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63 Responses to “Khubsoorat, Daawat-e-Ishq, the rest of the box office”
Does anyone know what happened to Taran Adarsh? His last tweet was on August 26 saying that he is unwell but will resume work soon, he isn’t even reviewing films for Bollywoodhungama anymore let alone tweeting about box office figures…
Dawaat E Ishq And Khoobsurat Have Slow Start
Friday 19 September 2014 13.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat opened to similar occupancies of 15-20% at multiplexes. The opening at single screens was better for Daawat E Ishq. The main difference is the screen count where Daawat E Ishq has a wider release be it multiplexes and singls screens So if all things stay equal Daawat E Ishq will have the better first day collections.
Obviously both films are dependent on word of mouth as openings are low so if one is better than the other then that will film come out on top eventually. The plus for Daawat E Ishq is that can put up some numbers in places like CP Berar, CI and Nizam while Khoobsurat is totally dependent on multiplex business in bigger circuits.
Saturday will be the important day for both films though Daawat E Ishq has a pretty wide single screen probably due to Muslim touch it is still primarily a multiplex film and and Saturday will have to grow. Khoobsurat will have to show big growth on Saturday otherwise it will not go anywhere. The plus is that both films have no major releases next week so can take advantage if one or both can find some appreciation
Mary Kom Crosses 50 Crore In Two Weeks
Friday 19 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Mary Kom grossed around 11 crore nett in its second week taking its business to over 51 crore nett. The drop week on week is around 75% which is fair. It was helped from Saturday onwards by the fact that the two new releases could not find appreciation.
The film should go to around 55 crore nett in its lifetime run which is fair collection though distributors who took the film expected more. The best business will in the bigger circuits of Mumbai and Delhi/UP with Mumbai being the best of the lot due to the tax exemption in Maharashtra which has led to good collections in Mumbai city and Pune. Mumbai circuit will cross 20 crore nett.
Comparing with other heroine dominated films it is likely to be third in the list after Queen and Kahaani but those two were much smaller films..
Finding Fanny Has Poor First Week
Friday 19 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Finding Fanny did poor business in week one grossing around 23.50 crore nett. The film only did well on Saturday when premium multiplexes attract the most crowds, collections at most of these multiplexes dropped on Sunday and crashed on Monday.
Mumbai, Delhi, East Punjab and Mysore have done the best business but even a circuit like Mysore where the film could have gone on to well had a 60% drop on Monday. Still the overall figures in Mysore of 2.75 crore nett are good.
The film will see a major fall in week two due to no appreciation and the film will have to get lucky to cross the 30 crore nett mark .
Dawaat E Ishq And Khoobsurat First Day Business
Saturday 20 September 11.30 2014 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat were poor on day one as they grossed 3.75 crore nett and 2.50 crore nett respectively. The collections were low all over with the wide release of Dawaat E Ishq in Delhi/UP helping it a little in that territory as it was best.
Khoobsurat was best at premium multiplexes where it had similar collections to Dawaat E Ishq but elsewhere it was well behind. It also performed best in Delhi/UP thanks to Delhi multiplexes. Although both films got the release needed in terms of screens the clash did affect collections of both films as both were for the youth and therefore the audience at multiplexes was split.
Mumbai was under performer for both as the biggest circuit recorded low numbers for both. Saturday is all important for both and big growth will be needed to make any headway at the boxoffice.
why is boi not giving flop commentary to dawat e ishq?Is it because its a yrf film?It is doubtful if dei will gross more than 20cr.boi was calling finding fanny,an off beat film as flop from day one.is it because of anxiety of Arjun kapoor?Its a redundant site anyway.
Couple of most rivetting minutes on Indian screen. Tony Montana was great but when pitched against VD Chauhan, no one stands a chance .Would take AB any day of the week and twice onSunday. Blasphemy for some with colonial complex. Cant but feel sorry for them.
Can you guys please recommend me some good international (western) music? I want to try it. Haven’t heard anything properly before beyond Bollywood numbers.
Daawat E Ishq And Khoobsurat Have Up Trend On Saturday
Sunday 21 September 2014 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat managed to show solid growth on Saturday. The growth for Khoobsurat was good as it is doing its best business at theatres which do best business on Saturday. the trend may be the opposite on Sunday when Dawaat E Ishq shows more growth. The two day business of both films is as follows.
Daawat E Ishq
Friday – 3,60,00,000
Saturday – 4,30,00,000
TOTAL – 7,90,00,000
Khoobsurat
Friday – 2,35,00,000
Saturday – 3,25,00,000
TOTAL – 5,60,00,000
The growth is good to decent for both films but problem is low starting point but still if one or both can sustain on Monday they have two weeks until Bang Bang and Haider to have a decent box office run.
Camp and uncouthness now define Tamil popular culture. Here is a sampler. In a movie from a couple of years ago, where one of Karunanidhi’s grandsons plays the lead, a scene goes like this. The hero riding a two-wheeler stops at a traffic signal and looks at a girl whose face is covered with a dupatta. Hero tries to make a move on her. When the girl removes her veil to reveal her “unattractive” face(made worse by buck teeth), the hero spits on the ground in a display of revulsion and contempt for her. I cannot imagine a film elsewhere in the world containing such a sickening scene. Probably a Kim Ki Duk film might have such a sequence, but surely the man indulging in the act would perhaps be a portrayed as a psycho or a sadist. In our case here, he’s the adorable hero; even a prospective Chief Minister.
The propensity of Tamils to offer ritual libations of milk and honey (now beer, in keeping with postmodern times) to the plywood cutouts of stars and politicians is deserving of a serious sociological study. This culture of cutout abhishekam is yet another gift of the Dravidian parties to the Tamil society. Every film hero has fan club and the members of these fan clubs find themselves as vice-chancellors of universities and college deans, when their hero becomes a power player. In any country, the state of universities and media are the barometers of cultural and societal maturity. But in Tamil Nadu these two institutions serve as an everyday reminder of our cultural philistinism. In magazines, a majority of the pages are crammed with cinema news; essays and columns are written by film lyricists; questions pour in for reader Q&A sections anchored by directors; and pictures of half-naked heroines can be found in every alternate page. The pages that are left are filled with pictures of woe-stricken Sri Lankan Tamils.
Daawat E Ishq First Weekend Business
Monday 22 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dawaat E Ishq grossed 13.50-13.75 crore nett its it first weekend which again like Khoobsurat is a low weekend number but there was solid growth on Saturday and Sunday which means the film is depending on Monday holding up well..
There is no major competition this week and that is why if it can hold on the weekdays it has chances for a respectable total. If there was a release on Friday then it would have been tough even if collections sustained well on Monday.
It was the metro multiplexes which held the film back and where Khoobsurat did better business. Outside the metros it had better figures than Khoobsurat. Delhi/UP was best with around 3.50 crore nett over the first weekend.
Khoobsurat First Weekend Business
Monday 22 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Khoobsurat grossed 10-10.25 crore nett its it first weekend which is a low figure but the trend was good with good growth on Saturday followed with a similar trend on Sunday.
The film should have had better opening day but with competition from Daawat E Ishq which was also a film aimed at the youth it gave the target audience a choice meaning less footfalls than they would have got if they were solo. The growth on Saturday and Sunday gives it a chance but Monday has to hold very well and be near the Friday collection.
The business of the film was best in Delhi NCR area with Delhi/UP grossing around 2.75 crore nett and East Punjab at around 1.25 crore nett.
Looking at the popularity of Big Boss, I urge Satyam to have a separate post on Big Boss season 8. This is one show purely driven by Salman’s true, unqualified stardom. I read somewhere many stars have been critics-proof, but Salman with this show has achieved the ultimate pinnacle of stardom: Today, he is content-proof too! In the past seasons, episodes have been even named after him – Jumme Ki Raat Salman Ke Saath & Super Saturday with Salman. Let’s see how this season unfolds…
Unlike several other celebrated TV hosts, Salman’s real contribution to Bigg Boss goes way beyond his name. The show is selling in his name. In all honesty SRK struggled with KBC 3, where he tried to make a purposeful show frivolous and then Bachchan struggled with Big Boss 3, where he tried to make a fun show purposeful but with Salman it is the right mix!
let’s see how Salman does this time around but whether he does better or not Bigg Boss has hardly been associated with extraordinary ratings. Obviously it’s done well enough but it’s hardly stupendous given Salman is more or less at his career peak at the moment. So one shouldn’t exaggerate these things.
But I should make a different point here too. Often Salman’s stardom is referred to in a different sense. The idea of course is that given the junk he does it’s purely about him. This is only partially true however. Yes he is in the zone for sure. But it is precisely the junk that works for him. It’s not as if he could suddenly do Aamir’s stuff! If he tried this he’d have much lower numbers because you need a certain credibility for many of those roles. One could also make the point in other ways. When Hrithik does JA he doesn’t get the numbers that he does doing Kites. So on and so forth. Stars prosper in strength genres with a certain image. Yes Salman’s films are very poor most of the time but people like him precisely in that sort of poor stuff. So there’s no mystery of stardom here. And we see this in the South all the time where there are any number of mass stars who are like Salman in this sense. A certain kind of star is huge only doing the ‘stupid’ film!
Of course if he can be huge with this latest season of Bigg Boss more power to him! Though I’ve never liked him I don’t have anything against him in any ideological sense.
KBC-8 is doing wonders again for Sony .. KBC-4,5 and 6 remained top reality shows in respective years. KBC-7 was not so good, last year rating fell pretty early. But this was case with every other show last year .. due to rise in election wave. News channel TRP were all time high from September to June this year. Now this season of KBC even surpassed the top ratings of KBC-5 and 6. This is magnificent ..
To be frank , the cynical me doesn’t much trust the reported ratings and the exact TVR numbers…. I am simply going by coverage in media and hype on various TV channels which seems real as everyone wants a pie of the show’s popularity. Colors have a lot of top rated show in their lineup but the importance given to this show by them is unprecedented and Bigg Boss is somewhat of a huge deal for them. The contestants, budgeting keeps getting bigger each year and we are told the advertising rates have been driven up by 25-30% this year due to huge popularity of the show.
I would believe , Colors would not spend so much money and keep repeating expensive Salman if this was anything less. Even if one doesn’t trust the hefty figures Salman has been reported charging for each episode, considering Salman is at his peak and his precious time translates to money, he must be paid astronomical amounts to do give his valuable time to the show.
On the rest you do have a point.
All I would say is Salman is currently enjoying this phase of his stardom and the real victory lies in doing all of this with effortlessness .The two hours each weekend are packed with so much fun and entertainment and to be frank it is worth price of a theatre’s ticket. Almost the entire content in these episodes comes across as unscripted and improvised. From giving nicknames to the inmates, to mimicking them, to even asking the most interesting questions, he does it all. Not to mention the sheer effortlessness of the way he handles co-stars who come on the Saturday show to promote their forthcoming films.
TV runs mostly on Amitabh Bachchan films. Shanivaar ki raat Amitabh se saath is the longest running film retrospective on TV on a single star. Zee’s sister channels are also running Ravivaar ki raat Amitabh ke saath (Zee Anmol) and Har din Amitabh (Zee Classic). Set Max has repeated Ab Tak Bachchan several times in last 10 years.
Securing the rights to so many fixtures of the Bat-universe was a big move for Fox. But with Ben Affleck making his multi-picture debut as Batman in the feature-film franchise, there was no way Warner Bros./DC Comics was going to let a TV Batman seem too similar to the big-screen Dark Knight. So can Batman’s supporting cast — Gotham City’s young police force and those who would soon be his enemies — carry this show without anyone in a Bat-suit?
The suits at Fox seem to think so. They’re betting that we want to see transformations occur among Batman’s future foes. Few superheroes, of course, have a better rogues’ gallery than Batman. But is fascination with those rogues enough to keep us tuned in — to see what led them to the point of deviance? In our quest to find out, here are Comic Riffs’ Five Takeaways from the “Gotham” pilot (minor spoilers ahead):
Daawat E Ishq And Khoobsurat Monday Business
Tuesday 23 September 2014 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq held up pretty well on Monday though collections were low for both. Dawaat E Ishq grossed around 2 crore nett while Khoobsurat was around 1.50 crore nett. The business in four days is 15.50 crore nett for Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat is 11.75 crore nett .
Khoobsurat trended the better of the two on Monday as it dropped around 35% while the drop for Daawat E Ishq was 45%. Despite decent Monday figures both films have low overall figures due to the poor initials. the clash has hurt both films as if they were solo they were sure to gett better opening day figures.The business of Khoobsurat could catch up with Daawat E Ishq by the end of the week or beginning of week two.
Now it just remains to be seen which film comes out on top in lifetime figures. Going by the trend the business of Khoobsurat will catch up with Daawat E Ishq but it may be too late as the latter will have a 4-4.50 crore nett advantage in week one and it will be hard for Khoobsurat to make up all the shortfall in week two and thereafter.
She Came to Do Good and Stayed to Do Well
‘Khoobsurat,’ a Bollywood Film Co-Produced by Disney
By ANDY WEBSTERSEPT. 22, 2014
Disney, never a stranger to princesses, crowns another as it ventures further into Bollywood with Shashanka Ghosh’s romantic confection, “Khoobsurat,” a variation on Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1980 film, “Khoobsoorat.” And the studio’s specialty proves a pretty good fit.
Mili Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor) is a high-energy, middle-class and somewhat daffy physiotherapist for a New Delhi cricket team when she is hired by an aristocratic family near Jaipur to rehabilitate its patriarch (Aamir Raza Hussain), who’s been using a wheelchair for years. His son, Vikram (the heavy-lidded Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Afzal Khan), a shrewd businessman, is not only engaged to a woman of his economic station but is also monitored by his imperious, upper-crust mother (Ratna Pathak Shah). The brash, often clumsy Mili, in her mixed-pattern ensembles, descends on their estate like a tornado, bumping into statuary, dancing with the servants and winning hearts, especially Vikram’s.
Anne Hathaway made a splash in Disney’s “The Princess Diaries,” and the rangy Ms. Kapoor (who descends from a Bollywood dynasty) shares some of her early incandescence, along with a Julia Roberts-like smile. (Mr. Khan wisely underplays against her supernova, never trying to eclipse her.)
Bollywood films have appropriated Hollywood genres and imagery for years, but Mr. Ghosh, using a pleasing pastel palette, deftly achieves a particularly Disney-like polish. And he avoids making-of-a-royal pitfalls: Ms. Kapoor’s character never abandons her humor for refinement. Twice, Mili says that she was raised to speak up for herself. Not a bad characteristic for a future Rajput princess.
Saw this and quite liked it. Sonam Kapoor and Fawad Khan looked good together.
A very decent clean film. By clean I mean, no item songs, no brash group dances with noisy music and the oft repeated movements which are getting to be quite boring.
Sonam Kapoor looked really good and at times resembled Rekha with that bony jaw and lean face.
The song/dance situation with the servants reminded me of Upstairs/Downstairs.
To nitpick – they showed Sonam drinking wine straight from the bottle. I found that a bit over done re: her bindas character. I only know that people drink beer/sharab straight.
Drinking wine in this fashion is like wearing a sophisticated long low necked gown (showing cleavage) as nightie.
Another difference here were the palace sets/or real (I don’t know). Film shot almost completely, here.
Very entertaining, and leaves one with no regrets for having watched it.
Well you sure can drink wine straight. If you drink the whole bottle at one gulp though, that is a different story.
Having said that, isn’t it so strait-jacketed and hackneyed that the representation of ‘freedom’ or ‘liberty’ in women in Indian cinema can ONLY be represented by getting sozzled or stoned? Or maybe sleeping around? It is sad but this seems to be cutting across all film-types – be they art, commercial, semi-commercial, whatever. This again represents how Hi-fi of today is so, so derivative of Hollywood. When Hollywood does it, it draws from its culture of teenagers or anyone else discovering the ‘pleasures’ of sin for the first time; smoking pot & getting stoned, buying a 12 pack with a fake state id for the 1st time or losing one’s virginity when one is not even 16. Under this cultural umbrella, Hollywood depicts those binge-drinking or club-hopping scenes. This isn’t an indication of ‘freedom’ per se but rebelliousness; of doing things that one can OBVIOUSLY do later at the right age. This is not something taboo in the American society.
This is then transposed into the framing of ‘modernity’ in Indian women by categorizing them as ‘loose’ or ‘drunkards’ or ‘smokers’ [that scene in KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK where Deepika lights up in her office is so so stupidly cringe-worthy; as though smoking in office is a sign of the ‘modern’ woman? Sorry Ma’am; smoking in the office gets even privileged ‘boys’ of ANY society fired – this is common sense, but hey, we know in Hi-fi, this is so uncommon.] Compare this to Meena Kumari’s act in SBAG and notice how organic it is to the narrative. It is not used just to create some shock-value! [This doesn’t mean women should only resort to drinking when everything in their life is miserable.] What’s the point of all these modernity props? Heck Devika Rani kissed passionately with a full-mouth way back in 1933! And Rani Mukherjee kissing in 2010 or later is supposed to represent modernity?
And the funnier thing is, after soaking in all the ‘liberal’ shenanigans, these modern women go running back to the men or the so-called ‘providers’! Remember Cocktail? So what is one trying to prove here? This entire arc – of starting with drinking, sleeping around, smoking and then ending with the blissful ‘realization’ that good girls simply need to surrender to tradition and everything is forgiven is so weak that it collapses under its own weight! So in finality, modernity in women equate to sleeping around or getting stoned which is bad and hence, they need to mend their ways as some sort of poetic justice in the end! Else, you WON’T be called modern – you will be called a characterless bitch.
Totally agree. Representing a modern woman in Indian films is not something that the film people can do, simply because they don’t know what she’s like.
But why blame the films alone, the whole society thinks that way, as far as my observation goes.
Of course one can do anything, even drink wine straight out of the bottle. But I’ve not heard or seen it done that way. And to me it is a useless waste of wine, if it’s good.
National award winning Hindi film Liar’s Dice, directed by Geetu Mohandas, has been selected as India’s entry to the Oscars, the Film Federation of India has announced.
Winner of two National awards earlier this year — Best Actress for Geetanjali Thapa (in the picture) and Best Cinematography for Rajeev Ravi, the film narrates the story of a young mother, who migrates to the city in search of her missing husband.
In a new record, Liar’s Dice was selected from a total of 30 contenders, the largest number FFI has ever considered, which included Kangna Ranaut starrer Queen, Hansal Mehta’s acclaimed Shahid and Riteish Deshmukh-produced Marathi film Yellow, among others.
Had no idea about this movie. Remember that Geetu had quit acting in Malayalam movies a few years ago to focus on direction, but didn’t know that she’d actually done it. I believe Rajeev Ravi is her spouse as well as the cinematographer on this one, so definitely interested here.
Saurabh, thanks- yes, I caught this on TV this morning. Definitely looks good though I’m still wary given Amal’s track record of movies that look great but lack soul. That said, this is on my much-anticipated list.
Abhishek Bachchan steals the show at SLAM! The Tour in Washington DC!
Wed, September 24, 2014 3:43pm UTC by Srishti Dixit
Posted Wed, September 24, 2014 3:43pm UTC
The actor is travelling with Indiawaale gang to various parts of America promoting his upcoming film Happy New Year
Abhishek Bachchan‘s performance was one to cheer the loudest for at the SLAM! The Tour show in Washington DC! Why do we say so? Its because Jr Bachchan walked on the stage rapping Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai. The actor had first flaunted his excellent rapping skills in the song from Bluffmaster.
Apart from the rapping, Abhishek also performed on his popular foot-tapping numbers like Maa Da Laadla, Desi Girl and Kajra Re! But it wasn’t just songs from his previous films that AB performed on, he also grooved to the beats of his new song Satakli from Happy New Year!
Apart from his solo performances, Abhishek also performed with the rest of the men of Team Indiawaale and had the roaring crowds go crazy! After a hit show in Washington DC the HNY team is off to Chicago for their next SLAM! show!
Happy New Year: Aamir loves Abhishek’s character
Jigar Shah, Hindustan Times New Delhi, September 23, 2014
First Published: 13:01 IST(23/9/2014) | Last Updated: 13:26 IST(23/9/2014)
Aamir Khan is a man of few words. So, when the star goes out of his way to praise another actor, it is considered a big deal. The latest actor he has appreciated is Abhishek Bachchan.
Aamir’s praise came even before the first trailer of Abhishek’s movie Happy New Year had released. A source close to Aamir informs us, “He loved the script that Farah (Khan; director) had written for her upcoming film, which is now being produced by Shah Rukh Khan. Of all the characters that Farah had sketched, Aamir loved Abhishek’s character. Having worked with the actor just last year (in Dhoom 3), he felt that Abhishek was aptly cast for the film.”
When contacted, Abhishek confirms the news, saying, “Yes, Aamir did tell me how much he loved my role, when he heard about the script of the film through his friends.” He adds, “This film was supposed to be made right after Farah made Om Shanti Om (2007), but for various reasons it was delayed. I have been part of the film since then.”
” Happy New Year: Aamir loves Abhishek’s character”
Wow is that a planted story to give some kind of respectability to story line of the movie due to murmurs all around looking at the loud, spoofy promos. Aamir’s endorsement of script does go a long way in terms of perception which at the moment isn’t looking good due to farah last outing with TMK
First-time Tamil filmmaker M Manikandan and his producers Dhanush and Vetri Maaran have made an utterly charming film about two brothers living in a slum in Chennai.
Their lives are harsh — the mother works hard, the father is in jail, but the kids, played by first-time actors, Ramesh (he has only one name) and Ramesh Thilaganathan, have amazing spirit.
The premise of the film is simple. A pizzeria opens across the street from the slum and the brothers want to eat there. Most of the film focuses on the kids finding ways to earn money to achieve this goal.
Similar in tone to many Iranian classics like The White Balloon and Children of Heaven, The Crow’s Egg has a small feel to it. But it has a big heart that won over audiences in Toronto.
It is always wonderful to discover a gem of film at an international film festival. It is even more exciting when that film is from India.
New Releases To Find It Tough Khoobsurat May Lead
Thursday 25 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
There will be eight new releases this week but its unlikely they will offer much as far as the box office is concerned and Khoobsurat may well emerge the top film of the week followed by Daawat E Ishq. If one of the new releases picks up then it could be a different story.
There are releases such as 3 AM, Balwinder Singh… Famous Ho Gaya, Chaarfutiya Chhokare and Desi Kattey amongst others. There has been regular flow of major films but this week is different and the makers of these films have seen that and decided to bring their films on Friday. It is a shortened week with Bang Bang and Haider coming on Friday and this basically gives these films six days to earn whatever they can.
Khoobsurat is holding steady with low collections at multiplexes in the weekdays and should start collecting better than Daawat E ishq from Friday onwards. A 1.50 crore nett lead in favour of Daawat E Ishq on day one will be down to 10 lakhs on day seven.
Finding Fanny Heading For 3.50 Crore Second Week
Tuesday 23 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Fanding Fanny is heading for a 3.50 crore nett second week as it has grossed a little over 2.50 crore nett in the first four days of the second week. The drop for the second week will be over 85% which is huge for this type of film relying on the content.
The film will be at around 27.75 crore nett in two weeks and is heading for lifetime business in the 28-29 crore nett. The business is in the same range as a Highway and less than lower costing films like Yaariyan and Mardaani.
The film will add at best just 5 crore nett after its first week which is very poor. Overall the Hindi version has collected more than English version despite it being dubbed which is the opposite of the Hollywood dubbed films.
“I don’t think there has been much of a slowdown, as Sony, Star and Zee are dealing in their usual volumes of business. It’s just that people are becoming cautious about what they are investing in. Just because a film earned Rs 100 crore at the box office doesn’t mean it has repeat value, something that is very important for the satellite business.
Repeat value implies trended well or not. Quite clearly the tv channels have cottoned on and curbed one side of the revenue of so called successes. All in all…this is a warning indirectly to the 100 crore club ‘obsession’. It does not mean success.
I saw Finding Fanny and Khoobsurat recently, and I far preferred the latter.
Finding Fanny might sell itself as a whimsical road-trip comedy but it contains stock Bollywood romantic clichés, a heroine from the YRF fantasy female mould and crudely sleazy humour that wouldn’t be out of place in an Akshay Kumar film.
The problem is that it tries too hard to give these elements an edgy, irreverent treatment, complete with shabby-chic visuals (with the exception of course of Deepika, who wouldn’t look out of place in even the most glamorous KJo film).
Often the setting lends interesting texture to road films, but here the characters journey through a bucolic, bohemian rendition of Goa that is painfully twee. Even the beautiful cinematography cannot breathe life into this synthetic, stereotypical paradise where penniless men with names like Savio De Gama drive fashionably grungy vintage cars and fall in love with beautiful, devout orphans who religiously attend mass in quaintly colonial churches.
The film is saved only by Deepika and Naseer, both of whom are delightful as naive, well-meaning romantics and whose warm friendship is the only bit of this film that feels genuine. Coming out of the cinema, I felt as if I had been subjected to the Instagram album of a wannabe-hipster who has recently discovered artistic filters and who mistakenly believes that using them will elevate any photograph he takes to a piece of art.
Khoobsurat, on the other hand, is refreshingly straightforward about what it is: a feel-good Disney fairytale. As expected, the film is sartorially impeccable and the beautiful palace setting only adds to the visual splendour.
Sonam is endearingly awkward as the gauche Punjabi interloper with a heart of gold and the Rajput prince is appropriately regal and handsome. Although this film is primarily a romance, the most poignant relationship here is that of mother and daughter. The insistence on daily Skype sessions, the sharp motherly intuition that discerns secrets her daughter doesn’t want to share, the overprotective motherly exuberance that embarrasses the daughter – all of this prompted groans of empathy from my girlfriends and I.
Everything from the strong-but-silent romantic hero to the charming song where Sonam dances with the palace staff while the prince watches from the keyhole had a sweetly old-fashioned air to it. I would recommend this movie to anybody who enjoys traditional romantic comedies done well.
Completely agree on Deepika’s Fanny. It is one sham of a film. Trying to be ‘hip’ for the sake of being different. And I found the performances too fake – except for Dimple. Naseer was OK. Arjun Kapoor especially – Jesus, what is he doing in Hi-fi? Agreed Hi-fi has very low standards but still..Walks around in the film with that patented hang-dog expression of his. He should STOP acting or if his dad still wants to thrust him, he should stick to playing the Funjabi guy’s role..
And what’s with the English? More embarrassing & fake than a teenager’s English containing 7 usages of ‘LIKE’ in a sentence with 10 words..
Brilliant reviews there, Amy
Deserve a separate post imo
“The problem is that it tries too hard to give these elements an edgy, irreverent treatment, complete with shabby-chic visuals”- yup haha. (I actually didn’t even like deepika or naseer here)
Ps: haven’t seen khubsoorat but the music/sound sounds v apt for the Disney girlie genre …
jus came to knowa–It’s sneha khanwalkar (loved her GoW epic soundtrack–wot a range)
SATYAMSHOT 
September 19, 2014 at 6:21 AM
Does anyone know what happened to Taran Adarsh? His last tweet was on August 26 saying that he is unwell but will resume work soon, he isn’t even reviewing films for Bollywoodhungama anymore let alone tweeting about box office figures…
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September 19, 2014 at 6:30 AM
Dawaat E Ishq And Khoobsurat Have Slow Start
Friday 19 September 2014 13.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat opened to similar occupancies of 15-20% at multiplexes. The opening at single screens was better for Daawat E Ishq. The main difference is the screen count where Daawat E Ishq has a wider release be it multiplexes and singls screens So if all things stay equal Daawat E Ishq will have the better first day collections.
Obviously both films are dependent on word of mouth as openings are low so if one is better than the other then that will film come out on top eventually. The plus for Daawat E Ishq is that can put up some numbers in places like CP Berar, CI and Nizam while Khoobsurat is totally dependent on multiplex business in bigger circuits.
Saturday will be the important day for both films though Daawat E Ishq has a pretty wide single screen probably due to Muslim touch it is still primarily a multiplex film and and Saturday will have to grow. Khoobsurat will have to show big growth on Saturday otherwise it will not go anywhere. The plus is that both films have no major releases next week so can take advantage if one or both can find some appreciation
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September 19, 2014 at 6:30 AM
Mary Kom Crosses 50 Crore In Two Weeks
Friday 19 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Mary Kom grossed around 11 crore nett in its second week taking its business to over 51 crore nett. The drop week on week is around 75% which is fair. It was helped from Saturday onwards by the fact that the two new releases could not find appreciation.
The film should go to around 55 crore nett in its lifetime run which is fair collection though distributors who took the film expected more. The best business will in the bigger circuits of Mumbai and Delhi/UP with Mumbai being the best of the lot due to the tax exemption in Maharashtra which has led to good collections in Mumbai city and Pune. Mumbai circuit will cross 20 crore nett.
Comparing with other heroine dominated films it is likely to be third in the list after Queen and Kahaani but those two were much smaller films..
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September 19, 2014 at 6:31 AM
Finding Fanny Has Poor First Week
Friday 19 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Finding Fanny did poor business in week one grossing around 23.50 crore nett. The film only did well on Saturday when premium multiplexes attract the most crowds, collections at most of these multiplexes dropped on Sunday and crashed on Monday.
Mumbai, Delhi, East Punjab and Mysore have done the best business but even a circuit like Mysore where the film could have gone on to well had a 60% drop on Monday. Still the overall figures in Mysore of 2.75 crore nett are good.
The film will see a major fall in week two due to no appreciation and the film will have to get lucky to cross the 30 crore nett mark .
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September 19, 2014 at 5:51 PM
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September 19, 2014 at 5:53 PM
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September 19, 2014 at 6:00 PM
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September 20, 2014 at 7:55 AM
Xhodbo:
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September 20, 2014 at 1:18 PM
Satyam’s hate for Akshay continues. No separate post for Shaukeens.
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September 20, 2014 at 2:42 PM
Darn, I’m caught out!
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September 20, 2014 at 8:08 AM
Dawaat E Ishq And Khoobsurat First Day Business
Saturday 20 September 11.30 2014 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat were poor on day one as they grossed 3.75 crore nett and 2.50 crore nett respectively. The collections were low all over with the wide release of Dawaat E Ishq in Delhi/UP helping it a little in that territory as it was best.
Khoobsurat was best at premium multiplexes where it had similar collections to Dawaat E Ishq but elsewhere it was well behind. It also performed best in Delhi/UP thanks to Delhi multiplexes. Although both films got the release needed in terms of screens the clash did affect collections of both films as both were for the youth and therefore the audience at multiplexes was split.
Mumbai was under performer for both as the biggest circuit recorded low numbers for both. Saturday is all important for both and big growth will be needed to make any headway at the boxoffice.
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September 20, 2014 at 10:34 AM
why is boi not giving flop commentary to dawat e ishq?Is it because its a yrf film?It is doubtful if dei will gross more than 20cr.boi was calling finding fanny,an off beat film as flop from day one.is it because of anxiety of Arjun kapoor?Its a redundant site anyway.
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September 20, 2014 at 2:45 PM
Bliss:
Fantastic profile of Al Pacino in Newyorker
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/15/caught-act
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September 21, 2014 at 2:49 PM
frame to frame(many in india have an opinion mr big b was slightly better than him here)
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September 21, 2014 at 3:30 PM
Couple of most rivetting minutes on Indian screen. Tony Montana was great but when pitched against VD Chauhan, no one stands a chance .Would take AB any day of the week and twice onSunday. Blasphemy for some with colonial complex. Cant but feel sorry for them.
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September 21, 2014 at 1:55 AM
OT:
Can you guys please recommend me some good international (western) music? I want to try it. Haven’t heard anything properly before beyond Bollywood numbers.
Help will be much appreciated. Thanks
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September 21, 2014 at 7:09 AM
Anyone?
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September 21, 2014 at 7:28 AM
Start with Michael Jackson .. or Alexandra Burke, Michael Bolton . I did same few months back …. mostly I listen with lyrics on display at YouTube.
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September 22, 2014 at 2:24 AM
thanks yakuza
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September 21, 2014 at 7:44 AM
Daawat E Ishq And Khoobsurat Have Up Trend On Saturday
Sunday 21 September 2014 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat managed to show solid growth on Saturday. The growth for Khoobsurat was good as it is doing its best business at theatres which do best business on Saturday. the trend may be the opposite on Sunday when Dawaat E Ishq shows more growth. The two day business of both films is as follows.
Daawat E Ishq
Friday – 3,60,00,000
Saturday – 4,30,00,000
TOTAL – 7,90,00,000
Khoobsurat
Friday – 2,35,00,000
Saturday – 3,25,00,000
TOTAL – 5,60,00,000
The growth is good to decent for both films but problem is low starting point but still if one or both can sustain on Monday they have two weeks until Bang Bang and Haider to have a decent box office run.
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September 21, 2014 at 1:39 PM
Camp and uncouthness now define Tamil popular culture. Here is a sampler. In a movie from a couple of years ago, where one of Karunanidhi’s grandsons plays the lead, a scene goes like this. The hero riding a two-wheeler stops at a traffic signal and looks at a girl whose face is covered with a dupatta. Hero tries to make a move on her. When the girl removes her veil to reveal her “unattractive” face(made worse by buck teeth), the hero spits on the ground in a display of revulsion and contempt for her. I cannot imagine a film elsewhere in the world containing such a sickening scene. Probably a Kim Ki Duk film might have such a sequence, but surely the man indulging in the act would perhaps be a portrayed as a psycho or a sadist. In our case here, he’s the adorable hero; even a prospective Chief Minister.
The propensity of Tamils to offer ritual libations of milk and honey (now beer, in keeping with postmodern times) to the plywood cutouts of stars and politicians is deserving of a serious sociological study. This culture of cutout abhishekam is yet another gift of the Dravidian parties to the Tamil society. Every film hero has fan club and the members of these fan clubs find themselves as vice-chancellors of universities and college deans, when their hero becomes a power player. In any country, the state of universities and media are the barometers of cultural and societal maturity. But in Tamil Nadu these two institutions serve as an everyday reminder of our cultural philistinism. In magazines, a majority of the pages are crammed with cinema news; essays and columns are written by film lyricists; questions pour in for reader Q&A sections anchored by directors; and pictures of half-naked heroines can be found in every alternate page. The pages that are left are filled with pictures of woe-stricken Sri Lankan Tamils.
http://swarajyamag.com/featured/camp-as-culture/
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September 21, 2014 at 8:45 PM
http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/230164-sachin-tendulkar-donates-relief-materials-for-flood-affected-people-in-jammu-and-kashmir?utm_source=ndtv&utm_medium=top-stories-widget&utm_campaign=story-8-http%3a%2f%2fsports.ndtv.com%2fcricket%2fnews%2f230164-sachin-tendulkar-donates-relief-materials-for-flood-affected-people-in-jammu-and-kashmir
Sachin’s large heartedness.
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September 22, 2014 at 12:06 AM
great to hear Sachin setting an example for other celebraties
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September 22, 2014 at 6:55 AM
Daawat E Ishq First Weekend Business
Monday 22 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dawaat E Ishq grossed 13.50-13.75 crore nett its it first weekend which again like Khoobsurat is a low weekend number but there was solid growth on Saturday and Sunday which means the film is depending on Monday holding up well..
There is no major competition this week and that is why if it can hold on the weekdays it has chances for a respectable total. If there was a release on Friday then it would have been tough even if collections sustained well on Monday.
It was the metro multiplexes which held the film back and where Khoobsurat did better business. Outside the metros it had better figures than Khoobsurat. Delhi/UP was best with around 3.50 crore nett over the first weekend.
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September 22, 2014 at 6:56 AM
Khoobsurat First Weekend Business
Monday 22 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Khoobsurat grossed 10-10.25 crore nett its it first weekend which is a low figure but the trend was good with good growth on Saturday followed with a similar trend on Sunday.
The film should have had better opening day but with competition from Daawat E Ishq which was also a film aimed at the youth it gave the target audience a choice meaning less footfalls than they would have got if they were solo. The growth on Saturday and Sunday gives it a chance but Monday has to hold very well and be near the Friday collection.
The business of the film was best in Delhi NCR area with Delhi/UP grossing around 2.75 crore nett and East Punjab at around 1.25 crore nett.
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September 22, 2014 at 11:00 AM
Looking at the popularity of Big Boss, I urge Satyam to have a separate post on Big Boss season 8. This is one show purely driven by Salman’s true, unqualified stardom. I read somewhere many stars have been critics-proof, but Salman with this show has achieved the ultimate pinnacle of stardom: Today, he is content-proof too! In the past seasons, episodes have been even named after him – Jumme Ki Raat Salman Ke Saath & Super Saturday with Salman. Let’s see how this season unfolds…
Unlike several other celebrated TV hosts, Salman’s real contribution to Bigg Boss goes way beyond his name. The show is selling in his name. In all honesty SRK struggled with KBC 3, where he tried to make a purposeful show frivolous and then Bachchan struggled with Big Boss 3, where he tried to make a fun show purposeful but with Salman it is the right mix!
Bigg Boss 8
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September 22, 2014 at 11:24 AM
But Bachchan’s contribution ought to be compared on KBC not Bigg Boss (which he should never have taken up). But see here for example:
http://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood/bigg-boss-8-to-clash-with-kbc-8-this-season–16508.html
and here’s this season:
http://www.tellytrp.in/2014/09/will-kaun-banega-crorepati-kbc-8-sustain-high-ratings.html
let’s see how Salman does this time around but whether he does better or not Bigg Boss has hardly been associated with extraordinary ratings. Obviously it’s done well enough but it’s hardly stupendous given Salman is more or less at his career peak at the moment. So one shouldn’t exaggerate these things.
But I should make a different point here too. Often Salman’s stardom is referred to in a different sense. The idea of course is that given the junk he does it’s purely about him. This is only partially true however. Yes he is in the zone for sure. But it is precisely the junk that works for him. It’s not as if he could suddenly do Aamir’s stuff! If he tried this he’d have much lower numbers because you need a certain credibility for many of those roles. One could also make the point in other ways. When Hrithik does JA he doesn’t get the numbers that he does doing Kites. So on and so forth. Stars prosper in strength genres with a certain image. Yes Salman’s films are very poor most of the time but people like him precisely in that sort of poor stuff. So there’s no mystery of stardom here. And we see this in the South all the time where there are any number of mass stars who are like Salman in this sense. A certain kind of star is huge only doing the ‘stupid’ film!
Of course if he can be huge with this latest season of Bigg Boss more power to him! Though I’ve never liked him I don’t have anything against him in any ideological sense.
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September 22, 2014 at 11:49 AM
KBC-8 is doing wonders again for Sony .. KBC-4,5 and 6 remained top reality shows in respective years. KBC-7 was not so good, last year rating fell pretty early. But this was case with every other show last year .. due to rise in election wave. News channel TRP were all time high from September to June this year. Now this season of KBC even surpassed the top ratings of KBC-5 and 6. This is magnificent ..
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September 22, 2014 at 11:50 AM
yes you’re on the money on all counts..
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September 22, 2014 at 12:19 PM
To be frank , the cynical me doesn’t much trust the reported ratings and the exact TVR numbers…. I am simply going by coverage in media and hype on various TV channels which seems real as everyone wants a pie of the show’s popularity. Colors have a lot of top rated show in their lineup but the importance given to this show by them is unprecedented and Bigg Boss is somewhat of a huge deal for them. The contestants, budgeting keeps getting bigger each year and we are told the advertising rates have been driven up by 25-30% this year due to huge popularity of the show.
I would believe , Colors would not spend so much money and keep repeating expensive Salman if this was anything less. Even if one doesn’t trust the hefty figures Salman has been reported charging for each episode, considering Salman is at his peak and his precious time translates to money, he must be paid astronomical amounts to do give his valuable time to the show.
On the rest you do have a point.
All I would say is Salman is currently enjoying this phase of his stardom and the real victory lies in doing all of this with effortlessness .The two hours each weekend are packed with so much fun and entertainment and to be frank it is worth price of a theatre’s ticket. Almost the entire content in these episodes comes across as unscripted and improvised. From giving nicknames to the inmates, to mimicking them, to even asking the most interesting questions, he does it all. Not to mention the sheer effortlessness of the way he handles co-stars who come on the Saturday show to promote their forthcoming films.
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September 22, 2014 at 1:01 PM
BTW Satyam .. BhoothNath return garner fabulous TVR on its premier … Almost 4 time of Chennai Express.
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September 22, 2014 at 1:04 PM
Not only this, BR trp is highest for any movie premiered this year … At second slot is Jai Ho.
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September 22, 2014 at 1:14 PM
Some of it has to do with how well the movie did in theatre.
people who wanted to see CE did so in theatre.
What was BR boxoffice collection compared to CE?
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September 22, 2014 at 1:19 PM
Ohh .. so you mean bigger the BO hit, lower the TRP ?? Do u know what was TRP of three idiots ??
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September 22, 2014 at 1:52 PM
not really.. lot of films did very well in the theater and had very strong TRPs..
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September 22, 2014 at 1:17 PM
TV audience is completely different .. Dhoom-3 and CE proved Disasters for Sony and Zee TV respectively .. their ratings were shockingly low.
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September 22, 2014 at 2:24 PM
right, because chances are whoever wanted to see it, already saw it on the theatre. movies like 3I are exception, not a rule.
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September 24, 2014 at 2:34 AM
Or that the originals were so bad that no one wanted to see them again on TV!
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September 22, 2014 at 2:06 PM
Suryavansham and Nayak are Sholay of TV since last 10 years 🙂
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September 22, 2014 at 3:13 PM
TV runs mostly on Amitabh Bachchan films. Shanivaar ki raat Amitabh se saath is the longest running film retrospective on TV on a single star. Zee’s sister channels are also running Ravivaar ki raat Amitabh ke saath (Zee Anmol) and Har din Amitabh (Zee Classic). Set Max has repeated Ab Tak Bachchan several times in last 10 years.
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September 22, 2014 at 4:28 PM
Securing the rights to so many fixtures of the Bat-universe was a big move for Fox. But with Ben Affleck making his multi-picture debut as Batman in the feature-film franchise, there was no way Warner Bros./DC Comics was going to let a TV Batman seem too similar to the big-screen Dark Knight. So can Batman’s supporting cast — Gotham City’s young police force and those who would soon be his enemies — carry this show without anyone in a Bat-suit?
The suits at Fox seem to think so. They’re betting that we want to see transformations occur among Batman’s future foes. Few superheroes, of course, have a better rogues’ gallery than Batman. But is fascination with those rogues enough to keep us tuned in — to see what led them to the point of deviance? In our quest to find out, here are Comic Riffs’ Five Takeaways from the “Gotham” pilot (minor spoilers ahead):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/09/21/gotham-5-bat-takeaways-from-the-new-fox-series/
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September 23, 2014 at 1:58 AM
Daawat E Ishq And Khoobsurat Monday Business
Tuesday 23 September 2014 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Daawat E Ishq held up pretty well on Monday though collections were low for both. Dawaat E Ishq grossed around 2 crore nett while Khoobsurat was around 1.50 crore nett. The business in four days is 15.50 crore nett for Daawat E Ishq and Khoobsurat is 11.75 crore nett .
Khoobsurat trended the better of the two on Monday as it dropped around 35% while the drop for Daawat E Ishq was 45%. Despite decent Monday figures both films have low overall figures due to the poor initials. the clash has hurt both films as if they were solo they were sure to gett better opening day figures.The business of Khoobsurat could catch up with Daawat E Ishq by the end of the week or beginning of week two.
Now it just remains to be seen which film comes out on top in lifetime figures. Going by the trend the business of Khoobsurat will catch up with Daawat E Ishq but it may be too late as the latter will have a 4-4.50 crore nett advantage in week one and it will be hard for Khoobsurat to make up all the shortfall in week two and thereafter.
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September 23, 2014 at 9:21 AM
NY Times:
She Came to Do Good and Stayed to Do Well
‘Khoobsurat,’ a Bollywood Film Co-Produced by Disney
By ANDY WEBSTERSEPT. 22, 2014
Disney, never a stranger to princesses, crowns another as it ventures further into Bollywood with Shashanka Ghosh’s romantic confection, “Khoobsurat,” a variation on Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1980 film, “Khoobsoorat.” And the studio’s specialty proves a pretty good fit.
Mili Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor) is a high-energy, middle-class and somewhat daffy physiotherapist for a New Delhi cricket team when she is hired by an aristocratic family near Jaipur to rehabilitate its patriarch (Aamir Raza Hussain), who’s been using a wheelchair for years. His son, Vikram (the heavy-lidded Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Afzal Khan), a shrewd businessman, is not only engaged to a woman of his economic station but is also monitored by his imperious, upper-crust mother (Ratna Pathak Shah). The brash, often clumsy Mili, in her mixed-pattern ensembles, descends on their estate like a tornado, bumping into statuary, dancing with the servants and winning hearts, especially Vikram’s.
Anne Hathaway made a splash in Disney’s “The Princess Diaries,” and the rangy Ms. Kapoor (who descends from a Bollywood dynasty) shares some of her early incandescence, along with a Julia Roberts-like smile. (Mr. Khan wisely underplays against her supernova, never trying to eclipse her.)
Bollywood films have appropriated Hollywood genres and imagery for years, but Mr. Ghosh, using a pleasing pastel palette, deftly achieves a particularly Disney-like polish. And he avoids making-of-a-royal pitfalls: Ms. Kapoor’s character never abandons her humor for refinement. Twice, Mili says that she was raised to speak up for herself. Not a bad characteristic for a future Rajput princess.
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September 23, 2014 at 4:34 PM
Saw this and quite liked it. Sonam Kapoor and Fawad Khan looked good together.
A very decent clean film. By clean I mean, no item songs, no brash group dances with noisy music and the oft repeated movements which are getting to be quite boring.
Sonam Kapoor looked really good and at times resembled Rekha with that bony jaw and lean face.
The song/dance situation with the servants reminded me of Upstairs/Downstairs.
To nitpick – they showed Sonam drinking wine straight from the bottle. I found that a bit over done re: her bindas character. I only know that people drink beer/sharab straight.
Drinking wine in this fashion is like wearing a sophisticated long low necked gown (showing cleavage) as nightie.
Another difference here were the palace sets/or real (I don’t know). Film shot almost completely, here.
Very entertaining, and leaves one with no regrets for having watched it.
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September 23, 2014 at 6:10 PM
Well you sure can drink wine straight. If you drink the whole bottle at one gulp though, that is a different story.
Having said that, isn’t it so strait-jacketed and hackneyed that the representation of ‘freedom’ or ‘liberty’ in women in Indian cinema can ONLY be represented by getting sozzled or stoned? Or maybe sleeping around? It is sad but this seems to be cutting across all film-types – be they art, commercial, semi-commercial, whatever. This again represents how Hi-fi of today is so, so derivative of Hollywood. When Hollywood does it, it draws from its culture of teenagers or anyone else discovering the ‘pleasures’ of sin for the first time; smoking pot & getting stoned, buying a 12 pack with a fake state id for the 1st time or losing one’s virginity when one is not even 16. Under this cultural umbrella, Hollywood depicts those binge-drinking or club-hopping scenes. This isn’t an indication of ‘freedom’ per se but rebelliousness; of doing things that one can OBVIOUSLY do later at the right age. This is not something taboo in the American society.
This is then transposed into the framing of ‘modernity’ in Indian women by categorizing them as ‘loose’ or ‘drunkards’ or ‘smokers’ [that scene in KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK where Deepika lights up in her office is so so stupidly cringe-worthy; as though smoking in office is a sign of the ‘modern’ woman? Sorry Ma’am; smoking in the office gets even privileged ‘boys’ of ANY society fired – this is common sense, but hey, we know in Hi-fi, this is so uncommon.] Compare this to Meena Kumari’s act in SBAG and notice how organic it is to the narrative. It is not used just to create some shock-value! [This doesn’t mean women should only resort to drinking when everything in their life is miserable.] What’s the point of all these modernity props? Heck Devika Rani kissed passionately with a full-mouth way back in 1933! And Rani Mukherjee kissing in 2010 or later is supposed to represent modernity?
And the funnier thing is, after soaking in all the ‘liberal’ shenanigans, these modern women go running back to the men or the so-called ‘providers’! Remember Cocktail? So what is one trying to prove here? This entire arc – of starting with drinking, sleeping around, smoking and then ending with the blissful ‘realization’ that good girls simply need to surrender to tradition and everything is forgiven is so weak that it collapses under its own weight! So in finality, modernity in women equate to sleeping around or getting stoned which is bad and hence, they need to mend their ways as some sort of poetic justice in the end! Else, you WON’T be called modern – you will be called a characterless bitch.
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September 24, 2014 at 5:51 PM
Totally agree. Representing a modern woman in Indian films is not something that the film people can do, simply because they don’t know what she’s like.
But why blame the films alone, the whole society thinks that way, as far as my observation goes.
Of course one can do anything, even drink wine straight out of the bottle. But I’ve not heard or seen it done that way. And to me it is a useless waste of wine, if it’s good.
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September 23, 2014 at 10:10 AM
National award winning Hindi film Liar’s Dice, directed by Geetu Mohandas, has been selected as India’s entry to the Oscars, the Film Federation of India has announced.
Winner of two National awards earlier this year — Best Actress for Geetanjali Thapa (in the picture) and Best Cinematography for Rajeev Ravi, the film narrates the story of a young mother, who migrates to the city in search of her missing husband.
In a new record, Liar’s Dice was selected from a total of 30 contenders, the largest number FFI has ever considered, which included Kangna Ranaut starrer Queen, Hansal Mehta’s acclaimed Shahid and Riteish Deshmukh-produced Marathi film Yellow, among others.
Liar’s Dice also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood/director-of-india-s-oscar-entry-liar-s-dice-feels-proud-17242.html
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September 23, 2014 at 10:34 AM
I haven’t seen this film, but otherwise my pick would have been either Ankhon Dekhi or Fandry.
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September 23, 2014 at 12:27 PM
Had no idea about this movie. Remember that Geetu had quit acting in Malayalam movies a few years ago to focus on direction, but didn’t know that she’d actually done it. I believe Rajeev Ravi is her spouse as well as the cinematographer on this one, so definitely interested here.
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September 24, 2014 at 6:58 AM
CG: Finally. And Jayasuriya has never looked this imposing
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September 24, 2014 at 11:56 AM
Saurabh, thanks- yes, I caught this on TV this morning. Definitely looks good though I’m still wary given Amal’s track record of movies that look great but lack soul. That said, this is on my much-anticipated list.
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September 24, 2014 at 7:10 AM
Abhishek Bachchan steals the show at SLAM! The Tour in Washington DC!
Wed, September 24, 2014 3:43pm UTC by Srishti Dixit
Posted Wed, September 24, 2014 3:43pm UTC
The actor is travelling with Indiawaale gang to various parts of America promoting his upcoming film Happy New Year
Abhishek Bachchan‘s performance was one to cheer the loudest for at the SLAM! The Tour show in Washington DC! Why do we say so? Its because Jr Bachchan walked on the stage rapping Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai. The actor had first flaunted his excellent rapping skills in the song from Bluffmaster.
Apart from the rapping, Abhishek also performed on his popular foot-tapping numbers like Maa Da Laadla, Desi Girl and Kajra Re! But it wasn’t just songs from his previous films that AB performed on, he also grooved to the beats of his new song Satakli from Happy New Year!
Apart from his solo performances, Abhishek also performed with the rest of the men of Team Indiawaale and had the roaring crowds go crazy! After a hit show in Washington DC the HNY team is off to Chicago for their next SLAM! show!
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September 24, 2014 at 7:11 AM
Happy New Year: Aamir loves Abhishek’s character
Jigar Shah, Hindustan Times New Delhi, September 23, 2014
First Published: 13:01 IST(23/9/2014) | Last Updated: 13:26 IST(23/9/2014)
Aamir Khan is a man of few words. So, when the star goes out of his way to praise another actor, it is considered a big deal. The latest actor he has appreciated is Abhishek Bachchan.
Aamir’s praise came even before the first trailer of Abhishek’s movie Happy New Year had released. A source close to Aamir informs us, “He loved the script that Farah (Khan; director) had written for her upcoming film, which is now being produced by Shah Rukh Khan. Of all the characters that Farah had sketched, Aamir loved Abhishek’s character. Having worked with the actor just last year (in Dhoom 3), he felt that Abhishek was aptly cast for the film.”
When contacted, Abhishek confirms the news, saying, “Yes, Aamir did tell me how much he loved my role, when he heard about the script of the film through his friends.” He adds, “This film was supposed to be made right after Farah made Om Shanti Om (2007), but for various reasons it was delayed. I have been part of the film since then.”
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September 24, 2014 at 8:55 AM
I guess this then puts a definite end to all those BS rumors of Abhishek being just a padding in an otherwise SRK film.
If Aamir liked Abhishek’s role, then it must be pretty significant, not just mere padding.
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September 24, 2014 at 9:01 AM
” Happy New Year: Aamir loves Abhishek’s character”
Wow is that a planted story to give some kind of respectability to story line of the movie due to murmurs all around looking at the loud, spoofy promos. Aamir’s endorsement of script does go a long way in terms of perception which at the moment isn’t looking good due to farah last outing with TMK
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September 24, 2014 at 2:29 PM
***12 must watch movies from TIFF***
THE CROW’S EGG
First-time Tamil filmmaker M Manikandan and his producers Dhanush and Vetri Maaran have made an utterly charming film about two brothers living in a slum in Chennai.
Their lives are harsh — the mother works hard, the father is in jail, but the kids, played by first-time actors, Ramesh (he has only one name) and Ramesh Thilaganathan, have amazing spirit.
The premise of the film is simple. A pizzeria opens across the street from the slum and the brothers want to eat there. Most of the film focuses on the kids finding ways to earn money to achieve this goal.
Similar in tone to many Iranian classics like The White Balloon and Children of Heaven, The Crow’s Egg has a small feel to it. But it has a big heart that won over audiences in Toronto.
It is always wonderful to discover a gem of film at an international film festival. It is even more exciting when that film is from India.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/special/12-must-watch-movies/20140924.htm
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September 25, 2014 at 11:15 AM
New Releases To Find It Tough Khoobsurat May Lead
Thursday 25 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
There will be eight new releases this week but its unlikely they will offer much as far as the box office is concerned and Khoobsurat may well emerge the top film of the week followed by Daawat E Ishq. If one of the new releases picks up then it could be a different story.
There are releases such as 3 AM, Balwinder Singh… Famous Ho Gaya, Chaarfutiya Chhokare and Desi Kattey amongst others. There has been regular flow of major films but this week is different and the makers of these films have seen that and decided to bring their films on Friday. It is a shortened week with Bang Bang and Haider coming on Friday and this basically gives these films six days to earn whatever they can.
Khoobsurat is holding steady with low collections at multiplexes in the weekdays and should start collecting better than Daawat E ishq from Friday onwards. A 1.50 crore nett lead in favour of Daawat E Ishq on day one will be down to 10 lakhs on day seven.
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September 25, 2014 at 11:15 AM
Finding Fanny Heading For 3.50 Crore Second Week
Tuesday 23 September 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Fanding Fanny is heading for a 3.50 crore nett second week as it has grossed a little over 2.50 crore nett in the first four days of the second week. The drop for the second week will be over 85% which is huge for this type of film relying on the content.
The film will be at around 27.75 crore nett in two weeks and is heading for lifetime business in the 28-29 crore nett. The business is in the same range as a Highway and less than lower costing films like Yaariyan and Mardaani.
The film will add at best just 5 crore nett after its first week which is very poor. Overall the Hindi version has collected more than English version despite it being dubbed which is the opposite of the Hollywood dubbed films.
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September 25, 2014 at 11:25 AM
“I don’t think there has been much of a slowdown, as Sony, Star and Zee are dealing in their usual volumes of business. It’s just that people are becoming cautious about what they are investing in. Just because a film earned Rs 100 crore at the box office doesn’t mean it has repeat value, something that is very important for the satellite business.
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/satellite-slowdown/
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September 25, 2014 at 12:12 PM
Repeat value implies trended well or not. Quite clearly the tv channels have cottoned on and curbed one side of the revenue of so called successes. All in all…this is a warning indirectly to the 100 crore club ‘obsession’. It does not mean success.
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September 25, 2014 at 3:37 PM
I saw Finding Fanny and Khoobsurat recently, and I far preferred the latter.
Finding Fanny might sell itself as a whimsical road-trip comedy but it contains stock Bollywood romantic clichés, a heroine from the YRF fantasy female mould and crudely sleazy humour that wouldn’t be out of place in an Akshay Kumar film.
The problem is that it tries too hard to give these elements an edgy, irreverent treatment, complete with shabby-chic visuals (with the exception of course of Deepika, who wouldn’t look out of place in even the most glamorous KJo film).
Often the setting lends interesting texture to road films, but here the characters journey through a bucolic, bohemian rendition of Goa that is painfully twee. Even the beautiful cinematography cannot breathe life into this synthetic, stereotypical paradise where penniless men with names like Savio De Gama drive fashionably grungy vintage cars and fall in love with beautiful, devout orphans who religiously attend mass in quaintly colonial churches.
The film is saved only by Deepika and Naseer, both of whom are delightful as naive, well-meaning romantics and whose warm friendship is the only bit of this film that feels genuine. Coming out of the cinema, I felt as if I had been subjected to the Instagram album of a wannabe-hipster who has recently discovered artistic filters and who mistakenly believes that using them will elevate any photograph he takes to a piece of art.
Khoobsurat, on the other hand, is refreshingly straightforward about what it is: a feel-good Disney fairytale. As expected, the film is sartorially impeccable and the beautiful palace setting only adds to the visual splendour.
Sonam is endearingly awkward as the gauche Punjabi interloper with a heart of gold and the Rajput prince is appropriately regal and handsome. Although this film is primarily a romance, the most poignant relationship here is that of mother and daughter. The insistence on daily Skype sessions, the sharp motherly intuition that discerns secrets her daughter doesn’t want to share, the overprotective motherly exuberance that embarrasses the daughter – all of this prompted groans of empathy from my girlfriends and I.
Everything from the strong-but-silent romantic hero to the charming song where Sonam dances with the palace staff while the prince watches from the keyhole had a sweetly old-fashioned air to it. I would recommend this movie to anybody who enjoys traditional romantic comedies done well.
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September 25, 2014 at 4:30 PM
Completely agree on Deepika’s Fanny. It is one sham of a film. Trying to be ‘hip’ for the sake of being different. And I found the performances too fake – except for Dimple. Naseer was OK. Arjun Kapoor especially – Jesus, what is he doing in Hi-fi? Agreed Hi-fi has very low standards but still..Walks around in the film with that patented hang-dog expression of his. He should STOP acting or if his dad still wants to thrust him, he should stick to playing the Funjabi guy’s role..
And what’s with the English? More embarrassing & fake than a teenager’s English containing 7 usages of ‘LIKE’ in a sentence with 10 words..
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September 25, 2014 at 3:49 PM
Brilliant reviews there, Amy
Deserve a separate post imo
“The problem is that it tries too hard to give these elements an edgy, irreverent treatment, complete with shabby-chic visuals”- yup haha. (I actually didn’t even like deepika or naseer here)
Ps: haven’t seen khubsoorat but the music/sound sounds v apt for the Disney girlie genre …
jus came to knowa–It’s sneha khanwalkar (loved her GoW epic soundtrack–wot a range)
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