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218 Responses to “Rowdy Rathore, the rest of the box office”
Rowdy Rathore is heading for a huge opening when it opens on Friday it could even turn out to be the best opening weekend of the year. The single screen advance which opened on Monday was excellent across the country and the film will screen on around 2700 screens
The biggest opening weekends (1st 3 days) this year have been Agneepath (45.50 crore nett) and Housefull 2 (42 crore nett) and Rowdy Rathore has chances to beat both of these two films. The biggest Akshay Kumar openers are Housefull 2 and Tees Maar Khan (36.50 crore nett).
The 50 crore nett weekend is the number to crack but its never been done without a major holiday (Bodyguard – Eid, Ra.One – Diwali) so it may be out of reach for Rowdy Rathore. The biggest non holiday opening weekend is Ready at 42.25 crore nett which was released in the same week as Rowdy rathore last year.
Rowdy Rathore has fetched extraordinary prices all over India and has been sold in most circuits across the country.
Ragav: most in the media (and many in the middle classes) seem to think the only foreign markets are Western ones — with the result that made-up stories about success in the US or UK are preferred to real ones of desi films doing well in Asia or elsewhere.
Just finished with Serendipity. Cool flick and liked the actress, but it underlines the fact that Hollywood does come up with cheesy films at times.. Was fun nevertheless..
anyways, guess in times like these it would be unfair to call films like RR as ‘single-screen’ cinema. coz the kind of gross they end up accumulating, it cannot be without the contribution of multiplexes is it?
Tony, u r watching a film on ur bday night, what’s wrong with u?! didn’t u party (with ur gf..LOL) or what? anyway does serendipity star gordon-levitt (if it does, i have seen it, found it boring). And the perception which people living abroad have that films like golmaal and housefull and RR r single-screen films, is ‘completely wrongs’. i have seen these films in multiplexes with full-houses. the mutiplex crowd is as big a contributor here as the single screen one if not bigger
I didnt party on my b’day saurabh. was like just another day. Parties where I am the center of attention make me conscious and uncomfortable.
Serendipity was an okay timepass but might have given Bollywood directors some sort of cue to embark on a series of immoral, unrealistic romantic films where the hero / heroine puts their lives and that of their loved ones at stake, just to follow what their heart says, even if that means looking for a person you met only once years ago..
YRF / Dharma might’ve taken such things very seriously!
Agree with you on RR and the single screen enigma..
Most likely will be contributing to the opening numbers of rowdy this weekend befor Prometheus due to shorter life of the former…
What are the predictions here–numbers wise Satyam …
Don’t rule out this becoming akshays biggest solo hit yet
Inspite of the cheese OTT factor, there is a certain zing to things here…
Dont mind the fun element jn the songs here….
akki with two 100cr grossers this year and possibly more to come…set to have a huge year. this film(if liked) will put him right back in the big leagues(SRK, Aamir, Sallu bhai and Hrithik).
Love the entire franchise. Obviously the first film is always special in any such series but this is I think that rare one where every film is worthwhile, not least because an interesting director is responsible for each part.
“I completely and totally resent the fact that it’s releasing in the UK before the US! This is grossly unfair!”
Nothing unusual there satyam
Be it this or satyamev jayate, things are first released in ‘sensible’ audiences : only when found suitable, is it released for audiences with slightly ‘special needs’ and doubtful capacity to ‘reasonable’ manner..
Haha
Not being derogatory to the us kid here..
LOL Alex that’s too much hubris for someone from a country which hasn’t figured out its place in the 21st century. :)…..What do you think Britain should do – a) be America’s poodle, b) integrate more closely within the EU and take orders from Berlin and Brussels, c) delude itself into believing that it can revive and lead the commonwealth block and everything in the world will be just like in the year 1900 ,d) or simply accept the reality of being a forgotten rainy little island with horrible food and horrible teeth….haha
PS: Guys I was joking here, don’t take offense. It’s not much fun telling a joke with a disclaimer that it’s a joke, but better to be safe than sorry.
Haha matrix- thanx for that lengthy funny post 😉
Btw have more links with the states than Britain in some ways and obviously this is only in fun
So no offence to anyone
Unlike these ‘jokes’, the ‘delay in release’ of SMJ and now Prometheus is an actual reality !!!!
So matrix -take that n enjoy-sorry it’s slightly lengthy 🙂
To the citizens of the United States of America, In the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. (Except Utah, which she does not fancy.) Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up “aluminium”. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour’, skipping the letter ‘U’ is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter ‘Z’ (pronounced ‘zed’ not ‘zee’) and the suffix “ize” will be replaced by the suffix “ise”. You will learn that the suffix ‘burgh is pronounced ‘burra’ e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as ‘Pittsberg’ if you can’t cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up “vocabulary”.
Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as “like” and “you know” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up “interspersed”. There will be no more ‘bleeps’ in the Jerry Springer show. If you’re not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn’t have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won’t have to use bad language as often.
2. There is no such thing as “US English”. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of “-ize”.
3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn’t that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents – Scottish dramas such as “Taggart” will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we’re talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is “Devon”. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become “shires” e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.
4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as “Men Behaving Badly” or “Red Dwarf” will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can’t cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.
5. You should relearn your original national anthem, “God Save The Queen”, but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.
6. You should stop playing American “football”. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American “football” is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays “American” football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American “football”, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the ‘World Series’ for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls’ game called “rounders” which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.
7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don’t believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called “Indecisive Day”.
9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren’t even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called “crisps”. Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.
11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.
12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as “beer”, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as “Lager”. The substances formerly known as “American Beer” will henceforth be referred to as “Near-Frozen Knat’s Urine”, with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as “Weak Near-Frozen Knat’s Urine”. This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen, Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.
13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or “Gasoline” as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon – get used to it).
14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you’re not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re not grown up enough to handle a gun.
15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us crazy. Tax collectors from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).
16. Last but not the least, and for heaven’s sake…..it’s Nuclear as in “clear” NOT Nucular. Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.
Haha Alex that one was funny…I had read it before as well, but even on repetition it is very funny. There was I think a rejoinder to it by an American guy, though not half as funny.
Hoho matrix
I’m impressed u read all of it, it seems !
Btw have more sympathies and affiliations with the states than Europe (in some ways) -so am not in any one side ( as usual)
Btw where r u based matrix
U sound a very witty person–sorry but u sound more like a witty girl 🙂
Rowdy Rathore opened to a bumper 95-100% opening at single screens all across India. The Marathwada belt is phenomenal and recording collections as good as any other film
This area is totally dominated by single screens with Rowdy Rathore being released on the 25 multiplexes in the area and over 300 single screens.
It is a first for an Akshay Kumar starrer where it is normally North India which drives his films. Here with Rowdy Rathore the North Indian circuits of Delhi/UP and Punjab have opened well but circuits like Nizam, CP Berar, CI, Bihar and Rajasthan are much better.
Overall the film has been a good opening at multiplexes and bumper in single screens and is heading for a very big first day collection.
Rowdy Rathore opened to a bumper 95-100% opening at single screens all across India. The Marathwada belt is phenomenal and recording collections as good as any other film
This area is totally dominated by single screens with Rowdy Rathore being released on the 25 multiplexes in the area and over 300 single screens.
It is a first for an Akshay Kumar starrer where it is normally North India which drives his films. Here with Rowdy Rathore the North Indian circuits of Delhi/UP and Punjab have opened well but circuits like Nizam, CP Berar, CI, Bihar and Rajasthan are much better.
Overall the film has been a good opening at multiplexes and bumper in single screens and is heading for a very big first day collection.
Rowdy Rathore opened well at multiplexes with collections around 70% on average. Some multiplexes did open to full houses but at an all India level the average is around 70% plus.
The opening is not like a Bodyguard or Agneepath which opened due to two reasons, one its not a major holiday and second there was a very limited advance at multiplexes as the the scheduling was finalised very late.
The single screens which get going at noon are likely to record huge opening as advance was strong and also because Rowdy Rathore is a mass film.
The opening day be in the top five of all time but will be well short of the record highs of Agneepath and Bodyguard.
Re: “The opening day be in the top five of all time but will be well short of the record highs of Agneepath and Bodyguard.”
It seems to be a safe bet that, given such strong performance in single screens, that Rowdy Rathore will have sold more tickets in its opening weekend than Agneephat.
Plain & simple…Ishaqzaade is a super hit because of its economics. Also despite being a cheaper film than Jannat 2, it has actually crossed Jannat’s collections.
Ishaqzaade may have grossed slightly more than Jannat 2 but i don’t believe there is much difference between the budgets of both films (having seen both the films). Anyway if Ishaqzaade is being called a ‘super-hit’ (which truly speaking, it is not), Jannat 2 atleast deserves a hit tag and not above-average imo
B.O. update: ‘Rowdy Rathore’ is Akshay’s ‘Dabangg’
By Taran Adarsh, June 1, 2012 – 16:24 IST
Akshay Kumar can heave a sigh of relief… and celebrate as well! ROWDY RATHORE has opened to a thunderous response [95% to 100%] at single screens across the length and breadth of the country. In fact, the start at single screens is at par with several big-ticket films such as AGNEEPATH and HOUSEFULL 2 [both this year] and BODYGUARD [last year]. The response from the very first show was electrifying everywhere!
The response at multiplexes ranged from average to good. At several centres, the occupancy was 55% to 70% and is expected to grow from evening onwards. The not-too-aggressive start at plexes could be attributed to the fact that the advance booking was affected due to Bharat Bandh yesterday [Thursday]. Also, mass-friendly films, generally, have a slow start at plexes, but pick up gradually.
As per early trends, ROWDY RATHORE is expected to have a Rs 15 cr nett Friday. It may even cross the figure, depending on how strong the evening and night shows are. ROWDY RATHORE is all set to be Akshay Kumar’s biggest opener. His DABANGG.
Leaving aside the grosses, if RR sustains, this will be a big deal for him also because he won’t necessarily be tethered to the HF type of crass nonsense alone. Which is not to say RR looks like a masterpiece – far from it – but it is certainly the kind of movie I’d be more happy to catch and possibly in the theater.
True though I fear he has come to this party too late. I think he could have been in Salman’s current position had he jumped on this bandwagon before. Nonetheless it’s true that a major success will at least force him to prioritize some of these films. And the advantage he shares with Salman is that he can do the ‘comedy’ bits here unlike someone like Devgan who’s always more credible playing it straight like Singham.
On that note note I was always disappointed that the Abhishek/Prabhudevaa film fell through the cracks after the initial disappointment. actually Abhishek confirmed it even last year but there has been no further announcement on it. I’d easily take Prabhudevaa over Businessman in this genre.
I’m certain Abhishek would perform well in this terrain. The issue is he seems a bit stuck given his screen history to this point. He’s taken on these roles that have a certain prestige and one of his distinctive assets as a star is his association with those films and filmmakers. One wouldn’t want him to step into the terrain of Salman or Akshay-type farces without adapting the proceedings to his own persona. We see him now in the BB trailers and the movie looks terrible, but his presence in them makes it a bit more interesting and “odd” because he hasn’t done something outright farcical in some time. He doesn’t look out of place in those trailers which possibly has to do with the fact that the film was probably written with him in mind and this is precisely the point. If he does the Prabhudevaa type of masala actioner, it’s got to be something that represents at least a modicum of an extension of his history thus far.
Actually i found Abhishek pretty effective in even a bad south remake like ‘Run’- the role fit his persona to the T. but the problem here is Puri. he is a very medioce director and his best imo is ‘super’
Run was alright though the Vijay Raaz parts were very poor. Vivek was way better in the original. But Run is the kind of film for which a star needs to be at his peak. Because there’s not too much else going on in the film. For all this the film didn’t do badly, specially in small centers where it has even seen reruns. Boney Kapoor said at the time that he’d lost money on a lot of his remakes but not on Run.
I hope Akshay leaens something from this — he’s had every incentive over the last several years to move away from the diminishing returns (not to mention indignities) of the Desi Boys, De Dana Dhan sort of film, but has never done so until Rowdy Rathore. His heart doesn’t seem to be in it (perhaps a complex resulting from his 1990s), and I doubt he would have done even this film had his long run of flops over the last few years (10 of his last 14 or 15) not limited his options.
The hilarious thing is Bhansali making money off of this, most un-Bhansali of films.
Because I am not a Devgan fan! And I never said I am a fan of actors proportional to their talents. It’s also about a persona and want of a better word their ‘coding’. Akshay has always been a non-actor but I prefer his persona and I like his ‘politics’ in certain ways. But again this is not a science. I have nothing against Devgan either. I don’t quite mind him. I do mind Salman for example! Much as however much I might dislike what SRK does I enjoyed his flamboyance in the 90s and would still take him over some others except that he’s become incredibly stale and ‘mannered’. And to top it all most of his films don’t appeal to me. Nonetheless I’ve liked some of the stuff.
So one shouldn’t mix the two things. There is no reason for me to be ‘pleased’ for Devgan or for any other actor! Even with Akshay I am pleased because I do like him and want him to be successful. Don’t have some great investment in him otherwise. But on Devgan I don’t share your opinion either. I just don’t seen anything special in him as an actor. Nor do I like his persona all that much. I’d take Saif over him on both counts (for example) though Saif himself has become too complacent an actor and presence in very many ways. He’s a far cry from what he was some years ago.
BTW, Satyam was mighty pleased for SRK when he got two back to back 100 crore grossers last year. It is another matter that they were both somewhat of duds are already forgotten.
Guys, saw Rowdy Rathore.having seen the atrocious telugu original and the trailers, i went with zero expectations. but boy, did it surprise me. i was thoroughly entertained. the difference here was Prabhu Deva’s handling and Akki( who seems like De Niro infront of Ravi Teja)- this has to be Akki’s most likeable performance in some time.Also the film is zillion times better than BG, Ready and even devgan’s Singham. special mention should be given to the ‘brutal’ action scene before interval and the climax
Can’t stand Ravi teja and usually stay a mile away from his films. But I was expecting an enjoyable film here. Prabhudevaa has done a number of remakes and he always keeps the proceedings minimally entertaining. But good too hear your views on this. On the others I haven’t seen Ready or BG. Surprised to hear you say that about Singham. While I did expect something more entertaining from Prabhudevaa and certainly not politically problematic like that film it was [Singham] otherwise (and despite being inferior to the original) quite alright on its own.
Satyam, i’ll tell u why. borrowing ur line,in RR, like ghajini, there is an ‘authentic sense of loss’ just before interval which hits u. there was a potential sense of making a ‘serious masala’ here but prabhudeva squanders this bcos that loss is not explored enough, the emotional scenes r badly written and badly performed by akki, and just after that ‘shock’ film instantly shifts to comedy. the script here was quite strong but no one seemed to be serious abt it. that said a masala lover should go for it
good to hear Saurabh, I didn’t know any of this because I haven’t seen the original. Don’t know yet if it’s playing near me but will try and check it out.
Also Satyam, i am a sucker for double-roles (apart from Don, Kasme Vaade and Satte pe satta, i loved bachchan’s double act in bandhe haath- did not fing great gambler that good) . And i will really recommend u Kunal Khemu’s ” Superstar”- an intelligent low-key attempt at ‘serious dramatic masala’ with a very likeable double-act by khemu- it is way better than BG, READY, SINGHAM AND RR- i would love to know ur views on superstar
I too loved that whole masala tradition. Must agree on Great Gambler. Though this is a very enjoyable narrative and a cool film in many ways the problem here is that the double role is just not differentiated enough. Very little difference between the two guys which was odd given that in those days they usually went to extremes keeping the double role apart. Bachchan being Bachchan nonetheless establishes some subtle differences. They’re not exactly the same if one watches closely but his look is and the characters are otherwise not differentiated enough as I just said. Also the film lacks genuine drama, always problematic in those days. For all this I have a great weakness for the film. Kasme Vaade is of course the un-Great Gambler. Two guys who couldn’t possibly be more unlike! Another film I quite adore, probably beyond its merits. It’s not a great film by any means the way say Trishul or Kaala Pathar are but it has some very true moments. The Bachchan double in Satte Pe Satta is great, specially the second guy who’s absolutely creepy. That character deserved a better film. It’s hard for me to think of a lead character in Hindi cinema doing a more chilling part than this unless it be Bachchan’s own disturbing (and possessed) self in Aks. Don though is easily the greatest double role of Hindi cinema and […] has suggested possibly the single greatest star turn of Bollywood. No other film where a star’s gifts are as impressively on display and as much in sync with the film. Bachchan was always impressive but the range displayed here is stunning. But again the more one watches his films, the more one thinks about them, the more one realizes how this man was just in a different profession from everyone else in the history of his industry! I have the greatest regard for other stars and actors but the Bachchan difference is just so profound one cannot meaningfully compare him with others. Which is why I find even a lot of Bachchan’s own work over the last decade or so not that interesting much as I like him very much in many outings and would in any case not dream of comparing him with anyone else even here. Nonetheless and even if it’s something like Sarkar where he’s obviously impressive and quite magnificent I think I have seen him on much greater heights of persona and performance. To be honest and in his defense I will say this. He has hardly had Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Desai or Salim-Javed and so on creating important opportunities for him. No matter how great the talent it is brought to its full bloom in the right setup. But the performances that I find interesting in this period in various ways are Aks, Boom, Black, Khakee, Dev, Paa. In each something new is approached by him. But I would nonetheless add some caveats in each case, even Paa where extraordinary as his performance is, I am sometimes unsure whether too much might not be lost with the prosthetics. So you get the remarkable body language and so on but the face that has been so expressive for so long is completely lost. The prosthetics prevent the mobility he is so legendary for. Paa is nonetheless a triumph of ‘being’ perhaps even more than performance. On the rest Black is a performance that I find impressive more than I actually like. Here what interests me most is the remarkable physicality, specially his movement in some of those initial scenes where to command the girl’s attention he moves in extraordinary fashion across that huge space. Boom remains his single most underrated performance. It is one of a kind in his career. Hilariously done in a very ‘distanced’ way, the film is a disaster because it cannot manage Bachchan’s tone, exactly the right one for the subject. Dev has some miraculous moments though I don’t find him consistently impressive here. Aks on the other hand is but some of the more operatic moments here are also ones of risk where it is hard to decide whether things might not be a bit over-pitched at times. Finally Khakee.. nothing to object to here at all and yet it doesn’t feature anything quite as new as something or the other in these other films I’ve mentioned. For all this it’s a very successful updating of Vijay in very many ways. In this sense Baghban for a very different subject is the same deal. An extremely even and fluid performance. If in the final analysis I still prefer the older outings it is because in them there are miracles literally in every moment. I can go through entire films of his from that period and not find a single element that’s out of place in terms of the performance. every thing just right. Again the Shakespeare analogy suggests itself. Some plays seem poorer only because the standards otherwise are Hamlet or Macbeth or Lear and so on, not because these are poor in themselves. The idea that he is even on his weakest day superior to everyone else is an idea so banal and boring it scarcely needs to be repeated except for the most obtuse!
The comedy in the 1st half is really entertaining and much better than HF2 and credit should go to Akki for this. Sonakshi is decent but i would have much preferred Anushka Shetty here bcos she has that impish persona required here. Nasser, one of the actors i like, is hopelessly miscast as a Bihari villain here- Pradeep Rawal or Sayaji Shinde would have been perfect. The best part is that in the pre-climax action scene, Akshay gets to show his real talent of fighting-skills
Agree -would have preferred anushka here
For a change-she needs to GAIN weight for this role (@ the rite sites 🙂
Btw saw a promo of sonakshi sort of JUMPING in mid air looking ‘dangerous’
If she accidentally stepped onto someone’s toe–would surely a fracture (atleast)
Ps-but the only consolation is that sonakshi kept Kareena away from this one…
Alex i am not talking abt Anushka Sharma, this is a south actress called Anushka Shetty (check her pics out). she fits the bill according to my ‘bouncing gemstone theory’
Hmm
Have never really been interested in this sort of OTT southern masala stuff but wa getting a certain dabang moment vibe here albeit of a lesser degree and less stylised
Nearly saw a movie today but got late for Prometheus 3D
Guess it will be rowdy first
The ‘energy’ & ‘zing’ (& 3some vibe) of ‘preetam pyare’ is sowmthing that needs to be checked out in a single screen rowdy crowd
With beer mugs in hands
And a few dancers around et al
Unfortunately have never enjoyed the ‘single screen’ experience
But hey–can always create a similar experience by own rowdy behaviour 🙂
Btw a better heroine was needed here…
On over the top stuff Rohit Shetty has borrowed a cue from Southern films and not just in Singham. His most outlandish action looks to be in Bol Bachchan. That outrageous bit where Devgan kicks a guy who starts flying in the air and he’s then kicked again by Abhishek in mid-air at which point his ping-pong journey is finally over. Or that jeep that just smoothly goes through the bus! his stuff it’s so outrageous that it’s fun and fits in with my idea that these are essentially masala-comedies with the stress very much on the latter.
Having said that what’s lacking in this entire genre, including the Southern originals, is the creation of a world where such stylized action would seem natural and integrated. Much like some of the action genres from East Asia where things are heavily stylized and yet completely normal in that world. Or in the same vein with something like the Matrix the laws of that world make the choreographed action seem totally normal. Unfortunately this isn’t so in the ‘desi’ stuff where the film is otherwise normal or proceeding normally until a burst of action creates a wholly different logic. So take that moment in Singham where the hero races with the jeep and then all of a sudden brings down that street light on one of the guys. It’s fun to watch but it isn’t necessarily part and parcel of the film’s universe otherwise. Of course I’m probably the bigger idiot here for suggesting Rohit Shetty needs to watch out for such subtleties!
Satyam a very good point here. actually the ‘authentic hindi masala with that central tragedy’ of yore is comparable to the hong-kong genre of ‘heroic bloodshed’ epitomised by john-woo and chow yun fat (those films formed the basis slow-mo action scenes of matrix). here there was a morally ambigous hero with a tragic ending to the film. esp important here is woo’s classic ‘The Killer’ where Fat, playing an assassin, accidently blinds a young girl and that forms the ‘beating heart’ of this superb actioner
i made the above point bcos i believe those Hong- Kong films r a very good model if bwood wants to make ‘serious masala films’ like ghajini. satyam, if u remember in the mid 90’s Sanjay Gupta debuted with ‘Aatish’, a very enjoyable remake of Woo-Chow yun fat classic ‘a better tomorrow’, starring Dutt and Pancholi(in possibly pancholi’s best role).i believe, insted of making such ‘fake masala’ like RR,if such remakes r made, one can even make entertaining yet good films.btw have u seen any of these films?
Yeah, speaking of Pancholi’s best roles I would take Dum Maaro Dum and Musafir over Aatish, although the last is definitely one of his better outings (as was Hameshaa, i.e. the older Pancholi).
Ok -something for the gals /ladies here
So FAO dimple, sanjana, bliss, oldgold….
How chick flicks are breaking the conventions of wedded bliss!!
Have always resented chick flicks and have escaped most
Didn’t succeed in escaping ‘bridesemaid’ -but it was a sorry of ‘watershed’ moment
Chick flicks aren’t all THAT bad and nasty really !!
So folks-do try em out (with good company)
An exerpt-
A fascinating thing has happened recently on the way to the cineplex.
The romantic comedy – which has always revolved around the ages-old narrative for female fulfilment, the happily-surmounted challenges that give way, at length, to a walk down the aisle – is swerving. Reflecting a change in the zeitgeist, perhaps, and probably in the collective female psyche as well, some of the most recent chick-flick hits have not shown the heroine rushing into wedded bliss. Instead, she’s portrayed side-stepping matrimony, or temporarily fleeing from it – even avoiding the wedding bells altogether.
Seven years have made a major difference: in 2005, 27 Dresses purported to show the desperation of a single woman, played by Katherine Heigl, who had to be a bridesmaid 27 times. Her fate was depicted as a dire one – humiliating and dispiriting, to be “always a bridesmaid but never the bride”.
But bridesmaids – and now brides – are changing direction. The first breakout hit that showed these straws in the wind was Kristen Wiig’s and Annie Mumolo’s Apatow-produced 2011 comedy, Bridesmaids. The main love story in Bridesmaids is not that of the bride (played by refreshingly unglamorous Maya Rudolph) and her groom – who seems to be drawn in such a way as to mock the idea of the dream husband, since he is perfect on paper but hideously uncompelling as a love interest. It is rather a love triangle between Wiig, her best friend Rudolph, and her challenger for best-friend status. The romance of female friendship is the central drama, with the groom practically relegated to an afterthought.
Throughout the film, Wiig seeks, hilariously ineptly, to woo Rudolph back into best-friend status. At a critical moment, the bride – faced with the “perfect” wedding with the “perfect” location, dress, guest list and all the things for which the feminine heart is supposed to beat fastest since pre-Austen times – flees her impending nuptials to seek shelter in her best friends’ unprepossessing but emotionally nurturing single-girl flat.
The movie resonated not just because it is screamingly funny, but also because it dares to address the thought that the traditional female life narrative, in which marriage to “the right man” takes the place of every other kind of quest and call for self-discovery and self-development, may really not be enough.
Following the success of Bridesmaids, other similar romantic comedies have sought the limelight. The second hit, from the same producer of Bridesmaids, is the Emily Blunt/Jason Segel romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement. The real narrative in this film wanders even more transgressively away from the Austen-esque/Mills and Boone matrimony plot line – so much so that websites covering it have trouble even summarizing the plot accurately. IMDB’s account of it is:
“One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.”
^ also LS and Filmbuff as well…
LS-if u feet a chance from SMJ (!!!) , do read some other stuff as well , for a change lol
Btw LS-thanx for your book recommendations
Something for u as well
Warning-plz tolerate this somewhat creepy female who is probably a nymphomaniac !
ROFL
Tony, do look out for 2 things specifically- “the action scene” just before interval-brutal, imaginatively filmed, with a ‘shakespearean’ like interference/help of ‘nature and chance’ and the final action scene between akki and the henchman- very creative. i am anyway a complete sucker for ‘bloodshed’ on screen (i had a collection of scenes where men r piked and knifed)-my fav genre itself is the ‘heroic bloodshed genre’ of hong-kong films of the the great director-actor combo of john woo and chow yun fat
After several false starts, Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar’s ambitious co-production will finally go on the floors early next year
One of the most keenly awaited films, which has also been in the doldrums for the longest time – 2 States, based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel by the same name, will finally see the light of day.
TOI has learnt that Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar will now start work on their ambitious films.
A source revealed, “Sajid had bought the rights of the film a couple of years back. It was to be directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, with Shah Rukh Khan playing the lead. However, talks fizzled out. After that, Karan stepped in as the co-producer and Ranbir Kapoor agreed to topline it. But Kapoor’s involvement didn’t work out and the project was put on the backburner.”
It was only recently that everything fell in place with Imran being roped in. “Imran is the new star on the block and with a slew of hits to his credit, he is as bankable as any other top star. Karan was keen to have Imran on board. The actor takes his time to commit to any film. But he loved the script of 2 States and gave his nod to the film, which is expected to start early next year.”
2 States is a love story of a South Indian girl and a Punjabi boy and the roller coaster ride that they go on before finally tying the knot.
Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala and Imran remained unavailable for comments.
Before the anti-Imran brigade starts off- this is a rom-com about a YOUNG couple and Imran is as suitable for the terrain as anybody- he is growing to be quite effective within this comfort zone of his as EMAET demonstrated.
And in any case- its far better that he do this than that the audience be subjected to the ridiculousness of having to watch SRK (the previous casting choice) play an IIM student.
Ami,agreed on the last part and also have to sadly agree that imran was not bad in EMAET and BKB. having said that i would have much preferred Neil Mukesh here- a much better actor and good looking too. Also Rajeev Khandelwal and Gulshan Deviah would have been good choices.Anyway imran will a complete miscast in the ‘sequel of OUATIM’. i feel the same for ‘matru ki bijli ka mandola’ but bhardwaj has a history of getting the best out of actors
Amu, sorry but i love those scenes. probably has to do with me being a boxer in school. but i completely detest when women/girls r tortured- have a history of puking while watching them(and not bcos of some respect for women). btw u mentioned guy pearce- he is one of my fav- have seen most of his films- there is a particular scene in “lockout” where while being interrogated,he is being puched on the face-that is exactly the way one should take a punch-he,in my mind, is one of the best action hero in hwood.
I was joking Saurabh- no need to apologize. 🙂 Guy Pearce is great-I haven’t seen Lockout- but my favourite of his films is Animal Kingdom. Hurt Locker as well of course- but he had hardly anything to do in that film.
I have become a big fan of Ravi Teja and have seen the original telugu film with subtitles. Always knew this will be a huge sucess for Akshay. One may not like the telugu film so much if he has seen the hindi dubbed version.
I understand ur situation. I had same opinion about him when i watched few of the scenes of his dubbed movies on set max.
I realized I am wrong only after watching some of his good movies with subtitles. I realized that the voice of that dubbing artist and the dialogues in hindi were so irritating and “repulsive”.
Anyway for ur info the telugu version of Rowdy Rathore was directed by S. S. Rajamouli who is the no 1 director in telugu films currently. I am wondering why he worked with an actor who is zillion times worse than ur fav actor.
The telugu film “Vikramarkudu” was a huge hit and has already been remade in Tamil, Hindi and Bengali.
Lol Q, Kick would have been a fairly entertaining watch in 2 conditions- 1)in the absence of Teja 2) has Illena kicked Teja’s butt even once in the film. BTW Salman is on-board to do a remake of the film which will be directed by Shirish Kunder under Nadiawala banner and will also have Sonakshi
Latest update folks—
The long round of partying/ meetings/etc etc begins…
Some ‘word of mouth’ about films from those I trust usually..
Prometheus
A couple of chicks checked it out today and are raving about it and don’t even mind watching it again!!
Fassbender is awesome and somewhat of a scene stealer(again!)
Charlene theron as the corporate female boss sounds interesting(to me!)
Btw one of the ‘intelligent’ gal didn’t stop from finding faults here
About ‘lack of depth’ and a certain ‘split personality’
Warning -apparently there is a self induced caesarean section scene which offended them (expectedly)!!
Rowdy rathore
I rarely follow box office of most films forget about those from this genres
But have wondered and asked about the box office of this one.
After watching ONE song-preetam pyaare–had commented few weeks back that this maybe akshays BIGGEST hit ever
Have just got live WOM from a variety of Indian viewership
A young hyper guy, a nubile (cute) chick and a middle aged uncle and aunty…
(suprisingly even the chick loved it and yes is keen to watch it again, which is surprising given the ‘action’ and cheesy genre)
The vibe I got briefly confirms my suspicion and impression-
This is probably the biggest hit of akshay Kumars career
And maybe more
thanks for the updates.. incidentally is there any group of people in your life in any context that doesn’t include the ‘nubile’ girl?!
On Fassbender he’s fast becoming a favorite, probably is already. He’s obviously a fine talent and a charismatic presence. The only thing I’d say is that there is a certain ‘coldness’ to his persona. perhaps that’s too harsh a word but he conveys that sort of distance.
“but he conveys that sort of distance.”–well picked up and
U are right…Satyam
Currently the best male actor that I like , period ..
But this is personal resonance and liking as well.
That’s incidentally a major part of the appeal..
“…that doesn’t include nubile girl” -haha
The answer is no…lol
Ps-u wont be expectd to party /socialise with grandmas 😉
Disclaimer -no offence to grandmas-I love gramdmas actually more…
Gud nite folks
Satyam, whichever girl Alex takes under his cover, he makes them ‘nubile’…LOL. I like Fassbender but here i would like to mention Matt Damon- an actor who does not get his due. the guy is extremely versatile and has worked with the biggest directors in the business- spielberg, coppola,soderbergh,edward zwick,redford,scorsese,eastwood,coen brothers,gus van sant,kevin smith,de niro,cameron crowe,farrelly brothers, anthony minghella, terry gilliam- that’s quite a variety
Just to add- just gt a few mins
An ultra ‘brainy’ chic who doesn’t like ‘any’ movie (but watched loads) has told me countless faults already just now
Confused plot
Split personality of the movie itself
Lacks soul & ‘depth’
Synthetic ‘sterile’ feel lacking ‘human warmth’
Maan — now who can give this much ‘warmth’
Also she fund both rapace and theron absolutely horrible (not surprising ) 🙂
Ps-may not be able to check out films sat/ sun due to some ‘hectic’ activities
Satyam – hope to get your review soon
And do check out rowdy
Some quite ‘sensible’ Indian folks have recommmended it
Someone who hated houseful liked it !!!
Rowdy Rathore has collected around 14.50 crore nett on its first day as per early estimates. The film recorded phenomenal collections in many circuits but under performed in Delhi city and Punjab especially for an Akshay Kumar film.
It is the biggest non holiday opening of all time and amongst the top 5 to 6 opening days of all time. Agneepath and Bodyguard lead by a distance with Rowdy Rathore collecting in the same range as films like Don 2, Ra.One and Dabangg.
It also the highest opening day for an Akshay Kumar starrer beating housefull 2 by around 1.50 crore nett.
The distributor share on day one is easily the third biggest ever on day one due to the extraordinary business in single screens. At some centres the share on day one was as much as the whole week share of films like Don 2 and Ra.One.
And by the way, Chikni Chameli has got nothing on Aa Re Pritam Pyare. The song has to be the most robust item numbers that I’ve seen in a while, and it has been danced and shot with amazing energy. Most surprisingly, given the setting of the song and at the juncture in which it occurs in the film not to mention three item girls gyrating around one man, the song doesn’t appear vulgar in its treatment.
Re: “Most surprisingly, given the setting of the song and at the juncture in which it occurs in the film not to mention three item girls gyrating around one man, the song doesn’t appear vulgar in its treatment.”
Hmmm, this might be the film’s greatest achievement — I found the trailers of this song quite repellent and had written it off. I’m sure Alex will be delighted 🙂
June 1, 2012
Movie Review
A Bollywood Plot Thickened With Every Ingredient
By RACHEL SALTZ
A pumped-up example of the Bollywood school of More Is More, “Rowdy Rathore,” starring Akshay Kumar, has a little of everything, all executed in an exaggerated, playful style by the film’s director, Prabhudheva. There are fights, colorful songs and dances (the stick-in-your-head, drum-driven tunes are by Sajid and Wajid Ali), comedy, romance, a superstar item girl (Kareena Kapoor, who appears in one song) and a plot worthy of the old days of Hindi cinema.
Mr. Kumar, who has populist appeal, plays a double role. He’s Shiva, a Mumbai thief, and also Shiva’s mirror image, Vikram Rathore, a supercop. In a flashback we see Rathore single-handedly try to clean up a town ruled by a villain with little black stubs for teeth. (These scenes wink at the Hindi classic “Sholay.”)
Shiva and Rathore’s lives intersect and then merge when Shiva takes over Rathore’s job, combining Rathore’s Dudley Do-Right decency with his own trickster skills. His new name: Rowdy Rathore. His slogan (delivered in English): “Don’t angry me!”
Prabhudheva keeps up his end of the more-is-more bargain, using all the tics and techniques of current Hindi movies. Slow and fast motion, strange angles, jump cuts and rewinds, and something that seems unique to Indian movies — short sound bursts commenting on the action, in oohs and ahs and melodic gasps.
“Rowdy Rathore” can be exhausting, and it doesn’t shy away from being crude or hyperbolic. Ridiculous and undeniable, it’s a punchy cartoon, rightly confident of its power to entertain. Why resist?
Satyam, the above review is ‘useless’- i find Saltz uninformed abt hindi films. Anyway RR is one the rare films where the remake is zillion times better than the original
I still don’t know how many prints of Rockstar we released with. The business model is tilted towards the first week of release because the producer’s share is highest. It’s a myopic vision, but then it proves that the business is growing, people want to watch all kinds of films. Though I believe that the nature of a film should decide the number of prints, I don’t want to be a spoilsport. This too is reassuring. The choice is not as diverse as that of toothpastes yet, but we are getting there.
Last year’s biggest draws were Bodyguard and Ready. They were good old Salman Khan starrers, almost star vehicles. Action, comedy, drama, music and dance — unabashed entertainers. Singham lived up to its promise. Hard action. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was a personal film, a journey of friends. The lead actors played parts. It showed Spain to the Hindi audience. The Dirty Picture was a biopic of an early item girl in the South Indian film industry. A movie about the heart behind the sleaze.
All these pictures did well at the box office and they do not have much in common. The mystery will never go away from film business, will it
so the first week after the IPL finals has been established as a big film release. i think the trend started in 2010 with rajneeti releasing on june 4th, then last year with Ready and now RR. this will be a key date for a film next year…
Rowdy Rathore is heading for huge success as collections at multiplexes jumped around 15% on Saturday. The single screen business is down 15-20% but that was expected as the first day at single screens was simply phenomenal.
The Friday business at multiplexes was good but could have been better so the key for the film was what happened at multiplexes on Saturday and with a healthy jump especially in key multiplexes of Delhi city and Punjab where it under performed on Friday, the film is now set for a good run at the box office.
The Saturday business may come in around 5% lower than Friday or in a similar range which is excellent and with big Sunday advances, a big Sunday is assured giving it a likely weekend business of 46-48 crore nett.
Rowdy Rathore is also on course to be one of the biggest hits ever in circuits like Rajasthan and Bihar. In Bihar it will be amongst top three grossing films of all time.
Rowdy Rathore has rocked the nation on Sunday at single screens and multiplexes and may go on to be the highest grossing film of 2012.
Although it has a lot of work to do over next few days but the trending over the weekend suggests huge appreciation all over and the way key stations that are important for the sustenance of a film have behaved suggest the film is set for a solid run and will put up huge lifetime numbers.
The weekend business is looking towards the 48 crore nett range, it may even go higher when final collections come in.
On Sunday multiplexes which rarely show Sunday growth as are situated in urban areas where people have to go to offices on Monday morning therefore late shows are weak were showing higher collections on Sunday than Saturday.
Rowdy Rathore Has Biggest Opening Weekend Of The Year
Monday 4th June 2012 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore has set the box office on fire with collections of around 48 crore nett in its first weekend. It is the biggest opening weekend of the year and the biggest non holiday opening weekend of all time.
The film has done excellent business all over with places that did not take a bumper opening on Friday picking up on Saturday and growing further on Sunday.
The key was always going to be the North India markets as the film was a South remake retaining a similar look to the original film but these areas picked up on Saturday and consolidated further on Sunday something that films like Wanted and Singham failed to do.
The Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar areas were phenomenal from day one and have come out with near record collections for first three days. Rowdy Rathore is sure to sustain well on Monday, just a question of how well. It also seems set to emerge the biggest hit of 2012 till date.
It took an extraordinary opening and enjoyed a very robust weekend. Translated, Rowdy Rathore, featuring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha, took the second-highest first-day opening of 2012. At the weekend, the film clocked around Rs 48 crore across India.
How will it fare during the week and will it hit the coveted Rs 100-crore mark? Well, we’ll have to wait and watch. Here’s what tradewallas had to say about the weekend performance of Rowdy Rathore.
Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines in Mumbai says the film fared better in single-screens than in multiplexes but the all-India NBOC climbed to Rs 48-49 crore. In Mumbai, collections were Rs 17-18 crore. “The film has received an overwhelming response and took a decent weekday opening today as well,” Thadani says.
In Gujarat, Ajay Bagbai of Rajvi Trade Links adds, “The weekend was dhamakedar in Gujarat and we earned Rs 7.75 crore. In Saurashtra, collections were around Rs 1.38 crore. The all-India nett collections over the weekend were around Rs 48 crore.”
In the Delhi-UP circuit, Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts says the weekend business of Rowdy Rathore was Rs 10 crore in the region. “The film has done exceptionally well and is expected to close its first week with fabulous numbers.”
Surendra Saluja of Lakshya Movies in East Punjab says Rowdy Rathore ran nearly house full during the weekend. “The business of this film over the weekend was Rs 3.4 crore. This week, too, the film will be good,” he predicts.
In CP, Sarang Chandak of Shri Rang Films says, “Rowdy Rathore’s weekend was really good in CP Berar. On Friday, the film earned Rs 86 lakh at the box office. On Saturday, collections fell a little, to Rs 71 lakh but rose again on Sunday to Rs 98 lakh. The total weekend collection was Rs 2.5 crore.”
In Orissa, Jeetu Khandelwal of Movie Pioneers is optimistic, “The film has received very good reviews and it did really well during the weekend, when collections were Rs 50-56 lakh in Orissa. The only problem is there is no major holiday coming up, and this may affect the first-week collections.”
In all the reporting on Rowdy.. everyone from Taran to Nahta to Joginder to BOI to boxofficeindia.co.in is saying identical things, as if they’d all taken dictation from the same source!
1)It’s 48 crores with total precision. Taran pretends ti’s actually 48.3!
2)Everyone is doing a comparison with Agneepath in favor of RR saying that film had a 4 day advantage. Well presumably not every film can take advantage of a 4 day weekend! But in any case the comparisons are almost exclusively with Agneepath. Suddenly everyone has the very same idea at the very same time!
This is not about the RR performance which is obviously doing very well but about this chorus that emerges. And this is one of the things I refer to from time to time. How can different sources (seemingly so!) say the very same things?!
Finally, and while RR has done very well (I’ve said earlier I expect better trending than the usual Salman film here) the fact is that the numbers are being painted if these were 3I’s or Ghajini’s! In each case you had numbers that were stunningly ahead of the curve. No other film had clocked such numbers. Today for every film that does very well and especially so for the 100 crore grosser there is such breathless, such over the top commentary, that if one didn’t have any contexts one would think something special was happening every time. It’s as if Hollywood commentators went crazy everytime a film made 200m or 300m or whatever. As we can see even the 552m of Avengers so far has invited more restrained commentary. But this is where the Bollywood system ceases to mean anything beyond a point. Every such film is crazily hyped and the only difference each time is they just select the flimsy variable that can make the case. So when a film like Agneepath releases the very 4 day weekend that is supposed to be an advantage (films have had 5 day holiday periods as well) suddenly becomes a disadvantage when another film is to be celebrated. The trade analysts all behave like besotted teenage fans on twitter and the writeups. It is sickening. But this creates that larger narrative where beyond a point even the numbers don’t matter as much as this relentless hyping.
But again the irony is that this is self-deconstruction on the part of these guys without their realizing it. If it’s done with every other film it ceases to have an impact. People just expect the crazy commentary. And if every other film is breaking records then really no film is breaking records. Or if one actually did there would be no language to describe it since all linguistic resources have long ago been exhausted by these guys!
Nahata said on twitter the other day that ‘honesty is still the best policy’. I do agree that prostitution can be done with honesty too though I’m not sure if this applies to the likes of Nahata.
Further proof that the pyramid star system of Bollywood has flattened to make it similar to the ‘table-top’ system of Hollywood.
The Khans, HR, Akshay, AjayD can all carry a mass movie forward.
Well the easier way of saying this is ‘anyone’ can get it done in the right project. Which is of course the Hollywood example. They do it in a wide variety of genres, Bollywood doesn’t, but they do so with very many stars and often non-stars. It is much more about the project. For the Bollywood dominant genres today one does have to be minimally star to some degree (which is not about counting hits and flops) but it is much more about exciting the audience. And here a step is often missed when ‘top’ stars are pointed out. Because they are as vulnerable when they don’t have the right project going for them even on strength genres! It’s not about final grosses but even the initials that become questionable. Barring Aamir this case could very easily be made for everyone else on the list. And even with the right project the top stars often depend on crazy hype to get those initials. Again Aamir is an exception but so is Salman currently. Just a poster or a teaser from his films creates huge buzz. But this certainly isn’t true for the others on the list. The problem is that there is a tendency to look at things backwards and overlay it with a level of generality that obscures the details and often the ‘real’ story. Saif excited the box office with LAK. Ranbir did it the same year with APKGK. No one ever though Saif was in the upper echelons but the point is that those who are often cannot do better than this. And so the ‘table-top’ system is quite right as you put it but given this situation it is not the 100 crore hit that separates stars but those who can either put up a lot of these in a compressed time period (as Salman has been doing) or else who can get great success with ‘difference’ (as Aamir has done for much longer). But again even among the stars who do get big grossers there are very many distinctions to be made. There is this tendency in the entire Bombay film culture (both among those in the media and those who form the audience, specially online) to blindly follow the ‘100 crore’ lead. ‘Get 100 crores and no questions will be asked’ is the usual ‘ideology’. On this score it is not like Hollywood at all. In fact Bombay is diverging more from Hollywood in terms of analysis and just simple informed debate in these matters the more it becomes Hollywoodized in terms of its cinema. Where the Hollywood system submits the biggest grossers often to the toughest kind of analysis in every sense, Bollywood converts the same into a propaganda opportunity at every end of the divide. And here I should add that much as I might blame the trade or the media or the industry for whatever kind of bankruptcy the audience isn’t too far behind. Even worse on the blogosphere where it is simply about increasing levels of dogmatism of not fanaticism. Fundamentally the ‘facts’ seem to matter very little in most debates. People either wholly ignore them or simply pick the ones they like. Evidence to the contrary is simply not crucial for most people. And of course there isn’t the slightest humility about either being wrong (and therefore altering one’s opinions and/or analysis) or not being right at any point when it matters (after the 100 crore grosser it doesn’t exactly take a genius to say a star is doing well). So one shouldn’t even just blame the crazies in the trade or media or wherever. Because they’re also part of the audience. This is where despite all the ‘aspirations’ about becoming Western (not saying this is a good or bad but it’s there) the ‘desi’ mindset eventually reveals itself. Much as we tend to look at the West’s technological resources and the systems of government and so on without ever wondering what the ‘thought process’ was that led to this similarly in this instance we’re always about Hollywood colonization and so on without ever trying to figure out what the true strength of that system is. A culture can replicate the ‘symptoms’ of success of another culture but it cannot become that or something truly comparable without really understanding the ‘thinking’ of the same or developing an alternate thinking that is comparable to the same. In India we still cannot get over the regional bias that would allow us to appreciate the far greater riches of contemporary commercial cinema in Tamil (to offer one example) or in a more artistically elevated sense the supreme example of Adoor Goplakrishnan or someone like. We cannot even embrace everything in India but we somehow think that it’s about embracing everything that shows up at Cannes! We treat Cannes as a great ad campaign (which it of course is at many levels) but the real winners here are serious films. What is the thinking that can get one there? It might begin with appreciating or at least being open to authentic cinema at home. So it’s all symptomatic of a larger problem. The current box office discussion is a classic example of this. To put it in even stronger terms it isn’t just about the box office, we are by and large and at least so far not a very ‘critical’ culture. It’s not about the wide ‘masses, that would be true in any country, but about a larger cultural apparatus that values analysis and critical questioning. And because that original framework is strong enough you find relatively few ‘desis’ even among those who’ve lived for ages in a Western country who really absorb that principle. To get back to the box office discussion one last time here in Hollywood it’s not that stars are somehow more honest or nicer human beings or whatever. It’s just that they cannot say certain things about their medium without instantly coming off as crazy or absurd. In India on the other hand the very same stuff is lapped up by everyone and celebrated.
well i said in another thread that this thunderous opening for RR confirms that there is no clear “number one” in this industry. it is the genre that is “the flavor of the week” for the audience. and i do believe that given the right presentation, “anyone” CAN produce a hit. my question in the other thread was…who’s next? the bandwagon still has some room…SRK, abhishek and Saif??
But Aamir is still in a special position till someone else can produce the same combo or commercial and critical success. let’s not forget he still has the biggest gross by a mile and is likely to hold onto that with either D3 or Hirani and maybe both! But this also has practical consequences. Aamir isn’t tied to a genre. How long can Salman possibly keep this up no matter how invincible he currently looks? How long can Akshay do it for that matter?
exactly my point. how long till this “flavor” gets old for the audience? that’s why its key for akki to do a OUTIM2 or sallu bhai to do a Barjatya film and a ETT. ill be curious to see how those films do…
as for Aamir, he is not alone and above in my opinion. SRK is still there. RaOne and Don 2 had huge numbers(below expectations but still huge). hrithik is right there with SRK in my opinion because he isn’t tied to a genre either. to me, SRK, Aamir and Hrithik are the only actors that can open ANY kind of movie at the moment.
I disagree with that.. SRK didn’t open Swades hugely, he didn’t even open RNBDJ hugely. Nor even MNIK. Hrithik didn’t open ZNMD hugely (MBKD opened exactly like it.. both were a bit behind Rockstar). Guzaarish didn’t open to anything. JA had a weak opening. It is only Aamir who in any given genre gives you the best possible number. But also with SRK I’d add this that for him to get those massive initials the opportunity cost is much greater. So take Ra One. How much did this film cost? Leaving aside the fantasy genre and so on. Salman’s getting it done in nothing films. Aamir’s doing so in very moderately budgeted stuff. These things count. Again Don 2 was the sequel of a remake and nonetheless was sluggish. Opened well enough, even big but not like some of this other stuff. So the cost of SRK getting to the same number is much greater. Not so with hrithik on his big films but note how he too historically has truly justified those big costs either in his father’s films or in something like D3. In other words Hrithik is super within his strength genres but the problem is he doesn’t stick to them. So the distributor knows Hrithik is as strong as anyone if it’s about Krrish. But this doesn’t come often enough. when it’s about the other stuff he’s suddenly mortal. Once again Agneepath was a remake with some frills attached to it. The larger point I’m making is that any star’s model must be sustainable one on most days, not just on some. Here Salman is the distributor’s favorite star because he has his bread and butter films that all do well but also come at regular intervals. Aamir whom the distributors trust even more because he can work with any genre nonetheless has some long absences. But other than this Aamir is just the most trusted brandname around.
with all due respect, i don’t how you can say a 90cr opening week for RaOne isn’t huge or a 70cr opening week for D2 isn’t huge. these are very very good numbers. and these are two VERY different genres. RaOne was a movie genre that had a weak audience and SRK still managed to open that movie. i know it was diwali and had a lot of hype…but SRK was the reason the hype was there. with Don 2…it was a 180 turn from RaOne. as for his earlier films…i agree swades didn’t open all that well. but V-Z, MHN, RNBDJ, OSM, MNIK all opened very well. those films don’t represent my argument very well though because they represent basically the same genre lol…but my argument is for more recently(past couple years). i think SRK has proven he can open a movie with any genre at the moment. he is on his home turf this diwali with a YashRaj film so you know the numbers will be huge. i’m not sure what movie he is doing after that but ill be curious to see how it opens.
with hrithik, ZMND had a 44cr opening week(which is damn good for its genre) and agneepath had 80cr opening week(which puts him in the big leagues). again two very different genre’s and both very very good opening weeks.
i think for both these actors their recent box office openings have proven they can open a movie with any genre. i realize AP was a remake, i realize RaOne was expensive, but you cannot just discount the fact that both of those movies opening to very very huge numbers. if and when ETT opens to numbers like this then i won’t hesitate to put sallu bhai in this tier of Aamir, SRK and Hrithik. same thing goes for akki, if and when Joker release with 80+ cr in the opening week…akki will be up there also.
90 crores isn’t for a regular weekend but a 5 day or so extended Diwali weekend. Hrithik in this genre with one third the cost would have opened it to at least as much. That counts for something. And my point isn’t that these numbers aren’t good. Just that Salman is producing the same without breaking a sweat. And the fantasy argument works both ways. Because without the hype associated with this the film wouldn’t have opened that way anyway even with SRK as Don2 proved. OSO opened very well, RNBDJ opened around 40-45 crores when Ghajini opened at least 10 crores higher than this for a seven day period. MNIK much later than RNBDJ had no more than this number and while this wasn’t a regular genre the SRK/Johar combo could have been a lot better on day 1. This film never had much buzz, the Shiv Sena controversy gave it some, despite this it was anemic. But again what year are we talking about? MHN and VZ are 2004! Even then MHN while very good was hardly spectacular. VZ was though a sinking MP crossed this initial less than a year later. In any case I am referring to what has been the case for maybe half a decade now when SRK just hasn’t kept pace with the highest benchmarks and even when he has the opportunity cost of doing so has been way greater. OSO too had lots of frills attached to it. Think about what the last SRK subject was that didn’t have such gimmicks and really excited the audience. RNBDJ did very well but it didn’t open very hugely at all. All this doesn’t mean that he cannot get the big numbers going. But it’s much more project-dependent for him at this point. Meawnhile you spend Rs 10 on a film, throw in Salman and you have an 80 crore initial! So there is a strong opportunity cost involved here. These things don’t happen in a vacuum. And by the way even the media discourse is biased against Aamir despite everything. Do you really think if SRK had had 200 crores in his peak period that they’d be talking about a 100 crore club? Why not just say the top star is he who gets to 200. Only Aamir has done this and he’s on top! But the larger point is that a lot of the hype is completely misleading. This has been an old point of mine. SRK’s numbers for example are called great across a whole vast range (much like Akshay’s for sometime and some other stars). This obfuscates the details. Ghajini opened well ahead of the competition in a way that wasn’t even imaginable at the time. Years later these other guys are getting brownie points for just crawling across the 100 crore finish line (with some dubious numbers to boot!). Much as 3I did 200 crores releasing at the end of 2009. How come no one else even does 150? Eventually inflation will kick in. But those benchmarks are soemthing else. How much would Ghajini end of ’08 115 crores be worth today? Specially with that trending?! Getting back to SRK I can assure you that no one will invest Ra One kind of money on him again, no one will even be in a hurry to invest Don2 like money. After a certain age these failures have very real consequences. Ra One was a very massive failure for him. The gross means zilch here compared to the kind of cost that was involved to produce those numbers. Sure SRK can still get it done but he can’t match his best peers all things considered. And this is a function of age. Once a star loses the buzz factor it becomes much more about the project and the base showing up as opposed to anything exciting the audience. You can’t compare what Aamir or salman can do most days if not all days with what SRK can do on the exceptional one. He has enough of a base to do the latter but not enough of one at this point for the former. hrithik is a different deal. He could like Salman do multiple Krrish-like or D2-like deals every year but he’s not willing to. He’s either taken long gaps or he tries out other stuff where he’s much more mortal. Hence it’s still not the same deal for the distributor.
“Meawnhile you spend Rs 10 on a film, throw in Salman and you have an 80 crore initial! So there is a strong opportunity cost involved here. ”
well if you want to go pre-dabangg just as you have gone for SRK(going back to 2004) sallu should not even be in this argument. Yuvraaj, London Dreams, Veer are all colossal failures. Even Main aur Mrs. Khanna(which was pretty cheap) bombed badly. so clearly sallu is riding this “masala” wave right now.
SRK on the other hand hasn’t even attempted this “flavor of the week” genre and is still amongst the very top. this is really ironic that i am arguing FOR SRK lol..but i think we should give him his due.
i agree Aamir has set the standard because again and again he has given hits left and right within different genre’s. so he’s automatically at the top. 3I to me was a perfect storm though and not solely all Aamir that it made 200cr. films like TZP, Ghajini, Lagaan prove it was all Aamir because for each of the films mentioned…no other actor could make those movies a hit, in my opinion.
with all the rest…there is no argument from me. my only disagreement is that SRK and Hrithik belong in the same tier with Aamir(at the moment).
Agreed on the Salman point and I’ve made that more ‘historic’ argument myself many times but that pre-Dabanng reality doesn’t govern Salman at this point. Much as what Devgan was doing for many years also doesn’t matter just now. If you ask me whether SRK has a better long term future or Salman I’d say the former but all those are different debates.
On SRK and hrithik in the same tier I don’t see how that’s the case when neither one has a 200 crore grosser, neither one has a Ghajini-like grosser adjusted for inflation, neither one has been half as successful doing different stuff. Hrithik is nonetheless a young guy and he has some advantages over SRK at this very moment. He’s always been one of the top stars. But how has he matched Aamir whichever way you slice and dice it?
Now on the point of 200 crores not solely being on Aamir well but that’s true for many stars in many situations? we have to account for all of these first. And 3I still doesn’t have another lead star, it doesn’t even have lots of guest stars. And so on. If this isn’t an Aamir victory what is? Sure it has a very important director here but we don’t subtract this for other stars. By these lights a far better case could be made that three of Hrithik’s blockbusters have come with Filmkraft ‘and’ his father at the helm, the other one was a sequel with other important stars. And the final one though a 100 crore grosser doesn’t quite belong to that same group with the other four because there’s absolutely no comparison in trending or for that matter final benchmarks and in any case this too was a remake with Dutt in it in a much publicized look and role. So if one is going to say that for 3I the others don’t stand a chance. How many films has SRK done with lots of other factors attached?! Very many.
I of course appreciate the fact that as an Aamir fan you are being so fair about it even if I disagree with you. Some SRK fans would do well to learn something from you.
I personally think the whole ‘Khans’ label has been fed as a kind of dogma over the years. Hrithik or Askhay or whoever actually have to do well. With that label though at any given point just one or two guys have to do well and the third guy benefits. All three have never done equally well together. They’ve had very different trajectories, they’re cinema has been very different but somehow everyone insists on this ‘Khan’ label which I have always been suspicious about in more ways than one.
“Sure SRK can still get it done but he can’t match his best peers all things considered.”
how is 90cr opening week not matching his peers??? how is 70cr in a non masala fare not matching his peers??
again i am talking about “in the now.” hrithik proved his worth in a genre out of his comfort level and so did SRK. we will see if sallu and akki can do the same…going out of their comfort level. aamir has certainly gone against the grain most of his career.
“On SRK and hrithik in the same tier I don’t see how that’s the case when neither one has a 200 crore grosser, neither one has a Ghajini-like grosser adjusted for inflation, neither one has been half as successful doing different stuff.”
for SRK- CDI, RaOne, Don 2 are three very different films..and all of them are hits.
for hrithik- J-A, Agneepath, ZMND three very different films and all of them are hits.
maybe im making it too simplistic but to me besides Aamir, no other actors have given hits all around.
Akki- has recently tried diff genre’s and has failed miserably.
Sallu- already discussed and we both agree on him.
Ajay- falls into akki and sallu category for me.
the rest are not even close. ranbir is up and coming though in my opinion.
yes neither, hrithik nor SRK, have had huge success outside their turf but they have had solid successes.
as for 3I, i’m not totally discounting Aamir’s star power but it was a 50/50 sort of thing for me. the movie had the perfect message for the youth and also had a huge entertaining romantic factor. thats why i said it was a perfect storm. it was a well made movie with entertainment, great direction, and a great cast with a star lead.
regarding the Khans you said-
“They’ve had very different trajectories, they’re cinema has been very different but somehow everyone insists on this ‘Khan’ label which I have always been suspicious about in more ways than one.”
yes i agree the 3 Khans have had different trajectories box office wise and even content wise. yes none of the 3 khan’s have been successful all at the same time until NOW. no matter how you say it or how you put it…SRK is still successful..Aamir ofcourse we agree is successful and same goes for Sallu. this is the first time that all 3 Khan’s are on top at the same time and seeing success.
the “dogma” as you say is actually kind of true. the 3 khans have dominated the industry since 1988. Go back 24 years and i think 18-19 of those years have had one of the Khans movie as the top grossing movie of that year. sunny, anil, govinda were the challenges in the 90’s(now they’ve all faded away). hrithik, akki and ajay to a certain extent have been the challenges post 2000 til now.
anyway, i know you have bigger fish to fry(mr. kashyap) lol…so i thank you for taking the time to discuss this. it’s always fun discussing this kind of stuff with you.
The problem is Bachchan was still considered easily the top star till he retired for 5 years in 1992. Before this there was point when Anil Kapoor was making his claim, a bit after this it was Dutt and the latter’s similar claim continued till his legal troubles began. No one ever called Aamir the top star in that period. Salman did very well with his debut and a bit after but no one once again called him the top star. SRK arrived in .92, by the end of ’93 he had the Baazigar/Darr double. Nonetheless no one was calling him the top star even when DDLJ released, even after this! Meanwhile by this time Salman had lost his initial glow. But despite Bachchan’s absence no one felt anyone had taken over his spot. Though of course a newer generation was coming in and things were changing there was just not the sense that anyone occupied that kind of space. of course when he came back he didn’t do well for a while. But even when KKHH released in 1998 was by no means a clear cut position that SRK was the top star. So this idea that they’ve dominated the industry is something I find completely false. Much as I’m not arguing that SRK isn’t successful today. But he’s not where Aamir or Salman are. Also the terms of success for a ‘fading’ star are rather different. If a once top star is not able to define the field in the same way anymore either because his films have ceased to be the most iconic or because he cannot create the biggest grossers he enters a period of relative decline. The fact that he is nonetheless more successful than most others means he can still be around. It doesn’t mean he is still where he was.
But leaving this debate aside note again the problem with that label. If I said something like ‘for the last 10 years Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan have dominated things or at least one or two of these have always done well’ this wouldn’t mean much to you because you would wonder what was common to this group. It would only make sense if like in the 50s there were three top male stars and there was loose parity among them. My point here is that had those three guys not been called ‘Khan’ no one would make such a collective case for them.
Apparently, as per easrly reports, RR is on course for a 12-13 crore Monday. If it holds true, this will be a monster and will leap frog over soft 100 crore grossers like Ra. one and Don 2.
wow…that is insane. might even touch 100cr in the first week. i predicted 65cr in the first week and 115cr being the final tally…i guess it will exceed both those numbers…amazing.
Rowdy Rathore–the roar !!- a throwback to the ‘masala guilt’
While I write a few haphazard random points on this, I think about the few seconds promo of ‘pretam pyaare’ which elicited the following thoughts –
This will be the biggest hit of akshay krs career and should be atleast 100crores
Don’t know the exact reason for these thoughts- call it a cultivated hunch…
But as expected, there were ‘voices’ pointing out the ‘lewd vulgarish’ vibe of the song and the ‘cheesy element’– even I doubted my reading for a moment but not for long, as usual …
Well, guess’masala’, “cheese’, ‘leaving behind the brain home’, ‘rom-th com’ the most abused terms on film blogospheres, particularly Bollywood related?
The answer is yes–we all (including myself) dish these out when convenient and depending on the situation -a) whether one has to support a star or bring him /her down
b) how will we be perceived in the event of panning the film (as in case of some ‘serious/alternative’ fare or if going gaga over a supposed ‘masala cretinous’ take
c) other nefarious politics /’peer’ pressure-ish reasons eg on blogs
But will try to stay clear of these…
Have only ONE criteria–
Did I enjoy the film and get my time worth –
The answer is YES…
Butt thats not a big surprise to me
There are some related observations though–
1) as expected this is akshay krs best film /performance to date
2) he actually has three roles here –the post interval ‘role reversal’ is a subtle (by these OTT standards ‘variation’
And he pulls it off
3) had wondered if this is salmans ‘dabang’
The answer may be ‘yes’ since it seems to be ‘career defining’ in a dominating absolutist sense wherein a star literally and metaphorically carries a film on his shoulders
4) It astutely mixes Akshays action image with his comic style and also adds the requisite gravitas and bravado in this inspector role and also fine tunes the ‘adjustment’ with throwbacks of comedic as well as romantic interludes
5) have never seen a south indian masala film beofre and am unaware of this tradition… But it explains to the NON-south Indian audiences why the South Indian heroes become such big deals and land up with temples and roads and political parties in their names
6) just as it introduced and ‘groomed’ some Bollywood naives ( a Czech, a Ukrainian, and a compulsive bolly hater) into the ‘traditions’ of Bollywood –surpisingly two of them liked it a lot & had good fun (though I’m not sure if it was my charming company!!)
7) the plot is thin and so is most of ‘logic’ theories
But those suddenly looking for it after seeing the promos of akshay landing from a seemingly ten floor height to kill some goons need to taken to a side m held by their scruff of their neck and asked some ‘polite’ questions about their true intentions.
8) the music was above par -all songs made me groove somewhat …and had a sense of rhythm. Coming from a rehman die hard, this statement shouldn’t mean that I have suddenly committed ‘blasphemy’ or shouldn’t be allowed to ‘show my face’ to oh-those peers and co-fans, ha…
The background music was (aptly) loud and was by Sandip ‘company’ chowta fame…
9) the supporting cast was uniformly good
Though nassars (& other baddie who was also seen in 1:40 ki last local) who had obviously south accents couldn’t really hide em–but that’s a v small point /qualm
10) prabhudeva was a revelation
In a way, when one sees the names of prabhudeva, bhansali and utv, one knows something is about to happen -gud or bad-fortunately it was gud here
Prbhudeva maintains the ‘grip’ , ‘tempo’ and drama with adequate comic relief and episodic capsules of comedy, romance, pseudo-masala and genuine masala
12) sonakshi-I’ve been quit severe on her lack of talent , skillset and fitness etc. but she does have a certain ‘presence’ and a surprisingly self assured confidence …
13) but above all, this sort of throwback edit film is a tribute to masculinity, machismo and virility and so on…
Don’t care a damn of the various connotations–
But this is essentially an ‘active’ mans film whos alive n kicking…
So much so, that will also have a hypothesis that a guy not enjoying this stuff even secretly has some problems and needs the testosterone levels tested and I make no qualms about this observation…
14) and finally -my
Mini homage to the few minutes on screen of vikram rathore -the police inspector and his sheer bravado–Im more than aware of the cynics and the sneering know- alls who ‘pull down’ this sort of stuff but the pre interval action scenes by the actual rathore made the child and the ‘alive’ man in me happy & that’s all one cares really
Overall, not a v good film forget a landmark film by any standards but one that does what it says on the tin competently and unabashedly – prabhudeva uses all the massy tropes in the correct measure, maintains grip and tempo and finds a partner in crime in akshay who grabs the opportunity (& his machismo) with both hands and delivers the biggest film of their careers…
“Overall, not a v good film forget a landmark film by any standards”
thats the only statement i agree with. lol. oh and agree with how akki owned this film. though i think he has had better performances, for ex; action replay, pataila house, khakee, khiladi, and in my mind a very under rated performance, ek rishtaa. i know many will think im crazy with those selections. lol. pataila house remains my recent fave akki performance along with RR now.
Haha
As i said- this film is a sort of a tribute to ‘machismo’ throwback style..
‘length’ ( or the surplus of it ) does become an issue somewhat in these scenarios 🙂
Ps- but even females enjoyed the cheese n action here ( unlike agneepath though there was ‘competition’ in this crass action but as well at places)
Omrocky-if u will post one comment per typo, u may be posting all night -all the best 😉
The day I start correcting typos or posting ‘spell checked’ comments, it’s like SRK becoming truly humble, Salman stops being a womaniser and aamir releasing six films as lead in a year…
So if u have to read, deal with the typos..
Btw I’m waiting for your ‘long’ review but don’t worry —
Don’t ‘spell check’ the posts of others as well lol
Haha
Btw anyone not agreeing or not liking these thought ps won’t be looked upon sympathetically
Don’t angry me !!! 🙂
Ps-as discussed on the other thread with minor, akshays ‘serious inspector’ in the pre interval was truly in his ‘zone’ there not only of this film bit of his cinematic career
One knows about batsmen hitting this patch where the ball just it’s the centre of the bat nd everything is timed to perfection ..
The flaws in his dialogue delivery and giant loo pholes in the plot became secondary and for a moment, time just stood still to let the poor under rated guy have some time of his own under the ‘spotlight of brilliance’…
A big day for akshay fans (if any here)
Rowdy Rathore is looking at huge business on Monday with the early collections coming in suggesting a 9 crore nett Monday.
The film held up extremely well on monday with single screens doing extraordinary business and multiplexes recording excellent business. A circuit like Delhi/UP seems like showing just a 30% drop from Friday and could come out with around 2 crore nett business. Other circuits are looking to drop in the 35-45% range.
Overall its a huge Monday and the film should cross 75 crore nett for its first week business.
Pierfrancesco Favino and Shekhar Kapur Presidents of International Juries
06 | 05 | 2012
69th Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 29 to Sept. 8
The actor Pierfrancesco Favino, one of the leading artists of the new generation of forty-year-olds who are changing the Italian star-system, and director and producer Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers), the most prestigious of Indian filmmakers at the international level, will be the Presidents of the Juries respectively for the Orizzonti and the “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film sections of the 69th Venice International Film Festival of the Biennale di Venezia (29 August – 8 September 2012)…
Rowdy rathore collected 9 crore crore nett plus on day one which is third highest Monday collection of all time.. The Mondayterritorial breakdown is as follows.
Rowdy Rathore has had one of biggest Monday’s ever as collections come in around 9 crore nett. The collections are less than Dabangg and Three Idiots which went over 10 crore nett on Monday but on par but better than films like Bodyguard, Ready, Agneepath, Don2, Golmaal 3 and Housefull 2. The top Monday collections are as follows.
poor shanghai…has little chance of surviving this weekend. RR has three free weeks until TMK releases and then couples weeks after that BB. it’s probably going to be in the 130’s now…maybe even 140’s.
PVR Cinemas has sold the satellite rights of its soon-to-be released Dibakar Banerji-helmed film Shanghai for Rs 90 million. But it has not declared as to whom the rights have been sold to.
When indiantelevision.com contacted PVR Group president Kamal Gyanchandani wanting to know the details of the rights, he desisted in giving information. “We will be coming out with the information soon,” he said.
Shanghai is a political thriller based on the novel Z by Vassilis Vassilikos. It stars Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Amin Raj.
Gyanchandani confirmed that the cost of production of Shanghai was Rs 125 million, while print and advertisement cost was Rs 80 million. He also confirmed that 20 per cent of the all India theatrical rights have been sold for Rs 40 million and music rights for Rs 27.6 million.
At this rate, PVR has to recover Rs 47.4 million from 80 per cent Indian theatrical rights, overseas rights and home video rights. “We are keeping our fingers crossed. Wait and watch,” Gyanchandani observed.
Pure economics point of view, Shanghai looks to be quite safe.
All India theatrical rights just 4 crore. Just needs a decent weekend & week 1 to sail through especially at multiplexes. Don’t really expect RR to sustain at plexes this weekend…Single screens a different story altogether !!
UTV Motion Pictures has announced the release dates of three of its big-ticket films.
While Anurag Basu-directed film Barfi! will release on 31 August, the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Joker will release on 14 September and the Madhur Bhandarkar-helmed Kareena Kapoor-starrer Heroine on 21 September.
Barfi!, which stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileyana, is the story of Barfi-the chalu Chaplin who the girls love but the cops hate. He can’t speak but is always talked about. His naughty antics will make one scream but he never listens, because he can’t.
On the other hand, the country’s first ever extra-terrestrial drama, Shirish Kunder-directed film Joker is the story of Agastya (Akshay Kumar), a researcher probing the existence of aliens in the universe who returns to his small little native village. The out-of-luck Agastya takes it upon himself to put his crazy village on the global map and continues with his exploration on aliens from there.
While his plan gets the village attention from across the world, it also comes with a great deal of risk. Will aliens save the day for Aghastya or will his plans fall like a pack of cards?
The film has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures, Three’s Company and Kumar’s Hari Om Productions.
Lastly, Heroine is based on the life and times of a superstar heroine from the dream factory we call ‘Bollywood’. The film is an entertaining, daring, emotional, shocking, glamorous, scandalous behind the scenes account of the reality behind the world of glitz and glamour that our film stars inhabit.
For a country obsessed with films and film stars, Heroine will take audiences on a voyeuristic journey to see what really goes on behind the closed doors of make-up rooms and vanity vans. It gives them a chance to go beyond the gorgeous smiles and politically correct quotes, to see what really happens in the lives of India’s sweethearts.
The film has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Madhur Bhandarkar.
Wasn’t Agastya also the name of Akshay’s character in Kunder’s Jaan-E-Mann. And that film ended with Agastya in space. Joker has Agastya in space finding aliens! Was this supposed to be a sequel or something?
btw abzee–if i remember correctly–u were the only one who got my “preetam pyaare’ reading correctly..
was impressed with the overall zing, energy and sheer ‘fitness’
Plus the 3 on 1 combo act was interesting for me (as usual and for obviouis reasons)
btw the box office results of this film are there to see for all
ps–give me a high-five 😉
ps2–read m comments above as well, if u can dare to sift thru the iphone posted repetitive copy-paste job…
Mahesh Bhatt’s Sunny Leone-starrer Jism 2 is set to be preponed. The film that was to release on 3 August. It will now release on 27 July.
The Bhatts decided to prepone the film’s release date to avoid a clash with Ekta Kapoor’s Kya Super Kool Hai Hum that stars Tusshar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh.
It may be recalled that producer-director Mahesh Bhatt entered the house of Bigg Boss last year for a couple of hours to sign Leone and cast her as the lead actress in this sequel of Jism that had Bipasha Basu and John Abraham.
The film, being directed by Pooja Bhatt, has Leone playing Izna, a quintessential seductress. Randeep Hooda plays Kabir, who can be described as the warrior and Arunoday Singh plays Ayaan, who can be described as the swashbuckler while Imran Zahid is playing the role of a narcotics sleuth hailing from Delhi.
While Leone plays the female lead, the film will have two male protagonists. Currently Pooja Bhatt has signed Randeep Hooda and Arunoday Singh as lead actors. Imran Zahid is reportedly playing a role of a narcotics sleuth hailing from Delhi, in the film.
In Jism 2 Sunny Leone plays Izna, can be said the quintessential seductress. Randeep Hooda plays Kabir, who can be described as the warrior, and Arunoday Singh plays Ayaan, who can be described as the swashbuckler. It’s a love triangle.
Besides directing “Jism 2”, actress-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt is set to lend her voice to lead star Sunny Leone’s character in the film.
Rowdy Roars!
By Taran Adarsh, June 6, 2012 – 07:52 IST
Records are meant to be broken. And Rowdy isn’t just breaking bones of his detractors [on screen, of course!], but also breaking the records at the ticket window. Sorry, let me coin a new term: Rowdy, true to his name, is going rowdistic [inspired by ballistic] at the domestic box-office.
Let me go back to the time when Sanjay Leela Bhansali, UTV and Prabhu Dheva joined hands to make the film. A section of the industry, in a state of shock due to this ‘unexpected’ development, scoffed and mocked at them, calling this alliance ludicrous. A few even went to the extent of saying that the film would never get made, that it was a mere announcement, given the fact that SLB and Prabhu Dheva believe in diverse genres of cinema. Now that the film has released and the response has been phenomenal, well, SLB, Prabhu Dheva and UTV are having the last laugh. Oh yes, they are also laughing all the way to the bank!
It was a foregone conclusion that ROWDY RATHORE would amass a big fat total in its opening weekend. Yes, a few people were skeptical about its performance at the multiplexes in view of the fact that mass-friendly movies, generally, have a slow start at big city plexes. But the gradual growth at plexes helped the film put up fantabulous numbers in its opening weekend.
With such a dhamakedaar initial, like they say in filmi parlance, half the battle is won. In this case, of course, there’s no denying that ROWDY RATHORE is all set to be a huge success, but what remains to be seen is whether the film will set new benchmarks in days to come. From the business point of view, the producers have sold the Satellite Rights for a tidy sum and the balance investment should be recovered from India theatrical alone, as things stand today.
Everyone benefits after a hit. But the one to benefit the most is Akshay Kumar. I reiterate what I said on the day of its release: ROWDY RATHORE is Akshay’s DABANGG. That says it all!
Rowdy Rathore collected a huge 8 crore nett on Tuesday as all circuits were rock steady with drops in the 10% region.
Delhi/UP had a slightly bigger drop as it was very strong on Monday. the film has now collected around 64.50 crore nett in five days and a 77 crore nett week total is on the cards.
The single screen business of the film is one par with the biggest single screen hits of the last few years like Dabangg and Bodyguard.
Rowdy Rathore will have competition every week as there will be a major release every week in June but all these releases will not affect it one bit at single screens as exhibitors will continue with Rowdy Rathore as the releases have nothing to offer single screen audiences.
At multiplexes it will be different as the bew releases will get screen space and Friday will tell what sort of contribution multiplexes will give Rowdy rathore in the long run.
Rowdy Rathore Starts Hitting All Time Records On Tuesday
Wednesday 5th June 2012 09.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
There is always talk that this or that film is setting new records when actually only one or two film manage it in a year but Rowdy Rathore has actually started to hit all time records on Tuesday.
It has collected new all time record highs in Rajasthan, CI and Bihar. In both circuits the collections are the highest ever for a Tuesday.
In Rajasthan and CI the Tuesday figure is better than Dabangg, Three Idiots and Bodyguard which were the leaders, In Bihar it has beaten Dabangg and Bodyguard which were tops in that circuit.
and on that note in yet another example of how things have been cheapened beyond recognition Taran has been saying RR is Akshay’s Dabanng. But the problem is that the film is likely to at the most match that film’s initial or fall a bit short a few years after that release!
Which is not to say Akshay doesn’t have a big moment here. But the facts are completely lost in all the hype.
Just wondering if Shotgun’s Vishwanath was the original inspiration behind the South Indian versions of RR. The ‘thug-lookalaike-replaces-slain-honest-cop’ formula probably started with Vishwanath back in 1978. If so, it would be uncanny that Sonakshi gets a ‘Shot’ at one of her dad’s few solo hits.
And the scene that tickled me the most in this movie is here at the 8:50 mark.
“As a police officer how will you tackle an Imposter” (Ajit at his best)
But omrocky kids are apparently not allowed for RR …
How did your daughter see it?
R they not strict about it there — just curious
Bcos I saw a kid being denied entry…
Thanks Satyam. That awesome Ajit Freeze followed by another gem: “IG Khanna yahin maar kha gaya. Usne tumhein sab kuch sikhaya, lekin Angrezi nahi sikhayi”…
This movie had such great dialogs.
Ajit: “Saara shehar mujhe ‘LOIN’ ke naam se jaanta hai”
Premnath: “Sher Dildaar hote hain aur Kuttey vafaadar.Tum na Sher nikle aur ne Kuttey. ”
Was there an Ajit’s dialogue in Zanjeer that went something like: mujhe zindagi main sirf teen chizai pasand hai, mona, sona, aur mona ke saath sona…or is this just an apocryphal tale?…having watched Zanjeer only once, I don’t remember one way or other!
wow that is huge, kalicharan is one of fav movie, specially the line- tujhe yeh nahee maloom kee hum Kali ka Chran hain ( after Danny says that he is Kali ka Bhakt)…
Yes, it is a remake of Vikramarkudu. Just wondering if the Telugu film was an inspiration from “Khaidi Kalidasu” which was a remake of the original Kaalicharan. The core plot lines are similar.
“Rowdy Rathore Starts Hitting All Time Records On Tuesday”
good..btw cant pinpoint it but thought i got gaga @ seeing a few sec of preetam pyaare–NOT due to the ‘lewd movements’ but
seeing the energy and a certain ‘tempo’ in akshays body language and the setting and also the ultra -athletc performance by the three dancers…
Maintain that only appreciated their mid-air acrobatic motion mostly
never really enjoy this stuff but something got me interested…and i said atleast 100 croroes
As mentioned earlier in my ‘review’—this has soemthing for the REAL man….i dont really rule out more records…
BUT
the other crucial difference is that kids are not allowed–in my place it was “15” –(i still got in lol)
How much difference should this make to the box office
Since unlike KMG, krish etc—kids (like amy lol) may try to watch this one but wont be allowed…
ie can this not be factored into the box office calculations/comparisons….
Some fantastic reactions coming in for Shanghai & Emraan Hashmi! Looks like Kashyap isn’t the only one going ga ga over the film…was always my most eagerly awaited film of the year along with Talaash & GOW.
@ash_deshmukh : Shanghai brings out the ugly state of affairs in indian politics. New found respect for Emraan Hashmi!
@anupamachopra: Shanghai is utterly terrifying and terrific. Don’t miss it.
@ShubhaS : Watched Shanghai. Some scenes so brilliant that they will remain with me forever. And Emran Hashmi, you have a new fan.
@Aniguha : Dibakar Banerjee, with very stiff competition from Rajkumar Hirani, is the best filmmaker we have right now. More than entertaining and engaging (both of which it is), is such an important film. Kudos to Dibakar Banerjee.
@Rajasen : Emraan Hashmi, Best Actor 2012.
@krnx : Shanghai … must find words to describe it by Friday. But for now, remembering how to breathe. And Dibaker Banerjee brings hope to mainstream cinema in this country.
LOL!
I can grant that Shanghai might be the best filom of 2012 but Hashmi the best actor!
Anyway, GF will be tickled pink by this statement of Khaja Sen.
Anyway, makes things interesting.
Would be a pleasant surprise if Shanghai does really well at BO and more so if I like it.
I, for one found OLLO to be VASTLY overrated.
Emran Hashmi has been quietly creating a fan following in the last few years. Couldnt go by what select people on this blog think about him. The reality is entirely different!
Ummm, having a fan following and being the actor of the years are two different things, however hard the concept might be to grasp for some.
Hashmi definitely has a following either for himself as a star or for the kind of films he stars in ( low budget thrillers, some skin show, kissing, good music etc). But, I would not judge the size of his following by the performance of Bhatt films.
Yes, Emraan has been managing his career very well recently and making smart decisions. His selection of movies over the past few years his been the most interesting of all the male actors including the Khans.
I don’t like Emraan as an actor but I have to give him credit for his diverse selection of roles. He somehow has good script sense and ends up in critical and commercial successes. It is truly baffling.
i love the Anthony one. My other favs r- jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaaye chupchaap khade raho. yeh police station hai, tumhare baap ka ghar nahi”. Also quite like Ranjeet in Vishwanath- “Kabhie kabhie, once in a blue moon.”
Yeah true, I remember LOOOONG time ago (i am talking 80’s on jab jab phool khilen or something with Tabassum) I watched an interview of Ranjit, Thats his fav performance (he said). He said there was a line in the movie “Once a blue moon Kabhi Kabhi, Kokha” he was laughing about it and how that one liner came at the end while at shoot, and it was shatru’s input and somwwhat ghai’s. LOL.
Arre nahi nahi yaar, Like I said earlier. During my growing up years watched soo many movies that I have lost count. Mother always took us to watch the reruns of ol school movies which were mainstream. Got older and started understanding cinema a little better so started watching all the parallel cinema from lates 70s and 80’s (Still have to see a few like Aakrosh, and Manthan). My favorite of those parallel cinema has always been Kalyug from the 80s. Then, moved here and lived closed to a Indian video store back then so watched sooo many movies during my growing up yearshere as well. Then got itnto college and with influence started following world cinema. Only the last few years have discovered the world of South cinema and many recommendations by Satyam sir here from the south part of the world so catchign up on those for now. Still do revisit some old classics every now and then and another reasson is to introduce wifey to some bachchan classics and some classic indian cinema (She was born and brought up here so hve to do translation every now and then. But as far as the understanding of cinema I have learned a lot more from Satyam sir and the likes of you from here. But yes seen many movies through out.
SATYAMSHOT 
May 31, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Rowdy Rathore Heads For Huge Opening
Wednesday 30th May 2012 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore is heading for a huge opening when it opens on Friday it could even turn out to be the best opening weekend of the year. The single screen advance which opened on Monday was excellent across the country and the film will screen on around 2700 screens
The biggest opening weekends (1st 3 days) this year have been Agneepath (45.50 crore nett) and Housefull 2 (42 crore nett) and Rowdy Rathore has chances to beat both of these two films. The biggest Akshay Kumar openers are Housefull 2 and Tees Maar Khan (36.50 crore nett).
The 50 crore nett weekend is the number to crack but its never been done without a major holiday (Bodyguard – Eid, Ra.One – Diwali) so it may be out of reach for Rowdy Rathore. The biggest non holiday opening weekend is Ready at 42.25 crore nett which was released in the same week as Rowdy rathore last year.
Rowdy Rathore has fetched extraordinary prices all over India and has been sold in most circuits across the country.
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May 31, 2012 at 3:56 PM
OT
Endhiran released in Japan a couple of weeks ago… Its mania continues… The film got 4 star reviews from major publications in the country.
Right now in its 3rd week, it is still running to packed houses all over the country. The list of theatres it is presently being screened right now http://robot-movie.com/theaters/
http://abhiash.tumblr.com/post/24143291044/robomania-in-japan
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May 31, 2012 at 3:57 PM
fantastic! thanks for the update..
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June 1, 2012 at 5:50 AM
Your welcome!! not Suprised that Indian Media misses such releases of Rajni and Big B (Midlle East)
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June 3, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Ragav: most in the media (and many in the middle classes) seem to think the only foreign markets are Western ones — with the result that made-up stories about success in the US or UK are preferred to real ones of desi films doing well in Asia or elsewhere.
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June 5, 2012 at 12:13 PM
True but when media makes out stories like only Indians watch Indian films its unfair
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May 31, 2012 at 4:51 PM
Just finished with Serendipity. Cool flick and liked the actress, but it underlines the fact that Hollywood does come up with cheesy films at times.. Was fun nevertheless..
anyways, guess in times like these it would be unfair to call films like RR as ‘single-screen’ cinema. coz the kind of gross they end up accumulating, it cannot be without the contribution of multiplexes is it?
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May 31, 2012 at 5:04 PM
Tony, u r watching a film on ur bday night, what’s wrong with u?! didn’t u party (with ur gf..LOL) or what? anyway does serendipity star gordon-levitt (if it does, i have seen it, found it boring). And the perception which people living abroad have that films like golmaal and housefull and RR r single-screen films, is ‘completely wrongs’. i have seen these films in multiplexes with full-houses. the mutiplex crowd is as big a contributor here as the single screen one if not bigger
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June 1, 2012 at 2:39 AM
I didnt party on my b’day saurabh. was like just another day. Parties where I am the center of attention make me conscious and uncomfortable.
Serendipity was an okay timepass but might have given Bollywood directors some sort of cue to embark on a series of immoral, unrealistic romantic films where the hero / heroine puts their lives and that of their loved ones at stake, just to follow what their heart says, even if that means looking for a person you met only once years ago..
YRF / Dharma might’ve taken such things very seriously!
Agree with you on RR and the single screen enigma..
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May 31, 2012 at 4:56 PM
Btw Prometheus –the telegraph review
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9303129/Prometheus-review.html
Most likely will be contributing to the opening numbers of rowdy this weekend befor Prometheus due to shorter life of the former…
What are the predictions here–numbers wise Satyam …
Don’t rule out this becoming akshays biggest solo hit yet
Inspite of the cheese OTT factor, there is a certain zing to things here…
Dont mind the fun element jn the songs here….
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May 31, 2012 at 9:38 PM
i think you had asked about predictions for RR in another thread. so just for fun i am going to go ahead and predict away!
1st day: 15cr
weekend: 44cr
1st week: 65cr
final total: 115ish cr.
akki with two 100cr grossers this year and possibly more to come…set to have a huge year. this film(if liked) will put him right back in the big leagues(SRK, Aamir, Sallu bhai and Hrithik).
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June 1, 2012 at 2:40 AM
can anyone tell if Prometheus releases in India next week?
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June 1, 2012 at 2:55 AM
Prometheus is releasing all over India on 8th June…Will be catching it in all its glory on IMAX 3D in Mumbai 🙂
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June 1, 2012 at 4:23 AM
Wow! Cant wait..
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June 1, 2012 at 4:53 AM
Will be watching “Alien” again this week before that…all time sci-fi classic !
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June 1, 2012 at 6:22 AM
this is one franchise where I think all the sequels are interesting in different ways. Partly because they had important directors do each version.
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June 1, 2012 at 2:15 PM
Will be watching “Alien” again this week before that…all time sci-fi classic!
Yes- me too. 🙂
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June 1, 2012 at 2:23 PM
I completely and totally resent the fact that it’s releasing in the UK before the US! This is grossly unfair!
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June 1, 2012 at 2:28 PM
LOL! BTW Satyam- what’s your opinion of Alien?
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June 1, 2012 at 2:31 PM
Love the entire franchise. Obviously the first film is always special in any such series but this is I think that rare one where every film is worthwhile, not least because an interesting director is responsible for each part.
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June 1, 2012 at 2:43 PM
“I completely and totally resent the fact that it’s releasing in the UK before the US! This is grossly unfair!”
Nothing unusual there satyam
Be it this or satyamev jayate, things are first released in ‘sensible’ audiences : only when found suitable, is it released for audiences with slightly ‘special needs’ and doubtful capacity to ‘reasonable’ manner..
Haha
Not being derogatory to the us kid here..
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June 1, 2012 at 2:59 PM
For female readers of SS-
Michael Fassbender (also Guy Pearce and Logan Marshall-Green) at the Prometheus premiere. 🙂
http://www.justjared.com/photo-gallery/2668872/noomi-rapace-prometheus-premiere-15/
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June 1, 2012 at 3:12 PM
LOL Alex that’s too much hubris for someone from a country which hasn’t figured out its place in the 21st century. :)…..What do you think Britain should do – a) be America’s poodle, b) integrate more closely within the EU and take orders from Berlin and Brussels, c) delude itself into believing that it can revive and lead the commonwealth block and everything in the world will be just like in the year 1900 ,d) or simply accept the reality of being a forgotten rainy little island with horrible food and horrible teeth….haha
PS: Guys I was joking here, don’t take offense. It’s not much fun telling a joke with a disclaimer that it’s a joke, but better to be safe than sorry.
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June 1, 2012 at 3:23 PM
LOL on the last bit!
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June 1, 2012 at 3:19 PM
Haha matrix- thanx for that lengthy funny post 😉
Btw have more links with the states than Britain in some ways and obviously this is only in fun
So no offence to anyone
Unlike these ‘jokes’, the ‘delay in release’ of SMJ and now Prometheus is an actual reality !!!!
So matrix -take that n enjoy-sorry it’s slightly lengthy 🙂
To the citizens of the United States of America, In the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. (Except Utah, which she does not fancy.) Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up “aluminium”. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour’, skipping the letter ‘U’ is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter ‘Z’ (pronounced ‘zed’ not ‘zee’) and the suffix “ize” will be replaced by the suffix “ise”. You will learn that the suffix ‘burgh is pronounced ‘burra’ e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as ‘Pittsberg’ if you can’t cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up “vocabulary”.
Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as “like” and “you know” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up “interspersed”. There will be no more ‘bleeps’ in the Jerry Springer show. If you’re not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn’t have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won’t have to use bad language as often.
2. There is no such thing as “US English”. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of “-ize”.
3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn’t that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents – Scottish dramas such as “Taggart” will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we’re talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is “Devon”. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become “shires” e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.
4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as “Men Behaving Badly” or “Red Dwarf” will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can’t cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.
5. You should relearn your original national anthem, “God Save The Queen”, but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.
6. You should stop playing American “football”. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American “football” is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays “American” football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American “football”, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the ‘World Series’ for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls’ game called “rounders” which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.
7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don’t believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called “Indecisive Day”.
9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren’t even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called “crisps”. Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.
11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.
12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as “beer”, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as “Lager”. The substances formerly known as “American Beer” will henceforth be referred to as “Near-Frozen Knat’s Urine”, with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as “Weak Near-Frozen Knat’s Urine”. This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen, Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.
13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or “Gasoline” as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon – get used to it).
14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you’re not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re not grown up enough to handle a gun.
15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us crazy. Tax collectors from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).
16. Last but not the least, and for heaven’s sake…..it’s Nuclear as in “clear” NOT Nucular. Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.
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June 1, 2012 at 3:27 PM
@alex
Haha 😀
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June 1, 2012 at 3:29 PM
Haha Alex that one was funny…I had read it before as well, but even on repetition it is very funny. There was I think a rejoinder to it by an American guy, though not half as funny.
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June 1, 2012 at 3:32 PM
Hoho matrix
I’m impressed u read all of it, it seems !
Btw have more sympathies and affiliations with the states than Europe (in some ways) -so am not in any one side ( as usual)
Btw where r u based matrix
U sound a very witty person–sorry but u sound more like a witty girl 🙂
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June 1, 2012 at 3:49 PM
I’m based in the US Alex…btw I’m a guy and since this is a family website you just have to take my word for it…LOL
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June 1, 2012 at 6:08 AM
Top 5: shaqzaade crosses Rs 45 cr mark
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/trade/top5/id/864/date/2012-06-01
Ishaqzaade collected Rs 7.55 cr nett in Week 3, taking the 3-week total to Rs 45.73 cr nett. Super Hit.
Week 3 breakup: Fri 1.08 cr, Sat 1.51 cr, Sun 1.75 cr, Mon 90 lacs, Tue 85 lacs, Wed 76 lacs, Thu 70 lacs. Total: 45.73 cr nett.
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June 3, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Ishqzaade has held up very well, really great to see…
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June 1, 2012 at 6:11 AM
Fantastic ! Ishaqzaade still going strong & may now eventually finish near 50 crore, which would be some achievement for a film with newcomers.
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June 1, 2012 at 6:13 AM
Rowdy Rathore Bumper Opening In Single Screens
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=4493&nCat=
Rowdy Rathore opened to a bumper 95-100% opening at single screens all across India. The Marathwada belt is phenomenal and recording collections as good as any other film
This area is totally dominated by single screens with Rowdy Rathore being released on the 25 multiplexes in the area and over 300 single screens.
It is a first for an Akshay Kumar starrer where it is normally North India which drives his films. Here with Rowdy Rathore the North Indian circuits of Delhi/UP and Punjab have opened well but circuits like Nizam, CP Berar, CI, Bihar and Rajasthan are much better.
Overall the film has been a good opening at multiplexes and bumper in single screens and is heading for a very big first day collection.
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June 1, 2012 at 6:26 AM
Rowdy Rathore Bumper Opening In Single Screens
Friday 1st June 2012 13.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore opened to a bumper 95-100% opening at single screens all across India. The Marathwada belt is phenomenal and recording collections as good as any other film
This area is totally dominated by single screens with Rowdy Rathore being released on the 25 multiplexes in the area and over 300 single screens.
It is a first for an Akshay Kumar starrer where it is normally North India which drives his films. Here with Rowdy Rathore the North Indian circuits of Delhi/UP and Punjab have opened well but circuits like Nizam, CP Berar, CI, Bihar and Rajasthan are much better.
Overall the film has been a good opening at multiplexes and bumper in single screens and is heading for a very big first day collection.
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June 1, 2012 at 6:27 AM
Rowdy Rathore Opens Well At Multiplexes
Friday 1st June 2012 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore opened well at multiplexes with collections around 70% on average. Some multiplexes did open to full houses but at an all India level the average is around 70% plus.
The opening is not like a Bodyguard or Agneepath which opened due to two reasons, one its not a major holiday and second there was a very limited advance at multiplexes as the the scheduling was finalised very late.
The single screens which get going at noon are likely to record huge opening as advance was strong and also because Rowdy Rathore is a mass film.
The opening day be in the top five of all time but will be well short of the record highs of Agneepath and Bodyguard.
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June 3, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Re: “The opening day be in the top five of all time but will be well short of the record highs of Agneepath and Bodyguard.”
It seems to be a safe bet that, given such strong performance in single screens, that Rowdy Rathore will have sold more tickets in its opening weekend than Agneephat.
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June 1, 2012 at 6:29 AM
Top 5: ‘Ishaqzaade’ crosses Rs 45 cr
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June 1, 2012 at 8:35 AM
Even Jannat 2 must have grossed 45 crores but no one is calling it a superhit because it’s not a YRF project
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June 1, 2012 at 12:12 PM
A film starring Hashmi cannot ever be called a super hit but can awlays be called shit.
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June 1, 2012 at 1:35 PM
Plain & simple…Ishaqzaade is a super hit because of its economics. Also despite being a cheaper film than Jannat 2, it has actually crossed Jannat’s collections.
Jannat 2 finished around 42-43 crore.
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June 1, 2012 at 1:42 PM
Ishaqzaade may have grossed slightly more than Jannat 2 but i don’t believe there is much difference between the budgets of both films (having seen both the films). Anyway if Ishaqzaade is being called a ‘super-hit’ (which truly speaking, it is not), Jannat 2 atleast deserves a hit tag and not above-average imo
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June 1, 2012 at 1:55 PM
LOL! My sentiments exactly. I’ve always found Hashmi more than a little offensive.
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June 1, 2012 at 8:38 AM
B.O. update: ‘Rowdy Rathore’ is Akshay’s ‘Dabangg’
By Taran Adarsh, June 1, 2012 – 16:24 IST
Akshay Kumar can heave a sigh of relief… and celebrate as well! ROWDY RATHORE has opened to a thunderous response [95% to 100%] at single screens across the length and breadth of the country. In fact, the start at single screens is at par with several big-ticket films such as AGNEEPATH and HOUSEFULL 2 [both this year] and BODYGUARD [last year]. The response from the very first show was electrifying everywhere!
The response at multiplexes ranged from average to good. At several centres, the occupancy was 55% to 70% and is expected to grow from evening onwards. The not-too-aggressive start at plexes could be attributed to the fact that the advance booking was affected due to Bharat Bandh yesterday [Thursday]. Also, mass-friendly films, generally, have a slow start at plexes, but pick up gradually.
As per early trends, ROWDY RATHORE is expected to have a Rs 15 cr nett Friday. It may even cross the figure, depending on how strong the evening and night shows are. ROWDY RATHORE is all set to be Akshay Kumar’s biggest opener. His DABANGG.
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June 1, 2012 at 9:54 AM
This is turning out to be a good year for Akshay after a long time.
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June 1, 2012 at 10:03 AM
yes absolutely.. he should have two 100 crore grossers and I’m quite pleased for him even if I shall not be watching HF in this lifetime!
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June 1, 2012 at 2:05 PM
Leaving aside the grosses, if RR sustains, this will be a big deal for him also because he won’t necessarily be tethered to the HF type of crass nonsense alone. Which is not to say RR looks like a masterpiece – far from it – but it is certainly the kind of movie I’d be more happy to catch and possibly in the theater.
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June 1, 2012 at 2:29 PM
True though I fear he has come to this party too late. I think he could have been in Salman’s current position had he jumped on this bandwagon before. Nonetheless it’s true that a major success will at least force him to prioritize some of these films. And the advantage he shares with Salman is that he can do the ‘comedy’ bits here unlike someone like Devgan who’s always more credible playing it straight like Singham.
On that note note I was always disappointed that the Abhishek/Prabhudevaa film fell through the cracks after the initial disappointment. actually Abhishek confirmed it even last year but there has been no further announcement on it. I’d easily take Prabhudevaa over Businessman in this genre.
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June 1, 2012 at 3:54 PM
I’m certain Abhishek would perform well in this terrain. The issue is he seems a bit stuck given his screen history to this point. He’s taken on these roles that have a certain prestige and one of his distinctive assets as a star is his association with those films and filmmakers. One wouldn’t want him to step into the terrain of Salman or Akshay-type farces without adapting the proceedings to his own persona. We see him now in the BB trailers and the movie looks terrible, but his presence in them makes it a bit more interesting and “odd” because he hasn’t done something outright farcical in some time. He doesn’t look out of place in those trailers which possibly has to do with the fact that the film was probably written with him in mind and this is precisely the point. If he does the Prabhudevaa type of masala actioner, it’s got to be something that represents at least a modicum of an extension of his history thus far.
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June 1, 2012 at 4:30 PM
agreed..
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June 1, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Actually i found Abhishek pretty effective in even a bad south remake like ‘Run’- the role fit his persona to the T. but the problem here is Puri. he is a very medioce director and his best imo is ‘super’
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June 1, 2012 at 4:29 PM
Run was alright though the Vijay Raaz parts were very poor. Vivek was way better in the original. But Run is the kind of film for which a star needs to be at his peak. Because there’s not too much else going on in the film. For all this the film didn’t do badly, specially in small centers where it has even seen reruns. Boney Kapoor said at the time that he’d lost money on a lot of his remakes but not on Run.
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June 1, 2012 at 4:36 PM
Run in both versions was a bit too cookie cutter for me. Liked Madhavan in the original and some of his scenes with Raghuvaran were pretty cool.
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June 3, 2012 at 12:26 PM
I hope Akshay leaens something from this — he’s had every incentive over the last several years to move away from the diminishing returns (not to mention indignities) of the Desi Boys, De Dana Dhan sort of film, but has never done so until Rowdy Rathore. His heart doesn’t seem to be in it (perhaps a complex resulting from his 1990s), and I doubt he would have done even this film had his long run of flops over the last few years (10 of his last 14 or 15) not limited his options.
The hilarious thing is Bhansali making money off of this, most un-Bhansali of films.
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June 1, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Satyam, that’s fine but somehow u never seemed to be as pleased for devgn. why is that? i am sure he is not a worse actor than akshay
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June 1, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Because I am not a Devgan fan! And I never said I am a fan of actors proportional to their talents. It’s also about a persona and want of a better word their ‘coding’. Akshay has always been a non-actor but I prefer his persona and I like his ‘politics’ in certain ways. But again this is not a science. I have nothing against Devgan either. I don’t quite mind him. I do mind Salman for example! Much as however much I might dislike what SRK does I enjoyed his flamboyance in the 90s and would still take him over some others except that he’s become incredibly stale and ‘mannered’. And to top it all most of his films don’t appeal to me. Nonetheless I’ve liked some of the stuff.
So one shouldn’t mix the two things. There is no reason for me to be ‘pleased’ for Devgan or for any other actor! Even with Akshay I am pleased because I do like him and want him to be successful. Don’t have some great investment in him otherwise. But on Devgan I don’t share your opinion either. I just don’t seen anything special in him as an actor. Nor do I like his persona all that much. I’d take Saif over him on both counts (for example) though Saif himself has become too complacent an actor and presence in very many ways. He’s a far cry from what he was some years ago.
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June 1, 2012 at 12:09 PM
BTW, Satyam was mighty pleased for SRK when he got two back to back 100 crore grossers last year. It is another matter that they were both somewhat of duds are already forgotten.
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June 1, 2012 at 1:04 PM
wasnt satyam also an SRK fan somewhat before 2000? I might be missing something.. I also think he quite liked SRK in MNIK
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June 1, 2012 at 1:11 PM
Devgan is not a good actor. He is just good in certain roles that suits his appearance. Same goes for Abhishek.
Its the inconsistency in their acting displayed abundantly in most other movies that exposes their inadequacies as actors.
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June 1, 2012 at 12:10 PM
I am actually very pleased for Akshay.Hope RRsustains even if at lower end because a good first day was given. Got to see how it trends.
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June 1, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Not sure about the ‘Dabangg’ analogy for a movie that at best seems to get a a first day total comparable to Ra. One or Don 2.
Good opening by Akshay standards I guess …
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June 1, 2012 at 1:39 PM
OT,
Sad but True, Human are essentially Evil
http://www.vice.com/read/yo1-v14n10
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June 1, 2012 at 2:13 PM
Akshay is a better actor than Ajay Devgan,Abhishek Bachchan.
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June 1, 2012 at 2:16 PM
Guys, saw Rowdy Rathore.having seen the atrocious telugu original and the trailers, i went with zero expectations. but boy, did it surprise me. i was thoroughly entertained. the difference here was Prabhu Deva’s handling and Akki( who seems like De Niro infront of Ravi Teja)- this has to be Akki’s most likeable performance in some time.Also the film is zillion times better than BG, Ready and even devgan’s Singham. special mention should be given to the ‘brutal’ action scene before interval and the climax
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June 1, 2012 at 2:22 PM
Can’t stand Ravi teja and usually stay a mile away from his films. But I was expecting an enjoyable film here. Prabhudevaa has done a number of remakes and he always keeps the proceedings minimally entertaining. But good too hear your views on this. On the others I haven’t seen Ready or BG. Surprised to hear you say that about Singham. While I did expect something more entertaining from Prabhudevaa and certainly not politically problematic like that film it was [Singham] otherwise (and despite being inferior to the original) quite alright on its own.
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June 1, 2012 at 2:31 PM
Satyam, i’ll tell u why. borrowing ur line,in RR, like ghajini, there is an ‘authentic sense of loss’ just before interval which hits u. there was a potential sense of making a ‘serious masala’ here but prabhudeva squanders this bcos that loss is not explored enough, the emotional scenes r badly written and badly performed by akki, and just after that ‘shock’ film instantly shifts to comedy. the script here was quite strong but no one seemed to be serious abt it. that said a masala lover should go for it
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June 1, 2012 at 2:34 PM
good to hear Saurabh, I didn’t know any of this because I haven’t seen the original. Don’t know yet if it’s playing near me but will try and check it out.
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June 1, 2012 at 2:38 PM
Also Satyam, i am a sucker for double-roles (apart from Don, Kasme Vaade and Satte pe satta, i loved bachchan’s double act in bandhe haath- did not fing great gambler that good) . And i will really recommend u Kunal Khemu’s ” Superstar”- an intelligent low-key attempt at ‘serious dramatic masala’ with a very likeable double-act by khemu- it is way better than BG, READY, SINGHAM AND RR- i would love to know ur views on superstar
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June 1, 2012 at 2:54 PM
I too loved that whole masala tradition. Must agree on Great Gambler. Though this is a very enjoyable narrative and a cool film in many ways the problem here is that the double role is just not differentiated enough. Very little difference between the two guys which was odd given that in those days they usually went to extremes keeping the double role apart. Bachchan being Bachchan nonetheless establishes some subtle differences. They’re not exactly the same if one watches closely but his look is and the characters are otherwise not differentiated enough as I just said. Also the film lacks genuine drama, always problematic in those days. For all this I have a great weakness for the film. Kasme Vaade is of course the un-Great Gambler. Two guys who couldn’t possibly be more unlike! Another film I quite adore, probably beyond its merits. It’s not a great film by any means the way say Trishul or Kaala Pathar are but it has some very true moments. The Bachchan double in Satte Pe Satta is great, specially the second guy who’s absolutely creepy. That character deserved a better film. It’s hard for me to think of a lead character in Hindi cinema doing a more chilling part than this unless it be Bachchan’s own disturbing (and possessed) self in Aks. Don though is easily the greatest double role of Hindi cinema and […] has suggested possibly the single greatest star turn of Bollywood. No other film where a star’s gifts are as impressively on display and as much in sync with the film. Bachchan was always impressive but the range displayed here is stunning. But again the more one watches his films, the more one thinks about them, the more one realizes how this man was just in a different profession from everyone else in the history of his industry! I have the greatest regard for other stars and actors but the Bachchan difference is just so profound one cannot meaningfully compare him with others. Which is why I find even a lot of Bachchan’s own work over the last decade or so not that interesting much as I like him very much in many outings and would in any case not dream of comparing him with anyone else even here. Nonetheless and even if it’s something like Sarkar where he’s obviously impressive and quite magnificent I think I have seen him on much greater heights of persona and performance. To be honest and in his defense I will say this. He has hardly had Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Desai or Salim-Javed and so on creating important opportunities for him. No matter how great the talent it is brought to its full bloom in the right setup. But the performances that I find interesting in this period in various ways are Aks, Boom, Black, Khakee, Dev, Paa. In each something new is approached by him. But I would nonetheless add some caveats in each case, even Paa where extraordinary as his performance is, I am sometimes unsure whether too much might not be lost with the prosthetics. So you get the remarkable body language and so on but the face that has been so expressive for so long is completely lost. The prosthetics prevent the mobility he is so legendary for. Paa is nonetheless a triumph of ‘being’ perhaps even more than performance. On the rest Black is a performance that I find impressive more than I actually like. Here what interests me most is the remarkable physicality, specially his movement in some of those initial scenes where to command the girl’s attention he moves in extraordinary fashion across that huge space. Boom remains his single most underrated performance. It is one of a kind in his career. Hilariously done in a very ‘distanced’ way, the film is a disaster because it cannot manage Bachchan’s tone, exactly the right one for the subject. Dev has some miraculous moments though I don’t find him consistently impressive here. Aks on the other hand is but some of the more operatic moments here are also ones of risk where it is hard to decide whether things might not be a bit over-pitched at times. Finally Khakee.. nothing to object to here at all and yet it doesn’t feature anything quite as new as something or the other in these other films I’ve mentioned. For all this it’s a very successful updating of Vijay in very many ways. In this sense Baghban for a very different subject is the same deal. An extremely even and fluid performance. If in the final analysis I still prefer the older outings it is because in them there are miracles literally in every moment. I can go through entire films of his from that period and not find a single element that’s out of place in terms of the performance. every thing just right. Again the Shakespeare analogy suggests itself. Some plays seem poorer only because the standards otherwise are Hamlet or Macbeth or Lear and so on, not because these are poor in themselves. The idea that he is even on his weakest day superior to everyone else is an idea so banal and boring it scarcely needs to be repeated except for the most obtuse!
Haven’t seen Superstar. Will keep this in mind.
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June 3, 2012 at 8:51 PM
extended this comment..
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June 1, 2012 at 2:24 PM
The comedy in the 1st half is really entertaining and much better than HF2 and credit should go to Akki for this. Sonakshi is decent but i would have much preferred Anushka Shetty here bcos she has that impish persona required here. Nasser, one of the actors i like, is hopelessly miscast as a Bihari villain here- Pradeep Rawal or Sayaji Shinde would have been perfect. The best part is that in the pre-climax action scene, Akshay gets to show his real talent of fighting-skills
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June 1, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Agree -would have preferred anushka here
For a change-she needs to GAIN weight for this role (@ the rite sites 🙂
Btw saw a promo of sonakshi sort of JUMPING in mid air looking ‘dangerous’
If she accidentally stepped onto someone’s toe–would surely a fracture (atleast)
Ps-but the only consolation is that sonakshi kept Kareena away from this one…
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June 1, 2012 at 3:05 PM
Alex i am not talking abt Anushka Sharma, this is a south actress called Anushka Shetty (check her pics out). she fits the bill according to my ‘bouncing gemstone theory’
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June 1, 2012 at 3:06 PM
Hmm
Can I see a sample link ..
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June 1, 2012 at 2:28 PM
Hmm
Have never really been interested in this sort of OTT southern masala stuff but wa getting a certain dabang moment vibe here albeit of a lesser degree and less stylised
Nearly saw a movie today but got late for Prometheus 3D
Guess it will be rowdy first
The ‘energy’ & ‘zing’ (& 3some vibe) of ‘preetam pyare’ is sowmthing that needs to be checked out in a single screen rowdy crowd
With beer mugs in hands
And a few dancers around et al
Unfortunately have never enjoyed the ‘single screen’ experience
But hey–can always create a similar experience by own rowdy behaviour 🙂
Btw a better heroine was needed here…
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June 1, 2012 at 2:42 PM
On over the top stuff Rohit Shetty has borrowed a cue from Southern films and not just in Singham. His most outlandish action looks to be in Bol Bachchan. That outrageous bit where Devgan kicks a guy who starts flying in the air and he’s then kicked again by Abhishek in mid-air at which point his ping-pong journey is finally over. Or that jeep that just smoothly goes through the bus! his stuff it’s so outrageous that it’s fun and fits in with my idea that these are essentially masala-comedies with the stress very much on the latter.
Having said that what’s lacking in this entire genre, including the Southern originals, is the creation of a world where such stylized action would seem natural and integrated. Much like some of the action genres from East Asia where things are heavily stylized and yet completely normal in that world. Or in the same vein with something like the Matrix the laws of that world make the choreographed action seem totally normal. Unfortunately this isn’t so in the ‘desi’ stuff where the film is otherwise normal or proceeding normally until a burst of action creates a wholly different logic. So take that moment in Singham where the hero races with the jeep and then all of a sudden brings down that street light on one of the guys. It’s fun to watch but it isn’t necessarily part and parcel of the film’s universe otherwise. Of course I’m probably the bigger idiot here for suggesting Rohit Shetty needs to watch out for such subtleties!
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June 1, 2012 at 4:45 PM
Satyam a very good point here. actually the ‘authentic hindi masala with that central tragedy’ of yore is comparable to the hong-kong genre of ‘heroic bloodshed’ epitomised by john-woo and chow yun fat (those films formed the basis slow-mo action scenes of matrix). here there was a morally ambigous hero with a tragic ending to the film. esp important here is woo’s classic ‘The Killer’ where Fat, playing an assassin, accidently blinds a young girl and that forms the ‘beating heart’ of this superb actioner
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June 1, 2012 at 4:58 PM
i made the above point bcos i believe those Hong- Kong films r a very good model if bwood wants to make ‘serious masala films’ like ghajini. satyam, if u remember in the mid 90’s Sanjay Gupta debuted with ‘Aatish’, a very enjoyable remake of Woo-Chow yun fat classic ‘a better tomorrow’, starring Dutt and Pancholi(in possibly pancholi’s best role).i believe, insted of making such ‘fake masala’ like RR,if such remakes r made, one can even make entertaining yet good films.btw have u seen any of these films?
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June 1, 2012 at 5:03 PM
Aatish wasn’t bad though Gupta was always too empty as a filmmaker. Among these ‘copies’ I’ve always liked Musafir the most.
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June 3, 2012 at 12:35 PM
Yeah, speaking of Pancholi’s best roles I would take Dum Maaro Dum and Musafir over Aatish, although the last is definitely one of his better outings (as was Hameshaa, i.e. the older Pancholi).
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June 1, 2012 at 3:05 PM
Ok -something for the gals /ladies here
So FAO dimple, sanjana, bliss, oldgold….
How chick flicks are breaking the conventions of wedded bliss!!
Have always resented chick flicks and have escaped most
Didn’t succeed in escaping ‘bridesemaid’ -but it was a sorry of ‘watershed’ moment
Chick flicks aren’t all THAT bad and nasty really !!
So folks-do try em out (with good company)
An exerpt-
A fascinating thing has happened recently on the way to the cineplex.
The romantic comedy – which has always revolved around the ages-old narrative for female fulfilment, the happily-surmounted challenges that give way, at length, to a walk down the aisle – is swerving. Reflecting a change in the zeitgeist, perhaps, and probably in the collective female psyche as well, some of the most recent chick-flick hits have not shown the heroine rushing into wedded bliss. Instead, she’s portrayed side-stepping matrimony, or temporarily fleeing from it – even avoiding the wedding bells altogether.
Seven years have made a major difference: in 2005, 27 Dresses purported to show the desperation of a single woman, played by Katherine Heigl, who had to be a bridesmaid 27 times. Her fate was depicted as a dire one – humiliating and dispiriting, to be “always a bridesmaid but never the bride”.
But bridesmaids – and now brides – are changing direction. The first breakout hit that showed these straws in the wind was Kristen Wiig’s and Annie Mumolo’s Apatow-produced 2011 comedy, Bridesmaids. The main love story in Bridesmaids is not that of the bride (played by refreshingly unglamorous Maya Rudolph) and her groom – who seems to be drawn in such a way as to mock the idea of the dream husband, since he is perfect on paper but hideously uncompelling as a love interest. It is rather a love triangle between Wiig, her best friend Rudolph, and her challenger for best-friend status. The romance of female friendship is the central drama, with the groom practically relegated to an afterthought.
Throughout the film, Wiig seeks, hilariously ineptly, to woo Rudolph back into best-friend status. At a critical moment, the bride – faced with the “perfect” wedding with the “perfect” location, dress, guest list and all the things for which the feminine heart is supposed to beat fastest since pre-Austen times – flees her impending nuptials to seek shelter in her best friends’ unprepossessing but emotionally nurturing single-girl flat.
The movie resonated not just because it is screamingly funny, but also because it dares to address the thought that the traditional female life narrative, in which marriage to “the right man” takes the place of every other kind of quest and call for self-discovery and self-development, may really not be enough.
Following the success of Bridesmaids, other similar romantic comedies have sought the limelight. The second hit, from the same producer of Bridesmaids, is the Emily Blunt/Jason Segel romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement. The real narrative in this film wanders even more transgressively away from the Austen-esque/Mills and Boone matrimony plot line – so much so that websites covering it have trouble even summarizing the plot accurately. IMDB’s account of it is:
“One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/01/chick-flicks-breaking-conventions-wedded-bliss
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June 1, 2012 at 3:11 PM
^ also LS and Filmbuff as well…
LS-if u feet a chance from SMJ (!!!) , do read some other stuff as well , for a change lol
Btw LS-thanx for your book recommendations
Something for u as well
Warning-plz tolerate this somewhat creepy female who is probably a nymphomaniac !
ROFL
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June 1, 2012 at 3:18 PM
thanks for your views saurabh. will watch it this sunday most probably
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June 1, 2012 at 3:30 PM
Tony, do look out for 2 things specifically- “the action scene” just before interval-brutal, imaginatively filmed, with a ‘shakespearean’ like interference/help of ‘nature and chance’ and the final action scene between akki and the henchman- very creative. i am anyway a complete sucker for ‘bloodshed’ on screen (i had a collection of scenes where men r piked and knifed)-my fav genre itself is the ‘heroic bloodshed genre’ of hong-kong films of the the great director-actor combo of john woo and chow yun fat
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June 1, 2012 at 3:35 PM
i am anyway a complete sucker for ‘bloodshed’ on screen (i had a collection of scenes where men r piked and knifed)
That sounds quite disturbing! 😛
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June 1, 2012 at 3:51 PM
😀
‘2 States’ takes off with Imran
After several false starts, Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar’s ambitious co-production will finally go on the floors early next year
One of the most keenly awaited films, which has also been in the doldrums for the longest time – 2 States, based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel by the same name, will finally see the light of day.
TOI has learnt that Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar will now start work on their ambitious films.
A source revealed, “Sajid had bought the rights of the film a couple of years back. It was to be directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, with Shah Rukh Khan playing the lead. However, talks fizzled out. After that, Karan stepped in as the co-producer and Ranbir Kapoor agreed to topline it. But Kapoor’s involvement didn’t work out and the project was put on the backburner.”
It was only recently that everything fell in place with Imran being roped in. “Imran is the new star on the block and with a slew of hits to his credit, he is as bankable as any other top star. Karan was keen to have Imran on board. The actor takes his time to commit to any film. But he loved the script of 2 States and gave his nod to the film, which is expected to start early next year.”
2 States is a love story of a South Indian girl and a Punjabi boy and the roller coaster ride that they go on before finally tying the knot.
Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala and Imran remained unavailable for comments.
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June 1, 2012 at 3:55 PM
Before the anti-Imran brigade starts off- this is a rom-com about a YOUNG couple and Imran is as suitable for the terrain as anybody- he is growing to be quite effective within this comfort zone of his as EMAET demonstrated.
And in any case- its far better that he do this than that the audience be subjected to the ridiculousness of having to watch SRK (the previous casting choice) play an IIM student.
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June 1, 2012 at 4:03 PM
Ami,agreed on the last part and also have to sadly agree that imran was not bad in EMAET and BKB. having said that i would have much preferred Neil Mukesh here- a much better actor and good looking too. Also Rajeev Khandelwal and Gulshan Deviah would have been good choices.Anyway imran will a complete miscast in the ‘sequel of OUATIM’. i feel the same for ‘matru ki bijli ka mandola’ but bhardwaj has a history of getting the best out of actors
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June 1, 2012 at 3:42 PM
Amu, sorry but i love those scenes. probably has to do with me being a boxer in school. but i completely detest when women/girls r tortured- have a history of puking while watching them(and not bcos of some respect for women). btw u mentioned guy pearce- he is one of my fav- have seen most of his films- there is a particular scene in “lockout” where while being interrogated,he is being puched on the face-that is exactly the way one should take a punch-he,in my mind, is one of the best action hero in hwood.
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June 1, 2012 at 3:49 PM
I was joking Saurabh- no need to apologize. 🙂 Guy Pearce is great-I haven’t seen Lockout- but my favourite of his films is Animal Kingdom. Hurt Locker as well of course- but he had hardly anything to do in that film.
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June 1, 2012 at 4:24 PM
The reviews of Rowdy Rathore seem more fun than the movie
http://www.reviewgang.com/movies/202-Rowdy-Rathore-Review
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June 1, 2012 at 6:11 PM
I have become a big fan of Ravi Teja and have seen the original telugu film with subtitles. Always knew this will be a huge sucess for Akshay. One may not like the telugu film so much if he has seen the hindi dubbed version.
Ravi Teja in the original was brilliant.
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June 1, 2012 at 6:18 PM
Ravi Teja is the single most repulsive actor i have ever seen on celluloid. he is zillion times worse than Kamal Sadanah.
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June 1, 2012 at 6:42 PM
I understand ur situation. I had same opinion about him when i watched few of the scenes of his dubbed movies on set max.
I realized I am wrong only after watching some of his good movies with subtitles. I realized that the voice of that dubbing artist and the dialogues in hindi were so irritating and “repulsive”.
Anyway for ur info the telugu version of Rowdy Rathore was directed by S. S. Rajamouli who is the no 1 director in telugu films currently. I am wondering why he worked with an actor who is zillion times worse than ur fav actor.
The telugu film “Vikramarkudu” was a huge hit and has already been remade in Tamil, Hindi and Bengali.
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June 1, 2012 at 7:08 PM
I must say I have to agree with that statement. Find him utterly repellent.
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June 3, 2012 at 12:39 PM
Never thought I’d ever read “Ravi Teja” and “Kamal Sadanah” in the same sentence!
Let me join the anti-Teja bandwagon; it was somewhat traumatic watching his pair with Ileana in (I believe it was called) Kick…
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June 3, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Lol Q, Kick would have been a fairly entertaining watch in 2 conditions- 1)in the absence of Teja 2) has Illena kicked Teja’s butt even once in the film. BTW Salman is on-board to do a remake of the film which will be directed by Shirish Kunder under Nadiawala banner and will also have Sonakshi
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June 1, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Latest update folks—
The long round of partying/ meetings/etc etc begins…
Some ‘word of mouth’ about films from those I trust usually..
Prometheus
A couple of chicks checked it out today and are raving about it and don’t even mind watching it again!!
Fassbender is awesome and somewhat of a scene stealer(again!)
Charlene theron as the corporate female boss sounds interesting(to me!)
Btw one of the ‘intelligent’ gal didn’t stop from finding faults here
About ‘lack of depth’ and a certain ‘split personality’
Warning -apparently there is a self induced caesarean section scene which offended them (expectedly)!!
Rowdy rathore
I rarely follow box office of most films forget about those from this genres
But have wondered and asked about the box office of this one.
After watching ONE song-preetam pyaare–had commented few weeks back that this maybe akshays BIGGEST hit ever
Have just got live WOM from a variety of Indian viewership
A young hyper guy, a nubile (cute) chick and a middle aged uncle and aunty…
(suprisingly even the chick loved it and yes is keen to watch it again, which is surprising given the ‘action’ and cheesy genre)
The vibe I got briefly confirms my suspicion and impression-
This is probably the biggest hit of akshay Kumars career
And maybe more
Enjoy folks–time for ‘action’
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June 1, 2012 at 7:13 PM
thanks for the updates.. incidentally is there any group of people in your life in any context that doesn’t include the ‘nubile’ girl?!
On Fassbender he’s fast becoming a favorite, probably is already. He’s obviously a fine talent and a charismatic presence. The only thing I’d say is that there is a certain ‘coldness’ to his persona. perhaps that’s too harsh a word but he conveys that sort of distance.
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June 2, 2012 at 2:44 AM
Saw Shame recetnly..well acted..I am not sure about the movie though.
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June 2, 2012 at 9:11 AM
agreed ..
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June 1, 2012 at 7:18 PM
And I still maintain Brits have no right to see this movie before those on the other side of the pond! What’s the world coming to?!
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June 1, 2012 at 7:22 PM
Re: incidentally is there any group of people in your life in any context that doesn’t include the ‘nubile’ girl?!
maybe Alex is in matrimonial business…haha
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June 1, 2012 at 7:20 PM
“but he conveys that sort of distance.”–well picked up and
U are right…Satyam
Currently the best male actor that I like , period ..
But this is personal resonance and liking as well.
That’s incidentally a major part of the appeal..
“…that doesn’t include nubile girl” -haha
The answer is no…lol
Ps-u wont be expectd to party /socialise with grandmas 😉
Disclaimer -no offence to grandmas-I love gramdmas actually more…
Gud nite folks
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June 1, 2012 at 7:25 PM
Satyam, whichever girl Alex takes under his cover, he makes them ‘nubile’…LOL. I like Fassbender but here i would like to mention Matt Damon- an actor who does not get his due. the guy is extremely versatile and has worked with the biggest directors in the business- spielberg, coppola,soderbergh,edward zwick,redford,scorsese,eastwood,coen brothers,gus van sant,kevin smith,de niro,cameron crowe,farrelly brothers, anthony minghella, terry gilliam- that’s quite a variety
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June 1, 2012 at 7:31 PM
Not a great fan of Damon. He’s perfectly fine but I don’t see him as a great talent or anything. But yes he’s certainly done very well for himself.
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June 1, 2012 at 7:25 PM
Just to add- just gt a few mins
An ultra ‘brainy’ chic who doesn’t like ‘any’ movie (but watched loads) has told me countless faults already just now
Confused plot
Split personality of the movie itself
Lacks soul & ‘depth’
Synthetic ‘sterile’ feel lacking ‘human warmth’
Maan — now who can give this much ‘warmth’
Also she fund both rapace and theron absolutely horrible (not surprising ) 🙂
Ps-may not be able to check out films sat/ sun due to some ‘hectic’ activities
Satyam – hope to get your review soon
And do check out rowdy
Some quite ‘sensible’ Indian folks have recommmended it
Someone who hated houseful liked it !!!
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June 2, 2012 at 2:33 AM
Rowdy Rathore First Day Business
Saturday 2nd June 2012 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore has collected around 14.50 crore nett on its first day as per early estimates. The film recorded phenomenal collections in many circuits but under performed in Delhi city and Punjab especially for an Akshay Kumar film.
It is the biggest non holiday opening of all time and amongst the top 5 to 6 opening days of all time. Agneepath and Bodyguard lead by a distance with Rowdy Rathore collecting in the same range as films like Don 2, Ra.One and Dabangg.
It also the highest opening day for an Akshay Kumar starrer beating housefull 2 by around 1.50 crore nett.
The distributor share on day one is easily the third biggest ever on day one due to the extraordinary business in single screens. At some centres the share on day one was as much as the whole week share of films like Don 2 and Ra.One.
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June 2, 2012 at 2:34 AM
Rowdy Rathore First Day Territorial Breakdown
Saturday 2nd June 2012 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore collected 15 crore nett on day one with phenomenal collections in single screens. The first day territorial breakdown is as follows.
Mumbai – 5.75 crore
Delhi/UP – 3.01 crore
East Punjab – 1.02 crore
West Bengal – 48 lakhs
Bihar – 45 lakhs
Assam – 20 lakhs
Orissa – 20 lakhs
CP Berar – 95 lakhs
CI – 65 lakhs
Rajasthan – 1.00 crore
Nizam – 76 lakhs
Mysore – 39 lakhs
TNK – 20 lakhs
TOTAL – 15.06 crore
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June 2, 2012 at 2:38 AM
not a bad start. now onto day 2…
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June 2, 2012 at 5:28 AM
Saw Rowdy Rathore last night. A tad long at 140 minutes, but [post created]
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June 2, 2012 at 5:34 AM
And by the way, Chikni Chameli has got nothing on Aa Re Pritam Pyare. The song has to be the most robust item numbers that I’ve seen in a while, and it has been danced and shot with amazing energy. Most surprisingly, given the setting of the song and at the juncture in which it occurs in the film not to mention three item girls gyrating around one man, the song doesn’t appear vulgar in its treatment.
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June 3, 2012 at 12:41 PM
Re: “Most surprisingly, given the setting of the song and at the juncture in which it occurs in the film not to mention three item girls gyrating around one man, the song doesn’t appear vulgar in its treatment.”
Hmmm, this might be the film’s greatest achievement — I found the trailers of this song quite repellent and had written it off. I’m sure Alex will be delighted 🙂
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June 2, 2012 at 9:12 AM
thanks Abzee… great writeup.. looking forward to this..
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June 2, 2012 at 9:16 AM
Satyam, that was a really good write-up but it had a big spoiler in it.
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June 2, 2012 at 9:22 AM
yes (!).
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June 2, 2012 at 9:21 AM
NY Times:
June 1, 2012
Movie Review
A Bollywood Plot Thickened With Every Ingredient
By RACHEL SALTZ
A pumped-up example of the Bollywood school of More Is More, “Rowdy Rathore,” starring Akshay Kumar, has a little of everything, all executed in an exaggerated, playful style by the film’s director, Prabhudheva. There are fights, colorful songs and dances (the stick-in-your-head, drum-driven tunes are by Sajid and Wajid Ali), comedy, romance, a superstar item girl (Kareena Kapoor, who appears in one song) and a plot worthy of the old days of Hindi cinema.
Mr. Kumar, who has populist appeal, plays a double role. He’s Shiva, a Mumbai thief, and also Shiva’s mirror image, Vikram Rathore, a supercop. In a flashback we see Rathore single-handedly try to clean up a town ruled by a villain with little black stubs for teeth. (These scenes wink at the Hindi classic “Sholay.”)
Shiva and Rathore’s lives intersect and then merge when Shiva takes over Rathore’s job, combining Rathore’s Dudley Do-Right decency with his own trickster skills. His new name: Rowdy Rathore. His slogan (delivered in English): “Don’t angry me!”
Prabhudheva keeps up his end of the more-is-more bargain, using all the tics and techniques of current Hindi movies. Slow and fast motion, strange angles, jump cuts and rewinds, and something that seems unique to Indian movies — short sound bursts commenting on the action, in oohs and ahs and melodic gasps.
“Rowdy Rathore” can be exhausting, and it doesn’t shy away from being crude or hyperbolic. Ridiculous and undeniable, it’s a punchy cartoon, rightly confident of its power to entertain. Why resist?
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June 2, 2012 at 9:26 AM
Satyam, the above review is ‘useless’- i find Saltz uninformed abt hindi films. Anyway RR is one the rare films where the remake is zillion times better than the original
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June 2, 2012 at 10:48 AM
yeah I’m not a fan of her writing at all.. and most films really get the very same review from her!
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June 2, 2012 at 10:18 AM
What a superb piece by Imtiaz Ali……..
Why I own Sholay, not Ramesh Sippy
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/why-i-own-sholay-not-ramesh-sippy/956695/0
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June 2, 2012 at 10:23 AM
I still don’t know how many prints of Rockstar we released with. The business model is tilted towards the first week of release because the producer’s share is highest. It’s a myopic vision, but then it proves that the business is growing, people want to watch all kinds of films. Though I believe that the nature of a film should decide the number of prints, I don’t want to be a spoilsport. This too is reassuring. The choice is not as diverse as that of toothpastes yet, but we are getting there.
Last year’s biggest draws were Bodyguard and Ready. They were good old Salman Khan starrers, almost star vehicles. Action, comedy, drama, music and dance — unabashed entertainers. Singham lived up to its promise. Hard action. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was a personal film, a journey of friends. The lead actors played parts. It showed Spain to the Hindi audience. The Dirty Picture was a biopic of an early item girl in the South Indian film industry. A movie about the heart behind the sleaze.
All these pictures did well at the box office and they do not have much in common. The mystery will never go away from film business, will it
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June 2, 2012 at 11:09 AM
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June 2, 2012 at 11:14 AM
Top Opening Days ROWDY RATHORE 3rd
Saturday 2nd June 2012 12.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore is third biggest opening day ever. The top opening days in terms of nett collections are listed below.
1. Agneepath (2012) – 21.72 crore
2. Bodyguard (2011) – 20.66 crore
3. Rowdy Rathore (2012)- 15 crore
4. Ra.One (2011) – 14.76 crore
5. Don 2 (2011) – 14.61 crore
6. Dabangg (2010) – 14.45 crore
7. Ready (2011) – 13.33 crore
8. Three Idiots (2009) – 13.00 crore
9. Housefull 2 (2012) – 13.00 crore
10. Tees Maar Khan (2010) – 12.82 crore
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June 2, 2012 at 11:42 AM
so the first week after the IPL finals has been established as a big film release. i think the trend started in 2010 with rajneeti releasing on june 4th, then last year with Ready and now RR. this will be a key date for a film next year…
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June 3, 2012 at 1:16 AM
Rowdy Rathore Heads For Huge Success
Sunday 3rd June 2012 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore is heading for huge success as collections at multiplexes jumped around 15% on Saturday. The single screen business is down 15-20% but that was expected as the first day at single screens was simply phenomenal.
The Friday business at multiplexes was good but could have been better so the key for the film was what happened at multiplexes on Saturday and with a healthy jump especially in key multiplexes of Delhi city and Punjab where it under performed on Friday, the film is now set for a good run at the box office.
The Saturday business may come in around 5% lower than Friday or in a similar range which is excellent and with big Sunday advances, a big Sunday is assured giving it a likely weekend business of 46-48 crore nett.
Rowdy Rathore is also on course to be one of the biggest hits ever in circuits like Rajasthan and Bihar. In Bihar it will be amongst top three grossing films of all time.
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June 3, 2012 at 10:03 PM
Rowdy Rathore Weekend is 48.50 crore!!!!!!!!Fantastic!
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June 3, 2012 at 11:56 PM
Rowdy Rathore May Emerge Biggest Grosser Of 2012
Sunday 3rd June 2012 23.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore has rocked the nation on Sunday at single screens and multiplexes and may go on to be the highest grossing film of 2012.
Although it has a lot of work to do over next few days but the trending over the weekend suggests huge appreciation all over and the way key stations that are important for the sustenance of a film have behaved suggest the film is set for a solid run and will put up huge lifetime numbers.
The weekend business is looking towards the 48 crore nett range, it may even go higher when final collections come in.
On Sunday multiplexes which rarely show Sunday growth as are situated in urban areas where people have to go to offices on Monday morning therefore late shows are weak were showing higher collections on Sunday than Saturday.
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June 4, 2012 at 12:09 AM
once again extremely pleased for Akshay. He has two 100 crore grossers in a year and I expect Rowdy to trend better than some of the Salman stuff.
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June 4, 2012 at 4:10 AM
happy for akki and PD – yes, but more for SLB – poor fella needed this kind a commercial hit very badly…..
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June 4, 2012 at 12:05 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh
#RowdyRathore has a M-A-S-S-I-V-E Sunday. Emerges the biggest non-holiday opener ever in Bollywood history.
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June 4, 2012 at 12:08 AM
The Avengers went up to 552m this weekend and has crossed TDK’s 533m. It is second on the all time list now.
http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3455&p=.htm
But consider this — Titanic made 658m in 1997! Avatar made 760m.
Meanwhile the Snow White opening is stronger than I expected. But it did get good reviews.
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June 4, 2012 at 7:34 AM
Rowdy Rathore Has Biggest Opening Weekend Of The Year
Monday 4th June 2012 10.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore has set the box office on fire with collections of around 48 crore nett in its first weekend. It is the biggest opening weekend of the year and the biggest non holiday opening weekend of all time.
The film has done excellent business all over with places that did not take a bumper opening on Friday picking up on Saturday and growing further on Sunday.
The key was always going to be the North India markets as the film was a South remake retaining a similar look to the original film but these areas picked up on Saturday and consolidated further on Sunday something that films like Wanted and Singham failed to do.
The Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar areas were phenomenal from day one and have come out with near record collections for first three days. Rowdy Rathore is sure to sustain well on Monday, just a question of how well. It also seems set to emerge the biggest hit of 2012 till date.
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June 4, 2012 at 7:37 AM
Midweek: ‘Rowdy Rathore’ has biggest non-holiday weekend
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June 4, 2012 at 7:48 AM
Rowdy Rathore Clocks Extraordinary Weekend Numbers
by Shabdita Shrivastav (June 4, 2012)
It took an extraordinary opening and enjoyed a very robust weekend. Translated, Rowdy Rathore, featuring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha, took the second-highest first-day opening of 2012. At the weekend, the film clocked around Rs 48 crore across India.
How will it fare during the week and will it hit the coveted Rs 100-crore mark? Well, we’ll have to wait and watch. Here’s what tradewallas had to say about the weekend performance of Rowdy Rathore.
Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines in Mumbai says the film fared better in single-screens than in multiplexes but the all-India NBOC climbed to Rs 48-49 crore. In Mumbai, collections were Rs 17-18 crore. “The film has received an overwhelming response and took a decent weekday opening today as well,” Thadani says.
In Gujarat, Ajay Bagbai of Rajvi Trade Links adds, “The weekend was dhamakedar in Gujarat and we earned Rs 7.75 crore. In Saurashtra, collections were around Rs 1.38 crore. The all-India nett collections over the weekend were around Rs 48 crore.”
In the Delhi-UP circuit, Sanjay Ghai of Mukta Arts says the weekend business of Rowdy Rathore was Rs 10 crore in the region. “The film has done exceptionally well and is expected to close its first week with fabulous numbers.”
Surendra Saluja of Lakshya Movies in East Punjab says Rowdy Rathore ran nearly house full during the weekend. “The business of this film over the weekend was Rs 3.4 crore. This week, too, the film will be good,” he predicts.
In CP, Sarang Chandak of Shri Rang Films says, “Rowdy Rathore’s weekend was really good in CP Berar. On Friday, the film earned Rs 86 lakh at the box office. On Saturday, collections fell a little, to Rs 71 lakh but rose again on Sunday to Rs 98 lakh. The total weekend collection was Rs 2.5 crore.”
In Orissa, Jeetu Khandelwal of Movie Pioneers is optimistic, “The film has received very good reviews and it did really well during the weekend, when collections were Rs 50-56 lakh in Orissa. The only problem is there is no major holiday coming up, and this may affect the first-week collections.”
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June 4, 2012 at 7:53 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh
#RowdyRathore Monday trends: Rocking… Expect a big, fat total on Monday… ‘Wowdy’ Rathore!
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June 4, 2012 at 8:05 AM
In all the reporting on Rowdy.. everyone from Taran to Nahta to Joginder to BOI to boxofficeindia.co.in is saying identical things, as if they’d all taken dictation from the same source!
1)It’s 48 crores with total precision. Taran pretends ti’s actually 48.3!
2)Everyone is doing a comparison with Agneepath in favor of RR saying that film had a 4 day advantage. Well presumably not every film can take advantage of a 4 day weekend! But in any case the comparisons are almost exclusively with Agneepath. Suddenly everyone has the very same idea at the very same time!
This is not about the RR performance which is obviously doing very well but about this chorus that emerges. And this is one of the things I refer to from time to time. How can different sources (seemingly so!) say the very same things?!
Finally, and while RR has done very well (I’ve said earlier I expect better trending than the usual Salman film here) the fact is that the numbers are being painted if these were 3I’s or Ghajini’s! In each case you had numbers that were stunningly ahead of the curve. No other film had clocked such numbers. Today for every film that does very well and especially so for the 100 crore grosser there is such breathless, such over the top commentary, that if one didn’t have any contexts one would think something special was happening every time. It’s as if Hollywood commentators went crazy everytime a film made 200m or 300m or whatever. As we can see even the 552m of Avengers so far has invited more restrained commentary. But this is where the Bollywood system ceases to mean anything beyond a point. Every such film is crazily hyped and the only difference each time is they just select the flimsy variable that can make the case. So when a film like Agneepath releases the very 4 day weekend that is supposed to be an advantage (films have had 5 day holiday periods as well) suddenly becomes a disadvantage when another film is to be celebrated. The trade analysts all behave like besotted teenage fans on twitter and the writeups. It is sickening. But this creates that larger narrative where beyond a point even the numbers don’t matter as much as this relentless hyping.
But again the irony is that this is self-deconstruction on the part of these guys without their realizing it. If it’s done with every other film it ceases to have an impact. People just expect the crazy commentary. And if every other film is breaking records then really no film is breaking records. Or if one actually did there would be no language to describe it since all linguistic resources have long ago been exhausted by these guys!
Nahata said on twitter the other day that ‘honesty is still the best policy’. I do agree that prostitution can be done with honesty too though I’m not sure if this applies to the likes of Nahata.
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June 4, 2012 at 8:32 AM
Biggest ever Sunday for Rowdy Rathore!!!!!!!!
1. Rowdy Rathore 18.5 crores
2. Dabangg 18.02 crores
3. Bodyguard 18 crores
4. Don 2 17.24 crores
5. Ready 16.76 crores
6. Agneepath 16.34 crores
7. Housefull 2 15.85 crores
8. Ra One 13.84 crores
9. 3 Idiots 13.5 crores
http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/biggest-ever-sunday-for-rowdy-rathore-beats-dabangg/
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June 4, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Further proof that the pyramid star system of Bollywood has flattened to make it similar to the ‘table-top’ system of Hollywood.
The Khans, HR, Akshay, AjayD can all carry a mass movie forward.
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June 4, 2012 at 10:24 AM
Well the easier way of saying this is ‘anyone’ can get it done in the right project. Which is of course the Hollywood example. They do it in a wide variety of genres, Bollywood doesn’t, but they do so with very many stars and often non-stars. It is much more about the project. For the Bollywood dominant genres today one does have to be minimally star to some degree (which is not about counting hits and flops) but it is much more about exciting the audience. And here a step is often missed when ‘top’ stars are pointed out. Because they are as vulnerable when they don’t have the right project going for them even on strength genres! It’s not about final grosses but even the initials that become questionable. Barring Aamir this case could very easily be made for everyone else on the list. And even with the right project the top stars often depend on crazy hype to get those initials. Again Aamir is an exception but so is Salman currently. Just a poster or a teaser from his films creates huge buzz. But this certainly isn’t true for the others on the list. The problem is that there is a tendency to look at things backwards and overlay it with a level of generality that obscures the details and often the ‘real’ story. Saif excited the box office with LAK. Ranbir did it the same year with APKGK. No one ever though Saif was in the upper echelons but the point is that those who are often cannot do better than this. And so the ‘table-top’ system is quite right as you put it but given this situation it is not the 100 crore hit that separates stars but those who can either put up a lot of these in a compressed time period (as Salman has been doing) or else who can get great success with ‘difference’ (as Aamir has done for much longer). But again even among the stars who do get big grossers there are very many distinctions to be made. There is this tendency in the entire Bombay film culture (both among those in the media and those who form the audience, specially online) to blindly follow the ‘100 crore’ lead. ‘Get 100 crores and no questions will be asked’ is the usual ‘ideology’. On this score it is not like Hollywood at all. In fact Bombay is diverging more from Hollywood in terms of analysis and just simple informed debate in these matters the more it becomes Hollywoodized in terms of its cinema. Where the Hollywood system submits the biggest grossers often to the toughest kind of analysis in every sense, Bollywood converts the same into a propaganda opportunity at every end of the divide. And here I should add that much as I might blame the trade or the media or the industry for whatever kind of bankruptcy the audience isn’t too far behind. Even worse on the blogosphere where it is simply about increasing levels of dogmatism of not fanaticism. Fundamentally the ‘facts’ seem to matter very little in most debates. People either wholly ignore them or simply pick the ones they like. Evidence to the contrary is simply not crucial for most people. And of course there isn’t the slightest humility about either being wrong (and therefore altering one’s opinions and/or analysis) or not being right at any point when it matters (after the 100 crore grosser it doesn’t exactly take a genius to say a star is doing well). So one shouldn’t even just blame the crazies in the trade or media or wherever. Because they’re also part of the audience. This is where despite all the ‘aspirations’ about becoming Western (not saying this is a good or bad but it’s there) the ‘desi’ mindset eventually reveals itself. Much as we tend to look at the West’s technological resources and the systems of government and so on without ever wondering what the ‘thought process’ was that led to this similarly in this instance we’re always about Hollywood colonization and so on without ever trying to figure out what the true strength of that system is. A culture can replicate the ‘symptoms’ of success of another culture but it cannot become that or something truly comparable without really understanding the ‘thinking’ of the same or developing an alternate thinking that is comparable to the same. In India we still cannot get over the regional bias that would allow us to appreciate the far greater riches of contemporary commercial cinema in Tamil (to offer one example) or in a more artistically elevated sense the supreme example of Adoor Goplakrishnan or someone like. We cannot even embrace everything in India but we somehow think that it’s about embracing everything that shows up at Cannes! We treat Cannes as a great ad campaign (which it of course is at many levels) but the real winners here are serious films. What is the thinking that can get one there? It might begin with appreciating or at least being open to authentic cinema at home. So it’s all symptomatic of a larger problem. The current box office discussion is a classic example of this. To put it in even stronger terms it isn’t just about the box office, we are by and large and at least so far not a very ‘critical’ culture. It’s not about the wide ‘masses, that would be true in any country, but about a larger cultural apparatus that values analysis and critical questioning. And because that original framework is strong enough you find relatively few ‘desis’ even among those who’ve lived for ages in a Western country who really absorb that principle. To get back to the box office discussion one last time here in Hollywood it’s not that stars are somehow more honest or nicer human beings or whatever. It’s just that they cannot say certain things about their medium without instantly coming off as crazy or absurd. In India on the other hand the very same stuff is lapped up by everyone and celebrated.
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June 4, 2012 at 1:39 PM
well i said in another thread that this thunderous opening for RR confirms that there is no clear “number one” in this industry. it is the genre that is “the flavor of the week” for the audience. and i do believe that given the right presentation, “anyone” CAN produce a hit. my question in the other thread was…who’s next? the bandwagon still has some room…SRK, abhishek and Saif??
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June 4, 2012 at 1:53 PM
But Aamir is still in a special position till someone else can produce the same combo or commercial and critical success. let’s not forget he still has the biggest gross by a mile and is likely to hold onto that with either D3 or Hirani and maybe both! But this also has practical consequences. Aamir isn’t tied to a genre. How long can Salman possibly keep this up no matter how invincible he currently looks? How long can Akshay do it for that matter?
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June 4, 2012 at 2:05 PM
exactly my point. how long till this “flavor” gets old for the audience? that’s why its key for akki to do a OUTIM2 or sallu bhai to do a Barjatya film and a ETT. ill be curious to see how those films do…
as for Aamir, he is not alone and above in my opinion. SRK is still there. RaOne and Don 2 had huge numbers(below expectations but still huge). hrithik is right there with SRK in my opinion because he isn’t tied to a genre either. to me, SRK, Aamir and Hrithik are the only actors that can open ANY kind of movie at the moment.
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June 4, 2012 at 2:22 PM
I disagree with that.. SRK didn’t open Swades hugely, he didn’t even open RNBDJ hugely. Nor even MNIK. Hrithik didn’t open ZNMD hugely (MBKD opened exactly like it.. both were a bit behind Rockstar). Guzaarish didn’t open to anything. JA had a weak opening. It is only Aamir who in any given genre gives you the best possible number. But also with SRK I’d add this that for him to get those massive initials the opportunity cost is much greater. So take Ra One. How much did this film cost? Leaving aside the fantasy genre and so on. Salman’s getting it done in nothing films. Aamir’s doing so in very moderately budgeted stuff. These things count. Again Don 2 was the sequel of a remake and nonetheless was sluggish. Opened well enough, even big but not like some of this other stuff. So the cost of SRK getting to the same number is much greater. Not so with hrithik on his big films but note how he too historically has truly justified those big costs either in his father’s films or in something like D3. In other words Hrithik is super within his strength genres but the problem is he doesn’t stick to them. So the distributor knows Hrithik is as strong as anyone if it’s about Krrish. But this doesn’t come often enough. when it’s about the other stuff he’s suddenly mortal. Once again Agneepath was a remake with some frills attached to it. The larger point I’m making is that any star’s model must be sustainable one on most days, not just on some. Here Salman is the distributor’s favorite star because he has his bread and butter films that all do well but also come at regular intervals. Aamir whom the distributors trust even more because he can work with any genre nonetheless has some long absences. But other than this Aamir is just the most trusted brandname around.
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June 4, 2012 at 2:44 PM
with all due respect, i don’t how you can say a 90cr opening week for RaOne isn’t huge or a 70cr opening week for D2 isn’t huge. these are very very good numbers. and these are two VERY different genres. RaOne was a movie genre that had a weak audience and SRK still managed to open that movie. i know it was diwali and had a lot of hype…but SRK was the reason the hype was there. with Don 2…it was a 180 turn from RaOne. as for his earlier films…i agree swades didn’t open all that well. but V-Z, MHN, RNBDJ, OSM, MNIK all opened very well. those films don’t represent my argument very well though because they represent basically the same genre lol…but my argument is for more recently(past couple years). i think SRK has proven he can open a movie with any genre at the moment. he is on his home turf this diwali with a YashRaj film so you know the numbers will be huge. i’m not sure what movie he is doing after that but ill be curious to see how it opens.
with hrithik, ZMND had a 44cr opening week(which is damn good for its genre) and agneepath had 80cr opening week(which puts him in the big leagues). again two very different genre’s and both very very good opening weeks.
i think for both these actors their recent box office openings have proven they can open a movie with any genre. i realize AP was a remake, i realize RaOne was expensive, but you cannot just discount the fact that both of those movies opening to very very huge numbers. if and when ETT opens to numbers like this then i won’t hesitate to put sallu bhai in this tier of Aamir, SRK and Hrithik. same thing goes for akki, if and when Joker release with 80+ cr in the opening week…akki will be up there also.
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June 4, 2012 at 2:57 PM
90 crores isn’t for a regular weekend but a 5 day or so extended Diwali weekend. Hrithik in this genre with one third the cost would have opened it to at least as much. That counts for something. And my point isn’t that these numbers aren’t good. Just that Salman is producing the same without breaking a sweat. And the fantasy argument works both ways. Because without the hype associated with this the film wouldn’t have opened that way anyway even with SRK as Don2 proved. OSO opened very well, RNBDJ opened around 40-45 crores when Ghajini opened at least 10 crores higher than this for a seven day period. MNIK much later than RNBDJ had no more than this number and while this wasn’t a regular genre the SRK/Johar combo could have been a lot better on day 1. This film never had much buzz, the Shiv Sena controversy gave it some, despite this it was anemic. But again what year are we talking about? MHN and VZ are 2004! Even then MHN while very good was hardly spectacular. VZ was though a sinking MP crossed this initial less than a year later. In any case I am referring to what has been the case for maybe half a decade now when SRK just hasn’t kept pace with the highest benchmarks and even when he has the opportunity cost of doing so has been way greater. OSO too had lots of frills attached to it. Think about what the last SRK subject was that didn’t have such gimmicks and really excited the audience. RNBDJ did very well but it didn’t open very hugely at all. All this doesn’t mean that he cannot get the big numbers going. But it’s much more project-dependent for him at this point. Meawnhile you spend Rs 10 on a film, throw in Salman and you have an 80 crore initial! So there is a strong opportunity cost involved here. These things don’t happen in a vacuum. And by the way even the media discourse is biased against Aamir despite everything. Do you really think if SRK had had 200 crores in his peak period that they’d be talking about a 100 crore club? Why not just say the top star is he who gets to 200. Only Aamir has done this and he’s on top! But the larger point is that a lot of the hype is completely misleading. This has been an old point of mine. SRK’s numbers for example are called great across a whole vast range (much like Akshay’s for sometime and some other stars). This obfuscates the details. Ghajini opened well ahead of the competition in a way that wasn’t even imaginable at the time. Years later these other guys are getting brownie points for just crawling across the 100 crore finish line (with some dubious numbers to boot!). Much as 3I did 200 crores releasing at the end of 2009. How come no one else even does 150? Eventually inflation will kick in. But those benchmarks are soemthing else. How much would Ghajini end of ’08 115 crores be worth today? Specially with that trending?! Getting back to SRK I can assure you that no one will invest Ra One kind of money on him again, no one will even be in a hurry to invest Don2 like money. After a certain age these failures have very real consequences. Ra One was a very massive failure for him. The gross means zilch here compared to the kind of cost that was involved to produce those numbers. Sure SRK can still get it done but he can’t match his best peers all things considered. And this is a function of age. Once a star loses the buzz factor it becomes much more about the project and the base showing up as opposed to anything exciting the audience. You can’t compare what Aamir or salman can do most days if not all days with what SRK can do on the exceptional one. He has enough of a base to do the latter but not enough of one at this point for the former. hrithik is a different deal. He could like Salman do multiple Krrish-like or D2-like deals every year but he’s not willing to. He’s either taken long gaps or he tries out other stuff where he’s much more mortal. Hence it’s still not the same deal for the distributor.
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June 4, 2012 at 3:17 PM
“Meawnhile you spend Rs 10 on a film, throw in Salman and you have an 80 crore initial! So there is a strong opportunity cost involved here. ”
well if you want to go pre-dabangg just as you have gone for SRK(going back to 2004) sallu should not even be in this argument. Yuvraaj, London Dreams, Veer are all colossal failures. Even Main aur Mrs. Khanna(which was pretty cheap) bombed badly. so clearly sallu is riding this “masala” wave right now.
SRK on the other hand hasn’t even attempted this “flavor of the week” genre and is still amongst the very top. this is really ironic that i am arguing FOR SRK lol..but i think we should give him his due.
i agree Aamir has set the standard because again and again he has given hits left and right within different genre’s. so he’s automatically at the top. 3I to me was a perfect storm though and not solely all Aamir that it made 200cr. films like TZP, Ghajini, Lagaan prove it was all Aamir because for each of the films mentioned…no other actor could make those movies a hit, in my opinion.
with all the rest…there is no argument from me. my only disagreement is that SRK and Hrithik belong in the same tier with Aamir(at the moment).
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June 4, 2012 at 4:36 PM
Agreed on the Salman point and I’ve made that more ‘historic’ argument myself many times but that pre-Dabanng reality doesn’t govern Salman at this point. Much as what Devgan was doing for many years also doesn’t matter just now. If you ask me whether SRK has a better long term future or Salman I’d say the former but all those are different debates.
On SRK and hrithik in the same tier I don’t see how that’s the case when neither one has a 200 crore grosser, neither one has a Ghajini-like grosser adjusted for inflation, neither one has been half as successful doing different stuff. Hrithik is nonetheless a young guy and he has some advantages over SRK at this very moment. He’s always been one of the top stars. But how has he matched Aamir whichever way you slice and dice it?
Now on the point of 200 crores not solely being on Aamir well but that’s true for many stars in many situations? we have to account for all of these first. And 3I still doesn’t have another lead star, it doesn’t even have lots of guest stars. And so on. If this isn’t an Aamir victory what is? Sure it has a very important director here but we don’t subtract this for other stars. By these lights a far better case could be made that three of Hrithik’s blockbusters have come with Filmkraft ‘and’ his father at the helm, the other one was a sequel with other important stars. And the final one though a 100 crore grosser doesn’t quite belong to that same group with the other four because there’s absolutely no comparison in trending or for that matter final benchmarks and in any case this too was a remake with Dutt in it in a much publicized look and role. So if one is going to say that for 3I the others don’t stand a chance. How many films has SRK done with lots of other factors attached?! Very many.
I of course appreciate the fact that as an Aamir fan you are being so fair about it even if I disagree with you. Some SRK fans would do well to learn something from you.
I personally think the whole ‘Khans’ label has been fed as a kind of dogma over the years. Hrithik or Askhay or whoever actually have to do well. With that label though at any given point just one or two guys have to do well and the third guy benefits. All three have never done equally well together. They’ve had very different trajectories, they’re cinema has been very different but somehow everyone insists on this ‘Khan’ label which I have always been suspicious about in more ways than one.
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June 4, 2012 at 3:26 PM
“Sure SRK can still get it done but he can’t match his best peers all things considered.”
how is 90cr opening week not matching his peers??? how is 70cr in a non masala fare not matching his peers??
again i am talking about “in the now.” hrithik proved his worth in a genre out of his comfort level and so did SRK. we will see if sallu and akki can do the same…going out of their comfort level. aamir has certainly gone against the grain most of his career.
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June 5, 2012 at 12:37 AM
“On SRK and hrithik in the same tier I don’t see how that’s the case when neither one has a 200 crore grosser, neither one has a Ghajini-like grosser adjusted for inflation, neither one has been half as successful doing different stuff.”
for SRK- CDI, RaOne, Don 2 are three very different films..and all of them are hits.
for hrithik- J-A, Agneepath, ZMND three very different films and all of them are hits.
maybe im making it too simplistic but to me besides Aamir, no other actors have given hits all around.
Akki- has recently tried diff genre’s and has failed miserably.
Sallu- already discussed and we both agree on him.
Ajay- falls into akki and sallu category for me.
the rest are not even close. ranbir is up and coming though in my opinion.
yes neither, hrithik nor SRK, have had huge success outside their turf but they have had solid successes.
as for 3I, i’m not totally discounting Aamir’s star power but it was a 50/50 sort of thing for me. the movie had the perfect message for the youth and also had a huge entertaining romantic factor. thats why i said it was a perfect storm. it was a well made movie with entertainment, great direction, and a great cast with a star lead.
regarding the Khans you said-
“They’ve had very different trajectories, they’re cinema has been very different but somehow everyone insists on this ‘Khan’ label which I have always been suspicious about in more ways than one.”
yes i agree the 3 Khans have had different trajectories box office wise and even content wise. yes none of the 3 khan’s have been successful all at the same time until NOW. no matter how you say it or how you put it…SRK is still successful..Aamir ofcourse we agree is successful and same goes for Sallu. this is the first time that all 3 Khan’s are on top at the same time and seeing success.
the “dogma” as you say is actually kind of true. the 3 khans have dominated the industry since 1988. Go back 24 years and i think 18-19 of those years have had one of the Khans movie as the top grossing movie of that year. sunny, anil, govinda were the challenges in the 90’s(now they’ve all faded away). hrithik, akki and ajay to a certain extent have been the challenges post 2000 til now.
anyway, i know you have bigger fish to fry(mr. kashyap) lol…so i thank you for taking the time to discuss this. it’s always fun discussing this kind of stuff with you.
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June 5, 2012 at 6:28 AM
The problem is Bachchan was still considered easily the top star till he retired for 5 years in 1992. Before this there was point when Anil Kapoor was making his claim, a bit after this it was Dutt and the latter’s similar claim continued till his legal troubles began. No one ever called Aamir the top star in that period. Salman did very well with his debut and a bit after but no one once again called him the top star. SRK arrived in .92, by the end of ’93 he had the Baazigar/Darr double. Nonetheless no one was calling him the top star even when DDLJ released, even after this! Meanwhile by this time Salman had lost his initial glow. But despite Bachchan’s absence no one felt anyone had taken over his spot. Though of course a newer generation was coming in and things were changing there was just not the sense that anyone occupied that kind of space. of course when he came back he didn’t do well for a while. But even when KKHH released in 1998 was by no means a clear cut position that SRK was the top star. So this idea that they’ve dominated the industry is something I find completely false. Much as I’m not arguing that SRK isn’t successful today. But he’s not where Aamir or Salman are. Also the terms of success for a ‘fading’ star are rather different. If a once top star is not able to define the field in the same way anymore either because his films have ceased to be the most iconic or because he cannot create the biggest grossers he enters a period of relative decline. The fact that he is nonetheless more successful than most others means he can still be around. It doesn’t mean he is still where he was.
But leaving this debate aside note again the problem with that label. If I said something like ‘for the last 10 years Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan have dominated things or at least one or two of these have always done well’ this wouldn’t mean much to you because you would wonder what was common to this group. It would only make sense if like in the 50s there were three top male stars and there was loose parity among them. My point here is that had those three guys not been called ‘Khan’ no one would make such a collective case for them.
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June 4, 2012 at 11:18 AM
I liked the movie.. good timepass and my ears resonate with taaliya and seetiya in every second scene from the film..
This is gonna be a massive success.. 120 crore+ is definitely on the cards
Im back to reading one, Two, Buckle my shoe by Christie
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June 4, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Apparently, as per easrly reports, RR is on course for a 12-13 crore Monday. If it holds true, this will be a monster and will leap frog over soft 100 crore grossers like Ra. one and Don 2.
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June 4, 2012 at 1:19 PM
absolutely and these will be early signs of strong trending.
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June 4, 2012 at 1:41 PM
wow…that is insane. might even touch 100cr in the first week. i predicted 65cr in the first week and 115cr being the final tally…i guess it will exceed both those numbers…amazing.
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June 4, 2012 at 5:22 PM
12 crore would be extremely good for RR.. in fact anything over 10 crore would be..
If I am correct, no film apart from 3 idiots and maybe BG has had a double-figure (crore) gross on a Monday..
Anyways, checked out Vicky Donor’s timings and box-office status yesterday.. Pleasantly surprised to find a housefull board..
I think its faring even better than Ishaqzaade in the capital in its fifth week . What a massive achievement for a film that came out of nowehere.
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June 4, 2012 at 6:16 PM
3 idiots and Dabangg have hit double figures on Monday.
Let’s see what RR does….
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June 5, 2012 at 1:45 AM
yeah.. sorry.. I meant Dabangg instead of BG
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June 4, 2012 at 5:51 PM
Rowdy Rathore–the roar !!- a throwback to the ‘masala guilt’
While I write a few haphazard random points on this, I think about the few seconds promo of ‘pretam pyaare’ which elicited the following thoughts –
This will be the biggest hit of akshay krs career and should be atleast 100crores
Don’t know the exact reason for these thoughts- call it a cultivated hunch…
But as expected, there were ‘voices’ pointing out the ‘lewd vulgarish’ vibe of the song and the ‘cheesy element’– even I doubted my reading for a moment but not for long, as usual …
Well, guess’masala’, “cheese’, ‘leaving behind the brain home’, ‘rom-th com’ the most abused terms on film blogospheres, particularly Bollywood related?
The answer is yes–we all (including myself) dish these out when convenient and depending on the situation -a) whether one has to support a star or bring him /her down
b) how will we be perceived in the event of panning the film (as in case of some ‘serious/alternative’ fare or if going gaga over a supposed ‘masala cretinous’ take
c) other nefarious politics /’peer’ pressure-ish reasons eg on blogs
But will try to stay clear of these…
Have only ONE criteria–
Did I enjoy the film and get my time worth –
The answer is YES…
Butt thats not a big surprise to me
There are some related observations though–
1) as expected this is akshay krs best film /performance to date
2) he actually has three roles here –the post interval ‘role reversal’ is a subtle (by these OTT standards ‘variation’
And he pulls it off
3) had wondered if this is salmans ‘dabang’
The answer may be ‘yes’ since it seems to be ‘career defining’ in a dominating absolutist sense wherein a star literally and metaphorically carries a film on his shoulders
4) It astutely mixes Akshays action image with his comic style and also adds the requisite gravitas and bravado in this inspector role and also fine tunes the ‘adjustment’ with throwbacks of comedic as well as romantic interludes
5) have never seen a south indian masala film beofre and am unaware of this tradition… But it explains to the NON-south Indian audiences why the South Indian heroes become such big deals and land up with temples and roads and political parties in their names
6) just as it introduced and ‘groomed’ some Bollywood naives ( a Czech, a Ukrainian, and a compulsive bolly hater) into the ‘traditions’ of Bollywood –surpisingly two of them liked it a lot & had good fun (though I’m not sure if it was my charming company!!)
7) the plot is thin and so is most of ‘logic’ theories
But those suddenly looking for it after seeing the promos of akshay landing from a seemingly ten floor height to kill some goons need to taken to a side m held by their scruff of their neck and asked some ‘polite’ questions about their true intentions.
8) the music was above par -all songs made me groove somewhat …and had a sense of rhythm. Coming from a rehman die hard, this statement shouldn’t mean that I have suddenly committed ‘blasphemy’ or shouldn’t be allowed to ‘show my face’ to oh-those peers and co-fans, ha…
The background music was (aptly) loud and was by Sandip ‘company’ chowta fame…
9) the supporting cast was uniformly good
Though nassars (& other baddie who was also seen in 1:40 ki last local) who had obviously south accents couldn’t really hide em–but that’s a v small point /qualm
10) prabhudeva was a revelation
In a way, when one sees the names of prabhudeva, bhansali and utv, one knows something is about to happen -gud or bad-fortunately it was gud here
Prbhudeva maintains the ‘grip’ , ‘tempo’ and drama with adequate comic relief and episodic capsules of comedy, romance, pseudo-masala and genuine masala
12) sonakshi-I’ve been quit severe on her lack of talent , skillset and fitness etc. but she does have a certain ‘presence’ and a surprisingly self assured confidence …
13) but above all, this sort of throwback edit film is a tribute to masculinity, machismo and virility and so on…
Don’t care a damn of the various connotations–
But this is essentially an ‘active’ mans film whos alive n kicking…
So much so, that will also have a hypothesis that a guy not enjoying this stuff even secretly has some problems and needs the testosterone levels tested and I make no qualms about this observation…
14) and finally -my
Mini homage to the few minutes on screen of vikram rathore -the police inspector and his sheer bravado–Im more than aware of the cynics and the sneering know- alls who ‘pull down’ this sort of stuff but the pre interval action scenes by the actual rathore made the child and the ‘alive’ man in me happy & that’s all one cares really
Overall, not a v good film forget a landmark film by any standards but one that does what it says on the tin competently and unabashedly – prabhudeva uses all the massy tropes in the correct measure, maintains grip and tempo and finds a partner in crime in akshay who grabs the opportunity (& his machismo) with both hands and delivers the biggest film of their careers…
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June 4, 2012 at 5:55 PM
re.-While I write a few haphazard random points on this
if the above are few then god save us from more than a few …LOL
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June 4, 2012 at 7:43 PM
thanks for your take Alex..
By the way you’re really into the Eastern European scene! Just hope it isn’t a case of Eastern Promises.
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June 4, 2012 at 7:56 PM
Ha
Haven’t watched the cronenberg film properly though…
Ps-we r talking about some v brainy folks here lol
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June 5, 2012 at 1:11 AM
“Overall, not a v good film forget a landmark film by any standards”
thats the only statement i agree with. lol. oh and agree with how akki owned this film. though i think he has had better performances, for ex; action replay, pataila house, khakee, khiladi, and in my mind a very under rated performance, ek rishtaa. i know many will think im crazy with those selections. lol. pataila house remains my recent fave akki performance along with RR now.
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June 4, 2012 at 6:02 PM
Haha
As i said- this film is a sort of a tribute to ‘machismo’ throwback style..
‘length’ ( or the surplus of it ) does become an issue somewhat in these scenarios 🙂
Ps- but even females enjoyed the cheese n action here ( unlike agneepath though there was ‘competition’ in this crass action but as well at places)
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June 4, 2012 at 6:04 PM
re.-Did I enjoy the film and get my time worth –
The answer is YES…
Butt thats not a big surprise to me
why are you always talking aboyt the Butt man ?? LOL
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June 4, 2012 at 6:11 PM
Omrocky-if u will post one comment per typo, u may be posting all night -all the best 😉
The day I start correcting typos or posting ‘spell checked’ comments, it’s like SRK becoming truly humble, Salman stops being a womaniser and aamir releasing six films as lead in a year…
So if u have to read, deal with the typos..
Btw I’m waiting for your ‘long’ review but don’t worry —
Don’t ‘spell check’ the posts of others as well lol
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June 4, 2012 at 6:22 PM
ha ha …Please Alex Adam don’t mind nahee karo sir, was just pulling your leg…
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June 4, 2012 at 6:29 PM
Haha
Btw anyone not agreeing or not liking these thought ps won’t be looked upon sympathetically
Don’t angry me !!! 🙂
Ps-as discussed on the other thread with minor, akshays ‘serious inspector’ in the pre interval was truly in his ‘zone’ there not only of this film bit of his cinematic career
One knows about batsmen hitting this patch where the ball just it’s the centre of the bat nd everything is timed to perfection ..
The flaws in his dialogue delivery and giant loo pholes in the plot became secondary and for a moment, time just stood still to let the poor under rated guy have some time of his own under the ‘spotlight of brilliance’…
A big day for akshay fans (if any here)
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June 4, 2012 at 11:03 PM
Rowdy Rathore Looking At Huge Monday
Monday 4th June 2012 23.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore is looking at huge business on Monday with the early collections coming in suggesting a 9 crore nett Monday.
The film held up extremely well on monday with single screens doing extraordinary business and multiplexes recording excellent business. A circuit like Delhi/UP seems like showing just a 30% drop from Friday and could come out with around 2 crore nett business. Other circuits are looking to drop in the 35-45% range.
Overall its a huge Monday and the film should cross 75 crore nett for its first week business.
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June 5, 2012 at 4:36 PM
Off Topic
Pierfrancesco Favino and Shekhar Kapur Presidents of International Juries
06 | 05 | 2012
69th Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 29 to Sept. 8
The actor Pierfrancesco Favino, one of the leading artists of the new generation of forty-year-olds who are changing the Italian star-system, and director and producer Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers), the most prestigious of Indian filmmakers at the international level, will be the Presidents of the Juries respectively for the Orizzonti and the “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film sections of the 69th Venice International Film Festival of the Biennale di Venezia (29 August – 8 September 2012)…
http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/news/05-06.html
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June 5, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Rowdy Rathore Monday Territorial Breakdown
Tuesday 5th June 2012 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy rathore collected 9 crore crore nett plus on day one which is third highest Monday collection of all time.. The Mondayterritorial breakdown is as follows.
Mumbai – 3.65 crore
Delhi/UP – 1.75 crore
East Punjab – 60 lakhs
West Bengal – 28 lakhs
Bihar – 30 lakhs
Assam – 10 lakhs
Orissa – 12 lakhs
CP Berar – 56 lakhs
CI – 41 lakhs
Rajasthan – 58 lakhs
Nizam – 41 lakhs
Mysore – 25 lakhs
TNK – 10 lakhs
TOTAL – 9.11 crore
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June 5, 2012 at 10:46 PM
Top First Monday Collections: ROWDY RATHORE Third
Tuesday 5th June 2012 11.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore has had one of biggest Monday’s ever as collections come in around 9 crore nett. The collections are less than Dabangg and Three Idiots which went over 10 crore nett on Monday but on par but better than films like Bodyguard, Ready, Agneepath, Don2, Golmaal 3 and Housefull 2. The top Monday collections are as follows.
1. Dabangg – 10.75 crore
2. Three Idiots – 10.50 crore
3. Rowdy Rathore – 9 crore
4. Bodyguard – 8.75 crore
5. Golmaal 3 – 8.25 crore
-. Don 2 – 8.25 crore
7. Ready – 8 crore
8. Agneepath – 7.5 crore
9. Housefull 2 – 6.75 crore
10. Ghajini – 6.25 crore
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June 5, 2012 at 11:11 PM
poor shanghai…has little chance of surviving this weekend. RR has three free weeks until TMK releases and then couples weeks after that BB. it’s probably going to be in the 130’s now…maybe even 140’s.
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June 6, 2012 at 12:54 AM
PVR sells satellite rights of Shanghai for Rs 90 million
http://www.indiantelevision.com/aac/y2k12/aac683.php
PVR Cinemas has sold the satellite rights of its soon-to-be released Dibakar Banerji-helmed film Shanghai for Rs 90 million. But it has not declared as to whom the rights have been sold to.
When indiantelevision.com contacted PVR Group president Kamal Gyanchandani wanting to know the details of the rights, he desisted in giving information. “We will be coming out with the information soon,” he said.
Shanghai is a political thriller based on the novel Z by Vassilis Vassilikos. It stars Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Amin Raj.
Gyanchandani confirmed that the cost of production of Shanghai was Rs 125 million, while print and advertisement cost was Rs 80 million. He also confirmed that 20 per cent of the all India theatrical rights have been sold for Rs 40 million and music rights for Rs 27.6 million.
At this rate, PVR has to recover Rs 47.4 million from 80 per cent Indian theatrical rights, overseas rights and home video rights. “We are keeping our fingers crossed. Wait and watch,” Gyanchandani observed.
The film is slated for release on 8 June.
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June 6, 2012 at 12:58 AM
Pure economics point of view, Shanghai looks to be quite safe.
All India theatrical rights just 4 crore. Just needs a decent weekend & week 1 to sail through especially at multiplexes. Don’t really expect RR to sustain at plexes this weekend…Single screens a different story altogether !!
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June 6, 2012 at 1:00 AM
UTV announces release dates of Barfi, Joker and Heroine
http://www.indiantelevision.com/aac/y2k12/aac687.php
UTV Motion Pictures has announced the release dates of three of its big-ticket films.
While Anurag Basu-directed film Barfi! will release on 31 August, the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Joker will release on 14 September and the Madhur Bhandarkar-helmed Kareena Kapoor-starrer Heroine on 21 September.
Barfi!, which stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileyana, is the story of Barfi-the chalu Chaplin who the girls love but the cops hate. He can’t speak but is always talked about. His naughty antics will make one scream but he never listens, because he can’t.
On the other hand, the country’s first ever extra-terrestrial drama, Shirish Kunder-directed film Joker is the story of Agastya (Akshay Kumar), a researcher probing the existence of aliens in the universe who returns to his small little native village. The out-of-luck Agastya takes it upon himself to put his crazy village on the global map and continues with his exploration on aliens from there.
While his plan gets the village attention from across the world, it also comes with a great deal of risk. Will aliens save the day for Aghastya or will his plans fall like a pack of cards?
The film has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures, Three’s Company and Kumar’s Hari Om Productions.
Lastly, Heroine is based on the life and times of a superstar heroine from the dream factory we call ‘Bollywood’. The film is an entertaining, daring, emotional, shocking, glamorous, scandalous behind the scenes account of the reality behind the world of glitz and glamour that our film stars inhabit.
For a country obsessed with films and film stars, Heroine will take audiences on a voyeuristic journey to see what really goes on behind the closed doors of make-up rooms and vanity vans. It gives them a chance to go beyond the gorgeous smiles and politically correct quotes, to see what really happens in the lives of India’s sweethearts.
The film has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Madhur Bhandarkar.
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June 6, 2012 at 11:01 AM
Wasn’t Agastya also the name of Akshay’s character in Kunder’s Jaan-E-Mann. And that film ended with Agastya in space. Joker has Agastya in space finding aliens! Was this supposed to be a sequel or something?
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June 6, 2012 at 11:09 AM
btw abzee–if i remember correctly–u were the only one who got my “preetam pyaare’ reading correctly..
was impressed with the overall zing, energy and sheer ‘fitness’
Plus the 3 on 1 combo act was interesting for me (as usual and for obviouis reasons)
btw the box office results of this film are there to see for all
ps–give me a high-five 😉
ps2–read m comments above as well, if u can dare to sift thru the iphone posted repetitive copy-paste job…
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June 6, 2012 at 11:11 AM
and btw werent u the one who recently got robbed aka married sorry joking
r u still ok mate 🙂
r u safe n sound
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June 6, 2012 at 1:03 AM
Release of Jism 2 to release on 27 July
http://www.indiantelevision.com/aac/y2k12/aac684.php
Mahesh Bhatt’s Sunny Leone-starrer Jism 2 is set to be preponed. The film that was to release on 3 August. It will now release on 27 July.
The Bhatts decided to prepone the film’s release date to avoid a clash with Ekta Kapoor’s Kya Super Kool Hai Hum that stars Tusshar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh.
It may be recalled that producer-director Mahesh Bhatt entered the house of Bigg Boss last year for a couple of hours to sign Leone and cast her as the lead actress in this sequel of Jism that had Bipasha Basu and John Abraham.
The film, being directed by Pooja Bhatt, has Leone playing Izna, a quintessential seductress. Randeep Hooda plays Kabir, who can be described as the warrior and Arunoday Singh plays Ayaan, who can be described as the swashbuckler while Imran Zahid is playing the role of a narcotics sleuth hailing from Delhi.
While Leone plays the female lead, the film will have two male protagonists. Currently Pooja Bhatt has signed Randeep Hooda and Arunoday Singh as lead actors. Imran Zahid is reportedly playing a role of a narcotics sleuth hailing from Delhi, in the film.
In Jism 2 Sunny Leone plays Izna, can be said the quintessential seductress. Randeep Hooda plays Kabir, who can be described as the warrior, and Arunoday Singh plays Ayaan, who can be described as the swashbuckler. It’s a love triangle.
Besides directing “Jism 2”, actress-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt is set to lend her voice to lead star Sunny Leone’s character in the film.
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June 6, 2012 at 6:50 AM
Rowdy Roars!
By Taran Adarsh, June 6, 2012 – 07:52 IST
Records are meant to be broken. And Rowdy isn’t just breaking bones of his detractors [on screen, of course!], but also breaking the records at the ticket window. Sorry, let me coin a new term: Rowdy, true to his name, is going rowdistic [inspired by ballistic] at the domestic box-office.
Let me go back to the time when Sanjay Leela Bhansali, UTV and Prabhu Dheva joined hands to make the film. A section of the industry, in a state of shock due to this ‘unexpected’ development, scoffed and mocked at them, calling this alliance ludicrous. A few even went to the extent of saying that the film would never get made, that it was a mere announcement, given the fact that SLB and Prabhu Dheva believe in diverse genres of cinema. Now that the film has released and the response has been phenomenal, well, SLB, Prabhu Dheva and UTV are having the last laugh. Oh yes, they are also laughing all the way to the bank!
It was a foregone conclusion that ROWDY RATHORE would amass a big fat total in its opening weekend. Yes, a few people were skeptical about its performance at the multiplexes in view of the fact that mass-friendly movies, generally, have a slow start at big city plexes. But the gradual growth at plexes helped the film put up fantabulous numbers in its opening weekend.
With such a dhamakedaar initial, like they say in filmi parlance, half the battle is won. In this case, of course, there’s no denying that ROWDY RATHORE is all set to be a huge success, but what remains to be seen is whether the film will set new benchmarks in days to come. From the business point of view, the producers have sold the Satellite Rights for a tidy sum and the balance investment should be recovered from India theatrical alone, as things stand today.
Everyone benefits after a hit. But the one to benefit the most is Akshay Kumar. I reiterate what I said on the day of its release: ROWDY RATHORE is Akshay’s DABANGG. That says it all!
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June 6, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Rowdy Rathore Tuesday Business
Wednesday 5th June 2012 11.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
Rowdy Rathore collected a huge 8 crore nett on Tuesday as all circuits were rock steady with drops in the 10% region.
Delhi/UP had a slightly bigger drop as it was very strong on Monday. the film has now collected around 64.50 crore nett in five days and a 77 crore nett week total is on the cards.
The single screen business of the film is one par with the biggest single screen hits of the last few years like Dabangg and Bodyguard.
Rowdy Rathore will have competition every week as there will be a major release every week in June but all these releases will not affect it one bit at single screens as exhibitors will continue with Rowdy Rathore as the releases have nothing to offer single screen audiences.
At multiplexes it will be different as the bew releases will get screen space and Friday will tell what sort of contribution multiplexes will give Rowdy rathore in the long run.
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June 6, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Rowdy Rathore Starts Hitting All Time Records On Tuesday
Wednesday 5th June 2012 09.00 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
There is always talk that this or that film is setting new records when actually only one or two film manage it in a year but Rowdy Rathore has actually started to hit all time records on Tuesday.
It has collected new all time record highs in Rajasthan, CI and Bihar. In both circuits the collections are the highest ever for a Tuesday.
In Rajasthan and CI the Tuesday figure is better than Dabangg, Three Idiots and Bodyguard which were the leaders, In Bihar it has beaten Dabangg and Bodyguard which were tops in that circuit.
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June 6, 2012 at 9:59 AM
LOL, BOI are themselves champions of the game they pretend to denounce in the first paragraph here!
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June 6, 2012 at 10:01 AM
and on that note in yet another example of how things have been cheapened beyond recognition Taran has been saying RR is Akshay’s Dabanng. But the problem is that the film is likely to at the most match that film’s initial or fall a bit short a few years after that release!
Which is not to say Akshay doesn’t have a big moment here. But the facts are completely lost in all the hype.
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June 6, 2012 at 10:13 AM
Taran has given Shanghai a glowing review- http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/542091
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June 6, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Just wondering if Shotgun’s Vishwanath was the original inspiration behind the South Indian versions of RR. The ‘thug-lookalaike-replaces-slain-honest-cop’ formula probably started with Vishwanath back in 1978. If so, it would be uncanny that Sonakshi gets a ‘Shot’ at one of her dad’s few solo hits.
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June 6, 2012 at 10:21 AM
oops, it was actually Kaalicharan (1976), and not Vishwanath. With the iconic Ajit in the LOIN avatar:
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June 6, 2012 at 10:20 AM
I believe this happened in Kalicharan and not Vishwanath. Anyway RR is a remake of Telugu film “Vikramarkudu”- i have seen both films
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June 6, 2012 at 10:23 AM
yes RR seems to have more or less the Kalicharan plot.
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June 6, 2012 at 10:28 AM
And the scene that tickled me the most in this movie is here at the 8:50 mark.
“As a police officer how will you tackle an Imposter” (Ajit at his best)
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June 6, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Satyam, somehow the Youtube embed code gets converted into the hyperlink when I post here.
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June 6, 2012 at 11:08 AM
fixed it..
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June 6, 2012 at 11:09 AM
LOL, what a freeze here!
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June 6, 2012 at 11:21 AM
But omrocky kids are apparently not allowed for RR …
How did your daughter see it?
R they not strict about it there — just curious
Bcos I saw a kid being denied entry…
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June 6, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Thanks Satyam. That awesome Ajit Freeze followed by another gem: “IG Khanna yahin maar kha gaya. Usne tumhein sab kuch sikhaya, lekin Angrezi nahi sikhayi”…
This movie had such great dialogs.
Ajit: “Saara shehar mujhe ‘LOIN’ ke naam se jaanta hai”
Premnath: “Sher Dildaar hote hain aur Kuttey vafaadar.Tum na Sher nikle aur ne Kuttey. ”
Masaala Zindabad.
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June 6, 2012 at 1:36 PM
true.. love that whole moment!
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June 6, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Was there an Ajit’s dialogue in Zanjeer that went something like: mujhe zindagi main sirf teen chizai pasand hai, mona, sona, aur mona ke saath sona…or is this just an apocryphal tale?…having watched Zanjeer only once, I don’t remember one way or other!
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June 6, 2012 at 2:06 PM
that’s part of the Ajith joke industry.
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June 6, 2012 at 2:08 PM
Thanks Satyam…suspected as such.
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June 6, 2012 at 11:17 AM
wow that is huge, kalicharan is one of fav movie, specially the line- tujhe yeh nahee maloom kee hum Kali ka Chran hain ( after Danny says that he is Kali ka Bhakt)…
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June 6, 2012 at 11:18 AM
My daughter who is in India has already seen RR twice…..
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June 6, 2012 at 11:26 AM
AA, India mein sab chalta hai….
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June 6, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Yes, it is a remake of Vikramarkudu. Just wondering if the Telugu film was an inspiration from “Khaidi Kalidasu” which was a remake of the original Kaalicharan. The core plot lines are similar.
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June 6, 2012 at 11:02 AM
“Rowdy Rathore Starts Hitting All Time Records On Tuesday”
good..btw cant pinpoint it but thought i got gaga @ seeing a few sec of preetam pyaare–NOT due to the ‘lewd movements’ but
seeing the energy and a certain ‘tempo’ in akshays body language and the setting and also the ultra -athletc performance by the three dancers…
Maintain that only appreciated their mid-air acrobatic motion mostly
never really enjoy this stuff but something got me interested…and i said atleast 100 croroes
As mentioned earlier in my ‘review’—this has soemthing for the REAL man….i dont really rule out more records…
BUT
the other crucial difference is that kids are not allowed–in my place it was “15” –(i still got in lol)
How much difference should this make to the box office
Since unlike KMG, krish etc—kids (like amy lol) may try to watch this one but wont be allowed…
ie can this not be factored into the box office calculations/comparisons….
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June 6, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Some fantastic reactions coming in for Shanghai & Emraan Hashmi! Looks like Kashyap isn’t the only one going ga ga over the film…was always my most eagerly awaited film of the year along with Talaash & GOW.
@ash_deshmukh : Shanghai brings out the ugly state of affairs in indian politics. New found respect for Emraan Hashmi!
@anupamachopra: Shanghai is utterly terrifying and terrific. Don’t miss it.
@ShubhaS : Watched Shanghai. Some scenes so brilliant that they will remain with me forever. And Emran Hashmi, you have a new fan.
@Aniguha : Dibakar Banerjee, with very stiff competition from Rajkumar Hirani, is the best filmmaker we have right now. More than entertaining and engaging (both of which it is), is such an important film. Kudos to Dibakar Banerjee.
@Rajasen : Emraan Hashmi, Best Actor 2012.
@krnx : Shanghai … must find words to describe it by Friday. But for now, remembering how to breathe. And Dibaker Banerjee brings hope to mainstream cinema in this country.
Can’t wait for Friday frankly !
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June 6, 2012 at 11:40 AM
Strong stuff from RR.
More power to RR and Akshay.
Right now the top three have to be Aamir,Salman and Akshay.
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June 6, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Re: @Rajasen : Emraan Hashmi, Best Actor 2012
LOL!
I can grant that Shanghai might be the best filom of 2012 but Hashmi the best actor!
Anyway, GF will be tickled pink by this statement of Khaja Sen.
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June 6, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Anyway, makes things interesting.
Would be a pleasant surprise if Shanghai does really well at BO and more so if I like it.
I, for one found OLLO to be VASTLY overrated.
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June 6, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Emran Hashmi has been quietly creating a fan following in the last few years. Couldnt go by what select people on this blog think about him. The reality is entirely different!
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June 6, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Yep …
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June 6, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Ummm, having a fan following and being the actor of the years are two different things, however hard the concept might be to grasp for some.
Hashmi definitely has a following either for himself as a star or for the kind of films he stars in ( low budget thrillers, some skin show, kissing, good music etc). But, I would not judge the size of his following by the performance of Bhatt films.
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June 6, 2012 at 12:26 PM
Yes, Emraan has been managing his career very well recently and making smart decisions. His selection of movies over the past few years his been the most interesting of all the male actors including the Khans.
I don’t like Emraan as an actor but I have to give him credit for his diverse selection of roles. He somehow has good script sense and ends up in critical and commercial successes. It is truly baffling.
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June 6, 2012 at 1:30 PM
MISS SHANGHAI AT YOUR OWN RISK
http://www.in.com/news/international/miss-shanghai-at-your-own-risk-50086182-in-1.html
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June 6, 2012 at 2:15 PM
Reading some comments above about Ajit’s one liners. I was wondering what have been fav one liners in the Hindi Cinema. The few that come to mind are.
1. Itna to Aadmi life mein do ich time bhagta hai, Ya to Olympic ka race ho ya police ka case, tum kai ko bhagta mere bhai – AAA
2. Amma mila lo yaar, Sikander ne apni zindagi mein bahut kam logon se haath milaya hai – MKS
3. Kar bhala To ho bhala – Raja Babu
4. Mein woh bana hoon jo seeshe se pathar ko todta hoon…Souten.
4. Chinoy seth seshe ke ghar mein rehne wale doosre pe pathar naihi fekte — Waqt
5. Jaani Yeh chaaku hain kat jaye to Khoon nikal aata hai – waqt again.
6. Lekin aaj aap ke jitna gaarib koi nahi — Trishul
there are many more just can’t think of them now. What are your favs friends?
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June 6, 2012 at 2:25 PM
i love the Anthony one. My other favs r- jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaaye chupchaap khade raho. yeh police station hai, tumhare baap ka ghar nahi”. Also quite like Ranjeet in Vishwanath- “Kabhie kabhie, once in a blue moon.”
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June 6, 2012 at 2:51 PM
Yeah true, I remember LOOOONG time ago (i am talking 80’s on jab jab phool khilen or something with Tabassum) I watched an interview of Ranjit, Thats his fav performance (he said). He said there was a line in the movie “Once a blue moon Kabhi Kabhi, Kokha” he was laughing about it and how that one liner came at the end while at shoot, and it was shatru’s input and somwwhat ghai’s. LOL.
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June 6, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Oh! i did not know abt this Kash. thanks for sharing. You know quite a lot abt films man seriously
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June 6, 2012 at 3:15 PM
Arre nahi nahi yaar, Like I said earlier. During my growing up years watched soo many movies that I have lost count. Mother always took us to watch the reruns of ol school movies which were mainstream. Got older and started understanding cinema a little better so started watching all the parallel cinema from lates 70s and 80’s (Still have to see a few like Aakrosh, and Manthan). My favorite of those parallel cinema has always been Kalyug from the 80s. Then, moved here and lived closed to a Indian video store back then so watched sooo many movies during my growing up yearshere as well. Then got itnto college and with influence started following world cinema. Only the last few years have discovered the world of South cinema and many recommendations by Satyam sir here from the south part of the world so catchign up on those for now. Still do revisit some old classics every now and then and another reasson is to introduce wifey to some bachchan classics and some classic indian cinema (She was born and brought up here so hve to do translation every now and then. But as far as the understanding of cinema I have learned a lot more from Satyam sir and the likes of you from here. But yes seen many movies through out.
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June 6, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Not sure if it is posted earlier or not…Here comes another NDTV poll..
“Bollywood@100: Top actors”
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/bollywood-roots/bollywood-100-top-actors/234718?pfrom=home-editorspic
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