains.
He claims that Shahid Kapoor’s Mausam had good music and a poor second half, but people did not flock to watch it. That just shows that Rockstar is a superior product.
“Rockstar will recover its money. The distributors will earn at least Rs 40 crores, which is a huge amount,” says Abhijit.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani agrees, “Rockstar is doing well in multiplexes but is rejected in single screens.”
He feels that the film may not be a hit because the budget was huge. “But it has got the best initial draw,” he says.
“After watching the film, the audience will like only Ranbir Kapoor. Even the music will not be appreciated because you cannot understand the lyrics,” he says.
and this has always been the case. People pretend it’s about box office failure. But these guys were saying the very same even when he had lots of success. They vary their language accordingly. Now of course distributors don’t invest money based on the kind of coverage a star gets in the media or trade nor do people accept or reject films based on this stuff. But there is an overall drift effect with these narratives. And as I keep saying the very same was true when Bachchan was at his peak! Some things don’t change!
Actually! even DMD’s opening was credit to Bipasha’s hot looks and the title song. Now probably they’ll credit Abbas Mastan’s track record and the product marketing to even Sonam’s looks
Not that it makes a big difference, But this guy puts AB’s name after the lesser succesful actors, Like Bobby D and John Abraham. Given that John had a good role in Dhoom, But the main lead was Abhishek then why his name is being said after these two? It’s a clear indication that he has something against Jr. (If you go by the traditional ways, Main lead is always mentioned first and at many times goes by seniority as well, Bobby is senior ofcourse but he is nothing more than one fo the supporting cast here as I say it and disccussed earlier). I swear, if I meet this guy on the streets. Saala Nahaane, Kya Dhone layak bhi nahi rahega.
bobby was also in jbj and dostana( though its other thing people don’t remember him anywhere now here to in promotion and posters its evident whose the guy
not a huge fan of junior b but give credit where its due ..most of people are hardly aware of genre …..
abhishek between 2004-2007 got up in popularity state as he was doing more of urban metrosexual characters and after 2007-2011 its more the alternative cinema for him but this never had any market(big one in india … most of the urban tennage crowds will dismiss those movies as being boring and if you keep continuing your initials are bound to affect )
though a delhi 6 may bring you national award or ravan will get accolades every where in foreign press and film festival but it hardly has that big market in india due to taste of audiences as evident with occasional dostana or paa( his more commercial venture in recent time and that got him sucess)
and finally good to see players much before relesase has extensive promotion everywhere a thing which was totally missing from game where the maker as well as actors even didn’t bothered to promote it after the release …wtf was that
distributors will make money here unlike the loss venture ra one and still its not a clear hit by some people estimation which clearly indicates how there was attemt to manufature a hit earlier ra one which was a genuine flop
distributors will make money here unlike the loss venture ra one and still its not a clear hit by some people’s estimation which clearly indicates how there was attempt to manufature a hit earlierwith ra one which was a genuine flop
There is no doubt that Ranbir is the brightest hope for a future superstar. And since he seems to be someone who is hard working and excercises discretion when it comes to choosing his scripts, I will not begrudge him his success.
However, I think that calling him an excellent, highly talented actor is taking things too far. He is certainly quite intelligent and far better an actor than all of his contemporaries but he is hardly a first class thespian. It doesn’t take much to be a better actor than Imran Khan!
Rajeev Masand on twitter compared him to Ryan Gosling, which is just ridiculous. Gosling is infinitely superior, both as an actor and in terms of looks. I hate how these stars are put on a pedestal and steeped in sycophantic, widely inaccurate praise the minute they enter the big league.
Yeah, I quite like Ranbir but I find it more than a little galling when they make him sound like some actor for the ages. He definitely seems to be on the right track as far as being a much-loved star but he’s never struck me as more than an engaging and natural screen presence. Clearly ahead of many in his generation. A great actor, though? Hell no.
Didn’t know Masand likened him to Gosling. Not that I expect anything more from Masand, but, yeah, you might as well compare Ajay Devgan to Daniel Day-Lewis while you’re at it.
For press and of course for fans it’s not enough to be just one thing, you have to be everything–not just a star but a SUPERstar, not just an actor but De Niro’s heir. There’s no nobility in being a promising young actor but theres plenty in being the next Amitabh Bachchan. So at the slightest shadow of promise people start building their pedestals.
the biggest problem here is that we should simply dispense with a word like ‘superstar’. If you think about it 99% of these debates don’t mean much in the absence of this word. But this word is so emptied out of meaning that in its current usage it means nothing more than ‘big star’. Also I’m always interested in structural questions. This obsession with the word ‘superstar’ really came about over the last decade. Now anyone who’s very successful is called this. The media wasn’t as eager to nominate superstars at the drop of a hat when SRK was at his absolute peak! Would say the same for the label ‘Khans’ which started getting used so fanatically not when SRK was doing KKHH! In other words Aamir and Salman never profited from his success but he seems to profit from theirs, the way the narrative is set up.
But in any case we keep having these debates over who the next superstar is or isn’t we don’t pause to consider whether this word means anything anymore. The word was reserved for stars with a truly titanic box office record. For the Bachchans and Rajnis of the world and so on. But also those who were completely dominant in cultural terms with every cross-section of their audience. They had their base within the latter but they were overwhelming forces of nature. You don’t ask in Kerala what Mohanlal’s ‘target’ audience is even if he and Mammootty do have their ‘geographic’ bases. So on and so forth. I am not prepared to cheapen the meaning of the word this way and I haven’t seen a convincing case elsewhere as to why it needs to be applied to present stars. Again if it just means something like ‘big star’ it becomes a bit pointless doesn’t it?!
Here is the best way of framing things — you have some major box office openers at the moment, stars who can open films better than others all else being equal. This is one part of the equation. But this isn’t all. Because there’s also a prestige angle involved. Then there’s consistency and so on over a reasonable period of time. But equally there’s someone like someone who has one equation-changing breakout moment. All sorts of considerations. Ultimately there’s also a Hollywood-like system where it’s increasingly about the ‘project’ and any given star having a big moment in one film or two doesn’t change the overall framework in the absence of something extraordinary. So again Salman keeps throwing up these big numbers without breaking a sweat. How one then ranks the stars becomes very debatable. But true superstardom is precisely beyond such argument!
I would simply repeat an older point here. Looking at consistency, looking at prestige combined with an uncanny box office record, looking at just the totality of every contemporary star’s record using every metric imaginable there’s simply no doubt that Aamir has been for a while and is currently in a league of his own. And what this means in very real terms is that he is the star most able to make any project of any scale in any genre come about with the greatest ease as a financial proposition. Because he has delivered every which way. Producers/distributors know this. Even genres that they would be skeptical about become safe when Aamir’s attached to them. They can count on his judgment in this sense. All of this sets him apart. Sure, with more volume all of this would be even more obvious. At the same time just doing Ready ad infinitum isn’t the end of the argument either. And here too inasmuch as its more of a Hollywood paradigm direct gross comparisons become tricky.
Re Ranbir-Ryan, its not only the actors who elicit such comparisons. I’ve heard Zoya Akhtar being compared to Sofia Coppola and even more amusingly, the director of Pyaar Ka Punchnama was compared tonWoody Allen by some film critic!
But what early takes these cake was this panel discussion between Bollwood directors. Kiran Rao quite reasonably says that Wong Kar Wai is one of her inspirations, to which KJo replies that (apparently) many people have told him that his own loves stories remind them of Wong Kar Wai’s work! 😀
I thin I need to defend Ranbir here.
Too early to be anointed hhe next best thing but not fair to dismiss him as a mere good presence and a promising actor.
May be before Rockstar might have been OK to say that.
The fact that he looks good, is not overly hirsute, looks like someone who showers every day and gives the impression that he doesnt think that Gym is some guy’s name doesnt make him a lesser actor.
Neither are comparisions with Gosling particularly inappropriate.
Am a big fan of Gosling for long, much before it was fahionable to be so. May be Munna can dig up my comments about Gosling from the very early days of the blog Gosling is not ripe to be anointed the next Pacino either.
One of the things that is being missed on both sides of this debate is that there isn’t any serious correlation between great talent and any specific kind of physicality and ‘superstardom’ let alone any of the lesser kinds. Put differently the ‘iconic’ can as effectively arise out of mere competence and a physicality that would seem simply passable off screen. Was Rajesh Khanna a great talent? What did Rajendra Kumar have going for him? What about SRK? On and on. Bachchan is actually the exception to the rule and the same is often true in ‘regional’ industries. Uttam Kumar, the titan of Bengali cinema, was a natural enough actor and a welcome enough screen presence but there was nothing very special about him. MGR couldn’t act to save his life nor could Dev Anand. There are many such examples. Again the two Ms of Malayalam cinema are exceptions to the rule as is Kamal Haasan. We could keep running these lists even for all kinds of stars even in Hollywood.
But to the extent that one means to premise great stardom on talent and physicality I must say that I haven’t seen anything from Ranbir so far to justify the hype on either score. Again that doesn’t mean he cannot be a great success based on what I’ve just said but to my mind it’s a stretch to spot a great talent in him or even the flashes of one as he is so far. Similarly in terms of the physicality I’d argue that he doesn’t really have much screen presence. again these things can change over time as stars better learn the language of gesturality and so on. I’m certainly not suggesting he isn’t a promising talent. And here I’d say about Gosling that even though I too was always a fan there is enough of a star that has emerged in his recent outings. Not comparing him to greats at this point though ‘greatness’ too can sometimes simply mean a marriage of competence and history. John Wayne is not behind De Niro or pacino in the ‘iconic’ sweepstakes but otherwise there’s no comparison on the talent front (though physically it’s a different matter).
I will also add here that ‘acting’ is also a ‘learning’ process which sometimes becomes harder with relatively quick stardom and hyperbolic reviews. If you’re already a ‘thespian’ it’s a bit hard to grow! It’s very easy to be in a zone of competence and simply ‘repeat’ what is once one acquires a basic measure of stardom. The ‘risk’ of failure is not just about the box office but also about performance. when you truly explore new terrain as an actor you can quite often fail which doesn’t make you a worse actor. But for the right actor even the failures are interesting.
And here without intending anything partisan at all, let alone any direct comparison between Abhishek and Ranbir (because there is none to my mind), the thing that fascinates me about Abhishek is precisely his growth. He almost never repeats himself as an actor in the important parts. Now one might not like many of his outings or whatever but the distinctions are very genuine. So for example there is a world of difference between the actor in Sarkar and the one in Sarkar Raj. Yuva and Guru are completely different but there is also a great control in certain ways (whatever one prefers). The Dostana comedy reveals a certain ease and fluidity which isn’t necessarily there before or at least not as consistently. the DMD performance reveals a certain ‘aging’ both of the star and the actor. so on and so forth. I can certainly spot here the evolution of a craft for all its hits and misses (we can have a debate about this). Sure there might be an overdose of serious stuff but the guy in D6 is not at all the guy in SR is not at all the guy in Raavan. The comic modes of JBJ and Dostana are fairly differentiated. So on and so forth.
If I were to do the same sort of thing for Ranbir I’d nominate Saawariya, Rocket Singh and definitely some aspects of Rockstar. But these are all flashes. There’s no Yuva or Guru or DMD moment to my mind here. But also the rest of the time Ranbir can be very ordinary on the regular terrain like BeH and AA. Similarly I thought he was quite over-matched by the competition in Rajneeti. Again all of this still doesn’t mean that he cannot be a very successful star. But I will say there is something of a gap at the moment (and I’ve always felt this) between his press and the more general reaction to him. I very much doubt people generally consider him thespian material though the media is doing its best to change minds in this sense! And obviously he isn’t hrithik either. He was a way better actor than Hrithik on his very first day though to continue the older point this on its own cannot establish distinctions in stardom much as Abhishek even on his best day cannot get ahead of Hrithik only by acting well and getting box office hits unless he overwhelms the latter in a commercial sense. Ranbir definitely can act, Hrithik is all star and ‘earnest’ actor who is nonetheless the same guy irrespective of the part. His good days are about a star doing a minimally acceptable ‘acting job’ and not about being an actor in any pure sense. Again I don’t believe the audience would disagree with this.
The stars are certainly all aligned for Ranbir to become a major star. He’s already in such a league. But I’m not willing to go further than this based on what I’ve seen so far.
Why is being considered a good presence and a promising actor tantamount to dismissal? Rockstar isn’t Deewar! I almost want to take up Kashyap’s cause and urge people to revisit Rockstar not to confirm that we’re seeing the second coming of both Eisenstein and Brando, but to re-evaluate and recalibrate reactions to what is very obviously the euphoria of seeing a very compelling entertainment and a very confident star performance in a year where both things are extraordinary rarities.
Re: to what is very obviously the euphoria of seeing a very compelling entertainment and a very confident star performance in a year where both things are extraordinary rarities.
I think thats a fair assessment. I took objection to the other statement ( about being a good presence and a promising actor) to be a bit patronising. I can see where both of you are coming from.
And ,accept that it is a valid opinion to hold even if a little contrary to mine. In over a decade Abhishek and Ranbir are the only two genuine star-actors to have come through. Hrithik sounded promising for a while but is somewhat limited as an actor as evidenced by Agneepath trailer. Abhishek has oodles of talent and has been somewaht unlcuky. Some of his troubles are of his own making as well. But, he still has time on his side. Rockstar for me is a break out moment for Ranbir. Obviously, we view it a little differently. There is no litmus test for a great performance. So, can never say which opinion is justified.
Future might help. But, one thing might help. Let me know which turns my major stars in last 10 years have you been more impressed by more than Ranbir in Rockstar ( EXCLUDING THE BACHCHANS FOR OBVIUOS REASONS).
In fairness to Hrithik no one could get away with Agneepath. This is not just any Bachchan outing but one where he’s a force of nature. Still to attempt something like this in a somewhat different key you need a star with minimally plausible physicality for the part. Think among the current stars Abhishek and Devgan are the only ones who would not have flunked it on at least these grounds. actually Johar might even be having second thoughts at this point with Devgan’s fine run at the box office (though I very much doubt he would have agreed to do this). Abhishek might have offered an interesting experiment in playing the character in much more restrained fashion. But to draw out that sort of performance in the right way you’d need a far more serious film than the one that is being attempted here. Hrithik should never have taken on this part but I think the high of attempting Agneepath with all the symbolic weight this carries was perhaps too much to resist. But I believe this was a miscalculation on his part. The symbolism really kicks in if there’s minimal plausibility and I haven’t come across anyone who considered this idea an appropriate one. The film could still work in a big way if it’s minimally entertaining (the trailer was promising in this sense.. or certainly well done) since the audience today is comprised of amnesiacs and Johar would then crazily hype how he got a hit whereas the earlier film didn’t work but this still wouldn’t mean people suddenly thinking of Hrithik as a worthy Vijay Chauhan! Of course even on the Johar bit (and as I’ve said before) the film has acquired such significance over the years that at this remove from the original release it doesn’t really matter whether it worked or not. Because no hit could have meant more (and many don’t!). At the Unforgettables one of the three dialogs Bachchan got into were Agneepath along with Deewar and Kabhi Kabhie. This has simply become part of his most stratospheric moments as an actor overtaking many other canonical one (as a fan of Trishul or Kaala Pathar and some others I view this fact with some regret!). So to now come back and say you want to produce a ‘hit’ here is completely beside the point.
“which turns my major stars in last 10 years have you been more impressed by”
Well I obviously like moments from Aamir, Saif, Abhishek and even Devgan far more than this. As I’ve said elsewhere Ranbir’s own turn in Rocket Singh is far ahead of this. His achievement here isn’t that he’s touched new heights in performance but that he kept a problematic film from going of the rails. The latter is no easy feat, not a lot of stars can do it. But this isn’t a great performance by any means, and in fact there are moments when Ranbir’s so obviously too much of a boy to pull certain scenes off convincingly. But hey we don’t live with leading men any more, we’re living in an age of leading boys and in such a context one can be very kind to Ranbir. Can’t blame anyone for lapping this up.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Barring, Abhishek, IMO only Devgan can come close.
Sure Aamir,Saif have had good moments but IMO cannot match Ranbir in Rockstar and neither can Ranbir in Rocket Singh whih was also very good.
I dont think it is a question of getting giddyon crumbs in a rather impoverished environement but seeing things differently. I hope myself and others who have assessed this performance differently will atleast be afforded taht courtesy.
I’d probably take some Saif moments over Ranbir’s best. But assuredly many Aamir moments, beginning most significantly with MP.
I should say that even though I don’t agree with it I can ‘see’ why Ranbir’s performance is getting rated the way it is. I just trace the source of that accomplishment elsewhere than in the reserves of ‘fine performance’.
But yeah he’s going to probably win all the awards and I can’t say I mind this very much. certainly compared to some of the other winners in the past!
This sounds promising: Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane have teamed up with the former CEO of UTV Spotboy and the producer of Ghajini to launch their own ‘director-driven’ production house. The first film they produce will be a period love story starring Ranveer and Sonkashi, directed by Motwane, titled ‘Lootera’.
Sounds interesting but also the kind of thing that will probably fizzle out. What I’m excited about is the fact that Motwane is doing his second feature following Udaan. Really looking forward to that even if Ranveer is sort of a bland actor. Quite liked Sonakshi in Dabangg and she’s a refreshing break from supermodels trying to do be actors.
That sounds promising^^^
Though the choice of heroine is more than a sore point
Sonakshi –I mean don’t even want to get started…..
“Zoya Akhtar being compared to Sofia Coppola and even more amusingly, the director of Pyaar Ka Punchnama was compared tonWoody Allen”–lol -that’s another “instant placement amd recall” phenomenon
Btw WHO is the director of punchnaama
Saw this movie half asleep on a flight and don’t know a single human being on it
Though the female perspective was misogynist , it was fresh and realistic somewhat lol
PKP was so staggeringly misogynist that I was gaping at my TV in disbelief after I finished watching it.
I would like a similar Bollywood movie to be made about Indian men, depicting one man as a spoilt brat of a mother’s boy who treats his wife like a thankless domestic slave, another man as an abusive alcoholic and the third as a greedy beast who tortures his wife for dowry, and then see what the reaction is.
You don’t like Sonakshi? I thought she was adequate in Dabanng, and she is one of the very few girls in the industry today who would actually look convincing as the desi heroine of a period romance. Motwane seems like some one who is serious about the films he makes, and I cannot see him casting a European model and trying to dub her and pass her off as an Indian woman. I assume that both Ranveer and Sonakshi were cast for their ‘earthy/ traditional’ looks.
agreed… this was a brief comment I put after watching it:
“Pyar ka punchnama is a fairly entertaining watch. However the ‘problem’ in each relationship here is really the woman. The three male leads are the more grounded kind whereas the women are emotionally unstable or exploitative or both!
And this genre continues to ‘exhibit’ some gratuitous bit of dialog.”
Qualander: I’m glad to see that some of the men on this forum agree with me about Pyaar Ka Punchnama 🙂
About your comment on the women in ZNMD- I do not completely agree with it. Part of the reason why ZNMD was frustrating for me was because Zoya seemed like such a promising filmmaker with LBC and even in ZNMD some of that talent was evident, but it was like she deliberately suppressed it so that her film would be more commercially safe.
With ZNMD I think her intentions with regards to the women were noble enough, but she didn’t execute them properly because she was trying to stick so closely to all the male buddy movie/ road trip cliches. For example, Katrina subverted all of the usual heroine cliches in that she was the one who ‘rescued’ the hero and the one who desired and initiated the kiss and later the sex, she was obviously meant to be a foil to the more typical, passive-demure heroine. But then Zoya took Kat out of the movie for long portions to make more room for all the male-bonding and she also abruptly forced her to marry Hrithik (when she was still at uni!) to make sure her movie confirmed to conventions and was commercially safe, so that really took away from any depth that Kat’s character might have had.
The same thing with Kalki- Zoya was clearly trying to say that women should retain their identities after marriage and have careers etc, but the way she integrated it into the typical boy-bonding formula made their whole track seem regressive and misogynistic, as if to say that marriage was oppressive for men and women are nagging shrews. Even the Spanish girl, who was probably intended to be a more positive, less objectified depiction of the ‘sexually liberated western woman’ trope that we see so often in Hindi movies, just ended up looking like a sex object for Imran because of the way she was written.
I think even the mother having a child outside of the wedlock was intended to subvert the cliche of the overtly moralistic Maa who is always caring about societal norms and what people will think and emotionally black-mailing her children to confirm. But like all the other women in the film, she did not make an impact.
There is an interview with Abhay posted somewhere in this forum, where he talks about how people were pressurising Zoya into adding an item number into the film, and she resisted. At least for not objectifying the women in her film, and for trying protest them in a positive light, I will have to give her some credit, especially considering the industry she works in and the scant respect it has for women in general.
But right after the failure of Luck By Chance, a female-bonding film would have been a risky endeavour and one that she would not have wanted to undertake. What I do not understand is why she did not do a friendship-based film with a group of mixed leads- 2 men and 1 women or 2 men and 2 women, who have been friends from childhood.
I think something with Katrina and two other major actresses would have got an audience. perhaps not as big as the one she got here. But yes your idea wouldn’t have been a bad one either.
In the same vein consider what’s happened with the Agneepath remake. The nurse of the original movie has been converted into a prostitute in the remake. Go figure! Perhaps gangsters only deserve ‘molls’! This is simply the most unnecessary of all the changes Johar has made here.
About a female-bonding film starring 3 major actresses: Would that have been possible? When KJo and has ilk have been propagating the ‘2 women can never be friends’ myth so wholeheartedly, and most of the actresses seem to be buying into it, fi theiranswers on KWK were anything to go by. Ironically enough, the Rima Kagit- Zoya Akhtar friendship seems to be one of the most powerful and genuine female friendships in the industry!
About the nurse: In Thor, Natalie Portman’s character was also originally a nurse, but they turned her into an astrophysicist to make her a stronger female character, in Bollywood they go the other way and change her to a prostitute!
Even more insulting, is that fact that most prostitutes in the red light district of Mumbai are trafficked/ sold into the profession against their own will at a very young age and this is really the most disempowering change possible. I believe that KJo said that it will add to the ‘glamour quotient’ of the movie or some such nonsense.
What is wrong in showing women in negative light?
PKP got repetitive in second half. But the movie was better than average stuff of bollywood and probably a reflection of urban society. Misogynist , yes (of course there are men of similar type). Only thing I disagreed was chances of three women in close vicinity having similar traits.
Re: ps – Get married [or ask Jay] and you will see director’s point of view 😉
Truer words have rarely been spoken. It is a part of their genetic make up and saying so doesnt make one a mysogyne. I love and respect women inspite of their major gender specific flaws and shortcomings.
You just work your way around it.
LOL, this sounds like the Saturday Night Live skit on the VP debate last time around with Biden going ‘I really like John, he’s a friend, but he’s a raving maniac’!
it probably cuts both ways. Yes it’s a set of sexist representations but perhaps women find it empowering nonetheless to see others who can ill-treat men! In other words one should be a little worried if one’s spouse enjoys it too much!
Haha
U have a good sense of humour : amy
In dabang :she was good in the two and a half sentences she had to say
And if she resolves her weight issues: she may be ok
karan johar has really short memory to say may be they will refresh his memories
kal ho na ho was the modern day remake of annand and kank another remake of silsila( though they where never official)
kuch kuch hota hai was no different than archies and veronica comics …one wonder who told him that his movies(his so called love stories ) are inspired from kar wai’s work which are as different as one could get
The MNIK proponents will now learn that two can play the ’16th week in Addis Ababa’ game!
On a more serious note the S Korean market opening up in a significant way to Indian cinema is quite unexpected. Think currently Guzaarish is doing the rounds there.
I’ve actually been there, and there are plenty of Indians, in pretty powerful positions. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Market for Hindi films opens up there as the country continues to grow rapidly.
BTW, how come we never hear of the business of Hindi films in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia? Those must also be significant markets for Bollywood?
Nepal is probably is a very small market actually. It’s factored into the Indian territory system. Believe it’s part of the Bengal sub-territory or something. Can’t remember.
Malaysia is significant but one of many overseas markets. It’s not like the US or UK but it can be very big for Tamil films for obvious reasons. On that note Australia is increasingly becoming an important market.
Hindi films were not allowed theatrical releases in Pakistan as a historic matter (barring rare exceptions which were usually ‘Muslim’ period pieces!). However things have changed very recently and I think many films do release there. Again I doubt it’s anything very significant. My understanding is it’s a few theaters at this point. A proper full-fledged release would be a different matter.
Rockstar disappoints, but Ranbir Kapoor has come of age in the film.
November 17, 2011:
Some three years ago I set up an interview with Ranbir Kapoor to talk to him about his overnight stardom and how he was handling it. It was early days for this Kapoor scion and his report card was mixed. Saawariya had been interminably talked about, then released and bombed, while Bachna Ae Haseeno had hit the screens with much less publicity but far greater success.
But producers and directors were swarming around him, convinced he was the Next Big Thing. He was dating one of India’s most beautiful women, Deepika Padukone. He had thousands of breathless fans and was being chased by various arms of the media (including the newspaper I was working for at the time). He was living the dream, he was riding high, it was all any young man in his position could have asked for. And it was enough to turn anyone’s head, to make any man — young, old or anywhere in-between — believe he was the Current Big Thing.
When I walked into Krishna Raj, the palatial home where he lived with his parents, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, I expected to meet a star kid-turned-sensation who would be polite but revel in his newfound stardom.
To my amazement, Ranbir refused to even acknowledge that he was a star. “We use the word too loosely,” he argued. “I can call myself a star only when I have a couple of bonafide hits under my belt. Just to be ‘appreciated’ in a couple of movies does not make me a star. I am, at best, a potential star.”
I looked at him carefully and with not a little cynicism; fake humility can be even more annoying than bragging. But I couldn’t detect a false note. Ranbir spoke rapidly but in measured tones that implied he was just stating what he saw as a fact. Either he was a very good actor or he honestly meant what he said. Either way, this young actor was intriguing. Especially since he declared later on, again in a matter-of-fact tone, that he intended to become the best actor ever in the history of Hindi cinema.
Nobody doubted then that he showed immense promise. The question was: would he fulfil it? As he went on to films like Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti, each showing a clear growth graph, the operative word in that question became when, not if.
I believe that moment has come with Rockstar. It is not a great movie or even a very good one, but Ranbir Kapoor has, I think, come of age with his performance in it. Not only because it is a many-layered role but because the character of Jordan is one that could so easily have gone wrong in the hands of a lesser actor, could have descended into stereotype and caricature.
Ranbir not only hits the right notes in his performance, but brings to it a passion and energy that explodes on screen. He has obviously had to work on this one, especially since this character, unlike the many lover-boys he has played, is far removed from his own life and sensibilities. While there was much talk about his learning to play the guitar, I heard him say in a television interview that he considered that the “superficial” part of his preparation. Getting into the character’s mind, he said, was the tough one, the real challenge.
His work has paid off. He is far and away the best part of the movie, which is rather bizarre in that it is entertainingly non-traditional in its first half, but does a complete switch in the second, to fall back on a string of hoary Bollywood clichés. The same old dying heroine; the predictable hospital scenes (mercifully, the doctors don’t declare, “Usko blood cancer ho gaya”); the easy way out of a love triangle of sorts.
Surely not what we might have expected from director Imtiaz Ali. His Jab We Met might have set off an annoying trend of Hinglish titles but ran through the industry and theatres like a strong summer breeze. Love Aaj Kal was not, perhaps, as memorable but came up with many a surprise. And all his movies, including the first half of Rockstar, have a clever, visual sense of humour that sets his work apart. Much of the problem with Rockstar’s second half is that he seems to lose that humour in it.
As for the lead actress, debutante Nargis Fakhri, let’s just say she’s been given far too many lines for someone so awkward with her Hindi dialogue.
Still, the under-25s (not unexpectedly) have taken to the film in a big way and expectations are that Rockstar will end up, as industry jargon puts it, “positive”. Which means it will make decent money but not turn out to be a blockbuster.
In spite of my problems with the movie, I have to admit that this is a pity, especially when you consider atrocities such as Ready raking in the stuff in record-breaking figures.
Oh well, that’s Bollywood for you. But so long as Imtiaz Ali gets to make more movies and Ranbir continues to make the right choices, we should not complain too much.
Rockstar—Guitar blues –a tribute for amateurs and aficionados
Circa 2011–
Ever since the strains of rahmans twin strikes ie orianthis opening chords in saada haq and the brilliant “Jo bhi main” have reached my ears—have been trying to ward off certain flashbacks of certain concertic experiences but not for long
One example was the DVD of “rock on” that was tucked away after an uncomfortable few minutes viewing finally was brought to the fore.
Couldn’t help like the “farhan akhtar” character in “rock on” followed by the “HR” one in ZNMD
This “childish” urge finally led towards “rockstar” fittingly helmed by Rahman at his peak
Without giving too much away–“rockstar” the music has exceeded all my expectations….
Guitar blues –contd–
When u employ Michael Jacksons lead guitarist (this is it),
U better come up with something special
And special or what…
Rahman /orianthi just tear it apart and Mohit chauhan more than surpasses his own capability in “Jo bhi main” vocals
Obviously this depends on ones tastes and sensibilities but the “Rakh saala” in “saada haq” signals the attitude of rahmans work( calm and humble on the surface but a tornado waiting to challenge the best in their own game)
And orianthi gives it her everything Submitting to the brilliance
Still can’t believe some of the nuances and notes managed by the “south Indian ” rahman here
Absolutely, Agree with every word. and I also feel strongly about these two tracks, Right before the 2nd verse, the beat/string or wahtever you want to call it. I dont really know how to express it. and you are bang on on the “rakh saale” . I usually download my music since the day napster came out, I have yet to buy an album. But out of respect fort his album I am going to go out and by my first CD in over 12 years or so.
though I’ve grown to like it reasonably somehow I’ve never been a big fan of this track. The ones I really love on the album besides the exquisite Tango for Taj and Dichotomy of Fame are Nadaan Parindey, Hawa hawa, Tum ho (both versions even if Krishnamurthy’s voice sounds a bit hoarse). The rest of the stuff I appreciate more than truly like though the qawaali went wonderfully with the visuals in the movie.
Once again a strong work but I am even more confident at this point (and having heard it constantly for the better part of a month) that it’s no patch on D6 or Dil se (the Rahman summits in Hindi for me.. though Dil se is my absolute personal favorite here..). But leaving aside the comparisons I also believe some of the tracks are relatively ‘uncomplicated’ by Rahman’s standards. The love ballad (Tum ho) for example introduces a very ‘Eastern’ touch (with the tabla et al) on the female version but is relatively straightforward on the male one (though I still love it). The qawwali is excellent, possibly better than than the D6 one, but still not ‘new’ enough coming from Rahman. Similarly some of the other tracks seem ‘genre’ ones without containing enough of the Rahman ‘difference’. And I’d put Sada haq in this category. But all of this is relative. A criticism only by the lofty standards of Rahman and given that this isn’t a ‘middling’ effort by any means. I have never been a great fan of the RDB album for some reason and I like Rockstar a lot but I think RDB might be a more ‘interesting’ work. Still Rockstar isn’t JA by any means (which I find somewhat disappointing from Rahman) and again it’s an album I’ve heard a lot but it doesn’t define a Rahman peak for me. Nonetheless will be hearing it a lot more. As I said these things are always relative where Rahman is concerned. Will say that the music overall works extremely well in the film. Even having both versions of the ballad run into each other at the end of the film was a great idea.
I should also add here that Hawa Hawa was possibly my favorite video in the movie barring possibly the qawwali. It was done with a lot of zest and flair. Ranbir was also very energetic here. But also the lyrics have a fairy tale quality to them (I couldn’t quite understand most of this on the CD, the subtitles helped in the theater!) which match the film at its best.
My thoughts above were not to mean that these tracks are the “best” in this album
Just had a certain “connect” in terms of personal resonance /experience where yours truly is concerned!!
The “ranking” of songs here is a different matter for another day!!
Yes: there is a certain “simple” , “uncomplicated ” feature here
Infact this seems one other more “accessible ” of Rahman albums
And herein lies the difference
Here one sees the “self assuredness” of a master wherein he doesn’t have to attempt “complicated” stuff just for the heck of “stamping his superiority, difference and genius”!!!!
But won’t fault anyone prefering his othe works (most of which are my faves as well..)
I didn’t mean to suggest anything either. was just making a point. Also ‘complicated’ here does not mean something contrived, it’s just about the level of ‘surprise’ that Rahman can often introduce even when doing ‘genre’.
Surprising but true that I could have correctly predicted satyams choices from rockstar …
Would be interesting to hear views/ranking of these tracks for academi interest
Incidentally some “friends” (students of world music) are using this discussion towards their PHD /-think its on various “musical influences lol
Yup, same here friend, not that these 2 are my top favorites of the album, Listening to others too and right now loving the Tum HO and Kun Faya Kun, Ofcourse starting to love Hawa Hawa as well, But for some odd reason one of the most mediocre tracks on this “Sheher” for some odd reason I am liking it more and more on each hearing, maybe something to do with the way two contradicting way of singing by Mohit Chauhan or its fun to listen to the inputs given by the music director. But overall a gem of an album all around. can’t wait to get it “legally” for a change and give my contribution towards good music.
She is Alex, Just has heard only Sadda Haq so far and loves it. Have yet to introduce her to the world and magic of Indian music and movies. Just to “occupied” with other things right now.LOL…here it goes..I dug my own hole..lol.
Wed numbers haven’t been provided for Rockstar by anyone.. guess there have been more drops.. they’re waiting for the second Fri numbers to decide how to cover this. It’s an old trick.
Rockstar had a good first week as it collected around 50 crore nett but it was mainly due to good 33 crore plus weekend and a solid Monday and from Tuesday onwards the film saw noticeable drops.
The trending is was not good over the weekdays and the film has found appreciation only with a small section of the audience but this may be enough to keep it afloat in its second weekend.
Rockstar is a success and a good second weekend will make it a hit but its unlikely to become a huge grosser as 75 crore nett seems the best it can do for lifetime business
If the expected big Saturday jump which is a norm for films accepted at high end multiplexes does not occur then the business could even remain below 70 crore nett.
SATYAMSHOT
November 10, 2011 at 12:09 AM
Chennai Box-Office (November 4 to 6)
Chennai Box-Office (November 4 to 6) | Wednesday, 09 November , 2011, 17:46
The Diwali releases have ignited the CBO, though heavy rains over the weekend have dampened it.
Vijay`s Velayudham with more number of screens in the second week has overtaken the collections of 7aum Arivu, which is now in the number two position.
In the third place is Ra. One, which has fizzled out in its second week. Engeyum Eppothum is steady at number four and in the fifth position is the Hollywood flick In Time, which opened well in multiplexes.
http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=14983196&cid=13525926
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November 10, 2011 at 2:41 AM
Rats! Now I’m bummed that I decided to give Velayudham a miss, but bought a ticket for 7aum Arivu this weekend.
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November 10, 2011 at 2:48 AM
sm, have you watched Dookudu yet?
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November 10, 2011 at 3:17 AM
Yes, I have — didn’t like it.
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November 10, 2011 at 3:44 AM
So, did I. Was wondering how it is such a huge hit. Even the songs were disappointing. One thing that struck me particularly was the excessive use of English words in the dialogues-do not know whether that is a recent trend.
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November 10, 2011 at 4:13 AM
Unfortunately the English in dialogs is a recent trend, but this film took it to a whole new level. I thought they tried to pack in as many of Mahesh’s “greatest hits” moments as they could, and, from the crowd around me, everyone else seemed to love them. So I guess that’s how it became a hit. Also, there are rumors that it’s not as big a hit as it’s being made out to be.
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November 10, 2011 at 8:41 AM
Rockstar Has Good Advance At Multiplexes
Thursday 10th November 2011 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar had a good advance yesterday as advance counters opened yesterday at multiplexes. The single screens are not as strong going by good single screens like Delite and Liberty in Delhi which are good barometers as they are advance theatres.
The youth in major centres is likely to be out in full force on Friday as the advance is much stronger at multiplexes which are close to colleges and universities or other big educational institutes.
It will be interesting to see how well Rockstar can open in mass circuits like CPCI as films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and even a more massy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan put up numbers which were on the lower side on their respective first days.
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November 10, 2011 at 1:03 PM
i want RS to do more than Ra.one at the B.O. 🙂 ranbir deserves a BB
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November 10, 2011 at 10:59 AM
Tyler- Satyam closed comments on the RA-1 thread- the NYT piece on RA-1 and SRK by Manu was a great read…….
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November 10, 2011 at 11:02 AM
sorry.. I always do that when I start a new thread so as not to have two ongoing ones at the same time but here’s the piece for anyone interested.
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November 10, 2011 at 1:26 PM
What is the final outcome of Ra-1? Average or flop?
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November 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM
TOI Review
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Rockstar/moviereview/10677770.cms
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November 10, 2011 at 12:40 PM
Thats an encouraging review.
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November 10, 2011 at 1:34 PM
AniGuha Aniruddha Guha
#ROCKSTAR is – quite easily – the movie of the year. Detailed review in a few hours.
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November 10, 2011 at 2:06 PM
Good to hear.. I was quite inclined to check it out for the soundtrack.. now looks like it’s going to be worthwhile even otherwise..
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November 10, 2011 at 2:09 PM
and if the reviews continue this way this will be an easy major success for Ranbir. As I said the other day he had a significant one in 2009 with AJPKGK, a smaller one in WUS, in 2010 he had Rajneeti, this year it might be Rockstar for him. so he’s certainly taking the momentum forward..
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November 10, 2011 at 1:07 PM
Ranbir, Imtiyaz and Nargis-
http://khabar.ndtv.com/PlayVideo.aspx?id=215685
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November 10, 2011 at 3:07 PM
^^^Bliss: who the heck is ani guha? Lol
Hmm–seems my “hunch” is coming true (again)
Had a v good vibe about this movie ever since I’ve checked out the music (& the heroine)
Seems even the director hasn’t done a bad job
I got this sense of a “transition” with the relative failure and the (probable) coming of age of ranbir…
This movie may give Bollywood a” superstar”
and a new interesting heroine
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November 10, 2011 at 3:27 PM
Ranbir is chosing the right films.
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November 10, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Agree ted
Infact his choice of films is the main reason of his success till now
Also: he has avoided the second /younger hero deals even with SRK/aamir etc
Have not noticed it till now but there seems a “pattern” to his moves
Btw even his moves with “girlfriend(s)” isn’t bad–though feel his “exploits” have been exaggerated
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November 10, 2011 at 5:21 PM
films are like campaigns in a sense.. stars who try and speak to one constituency or another do better more often than not all else being equal. On the other hand stars whose choices don’t have this sort of obvious ‘pitch’ then need to make this up with outstanding films so as to get a little bit of every constituency minimally. Now the interesting thing here is that the former is the path to becoming a solid star, even a major star but to be ‘defining’ you need to do the latter. Either get attached to a kind of cinema that does not yet exist but does have a constituency waiting for it or even if there isn’t a constituency do you kind of films but somehow make them work with the right scripts and so on. These stars are conversation changing stars. The other are just very successful ones. The textbook example here is Dharmendra. An important star for very many years once he became successful but he was never controlling the conversation, never coming up with the new genres et al. Even though he had many iconic films in different eras he wasn’t Rajesh Khanna or Rajendra Kumar or Bachchan. It’s not just about degree of success here but also the ‘unique’ calling card of the star. Over the last twenty years or more only two stars have really done this. First SRK who really became the hero of the new paradigm. Then Aamir who went the other way and has become synonymous with prestige in a very singular sense. Every other star falls in between. Take Salman in the present age. Started out as a chocolate hero, then became a Dhawan star, finally and most successfully now a kind of comic-masala hero. But none of these phases ‘reinvent’ the industry in any sense. He like Dharmendra takes advantage of what ‘is’. And so the argument is in many ways a counter-intuitive one. The box office might work in a big way for such stars but for relatively temporary periods because they generally aren’t able to control the conversation either in a box office sense or in a prestige sense for every long. Dharmendra is still the best example of such a star or the most successful such example. Not many ‘top’ stars in Bollywood history have been more iconic than him. To phrase it differently certain stars do the ‘right’ films, certain others make their choices seem ultimately ‘right’.
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November 10, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Nice interview.
They spoke a lot of hindi and very well too. Ranbir speaks very well unlike many others. Hrithik puts in a lot of English, even Saif.
But I’m wondering about Nargis. Will she speak hindi at some point or just speak English with an American accent?
Somehow this emphasises the fact that the heroine is just there to look good and attractive (for the men) and that’s all there is to it.
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November 10, 2011 at 4:00 PM
Ya think she may have a problem with the hindi diction…
But if someone like katrina has more than survived, why not her
Not seen much of “acting” in promos but my impression is that she has better presence and emoting than katrina had in boom!!! Lol
Reminds me somewhat of preity zinta–part of liked her in the initial stages (not the IPL phase!!)
Anyhow even she is weak in certain aspects : we shall teach her—what are “fans” for
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November 10, 2011 at 3:34 PM
Have NEVER seen anything special in ranbir kapoor (except in rocket Singh –more to do. With script/director there)
But v recently the rockstar promos have made me sit back–
Is this the guy who can really reach and stay at the top- still don’t think so –but am not v sure now
Just saw parts of his interview with tran adarsh–who asked him–“will u u break the khan monopoly ”
He replied -not sure of anyone’s monopoly—but will definitely achieve bigger heights –will be the best actor and hero–something like that
Not easy to make such claims
Will watch this movie over this weekend to judge but this movie seems promising
My curiosity will be –how this does compared kto the mega hyped biggest release ra1— -any predictions?
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November 10, 2011 at 5:48 PM
Barkha Dutt Interviews Abhay Deol-
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-buck-stops-here/abhay-deol-walks-the-road-less-travelled/215765?hp
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November 10, 2011 at 6:17 PM
excellent interview.. the rare ‘thinking’ one.. and he’s fantastic with some of his critiques.. thanks for posting..
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November 10, 2011 at 6:25 PM
ya, I specially liked that he said I am so glad Zoya did not put an item number in ZNMD……
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November 11, 2011 at 1:46 AM
Yes, I caught this last night at the gym, it was refreshing — although Barkha Dutt has begun to irritate me with her ultra-soft puff interviews (example of Priyanka Gandhi in 2009 before the election; the one with Fatima Bhutto on the eve of the latter’s Indian book launch)…
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November 11, 2011 at 5:09 AM
Yes, I saw it on TV… Some very Good Insights and Critique from Deol… Seldom I like Tv stars talking but this one was real excpetion…
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November 10, 2011 at 6:42 PM
not that great of a review-
But, again, with so many loopholes in terms of doctor not able to justify Heer’s (Nargis) death and no logic in police chasing Jordan in a foreign country where he has committed no crime where the audience will be left assuming and presuming things, Imtiaz Ali disappoints
Totally clattered post interval sequences, non-crisp editing and screenplay are the drawbacks.
Overall, Rockstar is a one-time watch and worth a treat for both fans and non-fans of Ranbir Kapoor who does justice to his character at every moment in the film.
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/ENT-movie-review-rockstar-2555071.html
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November 10, 2011 at 8:25 PM
might check it out even if it’s just decent.. because I think the soundtrack deserves a proper theatrical experience.. the only thing with Imtiaz Ali is that I did the same for LAK and was pretty bored with the film. I certainly expect something better in Rockstar no matter what but the story arc seems somewhat similar in terms of a relationship developing over time. My other problem is that my local theater is not showing Hindi films anymore so now it’s a higher bar for me to drive elsewhere for it! Still have to catch up with the new Almodovar though it’s now playing at my end and of course this weekend it will be J Edgar before all else. All said and done I’d rather watch Rockstar than not, even looking forward to it strangely enough. Just a question of now getting there.
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November 10, 2011 at 8:51 PM
Here’s an article (though “attack” might be more accurate) about the move to front ended movies in Bollywood. It’s triggered by Ra.One, but attacks all three of Salman, Aamir, & SRK for their “bad” films manipulating the market. I don’t necessarily disagree on the points made, but I do wonder why the column is restricted to Hindi films. I think the criticisms he levels at the three Khans can equally well apply to commercial Telugu films and possiblly Tamil films as well (though I’m not as familiar with them). Anyway, read it and judge for yourselves. I’m putting it here because it does have to do with box office in a way.
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2597563.ece
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November 10, 2011 at 8:58 PM
“From an appalling “Ghajini” to an even more appalling “Ra.One””
Apalling Ghajini? Really? Another critic that likes to paint all masala films with the same brush.
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November 10, 2011 at 9:03 PM
I haven’t seen Ghajini, but I have read quite a few comments pro and con. It is certainly not as universally acclaimed as 3 Idiots, for instance, though even 3I is not admired by everyone (including me). But. leaving aside the guy’s opinions on films, the point he makes about the overemphasis on the opening of a film these days, and a film being judged only on its box office performance, are valid, i think.
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November 10, 2011 at 9:01 PM
Oh, he also calls 3 idiots manipulative. Well, sure it is, but it’s still a very entertaining films. If you hate everything, then why even watch Bollywood films?
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November 10, 2011 at 9:08 PM
I prefer Ghajini over almost every Aamir film (barring Lagaan and TZP). To me, that is what authentic ‘masala’ should be like – dark, powerful, and cathartic.
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November 11, 2011 at 2:02 AM
Mangal Pandey is probably my favorite Aamir film from the post-Lagaan period, but Ghajini is a close second; certainly prefer it by miles and miles to Fanaa.
Also, Henry, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, summarizing in a few words what I love about masala…
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November 11, 2011 at 7:13 AM
I disagree with Henry’s definition of what masala “should be”. To me the origin of the term “masala” is derived from the idea of “navarasas” in a work of art — that is all the variety of human emotions were supposed to be portrayed in the work for it to be considered complete and artistic. This concept is very much there in the classical Sanskrit drama and the other entertainment forms which derived from that, including movies. When the term “masala” first started to be used, I remember it being used in a derogatory sense, where any one of the nine rasas were exaggerated beyond realism or naturalism, in order to woo viewers. It was also used when people felt the filmmakers were introducing elements that were not compatible with the story or the rest of the film. So a dance by Helen would be included to add “masala” to the film and make it more saleable. Similarly, as we continue to the present day, we have the item number, and the excess of fights in Telugu and Tamil films. Conversely, an “art film” (as they used to be called) was considered unappealing because it didn’t have sufficient masala, and was too bland. Here the analogy was with cooking, where having appropriate spices to prevent a dish from being too bland was considered to be necessary.
So the dark, brooding, “cathartic” type of film might be a fine film, but it is not necessarily what “masala” either is or “should be.” I would argue instead that it cannot be masala, since such a film usually has one overriding emotional tone, rather than a variety of them in balance, complementing and reinforcing each other.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:27 AM
But Ghajini is not merely a dark, brooding, cathartic kind of film — it is a masala film that also has dark, brooding, and cathartic elements. For me, a masala film without any of these elements is less satisfying. But I completely disagree that a masala film CANNOT be considered masala if it has these elements – of all film labels, surely “masala” is one of the most capacious. Of course you haven’t seen Ghajini, but given its long romantic track; action; villain; and sense of loss, I would argue that the film does in fact have a variety of emotions “in balance, complementing and reinforcing each other.” [Take love: the loss here adds to its resonance and meaning, in a way it is difficult for any romance in one of the contemporary Bollycomedies to.]
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November 11, 2011 at 7:46 AM
I don’t think we’re disagreeing, Qalandar. I was objecting to Henry’s characterization that masala “should” consist of only “dark, brooding, cathartic” elements. My point is that if that is all there is, it cannot be masala, since there is no complexity to the emotional tone. If Ghajini has all the elements you say, then it’s masala, where the final impression left to the viewer (I’m guessing) is dark and cathartic. After all, there were plenty of masala films that were tragedies, too. They did not all have happy endings. At the same time, as Satyam noted below, there are also masala films where the overarching or final impression is a humorous one. Which type of masala film appeals to a particular viewer is a matter of personal taste.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:37 AM
Q, in M.P. – for me, director ketan mehta blew up the entire film with just one “sick” scene – there is a watchman/sentry who peeps into the bedroom of british couple making love and he is shown masturbating – disgusting! i wonder what was the need to show such a scene in this kind of film and how on earth aamir agreed to this scene part of such a film!!!! till this date, i haven’t understood…
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November 11, 2011 at 7:40 AM
ideaunique: what is sick about it? That and the scene with the woman who deprives her own child of milk while feeding her employer’s child, symbolizes for me the corruption that colonialism wreaks. But the scene you are referring to also symbolizes the hypnotic power of the colonial other — a lifestyle to emulate, to watch, to simultaneously dismiss as nothing more than lewd diversion, and yet to never catch up with…
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November 11, 2011 at 8:28 AM
that is absolutely right Q – but was it really necessary to show in this film about the beginning of freedom fight and about mangal pandey? to me, it was unnecessary diversion…and has left a very bad taste….the scene wud have been good in “Maaya memsaab” 😉
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November 11, 2011 at 7:40 AM
weird, I’ve seen the film a few times but don’t remember this moment at all..
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November 11, 2011 at 1:00 PM
I think he is refferring to a scene when the sentry is sitting outside and with the help of a rope fanning the lady that is sleeping in the bedroom and he is watching her through peephole there, I dont remember seeing her making love to her husband though.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:48 PM
yeah kash….thats the correct description – i think there was no love-making…
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November 11, 2011 at 6:11 AM
LOL!!!! Really!!!
Here’s a *lame Ra.One type Gajhani joke*
Reporter: Are you aware of an impersonator out there?
Hulk: AAAAAAAAGHHHHHGRRRRRRRRR!!! WHOOOOOO??? **powerful cathartic noise emanating from the dark cave like mouth**
Reporter: *trembling* – the a..a..actor who tried to impersonate your dark, powerful, cathartic noise as well as your physique in a film titled in English as *hulk practices memento*
Hulk: oh, ok. I’ll just go trample on him.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:30 AM
agreed and this is what my preference is as well though of course there’s also the parallel ‘comic-masala’ tradition. sometimes the two co-exist in the same film, sometimes the films are largely comedies.
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November 10, 2011 at 10:56 PM
http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-rockstar-is-more-devdas-than-jim-morrison/20111111.htm
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_Review.aspx?id=673&pfrom=home-topstories
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November 10, 2011 at 11:48 PM
Rockstar is getting bad to average reviews. It will open big and crash big after the opening weekend.
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November 11, 2011 at 12:41 AM
after the first one I thought that this would probably be a very well-reviewed film but everyone’s now talking about the screenplay being problematic. Here’s taran:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/12957/index.html
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November 11, 2011 at 12:46 AM
“but everyone’s now talking about the screenplay being problematic. Here’s taran:”
Ohmygod! Now we have to take taran’s views on screenplay seriously! I remember how he had dismissed DCH on the same ground. Of course, fresh on my mind is his wholehearted approval of ra_One as the perfect script witha plenty of soul.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:25 AM
I’m not taking Taran’s views on it seriously but this is the sort of movie he would have supported all else being equal.. in fact this applies to the other reviewers too. This is the kind of film that reviewers would ‘want’ to support. The reviews as a whole for me are indicative of box office trending, I don’t take them seriously otherwise, whether positive or negative. Barring exceptions.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:51 AM
Rockstar is surprisingly opening to bad-to-average reviews across the board. Given the Indian reviewing scene, this could also mean that the films is actually good 😉 I mean, it isn’t a bad thing when Nahata and Adarsh give your film a 2 1/2 rating. Seriously though, the audience reaction will matter. Overheard some people say that the romance works but is fantastical and the personal journey is too internal and dark even. If this film doesn’t work, this will be the second time after Delhi-6 that a fantastic Rahman album will belong to an unsuccessful film. Plan to check this out tonight however.
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November 11, 2011 at 2:45 AM
Hmmm—actually that sort of negative reaction means the film will be to my liking
The “internal dark” bit seems interesting
Can’t rule out motivated propaganda
Btw nice to hear from u filmifan-how’s life vvvv
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November 11, 2011 at 7:26 AM
yes true! If this is mostly the case there could be some authentically right about the film..
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November 11, 2011 at 2:30 AM
The film seems to be getting mixed reviews,but one things seems to be consistent and that seems to be the praise for Ranbir’s performance! Really really really happy for him! Truly hope that this film turns out to be a huge box office success for him!
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November 11, 2011 at 2:41 AM
Elsewhere, I had predicted Filmfare Awards for Ranbir and Rahman, and I stand by it. And yes, 2,5 / 3 stars by Taran and Komal, means the chance of it being a good film is good. When was it last that any mainstream film tried a dark and depressing romance? Devdas? Guzaarish? This one is going to do better than those two, box-office wise even,
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November 11, 2011 at 7:40 AM
Rahman is a different deal but for Ranbir to win in the popular category the film would have to be a success. Filmfare never rewards a star otherwise.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:03 PM
I have made the same claim else where along with Utkal, and I dont think it is entirely true Satyam, Where Chake De was critically acclaimed and just a moderate success (ofcourse going by SRK”s standards at BO collections) I believe he had bagged the award that year over Abhishek Bachchan’s Guru. I really can not comment on who really deserved it, have not seen Chak De and have no desire to do so ever.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:28 PM
CDI was a very good success though for that kind of film. It got important tax breaks early on but still it was a small film and did very well. Rockstar doesn’t need to be a 90 crore grosser but it has to be stable with some cross-section of the audience. That can get him the award specially as it’s a late release and this always helps. Having said that not sure why anyone would be invested in winning a Filmfare award when otherwise great performances in films like Krrish routinely win it!
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November 11, 2011 at 1:31 PM
haha agreed on the last bit there, Heck I lost interest in filmfare since Aamir lost out for Rangeela, There is nothing more discouraging than that.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:34 PM
should say that Nahata and Adarsh are generally not the most reliable guides (assuming they’re just being honest, which day is about as frequent in their lives as Feb 29) when it comes to youth-targeted multiplex fare. They keep coming up with refrains like ‘it will only appeal in multiplexes’. well that’s most of the game these days!
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November 11, 2011 at 1:40 PM
Atyant Sach kaha, Ek woh jo “Nahata” nahin hai aur baas maarta hai, aur doosra woh jiske “Adarsh” bik chuke hai. I know really bad one there, Had to say it though..lol.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:43 PM
Shahid Kapoor said something similar about Adarsh when Mausam released!
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November 11, 2011 at 2:47 AM
Yes sense a really good one here
Goin this weekend
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November 11, 2011 at 4:10 AM
Tickets for Saturday afternoon!
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November 11, 2011 at 2:51 AM
Have also been requested to do another role–Some “students of music” will also be “introduced “/ initiated to Bollywood by yours truly via this film
Good to “guide”
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November 11, 2011 at 6:23 AM
In spite of this I hope the film succeeds, to some extent at least. I’m disappointed, because I really wanted Ranbir to have a major success.
Somewhere in the comments above I read a ‘spoiler’. It’s really bad how people just write that without any thought.
I hope and pray that people will not give out Talaash spoilers.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:06 AM
I’ve now come to the conclusion that Indian viewers don’t understand the concept of “spoilers” or “suspense.” Witness the multitude of award ceremonies where the winners are announced weeks before the program is telecast. That never happens with the multitude of American award shows. Similarly, big winners on various game shows are also announced before the episode actually airs. And these announcements are shown repeatedly on TV, in order to build up viewership. It seems to work, too. So there must be something in the psyche of Indian audiences that doesn’t care about suspense, or not knowing what will happen, and prefers certainly over uncertainty.
I think that’s why even the critics used to routinely give away the entire plot in their reviews, especially if there was any “twist” or surprise ending to the film. This used to drive me when I first started to follow Bollywood, about ten years ago. In the past few years, perhaps in their efforts to emulate Hollywood and show that they are also capable of “international standards”, this practice has stopped, for which I am thankful.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:45 AM
Rockstar Opens To Good Houses
November 11th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Rockstar Movie PosterRockstar may not exactly have been off to a rocking start today (11th November) at the box-office but the opening ranged from good to excellent. In several multiplexes at places like Ghaziabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, etc, the opening show collections were 90-100 per cent. In multiplexes of smaller towns and cities, the initial ranged between 40 and 60 per cent. For instance, Bioscope multiplex of Jodhpur recorded a show of 47.77 per cent at 12.45 p.m.
At PVR multiplex in Gorakhpur, the first show had 163 audience as against a full house capacity of 332 persons. The second show had 221 persons. In Bombay the PVR multiplex at Mulund saw 201 persons in the first show, 149 persons in the second show and 270 in the third show. The screen showing Rockstar has a capacity of 420 people. At PVR Phoenix in Bombay, the admits in shows 1 and 2 were 102 and 175 respectively. The housefull capacity is 272 persons. The corresponding figure at PVR Juhu, Bombay, were 137 and 165 respectively as against a capacity of 333 persons per show.
In Baroda the PVR multiplex sold 309 tickets in the first show and 272 tickets in the second show. The housefull capacity is 563 persons. Attendance at PVR multiplex in Surat was not very encouraging. Tickets sold in shows 1, 2, 3 and 4 at the multiplex were 65, 12, 88 and 169 respectively. Seating capacity of the auditorium is 371. In Ahmedabad the 9 a.m. shows at Wide Angle, Cinemax Dev Arc and Shiv Cinemax were housefull. Likewise, Big multiplex in Ahmedabad drew a full house at 9 a.m. At Cinemax, Gandhinagar, the first show had only 91 persons in attendance.
Single-screen cinemas all over generally recorded lesser collections than multiplexes.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:45 AM
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November 11, 2011 at 7:48 AM
SPOILERS in the review.
Nahata is otherwise predicting a “safe” film but “not a hit”.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:50 AM
Ra.One Has 15.50 Crore Nett Second Week
Friday 11th November 2011 09.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Ra.One (Hindi) has grossed around 15.50 crore nett in week two. The collections after two weeks are around 113 crore nett. The drop from the extended first week is 84%. Bodyguard which had a similar extended first week dropped 81% in its second week.
Even though the film has a big drop in its second week, the overall total is good though with the release of Rockstar today only another 5 crore at best can be expected which will mean it will stay below the 120 crore nett mark. A holiday on Monday has helped collections in week two.
The final nett gross will be the fifth highest ever after Three Idiots, Bodyguard, Dabangg and Ready.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:51 AM
Rockstar: Good In Multiplexes Lower In Single Screens
Friday 11th November 2011 16.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar opened to a good response at multiplexes with collections on average in the 60-70% range but the single screen response was just around 30-40%. Circuits like Rajasthan and CPCI may put up dent collections for day one as although single screens are weak, the multiplexes have good numbers.
The film will come out with a good first day on the strength of multiplexes in metros but it may find it hard to show big growth on Saturday and Sunday.
Rockstar has mixed reports and will find it tough at single screens as opening is on the lower side and unlikely to make much headway in mass centres.
If the film is to score it will be heavily dependent on high end multiplexes in places like Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bangalore.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:59 AM
Vidya Balan’s oomph could beat Ranbir’s Rockstar appeal: Trade experts
Vidya Balan’s sexy avatar, itsy bitsy clothes, cleavage-showing blouses and raunchy dance numbers in The Dirty Picture are receiving jaw-dropping reactions. Fans and trade pundits say the masala movie is expected to beat the musical treat Rockstar, the fun-filled Desi Boyz and the action thriller Don 2.
Directed by Milan Luthria, The Dirty Picture is said to be the tragic tale of a southern sex symbol’s rise and fall and Vidya is playing the voluptuous woman who was loved and desired in the 1980s and 1990s.
Leaving behind the grace and charm she showed in her first film Parineeta and then again in films like Paa and No One Killed Jessica, Vidya has done everything – from wearing garish clothes to showing meat to making provocative dance moves – to make her character believable.
In fact, she has surpassed her own portrayal of a sexually charged woman in Ishiqya.
When launched, the film grabbed attention as it was touted as a biopic on southern sex symbol Silk Smitha who had committed suicide in 1996. But recently when the late actor’s brother objected and filed a complaint against the content of the film, the makers said it’s not based on anyone’s life.
Vidya pulled out all stops at the music launch of the movie when she gave an adrenaline pumping performance along with co-star Naseeruddin Shah.
Criticism and complaints notwithstanding, the trade pundits forecast that amidst the four big releases – the Vidya starrer, produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures, will take the cake when it hits the screen on December 2.
TN Kapoor, of Bharti Film Distributors in Indore, told IANS: ” The Dirty Picture is likely to do good business as it has got mass appeal. Vidya’s already generated a lot of buzz with the way she is presenting herself in the film.”
Ranbir Kapoor’s musical saga Rockstar is releasing Friday and TN Kapoor said: “Rockstar is for youngsters and caters to the audiences of bigger cities. It may do well.”
Set in London, Desi Boyz, releasing on December 25, will see the hit team of Akshay Kumar and John Abraham. “Desi Boyz is good but whatever little I have heard about the story, I don’t think the audiences will be able to digest it. But since it is a solo release, people would definitely go and watch it as they wouldn’t have any other option to choose from,” said TN Kapoor.
Ranbir and director Imtiaz Ali have rocked the nation with their promotional events and the promos of the film have generated curiosity among the masses.
But Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan, said, “Rockstar is for the multiplex audiences and I don’t find anything extraordinary in Desi Boyz and Don 2. All the three films are made at a budget of over Rs 70 crore and it often becomes difficult to recover so much cost.
“I feel The Dirty Picture will work more than other films as it has appeal for both mass and class. The Dirty Picture will not only work in the metros but it is likely to work in B and C class cities like Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Bareilly among others.”
Vidya has been one of the few actresses who has spent most of her screen time looking old, unglamorous and now even vulgar to earn that highest spot in the creative field.
Her endeavour may be earning flak for her sexy avatar, but the actress was quoted as saying that she had a blast doing the film and that “I have given it my all”.
Businesswise this year is said to be better compared to 2010. Some fell flat at the box office, some recovered the cost and some appealed to the public and spun profit.
Some big budget disappointments were Game, Thank You, Dum Maaro Dum, Rascals, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Mausam and Patiala House.
But No One Killed Jessica, Yamla Pagal Deewana, Tanu Weds Manu, Bodyguard, Ready, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Singham and RA.One set the cash registers ringing and bailed out the filmmakers by earning profit.
Don 2 will be the last big release of the year. Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the film will reach the theatres on December 23.
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November 11, 2011 at 8:51 AM
http://www.reviewgang.com/movies/125-Rockstar-Review
Rockstar is getting great reviews, checking it out tonight..\
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November 11, 2011 at 9:03 AM
I still might give this a shot. The film was ultimately more about the “Rahman concert” experience in a theater for me than a really good film. The latter isn’t something one should expect from Imtiaz Ali.
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November 11, 2011 at 9:17 AM
agreed..
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November 11, 2011 at 9:48 AM
I think Jab We Met and Socha Na Tha were both really good films. Would be difficult to find better love stories these days.
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November 11, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Haven’t seen Socha na tha. Jab We Met was nice enough and an appropriate ‘downsizing’ of the genre but I don’t find this to be a ‘great’ film by any stretch. But either way in LAK Imtiaz Ali walked away from all this and completely Joharized himself. Rockstar seems a lot more rooted in this sense, at least based on the trailers. Do think Imtiaz ali could make a really good film with the right script. He’s never going to be auteur of any sort but he can do better than he has been. And here Rockstar might well be a step in the right direction.
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November 11, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Satyam Socha na tha is a very good movie followed by JWM ( best music ) , LAK was just OK……….
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November 11, 2011 at 11:25 AM
I haven’t been able to get my hands on Socha Na Tha. There’s a version on youtube that’s not very clear. My local Indian store doesn’t carry it and Netflix doesn’t have it either. Can’t say it’s on my ‘to buy’ list!
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November 11, 2011 at 1:23 PM
Surely you can move Ra.One’s Blu-Ray off the list for this.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:30 PM
Ha! Might as well since I’m told by certain folks that I cannot adequately judge this film unless I watch it on the best kind of IMAX screen there is. Unless of course I end up liking it in which case these are ‘process’ issues!
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November 11, 2011 at 1:56 PM
You definitely shoudl trya and catch this soon, I would rate Socha Na tha as Imtiaz’s best work. Don’t know how to put it in words like you guys, But felt it was a fresh approach towards story telling, beautifully told. it really works from the script level, Didn’t find any scene boring, defintely interesting approach. I am sure you would like it.
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November 11, 2011 at 10:32 AM
The thing is Imitiaz Ali has made the same film three times now and with each film the formula has gotten progressively more, well, formulaic. Socha Na Tha was and remains his best film but really he hasn’t re-written the game or anything. It’s a pleasant movie with some nice performances. JWM I found passable, worth a single watch, really, (and only if you’re into this sort of thing) and LAK felt like the height of fakery. It’s a bit insuting after the third go-around. Rockstar actually looks like it’s more of the same at baseline, but it’s gussied up in some nice Rahman duds.
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November 11, 2011 at 3:53 PM
Absolutely agree. But I did like LAK a fair bit. Actually over JWM – could not stand Kareena in that film.
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November 11, 2011 at 10:34 AM
‘Rockstar’ is soul stirring: Anurag Kashyap
By: IANS Date: 2011-11-11 Place: New Delhi
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says Ranbir Kapoor is “awesome” in “Rockstar” and describes the film as Imtiaz Ali’s best work.
“Rockstar is easily Imtiaz Ali’s best. This is how a love story should be told. Soul stirring. Still assimilating,” Kashyap wrote on microblogging site Twitter.
“‘Rockstar’ is unlike most films…no cacophony of sounds…quiet…no unnecessary background to propel it forward…Ranbir is just awesome. It is not ‘Jab We Met’…its come from somewhere with in Imtiaz. It’s his labour of love,” he added.
Released Friday, “Rockstar” chronicles the journey of an aspiring singer Janardhan Jakhar, who wants to make it big in the music world and what he endures to earn fame. It introduces two new faces – Pakistani-American model Nargi Fakhri and Brazilian model Moufid Aziz.
Kashyap, known for making unconventional films like “Black Friday” and “Dev D”, also calls it a “coming of age film”.
“Such an unexpected film.. does not take any easy route.. does not become a clap trap or a crowd pleaser.. It’s just so heartfelt…,” Anurag wrote.
“‘Rockstar’ is not so much about rock as it is an individual’s story..it’s another kind of coming of age film…just can’t get it out of my head,” he added.
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November 11, 2011 at 10:37 AM
Kashyap’s soul is stirred rather easily when it comes to his friend’s film! He had kind things to say about LAK too. Now to be honest Rockstar based on some of the reviews does sound more interesting than the normal film but for Kashyap to go so overboard with this stuff when he has nothing to say about 99.9% of other mainstream films is a bit hard to digest. The thing is it’s rather easy to attack everyone else for ‘compromise’ in one’s industry but how about some elementary honesty at this very basic level?! I could still take this stuff more seriously if he hadn’t also praised LAK.
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November 11, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Absolutely. He’s totally bankrupt in this way. Any time one of his inner circle of hipster indie filmmaker (and Imtiaz Ali now hardly qualifies as even this!) friends comes out with something, it becomes the modern age’s answer to Ray.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:51 PM
its like KJo telling “ra.one is srk’s best work” 😉
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November 11, 2011 at 10:44 AM
my cousin and his wife ( 32 yrs old) just saw the movie in Moradabad-
his verdict-
awesome music and very well used in the movie- koi gaana poora nahee hai….
not everyone will like it
comedy in the fist half is Palang-tod..(eg.- shadi sey pehley tere saare.keeda maarney hain, whatever he meant by that)
lots of drama. in the second half.
Ranbir Kapoor – very good acting- has two roles- 1.lallu, 2. Rockstar and in both has performed very well… lekin ussko guitar pakadna nahee aaya….
Nargis is hot…..
Ending is very Sudden and does not feel like a proper climax…
he saw the evening show was 85% full, but night show is housefull…
P.S.- Per him- general perception in India is that RA1 has bombed ….
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November 11, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Thanks Rock(star). LOL. Definitely checking this out over the weekend.
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November 11, 2011 at 11:08 AM
LOL…me too am planning to see it on saturday..
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November 11, 2011 at 11:08 AM
Thanx for that note rocky
Well, maybe anurag kashyap is just saying good things about a friend but still…
Find him more creditable than kjo or his cohorts
So rocky : your cousin or his wife found nargi f “hot”–lol
Anyhow —a point to note here ….
A movie has certain limitations/characteristics
A “love story” if authentic and even if “Oscar winning ” WILL remain a love story at the end of the day
And that’s how it has to be judged by
So if someone doesn’t love romcoms or love stories–well thats fine. Its just that h the movie ought not suddenly be compared to pather panchali or schindlers list!!
Inspite of his limitations & issues , somehow in all his films , imtiaz Ali has shown some insight and seems more tolerable than kjo and his many partners/directors
Don’t care about “reviews” or box office–catapulted by one of rahmans ALLTIME best music –this film seems poised to be “game changer” for all involved and finally one may get a “deep” “introspective” “musical journey “–pardon all the (sic!) cliches
So hit the theatres folks –(& help me get my investment back lol)
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November 11, 2011 at 11:11 AM
Re.-So rocky : your cousin or his wife found nargi f “hot”–lol
Koi Fakri Shaq???? LOL
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November 11, 2011 at 11:45 AM
“So rocky : your cousin or his wife found nargi f “hot”–lol”
Why did i expect this? LOL>
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November 11, 2011 at 11:12 AM
Most of my friends who did seen the movie are praising it, with most rating of 3 or 4, and hailing it as movie of the year.
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November 11, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Thanx folks
U all do have good “taste”
Anyone not checking this out will be declared an “outcast” here lol
Ie it’s illegal not to check this out
Haha
And anyone saying bad things as “reviews ” will be declared as having “crap taste ” .
That’s the “fair” “fatwa”!!!–enjoy
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November 11, 2011 at 11:49 AM
Honestly, The songs are way to good to be missed here, It needs a proper viewing experience just as it demands hearing. I dont really understand music too much like you guys do, But can tell a difference between good or bad. Can’t analyze it more than that. That being said, No doubt ARR has outdone himself here, But what I find equally praise worthy are the lyrics (again dont know too much poetry or shayari, no my thing) but it is so easy to understand and at the same time it is so deep and meaning ful (reminds of Gulzar’s earlier works, Just your everyday words with lot of meaning to it when all put together) I say take a bow Ishrat Kamil. Wonderfully written songs.
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November 11, 2011 at 12:26 PM
Think one way or the other the movie should be worthwhile in the theater..
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November 11, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Absolutely, Songs are just the bonus point for me, But overall movie looks really good. Something that I know I would like. Unless it really disappoints, and Honestly I dont look at the reviews for the movies that I am looking forward to. But woud certainly love to read your views, Also, still AWAITING ARAKSHAN VIEWS from you sir, WE ARE NOT LETTTING YOU OFF THE HOOK on this one. Jaldi karo, Kyun tadpa rahe ho? LOL>
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November 11, 2011 at 1:26 PM
LOL, as I’ve said earlier I need to watch it once more. Generally like to write proper pieces when the film is fresher in my mind..
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November 11, 2011 at 1:35 PM
Fair enough 🙂
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November 11, 2011 at 11:32 AM
@rocky : general perception in india ra.one not only bomb thats an understatement,, its a fiasco.
Theres a difference between bomb( a failure) and fiasco.
There’s a diffrence between a bomb and a fiasco. A failure is merely the absence of success. Any fool can achieve failure. But a fiasco, a fiasco is a disaster of epic propotions. A fiasco is a folk tale told to other’s to make other people feel more alive because it didn’t happen to them.
ps- quote is from elizabethtown, a movie that i simply love
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November 12, 2011 at 6:56 PM
LOL Rooney……good one , I stand corrected ….
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November 11, 2011 at 11:38 AM
^^lol@fiasco vs failure
Also the former should act as a deterrent to others from attempting such “smartness”
Having said –the more “promising” rockstar looks to me –the more uncertain will be its box office
Indian multiplex viewers are just..(well…….)
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November 11, 2011 at 11:50 AM
Going by early reviews and box-office reports of Rockstar , it does seem not much will happen here. Ranbir just let go a great opportunity to move the debate or as Satyam puts ‘the narrative’ towards him.
With that early tweet by Anupama Chopra on the movie and esp Ranbir, I was gearing up for a media shift in the narrative putting Ranbir on a pedestal and possible replacement for still dominating but stale Khandom.
More than the Ra 1 box-office performance, audience is more miffed with srk and his antics offscreens and is yearning for a change. Add to this Sallu, who may have given blockbusters but hasn’t captured minds of the movie going audience. Aamir is in too selective a mode for much chatter.
On an aside – With Don2, SRK is getting ready to be minced meat with so much scope to ham and being ridiculed.
YRF will once again be the savior of sorts la 2000 when Mohabattein tilted the scale back in his favor against Hritik.
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November 11, 2011 at 12:27 PM
Here’s the thing, when you do ‘different’ even in a relative commercial sense, let alone in a truly offbeat one it’s hard to get that big success. Having said that this film could still be a good grosser if it satisfies the base ‘youth’ audience.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:26 PM
Re: Ranbir just let go a great opportunity to move the debate or as Satyam puts ‘the narrative’ towards him.
How did Ranbir let go of an oppurtunity?????
He seems to be getting universal acclaim and BO sotry is yet to be revealed.
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November 11, 2011 at 1:59 PM
Yeah whatever the story here the acclaim seems to be pretty consistent for his work in it and not just by the usual group of flunkies. Waiting for the Rangan verdict on this one before I pull the trigger and actually buy a ticket.
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November 11, 2011 at 2:11 PM
As of now, there is no universal acclaim from audience and this wont be a resounding success story to bring out the fence sitters in declaring a much needed change at the helm.
As for the reviews, they are mostly kind to big actors for a poor movie so as to avoid the ire of the stars.
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November 11, 2011 at 2:57 PM
WHATEVER!
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November 11, 2011 at 2:18 PM
little off-topic – chk. this video:
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November 11, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Saw Rockstar in the evening hugely disappointed. Script has a lot of loose ends and screenplay gets erratic in places. Ranbir is strictly ok and has the same kind of expression throughout the movie , Nargis is good. Music is awesome though and Kun Faya kun is magic on the big screen alongwith Sadda haq. JVM and LAK were much better movies than this. Will give it a generous 2/5 manily for music. I won’t be suprised if this movie collapses after a good weekend.
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November 11, 2011 at 5:13 PM
Ranbir’s strictly okay and Nargis was good! = bro, are you sure you watched the same movie that I did?
I dunno about expressions.. but Ranbir’s body language was spot on.. easily the best performance of the year, at least for me.
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November 11, 2011 at 5:17 PM
That’s what I gather from the promo’s, Thanks for your view Tony, definitely checking it out this weekend. Thanks.
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November 11, 2011 at 5:22 PM
hope you like it..
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November 12, 2011 at 2:52 AM
Tony: I guess thus this movie is getting mixed reports due to varied opinions on it. I know many have liked Ranbir in it and he might win awards and all for it but I alongwith the friends I went with thought he failed to create an impact with his performance as the role was perfectly suited to bring out a great performance but his expressions remained the same throughout. No doubt hes much better than most from this generation but I would pick a Rocket singh performance to this anyday. Nargis made a confident debut in my opinion shes not just a barbie doll.
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November 11, 2011 at 3:41 PM
J. Edgar seems to be failing to impress the critics. Only 42% on Rotten Tomatoes tho De Caprio is getting apllauded.
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November 11, 2011 at 4:16 PM
yeah surprised about this.. will still check it out though.. have hardly missed any Eastwood film (directed or otherwise) in the theater in a very long time.
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November 11, 2011 at 4:33 PM
Seeing it tomorrow. Have a sense from certain critics I prefer that I’ll enjoy this one. Given the interesting political charge of Eastwood’s cinema in the past decade something like this where the politics is an overt theme, is unmissable. Not to mention Leo is getting mostly great reviews.
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November 11, 2011 at 4:36 PM
I have a packed 2-3 days coming up. It’s J Edgar, the Almodovar finally and Rockstar!
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November 11, 2011 at 4:42 PM
“have hardly missed any Eastwood film (directed or otherwise) in the theater in a very long time.”
Man, I can’t get over the fact that many of your choices are so similar to mine, I have yet to miss any Eastwood movie myself, (Netlix ka paisa vasool kar diya, lol)though not lucky enough to watch em all in theaters. On similar taste, I say we met up sometime and talk films and nothing more Sir. Would love to meet up someday and learn a few things.
Guys, back off not Kissing @ss, Genuinely admiring Mr. Satyam here. Very rare when you meet someone with similar taste in films as yours.
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November 11, 2011 at 4:54 PM
that’s very kind of you Kash.. but yes would be happy to hook up sometime.. your better half might need more attention at this point though!
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November 11, 2011 at 4:59 PM
Damn it, that reminds me, had to do something for her..LOL. jokes apart. Will definitely hook up sometime.
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November 11, 2011 at 7:03 PM
LOL, you both live in the U.S., and don’t realize that “hook up” has a very different meaning than the one you’re intending?! 🙂
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November 11, 2011 at 7:57 PM
LOL, true! I intended some humor which is why I mentioned his spouse at the end! Though it still sounded a bit weird.. but then I moved onto something else!
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November 11, 2011 at 7:29 PM
Lol,ofcourse I do sm, I even tried to restrain myself from using it atf first, then went along with it,what heck I thought, I am a married man now, how much damage can it possibly do. Lol. And no harm in saying that whenit involves two filmbuffs.lol
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November 11, 2011 at 7:32 PM
Kash, I’m glad you’re using the phrase knowingly. But, just for the record, even married can (and do) “hook up” in the other sense. 🙂
(I’m definitely not implying anything about you and Satyam — I just found the use of that term funny in this context.)
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November 11, 2011 at 8:40 PM
Hahaha, no offense taken sm, its all in good humor
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November 11, 2011 at 4:06 PM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/SRK-joins-the-league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen/articleshow/10690905.cms
SRK’s Ra.One has crossed 100cr in India with just its Hindi version and is his first 100 cr film.
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November 11, 2011 at 4:48 PM
I watched it today and I’d like to say I loved it..
The best thing about the film, apart from the undoubtable Rahman magic evident throughout, is Ranbir’s outstanding performance, cinematography and the picturization of the songs. It wont be wrong to call him the best star-actor of this generation.. he performed the challenging role with effortless ease n majesty
despite the film being flawed on certain parameters, it carries soul.. and that’s why i suspect this will be one of imtiaz ali and ranbir’s good films years down the line..
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November 11, 2011 at 4:52 PM
good to hear.. thanks for the impressions..
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November 11, 2011 at 5:10 PM
by all means, watch it on the big screen Satyam. i say this considering how big a Rahman admirer you are.. It DESERVES to be seen on the big screen.. Imtiaz Ali was sensible enough to exploit Rahman’s magic to the fullest by backing it up with good placement of songs and awesome picturization.
This was essentially a Soulful Musical Drama. Screenplay suffers in portions but it deserves to be seen! Imtiaz Ali has come up with something unique and beautiful.
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November 11, 2011 at 5:49 PM
yes absolutely.. I am watching this on the big screen over the next couple of days or so.. I was inclined to do so anyway for the soundtrack but I am also encouraged by some of the stuff I’m hearing about this. would have seen it tonight as a matter of fact but my local theater doesn’t screen Hindi films anymore. But hopefully between tomorrow and Sun I’ll get it done.
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November 11, 2011 at 5:06 PM
btw let me say this – Nargis’ performance got on my nerves.. she ruined almost all the scenes she was a part of.. with a better actress, the chemistry between the lead pair would’ve worked wonders..
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November 11, 2011 at 8:09 PM
Top 5: ‘Ra.One’ collects Rs 14 cr in Week 2, total Rs 112 cr nett
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November 11, 2011 at 8:10 PM
B.O. update: ‘Rockstar’ starts well at plexes, lesser at single screens
– By Taran Adarsh, November 11, 2011 – 17:11 IST
As expected, ROCKSTAR embarked on a solid start at multiplexes of almost all major centres. At places, the opening was nearly 100%, while the opening numbers at several stations were in 70% to 80% range. In fact, the strong opening didn’t come as a surprise since the film boasts of the Imtiaz Ali – Ranbir Kapoor – A.R. Rahman combo. However, the response at single screens was not strong, with several screens opening to 40% to 50% range.
ROCKSTAR is expected to gross impressive figures on Day 1 thanks to the contribution from plexes. However, the weekend numbers will mirror where the film stands, since the word of mouth is extremely mixed.
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November 11, 2011 at 8:11 PM
Audience reaction:
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/broadband/video/First-Day-First-Show/ZZ1c8l25/3/First-Day-First-Show-Of-Rockstar.html
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November 11, 2011 at 8:59 PM
Good Predictions Jayshah…. Congrats
http://epaper.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalTimes/11Feb2011/Normal/page13.htm
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November 11, 2011 at 10:04 PM
Indeed… good going!
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November 12, 2011 at 5:39 AM
Well I missed how much the market has grown but overall I was getting to Ready, ZNMD, Bodyguard being hits and Ra.One unsure/question mark. I guess on that score it was pretty good!
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November 11, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Rockstar is more Devdas than Jim Morrison
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November 12, 2011 at 1:13 AM
Movie with a soul, meanders a bit in the second half but still 10 times better than the junk we get week after week.
Ranbir simply rocked(his best performance till date) & it’s amazing to see how well he connects with the audience.
The multiplexes here in Lucknow were packed to capacity for a 11.30 PM show. Expect a thunderous weekend for this one !!
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November 12, 2011 at 1:22 AM
Agreed, Tony Montana. I loved it too. After a long time, I have seen such a grand, passionate Hindi musical. Even Nargis Fakhri grew on me by the end despite a very inconsistent performance. Also, the film has great production values, and uses a brilliant Rahman soundtrack in the best possible fashion.
Imtiaz Ali might be making the same film over and over again, but he gets it right almost every time.
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November 12, 2011 at 2:57 AM
agree.. going by some reviews, I think the critics didnt really understand the essence of the movie and thereby blaming the ‘inconsistencies’ in the screenplay. This was essentially meant to be a movie where the music reflects the soul, the desires, ambitions, and innermost feelings of its protagonist. Its a story told through tracks, and the lyrics were deeply meaningful. Be it Sadda Haq, Kun Faya Kun, Hawa Hawa, Jo bhi mai, Tum ko, Phir se Udd Chala, Aur ho they’re all meant to be the most essential ingredients of the screenplay. If people think that the movie faltered in spite of great music, I humbly disagree. Coz here the music pof the film just cannot be termed as something that’s separate to the screenplay. It very much belongs to it, it’s a character , and its on the lines of the tracks that the movie works big time.
So what else is left? The performances – Ranbir carries an aura around him and it’s hard to imagine anyone else from the current generation of Bollywood actors who could’ve played the role so well. The direction – spot on.
Only blemish I could see, on technical terms, was Nargis’ acting. Like I said before, she tried her best to ruin every scene she was a part of, especially in the initial portions of the film. She was somewhat bearable in the second half but then, had inflicted enough damage by then.
Anyways, that’s why I say, the reviewers who consider Rockstar’s music as a separate aspect on the basis of which the film cannot be judged on the whole, they’re terribly mistaken.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:21 AM
While I do respect some people’s negative views, is it necessary for a filmmaker to spoon-feed its audience everytime? While the ending came across as confusing to some, I thought Imtiaz left it for the audience to analyze what happens at the end..
probably they could’ve found the ending better if Ranbir sang for Nargis, she became all right and they meet at the end..?!!!
The story wasnt weak.. If you consider music to be an essential part of the film (which it definitely is – and a major, major aspect of the film), you’ll realize how every song shapes up the characters, and reflect the turning point in the protagonist lives..
the Jo Bhi mai song, if you listen to it properly for an instance, reveals Jordan’s character..
This is essentially a Hindi musical, and isnt what it is without Rahman’s songs.. – tell you what, that’s what I feel was the purpose behind the film. It was meant to be a musical..
As far as Jordan’s reactions were concerned – what made him lash out at the media – there are is a lot of stuff about human nature that just cannot be explained.. can people explain the logic behind every action that they take? but still, like i said, if you want to be spoon-fed oin every detail, Imtiaz did leave subtle hints into the screenplay..
anyways not people’s fault.. we’ve grown up on 3 idiots like sensibilities in cinema and it’s hard for us to immediately lap up something that comes across as a different approach to narration of a story..
btw liked your review – well structured!
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November 12, 2011 at 4:24 AM
the last line wasnt required.. it was meant to be my comment on someone else’s negative review of the film.. but thought of sharing it here!
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November 12, 2011 at 1:57 AM
Rockstar Has Excellent First Day
Saturday 12th November 2011 09.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar had an excellent first day of around 10 crore nett as per early estimates despite the mixed reports. The multiplex business was excellent across India with high end multiplexes being phenomenal. Despite the mixed reports evening and night shows at multiplexes were 80-100% at multiplexes in big cities. Mysore circuit was extraordinary. The Delhi NCR area was also excellent but UP was just average.
The opening is mainly due to the star power of Ranbir Kapoor who is a craze amongst the urban youth and the youthfull theme of the film and now normal weekend growth can take the weekend business to around 32-33 crore nett which would be an excellent total for a film being carried by just multiplexes.
It will be interesting to seen how the film goes over the weekend but looks certain to go over 30 crore nett which was the weekend number suggested by the buzz of the film.
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November 12, 2011 at 2:08 AM
Rockstar had a 10cr first day according to latest reports. It’s a good opening. Proves that Ranbir can definitely ensure a good opening. If the film remains stable during the week end, it will most probably be safe.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:10 AM
Rockstar First Day Territorial Breakdown
Saturday 12th November 2011 12.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar collected an excellent 10.50 crore nett approx on its first day thanks to huge business at multiplexes. The territorial breakdown of the first day is as follows.
Mumbai – 3.72 crore
Delhi/UP – 2.27 crore
East Punjab – 1.03 crore
West Bengal – 40 lakhs
Bihar – 16 lakhs
Assam/Orissa – 9 lakhs
CP Berar – 47 lakhs
CI – 37 lakhs
Rajasthan – 62 lakhs
Nizam – 55 lakhs
Mysore – 68 lakhs
Tamil Nadu/Kerala – 16 lakhs
TOTAL – 10.52 crore
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November 12, 2011 at 4:10 AM
Excellent numbers here !
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November 12, 2011 at 5:04 AM
Thanx tony Montana —that seems an apt take on rockstar.
Think u have got the premise of this exercise right –most people get carried away by numerous distractions like the title ,”story”
This is primarily the journey of a musicians phases expressed via his music
Havent seen it yet but that’s my impression from the promos
Will be seeing it primarily as an ar rehman “concert anthemic” experience topped up with some “visual accompaniment ”
So yes: the lead actor here is ar rehmans music
Everything else is a supporting act.
Ps—about nargis f–will have to watch the movie myself
But again: she was not meant to pitch in a rani-black or mother India-nargis epic performance
Have been told by a common friend that she flew from Copenhagen for timid auction neve having acted before and not knowing any Hindi before….. She was signed up because of a “connect ” with the character as per imtiaz Ali.
A certain “rawness”‘& ” immaturity ” was needed for this role.
Anyhow my final verdict on her after seeing the movie myself
Ps– the company whilst watching the movie around may be more distracting than the onscreen antics of rockstar
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November 12, 2011 at 6:11 AM
“most people get carried away by numerous distractions like the title ,story
This is primarily the journey of a musicians phases expressed via his music
Havent seen it yet but that’s my impression from the promos
Will be seeing it primarily as an ar rehman “concert anthemic” experience topped up with some “visual accompaniment ”
So yes: the lead actor here is ar rehmans music
Everything else is a supporting act.”
— spot on alex, that’s what I wanted to convey.. The film’s essentially all about music, while the rest of it merely acts as a backdrop. I appreciate Imtiaz’s vision and would like to say he, in my books, succedded what he wanted to convey.
It might be one of the rare occasions when it comes to Hindi cinema that music owns a film.. This is probably Imtiaz ‘s tribute to the power of music in shaping up people’s lives. Though Rahman comes up with unbelievable music, its ultimately not about Rahman. Its about passion, self-destruction, desires, and above all a story told through tracks.. and a journey of life unravelled through tracks.
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November 12, 2011 at 6:51 AM
Yes: tony Montana
Also had a brief chat with some “friends” closely involved in the making of this film
Apart from music & it’s power & the “musical romance”–the bigger deeper theme here is —-can one achieve “greatness” from “ordinary”lives?
Or seen contrarily—
Ie does “rejection”/ “extraordinary hardship” AID a person to rise above the mundane to scale heights
Hope the director has been able to push through THIS theme among the din–will have to see….
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November 12, 2011 at 7:28 AM
ROCKSTAR Is 7th Biggest Opening Day Of All Time
Saturday 12th November 2011 13.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockat has had the seventh biggest opening day of all time. The top ten opening days of all time are as follows.
1. Bodyguard – 20.62 crore
2. Ra.One (Hindi) – 14.76 crore (approx)
3. Dabangg – 14.45 crore
4. Ready – 13.33 crore
5. Threes Idiots – 13.00 crore
6. Tees Maar Khan – 12.82 crore
7. Rockstar – 10.50 crore approx
8. Raajneeti – 10.33 crore
9. Housefull – 9.32 crore
10. Ghajini – 9.13 crore
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November 12, 2011 at 7:31 AM
the most interesting comparison here is ZNMD which had 7.5 crores on day 1 according to the same source.
In other words if Rockstar sustained it could certainly have a shot at a 100 crore gross. Clearly the film has that kind of ‘base’ to put up those numbers.
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November 12, 2011 at 7:36 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar Friday figures revised: Rs 10.5 cr + nett. A few centres to be added.
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November 12, 2011 at 7:39 AM
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar Nets Rs. 11 Cr On Friday
November 12th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Rockstar Movie PosterThe initial of Rockstar was excellent on the opening day (Friday, 11 November).The film has netted Rs. 11 crore, early figures indicate.
The film had taken a good to very good opening on Friday, with multiplexes in cities seeing the maximum footfalls while single-screen cinemas in smaller cities and towns seeing the least. Collections picked up in the evening and night shows.
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November 12, 2011 at 8:41 AM
Seeing it today. Hopefully.
After the endorsements from Henry and Tonymontana, I am anticipating this one quite a bit. 11 crore first day is awesome. Someone predicted before Saawariyan that yeh lambi race ks ghoda hai. Am not sure who!
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November 12, 2011 at 9:22 AM
watching it tomorrow morning..
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November 12, 2011 at 10:08 AM
I am not fan of Ranbir, but he impressed with every movie from Saawariya. He is talented and reasonably good looking for young audience.
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November 12, 2011 at 8:50 AM
As pointed out ealier–the “fatwa” -anyone not checking this out in the theatre will be “persecuted” against here and those claiming to not like it (ESP in comparison to kjo/Srk/ra1 standards) will be duly noted
And undue criticism of the the apparent (lack of )acting capabilities of nargis f will not be taken lightly .
She hasn’t been cast in the movie to act–c’mon guys—haha
Contribute to the monetary returns and hit the theatres
Hahaha
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November 12, 2011 at 9:03 AM
All those critics saying the movie doesn’t offer justifications for why Ranbir keeps lashing out shouldn’t be allowed to review.
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November 12, 2011 at 9:23 AM
we’re on the same page bro! 🙂
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November 12, 2011 at 11:20 AM
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-10/news-interviews/30381868_1_shoojit-sircar-amitabh-bachchan-utv-s-ronnie-screwvala
Johny Mastana can see the light … 🙂
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November 12, 2011 at 11:24 AM
I wish to see Zamaanat as well .. wonder how movies after completion don’t release .. whats the issue in release even after product is finish .. ? ??
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November 13, 2011 at 10:05 AM
zaamannat has being going for ever,the last trailor was shown in cinemas was 2006,I think its S.Ramanathan film..
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November 12, 2011 at 1:13 PM
Words from a wise man that I trust:
Ranbir Kapoor gives a performance for the history books. Not since Abhishek in Guru has a star-actor so owned and lived a part.
His full review is awaited and should follow soon.hopefully.
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November 12, 2011 at 1:39 PM
I await it as well..
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November 12, 2011 at 1:45 PM
It is not who you think it might be.
These are Abzee’s words.
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November 12, 2011 at 1:46 PM
I thought as much..
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November 12, 2011 at 1:53 PM
Normally I would be skeptical of accepting it in the case of any other regular actor.. But I wont have any problems in accepting that statement in Ranbir’s case..
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November 12, 2011 at 3:09 PM
Mayank Shekhar:
As Bollywood hero though, Ranbir, for a change, deserves all the national attention. We haven’t quite come across a full-on Hindi film-star since Aamir Khan (26 years ago), Hrithik Roshan (11 years ago), who’s this competent, dedicated and original an actor
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November 12, 2011 at 3:11 PM
DNA:
The film here clearly belongs to Ranbir and he proves that he is the Rockstar when it comes to romancing the camera. The passion, anger and intensity that he stirs up and his natural progression from a simpleton to a heartbroken singer make the film worth your money.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:12 PM
Masand:
But ‘Rockstar’ belongs to Ranbir Kapoor over everyone else. It’s a riveting performance – from Janardan’s rough edges to Jordan’s wildly unpredictable ways – and Ranbir roots it in the real. Watch how he seizes the stage in the Sadda haq number and virtually makes the track his own. For Ranbir alone, this film deserves a watch.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:13 PM
TOI:
If Rockstar keeps you engaged even after you have given up on the story by the end, it is only because of Ranbir Kapoor. From his innocence in the opening reels to his arrogance in the climax, Ranbir breathes life into Jordan and keeps you riveted. Whether he adlibs his songs, gives a dance-tribute to Shammi Kapoor or dictates the concert crowd, Ranbir gives cent percent to his character.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:17 PM
Rediff:
‘Yeh bada jaanwar hai. Yeh chhote pinjre mein nahi samayega.’
Indeed, Ranbir Kapoor [ Images ] is not an everyday occurrence. He’s proved himself to be more than a portfolio and a surname with his absolutely marvelous ability to connect with the audience in a brand new skin each and every time. And that he’s accomplished this in merely four years and 9 films is no mean feat. Therefore, even though, the above-mentioned prediction, coming in the astute words of Shammi Kapoor [ Images ], is meant for the unruly, untamed genius of Janardhan Jakhar aka Jordan, it holds true for his grand nephew as well. Our lad is meant for epic things.
at the end of the day, this is Ranbir’s tour de force and there’s nothing derivative about his performance, which aspires to be a reference point in its own. Whether he’s the guideless lout from St Stephen’s, a subject of indignation at the hands of his family, a lovelorn Romeo barred from consummating his relationship or a badass, unwilling rockstar. Ranbir’s heads-on approach to Jordan is rich in texture, nuances and caliber placing him far ahead of his immediate colleagues and in direct contention with the Khans, in bent if not box-office.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:18 PM
some more:
Make your own answers. Because, at the end of the day, this is Ranbir’s tour de force and there’s nothing derivative about his performance, which aspires to be a reference point in its own. Whether he’s the guideless lout from St Stephen’s, a subject of indignation at the hands of his family, a lovelorn Romeo barred from consummating his relationship or a badass, unwilling rockstar. Ranbir’s heads-on approach to Jordan is rich in texture, nuances and caliber placing him far ahead of his immediate colleagues and in direct contention with the Khans, in bent if not box-office.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-rockstar-is-flawed-but-fabulous/20111111.htm
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November 12, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Um, he’s not from St. Stephen’s, Nargis Fakhri’s character is — he’s from Hindu College (looked down upon by the Stephens crowd)!
I saw it earlier today: review to follow.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:19 PM
EnterainmentOneIndia:
Ranbir has proved once again that he is an awesome actor. Ranbir has been able to pull off the role with aplomb. He will be remembered always for his extraordinary performance in Rockstar
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November 12, 2011 at 3:21 PM
this one is for you Rajen sir-
http://www.rakeshjhunjhunwala.in/2011/11/secret-rockstar-love-story-of-ranbir.html
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November 12, 2011 at 3:26 PM
LOL!!!!
Guitar IS a phallic symbol, after all!
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November 12, 2011 at 3:23 PM
There are tons more along the same line.
I posted this for the benifit of some idoit who was claiming RANBIR has wasted an oppurtunity and didnt get universal acclaim.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:31 PM
someone above said nargis was better than ranbir !
btw i dont really buy that expressions are the most important thing when it comes to acting, as this person believed. The body language has to be in tune with the expressions, as I feel. Otherwise SRK would’ve been the greatest actor in the world, with a stock of five expressions used alongside a quivering body, without needing to understand the context of a scene
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November 13, 2011 at 1:51 PM
I guess ur referring to me tony but I never said Nargis was better than RK I just said Nargis was a good confident debut whereas Ranbir I found strictly ok in the movie which ofcourse does not make RK worse than Nargis at all there is no comparison actually. On the expressions front I still think he felt short. BTW, Guru is a brilliant example of expressions combined with body language and Abhishek cracked Guru brilliantlly and its just that in the dictionary of the media there is no kind word to say for Abhi even for a performance which was excellent in all aspects. Again I like Ranbir its just that after Rocket singh I have high expectations from him.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:05 PM
yeah can’t agree with the Guru comparison or for that matter some other Abhishek performances (most recently in DMD). I am also inclined to agree that Rocket singh probably remains Ranbir’s best (like him in many respects in Saawariya too). On the other hand he has to be more of a star-actor to carry Rockstar and I think he does that here.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:09 PM
zmiShabana Azmi shabana
Rockstar is terrific. Hats off to Imtiaz Ali AR Rahman Irshad Kamil Anil Mehta. Towering above all is Ranbirs soul stirring performance.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:27 PM
Ranbir has definitely had his breakout ‘star-actor’ moment here. This has been the most praised performance in recent memory. And yes one can set apart this kind of acclaim from the run of the mill sort that every star in every other hit film gets. Abzee mentioned the Guru context. I certainly think I have not seen a more superlatively praised performance in the media since. And I said the same about Guru at the time. For all the hype over every other film and performance you can still separate those performances that have genuinely impressed people from those that are praised as part of the course.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:34 PM
In twitter, film is not getting good feedback from audience.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:37 PM
yeah I’m hearing many complaints about the second half. Might be hard for the film to hold up in a serious sense. The second half being liked less is always tricky anyway. And this is a rather long film too. But Ranbir might have a Yuva kind of box office deal here as opposed to a Guru one. Either way he has his breakthrough moment.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:36 PM
In case of guru, they gave the credit to Mani. Here not many people talking about the direction.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:39 PM
I’d say it was the opposite. Abhishek got stupendous reviews while the film wasn’t reviewed as well as the performance. In fact no Rathnam film has ever received a great review from the Bombay media. Guru was called good but not extraordinary.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:49 PM
Media has claimed that Abhishek acted well because of Mani’s movie. If I remember he didn’t get the well deserved credit.
SRK suddenly woke up the same year with good performance for chak De India to grab all awards.
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November 12, 2011 at 5:10 PM
some of those negative stories developed in some quarters later but when Guru released there was no doubt about the kind of praise he received.. SRK winning wasn’t surprising either. They always find excuses to give it to him.
But if you’re looking for the media to ever be this positive on Abhishek as a matter of course (do think you have the wrong sense on the Guru reception) that’s just no going to happen. It didn’t happen when his father was at his peak. The media attacked him for encouraging violence for box office hits, not being a true actor like Dilip Kumar (some even compared him unfavorably to Rajesh Khanna), the magazines often had unflattering images of his on the cover, the trade would find excuses to give ‘lesser’ verdicts for his films, on and on. There was a Star&Style cover in 1978 which said that the year would be a contest between Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna which was the greatest joke imaginable!
Will say this though — even in the 24/7 news cycle you cannot buy authenticity and a reputation one way or the other. All the hype in the world, all the favorable media narratives and what not still couldn’t really convince most people that SRK was a ‘fine’ actor. Yes certain other narratives can be made part of the blood stream. As I was saying the other day Ranbir was supposedly a thespian even before a single film had released and that narrative has been maintained even though so far (not talking about Rockstar) there was hardly anything extraordinary in the performances or his physicality and so on. Or you have Hrithik celebrated for learning Urdu one day, Spanish the next, the most dedicated in every sense whereas Abhishek’s the guy taking it easy and what not. These narratives do have a certain impact when relentlessly pursued. But still this is never the difference between box office failure and success, never the defining factor in the audience’s basic sense of a star. So as a general rule no one really considers Hrithik a serious actor, irrespective of all the puff pieces. people similarly don’t doubt Abhishek’s talents, they have serious problems with what he’s been upto. Despite everything he got good to very good reviews for DMD, again better than the film overall.
The problem is that if we only look at some of the blogosphere chatter or the media narratives we develop a one-sided view of things. Anecdotal opinion otherwise can often be extremely different. People read a lot of this stuff and don’t buy it. So on and so forth. But again as a general matter ABhishek will never get the kind of pass on either his performance or his box office that other stars routinely get. and once more his father never did either. He too was often denied awards that he should have been winning every single year. But in general the narrative was framed in uncharitable and often malicious ways. With his box office it didn’t matter. But it doesn’t matter even to a lesser star. There’s a reason Abhishek got the prestige projects that even his peers with a more proven box office track record couldn’t. When many of those films didn’t work he ran into problems, which would happen with anyone. Because the distributors are looking at their returns and not at who’s getting the best puff pieces. The distributors know that Abhishek’s films wouldn’t work with anyone else either but they also wonder at his judgment beyond a point. This is an important distinction. And incidentally one that explains why Abhishek even today despite being at an all time low, at least before DMD has nonetheless been able to land some of these big films. So take Players for example. Abbas-Mustaan biggest commercial project. Rohit Shetty has Devgan and Abhishek in a film that’s even called ‘Bol Bachchan’ and so on. Whether the media starts making Abhishek incidental to the latter or whatever doesn’t change the obvious.
So again it’s two different debates here. One is about the reality of how well Abhishek does or does not. The other is about how the media represents that reality relative to that of his peers. I would suggest one shouldn’t really be too bothered about the latter because things aren’t really going to change in this sense. Unless of course he produces a 3I! Even here his father who did far more than this couldn’t dispel the negativity. Which is why I keep insisting on the ideological angle of things. Cinema is an exemplary site for ideological battles to come through.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:46 PM
of course remember that people here also think Imtiaz Ali has made a poor film in the second half. No one had a problem with Rathnam on Guru though they ripped him on Dil se and Raavan and were not too positive on Yuva either.
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November 12, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Ultimately even in this compromised Bombay film media where every word is abused beyond belief to produce the latest banality on every new release and performance genuine buzz still cannot be manufactured this way (though this word itself is quite abused — ‘buzz’!). The kind of buzz RDB had was quite different, the way Abhishek was praised for Guru (or Yuva in a similar sense) was quite different. And of course Bachchan on Black and Paa. Now we have Ranbir receive this kind of attention for Rockstar. One doesn’t have to agree with the praise in each of these cases but one should notice the ‘difference’. And note here how for all the prestige Aamir enjoys he’s never had a performance receive this kind of extraordinary praise, let alone any of his peers.
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November 13, 2011 at 1:16 PM
WTH ! Idiot hoga TERA BAAP!! …. lol
Lambi race ka ghoda …yes ek tha lambi race ka ghoda…‘Abisek’. instead of a guitar here, he is been holding your so called ‘phallic symbol’ for 12 years. Aukaat 5 cr Game bajana ne ki.
As I said much earlier you are essentially a knickers and panty man continue to live your Abhi wet dreams via Ranbir now. 4 years on the sidelines and many more to come.
But you better watch your language next time… there are lots of forums and blogs to go and abuse and would not hesitate to give you a BoseDK treatment but respect and admiration for Satyam and his blogs prevents.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Cool it guys.. !
MS Dhoni, even taking Rajen’s initial comment into consideration this is a bit over the line. Anyway Rajen can take care of himself so I’m letting this comment stand. Thanks for what you’ve said at the end. Hopefully this won’t degenerate any further from here.
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November 12, 2011 at 3:32 PM
Finally ,one of Utkal’s predictions might prov e to be right!
Even a broken watch tells the correct time twice in a day!
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November 12, 2011 at 4:20 PM
SrBachchan Amitabh Bachchan
T 557 – Its late but not without cause .. just back from ‘RockStar’ and living in the brilliance of all – Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir, AR and Nargis
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November 12, 2011 at 4:24 PM
he had a tweet on Saawariya the other day as well..
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November 12, 2011 at 4:29 PM
It is officially a race between Q and Abzee- who manages to put up the review first.
A special DVD of Ra.One for the winner
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November 12, 2011 at 4:35 PM
Darn.. now we’ll lose out on both reviews!
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November 12, 2011 at 4:36 PM
Alright, alright. Will throw in a couple of tickets for Don 2 as well!
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November 12, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Ha! not sure if you’re sincerely trying to get the reviews or not!
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November 12, 2011 at 4:52 PM
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November 12, 2011 at 8:10 PM
Imtiaz ali himself looks like Rockstar .. Haaa
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November 12, 2011 at 5:04 PM
Good going folks…
Carry on the frenzy ( @ the ticket counter)
Guess the last couple of weeks have indeed signalled the official “dethronement” of a “king” and the possible “crowning” of a new one–as per my initial hunch
This movie interested me ever since I heard portions of “Saada Haq” primarily due to AR Rahmans superlative score
Still have not changed my mind on Nargis F (though some people have picked up her lack of acting skills etc–will see tomorrow)
Though ranbir has been reasonably good, Was not really convinced if Ranbir can really step his game enuf to “take over” @ the top….
Just a one-second visual of the bearded sorrowful Ranbir gulping down alcohol in the car gave me hope that perhaps he can..
Mostly it is moments that are more significant….
Seems it is being vindicated (though still have issues about ranbirs phyciality and presence)
Finally, have a lot of faith in “genes”
Inspite of what any tom dick or harry says
Someone with the genetic pool of acting that Ranbir has in his family, it does matter ….
Hope the other “star son” who has till now worked hard to negate the combined effects of genes, privilege and favourable circumstances to court repeated failure, finally respects his unique position, legacy (and genes)….
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November 12, 2011 at 5:12 PM
Except that most of the people in that gene pool weren’t really considered fine actors! The problem with the other star son is that if he just had more box office success most people wouldn’t have 99% of the objections! I don’t correlate performance with great box office success. For example Abhishek in DMD is as good as he is anywhere barring in something like Guru (which is not necessarily ‘better’ but certainly larger than life). I can certainly understand a fan’s frustration in this regard but I just refuse to incorporate the media narrative in these matters. Specially when a film can be unanimously celebrated for looking like Players (Faridoon’s words) and be hysterically ripped for being Raavan. And my point as always here is that even as the box office is a necessity for any star let’s have a level playing field. If the media is practicing its agendas let’s not fall for this. Let’s try to develop a critical culture at least in a limited sense. One is free to not like Abhishek in many of these films but the framing doesn’t have to be the media one. I think one has to be quite vigilant in this regard because even without intending to one can be sucked in. Which is what I was trying to get at in the Ra One piece. About how the terms of the debate had been shaped here. The reason I cut Abhishek some slack is that it’s so easy to go in for the low hanging fruit of the box office that it’s remarkable to see someone resist this as long as he did. It’s quite silly to attack him for this when it takes half a brain to do far more obvious things and keep everyone happy. Anjaana Anjaani is what Abhishek never did once he had his initial flush with success. Even Drona was an experiment gone disaster but it wasn’t banal as an idea like BeH or AA or many others. I have a certain admiration for this. Precisely because it is so hard to find major commercial stars take these sorts of risks. Not just calculated ones. Whether one thinks he went too far or not is a different debate. But if one simply rips him as a fan one has bought wholesale into the media narrative that it’s only about success. It’s not that easy to split the difference as we see with Rockstar. Let’s see how much this does eventually. abhishek’s problem was that he persisted with films like Rockstar and Rocket Singh and did not really do stuff like AA or APKGK or whatever, films that bring you a certain initial even in the worst case scenario. And sure there was some bad luck too. He wasn’t a genius when he selected BnB and Guru and BM and not a fool when he selected D6 and Raavan! DMD was fine once again but clearly his box office damage affected the initial.
All of this doesn’t mean he hasn’t been losing momentum after Guru. Certainly Raaavan completed a circle for him in this sense but his failures have also been greatly exaggerated in many quarters. He had decent success with Dostana, got good reviews too. In Paa again he got this despite his father having the important role. DMD was fine recently. Sure it’s been inconsistent. he’s hurt his narrative, he needs a big one now, he needs a more balanced mix once he gets success, all of this is true. But there’s been nothing wrong with his performances most of the time. And even his failure has been far less in absolute terms than what Salman had been displaying for years. or Devgan for that matter. Sure Abhishek’s expectations were higher for obvious reasons once he became successful but the media-trade have also done their best to create a narrative which then gets consumed on the blogosphere. And my own effort here has been to resist this (as I do anwyhere else for that matter).
If Abhishek had done Rockstar he would have been praised for the performance but this very same trade apparatus would have called the film dead on arrival. They would have said it opened well in select multiplexes, that single screens did nothing and what not. Expecting a drop based on WOM they would have justified all of this. we’ve all seen this before. Just recently ZNMD supposedly had a super initial. Suddenly Ranbir has done significantly better just a few months later! Is Ranbir bigger than Hrithik all of a sudden?! It’s not just Abhishek’s issues. Just consider the kind of commentary others receive when they fail.
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November 12, 2011 at 9:34 PM
as usual:
kjohar25 Karan Johar
Been shooting crazy hours..hectic but super fun…watched ROCKSTAR…and am a certified Ranbir Kapoor fan!! His performance is unbelievable
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November 12, 2011 at 10:07 PM
yeah the troops all come out for everyone but the Bachchans!
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November 12, 2011 at 10:15 PM
I’ve watched it. It is an unconventional story from Imitaz. To me, Rahman’s music is the best part and Ranbir.
I will surprise if it becomes hit.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:48 PM
“yeah the troops all come out for everyone but the Bachchans!”
Which recent film of Bachans you think KJo should have come out for?
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November 13, 2011 at 8:27 PM
he could have come out for DMD rather easily! And here he’s at the Paa premiere cornered by the media. This is very different from taking the lead on twitter and so on.
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November 12, 2011 at 5:24 PM
Yes:getting “considered fine actors” is one thing
and btw im personally not a big fan /taker of the “Kapoor legacy”….
But many people who follow bollywood (esp the older crowd as im told) are into it in a biggish way
One also cannot ignore that the same family tree gave Prithvi, Raj, Shammi. Shashi, Rishi , Karisma, and Kareena (even if takes out Randhir and other peripheral Kapoors)
Whatever issues one may have with either of them—for eg I hate Kareena and kArisma predominantly for their looks, but one cannot say that either of them cannot act…
Also, they all have a certain “comfort factor/ spontaneity” in front of the camera that some “groomed/ honed/ rehearsed biggies” dont….
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November 12, 2011 at 6:00 PM
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November 12, 2011 at 6:02 PM
btw even abhishreks worst critics cannot/ should not say that he cannot act–which makes his serial “failure” even more “creditable”.
Every “game” has some unwritten rules to succeed-& box office is an important element whether one likes it or not- Given the time. backing and background he has had, he should have picked up some script sense and contact with ground reality earlier
“Is Ranbir bigger than Hrithik all of a sudden?!”–the answer is “no”.
But these two are definitely the future as of now….
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November 12, 2011 at 6:08 PM
But I’m not arguing about the box office at all.. by the way how can Hrithik and Ranbir equally be the future when one has just arrived and the other has been around for almost 12 years made more notable for the fact that he was an instant huge success?! Unless of course he reinvents himself completely as Aamir did after Lagaan. Don’t think you can get it done just with hits. That works if you’ve not had enough success a la Abhishek. When your standing is hardly in doubt in box office terms you have to either get superlative reviews as an actor or have that equation changing project.
As to what seems to be the case ‘now’ I guess I’ve always had very little use for this word!
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November 12, 2011 at 6:50 PM
in the post-khan crowd, hritik was the only real credible consistent star/actor —-now seems ranbir has joined him
He is junior to hritik but the “time gap” is obviously not the same as between bachchan sr and the khan troika for eg…
Who goes where also depends on their choices from now on.
But dont see anyone else in this age group.
Having said that –not to say that the likes of khans, akshay, devgun will suddenly bow away…
ps—have noted suddenly how the srk fans have suddenly become invisible infact gone into “hiding”–typical selectivity lol
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November 12, 2011 at 10:09 PM
I’ve noticed that too (the SRK fans)!
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November 12, 2011 at 10:43 PM
Who are the SRK fans here besides Old Gold? Maybe NyKavi? Well, NyKavi continues to be active and Old Gold is active on the Don 2 threads (which is where you expect the SRK fans to be). Why would they care about Ranbir’s film? I’m genuinely puzzled by this comment.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:42 AM
wasn’t referring to this blog..
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November 12, 2011 at 6:40 PM
रणबीर की आस ‘रॉकस्टार’…
http://khabar.ndtv.com/PlayVideo.aspx?id=215903
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November 12, 2011 at 11:07 PM
@
I’ve noticed that too (the SRK fans)!
As the phrase goes..Jal main rehakar magar se bair (It is foolist to fight crocodile in water). Satyam Bhayya tumne kisi SRK fan ko is layak rakha hi kahan hai ki wo is blog main aa kar SRK ki baat kar sake.
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November 13, 2011 at 4:58 AM
Rockstar Shows Growth On Saturday
Sunday 13th November 2011 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar showed good growth on Saturday considering that collections were very good to on day one. The film collected around 11.25 crore nett on Saturday as per early estimates. The growth came mainly from high end multiplexes where collections jumped 15-30% and reached occupancies of 90%. Most multiplexes in the PVR, Inox and DT chains showed jumps in this range.
Other multiplexes were similar to Friday or with small gains depending on the location while mass centres were similar or down a bit. Looking at trends on Saturday, the film does have acceptance with a certain section of the audience in the metros and it remains to be seen where this audience can take the film.
The two day collections are around 21.50-21.75 crore nett and the weekend is looking at a 33-35 crore nett total and if the weekend comes out towards the high end of the range it is likely to indicate a hit film.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:54 AM
interesting if it becomes a hit.
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November 13, 2011 at 5:03 AM
OT,
A Must Watch Srk Interview : seems to be Lost and frustrated…. RA1 is Biggest hit ever in BW… Lol… hahahaha… I cant stop laughing..
LINK
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November 13, 2011 at 6:52 AM
feel sorry for him.. if all it took was such interviews to rewrite the fate of a film a star would never have any problems.. but also a star should never seem this desperate..
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November 13, 2011 at 7:00 AM
The best part of the whole story is he himself called the press con on his B’day to celebrate RA1…
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November 13, 2011 at 7:03 AM
“Don’t forget this, RA1 is biggest hit in Hindi cinema – Srk “.. Golden and ROFL.. 😀 😀
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November 13, 2011 at 6:20 PM
Lol..did you even watch the full interview or just the beginning portion.
““Don’t forget this, RA1 is biggest hit in Hindi cinema”
This is not SRK’s statement. This is what his daughter wished him on his birthday (“Don’t WORRY Ra one is biggest hit in Indian cinema”).
Do you think he is such a fool that he does not know trade figures of 3I or BG? In some other blog i found some of the guys even with out watching the full interview thought it’s SRK’s statement.
BTW it was a nice interview…
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November 13, 2011 at 6:24 PM
I strongly suspected some such misreporting, because it has happened on this blog before. Unfortunately couldn’t watch it.
That was really sweet of his daughter.
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November 13, 2011 at 1:34 PM
I like the attitude.
It’s a good thing to be satisfied with what one’s film made. To crib and complain that it didn’t make as much as he expected would be a bad way of looking at things and a very defeatist kind of outlook.
But I do feel sorry for people who can really rejoice someone’s failure (according to them) endlessly.
Hmmmm. I wonder why.
PS: I couldn’t watch the clip because it isn’t playing on my computer. My comments are based on what people are quoting here.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:11 AM
Good 1 bliss
Anyhow going now for rockstar
Btw the company /coviewers are quite distracting
Hope to catch some of the movie as well…
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November 13, 2011 at 7:12 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar Saturday trends: 10% to 15% decline in certain circuits. Delhi-U.P. and Punjab strong. Mumbai figures awaited.
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar multiplexes extra-ordinary on Sat. Will contribute enormously to Sat figure & compensate for slight decline in mass centres.
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar opening weekend *my estimate* Rs 33 cr to Rs 34 cr nett. Fabulous. Ranbir Kapoor’s biggest opener [solo lead].
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November 13, 2011 at 7:41 AM
I will be happy if this becomes a hit, at least for Ranbir’s and Imtiaz’s sake.
Its not a perfect film (somehow cannot forgive Imtiaz for casting Nargis) but one that lingers in your memory. Blame it on the music, or Ranbir, or dialogues, there’s something about the film that makes me want to check it in theatres again.
and like Qalandar mentioned in his review, this one is still miles ahead of the crap his peers dish out regularly in contemporary Bollywood, in the name of multiplex/youth oriented films.
Btw I dont know how I missed out one aspect of Imtiaz I simply love – His dialogues are worth dying for. Be it Socha Na tha or JWM, his films have always boasted of excellent conversations, laced with humour and drama. and Rockstar is no different.
As I say, even though the film has some loopholes (Nargis and the editing for instance), the positives (music, cinematography, picturization of songs, dialogues, a soulful narrative and above all Ranbir) to fall in love with it
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November 13, 2011 at 8:48 AM
@sm- the fans of King have gone into hibernation everywhere 😦 miss their comments!
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November 13, 2011 at 9:20 AM
Re the SRK interview – sadly he seems to be becoming a train wreck.
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November 13, 2011 at 9:22 AM
There does seem to be some kind of good will prevailing between the Bachans and Ranbir. Bachan praising Ranbir and Rockstar makes it quite obvious. I also remember Ranbir recently saying that as an actor he relates himself more to Abhishek than Hrithik.
I am glad to see Ranbir doing well. He is spontaneous and natural as an actor. He certainly is much better than Imran for e.g. who I find extremely wooden and stiff at times.
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November 13, 2011 at 11:03 AM
in fact aamir himself has said on more than one occassion that ranbir is a better actor than imran….
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November 13, 2011 at 2:54 PM
and in addition to the examples you point out there was a clear affection discernible on Bachchan’s side when Ranbir showed up on KBC much as the respect Ranbir displayed showed true class.
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November 13, 2011 at 1:22 PM
Hey! Who said SRK *fan* (the only one here) has gone into hiding?
I *mostly* never comment from Friday evenings on till Sunday evenings.
I have a life you know.
And before Friday evening I commented expressing my hopes of Rockstar becoming a success – for two reasons;
-fed up of the Khans dominating and waiting for a change
-I liked Ranbir in Rocket Singh
Can’t like Nargis. Her mouth reminds me of a cross between a crocodiles mouth and that of an alligator. And I really really don’t want another Katrina Kaif.
So I hope all the accolades will fall in Ranbir’s lap and that he’ll benefit from the film and Nargis will soon be forgotten.
Imtiaz should have given her another name. The name Nargis has been taken.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:02 PM
I love her (Nargis Fakhri’s) mouth or rather her lips. Think it’s one of her best features. Not joking at all!
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November 13, 2011 at 4:07 PM
“Imtiaz should have given her another name. The name Nargis has been taken.”–who has taken that name–you old gold? Lol
As for “alligators and crocodiles”—–mind it, old gold lol
I’m about to pull out my “gun”!!!
Suggest u visit some zoo (with your grandchildren!!lol) to know what they look like
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November 13, 2011 at 3:06 PM
Finally caught rockstar today
Watched it in a multiplex conventionally Not showing Bollywood but was still nearly houseful
Incidentally ra1 was due for one more week but has been (unceremoniously!) taken off after just one week!!
Am a bit “preoccupied” and spent but a few words–
Rockstar—–“curtain raiser”
Anyhow: Let’s get the premise right
This needs to be seen (& judged) as a “musical love story” in the Bollywood tradition WITH box office responsibility
Lets come down from our “high horses” and first stop comparing this with stuff like pather panchali, schindlers list or even tree of life!!!
Though comparisons with the kjo/yrf world may not be out of order….
Feel given all the compulsions of this fare, it is a v good film
Infact perhaps difficult to find faults on most things unless one is being a nit picker or trying to show off ones own knowledge or taste of cinema by picking up some obvious /elementary errors
This is basically a premise and excuse to enjoy/ celebrate/ revel in rahmans brilliance
Imtiaz Ali handles most songs well and weaves them into the narrative well
Infact the director deserves credit on most fronts –cannot think of an obvious problem–will dissect later in detail
C’mon let’s shed ones snobbishness and biases and see/ judge something for what it is and not the way it should be perceived as according to a predecided set of “notions”
So Imtiaz Ali has delivered……
Ranbir has formally arrived, as per my initial hunch. This is his “guru” moment except that unlike in abhishreks case this is not the “oasis in a desert” (box office wise)
Liked the small but significant role of shammi kapoor and the way it was used . His eyes in the v brief cameo showed what legacy/genes are and the subtle “passing over the baton” bit was more than symbolic
Which brings me to the area where my views probably differ from everyone —I was surprised as to how my initial hunch was wrong going by reports.
But I’m relieved to say that my hunch wasn’t wrong
This is a person who hasn’t spoken Hindi before and has never acted before, infact never lived in India
I was SO glad that one of the “usual suspects” or one of the so-called “skillful” actresses that abound Bollywood was not used here
There is a certain rehearsed repetitive predictable cliched actions that comes with it
One cannot replace the “rawness”
An actor who is THAT new is essentially “unspoilt” and even “virginal” (no pun intended) in terms of style
Infact I liked the lack of “technique”
Such a person tries to replace it by actually “feeling those feelings” which unfortunately is not done/needed by the “veterans”
So damn the “lack of skilful actress” bit–found nargis fakhri not worse than any other female debut in recent times in Bollywood
(Obviously it helps that I found her gorgeous and even ethereal in some places )
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November 13, 2011 at 3:15 PM
thanks for your take Alex.. must say I was quite taken in by the new girl myself (!). And yeah her ‘notes’ as an actress are completely scattered more often than not. But she’s not that bad either. Or at least I didn’t really have a great problem with her in this film.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:38 PM
^^^ reassuring to hear that satyam
there are some guys who have a good taste in women and some don’t (for eg who find Kareena “hot”)
Obviously lots to do with taste
But satyam who have proven yourselves to belong to the former group
I’m feeling sorry for qalander though (lol)
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November 13, 2011 at 3:44 PM
LOL! Yeah qalandar has been too harsh on her. It’s certainly true she’s no actress and worse still she’s often trying to be one which perhaps makes it worse. Nonetheless I think he does leave an impression and I think Imtiaz Ali could have worked a bit wisely around her deficiencies as an actress. But yeah I’d take her over Katrina Kaif any day of the week.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:16 PM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar Sunday: Biz jumps … Rajasthan Fri 61 lacs, Sat 55 lacs, Sun 73 lacs … CI Fri 36 lacs, Sat 33 lacs, Sun 45 lacs.
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November 13, 2011 at 3:57 PM
“But yeah I’d take her over Katrina Kaif any day of the week.”—take her for what?? Lol–plz clarify
Also qalander extreme reactions at her probably have a “deeper” pathogenesis
Don’t think his taste is at fault
Perhaps sometimes the subconscious adopts a “pseudohatred” like reaction to preclude any possible “conflicts”
Also won’t even take this “learning acting” bit
Thought she did v well and perhaps better than some “skillful” /rehearsed/regurgitating ones could do
The likes of which who can blurt out lengthy KHNH, KKHH, DTPH dialogues in under 10 sec (while asleep!!!!)
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November 13, 2011 at 4:04 PM
LOL, can’t pretend to psychoanalyze Qalandar but do find his review to be mostly on the money.
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November 13, 2011 at 4:17 PM
Lol well even this review of qalander is mostly “on the money”
Except on the “tone and compulsive default criticism ” lol
Anyhow the “perennial girly giggles” suggested that ranbirs fan count has risen markedly
And the “she is hot” comment from the male creatures was expected
Also happy to see that imitiaz didn’t massacre any Rahman song ( though hawa hawa) had more potential
Also songs were picturised partly which was a slight disappoitment only but maintained good “flow”
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November 13, 2011 at 6:20 PM
Saw the film (sm won’t approve 😀 ).
Not good at writing reviews so just some points.
-Liked it, especially the first half. It was devoid of all the ‘wannabe’ elements of most films.
-Ranbir Kapoor and the music were the best parts.
-liked the music better in the film, and I’m hoping the enjoyment of listening to it will now increase.
-Inspite of his superb acting I felt a great dislike for Jordan towards the second half.
-I wouldn’t call it a love story. Jordan didn’t seem to have any feelings. It was just blind obsession. His insistance on wanting to quickly kiss before they throw him out while she’s lying sick was the limit. So I’m not sure if we were supposed to feel for this character at all.
-I still find Nargis’ mouth weird, but she wasn’t that bad. I was impressed that she was not shown like deepti or Bipasha etc in their shorty western clothes.
-special mention of a scene ;
When his well wisher (Katara?) asks him;
kabhi pyaar kiya hai? Ranbir looks up in thinking pose – it was fleeting, but the idea of him thinking about it with that expression, had me guffawing long after.
-special mention also of the diction of various characters. They spoke and pronounced the words well unlike a whole lot of people who role their ‘r’s and speak in such a sing song way.
-And it was nice to see Shammi Kapoor.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:41 PM
Talking of Ranbir’s obsession for Heer, the film could be called Fatal Attraction.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:40 PM
Hmmm so oldgold good points there
“His insistance on wanting to quickly kiss before they throw him out while she’s lying sick was the limit”–thanx for adding that “female perspective”—actually had similar reactions from some female coviewers
Now thinking of it-there’s a point
But perhaps he wanted to “help out” by increAsing her “blood count” by the “magic touch” lol
Ps– didn’t know sm has to approve every film u watch
And how did u manage to watch it in a cinema –or did u take the satyam/ra1 route lol
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November 13, 2011 at 6:43 PM
The satyam route is what sm wouldn’t approve of.
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November 13, 2011 at 6:56 PM
Lol–think satyam, has watched this one also the ra1 way….
Guess the real impact of the music here is only on the big screen
Hope u didnt catch another flight for this one
But u should have watched it on the big screen (with your grand children lol)
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November 13, 2011 at 11:09 PM
Weekend Report: Olympian Debut for ‘Immortals’
by Ray Subers
Immortals
November 13, 2011
Immortals may not have been the next 300, but it was at least strong enough to claim the top spot at the box office this weekend. Jack and Jill opened lower than most major Adam Sandler movies, and only $500,000 currently separates it from strong holdover Puss in Boots. The weekend’s third new movie, J. Edgar, failed to exceed modest expectations. With three movies over $25 million, overall box office was up at least 12 percent from the same period last year.
Immortals debuted to an estimated $32 million, which is less than half of 300’s $70.9 million and also way off from Clash of the Titans’s $61.2 million. While those are both very similar movies, it’s a slightly unfair comparison given the marketing dominance exercised by their distributor Warner Bros. In its own right, Immortals was actually very impressive. It is distributor Relativity Media’s best opening ever by a long shot (Limitless was the previous high with $18.9 million), and it’s also the top opening for a movie not released by a big six studio since Lionsgate’s The Expendables debuted to $34.8 million last August. Finally, it’s the second-highest opening for an R-rated 3D movie ever behind Jackass 3-D’s $50.4 million, with 3D showings accounting for a substantial 66 percent of the weekend gross. The movie’s audience was 60 percent male, 75 percent under the age of 35, and 35 percent Hispanic. Immortals received a “B” CinemaScore, and a “B+” from the under-25 crowd.
Jack and Jill claimed an estimated $26 million, which is lower than February’s Adam Sandler-Dennis Dugan collaboration Just Go With It ($30.5 million). In fact, the only traditional Sandler comedy that has opened lower in the last 10 years is Funny People ($22.6 million). Still, it’s an odd time of year for a Sandler movie (most open in the Summer), and the opening is close enough to his standard range that it in no way indicates that his star is fading. 53 percent of Jack and Jill’s audience was families, while 52 percent were female and 57 percent were 25 years of age and older. On Friday, the movie received a “B” CinemaScore (and an “A-” from those under 18 years old).
After holding the top spot for two weekends in a row, Puss in Boots dipped a light 23 percent to an estimated $25.5 million. On Saturday it passed $100 million, and its total now rests at $108.8 million. It’s about even with last November’s Megamind through the same point, albeit with a much higher third weekend gross, and it should wind up with over $150 million if it isn’t completely stomped on by Happy Feet Two, Arthur Christmas, and The Muppets in the next two weeks.
Tower Heist fell 45 percent to $13.2 million for a total of $43.9 million. Thanks to Tower Heist’s grosses, distributor Universal Pictures passed $1 billion for the year on Saturday. This is the first year Universal has reached this milestone since 2008, and it’s the fifth studio to do so in 2011 after Paramount, Warner Bros., Disney and Sony.
J. Edgar opened in fifth place with an estimated $11.5 million from 1,910 theaters. That’s a bit off from director Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, which debuted to $12 million last October. Still, that movie was playing at slightly more venues (2,181) and had a lower per-theater average. J. Edgar’s audience was 94 percent over the age of 25 and 54 percent female, and the movie received a “B” CinemaScore.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas fell 55 percent to $5.9 million to bring its 10-day total to $23.2 million. That decline was an improvement over predecessor Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay’s 59 percent, but the weekend gross and gross-to-date are both lower.
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November 13, 2011 at 11:10 PM
Given the reviews I’m surprised Immortals even did this much..
Disappointed with the J edgar gross. It should have opened a bit stronger than this.
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November 14, 2011 at 12:26 AM
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November 14, 2011 at 1:34 AM
Rockstar Has Very Good Weekend
Monday 14th November 2011 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar had a very good first weekend as it collected around 33.75 crore nett. The film showed a 8-10% jump on Saturday and a similar jump on Sunday. The growth in not big but still the film managed to grow on each day.
The growth on Sunday came from mass centres as single screens and multiplexes in these areas showed a jump. The high end multiplexes could not go much further as they were at optimum or near optimum levels on Saturday. The best business for Rockstar has come in places like Mumbai city, Pune, Delhi city and Bangalore.
The opening weekend is similar to Ranbir Kapoor’s Raajneeti released last year and that film went on to cross the 90 crore nett mark. Although that scenario can’t be totally ruled out for Rockstar it will be tough as Raajneeti had more universal acceptance.
It will all depend on Monday and a 6.50 crore nett plus Monday will give it a chance for 90 crore nett.
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November 14, 2011 at 1:53 AM
Just going from Fri to Sat there was negligible ‘growth’ (using BOI numbers in each case). Sun too is only a crore (or less) greater than the Sat number. So the film has mostly remained at a plateau over the weekend though it clearly started out strong and without a unanimous verdict the numbers are not exactly surprising.
Clearly some have loved it, a larger cross section has found it ok, and many have disliked it as well. How these percentages stack up remains to be seen. I’d be surprised if this film wasn’t some kind of success but I can also see the opposite scenario. Because this isn’t a movie that offers that many ‘frills’ in the second half. Rajneeti is not a fair comparison. That was a very entertaining film which just about everyone liked.
Assuming the film does 45 crores or so over the first week I’d say (leaving aside cost issues) that less than average trending here would be acceptable. Just based on the kind of film it is. In other words one would normally expect a film with this sort of start to double its initial or fall a bit short. However a number of recent ‘hits’ haven’t done that including Imtiaz Ali’s own LAK and Rambir’s own APKGK. So even 75-80 crores would be acceptable here. Why? Because given the mixed reaction to the film it wouldn’t be able to get even to that lower mark without some cross-section of the audience liking it a lot. anything less than 70 and that’s a different picture altogether though again those two films I’ve just mentioned started around 40 or so, then ended up in the mid-60s, which is to say had relatively quick fades, and everyone was calling them hits without question.
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November 14, 2011 at 1:58 AM
the ZNMD comparison is again the best one here. Rockstar opened at 10.5 crores to ZNMD’s 7.5 (again going by BOI figures each way) but the latter showed better jumps over the weekend. It eventually ended up around 26-27 crores, well behind Rockstar but it also remained very stable. It was liked by just about everyone in its target audience. Even with the 7-8 crore initial lead it’s hard to imagine Rockstar can match the 90 crore total of that film. But the weekdays should of course reveal how much relative strength or weakness it has.
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November 14, 2011 at 8:24 AM
I agree somewhat tho I see it differently.
It has opened beyond what people had imagined. So, the first thing is Ranbir’s star power and pull. Unlike films that opened big and fail to show jump on Sat ( which I believe is even more crucial than Sun unless Fri was just HUGE),it has shown jumps on Sat and Sun.
Do agree tho that ZNMD has better growth and this film is not going to have those kind of legs. It is not going to crash either.
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November 14, 2011 at 8:42 AM
To add to rajen’s point, the film must be analyzed when analyzing the box office performance: thus, whatever Rockstar’s ultimate fate, if it makes real money it will definitely redound to Ranbir’s credit, because everyone agrees that he and ARR represent a lot of what is right about the film (by contrast, it’s far more difficult to make the same case for Rajneeti).
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November 14, 2011 at 9:04 AM
for all these reasons I said in the longer comment above that it didn’t really need to do 90 crores like ZNMD. But this is a better comparison than the foolish one being offered by BOI in Rajneeti.
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November 14, 2011 at 8:20 AM
Now this is what I call a solid guy. Instead of trumpetingthe weekend numbers here is what he has to say:
When asked about the success of his movie, Ranbir had this to say.
“I have faith in myself and I work very hard, but let’s wait and see whether the film holds audience interest beyond the weekend or falls on Monday,” says Ranbir Kapoor. “It is the curiosity that brings people into a film initially, (but) it is the longevity of a film that matters eventually.”
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November 14, 2011 at 9:00 AM
absolutely..
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November 14, 2011 at 9:20 AM
Rockstar Holds Up Well on Monday
Monday 14th November 2011 18.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar is holding up well on Monday. The multiplex collections in big centres are down in the range of 30-50% from Friday.
The fall is bigger in mass centres but the contributions are also less as film has not done well in these areas from day one. Single screens are down from there low levels on Monday and in most single screens it will only survive a week or two.
It is almost certain that the Monday fall is likely to be less than 50% from Friday and collections could even be around 6 crore nett. Rockstar has been accepted by the urban youth and lifetime distributor share could head towards 40 crore.
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November 14, 2011 at 9:22 AM
Midweek: ‘Rockstar’ has Rs 34 cr nett opening weekend, fantastic
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November 14, 2011 at 9:25 AM
Along with that his natural command over Hindi and revelation on Imitiaz’s working style and passion has to be appreciated.
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November 14, 2011 at 9:40 AM
Rockstar Makes Rs. 35 Crore Over Weekend
November 14th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rockstar has collected Rs. 35 crore over its first weekend at the box-office. The film had taken an excellent opening (Rs. 11 crore in all-India net collections) on its opening day (Friday, November 11).
The film, directed by Imtiaz Ali, collected another Rs. 11.5 crore on Saturday and Rs. 12.5 crore on Sunday, taking the 3-day tally to Rs. 35 crore net.
Editor’s Comment
The weekend collections of Rockstar are very good. This, in spite of very mixed reports that the film had received. Overall, it was a very good weekend.
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November 14, 2011 at 10:31 AM
Here you go, Ranbir surges ahead !!
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November 14, 2011 at 10:34 AM
Rahul.. I already added that BOI report earlier in the thread so I’ve removed your repetition of the same.
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November 14, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Thanks Satyam.
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November 14, 2011 at 10:38 AM
Rockstar: Will The Dream Run Continue?
by Aatmi Doshi (November 14, 2011)
Rockstar has earned extraordinary weekend collections. And even though today (Monday) is a working day, the film has sustained its box-office collections. Will it be able to further maintain its run at the ticket counter? Box Office India spoke to the programmers of various multiplexes chains across India.
Anshu Kapoor of Fun Cinemas: The response to Rockstar has been outstanding. At Fun Cinemas all over India, there has been a slight drop today as it is a working day. All the screenings have registered 60 per cent of occupancy.
Mukesh Unchade of PVR Cinemas: There has been no drop for any of the shows across all PVR cinemas in the country. Every show of Rockstar at PVR has had a minimum 100 viewers. It is undoubtedly superb.
Satish Kondvikar of Inox: The film is having a smooth run. In the forthcoming week, we have seven to eight shows daily. What else can you expect? It is a flawless movie and the young generation loves it!
A Hameed of Movie Time: The film is outstanding and has received a good response. The total weekend collections at Movie Time outlets were about Rs 45 lakh all over India. Collections of the film have fallen today and occupancy is about 25 per cent.
Jitendra Chauhan of Satyam: Across Satyam outlets, Rockstar has done business of 90-95 per cent in Delhi and in other places, 80-85 per cent. There is a slight drop in business today and the occupancy across Satyam outlets is 55-60 per cent.
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November 14, 2011 at 11:00 AM
Good to see at least one of the nextgen stepping up and burnishing their commercial credentials. If not, we would be stuck with the ageing Khans, Akki and Devgan for the next 5 yrs. Now finally, producers will have the balls to bet on the likes of Ranbir. HR is a special case though, he is nearing 40 and will be fighting Ranbir who is fully 10 yrs younger!
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November 14, 2011 at 11:47 AM
The WOM here is definitely on the positive side.
I got woken up middle of Sun night with a phone call from India from a family member to recommend Rockstar!
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November 14, 2011 at 10:56 PM
Saw Rockstar last night.
Didn’t like it much.
1st half is good but it is a hard task to survive the 2nd half.
Movie sometimes is dragging with no way or proceeding the story.
Ranbir has excelled in the role of both JJ and Jordan. As i earlier said, he has the potential to make it big.
nargis.. oh dear.. what a horrible acting!!!!!! nope she wont make it big in bollywood.
And do not think this is love, it was more of obsession and desire for kiss, sex and physical touch!!! Emotion to connect with their sadness was missing!!!
But one thing is sure, RK has given one of his best performances till date. And i will not mind saying it to be an award winning performance!!!
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November 14, 2011 at 11:59 PM
“And do not think this is love, it was more of obsession and desire for kiss, sex and physical touch!!! Emotion to connect with their sadness was missing!!!”
I found it refreshing that Imtiaz didn’t shy away from showing the physical aspect of romantic love. But I didn’t think the emotions were missing either.
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November 15, 2011 at 1:02 AM
Henry: plus, this whole dichotomy between “love” and “the physical aspect” is in any event juvenile — that’s one aspect I’m not displeased to see the likes of Imtiaz Ali get beyond…
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November 15, 2011 at 3:26 AM
I don’t think it’s juvenile.
The sooner people stop thinking and discussing that ‘sex’ is a symbol of adulthood the sooner they will *really* come of age and maturity, which in my opinion comes from *being responsible*
I sincerely hope this ‘getting beyond’ doesn’t take root as this will be another weapon to glorify male domination in the industry with horny heroes ‘in love’ with heroines who will further sink to item/’going beyond’ levels.
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November 15, 2011 at 4:46 AM
That isn’t what I was referring to at all: I was referring to the dichotomy between “love” and “physical attraction”, which to my mind is illusory. The two are so inextricably intertwined that it’s nice to see love stories explicitly acknowledging what is inescapably true.
[Aside: not the point I was making, but the idea of “horny heroes” and women “sink[ing]” itself implicitly seems to legitimize a view that sex is something men want, whereas women want “love” — perpetuating the very dichotomy I see as problematic. Where I completely agree with you, and have so stated on this blog several times, is on the selling of sex as a ticket to modernity — which I abhor, and is more about an ‘aspirational’ lifestyle than either love or sex.]
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November 15, 2011 at 4:54 AM
I wasn’t expressing my POV regarding love and sex in general or in ones private lives, but how things will turn out in films. The heroines today have sunk and will sink further with this wannabe attitude which even Imtiaz showed to the hilt in LAK and a hint of it here.
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November 15, 2011 at 7:05 AM
Re: “The heroines today have sunk and will sink further with this wannabe attitude…”
Agreed: under the smokescreen of social liberalism, roles for women have been declining and getting ever more strait-jacketed/narrow in scope (the likes of Jaya Bhaduri couldn’t even get a job in the industry today). This is true even in playback singing, where duets are much rarer (unless we are talking of sexualized numbers)…
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November 15, 2011 at 7:20 AM
Qalandar, I feel proud that you agree with me and haven’t dismissed my view as a ‘woman’s point of view’.
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November 15, 2011 at 8:30 AM
Re: “I feel proud that you agree with me and haven’t dismissed my view as a ‘woman’s point of view’.”
Are you being sarcastic? When have I ever done that? (It’s a genuine question; I hope I haven’t been doing that.)
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November 15, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Re:That isn’t what I was referring to at all: I was referring to the dichotomy between “love” and “physical attraction”, which to my mind is illusory. The two are so inextricably intertwined that it’s nice to see love stories explicitly acknowledging what is inescapably true.
Thats an intriguing claim.
Thats a worthwhile discussion to be had and I am not sure I entirely agree. Depends on how one defines love and again it is a perpective that DOES change with biological age.
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November 15, 2011 at 9:42 AM
Don’t be so touchy, Qalandar. I was serious. I didn’t mean you. Why would I when you are agreeing?
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November 15, 2011 at 1:00 AM
Rockstar Has Very Good Monday
Tuesday 15th November 2011 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar had a good Monday as it collected around 5.75-6 crore nett approx as per early estimates. The drop is around 40% from Friday. The four day collections is 39 crore nett and the week should finish around 50 crore nett plus.
Multiplexes in big urban centres held up well but single screens fell badly from already low levels.
The film was helped by holidays in some places for Children’s day. Rockstar should reach around 75 crore nett but it will depend on the second weekend as there are big drops in mass centres and multiplexes outside the metros could also see drops on the weekdays. The film held up well in the Delhi/Punjab belt on Monday.
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November 15, 2011 at 3:08 AM
earlier they said a 6.5 crore MOn would give it a shot at 90 crores. Now they don’t even seem to be sure about 75 crores with 5.75-6 crores.
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November 15, 2011 at 7:58 AM
Rangan’s review:
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November 15, 2011 at 8:21 AM
He seems to have liked it as much as I did!
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November 15, 2011 at 8:26 AM
Excellent review all around. His description of the music parallels my own experience with the soundtrack here:
“But even if Jordan needn’t have been a musician for this movie to work, his story is undoubtedly charted through AR Rahman’s music, which fits the narrative far better than it serves as a standalone listening experience. (Every time I heard the songs, I had that close-but-no-cigar feeling.)”
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November 15, 2011 at 8:31 AM
Actually his review here makes me want to see Mausam far more than anything else I’ve read on it.
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November 15, 2011 at 8:41 AM
It should definitely be checked out though I think he’s closer to the mark on Rockstar than on Mausam. Because whether one shares his experience of the former or not there are certain things that Rockstar does very well and these then carry the film, more for some than for others of course. Mausam though is never as ‘good’ as its strengths and hence its weaknesses drag down the film far more. Still this is an appropriate juxtaposition on Rangan’s part for all the reasons he’s pointed out.
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November 15, 2011 at 8:44 AM
Hmmm, the after glow of the film seems to be making Satyam and GF a little less harsher on the film ( not that you were too harsh to begin with). But, it is true. It IS a film that lingers on and stays with you for a while.
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November 15, 2011 at 8:49 AM
Ha! As I said yesterday I will hopefully check it out another time (would have done so relatively soon had it been playing nearby). But there’s no question that the film has stayed on my mind quite a bit. and I only stress on this fact not as something completely surprising but because I concede this film has had that effect on me in spite of the otherwise important deficiencies I recognize in it. Perhaps a reason to reconsider the latter.
On a related note while I always thought this was a very strong soundtrack I admired it more than I loved it. But here too the film has helped quite a bit. The soundtrack just opens up in a somewhat different light. This is so anyway with Rahman (and in any case I had been mostly listening to this for some weeks) but here it provides the texture of the film more than anything else and so one just appreciates it in a completely new way.
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November 15, 2011 at 9:06 AM
The film is far from perfect but, yes, it does manage to leave a residue which is rare in this day. To my mind what lingers is entirely the memory of the music and song sequences more than actual scenes.
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November 15, 2011 at 8:36 AM
outstanding piece but this is of course par for the course for this writer..
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November 15, 2011 at 10:44 AM
I read Satyam’s Q’s and GF’s reviews and wanted to comment after I have seen Rockstar..but man Rangan’s review has forced me to comment- the very best review of any movie so far… brilliant and in detail analysis in easy to read style …easy to understand and grasp the theme and subtle points of the movie.
Aside- I am reading a lot about how this movie is Rehman and Rehaman’s alone.
If that was true Yuvraj, Raavan and D-6 would have been a super hits !!!( I love the music and have great respect for rehman)
but in all honesty -The director chooses the situation and the approves the music and lyrics and weaves them in the storyline.
Don’t have poor Imtiaz Ali shout- Saada Haq, Aithe Rakh !!!!! give him his due……..
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November 15, 2011 at 11:19 AM
But the way the music has been used in Rockstar is hardly like those other examples. The only comparable one in this sense is RDB, at least to my mind. Of course this doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t have any other strengths. But Rahman I think in more significant here than he is when he does a normal soundtrack. In D6 it’s quite the opposite. Here my complaint always was that totally unlike RDB Mehra did not do justice to the music at all. Some of the key songs were cropped or not introduced with the right cues. The all-important exception was Dil Gira (one of the great music videos of Hindi cinema to my mind). So I think it’s not Rahman as much as the fact that the composer’s work is definitive for the film’s texture. This is certainly not the case in every other instance. Having said that it would be silly to say that this is just a music video of a film. Obviously it isn’t!
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November 15, 2011 at 11:34 AM
Agree with everything Satyam has said. But let’s frame this differently: on the merit of Jab We Met, Socha Na Tha and Love Aaj Kal can anyone seriously say that Imtiaz Ali has had a history of using music in the way it has been used here?! I definitely don’t mean to rob him of any credit but there’s nothing to suggest from his past work that he makes all the difference here. It’s in fact exactly the opposite. No one “alone” deserves the credit but there are some contributions to the totality of a creative work that are more important than others. To my mind Rahman’s contribution stands head and shoulder above everyone else’s here, and at my own risk I’ll say that includes Ranbir!
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November 15, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Thanks for the inputs Satyam and GF….
agree on D-6 , as good as that album is ( major factor were the the lyrics as well) was not used well in the movie.
On Imtiaz- JWM had dream soundtrack, LAK had a pretty decent soundtrack and WAS used very efficienly by Imitiaz in both the movies.
Socha Na tha did not need any music……
ofc Rockstar is atleast 10 times better than JWM and LAK …
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November 15, 2011 at 5:41 AM
Their commentary is always inconsistent however the numbers are probably the most reliable.
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November 15, 2011 at 9:01 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar *India business* Fri 10.6 cr, Sat 11 cr, Sun 12 cr, Mon 5.5 cr. Total: Rs 39.1 cr nett. Rocking!
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November 15, 2011 at 9:02 AM
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar Nets Rs. 6 Cr On Monday; 4-Day Total 41 Crore
November 15th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
After scoring a very good weekend at the box-office (Rs. 35 crore all-India net), Rockstar make a good Rs. 5.5 to Rs. 6 crore on Monday, November 14, 2011, largely owing to the good collections from the Delhi and East Punjab circuits. However, collections of the film saw a fall in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Rockstar had collected Rs. 11 crore on Friday, Rs. 11.5 crore on Saturday and Rs. 12.5 crore on Sunday. This takes the 4-day total of the film Rs. 40.5 to Rs. 41 crore (approx. all-India net).
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November 15, 2011 at 9:03 AM
not surprising that the film has greater resonance in Delhi/E Punjab.
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November 15, 2011 at 12:07 PM
“on the merit of Jab We Met, Socha Na Tha and Love Aaj Kal can anyone seriously say that Imtiaz Ali has had a history of using music in the way it has been used here?”
I think the music was used really well in all his films but Rockstar is definitely in a league of its own. That’s also perhaps the latter is a musical and gave Imtiaz the opportunity to really show his strengths.
Interestingly, all his films so far end with songs.
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November 15, 2011 at 1:05 PM
Rockstar
US – $612,000 from 112 screens
UK -184,000 GBP from 53 screens
Ra.Ome – $118,000 for a total of 2.44 Million so far in US
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November 15, 2011 at 1:09 PM
Hasn’t done too well in the US, specially relative to the screen count. Should end up with a million. In India too it’s a major metro affair at this point. It’s really doing nothing elsewhere so it really needs to stay stable in these. Basically the top 7-10 metros. Today judging by BOI’s commentary they don’t seem too confident of even 75 crores. If I were betting I’d say it looks like 65-70 at this point. But I could be wrong and it might have a stronger base of people who really loved it in which case 75 crores should be possible. But I think the narrative on this film is more or less baked in. And it is obviously a success on this score. Leaving aside cost issues and the like do think that one can live with a 75 crore gross on this one. This sort of trending wouldn’t be good enough for many other subjects but all things considered it’s acceptable here.
Ra One meanwhile has truly underperformed with it’s 190 screen count. Even Don earlier had a much lower per screen average than other films in that 2-2.5m range. But it’s even lower for this one.
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November 15, 2011 at 1:10 PM
LOL! Someone must show these figures to SRK, who believes Ra One to be the biggest hit ever!
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November 15, 2011 at 5:22 PM
Lol its a poor performance in the US. Film is the butt of many jokes now. SRK will have to rethink his productions next time round.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:42 AM
>SRK, who believes Ra One to be the biggest hit ever!
Where? When? How?
Please give link! Quickly!!!
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November 15, 2011 at 1:17 PM
5 marketing lessons from Ra.One
Last updated on: November 15, 2011 13:22 IST
Ra.One was an attack on the senses, unless of course you are an Arjun Rampal fan.
And it’s official now that Ra.One is nowhere near a blockbuster hit that it was expected to be. It is no 3 Idiots. It is not even a Bodyguard.
As trade analyst Taran Adarsh wrote in a recent column “As for Eros/Red Chillies, well, Ra.One would ensure profits for sure, but when you attempt a film of this magnitude, you expect the profits to be in the Rs 30-crore (Rs 300 million) to Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) range. That might not be the case here!”
Amod Mehra, a trade analyst, told Rediff.com sometime back, “If things go well, the producers (Shah Rukh Khan and Eros Entertainment) will at the most be able to break even, but the sub-distributors are 100 per cent going to lose money. There are no two ways about it. They will lose an estimated 30 to 40 per cent of their money.”
Given these details there are few interesting marketing lessons that can be learnt here.
more here:
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-5-marketing-lessons-from-raone/20111115.htm
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November 15, 2011 at 1:32 PM
Well thought out lessons, with some really good examples. some of this was touched by Satyam long ago. hahaha
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November 15, 2011 at 2:11 PM
Sorry to break up the anti-SRK celebration, but this is a most idiotic and amateurish pretense at “journalism”, which is not even factually correct. It is typical of the types of articles one sees by “journalists” at Rediff or TOI, where the editor sets the conclusion, and the writer scrambles to fill the space with some loosely connected words (one cannot call them “supporting arguments” or “evidence”) that may have something vaguely connected with the topic at hand.
There are undoubtedly lessons to be learned from the Ra.One experience, by all, but this article doesn’t teach them.
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November 15, 2011 at 2:23 PM
I dont know SM, I felt otherwise. Can’t argue with what you have to say either. They did point out some decent examples that go in hand with this situation (the Cola example was pretty solid I thought)
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November 15, 2011 at 6:35 PM
The Coke example actually belies their argument — it was later discovered that that whole “new Coke” campaign was orchestrated to revive the market for “Classic Coke”, which was badly losing to Pepsi at the time. I know, I lived through that era. 🙂 (Also, the so-called “classic coke” was made sweeter anyway, a few years down the line, changing its original formula. I stopped drinking it.)
Not all of SRK’s successes are of him in the role of a “sophisticated guy next door getting the girl” (begging the question, can a “guy next door” be sophisticated? Isn’t the essence of such a characterization one who is *not* sophisticated?). Examples are OSO, MHN, especially Chalte Chalte, where the main conflict between the couple arose from the fact that he wasn’t sophisticated and she was. Also, he didn’t “get the girl after a lot of hiccups”, he got her before the interval, then lost her in the second half after a series of escalating conflicts. Similarly his character in Veer Zaara was from a village! True, he became a military officer later, but his values were portrayed to be that of the village. Similarly not all of his films with “relentless promotion” (which started with Don) were failures. As for Salman’s films, they could hardly be said to have had any promotion at all till Wanted, never mind “relentless promotion.” And while the writer proclaims that all of Salman’s films are guaranteed to be bad, s/he then brings up HAHK as an example of a quality film with little fanfare, which succeeds because of good content, but forgets to mention that it is a Salmam film. The whole article was extremely sloppy and slapdash.
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November 15, 2011 at 2:27 PM
Re: Sorry to break up the anti-SRK celebration,
You didnt.Try harder.
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November 15, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Nothing else to celebrate?? No birthdays? No wedding anniversaries? No nothing?? Too bad!!!
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November 15, 2011 at 2:39 PM
well we all are hostage to confirmation bias to some degree..
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November 15, 2011 at 4:35 PM
sm, a lot of people on this blog like to believe journos when it suits them?
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November 15, 2011 at 5:44 PM
even rockstar delared success in just one week-end,pity srk super hero,sorry oops super zero ra one not recovered the hafty sum,no dare-devil willbe attempting this debacle…lesson learnt.
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November 15, 2011 at 1:59 PM
SRK definitely has lessons to learn
Also losses to withstand -the exact numbers can be debated by everyone (including the income tax sleuths)
But that’s not his main problem
For someone getting fuelled and motivated by the idea of continuing to be the “best”—-
It is the ability to be able to reconcile and accept that the phase is now over….
And this is not the same as ANY of his contemporaries or juniors.
When this happens to someone like Srk (not talking about his acting a imity of lack thereof. It his significance and place )::
It is difficult to deal
And this is perhaps just the beginning
The biggest casualty will be his confidence and self belief which is the most lethal–more than any adversary or competition
(Let’s see how he deals with it.. He may do well to study Rajesh khannas situation post 80s)
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November 15, 2011 at 3:09 PM
Ranbir, Nargis talk about Rockstar Success……
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/202617/ranbir-nargis-talk-about-rockstar-success.html
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November 15, 2011 at 3:18 PM
It is rather refreshing to see Ranbir in many of these interviews himself refer to the ‘mixed reactions’.
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November 15, 2011 at 3:33 PM
http://www.thevigilidiot.com/2011/11/14/rockstar/comment-page-1/#comment-7050
Clearly, The Vigil Idiot quite simply does not understand Hindi cinema and equates everything to Hollywood sensibilities. His tasteless sarcasm only borders around the aspect that ‘A film where some of the plot elements do not make sense automatically means that it’s a terrible film’. This guy is a pseudo-intellectual who deals in offering offensive cartoon strips
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November 15, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Well, yeah obviously he offers offensive cartoon strips! Don’t think that’s a problem. The psuedo-intellectual bit is not a fair accusation. Nor is the idea that he doesn’t understand Hindi cinema, at least, to my mind. I’ll say this: The Vigil Idiot sometimes seems redundant because bad Hindi films are soft targets and the worst of them can be so obviously “deficient” that making fun of them seems too easy a task, but when he nails it some of these pieces are priceless.
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November 15, 2011 at 6:38 PM
While I regret the Vigil Idiot’s increasing reliance on obscenity for wit, I’ve always found his reviews to make fair points.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:31 AM
>Clearly, The Vigil Idiot quite simply does not understand Hindi cinema and equates everything to Hollywood sensibilities.
LOL!! When a film liked by an individual gets this treatment this is the typical reaction 😉
Though I agree about the Hollywood sensibilities of many people, not just the vigil idiot.
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November 16, 2011 at 5:18 AM
He skewers Hollywood films in the same way. Check out his review of “Sex and the City 2.”
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November 15, 2011 at 5:16 PM
Had a brief look–the vigil idiot cartoons are not bad fun …
Btw
Nargis f beats sonam/deepika
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Nargis-Fakhri-beats-Deepika-Sonam/articleshow/10737980.cms
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November 15, 2011 at 5:21 PM
She should totally do lots and lots of ads. Whatever keeps her out of the movies.
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November 15, 2011 at 6:13 PM
Ha!
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November 15, 2011 at 6:26 PM
Guess GF just cannot see any or appreciate anything beyond Mallika sherawat, Pamela Anderson, Ayesha Takia, Lindsay Lohan, Courtney Love and Katie Price
Wmdering what they have in common ….lol any guesses
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November 16, 2011 at 4:32 AM
Pray, tell us what is it that you like soooo much about Nargis. On second thoughts…NO!! DON’T!!!
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November 15, 2011 at 5:38 PM
Whatever lol
Dont mind her in either!!
Incidentally just remembered what her pout reminds me of
Brigette Bardot!!!
I maintain that she is one of the most interesting actresses to hit bollywood in recent cinema–inspite of the apparent “naively ” of this statement
Maybe I’m biased —but who says one has to go by verifiable mathematical equations here
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November 15, 2011 at 5:56 PM
Probably from some comments, it appeared that I’m a “die hard” fan….
Some one sent me this link to “help out” —-ROTFLOL
nargis f relaxing in yosemite !!!
http://nargisfakhri.net/2011/08/18/nargis-fakhri-the-sleeping-beauty-on-the-beach/
Incidentally Yosemite is one of my favourites –love the camping!!!
Brilliant scenery
http://www.terragalleria.com/photos/?keyword=el-capitan-yosemite-scenery
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November 15, 2011 at 6:19 PM
Bloomberg news on Rockstar:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-15/-slumdog-oscar-winner-rahman-s-music-redeems-rockstar-bollywood-review.html
surprisingly this film wasn’t reviewed in the NY Times. Otherwise they’re busy reviewing stuff like MBKD!
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November 16, 2011 at 12:33 AM
Ra.One Has Heavy Fall In Week Three
Wednesday 16th November 2011 09.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Ra.One had a heavy fall in week three as Rockstar released which left Ra.One with little screen space. Ra.One is looking to gross to around 1.75 crore nett in week three which is a near 90% drop from week two.
The film had done all work initially so it has still become a huge grosser and final business will be around the 115 crore nett range.
In Mumbai the distributor share will be 22.50 crore making it the seventh highest of all time. In Delhi/UP it will be around 13 cr making it the sixth highest off all time.
In East Punjab it will do a share of around 4.80 crore which is ninth highest of all time. Best performance is in Mysore where it will do a share of 3.50 crore, the second highest of all time.
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November 16, 2011 at 12:37 AM
A heavy fall in week 3? No kidding!
Anyway so what if it didn’t match 3I, so what if it didn’t measure upto BG, so what if it also didn’t quite touch Ready, it at least did as much as Ghajini! No small feat here. Let’s not be petty sticklers here and talk about screen counts and inflation and what not.
Will say this in all fairness. A week 3 number of 1.75 crores given the first week number of 100 crores or whatever it was is definitely a genuine record not likely to be surpassed anytime soon..
Damn you Rockstar! Swallowed up all the screens! Disgusting!
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November 16, 2011 at 12:44 AM
Do you have any idea about the expansion in number of screens for Hindi films in, say, the last five years. I think it was here that I read a year or two ago that the per capita screen numbers are much higher in AP & Tamil Nadu. If “Bollywood” claims to be the biggest of the Indian film industries in terms of viewership, why is the number of screens so low? And why doesn’t anyone want to invest in building more single screen theaters in small towns? It seems to me to be an opportunity waiting for exploitation.
(I was in Amritsar about three years ago, and was very surprised to see only one movie theater in all my wanderings around town, and that, too, in a shamefully rundown condition. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to go there to see a movie, even the stereotypical single male viewer. And yet Amritsar isn’t exactly a little village. Really brought home to me the statistics I’d read about number of screens for Hindi films.)
Obviously, if there were more screens available, we wouldn’t have situations like Ra.One taking over 95% of available screens for two weeks, or other films being “scared” to open along side big ones, and all 15 small films opening in the same week, as we have now. It would only be better for the industry as a whole, and also for those film makers who want to make somewhat offbeat films. Why doesn’t anyone talk about the number of available screens when they talk about the state of the industry?
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November 16, 2011 at 12:52 AM
Don’t know the exact numbers on the multiplex expansion. It is true that per capita the highest numbers have been in TN and Andhra. Specially in the former cinema was another way of doing Dravidian politics and so you had besides a larger number of screens also a much greater reliance on traveling theaters. Which is why even today you see big films in Tamil and Telugu often gross disproportionately more relative to the Bollywood competition. Now this wasn’t true of course once upon a time when Bollywood relied equally on its smaller centers. Even with less absolute market penetration it was still a bigger audience pool. However the interesting thing in one sense today is that multiplexes are changing the landscape even in this sense. smaller centers are suddenly becoming players once more. This is really what explains much of the huge masala grosses. 5 years ago you had very multiplexes in B centers and so on. Today it is increasingly the case that such centers have a multiplex which suddenly jacks up the gross. And then when you combine a number of smaller centers that have these multiplexes the gross is no longer insignificant. Now some of this is complicated by the fact that in the small centers too you start creating a more elite audience that can afford multiplex rates. This is unfortunate but somewhat balanced out by the fact that tastes are nonetheless different here. So the audience wouldn’t show up in the same numbers for ZNMD as it would for Singham (note how the latter despite not opening anything like the Salman starrers nonetheless managed to outgross the former by 10 crores or so).
And yes occupancies should be part of the conversation but conveniently aren’t. Anything that provides a good and reliable metric in these matters is suppressed. see this older comment.
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November 16, 2011 at 1:27 AM
FICCI-KPMG study
Click to access BackintheSpotlight2.pdf
http://www.timepassmedia.com/knowledge_center.htm#j
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/multiplexes-may-invest-rs-400-crore-in-2010/380459/
an older study
Click to access multiplex%20industry%20in%20India.pdf
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November 16, 2011 at 1:48 AM
E&Y study
Click to access Indias-Entertainment-Economy_Oct_%202011_.pdf
smaller version
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/in-focus-film-exhibition-segment/
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November 16, 2011 at 2:23 AM
Thanks for all the links, Munna. I’ll read them tomorrow.
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November 16, 2011 at 3:00 AM
I had once read in a piece (from ~5-7 years ago) that 40% of ALL cinema screens in India were in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, an astounding figure, if true.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:27 AM
Satyam, it doesn’t suit you to be so childish/immature in your glee.
Come on! Give us some intelligent gloating.
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November 16, 2011 at 3:31 PM
4 weeks ago – It will beat 3 Idiots
3 weeks ago – It will beat Bodyguard
2 weeks ago – It will beat Dabangg
1 week ago – It will beat Ready
Today – It beats Ghajini or will it?!?!?!?!
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November 16, 2011 at 12:39 AM
Oldgold, I apologize in advance.. if I didn’t gloat week 3 would actually be 20 crores.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:24 AM
ummm…what are you talking about, satyam?
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November 16, 2011 at 12:41 AM
Not as rocking!
– By Taran Adarsh, November 16, 2011 – 07:58 IST
ROCKSTAR has under-performed in key international markets. The film was expected to fetch a flying start, but the opening weekend business is at par with Ranbir’s last release ANJAANA ANJAANI. Ideally, it should’ve grossed better figures in view of the fact that Imtiaz Ali – Ranbir Kapoor – A.R. Rahman is a bigger combo.
Weekend: November 11 – 13, 2011.
U.K. BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected £ 1,84,592 [approx. Rs. 1.48 crores] on 53 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 3,483… ANJAANA ANJAANI was 1,81,428 on 54 screens.
RA.ONE: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 51,250 on 35 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 1,464. Total: £ 13,88,038 [approx. Rs. 11.12 crores].
7 AUM ARIVU [Tamil]: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 3,779 on 4 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 945. Total: £ 1,67,524 [approx. Rs. 1.34 crores].
VELAYUDHAM [Tamil]: In its third weekend, the film has collected £ 2,335 on 2 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 1,168. Total: £ 1,59,244 [approx. Rs. 1.28 crores].
MAUSAM: In its eighth weekend, the film has collected £ 480 on 1 screen. Total: £ 3,80,421 [approx. Rs. 3.05 crores].
RASCALS: In its sixth weekend, the film has collected £ 242 on 1 screen. Total: £ 2,34,483 [approx. Rs. 1.88 crores].
U.S.A. BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected $ 6,12,235 [approx. Rs. 3.07 crores] on 112 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 5,466 … ANJAANA ANJAANI was 5,17,608 on 91 screens.
RA.ONE: In its third weekend, the film has collected $ 1,18,611 on 189 screens, with the per screen average working out to $ 628. Total: $ 24,43,659 [approx. Rs. 12.27 crores].
AUSTRALIA BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected Aus. $ 99,676 [approx. Rs. 51.33 lacs] on 13 screens, with the per screen average working out to Aus. $ 7,667 … ANJAANA ANJAANI was 1,29,198 on 13 screens.
NEW ZEALAND BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected NZ$ 21,547 [approx. Rs. 8.49 lacs] on 9 screens, with the per screen average working out to NZ$ 2,394.
FIJI BOX-OFFICE
ROCKSTAR: In its opening weekend, the film has collected FJD 5,326 [approx. Rs. 1.47 lacs] on 2 screens, with the per screen average working out to FJD 2,663.
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November 16, 2011 at 6:24 AM
the overall net gross for Ra.one including overseas and all versions would come around 180-190 crores… thats on par with bodyguards worldwide nett..and only less then 3 idiots…not bad for a totally rejected film..!
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November 16, 2011 at 6:40 AM
Anshul that seems reasonable for a “rejected ” film , eh-
Srk fans can heave a sigh of relief isn’t it
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November 16, 2011 at 8:36 AM
Re: The film had done all work initially
Really??
Whichever way one spins it, it is a flop,fiasco and a disaster all rolled in one.From 100 crores in week one to 1.75 in week three says it all.
One can spin all one wants and get dizzy but this is a film that is thoroughly rejected even if a lot of people did see it over the first five days.
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November 16, 2011 at 8:39 AM
Business Talk With Taran Adarsh
Rockstar Kapoor
November 16, 2011 – 08:00 IST
Fetching a dream start at the ticket window is now a habit for the Khans. Aamir, Salman and SRK have drawn audiences in hordes, consistently, in film after film. The opening day, opening weekend and Week 1 business has been massive. Besides the three Khans, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan have been very consistent as far as box-office is concerned. Amongst youngsters, Emraan Hashmi and Imran Khan are distributors’ fav as well. There’s one more name that has time after time delivered at the ticket counters — Ranbir Kapoor.
You are as good — or bad — as your last Friday. With RAAJNEETI, ANJAANA ANJAANI and now ROCKSTAR, Ranbir has entrenched himself in the most dependable actor category, sharing the limelight with the three Khans. Sure, RAAJNEETI was a multi-starrer, but ANJAANA ANJAANI and ROCKSTAR are solo leads and though ANJAANA ANJAANI fizzled out after a fab start, ROCKSTAR has emerged Ranbir’s biggest opener ever… in fact, it’s amongst the biggest openers of 2011.
If one were to get specific, the plexes have generated more than 70% of revenue in this case [ROCKSTAR]. Urban centres like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Hyderabad have contributed huge numbers, while the heartland hasn’t been as responsive. In fact, the performance of ROCKSTAR is very similar to ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, with plexes contributing a fat sum to the booty. A section of the audience has loved the film and it is this section that will ensure a safe run on weekdays [Monday and Tuesday were rock-steady].
Now let’s look at the economics of ROCKSTAR. The film has cost Eros approx Rs 60 cr to Rs 63 cr, inclusive of P & A, of which Rs 25 cr has been recovered from the sale of Satellite and Audio Rights. The balance amount — Rs 37 cr approx — has to be recovered from India and Overseas theatrical. While the business in the international markets is fair [actually, not as expected], the onus will be on the domestic business to deliver.
At the rate ROCKSTAR is faring, the distributors are sure to recover the costs and also make profits. How profitable will this film be, only time will tell. But one thing is for sure — Ranbir Kapoor will be discussed animatedly in times to come. Like all superstars are!
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November 16, 2011 at 8:41 AM
taran_adarsh taran adarsh
#Rockstar *India business* Fri 10.6 cr, Sat 11 cr, Sun 12 cr, Mon 5.5 cr, Tue 4 cr. Total: Rs 43.1 cr nett. Rocking!
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November 16, 2011 at 8:43 AM
Rockstar Has A Fall On Tuesday
Wednesday 16th November 2011 12.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar collections had a noticeable fall on Tuesday as the film collected around 4.25-4.50 crore nett from the 5.75 crore nett on Monday. The fall from Monday is 25% approx. The film has collected a good 43.25 crore nett approx in five days but on Tuesday collections at multiplexes fell as well as the single screens.
The week will end around the 50 crore nett but it will be the second weekend business of the film that will decide if it is a hit or not. On Tuesday even the stronger circuits like East Punjab and Delhi saw 20% plus falls while CPCI Rajasthan had even bigger falls. Gujarat is also on a downward trend.
The film is sustaining best at high end multiplex chains like PVR and Inox and these type of multiplex films normally see a big jump on second Saturday and that is likely to be the case with Rockstar as well.
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November 16, 2011 at 8:45 AM
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar: 5-Day Total Rs. 45 Crore
November 16th, 2011 by Komal Nahta
Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar has collected an estimated Rs. 4 crore (all-India net) on its fifth day (Tuesday, November 15) at the box-office. This takes the 5-day tally of the film to Rs. 45 crore (approx. all-India net).
After an excellent start on Friday, November 11, and a good weekend of Rs. 35 crore, the collections of Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar have dropped. The film had collected Rs. 5.5 crore to Rs. 6 crore on Monday.
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November 16, 2011 at 9:04 AM
LOvely guitar
Jo bhi main
Yaiy yai
Oh ya ya
For d strumming pattern just feel d music
And finally let’s do some work lol
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November 16, 2011 at 1:40 PM
‘Ranbir’s fan following has increased with Rockstar’
November 16, 2011 16:24 IST
With rave reviews and great box office collections, Rockstar seems to be an important film in Ranbir Kapoor’s [ Images ] career. But is it his biggest hit yet? We decided to ask the trade pundits.
“It is biggest sole opener in Ranbir Kapoor’s career. But Rajneeti was a bigger hit,” says media professional and industry observer Abhijit Mhamunkar.
He claims that Ranbir’s fan following has increased because of the response the film has generated. “Now, Ranbir is above his contemporaries like Shahid Kapoor [ Images ] or Imran Khan [ Images ]. They have not generated such an opening in any of their films so far. At the top of the list are the Khans, then comes Ajay Devgn [ Images ] and Hrithik Roshan [ Images ]. After that is Ranbir,” he says.
“The first weekend’s collection of Rockstar was Rs 33.75 crores. It was around Rs 5.75 – 6 crores. The first four days’ collections was around Rs 39 crores. The collections started falling from Monday onwards — it dropped about 50 percent. But college students are still going and watching the film through the week. Plus, next week, there is a very small film releasing: Shakal Pe Mat Ja. So he gets another open week.”
However, single screen theatres saw bad openings, and the collections further dropped in the week, he claims.
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Then again, the target audience for Rockstar was the multiplex audience, and they have responded positively.
“The biggest plus point of the film is Ranbir Kapoor’s performance. The second highlight is the music. The negative point is the fractured narrative in the second half but those who like the film will ignore this problem,” he explains.
He claims that Shahid Kapoor’s Mausam had good music and a poor second half, but people did not flock to watch it. That just shows that Rockstar is a superior product.
“Rockstar will recover its money. The distributors will earn at least Rs 40 crores, which is a huge amount,” says Abhijit.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani agrees, “Rockstar is doing well in multiplexes but is rejected in single screens.”
He feels that the film may not be a hit because the budget was huge. “But it has got the best initial draw,” he says.
“After watching the film, the audience will like only Ranbir Kapoor. Even the music will not be appreciated because you cannot understand the lyrics,” he says.
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November 16, 2011 at 2:43 PM
“Even the music will not be appreciated because you cannot understand the lyrics,” he says.
What a silly remark! It’s no doubt that the trade n media are full of idiots
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November 16, 2011 at 1:46 PM
Nahata at his slimy best!
the commentary changes the moment Abhishek’s in a film. Otherwise from Ra One to Dirty Picture every trailer is recommended without any reservations!
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November 16, 2011 at 2:41 PM
that he’s not kind on abhishek is pretty much reflected here. Also note how he throughout talks about Abhishek as a lesser star in this commentary.
I am not a great fan of Junior B, but then its sad when he gets targeted like this
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November 16, 2011 at 2:43 PM
and this has always been the case. People pretend it’s about box office failure. But these guys were saying the very same even when he had lots of success. They vary their language accordingly. Now of course distributors don’t invest money based on the kind of coverage a star gets in the media or trade nor do people accept or reject films based on this stuff. But there is an overall drift effect with these narratives. And as I keep saying the very same was true when Bachchan was at his peak! Some things don’t change!
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November 16, 2011 at 2:47 PM
Actually! even DMD’s opening was credit to Bipasha’s hot looks and the title song. Now probably they’ll credit Abbas Mastan’s track record and the product marketing to even Sonam’s looks
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November 16, 2011 at 3:27 PM
not to forget the new family entry..!
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November 16, 2011 at 2:59 PM
Not that it makes a big difference, But this guy puts AB’s name after the lesser succesful actors, Like Bobby D and John Abraham. Given that John had a good role in Dhoom, But the main lead was Abhishek then why his name is being said after these two? It’s a clear indication that he has something against Jr. (If you go by the traditional ways, Main lead is always mentioned first and at many times goes by seniority as well, Bobby is senior ofcourse but he is nothing more than one fo the supporting cast here as I say it and disccussed earlier). I swear, if I meet this guy on the streets. Saala Nahaane, Kya Dhone layak bhi nahi rahega.
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November 16, 2011 at 3:28 PM
yeah that’s an old thing..
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November 16, 2011 at 11:02 PM
“All the negatives make a lovely positive…”
Sort of like the humor that comes out of flagrantly poor box office reportage.
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November 17, 2011 at 1:38 AM
bobby was also in jbj and dostana( though its other thing people don’t remember him anywhere now here to in promotion and posters its evident whose the guy
not a huge fan of junior b but give credit where its due ..most of people are hardly aware of genre …..
abhishek between 2004-2007 got up in popularity state as he was doing more of urban metrosexual characters and after 2007-2011 its more the alternative cinema for him but this never had any market(big one in india … most of the urban tennage crowds will dismiss those movies as being boring and if you keep continuing your initials are bound to affect )
though a delhi 6 may bring you national award or ravan will get accolades every where in foreign press and film festival but it hardly has that big market in india due to taste of audiences as evident with occasional dostana or paa( his more commercial venture in recent time and that got him sucess)
and finally good to see players much before relesase has extensive promotion everywhere a thing which was totally missing from game where the maker as well as actors even didn’t bothered to promote it after the release …wtf was that
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November 16, 2011 at 1:50 PM
distributors will make money here unlike the loss venture ra one and still its not a clear hit by some people estimation which clearly indicates how there was attemt to manufature a hit earlier ra one which was a genuine flop
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November 16, 2011 at 2:05 PM
distributors will make money here unlike the loss venture ra one and still its not a clear hit by some people’s estimation which clearly indicates how there was attempt to manufature a hit earlierwith ra one which was a genuine flop
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November 16, 2011 at 3:25 PM
There is no doubt that Ranbir is the brightest hope for a future superstar. And since he seems to be someone who is hard working and excercises discretion when it comes to choosing his scripts, I will not begrudge him his success.
However, I think that calling him an excellent, highly talented actor is taking things too far. He is certainly quite intelligent and far better an actor than all of his contemporaries but he is hardly a first class thespian. It doesn’t take much to be a better actor than Imran Khan!
Rajeev Masand on twitter compared him to Ryan Gosling, which is just ridiculous. Gosling is infinitely superior, both as an actor and in terms of looks. I hate how these stars are put on a pedestal and steeped in sycophantic, widely inaccurate praise the minute they enter the big league.
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November 16, 2011 at 3:31 PM
Yeah, I quite like Ranbir but I find it more than a little galling when they make him sound like some actor for the ages. He definitely seems to be on the right track as far as being a much-loved star but he’s never struck me as more than an engaging and natural screen presence. Clearly ahead of many in his generation. A great actor, though? Hell no.
Didn’t know Masand likened him to Gosling. Not that I expect anything more from Masand, but, yeah, you might as well compare Ajay Devgan to Daniel Day-Lewis while you’re at it.
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November 16, 2011 at 3:43 PM
Good actor and natural presence. I thought he was quite weak in Rajneeti even though he got many plaudits.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:15 PM
For press and of course for fans it’s not enough to be just one thing, you have to be everything–not just a star but a SUPERstar, not just an actor but De Niro’s heir. There’s no nobility in being a promising young actor but theres plenty in being the next Amitabh Bachchan. So at the slightest shadow of promise people start building their pedestals.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:38 PM
this gets to the heart of the matter.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:37 PM
Agree about ranbir : Amy and gf
The media has an inferential interest in finding “the next big thing” every other day
Sells their stuff and news
Having said that: more than his current skillet, the rate of progression shown by ranbir is more promising
Interms of physicality and looks, obviously Hritik has more than an edge IMO
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November 16, 2011 at 5:09 PM
the biggest problem here is that we should simply dispense with a word like ‘superstar’. If you think about it 99% of these debates don’t mean much in the absence of this word. But this word is so emptied out of meaning that in its current usage it means nothing more than ‘big star’. Also I’m always interested in structural questions. This obsession with the word ‘superstar’ really came about over the last decade. Now anyone who’s very successful is called this. The media wasn’t as eager to nominate superstars at the drop of a hat when SRK was at his absolute peak! Would say the same for the label ‘Khans’ which started getting used so fanatically not when SRK was doing KKHH! In other words Aamir and Salman never profited from his success but he seems to profit from theirs, the way the narrative is set up.
But in any case we keep having these debates over who the next superstar is or isn’t we don’t pause to consider whether this word means anything anymore. The word was reserved for stars with a truly titanic box office record. For the Bachchans and Rajnis of the world and so on. But also those who were completely dominant in cultural terms with every cross-section of their audience. They had their base within the latter but they were overwhelming forces of nature. You don’t ask in Kerala what Mohanlal’s ‘target’ audience is even if he and Mammootty do have their ‘geographic’ bases. So on and so forth. I am not prepared to cheapen the meaning of the word this way and I haven’t seen a convincing case elsewhere as to why it needs to be applied to present stars. Again if it just means something like ‘big star’ it becomes a bit pointless doesn’t it?!
Here is the best way of framing things — you have some major box office openers at the moment, stars who can open films better than others all else being equal. This is one part of the equation. But this isn’t all. Because there’s also a prestige angle involved. Then there’s consistency and so on over a reasonable period of time. But equally there’s someone like someone who has one equation-changing breakout moment. All sorts of considerations. Ultimately there’s also a Hollywood-like system where it’s increasingly about the ‘project’ and any given star having a big moment in one film or two doesn’t change the overall framework in the absence of something extraordinary. So again Salman keeps throwing up these big numbers without breaking a sweat. How one then ranks the stars becomes very debatable. But true superstardom is precisely beyond such argument!
I would simply repeat an older point here. Looking at consistency, looking at prestige combined with an uncanny box office record, looking at just the totality of every contemporary star’s record using every metric imaginable there’s simply no doubt that Aamir has been for a while and is currently in a league of his own. And what this means in very real terms is that he is the star most able to make any project of any scale in any genre come about with the greatest ease as a financial proposition. Because he has delivered every which way. Producers/distributors know this. Even genres that they would be skeptical about become safe when Aamir’s attached to them. They can count on his judgment in this sense. All of this sets him apart. Sure, with more volume all of this would be even more obvious. At the same time just doing Ready ad infinitum isn’t the end of the argument either. And here too inasmuch as its more of a Hollywood paradigm direct gross comparisons become tricky.
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November 16, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Typo–“inherent interest”
“current skillset”
Then there are some people u just like due to no reason–James Franco is one
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November 16, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Re Ranbir-Ryan, its not only the actors who elicit such comparisons. I’ve heard Zoya Akhtar being compared to Sofia Coppola and even more amusingly, the director of Pyaar Ka Punchnama was compared tonWoody Allen by some film critic!
But what early takes these cake was this panel discussion between Bollwood directors. Kiran Rao quite reasonably says that Wong Kar Wai is one of her inspirations, to which KJo replies that (apparently) many people have told him that his own loves stories remind them of Wong Kar Wai’s work! 😀
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November 16, 2011 at 5:10 PM
LOL, had never heard this stuff! There probably isn’t a more bankrupt film figure than Johar on the planet!
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November 16, 2011 at 5:13 PM
“…many people have told him that his own loves stories remind them of Wong Kar Wai’s work!”
What Johar probably didn’t stick around for was when those “many people” subsequently doubled over in laughter.
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November 16, 2011 at 6:29 PM
I thin I need to defend Ranbir here.
Too early to be anointed hhe next best thing but not fair to dismiss him as a mere good presence and a promising actor.
May be before Rockstar might have been OK to say that.
The fact that he looks good, is not overly hirsute, looks like someone who showers every day and gives the impression that he doesnt think that Gym is some guy’s name doesnt make him a lesser actor.
Neither are comparisions with Gosling particularly inappropriate.
Am a big fan of Gosling for long, much before it was fahionable to be so. May be Munna can dig up my comments about Gosling from the very early days of the blog Gosling is not ripe to be anointed the next Pacino either.
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November 16, 2011 at 8:02 PM
One of the things that is being missed on both sides of this debate is that there isn’t any serious correlation between great talent and any specific kind of physicality and ‘superstardom’ let alone any of the lesser kinds. Put differently the ‘iconic’ can as effectively arise out of mere competence and a physicality that would seem simply passable off screen. Was Rajesh Khanna a great talent? What did Rajendra Kumar have going for him? What about SRK? On and on. Bachchan is actually the exception to the rule and the same is often true in ‘regional’ industries. Uttam Kumar, the titan of Bengali cinema, was a natural enough actor and a welcome enough screen presence but there was nothing very special about him. MGR couldn’t act to save his life nor could Dev Anand. There are many such examples. Again the two Ms of Malayalam cinema are exceptions to the rule as is Kamal Haasan. We could keep running these lists even for all kinds of stars even in Hollywood.
But to the extent that one means to premise great stardom on talent and physicality I must say that I haven’t seen anything from Ranbir so far to justify the hype on either score. Again that doesn’t mean he cannot be a great success based on what I’ve just said but to my mind it’s a stretch to spot a great talent in him or even the flashes of one as he is so far. Similarly in terms of the physicality I’d argue that he doesn’t really have much screen presence. again these things can change over time as stars better learn the language of gesturality and so on. I’m certainly not suggesting he isn’t a promising talent. And here I’d say about Gosling that even though I too was always a fan there is enough of a star that has emerged in his recent outings. Not comparing him to greats at this point though ‘greatness’ too can sometimes simply mean a marriage of competence and history. John Wayne is not behind De Niro or pacino in the ‘iconic’ sweepstakes but otherwise there’s no comparison on the talent front (though physically it’s a different matter).
I will also add here that ‘acting’ is also a ‘learning’ process which sometimes becomes harder with relatively quick stardom and hyperbolic reviews. If you’re already a ‘thespian’ it’s a bit hard to grow! It’s very easy to be in a zone of competence and simply ‘repeat’ what is once one acquires a basic measure of stardom. The ‘risk’ of failure is not just about the box office but also about performance. when you truly explore new terrain as an actor you can quite often fail which doesn’t make you a worse actor. But for the right actor even the failures are interesting.
And here without intending anything partisan at all, let alone any direct comparison between Abhishek and Ranbir (because there is none to my mind), the thing that fascinates me about Abhishek is precisely his growth. He almost never repeats himself as an actor in the important parts. Now one might not like many of his outings or whatever but the distinctions are very genuine. So for example there is a world of difference between the actor in Sarkar and the one in Sarkar Raj. Yuva and Guru are completely different but there is also a great control in certain ways (whatever one prefers). The Dostana comedy reveals a certain ease and fluidity which isn’t necessarily there before or at least not as consistently. the DMD performance reveals a certain ‘aging’ both of the star and the actor. so on and so forth. I can certainly spot here the evolution of a craft for all its hits and misses (we can have a debate about this). Sure there might be an overdose of serious stuff but the guy in D6 is not at all the guy in SR is not at all the guy in Raavan. The comic modes of JBJ and Dostana are fairly differentiated. So on and so forth.
If I were to do the same sort of thing for Ranbir I’d nominate Saawariya, Rocket Singh and definitely some aspects of Rockstar. But these are all flashes. There’s no Yuva or Guru or DMD moment to my mind here. But also the rest of the time Ranbir can be very ordinary on the regular terrain like BeH and AA. Similarly I thought he was quite over-matched by the competition in Rajneeti. Again all of this still doesn’t mean that he cannot be a very successful star. But I will say there is something of a gap at the moment (and I’ve always felt this) between his press and the more general reaction to him. I very much doubt people generally consider him thespian material though the media is doing its best to change minds in this sense! And obviously he isn’t hrithik either. He was a way better actor than Hrithik on his very first day though to continue the older point this on its own cannot establish distinctions in stardom much as Abhishek even on his best day cannot get ahead of Hrithik only by acting well and getting box office hits unless he overwhelms the latter in a commercial sense. Ranbir definitely can act, Hrithik is all star and ‘earnest’ actor who is nonetheless the same guy irrespective of the part. His good days are about a star doing a minimally acceptable ‘acting job’ and not about being an actor in any pure sense. Again I don’t believe the audience would disagree with this.
The stars are certainly all aligned for Ranbir to become a major star. He’s already in such a league. But I’m not willing to go further than this based on what I’ve seen so far.
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November 16, 2011 at 10:44 PM
Why is being considered a good presence and a promising actor tantamount to dismissal? Rockstar isn’t Deewar! I almost want to take up Kashyap’s cause and urge people to revisit Rockstar not to confirm that we’re seeing the second coming of both Eisenstein and Brando, but to re-evaluate and recalibrate reactions to what is very obviously the euphoria of seeing a very compelling entertainment and a very confident star performance in a year where both things are extraordinary rarities.
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November 17, 2011 at 8:27 AM
Re: to what is very obviously the euphoria of seeing a very compelling entertainment and a very confident star performance in a year where both things are extraordinary rarities.
I think thats a fair assessment. I took objection to the other statement ( about being a good presence and a promising actor) to be a bit patronising. I can see where both of you are coming from.
And ,accept that it is a valid opinion to hold even if a little contrary to mine. In over a decade Abhishek and Ranbir are the only two genuine star-actors to have come through. Hrithik sounded promising for a while but is somewhat limited as an actor as evidenced by Agneepath trailer. Abhishek has oodles of talent and has been somewaht unlcuky. Some of his troubles are of his own making as well. But, he still has time on his side. Rockstar for me is a break out moment for Ranbir. Obviously, we view it a little differently. There is no litmus test for a great performance. So, can never say which opinion is justified.
Future might help. But, one thing might help. Let me know which turns my major stars in last 10 years have you been more impressed by more than Ranbir in Rockstar ( EXCLUDING THE BACHCHANS FOR OBVIUOS REASONS).
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November 17, 2011 at 8:29 AM
BTW, feel free to have a cup of coffee while you scratch your head trying to answer the last question.
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November 17, 2011 at 8:36 AM
LOL!
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November 17, 2011 at 8:46 AM
In fairness to Hrithik no one could get away with Agneepath. This is not just any Bachchan outing but one where he’s a force of nature. Still to attempt something like this in a somewhat different key you need a star with minimally plausible physicality for the part. Think among the current stars Abhishek and Devgan are the only ones who would not have flunked it on at least these grounds. actually Johar might even be having second thoughts at this point with Devgan’s fine run at the box office (though I very much doubt he would have agreed to do this). Abhishek might have offered an interesting experiment in playing the character in much more restrained fashion. But to draw out that sort of performance in the right way you’d need a far more serious film than the one that is being attempted here. Hrithik should never have taken on this part but I think the high of attempting Agneepath with all the symbolic weight this carries was perhaps too much to resist. But I believe this was a miscalculation on his part. The symbolism really kicks in if there’s minimal plausibility and I haven’t come across anyone who considered this idea an appropriate one. The film could still work in a big way if it’s minimally entertaining (the trailer was promising in this sense.. or certainly well done) since the audience today is comprised of amnesiacs and Johar would then crazily hype how he got a hit whereas the earlier film didn’t work but this still wouldn’t mean people suddenly thinking of Hrithik as a worthy Vijay Chauhan! Of course even on the Johar bit (and as I’ve said before) the film has acquired such significance over the years that at this remove from the original release it doesn’t really matter whether it worked or not. Because no hit could have meant more (and many don’t!). At the Unforgettables one of the three dialogs Bachchan got into were Agneepath along with Deewar and Kabhi Kabhie. This has simply become part of his most stratospheric moments as an actor overtaking many other canonical one (as a fan of Trishul or Kaala Pathar and some others I view this fact with some regret!). So to now come back and say you want to produce a ‘hit’ here is completely beside the point.
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November 17, 2011 at 11:07 AM
“which turns my major stars in last 10 years have you been more impressed by”
Well I obviously like moments from Aamir, Saif, Abhishek and even Devgan far more than this. As I’ve said elsewhere Ranbir’s own turn in Rocket Singh is far ahead of this. His achievement here isn’t that he’s touched new heights in performance but that he kept a problematic film from going of the rails. The latter is no easy feat, not a lot of stars can do it. But this isn’t a great performance by any means, and in fact there are moments when Ranbir’s so obviously too much of a boy to pull certain scenes off convincingly. But hey we don’t live with leading men any more, we’re living in an age of leading boys and in such a context one can be very kind to Ranbir. Can’t blame anyone for lapping this up.
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November 17, 2011 at 11:17 AM
Agree with everything here..
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November 17, 2011 at 11:30 AM
We will have to agree to disagree.
Barring, Abhishek, IMO only Devgan can come close.
Sure Aamir,Saif have had good moments but IMO cannot match Ranbir in Rockstar and neither can Ranbir in Rocket Singh whih was also very good.
I dont think it is a question of getting giddyon crumbs in a rather impoverished environement but seeing things differently. I hope myself and others who have assessed this performance differently will atleast be afforded taht courtesy.
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November 17, 2011 at 11:51 AM
I’d probably take some Saif moments over Ranbir’s best. But assuredly many Aamir moments, beginning most significantly with MP.
I should say that even though I don’t agree with it I can ‘see’ why Ranbir’s performance is getting rated the way it is. I just trace the source of that accomplishment elsewhere than in the reserves of ‘fine performance’.
But yeah he’s going to probably win all the awards and I can’t say I mind this very much. certainly compared to some of the other winners in the past!
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November 17, 2011 at 11:42 AM
I don’t doubt your sincerity in assessing this performance, Rajen…your taste, on the other hand…
That’s a joke. 🙂
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November 17, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Re.-I hope myself and others who have assessed this performance differently will atleast be afforded taht courtesy.
Rajen asking for being afforded courtesy from fellow bloggers is akin to a Compulsive rapist asking for mercy….lol!!
this is a Joke….
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November 17, 2011 at 12:33 PM
LOL !
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November 17, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Re: Rajen asking for being afforded courtesy from fellow bloggers is akin to a Compulsive rapist asking for mercy….lol!!
LOL!
Just checking out if playing a victim is all that it is cracked up to be!
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November 16, 2011 at 5:12 PM
This sounds promising: Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane have teamed up with the former CEO of UTV Spotboy and the producer of Ghajini to launch their own ‘director-driven’ production house. The first film they produce will be a period love story starring Ranveer and Sonkashi, directed by Motwane, titled ‘Lootera’.
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November 16, 2011 at 6:24 PM
Sounds interesting but also the kind of thing that will probably fizzle out. What I’m excited about is the fact that Motwane is doing his second feature following Udaan. Really looking forward to that even if Ranveer is sort of a bland actor. Quite liked Sonakshi in Dabangg and she’s a refreshing break from supermodels trying to do be actors.
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November 16, 2011 at 5:32 PM
That sounds promising^^^
Though the choice of heroine is more than a sore point
Sonakshi –I mean don’t even want to get started…..
“Zoya Akhtar being compared to Sofia Coppola and even more amusingly, the director of Pyaar Ka Punchnama was compared tonWoody Allen”–lol -that’s another “instant placement amd recall” phenomenon
Btw WHO is the director of punchnaama
Saw this movie half asleep on a flight and don’t know a single human being on it
Though the female perspective was misogynist , it was fresh and realistic somewhat lol
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November 16, 2011 at 6:26 PM
PKP was so staggeringly misogynist that I was gaping at my TV in disbelief after I finished watching it.
I would like a similar Bollywood movie to be made about Indian men, depicting one man as a spoilt brat of a mother’s boy who treats his wife like a thankless domestic slave, another man as an abusive alcoholic and the third as a greedy beast who tortures his wife for dowry, and then see what the reaction is.
You don’t like Sonakshi? I thought she was adequate in Dabanng, and she is one of the very few girls in the industry today who would actually look convincing as the desi heroine of a period romance. Motwane seems like some one who is serious about the films he makes, and I cannot see him casting a European model and trying to dub her and pass her off as an Indian woman. I assume that both Ranveer and Sonakshi were cast for their ‘earthy/ traditional’ looks.
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November 16, 2011 at 6:59 PM
agreed… this was a brief comment I put after watching it:
“Pyar ka punchnama is a fairly entertaining watch. However the ‘problem’ in each relationship here is really the woman. The three male leads are the more grounded kind whereas the women are emotionally unstable or exploitative or both!
And this genre continues to ‘exhibit’ some gratuitous bit of dialog.”
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November 17, 2011 at 3:52 AM
Ami: completely agree on Pyar Ka Punchnaama: LINK; Link 2
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November 17, 2011 at 8:30 AM
Qualander: I’m glad to see that some of the men on this forum agree with me about Pyaar Ka Punchnama 🙂
About your comment on the women in ZNMD- I do not completely agree with it. Part of the reason why ZNMD was frustrating for me was because Zoya seemed like such a promising filmmaker with LBC and even in ZNMD some of that talent was evident, but it was like she deliberately suppressed it so that her film would be more commercially safe.
With ZNMD I think her intentions with regards to the women were noble enough, but she didn’t execute them properly because she was trying to stick so closely to all the male buddy movie/ road trip cliches. For example, Katrina subverted all of the usual heroine cliches in that she was the one who ‘rescued’ the hero and the one who desired and initiated the kiss and later the sex, she was obviously meant to be a foil to the more typical, passive-demure heroine. But then Zoya took Kat out of the movie for long portions to make more room for all the male-bonding and she also abruptly forced her to marry Hrithik (when she was still at uni!) to make sure her movie confirmed to conventions and was commercially safe, so that really took away from any depth that Kat’s character might have had.
The same thing with Kalki- Zoya was clearly trying to say that women should retain their identities after marriage and have careers etc, but the way she integrated it into the typical boy-bonding formula made their whole track seem regressive and misogynistic, as if to say that marriage was oppressive for men and women are nagging shrews. Even the Spanish girl, who was probably intended to be a more positive, less objectified depiction of the ‘sexually liberated western woman’ trope that we see so often in Hindi movies, just ended up looking like a sex object for Imran because of the way she was written.
I think even the mother having a child outside of the wedlock was intended to subvert the cliche of the overtly moralistic Maa who is always caring about societal norms and what people will think and emotionally black-mailing her children to confirm. But like all the other women in the film, she did not make an impact.
There is an interview with Abhay posted somewhere in this forum, where he talks about how people were pressurising Zoya into adding an item number into the film, and she resisted. At least for not objectifying the women in her film, and for trying protest them in a positive light, I will have to give her some credit, especially considering the industry she works in and the scant respect it has for women in general.
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November 17, 2011 at 8:34 AM
My sense here was that she could have done the female version of DCH and perhaps made a real difference..
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November 17, 2011 at 8:38 AM
But right after the failure of Luck By Chance, a female-bonding film would have been a risky endeavour and one that she would not have wanted to undertake. What I do not understand is why she did not do a friendship-based film with a group of mixed leads- 2 men and 1 women or 2 men and 2 women, who have been friends from childhood.
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November 17, 2011 at 8:49 AM
I think something with Katrina and two other major actresses would have got an audience. perhaps not as big as the one she got here. But yes your idea wouldn’t have been a bad one either.
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November 17, 2011 at 8:47 AM
In the same vein consider what’s happened with the Agneepath remake. The nurse of the original movie has been converted into a prostitute in the remake. Go figure! Perhaps gangsters only deserve ‘molls’! This is simply the most unnecessary of all the changes Johar has made here.
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November 17, 2011 at 9:05 AM
About a female-bonding film starring 3 major actresses: Would that have been possible? When KJo and has ilk have been propagating the ‘2 women can never be friends’ myth so wholeheartedly, and most of the actresses seem to be buying into it, fi theiranswers on KWK were anything to go by. Ironically enough, the Rima Kagit- Zoya Akhtar friendship seems to be one of the most powerful and genuine female friendships in the industry!
About the nurse: In Thor, Natalie Portman’s character was also originally a nurse, but they turned her into an astrophysicist to make her a stronger female character, in Bollywood they go the other way and change her to a prostitute!
Even more insulting, is that fact that most prostitutes in the red light district of Mumbai are trafficked/ sold into the profession against their own will at a very young age and this is really the most disempowering change possible. I believe that KJo said that it will add to the ‘glamour quotient’ of the movie or some such nonsense.
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November 17, 2011 at 12:02 PM
Female version of DCH in Bollywood= Dil Ashna Hai..lol
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November 17, 2011 at 4:10 AM
What is wrong in showing women in negative light?
PKP got repetitive in second half. But the movie was better than average stuff of bollywood and probably a reflection of urban society. Misogynist , yes (of course there are men of similar type). Only thing I disagreed was chances of three women in close vicinity having similar traits.
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November 17, 2011 at 4:13 AM
Munna: I would say the issue is not about happening to show negative women, but the sub-text of films like PKP is that “they” are “all” like this.
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November 17, 2011 at 4:21 AM
yep..That is why last part of my comment that chances of three women of that type is rare.
ps – Get married [or ask Jay] and you will see director’s point of view 😉
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November 17, 2011 at 4:36 AM
from FB
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November 17, 2011 at 9:11 AM
Re: ps – Get married [or ask Jay] and you will see director’s point of view 😉
Truer words have rarely been spoken. It is a part of their genetic make up and saying so doesnt make one a mysogyne. I love and respect women inspite of their major gender specific flaws and shortcomings.
You just work your way around it.
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November 17, 2011 at 9:20 AM
LOL, this sounds like the Saturday Night Live skit on the VP debate last time around with Biden going ‘I really like John, he’s a friend, but he’s a raving maniac’!
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November 17, 2011 at 9:12 AM
PS: I havent seen PKP and probably never will as my wife will not approve!
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November 17, 2011 at 9:21 AM
Ha !
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November 17, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Even in “pyar ke side effects” Mallika’s character exhibited similar traits for some time..
Rajen- You can try. My wife had good laughs while watching 🙂
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November 17, 2011 at 10:53 AM
it probably cuts both ways. Yes it’s a set of sexist representations but perhaps women find it empowering nonetheless to see others who can ill-treat men! In other words one should be a little worried if one’s spouse enjoys it too much!
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November 17, 2011 at 12:05 PM
agree Munaa- I quite liked PKP….
and Q get married – you will like PKP
have kids- You will like WUS….
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November 17, 2011 at 12:09 PM
Have grandkids- will like Bhootnath!
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November 17, 2011 at 12:13 PM
LOL… but .for now it is apna haath – jagannath….
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November 17, 2011 at 12:28 PM
Dont underestimate Q. He is a playa.
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November 17, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Don’t know about Bhootnath, but old folks who want to make their kids feel guilty for any reason (or no reason at all) LOVE Baaghban.
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November 17, 2011 at 12:40 PM
After all the misogyny have to give this:
Three men were Hiking through a forest…
When they came
Upon a large raging, violent river.
7603E7CF0F6D4C3D8CEC6DBB70461296@D7S4CV1S
Needing to get to
The other side, the first man prayed:
‘God, please give me the strength to cross the river’
Poof!!!
God gave him big
Arms and strong legs…
And he was able to
Swim across in about 2 hours,
Having almost
Drowned twice.
After witnessing
That, the second man
Prayed:
‘God, please give
Me strength and the tools to cross the river’
Poof!!!
God gave him a
Rowboat and strong arms and strong
Legs…
And he was able to
Row across
In about an hour
After
Almost
Capsizing once
Seeing what
Happened to the first two men,
The third man
Prayed:
‘God, please give
Me the strength, the tools and the
Intelligence to cross the river’
Poof!!!
HE WAS TURNED
INTO A WOMAN!!!
She checked the
Map, hiked one hundred
Yards upstream…
And walked across
The bridge
Guys, if at first
You don’t succeed, do it the way
Your wife told
You!
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November 17, 2011 at 12:42 PM
Ha! great one!
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November 16, 2011 at 6:47 PM
Haha
U have a good sense of humour : amy
In dabang :she was good in the two and a half sentences she had to say
And if she resolves her weight issues: she may be ok
Btw u write well lol
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November 17, 2011 at 1:05 AM
“…many people have told him that his own loves stories remind them of Wong Kar Wai’s work!”
they have told her or she or her hubby is not aware of this so called inspiration
(1st comment)
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November 17, 2011 at 2:32 AM
karan johar has really short memory to say may be they will refresh his memories
kal ho na ho was the modern day remake of annand and kank another remake of silsila( though they where never official)
kuch kuch hota hai was no different than archies and veronica comics …one wonder who told him that his movies(his so called love stories ) are inspired from kar wai’s work which are as different as one could get
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November 17, 2011 at 9:35 AM
Update on 3I international:
3 IDIOTS HONG KONG :
Latest update is US $ 2.121M=10.2 crore approx.
3IDIOTS total overseas:
South Korea: $ 2.9M
Taiwan: $ 0.63
HONG KONG :$ 2.21 M
Total = 15.39+2.9+0.63+2.21= $ 21.13 M
Inching closer to MINK’s 21.5 m
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November 17, 2011 at 9:38 AM
The MNIK proponents will now learn that two can play the ’16th week in Addis Ababa’ game!
On a more serious note the S Korean market opening up in a significant way to Indian cinema is quite unexpected. Think currently Guzaarish is doing the rounds there.
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November 17, 2011 at 10:00 AM
’16th week in Addis Ababa’ 😀
I’ve actually been there, and there are plenty of Indians, in pretty powerful positions. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Market for Hindi films opens up there as the country continues to grow rapidly.
BTW, how come we never hear of the business of Hindi films in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia? Those must also be significant markets for Bollywood?
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November 17, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Nepal is probably is a very small market actually. It’s factored into the Indian territory system. Believe it’s part of the Bengal sub-territory or something. Can’t remember.
Malaysia is significant but one of many overseas markets. It’s not like the US or UK but it can be very big for Tamil films for obvious reasons. On that note Australia is increasingly becoming an important market.
Hindi films were not allowed theatrical releases in Pakistan as a historic matter (barring rare exceptions which were usually ‘Muslim’ period pieces!). However things have changed very recently and I think many films do release there. Again I doubt it’s anything very significant. My understanding is it’s a few theaters at this point. A proper full-fledged release would be a different matter.
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November 17, 2011 at 10:59 AM
Hindu:
You rock, Ranbir
Shashi Baliga
Rockstar disappoints, but Ranbir Kapoor has come of age in the film.
November 17, 2011:
Some three years ago I set up an interview with Ranbir Kapoor to talk to him about his overnight stardom and how he was handling it. It was early days for this Kapoor scion and his report card was mixed. Saawariya had been interminably talked about, then released and bombed, while Bachna Ae Haseeno had hit the screens with much less publicity but far greater success.
But producers and directors were swarming around him, convinced he was the Next Big Thing. He was dating one of India’s most beautiful women, Deepika Padukone. He had thousands of breathless fans and was being chased by various arms of the media (including the newspaper I was working for at the time). He was living the dream, he was riding high, it was all any young man in his position could have asked for. And it was enough to turn anyone’s head, to make any man — young, old or anywhere in-between — believe he was the Current Big Thing.
When I walked into Krishna Raj, the palatial home where he lived with his parents, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, I expected to meet a star kid-turned-sensation who would be polite but revel in his newfound stardom.
To my amazement, Ranbir refused to even acknowledge that he was a star. “We use the word too loosely,” he argued. “I can call myself a star only when I have a couple of bonafide hits under my belt. Just to be ‘appreciated’ in a couple of movies does not make me a star. I am, at best, a potential star.”
I looked at him carefully and with not a little cynicism; fake humility can be even more annoying than bragging. But I couldn’t detect a false note. Ranbir spoke rapidly but in measured tones that implied he was just stating what he saw as a fact. Either he was a very good actor or he honestly meant what he said. Either way, this young actor was intriguing. Especially since he declared later on, again in a matter-of-fact tone, that he intended to become the best actor ever in the history of Hindi cinema.
Nobody doubted then that he showed immense promise. The question was: would he fulfil it? As he went on to films like Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti, each showing a clear growth graph, the operative word in that question became when, not if.
I believe that moment has come with Rockstar. It is not a great movie or even a very good one, but Ranbir Kapoor has, I think, come of age with his performance in it. Not only because it is a many-layered role but because the character of Jordan is one that could so easily have gone wrong in the hands of a lesser actor, could have descended into stereotype and caricature.
Ranbir not only hits the right notes in his performance, but brings to it a passion and energy that explodes on screen. He has obviously had to work on this one, especially since this character, unlike the many lover-boys he has played, is far removed from his own life and sensibilities. While there was much talk about his learning to play the guitar, I heard him say in a television interview that he considered that the “superficial” part of his preparation. Getting into the character’s mind, he said, was the tough one, the real challenge.
His work has paid off. He is far and away the best part of the movie, which is rather bizarre in that it is entertainingly non-traditional in its first half, but does a complete switch in the second, to fall back on a string of hoary Bollywood clichés. The same old dying heroine; the predictable hospital scenes (mercifully, the doctors don’t declare, “Usko blood cancer ho gaya”); the easy way out of a love triangle of sorts.
Surely not what we might have expected from director Imtiaz Ali. His Jab We Met might have set off an annoying trend of Hinglish titles but ran through the industry and theatres like a strong summer breeze. Love Aaj Kal was not, perhaps, as memorable but came up with many a surprise. And all his movies, including the first half of Rockstar, have a clever, visual sense of humour that sets his work apart. Much of the problem with Rockstar’s second half is that he seems to lose that humour in it.
As for the lead actress, debutante Nargis Fakhri, let’s just say she’s been given far too many lines for someone so awkward with her Hindi dialogue.
Still, the under-25s (not unexpectedly) have taken to the film in a big way and expectations are that Rockstar will end up, as industry jargon puts it, “positive”. Which means it will make decent money but not turn out to be a blockbuster.
In spite of my problems with the movie, I have to admit that this is a pity, especially when you consider atrocities such as Ready raking in the stuff in record-breaking figures.
Oh well, that’s Bollywood for you. But so long as Imtiaz Ali gets to make more movies and Ranbir continues to make the right choices, we should not complain too much.
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November 17, 2011 at 12:09 PM
Most of the people I know who have seen Rockstar seems to have liked it, and liked Ranbir Kapoor..
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November 17, 2011 at 1:13 PM
Rockstar—Guitar blues –a tribute for amateurs and aficionados
Circa 2011–
Ever since the strains of rahmans twin strikes ie orianthis opening chords in saada haq and the brilliant “Jo bhi main” have reached my ears—have been trying to ward off certain flashbacks of certain concertic experiences but not for long
One example was the DVD of “rock on” that was tucked away after an uncomfortable few minutes viewing finally was brought to the fore.
Couldn’t help like the “farhan akhtar” character in “rock on” followed by the “HR” one in ZNMD
This “childish” urge finally led towards “rockstar” fittingly helmed by Rahman at his peak
Without giving too much away–“rockstar” the music has exceeded all my expectations….
A genuine tribute—-
Sent from my iPhone
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November 17, 2011 at 1:28 PM
Guitar blues –contd–
When u employ Michael Jacksons lead guitarist (this is it),
U better come up with something special
And special or what…
Rahman /orianthi just tear it apart and Mohit chauhan more than surpasses his own capability in “Jo bhi main” vocals
Obviously this depends on ones tastes and sensibilities but the “Rakh saala” in “saada haq” signals the attitude of rahmans work( calm and humble on the surface but a tornado waiting to challenge the best in their own game)
And orianthi gives it her everything Submitting to the brilliance
Still can’t believe some of the nuances and notes managed by the “south Indian ” rahman here
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November 17, 2011 at 1:36 PM
Absolutely, Agree with every word. and I also feel strongly about these two tracks, Right before the 2nd verse, the beat/string or wahtever you want to call it. I dont really know how to express it. and you are bang on on the “rakh saale” . I usually download my music since the day napster came out, I have yet to buy an album. But out of respect fort his album I am going to go out and by my first CD in over 12 years or so.
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November 17, 2011 at 1:49 PM
though I’ve grown to like it reasonably somehow I’ve never been a big fan of this track. The ones I really love on the album besides the exquisite Tango for Taj and Dichotomy of Fame are Nadaan Parindey, Hawa hawa, Tum ho (both versions even if Krishnamurthy’s voice sounds a bit hoarse). The rest of the stuff I appreciate more than truly like though the qawaali went wonderfully with the visuals in the movie.
Once again a strong work but I am even more confident at this point (and having heard it constantly for the better part of a month) that it’s no patch on D6 or Dil se (the Rahman summits in Hindi for me.. though Dil se is my absolute personal favorite here..). But leaving aside the comparisons I also believe some of the tracks are relatively ‘uncomplicated’ by Rahman’s standards. The love ballad (Tum ho) for example introduces a very ‘Eastern’ touch (with the tabla et al) on the female version but is relatively straightforward on the male one (though I still love it). The qawwali is excellent, possibly better than than the D6 one, but still not ‘new’ enough coming from Rahman. Similarly some of the other tracks seem ‘genre’ ones without containing enough of the Rahman ‘difference’. And I’d put Sada haq in this category. But all of this is relative. A criticism only by the lofty standards of Rahman and given that this isn’t a ‘middling’ effort by any means. I have never been a great fan of the RDB album for some reason and I like Rockstar a lot but I think RDB might be a more ‘interesting’ work. Still Rockstar isn’t JA by any means (which I find somewhat disappointing from Rahman) and again it’s an album I’ve heard a lot but it doesn’t define a Rahman peak for me. Nonetheless will be hearing it a lot more. As I said these things are always relative where Rahman is concerned. Will say that the music overall works extremely well in the film. Even having both versions of the ballad run into each other at the end of the film was a great idea.
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November 18, 2011 at 3:17 PM
I should also add here that Hawa Hawa was possibly my favorite video in the movie barring possibly the qawwali. It was done with a lot of zest and flair. Ranbir was also very energetic here. But also the lyrics have a fairy tale quality to them (I couldn’t quite understand most of this on the CD, the subtitles helped in the theater!) which match the film at its best.
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November 18, 2011 at 12:18 AM
Orianthi has worked on Sadda Haq only in Rockstar.
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November 17, 2011 at 1:58 PM
My thoughts above were not to mean that these tracks are the “best” in this album
Just had a certain “connect” in terms of personal resonance /experience where yours truly is concerned!!
The “ranking” of songs here is a different matter for another day!!
Yes: there is a certain “simple” , “uncomplicated ” feature here
Infact this seems one other more “accessible ” of Rahman albums
And herein lies the difference
Here one sees the “self assuredness” of a master wherein he doesn’t have to attempt “complicated” stuff just for the heck of “stamping his superiority, difference and genius”!!!!
But won’t fault anyone prefering his othe works (most of which are my faves as well..)
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November 17, 2011 at 3:20 PM
I didn’t mean to suggest anything either. was just making a point. Also ‘complicated’ here does not mean something contrived, it’s just about the level of ‘surprise’ that Rahman can often introduce even when doing ‘genre’.
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November 17, 2011 at 3:30 PM
^^^Agree
“16th week in Addis Ababa. I’ve actually been there…”—so Amy is from Addis ababa—never been there…
by the way: amy writes well and has a v good taste imo
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November 17, 2011 at 3:46 PM
‘Amy’?!
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November 17, 2011 at 3:56 PM
Alex, thank you 🙂 But I’m not from Addis Ababa, I’ve only visited once.
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November 17, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Oh ok Amy
Anyways how is addis ababa?
That’s the one continent I’ve never ever set foot on–good safaris?
Anyhow some guitar lessons for blokes—lol
Sent from my iPad
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November 17, 2011 at 2:22 PM
Surprising but true that I could have correctly predicted satyams choices from rockstar …
Would be interesting to hear views/ranking of these tracks for academi interest
Incidentally some “friends” (students of world music) are using this discussion towards their PHD /-think its on various “musical influences lol
By the way–thanx for this lovely input folks
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November 17, 2011 at 3:05 PM
Yup, same here friend, not that these 2 are my top favorites of the album, Listening to others too and right now loving the Tum HO and Kun Faya Kun, Ofcourse starting to love Hawa Hawa as well, But for some odd reason one of the most mediocre tracks on this “Sheher” for some odd reason I am liking it more and more on each hearing, maybe something to do with the way two contradicting way of singing by Mohit Chauhan or its fun to listen to the inputs given by the music director. But overall a gem of an album all around. can’t wait to get it “legally” for a change and give my contribution towards good music.
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November 17, 2011 at 3:24 PM
“Surprising but true that I could have correctly predicted satyams choices from rockstar …”
Interesting! I’d like to learn why you thought these would be my favored choices..
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November 17, 2011 at 3:12 PM
good choice Kash
and what out your better half–or is she not into music
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November 17, 2011 at 3:19 PM
She is Alex, Just has heard only Sadda Haq so far and loves it. Have yet to introduce her to the world and magic of Indian music and movies. Just to “occupied” with other things right now.LOL…here it goes..I dug my own hole..lol.
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November 17, 2011 at 3:24 PM
haha–nice to hear
Hope u stay “occupied” mate
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November 17, 2011 at 3:43 PM
by the way —-for learners of the language-“rakh saala” means ” keep it” as far as i can translate…
Also –for those not into Orianthi—
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November 17, 2011 at 8:10 PM
Wed numbers haven’t been provided for Rockstar by anyone.. guess there have been more drops.. they’re waiting for the second Fri numbers to decide how to cover this. It’s an old trick.
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November 17, 2011 at 8:13 PM
prakashjaju Prakash Jaju
Rockstar – Fri 11.57 cr, Sat 11.04 cr, Sun 13.42 cr, Mon 5.41 cr, Tue 3.95 cr, wed 2.97 cr – Total 48.32 cr
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November 17, 2011 at 11:38 PM
Rockstar Has Good First Week
Friday 18th November 2011 09.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rockstar had a good first week as it collected around 50 crore nett but it was mainly due to good 33 crore plus weekend and a solid Monday and from Tuesday onwards the film saw noticeable drops.
The trending is was not good over the weekdays and the film has found appreciation only with a small section of the audience but this may be enough to keep it afloat in its second weekend.
Rockstar is a success and a good second weekend will make it a hit but its unlikely to become a huge grosser as 75 crore nett seems the best it can do for lifetime business
If the expected big Saturday jump which is a norm for films accepted at high end multiplexes does not occur then the business could even remain below 70 crore nett.
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November 18, 2011 at 12:05 AM
ok, so 55 Crore ROckstar with 75 Crore Nett collections is just success by BOI and 175 Crore RA.One with 115 Crore collections is Hit … BOI ki JAI HO.
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