Mary Kom, the rest of the box office

last week’s thread

98 Responses to “Mary Kom, the rest of the box office”

  1. Marry Kom Getting Blockbuster Release
    Thursday 04 September 2014 10.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Mary Kom will be getting a huge release at multiplexes on Friday and this should help it to a decent first day total. Whether the occupancies are good or the collections good for the release is another matter. It is surprising to see such a film getting so many screenings, it could be due to the fact the films being screened are running on low occupancies so Mary Kom was only choice for multiplex programmers.

    In a city like Noida, Mary Kom has an unbelievable 95 screenings daily, Kick had 120, Singham Returns had 110 while a film like Entertainment had 70. Basically at multiplexes it has more screenings than Entertainment everywhere.

    The film would have been expected to beat Heroine which is the biggest opener where female is the major star of the film but on this release it should easily surpass it if the film is to do well. Heroine grossed around 7 crore nett on its opening day. The film has the external factors in its favour like a blockbuster and even tax free status in imp[ortant states like Maharashtra and and now it remains to be seen if the film anything go for it internally in terms of content.

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  2. Mary Kom is a badly made movie according to certain unbiased reviews. Nothing earth shattering.

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    • Mary Kom seems to be a well- intentioned film. Priyanka Chopra has apparently given it her all. Mid-day has published a review that sounds fair and balanced , while Firstpost has done two hatchet jobs. I am NOT for the latter sort of journalism. A film is a team effort that needs to be treated with a certain amount of respect.

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  3. Mary Kom Opens Well
    Friday 05 September 2014 12.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Mary Kom opened well at around 30-35%, the occupancies are moderate but with so many screenings even if collections stay at this range it will have a healthy first day. If the film improves in the later part of the day which it should it will come out with a good first day total.

    The tax exemption has helped to an extent as the bigger cities where it is exempt from entertainment tax have opened well but its not really made a difference in smaller centres. Generally collections were stronger at premium multiplexes. The film should be the biggest opener where the heroine is the mainstay even the sex and horror ones which get the initial due to genre.

    The biggest circuits Mumbai and Delhi/UP opened well while East Punjab and Nizam/Andhra were on the lower side. The tax exemption has helped most in Mumbai city as normally it starts slow but with Mary Kom it has similar occupancies to Delhi city which happens very rarely.

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  4. Raja Natwarlal Is Another Poor Grosser For Emraan Hashmi
    Friday 05 September 2014 11.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Raja Natwarlal has emerged one of the biggest disappointments of the year as it grossed around 20.50 crore nett in week one and has gone into week two with limited screenings of 2-3 shows at multiplexes. The film could also not make an impact at single screens where Emraan Hashmi films tend to do better especially in Western India.

    The film is unlikely to reach 25 crore nett lifetime business which will mean similar business to Shanghai which was a flop Emraan Hashmi film released a couple of years back.

    Emraan Hashmi starrers Raja Natwarlal, Ghanchakkar, Ek Thi Daayan and Shanghai all released in the last two years or so have seen similar results and none have managed to cross even 30 crore nett

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    • Brilliant Brilliant piece. Khakee is one of the best Hindi movies…Ever!!!. If there are 2 Bacchan movies I will take with me to my grave – I will take Agneepath and Khakee.

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    • Stunning piece. And relevant to all these discussions we have had here on the blog on masala films and their plausibility quotient.

      However Khakee isn’t the right example here simply because one of the reasons why a lot of people (not talking about Rangan here)champion Khakee is because it is supposedly more ‘realistic’ and also because, in some ways, it is seen more as a ‘thriller’ than a ‘Masala film’ 9in something like Don you can’t make this distinction). I, however, don’t support this kind of ‘reading of the film. So I think a better film to the case of Masala is Santoshi’s Ghayal(not saying it is a better film than Khakee, it certainly isn’t. But I think it was the last truly good masala film which was consumed by the audience as one and not as a thriller/spoof/Hollywoodised rip-off etc)

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      • But Ghayal is a purer thriller than even Khakee. The latter I think and despite the thriller narrative can easily be read as an updating of Sholay. Ghayal too has its masala elements towards the end but is also a lean thriller for most of its narrative. Now it’s true that the masala term has been abused. Clearly Deewar isn’t masala the way AAA is. I think one could offer two possible definitions here. One kind of masala is epic and might or might not be narrative-oriented. The other kind is a more Shakespearean variation with picaresque storytelling (a ‘comedy’ in the classical sense) and a mix of ‘high and low’ in every sense. Zanjeer is masala in the first sense, a quintessential Desai movie is one in the second. And here we might see why Sholay is such a ‘great’ film because it marries both kinds of masala, something which has never been achieved anywhere else and for all the riches of the tradition.

        What we’ve had in the contemporary Southern variations now imported by Bollywood is a masala of pure ‘effect’. These films are about a very ungrounded ‘gestural’ which is to say agesturality that doesn’t emerge organically from a narrative but nor is it truly attached to a set of ‘ethical’ or ‘political’ concerns the way both earlier forms of masala were. There were always real costs involved. In these films however there is a cartoonish view of the world where everything is reversible. Much like those characters in cartoons who run into walls, get their faces flattened-out only to get back to their normal selves in the next second. This kind of masala operates on the surface and is really the other side of the Bang Bang kind of film or the sot of thing Hrithik specializes in. In fairness though most of Bollywood today is like this, even on the ‘different’ day. Because even the latter are meant to be consumed in the very same sense.

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        • A great Hollywood masala film that I can think of in the tradition of Khakee is The Rock. It was a lot of fun.

          On a different note, watched 22 Jump Street recently. This is easily the funniest and most entertaining film of the year. It especially does a wonderful job at spoofing Hollywood male bravado and over the top action.

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        • Agreed. Tatum and Jonah are a terrific combination. Their chemistry is really good akin to our duo of Anil and Jackie from the ’80s, although not obviously in the brotherly way.

          Great piece by Rangan. Reading this again reiterates to what depth the once rich tradition of ‘masala’ has been mis-understood and abused, especially in Hi-fi.

          BTW, there was a good piece on ARJUN recently on REDIFF. Rawail was in really good form there..

          Raja Natwarlal, the rest of the box office

          Does anybody know whether ARJUN was a re-make of Kamal Haasan’s SATYA or vice-versa?

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        • The Rock is good. Some of John Woo’s movies I like in similar genre – Face-Off, Broken arrow.

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        • Love the two Woos you’ve mentioned. Probably like Broken Arrow more over time. A leaner film. Of course Travolta has that grand performance in Face-Off.

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        • I always thought a remake of “The Rock” in hindi would be cool to watch and Amitabh(a decade ago) in Sean Connery’s role would be an obvious and perfect choice. that movie is definitily a solid ‘masala’ movie, michael bay was actually fun back then and then he hasn’t evolved since. I love Face/Off also…Travolta had the plum role and he excelled.

          Point Break is another one of my favorite ‘masala’ movies in hollywood, along with Con Air, and among the recent ones, in my opinion, would be The Departed. I think The Departed would make another great remake in hindi, it has all the elements of a good ‘masala’ in hindi.

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        • Point Break is terrific. Loved the way Bigelow shot some of the action scenes here.

          I too like Face/Off a lot and even Broken Arrow, but Woo’s best are “The Killer” and “Hard Boiled”- still think that these 2 films haven’t been matched by any other film. Hard Boiled is a personal favourite.

          Also find Gibson’s “Payback” very underrated. From the past 2-3 years the action film I have enjoyed the most is Gibson’s “Get The Gringo” followed by Dwayne Johnson’s “Faster”.

          On “The Rock” Harry Baweja already has remade it into “Qayamat”.

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    • This piece echoes much of the sentiment expressed on this blog about Khakee over the years. A great read.

      I have little doubt that DMD (which to mind picked up Khakee’s torch) will in time enjoy this kind of admiration.

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  5. Absolutely terrific piece. Khakee is definitely one of the greatest masala films ever made. Unfortunately nowadays masala films come from a ‘anything goes’ sort of mentality, and have been ruined by the likes of Prabhu Deva, Rohit Shetty etc.

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    • I like Khakee for Akshay and Bachchan. Ajay’s role was disappointing which resulted in a weaker conflict. Even Atul Kulkarni was better than Ajay in the movie. Movie was good unto 80% of the length but last few mins, everything was done conveniently (like Bachchan’s boss Prakash Raj turning out the villain, Ash turning out villain killing Akki, Ajay killing Ash as shield, etc all done in too much haste)

      The most who benefitted from this movie is without doubt Akshay kumar!

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  6. Time to re-watch but damn it not on Netflix streaming…

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  7. Anyone watched Mary Kom? Any short reviews from members?

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    • I think she won the opening day battle with a respectable nett.
      Nice to see a heroine doing this in this world of heroes.

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  8. Yes sanju –Mary mom should cross 20 cr first weekend and may threaten 45-50 crwhores first week.
    May be the biggest solo heroine film ever

    “Priyanka as Mary Kom got more money for being Mary Kom than what Mary Kom herself ever got. Irony.” Yes Oldgold
    But PC deserves it here ….
    Go watch it folks (& give us the report since I won’t watch it..)

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    • >But PC deserves it here ….

      More than Mary Kom, without whom PC wouldn’t have deserved it?

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      • Actually the first day is very poor. One should see the collection with respect to the screen count. This movie is playing in 3000 screens. To get 7 crores with that count is not good at all. I was expecting a pleasant surprise and a collection closer to 15 crores even if it had opened at 50%. This is a surprise for sure but a rude one. The movie needs 60 crores to be considered a hit considering the cost.

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        • “I was expecting a pleasant surprise and a collection closer to 15 crores”– u were again wrong kid lol (just like for 1villain, football &others). Don’t get fooled by this ‘wider release’ or ‘budget’ thing.
          Reality is different from ‘expectations’ & hype!
          Look at the figure I’ve predicted above –it should cross 20 maybe 25 cr weekend & that’s what will happen! It IS respectable give the genre & the solo heroine deal. RL & DP weren’t solo heroine & the genre was padded/laced !
          Even those rooting for ‘female oriented’ films (like Amy) support them only with something like dirty picture or r(k)aam leela 🙂
          & let me ask u guys–though I have not seen either Ragini mms2 or dirty picture, now many of those patrons /consumers will watch Mary kom??

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  9. Mary Kom Has Fair First Day Business
    Saturday 06 September 2014 12.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Mary Kom grossed a decent 7.50 crore nett on day one with multiplexes showing good figures while single screens were poor. The film is depending on metro multiplexes which should grow further today while business in mass circuits is below the mark. The huge volume of screenings at multiplexes also helped in putting up good totals at multiplexes.

    The high end multiplexes across all metros gave a good contribution while business in UP, Rajasthan, CP Berar, CI, Bihar and Gujarat was dull. In these areas business was similar to last weeks Raja Natwarlal which was a dud.

    The film has fetched a decent price for its all India theatrical rights and then wherever it has been sold and needs to get a lifetime figure of 55-60 crore nett to cover so good growth is imperative today.

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  10. I firmly believe that you should never ask God for anything: Abhishek Bachchan
    Priya Gupta,TNN | Sep 6, 2014, 12.00 AM IST

    While individuals and mandals in Mumbai keep their own Ganpatis during the Ganpati festival, the Siddhivinayak temple too makes a replica of their own moorti, which is then taken through a procession from the temple to Dadar beach for visarjan on the 7th day of Ganpati called the Gaurivisarjan day.

    This special visarjanyatra is done in association with the Times of India. Just before the visarjanyatra, there is a very special aarti that takes place at the temple where the Ganpatibhakt Abhishek Bachchan joined us this year. Excerpts from a conversation with him just before the aarti:

    You had gone to Lalbaug Cha Raja just a day before the finals of Pro Kabaddi and you won the next day. Did you ask Ganpati to grant you victory?
    Two of the boys in my team are Maharashtrians, out of which one of the boys, Prashant, keeps Ganpati in Kalyan and he had told me, ‘Dada, if we reach the finals, you have to come to my Ganpati.’ So, that morning before visiting Lalbaug, I went to Kalyan and guess what had happened the night before. My captain Navneet, this boy Prashant and Jasveer had visited Lalbaug Cha Raja a day before I went and Prashant said to me, ‘Every year we go to Lalbaug and stand in a line. But this year, because kabaddi is a hit, they recognised us on the street and we got VIP darshan.’ But that night at Lalbaug, while doing the aarti, I looked at Ganpati and just knew that I was going to win it. It was almost like he told me.

    Who named you Abhishek? My grandfather had something to do with it and it was my mother’s idea, if I am not mistaken. The whole thought was to be Amitabh’s Abhishek.

    How long have you been coming to the Siddhivinayak temple?
    We used to live in Juhu, so coming beyond Bombay Scottish was a weekend outing for us. I remember Siddhivinayak even before the temple was built, when it was a small hutment. I literally saw it grow and grow and I think it was in the early 90s, after I came back from boarding school that we first came in for aarti. That was the first time that the temple was built. After that, I remember trying for I don’t know how long for coming in, but something would not allow me to come. Then, when I signed JP Duttasahab’s Refugee, JP sahab being a big believer in Siddhivinayak, said to me, ‘You must go to the temple.’ He is such a big believer that he has even named his daughters Nidhi and Siddhi. So after the mahurat it was late night, but I came to the temple, but found it shut. So from bahar only, I did darshan and went back. In those days, there was no barricading. Post that, before every release, I would come for some reason and always found the temple shut and I started thinking that maybe, he doesn’t want me to come in and you can go only jab bulavaaatahai. Then Sarkar was about to release in 2005. One night, dad and I decided to walk from our house barefoot to the temple. It was monsoon time and for the first time, I found the temple to be open. And I do really believe that things really changed for me after that, as Sarkar was a huge success. Since then, his doors have always been open for me. Dad, Aishwarya and I like to walk on Monday nights to the temple. Four or five times, we have walked barefoot. Once I remember, we had walked before the release of Guru. I had gone for the premiere to Toronto, where I was unable to walk as I had blisters on my feet from walking to Siddhivinayak the night before. But it’s an amazing experience to walk. There are loads of people, who join in on the way. They will serve you tea and water on the way chanting ‘GanpatiBappaMorya’ all throughout. Of course, you don’t feel tired that time, but you can feel it the next day. I feel now, that for those years that he did not allow me to come, he had a bigger plan for me. I firmly believe that you should never ask God for anything. When he is ready to give it to you, he will give it to you. And when he gives it to you, you know that you have earned it.

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  11. And in an increasingly effective move that’s fast become something of an epidemic, I can shame you into silence for criticizing my ideas simply by calling you bigoted or Islamophobic.

    For decades, Muslims around the world have rightly complained about the Israeli government labeling even legitimate criticism of its policies “anti-Semitic,” effectively shielding itself from accountability. Today, Muslim organizations like CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) have borrowed a page from their playbook with the “Islamophobia” label — and taken it even further.

    In addition to calling out prejudice against Muslims (a people), the term “Islamophobia” seeks to shield Islam itself (an ideology) from criticism. It’s as if every time you said smoking was a filthy habit, you were perceived to be calling all smokers filthy people. Human beings have rights and are entitled to respect. But when did we start extending those rights to ideas, books, and beliefs? You’d think the difference would be clear, but it isn’t. The ploy has worked over and over again, and now everyone seems petrified of being tagged with this label.

    The phobia of being called “Islamophobic” is on the rise — and it’s becoming much more rampant, powerful, and dangerous than Islamophobia itself.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-a-rizvi/the-phobia-of-being-calle_b_5215218.html

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    • Bandra.NRI Says:

      An Jo

      You nailed it. The world today is suffering from an excessive fear of being labeled Islamophobe.

      Just look at Fox News and its commentators, they are all jobless now looking for work.

      You have shown immense courage by not buckling under this oppressive fear. Praise be to you for expose this modern curse.

      Clap, Clap, Clap …….Clap

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      • Thank you. Appreciate your applause. Let me know if you need an encore.

        And thanks so much for being so broad-minded in accepting views that are contrary to one’s unchallenged notion of ‘facts.’

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        • Bandra.NRI Says:

          An Jo

          These facts you mentioned can only be accessed in the muck of your sickness (or others like you).

          Clearly there is no fear that does not exist. There are people who even fear drinking water immediately before bed time. Some fears are plainly a figment of people’s imagination, other fears serve as tools to sell goods and service.

          Unless you are doing a countdown of all possible fears that exist, to singularly pick Islamophobe when far more bigger and relevant fears exist in this world, just shows your sickness.

          Show me how many people have lost jobs because they were accused of being Islamophobe ? Is this even statistically relevant ?

          Show me a place where it is illegal to be an Islamophobe ? For example in France some painful history cannot be questioned or analysed, do you see the so called “fear of being labeled Islamophobe” having similar powers ?

          On the other hand you can be shown a growing industry pedling Islamophbia (it pays well). Look at Bill Maher he is doing quite well, he is under no such fear. If there was this deterrence (as you say), why this growth ?

          http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/news/scai-in-the-news-the-rise-of-islamophobia.html

          Look better you will find only Islamophobes “selling” this so called fear of being labeled Islamophobe.

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        • It would be better if you first comprehend properly before you go on your ranting sprees and hurling insulting adjectives…

          I am not the author of the article. I assume you have at least comprehended that much?? If you have, I am not sure what foldings in your brain convinced you that I am the alter-ego of this author. But I am not an apologist or a ‘professional secularist’ to turn a blind-eye to events, however painful they may be..

          How many people have lost their jobs? Statistically relevant? For something that is a psychological territory? What freaking statistics did you have when you claimed confidently that it was Aamir’s desperation that he couldn’t become a SRK that drove him to adopt a different course? Links after links were presented to show AB’s box-office performance but that didn’t convince your wonderful analytic mind did it?

          Of course it is my foolishness that I chose to answer you; after having seen first-hand your ‘fact’ based so-called ‘analysis’ with others here.

          I am ending this here, you can have the last word and say whatever the hell you want and walk proudly toward your imaginary victory..I don’t want to be that guy who was brought down to a level of you-know-what and then beat down with experience..I hardly need a character certificate from people like you and your ilk who can’t get their assess off the moral high-ground horse…

          Libtard sickularists like Shankar Aiyar are more dangerous than those ISIS guys..good to see that elitist orangutan getting owned by a person who knows his job..

          Maybe those who say that some section of the community could be lured by fanatics can now be shamed by calling them Islamophobes?

          http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/we-the-people/watch-we-the-people-global-jihad-comes-to-india/337298?pfrom=home-lateststories

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        • Bandra.NRI Says:

          An Jo

          No, not for a moment do I think you HAVE it in you to be an author at Huff-Post. Nor did I accuse you of being the author of that piece. I just consider you to be deceptive.

          Here you were caught red handed giving legs to a canard. Then you try to prove your innocence by floating a lie that I think you are the author. No I don’t think you are that talented.

          Now if you want to start a discussion on all the possible fears that exist (real and imaginary) then sharing that post makes sense.

          But in reality there exist very little evidence, that the fear of being accused of being Islamophobe is really is out there.

          You can, as I pointed out, provide a list containing a statistically acceptable number of cases of known figures who have been fired from public life based on that accusation. IF you cannot THEN it JUST says that NO SUCH real fear exists.

          You can also point out countries where it is illegal to be an Islamophobe. Clearly there are other accusations that come with consequences, and hence are frightening. But again, if no such laws exist it also show that what you shared was just a projection of the sickness in your mind.

          On a daily basis we come across a lot of filth of all kind and shapes in the media, but we don’t rush to share that filth with all. We just move on without giving legs to the filth. But, you chose to do what “pleases” you. You like slinging filth on minorities, hence without stopping to even consider the veracity of the post you chose to further broadcast it.

          Oops, you got caught.

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  12. Siddharth Malhotra bags the Nithya mehra’s time travel film. This was offered to Aamir khan but he isn’t doing it. Karan Johar joins as co-producer to Farhan Akhtar for this film.

    Good going for Siddharth!

    http://www.mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/bollywood/Sids-timely-entry/articleshow/41822238.cms

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  13. Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan team up for a film again?
    Dailybhaskar.com | Sep 07, 2014, 12:03PM IST

    After sharing screen space in films like Paa, Sarkar Raj, papa Amitabh Bachchan and beta Abhishek will be seen teaming up one again for a film.

    If sources are to be believed, the Bachchans have been approached by filmmaker duo Milan Luthria (director) and Rajat Arora (Writer) of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and The Dirty Picture fame. Interestingly this will be Big B’s second film with Luthria. The director worked with the legendary star in 2004 for Gaurang Doshi Production’s Deewar.

    Shedding light on the development, a source working on the project reveals, “The director has zeroed in on his next film and has approached the father-son duo. Although the Bachchans have not yet given the thumbs-up to the script, they were very impressed with the story line. If all goes well, the film will start rolling early next year.”

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    • I don’t know about the wisdom of this… Once Upon a Time in Mumbai notwithstanding, Luthriabis deeply un-impressive as a director…

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      • Q: But for Abhishek a Luthria film, if it happens (and it doesn’t look likely- Bachchan has both Piku and Bejoy Nambiar’s “Do” which are to be shot. After that he has Umesh Shukla’s “102 Not Out”…there is also the Sudhir Mishra film with Rishi Kapoor which keeps getting postponed. Abhishek himself has his home production film as well Happy Anniversary supposedly with Aish though this too hasn’t been confirmed by the pair), will be far better option than doing Housefull 3 (I saw Sajid Nadiadwala’s interview where he confirmed the film and the cast- it has Akshay and Ritesh alongside Abhishek. If there is any consolation, it is that Sajid Khan isn’t directing this one). And with both Bachchans on board Luthria is bound to have a meatier script here. In any casy this film looks highly unlikely.

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    • To me this is very exciting news .. I am two thumbs up if confirmed .. Luthria is talented director, yes he has some misfires in his CV, but even his worst is watchable .. and from my judgement his best is still to come .. and should come quite soon, his talent can not be wasted.

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      • Luthria’s best film is Kacche Dhaage followed up by OUATIM. He is good in the action genre but otherwise just okey dokey. If this is an action movie it might be good but otherwise looks a dicey proposition

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        • Not sure how much truth there is to this story. But in a sense it’s not very surprising. Bachchan Sr does things a different way but Abhishek is still not entirely comfortable with making purely cynical decisions. or he does so only when he feels he really needs to and then weirdly he ends up with some of these multistarrers where one feels he could do better than these setups (irrespective of whether he gets credit or not). But when it comes to a solo deal or some such thing (with his father too he would never share a film ‘casually’) he tends to ‘think’ about this stuff a lot more. The problem is that some of the most successful commercial talents in Bombay don’t really work with the best scripts (if at all!) and the better scripts, even in a relative sense, don’t get the best directors. Now if it’s a very strong script you can certainly do with a functional director. This happened very commonly in the 70s. But it’s safe to say that’s not very common anymore. And so if you get both Bachchans together a number of directors would be interested in a number of scenarios. Now it’s possible Luthria has a good script but again it’s about how the script is ultimately translated. In an odd sense though I don’t mind this continuing ‘uncertainty’ on Abhishek’s part inasmuch as if he were to become the guy who just did Rohit Shetty or Rohit Shetty-lite, Farah Khan or Farah Khan-lite or whatever the equivalent of this sort of filmmaking is elsewhere I’d be rather disappointed. Because while a certain success is necessary I certainly wouldn’t welcome it if it meant becoming that sort of star. So even after the hard knocks and even after some of this complicated recent multistarrer history if he’s not willing to simply make the most obvious commercial decisions I think (certainly from my perspective) that’s a good thing. And for want of a better word here he still goes in for the populist more often than not.

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  14. Mary Kom Has Good Growth On Saturday
    Sunday 07 September 2014 11.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Mary Kom showed good growth on Saturday as it grossed around 9 crore nett. Even mass circuits were up slightly although they won’t really go anywhere. the multiplexes especially as the city gets bigger are doing good business. The big cities all showed good gains on Saturday

    The two day business till date is as follows.

    Friday – 7,44,00,00
    Saturday – 9,10,00,000

    TOTAL – 16,54,00,000

    The film should follow up with good growth on Sunday but it is Monday and Tuesday that will decide if the film will become a hit.

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  15. Watched Phata poster nikla hero on Zee. Quite entertaining in the first half. 80s feeling. Shahid was good and so were the supporting cast.

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  16. Saw Mary Kom last night. I found it very flat and was generally unmoved. Looked like, it was strung together completely from newspaper clippings ..with zero contribution from the imagination of the director or writer’s imagination. Priyanka had no chance given the script she was given, she played the standard Hindi film heroine; teary-eyed in misfortune, coy with her lover-husband and fiery while fighting the bad treatment by villainous government officials. The boxing scenes were so badly choreographed and staged, we feel no thrill of a sporting event. Between bouts of naps, I kept imagining, how much more I would have enjoyed a well-made documentary featuring the real Mary Kom and the real Manipur with file videos of the actual matches! If they had to do a melodrama, trying to capture the trials and triumphs of Mary Kom, the person, I thought Bhag Milkha Singh had already shown how it should be done.

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  17. The songs and the background score brought the film down further. Both were generic, loud and without any individuality or imagination. A more orchestral score and songs with an ethnic tinge would have served the story so much better.

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  18. Agree Utkal .. Just coming back from Mary Kom … Till interval point it was yawn inducing .. 2nd half was little better, but still not enough to classify it among good sports movies.

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    • Priyanka was not fit for this role .. she was looking fake. Infact they could have chosen some fresh authentic face from Manipur .. Priyanka’s body language was not like any boxer .. specially on ring.

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  19. And I knew my face would never look like her says PC. Is it some sort of being a beautiful film star versus an ordinary looking real character?

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  20. Umesh Shukla To Direct – OMG 2
    by Soumita Sengupta (September 6, 2014)

    After the massive success of OMG – Oh My God! Umesh Shukla was flooded with offers and the director chose T-Series and Shyam Bajaj’s next All Is Well. The director has also locked OMG 2 with Akshay Kumar’s production house. Says Shukla, “My writer and I have almost finalised the script of OMG 2. This time, the concept is very different and once again the audience will see a new story. Once Akshay gives his nod, we will start shooting, in all probability, next year.”

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    • I do not think a classic and one of the most loved film of the decade should be tampered now. The concept, shown beautifully in OMG, doesn’t have scope to bring anything new.
      However if Akki does accept it, then would have to ensure that the story of second doesn’t dilute the brand of the first.

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  21. Tanu Weds Manu 2 To Start Rolling
    by Soumita Sengupta (September 6, 2014)

    There’s been news that Tanu Weds Manu 2 was on the cards and, finally, the film will go on the floors in Lucknow in mid-October. A source close to the film reveals, “The producers are taking care of the paperwork and the director and cast are gearing up to start shooting next month. The first schedule will take place in Lucknow and then the cast and crew will travel to Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Mumbai. We are looking for a release at the end of next year. The entire cast will be in Lucknow from October while Madhavan will join them after he finishes his boxing film Laal.” Obviously, Kangana Ranaut plays the leading lady.

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  22. Weekend Report: ‘Guardians’ Holds Top Spot on Slowest Weekend in Two Years

    by Ray Subers

    Guardians of the Galaxy

    September 7, 2014

    On one of the worst weekends in years, Guardians of the Galaxy easily held on to first place for the third-straight frame. Meanwhile, The Identical—the week’s only new nationwide release—bombed with less than $2 million.

    The Top 12 earned an estimated $51.9 million, which makes it the lowest-grossing weekend in two years. In the past decade, the worst weekend was September 5-7, 2008, when the Top 12 grossed $50.3 million.

    Guardians of the Galaxy eased 41 percent to an estimated $10.2 million. This is the movie’s fourth weekend in first place; the only other movies to accomplish such a feat in the past decade are The Dark Knight, Avatar and The Hunger Games.

    On Saturday, Guardians passed last Summer’s Man of Steel, which is noteworthy given the discrepancy in pre-existing fanbases for these two superhero movies. With $294.6 million, Guardians is now the highest-grossing movie ever from the month of August (ahead of The Sixth Sense), and it’s on track to ultimately pass the original Iron Man’s $318 million total.

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles held on to second place with $6.5 million (down 46 percent). The movie has grossed an impressive $174.6 million so far.

    If I Stay eased 38 percent to $5.75 million, which brings its total to $39.7 million. Meanwhile, Let’s Be Cops added $5.4 million (off 35 percent) for a very good $66.6 million total.

    Last weekend’s openers both dropped off quickly this weekend. The November Man fell 47 percent to $4.2 million, which brings its 12-day total to a weak $17.9 million. Meanwhile, As Above/So Below plummeted 57 percent to $3.7 million for a total of $15.6 million.

    The Identical opened in 11th place with just $1.91 million. That’s a fraction of recent faith-based movie God’s Not Dead ($9.2 million), which was also from Freestyle Releasing. Even worse, it earned less than half as much as Moms’ Night Out, which opened to $4.3 million from 900 fewer theaters.

    As hard as this is to believe, The Identical may have been significantly overestimated. Distributor Freestyle Releasing is banking on a 33 percent Saturday-to-Sunday bump thanks to increased traffic from churchgoers. It’s hard to imagine that pans out, though: back in March, Freestyle’s God’s Not Dead fell six percent from Saturday to Sunday on opening weekend.

    By the end of April, this was shaping up to be the year of the faith-based movie: Heaven is for Real, God’s Not Dead and Son of God all did impressive business at the domestic box office. Since then, though, its been tough to get this audience out to theaters. Moms’ Night Out, Persecuted, When the Game Stands Tall and now The Identical have struggled to make serious inroads with Christian moviegoers.

    The reason is quite simple: these were all movies with a faith component, not movies about faith itself. In comparison, God’s Not Dead, Heaven is for Real and Son of God are all primarily focused on the faith angle (it’s right there in their titles).

    Playing at 337 IMAX theaters, the Forrest Gump re-release took in a weak $405,000 this weekend. In comparison, the Raiders of the Lost Ark re-release opened to $1.67 million from 267 IMAX theaters on the same weekend in 2012.

    This gap can be explained in a few ways. First, it’s unlikely that Paramount spent a ton of money on marketing; in comparison, the Raiders re-release had a solid campaign that coincided with the franchise’s upcoming Blu-ray release. Also, Forrest Gump lacks the kind of thrills that are typically associated with the IMAX format, which made it tougher to get people to pay $15 for something they can watch at home for free.

    Around-the-World Roundup

    Lucy led the foreign box office this weekend with $25.5 million. The Luc Besson hit opened on Wednesday in South Korea and earned an impressive $7 million through Sunday. To date, Lucy has earned over $192 million overseas, and still has Russia and China on the way.

    Hercules reached a few key markets this weekend and added $17.1 million. It had a strong $4.4 million first place debut in Brazil, but was less impressive in Germany ($3 million) and Spain ($1.4 million). The movie has now grossed $122.9 million overseas, and still has to open in Japan and China.

    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes took in $16.6 million this weekend, which brings its total to an impressive $435.5 million. Its biggest markets so far is China, where it has earned $72 million in just 10 days. The movie opens in Japan on September 19th, and should do fairly well there (Rise earned over $30 million back in 2011).

    Into the Storm added $11.6 million from 54 markets; so far, it’s earned $65.7 million overseas. It opened to a solid $3.65 million in Mexico, but was less impressive in Australia ($1.8 million).

    Without any major new openings, it was a quiet weekend for Guardians of the Galaxy. The Marvel hit added $11.5 million for a new total of $291.6 million. It has now earned more worldwide ($586 million) than the first Iron Man, and still has Japan, China and Italy on the way. Based on comparable Summer 2014 titles, Guardians will almost certainly take in over $100 million from those three markets, which will push its worldwide total past $700 million.

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  23. Sugar, Spice and Guts
    By A. O. SCOTT and MANOHLA DARGIS

    In many movie genres, the representation of girls and women is improving. But there’s a long way to go.

    Like

  24. http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/i-ram-lakhan-i-remake-no-says-tiger-shroff-660419

    One-film-old Tiger Shroff is sure about one thing, he doesn’t want to step into his father’s shoes for Ram Lakhan remake if at all it’s offered to him.

    Riding high on the big success of his debut movie Heropanti, the 24-year-old is happy with what he has got so far.

    “No, I don’t want to do any of my father’s film’s remakes. We both are different people and I don’t want any sort of comparisons,” Tiger told IANS.

    “If at all anyone offers me Ram Lakhan, I will not do it,” he added.

    Apparently, Rohit Shetty is planning to remake Subhash Ghai directed Ram Lakhan, a 1989 blockbuster starring Anil Kapoor, Jackie, Madhuri Dixit and Dimple Kapadia. Shetty is apparently considering various names from the young lot to play the male leads.

    Meanwhile, the Shroff youngster is happy to be accepted by the audience in Heropanti.

    “I am happy with the response and fans appreciation. I don’t know what I did in Heropanti (Pata nahin aisa kya ukhaad liya tha maine Heropanti mein), it’s the best feeling to be loved and accepted by the audience,” said Tiger, who is likely to feature in director Sabbir Khan’s movie.

    Like

    • Regardless of what I think of this guy as an actor/star, I have to admit he does carry himself well in public and seems like a genuine good kid.

      Like

  25. No legs no skin in Mary kom= negative review from utkal uncle !!!
    Anyhow-
    Found this blaring in all dance/night clubs currently..

    David guetta joins avicii with Sam martin thrown in as a ‘tribute’ (sic!) 2 d spaghetti western –tunes not bad tho


    We’re burning up
    We might as well be
    lovers on the sun….

    Like

  26. Mary Kom Drops On Monday
    Tuesday 09 September 2014 10.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Mary Kom dropped badly on Monday as it recorded business in the 3.25-3.50 crore nett range taking its four day total to 30.50 crore nett. The film had trended well over the weekend but there was always a chance of drop as it was premium multiplexes carrying the film which drop of on Monaday and there were so many screenings. The film is showing a 55% drop from Monday.

    The pick up in business in mass circuits should have helped as collections were low and it should have easily shown an under 50% drop from Friday in mass circuits but only CI managed to do this.

    The film is heading for a first week of around 38-39 crore nett but will find it hard to hit the 50 crore nett mark for lifetime business. The film is fair in terms of costs as a lot of advertising was paid by brands involved in the film but it will not cover the prices paid for it be it the all India theatrical rights or the distributors who paid pretty high rates in various circuits.

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    • Satyam: You might want to put up a post on Rohan Sippy’s next which is an adaptation of Samit Basu’s fantastic superhero novel “Turbulence” (both Sippy and Basu are co-scripting it). The novel is terrific and it has Bollywood featuring as an important plot-strand (perhaps that is one of the reasons why Sippy might be interested considering Bluffmaster dealt with the ‘story of cinema). In any case it’s a damn risky project, but if it turns out well we may get a very good film.

      Like

  27. Rohan Sippy’s interview-

    “When does your next film, adapted from Samir Basu’s novel Turbulence, start?

    Samir is doing the screenplay and we are working on the canvas. Hopefully, after the first draft, we will start pitching the project to actors.

    Your father Ramesh Sippy is gearing up to return to direction with Shimla Mirchi. Your thoughts?

    It’s a fun romcom with Hema Malini, Rajkummar Rao and Rakul Preet. It’s a new genre for him and it’s a really nice script. The music too has shaped up very well.

    Have you thought of making a sequel to Bluffmaster?

    Of course we have. But the person who should actually think about it is Shridhar Raghavan who wrote the story and screenplay of the original. I feel it should happen in the right manner and not just for the sake of it. Nothing is impossible and I will not rule it out.

    http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140831/entertainment-bollywood/article/%E2%80%98dad%E2%80%99s-biggest-weapon%E2%80%99-says-rohan-sippy

    Like

  28. **Yeh lo, aur ek angrez ki aulad..Guess looking down upon ‘desi’ stuff is quite the in-thing nowadays???

    http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/emraan-hashmis-tigers-premieres-in-toronto/20140908.htm

    Hashmi has said that he is proud of the 30 Bollywood films he has worked in but they were also an exercise in keeping the kitchen running. A film like Tigers gave him an opportunity to sink his teeth into the role.

    “Bollywood cinema does not require you to delve deep into your character,” he added, with an exception or two like the movie Shanghai.

    In Tigers, he plays a conscience stricken medical sales representative in Pakistan who becomes an unlikely crusader.

    Like

    • What a hypocrite. His so called “massy” movie Raja Natarwal bombed at the BO. Even his “off beat” movies like Ghanchakkar flopped as well. He’s just a flop star without the Jannat/Raaz/Murder type B-Grade movies.

      Like

      • I hate it when Bollywood actors speak disparingly about Bollywood. Saif or Kareena once spoke about how they don’t watch Bolly films, only foreign stuff. And as for Emran Hashmi — the man is known for his Bhatt factory films mostly. Let him get his international success with this film he praises.
        But why thooko on your main dinner plate. You will never see an Om Puri dismissing Bollywood.

        Like

        • Never liked this guy on or off screen. On screen he does sleazy B-Grade movies with his uncles and off screen he says stuff like this and that he could’ve played Barfi better than Ranbir Kapoor. Saif, Kareena and Emraan coincidentally have been making some of the worst hindi films consistently.

          Like

    • Interesting- hadn’t heard of this before. Certainly looks interesting but I’m a bit wary of Amal Neerad. I really liked Big B and parts of Anwar but was quite disappointed by Sagar alias Jacky and Bachelor Party- hope this turns out as good as it looks, especially for Fahadh.

      Like

      • CG: Haven’t seen any of these films (will keep Big B and Anwar in mind)- the only work I have seen of his is one of the films he directed out of the 5 in “Achu Sundarikal” which had a very good Dulquer performance. I quite enjoyed that one.

        The premise of Iyobinte sounds very intriguing though-

        “The film is touted be a period romantic thriller and is titled as “Iyobinte Pusthakam” (The Book of Job), titled after the chapter in the Old Testament. The story of the film will span between the period of 1910s to 1970s and the story will also reflect the socio- political situation of those days.”

        BTW here is another upcoming Fahadh starrer though this looks like his first out-and-out commercial entertainer-

        Like

        • And Njan looks to be the Dulquer film worth checking out considering I have seen three of Ranjith’s films- Pranchiyettan, Paleri Manikyam and Indian Rupee- and have found all of them to be excellent (especially Pranchiyettan).

          Here is the info on Njan (I haven’t read the novel, would love to read in case there is an English translation)-

          “Njan” is based on a historical fiction “KTN Kottur: Ezhuthum Jeevithavum,” by TP Rajeevan. Ranjith have earlier made “Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Kadha” was also based on Rajeevan’s novel and Mammootty played the lead role in it.

          The story is set in two eras: pre-Independence and the current world we live in. The plot of pre-Independence era is set in a small village Kottur in Malabar region when it was under Madras Presidency. Dulquer will be seen as a journalist and Jyothi Krishna plays as his wife in the movie. Dulquer has described his role in the film has the most challenging.

          The team had earlier released the trailer of the film. The trailer shows Dulquer as a journalist who is in search of finding himself. The trailer tells that Dulquer is set to find the story of a man who have fought hard but failed to win the game of life. The film will also take audience to rich traditional and political culture of northern Kerala.”

          The trailer-

          Like

        • Njan certainly looks interesting. On Ranjith, I really like Spirit and Kaiyoppu as well as Pranchiyettan and Indian Rupee (not a fan of Paleri Manikyam). And if you’re ever in the mood for a slightly off-beat, cute little romance, it’s hard to do better than his Nandanam.

          Like

  29. ^^ Om Rocky you have to go here and get us some pics..^^

    Nawazuddin Siddiqui to be honoured at South Asian Film Festival
    September 11, 2014 13:45 IST

    Nawazuddin Siddiqui is no stranger to international recognition.

    He will now be honoured at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, and will leave for the US on September 16.
    “I am being honoured for Outstanding Achievement at the South Asian Film Festival. That’s something I am quite kicked about,” Nawaz says.

    The actor will then proceed to various other cities in the US, including Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC to explore his bearings among the non-Diaspora audience.

    “Awards and recognition still mean a lot to me,” he says. “I have not become jaded about awards. But yes, there is a genuine space problem regarding the awards. I hardly have room for any more trophies in Mumbai, so I am sending my trophies to my native home Budhana in Uttar Pradesh.”

    So who is dressing up Nawaz for his distinguished Chicago appearance?

    “I am very shy about taking up these offers from very generous designers. I’ll probably pick up a suit from a readymade rack and wear it. I am not into looking groomed as yet. Maybe someday,” he concludes.

    Like

  30. Life under ISIS: Captured teenage girl tells story of horrendous abuse at hands of Islamic State militants

    Rose Troup Buchanan,The Independent | Sep 10, 2014, 12.06 PM IST

    Only 17 years old, Mayat, (not her real name) was kidnapped by members of ISIS on 3rd August during an offensive against Sinjar. She remains with her captors.

    These men allowed Mayat, who speaks some English as she wanted to study in Europe, to talk because, “to hurt us even more, they told us to describe in detail to our parents what they are doing.”

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Life-under-ISIS-Captured-teenage-girl-tells-story-of-horrendous-abuse-at-hands-of-Islamic-State-militants/articleshow/42160841.cms

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