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661 Responses to “Happy New Year, the rest of the box office”
HNY Advance Booking Over 70 pc
by Rohini Nag (October 22, 2014)
Amid the din of the Diwali festivities, there is one more reason to celebrate with gusto – the release of Farah Khan’s Happy New Year, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Soon, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. Advance booking for the film opened with a bang today and it looks like the movie is gearing up to taking the box office by storm. This production, whose larger-than-life canvas and spectacular marketing plan are the talk of the town, has proved that Khan sure delivers on his promise to entertain his audience. And then some!
The film, which is all set to release on Friday, is not only pegged as the highest first-day grosser of all time but is also expected to be the fastest to make it to the Rs 200-crore club. It is expected to notch up fantastic numbers during its first weekend and first week. Programmers from various multiplex chains and exhibitors too believe that Happy New Year will enjoy a smooth sail next week.
Ashish Saksena, BIG Cinemas
Happy New Year is turning out to be a magnum opus. It will be a sureshot winner at the box office, without a doubt. We have seen a phenomenal response to advance bookings, which opened this morning. At present, ticket sales are more than 70 per cent and this will further grow late evening. On average, we have allotted 14 to 18 shows per property. We have received a fabulous response as bulk bookings have already opened for the weekend.
Amar Laykar, PVR Cinemax
This film will undoubtedly ring in gigantic numbers, if advance booking is any indication. Happy New Year’s advance booking is going great guns at our properties. The film, following the Diwali and weekend madness, will definitely set many records for any Hindi film. With 20 shows at each property, on average, we plan to sustain substantial shows for the film in the second week too. The outstanding response to the advance booking suggests that we will sell out our weekend shows today. This film will go down in history in our industry.
Ansh Kapoor, Fun Cinemas
HNY has drawn an outstanding response at the ticket window and is creating a huge buzz as far as advance booking goes. With over 75 per cent advance booking, we predict nothing short of an exceptional weekend. On average, the film has been assigned 10 to 14 shows per property.
Harshad Parmar, Carnival
The film took a fantastic start for its advance booking at our properties, around 80 per cent, and we expect superlative net collections during the weekend. The film is a blockbuster already. With record-breaking day-one collections, the weekend will be nothing short of a celebration as well. On average, the film has 14 shows per property.
Ashish Gogia, Suncity
Advance booking for HNY has elicited a 90-per cent response in most of our properties and the weekend shows are already house full. The weekend will be massive in terms of audience response.
Manoj Desai, G7 and Maratha Mandir
Advance booking for the film opened today amid an extraordinary response. The audience is very eager to watch Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan’s latest offering and the movie will run house-full at my properties.
Guess how many screens Happy New Year will be shown in!
This Diwali, teams from Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Yash Raj Films will gear up for the widest Bollywood release so far.
Happy New Year, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Boman Irani, will hit as many as 6,000 screens worldwide, the most ever. This will surpass releases of films such as Dhoom 3 (2013), Kick (2014) and Bang Bang (2014).
Sources say the makers of Happy New Year are targeting release in 5,000 screens in India and 1,000 abroad.
The film is produced by Red Chillies Entertainment; and will be distributed worldwide by Yash Raj Films, which also the force behind the widespread distribution of Dhoom 3 in December 2013, the biggest film of that year. The thriller was released in about 4,500 screens in India and 800 abroad.
Happy New Year marks the reunion of director Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan after the success of the pair in films such asOm Shanti Om and Main Hoon Na, while Khan and Padukone have delivered hits such as Om Shanti Om and Chennai Express. The two Khans, not related to each other, had a brief falling out but have since patched up for this film.
Last year, Chennai Express was released across 750 screens abroad, a record in terms of foreign release on the day on the film being released in India. Movies such as Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3 saw similar exposure last year. This year, Kick and Bang Bang stepped up the game, with release across up to 850 screens in foreign markets.
Kamal Gianchandani, chief operating officer, PVR Ltd, says, “You cannot get a better combination in Bollywood. Happy New Year marks the return of SRK and Deepika after Chennai Express and SRK and Farah (Khan) after hits such as Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om; and, it’s the occasion of Diwali. The film is set for a wide release and, at least at PVR, 80 per cent of our screens will be running the movie.”
Shah Rukh Khan has seen immense success in the case of Diwali releases, with Om Shanti Om (2007) earning about Rs 98 crore in India and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) raking in Rs 102 crore.
Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and a box office analyst, adds, “Wide release strategies are typical for major films with blockbuster potential. Distributors book a film in a huge number of screens to record maximum results due to the festive occasion of Diwali. Happy New Year’s release strategy is the widest in the history of cinema; it’s not only being released in the original language, but also dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions, with 4,500-4,700 screens in India, surpassing Kick.”
Shah Rukh Khan has a huge fan following in the traditional foreign markets of North America, the UK and West Asia. Given the occasion of Diwali, the film will be released in these markets on October 23, a day before the India release. The reason is while Indians abroad celebrate the occasion as a community, in India, audiences are known to stay away from theatres on Diwali day.
Happy New Year has been marketed extensively. While digital media has been the driving force, Shah Rukh Khan and his team have ensured no stone is left unturned — from a trailer launch on Facebook and WhatsApp, to interviews in print and television and spots on radio.
Promotion was also boosted by the Slam tour — the cast toured across countries and acted as judges on a dance reality show on Zee TV — Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale.
“Shah Rukh is a marketer’s delight and you can see that in the promotions of the film across media. We were very glad when the team from PVR approached him and the rest of the cast to shoot some public service messages, and the team agreed,” says Gianchandani.
All the 454 screens across the country from the PVR stable are airing 15-20 second films on Happy New Year.
It is expected the film will garner more than Rs 30 crore on the first day. However, Wadhwa adds the length of movie could be a deterrent for showcasing it in multiplexes. Gianchandani agrees, but adds the team at PVR has ensured convenient timings. He, however, says despite the big-banner release, ticket sales will not see a huge jump.
— Urvi Malvania
All sorts of postures here but this is a bummer at the end after all the hype –
” It is expected the film will garner more than Rs 30 crore on the first day. ”
bast itna ?
and then there is this wrong info on both films. As far as I rememebr OSO did considerably less and JTHJ considerably more
” Shah Rukh Khan has seen immense success in the case of Diwali releases, with Om Shanti Om (2007) earning about Rs 98 crore in India and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) raking in Rs 102 crore.”
JTHJ probably didn’t do much more than that, OSO was 80-85 crores depending on who you believe. I thought the numbers were a bit high here to begin with. After a while BOI also downgraded their week 1 number by a bit.
anything around D3 or better than this should be great. 40 will be outstanding but I wouldn’t use this as the benchmark. Ultimately this day 1, day 2 stuff is a bit of a fuss. What really matters is relative strength over the first week and then of course beyond this. Plenty of films are up there with fantastic first days or second days only to fizzle out later if not tank. With something like ETT even a rather strong 7 day period or so resulted in an extremely poor follow-through in week 2. The film made it to 190 or something 150 of which (roughly) came in the first 7 days or so. So with big films and massive screen counts some of these huge numbers are a given.
** Now I know this is a visual medium and everything & looking good is considered one of the essential ‘qualifications’, but why fall prey to that when one is successful AND also already good looking? Has anybody looked at Minishaa Lamba in BIG BOSS? What the heck has happened to her face? It looks like her face has been stretched on a machine end to end!
This was the argument I had when seeing how ugly SRK looked with those packs or whatever – fake or genuine whatever maybe the case.
Why resort to it when you are looking good the way you are? What kind of ridiculous peer pressure is this that a star successful for 20 years has to resort to this? When a ‘side-effect’ of filmy life becomes the mainstay?
And the funny thing is, how well one agrees to ‘fit in’ with such madness is considered the ‘barometer’ of dedication and talent in today’s times. That interview of Abhishek was really a wonderful one and one can see how his reluctance in going with the flow is automatically translated as ‘laziness’, ‘lack of talent,’ etc..That man really deserves a pat on his back for not succumbing to this madness.**
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4. The shock that greeted a 45-year-old Oscar winner’s makeover indicated that our society has grave concerns about chasing a youthful look — likely through cosmetic surgery. The data suggests otherwise. Americans had more than 11 million cosmetic procedures in 2013, according to stats from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery — 12 percent more than in 2012, and six times more than in 1997. Let’s just hazard a guess that the number of per capita “procedures” is somewhat higher in Los Angeles than in the U.S. as a whole.
so big deal if it underperformed..few things went wrong but mainly they should have promoted it a lot more. I thought the movie was pretty good, felt a bit stretched towards the end but had great action sequences and Hrithik was fantastic
HR is perhaps the biggest star –but even he is not bigger than SRK.
As for Salman he is currently the biggest flavor of the season but this is a phase & a grotesque time-bound one. As for aamir, he is not a big star-he orchestrates and plots megahits–he’s not the ‘engine’ that drives mass hysteria
On Salman had said pretty much the same thing a day or two earlier that he is ‘flavor of the season’ but on 2nd thoughts Wanted came out in 2009 and the Dabangg games began in 2010 so it’s been a good 4/5 years now. Looking at the link below and it seems he has 2 more years in the pocket.
I am most excited about ‘Sultan’ with YRF in 2016, though with 2 releases in 2015 it seems his year again including bade bhaiyya doing Prem Ratan Dhan Payo a modern age classic in the making releasing on Diwali!
http://t.co/6AbPpPtWEa
Hrithik was headed to a party with his friends, which included Sonakshi Sinha, Arjun Kapoor, Esha Gupta, Nargis Fakhri among others. He took to Twitter and said, “With happy people last night. Thnk u afsar n team exceed 4 a lovely funny good4 d soul not so good4 health kinda fab!”
Arjun Kapoor: We Need Unbiased Sources To Share Box Office Collections
Actor Arjun Kapoor, son of producer Boney Kapoor, on Tuesday said that it is time to formalise the information platform giving figures about box office collections of the releases.
He was speaking on the last day of the 16th Mumbai Film Festival, organised by the Moving Academy of Images (MAMI), in a session focusing on the marketing and box office trends in India.
“We had an interesting session on box office collections and the marketing strategy. As an actor I feel box office is not the only idea to make films. But as far as the collections are concerned, you see a huge disparity in the collections on each and every website,” Arjun told reporters.
“So, we want one reliable source who will put up the accurate figures, which should be unbiased. We need information from one source about the box office (collections). If we check the collections of our films overseas, you see the accurate collections. But it doesn’t happen here.
So there has to be a legal and official way to put the awareness somewhere. It will take time. We have huge number of theatres, but hope within a year we get this thing going,” added the star of films like Ishaqzaade and 2 States.
The 16th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, which ends on Tuesday, showcased over 185 films from more than 65 countries.
Talking about the festival, Arjun said “As an actor I feel one should watch all kinds of films. This is the right platform to showcase different kinds of films.”
Mumbai Top Ten – Happy New Year Targets Oldest Record
Thursday 23 October 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year will be chasing the all time record in Mumbai circuit which is still held by 3 Idiots. It was the only lifetime record all around the world which Dhoom 3 failed to achieve last year. Happy New Year will have a good chance content willing as Gujarat has an extended holiday over the Diwali period.
The Mumbai circuit has became about Gujarat today as not only does it open well but can sustain much better than the Mumbai/Thane and Maharashtra belt which forms the other big chunk of the circuit. The last few years have seen big crashes in Mumbai when Gujarat is not on board. The last one being Bang Bang released a few weeks back.
Bang Bang is struggling to hit the 40 crore nett mark in Mumbai which is 50% less than what Happy New Year will be targeting. There have been ten films which have crossed 50 crore nett in Mumbai circuit and the list includes old releases like 3 Idiots and Golmaal 3. The latter had the content and put up huge numbers in Gujarat in Diwali week. Last years Diwali release Krrish 3 did very well in Gujarat but considering practically a week long holiday in the state the figures should have been better. Below are the all time top ten grossers in Mumbai circuit..
one of these days they might want to mention (though I’m not holding my breath for this!) that there’s a 4 year gap or more between 3I and any film on that list even relatively close! So yeah given enough time one big film or the other will do it! 3I got that record because of fantastic trending not an initial run! BOI pretend that all other numbers (distribution prices et al) have all remained the same. One just has to cross that overall number one way or the other!
Looks good. I really like the director’s “Veyil” so looking forward to this. Just wish they had someone else than Siddharth here (Prithvi should easily be able to walk away with the film). Also I love Rahman’s soundtrack here (the Aye Mr. Minor song is addictive to say the least)-
One of my favourite scenes from Veyil is this moment with “cinema” where Pasupathy uses his palm as a “screen” for the girl to view the film- the scene beautifully captures the charm of movies!
The scene is at the end of the video- watch from 38:30 to 38:40 mark
Review: Happy New Year
Where’s the big bang in Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s latest film?
Director Farah Khan doesn’t do dark films. Her films are festive and celebrate all things Bollywood — the colour, the feverish dance moves and hyperbolic emotions.
But she seems to have taken a misstep with Happy New Year — despite re-uniting with her muse Shah Rukh Khan and her Om Shanti Om discovery Deepika Padukone. We are eternally grateful for the latter, but it’s difficult to forgive Farah Khan for not tapping into the collective potential of her ensemble cast (Boman Irani, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff).
It’s a heist thriller mixed with enough dancing to make your head spin. We are first introduced to the college graduate-but-jobless Chandramohan Sharma, also knows as Charlie, (Khan) who is nursing deep wounds. His father (Anupam Kher), who runs a business creating sturdy lockers, is duped by an evil businessman Charan Grover (Jackie Shroff) and hurtled off to jail for a robbery he didn’t commit. Charlie’s idyllic life is destroyed and he dreams of bringing down Grover. An opportunity presents itself when Grover declares on television that he’s the custodian of precious diamonds worth billions of rupees. It’s an invitation that will tempt any robber-hopeful and Charlie jumps on it like a diet-addled girl on biryani. He puts together a team that’s far from suave. This is no Ocean’s 11 in terms of suavity or style. But if you will, Reservoir (under)dogs for dummies.
With this kind of review, I’m thinking the movie will tank big time after the weekend.
But I did hear some say the movie is more entertaining than OSO so not sure. Amazingly some are saying 2nd half is better than 1st, usually it’s the other way around.
Looking at the all promotions, huge mountings of the movie in the last one month, I wanted to say something and know this will have no meaning tomorrow once the movie is released and verdict is out. It is a known fact SRK and team has spent a good amount of time & efforts for promotions of this movie. SRK the businessman he is will definitely manage the costs by tying up with big corporate and using his PR skills / machinery already in place. I must admit he has very efficiently utilized the Slam tour which normally is a money spinner to good advantage to advertise this movie worldwide and that’s all good.
But what my conservative Indian mind gets agonized is with what a sheer wastage of efforts, time and money if they don’t spend equal amount of energy on the content of the movie itself. We have seen SRK and team with prim proper dressing, well groomed, skits well planned to all the cities they visited, on TV channels and it seems there was good planning on the logistics / machinery to do a professional job of that.
Now I hope the movie if not good is decent enough to validate / authenticate these efforts & not full of dumb jokes and becomes a drag to our sensibilities because if it is, then it shows the mental state of the star where is he is ready to invest so much time, money and efforts in promoting his product but unwilling to sit down and sketch out a proper script /screenplay….
Agree, I’ve been saying that, not sure what it’s truly like inthe film since i have not seen the film yet but the amount of scope, importance, face time the whole cast is getting via SLAM, city tours, etc is just amazing.
Z what works in HNY favor is whatever the negativity if it develops any will awash once the box office numbers start pouring in and are splashed all over media.
HNY Advance Booking 80 pc; Opening Pegged At 40 Cr Plus
by Rohini Nag (October 23, 2014)
Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year is expected to take an outstanding opening of 95 to 100 per cent, all-India when it releases tomorrow, and clock Rs 40 crore plus. The film, which also features Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Soon, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff and is directed by Farah Khan, has already sold 80 per cent tickets via advance booking for the entire weekend. Releasing a day after Diwali and receiving such a gigantic response from the audience days before its release, Happy New Year is poised to set new records. The movie will release at around 5,000 screens across India.
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines, Mumbai
The film will have an extraordinary day one, not only in Mumbai but in every other circuit as well. The film will release at around 5,000 screens across India and it is likely to garner Rs 40 crore plus on its first day. In Mumbai, it will reel in around Rs 13 crore. Tickets are already sold out for the weekend, so expectations are very high. Shah Rukh Khan and his team have outdone themselves with superlative marketing and promotions.
Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts, Delhi-UP
Happy New Year is expected to collect over Rs 40 crore, all-India, tomorrow and will set a new day-one record. Releasing at over 300 screens in Delhi-UP, the film has already charmed the audience as advance booking is almost sold out for the weekend shows. Shah Rukh Khan and his team have promoted the film superbly and to top it off, the music too has become very popular.
Surender Saluja, Lakshaya Movies, East Punjab
The film is going to be greeted by an exceptional response from the audience tomorrow. Advance booking, which opened yesterday, has already sold out most of the weekend shows and the film is a perfect post-Diwali celebration for movie-goers. . Releasing at over 130 screens, it is expected that the film will collect Rs 3 crore tomorrow.
Gaurav Gaur, O’Real Imaginations, Rajasthan
This film can be described in a single word – ‘blockbuster’. This Diwali the audience will truly celebrate a Happy New Year. The weekend shows are already sold out. Releasing at approximately 145 screens, the film will ring in Rs 1.8 crore NBOC here in Rajasthan.
Sarang Chandak, Shri Rang Films, CP
The film will release at 250 screens in our circuit. We don’t really have advance booking in CP Berar but the opening of the film tomorrowwill still be 95 to 100 per cent. The audience is eager to watch Farah Khan directing super hit jodi Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, and we expect the film to collect Rs 1.8 crore on its opening day in CP.
Rakesh Singh, Maa Sona Films, Bihar
The film is already a super hit and has drawn an excellent response during advance booking. Thanks to Shah Rukh Khan and his style of marketing the film’s release, it has generated curiosity among the movie-going audience. Releasing at around 125 screens, the film will garner Rs 60 lakh tomorrow. Happy New Year will definitely break many records.
Happy New Year Set For Record Opening
Thursday 23 October 2014 14.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year is set for a record opening on day one beating the 32 crore nett figure set by Dhoom 3 last year. The film is releasing the day after Diwali which is the best day for collections The last time a universally record breaking was set was Ek Tha Tiger in 2012 and Happy New Year will be hoping for a repeat. The aim will be to set a new first day high in every circuit of India.
The film is three hours long which does limit the shows per screen but the last two years have seen the longer films sustaining better be it Dhoom 3 to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. A similar case can be expected from Happy New Year if content is accepted which will mean more records after the initial weekend.
Another major benchmark for the film can be a century weekend which has never happened before with Dhoom 3 falling a little short last year. The advance opened late with a couple of the major chains starting on Wednesday afternoon but despite that the advance for will be around 25-30% for day one which will mean sales of around 13-14 crore nett for day one even before a show has started.
Farah seems to have taken a misstep with Happy New Year
Forget stealing diamonds, this motley of wannabe crooks don’t seem to have the know-how to steal a safety pin from a supermarket
Bachchan Jr as the uncouth Nandu and Irani as the ageing Parsi bachelor are endearing in parts, but the simplistic story lets them down. Khan is in familiar territory and has the tendency to ham things along.
I saw HNY today in Vox cinemas Mirdif; believe me I have been in Dubai for 8 years but had seen the Palm and Atlantis just a few times, that too from a distance. this movie is full of Atlantis…. like a 3 hour long advertisement of Atlantis.
about the movie…. this was BORING movie. jokes were silly, plot was uninteresting and there wasnt anything new. the whole story involving Anupam Kher wasnt needed at all.
at the bo it will be huge in Dubai and middle-east, but in India it will tank after the first weekend. I expect 100crs in 3 days and 150cr total.
Given the kinds of movies that are successful all the time the ‘fans’ probably don’t mind the ‘disservice’! Leaving this aside I pity the fans who go to HNY looking for a Ratnam film. Or a Hirani film. Or even a very meaningful commercial film. What in Farah Khan’s previous work could possibly generate such an expectation?! The issue then isn’t ‘trash’ but ‘trashy entertainment’! And that’s a rather low bar. Now it’s possible she hasn’t met it but again given the kinds of movies that work all the time these days from the average Salman Khan starter to other masala varieties to something like YJHD at the other end we are for the most part in various modes of precisely ‘trashy entertainment’! Even if I don’t find most of it entertaining! The exceptions are rare which is why one looks forward to PK!
There is that one common human trait – learning from your past mistakes which is a perfectly normal behaviour. Then there is something known as hope! We all wish something better next time around….. otherwise people will simply stop watching movies!
Of course no one is looking for a Ratnam at Diwali but at least don’t continue to dumb down audience sensibilities when you sound so intelligent off screen. I am sure there is a lot of hidden talent screaming for support from big stars but unfortunately it’s not to be……
Kapil Sharma’s jokes on CNWK are more or less same as what he did on Comedy Circus for so many years, but given a different platform with new set of people and better presentation he has the nation hooked at 10 pm on weekends!
The movie is all set for a truly gargantuan opening tomorrow. 40 crores for only the Hindi version is truly on. By noon tomorrow we will know the WOM and if there are cracks in smaller centre, even then 38 crores will be the final total.. I had said 3 months back that this movie can do 40 crores on day 1. Unless something goes terribly wrong that is going to be a cake walk. Also this is releasing at around 4800 screens. And the advance is the best ever. The reports from gulf are mixed but we have seen before in doom 3 that mixed reports doesn’t matter much once the audience has decided to watch a movie. That might be well the case here. If it is able to maintain a minimum standard some real old time records will fall. Mumbai alone will be around 13 crores on day 1. To put this to perspective bang bang made 40 crores in Mumbai across its entire run and this will do 33 percent of that on day 1 itself…by weekend it might have gone past bang bang in Mumbai if things go well. That will be stunning!!!
It is certainly review-proof in throwing up those big numbers as long as WOM is mixed and it isn’t bad. If the latter things can degenerate quite rapidly after the first few days. If the former it can keep putting up those high end numbers for a week or so. But that still will only make it a ‘normal’ big film in terms of the final total. As I said recently it’s not that easy to get even to the D3 total. This after allowing for the fact that D3 itself wasn’t the strongest trender around. But let’s look at just Farah Khan from the past when she’s teamed up with SRK. MHN doubled its week 1 and added a fair bit to this. OSO certainly doubled it (and did some depending on who you believe). OSO is probably the best comparison here anyway because the ‘circus’ of that film most closely resembles the one on display here. The difference (again to repeat myself) is that the Karz ‘remake’ gave it an inherent dramatic frame (even if Farah Khan did her best to throw in comedy as much as possible otherwise and pretty much derail the drama of that story for large parts) whereas HNY has none. Heist films even traditionally tend to be ‘comedies’ much more than dramas. I don’t mean this in the literal sense but in a genre one. In the West they’re more often than not about a certain ‘cool’, a certain wryness (I’m overusing this word today!) and so forth. The films are interesting without ever being edge of the seat thrillers. And they’re quite often slices of cultural history. Hollywood when it remakes older heists tends to inject more drama into them. Ocean’s 11 is an exception but you have the Thomas Crown Affair or Italian Job among others, both much more regular thrillers than the original works. Farah Khan, specially given her excessive tendencies, doesn’t fall into this category. Then there’s the desperation to make everyone do comedy. Every member of the team does it in one way or the other. Which is fine if you have Hirani’s level of filmmaking! Otherwise it starts wearing thin after a while. And so to get back to your point again the big initial numbers are not in doubt but one must look for signs of relative weakness because these will then tell us what the final total is likely to be. Of course we live in an age where once it gets past a certain number everyone calls it a hit. This was always going to be the most likely scenario. Whether it’s better or worse than this remains to be seen. Just think these filmmakers don’t have the confidence to try something a little more sensible even with everything in place. OSO for example could have grossed a lot more than it did. No one attempts a sincere film, they design them for the big initials, everyone gets all excited about the latter, this is the only narrative in the media, hence it’s not surprising that the final result is also not quite Hirani-like! It’s all shock and awe.
They themselves only referred to Karz in this context. Plus there were many specific references to the latter here, for instance the Hamlet-like moment at the end.
The trap and dead people coming to trap is similar in Madhumati and OSO. I don’t remember it so well in Karz though. All I remember is a Simmi running away in a jeep being chased by Rishi.
The original Karz has what is one of the very good music videos of Hindi cinema in its climactic moment. Basically Hamlet-like a play-within-the-play is staged wherein the ‘conspiracy’ is revealed. Didn’t think Madhumati had this, now I see you’re referring to something else. OSO also repeats this Karz moment. Not as well done but not bad on its own. The Karz video is probably Ghai’s best moment as director.
[But of course enough cannot be said about that climactic song sequence with the apocalyptic tune and lyrics, and Kishore’s even more apocalyptic rendition. This is a Hamlet-like ‘play within the play’ moment in the film. But also there is a screen in the background with a kind of ‘negative’ of the past projected onto it so that you can make out the action but not the actual faces. In other words Rishi Kapoor performs before the audience, diegetically and non-diegetically; behind him is the ‘unconscious’ screen of the past (but also troping the cinematic screen on which audience desire is projected; the unclear images make this screen do double duty in both ways!) on which the horror or the ‘real’ of the situation is revealed. And of course such a ‘real’ must always appear more than a little hazy or distorted.]
OK. Thanks. I was indeed referring to the ‘dead’ character exposing the crime which is common to Madfhumati and OSO. I don’t remember such a scene of Karz in OSO though.
Thank you satyam. The picture is clear now.
LOL I watched OSO much after Madhumati, but didn’t remember this scene, instead remembered the dead Deepika doing her act as in Madhumati.
I guess one could say it is a combination taking both these elements of a play within a play from Karz and the dead character trapping with her story from M’mati.
Your commentary is adequate for most part and fully agree on her box office performance except that lifetime business where doubt this is the one which will break that record.
I agree that life time depends on the reaction. And people’s tolerance with srk is far less than aamir so with similar WOM as D3 it will still struggle to reach D3 lifetime total
It’s partly about Aamir but partly also the fact that Dhoom never overdoes things. So maybe D3 was too much ‘narrative’ for people. Maybe those bits didn’t quite gel with the former history of the franchise (even if it was nonetheless the most ambitious of the Dhoom scripts). But it wasn’t over the top. With some of these others films the directors just don’t know where to stop. There’s a kind of film that the audience might not love or even like but be able to take seriously and then there’s one that they don’t like and also laugh at. There’s a difference. Again not prejudging HNY but whatever it does or doesn’t the trailers already told one that it was going to be a certain kind of deal.
Well it seems Abhisekh is not having a special role as it claimed, or the reviews are missing it. I just hope it’s not a sidekick role, or else people who admired him in Guru, Raavan, Yuva, etc can have a legitimate grievance.
Thanks, I guess your job next few days will be to post all negative reviews of HNY, oh before you tell me that mine will be to post positive, just scroll up where I have already osted a negatvie review.
Jackie Shroff
He was a great actor when he was young but it is time he accepts that his career in Bollywood is over and retires. Over the years any movie that he has acted in has flopped big time. Why would you cast this guy?
D3 was a big flop???
Plot
Weakest plot, seems like just another Dhoom movie and nothing else.
“seems”, Wait, so did you see the movie or not???
Sonu Sood
Another actor gone to waste, he is capable of so much more but he is resorted to such cheap role of a dumb person with smoke blowing out his ears.
Which great film did he do???
Big Flop
The trailer is the key to a good movie, as you show the best bits of the movie in the trailer to draw the audience. Here the trailer was only so bad, I can’t imagine how the movie will be.
really unfair from Yakuza!!!seeing posts like the ones from this guy/girl make me truely believe SRK is on top of the game where some have an agenda just to pull him down…but why???
He and others have been trying to do that for a decade now, but SRK is stronger and richer than ever before.
It is pitty of a life if you have to spend your time and energy on trying to pull somebody down and wish bad ill towards somebody. What a miserable and low life that must be.
It may, what if his desires are to be a very rich man? Many people has that desire.
If you put on table for me right now that I have a choice to either be a best actor in the world or have 4,000 crore in my bank, guess which one i’m taking?
I can guarantee that 99% of the people will pick what i pick.
I don’t agree with that at all.. people who are truly ambitious never go into things with money being the topmost goal.. it’s always a byproduct.. you might desire to make money but there has to be a greater goal that excites you more than this. And I’ll say this, it’s not true even for SRK that his desire is really to make money more than anything else. If anything I’d say it’s the opposite. He once wanted to be precisely the kind of star-actor Aamir has become since. Maybe the time wasn’t right for this in the 90s, maybe he didn’t have the right judgment, eventually when things changed he had sold out too much, maybe all of these.. but in any case he did try a number of things in the 90s which show he was interested in more. I even remember the interviews he gave when he was new in the industry. He very much desired that actor tag. Over time things worked out differently and then the rest followed. The whole ‘I am the biggest spiel’ and what not. often these things are meant to cover over deeper anxieties. These are consolation prizes. And in terms of the money one doesn’t have to choose anyway. If you’re Aamir and you want to do that sort of thing you can still make a lot of money. In any case even if SRK were just interested in making money (which I don’t believe) your logic still doesn’t follow. Because when we’re judging a star we’re not really interested in what his desire is or isn’t. Or more precisely the only relevant part of his desire is what pertains to his job. If George Bush said that he was richer now than before and that was his only desire and he didn’t care how history judged him as president one would find it more than a little absurd! Sure, in an abstract sense everyone wants money but the truly ambitious never have this as their primary goal. In any field. Because if that is your goal you never have a chance of truly achieving what you might otherwise be capable of. I’d argue that SRK himself sold out at some point and really canceled out whatever potential he might have had. Many stars do this, nothing out of the ordinary here. But he was one of those. The rest has just been one long spiel. No one is denying his stardom or his iconic appeal. But this is a different debate.
Agree with what you say but for some reason I keep going back to his early days and the song from Yes Boss where the sog is around havig a bungla (ironically at this point his is on road in front of his future home, Mannat), nokar/chakar, log aage/piche, and money flying all around him and than ends it with “Bas itna sa khwab hai”. So i think all of above plays a big factor in his life.
I think being rich comes with it’s own disadvantages. Often they’re miserable in life and have other losers who are trying to pull you down hence they stay close with just few friends. IF those few friends are useless, than you’re screwed.
In my view ‘happiness’ is usually life’s consolation prize. Not because I don’t believe in it. Just that I’m always skeptical when some parameter of success is placed on one side and happiness on the other. This isn’t just about stars by the way. I’m making a much more general point. and why do I say this? Because while you can be in it just for ‘happiness’ your entire life then has to be governed a certain way. And that’s rarely the case. You can’t run a race and then say ‘I’m happy to be second’. Because you wouldn’t be in the race in the first place if you really believed that. You’d be doing something else. Getting back to the movies this is true even for a star like Abhishek who seems very modest and so on. In one sense he is but to paraphrase Nietzsche his humility is based on a much greater arrogance. His only model is probably his father. he doesn’t see the others as competition nor is he unduly bothered by that kind of success. His ideal game has always been precisely to be the kind of star who does Ratnam or Mehra more often than not and then commercial films along the way. Things don;t often work out the way one plans them but going by your argument I could say he’s richer now than he was when he did Guru and he certainly seems quite happy. One should explore things a bit more deeply. If Abhishek weren’t that sort of guy and didn’t have those ambitions why did he take on the most ambitious projects to begin with? Why didn’t he just make it business-as-usual and stick to safe commercial stuff?! This ‘happiness’ thing isn’t true for anyone, on or offscreen, again barring those who structure their lives radically differently.
Money is not a problem for Abhi, his father has plenty, but what if doing ratnam and mehra fils makes him happy and that is his “happiness”, does’t matter if the film is hit or flop.
Now that Ratnama dn Mehra have moved on maybe abhi is left with no choice but do to BB, D3, HNY, Housefull, etc…
Again, money is not a problem but you don’t want to look unemployed. As it is people says he is know for his father, mother and wife.
I’m a VERY big fan of SRK since childhood…I sincerely wish his film to do better than other actors…but i’ll never pull a movie down just for that cause…this is cheap!!!I sincerely hope and wish the person who is dong this to get well soon
Correct and the way i see it, let’s say I don’t like Aamir, but it’s not only Aamir in that movie, there are hundreds of other people who worked on that movie and some whose daily bread depends on it. Why would you wish something bad on them indirectly???
Life is too short for these type of pitty stuff. Again, you would have to have miserable unhappy life for you to wish bad things on others.
I just went to Twitter to see the feedback.. more than half of the tweets are from Yakuza (yakuzazoomin) and obviously negative without even watching it! 🙂
I wonder if yakuza ever put up KRK review for countless bachhan flops.
But at least this gives true picture of Yakuza and couple others like him on this site who pretends to be objective and honest but in reality are nothing more than srk hater.
By the way, where is Jay? I assume he’ll show up strong if HNY tanks from saturday or sunday.
You’re being unfair on Jay. You don’t know him at all. He’s the least biased person here when it comes to having an open mind about the stuff he sees. Whether he likes the star or not. And the same applies to how he judges performances.
Will say about the rest though that you too indulge in this old label of ‘haters’ and so on. Many people are, they dislike stars intensely and they want them to fail. So what?! I don’t quite buy the ‘moralism’ of the argument you also subscribe to — ‘oh how can one live one’s life like this’? As if this is the only real test of one’s character, whether one hates x star or not!
Leaving this aside how is is a more ‘elevated’ existence, a more ‘spiritual’ life if one is so much in love with a star that one resorts to all kinds of extraordinary arguments and parameters to jealously guard what one perceives to be the interests of the star? Is this a more ‘noble’ way to live? Simply vicariously by just peddling the interests of the star? You keep saying ‘SRK is stronger and richer than before’. Is this a reasonable, impartial kind of claim? I’ve already talked about the ‘riches’ part of it before. But no matter how much he might be in the running as a star even at his age is it really reasonable to suggest by any stretch of the imagination that he’s stronger than he was at his peak? I wouldn’t say this about the greatest stars, irrespective of how well or not they do as older stars or how transcendent they might or might not be (leaving aside the rare exception of a couple of stars who’ve actually had the best seasons of their careers relatively late, whether as a box office matter or otherwise.. but this never happens to the star who is truly iconic over a sustained period of time at a younger age and who moreover defines the debate). It’s not humanly possible. You might acquire a different kind of currency as a star, that doesn’t mean you’re ‘stronger’! Anyway I’m not here to debate this. It was just an example. My point is, how is it a ‘better’ existence to love a star so much that all rationality goes out the window? One gets offended if one perceives a slight to the star, one is heavily invested in every crore a star’s film is going to do, one is carefully watching how much credit or not he gets each time, on and on. Isn’t this the other side of the ‘hate’ coin. In each case one simply does not approach the subject maturely. In each case one is overly invested in the star as a very personal matter. I’m not criticizing this necessarily but if you keep bringing up ‘hater’ I’m not sure why ‘lover’ is better! Specially since the object of one’s love in this case isn’t some sort of great cause or some spiritual journey or a great figure, even an actor, who truly commands that sort of universal respect. One is free to love anyone (!) but SRK is just a hugely iconic, very successful star of New India. And one has said everything about him. There is nothing more to ‘see’ here. I’m not being reductive. I know the history in more ways than one!
Again I’m not saying one cannot be a fan otherwise. One can be a fan of any star. But I’m trying to understand why this kind of ‘love’ places one on a higher pedestal! And again I’m not arguing that some people don’t hate stars (though I don’t find anything wrong with this) or that they then don’t act in juvenile fashion to pursue that hate (there might be something wrong with this), just saying one is in no ‘superior’ position to make this argument if one shows the same sort of excess on the other side. This whole ‘hate’ lingo is fairly pointless. Which is once again not to defend the craziness that sometimes crops up on the other side.
“You’re being unfair on Jay.”
HA! Z, you will shortly realize the fair system here where some are “fundamentalists” and hated and others are fundamentalists but loved because they are friends. HaHa
There are friends and loyalties. Jay is in “liked” box 😉
as a business decision..this is what’s supposed to be done. when you go see big films..a trailer of another upcoming big film usually releases. makes total sense.
Pathetic, no movie to look forward to for next 3 weeks. Only shaukeen but unimpressive trailer and akshay in side role.
Killdil will come only in fourth week from now.
Smart move by Farah. casting Jr b she knew whe will get support from a big lobby , also Askhay and Ajay pushed their films behind.
Damn this is pathetic time for movie goers.
There is definitely, bachchan lobby may not be as big any of 3 khans at moment. But, they also have significant number of well wishers within industry and fan following. Solo starrer need massive fan following to make it hit. Jr b is no superstar, but more than anything he has no charisma to pull off any big solo starrer. Otherwise, there is a lobby ofcourse how big is for another thread of discussion.
Everybody was interested, actually i was following its reviews more than hny and they came out much earlier but only to give disappointment.
In NCR region, Kaththi was racing ahead in booking until wednesday to much surprise. While it is first choice in south india whatsoever.
Worst thing happened for me was postponement of Shankar’s ‘I’. It was supposed to be release on 23rd oct , now pushed to end of november.
After one month, there will be lot of movies to look forward to.
Interstellar should be awesome, they kind of got MAtthew at the right right time. He is fresh of 2 great success in Dallas buyers club and True Detective.
Mumbai has gone bonkers with the opening of HNY. Very rare u get bumper response at such a big release. Tomorrow is a critical day as we will know the WOM impact which is mixed.
BOI also mentioning Mumbai which I had done in my previous post…
Happy New Year Has Bumper Opening
Friday 24 October 2014 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has taken a bumper opening all over with collections around the 75-80% mark on average which is better than all the films released this year by a distance. The opening is universal across the board. The biggest holiday of the year gives the film that extra boost especially at the single screens. The Shahrukh Khan – Deepika Padukone pairing has now seen a record or near record opening everytime they have been paired together.
The opening is extraordinary all over though Mumbai city can be called to be an out performer as it is rare to see shows at around 8.00am to be house full or near house full in multiplexes of Mumbai city. The city normally sees lower opening occupancies than cities like Delhi or Ahmedabad as it has a huge number of screenings.
The release in terms of screens is the widest ever but in terms of shows it is possibly less than Kick due to the long runtime of the film. The film is around 30 minutes longer than Kick which means Kick was getting six shows per screen at some multiplexes while that would be impossible with Happy New Year unless with it is very odd timings. Happy New Year is on course to break records and with another holiday tomorrow and then Sunday to follow it not only gives it a big chance of a first day record but also a weekend record.
Friday 24 October 2014 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has taken the best opening of the year by a distance in the morning shows and if this pace holds which it should as it is a big holiday it will be an all time record. The other films releases this year did not hold the same pace for some reason or the other apart from Ek Villain and 2 States.
Kick was hit by pre eid so although the opening was so strong it was uneven and the muslim centres slowed rapidly after first show at single screens. Bang Bang took a 70% start at multiplexes but was held back by single screens and slowed in the evening at many places. At the time it looked like it was due to Navratra’s and Puja’s but in hindsight it was obviously word of mouth kicking in. The other films that opened well were Ek Villain, Two States and Jai Ho with the first two being smaller releases and Jai Ho having better occupancies at multiplexes in the morning on lower rates but not really consolidating.
The average occupancies in the morning shows of releases this year are as follows.
1. Happy New Year 75-80%
2. Kick 60-65%
3. Bang Bang 60-65%
4. Ek Villain 60-65%
5. Jai Ho 55-60%
5. 2 States 55-60%
LOL
Looks like a record breaking opening is on the cards. Mumbai seems to be the winner here as other films seemed to struggle to put the numbers up compared to other regions but here it is up there, if not ahead. Bodes well for first few days. D3 records should be broken here, at least the opening day, top day and opening weekend.
the opening day and biggest single day will both fall today…Think D3’s third day was the biggest single day number till now. I am not able to get any consensus on audience feedback one way or other the way I could for bang Bang or Besharam. Tomorrow will be crucial for the weekend record. Monday will be crucial for 200 crores and D3 total…A monday drop cannot be ruled out at the moment. Saturday and Sunday will give us an idea…
I am booked for tomorrow evening for now…
Happy New Year is a long showreel of what Shah Rukh Khan the superstar can do –
looks like a big opening and by monday it will do 300cr,
Happy New Year’ turns out to be a cross between an `Oceans 11/12’ and ‘Flashdance’ and a whole bunch of movies that topline Mera Bharat Mahan sentiments. And a film which threatens to sink because it begins with such an eye glaze, but manages to rescue itself because of Farah Khan’s relentless take-no-prisoners attitude : where it can get big, make it gigantic ; where it can get colourful, stuff in every single primary colour, and turn the spotlight on. She pulls it off, but only just
If absurdity is the definition of humour, I’d rather see pigs fly.
Low on wit, quirk and imagination, Happy New Year wears stupidity like a medal — embarrassingly content with its self-congratulatory tone that references Farah’s own films. http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-happy-new-year-is-drab/20141024.htm
Happy New Year 1st Day Collection Early Trends, Earth Shattering in Noon shows.
Happy New Year movie is just housefull everywhere as early trends for first day (Friday) noon shows are coming in. Film is just earth shattering everywhere with 95%+ occupancy recording all across India. Be it big cities or interiors film is just Sold Out in Noon shows as samples are received. This is extremely good news for HNY and film is on its way to make history today at box office.
Happy New Year opened to 75-80% in Morning shows which is just excellent considering film released in huge scale. After that film has picked up to 95-100% occupancy in Noon shows which is historic considering film released in over 4000 screens in India.
Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kanpur everywhere film is recording 95-100% occupancy which is just like ideal case. Even Mumbai which started in epic proportion in Morning shows, holding well in noon time with 85-90% recording as per latest.
Coming to first day collection if film now holds well in Evening and Night time, then all time opening records are in danger.
most films don’t fall heavily on the second day. Unless they’re utter tanks. Often Sat is lower, then Sun is stronger. There might be relative weakness evident but the real drops only come after the 3-4 days. Of course if Sun is only slight stronger than Fri or if Sat drops more than 10% or so that’s one kind of indication. But if the weekend is close to sold out here even that impact might be limited.
Even if there is a drop of 10 percent that will be compensated by increase in collections down south and other parts of India where Friday was a working day. I am expecting close to 38 correspond tomorrow. If this is a bang bang kind of deal we will know if the collections go below 35 crores
the point is that when a film starts out this way and reaches the 100 crore mark or whatever in the fastest time the rest of the benchmarks should also be judged the same way. It shouldn’t just do 200 and be called a winner or just do what CE did and so on. Obviously in the media everyone tends to do so the moment a certain number is reached, that’s a different matter. If it’s beating the D3 opening it should minimally match that film’s final number, specially when D3 itself didn’t trend too well in the later stages (after the first 7-10 days).
Rangans review pretty much encapsulates everything what I am hearing about the movie. The movie has enough moments which is preventing it being a complete washout but the narrative is not great and it is more like a series of gags put together but gags which are humorous at times. Hence it is pretty difficult to predict accurately how this will trend. DNA gives it 4 stars, midday 3 stars, rang an is fairly complimentary, rediff gives it 2 stars and these are Good reviewers who are not in the taran adarsh mode.
HNY Opens At 80pc; Weekend Sold Out
by Soumita Sengupta (October 24, 2014)
Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release Happy New Year directed by Farah Khan opened at over 80-per cent occupancy all over India. The film, which released at around 5,000 screens across the country, also features Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. The morning show witnessed a huge turnout and the numbers have been climbing ever since. Tickets for the weekend are all sold out, which means that this bumper Diwali dhamaka will set new records at the box office.
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines, Mumbai
Farah Khan’s Happy New Year took an outstanding opening of 80 per cent in the morning and shows have been house full in Mumbai’s single-screens as well as multiplexes since then. Tickets are sold out for the weekend and the numbers will be fabulous.
Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts, Delhi-UP
First, the fact that Shah Rukh Khan, Farah Khan and Deepika Padukone are back together in a film has created a lot of hype and then King Khan went all over the world to promote his film. As a result, the film took a marvellous opening of around 85 per cent. From the evening show onwards, shows will be house full as tickets are already sold out.
Jaspal Dhingra, Nanaksar Enterprises, East Punjab
The film’s opening in our circuit was over 70 per cent but from the very second show, footfalls started increasing. The film is the perfect Diwali family entertainer.
Gaurav Gaur, O’Real Imaginations, Rajasthan
There is no doubt that the film will enter the Rs 100 crore club by Sunday. Shah Rukh Khan promotes and markets his films in style and this time, he went all out with his entire team. Tomorrow’s collections will be bigger than today’s.
Sarang Chandak, Shri Rang Films, CP
HNY opened with 90 per cent in our circuit, which is a huge number as yesterday was Lakshmi Puja. Still, everyone turned out to catch the first show. In CP, SRK has loyal fans and the opening show is proof of this.
Rakesh Singh, Maa Sona Films, Bihar
Happy New Year opened with 75 per cent in Bihar and every show since then has been running house full at both single screens and multiplexes. Whenever Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan feature together, it has always been a treat for the audience. This movie will break many records.
Jeetu Khandelwal, Movie Pioneers, Orissa
Whenever Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan team up, they make massy entertainers and this film is no exception. The response and the reports of the film are outstanding. The film took an opening of around 70 per cent and tickets for the weekend shows are sold out.
so far I detect a correlation between those who like the film to any degree and also seem to be impressed with Abhishek. Apparently he’s trending strongly on twitter.
this is probably the most praise Abhishek has ever received from the reliably anti-Bachchan Nahta other than probably Guru. Don’t think he was this kind even for BB! And
In HNY, Shah Rukh displays none of the charms that made him a star. The film is one of the most idiotic he’s made and this is one of the worst performances in the actor’s career. He can’t get even a snap of chemistry going with Padukone in the limp and listless love story of HNY. His action sequences are laboured and Khan had more comic scenes in Ra.One, which should be some indication of how humorless HNY is.
the thing is that if a film like Ra One and HNY receive the same WOM the latter is likely to fare much better than the former. The genre issue becomes important here. From all the reviews I think one is looking at probably a worse film than OSO which in turn was worse than MHN.
Diwali or not any movie as bad as tees Maar khan would have showed cracks by now. I have a feeling the public review of this movie is better than the critics review.
“Diwali or not any movie as bad as tees Maar khan would have showed cracks by now.”
You mean like how OUATIM2 showed it from day one?
Don’t go by what the likes of saket/yakuza/etc says. They’re here with an agenda.
If you go by their comments only, you’d think that HNY collection so far are on the low level of abhi solo starrer 🙂
by the same token going by what you say on SRK we’d all be suffering from amnesia on everything that has happened in Bollywood after Lagaan and after Salman and so on! Or everything that happened to SRK between OSO and CE! When we expect fairness from others we must display some of it ourselves too!
And when did mihir fadnavis become any sort of benchmark. I love reading his review but I don’t think he knows one good Hindi movie from another. Rangans positive words had made me quite curious to watch this one
but I don’t think he knows one good Hindi movie from another
I’m pretty sure that as bad a film critic MF is, he would at least know when he’s seen a crap film. One doesn’t even have to see the film…the trailers are absolute pants!
Just came out of the movie. Not a Shah Rukh fan. Went with an open mind. Enjoyed the movie a lot. Full time pass. All the gags and the fantastic premise of the worked just worked. Unlike Tees Maar Khan, almost every joke crude or not crude, landed. This is a group movie and all the actors were given ample opportunity to shine. The heist part was very decent for a Hindi movie and miles ahead of Dhoom 3. Forget the idiotic reviews, just watch the movie and have great fun.
Most will do just that, watch the movie and have fun.
Of course you will have some who will try to bring the film down due to their own agenda. And reading the comments it’s not hard to figure out who those are.
Is the movie entertaining like CE? i was going to go see it today but will wait till few more paying public reviews. Just don’t want to go and sit for 3 hours if the movie is boring.
Trust me. It’s great fun. Almost like CE except it’s not that romantic. When I went to CE, I was expecting a Bol Bachan not such a riotously funny romance. Here too, i was at best hoping for a Main Hoon Na, not good but not bad movie. But it’s probably the best commercial pot boiler of the year(until PK).
yeah in US theaters (i.e. where Indians rent screens) there are never intermissions. I find this problematic because Indian movies are designed for that intermission break.
when I went to see JTHJ, i had to leave and walk around for few and then the movie was so boring that i sneaked in some twilight movie and watched that for an hour.
I am newbie fan of Deepika. Yes, the movie doesn’t give her the same prominence as in Chennai Express of Cocktail but I am very happy about how it has given her the chance to shine. It’s an ensemble movie but they have given her really good bits, a well-defined character, good opening song even though it comes very late, opportunity to look divine in some stunning costumes and showcase her dancing skills, reprise her facility with accents and comedy, some good scenes like her take on Chak De speech and the best bit of all is how she unwittingly takes over the climax. All in all, with the past two years, this year and this movie will complete her hat trick. She is now firmly in Madhuri-Sridevi territory.
yes but they also claim it’s all sold out and running close to 100% and 80% on the morning shows and what not. Krrish said the capacity is 43 crores or something. Not that I ever take media claims at face value, this hysteria is built up around every big release. But nonetheless if these guys think the film is on course for 40 and falls below it significantly (a couple of crores is not a big deal, it’s about the next few days anyway) then they were either wrong or the film wasn’t as strong in the evening as everyone expected.
Will say this. As a technical matter a film being sold out everywhere on this sort of screen out nationally is the stuff of fiction. I’ve said this many times in the past. You look at the grosses and no matter how big they are they don’t represent 90-100% of capacity as is often claimed. If HNY does 40 capacity I think would still be significantly greater than this. Again none of these numbers are ever verifiable. How do we know what maximum capacity is for such a release. You don’t even have verifiable multiplex numbers (that are made publicly available) let alone on other types of screens.
my own sense here is, and looking at the reviews so far which are definitely more negative than not, the film will probably do enough to be called a hit, using today’s standards. Doubt very much we’re looking at a long term or even medium term trender here. The question then is whether it can sustain strongly over the first week to get beyond 250 or something. After this start if it doesn’t do 200 it would be a tank. There’s a lot of negativity on twitter but there’s enough positivity as well. And again with Ra One-like WOM it will still do a lot better than that film. But I don’t think it’s like CE. that film got a lot better reviews than this one. It’s definitely not doing an OSO by any stretch. By the way note how Nahta despite his otherwise positive review is a bit restrained when it comes to predicting the box office here. He talks about ‘handsome profits’ but doesn’t say blockbuster and what not, the kind of thing he usually does.
I think now with social media and everything, if the wom is negative, the movie does starts tanking faster than before as we saw in besharam, OUATIMD, Jai ho, etc…
Ra.1 type of WOM will get it to max of 150-170 range.
150 is too low. It will do 100 or so in 3-4 days. 175.. maybe. But it would have to be a terrible tank. Don’t really see this though I could be wrong. But again I said this with Ra One too.. that kind of WOM doesn’t get you to such bad results with a ‘normal’ subject. Besharam I think had much worse WOM and beyond this probably just deeply offended people for some reason (could have been some of the humor or whatever.. I haven’t seen the film.. but whenever there’s a deeply disproportionate sort of reaction I;m inclined to think there’s been an ‘ideological’ rejection). But you’re right in that social media exaggerates everything. I personally find it quite crazy. It’s not just about the positive or negative but the sense of excess either way. Very few people have normal emotional reactions to anything. But sure if social media has the power to create revolutions one has to believe it can very adversely affect certainly multiplex participation. Still a film like HNY is review-proof in the initial stages. Many lesser films are not so lucky and can easily be killed with such a reaction. Or more precisely a lesser film might have a minority interested in it but if there’s this sort of twitter reaction even the minority stays away. I increasingly come across people who watch a film on DVD or something and like it and say they didn’t watch it initial because they were scared off by some of the reactions and having seen the film they wish they hadn’t missed it. Most people don’t follow this stuff in such detail where they know what good or bad reviews for various kinds of films mean, who the usual suspects are either way, what twitter trending means etc. And so when many today say that once upon a time a film used to last longer for various reasons whereas today all the money has to be recuperated soon (SRK was talking about the sea change that has occurred just from when he started out) this introduces a larger problem beyond all the budgeting issues and the impact on filmmaking (if you think you need to recover everything with a big weekend or something you are more likely to make a film designed to get the biggest weekend possible) which is that the very nature of ‘WOM’ gets altered. Technology already did this earlier. If WOM is ‘ok’ on a film many people will automatically decide to wait for the DVD or something whereas earlier they still would have gone. If a film runs for a long time in the theaters even when it’s not a big hit or anything you can really catch it on your watch. Today even with the biggest films you more or less have a few weeks or else you have to run to some out of the way theater! Or get an inconvenient screening time. Beyond this ‘WOM’ means less as a definitional term. Because 2 films could have the same kind of acceptance and potential for audience to actually show up but still end up with very different results. And so I see it as a ‘sociological’ issue in some ways. But all of this at any rate distorts the filmmaking process. Specially in the absence of a Hollywood-like system where there are verifiable numbers and metrics and proper analysis either way.
This is getting better critic reviews than CE. I hardly remember anyone apart from rangan who said something good about CE. Here it is getting at least the middling kind of reviews. No one is giving it one star and half stars.
It’s not middling. Most of the reviews so far are quite negative. or the mixed ones are also more negative than not. some positive ones for sure but not enough of these. Thought CE got better than this but perhaps I’ve forgotten.
Rajeev Masand, Anupama Chopra, Komal Nahta have given the same rating to CE and HNY. Although HNY is getting mixed-ish reviews they seem to be a tad better than CE. Raja Sen gave 2 stars to HNY and 1 to CE. Only Saibal Chatterjee gave a worse rating to HNY than CE. Haven’t read Rangan’s HNY review yet so not sure about him.
will also say this on the reviewers. I don’t like most Bollywood films in any given year and specially most big releases. But you show up for a Farah Khan movie, specially one with these trailers, and you pretend to be surprised that the film actually turned out to be like the trailers!
So one goes into HNY really expecting a very nice narrative and so on! I was never expecting even OSO here (which too I found just about passable.. though it could have been vastly better than it was) and so if I find just something loosely comparable I’d say Farah has maintained her low bar! Not that MHN was anything special either but that was still a regular film. These days it’s quite remarkable but Shetty suddenly seems like the most restrained guy. The Sajid Khan/Farah Khan sibling team makes everything else look respectable! In fairness to Shetty though he never gets carried away from film to film. They kind of operate at the same level irrespective of star-cast. He never starts out trying to create the big bang. SRK might be doing another one with him.
40 crores is surely on. Inbox chain reported at 6 in the evening that they have crossed the footfalls of D3 day 1 and evening and night shows we’re not counted in it. We are looking at possibility of day 1 being beaten by a good 15 percent here. And I had anticipated this sometime back 🙂
All versions I guess. D3 was 36 all versions. BOI has it at 32 for Hindi version. I think BOI will have this at 36 and media will have this at over 40 as they go by producer numbers
The percent increase over D3 will still be the same. Actually I am not sure if this has got any regional release. The capacity of 43 crores was only for Hindi version I would think and all this talk of 40 crore is also only for Hindi version. But depending on which source you believe BOI or otherwise we should expect a increase of 15 percent for day 1 at least. I will go with BOI as I usually do but I would think they will have it at around 36 crores
haha! Incidentally I know some interviewee personally and can’t stop laughing and getting amused at their performance only for camera. A truly marketing ploy.
Just came back from #HNY. It is decent festive entertainer, manage to engage .. first 30 minutes could have been better written, i almost wrote movie off in those initial half an hour .. but then revived with some fun filled moments continued till intermission. Second half also stats on dip note .. but pickup again after 30-40 minutes and maintained momentum till climax. It is out an out SRK movie, in fact it is tribute to SRK stardom and his work. Good thing is SRK still have huge fan base .. so his fans will respond well. Atmosphere at single screen worked in huge favour, some ordinary scenes entertained with help of loyal #SRK fans response
Abhishek is good, but it is not like Lakhan of RL .. His character could have been better written with more scope. But good to see him getting appreciation .. for whatever little scope he has.
Shockingly Deepika also underutilized .. she dominated #CE, but here she has little to do.
Sonu Soon entry scene and initial few scenes were good .. but again he was completely side-lined with hardly left with anything to do.
Vivan Shah as Hacker was miscast .. he was just in team without any dialog. And whatever little he had, he failed to display any acting capability. Farah could have write some great role/twist for hacker part and could rope in some mature artiste than this kid .. Vivan presence actually make this heist task completely laugh worthy and kiddish. In one word .. he is spoilsport.
Over #HNY is not bad .. it is typical Farah style entertainer with enough scope of improvement.
Yakuza says : #HNY is not bad
Yakuza means: #HNY is very good 🙂 J/K
But overall good to hear who were negative about film liking it to an extent. I certainly don’t find faults that Deepika had less role than Chennai Express, so on. That is pure romantic solo hero film and this is with 6 characters and every character is equally shown. Also, you missed Boman. His character the emotional anchor IMO but also loved some of his comedy. Peter is that you again? 🙂
*** This is the guy I trust apart from Rangan in India. I have followed this guy’s reviews since 2005 and he has a very good knack in finding the balance between not going over-board with clinical reviews and being too lazy and lackadaisical and orgasming for just about every ‘biggie’ like the reviewers in The TOI-let paper and the likes of Nahata, Adarsh, Anupama, Fart-navis, Baja Sen etc etc.. If you read his reviews from the past you can see that he can pretty well differentiate between the so-called ‘leave-your-brains-behind’ films and carry-MOSTLY-your-brains-film ***
Happy New Year Movie Review
Saibal Chatterjee | Friday, October 24, 2014
SPOILERS AHEAD
Unabashedly bad movies that mop up obscenely big bucks are director Farah Khan’s forte. She was however third time unlucky with Tees Maar Khan. It was put down by many to the fact that the film did not have her proven good luck charm, SRK, on board.
So for her fourth directorial outing, the choreographer has brought back her Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om star, complete with gym-toned abs, a host of dog-eared tricks and a familiar set of talismanic mannerisms, to foist more of the same on the audience.
Is the result any better? Nope. No matter how much money the film eventually collects at the box office, Happy New Year, for all its visual opulence, has nothing new to offer nor is it a particularly happy narrative concoction. It has ‘stale’ written all over it.
This is by-the-numbers filmmaking of the worst kind and it yields a bloated, overlong thriller that will probably be worth its three-hour runtime only for those among diehard Shah Rukh Khan fans who believe that cinema need not be anything more than snazzily mounted naach-gaana.
Watching the Farah-SRK combo at work here is like being treated to an oft-seen circus performance. You know what is coming next, yet you still pay attention to every move in the hope that a surprise might be round the corner. But it never comes.
Produced by the superstar’s own banner, Happy New Year uses excess as its primary means of communication. Overkill is the only art that the director seems to be adept at.
She pulls too many rabbits out of the hat but she clearly does not possess the control and sharpness to keep them from haring off in the wrong directions and not returning in any shape to be counted.
In a nutshell, Happy New Year is a predictable revenge drama, a trashy musical and a lowbrow heist film laced with a surfeit of song and dance routines.
After a point, its unending, meaningless exuberance and over-indulgence gets a little too tiresome.
Aggravating matters is the ‘invincible Indiawale’ angle that the director introduces into the plot. Not only is it unsustainably laboured, it also drags the already daft film down into the pits of complete inanity.
The male protagonist Charlie (Shahrukh Khan) trains his guns on Charan Grover (Jackie Shroff), the guy who framed his father and caused his death.
Charlie puts together a ragtag team to filch a diamond that is to be stored in a high-security safe built by the bad guy. But to be able to do so they must take part in a dance contest.
The crooks and conmen – played by Boman Irani, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah – are good at thievery and skullduggery but have little talent for dance.
So bar dancer Mohini (Deepika Padukone) is roped in to get the guys ready for the battle ahead.
Among all the illogicalities that the film resorts to, none is more ridiculous than the “world dance competition” that a bunch of “losers” uses as a cover for an attempt at a daring robbery of a glittering stone.
The aforementioned competition constitutes the spine of the film and it is very weak and spindly indeed. It just cannot bear the weight of constant overload.
Being a Farah Khan film, Happy New Year also tries to be funny. The actors do all they can to help the director achieve that end by going overboard with their merry hamming. It isn’t a pretty sight.
It is obvious that huge amounts of money have been sunk into the making of Happy New Year. It is apparent at the same time that the makers have been exceedingly stingy in the matter of putting some thought into the glitzy effort.
It is all very well for an ageing superstar to go all out to prove that he still possesses the magic of yore, but when the past hangs heavy over the proceedings it is a sure sign that the law of diminishing returns is catching up fast.
Deepika Padukone, given an atrocious accent inspired no doubt by her Chennai Express act, is the eye-candy who has been roped in to provide the feminine counter-balance to the generous male skin show on the screen.
There is no dearth of gloss in Happy New Year, but everything else in the film, including the content and its treatment, are allowed to go for a toss.
There was no deliberate build-up..and no AGENDA,’ HATER’ stuff here. I rarely post reviews other than Rangan’s or Saibal’s from India.
The thing with Saibal’s review is he is neither condescending to commercial ventures nor ecstatic when it comes to movies from the other side. You should read his review of RANG DE BASANTI. Though he liked it, he still made a damn good list of negative points in the film. There is hardly any bias in his reviews vis-a-vis Hollywood comparison or the high-brow stuff.
It is another matter if you don’t like his review; but you cannot deny the points he makes.
HNY is pretty much critic-proof and of course will go on to shatter records. But that doesn’t mean it CANNOT be a mediocre film qualitatively. I am not saying IT IS mediocre [I haven’t seen it nor will I see it]; just putting that out before anybody starts jumping here citing statistics, history, ‘hater’ etc etc..
Abhishek Bachchan the ‘real star’ in Happy New Year?
IndiaToday.in New Delhi, October 24, 2014 | UPDATED 20:20 IST
Abhishek Bachchan’s role in Happy New Year earned him what most things might not have: it got the actor trending on Twitter. Rumour has it that AB Jr’s performance in the Farah Khan film has been so liked by viewers that people aren’t able to stop praising the actor.
Bachchan plays the role of Nandu Bhinde, a tapori who is involved in the heist that forms the crux of the film. Right after the film hit the theatres today, Twitterverse began teeming with posts about Abhishek’s brilliance in the film. While some called him the ‘real star’ of Happy New Year; other, not-so-generous ones said that Bachchan should celebrate not being made fun of, for a change.
The film, which has Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role, opened to mixed-to-largely-negative reviews from critics. However, which the masses went on to declare it a ‘paisa-wasool entertainer’, social media was flooded with praises for Abhishek Bachchan. The actor’s last release, Dhoom 3, hadn’t done much for his career. With this latest film, we hope, AB Baby is able to redeem his career-graph.
‘Kaththi’ breaks all existing BO records: ARM
By MOVIEBUZZ
Source : SIFY
Last Updated: Fri, Oct 24, 2014 20:04 hrs0 Comments
AR Murgadoss is a happy man. His Vijay starrer Kaththi has taken a humongous opening worldwide. ARM himself Tweeted: “ Kaththi breaks all South film records on its first day -TOTAL –Rs 23.80 CR. TN/Kerala / Karnataka & NorthIndia-16.45Cr OVERSEAS-7.35CR.”
From Murgadoss’s Tweet it can be said that Kaththi has taken the highest day one collections for a Tamil film. The amount mentioned Rs 23.80Cr worldwide is huge by any yardstick for a Tamil film.
Kaththi has opened up new vistas for Tamil films. A big Tamil film with a wide release has been able to create new or expanded existing markets. The Vijay film has also shown that if a film is marketed aggressively it can get a opening irrespective of its early WOM.
BOI has it at 38 crores + which is sensational. I thought they would be around 36 crores. Which means we can have a producer figure of all versions touching 43 crores to 45 crores. This is just out of the world numbers….Rajasthan has created a history of sorts. entertainment tax came into effect when Singham returns released and even with that tax it has broken the Day 1 record…If Taran Adarsh was well and active he would have fainted going overballastic and with no choice of words left to use….
Happy New Year Creates History On Day One
Friday 24 October 2014 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has created history on day one recording the highest collections ever on day one beating the Dhoom 3 figure of 32 crore nett. The early figures coming for Hindi version suggest the total will be in the 37-38 crore nett range as per early estimates. An out performance in Mumbai and South can take it bit higher.
The film has run riot on day in multiplexes all over recording the highest occupancies since films started going wide with over 2000 screens. The mass circuits are also huge but are unlikely to beat records by the levels that multiplexes are beating. A circuit like Rajasthan is looking near 2 crore nett which is similar to Dhoom 3 but at that time there was no entertainment tax. Delhi/UP is an all time record with likely collections to touch 7 crore nett.
Happy New Year is looking to beat the previous record by around 15% which is extraordinary as the long runtime meant less screenings at multiplexes. It could have added a few crore more with a shorther runtime but it is not that important as that will made up over the week if the film keeps the momentum going.
Still can’t figure out where the hype/interest for this movie came from- no OTT promotions, no hit songs, a terrible trailer, a director whose family and last movie are constantly ridiculed yet it makes 15% more than D3…
Really? Are you serious Raj? If HNY promotion is not OTT, I shudder to think what would actually be an OTT promotion for a movie? This movie has been BOMBARDED from ALL corners across India and the US.
Man, how much is too much?
With this kind of promotional bombardment, it IS expected that such a movie during festival time will make huge amounts..
Don’t agree at all. HNY promotion was never OTT. It was just about adequate. We had this discussion last week prior to release. Finally last week before had 2 reality TV series appearance.
yeah as I said earlier it can’t make less than 200 given this sort of start. It would have to be a historic tank for that to happen and that doesn’t seem likely. But again with this start anything less than 250 is an underperformance. Even using the most liberal standards of today. And I’m being generous. Because given this is exceeding D3 significantly on opening day it should clear that films total as well or get to it. Again D3 didn’t trend too strongly after the first 7-10 days so it’s not as if one is using a 3I-like example or something. Whether it has enough to get there after the initial rush has died out remains to be seen. As of now Hirani still has the best shot at getting to 300 or more on pure merit as opposed to a film doing it by just piling on a bigger and bigger initial (which will happen sooner or later). Hirani has never done less than 2.5 times the week 1 number on any of his films (final total). Aamir has had a strong trending record as well almost all the time in most genres. So this is the film to really set those new benchmarks in a meaningful way. And not just create a bigger bang which has been happening with periodic regularity with other big films. we saw ETT establish a new week 1 range, then CE did it, YJHD also more or less did it. D3 then took it further, HNY is doing the same or more. But this sort of graph is still predictable. What happened with Ghajini or 3I though was unpredictable in each case. No one expected numbers quite that big in either case. But again will be interesting to see if Hirani can manage it one more time. Certainly with Aamir there cannot be a better combo to even attempt it.
To be fair.. Dhoom 3 had multiple holidays after its first weekend whereas HNY has none. Each holiday adds over min 10cr each day easily during its first 2 weeks.
I’m just referring to the overall range.. it’s also starting higher than D3. Also D3 as I said didn’t trend like Ghajini or something. But leaving this aside a 250 mark is certainly fair even if not the higher one D3 achieved. Also it depends on week 1. If HNY keeps up this blistering pace the 250 mark should be raised. So it makes a difference whether a film does 150 in week 1 or 180 or whatever. The final total cannot stay fixed irrespective of what the initial is. The way things are done in Bombay everyone celebrate these initial numbers hysterically but suddenly the final goals become very modest! Because of course most films don’t trend that well. A particularly atrocious example was ETT in this regard which did roughly 150 of it’s 185 or 190 in the initial week period or so! Once films start at a certain level they must also be judged by that same level. We saw this even with D3 by the way. The response was a bit mixed and sure enough the film did not trend like the first two (which were superb on this score). Even today films that are truly liked trend minimally well. But if you design them for just the big bang (not that this was the D3 problem) then you get the initial wave, if the film is just passable it doesn’t completely tank, it gets to an overall big number and people start calling it a hit! Getting back to HNY Diwali is considered to be an important period to release films. If there were no advantage to it why is this the 11th time (or whatever) SRK has a Diwali release?!
By the way note how BOI themselves admitted Laxmi puja wasn’t an issue here. Some of us had been saying this for years and everyone would make excuses. A film doesn’t get the most optimal response and you blame it on the pujas. It got to the point where Diwali was almost being presented as a disadvantage! Absurd but true. Which was probably news to all the producers who settled on this date for decades. Including of course SRK. If you release JTHJ you’re not going to get much out of Diwali. If you release HNY it’s suddenly a different story. KKHH released with BMCM, both did very well. the latter had the bigger week 1 but KKHH was ultimately much bigger. Both came at the same time on Diwali. So these are just myths created to explain under-performances. It was tried with the first Don as well, the competition was also used as an excuse. but then Don2 even at Christmas and unopposed more or less had the very same graph as the first Don, in fact slightly poorer. OSO released with Saawariya which at least over the weekend put up good numbers. But OSO still got to a huge total. Meanwhile Christmas is supposed to be the biggest and what not but now HNY has produced this opening day. My point is simply this — holidays are important as is competition as are some other factors but these are selectively used as excuses for all sorts of narratives. Nonetheless I am still being generous here when it comes to comparing it with D3. For more than one reason. But again once a film starts off this way it can certainly live up to its own benchmark, depending on how much it is liked or not.
The number is huge and trumps d3 opening day which was a normal day. D3 top day was day 3 so I think it will be interesting how hny tracks against weekend. Should be ahead by 10% but then d3 had holidays during weekday so makes it back up. I think 200 is a given but 250 still hard to reach until we know Monday drop.
Not heard extreme views so far….seems middling erring more towards negative side. Seems Farah May have redeemed herself partly.
Mumbai is the winner…coming to pk would expect Mumbai to be huge there too like all of hiranis previous films.
Indeed, all of Hirani’s films are biggest in Bombay. This wasn’t as true for 3I (it did supremely well across the board) though I think even here the territory outperformed others. With Munnabhai, even LRM, the disparity was often glaring. But with PK there seems to be more of a Northern connection (at least attempted) with the lingo.
satyam all ur points are valid except the pooja one…Pooja wasnt a factor here because it released day after Pooja..If it had released on Thursday it would have struggled to notch 20 crores
yeah that’s what I thought.. one day he put up a picture where he showed up somewhere but then he disappeared again. Can’t stand him like many of his ilk but feel sorry for him whatever it is.
Saw HNY and am surprised that Farah pulled off this crazy idea of Robbery and Dance championship. First half was little slow but it was just introduction of all actors and their back story. 2nd half just rocked and last 1 hour was simple the best part of the movie. The whole WDC track and robbery and Indiawaale, everything worked well.
Could the movie could have been better? Of course but for Farah, this is success after Tees Maar Khan and I can see lot of credit in screenplay and for this subject, I don’t think Farah could have done anything better with her talent.
Abhishek rocked in couple of crazy comedy sequences and liked Sonu Sood was pretty good too. Vivan was alright and Deepika good enough not to ham in full ham potential worthy role, she handled it maturely. SRK was usual self and for a change looking very fresh and good unlike Ra.One, Don2 phase. All the songs worked inside the movie and this has to be most lavish set pieces for Indian film especially the climax stage set on Atlantis.
Overall, pretty good entertainer. If this was 2:30 mins, could have done better but Farah trying to make pan-India film explains everything as spelling it out and repeatedly added to its length. Recommended.
BOI changed their estimate from 37-38 crore to 38-40 crore, looks like a huge day.
Happy New Year Creates History – Smashes All Records
Friday 24 October 2014 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has created history on day one recording the highest collections ever on day one beating the Dhoom 3 figure of 32 crore nett. The Mumbai figures coming in are simply phenomenal and the film is now looking an early estimate of 38-40 crore nett. The Gujarat area alone may cross 5 crore nett smashing all previous records by a distance.
The film has run riot on day in multiplexes all over recording the highest occupancies since films started going wide with over 2000 screens. The mass circuits are also huge but are unlikely to beat records by the levels that multiplexes are beating. A circuit like Rajasthan is looking near 2 crore nett which is similar to Dhoom 3 but at that time there was no entertainment tax. Delhi/UP is an all time record with likely collections to touch 7 crore nett. Mumbai is expected to be arouund 14 crore nett.
Happy New Year is looking to beat the previous record by around 15-20% which is extraordinary as the long runtime meant less screenings at multiplexes. It could have added a few crore more with a shorther runtime but it is not that important as that will made up over the week if the film keeps the momentum going.
pat on the back is due for urs truly for getting day 1 prediction right. my 3 day prediction was 120 crores….tough but not out of range for all versions…
Yes you can pat your back for day 1 and since the day after Diwali is the real day for movie collection it worked perfectly well for the movie . But I feel any movie whether it was Kick or D3 could touch these numbers today.
Today had the potential for a perfect storm and movie has been successful in achieving that.
Guess what Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is releasing on a Thursday (Nov 12, 2015) a day after Diwali which is Wed Nov 11th.Potential for 40cr or more on day 1 and 4 day weekend record…..lol
whether Barjatya can put up those biggest benchmark numbers today remains to be seen. Whether Salman can do so in this subject when his image has changed so dramatically also remains to be seen. HAHK was a very long time ago. Even HSSH which didn’t do too much after a strong initial is 15 years old. Times change. Not that I doubt a successful film can be made but I’m unsure if this can really excite the box office in the initial run.
There is still a huge crowd which is wary of SRK and his current hammy form and if HNY with such poor promos and music can do this fairly easily, I doubt Barjatya with better music sense and Salman on current form will have any worries esp. if it is Diwali period. Salman has a double role here with 2nd one keeping in mind his current blockbuster status. More importantly turn out of families will be greater here at least initially.
I disagree.. it’s not just any big film that can beat the highest benchmarks within a relatively limited time period. It has to be the perfect storm kind of film. Salman usually doesn’t act in such films. ETT was the exception. No film of his has opened like ETT, accounting for all factors. You need the right franchise/film, the right star(s), and you assuredly need a very important actress. ETT and D3 had Katrina, HNY and CE had Deepika. You can still get big numbers without some of these factors, Salman shows this regularly and in fairness he’s the only star who can get it done in really nothing films. But still there’s a limit to what can be achieved going down this route. SRK wouldn’t have crossed the D3 benchmark with a CE kind of release. It has to be this larger than life film that everyone considers unmissable even with mixed or poor WOM. Very few films fall in that category. So while these records don’t really mean anything and are crossed all the time it doesn’t happen with just any film. At least not without inflation being a significant factor. Again I wouldn’t expect PK to open at this stratospheric level. Would be surprised if it happened (referring to day 1 here). Because again even with the biggest star and/or director you still need a certain kind of subject with elements that maximize the audience. The problem is that fans of stars conveniently overlook all this. In no industry of the world is there an exception to this. Sure even with these subjects you need a threshold star but the conversely the threshold star cannot get it done in just any subject. As for instance any number of SRK productions in every conceivable genre prove between OSO and CE.
If the first day of release is exactly the day after tDiwali, potentially the biggest movie day – it is possible.
If Salman had got Eid day as first day he could potentially breach these numbers with ease for Kick, though I agree Aamir’s first friday D-3 is still a bigger achievement than all of this.
I dont think beating the records by a 20% margin can be achieved by any movie…It has to have the right mix, big star cast, festive occassion, great leads etc…HNY had all those ingredients. If it was PK coming in Diwali it wouldnt have made 40 crores..Neither would have Kick…D3 could have…
@iFaridoon: My wife Aarefa and Insha just saw #HappyNewYear in Mumbai n they’ve loved it..”@juniorbachchan is superb.He’s mighty funny,”Aarefa says.
@iFaridoon: Aarefa says that #HappyNewYear is a laugh riot n there wasn’t a single vacant seat.I must add my wife rarely likes a film so this is a lot😊
To be frank I did not go into the movie with zero expectations but more towards minus due to the reviews and watched the movie for good 30 mins at a superficial level and movie was turning out poor as expected. But somehow towards middle / 2nd half when movie shifts to Dubai, all the trite began to gel well and in the end it turned out be a fairly okay experience.
I do agree with Saibal Chatterjee’s review which An Jo and that is the jist here esp – “Produced by the superstar’s own banner, Happy New Year uses excess as its primary means of communication. Overkill is the only art that the director seems to be adept at”.
But I would still rate this better than CE and Kick and may be the nationalistic angle worked for me towards the end. May be due to media and srk’s hype was expecting Abhi to be special here but even though the footage is more than the proceedings reminded me more of Uday Chopra of Dhoom series though not in such a bad way. I doubt if this movie is a plus for him and even with shorter role in KANK he could stand up to srk’s lengthier role but unfortunately that is not the case here at all.
Rest everyone was adequate and wished the movie was trimmed for good 30 to 40 mins and they have lost out a lot towards introductions and trying to balance out each character.
I won’t be surprised if they go ahead and trim the movie after the weekend or do some sort of damage control.
This is the thing with expectations these days. Even if you go in with slightly decent expectations – movie turns out to be a huge disappointment and when you enter cinema expecting trash / ham / typical nonsense ki night and you end getting pleasantly surprised!
I found Abhi very uncomfortable here and he suits the broody, quiet type roles better and these type of movies are not his terrain and his inadequacies are very much visible. May be the yuppie bluffmaster type is okay and he should be targeting Saif kind of urbane movies.
But everyone will survive and box office numbers will be put up as a resistance to any legitimate criticism. Audience needs to sit up and realize the big star nexus is not even allowing any options during these festive times when a visit to theatre becomes obligatory routine.
In terms of numbers I doubt lifetime of D-3 will be achieved and and Kick may remain the top grosser for the year.
On big screen could not make much of PK trailer. Similar to 3I this may have to utilize the Christmas / New Year holidays and bank heavily on multiplex repeat audience to put up a huge total.
This will be a test of supremacy among the Khan trio where 1,2 & 3 will be decided this year. Kick’s 240 cr net in India needs to be breached first !
I dont think PK can be put in the same bracket as HNY. It seems to be more of a understated film with moments in it. It might trend better in long term but I am expecting it will open at best around 30 crores…Also Lingaa is coming around same time and will affect it down south
Hirani’s movies never open stupendously anyway. Of course this is the same team’s first film post-3I. On the other hand it’s a very different subject. Would still expect something very strong. Just not at these levels. Even 3I opened very well but not extraordinarily. Of course it remained amazingly stable.
I beg to differ here – AK/RK combo is so lethal and word-of-mouth and publicity is so strong that I won’t be surprised if they start advance booking a fortnight ago…………needless to say they will release the film in equal or more screens than HNY……..and non-stop holidays will destroy any competition in the way……this will surely have a repeat-value coming from RH………
.. No its not Farah’s worst movie ever but then its very close.. Its like a 3 hour cringe test of your facial muscles..I am no Abhishek fan but I have to say he’s the only good thing about this movie..and yes they should just shoot their editors after they microwave Farah Khan. Also, its probably Deepika’s worst act ever,
So comparing Hindi version from Dhoom 3, it is over 9 crores as per Taran and over 8 crores as per BOI. Both way it is phenomenal collections and huge jump from previous record.
this record will stay for at least a year…don’t see pk breaking opening day record. lets see if it holds…this one could be huge. and LOL @ TA back from the grave…like what the hell dude? just like that outta nowhere.
Saturday’s trends seem to be suggesting another 40 crore day, a 120-130 weekend could be a reality. If that happens then even a CE like trending would take it to ~300 crores
but this works the other way too.. you weren’t exactly quoting KRK when he was ripping the film mercilessly. Yes the other side can sometimes behave opportunistically but it’s not as if the fans don’t! Now maybe you don’t do this stuff when someone else’s film is releasing, I grant you that. On the other hand you do make plenty of gratuitous statements in certain contexts. My ‘problem’ if you will always is, that whether one’s views are controversial or not they should be sincere and they shouldn’t be completely divorced from the facts. There should be that point where one is closer to some approximation of the truth. That point where irrespective of one’s personal preferences one has some sane sense of the way things are. This doesn’t mean one cannot have preferences, just that there should be a sense of reality that is different from these. And again it’s also not good enough to make gratuitous comments ‘in response’. One can disagree with others, one can note that they’re saying things in bad faith or whatever without also stooping to that level. One can call them out in various ways but one doesn’t have to say things that are ‘like’ the things they say.
I didn’t. My entire comment was precisely about this. That if one questions the ethics of others one must be very sure one is being completely ethical oneself.
Happy New Year 2nd Day Saturday Box Office Collections – Early Trends
October 25, 2014 0
According to early trends, Happy New Year Second (2nd) Day Box office collections should be in the range of 37-38 cr. HNY Day 2 Saturday business looks to be the second highest single day collections ever. The movie has dropped just 10 % from Friday morning shows and that is earth shattering in any terms. It has all probability of touching 40 cr today and if that happens then it will be huge and record breaking in every way
The film is humongous in Mumbai, Delhi/Up and East Punjab. The power of Shah Rukh Khan and his fan base among multiplex audience is clearly being seen with Happy New Year doing earth shattering business even today in multiplexes and bumper in single screens. The film is doing bumper business in mass belts like Rajasthan, CP-Berar, Bihar and CI. The film is mind boggling in Gujarat, West Bengal where new record are being set.
There is a partial holiday in parts of the country due to Bhai Dooj (Delhi/UP, West Bengal, CP Berar, CI etc) and Happy New Year should be able to utilize it to hilt. If the the late evening and night shows turns out extremely well because Sunday is a Holiday then Happy New Year might have two 40 cr single day collections which will be historic for Bollywood.
extraordinary Sat if this holds up. And Sun would then of course be even stronger. If this film can keep up this pace for a week (relatively) it will be impossible to justify a final total less than 300. Assuming it’s 200 in week 1. If it’s 20 crores less than that then the D3-like number would be fine. But 250 is certainly not going to be acceptable after this. Unless of course it starts dipping on Mon. Because of high volume of sold out shows even before the weekend began the response might be a bit harder to gauge before Mon, even going by normal standards. But in any case the final benchmark will depend on the week 1 number though of course in the media narrative sense as long as you do a minimal number you’re absolutely fine. Let’s see whether the reviewers have been completely wrong on this one. Most were negative, there were eventually enough positive ones but these weren’t so with the same sort of enthusiasm in most cases. But there are all sorts of examples here. ETT was on a tear for a week, then did nothing. Then there’s the CE-like model. Much better holdover though still not excellent (acceptable though relative to expectations from the film). And then there’s the total success, trending well in every sense. Even the least of these scenarios here gives it a very big number. So the ‘hit’ narrative is pretty much in place.
I would love to see a movie that does “And then there’s the total success, trending well in every sense.” because I really think that isnt’ possible anymore (for big movies) in sense that everybody who wants to see it will get to see it in week 1 itself. Some who like to see it only on weekends will wait till 2nd weekend if they didn’t get chance to see it first weekend.
For some reason if a huge movie open will only 100 crore first week, than it’s possible to have good trend but than what does that say about first week collection?
PK will tell us more as Hirani films trends superb but his last film was 5 years ago and so much has changed since than.
I don’t agree with this classification that movies need to be as big hit as 3 Idiots to call it successful. That is exceptional and not the norm. Just coz one film doesn’t trend like 3 idiots doesn’t make it not successful. If every film can become 3 Idiots then, 3 idiots would have been just another hit and not this exceptional blockbuster.
Of course it doesn’t have to be like 3I but 3I wasn’t that big because of some absolute number. It started off at 80 and it finished around 205. Dabanng started the same way but ended up at 140 or 145. So there are distinctions. But then there’s ETT which did the entire Dabanng gross or more in one week and then just added a paltry 40-50 crores. CE off the same total added a bit more. The point is that the standards are constantly being lowered at the other end. It’s not as if that extra initial comes at no cost. When you get a higher gross because of inflation you’re also investing more in the film at every level. The inflation is a factor there as well. You’re selling the film at higher prices. The multiplexes in any case often get a much higher ratio of profits than was often the case with more traditional arrangements. We’re almost at the point where a film opens at 170, tanks completely does 220 and people celebrate this as well! When films in Hollywood do 100m over a weekend they’re not celebrated for then just doubling that number let alone less than this. And it’s not as if one is using some older standard. Even today films are doing it. At different levels. The reason the biggest films rarely do so is because they are designed like HNY. To simply create the biggest initial bang, get media attention that way, this keeps going on for a week after which everyone moves on to the next story! Hirani not surprisingly is the one guy who doesn’t make films that way and therefore gets a different sort of result. doesn’t mean he can never fail. But he doesn’t design films to be trailers. With just about every big film you just get the extended trailer! But forget doubling the week 1 number. We’re way below that for every big film. All this doesn’t at all mean one has to do a 3I but these ratios are in most cases those of flop films. And there’s no knew ‘science’ that Bollywood has suddenly discovered here!
Just came back from the movie. I must say it was a bit frustrating to see the narrative go haywire so often in the movie. The movie is not a write off by any means, infact quite a number of gags land well though the movie is quite loud. The picturization of the dance sequences are stunning and grand and I must admit Farrah khan has a natural flair of going for the excessive and she pulls it off with some panache. But the motivation of the whole heist is quite flimsy and there is lot of flab in the movie. This could have been a 230 hr movie and it would have been much better. SRK was very restrained as leader of the pack and most of the good lines are for the rest. Abhishek has the funniest scene in the movie where he has to strip to get to a screw and that must be the most I have laughed in a theatre for both abhishrk and Bomans reaction. The last 45 minutes are the best part of the movie and even the patriotic angle lands very well and in the theatre I watched the audience were cheering and whistling during the climax as well as when the safe was opened. I think the movie will have some takers. I found it vastly superior to CE and D3 but I won’t give it more than a 2.5 rating. It’s not a write off by any means so there is scope for good trending. 200 crore will surely happen but not sure of 300.
Krish, I put up same reaction that last 1 hour is the best part of the movie and trust me that really counts. Most movies start good but never end good. As the crux of story and dance competition is last 1 hour and if that is very well done, then the movie will hold IMO.
I would like to add, Farah’s movies were always criticized on its release day, no matter it is MHN or OSO. OSO was looking to get terrible feedback but it eventually hold on. I remember reading 1 star reviews of MHN as well.
less than 200 ought to be somewhat impossible after this start. Unless it’s completely tanking. And it would have to be quite a tank. Don’t see that happening. And if it can only match CE that is certainly disappointing for this kind of film and specially given the opening. Really unless it slows down Mon or Tue but remains stable at that level even 250 should be a given after this start. But yeah where I might agree with you is that after the initial rush is over a number of these big openers slow down considerably. My only point is that the gap between a final number of 100 or 200 or 250 or whatever it is keeps getting reduced because of these massive initials. The trending keeps getting worse on average. One has to look at things on both sides of the equation.
A day will come when first week total is like 200 crore and the movie is done with total of 300 crore. What used rto take 6 weeks to achive couple years back, it will be achieved in 10 to 14 days. unless the movie starts off very low and than picks up is later weeks.
yes absolutely. Potentially a film like HNY if it were loved could easily do it. But my point is that when that happens every other ‘price’ connected with the film would also be higher. One can’t just look at the gross and nothing else.
I don’t know if the theory of trending isn’t gradually dying out just as silver/golden jubilees are no longer an indication of how well the film is liked.
I’ve responded to this many times before. No one’s talking about jubilees. that happened in a different age. But there is still trending. This is the way everyone looks at it in Hollywood (and no one does this more thoroughly than them). Beyond this even in this most distracted society on the planet films in all kinds of genres trend well and in fact very well. What excuse does Bollywood have? specially when the same standards are also being followed in Tamil cinema. Or even with other Bollywood films. This isn’t rocket science. You make junk films and then you wonder why they don’t last! Sure you create enough of a splash where people show up in the initial stages. But very few people if any ‘love’ these films. In fact I’d argue that with this kind of filmmaking ‘liking’ the film is almost an archaic concept. It’s about whether the film is somewhat watchable or ‘tolerable’. Hollywood also makes similar films but because they’re much more professional about it they push all the right buttons. They do enough for the films to trend well. These might still be soulless films in many instances but they’re getting the job done. We saw very recently with Edge of Tomorrow, a film that even opened poorly, but that good reviews and was liked and got to a 100m purely on trending. That’s not enough for such a big film but it was nonetheless liked. Had it opened a few years ago when Cruise was doing better it would have done more. We see with Cameron how he’s twice made films that truly connected with the audience and went on forever. Twice isn’t a fluke! I could keep giving these examples. I could write in five minutes an HNY scenario where the film would still get this initial and be guaranteed to do 300 or 350 or whatever. Not exaggerating. It wouldn’t take much but people are just afraid to make even the most basic films. They just want these huge ad campaigns. Which are fine to get the initial but nothing can fill the gap between a film not really being liked and still trending well. In a few days the fuss dies down and then these films plummet in most cases. Somehow filmmakers in Bombay have convinced themselves that they just cannot risk putting a story out there. Even when there might be some merit to the plot, even when it might sound like an easy winner, they hijack it by converting it into a circus. Or by throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks. What you get is a chaotic, cluttered narrative that draws people for various reasons but that cannot last in any meaningful sense. And it becomes a vicious cycle. You make films explicitly for initials and then when they don’t trend well you say that’s the only way to make films as no one comes in week 3! It isn’t a mystery why Aamir’s films in most cases trend well, nor is this one for Hirani, or for something like Singham or whatever. You don’t need to make the best film in the world, just a reasonably coherent one. When it’s all shock and awe you get the biggest numbers starting out and that’s about it. This is disposable, junk cinema, nothing more than trashy entertainment. The only question then is whether it’s even entertaining or not. The answer is: barely! At least on most days. And with this whole abuse of the word ‘masala’ where people too illiterate in these matters to be able to tell the difference or else trying to cynically dignify present-day attempts by using that term as an umbrella think that this is what Manmohan Desai was about! I personally pity those who think that the best masala cinema was like this! In any case that’s a different debate. But one shouldn’t keep saying ‘hey films don’t trend well’. This is just bunk.
I don’t know. My logic tells me differently. And I’m by no means speaking of this in connection with HNY.
Perhaps trending has not completely dies yet, but it may not work all the time under every circumstance.
I wouldn’t compare it with Hollywood films trending in societies where people aren’t that crazy about films as India, and have a different scope when planning when to watch a film. I can see films prone to trending there. Anyway.
After seeing collections of HNY i take my words back about Hrithik.Now i admit in case Hrithik was the lead here HNY wouldn’t have collected 45cr on its first day.Only Srk can do this.One should be realisitic and reality suggests this.
Sme of the commentary and the ‘surprise’ being demonstrated above is hilarious
Either they are in denial over SRKs unparalleled star power and now marketing acumen
Or they are not aware what 5000 screens domestic mean
And that too without either son of sardar or Haidar to play spoilsport
Anyhow as I said –with or without taran adarsh, it’s good to see figures other than BOI finding their way here (after the blockage in bag bang)
What fun lol
Ps : Satyam now don’t tell me u wanna block plain box office comments as well lol
Lol @apex. Just reading your comments for first time. Why suddenly you expecting 400 crores from HNY? Did any film touch 300 yet? No, right?
One of your most idiotic comment “THE PAN KHAN AXIS IS ACTIVATED WITH ALL KHAN FANS DOMESTIC AND OVDRSEAS ‘HELPING OUT’ – KRKs positive reviews”
FYI – KRK is not big force that he can help any movie. Moreover I think he gave 1 star and said it will crash after 1st day. Your ‘incorrect’ theory fails, can we stop now?
Master, he’s been doing that every single day believe it or not. It’s silliness of the first order. And then he blames me for not letting through these comments every single day.
You shouldn’t Satyam. I think, to maintain the blog’s standards is your responsibility, if someone is ruining it to silly teenage fan forum, those posts need not be approved. Apex’s comments are like sore thumb among other comments. People are free to criticize anything here but not use this blog to remove their frustrations.
I don’t most of the time. Once in a while I relent. Apex used to be relatively normal once. He just went looney beyond a point. Don’t know what happened here! It’s not just about saying ridiculous things but the constant sexual innuendo in every statement.
Jaju said at 4 pm today that HNY will collect only 25 crores today. That doesnt look likely to me as atleastr multiplexes have kept pace today. And at 4 pm there is a good number of evening and night shows left. The single screen I saw was house full and next 2 shows were also full
Krish, Jaju has been saying before release that it will tank after day 1. He is completely against it. You can read all this tweets to get the context.
Aamir Khan hosted a gala Diwali bash at his residence where he invited a whole bunch of celebs. The bash went on late night with night long teen-patti sessions.
In attendance at the bash were Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Nargis Fakhri. Deepika and Nargis in fact were seen holding hands as they entered the venue.
Deepika who arrived from Dubai after the gala ‘Happy New Year’ premiere looked lovely in a red Sabyasachi saree.
Hrithik and Nargis attended the Bachchan diwali bash prior to attending Aamir’s.
Ps: that’s an interesting 3some–HR, Nargis and deepika hmmm
Rofl @ deepika and nargis in saris
ANYHOW
HAPPY DIWALI FOLKS
I may also check out HNY v soon (with nargis /DP type company)
🙂
Enjoy folks
I won’t be shocked if HNY comes down by about 60 to 65% on Monday with the way weekend is shaping up to be and if the wom is truly more on the negative side like how some are saying in comments above.
That is a given, that doesn’t prove it is really a fall. Collecting around 20 crores on working day on Mon, Tue is not possible, whatever the weekend collections are.
I doubt that. These days in any case films generally don’t fall that much on Mon. Unless they’re crashing. Tue is much more the day when more serious falls (if they’re going to happen) take place. To be honest with all the hype that’s created it’s sometimes hard to tell what the actual reaction really is. I wouldn’t be surprised at a drop that puts it behind D3 (not 65% though) but I equally wouldn’t be surprised at the film staying as stable as D3. The real damage if it’s there will show beyond this. Even ETT was stable throughout the week. Even if WOM is worse on HNY it would probably still sustain that much because few people would completely give it a miss that early.
i watched it last night…with almost full house (just the front row was empty) and the crowd reaction to the movie was enthusiastic and they even clapped in the end (which i thought was lame as hell). the funniest moment of the film where everyone in the crowd couldn’t stop laughing was one that involved abhishek.
on the movie itself i thought it wasn’t bad. I did not like OSO, but kind of liked TMK. and I enjoyed HNY surprisingly. i agree with most commenters here..it had its funny moments and i think farah shows glimpses of greatness but during the ’emotional’ scene..i felt empty. there was no soul to this movie. also the double role for abhishek is a sham…the other character had NOTHING to do while the drunkard character was entertaining and had the best lines of the movie without a doubt. some moments with SRK were over the top…especially his intro, that’s just too much. this movie isn’t supposed to make sense..or even be good…its just an entertainer…and i laughed a lot and it entertained me from that aspect. still thought it was a dumb plot and story. I will take HNY over CE because abhishek and bomani added to the enjoyment. do i see this one come crashing down? maybe…but i think the india theme just might work and there is enough laugh worthy moments to keep the audience coming. also deepika should just shut up about being a victim, once you put yourself out there (almost literally) then you lost the right to blame others.
after reading that post on double roles…this confirms why i thought abhishek’s double role is just wasted in this movie. what a great post that was on the ‘essence’ of a double role. i wouldn’t even necessarily call it a ‘double’ role for abhishek in HNY to be honest.
I really think this can turn into a franchise easily if they choose to go that route. And Abhishek can play a substantial role as the villian in the second one and still come back as the drunkard character. If they can make an oceans 12…then certainly a HNY 2 can happen. but i guess i am jumping the gun here and assuming HNY will end up huge..lets see.
The atrocities and absurdities of Bollywood: 2009 was last great year of Bollywood when a truely awsome movie was an ATBB. I still have hope for 2014 christmas. Then the whole equation is turn upside down by utter crap like HNY. String together 6-7 hollywood capers with an ensemble cast and you get your bheja fried. The last time I was so nauseous was when I saw the intolerable RA1. However then I had the luxury of leaving post interval.
This time was tortured for 3 hours
Word to wise do not carpool to a Hindu movie and if you do do not go to a cinema that prevents you from going to another movie
The fact that movie is an unprecedented success leads me to believe there is some bizarre phenomenon going on in India
Als hoping this Christmas restores my faith in Bollywood
There are four kinds of commercial movies that give you four kinds of feelings
Gripped: ala 3 idiots
Captivated: ala Dabang
Bored: ala ek tha tiger
Nauseous: ala HNY
3I was a rare film but I didn’t even find Dabanng that interesting. It had a number of iconic elements, one of the rare times I liked Salman, but it was a wafer-thin story. Just a collection of item moments from the songs to the lines and so on. ETT was utterly boring. This for me is the worst kind of film. Sometimes I prefer films that I like less but that at least have some moments to them. ETT was very flat. Actually for some reason I quite enjoyed the second half of Kick. Probably liked this half more than just about any other Salman film since Dabangg.
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra in a master class during the recently concluded Mumbai Film Festival, revealed how he conceptualized and created his cult classic film Parinda which featured actors Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff in lead roles. The filmmaker said that after he made Khamosh he struggled for a year and half to release the film, which he released himself eventually. Mr Chopra said that though everyone liked the film no one wanted to buy it. In that span of time, it was his anger and frustration that lead him to the story of Parinda.
It is the Sir H N Hospital run by a trust which has been ‘taken over’ by Reliance and named Reliance Foundation H. In a series of designer hospitals for the rich that are coming up in Mumbai. Of course as always he made a speech about gareeb getting medical care here. He has no idea what a gareeb of India is.
The film stars are falling over each other to get their pics with him.
When will Modi stop start working? He’s done nothing but inaugrations, shaking hands getting himself photographed.
Nobody will even believe that while this is going on Delhi’s Trilokpuri area (AAP’s constitution) is facing communal riots. sec 144 has been clamped – and guess what??? Delhi is going to have elections. A pattern being followed for months now .
“Happy New Year is trending everywhere and so is Abhishek Bachchan. Everyone is definitely amazed but we aren’t. Although we didn’t expect him to trend on Twitter, we knew he will emerge victorious in this game of Happy New Year. Guess the audience too feel the same and are amazed to see Abhishek getting more praise than Shah Rukh Khan.”
Happy New Year is definetly trending on Twitter and SRK is dominating here also compared to abhishek. Although Abhishek seems to be trending upwards…but nothing like SRK and the film itself.
I knew Abhishek will get surely credit in HNY and this is not like Dhoom 3 role. But getting credit in crowd pleasing comedy role is different than saying he stole the show from SRK in his own film. They are not even in same stature, outside or inside the movie, so it really doesn’t matter to anyone. Without SRK, there is no HNY, simple as that. But all said, am happy Abhishek getting credit. Srk doesn’t need any acting credit for HNY, just big hit would suffice for him.
These 45 Crore number is complete fake .. and its confirm. But surprising thing is its real collection for day one are also probably highest ever (35-36 Crore range) .. so what was need to exaggerate so much ??
lol…that was the most excruciating part of the movie…we get it SRK..you worked on your body! how the hell are you going to be a straight dude and ‘cheer’ on for his abs and body…come on now.
im referring to that video…all i saw were dudes up and cheering when his abs are being poured over by water. i get it, its for the ladies and/or men who like men…but that scene was just over the top in my humble opinion. not worked up about it. if i had one thing that i would take out from that movie..i would’ve taken out that scene and replaced it with a toned down (no pun intended) version of his intro.
I think you are getting it wrong. Can a better introduction can be made? Of course yes. They could have made it shorter by 2 mins and removed all slow motion shots. Also, men liking other men’s bodies doesn’t mean they are gay. I have lot of friends and they go to gym regularly and their room is full of Rocky(Stallone) posters. Its kinda motivation if you are into body building.
I am actually sick of introduction scenes especially if there are multiple stars. First 45 minutes to one hour go in introduction. Same things happened in Dhoom3. The directors need to be imaginative where story has self introduction of characters.
“First 45 minutes to one hour go in introduction. Same things happened in Dhoom3. ”
But in HNY it was part of the story as some were related to the story and hiring of others and lacign them with the some who were already part of the story. It was done very well. It was not where they had intro of each for 10 to 15 minutes. Except for SRK, all other intro were like 1 to 3 minute and than SRK and other were in the frame of next intro.
More entertaining than MHN, OSO and CE. Hats off to SRK for truly giving everybody good role. Sonu and Abhi were funny. All had funny scenes. From beginning to end, everybody was on screen almost thru out the movie, and it wasn’t as them standing in background, they actually had dialogues and were doing something in the movie.
I personally don’t think this movie will tank starting monday. I think it will hold on very well.
And I know it’s a habit for some to lump few things together to bring somebody down or bring somebody up but don’t put Farah and Sajid together. Sajid couldn’t make a film like this if his life depended on it. It’s kind of like saying Desai and B. Subhash are same.
Farah pulled off this movie beautifully. Sure it had some flaws but which movies don’t? The movie looked grand and lavish without being in your face.
Go with open mind and i assure you you will laugh thru out and enjoy it.
Some of the negative comments some of the posters have put here who claim they’ve seen the movie, They might have seen another movie. Like one had said ti’s an ad for Dubai. Dubai does not even come up in the movie until more than hour into the movie except a min in the beginning and even afterward it’s just showen here and there little bit.
Perfect festive movie (Definitly not a movie for SRK haters).
Good, you loved it. Am always surprised why they lump Sajid khan and Farah khan. Their movies are completely different and Sajid Khan makes slapstick comedies whereas Farah’s films are entertainers with lot of emotional quotient and drama and lots of comedy. No comparision IMO.
Farah movies are all about style without any substance. The emotional scenes are without soul IMO. She does have a good flair for comedic scenes though. But her movies are always superficial and never have any depth to it..which is why they will be forgotten. I haven’t seen a sajid khan film so I can’t really comment on his films.
No soul? That depends. Also, I don’t think Sajid Khan’s movie can ever a song as this ever. His films are nothing like Farah’s. I don’t think you can say this song(for example) has no soul as well. As I said it just depends on person to person.
we’ll just have to disagree…because this is not my definition of ‘soul’…her movies never allow a person like myself to be emotionally attached to any of the characters or the story. she fails miserably at that. OSO was awful in every way shape or form. I’ll take HNY(because of the comedy) anyday over OSO, CE and JTHJ(talk about soulless).
As I said it depends. I mentioned Farah’s movies got emotional quotient which is missing in Sajid’s movies completely. Also, am not looking for Haider (a movie which I loved) level depth and soul in her movie.
The only actor that prevented me from throwing up in HNY wa Abhishek. In fact this is his best performance since Bluff Master in such genre. He completely stole show and rose way above the Hamming Badshah. He was true star of the film and only gem in a bunch of clowns.
It is pity that Indian Directors do not have the astuteness of Hollywood directors. How many times have we seen in Hollywood a lesser star getting a fatter role than a superstar since the movie demands it. This movie could have been salvaged if Abhiskek’s role would have been enhanced. I am sure it was pretty clear during the shooting who was the really clicking in movie
Unfortunately Indian movie maker do not have the courage or acumen to rise above the Superstar class system
Lol, can’t believe an Abhishek fan can’t find difference between Bluffmaster and HNY. Both same genre? LMAO. Also, Abhishek was kinda serious in Bluffmaster and black humor but nothing, I repeat, nothing like OTT comedy like HNY.
Now, I understand how serious to take your comments.
Back in the days when i did not watch films and used to read stories and books it was so fun. Never really cared who had the meatier role in the story. Either I enjoyed the story as a whole or i did not. Some characters of those stories were more affable than others but for me the writer failed when the story as a whole did not click. What has the world come to now? Trying to analyze what went wrong with the story and characters. It defeats the purpose. If you go to a restaurant and don’t like the food you ditch it and go to another restaurant the next time around. You don’t argue with the cook or try to teach him how to cook. Its simply a waste of time. Time which you could have spent exploring better things.
Happy New Year is looking at a 25% drop on day two which is pretty good after coming of a big holiday. Normally the fall will would have been bigger but is a holiday for Bhai Dooj at places and the fact that it was a Saturday rather than a working day helped the movie.
The collections on day two will be in the 30 crore nett region as per the early figures coming in. The falls in most circuits will be in the 20-30% range and a couple may even fall less than 20% where the holiday affect is more.The film has put up huge numbers over the first two days and now there is Sunday to come which may take it to the century mark in three days.
Though as it is a part holiday on Saturday it is possible that Sunday may not grow like it normally does for mass films. Still even if there is no growth it will still be a huge weekend.
So sunday will not grow. i think it is set for no more than 100 cr weekend. which is disappointing looking at first day figure. Ofcourse we are talking about only hindi version.
D3 also had 100 cr weekend.
I had went for loo and get fries, was out about 5 to 7 minutes max but I didn’t see couple scenes from the trailer like the one where SRK is carrying an attache and the scene where they’re driving cars in desert.
By the way, just a thought, don’t thik Farah/SRK planned it this way or maybe they did but Diwali and for some Hindu the new year was Oct 23rd/24th? For muslims the new year was also Oct 24th evening this year.
Found HNY to be an incredibly poor film barring the last hour which was passable. Compared to this OSO is an all-time classic. Will say more about the actors and so on tomorrow in a somewhat longer comment.
Actually, if you think your feedback is matching with many that last 1 hour is the better part of the movie. Just grading is different. Others good = yours poor. Others Very good = yours passable.
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, best known for playing negative roles in films, has been hospitalised and is critically ill, according to the doctors.
The 64-year-old actor, who has starred in films like ‘Ardhasatya’ and ‘Sadak’, was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here two weeks ago after being diagnosed with a lung infection.
“Amrapurkar has been hospitalised for the past two weeks. He is suffering from complete respiratory failure and is critical. A team of doctors is doing its best to ensure his recovery,” said Dr Santosh Shetty, chief operating officer at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, today.
There seems to be a big gap once again between BOI, Taran and the producers’ numbers. So, maybe the talks about BOI being biased only against Hrithik or Bang Bang or Krish 3 are looking like myths now.
Managed to catch up with HNY. It’s a poor movie. A couple of funny moments here and there but it’s pretty poor overall. SRK is the main guy there but it’s the kind of role one can sleep walk through. Abhishek and Boman are the best things out there and they are the ones you want to see a bit of more of but they are underutilised.
If the movie does well, that would mean that Abhishek could end up featuring in 2 of the highest grossers of modern times but unfortunately he is there in secondary roles only.
One thing is certain n ppl following ab jr career will know that he was always good in comic roles n can do these with ease n mutliplex goers like these because of iy.if he appears in few more comedy films i am sure suddenly bachchan haters too will start liking his acting though ppl who like him always knew that he acted well always.
For d3 i would blame yashraj prod more than amir as they seem like close to abjr but never ever gave meaty roles.rather i would say they underutilised him n have ruin his career a bit in d process..
Saw HNY, I liked it. Have to admit that the first 30-45 minutes were dragging and annoying and TMK like but basically once Deepika is introduced the film picks up a lot. Surprisingly the best part was the last hour of the movie. I thought Abhi’s second role as the “villain” was kind of unnecessary. The jokes were good barring 2-3 of them. The songs were great in context although I wish the Radhe Radhe one used better. The production quality was absolutely astounding but that is normal with SRK movies. The “India wale” angle could’ve been worked on a little more although it was great, especially in the climax dance. The end credits were awesome, the usual Farah Khan style and should be watched of AbRam! Although the movie was 3 hrs long, it didn’t feel long barring the first 30 min. I honestly felt that SRK didn’t do much in this movie (besides work hard for the 10 pack). In terms of his character it must have been really easy for him. But Abhishekh was definitely the funniest, it says a lot about SRK the actor and producer for letting Abhi have the funniest lines/scenes. The Vivaan Shah kid was strictly ok. Deepika was absolutely gorgeous and great even though her role wasn’t as long as her role in CE, YJHD, RL. Boman Irani as usual was funny as was Sonu Sood. Jackie Shroff was decent. The audience went nuts at the Prabhu Deva special appearance and SRK’s “re-entry” at the end during the India Waale song. The response in my theater seemed very positive, people were laughing and cheering a lot (This was in Chicago) and on the way out I heard people say that it was a great film. I remember going to the same theater during JTHJ and hearing it being absolutely bashed by the audience members at the end. I think this movie will trend as well as D3, but probably not as well as OSO i.e. double its first week. I can see it crossing 300 crores tbh, people were really loving the india wale angle and the jokes. But seriously, SRK needs to challenge himself as an actor, this role just seemed way way too easy for him! Overall 4/5 and the most enjoyable movie along with CE post SRK’s ruling years aka meaning post RNBDJ.
Happy New Year Has Good Second Day
Sunday 26 October 2014 13.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year did well on day two as it grossed around 28.50 crore nett on its second day taking its two day total to 68 crore nett plus. The film held best in the Gujarat where it is holiday season and other places where there was a holiday for Bhai Dooj while other places showed a fall which happens after a big holiday.
The film is best in Mumbai due to the Gujarat factor while Delhi/UP is also strong due to strong figures in UP in day two. The under performance is in the East even though Shahrukh Khan is by a margin the biggest star in West Bengal
The Saturday numbers are less than Dhoom 3 and which collected 30.5 on Saturday while Chennai Express was in the same range as Happy new Year. The business on Sunday will be up and down as the places where it was a holiday on Saturday could drop while others where it was a normal should grow.
Huge 30% fall on Day 2.
It will barely match D3 weekend numbers. And struggle from there onwards. I don’t see it going beyond 175 cr inspite of no big release in next 3 weeks.
Quite a big drop for sure. Sunday has started well though. All other media outlets are still reporting 37 crores and producers have not yet declared any numbers. I will go with BOI as i usually do. One way to look at this is maybe it was Friday which was the outlier performance and Saturday is more in sync with merits of the movie. If thats the case we might still have a stable Monday.
Happy New Year Set For Second Highest Overseas Opening Ever
Sunday 26 October 2014 16.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year may take the second biggest opening ever in Overseas. The film will not beat Dhoom 3 which collected over $10 million but may edge past the second biggest opener Chennai Express which grossed $7.25 million approx.
The two day figures are around £400,000 in United Kingdon and $1,200,000 in US/Canada. The Gulf is looking at a weekend somewhere around the $2,5 million region. There are no holidays in Overseas in the Diwali period like Christmas and it is not as good as the Eid period especially in places lik UK and Gulf.
The weekend overseas should be over the $7 million mark mark but remains to be seen if it can to around $8 million
Happy New Year after having a smashing start with a historic opening kept up a good performance on its second day too. According to early estimates, the film collected approximately 38 crores on its first Saturday i.e Day 2. With this, the film now stands with a total of 82.97 crores at the domestic box office.
that’s a massive gap! A 10 crore differential on day 2? Unless they’re just going with all India numbers (all versions). It’s possible since the 45 crore number is a similar one. But still even going by that it’s a drop of 7 crores on day 2 whereas the BOI thing is a drop of 10-12 crores.
7 crore drop is not that much when the starting base is huge of 45 crore.
If it had colleted let’s say like 26 crore on day one and than drop to 19 crore on day to, than it would be a big drop. have to look at the whole picture.
Even today I think there might be a drop of about 5% from saturday.
By the way they showed “I” trailer and even my wife said this looks good so “I” may be my first south Indian movie in theatre.
I have not seen any write up from BOI which suggests they’re pro SRK. Their #s are always lower for SRK films than other source even when you compare the difference of BOI against other source and do same for other actors, SRK movies mostly has bigger by BOI.
yes I know.. Sat often dips and Sun is then fine.. but the question is how much of a dip is Sat. Of course either way by Tue one will know how well or not this is trending in this initial phase. And of course if it’s a very strong Sun that might provide some indication.
I would think that Saturday would be the best day out of friday/sat/sun since sat is the first weekend day and you don’t have to worry about going to work next day, etc…
don’t know actually.. Perhaps Sun is the day more allotted for this sort of thing by most people. Barring the truly accepted films (always rare) Sat either drops by 10% or at best stays the same. But this happens even for films with extended weeks. Day 2 often drops the most.
I have always put my trust in the audience response more than any critic when it comes to Bollywood films. And this was reinforced on my viewing of Happy New Year. I had written off the film and went see it mainly to please my wife who is a big Shahrukh fan, partly because I had a relatively free weekend and no other choice for viewing film in the theatre. What I found was the critics who had given it 4 / 4.5 stars and the critics who had given it 2 / 2.5 stars, calling it Ocean’s Eleven written y baboons and the like were both wrong.
It is actually a fairly decent watch and I preferred it vastly over Farah Kahn’s earlier efforts , Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om. I remember sleeping through much of the second half in OSO, but here I was wide awake all trough its near-3-hour running time, even though it was a 9.45pm show I had opted for. And not once was I tempted to check my FB posts on the phone like I did throughout the running time of Krish 3. In fact, unlike my wife, and many others whose comments I have read, I didn’t mind the first hour with the character introductions at all. Mainly because, I am a huge fan of physical comedy, and only Rohit Shetty does it with some flare in Bollwood. Now this is no Kungfu Hustle, but Farah does manage to stage some pretty funny gags – the one with Boman Irani having his face shoved into the cake, or the misfired bombs in the film shooting comes to mind. The good thing about her style here is that it is all clean, innocent fun which every child, and the child in every one of us can enjoy.
What I did not like in these portions were the reference to other films in every other line. I think only people without any talent or ideas resort to such ruses. People like Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Raju Hirani base their humour on their observation of life, and not on lines from other films. Mimicking of film dialogues is for college fests by those filmy dudes think they are creative because they have seen too many films and remember a few lines like ‘ Badi badi mulko mein chhoti chhoti baatein ho jaatein hain.’
Fortunately, Farah snaps out of this quickly enough, and with the entry of Abhishek and Deepika, the film really perks up. The two characters are very rooted and add the earthy flavour to the proceedings. Both have performed well and make you care for the characters they are playing. The scenes between Shahrukh and Deepika are some of the best written scenes in the film. The idea of Mohini admiring Charlie because he speaks English and has an English name works well and it plays out at subtler levels beyond just being funny. I laughed when Abhishke says,’ English mein sorry bolna.” I like the way the scene that follows is written. Charlie does ‘ apologize’ to Mohini, but we can see his attitude towards her hasn’t fundamentally changed. He still cannot resist taking a dig at her ‘ movement of your booty’ er..’beauty of your movement’. I like the way the relationship is written. Till the end Charlie hasn’t really fallen for Mohini and that’s quite brave for a commercial, mainstream film I thought.
I fact, the reason I like this much more than MHN or OSO is precisely because Farah here has steered clear of the Bollywood template and concentrated solely on telling her story without distraction. I saw much sophistication in the way the relationship between Jackie and Salman was mapped in ‘Kick’ and this goes one step forward. Harrah! Bollywood is growing up.
In fact I am so disappointed with critics who have failed to point what a purer storytelling mode Farah is pursuing here without giving into the temptations of Bollywood masala formula. Take someone haloed like Mani Ratnam. He is unthinking enough to saddle the Ajay Devgan character with a romance and introduce that bland duet with Esha Deol. Farah could have easily got Nandu embroiled with some risqué romance with either slum girl or a white bimbette in Dubai (like the shenanigans of the Uday Chpra character in the Dhoom series). But she keeps the yarn clean and the fabric dyed in innocence. And I liked that.
I liked the basic plot and its unravelling. The level of detailing is just right for the key at which she is telling her story. The bits with the Korean group is cute. And I loved the choreography of the fight between Shahrukh and the Korean guy, with ‘ Everybody Was Kungfu Fighting’ in the soundtrack adding to the zing. Te build up to the first performance of the ‘ Indiawale’ song is well orchestrated: first the ugly welcome for the team on arrival, then Jackie’s open antagonism portrayed credibly with lines like “ Olympic ka team ho ya Oscar ka film, you Indians always send the wrong entry.’ So when the Indiwale song comes up it is hard not to feel all pumped up.
Many have pointed out that for film based on dance, there is hardly any innovative choreography or a great dance sequence. True. But I think that is intentional. Farah did not want to use elaborately choreographed dance sequences to act as item numbers, distracting from the flow of the story. ( (Opportunity for Mani Ratnam here again for some learning.) Be it Mohini’s opening dance or the Nonsense Ki Night sequence, they are all weaved into the narrative. I especially liked the way the Satkali song is picturized, against the lovely water fountains of beautiful Dubai, establishing the camaraderie of the team rather than play it like an item number with cool dance moves.
The staging of the final heist , the twists and turns, and the reprise of the Indiawale number worked very well for me. Here again she resisted the temptation to stage an full-blown action climax , even though she had the speed boats, the helicopter and the sea ready, and I thank her for that. She was interested in the human aspect of the story and that comes through so much better in the staging of the Indiawale reprise.
I liked the little touch of the airport staff throwing the glass with the blue liquid into the garbage chute. But I am wondering, wont it have been better not to make Charlie the smart thinker of Don 2 and let them just lose the diamond? After all he had achieved the objective of just revenge on Charan Grover and the 10 lakh USD prize money was enough for Mohini to open her school and Sonu to have his mother’s operation. So was this really necessary? Just a thought.
Summing it up, I would say I this one is certainly in the same league as Kick , Chennai Express and D3, though I perhaps like CE and D3 a lot more ( CE for its innocence and fairy-tale charm and D3 for its mythic double angle ). It is not a particularly great story and it is kind of loud throughout without quieter moments. It does not have any exceptional moments that you would like to take home. But it is a fun story, told in a fun way, without pretensions, without cynical disregard for the audience, without too many stale formulaic elements. In fact this is one of those Shahrukh films that I liked more than my wife. And I did like Shahrukh in the film too. He looked especially cool in the initial portions, with his long hair and sparse beard. His performance was restrained and confident, shorn of standard mannerisms and not showy at all. I am so glad he has managed to reinvent his persona. SRK loyalist Anupama Chpra has said in her review, “Come back, Rahul. All is forgiven.”” And I say, “ Don’t.”. We want see you as Charlie, Kabir Khan , Mohan Bhargav…and many other things. But not Rahul. Please.
Excellent review Utkal, I had same feeling and stated in my short review that this is better than MHN and OSO.
The ones giving 2 starts or below are truly just taking out their frustration rather than giving review and you can celarly see it in their writing. Same thing for somebody giving it 4.5 stars when they make it sound like paid review.
This is a SRK movie from beginning to end but I was just amazed at how much scope/time given to everybody in the movie. Everybody had their moment and than some.
Some of the stuff we had seen in trailer which didn’t look right like the Satakli song, SRK talking about WDC to everybody, actually looks very nice in the movie with and gels very well.
Although I didn’t like the film as much as you I did find it pretty watchable on the whole. I do think it’s a bit over done either way…it doesn’t know whether to be a revenge saga or a patriotic film as it merges the two rather randomly in the second half. The humour works though and except for the first 20mins it’s a fairly breezy film. I didn’t mind the character intros and everyone gets a decent track. I liked the songs and the picturisations fit the film.
Think SRK is fine in the film, so too deepika and abhishek. SRK and deepika have good chemistry. I went with 3 other people and they all liked it.
I do think the film lacks ambition. It’s a basic plot but because it goes from comedy to drama so much I just felt the narrative and tone is confused. Farah should have kept it comedy all the way because there are good moments throughout.
Overall not as good as Chennai express but better than bang bang. Worth a one time watch. Deepika last dance was a nice filmi moment, she looked smashing throughout. Her romantic track with Srk is a nice song.
“…it doesn’t know whether to be a revenge saga or a patriotic film as it merges the two rather randomly in the second half”
You didn’t get it. The movie is about 6 losers and life gives them opportunity to be winners (told again in again in promos). That opportunity comes to them after they are done with their revenge and robbery. After robbery, they do something for themselves and become ‘winners’ from losers in life. The movie is not a revenge drama, it is just how life gives losers opportunity in life to become winners. All this bank robbery and revenge are peripherals to the main point the movie is talking about.
Even if I didn’t get it…the premise of loser to winner is not the main strand of the film. The whole premise hinges on the revenge. Without the ‘revenge’ they are all losers. To me the loser to winner is a subset of the overall film whereas you think the other way. Basically if Srks father did not die there was no revenge and no story. The film and story only exists because of this.
Not minding it is no indication of the box office. My gut feeling is the film has good moments but is disjointed. I suspect it will not go that much past Kick. It’s also very long. The intros are fine but the film could have been trimmed between semi and final. As big as the opening is I think it will fall short of d3 not over the weekend but over the first week. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it beats d3 first week either but would be shocked if it sustained to beat the total. 300 crores is too tough for films like these. They are relying on scintalating starts and already Saturday has shown a chunky fall. It’s not a crisp and well edited film to have the legs, just like d3 wasn’t as well.
saw HNY yesterday and was about to jot something on it….
But the box office ‘analysis’ and the numerical gymnastics above are so hilarious that I’ve stopped in my tracks
Words on HNY later maybe…
Time to enjoy these box office ‘bulletins’ as of now lol
Ps: @ ‘master’–my comment go thru moderation first so I wont bother with u or else would have sorted out your ‘mastery’….lol
I think most have felt same here about the movie and if it wasn’t for the last 30-40 mins movie would have gone down the drain. Actually due to heist which I thought was done pretty well and build to the climax some of the boredom / anger dissipated. Munna got it perfectly right with – “Except for some climatic tension the movie is made in Tees Maar Khan tone”
KRK is gaining legitimacy with launch of his box-office site by none other than the legend sr bachchan and reported all over media.
Here few latest tweets which need attention:
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 9h 9 hours ago
I hope #YRF n SRK will control their emotions n they will not give chance to trade ppl
to laugh on collections like collections of #Krrish
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 8h 8 hours ago
#HappyNewYear collected approx 28-29Cr on day2. Final collections will be given at 6PM.
“The guy does seem to have some connections with distributors ” … KRK officially inaugurated his website yesterday by Amitabh, this means he has network to track numbers from distributors.
Just because it is Amitabh Bachchan as a chief guest at a function does not mean he is the ISI of quality. He is too diplomatic a person with a weakness to NEVER say NO [like a true Libran] and will agree to inaugurate even a dog and pony show run by one of Maneka Gandhi’s assistants.
Anything Amitabh recommends or supposedly endorses should NOT be taken seriously.
Just watch the man for his incomparable talent. That’s it.
However his best tweet which actually makes sense is:
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 8h 8 hours ago
I can’t understand why r #2RsPpl fighting over collections of #HappyNewYear?
They shud watch film n enjoy. Collections are 4trade ppl only.
For me I feel BOI if not fully reliable is at least the most consistent sites on box-office. They did have some Khan (read srk bias) but rest they are pretty stable in their commentary except few years back my be ‘05-06 they were hammering bachchan movies when abhi was touted to take over
But then that may be to counter the vested interests bloating bachchan figures when reality was something else………and in all fairness to them truth on Abhi box office standing unfolded / revealed with non performance
Yeah I’ve seen quite a few shameful days for Abhishek! Might have to be shamed again with Houseful!
Will say though (and even I’m not as big on him here as most others seem to be) he does reveal his remarkable talent range even here. Just comparing this to BB, a similar over the top appearance, the characters are handled very differently. Actually I liked the Vicky character more. Very perverse and creepy. Unfortunately they didn’t give him anything to do. An over the top film with these two might have been fun in a crazy way. But even going beyond this when you have an actor who does Guru and Sarkar and DMD at one end and then stuff like Paa and BM and Yuva and then on the comic side Dostana and BB and now this, all so many different modes of the dramatic and the comic, the idea that anyone could have doubts about his skill set is itself something that is sign of the larger bankruptcy. One might question is box office fortunes, one might question how much he is benefited from some of these outings but in terms of what he can do I’ve if anything become even more comfortable with my judgments on him than I might have been years ago.
Even in HNY he and then Boman really supply most of the oxygen. SRK has all the symbolic weight of the film not surprisingly but he doesn’t run the show the way he did in for example OSO (where he was literally doing everything). And so to the extent that people are loving Abhishek here I think it has something to do with SRK as well. The star can do the symbolic stuff and satisfy the audience at one level but then there is the ‘nuts and bolts’ of every scene. SRK is the sober guy in most of these moments, or relatively so, but if you have a completely over the top film film it’s hard to justify that kind of stance. On the other hand the film is really about SRK just making another larger-than-life box office claim. He’s not doing much more than this here though he’s certain fine as the ‘star’ and I otherwise didn’t mind trademark SRK here at all. And yes Deepika certainly adds a great deal of spark to the film. I’d really say it’s Abhishek-Boman-Deepika as a troika that more or less run this film in terms of really making the engine run.
Nonetheless the film overall is a monument to bad taste. And I’m not against lowbrow just for the heck of it. But Farah Khan is running as close to her brother here as humanly possible. I didn’t like it barring the last hour which was comparatively engaging but I can sort of see why people might like it overall. But to celebrate it as any kind of worthwhile entertainment is simply hypocrisy of the highest order. Compared to this BB is sophisticated comedy! people who’ve been attacking Akshay for years or looking down at this kind of lowbrow stuff for years (including SRK) suddenly decide they have great entertainment here. And it’s not even that this film is ‘grand’. It is so, certainly compared to an Akshay film, but once again in a very crass way. There were a few zany moments here, some involving Abhishek but I also loved the elevator ‘mute’ moment where we can here everyone’s thoughts, there were a few others like this but by and large this comedy would easily fit into Sajid Khan’s world. When you can start making Rohit Shetty look restrained it’s saying something. And again I’m not saying that one cannot enjoy it. To each their own. But it is simply incoherent, even ridiculous to prefer it to OSO (and this isn’t a film I liked very much either) let alone anything else. So what I’m fulminating against here is the utter hypocrisy. This is really the kind of thing everyone used to look down on when others did it. Suddenly one starts pretending that there’s a big difference between this and the others. Can one really fall lower in terms of scraping the barrel than what’s happening here? Again I can still understand why many liked it more than I did. As I said I didn’t mind the last hour myself. But let’s be clear about what one is enjoying. I like lots of junk entertainment from India to Hollywood but I don’t suddenly start spotting good works in all of these!
Utkal thinks Ratnam could learn a thing or two here. Luckily I exited the HNY world the moment I stepped out of the theater..
the other thing I’d say here, and not just for this film, is that if you attempt masala at any level you also have to take it seriously. The whole father angle doesn’t quite strike an emotional chord or doesn’t quite leave a residue because the rest of the film is just comedy of a very different sort. I again turn to Ghajini because this is just about the only serious example to be had in Hindi (at least since Khakee). Here the death of the lover means a great deal within the film, when there are lighter romantic moments in the first half they’re still in keeping with the overall tone of the narrative and don’t belong to a different film. If you invoke certain epic registers of revenge and so forth your film should also represent these ‘values’ in other ways. Even in D3 that whole angle was taken much more seriously. It was almost a masala plot housed in a relatively plastic franchise. Hence the overall film had to be made far more serious in some ways. maybe the marriage didn’t work for many people, maybe it was problematic but the point is that the ‘past’ in this sense is taken very seriously by the film much as the romantic triangle later also becomes quite important with the brothers. Or the scenes with the cop in the park similarly mean something. they’re not just about surface effect.
I will concede this though — in HNY the team does achieve a certain chemistry. It’s still mostly about SRK, Boman, Abhishek, Deepika. But even the other two are fine. Again an infinitely superior film could have been made with all of the very same elements.
Totally. It’s serious one moment with speeches galore or moisty eyes and then wisecracks follow. I think if they kept it light without the revenge angle it would have been much better. Because this would have worked as a heist comedy alone. Farah showed enough moments to go down that track completely. In a nutshell d3 would have worked without the franchise and hny without the serious stuff. They both try to do too much either way.
Liked the chemistry. It holds the film together…the double of abhishek was given a poor role, but nandu was fun. Boman is just a really good comedy actor. And Srk and deepika have more chemistry here than the whole of bang bang put together. They got the casting right.
I stopped reading Utkal’s review as soon as I encountered following line “The scenes between Shahrukh and Deepika are some of the best written scenes in the film.”. Those scenes were there just because Farah wanted them without much thought. Where do you see actress singing “Manwa laage” without any prior romance angle?
“..It’s serious one moment with speeches galore or moisty eyes and then wisecracks follow. ”
You can say this for every Farah khan movie. And finally, it is pretty elementary to criticize any Farah’s movies. Every movie would eventually have scope of improvement as long she makes movies. Not specific to HNY only.
“I’d really say it’s Abhishek-Boman-Deepika as a troika that more or less run this film in terms of really making the engine run.”
i’d just say it’s abhishek (nandu character) and boman (and their ‘panga’) who provide the energy in this film. and i don’t see how you can like the vicky character more if he had nothing to do in the film! like i said last night..i wouldn’t even count this role as a double role for abhishek. maybe you saw what i saw and the *potential* of vicky’s character was there obviously, but in this film it was nothing and anyone could’ve done that role.
because I liked what I saw. Yes he is wasted, no doubt, but had he got a full-fledged role it would have been interesting. What I’m saying his the little bit I saw of this character I actually like more than Nandu. Because the latter is a rather ‘obvious’ type. there was something more to Vicky even if the character didn’t get enough space.
Happy New Year Sunday Early Estimate
Sunday 26 October 2014 23.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
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Happy New Year will be in the same range as Saturday on Sunday with collections in that 28-30 crore nett range which is expected as wherever it was a holiday on Saturday the collections have not gone higher. The potential for growth was in the metros but they find it hard to add on Sunday anyway as night shows are weak.
The growth will probably come in places like East Punjab and West Bengal while most other areas will remain more or less the same with metros like Mumbai city and Bangalore down slightly.
The film will rake an extraordinary weekend though fall a little short of the 100 crore nett mark and to become that real big grosser the acid test will be Monday.
It must be said that irrespective of how one spins it the rest of the weekend hasn’t been on par with the opening day. Even if one excuses Sat, Sun should have jumped.
I haven’t seen a single 1 star review for HNY. Everything thinks its average(2 or 2.5) at worst. So, don’t see it crashing badly. But one never knows. Anyways, within 1 day, it’ll be all clear.
LOL
Fanatism makes blind, some just proved this proverb here.
KRK reviewed is 1 star, it was posted here 3 days back.
Also, suhasini singh of Indiatoday reviewed it with 1.5 stars.
So after taking the lead of 8 cr on D3 on its opening day it has barely matched D3 weekend still pretty good numbers but this doesnt look like a good trend for the rest of week offcourse i could be totally wrong .
if it falls behind D3 for the week in a significant way (since it’s done so after the first day) I’d say it might struggle to reach 200. I didn’t think that would be so after the huge opening day but given that Sun is at the same level as Sat it’s not a good sign. A big gross will come about one way or the other but if this film can;t even match CE on the final number there’s simply no excuse for it. Even 200 would be a comedown after how it began.
Don’t understand the logic. Both CE and HNY are in similar range after 1st weekend. If it does just 200cr which less than 225cr of CE, it just shows less percentage of them have liked it compared to CE. For example if 70% liked CE, 60% might have liked HNY. Also 3 hour length can be spoilsport for repeat audience. Opening has nothing to do with final gross, it just depends how many of them liked the movie and see it repeatedly. It also doesn’t prove that CE better movie than HNY or vice versa.
Of course! but nonetheless a much bigger film with a much bigger initial (day 1) would have done better all else being equal. Might still do so though this Sun trend is a bit ominous even if Sat wasn’t. My point is: of course films don’t work based on whether they’re liked or not. But that’s true for everything. Once you make your film you can’t say your responsibility ends on day 1. Because by that logic no film can be blamed. Now as for the weekend well HNY started ahead of D3 on day 1 and significantly so, let alone CE. So if the first weekend is now in the same range as CE that’s already a comedown for HNY whereas for CE it was the opposite. Similarly if you look at week 1 and if it’s like ETT the question will be: why isn’t it like D3 when it started off this way? Again let’s see what the numbers actually are but at least on Sat and Sun it’s fallen behind D3 when it was ahead. The weekend number is slightly ahead of D3’s only because of day 1. Of course I’m sure the producer numbers will show a much wider disparity. By the way note how even overseas it’s behind D3. On CE it doesn’t prove it’s a better film than HNY but it probably means the audience liked it more relative to expectations. But otherwise there’s no correlation between the box office and the quality of a film in any case.
Munna: “Where do you see actress singing “Manwa laage” without any prior romance angle?” It is made abundantly clear that Mohini has a crush on Charlie. But Charlie does not reciprocate. Not even at the end. Taht certainly is bold for a mainstream commercial film, with a king of romance like Shahrukh. And apart from a part of the Manwa lage song, even the one-sided romance is not given any play. In fact , even during the Manwa lage song, the focus in part is how Mohini is bonding the tram together with her feminine influence, as she is shown serving food to the tram etc.
Don’t understand how BOI is considered pro-SRK anymore. They lowered the collections of JTHJ by 10% a week after it came out, Have CE 20 crores less than the producer’s number, didn’t give it an ATBB rating like other trade sources and they’ll even have HNY’s weekend conveniently 2 crores below 100 crores…
the irony is once some of us used to argue they were very anti-Bachchan. And they were. Their commentary used to be gratuitous for Abhishek’s films. When he was doing very well they would nonetheless be very negative about them, when they finally admitted the truth it was like someone had tortured to get it out of them. SRK was then their blue-eyed boy. But once Salman and before him Akshay happened it was clear that they liked these guys the way they didn’t SRK. So I’d say that with all of these stars they’re not reducing numbers, they’re just happiest when it’s Salman (or Akshay when he had the big ones). Now they don’t need SRK for the agenda, there are other stars too. But again the irony here is that now the SRK fans say they’re anti-SRK, some Hrithik fans say they’re anti-hrithik. They’ve really burned their credibility with everyone! Oh and by the way they were never pro-Aamir. eventually when a star gets big enough and brings up the numbers in film after film it’s hard for anyone to deny it. But that’s a high bar. With everything else one can play games. often the numbers aren’t the biggest issue. It’s the commentary. You can say a film did a 100 but its average as it was sold for more or whatever, then you can say a 75 crore film was a hit because it was sold for peanuts, and really just pick your numbers each time around. I;m actually quite pleased this has happened to BOI. They’re all dishonest, the lot of them. but still they’re not reducing SRK’s numbers. As for reducing JTHJ or OSO later well that’s precisely the problem. They didn’t do it when it counted and only did so later when no one cared. Specially with OSO it was months later. JTHJ wasn’t big anyway so it didn’t matter.
Raj5 all I would say they seem consistent and go about their reporting without much of a flash. You will also notice they are getting quoted less and less in regular media due to their conservative reports which is not to the liking of many big stars. Tomorrow you will notice media drive with 120 cr weekend from all sorts of sources whether one has to chose a komal or taran or simply box-office capsule
It may be laughworthy to say but the reason HNY seems to have worked a bit with few including me is due to extremely poor promos and farah – sajid – shirish recent horrible track record. When you expect nothing, movie for whatever reasons turns out a bit watchable and that seems to be case with many. I mean people are happy that they were able to ‘sit through’ three hours….lol. The difference between a TMK, Humshakals and this one seems more a budgeting one where monetary restrictions/allowances were never a concern. Red Chillies VFX too seems to have been used in good measure wrt look of the movie.
Don’t know why they made such long movie where I myself could trim it by good 30 mins without affecting the story. Not only the no. of shows, they miss out on potential repeat audiences too.
On another note I feel there was a deliberate ‘Charan Grover’ here? Except Rangan none seem to have noticed or brought it up but I could sense it during the movie with SRK making all sorts of faces to take revenge…lol. The current icy cold vibes between the two doesn’t help in quelling this for sure.
Bachchan launched krk’s website? Ohhhh i see! He may be hoping for krk’s help at the time of his next release by way of false numbers.At the best Krk can take his film to average level as hit is out of qustion.
which is 4% less than saturday…so ir comes around 1 cr less than Sat.
Total – 39.5+28.5+27.5 = 95.5 cr
It is same as D3 and holiday period is over. Hope lingers on 3 open weeks. It is definitely not crossing D3, Kick and CE.
Can it cross 3i ?
Ha ha ha
And Here hirani comes with his next biggie.
NYTimes: ‘Happy New Year,’ a Farah Khan Extravaganza
If you unleashed “Strictly Ballroom”-era Baz Luhrmann on “Ocean’s Eleven,” added a pinch of “The Full Monty” and liberally tossed the result with the gaudy excesses of the Eurovision song contest, you would have something like Farah Khan’s Bollywood extravaganza “Happy New Year.” The film, a hectic hybrid of heist caper and international music competition, recently broke the opening-day record in India set by “Dhoom 3.”
Now this is a wierd title –isn’t it..but there are some v uncomfortable ‘truths’ behind this title
In a way, it shows that the ugly menace of NEPOTISM may be alive n kicking but unless one has talent like ranbir, Hrithik, the others slowly ‘wilt’ away
Inspite of opening KRK box office sites (sic!) or sending orgasmic tweets praising HNY, what did amitabh achieve?
I mean, it’s beyond belief what amitabh the great man is stopping to ?
And what are their apologists upto (though must say Satyams response to abhishreks fate has been quite mature relatively)
The SHAMEFUL MOMENT where Abhishrek had to LITERALLY STRIP down to his undies for a 2-bit SIDEKICK role was SHOCKING
and to try to BUILD UP this shameful moment as some sort of an achievement
Double role, my foot !!!
And there u see the other inheritor from sholay
The other day I came across some interview of rohan and his dad sippy (of sholay fame) trying to sell their obscure star case random film called Sonali cable
It’s no surprise that the film came and went without a trace…
As they say, nepotism may make u survive longer
But ultimately the ‘truth’ will prevail
^Since its per official figures, it’s nice to know that SRK/YRF haven’t inflated the BO at all and are being honest. On the other hand the trend looks pretty bad, don’t see it crossing KICK
As I said earlier it’ll be difficult since no holidays. Even Dhoom 3 was similar on first weekend but it got holidays after weekend and got extra 25cr and completed 1 week above 185cr. Even Kick had holidays on weekdays after 1st weekend. Overall, kinda difficult to cross CE or Kick but will cross 200cr.
After the truly stunning Friday numbers, the weekend in the end is settling to be just ahead of Dhoom 3 whereas Friday suggested the margin could be as large as 10-15%. In the end its ahead by 1-3% depending on the producer or trade figures. By today Dhoom 3 will almost certainly be ahead as its Monday was a huge 20 crore. In fact the first weekday collections for Dhoom3 were monstrous with 20cr, 21 cr, 25 cr and 14 cr. Can’t see HNY scoring anywhere close to that based on the Sat-Sun trend. In fact 200 crore might prove stiff at this point, though today will settle that prediction.+
I don’t think Farah’s made a bad film here but I suspect her true talents are in comedy and spoof and she should make a film true to this. Her humour is better than her brothers and moments in the film suggest some thought into sequences. It’s when you try to do comedy with melodrama with patriotism – it becomes clunky and confused. It worked in parts but the sum of all parts is not greater than the whole. Playing to HNY I think the film would have worked better for me without the revenge aspect and without the national/patriotic angle. SRK as a “winner” (as he is clinical and knows “his” plan to rob, and simply rob…but as he is “seen” as a loser he recruits “loser”. Maybe his punga is with the media, maybe he is embarrassed by his employers or whatever, but this motivates him to “win” but “win” with just losers). The whole film could have been a comedy, a comedy of errors and flukes. The “losers” always cock up, but they fluke their way into winning situations and the humour is built around their stupidity but also the way they fluke to victory. You don’t need the hangover and baggage of justifying a heist too much, money is usually the best motivation! My template would have been more Hera Pheri. That kind of film never gets serious and stays true to its genre.
The movies going nowhere today…Expect a number less than 15 crores…This will struggle to reach 200 and considering audience reaction in the theatre quite a mystery to me
that KRK prediction of 175 crores seemed like a joke given the first day. I too felt there was enough support within the audience for it to stabilize even if it dropped. That might still happen but the problem is Sat and Sun were far too weak. And so even with greater stability at this point 200 might be the most one can expect. perhaps less if the trend continues. After an opening day significantly better than D3 it might end up 70-90 crores behind the latter when all is said and done. Assuming that happens there’s no way to spin this. Abhishek might emerge the only one with a win here. He got a lot of attention here but it’s still not his film! Deepika will be fine too. This one really will be on SRK and the director. Of course the producer totals will be a bit higher. They might be able to get it to 200 or a bit more. But if it fades fast even that spin will be difficult. The only hope they probably have is for the weekdays to stabilize around a 12-15 crore number and to then have a relatively strong second weekend. Which could be the case if there is some level of support for this film.
Cream PK will rise too the top while Crap HNY will slowly settle down to the bottom. Glad to know that indian cinema goers have recovered quickly from the publicity overdose
Farah khan is the female version of Sajid khan. wtf she is his sister. Such an absurd and incongruous movie does not even deserve 100 crore . Seriously even Player was more entertaining then this.
Going by Taran’s numbers also, HNY is not highest opening weekend, it is D3
Movie Name Release Date Opening Weekend (in INR) Dhoom 3 20 Dec 2013 107.61 Cr
Happy New Year 24 Oct 2014 104.10 Cr
Chennai Express 09 Aug 2013 100.42 Cr
Ek Tha Tiger 15 Aug 2012 100.16 Cr
Bang Bang! 02 Oct 2014 94.13 Cr
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#HappyNewYear – Hindi: Fri 42.62 cr, Sat 30.42 cr, Sun 31.06 cr. Hindi version total: ₹ 104.10 cr. India biz. Source: Red Chillies Ent.
Happy New Year Has Huge First Weekend
Monday 27 October 2014 10.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year had a huge first weekend with collections around the 97 crore nett mark. The collections were record breaking on day one as it was national holiday but the next two days saw collections drop to lower levels with both days collecting below 30 crore nett. Saturday was a holiday in some parts of the country which meant Sunday failed to show any worthwhile growth from Saturday.
The film set a record in Mumbai circuit grossing around 32.5 crore nett but most of the other circuits fell a little short of Dhoom 3 as far as weekend business is concerned. Both Delhi/UP and East Punjab were around 25 lakhs nett less than Dhoom 3.
The weekend numbers are huge but ideally it would have been better a trend if the film settled at above 30 crore nett on Saturday and Sunday rather than below it. Now the Monday number is all important if it is to challenge the biggest grosser of 2013 Kick. Kick grossed around 155 crore nett in week one.
The Tamil and Telugu versions of the film did not perform that well as this market is mainly for actions films.
Happy New Year – 175 Crore Worldwide Weekend
Monday 27 October 2014 14.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year grossed a huge 175 crore approx worldwide in its first weekend. The collections are less than Dhoom 3 which was 192 crore but better than Chennai express at 160 crore. The top worldwide opening weekend figures are as follows
1. Dhoom 3 – 192 crore
2. Happy New Year – 175 crore
3. Chennai Express – 160 crore
3. Kick – 126 crore
5. Singham Returns – 119 crore
The other films to go over 100 crore weekend in terms of worldwide figures are Bang Bang, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Dabangg 2 and Jai Ho.
The fun n games continue –lol
1) the Bollywood hungama numbers are back on the site & now being out up by Satyam himself
Ok taran was apparently unwell but Bollywood hungama numbers were always coming –they were banned during bang bang
2) note the sudden emphasis on ‘overseas numbers’ even by BOI but they never come up with these for come films like bang bang that did well overseas
3) the use of ‘worldwide figures’ where the domestic net is shouting a drop
So it’s not only about the absolute numbers but also in the way the are ‘sliced and diced’ and ‘displayed’
But no amount of ‘slicing & dicing’ can hide certain ‘truths’ 🙂
Yes saat minute speech was hilarious esp the way Deepika delivered it innocently.
On Abhi gains – except for a bit of media talk , I doubt Abhi makes any substantial headway with this movie. I would say BB got him more applauds and Ajay actually let him hog the limelight in important scenes. Here SRK for all the talk before release hardly gave him any decisive moment and kept the focus on himself. Yes if Vicky character was given more time he would have benefited as villainy gives more scope to the character and gets brownie points.
I did not even find his comedic moments anything extraordinary and he never loosened up in the scenes like say a Govinda or an Akki does tapori. Yes there were two funny moments which brought a smile – when he had to undress to reach the bolts and the second one when he uses his vomit to switch to room 9C. But that hilarity was more to do with ‘Jugaado Indian mindset’ when pushed to a corner…
you’re in the minority here. Judging by some of the media stories and the reactions overall. if anything I’d say Abhishek has won most of these media cycles since the release. Even prior to release it wasn’t just a SRK show by any means. they had the entire cast everywhere. Often Abhishek had the most prominence after SRK. He did some appearances on his own as well including on one of the music shows. In that sense they kept it fair throughout. In the trailers SRK definitely had the lead, no doubts here. But your description matches D3, not HNY. perversely the underperformance here (if it ends up doing that) helps him more than D3! Because it is SRK’s film, on the other hand this is the only performance people seem to be talking about. Had the box office story continued as it was on day 1 then this narrative would have kept SRK at the center as well. Now it’s obviously true that this isn’t BB where Abhishek was first of all in a two hero film but then also had the symbolic thing from the title and so on. On the other hand I have the odd sense that at a mass level his comedy here is possibly being appreciated more than even in BB. And given that HNY is a circus with lots of other actors too standing out is a bit harder here (though conceding that Abhishek still has the best role here in terms of prominence after SRK even as he is part of the ensemble). Whatever the deal it’s not D3 by any stretch. Again I personally don;t think there’s anything extraordinary he’s doing here but it does reveal his range once more. The idea that there’s nothing to see as far as he goes is something I don’t agree with. But more importantly the audiences clearly disagree. And the media is by and large not eager to praise him most times, let alone at the expense of SRK!
on that note SRK has the opposite problem. Not talking box office here. He is the lead, the film is structured to give him all the symbolic importance even if the footage is still even (most of the cast is there in all the scenes). But once you get past that he isn’t doing everything the way he was in OSO. There he was doing the drama, had the symbolic stuff but also had all the comedy. Here once that symbolic structure is in place it’s essentially Abhishek and Boman and so on ho handle the proceedings. SRK’s part of it for sure but mostly at a distance. But in a film which is over the top the lead star also has to be at that level. Then again I don’t think SRK was trying to do much more than prove a box office point here.
Paapaas he may be a natural and the only part working for you but there is no way the movie had any focus on him contrary to the expectation going into the movie that he stole the limelight…. and Satyam you have been long enough in this business to know media narratives and stories are basically PR driven. Now with commoners also realizing this everyone reads these articles with a bit of caution. All it takes for srk is to direct his well oiled machinery towards Abhi and boom you have ten stories floating in media about Nandu this and Nandu that….
I never saw any standout moment for him or taking on SRK or any character directly or indirectly say a two hero project does (Not going to consider Sonu and Boman heroes here as they still qualify as character artists). He remained an Ali bhai of Dhoom series for most part. Even there , a female was cast for him to fool around. In this movie there were so many places I felt Deepika should have been given to him as that seemed logical as srk was shown all uptight and on a mission. That angle was never explored god knows why ? That would have tilted the scales a bit for him to do more….
Though HNY is not a negative move for him but I doubt it changes any narrative in any substantial way except for talking about hat trick of blockbusters behind him when he sits for an interview while doing promotions next time around.
Couple of more opinions from neutrals like Jay, Rocky, Munna may clarify more how they felt about Abhi as I may be watching the movie with colored lenses.
I just don’t care about actors. In fact there was no standout performance in the poor movie (sometime there are actors who do better than movie). IMO movie is a director’s medium and vision.
Being a standout neutrally is different from being the best within a given film. Leaving this aside if this is like Dhoom no one has felt it! As for SRK directing his PR machinery towards Abhishek, rather odd when he couldn’t even get good reviews for the most part for the film! So he first decided to let all the negative reviews stand, then also decided that the media must also put up pieces saying he was better than SRK. C’mon..! You can do better!
And you’re missing the point. I might be closer to your perception in some ways. I’m just saying that’s not the general perception out there. It’s easy to pick up on any number of signs. I don’t like many things but I don’t confuse my impressions with those of a larger audience! I’ve not really come across anything negative on Abhishek so far on the film, whether in reviews, whether it’s people I’ve talked to, whether it’s the social media (by and large), or whether it’s the people on the blog, many of whom are not Abhishek fans. All of this isn’t a vast SRK conspiracy!
Otherwise I disliked the film (won’t repeat my longer comment on this from yesterday or the more concise one!) barring the last hour which was passable. So nothing here made it really worthwhile for me.
*You can’t really associate the congress which was formed for fighting British with the Congress Party post independance. The biggest mistake post independance was allowing the use of word “congress” for a party! It should have been disbanded. People got confused and voted for “congress”
* The whole discussion is B.S. How can congress usurp Gandhi and take objection to cleaning india.
* Gandhi’s grandson is such a obese joker, talks like a girl.
* why can’t we have program in Hindi or hinglish? most are speaking bad English except the youth in the audience.
* Why did Barkha dutt leave like sardeshi and his wife. Maybe she has changed her tune a bit?!
“You can’t really associate the congress which was formed for fighting British with the Congress Party post independence”
yes certainly not when all the same leaders who fought the British were still in the Congress party after Independence..! Nehru and Patel and everyone else confused people for so long..
“The whole discussion is B.S.”
agreed.. but evidently they don’t have a monopoly on BS!
“why can’t we have program in Hindi or hinglish?”
why can’t we have Hindi language chauvinists only visit Hindi blogs? Why can’t we have such folks stop protesting in English?
Satyam…I was talking to AJ. Thx for your input. I don’t expect too much of logic or sincerity from you though you love to drag me into having conversations with you 😉
It is a democracy. If you are going to have various parties and if you going to carry the name “congress” AFTER independence, then desh-premi janta are going to be loyal to you and you have a vote bank. If you cannot understand this simple logic, then there is NO point in having any sort of logical discussion with you!
Yes I must also be among those confused folks because for some very strange reason I was under the impression that the gentleman called Jawaharlal Nehru who was the PM for 17 years after Independence for the very same gentleman who was one of the most important Congress leaders pre-Independence and who spent 9 years in british jails and so on. Much as I thought another gentleman called Vallabhai Patel was Home Minister after Independence but another senior Congress leader before Independence. Azaad and so many other important political leaders and ministers and so forth after Independence were all active in the freedom struggle before Independence. The very same Congress with which the Mahatma was associated. So I thought these were always the people carrying the name Congress. And I thought people identified with the Congress for the longest time because of this history of the leaders. Now I’m discovery an HNY-like scam here! That this party called the Congress that won for a long time with Nehru was just a different Congress and this Nehru (and others like him) was a Don-like impostor. Darn, I’ve been had all these years. No one ever told me about this. The chap who assassinated Gandhi probably also had his roots in a different RSS.
Thanks for enlightening me.. and thanks for responding in Hindi..
So then you basically ACCEPT that people WOULD get confused! The noble institution called CONGRESS that was in history books for fighting elections; post independence MUST be dissolved. Post independence they should have formed polictical parties with DIFFERENT name because POST independence, their target is not the same! Now you have to fight elections; DELIVER the promises made to people.
However people of India had loyalty to the “congress” that was ABOVE those expectations because after all they were part of independence movement THEREFORE above law; above reproach. HOW could a desh-bhakt NOT vote for Congress. THIS very “monopoly” let to ONE family rule for 60 odd years and complete, absolute, total EXPLOITATION of the bholi-bhali janta.
So post-independence, a Nehru-Gandhi-Patel, are JUST ordinarty people fighting for MY vote and not above law and order who could do anything to the country–create some shitty-shady 5 year plans and open swiss bank account. By his own admission Jawaharlal Nehru was LAST of the English!!!!
“CONGRESS that was in history books for fighting elections”
Sorry it should read “fighting independence” not elections.
Post independence it is a political party fighting elections. The goals are different. This biggest error in history was not disbanding it post independence!!!!!!!
I saw the movie in in suburban Chicago and overall was satisfied with it. I guess the negative points of these are too lengthy, the entertainment isnt at the mass level. Somehow i felt this movie will be a mixed bag in terms of audience appreciation. I didnt like Abhishek and preferred SRK. Overall i would give 2.5/5 to this. Good strategy to release this during Diwali, when people pretty much watch anything out of festivities.
not sure. it was supposed to be Diwali but then they delayed it for the post-production work. They then said mid-Nov but even that isn’t confirmed. They can’t delay it too much more because Rajni’s Lingaa will be out in Dec. Unless they delay it till next year. I hope not. They’ve put the Telugu audio release on hold for this reason.
I hope it releases during Christmas so I can watch PK and I at the same time.
By the way, Christmas/New Year is the best time to release movie since there’s like a festive mood for about 10 days straight with 2 national holiday. And it help overseas collection a lot.
The Eid, Diwali are more of Indian holidays and will help a collection for a day or two at most in India and overseas.
Keep thinking what would the collection be if India had just one language. I think big movie would easily make about 400 crore.
Lingaa is releasing mid Dec or something. Doubt Shankar would release a film that close even if I’d be surprised if Rajni can match the Vikram-Shankar combo in this kind of ‘interesting’ film. They tend to space them out better in the South. But yeah if either film releases on Christmas I think the South numbers of PK will be impacted. Not as big of a deal for Hirani though since he depends on the long haul.
But I completely agree, 400 is very much possible though not probable since other than Hirani there’s no big film that’s made to last more than a week or so. D3 was still the best shot. But clearing 300 with ease should be possible. Even this the big films cannot do. then it’s about inflation helping these films get there. Otherwise there’s simply not the storytelling evident in Bombay for those kinds of films to be made barring on the rare day (and most of these rare days belong to Aamir or Hirani or both!).
Why Abhishek Bachchan really needs to break off from the pack now and feature in solo-hero films
Shomini Sen,
IBNLive.com
Oct 27, 2014 at 02:44pm IST
New Delhi: It’s not easy to shine in a film which is tailor-made to showcase superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s talent. And Abhishek Bachchan managed to do just that in Farah Khan’s latest blockbuster ‘Happy New Year’ which hit the theatres on Diwali.
The actor, son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, has always been been subjected to a fair bit of scrutiny by the media for his lineage. In HNY, he has effortlessly pulled off the role of Nandu Bhide – a good-for-nothing oddball living in a chawl in Mumbai, desperately trying to raise the money needed for a life-saving operation for his mother.
Bachchan’s comic timing is perfect and together with Khan and Boman Irani, the actor pulls of a bunch of hackneyed jokes with absolute elan.
Written crassly, Bachchan nevertheless manages his HNY character to stand out from the rest.
The actor has been part of several hit films, most notably the ‘Dhoom’ series and ‘Bol Bachchan’. But he has also been been applauded for his acting in films such as ‘Yuva’ and ‘Guru’. From playing the lovable con Bunty in Shaad Ali’s ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ to portraying a local goon of Kolkata in ‘Yuva’ and the self-made business icon in ‘Guru’, Bachchan has always managed to come through.
But equally, he battles massive expectations being the son of a man whose name is synonymous with Hindi cinema. Written crassly, Bachchan nevertheless manages his HNY character to stand out from the rest. It’s infact the funniest of the lot. He doesn’t get the girl in the film, he doesn’t get to deliver the cracking lines and he does not get to do the cool stunts that Khan does and yet Bachchan manages to hold his own.
Bachchan’s always good in an ensemble cast. But it’s been so long since he’s had a solo film. He has much more to him than playing a barfing, alcohol-loving sidekick. The actor has in the past been part of projects which were critically well received and somewhere in the midst of becoming a commercially successful star, the actor became part of the herd and started working in formula films. Perhaps its time that he experiments with roles just like he had at the beginning of his career and prove the cynics wrong. Are producers listening?
I’d disagree.. the answer to raavan or d6 isn’t HNY and Houseful! You just have to a)do a better mix (the problem then was that he almost had no film for safety) b)do a better mix of genres (not all serious or all comic) c)multistarrers are fine balanced with solos d)most importantly for an actor like him who’s been explosive in films like Yuva and Guru (again if he had Raavan with ratnam he also had those two) he needs to do those kinds of films again but perhaps be a bit more careful with the scripts. With Ratnam I still think no questions ought to be asked. But with some of the others one can be more careful. In any case as far as I’m concerned it’s a waste of his talents even if he does the solo versions of films like HNY or Houseful or whatever. Those genres might be ok once in a blue moon if one otherwise has a sensible set of choices. Unlike many fans here I’m never been in it just to see him successful. His last phenomenal effort for DMD as far as I’m concerned. And it’s not that I’m against comedy. It’s just that these are poor films. Even BB which I enjoyed was largely about wasted opportunities. So much more could have been done here. And sure he can ignore all of this but my point is that he might become a very successful star, even one of the most successful ones but he won’t be a defining one. Over time what matters is really the work. No one’s going to care about Salman once his time is up. Whether you last 10 years or 20 or whatever you still need the work. If this current phase enables some sort of better mix for Abhishek great! But it’s already one too many of these as far as I’m concerned. I hope that his home production and All is well release before Houseful.
Amitabh inaugurating KRK box office website- hall of shame contd
Now I have nothing against krk
The guy is uncouth, uneducated and rowdy but he does make some sensible points actually –just checked
But note how krk initially predicted a record breaking first day of HNY
Then things ‘soured’ with the HNY producers it seems
And he gives a negative damning review blasting HNY (as I someone pointed out above –“raping HNY!”
Then there’s this ‘damage control’ to assuage the feelings of a 2-bit self styled reviewer like krk
And who is sent/turns up to do this ‘damage control’
The helpless dad of the ‘struggling starson’ who happens to be THE ICONIC amitabh bachchan
And unlike some who think he has no idea and “can’t say no” don’t realise that this v man didn’t even hear scripts or meet producers unless they were desai/Mehra/chopra etc
He never by mistake praised bang bang and anupam kher has want public about him not doing his show etc
Basically amitabh is no “babe in the woods”
And though we can see the “compulsions” of a dad or a “helpless abondoned bachchan fan” like Satyam who either tries to latch onto aamir or tries without success by ‘resurrecting’ the past glory
The reality is that past cannot be recreated
Nostalgia has limits
Aah therein lies the crux of the problem. So AB is now officially part of the conspiracy to bring down HR the magnificent ‘actor’ and hence AB’s character/motives are downright suspicious. Got it. Only if, oh only if AB had praised HR, he would have saved himself ALL the insults of being called a helpless father of a struggling son, etc etc etc..
It is not too late. He can switch career…start a kabbadi team or something 😉
When failure rate is so very high, why don’t star kids do something else. Become producers, directors, distributors or cinematographers?! I wonder. Instead they will be loser film actors. There are so many to list here! Abjunior has been around due to his father otherwise there was no scope for him. Even a blind person can see.
Doesn’t prove anything. There are hardly 50 people. Even I would stand in line to shake hands ‘coz he is bigb’s son. Anyways, I do wish him luck. I think he will make excellent producer (making Paa in 10 crores). Maybe a great actor if he meets a right director who can make wooden actors look legendary. In the mean while, kabbadi team, here I come.
lol is that pic of Abhi directed towards Apex …lol
Yes agree on KRK and pretty crude and crass way to deliver the message but his honesty stands out and though he is a filmy guy but obviously does not seem to depend on it so behaves as an outsider when commenting. All the snarkiness also comes from the fact he is a true rags to riches story. Similarly he had ripped Kick & Bang Bang too. Anyway enjoyed his HNY review and takeaways here were –
‘balki aap yakeen karein kahani unhone nahin likhi par kahani ki maa bahen kar di hai…’ lol good use of maa bahen lingo there.
poori film ek mazaak ki tarah hai …bachkaani hai aur ‘ek se ek’ wahiyaat introduction hai….” agree on intro scenes esp srk and sonu sood.
‘akhir mein mein farah khan ji ko badhai dena chahta hoon jinhone apne khandaan ki ghatiya film banana ki parampar ko kayam rakha’…… well said.
KRK @Kamaalrkhan
Good news for team of #HappyNewYear tat film is holding very well today. Film may hold 40% occupancy till evening n it’s really very good.
well since he was negative on it earlier the film might have found some stability at this point.. the thing is it will have to be very stable given the Sat/Sun it had.
If his 175 crore estimate turns out to be true then in my books he has earned credibility in predicting SRK movies bc his last few predictions for SRK have been right. Also a 175 final puts it right by TMK in terms of trending!
Overall, HNY’s BO has disappointed me especially the overseas numbers. I mean it barely crossed CE’s opening weekend. And SRK had the entire overseas covered with promotion-US/UK with SLAM and the Middle East by having the film take place in Dubai. It’ll probably make 100 crores overseas at the end.
But both in India and overseas, the numbers are not matching the WOM I have been hearing which is strange…let’s see what Monday turns out to be. Is Monday or Tuesday a better indication of WOM?
Farah Khan, Sajid Khan and Shirish Kunder’s reputation is very bad with paying public. Lot of my friends don’t want to watch HNY as they despise Farah even though they don’t miss SRK movies. I feel Sajid khan’s Humshakals was unreasonable attacked as well. It was low brow humor but it wasn’t vulgar but they made it out as the worst film on earth which it isn’t.
Farah Khan seems to be super excited with her film Happy New Year doing really well at the box office. The director says she had expected the film to do big, but not to this level!
The director felt that the film was expected to open huge given that it had Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Farah coming together after years! But she never could even imagine such an unprecedented number at the cash registers.
The director also revealed that the team plans to celebrate throughout the week and kicks off their party tonight at Farah’s place. Farah’s house party will be followed by each cast member rotating the party to their place as well.
Farah also plans to go on a long vacation to London with her husband and three kids during Christmas!
One of the films of Govinda that still has me in splits is Partner. Boy is he an absolute hoot in this film. His craft is so ridiculously un-utilised. Because he doesn’t need a great line or sequence to make a scene. He just acts funny and his timing is priceless, his dancing style is enough. The last scene in Partner when he is trying to serenade Katrina and seeks the help of Salman..LOL. Just hilarious. The scene where tries to dance cool with Salman.
I am surprised as to why didn’t HNY break Dhoom3’s overseas record. They did the slam tour as a part of the promotional strategy and virtually covered the entire US, UK and Middle east. Seems like the reputation of the makers wasnt good and it was solely banking on SRK for foot falls.
Master, my point is SRK is the Overseas king and his movies are cherished and looked forward to. I even saw the Slam tour in Chicago and they performed mostly on the HNY songs with some mix of OSO and others of Red Chilly. Overall this was to take a humongous start to beat Dhoom3 and honestly dhoom3 is an action film which doesnt rate that well with people overseas. It would be fair to say people judged Farah Khan and her previous movie and decided not to spend too much time on this.
Well Master feels the promotions for HNY were subdued and not OTT or even sufficient. I am left wondering what is OTT then? Putting a gun to our head and jostling us to the theaters? Or printing tickets like US dollar bills and shoving it on our desks?
if the level of noise these idiotic promotions for the biggies create is not enough to make us lose our hearing, then one can imagine to what extent one has become ‘immune’ to such tactics..
BTW, for me, one of the WORST and unnecessary promotions was for 3 IDIOTS where Aamir Khan did a Rahul Gandhi and went about barging into other people’s homes for a couple of months.. Talking of over-kill, this one takes the cake..
If a combination of Vidhu, Hirani, and Aamir needs to do this, one can imagine what happens to mere mortals..
True, but i dont blame these guys to promote it because the big colllection timeframe for the movies is down to just one week. Than definitely they will make the big noise as anything less will not move it for them.
Happy New Year has seen a drop in collections on Monday as the early numbers suggest a figure of around 13.50 crore nett. There is holidays still going on in Gujarat which could push it a bit higher but the better trend in Gujarat will be due to holidays and will only last till Wednesday.
The Monday figure is good when looked at the number as only three or films have collected this much when its not been a holiday on Monday but there is a drop in collections from the weekend even if we take into account it was a big holiday on day one and collections were very high.
The Monday figure is in the same range as Chennai Express last year and Kick this year but the trend is not good as those films as they were not coming of such a start as Happy New Year especially Kick which started with 25 crore nett opening due to pre Eid.
At this pace, first week be around 135 cr. And total 185- 190 cr. CE trend was really surprising though, if it can trend same way, very good chance to break into 200 cr club.
Wonder what SRK is thinking right now- he has FAN and Raees coming up both of which are not big commercial movies. He’ll definitely do the Rohit Shetty movie- I wonder if he’ll postpone Raees and release the RS movie after FAN…
Saw it in Dxb of all places! Kids had a laugh through all the silly slapstick. The Abhishek stripdown scene evoked the most laughter, ie, from most of the audience, not just kids. Otherwise, it was a time pass affair, cudve been shorter. While walking out, cud overhear many adult males saying it was a one time watch, just for kids and wifey. Certainly not in the same league as CE.
Also, after all the Deepika cleavage controversy, we get to have SRK tell her in English: “I loved your booty shake..you are very breastful..I mean…beautiful.”.
And the constantly repetitive “Maadar.. Chod na yaar” supposed-joke.
And the mandatory SRK-production gay slap-butt. joke.
Agree with you…even if we let butt slapping….. go That breastful was too straight for kids to draw their attention to…especially demeaning for young girls I’d say…especially when they are with their parents.
The thing with these jokes are that they aren’t necessary at all. You would think SRK would’ve learned something about this from the failure of Ra.One and the super success of CE, a movie which didn’t have a single double meaning line or demeaning lyric in the songs. It was a true family movie. I don’t get how that movie is U/A and this one is U. Won’t buy that SRK has a say in it or else CE would’ve been U as well.
Also I think I’ve figured out why HNY is a failure overseas. And by failure I mean it wasn’t the biggest opener ever overseas. Starting with SLAM- yes everyone was excited for SLAM but it honestly didn’t help HNY that much. People went to see SLAM to see SRK…SRK as in the 90’s/2000’s SRK who wooed the overseas audience with the love stories, etc. HNY’s trailer and songs were just flat out bad. People overseas don’t have any holidays right now and we are not going to wait for the WOM and then possibly check it out during the weekday (something that people did do with D3, Don 2, all the Xmas releases). We’ll buy the $2 DVD at the local indian store and be done with it. Neither did Chennai Express, but RS was smart with the whole Rahul thing and basically DDLJ spoof which was excellent. Also Farah/Sajid/Sirish are just really really hated and despised all over the world I think. The name alone just kept people away from the movie as well. Also overseas people are the most tired of so called “masala” movies. So don’t think the problem is that SRK is a fading star overseas- the problem is a terrible looking movie and genre. I have no doubt that FAN, if the trailer/songs are good and it actually looks sort of different, will open huge overseas on SRK’s name.
Are these tweets real? Looking at the tweets below there seems to be change of command at Bollywood Hungama! Is Faridoon the next hit man ??
Taran Adarsh @taran_adaarsh 3h3 hours ago
Despite of so much promotion and widest release ever in overseas #HNY is a big disappointment.
Taran Adarsh @taran_adaarsh 3h3 hours ago
The weekend of Biz of #HNY is even lower than Aamir’s 2 year old film released #Talaash with did 35cr in 3 days with just 500 screens.
Faridoon Shahryar @iFaridoon 15h15 hours ago
SRK raises the bar for class.He looks outstanding,gives every actor space to shine.As in the movie,he emerges as an exceptional Captain #HNY
My bad for posting them without proper verification….though it had taran’s picture there so got confused….plus thoda Kick ka lifetime gross ka tension tha !!
They are fake tweets. Satyam you may remove this and the previous comment if you wish.
MSDhoni, you seem to be Dhoni fan like me. He completes 7 years as the Indian captain, the best ever. BTW dont worry Kick ka life time collection is safe as Happy New Year is looking slowing down considerably.
Yes P.Bhojak, an ardent fan of his aggressive cricketing style combined with less talk and more action on the field. More than his cricketing skills he gets marks for supporting the small guys like Raina, Ashwin & Jadeja who are willing to put nation’s interest before personal milestones……more on it sometime later and will be fun to watch Sushant relive his cricketing years on screen.
Yeah seems like Kick will be biggest grosser of the year with Salman re-affirming his numero uno status at the Indian box office.
And then looking and comparing the budgets some of his movies
(Production cost and not selling price), the only star with highest rate of return on investments.
Was very impressed to see him on SMJ last Sunday and the quiet nature of his largesse / generosities. Wish him well and a true blue rockstar !
Seems that Bachan launching his website has done the trick here! After slating the quality of the movie and predicting a 175cr lifetime, KRK suddenly seems very positive about the movie and is now predicting a 200cr lifetime.
Happy New Year At 109 Crore After Four Days
Tuesday 28 October 2014 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year grossed around 12.25 crore nett on Monday which is a big drop from its first which was a huge national holiday but around 55% from Saturday nd Sunday which were normal days. The film saw a big drop in the metros and circuits like East Punjab.
The total after four days is around 109 crore nett and the film should gross around 135 crore nett for the week going by its Monday figure but it could be a bit lower as Gujarat could come down on Wednesday when the holidays stop in the circuit.
The Monday figure is pretty good as a number but if we take into account that Gujarat is holiday and without that it would have been 11 crore nett or less then the trend is not strong. The film not become a major blockbuster like a Kick or Chennai Express but won’t be a Bang bang or Jai Ho as well because the huge weekend has ensured the film will be on the plus side..
IMO Kick/D3 are out of reach. Looks like SRK will have to wait till 2016 to try to have the biggest hit of the year with Rohit Shetty’s movie. But that will be almost 10 years since his last top hit of the year. 2014 is still a toss up between Salman/Aamir and next year is definitely Salman.
The producers have quoted 15.1 crore. Its actually a better Monday number than what CE had on its first Monday…But its just too massive drop from where it started off…
thanks.. it was very stable on the 4th, 5th, 6th days. Also it did on its 3rd day what it achieved on its first (a holiday). By the way is that 33 crore number for all versions? because the 45 crore is.
relative to the opening there’s a big difference though between CE’s second and third day (even Sat is relatively close to the opening) and HNY which plummets on these days. Also beyond this CE was very stable. Those three days are crucial where it’s putting up the same number. HNY is losing 3-4 crores just between Mon and Tue.
raghav: you are wrong. The numbers I gave are Producers numbers, which is also on Bollywoodhungama. Movie collected 156.71 crores with paid previews. You can check. BOI has much less than that with 146.50 crores including paid previews for first week.
BOI final CE total = 208, Producer final CE total = 227
Ha! Actually that’s one of the things I liked about the film (it also had one of the most inspired Rohit Shetty sequences in that DDLJ spoof.. sadly the rest of the film didn’t live upto this.. it was utterly hilarious and in an intelligent way.. in BB similarly he had the maa sequence.. again Shetty could make much better films if he tried to..). And this impulse gets close to yesteryear masala in this sense. Because even though there is stereotyping it’s of an affectionate sort. I’ve made this point many times before. The affectionate caricature is better than non-representation or worse. For instance Akbar and Anthony are stereotypes (even if the two actors individualize them profoundly) and even moreso the Christian and Muslim worlds they belong to. But in Desai’s world all of this is great fun! On the other hand you have the minority who disappears from these movies or else is represented only as a gangster (or a terrorist). The Christian disappears altogether. Much as the hired help vanishes. People doing odd jobs go away. So on and so forth. It’s about an increasingly monolithic imagining of society in social, economic, political terms. And so again while those might be caricatures (as in CE) everyone can see that they’re presented affectionately. The audience starts loving the caricatures. I don’t think this is political unproblematic whether it happened yesterday or today but it beats the alternative. In this sense and even though I was bored with CE after a while it was one of the very welcome commercial films for me in this contemporary period. Coupled with BB (which I found interesting for different reasons though again it could have been a vastly more intelligent film). I wish Shetty would go more in this direction. Perhaps he might if he does another film with SRK (SRK’s been talking about it). On this note even Singham 2 was far more inclusive than the first installment. The Right wasn’t happy here and with good reason! Yes Anupam Kher as the Modi figure seemed reasonable (even if he otherwise didn’t fit the part.. he’s a big Modi supporter of course but as an actor he doesn’t quite have that authoritarian feel) but then he’s assassinated in a conspiracy hatched by Hindutva ideologues who worse still are also fakes! And then the Muslim angle is introduced elsewhere. A kind of jumbled message in some ways but better than the original (which was otherwise narratively way better) where I didn’t like the ending at all (it was positively disturbing and quite different from the original). In any case I hope Shetty pushes in all of these directions going forward.
Still trying to figure out why it’s doing so poorly. My new reason is that because there is 0 emotional connect with the characters. Charlie was too wealthy and emotionless to relate to. I never really felt bad for him or cared for his revenge story, unlike say in MHN (which in a way is a revenge story as well with Sunil Shetty killing Naseerudin Shah). Compare it to Om (1st half of OSO) and Ram of MHN, both of which were emotional characters. I think that’s where the disconnect happened. Also the love story wasn’t developed well- it should’ve been at least like in MHN. And the vulgar jokes mustve turned family audiences away…
Bwood style illogical heists have been done to death lately. The Dhoom series, BangBang, even Don2. None of them ever touched the sophistication displayed in Oceans11 or other Hwood movies. How much more illogical heist activity can Bharatiya audiences bear?
Recent Oceans 11 was remake of Classic film. Even Oceans 12 and Oceans 13 are not able to match it, why blame bollywood films? All indian critics are stuck on Oceans 11 all the time. They don’t see how even hollywood can’t make a proper heist film after that.
[Heist films even traditionally tend to be ‘comedies’ much more than dramas. I don’t mean this in the literal sense but in a genre one. In the West they’re more often than not about a certain ‘cool’, a certain wryness (I’m overusing this word today!) and so forth. The films are interesting without ever being edge of the seat thrillers. And they’re quite often slices of cultural history. Hollywood when it remakes older heists tends to inject more drama into them. Ocean’s 11 is an exception but you have the Thomas Crown Affair or Italian Job among others, both much more regular thrillers than the original works.]
It’s absolutely true that the newer films are not as good as the originals in most cases for some of the reasons. But they’re very good otherwise on their own. I’d also say Ocean’s 11 is a bit of an exception. Soderbergh does bring something distinctive to the mix. Don’t think the original can easily be preferred here. One can perhaps debate the sequels a bit more.
It will end at around the ETT/YJHD range. ETT is a movie released more than 2 years ago and HNY will now find it tough to cross it!
When you look at the various factors going for HNY (holidays, multi-starrer, no competition, 3 open weeks, tremendous promotions), this looks like as big an under-performance as Jai Ho and Bang Bang.
Also look at how BOI simply omit to calculate the % fall from Friday to Monday because it would have made things look even more terrible. The % fall is 70% here and baring one great opening day, the movie’s performance at the BO has been pretty much underwhelming.
Diwali has simply saved the film. Looks like 175cr on BOI and 190CR for producers. Sentiment on Farah must be bad.
P.K vs Kick shoot off now. It’s 3-3 between Salman and Aamir for the last 6years. This is the world cup final we never got! I know which film I’m betting on!
So after a significantly bigger day 1 than D3 it will fall 80-90 crores behind the latter.. also on CE and even if I never quite bought it the producer total was 225 crores or something. But even the lower 205 number or whatever will still put it 30 or so behind CE (taking either BOI in each case or the producer total).
To be honest I thought there was enough support for this film to keep it afloat at a decent level but looks like that’s not the case. Also if you think about it a number of big films, even those that tank after the first week, tend to show relative strength for the first 5-7 days. HNY just had one extraordinary day which was the first one. Sat came down quite a bit but more importantly there was no jump on Sun which practically most films have.
I am surprised it was not a bit more stable. But the damage was there on Sat/Sun i.e. to be ahead of D3 by 8-9 cr on Day 1 and be ahead by 1-3 cr by Day 3 indicated a poor trend. And the Monday figure comparatively is a pretty poor one. To finish the week at 135 crore (or 150 crore) after nearly 100 crore (or 108 crore) weekend is a big come down. Second week won’t be much either unless this is more a “weekend” film which certain films have shown to be in the past.
It will fall under quite a few films after generating a huge start. Most definitely a disappointment overall.
This is quite disappointing as I dont think the movie is as bad as the collections. I had the reverse problem with D3 where I felt the movie is not as good as the collections…It needs atleast 200 crores to be accepted as a successful movie, not trade wise but just from a general perception. Trade wise it is profitable at 175 crores as this is a less costly venture than Bang Bang. But 175 crores is such a petty number for such a widely expected movie
I certainly can understand why people might have had problems with D3 but from my own perspective D3 is an all time classic compared to HNY. Not exaggerating! And lest anyone think I’m being partisan here I’ll repeat something else too — OSO is a classic compared to HNY! Still think MHN is Farah Khan’s best film overall. Which isn’t saying much but it was still the most coherent one relative to the nature of the subject (also easily the best soundtrack). OSO too could have been a vastly better film (and I think a 100 crore grosser at the time) had the director stuck to the drama instead of just using it as bookends and throwing in comedy in between for the most part.
The problem with HNY is (leaving aside my own distaste for most of it) that the last hour is at least somewhat fluid. the comedy here is better integrated with moving the story forward. In the rest of the film it’s about a collection of skits, some of which might be enjoyable on their own but don’t really create the sense of narrative. The SRK frame story starts off well. His fight introduction is unnecessary and ruined by slow motion (what’s new for Bollywood?!) not to mention the fact that I’m not sure what cross-section of the audience fantasized about seeing SRK as Rambo (mud-caked and all!). Surely there were better ways of displaying him! And the film does some of it elsewhere. But beyond this the story about a guy putting together a gang to attempt a heist is constantly offset by comedy that not only does not add to the drama of this frame narrative but also completely deconstructs it at every turn. Here I’ll add part of an older comment:
[Heist films even traditionally tend to be ‘comedies’ much more than dramas. I don’t mean this in the literal sense but in a genre one. In the West they’re more often than not about a certain ‘cool’, a certain wryness (I’m overusing this word today!) and so forth. The films are interesting without ever being edge of the seat thrillers. And they’re quite often slices of cultural history. Hollywood when it remakes older heists tends to inject more drama into them. Ocean’s 11 is an exception but you have the Thomas Crown Affair or Italian Job among others, both much more regular thrillers than the original works. Farah Khan, specially given her excessive tendencies, doesn’t fall into this category. Then there’s the desperation to make everyone do comedy. Every member of the team does it in one way or the other. Which is fine if you have Hirani’s level of filmmaking! Otherwise it starts wearing thin after a while]
A heist film has to be about the plot. But this takes up an hour or so in the film (if you include everything). Otherwise it’s just comedy while you wait for the plot to happen at some point. It’s a cardinal error for this genre. Had the entire film been like the last hour it would have been an easy hit. And once again it was so easy to do that here. Everything was in place. The team chemistry is also more or less there. In a more specific sense the planning and plotting that is so much a part of every heist film, the major part in fact (in this genre 75-80% of the narrative focussed on the pre-heist stage and 20% or so on the actual proceedings.. this really builds a certain interest in what’s going to happen.. you offset the two portions in a sense and then add some comedy or whatever along the way), is treated as more or less an excuse for the comedy show to be put in place rather than the reverse. All the planning here is dealt with summarily, as if this is the easiest thing in the world (again the ‘obstacle course’ aspect is never brought forth). Once more towards the end the safe sequence was well-handled, the way they escape and so on. This is what should have been done more often. Or the Abhishek scene at that point might be funny on its own but in the midst of a tense sequence you can’t have that sort of thing. it’s a complete mood-breaker. Once the heist begins that’s all it needs to be about. Finally even the song at the end could have been used far more dramatically as in the Karz moment Farah Khan used in OSO. There might have even been a bit of a twist at the end. Whatever. Lots of better possibilities here. The amazing (and frustrating) thing with this (and most of Bollywood) is that it doesn’t take a genius to make up a half serviceable plot. And no one’s looking for a great classic either. Just a film that does the job. Hey even plays it by the numbers! Even that isn’t to be had!
Well keep trending/BO aside .. While watching HNY, I was truly appreciating Farah efforts .. she is most successful woman director in B town and its not easy to pull this kind of magnum opus when you have three kids at home.
In my first thoughts on HNY, I mentioned how HNY is a sucess for Farah and she has put her best foot forward and she couldn’t have done nothing much with her talent. The movie might not click as big as expected as it is not a love story like OSO and also expecting patriotism from Farah is too much. It is kinda departure subject for Farah making an heist movie with Dance and sacrificing romantic angle which people expect the most.
Kashmiri ‘Hamlet’ Stirs Rage in India
‘Haider’ Angers Hindu Nationalists but Excites Film Critics
By VAIBHAV VATSOCT. 27, 2014
NEW DELHI — The Bollywood director Vishal Bhardwaj has made his name by adapting Shakespeare into film, using the plays to reflect the violence and vicissitudes of modern India. “Maqbool,” an adaptation of “Macbeth,” was set in the Mumbai underworld; “Omkara” transported “Othello” to the feudal badlands of northern India. His latest effort, a loose adaptation of “Hamlet” called “Haider,” which takes place in Kashmir during the turbulent 1990s, has become the most acclaimed and contentious Bollywood movie of the year.
The film, which opened internationally on Oct. 2, drew a fierce reaction on social media from Hindu nationalists, who called for a boycott. Kashmir, a disputed territory claimed by both India and Pakistan, remains a sensitive subject on the Indian subcontinent.
One post said on Twitter: “Any movie that sympathizes with terrorists, glorifies them; insults Indian Army & justifies ethnic cleansing, goes to the bin. #BoycottHaider.” The campaign’s Facebook page includes a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a conservative whose election this year has emboldened Indians who advocate a muscular, unapologetic nationalism.
Journalists in India’s national media, however, greeted the movie with rapturous praise. The columnist Mukul Kesavan, writing in The Telegraph newspaper in Kolkata, said its “great achievement is to bring Kashmir out of the closet.” The Mint newspaper called it an “immensely effective reimagination of Shakespeare.”
In The New York Times, Rachel Saltz suggested that the movie “grafts its source story less convincingly to its setting” than Mr. Bhardwaj’s previous efforts while providing “the occasional sharp reminder of how cinematically he can construct Shakespearean moments.” Over the weekend, “Haider” won the people’s choice award in the world genre category at the Rome Film Festival.
The movie’s portrait of Kashmir is radical by Bollywood standards. Avoiding nationalist arguments, the film portrays the tragic human cost of the conflict and its netherworld of disappearances, military torture and extrajudicial killings.
“When we saw the final edit, we prayed the movie would make it through the censor,” said the journalist Basharat Peer, who helped write the script. Censors cleared “Haider” after 41 cuts. (Mr. Bhardwaj says he made 35 of those cuts “voluntarily,” for narrative purposes.)
Even in the film’s fourth week in theaters, the controversy surrounding it shows little sign of abating. It has been banned in Pakistan, where the censors claimed — surprisingly, for a movie that casts a negative light on the Indian state — that “Haider” was “against the ideology of Pakistan.”
The Hindu Front for Justice, a group of rightist lawyers, petitioned India’s Allahabad High Court to seek a ban on screenings of the film, arguing that “Haider” was against the “national interest.” Mr. Bhardwaj and Mr. Peer have until Nov. 15 to reply. The movie is likely to complete its theatrical run in India by mid-November, in any case.
The idea for a Kashmiri “Hamlet” originated last year, when Mr. Bhardwaj was seeking a vehicle to complete his trilogy of Shakespearean tragedies. He happened upon “Curfewed Night,” a memoir by Mr. Peer about growing up in Kashmir amid the conflict.
“The stories in the book gripped me,” he said. A few weeks later, Mr. Bhardwaj met Mr. Peer in New Delhi, and they began collaborating on the screenplay, drawing on Mr. Bhardwaj’s mastery of Shakespearean adaptations and Mr. Peer’s journalistic realism.
Mr. Peer was an unusual choice for a Bollywood screenwriter. Bollywood movies are for the most part loud, rambunctious affairs, far removed from Mr. Peer’s literary sensibility. Mr. Peer had his reservations, too. “I knew Vishal as an accomplished filmmaker, but I did not know much about his politics,” he said.
Bollywood has not been kind to Kashmir. In the years before conflict erupted in the late 1980s, it served as little more than a tourist backdrop for romantic dance numbers. More recently, it has been portrayed through a purely nationalist prism as a sinister haven seething with terrorists.
Mr. Peer said he felt that “Haider” could chart a new direction. “When I told Vishal the basic premise, he had no problems with it,” he said. “I felt, this is already a big start. Nobody in Mumbai, nobody in the last 25 years in the film industry, had even come close.”
In perhaps the most chilling scene of the movie, a truck full of bodies arrives at a morgue, and a boy jumps from the bloodstained pile, dazed to discover he is still alive. “I was taking material from stories I had reported on and grafting them onto Shakespeare,” Mr. Peer said.
Autobiographical elements seeped into the narrative. Haider’s parents send him to Aligarh, a university town in north India, to shelter him from the violence overtaking Kashmir. The movie’s plot is set in motion when he returns to his homeland to search for his father, who has been abducted by the military.
He is plunged into a looking-glass world where lies and deception are common, and the government has abandoned human rights and the rule of law to crush the armed insurgency.
In a recent interview at a cafe here, Mr. Peer checked his Twitter account repeatedly as dozens of messages poured in, mostly either strong praise or vile insults.
“I’m not apologetic, or scared, or afraid,” he said, noting that he had been denounced or threatened for his journalistic work on several occasions. “I’m proud of a lot of stories and moments in this film. Within the limits of Bollywood, we pushed things as far as we could.”
Considering Shahrukh Khan has a huge fan following internationally, the opening for this movie was a little slow, as reported in Koimoi.com. With elaborate promotional and marketing strategies employed to promote the film internationally too, Happy New Year hasn’t done as well as compared to SRK’s last outing, Chennai Express, which opened to Rs 35.92 crores on the opening weekend.
I’m still here Satyam it’s just feels sometimes we are going round in circles chasing our tails.
Your still doing a splendid job with the blog and I’m glad the passion from all side has hardly waned though I think it needs to be reined in a little.
As always Apex I’m not blocking stuff. You can say everything you need to more sensibly. You have these long comments where you keep saying the same stuff everyday and which is just incredibly (actually I’m at a loss for adjectives here but let’s stick with ‘silliness’-that-would-make-a-one-year-old-blush). Believe me I am being polite and respecting the fact that you’ve been here for very long that I even allow a few of these comments. They’re nonsense (even this is dignifying it) of the highest order. And I have no problem saying this because you have degraded yourself here. I could bring up some of the comments you once used to post. These comments are really ‘unhinged’ to be very honest. It’s not about any star, it’s not about anything, this is just unhinged stuff. And it clutters the forum. But you’re again lucky that even some of these are let through.
Dear me. I hope that was all spin at the end to do a sequel! That is totally not the direction Abhishek needs right now.
For me basically he has got some stock back from BB, D3, HNY. Mainly BB and HNY. Roles have been liked…but the test really is a solo film. And I think he is more than capable to carry a film right now, but it needs to be the right film. He is not in a position like Salman who can literally turn up on screen and twist his belt and get some big numbers in!
He has got to be far more script selective at this stage as let’s say the “door” from being firmly smashed in his face box office wise for a few years has opened slightly. But it can quickly collapse if he picks a bad film (like a Drona!). And although “comedy” might be the obvious choice, he’s got to find that broody, moody, aggressive role in my opinion. A Guru or Yuva or DMD but more commercial – he needs a middler. Something like Raavan or Yuva or DMD where the box office kind of goes neither here nor there won’t cut it as the media will lynch him quickly, even if he gets some critical bandwidth.
And if it is comedy, I would prefer a Dostana to a Housefull. The former he was the star in the first film. He’d gain more, it’s got more mileage for him whereas Housefull is an Akshay film first and foremost.
agreed on all counts… one of the problems is (and maybe he solves it with his home production, talked about starting it in Nov) that he does these big scale ‘blockbuster’ types when he does multistarrers but then a very different sort of film when goes solo. All is Well for example is a family subject and in any case a more low key film. If it’s like OMG it might trend very well but isn’t going to create the opening bang. But yeah I agree totally. Even on the home production which looks to be masala (new director, the guy who did the Idea ads, his first film releases with Arjun Kapoor in Jan, remake of Okkadu) unless there’s something more to the script I think it might be fine as a one-off but he really needs to get back to the original mix. Has to be smarter about it of course but that’s really where his talents lie. The comedies can be fillers in between. Not because I have a problem with comedies (though I always prefer dramas with any actor), I just have a problem with most of Bollywood’s comedies! The thing also is one can sometimes become too cautious or overcorrect. Ultimately some risks will have to be taken. There’s no simple cumulative path to great box office success unless one just does it through completely predictable films (as a solo) and it would be a shame for him to waste himself that way. On HNY hopefully there won’t be a sequel but if there were one I think there are multiple reasons now why he would do it. Ideally a film like DMD should have released at this time. maybe it would never have been a big hit but certainly it would have become some sort of success if he hadn’t suffered as much box office damage as he had at the time.
IMO, his comic timing is undoubtedly tops amongst all his peers, perhaps only matched by Varun Dhawan and to a certain extent by Ranvir/Ranbir. He needs something with the right dose of comedy, emotion and gravitas. He really needs a Namak Halaal kinda deal, ie a script that can accentuate his talent and hit it out of the ballpark. Unfortunately, with the Bachchan script sense, I would not bet on him being able to do so. If he had not screwed up his BO performance in the 2006-12 years, he couldve had stuff like Ek Villain, 2States, etc coming to him. Perhaps his solo door is still shut as of now, only to be opened by his own production company with a miracle of a good script.
From whatever i have seen of Varun Dhawan, he is just sensational in that comic space. I doubt anyone currently is even close to him. I recently saw HSKD and he was very very good in it.
Let me put something out. Becoming bankable star in comedy is not going to happen with 1-2 movies. It never will. You need to do multiple movies and regular hits(even smaller hits) and then you will became a major star in comedy. You can become top actor with a Yuva, Guru, Rockstar, Ram-Leela moment in drama or serious roles (even if the movie is not big hit) but comedy image and hits are only taken seriously if you can do it multiple times and constantly. Varun Dhawan is on that comedy route and if he does couple more comedy hits, he’ll be undoubtely the Govinda of younger actors.
I observed one thing … Mostly positive feedback is coming out from people whose show has massive number of SRkians creating atmosphere (like i pointed out in my review) with whistles and claps even on ordinary moments.
Feedback is not exactly positive from audience who saw movie in half filled show and quite audience.
And i observed same while watching Singham Returns .. due to extraordinary atmosphere in cinema, It was thumbs up from me. But later when i saw on TV .. i was wondering if it is same movie i watched earlier ?
Yakuza i agree. Lot of the time it has to do with the mood and festivities. HNY enjoyed it for first day or at max 2nd day. But 12.5 crore on day 4..goes to show..audience just tolerated it coz of Holiday. I liked the movie but i cannot watch it 2nd time at all.
Talking about Abhishek Bachchan…i feel this movie did gives him some recognition and even the entry was great with the Radhe Radhe song but at the end of it, HNY is a SRK film…social media doesnt take time to appreciate who Nandu was or how Abhishek got great points for it, it simply says…SRK’s HNY is doing this and breaking records.
Bol Bacchan was the movie where he got the most scope. Dhoom3 was full on Aamir and goes to show how badly he has done in his career post 2006 that he was relegated to the supporting actor role in his own franchise.
Abhi now has to fight the young talent like Siddharth, Varun and then continue battling with Hrithik, Emraan etc.
I would recommend him doing 2 things next. Get a film with the directors like Neeraj Pandey..Special 26 kind of a film and follow it up with Romantic comedy ala SAK..this builds base for him both domestic and nri audiences. If he continues doing 2nd lead..he will be relegated and considered a good to have presence in these films. Time to try something out as Solo.
HNY is done, but at least compared to other underperforming SRK (i.e. everything except CE post 2008), the media narrative is much better. I’ve been hearing relatives/friends say that it’s first day was 57 crores lol. I think that’s the worldwide collection on day 1 but still. Because of the media, HNY will probably be remembered (if remembered at all) as an Ek Tha Tiger- a huge blockbuster but a “thik thak okayish film”. If you consider just the opening day/weekend/week or even the raw total of both then the movies are blockbusters, but reality is something else.
Anyways, as a SRK fan I’m disappointed and I’m moving on to FAN and Raees. Even though Maneesh Sharma hasn’t done anything path braking or even great. But neither did Shimit Amin before CDI imo. So I’m hoping FAN will be another CDI for SRK. Although I think if FAN doesn’t do well Raees won’t happen and he’ll do Rohit Shetty’s next.
Raj5, i guess SRK is not at all affected by HNY’s result. For him the Raees and other movies would be much better as the commercial films like ROhit Shetty will be unfloppable.
Yes agreed. The next RS movie will be huge before release because of CE. CE itself didn’t seem like a big movie before its release and there wasn’t any excitement when we first heard that SRK and RS would team up.
@Satyam your thoughts on SRK’s future/lineup? I used to completely disagree with your opinion on SRK but now with the failure of HNY (the one movie I thought in January could be the biggest grosser ever), and this being the 4th consecutive year that he has been out shone/grossed by the other 2 Khan’s, I’m starting to believe your theory about how he’s never really been the star with the “absolute” biggest grosser(s)…nor will he in the future given his age.
My points (often distorted by those who didn’t like what I said in this regard) were a few..
1)SRK was easily the most iconic star of ‘New India’ which is to say a post-economic reforms dispensation. He represented the ethos of the new upwardly mobile classes. He starred in the most iconic films of the age. Obviously he was a very important box office force, even the ‘biggest’ inasmuch as he did the biggest films and the rest followed.
2)However if you leave aside the big Yashraj/Johar films suddenly his record looks distinctively ordinary. The successes are very few (at any level) once you take away those banners (referring to a post-DDLJ career here in the 90s when he had a relatively high volume). If you then compare Aamir’s career and also account for the fact that he was pretty much staying away from the dominant genres of the period his success rate is much more impressive, again counting from ’94 and beyond. His ratio is easily the best even then. He has a megabit like RH but of course the media doesn’t really care about it at that point. And he has lesser hits that are also not iconic for the most part. Salman comes back at some point towards the later 90s and does well for a while before pretty much disappearing over the next decade (Wanted and in the truest sense Dabanng, there is stuff like MSK and Partner in between but nothing that changes the narrative for him).
3)In the new millennium Hrithik suddenly emerges, Aamir completely changes everything with Lagaan. After this point Aamir really starts setting himself apart with every film collecting for himself an astonishing amount of critical and commercial success (which of course climaxes in Ghajini and 3I). Hrithik stagnates after a while but he keeps having these high points once every few years (’06 with D2 and Krrish is his career best, so far). The point here is that SRK in this entire past decade and since can never match the biggest grosses of a Filmkraft Hrithik venture on his own nor can he do anything to rival Aamir in the prestige sweepstakes. Eventually Aamir has the biggest hits of all and Salman wakes up from the dead and performs an enormous U-turn in his career beyond which every film gets a big initial. You put it all together and SRK is constantly on the defensive in this period, constantly having to prove that he is either the biggest or belongs with the biggest. The problem is that he is unable to set the pace anymore. for a few years into the decade he still remains the most iconic (arguably) but I’d say after 2004 nothing is ever the same for him again. It’s been a decade since. He had nothing in ’05 except for Paheli, KANK fizzled out in ’06, and Abhishek got more attention, Don was ok though nothing spectacular, in ’07 he was back with a bang with OSO/CDI but somehow couldn’t capitalize on it later. RNBDJ didn’t open huge (though trended well) and was completely eclipsed by Ghajini. Then MNIk was another damp squib. Ra One was a big crash. JTHJ much like MNIK. Don2 sluggish as well. But then suddenly 7 years after OSO he had a huge moment in CE. He tried to make it a one two punch with HNY and everything was certainly in place but looks like that’s not happening. But even if you start counting before 2004, even when SRK has other hits the point is he doesn’t have the biggest absolute ones. And all of this isn’t a problem unless you keep selling the idea that you’re the biggest or that you’re a superstar. Though this word is much abused, much cheapened in contemporary and though it has more or less lost all meaning one could argue that Salman with one big initial after another (even if most of the films trend poorly) and in a compressed period of time at least makes that sort of claim more understandable. SRK never did the Aamir thing where the lesser grosses could be made up by prestigious films that were extremely iconic (RDB or DCH or whatever) but nor did he have the consistency that Salman did. Nor did he on his best day outgross everyone else.
4) This doesn’t mean that SRK isn’t still a huge star. He clearly is. the opening day of HNY proves this. But the problem is a) it takes him much more to get that initial than it takes Salman. He can’t just walk into any film and get it done. It has to be a big circus in some form or fashion. And/or it has to be crazily hyped. b) the ‘biggest’ stars also need to have the real prestige films. SRK doesn’t have them. Salman doesn’t either but it matters less to his narrative.
5) If you then think ahead of what the historical claim of many of these stars might be Aamir is the only one in that generation in a good position. because he has many works that will probably be revisited over time. It’s always hard to make these predictions because not everything worthwhile is necessarily reinvented but the worthless is on the other hand ‘never’ reinvented! SRK might have classics for the future with a few films but over time just success in a given age doesn’t count. It’s the films and if you’re calling card is just the Yashraj stuff (and maybe a Dil Se or Swades here and there) things get tricky.
The last point here is the least relevant to your question. But I was just trying to be as thorough as possible. It would be foolish to underestimate SRK’s stardom and I never have. But it’s a question of relative weakness when you’re a certain kind of star. It’s not just about him. Why do we talk so much about Abhishek? Whatever he has or has not achieved it wouldn’t matter if one just had Saif-like expectations for him! So depending on the star’s narrative it’s about what the opposition is doing. Once SRK was Bachchanesque in the overseas markets, in India he was ordinary on comparison (even at his peak) but again he had the iconic stuff and this coupled with extraordinarily generous media coverage he got papered over the gap. For a long time now the overseas thing has vanished too. We see with HNY how even with the SLAM concerts explicitly designed to promote the film he couldn’t catch D3. Nonetheless still a very major star. The question is: what does it take (in every sense) to get him to a big one? I think it is this reinvention question SRK hasn’t successfully answered for very many years. The Yashraj paradigm is done but he’s been struggling to find the alternative. In fairness there isn’t an easy answer for him. On the other hand I think, specially given his strengths, he’s made a series of extremely poor choices. There’s no way that post KANK he shouldn’t have had a way better track record than he does given his audience base and all his history. For instance he could have done much better scripts with Yashraj and Johar. He could have insisted on this. He needn’t have become so obsessed with the Don stuff. He could have done better with the Ra One idea. So on and so forth. And even this late in the day couldn’t he have detected some sort of problem with HNY? And it’s not as if he did some very risky films like D6 or Raavan or whatever and failed. He failed or underperformed in very commercial stuff. Secondly why didn’t he follow the CDI lead and do other smaller films? Even today though Raees and Fan might work isn’t there something better he could be doing? Fan looks to have a double for him. The star and the guy obsessed with the star. I suspect SRK isn’t the star to be able to pull this off convincingly beyond some sort of initial. Unless there’s a good script here. Then you have Farhan Akhtar as cop chasing him as gangster. Anything can work of course but these don’t sound like the most promising films (barring surprises). SRK just doesn’t have that sort of script sense. Even in the 90s the Duplicate, Baadshah kind of deal never really worked for him beyond an initial. He could have been definitive still in some ways, something in between Salman and Aamir (incidentally I also think he could have done much better with his Yashraj history.. those romances could have been updated). As things stand he can still come up with the initial but the opportunity cost of doing so greatly increases. You have HNY more or less ending up in YJHD range (unless it remains very stable at this point and does something more).
People talk about Abhishek a lot but SRK’s own career this past decade has been one of missed opportunities. Much as a in a different way Hrithik’s entire career is one of stagnation. yes he’s one of the biggest openers, he was this after KNPH, hasn’t really done anything other than to prove this from time to time. Don’t think this was his only aim. He clearly was waiting to take over at some point but this isn’t a job where you ‘graduate’ to something better. His Bang Bang failed much like Kites. ZNMD didn’t really do enough for his ‘alternative’ career, Agneepath hasn’t led to anything along those lines (he should have done the Johar follow up rather than Bang Bang), Krrish underperformed rather badly, and now there are a number of stars outgrossing him on a good day or quite often.
don’t buy this at all.. just basic common sense would dictate against it.. Hollywood stars who earn millions of dollars a film, many of them have a profit sharing arrangement which sometimes gives them massive paychecks and makes the films less profitable for the studio along the way.. they too have incredible business interests and properties and what not globally.. and one is expected to believe that SRK is the second richest in the world? Yeah right. And I’m not even getting into the East Asian scene where again some actors who are top stars and also cosy with for instance the Chinese government have all kinds of business interests and real estate deals (that they’re not eager to publicize but these are places where $100m for a property is not that unusual.. in HK for instance but now real estate has gone crazy in many parts of Shanghai and so on.. as one might expect). This is the sort of thing that is really just meant for local consumption. A story spreads out, it is pick ed up by the Western media as well. This ‘I am the richest’ narrative is the latest manifestation of the ‘I am the biggest’ claim. Hey maybe Aamir and Salman are doing better but I’m the richest! And he is certainly richer than those guys.
by the way 350m in sterling is about 3500 crores. You know what? Gimme a break!
Some years ago Spielberg was supposed to be a billionaire (currently he’s at 3.6 bn). That’s less than 700m in sterling. One of the most powerful producer/director figures in movie history with incredibly grossing films and an extraordinary success even by Hollywood standards and SRK is more than halfway there (going by the figure some years ago). This is so stupid. I mean even for consumption one should come up with more plausible stuff. But the reason again is that it’s for local consumption. people don’t care what the actual number is. they just follow the headline.
One year there was a list where Salman Khan was supposed to be at 200m for the year while DiCaprio was 215m. Just find it a bit hard to believe! and these lists are a dime a dozen anyway. Check this out:
Has-been actors are worth 350-400m! Somewhow it’s a bit implausible that contemporary ones are lower but in any case this list at #50 has people who are worth 150m! Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is at 3bn according to this! Here Madonna is at 650m. So SRK is in the same range as one of the most bestselling global artists in contemporary music history? I think not..! And again I don’t set much store by these Hollywood lists either.
On a related note there was a sly moment in HNY when the team makes fun of Indians for being losers at everything from the Olympics to the Oscars! Of course the two are not comparable. The former is inexcusable for a nation of 1.2 bn people. But Lagaan (which is what this is about! doubt they were thinking of Mother India or Salaam Bombay!) losing is not the same thing because many very fine films have either not been sent to the Oscars, not made it to the top 5 or not won. The list of films that did win is far dwarfed by those that did not. Sometimes even a director’s best works don’t necessarily win. These awards depend on a lot of things. Lagaan winning would have been great but there’s hardly any shame in losing once one gets to the top 5. Not making a big deal here. Just some humor in a movie but I think this joke had more than a little edge to it! Because after all the Lagaan moment is the ghost that keeps haunting SRK and all of his fan base! Imagine how this would have been sold if SRK had been there instead. He would have been the called the greatest star, the greatest actor, the greatest everything in Indian history!
“Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is at 3bn according to this!”
Yep. Check it out. She is scion of the famous mutual fund (Dreyfuss is give away). She does acting for her “shawkh”. Doesn’t really need a career or paycheck of it!!
On rest of it, I don’t argue either way. I don’t really care if SRK is number one or richest in India or not. He is certainly one of the wealthiest. His home in Bandra cost huge sums of money. For a poor, starving, orphan from Delhi, he did swell and doesn’t need to work for rest of his life.
Indians do have black money and SRK does have homes overseas (and so does Bachchan; they both have homes in Dubai etc ). Modi govt needs to come down heavily on these stars with homes/money stashed overseas. Also the rich spend million in foreign universities (All the industrial families send their kids abroad to ivy leagues and give huge amounts of donation to Wharton; even Kareena went to Harvard). This should be somehow illegal and they should be ‘forced’ to spend money on their kids education in India. The money they made here in India should stay here in India!! Some of my pet peeves….
🙂
Yeah Modi needs to come down heavily on those corporates first who’ve contributed a lot to him! Currently his govt is in the news for shielding these folks just like the UPA! LOL! But who’s surprised? When there’s institutional corruption (as for instance in the US) changing parties does not change this sort of ‘corporate’ logic overnight. You need revolutions for that. Not just changes in government! When you spend thousands of crores just on a Maharashtra election these are not checks people are writing out of the goodness of their hearts! In some sense even attacking politicians for stashing away money is a bit too easy (much like attacking movie stars). It’s the corporates who get away with murder and who win either way. But then this is the world we live in globally.
As for money staying ‘in’ India this is simply not possible in today’s world. You can’t build forts around countries this way. Of course this is a popular election slogan everywhere from the US to India. If it were only that easy to arrest transnational capitalist logic! Not that I’m saying this out to be done. Just saying nationalist ‘feel good’ slogans are cheap (in every country). The reality is a bit tougher to deal with. Much as chirping away about ‘Hindi first’ is one thing, showing up on Hindi blogs another!
Yes a wonderful comment Satyam…After seeing last few movies of SRK I wonder if he even tries to act in his movies. Its become more of a ‘smile a bit, smirk a bit, show the dimples’ kind of routine. Its a pity because even in masala capers you can display good acting. And whats even more pitiful to me is SRK when he tries, can be a very good actor. A movie like Swades, Chak De and even parts of commercial movies like Jab Tak Hai Jaan etc are all wonderful example where when he puts his mind into acting he can come up with wonderful performances. More than anything, more than his choices of movies, I feel his complete dont care attitude towards ‘acting’ is a missed opportunity for me.
yes SRK unfortunately gave up a bit too early on trying to be the actor. He tried some stuff in the 90s, intermittently since. Nothing quite worked and he decided there was nothing more to be had there. But the CDI example is more telling. here he did get a lot of it. However by this point I think his narrative had overtaken him. He’d made it so much about getting the biggest grosses and so on over the years (this was the sort of message that was delivered to Aamir for the longest time when he had commercial and prestige films but not the absolute biggest grossers.. of course I didn’t need to wait for Ghajini to see the opposite.. because even with MP it was obvious that Aamir could come up with very big numbers.. that film didn’t last but it had a slightly bigger initial than VZ, this despite slipping over the week..) that suddenly he couldn’t turn to CDI and state the opposite. Even that very year the OSO deal is what really made him smile. Now in a way most stars follow the box office trail. The best have done this. there’s nothing odd about it. But SRK made too much of brand-name of pushing the ‘I am the king’ narrative. And actually even this narrative really peaked not when SRK was at his absolute peak but a bit later when he was getting challenged by others. In any case if you sell the ‘baadshah’ narrative for years it’s hard to suddenly become the CDI cheerleader! At any rate my larger point here is that despite all this he might have made much better career choices and specially in an age when unlike the 90s a lot of different stuff was working and a lot of Bollywood’s brightest talents were doing this sort of stuff.
Kanpur and Varanasi numbers for tuesday are out.
Kanpur fell by 20% and Varanasi by 25% as compared to monday.
So, tuesday will be around 9-9.5 cr based on these trends.
On course for a 135cr first week and probably 180cr lifetime. Will probably just about outgross Krish 3 finally but it’s a year since the latter released, so the underperformance from HNY is going to be as big.
The Tuesday numbers vis a vis Monday are only around 10 percent less which is actually good. BOI will have it around 11+ crores I think and producers around 14 crores
Watched HNY twice (once in multiplex and one time in Single screen). below Avg movie, i never expected Abhishek to do such loosely written role. Now coming to the actuals, SRK will loose the trust of multiplex audiences if he continues to do such roles. Surprisingly multiplex audience enjoyed AB’s role (i dont know for what!!) and in Single screen Nandu Bhide is a Star!! So, practically AB is the only winner / gainer out of this shit HNY. When it comes to a movie, audience (especially multiplex) are thoroughly disappointed. Mark my words, people will think thrice before watching Farah and Sajid khan movies. you cant fool people every time. Hope SRK will bounce back with right scripts. SRK is a super star for class audiences as well as Mass, i dont know the real reason why he should produce and act in these kind of shit movies.
Surprisingly AB is getting lot of appreciation for this shitty role, means his time has come. AB, pls dont take peoples good comments seriously. HNY is the winner by chance. Yes, in a way, its good that people atleast getting a chance to see your talent and take note of it. Looks like lady charm / luck is smiling back at you, pls concentrate on quality movies (i dont mind, good south indian remakes) like Guru, Sarkar, or even films like Bunty babli and bol bachchan is ok with me but dont waste your talent by working with films / directors like HNY/ farah. Its like dis respecting your father’s legacy. Do Mard remake OR sharabhi i dont mind but i do mind if Amitabh son will do Ulti Nandu…..Hope in future, u will not disappoint your loyal fans like me.
Happy New Year At 120 Crore Nett After Five Days
Wednesday 29 October 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year tooks it total to a huge 120 crore nett in five days as the Tuesday business was in the 11 crore nett range. The film had a decent hold from Monday in a few circuits.
There is likely to be a drop on Wednesday as business in Gujarat falls but the week is looking at a huge 135 crore nett. The best performing circuit is Mumbai due to Gujarat while West Bengal is the under performing circuit as it should be doing higher business as most Shahrukh Khan films tend to outperform in West Bengal.The business in Gujarat for the week may come out to be the highest ever.
The second week business will decide where the film is going and it would have settled to normal levels in all circuits by then as the the holidays in various circuits will be over…
Happy New Year Tuesday Early Estimate
Tuesday 28 October 2014 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has grossed around 10.50 crore nett on Tuesday as per early estimates which is a good figure for Tuesday. There was a fall in the big cities on Monday but those have held much better on Tuesday. Gujarat is continuing its extraordinary run.
The falls are a bit more in circuits like CI and Rajasthan but they were steadier on Monday. the film is being helped by holidays in Gujarat but that will not be the case on Wednesday. The collections in Delhi/UP will around 2 crore nett and the circuit is heading for huge first week total of around 25 crore nett.
The second weekend will decide where the film is going in terms of lifetime business, the advantage is that although there are a couple of releases they are not really going to hurt the collections of Happy New Year.
200 seems hard unless the second weekend is relatively better. With the producer’s total it might possibly get there though without that second weekend it might fall short even here.
Lol ROFLOL
Didn’t want to interrupt the “alternate universe” being peddled here
By Satyam and forcing this down the throats of others lest he blocks comments and so on
But when u read something as mind boggling like this
“People talk about Abhishek a lot but SRK’s own career this past decade has been one of missed opportunities. Much as a in a different way Hrithik’s entire career is one of stagnation.”
Trying to compare the ‘stagnation’ of the career of poor abhishrek with the ‘stagnation’ of the careers of Hrithik and SRK
the for mere ‘underperformers’ make 180 crores net domestic and the latter’s breaks the alltime record of opening day by a distance!
The sheer DISHONESTY at display here is mind boggling
And no amount of moderation or censorship can save it 🙂
Who’s comparing? But it’s precisely people like you who find Abhishek a useful screen when not facing up to questions regarding (in your case) Hrithik. So yeah after Krrish 3 and BB if you want to do the ‘look at Abhishek’ thing go right ahead! Now might not be the best time to do that but that’s another matter. When the star is doing well it’s about how he’s one of the biggest star, when he’s not then ‘hey he’s better than Abhishek’ is the logic that shows up.
Happy New Year: Abhishek Bachchan steals the show as Nandu
TNN | Oct 28, 2014, 01.12PM IST
Abhishek Bachchan is on a roll . With the stupendous success of his last film Dhoom 3, followed by his championship win at the Pro-Kabaddi League, the actor now has another reason to celebrate as his recent blockbuster, Happy New Year creates a landmark in box-office history.
What’s more, is that the actor has been touted as the one to watch out for, in the masala entertainer, with the audiences and critics alike lauding him as the show-stealer. Essaying the role of Nandu Bhide, a tapori who is involved in the heist that forms the crux of the film, Abhishek Bachchan had the audience in splits, with people taking to the social media platform to voice their praise. The industry took to a popular microblogging site as they spoke highly of Abhishek’s performance in the film. Karan Johar tweeted, “junior bachchan AB you were absolutely amazing in the film!!!! Nandu on a roll!!!!!”.
Punit Malhotra tweeted, “Nandu Bhide is unreal. You’ll crack up everytime he’s on screen. Loved junior bachchan”.
Sanjay Gupta tweeted, “junior bachchan Loved your act buddy.”
Nikhil Dwivedi tweeted “So they r all saying …rush to see HNY for Abhishek Bachchan & him alone. Toh shaq kisko tha “.
Despite being part of an ensemble starcast Abhishek always manages to standout as he performs without inhibition, which speaks volumes for the security he has as an actor and his likability when it comes to the masala-movie watching audience.
Humbled with the response Abhishek Bachchan said, “Overwhelmed with the response to #HNY. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR KIND WORDS!! “
hahaha!!
I hope it doesn’t face problems. I’m guessing it’s a satire on Z securities handed left right and centre by the pradhan mantri’s govt. Even to a non entity like Vadra who he had vowed to bring to justice for his land scams when in power – instead he gives him Z security. Amit Shah from whom people need protection also gets Z security.
Andher nagri!!
What is a miss in all SRK Diwali releases is the content has been week, year after year. RA ONe, JTHJ and HNY. The openings have gone up and up but the dish out has been sub standard movies. SRK has pretty much owned Diwali for a long time…DDLJ started it, DTPH, KKHH and so on and on. The audience took dearly of movies which were striking an emotional chord but the dynamics change as the generation and audience mindset changes. HNY and JTJH are examples of what SRK should stop doing and he should mix CE and CDI in his portfolio more often. As a star he is bulletproof and should simply follow this rule more closely to win over continuously….why didn’t they explore the romantic angle in HNY…is a mystery..that would have got it Rab Ne style longevity at least in Overseas.
This wasn’t meant to be a romance though. And if SRK wanted to do a romance he would have done one. He’s been trying hard to move away from romance for a long time. Sometimes he just does it for Yashraj (I think he shouldn’t even do this) but other than JTHJ and RNBDJ there’s no pure romance he has between KANK and the present. Barring perhaps CE where his history is placed in a masala framework. If anything Yashraj should be doing this as well with him. The weird thing is they had BnB years ago, more recently they’ve had smaller more rooted love stories. They even did RNBDJ with SRK. But weirdly they went back to a tired format with JTHJ.
“why didn’t they explore the romantic angle in HNY…is a mystery..that would have got it Rab Ne style longevity at least in Overseas.”
That’s a worthy question folks
And reminds me –one that I will tackle v soon time permitting …in my upcoming post(s)– shudder
Anyhow Satyam if u r so ‘convinced’ about your arguments, plz have the guts and release the post again today ( copy paste from before)
Why the need for ‘muffling’ the voice of others
As for ‘silliness’ many will find most long essays here ‘more than silly’–let the reading public judge it
Don’t behave like indian censors
The readers are ‘mature’ (no pun intended)
I don’t have the guts to post the nonsensical stuff again and again. I must admit. As for others not sure who’s reading! As far as I can tell pretty much all your comments are ignored 99% of the time and the 1% of the time that anyone responds it’s hard to agree with you. And yes because the readers are mature they deserve better than your comments. You can still get back to your older self and become a part of the conversation again. Otherwise if you’re going to stay at the level of spelling ‘crores’ as ‘crwhores’ every time you will have to be kept away. Sorry. that’s just the way it is. And I don’t think anyone’s complaining.
SATYAMSHOT 
October 22, 2014 at 8:59 AM
HNY Advance Booking Over 70 pc
by Rohini Nag (October 22, 2014)
Amid the din of the Diwali festivities, there is one more reason to celebrate with gusto – the release of Farah Khan’s Happy New Year, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Soon, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. Advance booking for the film opened with a bang today and it looks like the movie is gearing up to taking the box office by storm. This production, whose larger-than-life canvas and spectacular marketing plan are the talk of the town, has proved that Khan sure delivers on his promise to entertain his audience. And then some!
The film, which is all set to release on Friday, is not only pegged as the highest first-day grosser of all time but is also expected to be the fastest to make it to the Rs 200-crore club. It is expected to notch up fantastic numbers during its first weekend and first week. Programmers from various multiplex chains and exhibitors too believe that Happy New Year will enjoy a smooth sail next week.
Ashish Saksena, BIG Cinemas
Happy New Year is turning out to be a magnum opus. It will be a sureshot winner at the box office, without a doubt. We have seen a phenomenal response to advance bookings, which opened this morning. At present, ticket sales are more than 70 per cent and this will further grow late evening. On average, we have allotted 14 to 18 shows per property. We have received a fabulous response as bulk bookings have already opened for the weekend.
Amar Laykar, PVR Cinemax
This film will undoubtedly ring in gigantic numbers, if advance booking is any indication. Happy New Year’s advance booking is going great guns at our properties. The film, following the Diwali and weekend madness, will definitely set many records for any Hindi film. With 20 shows at each property, on average, we plan to sustain substantial shows for the film in the second week too. The outstanding response to the advance booking suggests that we will sell out our weekend shows today. This film will go down in history in our industry.
Ansh Kapoor, Fun Cinemas
HNY has drawn an outstanding response at the ticket window and is creating a huge buzz as far as advance booking goes. With over 75 per cent advance booking, we predict nothing short of an exceptional weekend. On average, the film has been assigned 10 to 14 shows per property.
Harshad Parmar, Carnival
The film took a fantastic start for its advance booking at our properties, around 80 per cent, and we expect superlative net collections during the weekend. The film is a blockbuster already. With record-breaking day-one collections, the weekend will be nothing short of a celebration as well. On average, the film has 14 shows per property.
Ashish Gogia, Suncity
Advance booking for HNY has elicited a 90-per cent response in most of our properties and the weekend shows are already house full. The weekend will be massive in terms of audience response.
Manoj Desai, G7 and Maratha Mandir
Advance booking for the film opened today amid an extraordinary response. The audience is very eager to watch Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan’s latest offering and the movie will run house-full at my properties.
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October 22, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Guess how many screens Happy New Year will be shown in!
This Diwali, teams from Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Yash Raj Films will gear up for the widest Bollywood release so far.
Happy New Year, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Boman Irani, will hit as many as 6,000 screens worldwide, the most ever. This will surpass releases of films such as Dhoom 3 (2013), Kick (2014) and Bang Bang (2014).
Sources say the makers of Happy New Year are targeting release in 5,000 screens in India and 1,000 abroad.
The film is produced by Red Chillies Entertainment; and will be distributed worldwide by Yash Raj Films, which also the force behind the widespread distribution of Dhoom 3 in December 2013, the biggest film of that year. The thriller was released in about 4,500 screens in India and 800 abroad.
Happy New Year marks the reunion of director Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan after the success of the pair in films such asOm Shanti Om and Main Hoon Na, while Khan and Padukone have delivered hits such as Om Shanti Om and Chennai Express. The two Khans, not related to each other, had a brief falling out but have since patched up for this film.
Last year, Chennai Express was released across 750 screens abroad, a record in terms of foreign release on the day on the film being released in India. Movies such as Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3 saw similar exposure last year. This year, Kick and Bang Bang stepped up the game, with release across up to 850 screens in foreign markets.
Kamal Gianchandani, chief operating officer, PVR Ltd, says, “You cannot get a better combination in Bollywood. Happy New Year marks the return of SRK and Deepika after Chennai Express and SRK and Farah (Khan) after hits such as Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om; and, it’s the occasion of Diwali. The film is set for a wide release and, at least at PVR, 80 per cent of our screens will be running the movie.”
Shah Rukh Khan has seen immense success in the case of Diwali releases, with Om Shanti Om (2007) earning about Rs 98 crore in India and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) raking in Rs 102 crore.
Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and a box office analyst, adds, “Wide release strategies are typical for major films with blockbuster potential. Distributors book a film in a huge number of screens to record maximum results due to the festive occasion of Diwali. Happy New Year’s release strategy is the widest in the history of cinema; it’s not only being released in the original language, but also dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions, with 4,500-4,700 screens in India, surpassing Kick.”
Shah Rukh Khan has a huge fan following in the traditional foreign markets of North America, the UK and West Asia. Given the occasion of Diwali, the film will be released in these markets on October 23, a day before the India release. The reason is while Indians abroad celebrate the occasion as a community, in India, audiences are known to stay away from theatres on Diwali day.
Happy New Year has been marketed extensively. While digital media has been the driving force, Shah Rukh Khan and his team have ensured no stone is left unturned — from a trailer launch on Facebook and WhatsApp, to interviews in print and television and spots on radio.
Promotion was also boosted by the Slam tour — the cast toured across countries and acted as judges on a dance reality show on Zee TV — Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale.
“Shah Rukh is a marketer’s delight and you can see that in the promotions of the film across media. We were very glad when the team from PVR approached him and the rest of the cast to shoot some public service messages, and the team agreed,” says Gianchandani.
All the 454 screens across the country from the PVR stable are airing 15-20 second films on Happy New Year.
It is expected the film will garner more than Rs 30 crore on the first day. However, Wadhwa adds the length of movie could be a deterrent for showcasing it in multiplexes. Gianchandani agrees, but adds the team at PVR has ensured convenient timings. He, however, says despite the big-banner release, ticket sales will not see a huge jump.
— Urvi Malvania
SOURCE: BUSINESS STANDARD
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October 22, 2014 at 11:20 AM
All sorts of postures here but this is a bummer at the end after all the hype –
” It is expected the film will garner more than Rs 30 crore on the first day. ”
bast itna ?
and then there is this wrong info on both films. As far as I rememebr OSO did considerably less and JTHJ considerably more
” Shah Rukh Khan has seen immense success in the case of Diwali releases, with Om Shanti Om (2007) earning about Rs 98 crore in India and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) raking in Rs 102 crore.”
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October 22, 2014 at 12:54 PM
40 crores will be the target for day 1. The capacity for day 1 is around 43 crores.
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October 22, 2014 at 12:56 PM
JTHJ probably didn’t do much more than that, OSO was 80-85 crores depending on who you believe. I thought the numbers were a bit high here to begin with. After a while BOI also downgraded their week 1 number by a bit.
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October 22, 2014 at 12:59 PM
anything around D3 or better than this should be great. 40 will be outstanding but I wouldn’t use this as the benchmark. Ultimately this day 1, day 2 stuff is a bit of a fuss. What really matters is relative strength over the first week and then of course beyond this. Plenty of films are up there with fantastic first days or second days only to fizzle out later if not tank. With something like ETT even a rather strong 7 day period or so resulted in an extremely poor follow-through in week 2. The film made it to 190 or something 150 of which (roughly) came in the first 7 days or so. So with big films and massive screen counts some of these huge numbers are a given.
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October 22, 2014 at 2:52 PM
Agree, anything around D3 (+/- a crore or 2) will be great.
D3 was an event film and I think maxed out on day one at many screens. I don’t see HNY doing much more than it. If it does it’ll be like a crore or 2.
SRK has done a great job of making HNY an event film too so day 1 and first weekend should be great. After that it depends on how good the film is.
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October 22, 2014 at 11:54 AM
** Now I know this is a visual medium and everything & looking good is considered one of the essential ‘qualifications’, but why fall prey to that when one is successful AND also already good looking? Has anybody looked at Minishaa Lamba in BIG BOSS? What the heck has happened to her face? It looks like her face has been stretched on a machine end to end!
This was the argument I had when seeing how ugly SRK looked with those packs or whatever – fake or genuine whatever maybe the case.
Why resort to it when you are looking good the way you are? What kind of ridiculous peer pressure is this that a star successful for 20 years has to resort to this? When a ‘side-effect’ of filmy life becomes the mainstay?
And the funny thing is, how well one agrees to ‘fit in’ with such madness is considered the ‘barometer’ of dedication and talent in today’s times. That interview of Abhishek was really a wonderful one and one can see how his reluctance in going with the flow is automatically translated as ‘laziness’, ‘lack of talent,’ etc..That man really deserves a pat on his back for not succumbing to this madness.**
===============================================
4. The shock that greeted a 45-year-old Oscar winner’s makeover indicated that our society has grave concerns about chasing a youthful look — likely through cosmetic surgery. The data suggests otherwise. Americans had more than 11 million cosmetic procedures in 2013, according to stats from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery — 12 percent more than in 2012, and six times more than in 1997. Let’s just hazard a guess that the number of per capita “procedures” is somewhat higher in Los Angeles than in the U.S. as a whole.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/10/21/in-defense-of-renee-zellweger-22-thoughts-about-a-startling-new-face/?tid=pm_pop
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October 22, 2014 at 2:25 PM
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October 22, 2014 at 2:26 PM
For some reason some of my comments are not getting posted – one in HNY images thread yesterday and one now here -i posted a trailer link..
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October 22, 2014 at 2:33 PM
somehow both went to spam. restored both.
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October 27, 2014 at 6:09 PM
“somehow” wink-wink. Most of my comments also somehow go into spam or are deleted. HA!
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October 27, 2014 at 6:42 PM
I’m slow today which is why some of the junk has nonetheless accumulated here..
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October 22, 2014 at 3:07 PM
HNY premier is taking place right now in Dubai. We should start seeing the reviews in 4 to 5 hours.
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October 22, 2014 at 4:25 PM
Had Hrithik been the lead here, 300 cr would have been a cake walk. Ii don’t see this film doing more than 220.
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October 22, 2014 at 4:54 PM
I thought 300 was going to be a cakewalk for BB..
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October 22, 2014 at 8:01 PM
so big deal if it underperformed..few things went wrong but mainly they should have promoted it a lot more. I thought the movie was pretty good, felt a bit stretched towards the end but had great action sequences and Hrithik was fantastic
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October 22, 2014 at 4:31 PM
HR is perhaps the biggest star –but even he is not bigger than SRK.
As for Salman he is currently the biggest flavor of the season but this is a phase & a grotesque time-bound one. As for aamir, he is not a big star-he orchestrates and plots megahits–he’s not the ‘engine’ that drives mass hysteria
HNY Box office expectations-the DEFINITIVE link
https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/happy-new-year-trailers-2/#comment-284632
The key worlds here are 40 first day
400 (lifetime net domestic)
If anyone can do it, it is the
ELEPHANT in this room (amongst midgets)–SRK
Just saw SRK dragging himself around in third gear in HNY
But he showed glimpses of his self in satakli
The impeccable timing is missing in HNY
But srk has amp-ed his business & astute financial skills
Seeing srk though I’m reminded of
—-Fanoos banke jiski hifazat hawa kare,
vo shama kya bujhe
jise roshan khuda kare…
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October 23, 2014 at 9:01 AM
On Salman had said pretty much the same thing a day or two earlier that he is ‘flavor of the season’ but on 2nd thoughts Wanted came out in 2009 and the Dabangg games began in 2010 so it’s been a good 4/5 years now. Looking at the link below and it seems he has 2 more years in the pocket.
I am most excited about ‘Sultan’ with YRF in 2016, though with 2 releases in 2015 it seems his year again including bade bhaiyya doing Prem Ratan Dhan Payo a modern age classic in the making releasing on Diwali!
salman-khan-and-his-bollywood-blockbuster-tactics
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October 22, 2014 at 4:40 PM
http://t.co/6AbPpPtWEa
Hrithik was headed to a party with his friends, which included Sonakshi Sinha, Arjun Kapoor, Esha Gupta, Nargis Fakhri among others. He took to Twitter and said, “With happy people last night. Thnk u afsar n team exceed 4 a lovely funny good4 d soul not so good4 health kinda fab!”
http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainmenttags/hrithik-roshan/what-happened-hrithik
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October 22, 2014 at 5:20 PM
HNY premier ended. The typical tweets should start coming in now.
Here’s one.
Simi Garewal @simi_Garewal
#HNYDubai Maha entertinment..spectacle. .glamour..hilarity.. dance..Fab Farah! Sexy SRK..Divine Deepika! Adorable AB! Super..Super!
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October 22, 2014 at 9:34 PM
Arjun Kapoor: We Need Unbiased Sources To Share Box Office Collections
Actor Arjun Kapoor, son of producer Boney Kapoor, on Tuesday said that it is time to formalise the information platform giving figures about box office collections of the releases.
He was speaking on the last day of the 16th Mumbai Film Festival, organised by the Moving Academy of Images (MAMI), in a session focusing on the marketing and box office trends in India.
“We had an interesting session on box office collections and the marketing strategy. As an actor I feel box office is not the only idea to make films. But as far as the collections are concerned, you see a huge disparity in the collections on each and every website,” Arjun told reporters.
“So, we want one reliable source who will put up the accurate figures, which should be unbiased. We need information from one source about the box office (collections). If we check the collections of our films overseas, you see the accurate collections. But it doesn’t happen here.
So there has to be a legal and official way to put the awareness somewhere. It will take time. We have huge number of theatres, but hope within a year we get this thing going,” added the star of films like Ishaqzaade and 2 States.
The 16th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, which ends on Tuesday, showcased over 185 films from more than 65 countries.
Talking about the festival, Arjun said “As an actor I feel one should watch all kinds of films. This is the right platform to showcase different kinds of films.”
http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/arjun-kapoor-we-need-unbiased-sources-to-share-box-office-collections-682601
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October 23, 2014 at 3:05 AM
where is the PK trailer?
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October 23, 2014 at 3:18 AM
It’s on YouTube..
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October 23, 2014 at 4:32 AM
Mumbai Top Ten – Happy New Year Targets Oldest Record
Thursday 23 October 2014 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year will be chasing the all time record in Mumbai circuit which is still held by 3 Idiots. It was the only lifetime record all around the world which Dhoom 3 failed to achieve last year. Happy New Year will have a good chance content willing as Gujarat has an extended holiday over the Diwali period.
The Mumbai circuit has became about Gujarat today as not only does it open well but can sustain much better than the Mumbai/Thane and Maharashtra belt which forms the other big chunk of the circuit. The last few years have seen big crashes in Mumbai when Gujarat is not on board. The last one being Bang Bang released a few weeks back.
Bang Bang is struggling to hit the 40 crore nett mark in Mumbai which is 50% less than what Happy New Year will be targeting. There have been ten films which have crossed 50 crore nett in Mumbai circuit and the list includes old releases like 3 Idiots and Golmaal 3. The latter had the content and put up huge numbers in Gujarat in Diwali week. Last years Diwali release Krrish 3 did very well in Gujarat but considering practically a week long holiday in the state the figures should have been better. Below are the all time top ten grossers in Mumbai circuit..
http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/mumbaitoptenhappynewyeartargetsoldestrecord#.VEi8uUuwjLY
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October 23, 2014 at 4:36 AM
one of these days they might want to mention (though I’m not holding my breath for this!) that there’s a 4 year gap or more between 3I and any film on that list even relatively close! So yeah given enough time one big film or the other will do it! 3I got that record because of fantastic trending not an initial run! BOI pretend that all other numbers (distribution prices et al) have all remained the same. One just has to cross that overall number one way or the other!
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October 23, 2014 at 5:16 AM
Looks good. I really like the director’s “Veyil” so looking forward to this. Just wish they had someone else than Siddharth here (Prithvi should easily be able to walk away with the film). Also I love Rahman’s soundtrack here (the Aye Mr. Minor song is addictive to say the least)-
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October 23, 2014 at 5:47 AM
One of my favourite scenes from Veyil is this moment with “cinema” where Pasupathy uses his palm as a “screen” for the girl to view the film- the scene beautifully captures the charm of movies!
The scene is at the end of the video- watch from 38:30 to 38:40 mark
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October 23, 2014 at 6:05 AM
How come no reviews yet on hny??
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October 23, 2014 at 6:31 AM
http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/review-happy-new-year-1.1402792
Review: Happy New Year
Where’s the big bang in Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s latest film?
Director Farah Khan doesn’t do dark films. Her films are festive and celebrate all things Bollywood — the colour, the feverish dance moves and hyperbolic emotions.
But she seems to have taken a misstep with Happy New Year — despite re-uniting with her muse Shah Rukh Khan and her Om Shanti Om discovery Deepika Padukone. We are eternally grateful for the latter, but it’s difficult to forgive Farah Khan for not tapping into the collective potential of her ensemble cast (Boman Irani, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff).
It’s a heist thriller mixed with enough dancing to make your head spin. We are first introduced to the college graduate-but-jobless Chandramohan Sharma, also knows as Charlie, (Khan) who is nursing deep wounds. His father (Anupam Kher), who runs a business creating sturdy lockers, is duped by an evil businessman Charan Grover (Jackie Shroff) and hurtled off to jail for a robbery he didn’t commit. Charlie’s idyllic life is destroyed and he dreams of bringing down Grover. An opportunity presents itself when Grover declares on television that he’s the custodian of precious diamonds worth billions of rupees. It’s an invitation that will tempt any robber-hopeful and Charlie jumps on it like a diet-addled girl on biryani. He puts together a team that’s far from suave. This is no Ocean’s 11 in terms of suavity or style. But if you will, Reservoir (under)dogs for dummies.
Stars: 2 out of 5
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October 23, 2014 at 7:45 AM
With this kind of review, I’m thinking the movie will tank big time after the weekend.
But I did hear some say the movie is more entertaining than OSO so not sure. Amazingly some are saying 2nd half is better than 1st, usually it’s the other way around.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:14 AM
Looking at the all promotions, huge mountings of the movie in the last one month, I wanted to say something and know this will have no meaning tomorrow once the movie is released and verdict is out. It is a known fact SRK and team has spent a good amount of time & efforts for promotions of this movie. SRK the businessman he is will definitely manage the costs by tying up with big corporate and using his PR skills / machinery already in place. I must admit he has very efficiently utilized the Slam tour which normally is a money spinner to good advantage to advertise this movie worldwide and that’s all good.
But what my conservative Indian mind gets agonized is with what a sheer wastage of efforts, time and money if they don’t spend equal amount of energy on the content of the movie itself. We have seen SRK and team with prim proper dressing, well groomed, skits well planned to all the cities they visited, on TV channels and it seems there was good planning on the logistics / machinery to do a professional job of that.
Now I hope the movie if not good is decent enough to validate / authenticate these efforts & not full of dumb jokes and becomes a drag to our sensibilities because if it is, then it shows the mental state of the star where is he is ready to invest so much time, money and efforts in promoting his product but unwilling to sit down and sketch out a proper script /screenplay….
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October 23, 2014 at 8:37 AM
Happy New Year, well and truly seems to be an ensemble cast film. Some die hard SRK fans whom I know, saw the film and said that.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:58 AM
Agree, I’ve been saying that, not sure what it’s truly like inthe film since i have not seen the film yet but the amount of scope, importance, face time the whole cast is getting via SLAM, city tours, etc is just amazing.
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October 23, 2014 at 9:13 AM
Z what works in HNY favor is whatever the negativity if it develops any will awash once the box office numbers start pouring in and are splashed all over media.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:59 AM
What do the SRK fans thin of the movie who has seen it. Compared to OSO and CE.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:45 AM
HNY Advance Booking 80 pc; Opening Pegged At 40 Cr Plus
by Rohini Nag (October 23, 2014)
Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year is expected to take an outstanding opening of 95 to 100 per cent, all-India when it releases tomorrow, and clock Rs 40 crore plus. The film, which also features Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Soon, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff and is directed by Farah Khan, has already sold 80 per cent tickets via advance booking for the entire weekend. Releasing a day after Diwali and receiving such a gigantic response from the audience days before its release, Happy New Year is poised to set new records. The movie will release at around 5,000 screens across India.
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines, Mumbai
The film will have an extraordinary day one, not only in Mumbai but in every other circuit as well. The film will release at around 5,000 screens across India and it is likely to garner Rs 40 crore plus on its first day. In Mumbai, it will reel in around Rs 13 crore. Tickets are already sold out for the weekend, so expectations are very high. Shah Rukh Khan and his team have outdone themselves with superlative marketing and promotions.
Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts, Delhi-UP
Happy New Year is expected to collect over Rs 40 crore, all-India, tomorrow and will set a new day-one record. Releasing at over 300 screens in Delhi-UP, the film has already charmed the audience as advance booking is almost sold out for the weekend shows. Shah Rukh Khan and his team have promoted the film superbly and to top it off, the music too has become very popular.
Surender Saluja, Lakshaya Movies, East Punjab
The film is going to be greeted by an exceptional response from the audience tomorrow. Advance booking, which opened yesterday, has already sold out most of the weekend shows and the film is a perfect post-Diwali celebration for movie-goers. . Releasing at over 130 screens, it is expected that the film will collect Rs 3 crore tomorrow.
Gaurav Gaur, O’Real Imaginations, Rajasthan
This film can be described in a single word – ‘blockbuster’. This Diwali the audience will truly celebrate a Happy New Year. The weekend shows are already sold out. Releasing at approximately 145 screens, the film will ring in Rs 1.8 crore NBOC here in Rajasthan.
Sarang Chandak, Shri Rang Films, CP
The film will release at 250 screens in our circuit. We don’t really have advance booking in CP Berar but the opening of the film tomorrowwill still be 95 to 100 per cent. The audience is eager to watch Farah Khan directing super hit jodi Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, and we expect the film to collect Rs 1.8 crore on its opening day in CP.
Rakesh Singh, Maa Sona Films, Bihar
The film is already a super hit and has drawn an excellent response during advance booking. Thanks to Shah Rukh Khan and his style of marketing the film’s release, it has generated curiosity among the movie-going audience. Releasing at around 125 screens, the film will garner Rs 60 lakh tomorrow. Happy New Year will definitely break many records.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:46 AM
Happy New Year Set For Record Opening
Thursday 23 October 2014 14.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year is set for a record opening on day one beating the 32 crore nett figure set by Dhoom 3 last year. The film is releasing the day after Diwali which is the best day for collections The last time a universally record breaking was set was Ek Tha Tiger in 2012 and Happy New Year will be hoping for a repeat. The aim will be to set a new first day high in every circuit of India.
The film is three hours long which does limit the shows per screen but the last two years have seen the longer films sustaining better be it Dhoom 3 to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. A similar case can be expected from Happy New Year if content is accepted which will mean more records after the initial weekend.
Another major benchmark for the film can be a century weekend which has never happened before with Dhoom 3 falling a little short last year. The advance opened late with a couple of the major chains starting on Wednesday afternoon but despite that the advance for will be around 25-30% for day one which will mean sales of around 13-14 crore nett for day one even before a show has started.
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October 23, 2014 at 9:12 AM
New Delhi: Happy New Year is an ultimate recipe, which needs to be gulped with immense pleasure.
http://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood/happy-new-year-movie-review-17907.html
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October 23, 2014 at 9:14 AM
http://www.masala.com/movie-review-happy-new-year-181867.html?page=1
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October 23, 2014 at 9:14 AM
Movie Review: Happy New Year, a whopper blockbuster
http://post.jagran.com/movie-review-happy-new-year-a-whopper-blockbuster-1414059138
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October 23, 2014 at 11:45 AM
looks like a blunder from farha khan,
http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/review-happy-new-year-1.1402792
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October 23, 2014 at 12:09 PM
this review is now appearing here for the third time!
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October 23, 2014 at 9:21 AM
HAPPY NEW YEAR Is Stunning Combo Of Comedy And Action
http://www.boxofficecapsule.com/review/Happy-New-Year-231
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October 23, 2014 at 9:48 AM
First Genuine Review : HNY – 2/5
http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/review-happy-new-year-1.1402792#.VEjxGsNmUEA.twitter
Farah seems to have taken a misstep with Happy New Year
Forget stealing diamonds, this motley of wannabe crooks don’t seem to have the know-how to steal a safety pin from a supermarket
Bachchan Jr as the uncouth Nandu and Irani as the ageing Parsi bachelor are endearing in parts, but the simplistic story lets them down. Khan is in familiar territory and has the tendency to ham things along.
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October 23, 2014 at 10:49 AM
this was posted earlier.
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October 23, 2014 at 12:23 PM
Why is it genuine?
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October 23, 2014 at 3:30 PM
It looks geniune for Yakuza just because it is negative.Has Bachchan been the lead in the film,, Yakuza would have termed it as biased..
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October 23, 2014 at 10:26 AM
I saw HNY today in Vox cinemas Mirdif; believe me I have been in Dubai for 8 years but had seen the Palm and Atlantis just a few times, that too from a distance. this movie is full of Atlantis…. like a 3 hour long advertisement of Atlantis.
about the movie…. this was BORING movie. jokes were silly, plot was uninteresting and there wasnt anything new. the whole story involving Anupam Kher wasnt needed at all.
at the bo it will be huge in Dubai and middle-east, but in India it will tank after the first weekend. I expect 100crs in 3 days and 150cr total.
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October 23, 2014 at 12:28 PM
Anshul, thanks for the review.
Please do comeback when HNY has tanked at 150cr.
Do you see this goinng Jai Ho way?
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October 23, 2014 at 11:03 AM
I believe this movie already broke 1st records for Dubai!
What a disservice to the fans if the movie turns out to be trashy.
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October 23, 2014 at 11:13 AM
Given the kinds of movies that are successful all the time the ‘fans’ probably don’t mind the ‘disservice’! Leaving this aside I pity the fans who go to HNY looking for a Ratnam film. Or a Hirani film. Or even a very meaningful commercial film. What in Farah Khan’s previous work could possibly generate such an expectation?! The issue then isn’t ‘trash’ but ‘trashy entertainment’! And that’s a rather low bar. Now it’s possible she hasn’t met it but again given the kinds of movies that work all the time these days from the average Salman Khan starter to other masala varieties to something like YJHD at the other end we are for the most part in various modes of precisely ‘trashy entertainment’! Even if I don’t find most of it entertaining! The exceptions are rare which is why one looks forward to PK!
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October 23, 2014 at 11:31 AM
There is that one common human trait – learning from your past mistakes which is a perfectly normal behaviour. Then there is something known as hope! We all wish something better next time around….. otherwise people will simply stop watching movies!
Of course no one is looking for a Ratnam at Diwali but at least don’t continue to dumb down audience sensibilities when you sound so intelligent off screen. I am sure there is a lot of hidden talent screaming for support from big stars but unfortunately it’s not to be……
Kapil Sharma’s jokes on CNWK are more or less same as what he did on Comedy Circus for so many years, but given a different platform with new set of people and better presentation he has the nation hooked at 10 pm on weekends!
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October 23, 2014 at 11:50 AM
The movie is all set for a truly gargantuan opening tomorrow. 40 crores for only the Hindi version is truly on. By noon tomorrow we will know the WOM and if there are cracks in smaller centre, even then 38 crores will be the final total.. I had said 3 months back that this movie can do 40 crores on day 1. Unless something goes terribly wrong that is going to be a cake walk. Also this is releasing at around 4800 screens. And the advance is the best ever. The reports from gulf are mixed but we have seen before in doom 3 that mixed reports doesn’t matter much once the audience has decided to watch a movie. That might be well the case here. If it is able to maintain a minimum standard some real old time records will fall. Mumbai alone will be around 13 crores on day 1. To put this to perspective bang bang made 40 crores in Mumbai across its entire run and this will do 33 percent of that on day 1 itself…by weekend it might have gone past bang bang in Mumbai if things go well. That will be stunning!!!
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October 23, 2014 at 12:08 PM
It is certainly review-proof in throwing up those big numbers as long as WOM is mixed and it isn’t bad. If the latter things can degenerate quite rapidly after the first few days. If the former it can keep putting up those high end numbers for a week or so. But that still will only make it a ‘normal’ big film in terms of the final total. As I said recently it’s not that easy to get even to the D3 total. This after allowing for the fact that D3 itself wasn’t the strongest trender around. But let’s look at just Farah Khan from the past when she’s teamed up with SRK. MHN doubled its week 1 and added a fair bit to this. OSO certainly doubled it (and did some depending on who you believe). OSO is probably the best comparison here anyway because the ‘circus’ of that film most closely resembles the one on display here. The difference (again to repeat myself) is that the Karz ‘remake’ gave it an inherent dramatic frame (even if Farah Khan did her best to throw in comedy as much as possible otherwise and pretty much derail the drama of that story for large parts) whereas HNY has none. Heist films even traditionally tend to be ‘comedies’ much more than dramas. I don’t mean this in the literal sense but in a genre one. In the West they’re more often than not about a certain ‘cool’, a certain wryness (I’m overusing this word today!) and so forth. The films are interesting without ever being edge of the seat thrillers. And they’re quite often slices of cultural history. Hollywood when it remakes older heists tends to inject more drama into them. Ocean’s 11 is an exception but you have the Thomas Crown Affair or Italian Job among others, both much more regular thrillers than the original works. Farah Khan, specially given her excessive tendencies, doesn’t fall into this category. Then there’s the desperation to make everyone do comedy. Every member of the team does it in one way or the other. Which is fine if you have Hirani’s level of filmmaking! Otherwise it starts wearing thin after a while. And so to get back to your point again the big initial numbers are not in doubt but one must look for signs of relative weakness because these will then tell us what the final total is likely to be. Of course we live in an age where once it gets past a certain number everyone calls it a hit. This was always going to be the most likely scenario. Whether it’s better or worse than this remains to be seen. Just think these filmmakers don’t have the confidence to try something a little more sensible even with everything in place. OSO for example could have grossed a lot more than it did. No one attempts a sincere film, they design them for the big initials, everyone gets all excited about the latter, this is the only narrative in the media, hence it’s not surprising that the final result is also not quite Hirani-like! It’s all shock and awe.
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October 23, 2014 at 3:47 PM
Why does one keep comparing OSO to Karz. I think it was Madhumati.
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October 23, 2014 at 5:17 PM
They themselves only referred to Karz in this context. Plus there were many specific references to the latter here, for instance the Hamlet-like moment at the end.
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October 24, 2014 at 10:17 AM
It was the same in Madhumati.
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October 24, 2014 at 10:26 AM
did it have that Mousetrap moment at the end? Didn’t remember that. Should revisit it.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:37 AM
The trap and dead people coming to trap is similar in Madhumati and OSO. I don’t remember it so well in Karz though. All I remember is a Simmi running away in a jeep being chased by Rishi.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:44 AM
The original Karz has what is one of the very good music videos of Hindi cinema in its climactic moment. Basically Hamlet-like a play-within-the-play is staged wherein the ‘conspiracy’ is revealed. Didn’t think Madhumati had this, now I see you’re referring to something else. OSO also repeats this Karz moment. Not as well done but not bad on its own. The Karz video is probably Ghai’s best moment as director.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:46 AM
part of an older comment:
[But of course enough cannot be said about that climactic song sequence with the apocalyptic tune and lyrics, and Kishore’s even more apocalyptic rendition. This is a Hamlet-like ‘play within the play’ moment in the film. But also there is a screen in the background with a kind of ‘negative’ of the past projected onto it so that you can make out the action but not the actual faces. In other words Rishi Kapoor performs before the audience, diegetically and non-diegetically; behind him is the ‘unconscious’ screen of the past (but also troping the cinematic screen on which audience desire is projected; the unclear images make this screen do double duty in both ways!) on which the horror or the ‘real’ of the situation is revealed. And of course such a ‘real’ must always appear more than a little hazy or distorted.]
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October 24, 2014 at 11:46 AM
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October 24, 2014 at 1:36 PM
OK. Thanks. I was indeed referring to the ‘dead’ character exposing the crime which is common to Madfhumati and OSO. I don’t remember such a scene of Karz in OSO though.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:40 PM
that song in OSO even has some similar lyrics..
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October 24, 2014 at 2:10 PM
Thank you satyam. The picture is clear now.
LOL I watched OSO much after Madhumati, but didn’t remember this scene, instead remembered the dead Deepika doing her act as in Madhumati.
I guess one could say it is a combination taking both these elements of a play within a play from Karz and the dead character trapping with her story from M’mati.
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October 23, 2014 at 11:54 AM
Despite so-much going on in one film, the narrative is sluggish and often sleep-inducing. http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/films-music/bollywood-review-happy-new-year-is-about-farah-khan-s-love-for-shah-rukh-khan-2014-10-23-1.567438?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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October 23, 2014 at 11:57 AM
Your commentary is adequate for most part and fully agree on her box office performance except that lifetime business where doubt this is the one which will break that record.
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October 23, 2014 at 12:12 PM
I agree that life time depends on the reaction. And people’s tolerance with srk is far less than aamir so with similar WOM as D3 it will still struggle to reach D3 lifetime total
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October 23, 2014 at 12:17 PM
It’s partly about Aamir but partly also the fact that Dhoom never overdoes things. So maybe D3 was too much ‘narrative’ for people. Maybe those bits didn’t quite gel with the former history of the franchise (even if it was nonetheless the most ambitious of the Dhoom scripts). But it wasn’t over the top. With some of these others films the directors just don’t know where to stop. There’s a kind of film that the audience might not love or even like but be able to take seriously and then there’s one that they don’t like and also laugh at. There’s a difference. Again not prejudging HNY but whatever it does or doesn’t the trailers already told one that it was going to be a certain kind of deal.
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October 23, 2014 at 12:34 PM
Well it seems Abhisekh is not having a special role as it claimed, or the reviews are missing it. I just hope it’s not a sidekick role, or else people who admired him in Guru, Raavan, Yuva, etc can have a legitimate grievance.
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October 23, 2014 at 12:46 PM
First Video Review of TMK .. Better than TMK (If this is some compliment) .. http://t.co/KtGFeKh2Hf
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October 23, 2014 at 12:57 PM
Thanks, I guess your job next few days will be to post all negative reviews of HNY, oh before you tell me that mine will be to post positive, just scroll up where I have already osted a negatvie review.
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October 23, 2014 at 12:59 PM
who are you ?
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October 23, 2014 at 1:01 PM
10 Reasons Why Shahrukh’s Happy New Year Will Be A Big Flop
http://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2014/reasons-why-happy-new-year-movie-review-will-be-big-flop-162312.html
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October 23, 2014 at 1:28 PM
LOL…
Some of the resons listed are:
Jackie Shroff
He was a great actor when he was young but it is time he accepts that his career in Bollywood is over and retires. Over the years any movie that he has acted in has flopped big time. Why would you cast this guy?
D3 was a big flop???
Plot
Weakest plot, seems like just another Dhoom movie and nothing else.
“seems”, Wait, so did you see the movie or not???
Sonu Sood
Another actor gone to waste, he is capable of so much more but he is resorted to such cheap role of a dumb person with smoke blowing out his ears.
Which great film did he do???
Big Flop
The trailer is the key to a good movie, as you show the best bits of the movie in the trailer to draw the audience. Here the trailer was only so bad, I can’t imagine how the movie will be.
Wait, so did you see the movie or not???
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October 23, 2014 at 1:08 PM
really unfair from Yakuza!!!seeing posts like the ones from this guy/girl make me truely believe SRK is on top of the game where some have an agenda just to pull him down…but why???
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October 23, 2014 at 1:19 PM
He and others have been trying to do that for a decade now, but SRK is stronger and richer than ever before.
It is pitty of a life if you have to spend your time and energy on trying to pull somebody down and wish bad ill towards somebody. What a miserable and low life that must be.
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October 23, 2014 at 1:29 PM
“richer”?! Does that have any relevance here? I don’t know why you keep bringing this up.
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October 23, 2014 at 1:35 PM
It may, what if his desires are to be a very rich man? Many people has that desire.
If you put on table for me right now that I have a choice to either be a best actor in the world or have 4,000 crore in my bank, guess which one i’m taking?
I can guarantee that 99% of the people will pick what i pick.
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October 23, 2014 at 2:03 PM
I don’t agree with that at all.. people who are truly ambitious never go into things with money being the topmost goal.. it’s always a byproduct.. you might desire to make money but there has to be a greater goal that excites you more than this. And I’ll say this, it’s not true even for SRK that his desire is really to make money more than anything else. If anything I’d say it’s the opposite. He once wanted to be precisely the kind of star-actor Aamir has become since. Maybe the time wasn’t right for this in the 90s, maybe he didn’t have the right judgment, eventually when things changed he had sold out too much, maybe all of these.. but in any case he did try a number of things in the 90s which show he was interested in more. I even remember the interviews he gave when he was new in the industry. He very much desired that actor tag. Over time things worked out differently and then the rest followed. The whole ‘I am the biggest spiel’ and what not. often these things are meant to cover over deeper anxieties. These are consolation prizes. And in terms of the money one doesn’t have to choose anyway. If you’re Aamir and you want to do that sort of thing you can still make a lot of money. In any case even if SRK were just interested in making money (which I don’t believe) your logic still doesn’t follow. Because when we’re judging a star we’re not really interested in what his desire is or isn’t. Or more precisely the only relevant part of his desire is what pertains to his job. If George Bush said that he was richer now than before and that was his only desire and he didn’t care how history judged him as president one would find it more than a little absurd! Sure, in an abstract sense everyone wants money but the truly ambitious never have this as their primary goal. In any field. Because if that is your goal you never have a chance of truly achieving what you might otherwise be capable of. I’d argue that SRK himself sold out at some point and really canceled out whatever potential he might have had. Many stars do this, nothing out of the ordinary here. But he was one of those. The rest has just been one long spiel. No one is denying his stardom or his iconic appeal. But this is a different debate.
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October 23, 2014 at 2:14 PM
Agree with what you say but for some reason I keep going back to his early days and the song from Yes Boss where the sog is around havig a bungla (ironically at this point his is on road in front of his future home, Mannat), nokar/chakar, log aage/piche, and money flying all around him and than ends it with “Bas itna sa khwab hai”. So i think all of above plays a big factor in his life.
I think being rich comes with it’s own disadvantages. Often they’re miserable in life and have other losers who are trying to pull you down hence they stay close with just few friends. IF those few friends are useless, than you’re screwed.
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October 23, 2014 at 1:40 PM
success can be measured on many things.
For me it’s how happy I am.
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October 23, 2014 at 2:09 PM
In my view ‘happiness’ is usually life’s consolation prize. Not because I don’t believe in it. Just that I’m always skeptical when some parameter of success is placed on one side and happiness on the other. This isn’t just about stars by the way. I’m making a much more general point. and why do I say this? Because while you can be in it just for ‘happiness’ your entire life then has to be governed a certain way. And that’s rarely the case. You can’t run a race and then say ‘I’m happy to be second’. Because you wouldn’t be in the race in the first place if you really believed that. You’d be doing something else. Getting back to the movies this is true even for a star like Abhishek who seems very modest and so on. In one sense he is but to paraphrase Nietzsche his humility is based on a much greater arrogance. His only model is probably his father. he doesn’t see the others as competition nor is he unduly bothered by that kind of success. His ideal game has always been precisely to be the kind of star who does Ratnam or Mehra more often than not and then commercial films along the way. Things don;t often work out the way one plans them but going by your argument I could say he’s richer now than he was when he did Guru and he certainly seems quite happy. One should explore things a bit more deeply. If Abhishek weren’t that sort of guy and didn’t have those ambitions why did he take on the most ambitious projects to begin with? Why didn’t he just make it business-as-usual and stick to safe commercial stuff?! This ‘happiness’ thing isn’t true for anyone, on or offscreen, again barring those who structure their lives radically differently.
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October 23, 2014 at 2:46 PM
Money is not a problem for Abhi, his father has plenty, but what if doing ratnam and mehra fils makes him happy and that is his “happiness”, does’t matter if the film is hit or flop.
Now that Ratnama dn Mehra have moved on maybe abhi is left with no choice but do to BB, D3, HNY, Housefull, etc…
Again, money is not a problem but you don’t want to look unemployed. As it is people says he is know for his father, mother and wife.
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October 23, 2014 at 1:30 PM
I’m a VERY big fan of SRK since childhood…I sincerely wish his film to do better than other actors…but i’ll never pull a movie down just for that cause…this is cheap!!!I sincerely hope and wish the person who is dong this to get well soon
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October 23, 2014 at 1:38 PM
Correct and the way i see it, let’s say I don’t like Aamir, but it’s not only Aamir in that movie, there are hundreds of other people who worked on that movie and some whose daily bread depends on it. Why would you wish something bad on them indirectly???
Life is too short for these type of pitty stuff. Again, you would have to have miserable unhappy life for you to wish bad things on others.
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October 23, 2014 at 2:34 PM
Krk has slammed hny..his video review is on youtube.. I am in double mind as to watch or pass the movie..
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October 23, 2014 at 2:41 PM
KRK was bang on with CE and if he sayig HNY is bad, then it may really be a bad movie unless he has some other motiv.
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October 23, 2014 at 7:05 PM
Are you serious? KRK hardly knows anything about movies.
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October 23, 2014 at 3:40 PM
KRK Review of #HNY .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nip961t3YU0 … Whatever anyone say .. his detailing is good and funny, for every review. He is a star reviewer now 😉
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October 23, 2014 at 5:59 PM
The great KRK has a new fan, courtsy SRK film…
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October 23, 2014 at 7:22 PM
I just went to Twitter to see the feedback.. more than half of the tweets are from Yakuza (yakuzazoomin) and obviously negative without even watching it! 🙂
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October 23, 2014 at 7:58 PM
I wonder if yakuza ever put up KRK review for countless bachhan flops.
But at least this gives true picture of Yakuza and couple others like him on this site who pretends to be objective and honest but in reality are nothing more than srk hater.
By the way, where is Jay? I assume he’ll show up strong if HNY tanks from saturday or sunday.
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October 23, 2014 at 10:23 PM
You’re being unfair on Jay. You don’t know him at all. He’s the least biased person here when it comes to having an open mind about the stuff he sees. Whether he likes the star or not. And the same applies to how he judges performances.
Will say about the rest though that you too indulge in this old label of ‘haters’ and so on. Many people are, they dislike stars intensely and they want them to fail. So what?! I don’t quite buy the ‘moralism’ of the argument you also subscribe to — ‘oh how can one live one’s life like this’? As if this is the only real test of one’s character, whether one hates x star or not!
Leaving this aside how is is a more ‘elevated’ existence, a more ‘spiritual’ life if one is so much in love with a star that one resorts to all kinds of extraordinary arguments and parameters to jealously guard what one perceives to be the interests of the star? Is this a more ‘noble’ way to live? Simply vicariously by just peddling the interests of the star? You keep saying ‘SRK is stronger and richer than before’. Is this a reasonable, impartial kind of claim? I’ve already talked about the ‘riches’ part of it before. But no matter how much he might be in the running as a star even at his age is it really reasonable to suggest by any stretch of the imagination that he’s stronger than he was at his peak? I wouldn’t say this about the greatest stars, irrespective of how well or not they do as older stars or how transcendent they might or might not be (leaving aside the rare exception of a couple of stars who’ve actually had the best seasons of their careers relatively late, whether as a box office matter or otherwise.. but this never happens to the star who is truly iconic over a sustained period of time at a younger age and who moreover defines the debate). It’s not humanly possible. You might acquire a different kind of currency as a star, that doesn’t mean you’re ‘stronger’! Anyway I’m not here to debate this. It was just an example. My point is, how is it a ‘better’ existence to love a star so much that all rationality goes out the window? One gets offended if one perceives a slight to the star, one is heavily invested in every crore a star’s film is going to do, one is carefully watching how much credit or not he gets each time, on and on. Isn’t this the other side of the ‘hate’ coin. In each case one simply does not approach the subject maturely. In each case one is overly invested in the star as a very personal matter. I’m not criticizing this necessarily but if you keep bringing up ‘hater’ I’m not sure why ‘lover’ is better! Specially since the object of one’s love in this case isn’t some sort of great cause or some spiritual journey or a great figure, even an actor, who truly commands that sort of universal respect. One is free to love anyone (!) but SRK is just a hugely iconic, very successful star of New India. And one has said everything about him. There is nothing more to ‘see’ here. I’m not being reductive. I know the history in more ways than one!
Again I’m not saying one cannot be a fan otherwise. One can be a fan of any star. But I’m trying to understand why this kind of ‘love’ places one on a higher pedestal! And again I’m not arguing that some people don’t hate stars (though I don’t find anything wrong with this) or that they then don’t act in juvenile fashion to pursue that hate (there might be something wrong with this), just saying one is in no ‘superior’ position to make this argument if one shows the same sort of excess on the other side. This whole ‘hate’ lingo is fairly pointless. Which is once again not to defend the craziness that sometimes crops up on the other side.
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October 23, 2014 at 11:00 PM
Maybe you’re thinking about another Jay, go thru any comment on SRK written by Jay and than tell me.
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October 24, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Bringing Jay is in very bad taste.
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October 27, 2014 at 6:12 PM
“You’re being unfair on Jay.”
HA! Z, you will shortly realize the fair system here where some are “fundamentalists” and hated and others are fundamentalists but loved because they are friends. HaHa
There are friends and loyalties. Jay is in “liked” box 😉
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October 24, 2014 at 1:06 AM
Kamaal hai .. mushkil se 5-6 retweets for #HNY and twitter mere tweets se bhar gaya … itne kam response hain kya ??
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October 23, 2014 at 7:33 PM
Sofar 2 reviews out and both bad.
http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/films-music/bollywood-review-happy-new-year-is-about-farah-khan-s-love-for-shah-rukh-khan-2014-10-23-1.567438
http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/review-happy-new-year-1.1402792
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October 23, 2014 at 7:45 PM
Mater stroke by Hirani.
PK poster as blocker on BOOMYSHOW on release day of HNY.
http://in.bookmyshow.com/
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October 23, 2014 at 7:53 PM
Nothing new, Gajini was promoted hevily in theatre by having the ticket seller have gajini haircut when RBNDJ released.
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October 23, 2014 at 7:55 PM
Aamir Khan: Shah Rukh’s popularity benefits me
Aamir, further adding, “Shah Rukh’s popularity benefits me. By attaching my film’s trailer with his film, my film definitely stands to gain.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Aamir-Khan-Shah-Rukhs-popularity-benefits-me/articleshow/44917296.cms
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October 23, 2014 at 8:01 PM
It works both ways.
Any trailer releasing with any big films is a big plus since it will get max amount of veiws.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:36 PM
as a business decision..this is what’s supposed to be done. when you go see big films..a trailer of another upcoming big film usually releases. makes total sense.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:40 PM
totally agree, like i said it works both ways.
And more the SRK or Aamir or actor of any big films, the distributors drives this mainly. It’s their money on the line.
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October 23, 2014 at 7:53 PM
Pathetic, no movie to look forward to for next 3 weeks. Only shaukeen but unimpressive trailer and akshay in side role.
Killdil will come only in fourth week from now.
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October 23, 2014 at 7:55 PM
Smart move by Farah. casting Jr b she knew whe will get support from a big lobby , also Askhay and Ajay pushed their films behind.
Damn this is pathetic time for movie goers.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Did you see the movie?
Where is the big lobby when Jr b solo starrer releases???
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October 23, 2014 at 10:26 PM
There is definitely, bachchan lobby may not be as big any of 3 khans at moment. But, they also have significant number of well wishers within industry and fan following. Solo starrer need massive fan following to make it hit. Jr b is no superstar, but more than anything he has no charisma to pull off any big solo starrer. Otherwise, there is a lobby ofcourse how big is for another thread of discussion.
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October 23, 2014 at 11:07 PM
“bachchan lobby may not be as big any of 3 khans at moment”
Let’s say it’s not even half of 3 khans individually.
Agree there is a lobby for sure for bachhans but I think the paying public has a mind of it’s own.
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October 23, 2014 at 8:06 PM
Not sure if anybodys interested but Kaththi review:
http://www.koimoi.com/reviews/kaththi-review/
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October 23, 2014 at 10:29 PM
Everybody was interested, actually i was following its reviews more than hny and they came out much earlier but only to give disappointment.
In NCR region, Kaththi was racing ahead in booking until wednesday to much surprise. While it is first choice in south india whatsoever.
Worst thing happened for me was postponement of Shankar’s ‘I’. It was supposed to be release on 23rd oct , now pushed to end of november.
After one month, there will be lot of movies to look forward to.
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October 23, 2014 at 10:30 PM
Right now waiting for interstellar, just 2 weeks to go. 🙂
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October 23, 2014 at 11:03 PM
Interstellar should be awesome, they kind of got MAtthew at the right right time. He is fresh of 2 great success in Dallas buyers club and True Detective.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:08 AM
Just came to know that here in NJ it released one day earlier than India..i.e on Thursday..though only evening and night shows.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:09 AM
Mumbai has gone bonkers with the opening of HNY. Very rare u get bumper response at such a big release. Tomorrow is a critical day as we will know the WOM impact which is mixed.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:59 AM
BOI also mentioning Mumbai which I had done in my previous post…
Happy New Year Has Bumper Opening
Friday 24 October 2014 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has taken a bumper opening all over with collections around the 75-80% mark on average which is better than all the films released this year by a distance. The opening is universal across the board. The biggest holiday of the year gives the film that extra boost especially at the single screens. The Shahrukh Khan – Deepika Padukone pairing has now seen a record or near record opening everytime they have been paired together.
The opening is extraordinary all over though Mumbai city can be called to be an out performer as it is rare to see shows at around 8.00am to be house full or near house full in multiplexes of Mumbai city. The city normally sees lower opening occupancies than cities like Delhi or Ahmedabad as it has a huge number of screenings.
The release in terms of screens is the widest ever but in terms of shows it is possibly less than Kick due to the long runtime of the film. The film is around 30 minutes longer than Kick which means Kick was getting six shows per screen at some multiplexes while that would be impossible with Happy New Year unless with it is very odd timings. Happy New Year is on course to break records and with another holiday tomorrow and then Sunday to follow it not only gives it a big chance of a first day record but also a weekend record.
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October 24, 2014 at 6:11 AM
Friday 24 October 2014 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has taken the best opening of the year by a distance in the morning shows and if this pace holds which it should as it is a big holiday it will be an all time record. The other films releases this year did not hold the same pace for some reason or the other apart from Ek Villain and 2 States.
Kick was hit by pre eid so although the opening was so strong it was uneven and the muslim centres slowed rapidly after first show at single screens. Bang Bang took a 70% start at multiplexes but was held back by single screens and slowed in the evening at many places. At the time it looked like it was due to Navratra’s and Puja’s but in hindsight it was obviously word of mouth kicking in. The other films that opened well were Ek Villain, Two States and Jai Ho with the first two being smaller releases and Jai Ho having better occupancies at multiplexes in the morning on lower rates but not really consolidating.
The average occupancies in the morning shows of releases this year are as follows.
1. Happy New Year 75-80%
2. Kick 60-65%
3. Bang Bang 60-65%
4. Ek Villain 60-65%
5. Jai Ho 55-60%
5. 2 States 55-60%
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October 24, 2014 at 6:12 AM
“At the time it looked like it was due to Navratra’s and Puja’s but in hindsight it was obviously word of mouth kicking in.”
LOL, as if they didn’t know.. we’ve been pointing out such excuses for years!
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October 24, 2014 at 6:59 AM
LOL
Looks like a record breaking opening is on the cards. Mumbai seems to be the winner here as other films seemed to struggle to put the numbers up compared to other regions but here it is up there, if not ahead. Bodes well for first few days. D3 records should be broken here, at least the opening day, top day and opening weekend.
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October 24, 2014 at 7:06 AM
the opening day and biggest single day will both fall today…Think D3’s third day was the biggest single day number till now. I am not able to get any consensus on audience feedback one way or other the way I could for bang Bang or Besharam. Tomorrow will be crucial for the weekend record. Monday will be crucial for 200 crores and D3 total…A monday drop cannot be ruled out at the moment. Saturday and Sunday will give us an idea…
I am booked for tomorrow evening for now…
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October 24, 2014 at 4:13 AM
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/506826
Taran adarsh review.. He gave 4.5!!!
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October 24, 2014 at 7:22 AM
This is not Tarans review.
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October 24, 2014 at 7:23 AM
Happy New Year is a long showreel of what Shah Rukh Khan the superstar can do –
looks like a big opening and by monday it will do 300cr,
Happy New Year’ turns out to be a cross between an `Oceans 11/12’ and ‘Flashdance’ and a whole bunch of movies that topline Mera Bharat Mahan sentiments. And a film which threatens to sink because it begins with such an eye glaze, but manages to rescue itself because of Farah Khan’s relentless take-no-prisoners attitude : where it can get big, make it gigantic ; where it can get colourful, stuff in every single primary colour, and turn the spotlight on. She pulls it off, but only just
. – See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/movie-review-happy-new-year-is-a-long-showreel-of-what-shah-rukh-khan-the-superstar-can-do/#sthash.dWKhkD6G.dpuf
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October 24, 2014 at 6:43 AM
If absurdity is the definition of humour, I’d rather see pigs fly.
Low on wit, quirk and imagination, Happy New Year wears stupidity like a medal — embarrassingly content with its self-congratulatory tone that references Farah’s own films.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-happy-new-year-is-drab/20141024.htm
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October 24, 2014 at 7:52 AM
Happy New Year 1st Day Collection Early Trends, Earth Shattering in Noon shows.
Happy New Year movie is just housefull everywhere as early trends for first day (Friday) noon shows are coming in. Film is just earth shattering everywhere with 95%+ occupancy recording all across India. Be it big cities or interiors film is just Sold Out in Noon shows as samples are received. This is extremely good news for HNY and film is on its way to make history today at box office.
Happy New Year opened to 75-80% in Morning shows which is just excellent considering film released in huge scale. After that film has picked up to 95-100% occupancy in Noon shows which is historic considering film released in over 4000 screens in India.
Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kanpur everywhere film is recording 95-100% occupancy which is just like ideal case. Even Mumbai which started in epic proportion in Morning shows, holding well in noon time with 85-90% recording as per latest.
Coming to first day collection if film now holds well in Evening and Night time, then all time opening records are in danger.
Occupancy Report for HNY Noon Shows –
Delhi – 95-100% [70-75% M]
Gurgaon – 95-100% [65-70% M]
Mumbai – 85-90% [90% M]
Hyderabad – 95-100% [90% M]
Pune – 95-100% [80% M]
Lucknow – 95-100% [65% M]
Kanpur – 95-100% [65% M]
http://www.addatoday.com/2014/10/happy-new-year-1st-day-collection-early.html
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October 24, 2014 at 7:55 AM
If the WOM is negative, the movie will start coming down heavily starting tomorrow itself.
No cracks will be seen today as most tickets are sold in advance.
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October 24, 2014 at 8:32 AM
most films don’t fall heavily on the second day. Unless they’re utter tanks. Often Sat is lower, then Sun is stronger. There might be relative weakness evident but the real drops only come after the 3-4 days. Of course if Sun is only slight stronger than Fri or if Sat drops more than 10% or so that’s one kind of indication. But if the weekend is close to sold out here even that impact might be limited.
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October 24, 2014 at 8:43 AM
Even if there is a drop of 10 percent that will be compensated by increase in collections down south and other parts of India where Friday was a working day. I am expecting close to 38 correspond tomorrow. If this is a bang bang kind of deal we will know if the collections go below 35 crores
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October 24, 2014 at 8:56 AM
the point is that when a film starts out this way and reaches the 100 crore mark or whatever in the fastest time the rest of the benchmarks should also be judged the same way. It shouldn’t just do 200 and be called a winner or just do what CE did and so on. Obviously in the media everyone tends to do so the moment a certain number is reached, that’s a different matter. If it’s beating the D3 opening it should minimally match that film’s final number, specially when D3 itself didn’t trend too well in the later stages (after the first 7-10 days).
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October 24, 2014 at 8:12 AM
Rangan:
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October 24, 2014 at 8:36 AM
Rangans review pretty much encapsulates everything what I am hearing about the movie. The movie has enough moments which is preventing it being a complete washout but the narrative is not great and it is more like a series of gags put together but gags which are humorous at times. Hence it is pretty difficult to predict accurately how this will trend. DNA gives it 4 stars, midday 3 stars, rang an is fairly complimentary, rediff gives it 2 stars and these are Good reviewers who are not in the taran adarsh mode.
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October 24, 2014 at 8:19 AM
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October 24, 2014 at 8:20 AM
HNY Opens At 80pc; Weekend Sold Out
by Soumita Sengupta (October 24, 2014)
Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release Happy New Year directed by Farah Khan opened at over 80-per cent occupancy all over India. The film, which released at around 5,000 screens across the country, also features Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. The morning show witnessed a huge turnout and the numbers have been climbing ever since. Tickets for the weekend are all sold out, which means that this bumper Diwali dhamaka will set new records at the box office.
Rajesh Thadani, Multimedia Combines, Mumbai
Farah Khan’s Happy New Year took an outstanding opening of 80 per cent in the morning and shows have been house full in Mumbai’s single-screens as well as multiplexes since then. Tickets are sold out for the weekend and the numbers will be fabulous.
Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts, Delhi-UP
First, the fact that Shah Rukh Khan, Farah Khan and Deepika Padukone are back together in a film has created a lot of hype and then King Khan went all over the world to promote his film. As a result, the film took a marvellous opening of around 85 per cent. From the evening show onwards, shows will be house full as tickets are already sold out.
Jaspal Dhingra, Nanaksar Enterprises, East Punjab
The film’s opening in our circuit was over 70 per cent but from the very second show, footfalls started increasing. The film is the perfect Diwali family entertainer.
Gaurav Gaur, O’Real Imaginations, Rajasthan
There is no doubt that the film will enter the Rs 100 crore club by Sunday. Shah Rukh Khan promotes and markets his films in style and this time, he went all out with his entire team. Tomorrow’s collections will be bigger than today’s.
Sarang Chandak, Shri Rang Films, CP
HNY opened with 90 per cent in our circuit, which is a huge number as yesterday was Lakshmi Puja. Still, everyone turned out to catch the first show. In CP, SRK has loyal fans and the opening show is proof of this.
Rakesh Singh, Maa Sona Films, Bihar
Happy New Year opened with 75 per cent in Bihar and every show since then has been running house full at both single screens and multiplexes. Whenever Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan feature together, it has always been a treat for the audience. This movie will break many records.
Jeetu Khandelwal, Movie Pioneers, Orissa
Whenever Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan team up, they make massy entertainers and this film is no exception. The response and the reports of the film are outstanding. The film took an opening of around 70 per cent and tickets for the weekend shows are sold out.
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October 24, 2014 at 8:32 AM
Q: If Sajid Khan, Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder fall off a tall building, who will survive?
A: Indian Cinema.
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October 24, 2014 at 8:34 AM
LOL!!!
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October 24, 2014 at 8:36 AM
Jokes like this (almost) make it possible to bear the making of films like HNY!
With social media at its merciless best, I can at least salvage some hope for Bollywood’s future…
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October 24, 2014 at 8:41 PM
ha!
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October 24, 2014 at 8:34 AM
Nahta:
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October 24, 2014 at 8:41 AM
http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/happy-new-year-movie-review/
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-5-reasons-why-shah-rukh-khan-s-happy-new-year-is-a-must-watch-2028893
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/happy-new-year-movie-review-shah-rukh-khan-deepika-padukone-starrer-is-a-masala-entertainer-that-shouldnt-be-missed/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-review/Happy-New-Year/movie-review/44910021.cms
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October 24, 2014 at 8:47 AM
so far I detect a correlation between those who like the film to any degree and also seem to be impressed with Abhishek. Apparently he’s trending strongly on twitter.
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October 24, 2014 at 8:46 AM
this is probably the most praise Abhishek has ever received from the reliably anti-Bachchan Nahta other than probably Guru. Don’t think he was this kind even for BB! And
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October 24, 2014 at 8:46 AM
In HNY, Shah Rukh displays none of the charms that made him a star. The film is one of the most idiotic he’s made and this is one of the worst performances in the actor’s career. He can’t get even a snap of chemistry going with Padukone in the limp and listless love story of HNY. His action sequences are laboured and Khan had more comic scenes in Ra.One, which should be some indication of how humorless HNY is.
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/happy-new-year-review-this-shah-rukh-khan-starrer-may-be-a-hit-but-its-also-his-worst-1771031.html
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October 24, 2014 at 8:48 AM
It looked worse than Ra.One from the first teaser itself!
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October 24, 2014 at 8:58 AM
the thing is that if a film like Ra One and HNY receive the same WOM the latter is likely to fare much better than the former. The genre issue becomes important here. From all the reviews I think one is looking at probably a worse film than OSO which in turn was worse than MHN.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:05 AM
I think it’s probably as bad as Tees Maar Khan.
I fail to understand how could anyone find a morsel of humor in these 2 films. The trailers were embarrassingly bad!
But I see your larger point. The genre might give it an edge over Ra.One…but that’s a pretty low bar to begin with!
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October 24, 2014 at 9:09 AM
Diwali or not any movie as bad as tees Maar khan would have showed cracks by now. I have a feeling the public review of this movie is better than the critics review.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:15 AM
“Diwali or not any movie as bad as tees Maar khan would have showed cracks by now.”
You mean like how OUATIM2 showed it from day one?
Don’t go by what the likes of saket/yakuza/etc says. They’re here with an agenda.
If you go by their comments only, you’d think that HNY collection so far are on the low level of abhi solo starrer 🙂
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October 24, 2014 at 9:26 AM
by the same token going by what you say on SRK we’d all be suffering from amnesia on everything that has happened in Bollywood after Lagaan and after Salman and so on! Or everything that happened to SRK between OSO and CE! When we expect fairness from others we must display some of it ourselves too!
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October 24, 2014 at 9:19 AM
Don’t go by what the likes of saket/yakuza/etc says. They’re here with an agenda.
And you are here to broker world peace, create harmony and spread nirvana!
Gimme a break!
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October 24, 2014 at 8:58 AM
Firstpost has gone on a tear…here’s another one:
Happy New Year review: SRK stars in Ocean’s 11 re-written by baboons
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/happy-new-year-review-srk-stars-in-oceans-11-re-written-by-baboons-1770829.html#disqus_thread
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October 24, 2014 at 9:00 AM
And here comes the response: (from the comments section)
Mihir Fadnavis – you just insulted baboons .
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October 24, 2014 at 9:06 AM
And when did mihir fadnavis become any sort of benchmark. I love reading his review but I don’t think he knows one good Hindi movie from another. Rangans positive words had made me quite curious to watch this one
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October 24, 2014 at 9:11 AM
Rangan isn’t really positive on it in the sense you mean..
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October 24, 2014 at 9:15 AM
I think Rangan’s being polite, to be honest!
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October 24, 2014 at 9:11 AM
“And when did mihir fadnavis become any sort of benchmark”
Same as KRK all sudden became and important reviewer 🙂
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October 24, 2014 at 9:12 AM
Can’t stand Mihir Fadnavis for various reasons..
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October 24, 2014 at 9:14 AM
but I don’t think he knows one good Hindi movie from another
I’m pretty sure that as bad a film critic MF is, he would at least know when he’s seen a crap film. One doesn’t even have to see the film…the trailers are absolute pants!
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October 24, 2014 at 9:01 AM
Just came out of the movie. Not a Shah Rukh fan. Went with an open mind. Enjoyed the movie a lot. Full time pass. All the gags and the fantastic premise of the worked just worked. Unlike Tees Maar Khan, almost every joke crude or not crude, landed. This is a group movie and all the actors were given ample opportunity to shine. The heist part was very decent for a Hindi movie and miles ahead of Dhoom 3. Forget the idiotic reviews, just watch the movie and have great fun.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:10 AM
Most will do just that, watch the movie and have fun.
Of course you will have some who will try to bring the film down due to their own agenda. And reading the comments it’s not hard to figure out who those are.
Is the movie entertaining like CE? i was going to go see it today but will wait till few more paying public reviews. Just don’t want to go and sit for 3 hours if the movie is boring.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:13 AM
Trust me. It’s great fun. Almost like CE except it’s not that romantic. When I went to CE, I was expecting a Bol Bachan not such a riotously funny romance. Here too, i was at best hoping for a Main Hoon Na, not good but not bad movie. But it’s probably the best commercial pot boiler of the year(until PK).
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October 24, 2014 at 9:18 AM
For some reason, I loved MHN. If this movie is naything close too it than i will like this one too.
It’s just sitting for 3 hours has me worried (no intermission in the theatre I go to).
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October 24, 2014 at 9:19 AM
yeah in US theaters (i.e. where Indians rent screens) there are never intermissions. I find this problematic because Indian movies are designed for that intermission break.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:27 AM
when I went to see JTHJ, i had to leave and walk around for few and then the movie was so boring that i sneaked in some twilight movie and watched that for an hour.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:11 AM
I am newbie fan of Deepika. Yes, the movie doesn’t give her the same prominence as in Chennai Express of Cocktail but I am very happy about how it has given her the chance to shine. It’s an ensemble movie but they have given her really good bits, a well-defined character, good opening song even though it comes very late, opportunity to look divine in some stunning costumes and showcase her dancing skills, reprise her facility with accents and comedy, some good scenes like her take on Chak De speech and the best bit of all is how she unwittingly takes over the climax. All in all, with the past two years, this year and this movie will complete her hat trick. She is now firmly in Madhuri-Sridevi territory.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:17 AM
everyone saying here it will definitely cross 40 on day 1:
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/hny-expected-to-clock-40-cr-plus-day-one/
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October 24, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Not sure about 40 crore unless it truly is doing the business on day 1 that media is reporting.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:30 AM
yes but they also claim it’s all sold out and running close to 100% and 80% on the morning shows and what not. Krrish said the capacity is 43 crores or something. Not that I ever take media claims at face value, this hysteria is built up around every big release. But nonetheless if these guys think the film is on course for 40 and falls below it significantly (a couple of crores is not a big deal, it’s about the next few days anyway) then they were either wrong or the film wasn’t as strong in the evening as everyone expected.
Will say this. As a technical matter a film being sold out everywhere on this sort of screen out nationally is the stuff of fiction. I’ve said this many times in the past. You look at the grosses and no matter how big they are they don’t represent 90-100% of capacity as is often claimed. If HNY does 40 capacity I think would still be significantly greater than this. Again none of these numbers are ever verifiable. How do we know what maximum capacity is for such a release. You don’t even have verifiable multiplex numbers (that are made publicly available) let alone on other types of screens.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:36 AM
my own sense here is, and looking at the reviews so far which are definitely more negative than not, the film will probably do enough to be called a hit, using today’s standards. Doubt very much we’re looking at a long term or even medium term trender here. The question then is whether it can sustain strongly over the first week to get beyond 250 or something. After this start if it doesn’t do 200 it would be a tank. There’s a lot of negativity on twitter but there’s enough positivity as well. And again with Ra One-like WOM it will still do a lot better than that film. But I don’t think it’s like CE. that film got a lot better reviews than this one. It’s definitely not doing an OSO by any stretch. By the way note how Nahta despite his otherwise positive review is a bit restrained when it comes to predicting the box office here. He talks about ‘handsome profits’ but doesn’t say blockbuster and what not, the kind of thing he usually does.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:44 AM
I think now with social media and everything, if the wom is negative, the movie does starts tanking faster than before as we saw in besharam, OUATIMD, Jai ho, etc…
Ra.1 type of WOM will get it to max of 150-170 range.
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October 24, 2014 at 10:20 AM
150 is too low. It will do 100 or so in 3-4 days. 175.. maybe. But it would have to be a terrible tank. Don’t really see this though I could be wrong. But again I said this with Ra One too.. that kind of WOM doesn’t get you to such bad results with a ‘normal’ subject. Besharam I think had much worse WOM and beyond this probably just deeply offended people for some reason (could have been some of the humor or whatever.. I haven’t seen the film.. but whenever there’s a deeply disproportionate sort of reaction I;m inclined to think there’s been an ‘ideological’ rejection). But you’re right in that social media exaggerates everything. I personally find it quite crazy. It’s not just about the positive or negative but the sense of excess either way. Very few people have normal emotional reactions to anything. But sure if social media has the power to create revolutions one has to believe it can very adversely affect certainly multiplex participation. Still a film like HNY is review-proof in the initial stages. Many lesser films are not so lucky and can easily be killed with such a reaction. Or more precisely a lesser film might have a minority interested in it but if there’s this sort of twitter reaction even the minority stays away. I increasingly come across people who watch a film on DVD or something and like it and say they didn’t watch it initial because they were scared off by some of the reactions and having seen the film they wish they hadn’t missed it. Most people don’t follow this stuff in such detail where they know what good or bad reviews for various kinds of films mean, who the usual suspects are either way, what twitter trending means etc. And so when many today say that once upon a time a film used to last longer for various reasons whereas today all the money has to be recuperated soon (SRK was talking about the sea change that has occurred just from when he started out) this introduces a larger problem beyond all the budgeting issues and the impact on filmmaking (if you think you need to recover everything with a big weekend or something you are more likely to make a film designed to get the biggest weekend possible) which is that the very nature of ‘WOM’ gets altered. Technology already did this earlier. If WOM is ‘ok’ on a film many people will automatically decide to wait for the DVD or something whereas earlier they still would have gone. If a film runs for a long time in the theaters even when it’s not a big hit or anything you can really catch it on your watch. Today even with the biggest films you more or less have a few weeks or else you have to run to some out of the way theater! Or get an inconvenient screening time. Beyond this ‘WOM’ means less as a definitional term. Because 2 films could have the same kind of acceptance and potential for audience to actually show up but still end up with very different results. And so I see it as a ‘sociological’ issue in some ways. But all of this at any rate distorts the filmmaking process. Specially in the absence of a Hollywood-like system where there are verifiable numbers and metrics and proper analysis either way.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:14 PM
This is getting better critic reviews than CE. I hardly remember anyone apart from rangan who said something good about CE. Here it is getting at least the middling kind of reviews. No one is giving it one star and half stars.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:20 PM
It’s not middling. Most of the reviews so far are quite negative. or the mixed ones are also more negative than not. some positive ones for sure but not enough of these. Thought CE got better than this but perhaps I’ve forgotten.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:27 PM
Rajeev Masand, Anupama Chopra, Komal Nahta have given the same rating to CE and HNY. Although HNY is getting mixed-ish reviews they seem to be a tad better than CE. Raja Sen gave 2 stars to HNY and 1 to CE. Only Saibal Chatterjee gave a worse rating to HNY than CE. Haven’t read Rangan’s HNY review yet so not sure about him.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:39 AM
will also say this on the reviewers. I don’t like most Bollywood films in any given year and specially most big releases. But you show up for a Farah Khan movie, specially one with these trailers, and you pretend to be surprised that the film actually turned out to be like the trailers!
So one goes into HNY really expecting a very nice narrative and so on! I was never expecting even OSO here (which too I found just about passable.. though it could have been vastly better than it was) and so if I find just something loosely comparable I’d say Farah has maintained her low bar! Not that MHN was anything special either but that was still a regular film. These days it’s quite remarkable but Shetty suddenly seems like the most restrained guy. The Sajid Khan/Farah Khan sibling team makes everything else look respectable! In fairness to Shetty though he never gets carried away from film to film. They kind of operate at the same level irrespective of star-cast. He never starts out trying to create the big bang. SRK might be doing another one with him.
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October 24, 2014 at 12:45 PM
40 crores is surely on. Inbox chain reported at 6 in the evening that they have crossed the footfalls of D3 day 1 and evening and night shows we’re not counted in it. We are looking at possibility of day 1 being beaten by a good 15 percent here. And I had anticipated this sometime back 🙂
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October 24, 2014 at 12:50 PM
40 cr including all versions or just hindi?
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October 24, 2014 at 1:17 PM
All versions I guess. D3 was 36 all versions. BOI has it at 32 for Hindi version. I think BOI will have this at 36 and media will have this at over 40 as they go by producer numbers
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October 24, 2014 at 1:21 PM
Were you referring to all the versions? Throughout I thought you were just comparing it with D2’s Hindi gross.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:27 PM
The percent increase over D3 will still be the same. Actually I am not sure if this has got any regional release. The capacity of 43 crores was only for Hindi version I would think and all this talk of 40 crore is also only for Hindi version. But depending on which source you believe BOI or otherwise we should expect a increase of 15 percent for day 1 at least. I will go with BOI as I usually do but I would think they will have it at around 36 crores
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October 24, 2014 at 1:29 PM
Ya I meant to say Hindi version here
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October 24, 2014 at 1:09 PM
Also is today even a holiday in India? I’ve heard contrasting things about it
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October 24, 2014 at 1:18 PM
No holiday in the south. North and west have holidays.
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October 24, 2014 at 1:10 PM
I meant inox.
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October 24, 2014 at 10:16 AM
Satyam, can you make this post the top post?
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October 24, 2014 at 10:26 AM
done.
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October 24, 2014 at 10:35 AM
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October 24, 2014 at 12:59 PM
haha! Incidentally I know some interviewee personally and can’t stop laughing and getting amused at their performance only for camera. A truly marketing ploy.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:54 PM
LOL at the hubby’s slip..His wife is going to ‘come’ again for Shah Rukh!!
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October 24, 2014 at 11:46 AM
Just came back from #HNY. It is decent festive entertainer, manage to engage .. first 30 minutes could have been better written, i almost wrote movie off in those initial half an hour .. but then revived with some fun filled moments continued till intermission. Second half also stats on dip note .. but pickup again after 30-40 minutes and maintained momentum till climax. It is out an out SRK movie, in fact it is tribute to SRK stardom and his work. Good thing is SRK still have huge fan base .. so his fans will respond well. Atmosphere at single screen worked in huge favour, some ordinary scenes entertained with help of loyal #SRK fans response
Abhishek is good, but it is not like Lakhan of RL .. His character could have been better written with more scope. But good to see him getting appreciation .. for whatever little scope he has.
Shockingly Deepika also underutilized .. she dominated #CE, but here she has little to do.
Sonu Soon entry scene and initial few scenes were good .. but again he was completely side-lined with hardly left with anything to do.
Vivan Shah as Hacker was miscast .. he was just in team without any dialog. And whatever little he had, he failed to display any acting capability. Farah could have write some great role/twist for hacker part and could rope in some mature artiste than this kid .. Vivan presence actually make this heist task completely laugh worthy and kiddish. In one word .. he is spoilsport.
Over #HNY is not bad .. it is typical Farah style entertainer with enough scope of improvement.
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October 24, 2014 at 2:58 PM
It sseems Srk has paid more than Bachchan to Yakuza and therefore he took “U” turn.
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October 24, 2014 at 3:06 PM
I’m surprised and glad at Yazuka’s review. And @Samar your comment makes no sense.
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October 24, 2014 at 4:32 PM
Yakuza, this is scary that you some what liked ths movie.
I guess I’m skipping it than 🙂
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October 24, 2014 at 4:38 PM
Yakuza says : #HNY is not bad
Yakuza means: #HNY is very good 🙂 J/K
But overall good to hear who were negative about film liking it to an extent. I certainly don’t find faults that Deepika had less role than Chennai Express, so on. That is pure romantic solo hero film and this is with 6 characters and every character is equally shown. Also, you missed Boman. His character the emotional anchor IMO but also loved some of his comedy. Peter is that you again? 🙂
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October 24, 2014 at 5:03 PM
Master, how was the audience reaction? For SRK entry, climax, the end credit, etc… Did people have smile on theri face when they walked out?
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October 24, 2014 at 5:19 PM
by the way sharabi is the end credits number.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:53 AM
*** This is the guy I trust apart from Rangan in India. I have followed this guy’s reviews since 2005 and he has a very good knack in finding the balance between not going over-board with clinical reviews and being too lazy and lackadaisical and orgasming for just about every ‘biggie’ like the reviewers in The TOI-let paper and the likes of Nahata, Adarsh, Anupama, Fart-navis, Baja Sen etc etc.. If you read his reviews from the past you can see that he can pretty well differentiate between the so-called ‘leave-your-brains-behind’ films and carry-MOSTLY-your-brains-film ***
Happy New Year Movie Review
Saibal Chatterjee | Friday, October 24, 2014
SPOILERS AHEAD
Unabashedly bad movies that mop up obscenely big bucks are director Farah Khan’s forte. She was however third time unlucky with Tees Maar Khan. It was put down by many to the fact that the film did not have her proven good luck charm, SRK, on board.
So for her fourth directorial outing, the choreographer has brought back her Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om star, complete with gym-toned abs, a host of dog-eared tricks and a familiar set of talismanic mannerisms, to foist more of the same on the audience.
Is the result any better? Nope. No matter how much money the film eventually collects at the box office, Happy New Year, for all its visual opulence, has nothing new to offer nor is it a particularly happy narrative concoction. It has ‘stale’ written all over it.
This is by-the-numbers filmmaking of the worst kind and it yields a bloated, overlong thriller that will probably be worth its three-hour runtime only for those among diehard Shah Rukh Khan fans who believe that cinema need not be anything more than snazzily mounted naach-gaana.
Watching the Farah-SRK combo at work here is like being treated to an oft-seen circus performance. You know what is coming next, yet you still pay attention to every move in the hope that a surprise might be round the corner. But it never comes.
Produced by the superstar’s own banner, Happy New Year uses excess as its primary means of communication. Overkill is the only art that the director seems to be adept at.
She pulls too many rabbits out of the hat but she clearly does not possess the control and sharpness to keep them from haring off in the wrong directions and not returning in any shape to be counted.
In a nutshell, Happy New Year is a predictable revenge drama, a trashy musical and a lowbrow heist film laced with a surfeit of song and dance routines.
After a point, its unending, meaningless exuberance and over-indulgence gets a little too tiresome.
Aggravating matters is the ‘invincible Indiawale’ angle that the director introduces into the plot. Not only is it unsustainably laboured, it also drags the already daft film down into the pits of complete inanity.
The male protagonist Charlie (Shahrukh Khan) trains his guns on Charan Grover (Jackie Shroff), the guy who framed his father and caused his death.
Charlie puts together a ragtag team to filch a diamond that is to be stored in a high-security safe built by the bad guy. But to be able to do so they must take part in a dance contest.
The crooks and conmen – played by Boman Irani, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah – are good at thievery and skullduggery but have little talent for dance.
So bar dancer Mohini (Deepika Padukone) is roped in to get the guys ready for the battle ahead.
Among all the illogicalities that the film resorts to, none is more ridiculous than the “world dance competition” that a bunch of “losers” uses as a cover for an attempt at a daring robbery of a glittering stone.
The aforementioned competition constitutes the spine of the film and it is very weak and spindly indeed. It just cannot bear the weight of constant overload.
Being a Farah Khan film, Happy New Year also tries to be funny. The actors do all they can to help the director achieve that end by going overboard with their merry hamming. It isn’t a pretty sight.
It is obvious that huge amounts of money have been sunk into the making of Happy New Year. It is apparent at the same time that the makers have been exceedingly stingy in the matter of putting some thought into the glitzy effort.
It is all very well for an ageing superstar to go all out to prove that he still possesses the magic of yore, but when the past hangs heavy over the proceedings it is a sure sign that the law of diminishing returns is catching up fast.
Deepika Padukone, given an atrocious accent inspired no doubt by her Chennai Express act, is the eye-candy who has been roped in to provide the feminine counter-balance to the generous male skin show on the screen.
There is no dearth of gloss in Happy New Year, but everything else in the film, including the content and its treatment, are allowed to go for a toss.
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October 24, 2014 at 2:24 PM
Have to admit that this is the worst ever review. Not sure why a build up was made by AnJo and i had to read itm 😦
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October 24, 2014 at 5:46 PM
There was no deliberate build-up..and no AGENDA,’ HATER’ stuff here. I rarely post reviews other than Rangan’s or Saibal’s from India.
The thing with Saibal’s review is he is neither condescending to commercial ventures nor ecstatic when it comes to movies from the other side. You should read his review of RANG DE BASANTI. Though he liked it, he still made a damn good list of negative points in the film. There is hardly any bias in his reviews vis-a-vis Hollywood comparison or the high-brow stuff.
It is another matter if you don’t like his review; but you cannot deny the points he makes.
HNY is pretty much critic-proof and of course will go on to shatter records. But that doesn’t mean it CANNOT be a mediocre film qualitatively. I am not saying IT IS mediocre [I haven’t seen it nor will I see it]; just putting that out before anybody starts jumping here citing statistics, history, ‘hater’ etc etc..
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October 24, 2014 at 12:23 PM
Abhishek Bachchan the ‘real star’ in Happy New Year?
IndiaToday.in New Delhi, October 24, 2014 | UPDATED 20:20 IST
Abhishek Bachchan’s role in Happy New Year earned him what most things might not have: it got the actor trending on Twitter. Rumour has it that AB Jr’s performance in the Farah Khan film has been so liked by viewers that people aren’t able to stop praising the actor.
Bachchan plays the role of Nandu Bhinde, a tapori who is involved in the heist that forms the crux of the film. Right after the film hit the theatres today, Twitterverse began teeming with posts about Abhishek’s brilliance in the film. While some called him the ‘real star’ of Happy New Year; other, not-so-generous ones said that Bachchan should celebrate not being made fun of, for a change.
The film, which has Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role, opened to mixed-to-largely-negative reviews from critics. However, which the masses went on to declare it a ‘paisa-wasool entertainer’, social media was flooded with praises for Abhishek Bachchan. The actor’s last release, Dhoom 3, hadn’t done much for his career. With this latest film, we hope, AB Baby is able to redeem his career-graph.
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October 24, 2014 at 12:28 PM
he’s been trending in the top 10 of Indian topics all day.. only one from the film.
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October 24, 2014 at 12:29 PM
‘Kaththi’ breaks all existing BO records: ARM
By MOVIEBUZZ
Source : SIFY
Last Updated: Fri, Oct 24, 2014 20:04 hrs0 Comments
AR Murgadoss is a happy man. His Vijay starrer Kaththi has taken a humongous opening worldwide. ARM himself Tweeted: “ Kaththi breaks all South film records on its first day -TOTAL –Rs 23.80 CR. TN/Kerala / Karnataka & NorthIndia-16.45Cr OVERSEAS-7.35CR.”
From Murgadoss’s Tweet it can be said that Kaththi has taken the highest day one collections for a Tamil film. The amount mentioned Rs 23.80Cr worldwide is huge by any yardstick for a Tamil film.
Kaththi has opened up new vistas for Tamil films. A big Tamil film with a wide release has been able to create new or expanded existing markets. The Vijay film has also shown that if a film is marketed aggressively it can get a opening irrespective of its early WOM.
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October 24, 2014 at 12:30 PM
details here:
http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-14/vijays-kaththi-extra-ordinary-1st-day-box-office-gross-net-in-the-south.html
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October 24, 2014 at 12:32 PM
Rahman’s Lingaa soundtrack in the second week of Nov. He’s having quite a year!
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October 24, 2014 at 4:05 PM
BOI has it at 38 crores + which is sensational. I thought they would be around 36 crores. Which means we can have a producer figure of all versions touching 43 crores to 45 crores. This is just out of the world numbers….Rajasthan has created a history of sorts. entertainment tax came into effect when Singham returns released and even with that tax it has broken the Day 1 record…If Taran Adarsh was well and active he would have fainted going overballastic and with no choice of words left to use….
Happy New Year Creates History On Day One
Friday 24 October 2014 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has created history on day one recording the highest collections ever on day one beating the Dhoom 3 figure of 32 crore nett. The early figures coming for Hindi version suggest the total will be in the 37-38 crore nett range as per early estimates. An out performance in Mumbai and South can take it bit higher.
The film has run riot on day in multiplexes all over recording the highest occupancies since films started going wide with over 2000 screens. The mass circuits are also huge but are unlikely to beat records by the levels that multiplexes are beating. A circuit like Rajasthan is looking near 2 crore nett which is similar to Dhoom 3 but at that time there was no entertainment tax. Delhi/UP is an all time record with likely collections to touch 7 crore nett.
Happy New Year is looking to beat the previous record by around 15% which is extraordinary as the long runtime meant less screenings at multiplexes. It could have added a few crore more with a shorther runtime but it is not that important as that will made up over the week if the film keeps the momentum going.
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October 24, 2014 at 4:23 PM
Still can’t figure out where the hype/interest for this movie came from- no OTT promotions, no hit songs, a terrible trailer, a director whose family and last movie are constantly ridiculed yet it makes 15% more than D3…
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October 24, 2014 at 4:25 PM
Also, it was regular day and not a holiday unlike most people calling it a holiday. Diwali holiday was on Thursday Oct 23 in India., not Friday.
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October 24, 2014 at 9:14 PM
Really? Are you serious Raj? If HNY promotion is not OTT, I shudder to think what would actually be an OTT promotion for a movie? This movie has been BOMBARDED from ALL corners across India and the US.
Man, how much is too much?
With this kind of promotional bombardment, it IS expected that such a movie during festival time will make huge amounts..
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October 24, 2014 at 9:35 PM
Don’t agree at all. HNY promotion was never OTT. It was just about adequate. We had this discussion last week prior to release. Finally last week before had 2 reality TV series appearance.
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October 24, 2014 at 4:44 PM
WOW, even if it scores 20% drop on saturday, it will still be over 30 crore. That’s just great.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:21 PM
yeah as I said earlier it can’t make less than 200 given this sort of start. It would have to be a historic tank for that to happen and that doesn’t seem likely. But again with this start anything less than 250 is an underperformance. Even using the most liberal standards of today. And I’m being generous. Because given this is exceeding D3 significantly on opening day it should clear that films total as well or get to it. Again D3 didn’t trend too strongly after the first 7-10 days so it’s not as if one is using a 3I-like example or something. Whether it has enough to get there after the initial rush has died out remains to be seen. As of now Hirani still has the best shot at getting to 300 or more on pure merit as opposed to a film doing it by just piling on a bigger and bigger initial (which will happen sooner or later). Hirani has never done less than 2.5 times the week 1 number on any of his films (final total). Aamir has had a strong trending record as well almost all the time in most genres. So this is the film to really set those new benchmarks in a meaningful way. And not just create a bigger bang which has been happening with periodic regularity with other big films. we saw ETT establish a new week 1 range, then CE did it, YJHD also more or less did it. D3 then took it further, HNY is doing the same or more. But this sort of graph is still predictable. What happened with Ghajini or 3I though was unpredictable in each case. No one expected numbers quite that big in either case. But again will be interesting to see if Hirani can manage it one more time. Certainly with Aamir there cannot be a better combo to even attempt it.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:30 PM
To be fair.. Dhoom 3 had multiple holidays after its first weekend whereas HNY has none. Each holiday adds over min 10cr each day easily during its first 2 weeks.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:39 PM
I’m just referring to the overall range.. it’s also starting higher than D3. Also D3 as I said didn’t trend like Ghajini or something. But leaving this aside a 250 mark is certainly fair even if not the higher one D3 achieved. Also it depends on week 1. If HNY keeps up this blistering pace the 250 mark should be raised. So it makes a difference whether a film does 150 in week 1 or 180 or whatever. The final total cannot stay fixed irrespective of what the initial is. The way things are done in Bombay everyone celebrate these initial numbers hysterically but suddenly the final goals become very modest! Because of course most films don’t trend that well. A particularly atrocious example was ETT in this regard which did roughly 150 of it’s 185 or 190 in the initial week period or so! Once films start at a certain level they must also be judged by that same level. We saw this even with D3 by the way. The response was a bit mixed and sure enough the film did not trend like the first two (which were superb on this score). Even today films that are truly liked trend minimally well. But if you design them for just the big bang (not that this was the D3 problem) then you get the initial wave, if the film is just passable it doesn’t completely tank, it gets to an overall big number and people start calling it a hit! Getting back to HNY Diwali is considered to be an important period to release films. If there were no advantage to it why is this the 11th time (or whatever) SRK has a Diwali release?!
By the way note how BOI themselves admitted Laxmi puja wasn’t an issue here. Some of us had been saying this for years and everyone would make excuses. A film doesn’t get the most optimal response and you blame it on the pujas. It got to the point where Diwali was almost being presented as a disadvantage! Absurd but true. Which was probably news to all the producers who settled on this date for decades. Including of course SRK. If you release JTHJ you’re not going to get much out of Diwali. If you release HNY it’s suddenly a different story. KKHH released with BMCM, both did very well. the latter had the bigger week 1 but KKHH was ultimately much bigger. Both came at the same time on Diwali. So these are just myths created to explain under-performances. It was tried with the first Don as well, the competition was also used as an excuse. but then Don2 even at Christmas and unopposed more or less had the very same graph as the first Don, in fact slightly poorer. OSO released with Saawariya which at least over the weekend put up good numbers. But OSO still got to a huge total. Meanwhile Christmas is supposed to be the biggest and what not but now HNY has produced this opening day. My point is simply this — holidays are important as is competition as are some other factors but these are selectively used as excuses for all sorts of narratives. Nonetheless I am still being generous here when it comes to comparing it with D3. For more than one reason. But again once a film starts off this way it can certainly live up to its own benchmark, depending on how much it is liked or not.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:47 PM
The number is huge and trumps d3 opening day which was a normal day. D3 top day was day 3 so I think it will be interesting how hny tracks against weekend. Should be ahead by 10% but then d3 had holidays during weekday so makes it back up. I think 200 is a given but 250 still hard to reach until we know Monday drop.
Not heard extreme views so far….seems middling erring more towards negative side. Seems Farah May have redeemed herself partly.
Mumbai is the winner…coming to pk would expect Mumbai to be huge there too like all of hiranis previous films.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:58 PM
Indeed, all of Hirani’s films are biggest in Bombay. This wasn’t as true for 3I (it did supremely well across the board) though I think even here the territory outperformed others. With Munnabhai, even LRM, the disparity was often glaring. But with PK there seems to be more of a Northern connection (at least attempted) with the lingo.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:38 PM
D3 had multiple holidays and it was shorter film which means more shows.
Let’s not get carried away and talk of 200 and 250 crore as it’s some cake walk.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:22 PM
satyam all ur points are valid except the pooja one…Pooja wasnt a factor here because it released day after Pooja..If it had released on Thursday it would have struggled to notch 20 crores
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October 24, 2014 at 5:18 PM
wonder what’s happened to Taran. He said he was ill but he’s been out of action for a couple of months. Sounds like something serious.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:39 PM
I’m thinking cancer and going thru therapy.
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October 24, 2014 at 5:40 PM
yeah that’s what I thought.. one day he put up a picture where he showed up somewhere but then he disappeared again. Can’t stand him like many of his ilk but feel sorry for him whatever it is.
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October 24, 2014 at 4:22 PM
Saw HNY and am surprised that Farah pulled off this crazy idea of Robbery and Dance championship. First half was little slow but it was just introduction of all actors and their back story. 2nd half just rocked and last 1 hour was simple the best part of the movie. The whole WDC track and robbery and Indiawaale, everything worked well.
Could the movie could have been better? Of course but for Farah, this is success after Tees Maar Khan and I can see lot of credit in screenplay and for this subject, I don’t think Farah could have done anything better with her talent.
Abhishek rocked in couple of crazy comedy sequences and liked Sonu Sood was pretty good too. Vivan was alright and Deepika good enough not to ham in full ham potential worthy role, she handled it maturely. SRK was usual self and for a change looking very fresh and good unlike Ra.One, Don2 phase. All the songs worked inside the movie and this has to be most lavish set pieces for Indian film especially the climax stage set on Atlantis.
Overall, pretty good entertainer. If this was 2:30 mins, could have done better but Farah trying to make pan-India film explains everything as spelling it out and repeatedly added to its length. Recommended.
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October 24, 2014 at 7:36 PM
BOI changed their estimate from 37-38 crore to 38-40 crore, looks like a huge day.
Happy New Year Creates History – Smashes All Records
Friday 24 October 2014 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has created history on day one recording the highest collections ever on day one beating the Dhoom 3 figure of 32 crore nett. The Mumbai figures coming in are simply phenomenal and the film is now looking an early estimate of 38-40 crore nett. The Gujarat area alone may cross 5 crore nett smashing all previous records by a distance.
The film has run riot on day in multiplexes all over recording the highest occupancies since films started going wide with over 2000 screens. The mass circuits are also huge but are unlikely to beat records by the levels that multiplexes are beating. A circuit like Rajasthan is looking near 2 crore nett which is similar to Dhoom 3 but at that time there was no entertainment tax. Delhi/UP is an all time record with likely collections to touch 7 crore nett. Mumbai is expected to be arouund 14 crore nett.
Happy New Year is looking to beat the previous record by around 15-20% which is extraordinary as the long runtime meant less screenings at multiplexes. It could have added a few crore more with a shorther runtime but it is not that important as that will made up over the week if the film keeps the momentum going.
boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/happynewyearcreateshistoryondayone#.VErHtvnF8a0
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October 24, 2014 at 9:10 PM
If 20% increase from last time, this is really surprise and huge. 100crores for weekend is given. Lets see what would be exact 3 day total now.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:25 PM
pat on the back is due for urs truly for getting day 1 prediction right. my 3 day prediction was 120 crores….tough but not out of range for all versions…
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October 24, 2014 at 11:35 PM
Yes you can pat your back for day 1 and since the day after Diwali is the real day for movie collection it worked perfectly well for the movie . But I feel any movie whether it was Kick or D3 could touch these numbers today.
Today had the potential for a perfect storm and movie has been successful in achieving that.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:40 PM
Guess what Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is releasing on a Thursday (Nov 12, 2015) a day after Diwali which is Wed Nov 11th.Potential for 40cr or more on day 1 and 4 day weekend record…..lol
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October 24, 2014 at 11:42 PM
whether Barjatya can put up those biggest benchmark numbers today remains to be seen. Whether Salman can do so in this subject when his image has changed so dramatically also remains to be seen. HAHK was a very long time ago. Even HSSH which didn’t do too much after a strong initial is 15 years old. Times change. Not that I doubt a successful film can be made but I’m unsure if this can really excite the box office in the initial run.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:56 PM
There is still a huge crowd which is wary of SRK and his current hammy form and if HNY with such poor promos and music can do this fairly easily, I doubt Barjatya with better music sense and Salman on current form will have any worries esp. if it is Diwali period. Salman has a double role here with 2nd one keeping in mind his current blockbuster status. More importantly turn out of families will be greater here at least initially.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:59 PM
not saying it’s impossible.. just not willing to take it on face value.. have to see what Barjatya actually makes.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:55 PM
I disagree.. it’s not just any big film that can beat the highest benchmarks within a relatively limited time period. It has to be the perfect storm kind of film. Salman usually doesn’t act in such films. ETT was the exception. No film of his has opened like ETT, accounting for all factors. You need the right franchise/film, the right star(s), and you assuredly need a very important actress. ETT and D3 had Katrina, HNY and CE had Deepika. You can still get big numbers without some of these factors, Salman shows this regularly and in fairness he’s the only star who can get it done in really nothing films. But still there’s a limit to what can be achieved going down this route. SRK wouldn’t have crossed the D3 benchmark with a CE kind of release. It has to be this larger than life film that everyone considers unmissable even with mixed or poor WOM. Very few films fall in that category. So while these records don’t really mean anything and are crossed all the time it doesn’t happen with just any film. At least not without inflation being a significant factor. Again I wouldn’t expect PK to open at this stratospheric level. Would be surprised if it happened (referring to day 1 here). Because again even with the biggest star and/or director you still need a certain kind of subject with elements that maximize the audience. The problem is that fans of stars conveniently overlook all this. In no industry of the world is there an exception to this. Sure even with these subjects you need a threshold star but the conversely the threshold star cannot get it done in just any subject. As for instance any number of SRK productions in every conceivable genre prove between OSO and CE.
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October 25, 2014 at 12:03 AM
If the first day of release is exactly the day after tDiwali, potentially the biggest movie day – it is possible.
If Salman had got Eid day as first day he could potentially breach these numbers with ease for Kick, though I agree Aamir’s first friday D-3 is still a bigger achievement than all of this.
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October 25, 2014 at 12:05 AM
I dont think beating the records by a 20% margin can be achieved by any movie…It has to have the right mix, big star cast, festive occassion, great leads etc…HNY had all those ingredients. If it was PK coming in Diwali it wouldnt have made 40 crores..Neither would have Kick…D3 could have…
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October 25, 2014 at 12:19 AM
good points Krish.
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October 25, 2014 at 12:16 AM
yes you were certainly on the money!
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October 24, 2014 at 9:08 PM
Faridoon Shahryar
@iFaridoon: My wife Aarefa and Insha just saw #HappyNewYear in Mumbai n they’ve loved it..”@juniorbachchan is superb.He’s mighty funny,”Aarefa says.
@iFaridoon: Aarefa says that #HappyNewYear is a laugh riot n there wasn’t a single vacant seat.I must add my wife rarely likes a film so this is a lot😊
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October 24, 2014 at 11:08 PM
To be frank I did not go into the movie with zero expectations but more towards minus due to the reviews and watched the movie for good 30 mins at a superficial level and movie was turning out poor as expected. But somehow towards middle / 2nd half when movie shifts to Dubai, all the trite began to gel well and in the end it turned out be a fairly okay experience.
I do agree with Saibal Chatterjee’s review which An Jo and that is the jist here esp – “Produced by the superstar’s own banner, Happy New Year uses excess as its primary means of communication. Overkill is the only art that the director seems to be adept at”.
But I would still rate this better than CE and Kick and may be the nationalistic angle worked for me towards the end. May be due to media and srk’s hype was expecting Abhi to be special here but even though the footage is more than the proceedings reminded me more of Uday Chopra of Dhoom series though not in such a bad way. I doubt if this movie is a plus for him and even with shorter role in KANK he could stand up to srk’s lengthier role but unfortunately that is not the case here at all.
Rest everyone was adequate and wished the movie was trimmed for good 30 to 40 mins and they have lost out a lot towards introductions and trying to balance out each character.
I won’t be surprised if they go ahead and trim the movie after the weekend or do some sort of damage control.
This is the thing with expectations these days. Even if you go in with slightly decent expectations – movie turns out to be a huge disappointment and when you enter cinema expecting trash / ham / typical nonsense ki night and you end getting pleasantly surprised!
A decent outing for me.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:19 PM
I found Abhi very uncomfortable here and he suits the broody, quiet type roles better and these type of movies are not his terrain and his inadequacies are very much visible. May be the yuppie bluffmaster type is okay and he should be targeting Saif kind of urbane movies.
But everyone will survive and box office numbers will be put up as a resistance to any legitimate criticism. Audience needs to sit up and realize the big star nexus is not even allowing any options during these festive times when a visit to theatre becomes obligatory routine.
In terms of numbers I doubt lifetime of D-3 will be achieved and and Kick may remain the top grosser for the year.
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October 24, 2014 at 11:26 PM
On big screen could not make much of PK trailer. Similar to 3I this may have to utilize the Christmas / New Year holidays and bank heavily on multiplex repeat audience to put up a huge total.
This will be a test of supremacy among the Khan trio where 1,2 & 3 will be decided this year. Kick’s 240 cr net in India needs to be breached first !
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October 24, 2014 at 11:33 PM
I dont think PK can be put in the same bracket as HNY. It seems to be more of a understated film with moments in it. It might trend better in long term but I am expecting it will open at best around 30 crores…Also Lingaa is coming around same time and will affect it down south
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October 24, 2014 at 11:35 PM
Hirani’s movies never open stupendously anyway. Of course this is the same team’s first film post-3I. On the other hand it’s a very different subject. Would still expect something very strong. Just not at these levels. Even 3I opened very well but not extraordinarily. Of course it remained amazingly stable.
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October 25, 2014 at 3:04 AM
I beg to differ here – AK/RK combo is so lethal and word-of-mouth and publicity is so strong that I won’t be surprised if they start advance booking a fortnight ago…………needless to say they will release the film in equal or more screens than HNY……..and non-stop holidays will destroy any competition in the way……this will surely have a repeat-value coming from RH………
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October 24, 2014 at 9:17 PM
Very much looking forward to this..I love Stewart and that WONDERFUL actor from A SEPARATION is a treat to watch..
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October 24, 2014 at 11:56 PM
Saw HNY
.. No its not Farah’s worst movie ever but then its very close.. Its like a 3 hour cringe test of your facial muscles..I am no Abhishek fan but I have to say he’s the only good thing about this movie..and yes they should just shoot their editors after they microwave Farah Khan. Also, its probably Deepika’s worst act ever,
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October 25, 2014 at 12:23 AM
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October 25, 2014 at 12:23 AM
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October 25, 2014 at 12:29 AM
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October 25, 2014 at 12:35 AM
First day official number is 44.97 crores!!
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October 25, 2014 at 12:55 AM
Monster numbers. Weekend record in the bag now.
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October 25, 2014 at 12:38 AM
Taran Adarsh is back from the grave!!!
@taran_adarsh #HappyNewYear collects ₹ 44.97 cr on opening day: Hindi 42.62 cr, Telugu 1.43 cr and Tamil 92 lacs.
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October 25, 2014 at 1:13 AM
@taran_adarsh #Dhoom 3- All Languages, Hindi Rs 33.42 Cr. Tamil & Telugu Rs 2.80 Cr, Total Rs 36.22 Cr
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October 25, 2014 at 1:14 AM
So comparing Hindi version from Dhoom 3, it is over 9 crores as per Taran and over 8 crores as per BOI. Both way it is phenomenal collections and huge jump from previous record.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:28 AM
this record will stay for at least a year…don’t see pk breaking opening day record. lets see if it holds…this one could be huge. and LOL @ TA back from the grave…like what the hell dude? just like that outta nowhere.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:00 AM
yes it’s 8-9 crores ahead whatever set of numbers you look at and whether you look at just the Hindi numbers or all versions.
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October 25, 2014 at 5:06 AM
Saturday’s trends seem to be suggesting another 40 crore day, a 120-130 weekend could be a reality. If that happens then even a CE like trending would take it to ~300 crores
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October 25, 2014 at 8:06 AM
Good morning..
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October 25, 2014 at 8:44 AM
Krish, I must say, you were bang on with your prediction.
I thought you were being very foolish in your prediction but boy were you right.
I still can’t believe that it collected 45 crore.
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October 25, 2014 at 8:45 AM
For the KRK fans:
KRK @kamaalrkhan
The biggest ever opening day record of #HappyNewYear has proved that @iamsrk is still the real king of box office.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:26 AM
but this works the other way too.. you weren’t exactly quoting KRK when he was ripping the film mercilessly. Yes the other side can sometimes behave opportunistically but it’s not as if the fans don’t! Now maybe you don’t do this stuff when someone else’s film is releasing, I grant you that. On the other hand you do make plenty of gratuitous statements in certain contexts. My ‘problem’ if you will always is, that whether one’s views are controversial or not they should be sincere and they shouldn’t be completely divorced from the facts. There should be that point where one is closer to some approximation of the truth. That point where irrespective of one’s personal preferences one has some sane sense of the way things are. This doesn’t mean one cannot have preferences, just that there should be a sense of reality that is different from these. And again it’s also not good enough to make gratuitous comments ‘in response’. One can disagree with others, one can note that they’re saying things in bad faith or whatever without also stooping to that level. One can call them out in various ways but one doesn’t have to say things that are ‘like’ the things they say.
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October 25, 2014 at 10:10 AM
You will always leave the first part or second part and will never take my comment as a whole…
Read my first part, “For the KRK fans”
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October 25, 2014 at 10:57 AM
I didn’t. My entire comment was precisely about this. That if one questions the ethics of others one must be very sure one is being completely ethical oneself.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:05 AM
and what’s wrong in providing somebody a twet of KRK boxoffice when that person was quick to provide KRK movie review tweet.
Again, you just questioning one side shows your side, which is not hidden by any means. Many have called you out on that.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:08 AM
I don’t think you’re as confused as you’re pretending to be about this!
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October 25, 2014 at 10:11 AM
Maybe you should ask the KRK fan why didn’t he post the HNY boxoffice tweet of KRK, it supposed to go other way too, right???
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October 25, 2014 at 10:56 AM
yes but you’re the one doing the questioning! I’m questioning your questioning!
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October 25, 2014 at 2:15 PM
inception, it is!
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October 25, 2014 at 8:47 AM
Happy New Year 2nd Day Saturday Box Office Collections – Early Trends
October 25, 2014 0
According to early trends, Happy New Year Second (2nd) Day Box office collections should be in the range of 37-38 cr. HNY Day 2 Saturday business looks to be the second highest single day collections ever. The movie has dropped just 10 % from Friday morning shows and that is earth shattering in any terms. It has all probability of touching 40 cr today and if that happens then it will be huge and record breaking in every way
The film is humongous in Mumbai, Delhi/Up and East Punjab. The power of Shah Rukh Khan and his fan base among multiplex audience is clearly being seen with Happy New Year doing earth shattering business even today in multiplexes and bumper in single screens. The film is doing bumper business in mass belts like Rajasthan, CP-Berar, Bihar and CI. The film is mind boggling in Gujarat, West Bengal where new record are being set.
There is a partial holiday in parts of the country due to Bhai Dooj (Delhi/UP, West Bengal, CP Berar, CI etc) and Happy New Year should be able to utilize it to hilt. If the the late evening and night shows turns out extremely well because Sunday is a Holiday then Happy New Year might have two 40 cr single day collections which will be historic for Bollywood.
http://www.talkingmoviez.com/happy-new-year-2nd-day-saturday-box-office-collections-early-trends/
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October 25, 2014 at 9:32 AM
extraordinary Sat if this holds up. And Sun would then of course be even stronger. If this film can keep up this pace for a week (relatively) it will be impossible to justify a final total less than 300. Assuming it’s 200 in week 1. If it’s 20 crores less than that then the D3-like number would be fine. But 250 is certainly not going to be acceptable after this. Unless of course it starts dipping on Mon. Because of high volume of sold out shows even before the weekend began the response might be a bit harder to gauge before Mon, even going by normal standards. But in any case the final benchmark will depend on the week 1 number though of course in the media narrative sense as long as you do a minimal number you’re absolutely fine. Let’s see whether the reviewers have been completely wrong on this one. Most were negative, there were eventually enough positive ones but these weren’t so with the same sort of enthusiasm in most cases. But there are all sorts of examples here. ETT was on a tear for a week, then did nothing. Then there’s the CE-like model. Much better holdover though still not excellent (acceptable though relative to expectations from the film). And then there’s the total success, trending well in every sense. Even the least of these scenarios here gives it a very big number. So the ‘hit’ narrative is pretty much in place.
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October 25, 2014 at 10:23 AM
I would love to see a movie that does “And then there’s the total success, trending well in every sense.” because I really think that isnt’ possible anymore (for big movies) in sense that everybody who wants to see it will get to see it in week 1 itself. Some who like to see it only on weekends will wait till 2nd weekend if they didn’t get chance to see it first weekend.
For some reason if a huge movie open will only 100 crore first week, than it’s possible to have good trend but than what does that say about first week collection?
PK will tell us more as Hirani films trends superb but his last film was 5 years ago and so much has changed since than.
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October 25, 2014 at 12:28 PM
I still feel that HNY might run out of steam around 200 cr mark
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October 25, 2014 at 12:41 PM
I don’t agree with this classification that movies need to be as big hit as 3 Idiots to call it successful. That is exceptional and not the norm. Just coz one film doesn’t trend like 3 idiots doesn’t make it not successful. If every film can become 3 Idiots then, 3 idiots would have been just another hit and not this exceptional blockbuster.
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October 25, 2014 at 1:56 PM
Of course it doesn’t have to be like 3I but 3I wasn’t that big because of some absolute number. It started off at 80 and it finished around 205. Dabanng started the same way but ended up at 140 or 145. So there are distinctions. But then there’s ETT which did the entire Dabanng gross or more in one week and then just added a paltry 40-50 crores. CE off the same total added a bit more. The point is that the standards are constantly being lowered at the other end. It’s not as if that extra initial comes at no cost. When you get a higher gross because of inflation you’re also investing more in the film at every level. The inflation is a factor there as well. You’re selling the film at higher prices. The multiplexes in any case often get a much higher ratio of profits than was often the case with more traditional arrangements. We’re almost at the point where a film opens at 170, tanks completely does 220 and people celebrate this as well! When films in Hollywood do 100m over a weekend they’re not celebrated for then just doubling that number let alone less than this. And it’s not as if one is using some older standard. Even today films are doing it. At different levels. The reason the biggest films rarely do so is because they are designed like HNY. To simply create the biggest initial bang, get media attention that way, this keeps going on for a week after which everyone moves on to the next story! Hirani not surprisingly is the one guy who doesn’t make films that way and therefore gets a different sort of result. doesn’t mean he can never fail. But he doesn’t design films to be trailers. With just about every big film you just get the extended trailer! But forget doubling the week 1 number. We’re way below that for every big film. All this doesn’t at all mean one has to do a 3I but these ratios are in most cases those of flop films. And there’s no knew ‘science’ that Bollywood has suddenly discovered here!
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October 25, 2014 at 9:37 AM
Just came back from the movie. I must say it was a bit frustrating to see the narrative go haywire so often in the movie. The movie is not a write off by any means, infact quite a number of gags land well though the movie is quite loud. The picturization of the dance sequences are stunning and grand and I must admit Farrah khan has a natural flair of going for the excessive and she pulls it off with some panache. But the motivation of the whole heist is quite flimsy and there is lot of flab in the movie. This could have been a 230 hr movie and it would have been much better. SRK was very restrained as leader of the pack and most of the good lines are for the rest. Abhishek has the funniest scene in the movie where he has to strip to get to a screw and that must be the most I have laughed in a theatre for both abhishrk and Bomans reaction. The last 45 minutes are the best part of the movie and even the patriotic angle lands very well and in the theatre I watched the audience were cheering and whistling during the climax as well as when the safe was opened. I think the movie will have some takers. I found it vastly superior to CE and D3 but I won’t give it more than a 2.5 rating. It’s not a write off by any means so there is scope for good trending. 200 crore will surely happen but not sure of 300.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:47 AM
Krish, I put up same reaction that last 1 hour is the best part of the movie and trust me that really counts. Most movies start good but never end good. As the crux of story and dance competition is last 1 hour and if that is very well done, then the movie will hold IMO.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:56 AM
I would like to add, Farah’s movies were always criticized on its release day, no matter it is MHN or OSO. OSO was looking to get terrible feedback but it eventually hold on. I remember reading 1 star reviews of MHN as well.
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October 25, 2014 at 10:59 AM
less than 200 ought to be somewhat impossible after this start. Unless it’s completely tanking. And it would have to be quite a tank. Don’t see that happening. And if it can only match CE that is certainly disappointing for this kind of film and specially given the opening. Really unless it slows down Mon or Tue but remains stable at that level even 250 should be a given after this start. But yeah where I might agree with you is that after the initial rush is over a number of these big openers slow down considerably. My only point is that the gap between a final number of 100 or 200 or 250 or whatever it is keeps getting reduced because of these massive initials. The trending keeps getting worse on average. One has to look at things on both sides of the equation.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:10 AM
A day will come when first week total is like 200 crore and the movie is done with total of 300 crore. What used rto take 6 weeks to achive couple years back, it will be achieved in 10 to 14 days. unless the movie starts off very low and than picks up is later weeks.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:14 PM
yes absolutely. Potentially a film like HNY if it were loved could easily do it. But my point is that when that happens every other ‘price’ connected with the film would also be higher. One can’t just look at the gross and nothing else.
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October 25, 2014 at 12:28 PM
I don’t know if the theory of trending isn’t gradually dying out just as silver/golden jubilees are no longer an indication of how well the film is liked.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:09 PM
I’ve responded to this many times before. No one’s talking about jubilees. that happened in a different age. But there is still trending. This is the way everyone looks at it in Hollywood (and no one does this more thoroughly than them). Beyond this even in this most distracted society on the planet films in all kinds of genres trend well and in fact very well. What excuse does Bollywood have? specially when the same standards are also being followed in Tamil cinema. Or even with other Bollywood films. This isn’t rocket science. You make junk films and then you wonder why they don’t last! Sure you create enough of a splash where people show up in the initial stages. But very few people if any ‘love’ these films. In fact I’d argue that with this kind of filmmaking ‘liking’ the film is almost an archaic concept. It’s about whether the film is somewhat watchable or ‘tolerable’. Hollywood also makes similar films but because they’re much more professional about it they push all the right buttons. They do enough for the films to trend well. These might still be soulless films in many instances but they’re getting the job done. We saw very recently with Edge of Tomorrow, a film that even opened poorly, but that good reviews and was liked and got to a 100m purely on trending. That’s not enough for such a big film but it was nonetheless liked. Had it opened a few years ago when Cruise was doing better it would have done more. We see with Cameron how he’s twice made films that truly connected with the audience and went on forever. Twice isn’t a fluke! I could keep giving these examples. I could write in five minutes an HNY scenario where the film would still get this initial and be guaranteed to do 300 or 350 or whatever. Not exaggerating. It wouldn’t take much but people are just afraid to make even the most basic films. They just want these huge ad campaigns. Which are fine to get the initial but nothing can fill the gap between a film not really being liked and still trending well. In a few days the fuss dies down and then these films plummet in most cases. Somehow filmmakers in Bombay have convinced themselves that they just cannot risk putting a story out there. Even when there might be some merit to the plot, even when it might sound like an easy winner, they hijack it by converting it into a circus. Or by throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks. What you get is a chaotic, cluttered narrative that draws people for various reasons but that cannot last in any meaningful sense. And it becomes a vicious cycle. You make films explicitly for initials and then when they don’t trend well you say that’s the only way to make films as no one comes in week 3! It isn’t a mystery why Aamir’s films in most cases trend well, nor is this one for Hirani, or for something like Singham or whatever. You don’t need to make the best film in the world, just a reasonably coherent one. When it’s all shock and awe you get the biggest numbers starting out and that’s about it. This is disposable, junk cinema, nothing more than trashy entertainment. The only question then is whether it’s even entertaining or not. The answer is: barely! At least on most days. And with this whole abuse of the word ‘masala’ where people too illiterate in these matters to be able to tell the difference or else trying to cynically dignify present-day attempts by using that term as an umbrella think that this is what Manmohan Desai was about! I personally pity those who think that the best masala cinema was like this! In any case that’s a different debate. But one shouldn’t keep saying ‘hey films don’t trend well’. This is just bunk.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:17 PM
Spot on. So clinically written.
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October 25, 2014 at 3:56 PM
I don’t know. My logic tells me differently. And I’m by no means speaking of this in connection with HNY.
Perhaps trending has not completely dies yet, but it may not work all the time under every circumstance.
I wouldn’t compare it with Hollywood films trending in societies where people aren’t that crazy about films as India, and have a different scope when planning when to watch a film. I can see films prone to trending there. Anyway.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:39 AM
Today will be around 37 crores
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October 25, 2014 at 10:09 AM
After ng atlooki
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October 25, 2014 at 11:25 AM
After seeing collections of HNY i take my words back about Hrithik.Now i admit in case Hrithik was the lead here HNY wouldn’t have collected 45cr on its first day.Only Srk can do this.One should be realisitic and reality suggests this.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:17 PM
I am a huge fan of SRK, but I think Hrithik can do this given a right film.
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October 25, 2014 at 10:22 AM
My previous comment on HNY box office about a week ago
https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/happy-new-year-trailers-2/#comment-284632
On SRKs stardom
https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/happy-new-year-trailers-2/#comment-284632
There was never an IOTA of doubt about the 40 odd opening day, the first weekend and week record was already broken
The key is the 400 crores target
Anyhow –it’s good to see the BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA figures again slowly finding way –in bang bang it seemed all sources except BOI were banned here lol
3000 screens bang bang gave about 26 cr
How much should 5000 screens give with NO competition and DIWALI
Release date ?? Rocket science ? Lol
Someone said srk is still the biggest star or something
I’ve always said –SRK has always been the real star
Don/don2 had multiplex leanings, JTHJ was took down by SOS simultaneous release –give him a half decent CE and u get the results
-Faanoos banke jiski hifazat hawa kare,
vo shama kya bujhe
jise roshan khuda kare…
Ps: I really liked the word ‘Faanoos’ tho…
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October 25, 2014 at 10:45 AM
On SRKs stardom –correct link
Sme of the commentary and the ‘surprise’ being demonstrated above is hilarious
Either they are in denial over SRKs unparalleled star power and now marketing acumen
Or they are not aware what 5000 screens domestic mean
And that too without either son of sardar or Haidar to play spoilsport
Anyhow as I said –with or without taran adarsh, it’s good to see figures other than BOI finding their way here (after the blockage in bag bang)
What fun lol
Ps : Satyam now don’t tell me u wanna block plain box office comments as well lol
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October 25, 2014 at 11:02 AM
Lol @apex. Just reading your comments for first time. Why suddenly you expecting 400 crores from HNY? Did any film touch 300 yet? No, right?
One of your most idiotic comment “THE PAN KHAN AXIS IS ACTIVATED WITH ALL KHAN FANS DOMESTIC AND OVDRSEAS ‘HELPING OUT’ – KRKs positive reviews”
FYI – KRK is not big force that he can help any movie. Moreover I think he gave 1 star and said it will crash after 1st day. Your ‘incorrect’ theory fails, can we stop now?
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October 25, 2014 at 11:08 AM
Master, he’s been doing that every single day believe it or not. It’s silliness of the first order. And then he blames me for not letting through these comments every single day.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:19 AM
You shouldn’t Satyam. I think, to maintain the blog’s standards is your responsibility, if someone is ruining it to silly teenage fan forum, those posts need not be approved. Apex’s comments are like sore thumb among other comments. People are free to criticize anything here but not use this blog to remove their frustrations.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:11 PM
I don’t most of the time. Once in a while I relent. Apex used to be relatively normal once. He just went looney beyond a point. Don’t know what happened here! It’s not just about saying ridiculous things but the constant sexual innuendo in every statement.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Jaju said at 4 pm today that HNY will collect only 25 crores today. That doesnt look likely to me as atleastr multiplexes have kept pace today. And at 4 pm there is a good number of evening and night shows left. The single screen I saw was house full and next 2 shows were also full
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October 25, 2014 at 11:26 AM
“Jaju said at 4 pm today that HNY will collect only 25 crores today.”
If true, than the movie is tanking, Sunday will be same as saturday or less if WOM is really bad.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:30 AM
If the audience reaction in the theatre where i saw is any indication, Jaju is going to be way off the mark…Think this will be 37 crores today
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October 25, 2014 at 11:33 AM
Krish, Jaju has been saying before release that it will tank after day 1. He is completely against it. You can read all this tweets to get the context.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:37 AM
Latest tweet from PJ
PJ @Prakashjaaju : Had even #EkVillian released on Diwali opp. #HNY, it would have definetely collected more.
🙂 🙂
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October 25, 2014 at 10:29 AM
Hrithik, Nargis and Deepika attend Aamirs Diwali Bash
http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainmenttags/deepika-padukone/hrithik-deepika-and-nargis-attend-aamirs-diwali-bash#4
Aamir Khan hosted a gala Diwali bash at his residence where he invited a whole bunch of celebs. The bash went on late night with night long teen-patti sessions.
In attendance at the bash were Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Nargis Fakhri. Deepika and Nargis in fact were seen holding hands as they entered the venue.
Deepika who arrived from Dubai after the gala ‘Happy New Year’ premiere looked lovely in a red Sabyasachi saree.
Hrithik and Nargis attended the Bachchan diwali bash prior to attending Aamir’s.
Ps: that’s an interesting 3some–HR, Nargis and deepika hmmm
Rofl @ deepika and nargis in saris
ANYHOW
HAPPY DIWALI FOLKS
I may also check out HNY v soon (with nargis /DP type company)
🙂
Enjoy folks
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October 25, 2014 at 11:14 AM
I won’t be shocked if HNY comes down by about 60 to 65% on Monday with the way weekend is shaping up to be and if the wom is truly more on the negative side like how some are saying in comments above.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:44 AM
That is a given, that doesn’t prove it is really a fall. Collecting around 20 crores on working day on Mon, Tue is not possible, whatever the weekend collections are.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:50 AM
D3 did that…I think if today is around 37 I am almost certain Monday and Tuesday will hold well above 20 crores
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October 25, 2014 at 12:15 PM
Reason: Christmas holidays in india for schools and colleges!
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October 25, 2014 at 2:13 PM
I doubt that. These days in any case films generally don’t fall that much on Mon. Unless they’re crashing. Tue is much more the day when more serious falls (if they’re going to happen) take place. To be honest with all the hype that’s created it’s sometimes hard to tell what the actual reaction really is. I wouldn’t be surprised at a drop that puts it behind D3 (not 65% though) but I equally wouldn’t be surprised at the film staying as stable as D3. The real damage if it’s there will show beyond this. Even ETT was stable throughout the week. Even if WOM is worse on HNY it would probably still sustain that much because few people would completely give it a miss that early.
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October 25, 2014 at 3:08 PM
i watched it last night…with almost full house (just the front row was empty) and the crowd reaction to the movie was enthusiastic and they even clapped in the end (which i thought was lame as hell). the funniest moment of the film where everyone in the crowd couldn’t stop laughing was one that involved abhishek.
on the movie itself i thought it wasn’t bad. I did not like OSO, but kind of liked TMK. and I enjoyed HNY surprisingly. i agree with most commenters here..it had its funny moments and i think farah shows glimpses of greatness but during the ’emotional’ scene..i felt empty. there was no soul to this movie. also the double role for abhishek is a sham…the other character had NOTHING to do while the drunkard character was entertaining and had the best lines of the movie without a doubt. some moments with SRK were over the top…especially his intro, that’s just too much. this movie isn’t supposed to make sense..or even be good…its just an entertainer…and i laughed a lot and it entertained me from that aspect. still thought it was a dumb plot and story. I will take HNY over CE because abhishek and bomani added to the enjoyment. do i see this one come crashing down? maybe…but i think the india theme just might work and there is enough laugh worthy moments to keep the audience coming. also deepika should just shut up about being a victim, once you put yourself out there (almost literally) then you lost the right to blame others.
also the reaction to the pk trailer was OKayish.
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October 25, 2014 at 4:27 PM
after reading that post on double roles…this confirms why i thought abhishek’s double role is just wasted in this movie. what a great post that was on the ‘essence’ of a double role. i wouldn’t even necessarily call it a ‘double’ role for abhishek in HNY to be honest.
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October 25, 2014 at 4:47 PM
I really think this can turn into a franchise easily if they choose to go that route. And Abhishek can play a substantial role as the villian in the second one and still come back as the drunkard character. If they can make an oceans 12…then certainly a HNY 2 can happen. but i guess i am jumping the gun here and assuming HNY will end up huge..lets see.
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October 25, 2014 at 4:53 PM
Haven’t seen HNY yet and am a huge SRK fan and loved both MHN and OSO BUT I really hope SRK never works with Farah Khan again after HNY!
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October 25, 2014 at 11:54 AM
The atrocities and absurdities of Bollywood: 2009 was last great year of Bollywood when a truely awsome movie was an ATBB. I still have hope for 2014 christmas. Then the whole equation is turn upside down by utter crap like HNY. String together 6-7 hollywood capers with an ensemble cast and you get your bheja fried. The last time I was so nauseous was when I saw the intolerable RA1. However then I had the luxury of leaving post interval.
This time was tortured for 3 hours
Word to wise do not carpool to a Hindu movie and if you do do not go to a cinema that prevents you from going to another movie
The fact that movie is an unprecedented success leads me to believe there is some bizarre phenomenon going on in India
Als hoping this Christmas restores my faith in Bollywood
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October 25, 2014 at 12:04 PM
There are four kinds of commercial movies that give you four kinds of feelings
Gripped: ala 3 idiots
Captivated: ala Dabang
Bored: ala ek tha tiger
Nauseous: ala HNY
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October 25, 2014 at 2:15 PM
I think we get your point based on couple of your posts.
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October 25, 2014 at 2:18 PM
3I was a rare film but I didn’t even find Dabanng that interesting. It had a number of iconic elements, one of the rare times I liked Salman, but it was a wafer-thin story. Just a collection of item moments from the songs to the lines and so on. ETT was utterly boring. This for me is the worst kind of film. Sometimes I prefer films that I like less but that at least have some moments to them. ETT was very flat. Actually for some reason I quite enjoyed the second half of Kick. Probably liked this half more than just about any other Salman film since Dabangg.
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October 25, 2014 at 1:32 PM
@BOCapsule: #BOCapsule @HNY BO update 2nd Day: @iamsrk starrer is set for some real unbelievable nos. in range of 40 cr, report at 12:30
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October 25, 2014 at 2:16 PM
BOcapsule isn’t trustworthy…they keep changing their numbers
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October 25, 2014 at 2:18 PM
anything close to 33 to 35 crore will be awesome.
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October 25, 2014 at 3:30 PM
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra in a master class during the recently concluded Mumbai Film Festival, revealed how he conceptualized and created his cult classic film Parinda which featured actors Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff in lead roles. The filmmaker said that after he made Khamosh he struggled for a year and half to release the film, which he released himself eventually. Mr Chopra said that though everyone liked the film no one wanted to buy it. In that span of time, it was his anger and frustration that lead him to the story of Parinda.
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/vidhu-vinod-chopra-talks-about-the-genesis-of-parinda/342616?hp
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October 25, 2014 at 5:00 PM
at the inauguration of the Reliance Foundation Hospital in Bombay:
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October 25, 2014 at 5:28 PM
It is the Sir H N Hospital run by a trust which has been ‘taken over’ by Reliance and named Reliance Foundation H. In a series of designer hospitals for the rich that are coming up in Mumbai. Of course as always he made a speech about gareeb getting medical care here. He has no idea what a gareeb of India is.
The film stars are falling over each other to get their pics with him.
When will Modi stop start working? He’s done nothing but inaugrations, shaking hands getting himself photographed.
Nobody will even believe that while this is going on Delhi’s Trilokpuri area (AAP’s constitution) is facing communal riots. sec 144 has been clamped – and guess what??? Delhi is going to have elections. A pattern being followed for months now .
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October 25, 2014 at 6:04 PM
LOL
correction:
Not (AAP’s constitution) bUT AAP’s constituency.
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October 25, 2014 at 5:01 PM
the ads continue…
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October 25, 2014 at 6:30 PM
so tacky.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:16 PM
Movie earns 37 or 45 or 54 crore on first day; this movie has nothing. Except for some climatic tension the movie is made in Tees Maar Khan tone.
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October 25, 2014 at 5:12 PM
“Happy New Year is trending everywhere and so is Abhishek Bachchan. Everyone is definitely amazed but we aren’t. Although we didn’t expect him to trend on Twitter, we knew he will emerge victorious in this game of Happy New Year. Guess the audience too feel the same and are amazed to see Abhishek getting more praise than Shah Rukh Khan.”
http://businessofcinema.com/bollywood_news/happy-new-year-abhishek-bachchan-praised-shah-rukh-khan/179408
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October 25, 2014 at 6:13 PM
Happy New Year is definetly trending on Twitter and SRK is dominating here also compared to abhishek. Although Abhishek seems to be trending upwards…but nothing like SRK and the film itself.
here is example with @iamsrk, @juniorbachchan, and Happy New Year
http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%40iamsrk&q2=%40juniorbachchan&q3=happy%20new%20year&via=Topsy
here is with @iamsrk, @juniorbachchan and #happynewyear
http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%40iamsrk&q2=%40juniorbachchan&q3=%23happynewyear&via=Topsy
finally here is with @iamsrk, @juniorbachchan and #HNY
http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%40iamsrk&q2=%40juniorbachchan&q3=%23HNY&via=Topsy
and just for fun… here is @iamsrk, @juniorbachchan and @srbachchan
http://topsy.com/analytics?q1=%40iamsrk&q2=%40juniorbachchan&q3=%40SrBachchan&via=Topsy
gee i wonder what caused such a spike on the 11th of oct for big b…hmmm lol.
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October 26, 2014 at 12:09 AM
they were referring to this on day 1 of the release:
https://twitter.com/search?q=abhishek%20trending&src=typd&mode=photos
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October 25, 2014 at 7:00 PM
I knew Abhishek will get surely credit in HNY and this is not like Dhoom 3 role. But getting credit in crowd pleasing comedy role is different than saying he stole the show from SRK in his own film. They are not even in same stature, outside or inside the movie, so it really doesn’t matter to anyone. Without SRK, there is no HNY, simple as that. But all said, am happy Abhishek getting credit. Srk doesn’t need any acting credit for HNY, just big hit would suffice for him.
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October 25, 2014 at 5:25 PM
Curious about the Overseas BO- I’ve heard some terrible numbers but that might have been for thursday which then would be fine.
Also @Satyam are you watching it in theaters soon? I think Abhi is getting praised more than he did for KANK and BB.
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October 25, 2014 at 5:25 PM
These 45 Crore number is complete fake .. and its confirm. But surprising thing is its real collection for day one are also probably highest ever (35-36 Crore range) .. so what was need to exaggerate so much ??
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October 25, 2014 at 6:41 PM
what’s your source? KRK???
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October 25, 2014 at 6:44 PM
http://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=866577030019496&set=vb.100000016228540&type=2&theater
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October 25, 2014 at 6:50 PM
lol…that was the most excruciating part of the movie…we get it SRK..you worked on your body! how the hell are you going to be a straight dude and ‘cheer’ on for his abs and body…come on now.
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October 25, 2014 at 6:54 PM
That abs is for his female fans, why are you so worked up?
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October 25, 2014 at 7:01 PM
im referring to that video…all i saw were dudes up and cheering when his abs are being poured over by water. i get it, its for the ladies and/or men who like men…but that scene was just over the top in my humble opinion. not worked up about it. if i had one thing that i would take out from that movie..i would’ve taken out that scene and replaced it with a toned down (no pun intended) version of his intro.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:06 PM
I think you are getting it wrong. Can a better introduction can be made? Of course yes. They could have made it shorter by 2 mins and removed all slow motion shots. Also, men liking other men’s bodies doesn’t mean they are gay. I have lot of friends and they go to gym regularly and their room is full of Rocky(Stallone) posters. Its kinda motivation if you are into body building.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:16 PM
“Can a better introduction can be made? Of course yes. They could have made it shorter by 2 mins and removed all slow motion shots. ”
we are in agreement here.
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October 25, 2014 at 8:45 PM
“but that scene was just over the top in my humble opinion”
Agree, a minute too long.
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October 25, 2014 at 8:56 PM
I am actually sick of introduction scenes especially if there are multiple stars. First 45 minutes to one hour go in introduction. Same things happened in Dhoom3. The directors need to be imaginative where story has self introduction of characters.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:12 PM
“First 45 minutes to one hour go in introduction. Same things happened in Dhoom3. ”
But in HNY it was part of the story as some were related to the story and hiring of others and lacign them with the some who were already part of the story. It was done very well. It was not where they had intro of each for 10 to 15 minutes. Except for SRK, all other intro were like 1 to 3 minute and than SRK and other were in the frame of next intro.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:01 PM
My wife was happy to see his abs and she asked me why i can’t have abs like that eventhou i’m little younger than SRK.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:07 PM
You should have told her ” I have a real job to do”
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October 25, 2014 at 7:24 PM
By real job i mean protecting SRK’s prestige in this bad bad social media world
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October 25, 2014 at 7:28 PM
lol, that’s what i do tell her.
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October 25, 2014 at 6:59 PM
Just back fron HNY, total paisa vasool film.
More entertaining than MHN, OSO and CE. Hats off to SRK for truly giving everybody good role. Sonu and Abhi were funny. All had funny scenes. From beginning to end, everybody was on screen almost thru out the movie, and it wasn’t as them standing in background, they actually had dialogues and were doing something in the movie.
I personally don’t think this movie will tank starting monday. I think it will hold on very well.
And I know it’s a habit for some to lump few things together to bring somebody down or bring somebody up but don’t put Farah and Sajid together. Sajid couldn’t make a film like this if his life depended on it. It’s kind of like saying Desai and B. Subhash are same.
Farah pulled off this movie beautifully. Sure it had some flaws but which movies don’t? The movie looked grand and lavish without being in your face.
Go with open mind and i assure you you will laugh thru out and enjoy it.
Some of the negative comments some of the posters have put here who claim they’ve seen the movie, They might have seen another movie. Like one had said ti’s an ad for Dubai. Dubai does not even come up in the movie until more than hour into the movie except a min in the beginning and even afterward it’s just showen here and there little bit.
Perfect festive movie (Definitly not a movie for SRK haters).
Happy New Year…
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October 25, 2014 at 7:03 PM
Good, you loved it. Am always surprised why they lump Sajid khan and Farah khan. Their movies are completely different and Sajid Khan makes slapstick comedies whereas Farah’s films are entertainers with lot of emotional quotient and drama and lots of comedy. No comparision IMO.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:13 PM
Farah movies are all about style without any substance. The emotional scenes are without soul IMO. She does have a good flair for comedic scenes though. But her movies are always superficial and never have any depth to it..which is why they will be forgotten. I haven’t seen a sajid khan film so I can’t really comment on his films.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:18 PM
No soul? That depends. Also, I don’t think Sajid Khan’s movie can ever a song as this ever. His films are nothing like Farah’s. I don’t think you can say this song(for example) has no soul as well. As I said it just depends on person to person.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:28 PM
we’ll just have to disagree…because this is not my definition of ‘soul’…her movies never allow a person like myself to be emotionally attached to any of the characters or the story. she fails miserably at that. OSO was awful in every way shape or form. I’ll take HNY(because of the comedy) anyday over OSO, CE and JTHJ(talk about soulless).
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October 25, 2014 at 7:34 PM
As I said it depends. I mentioned Farah’s movies got emotional quotient which is missing in Sajid’s movies completely. Also, am not looking for Haider (a movie which I loved) level depth and soul in her movie.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:21 PM
The only actor that prevented me from throwing up in HNY wa Abhishek. In fact this is his best performance since Bluff Master in such genre. He completely stole show and rose way above the Hamming Badshah. He was true star of the film and only gem in a bunch of clowns.
It is pity that Indian Directors do not have the astuteness of Hollywood directors. How many times have we seen in Hollywood a lesser star getting a fatter role than a superstar since the movie demands it. This movie could have been salvaged if Abhiskek’s role would have been enhanced. I am sure it was pretty clear during the shooting who was the really clicking in movie
Unfortunately Indian movie maker do not have the courage or acumen to rise above the Superstar class system
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October 25, 2014 at 7:27 PM
Lol, can’t believe an Abhishek fan can’t find difference between Bluffmaster and HNY. Both same genre? LMAO. Also, Abhishek was kinda serious in Bluffmaster and black humor but nothing, I repeat, nothing like OTT comedy like HNY.
Now, I understand how serious to take your comments.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:42 PM
Have you even seen Bluffmaster. There was no dark humor. He was a conman and had pretty tapori character.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:32 PM
Back in the days when i did not watch films and used to read stories and books it was so fun. Never really cared who had the meatier role in the story. Either I enjoyed the story as a whole or i did not. Some characters of those stories were more affable than others but for me the writer failed when the story as a whole did not click. What has the world come to now? Trying to analyze what went wrong with the story and characters. It defeats the purpose. If you go to a restaurant and don’t like the food you ditch it and go to another restaurant the next time around. You don’t argue with the cook or try to teach him how to cook. Its simply a waste of time. Time which you could have spent exploring better things.
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October 25, 2014 at 7:53 PM
Happy New Year Set For A Strong Second Day
Happy New Year is looking at a 25% drop on day two which is pretty good after coming of a big holiday. Normally the fall will would have been bigger but is a holiday for Bhai Dooj at places and the fact that it was a Saturday rather than a working day helped the movie.
The collections on day two will be in the 30 crore nett region as per the early figures coming in. The falls in most circuits will be in the 20-30% range and a couple may even fall less than 20% where the holiday affect is more.The film has put up huge numbers over the first two days and now there is Sunday to come which may take it to the century mark in three days.
Though as it is a part holiday on Saturday it is possible that Sunday may not grow like it normally does for mass films. Still even if there is no growth it will still be a huge weekend.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/happynewyearsetforastrongsecondday#.VEw3d_ldVfh
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October 25, 2014 at 8:40 PM
So It won’t be 25 cror elike Jaju was tweeting, i’m thinking it’ll be about 32 crore inlcuding all version
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October 25, 2014 at 8:45 PM
So sunday will not grow. i think it is set for no more than 100 cr weekend. which is disappointing looking at first day figure. Ofcourse we are talking about only hindi version.
D3 also had 100 cr weekend.
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October 25, 2014 at 8:42 PM
I had went for loo and get fries, was out about 5 to 7 minutes max but I didn’t see couple scenes from the trailer like the one where SRK is carrying an attache and the scene where they’re driving cars in desert.
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October 25, 2014 at 8:44 PM
Both edited and not in final cut.
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October 25, 2014 at 9:05 PM
By the way, just a thought, don’t thik Farah/SRK planned it this way or maybe they did but Diwali and for some Hindu the new year was Oct 23rd/24th? For muslims the new year was also Oct 24th evening this year.
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October 25, 2014 at 11:26 PM
Found HNY to be an incredibly poor film barring the last hour which was passable. Compared to this OSO is an all-time classic. Will say more about the actors and so on tomorrow in a somewhat longer comment.
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October 26, 2014 at 12:26 AM
though the ‘I’ trailer they showed made up for the rest. Astounding on a big screen!
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October 26, 2014 at 12:41 AM
Actually, if you think your feedback is matching with many that last 1 hour is the better part of the movie. Just grading is different. Others good = yours poor. Others Very good = yours passable.
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October 26, 2014 at 12:51 AM
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, best known for playing negative roles in films, has been hospitalised and is critically ill, according to the doctors.
The 64-year-old actor, who has starred in films like ‘Ardhasatya’ and ‘Sadak’, was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here two weeks ago after being diagnosed with a lung infection.
“Amrapurkar has been hospitalised for the past two weeks. He is suffering from complete respiratory failure and is critical. A team of doctors is doing its best to ensure his recovery,” said Dr Santosh Shetty, chief operating officer at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, today.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/actor-sadashiv-amrapurkar-hospitalised-on-life-support-ventilator/508575-8-66.html
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October 26, 2014 at 1:42 AM
There seems to be a big gap once again between BOI, Taran and the producers’ numbers. So, maybe the talks about BOI being biased only against Hrithik or Bang Bang or Krish 3 are looking like myths now.
Managed to catch up with HNY. It’s a poor movie. A couple of funny moments here and there but it’s pretty poor overall. SRK is the main guy there but it’s the kind of role one can sleep walk through. Abhishek and Boman are the best things out there and they are the ones you want to see a bit of more of but they are underutilised.
If the movie does well, that would mean that Abhishek could end up featuring in 2 of the highest grossers of modern times but unfortunately he is there in secondary roles only.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:06 AM
One thing is certain n ppl following ab jr career will know that he was always good in comic roles n can do these with ease n mutliplex goers like these because of iy.if he appears in few more comedy films i am sure suddenly bachchan haters too will start liking his acting though ppl who like him always knew that he acted well always.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:09 AM
For d3 i would blame yashraj prod more than amir as they seem like close to abjr but never ever gave meaty roles.rather i would say they underutilised him n have ruin his career a bit in d process..
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October 26, 2014 at 4:23 AM
Saw HNY, I liked it. Have to admit that the first 30-45 minutes were dragging and annoying and TMK like but basically once Deepika is introduced the film picks up a lot. Surprisingly the best part was the last hour of the movie. I thought Abhi’s second role as the “villain” was kind of unnecessary. The jokes were good barring 2-3 of them. The songs were great in context although I wish the Radhe Radhe one used better. The production quality was absolutely astounding but that is normal with SRK movies. The “India wale” angle could’ve been worked on a little more although it was great, especially in the climax dance. The end credits were awesome, the usual Farah Khan style and should be watched of AbRam! Although the movie was 3 hrs long, it didn’t feel long barring the first 30 min. I honestly felt that SRK didn’t do much in this movie (besides work hard for the 10 pack). In terms of his character it must have been really easy for him. But Abhishekh was definitely the funniest, it says a lot about SRK the actor and producer for letting Abhi have the funniest lines/scenes. The Vivaan Shah kid was strictly ok. Deepika was absolutely gorgeous and great even though her role wasn’t as long as her role in CE, YJHD, RL. Boman Irani as usual was funny as was Sonu Sood. Jackie Shroff was decent. The audience went nuts at the Prabhu Deva special appearance and SRK’s “re-entry” at the end during the India Waale song. The response in my theater seemed very positive, people were laughing and cheering a lot (This was in Chicago) and on the way out I heard people say that it was a great film. I remember going to the same theater during JTHJ and hearing it being absolutely bashed by the audience members at the end. I think this movie will trend as well as D3, but probably not as well as OSO i.e. double its first week. I can see it crossing 300 crores tbh, people were really loving the india wale angle and the jokes. But seriously, SRK needs to challenge himself as an actor, this role just seemed way way too easy for him! Overall 4/5 and the most enjoyable movie along with CE post SRK’s ruling years aka meaning post RNBDJ.
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October 26, 2014 at 5:51 AM
Happy New Year Has Good Second Day
Sunday 26 October 2014 13.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year did well on day two as it grossed around 28.50 crore nett on its second day taking its two day total to 68 crore nett plus. The film held best in the Gujarat where it is holiday season and other places where there was a holiday for Bhai Dooj while other places showed a fall which happens after a big holiday.
The film is best in Mumbai due to the Gujarat factor while Delhi/UP is also strong due to strong figures in UP in day two. The under performance is in the East even though Shahrukh Khan is by a margin the biggest star in West Bengal
The Saturday numbers are less than Dhoom 3 and which collected 30.5 on Saturday while Chennai Express was in the same range as Happy new Year. The business on Sunday will be up and down as the places where it was a holiday on Saturday could drop while others where it was a normal should grow.
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October 26, 2014 at 5:51 AM
Huge 30% fall on Day 2.
It will barely match D3 weekend numbers. And struggle from there onwards. I don’t see it going beyond 175 cr inspite of no big release in next 3 weeks.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:04 AM
that’s a huge drop..
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October 26, 2014 at 8:45 AM
Quite a big drop for sure. Sunday has started well though. All other media outlets are still reporting 37 crores and producers have not yet declared any numbers. I will go with BOI as i usually do. One way to look at this is maybe it was Friday which was the outlier performance and Saturday is more in sync with merits of the movie. If thats the case we might still have a stable Monday.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:46 AM
yes that does happen sometimes..a film drops to its level of base support.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:19 AM
Happy New Year Set For Second Highest Overseas Opening Ever
Sunday 26 October 2014 16.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year may take the second biggest opening ever in Overseas. The film will not beat Dhoom 3 which collected over $10 million but may edge past the second biggest opener Chennai Express which grossed $7.25 million approx.
The two day figures are around £400,000 in United Kingdon and $1,200,000 in US/Canada. The Gulf is looking at a weekend somewhere around the $2,5 million region. There are no holidays in Overseas in the Diwali period like Christmas and it is not as good as the Eid period especially in places lik UK and Gulf.
The weekend overseas should be over the $7 million mark mark but remains to be seen if it can to around $8 million
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October 26, 2014 at 8:43 AM
Happy New Year after having a smashing start with a historic opening kept up a good performance on its second day too. According to early estimates, the film collected approximately 38 crores on its first Saturday i.e Day 2. With this, the film now stands with a total of 82.97 crores at the domestic box office.
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/happy-new-year-1st-saturday-day-2-box-office-collections/
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October 26, 2014 at 8:45 AM
that’s a massive gap! A 10 crore differential on day 2? Unless they’re just going with all India numbers (all versions). It’s possible since the 45 crore number is a similar one. But still even going by that it’s a drop of 7 crores on day 2 whereas the BOI thing is a drop of 10-12 crores.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:51 AM
7 crore drop is not that much when the starting base is huge of 45 crore.
If it had colleted let’s say like 26 crore on day one and than drop to 19 crore on day to, than it would be a big drop. have to look at the whole picture.
Even today I think there might be a drop of about 5% from saturday.
By the way they showed “I” trailer and even my wife said this looks good so “I” may be my first south Indian movie in theatre.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:56 AM
if it’s just 7 crores! You’re only looking at the best set of numbers. BOI are quite pro-SRK historically.
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October 26, 2014 at 9:08 AM
I have not seen any write up from BOI which suggests they’re pro SRK. Their #s are always lower for SRK films than other source even when you compare the difference of BOI against other source and do same for other actors, SRK movies mostly has bigger by BOI.
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October 26, 2014 at 9:26 AM
SRK movies mostly has bigger gap by BOI.*
Which is not a sign of being pro SRK.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:57 AM
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October 26, 2014 at 8:59 AM
Sunday is surely going to be more than Saturday whatever figures you are following. It started huge today morning…like a sunday would usually do…
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October 26, 2014 at 9:01 AM
yes I know.. Sat often dips and Sun is then fine.. but the question is how much of a dip is Sat. Of course either way by Tue one will know how well or not this is trending in this initial phase. And of course if it’s a very strong Sun that might provide some indication.
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October 26, 2014 at 9:05 AM
“Sat often dips and”
Why is that? I always wondered about that.
I would think that Saturday would be the best day out of friday/sat/sun since sat is the first weekend day and you don’t have to worry about going to work next day, etc…
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October 26, 2014 at 9:25 AM
don’t know actually.. Perhaps Sun is the day more allotted for this sort of thing by most people. Barring the truly accepted films (always rare) Sat either drops by 10% or at best stays the same. But this happens even for films with extended weeks. Day 2 often drops the most.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:48 AM
Film still managed huge 37.64 cr nett on day two which was still huge. Now film has total of 82.61 cr nett.
http://www.boxofficecapsule.com/collection/2nd-Day-Updated-And-3rd-Day-Early-Trends-Of-Box-Office-Collection-Of-HAPPY-NEW-YEAR-3064
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October 26, 2014 at 9:02 AM
Another Krish 3 in the making !!
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October 26, 2014 at 9:34 AM
I have always put my trust in the audience response more than any critic when it comes to Bollywood films. And this was reinforced on my viewing of Happy New Year. I had written off the film and went see it mainly to please my wife who is a big Shahrukh fan, partly because I had a relatively free weekend and no other choice for viewing film in the theatre. What I found was the critics who had given it 4 / 4.5 stars and the critics who had given it 2 / 2.5 stars, calling it Ocean’s Eleven written y baboons and the like were both wrong.
It is actually a fairly decent watch and I preferred it vastly over Farah Kahn’s earlier efforts , Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om. I remember sleeping through much of the second half in OSO, but here I was wide awake all trough its near-3-hour running time, even though it was a 9.45pm show I had opted for. And not once was I tempted to check my FB posts on the phone like I did throughout the running time of Krish 3. In fact, unlike my wife, and many others whose comments I have read, I didn’t mind the first hour with the character introductions at all. Mainly because, I am a huge fan of physical comedy, and only Rohit Shetty does it with some flare in Bollwood. Now this is no Kungfu Hustle, but Farah does manage to stage some pretty funny gags – the one with Boman Irani having his face shoved into the cake, or the misfired bombs in the film shooting comes to mind. The good thing about her style here is that it is all clean, innocent fun which every child, and the child in every one of us can enjoy.
What I did not like in these portions were the reference to other films in every other line. I think only people without any talent or ideas resort to such ruses. People like Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Raju Hirani base their humour on their observation of life, and not on lines from other films. Mimicking of film dialogues is for college fests by those filmy dudes think they are creative because they have seen too many films and remember a few lines like ‘ Badi badi mulko mein chhoti chhoti baatein ho jaatein hain.’
Fortunately, Farah snaps out of this quickly enough, and with the entry of Abhishek and Deepika, the film really perks up. The two characters are very rooted and add the earthy flavour to the proceedings. Both have performed well and make you care for the characters they are playing. The scenes between Shahrukh and Deepika are some of the best written scenes in the film. The idea of Mohini admiring Charlie because he speaks English and has an English name works well and it plays out at subtler levels beyond just being funny. I laughed when Abhishke says,’ English mein sorry bolna.” I like the way the scene that follows is written. Charlie does ‘ apologize’ to Mohini, but we can see his attitude towards her hasn’t fundamentally changed. He still cannot resist taking a dig at her ‘ movement of your booty’ er..’beauty of your movement’. I like the way the relationship is written. Till the end Charlie hasn’t really fallen for Mohini and that’s quite brave for a commercial, mainstream film I thought.
I fact, the reason I like this much more than MHN or OSO is precisely because Farah here has steered clear of the Bollywood template and concentrated solely on telling her story without distraction. I saw much sophistication in the way the relationship between Jackie and Salman was mapped in ‘Kick’ and this goes one step forward. Harrah! Bollywood is growing up.
In fact I am so disappointed with critics who have failed to point what a purer storytelling mode Farah is pursuing here without giving into the temptations of Bollywood masala formula. Take someone haloed like Mani Ratnam. He is unthinking enough to saddle the Ajay Devgan character with a romance and introduce that bland duet with Esha Deol. Farah could have easily got Nandu embroiled with some risqué romance with either slum girl or a white bimbette in Dubai (like the shenanigans of the Uday Chpra character in the Dhoom series). But she keeps the yarn clean and the fabric dyed in innocence. And I liked that.
I liked the basic plot and its unravelling. The level of detailing is just right for the key at which she is telling her story. The bits with the Korean group is cute. And I loved the choreography of the fight between Shahrukh and the Korean guy, with ‘ Everybody Was Kungfu Fighting’ in the soundtrack adding to the zing. Te build up to the first performance of the ‘ Indiawale’ song is well orchestrated: first the ugly welcome for the team on arrival, then Jackie’s open antagonism portrayed credibly with lines like “ Olympic ka team ho ya Oscar ka film, you Indians always send the wrong entry.’ So when the Indiwale song comes up it is hard not to feel all pumped up.
Many have pointed out that for film based on dance, there is hardly any innovative choreography or a great dance sequence. True. But I think that is intentional. Farah did not want to use elaborately choreographed dance sequences to act as item numbers, distracting from the flow of the story. ( (Opportunity for Mani Ratnam here again for some learning.) Be it Mohini’s opening dance or the Nonsense Ki Night sequence, they are all weaved into the narrative. I especially liked the way the Satkali song is picturized, against the lovely water fountains of beautiful Dubai, establishing the camaraderie of the team rather than play it like an item number with cool dance moves.
The staging of the final heist , the twists and turns, and the reprise of the Indiawale number worked very well for me. Here again she resisted the temptation to stage an full-blown action climax , even though she had the speed boats, the helicopter and the sea ready, and I thank her for that. She was interested in the human aspect of the story and that comes through so much better in the staging of the Indiawale reprise.
I liked the little touch of the airport staff throwing the glass with the blue liquid into the garbage chute. But I am wondering, wont it have been better not to make Charlie the smart thinker of Don 2 and let them just lose the diamond? After all he had achieved the objective of just revenge on Charan Grover and the 10 lakh USD prize money was enough for Mohini to open her school and Sonu to have his mother’s operation. So was this really necessary? Just a thought.
Summing it up, I would say I this one is certainly in the same league as Kick , Chennai Express and D3, though I perhaps like CE and D3 a lot more ( CE for its innocence and fairy-tale charm and D3 for its mythic double angle ). It is not a particularly great story and it is kind of loud throughout without quieter moments. It does not have any exceptional moments that you would like to take home. But it is a fun story, told in a fun way, without pretensions, without cynical disregard for the audience, without too many stale formulaic elements. In fact this is one of those Shahrukh films that I liked more than my wife. And I did like Shahrukh in the film too. He looked especially cool in the initial portions, with his long hair and sparse beard. His performance was restrained and confident, shorn of standard mannerisms and not showy at all. I am so glad he has managed to reinvent his persona. SRK loyalist Anupama Chpra has said in her review, “Come back, Rahul. All is forgiven.”” And I say, “ Don’t.”. We want see you as Charlie, Kabir Khan , Mohan Bhargav…and many other things. But not Rahul. Please.
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October 26, 2014 at 9:56 AM
Great review Utkal. Very detailed one and brings up good points.
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October 26, 2014 at 9:58 AM
Excellent review Utkal, I had same feeling and stated in my short review that this is better than MHN and OSO.
The ones giving 2 starts or below are truly just taking out their frustration rather than giving review and you can celarly see it in their writing. Same thing for somebody giving it 4.5 stars when they make it sound like paid review.
This is a SRK movie from beginning to end but I was just amazed at how much scope/time given to everybody in the movie. Everybody had their moment and than some.
Some of the stuff we had seen in trailer which didn’t look right like the Satakli song, SRK talking about WDC to everybody, actually looks very nice in the movie with and gels very well.
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October 26, 2014 at 1:44 PM
Although I didn’t like the film as much as you I did find it pretty watchable on the whole. I do think it’s a bit over done either way…it doesn’t know whether to be a revenge saga or a patriotic film as it merges the two rather randomly in the second half. The humour works though and except for the first 20mins it’s a fairly breezy film. I didn’t mind the character intros and everyone gets a decent track. I liked the songs and the picturisations fit the film.
Think SRK is fine in the film, so too deepika and abhishek. SRK and deepika have good chemistry. I went with 3 other people and they all liked it.
I do think the film lacks ambition. It’s a basic plot but because it goes from comedy to drama so much I just felt the narrative and tone is confused. Farah should have kept it comedy all the way because there are good moments throughout.
Overall not as good as Chennai express but better than bang bang. Worth a one time watch. Deepika last dance was a nice filmi moment, she looked smashing throughout. Her romantic track with Srk is a nice song.
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October 26, 2014 at 1:53 PM
“…it doesn’t know whether to be a revenge saga or a patriotic film as it merges the two rather randomly in the second half”
You didn’t get it. The movie is about 6 losers and life gives them opportunity to be winners (told again in again in promos). That opportunity comes to them after they are done with their revenge and robbery. After robbery, they do something for themselves and become ‘winners’ from losers in life. The movie is not a revenge drama, it is just how life gives losers opportunity in life to become winners. All this bank robbery and revenge are peripherals to the main point the movie is talking about.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:02 PM
Even if I didn’t get it…the premise of loser to winner is not the main strand of the film. The whole premise hinges on the revenge. Without the ‘revenge’ they are all losers. To me the loser to winner is a subset of the overall film whereas you think the other way. Basically if Srks father did not die there was no revenge and no story. The film and story only exists because of this.
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October 26, 2014 at 1:58 PM
Not minding it is no indication of the box office. My gut feeling is the film has good moments but is disjointed. I suspect it will not go that much past Kick. It’s also very long. The intros are fine but the film could have been trimmed between semi and final. As big as the opening is I think it will fall short of d3 not over the weekend but over the first week. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it beats d3 first week either but would be shocked if it sustained to beat the total. 300 crores is too tough for films like these. They are relying on scintalating starts and already Saturday has shown a chunky fall. It’s not a crisp and well edited film to have the legs, just like d3 wasn’t as well.
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October 26, 2014 at 1:59 PM
agree on all counts..
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October 26, 2014 at 1:58 PM
yes didn’t like CE too much but definitely preferred it to this.
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October 26, 2014 at 10:09 AM
saw HNY yesterday and was about to jot something on it….
But the box office ‘analysis’ and the numerical gymnastics above are so hilarious that I’ve stopped in my tracks
Words on HNY later maybe…
Time to enjoy these box office ‘bulletins’ as of now lol
Ps: @ ‘master’–my comment go thru moderation first so I wont bother with u or else would have sorted out your ‘mastery’….lol
Btw came across this randomly –Good track this —
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October 26, 2014 at 10:31 AM
I think most have felt same here about the movie and if it wasn’t for the last 30-40 mins movie would have gone down the drain. Actually due to heist which I thought was done pretty well and build to the climax some of the boredom / anger dissipated. Munna got it perfectly right with – “Except for some climatic tension the movie is made in Tees Maar Khan tone”
KRK is gaining legitimacy with launch of his box-office site by none other than the legend sr bachchan and reported all over media.
Here few latest tweets which need attention:
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 9h 9 hours ago
I hope #YRF n SRK will control their emotions n they will not give chance to trade ppl
to laugh on collections like collections of #Krrish
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 8h 8 hours ago
#HappyNewYear collected approx 28-29Cr on day2. Final collections will be given at 6PM.
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 29m 29 minutes ago
Fri-Mum-12.8 Delhi/up-6.9 Punj-3.27 Raj-1.74 Cp-2.14 Ci-1.46 Saturdy-Mum-9.90 Delhi/Up-5.10 Pun-2.45 Raj-1.54 Cp-1.51 Ci-0.99 #HappyNewYear
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 26m 26 minutes ago
So final collections of Saturday are 28.90Cr #HappyNewYear
The guy does seem to have some connections with distributors because he quotes losses of few after the movie is done.
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October 26, 2014 at 10:37 AM
Two day total is around 68. Assuming first day of 40 crores, a drop of 30%.
Producers are going Kkrish way and their numbers are laughable.
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October 26, 2014 at 12:53 PM
Producers haven’t announced 2nd day’s collections.
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October 26, 2014 at 11:25 AM
“The guy does seem to have some connections with distributors ” … KRK officially inaugurated his website yesterday by Amitabh, this means he has network to track numbers from distributors.
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October 26, 2014 at 1:18 PM
What days have come for bachhan
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October 26, 2014 at 1:26 PM
Can’t believe Amitabh endorsing KRK and his site. It is totally downgraded version of even an average Bollywood site.
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October 26, 2014 at 10:41 PM
Bachchan lin
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October 26, 2014 at 7:07 PM
Just because it is Amitabh Bachchan as a chief guest at a function does not mean he is the ISI of quality. He is too diplomatic a person with a weakness to NEVER say NO [like a true Libran] and will agree to inaugurate even a dog and pony show run by one of Maneka Gandhi’s assistants.
Anything Amitabh recommends or supposedly endorses should NOT be taken seriously.
Just watch the man for his incomparable talent. That’s it.
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October 26, 2014 at 10:34 AM
However his best tweet which actually makes sense is:
KRK @kamaalrkhan • 8h 8 hours ago
I can’t understand why r #2RsPpl fighting over collections of #HappyNewYear?
They shud watch film n enjoy. Collections are 4trade ppl only.
For me I feel BOI if not fully reliable is at least the most consistent sites on box-office. They did have some Khan (read srk bias) but rest they are pretty stable in their commentary except few years back my be ‘05-06 they were hammering bachchan movies when abhi was touted to take over
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October 26, 2014 at 10:36 AM
BOI also saying 28.50 cr and Yrf still havent any given numbers for Sat i wonder why ur guess is as good as mine .
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October 26, 2014 at 10:39 AM
But then that may be to counter the vested interests bloating bachchan figures when reality was something else………and in all fairness to them truth on Abhi box office standing unfolded / revealed with non performance
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October 26, 2014 at 10:58 AM
Best review of HNY
Saw HNY.
It is about SRK and others getting together and carrying out a heist and stealing hundreds of crores from people buying the tickets.
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October 26, 2014 at 12:22 PM
LOL, agree!
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October 26, 2014 at 1:19 PM
shame on you for contributing to it 🙂
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October 26, 2014 at 1:35 PM
Yeah I’ve seen quite a few shameful days for Abhishek! Might have to be shamed again with Houseful!
Will say though (and even I’m not as big on him here as most others seem to be) he does reveal his remarkable talent range even here. Just comparing this to BB, a similar over the top appearance, the characters are handled very differently. Actually I liked the Vicky character more. Very perverse and creepy. Unfortunately they didn’t give him anything to do. An over the top film with these two might have been fun in a crazy way. But even going beyond this when you have an actor who does Guru and Sarkar and DMD at one end and then stuff like Paa and BM and Yuva and then on the comic side Dostana and BB and now this, all so many different modes of the dramatic and the comic, the idea that anyone could have doubts about his skill set is itself something that is sign of the larger bankruptcy. One might question is box office fortunes, one might question how much he is benefited from some of these outings but in terms of what he can do I’ve if anything become even more comfortable with my judgments on him than I might have been years ago.
Even in HNY he and then Boman really supply most of the oxygen. SRK has all the symbolic weight of the film not surprisingly but he doesn’t run the show the way he did in for example OSO (where he was literally doing everything). And so to the extent that people are loving Abhishek here I think it has something to do with SRK as well. The star can do the symbolic stuff and satisfy the audience at one level but then there is the ‘nuts and bolts’ of every scene. SRK is the sober guy in most of these moments, or relatively so, but if you have a completely over the top film film it’s hard to justify that kind of stance. On the other hand the film is really about SRK just making another larger-than-life box office claim. He’s not doing much more than this here though he’s certain fine as the ‘star’ and I otherwise didn’t mind trademark SRK here at all. And yes Deepika certainly adds a great deal of spark to the film. I’d really say it’s Abhishek-Boman-Deepika as a troika that more or less run this film in terms of really making the engine run.
Nonetheless the film overall is a monument to bad taste. And I’m not against lowbrow just for the heck of it. But Farah Khan is running as close to her brother here as humanly possible. I didn’t like it barring the last hour which was comparatively engaging but I can sort of see why people might like it overall. But to celebrate it as any kind of worthwhile entertainment is simply hypocrisy of the highest order. Compared to this BB is sophisticated comedy! people who’ve been attacking Akshay for years or looking down at this kind of lowbrow stuff for years (including SRK) suddenly decide they have great entertainment here. And it’s not even that this film is ‘grand’. It is so, certainly compared to an Akshay film, but once again in a very crass way. There were a few zany moments here, some involving Abhishek but I also loved the elevator ‘mute’ moment where we can here everyone’s thoughts, there were a few others like this but by and large this comedy would easily fit into Sajid Khan’s world. When you can start making Rohit Shetty look restrained it’s saying something. And again I’m not saying that one cannot enjoy it. To each their own. But it is simply incoherent, even ridiculous to prefer it to OSO (and this isn’t a film I liked very much either) let alone anything else. So what I’m fulminating against here is the utter hypocrisy. This is really the kind of thing everyone used to look down on when others did it. Suddenly one starts pretending that there’s a big difference between this and the others. Can one really fall lower in terms of scraping the barrel than what’s happening here? Again I can still understand why many liked it more than I did. As I said I didn’t mind the last hour myself. But let’s be clear about what one is enjoying. I like lots of junk entertainment from India to Hollywood but I don’t suddenly start spotting good works in all of these!
Utkal thinks Ratnam could learn a thing or two here. Luckily I exited the HNY world the moment I stepped out of the theater..
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October 26, 2014 at 2:09 PM
the other thing I’d say here, and not just for this film, is that if you attempt masala at any level you also have to take it seriously. The whole father angle doesn’t quite strike an emotional chord or doesn’t quite leave a residue because the rest of the film is just comedy of a very different sort. I again turn to Ghajini because this is just about the only serious example to be had in Hindi (at least since Khakee). Here the death of the lover means a great deal within the film, when there are lighter romantic moments in the first half they’re still in keeping with the overall tone of the narrative and don’t belong to a different film. If you invoke certain epic registers of revenge and so forth your film should also represent these ‘values’ in other ways. Even in D3 that whole angle was taken much more seriously. It was almost a masala plot housed in a relatively plastic franchise. Hence the overall film had to be made far more serious in some ways. maybe the marriage didn’t work for many people, maybe it was problematic but the point is that the ‘past’ in this sense is taken very seriously by the film much as the romantic triangle later also becomes quite important with the brothers. Or the scenes with the cop in the park similarly mean something. they’re not just about surface effect.
I will concede this though — in HNY the team does achieve a certain chemistry. It’s still mostly about SRK, Boman, Abhishek, Deepika. But even the other two are fine. Again an infinitely superior film could have been made with all of the very same elements.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:16 PM
Totally. It’s serious one moment with speeches galore or moisty eyes and then wisecracks follow. I think if they kept it light without the revenge angle it would have been much better. Because this would have worked as a heist comedy alone. Farah showed enough moments to go down that track completely. In a nutshell d3 would have worked without the franchise and hny without the serious stuff. They both try to do too much either way.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:30 PM
Liked the chemistry. It holds the film together…the double of abhishek was given a poor role, but nandu was fun. Boman is just a really good comedy actor. And Srk and deepika have more chemistry here than the whole of bang bang put together. They got the casting right.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:31 PM
I stopped reading Utkal’s review as soon as I encountered following line “The scenes between Shahrukh and Deepika are some of the best written scenes in the film.”. Those scenes were there just because Farah wanted them without much thought. Where do you see actress singing “Manwa laage” without any prior romance angle?
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October 26, 2014 at 2:35 PM
“..It’s serious one moment with speeches galore or moisty eyes and then wisecracks follow. ”
You can say this for every Farah khan movie. And finally, it is pretty elementary to criticize any Farah’s movies. Every movie would eventually have scope of improvement as long she makes movies. Not specific to HNY only.
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October 26, 2014 at 3:06 PM
“I’d really say it’s Abhishek-Boman-Deepika as a troika that more or less run this film in terms of really making the engine run.”
i’d just say it’s abhishek (nandu character) and boman (and their ‘panga’) who provide the energy in this film. and i don’t see how you can like the vicky character more if he had nothing to do in the film! like i said last night..i wouldn’t even count this role as a double role for abhishek. maybe you saw what i saw and the *potential* of vicky’s character was there obviously, but in this film it was nothing and anyone could’ve done that role.
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October 26, 2014 at 4:02 PM
because I liked what I saw. Yes he is wasted, no doubt, but had he got a full-fledged role it would have been interesting. What I’m saying his the little bit I saw of this character I actually like more than Nandu. Because the latter is a rather ‘obvious’ type. there was something more to Vicky even if the character didn’t get enough space.
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October 26, 2014 at 4:04 PM
i liked Vicky’s intro scene in Red jacket, he looked very mean and stylish!
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October 26, 2014 at 6:16 PM
” there was something more to Vicky even if the character didn’t get enough space”
He would be good in a serial killer type of movie, something about him looks freaky.
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October 26, 2014 at 5:38 PM
ha!
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October 27, 2014 at 3:03 AM
LOL that’s a great comment Rajen!
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October 26, 2014 at 2:46 PM
Happy New Year Sunday Early Estimate
Sunday 26 October 2014 23.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
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Happy New Year will be in the same range as Saturday on Sunday with collections in that 28-30 crore nett range which is expected as wherever it was a holiday on Saturday the collections have not gone higher. The potential for growth was in the metros but they find it hard to add on Sunday anyway as night shows are weak.
The growth will probably come in places like East Punjab and West Bengal while most other areas will remain more or less the same with metros like Mumbai city and Bangalore down slightly.
The film will rake an extraordinary weekend though fall a little short of the 100 crore nett mark and to become that real big grosser the acid test will be Monday.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:58 PM
hmmm…on friday this was looking at a 120cr weekend even…now it won’t even make 100cr. still very good numbers.
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October 26, 2014 at 4:03 PM
It must be said that irrespective of how one spins it the rest of the weekend hasn’t been on par with the opening day. Even if one excuses Sat, Sun should have jumped.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:28 PM
These are classic danger signs. A crash on Monday is imminent now.
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October 26, 2014 at 9:32 PM
I haven’t seen a single 1 star review for HNY. Everything thinks its average(2 or 2.5) at worst. So, don’t see it crashing badly. But one never knows. Anyways, within 1 day, it’ll be all clear.
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October 26, 2014 at 10:34 PM
LOL
Fanatism makes blind, some just proved this proverb here.
KRK reviewed is 1 star, it was posted here 3 days back.
Also, suhasini singh of Indiatoday reviewed it with 1.5 stars.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/movie-review.jsp?sefurl=happy-new-year.html
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October 26, 2014 at 2:57 PM
So after taking the lead of 8 cr on D3 on its opening day it has barely matched D3 weekend still pretty good numbers but this doesnt look like a good trend for the rest of week offcourse i could be totally wrong .
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October 26, 2014 at 3:10 PM
Acc to BOI, Dhoom 3 = 95 cr weekend, HNY = 98 cr weekend. But lets see with real figures.
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October 26, 2014 at 3:14 PM
depends whether it has a 28 cr or a 30 cr sunday hardly makes a difference though but yeah lets wait for the actuals .
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October 26, 2014 at 4:07 PM
if it falls behind D3 for the week in a significant way (since it’s done so after the first day) I’d say it might struggle to reach 200. I didn’t think that would be so after the huge opening day but given that Sun is at the same level as Sat it’s not a good sign. A big gross will come about one way or the other but if this film can;t even match CE on the final number there’s simply no excuse for it. Even 200 would be a comedown after how it began.
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October 26, 2014 at 4:28 PM
Don’t understand the logic. Both CE and HNY are in similar range after 1st weekend. If it does just 200cr which less than 225cr of CE, it just shows less percentage of them have liked it compared to CE. For example if 70% liked CE, 60% might have liked HNY. Also 3 hour length can be spoilsport for repeat audience. Opening has nothing to do with final gross, it just depends how many of them liked the movie and see it repeatedly. It also doesn’t prove that CE better movie than HNY or vice versa.
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October 26, 2014 at 4:57 PM
Of course! but nonetheless a much bigger film with a much bigger initial (day 1) would have done better all else being equal. Might still do so though this Sun trend is a bit ominous even if Sat wasn’t. My point is: of course films don’t work based on whether they’re liked or not. But that’s true for everything. Once you make your film you can’t say your responsibility ends on day 1. Because by that logic no film can be blamed. Now as for the weekend well HNY started ahead of D3 on day 1 and significantly so, let alone CE. So if the first weekend is now in the same range as CE that’s already a comedown for HNY whereas for CE it was the opposite. Similarly if you look at week 1 and if it’s like ETT the question will be: why isn’t it like D3 when it started off this way? Again let’s see what the numbers actually are but at least on Sat and Sun it’s fallen behind D3 when it was ahead. The weekend number is slightly ahead of D3’s only because of day 1. Of course I’m sure the producer numbers will show a much wider disparity. By the way note how even overseas it’s behind D3. On CE it doesn’t prove it’s a better film than HNY but it probably means the audience liked it more relative to expectations. But otherwise there’s no correlation between the box office and the quality of a film in any case.
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October 26, 2014 at 2:59 PM
Munna: “Where do you see actress singing “Manwa laage” without any prior romance angle?” It is made abundantly clear that Mohini has a crush on Charlie. But Charlie does not reciprocate. Not even at the end. Taht certainly is bold for a mainstream commercial film, with a king of romance like Shahrukh. And apart from a part of the Manwa lage song, even the one-sided romance is not given any play. In fact , even during the Manwa lage song, the focus in part is how Mohini is bonding the tram together with her feminine influence, as she is shown serving food to the tram etc.
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October 26, 2014 at 5:30 PM
at an HNY screening…
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October 26, 2014 at 6:16 PM
Don’t understand how BOI is considered pro-SRK anymore. They lowered the collections of JTHJ by 10% a week after it came out, Have CE 20 crores less than the producer’s number, didn’t give it an ATBB rating like other trade sources and they’ll even have HNY’s weekend conveniently 2 crores below 100 crores…
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October 26, 2014 at 6:46 PM
the irony is once some of us used to argue they were very anti-Bachchan. And they were. Their commentary used to be gratuitous for Abhishek’s films. When he was doing very well they would nonetheless be very negative about them, when they finally admitted the truth it was like someone had tortured to get it out of them. SRK was then their blue-eyed boy. But once Salman and before him Akshay happened it was clear that they liked these guys the way they didn’t SRK. So I’d say that with all of these stars they’re not reducing numbers, they’re just happiest when it’s Salman (or Akshay when he had the big ones). Now they don’t need SRK for the agenda, there are other stars too. But again the irony here is that now the SRK fans say they’re anti-SRK, some Hrithik fans say they’re anti-hrithik. They’ve really burned their credibility with everyone! Oh and by the way they were never pro-Aamir. eventually when a star gets big enough and brings up the numbers in film after film it’s hard for anyone to deny it. But that’s a high bar. With everything else one can play games. often the numbers aren’t the biggest issue. It’s the commentary. You can say a film did a 100 but its average as it was sold for more or whatever, then you can say a 75 crore film was a hit because it was sold for peanuts, and really just pick your numbers each time around. I;m actually quite pleased this has happened to BOI. They’re all dishonest, the lot of them. but still they’re not reducing SRK’s numbers. As for reducing JTHJ or OSO later well that’s precisely the problem. They didn’t do it when it counted and only did so later when no one cared. Specially with OSO it was months later. JTHJ wasn’t big anyway so it didn’t matter.
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October 26, 2014 at 6:32 PM
Raj5 all I would say they seem consistent and go about their reporting without much of a flash. You will also notice they are getting quoted less and less in regular media due to their conservative reports which is not to the liking of many big stars. Tomorrow you will notice media drive with 120 cr weekend from all sorts of sources whether one has to chose a komal or taran or simply box-office capsule
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October 26, 2014 at 6:34 PM
It may be laughworthy to say but the reason HNY seems to have worked a bit with few including me is due to extremely poor promos and farah – sajid – shirish recent horrible track record. When you expect nothing, movie for whatever reasons turns out a bit watchable and that seems to be case with many. I mean people are happy that they were able to ‘sit through’ three hours….lol. The difference between a TMK, Humshakals and this one seems more a budgeting one where monetary restrictions/allowances were never a concern. Red Chillies VFX too seems to have been used in good measure wrt look of the movie.
Don’t know why they made such long movie where I myself could trim it by good 30 mins without affecting the story. Not only the no. of shows, they miss out on potential repeat audiences too.
On another note I feel there was a deliberate ‘Charan Grover’ here? Except Rangan none seem to have noticed or brought it up but I could sense it during the movie with SRK making all sorts of faces to take revenge…lol. The current icy cold vibes between the two doesn’t help in quelling this for sure.
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October 26, 2014 at 6:39 PM
Bachchan at the KRK website launch:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141026/entertainment-bollywood/gallery/amitabh-bachchan-launches-kamaal-r-khan’s-boxoffice-website
LOL, another site to add to the madness!
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October 26, 2014 at 7:01 PM
The more the merrier. It has leveled the playing field.
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October 27, 2014 at 7:16 AM
Bachchan launched krk’s website? Ohhhh i see! He may be hoping for krk’s help at the time of his next release by way of false numbers.At the best Krk can take his film to average level as hit is out of qustion.
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October 26, 2014 at 7:55 PM
Abhishek changed his twitter ID to Jhakaas Nandu! Good one.
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October 26, 2014 at 7:56 PM
Sunday Kanpur numbers are out and it is less than saturday.
Girish Johar @girishjohar · 6h 6 hours ago
Sunday Kanpur #HappyNewYear 20.51lacs aprox
Saturday Kanpur #HappyNewYear 21.32lacs aprox
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October 26, 2014 at 8:02 PM
which is 4% less than saturday…so ir comes around 1 cr less than Sat.
Total – 39.5+28.5+27.5 = 95.5 cr
It is same as D3 and holiday period is over. Hope lingers on 3 open weeks. It is definitely not crossing D3, Kick and CE.
Can it cross 3i ?
Ha ha ha
And Here hirani comes with his next biggie.
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October 26, 2014 at 7:59 PM
Girish Johar @girish johar
#HappyNewYear is a full on Masala Entertainer !!! Rich & Lavish look, simple story, colorful back drop, great cast, well enacted. ENJOYED !!
@TheFarahKhan has done a very good job – handling this huge scale & mounting the film VERY WELL !!! #HappyNewYear
Overall, #HappyNewYear is a PAISA VASOOL film, which is enjoyed by ALL & praised for it large & rich canvas !!!
Finally,its economics, #HappyNewYear will make money for all concerned, smartly marketed-packaged film & World Tours. NONE will lose @iamsrk
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October 26, 2014 at 8:04 PM
NONE will lose
LOL Audience is losing.
Actually this indicates it will struggle to recover, now trade has started playing on safer side.
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October 26, 2014 at 8:20 PM
NYTimes: ‘Happy New Year,’ a Farah Khan Extravaganza
If you unleashed “Strictly Ballroom”-era Baz Luhrmann on “Ocean’s Eleven,” added a pinch of “The Full Monty” and liberally tossed the result with the gaudy excesses of the Eurovision song contest, you would have something like Farah Khan’s Bollywood extravaganza “Happy New Year.” The film, a hectic hybrid of heist caper and international music competition, recently broke the opening-day record in India set by “Dhoom 3.”
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October 26, 2014 at 10:02 PM
ha ha – KRK repas HNY apart – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nip961t3YU0
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October 26, 2014 at 10:03 PM
*reaps*
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October 26, 2014 at 10:04 PM
posted multiple times.. its 4 days old.
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October 26, 2014 at 11:00 PM
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October 26, 2014 at 11:02 PM
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October 27, 2014 at 8:44 AM
From Sholay to HNY/Sonali Cable
Now this is a wierd title –isn’t it..but there are some v uncomfortable ‘truths’ behind this title
In a way, it shows that the ugly menace of NEPOTISM may be alive n kicking but unless one has talent like ranbir, Hrithik, the others slowly ‘wilt’ away
Inspite of opening KRK box office sites (sic!) or sending orgasmic tweets praising HNY, what did amitabh achieve?
I mean, it’s beyond belief what amitabh the great man is stopping to ?
And what are their apologists upto (though must say Satyams response to abhishreks fate has been quite mature relatively)
The SHAMEFUL MOMENT where Abhishrek had to LITERALLY STRIP down to his undies for a 2-bit SIDEKICK role was SHOCKING
and to try to BUILD UP this shameful moment as some sort of an achievement
Double role, my foot !!!
And there u see the other inheritor from sholay
The other day I came across some interview of rohan and his dad sippy (of sholay fame) trying to sell their obscure star case random film called Sonali cable
It’s no surprise that the film came and went without a trace…
As they say, nepotism may make u survive longer
But ultimately the ‘truth’ will prevail
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October 26, 2014 at 11:06 PM
Faridoon Shahryar @iFaridoon
Big News:#HappyNewYear continues to stride ahead towards big glory. As per the official figures,it crossed Rs 108.86 Crores in India!
Break-up 4 #HNY in 1st weekend in India(official figures):Rs 104.10 Cr (Hindi).Rs 2.92 Cr(Telugu dub),Rs 1.84 Cr (Tamil dub).Total:Rs 108.86
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October 26, 2014 at 11:11 PM
^Since its per official figures, it’s nice to know that SRK/YRF haven’t inflated the BO at all and are being honest. On the other hand the trend looks pretty bad, don’t see it crossing KICK
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October 26, 2014 at 11:29 PM
As I said earlier it’ll be difficult since no holidays. Even Dhoom 3 was similar on first weekend but it got holidays after weekend and got extra 25cr and completed 1 week above 185cr. Even Kick had holidays on weekdays after 1st weekend. Overall, kinda difficult to cross CE or Kick but will cross 200cr.
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October 27, 2014 at 12:08 AM
Yeah, monday will be very crucial- at the rate it’s dropping it could easily end up below 200…
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October 27, 2014 at 4:05 AM
That would be quite a disappointment after the Day 1 it had.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:26 AM
After the truly stunning Friday numbers, the weekend in the end is settling to be just ahead of Dhoom 3 whereas Friday suggested the margin could be as large as 10-15%. In the end its ahead by 1-3% depending on the producer or trade figures. By today Dhoom 3 will almost certainly be ahead as its Monday was a huge 20 crore. In fact the first weekday collections for Dhoom3 were monstrous with 20cr, 21 cr, 25 cr and 14 cr. Can’t see HNY scoring anywhere close to that based on the Sat-Sun trend. In fact 200 crore might prove stiff at this point, though today will settle that prediction.+
I don’t think Farah’s made a bad film here but I suspect her true talents are in comedy and spoof and she should make a film true to this. Her humour is better than her brothers and moments in the film suggest some thought into sequences. It’s when you try to do comedy with melodrama with patriotism – it becomes clunky and confused. It worked in parts but the sum of all parts is not greater than the whole. Playing to HNY I think the film would have worked better for me without the revenge aspect and without the national/patriotic angle. SRK as a “winner” (as he is clinical and knows “his” plan to rob, and simply rob…but as he is “seen” as a loser he recruits “loser”. Maybe his punga is with the media, maybe he is embarrassed by his employers or whatever, but this motivates him to “win” but “win” with just losers). The whole film could have been a comedy, a comedy of errors and flukes. The “losers” always cock up, but they fluke their way into winning situations and the humour is built around their stupidity but also the way they fluke to victory. You don’t need the hangover and baggage of justifying a heist too much, money is usually the best motivation! My template would have been more Hera Pheri. That kind of film never gets serious and stays true to its genre.
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October 27, 2014 at 8:10 AM
The movies going nowhere today…Expect a number less than 15 crores…This will struggle to reach 200 and considering audience reaction in the theatre quite a mystery to me
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October 27, 2014 at 8:18 AM
that KRK prediction of 175 crores seemed like a joke given the first day. I too felt there was enough support within the audience for it to stabilize even if it dropped. That might still happen but the problem is Sat and Sun were far too weak. And so even with greater stability at this point 200 might be the most one can expect. perhaps less if the trend continues. After an opening day significantly better than D3 it might end up 70-90 crores behind the latter when all is said and done. Assuming that happens there’s no way to spin this. Abhishek might emerge the only one with a win here. He got a lot of attention here but it’s still not his film! Deepika will be fine too. This one really will be on SRK and the director. Of course the producer totals will be a bit higher. They might be able to get it to 200 or a bit more. But if it fades fast even that spin will be difficult. The only hope they probably have is for the weekdays to stabilize around a 12-15 crore number and to then have a relatively strong second weekend. Which could be the case if there is some level of support for this film.
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October 27, 2014 at 1:48 AM
Friday – 44.97 Crore
Saturday – 31.53 Crore
Sunday – 32.36 Crore
Total – 108.86 Crore
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October 27, 2014 at 9:59 PM
Those 3 Days look good but somehow look Dhoom3 first 3 days and we get the idea of the trend
Fri: 32
Sat: 33
Sun: 36
Mon: 21
Tue: 20
Wed: 25 (Christmas)
Thats the number that the film has to target.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:45 AM
Cream PK will rise too the top while Crap HNY will slowly settle down to the bottom. Glad to know that indian cinema goers have recovered quickly from the publicity overdose
Farah khan is the female version of Sajid khan. wtf she is his sister. Such an absurd and incongruous movie does not even deserve 100 crore . Seriously even Player was more entertaining then this.
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October 27, 2014 at 4:59 AM
97cr week end according to BOI. Monday will probably tell us about the movie’s fate.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:23 AM
Going by Taran’s numbers also, HNY is not highest opening weekend, it is D3
Movie Name Release Date Opening Weekend (in INR) Dhoom 3 20 Dec 2013 107.61 Cr
Happy New Year 24 Oct 2014 104.10 Cr
Chennai Express 09 Aug 2013 100.42 Cr
Ek Tha Tiger 15 Aug 2012 100.16 Cr
Bang Bang! 02 Oct 2014 94.13 Cr
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office/opening-weekend/country/in
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October 27, 2014 at 9:55 AM
Raghav, your link doesn’t match the totals.
Hindi Version
HNY = 104 cr
D3 = 100 cr
Hindi + Tamil + Telugu
HNY = 108 cr
D3 = 107 cr
Dhoom3 did better in regional than HNY and as BOI points it out, the market is only for action films.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:54 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#HappyNewYear – Hindi: Fri 42.62 cr, Sat 30.42 cr, Sun 31.06 cr. Hindi version total: ₹ 104.10 cr. India biz. Source: Red Chillies Ent.
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October 27, 2014 at 7:50 AM
He has changed it to 108 now…I am glad that Red Chillies didnt go the Rakesh Roshan way as far as numbers are concerned
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October 27, 2014 at 10:27 AM
108 crore including the regional versions ..104 crore for Hindi only.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:55 AM
Happy New Year Has Huge First Weekend
Monday 27 October 2014 10.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year had a huge first weekend with collections around the 97 crore nett mark. The collections were record breaking on day one as it was national holiday but the next two days saw collections drop to lower levels with both days collecting below 30 crore nett. Saturday was a holiday in some parts of the country which meant Sunday failed to show any worthwhile growth from Saturday.
The film set a record in Mumbai circuit grossing around 32.5 crore nett but most of the other circuits fell a little short of Dhoom 3 as far as weekend business is concerned. Both Delhi/UP and East Punjab were around 25 lakhs nett less than Dhoom 3.
The weekend numbers are huge but ideally it would have been better a trend if the film settled at above 30 crore nett on Saturday and Sunday rather than below it. Now the Monday number is all important if it is to challenge the biggest grosser of 2013 Kick. Kick grossed around 155 crore nett in week one.
The Tamil and Telugu versions of the film did not perform that well as this market is mainly for actions films.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:56 AM
Happy New Year – 175 Crore Worldwide Weekend
Monday 27 October 2014 14.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year grossed a huge 175 crore approx worldwide in its first weekend. The collections are less than Dhoom 3 which was 192 crore but better than Chennai express at 160 crore. The top worldwide opening weekend figures are as follows
1. Dhoom 3 – 192 crore
2. Happy New Year – 175 crore
3. Chennai Express – 160 crore
3. Kick – 126 crore
5. Singham Returns – 119 crore
The other films to go over 100 crore weekend in terms of worldwide figures are Bang Bang, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Dabangg 2 and Jai Ho.
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October 27, 2014 at 7:53 AM
Nick names for these movies.
Doom 3
Bakwas New Year
Deepika Express
Sick
Billi returns
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October 27, 2014 at 8:02 AM
sanju i liked CE – DP is always charming
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October 27, 2014 at 7:00 AM
The fun n games continue –lol
1) the Bollywood hungama numbers are back on the site & now being out up by Satyam himself
Ok taran was apparently unwell but Bollywood hungama numbers were always coming –they were banned during bang bang
2) note the sudden emphasis on ‘overseas numbers’ even by BOI but they never come up with these for come films like bang bang that did well overseas
3) the use of ‘worldwide figures’ where the domestic net is shouting a drop
So it’s not only about the absolute numbers but also in the way the are ‘sliced and diced’ and ‘displayed’
But no amount of ‘slicing & dicing’ can hide certain ‘truths’ 🙂
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October 27, 2014 at 8:25 AM
Darn, the global conspiracy I was spearheading against Hrithik has been exposed!
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October 27, 2014 at 7:25 AM
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/47232-haider-wins-people-choice-award-at-the-rome-film-festival.htm
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October 27, 2014 at 8:25 AM
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October 27, 2014 at 8:29 AM
Vicki Grover reminded me of Amitabh Bachchan here-
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October 27, 2014 at 8:30 AM
overall a very long and boring movie, the saat minute speech was the only moment where I truly laughed ….
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October 27, 2014 at 9:27 AM
Yes saat minute speech was hilarious esp the way Deepika delivered it innocently.
On Abhi gains – except for a bit of media talk , I doubt Abhi makes any substantial headway with this movie. I would say BB got him more applauds and Ajay actually let him hog the limelight in important scenes. Here SRK for all the talk before release hardly gave him any decisive moment and kept the focus on himself. Yes if Vicky character was given more time he would have benefited as villainy gives more scope to the character and gets brownie points.
I did not even find his comedic moments anything extraordinary and he never loosened up in the scenes like say a Govinda or an Akki does tapori. Yes there were two funny moments which brought a smile – when he had to undress to reach the bolts and the second one when he uses his vomit to switch to room 9C. But that hilarity was more to do with ‘Jugaado Indian mindset’ when pushed to a corner…
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October 27, 2014 at 10:04 AM
you’re in the minority here. Judging by some of the media stories and the reactions overall. if anything I’d say Abhishek has won most of these media cycles since the release. Even prior to release it wasn’t just a SRK show by any means. they had the entire cast everywhere. Often Abhishek had the most prominence after SRK. He did some appearances on his own as well including on one of the music shows. In that sense they kept it fair throughout. In the trailers SRK definitely had the lead, no doubts here. But your description matches D3, not HNY. perversely the underperformance here (if it ends up doing that) helps him more than D3! Because it is SRK’s film, on the other hand this is the only performance people seem to be talking about. Had the box office story continued as it was on day 1 then this narrative would have kept SRK at the center as well. Now it’s obviously true that this isn’t BB where Abhishek was first of all in a two hero film but then also had the symbolic thing from the title and so on. On the other hand I have the odd sense that at a mass level his comedy here is possibly being appreciated more than even in BB. And given that HNY is a circus with lots of other actors too standing out is a bit harder here (though conceding that Abhishek still has the best role here in terms of prominence after SRK even as he is part of the ensemble). Whatever the deal it’s not D3 by any stretch. Again I personally don;t think there’s anything extraordinary he’s doing here but it does reveal his range once more. The idea that there’s nothing to see as far as he goes is something I don’t agree with. But more importantly the audiences clearly disagree. And the media is by and large not eager to praise him most times, let alone at the expense of SRK!
on that note SRK has the opposite problem. Not talking box office here. He is the lead, the film is structured to give him all the symbolic importance even if the footage is still even (most of the cast is there in all the scenes). But once you get past that he isn’t doing everything the way he was in OSO. There he was doing the drama, had the symbolic stuff but also had all the comedy. Here once that symbolic structure is in place it’s essentially Abhishek and Boman and so on ho handle the proceedings. SRK’s part of it for sure but mostly at a distance. But in a film which is over the top the lead star also has to be at that level. Then again I don’t think SRK was trying to do much more than prove a box office point here.
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October 27, 2014 at 11:48 AM
As I mention before..I am no Abhi fan…but he is clearly the only thing that worked about this movie and he was definitely the most natural of all.
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October 27, 2014 at 12:19 PM
Paapaas he may be a natural and the only part working for you but there is no way the movie had any focus on him contrary to the expectation going into the movie that he stole the limelight…. and Satyam you have been long enough in this business to know media narratives and stories are basically PR driven. Now with commoners also realizing this everyone reads these articles with a bit of caution. All it takes for srk is to direct his well oiled machinery towards Abhi and boom you have ten stories floating in media about Nandu this and Nandu that….
I never saw any standout moment for him or taking on SRK or any character directly or indirectly say a two hero project does (Not going to consider Sonu and Boman heroes here as they still qualify as character artists). He remained an Ali bhai of Dhoom series for most part. Even there , a female was cast for him to fool around. In this movie there were so many places I felt Deepika should have been given to him as that seemed logical as srk was shown all uptight and on a mission. That angle was never explored god knows why ? That would have tilted the scales a bit for him to do more….
Though HNY is not a negative move for him but I doubt it changes any narrative in any substantial way except for talking about hat trick of blockbusters behind him when he sits for an interview while doing promotions next time around.
Couple of more opinions from neutrals like Jay, Rocky, Munna may clarify more how they felt about Abhi as I may be watching the movie with colored lenses.
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October 27, 2014 at 12:44 PM
I just don’t care about actors. In fact there was no standout performance in the poor movie (sometime there are actors who do better than movie). IMO movie is a director’s medium and vision.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:18 PM
won’t add to my earlier long comment on the movie but I mostly agree with you.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:23 PM
Being a standout neutrally is different from being the best within a given film. Leaving this aside if this is like Dhoom no one has felt it! As for SRK directing his PR machinery towards Abhishek, rather odd when he couldn’t even get good reviews for the most part for the film! So he first decided to let all the negative reviews stand, then also decided that the media must also put up pieces saying he was better than SRK. C’mon..! You can do better!
And you’re missing the point. I might be closer to your perception in some ways. I’m just saying that’s not the general perception out there. It’s easy to pick up on any number of signs. I don’t like many things but I don’t confuse my impressions with those of a larger audience! I’ve not really come across anything negative on Abhishek so far on the film, whether in reviews, whether it’s people I’ve talked to, whether it’s the social media (by and large), or whether it’s the people on the blog, many of whom are not Abhishek fans. All of this isn’t a vast SRK conspiracy!
Otherwise I disliked the film (won’t repeat my longer comment on this from yesterday or the more concise one!) barring the last hour which was passable. So nothing here made it really worthwhile for me.
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October 27, 2014 at 11:24 AM
Rocky saab/Di/Nykavi:
Did you watch Barkha Bahar’s WE THE PEOPLE?
One outstanding dialogue baazi by Swamy to Aiyar..
Aiyar: I am a true Gandhi-ite so I know better than you about Gandhi
Swamy: No no you are mistaken. Let me correct you. You are not a Gandhi-ite; you are a Sonia Gandhi-ite!!!
ROFL!!
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/we-the-people/we-the-people-history-the-new-battlefield/342756?hp
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October 27, 2014 at 2:25 PM
LOL !!Good One Ann Jo, will watch the video in the evening, and nice reply Munna…Ya that was a good line by Abhishek.
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October 27, 2014 at 2:59 PM
Swaminiji nay opening mai hai sixer chodd diya. The audience is with him…still watching.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:51 PM
*You can’t really associate the congress which was formed for fighting British with the Congress Party post independance. The biggest mistake post independance was allowing the use of word “congress” for a party! It should have been disbanded. People got confused and voted for “congress”
* The whole discussion is B.S. How can congress usurp Gandhi and take objection to cleaning india.
* Gandhi’s grandson is such a obese joker, talks like a girl.
* why can’t we have program in Hindi or hinglish? most are speaking bad English except the youth in the audience.
* Why did Barkha dutt leave like sardeshi and his wife. Maybe she has changed her tune a bit?!
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October 27, 2014 at 3:57 PM
“You can’t really associate the congress which was formed for fighting British with the Congress Party post independence”
yes certainly not when all the same leaders who fought the British were still in the Congress party after Independence..! Nehru and Patel and everyone else confused people for so long..
“The whole discussion is B.S.”
agreed.. but evidently they don’t have a monopoly on BS!
“why can’t we have program in Hindi or hinglish?”
why can’t we have Hindi language chauvinists only visit Hindi blogs? Why can’t we have such folks stop protesting in English?
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October 27, 2014 at 4:44 PM
Satyam…I was talking to AJ. Thx for your input. I don’t expect too much of logic or sincerity from you though you love to drag me into having conversations with you 😉
It is a democracy. If you are going to have various parties and if you going to carry the name “congress” AFTER independence, then desh-premi janta are going to be loyal to you and you have a vote bank. If you cannot understand this simple logic, then there is NO point in having any sort of logical discussion with you!
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October 27, 2014 at 5:45 PM
Yes I must also be among those confused folks because for some very strange reason I was under the impression that the gentleman called Jawaharlal Nehru who was the PM for 17 years after Independence for the very same gentleman who was one of the most important Congress leaders pre-Independence and who spent 9 years in british jails and so on. Much as I thought another gentleman called Vallabhai Patel was Home Minister after Independence but another senior Congress leader before Independence. Azaad and so many other important political leaders and ministers and so forth after Independence were all active in the freedom struggle before Independence. The very same Congress with which the Mahatma was associated. So I thought these were always the people carrying the name Congress. And I thought people identified with the Congress for the longest time because of this history of the leaders. Now I’m discovery an HNY-like scam here! That this party called the Congress that won for a long time with Nehru was just a different Congress and this Nehru (and others like him) was a Don-like impostor. Darn, I’ve been had all these years. No one ever told me about this. The chap who assassinated Gandhi probably also had his roots in a different RSS.
Thanks for enlightening me.. and thanks for responding in Hindi..
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October 27, 2014 at 6:08 PM
So then you basically ACCEPT that people WOULD get confused! The noble institution called CONGRESS that was in history books for fighting elections; post independence MUST be dissolved. Post independence they should have formed polictical parties with DIFFERENT name because POST independence, their target is not the same! Now you have to fight elections; DELIVER the promises made to people.
However people of India had loyalty to the “congress” that was ABOVE those expectations because after all they were part of independence movement THEREFORE above law; above reproach. HOW could a desh-bhakt NOT vote for Congress. THIS very “monopoly” let to ONE family rule for 60 odd years and complete, absolute, total EXPLOITATION of the bholi-bhali janta.
So post-independence, a Nehru-Gandhi-Patel, are JUST ordinarty people fighting for MY vote and not above law and order who could do anything to the country–create some shitty-shady 5 year plans and open swiss bank account. By his own admission Jawaharlal Nehru was LAST of the English!!!!
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October 27, 2014 at 6:41 PM
There should be a limit even to ‘BS’! No really..!
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October 27, 2014 at 6:18 PM
“CONGRESS that was in history books for fighting elections”
Sorry it should read “fighting independence” not elections.
Post independence it is a political party fighting elections. The goals are different. This biggest error in history was not disbanding it post independence!!!!!!!
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October 27, 2014 at 11:47 AM
art aur nau 😉
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October 27, 2014 at 8:39 AM
I saw the movie in in suburban Chicago and overall was satisfied with it. I guess the negative points of these are too lengthy, the entertainment isnt at the mass level. Somehow i felt this movie will be a mixed bag in terms of audience appreciation. I didnt like Abhishek and preferred SRK. Overall i would give 2.5/5 to this. Good strategy to release this during Diwali, when people pretty much watch anything out of festivities.
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October 27, 2014 at 8:46 AM
Satyam or anybody, when is “I” releasing?
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October 27, 2014 at 8:57 AM
not sure. it was supposed to be Diwali but then they delayed it for the post-production work. They then said mid-Nov but even that isn’t confirmed. They can’t delay it too much more because Rajni’s Lingaa will be out in Dec. Unless they delay it till next year. I hope not. They’ve put the Telugu audio release on hold for this reason.
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October 27, 2014 at 10:06 AM
I hope it releases during Christmas so I can watch PK and I at the same time.
By the way, Christmas/New Year is the best time to release movie since there’s like a festive mood for about 10 days straight with 2 national holiday. And it help overseas collection a lot.
The Eid, Diwali are more of Indian holidays and will help a collection for a day or two at most in India and overseas.
Keep thinking what would the collection be if India had just one language. I think big movie would easily make about 400 crore.
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October 27, 2014 at 10:11 AM
Lingaa is releasing mid Dec or something. Doubt Shankar would release a film that close even if I’d be surprised if Rajni can match the Vikram-Shankar combo in this kind of ‘interesting’ film. They tend to space them out better in the South. But yeah if either film releases on Christmas I think the South numbers of PK will be impacted. Not as big of a deal for Hirani though since he depends on the long haul.
But I completely agree, 400 is very much possible though not probable since other than Hirani there’s no big film that’s made to last more than a week or so. D3 was still the best shot. But clearing 300 with ease should be possible. Even this the big films cannot do. then it’s about inflation helping these films get there. Otherwise there’s simply not the storytelling evident in Bombay for those kinds of films to be made barring on the rare day (and most of these rare days belong to Aamir or Hirani or both!).
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October 27, 2014 at 4:52 PM
I spoke to my tamil restaurant-wala who is vikram/shanker bhakt like me and he said too much happening in Diwali; so it will be after Diwali 🙂
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October 27, 2014 at 8:48 AM
hmm, looks like Masters last comment is staying at the bottom.
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October 27, 2014 at 8:55 AM
fixed the problem.
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October 27, 2014 at 8:52 AM
Why Abhishek Bachchan really needs to break off from the pack now and feature in solo-hero films
Shomini Sen,
IBNLive.com
Oct 27, 2014 at 02:44pm IST
New Delhi: It’s not easy to shine in a film which is tailor-made to showcase superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s talent. And Abhishek Bachchan managed to do just that in Farah Khan’s latest blockbuster ‘Happy New Year’ which hit the theatres on Diwali.
The actor, son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, has always been been subjected to a fair bit of scrutiny by the media for his lineage. In HNY, he has effortlessly pulled off the role of Nandu Bhide – a good-for-nothing oddball living in a chawl in Mumbai, desperately trying to raise the money needed for a life-saving operation for his mother.
Bachchan’s comic timing is perfect and together with Khan and Boman Irani, the actor pulls of a bunch of hackneyed jokes with absolute elan.
Written crassly, Bachchan nevertheless manages his HNY character to stand out from the rest.
The actor has been part of several hit films, most notably the ‘Dhoom’ series and ‘Bol Bachchan’. But he has also been been applauded for his acting in films such as ‘Yuva’ and ‘Guru’. From playing the lovable con Bunty in Shaad Ali’s ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ to portraying a local goon of Kolkata in ‘Yuva’ and the self-made business icon in ‘Guru’, Bachchan has always managed to come through.
But equally, he battles massive expectations being the son of a man whose name is synonymous with Hindi cinema. Written crassly, Bachchan nevertheless manages his HNY character to stand out from the rest. It’s infact the funniest of the lot. He doesn’t get the girl in the film, he doesn’t get to deliver the cracking lines and he does not get to do the cool stunts that Khan does and yet Bachchan manages to hold his own.
Bachchan’s always good in an ensemble cast. But it’s been so long since he’s had a solo film. He has much more to him than playing a barfing, alcohol-loving sidekick. The actor has in the past been part of projects which were critically well received and somewhere in the midst of becoming a commercially successful star, the actor became part of the herd and started working in formula films. Perhaps its time that he experiments with roles just like he had at the beginning of his career and prove the cynics wrong. Are producers listening?
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October 27, 2014 at 10:09 AM
If I’m Abhi, I don’t listen to this type of people. Let your past history guide you and don’t make same mistake…
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October 27, 2014 at 10:15 AM
I’d disagree.. the answer to raavan or d6 isn’t HNY and Houseful! You just have to a)do a better mix (the problem then was that he almost had no film for safety) b)do a better mix of genres (not all serious or all comic) c)multistarrers are fine balanced with solos d)most importantly for an actor like him who’s been explosive in films like Yuva and Guru (again if he had Raavan with ratnam he also had those two) he needs to do those kinds of films again but perhaps be a bit more careful with the scripts. With Ratnam I still think no questions ought to be asked. But with some of the others one can be more careful. In any case as far as I’m concerned it’s a waste of his talents even if he does the solo versions of films like HNY or Houseful or whatever. Those genres might be ok once in a blue moon if one otherwise has a sensible set of choices. Unlike many fans here I’m never been in it just to see him successful. His last phenomenal effort for DMD as far as I’m concerned. And it’s not that I’m against comedy. It’s just that these are poor films. Even BB which I enjoyed was largely about wasted opportunities. So much more could have been done here. And sure he can ignore all of this but my point is that he might become a very successful star, even one of the most successful ones but he won’t be a defining one. Over time what matters is really the work. No one’s going to care about Salman once his time is up. Whether you last 10 years or 20 or whatever you still need the work. If this current phase enables some sort of better mix for Abhishek great! But it’s already one too many of these as far as I’m concerned. I hope that his home production and All is well release before Houseful.
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October 27, 2014 at 8:56 AM
Amitabh inaugurating KRK box office website- hall of shame contd
Now I have nothing against krk
The guy is uncouth, uneducated and rowdy but he does make some sensible points actually –just checked
But note how krk initially predicted a record breaking first day of HNY
Then things ‘soured’ with the HNY producers it seems
And he gives a negative damning review blasting HNY (as I someone pointed out above –“raping HNY!”
Then there’s this ‘damage control’ to assuage the feelings of a 2-bit self styled reviewer like krk
And who is sent/turns up to do this ‘damage control’
The helpless dad of the ‘struggling starson’ who happens to be THE ICONIC amitabh bachchan
And unlike some who think he has no idea and “can’t say no” don’t realise that this v man didn’t even hear scripts or meet producers unless they were desai/Mehra/chopra etc
He never by mistake praised bang bang and anupam kher has want public about him not doing his show etc
Basically amitabh is no “babe in the woods”
And though we can see the “compulsions” of a dad or a “helpless abondoned bachchan fan” like Satyam who either tries to latch onto aamir or tries without success by ‘resurrecting’ the past glory
The reality is that past cannot be recreated
Nostalgia has limits
Only ‘truth prevails’…
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October 28, 2014 at 8:13 AM
**He never by mistake praised bang bang**
Aah therein lies the crux of the problem. So AB is now officially part of the conspiracy to bring down HR the magnificent ‘actor’ and hence AB’s character/motives are downright suspicious. Got it. Only if, oh only if AB had praised HR, he would have saved himself ALL the insults of being called a helpless father of a struggling son, etc etc etc..
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October 28, 2014 at 9:14 AM
LOL An Jo. Your sarcasm needs to be saved for more deserving souls!
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October 28, 2014 at 9:31 AM
It is not too late. He can switch career…start a kabbadi team or something 😉
When failure rate is so very high, why don’t star kids do something else. Become producers, directors, distributors or cinematographers?! I wonder. Instead they will be loser film actors. There are so many to list here! Abjunior has been around due to his father otherwise there was no scope for him. Even a blind person can see.
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October 28, 2014 at 10:01 AM
Apex and DI – https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/happy-new-year-the-rest-of-the-box-office/#comment-285510
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October 28, 2014 at 1:15 PM
Doesn’t prove anything. There are hardly 50 people. Even I would stand in line to shake hands ‘coz he is bigb’s son. Anyways, I do wish him luck. I think he will make excellent producer (making Paa in 10 crores). Maybe a great actor if he meets a right director who can make wooden actors look legendary. In the mean while, kabbadi team, here I come.
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October 27, 2014 at 9:02 AM
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October 27, 2014 at 9:03 AM
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October 27, 2014 at 9:37 AM
lol is that pic of Abhi directed towards Apex …lol
Yes agree on KRK and pretty crude and crass way to deliver the message but his honesty stands out and though he is a filmy guy but obviously does not seem to depend on it so behaves as an outsider when commenting. All the snarkiness also comes from the fact he is a true rags to riches story. Similarly he had ripped Kick & Bang Bang too. Anyway enjoyed his HNY review and takeaways here were –
‘balki aap yakeen karein kahani unhone nahin likhi par kahani ki maa bahen kar di hai…’ lol good use of maa bahen lingo there.
poori film ek mazaak ki tarah hai …bachkaani hai aur ‘ek se ek’ wahiyaat introduction hai….” agree on intro scenes esp srk and sonu sood.
‘akhir mein mein farah khan ji ko badhai dena chahta hoon jinhone apne khandaan ki ghatiya film banana ki parampar ko kayam rakha’…… well said.
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October 27, 2014 at 9:56 AM
not really.. I don’t respond to him seriously (the few times that I do).. looking at his comments (on anything!) can you blame me?
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October 27, 2014 at 9:56 AM
‘akhir mein mein farah khan ji ko badhai dena chahta hoon jinhone apne khandaan ki ghatiya film banana ki parampar ko kayam rakha’
haha!
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October 27, 2014 at 10:29 AM
Incase it matters to anyone.
KRK @Kamaalrkhan
Good news for team of #HappyNewYear tat film is holding very well today. Film may hold 40% occupancy till evening n it’s really very good.
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October 27, 2014 at 10:32 AM
well since he was negative on it earlier the film might have found some stability at this point.. the thing is it will have to be very stable given the Sat/Sun it had.
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October 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM
Or he is showing a touch of sarcasm!
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October 27, 2014 at 12:07 PM
If his 175 crore estimate turns out to be true then in my books he has earned credibility in predicting SRK movies bc his last few predictions for SRK have been right. Also a 175 final puts it right by TMK in terms of trending!
Overall, HNY’s BO has disappointed me especially the overseas numbers. I mean it barely crossed CE’s opening weekend. And SRK had the entire overseas covered with promotion-US/UK with SLAM and the Middle East by having the film take place in Dubai. It’ll probably make 100 crores overseas at the end.
But both in India and overseas, the numbers are not matching the WOM I have been hearing which is strange…let’s see what Monday turns out to be. Is Monday or Tuesday a better indication of WOM?
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October 27, 2014 at 12:14 PM
Farah Khan, Sajid Khan and Shirish Kunder’s reputation is very bad with paying public. Lot of my friends don’t want to watch HNY as they despise Farah even though they don’t miss SRK movies. I feel Sajid khan’s Humshakals was unreasonable attacked as well. It was low brow humor but it wasn’t vulgar but they made it out as the worst film on earth which it isn’t.
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October 27, 2014 at 10:58 AM
Farah Khan seems to be super excited with her film Happy New Year doing really well at the box office. The director says she had expected the film to do big, but not to this level!
The director felt that the film was expected to open huge given that it had Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Farah coming together after years! But she never could even imagine such an unprecedented number at the cash registers.
The director also revealed that the team plans to celebrate throughout the week and kicks off their party tonight at Farah’s place. Farah’s house party will be followed by each cast member rotating the party to their place as well.
Farah also plans to go on a long vacation to London with her husband and three kids during Christmas!
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October 27, 2014 at 11:05 AM
One of the films of Govinda that still has me in splits is Partner. Boy is he an absolute hoot in this film. His craft is so ridiculously un-utilised. Because he doesn’t need a great line or sequence to make a scene. He just acts funny and his timing is priceless, his dancing style is enough. The last scene in Partner when he is trying to serenade Katrina and seeks the help of Salman..LOL. Just hilarious. The scene where tries to dance cool with Salman.
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October 27, 2014 at 12:17 PM
Looks like Farah revelead all this to An Jo personally (based on the post appearing as comment) 🙂
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October 27, 2014 at 2:23 PM
LMAO !! Superb,,,Vigil idiot !!
http://mumbaiboss.com/2014/10/27/the-vigil-idiot-happy-new-year/
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October 27, 2014 at 3:27 PM
Monday numbers for Kanpur and varanasi are out. It looks pretty much stable with fall in range of 55% from Sunday.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:28 PM
On that note, 12.5 cr Monday at worst.
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October 27, 2014 at 2:46 PM
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October 27, 2014 at 3:17 PM
Jhakaas Nandu @juniorbachchan 2h2 hours ago
Apun kya na…. Apun ke bhai log ke saath aaj meeting kiya. Chal photu dekh!! ”
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October 27, 2014 at 3:24 PM
I am surprised as to why didn’t HNY break Dhoom3’s overseas record. They did the slam tour as a part of the promotional strategy and virtually covered the entire US, UK and Middle east. Seems like the reputation of the makers wasnt good and it was solely banking on SRK for foot falls.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:46 PM
Dhoom series popularity is different. Its a franchise and not a new film on its own.
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October 27, 2014 at 9:35 PM
Master, my point is SRK is the Overseas king and his movies are cherished and looked forward to. I even saw the Slam tour in Chicago and they performed mostly on the HNY songs with some mix of OSO and others of Red Chilly. Overall this was to take a humongous start to beat Dhoom3 and honestly dhoom3 is an action film which doesnt rate that well with people overseas. It would be fair to say people judged Farah Khan and her previous movie and decided not to spend too much time on this.
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October 27, 2014 at 4:34 PM
Well Master feels the promotions for HNY were subdued and not OTT or even sufficient. I am left wondering what is OTT then? Putting a gun to our head and jostling us to the theaters? Or printing tickets like US dollar bills and shoving it on our desks?
if the level of noise these idiotic promotions for the biggies create is not enough to make us lose our hearing, then one can imagine to what extent one has become ‘immune’ to such tactics..
BTW, for me, one of the WORST and unnecessary promotions was for 3 IDIOTS where Aamir Khan did a Rahul Gandhi and went about barging into other people’s homes for a couple of months.. Talking of over-kill, this one takes the cake..
If a combination of Vidhu, Hirani, and Aamir needs to do this, one can imagine what happens to mere mortals..
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October 27, 2014 at 5:20 PM
True, but i dont blame these guys to promote it because the big colllection timeframe for the movies is down to just one week. Than definitely they will make the big noise as anything less will not move it for them.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:24 PM
Happy New Year has seen a drop in collections on Monday as the early numbers suggest a figure of around 13.50 crore nett. There is holidays still going on in Gujarat which could push it a bit higher but the better trend in Gujarat will be due to holidays and will only last till Wednesday.
The Monday figure is good when looked at the number as only three or films have collected this much when its not been a holiday on Monday but there is a drop in collections from the weekend even if we take into account it was a big holiday on day one and collections were very high.
The Monday figure is in the same range as Chennai Express last year and Kick this year but the trend is not good as those films as they were not coming of such a start as Happy New Year especially Kick which started with 25 crore nett opening due to pre Eid.
http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/happynewyearmondayearlyestimate#.VE6aivmUfsZ
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October 27, 2014 at 3:31 PM
If BOI has 13.5+, then it is stable to an extent. Producers and other sites will be over 15.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:35 PM
So basically after Monday, the total so far is 111.50 or 112 crore round up. So to reach the Kick level, this needs another 43 crore.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:43 PM
Eid was on Tue/Wed in India. Kinda big holidays where Kick earned.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:49 PM
97+13 = 110 cr sofar. Looking at Kanpur and Varanasi numbers also, one can say it will be 12.5-13 cr Monday.
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October 27, 2014 at 3:52 PM
At this pace, first week be around 135 cr. And total 185- 190 cr. CE trend was really surprising though, if it can trend same way, very good chance to break into 200 cr club.
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October 27, 2014 at 4:18 PM
At 200 crores that means it made 5x its opening day which is about what TMK did. Except that movie’s WOM and reviews were far worse than HNY…
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October 27, 2014 at 3:43 PM
Looks like 200crrs as best case scenario…could wrap up around 180crrs as well
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October 27, 2014 at 4:30 PM
Wonder what SRK is thinking right now- he has FAN and Raees coming up both of which are not big commercial movies. He’ll definitely do the Rohit Shetty movie- I wonder if he’ll postpone Raees and release the RS movie after FAN…
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October 28, 2014 at 8:29 AM
FAN and Raees – both will do better at the BO
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October 27, 2014 at 4:59 PM
AB launches KRKboxoffice.com
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October 27, 2014 at 5:46 PM
This guy is entertaining. I’ll give him that. Bachchan has a sly moment here when he says he doesn’t know the numbers and where they come from. LOL!
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October 27, 2014 at 7:30 PM
I still can’t believe bachhan is endorsing this frootloop.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:01 AM
Big B has gone nuts……..
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October 27, 2014 at 5:24 PM
Saw it in Dxb of all places! Kids had a laugh through all the silly slapstick. The Abhishek stripdown scene evoked the most laughter, ie, from most of the audience, not just kids. Otherwise, it was a time pass affair, cudve been shorter. While walking out, cud overhear many adult males saying it was a one time watch, just for kids and wifey. Certainly not in the same league as CE.
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October 27, 2014 at 5:50 PM
Also, after all the Deepika cleavage controversy, we get to have SRK tell her in English: “I loved your booty shake..you are very breastful..I mean…beautiful.”.
And the constantly repetitive “Maadar.. Chod na yaar” supposed-joke.
And the mandatory SRK-production gay slap-butt. joke.
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October 27, 2014 at 6:43 PM
hey this is the family values crowd!
see the third longer para here…
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October 27, 2014 at 7:38 PM
Agree with you…even if we let butt slapping….. go That breastful was too straight for kids to draw their attention to…especially demeaning for young girls I’d say…especially when they are with their parents.
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October 28, 2014 at 1:05 AM
The thing with these jokes are that they aren’t necessary at all. You would think SRK would’ve learned something about this from the failure of Ra.One and the super success of CE, a movie which didn’t have a single double meaning line or demeaning lyric in the songs. It was a true family movie. I don’t get how that movie is U/A and this one is U. Won’t buy that SRK has a say in it or else CE would’ve been U as well.
Also I think I’ve figured out why HNY is a failure overseas. And by failure I mean it wasn’t the biggest opener ever overseas. Starting with SLAM- yes everyone was excited for SLAM but it honestly didn’t help HNY that much. People went to see SLAM to see SRK…SRK as in the 90’s/2000’s SRK who wooed the overseas audience with the love stories, etc. HNY’s trailer and songs were just flat out bad. People overseas don’t have any holidays right now and we are not going to wait for the WOM and then possibly check it out during the weekday (something that people did do with D3, Don 2, all the Xmas releases). We’ll buy the $2 DVD at the local indian store and be done with it. Neither did Chennai Express, but RS was smart with the whole Rahul thing and basically DDLJ spoof which was excellent. Also Farah/Sajid/Sirish are just really really hated and despised all over the world I think. The name alone just kept people away from the movie as well. Also overseas people are the most tired of so called “masala” movies. So don’t think the problem is that SRK is a fading star overseas- the problem is a terrible looking movie and genre. I have no doubt that FAN, if the trailer/songs are good and it actually looks sort of different, will open huge overseas on SRK’s name.
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October 27, 2014 at 8:58 PM
Are these tweets real? Looking at the tweets below there seems to be change of command at Bollywood Hungama! Is Faridoon the next hit man ??
Taran Adarsh @taran_adaarsh 3h3 hours ago
Despite of so much promotion and widest release ever in overseas #HNY is a big disappointment.
Taran Adarsh @taran_adaarsh 3h3 hours ago
The weekend of Biz of #HNY is even lower than Aamir’s 2 year old film released #Talaash with did 35cr in 3 days with just 500 screens.
Faridoon Shahryar @iFaridoon 15h15 hours ago
SRK raises the bar for class.He looks outstanding,gives every actor space to shine.As in the movie,he emerges as an exceptional Captain #HNY
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October 27, 2014 at 9:08 PM
That Taran adarsh is fake account. check the double ‘a’ in adarsh.
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October 27, 2014 at 9:06 PM
Best poster of Happy New Year. Belong to art work on this site 🙂
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October 27, 2014 at 9:07 PM
My bad for posting them without proper verification….though it had taran’s picture there so got confused….plus thoda Kick ka lifetime gross ka tension tha !!
They are fake tweets. Satyam you may remove this and the previous comment if you wish.
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October 27, 2014 at 9:38 PM
MSDhoni, you seem to be Dhoni fan like me. He completes 7 years as the Indian captain, the best ever. BTW dont worry Kick ka life time collection is safe as Happy New Year is looking slowing down considerably.
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October 27, 2014 at 10:08 PM
Yes P.Bhojak, an ardent fan of his aggressive cricketing style combined with less talk and more action on the field. More than his cricketing skills he gets marks for supporting the small guys like Raina, Ashwin & Jadeja who are willing to put nation’s interest before personal milestones……more on it sometime later and will be fun to watch Sushant relive his cricketing years on screen.
Yeah seems like Kick will be biggest grosser of the year with Salman re-affirming his numero uno status at the Indian box office.
And then looking and comparing the budgets some of his movies
(Production cost and not selling price), the only star with highest rate of return on investments.
Was very impressed to see him on SMJ last Sunday and the quiet nature of his largesse / generosities. Wish him well and a true blue rockstar !
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October 27, 2014 at 11:48 PM
There’s still one big one left this year!
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October 27, 2014 at 11:41 PM
KRK @kamaalrkhan
#HappyNewYear collected approx 14Cr on Monday which is really very good. Means film is holding very well n it will reach to 200Cr lifetime.
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October 28, 2014 at 2:34 AM
Seems that Bachan launching his website has done the trick here! After slating the quality of the movie and predicting a 175cr lifetime, KRK suddenly seems very positive about the movie and is now predicting a 200cr lifetime.
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October 28, 2014 at 2:40 AM
Terrible!
Happy New Year At 109 Crore After Four Days
Tuesday 28 October 2014 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year grossed around 12.25 crore nett on Monday which is a big drop from its first which was a huge national holiday but around 55% from Saturday nd Sunday which were normal days. The film saw a big drop in the metros and circuits like East Punjab.
The total after four days is around 109 crore nett and the film should gross around 135 crore nett for the week going by its Monday figure but it could be a bit lower as Gujarat could come down on Wednesday when the holidays stop in the circuit.
The Monday figure is pretty good as a number but if we take into account that Gujarat is holiday and without that it would have been 11 crore nett or less then the trend is not strong. The film not become a major blockbuster like a Kick or Chennai Express but won’t be a Bang bang or Jai Ho as well because the huge weekend has ensured the film will be on the plus side..
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October 28, 2014 at 2:45 AM
12.25 Crore Monday …
http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/happynewyearat109croreafterfourdays#.VE8532AcSdI
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October 28, 2014 at 2:47 AM
This is still good if maintain throughout weekdays. Family audience may return in big numbers over second weekend .. specially when no competition
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October 28, 2014 at 3:01 AM
IMO Kick/D3 are out of reach. Looks like SRK will have to wait till 2016 to try to have the biggest hit of the year with Rohit Shetty’s movie. But that will be almost 10 years since his last top hit of the year. 2014 is still a toss up between Salman/Aamir and next year is definitely Salman.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:02 AM
will get stuck around 200 cr
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October 28, 2014 at 12:49 PM
The producers have quoted 15.1 crore. Its actually a better Monday number than what CE had on its first Monday…But its just too massive drop from where it started off…
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October 28, 2014 at 1:20 PM
what was the producer’s number on CE?
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October 28, 2014 at 9:45 PM
Chennai Express Collection 1st week total = 156.70cr
Paid preview: Rs 6.75 cr
1st day: Rs 33.12 cr (Eid holiday)
2nd day: Rs 28.05 cr
3rd day: Rs 32.50 cr
4th day: Rs 12.62 cr
5th day: Rs 11.50 cr
6th day: Rs 12.56 cr
7th day: Rs 19.60 cr (Aug 15 holiday)
Happy New Year 4 day total = 123.87 cr
1st day: Rs 44.97 cr (Next day of Diwali)
2nd day: Rs 31.60 cr
3rd day: Rs 32.29 cr
4th day: Rs 15.10 cr
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October 29, 2014 at 6:27 AM
thanks.. it was very stable on the 4th, 5th, 6th days. Also it did on its 3rd day what it achieved on its first (a holiday). By the way is that 33 crore number for all versions? because the 45 crore is.
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October 28, 2014 at 9:56 PM
Looking at CE, HNY is not that bad really. Just First day was exceptional, more than expected and Sat/Sun is on regular expected levels.
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October 29, 2014 at 6:29 AM
relative to the opening there’s a big difference though between CE’s second and third day (even Sat is relatively close to the opening) and HNY which plummets on these days. Also beyond this CE was very stable. Those three days are crucial where it’s putting up the same number. HNY is losing 3-4 crores just between Mon and Tue.
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October 29, 2014 at 12:09 AM
@Master
It doesnt look bad because you are comparing CE numbers by BOI with producers numbers to HNY. Otherwise, it is clearly.
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October 29, 2014 at 12:17 AM
raghav: you are wrong. The numbers I gave are Producers numbers, which is also on Bollywoodhungama. Movie collected 156.71 crores with paid previews. You can check. BOI has much less than that with 146.50 crores including paid previews for first week.
BOI final CE total = 208, Producer final CE total = 227
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October 29, 2014 at 10:10 AM
Satyam”By the way is that 33 crore number for all versions? because the 45 crore is.”
No, CE didn’t release in regional languages.(to put it clearly, it didn’t release in Telugu, its a Hindi/Tamil bilingual movie anyways, lol)
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October 29, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Ha! Actually that’s one of the things I liked about the film (it also had one of the most inspired Rohit Shetty sequences in that DDLJ spoof.. sadly the rest of the film didn’t live upto this.. it was utterly hilarious and in an intelligent way.. in BB similarly he had the maa sequence.. again Shetty could make much better films if he tried to..). And this impulse gets close to yesteryear masala in this sense. Because even though there is stereotyping it’s of an affectionate sort. I’ve made this point many times before. The affectionate caricature is better than non-representation or worse. For instance Akbar and Anthony are stereotypes (even if the two actors individualize them profoundly) and even moreso the Christian and Muslim worlds they belong to. But in Desai’s world all of this is great fun! On the other hand you have the minority who disappears from these movies or else is represented only as a gangster (or a terrorist). The Christian disappears altogether. Much as the hired help vanishes. People doing odd jobs go away. So on and so forth. It’s about an increasingly monolithic imagining of society in social, economic, political terms. And so again while those might be caricatures (as in CE) everyone can see that they’re presented affectionately. The audience starts loving the caricatures. I don’t think this is political unproblematic whether it happened yesterday or today but it beats the alternative. In this sense and even though I was bored with CE after a while it was one of the very welcome commercial films for me in this contemporary period. Coupled with BB (which I found interesting for different reasons though again it could have been a vastly more intelligent film). I wish Shetty would go more in this direction. Perhaps he might if he does another film with SRK (SRK’s been talking about it). On this note even Singham 2 was far more inclusive than the first installment. The Right wasn’t happy here and with good reason! Yes Anupam Kher as the Modi figure seemed reasonable (even if he otherwise didn’t fit the part.. he’s a big Modi supporter of course but as an actor he doesn’t quite have that authoritarian feel) but then he’s assassinated in a conspiracy hatched by Hindutva ideologues who worse still are also fakes! And then the Muslim angle is introduced elsewhere. A kind of jumbled message in some ways but better than the original (which was otherwise narratively way better) where I didn’t like the ending at all (it was positively disturbing and quite different from the original). In any case I hope Shetty pushes in all of these directions going forward.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:58 AM
Still trying to figure out why it’s doing so poorly. My new reason is that because there is 0 emotional connect with the characters. Charlie was too wealthy and emotionless to relate to. I never really felt bad for him or cared for his revenge story, unlike say in MHN (which in a way is a revenge story as well with Sunil Shetty killing Naseerudin Shah). Compare it to Om (1st half of OSO) and Ram of MHN, both of which were emotional characters. I think that’s where the disconnect happened. Also the love story wasn’t developed well- it should’ve been at least like in MHN. And the vulgar jokes mustve turned family audiences away…
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October 28, 2014 at 5:04 AM
Bwood style illogical heists have been done to death lately. The Dhoom series, BangBang, even Don2. None of them ever touched the sophistication displayed in Oceans11 or other Hwood movies. How much more illogical heist activity can Bharatiya audiences bear?
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October 28, 2014 at 12:10 PM
Recent Oceans 11 was remake of Classic film. Even Oceans 12 and Oceans 13 are not able to match it, why blame bollywood films? All indian critics are stuck on Oceans 11 all the time. They don’t see how even hollywood can’t make a proper heist film after that.
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October 28, 2014 at 12:31 PM
Now a different part of that same older comment:
[Heist films even traditionally tend to be ‘comedies’ much more than dramas. I don’t mean this in the literal sense but in a genre one. In the West they’re more often than not about a certain ‘cool’, a certain wryness (I’m overusing this word today!) and so forth. The films are interesting without ever being edge of the seat thrillers. And they’re quite often slices of cultural history. Hollywood when it remakes older heists tends to inject more drama into them. Ocean’s 11 is an exception but you have the Thomas Crown Affair or Italian Job among others, both much more regular thrillers than the original works.]
It’s absolutely true that the newer films are not as good as the originals in most cases for some of the reasons. But they’re very good otherwise on their own. I’d also say Ocean’s 11 is a bit of an exception. Soderbergh does bring something distinctive to the mix. Don’t think the original can easily be preferred here. One can perhaps debate the sequels a bit more.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:59 AM
It will end at around the ETT/YJHD range. ETT is a movie released more than 2 years ago and HNY will now find it tough to cross it!
When you look at the various factors going for HNY (holidays, multi-starrer, no competition, 3 open weeks, tremendous promotions), this looks like as big an under-performance as Jai Ho and Bang Bang.
Also look at how BOI simply omit to calculate the % fall from Friday to Monday because it would have made things look even more terrible. The % fall is 70% here and baring one great opening day, the movie’s performance at the BO has been pretty much underwhelming.
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October 28, 2014 at 4:17 AM
Diwali has simply saved the film. Looks like 175cr on BOI and 190CR for producers. Sentiment on Farah must be bad.
P.K vs Kick shoot off now. It’s 3-3 between Salman and Aamir for the last 6years. This is the world cup final we never got! I know which film I’m betting on!
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October 28, 2014 at 6:24 AM
So after a significantly bigger day 1 than D3 it will fall 80-90 crores behind the latter.. also on CE and even if I never quite bought it the producer total was 225 crores or something. But even the lower 205 number or whatever will still put it 30 or so behind CE (taking either BOI in each case or the producer total).
To be honest I thought there was enough support for this film to keep it afloat at a decent level but looks like that’s not the case. Also if you think about it a number of big films, even those that tank after the first week, tend to show relative strength for the first 5-7 days. HNY just had one extraordinary day which was the first one. Sat came down quite a bit but more importantly there was no jump on Sun which practically most films have.
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October 28, 2014 at 6:58 AM
I am surprised it was not a bit more stable. But the damage was there on Sat/Sun i.e. to be ahead of D3 by 8-9 cr on Day 1 and be ahead by 1-3 cr by Day 3 indicated a poor trend. And the Monday figure comparatively is a pretty poor one. To finish the week at 135 crore (or 150 crore) after nearly 100 crore (or 108 crore) weekend is a big come down. Second week won’t be much either unless this is more a “weekend” film which certain films have shown to be in the past.
It will fall under quite a few films after generating a huge start. Most definitely a disappointment overall.
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October 28, 2014 at 12:04 PM
This is quite disappointing as I dont think the movie is as bad as the collections. I had the reverse problem with D3 where I felt the movie is not as good as the collections…It needs atleast 200 crores to be accepted as a successful movie, not trade wise but just from a general perception. Trade wise it is profitable at 175 crores as this is a less costly venture than Bang Bang. But 175 crores is such a petty number for such a widely expected movie
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October 28, 2014 at 12:28 PM
I certainly can understand why people might have had problems with D3 but from my own perspective D3 is an all time classic compared to HNY. Not exaggerating! And lest anyone think I’m being partisan here I’ll repeat something else too — OSO is a classic compared to HNY! Still think MHN is Farah Khan’s best film overall. Which isn’t saying much but it was still the most coherent one relative to the nature of the subject (also easily the best soundtrack). OSO too could have been a vastly better film (and I think a 100 crore grosser at the time) had the director stuck to the drama instead of just using it as bookends and throwing in comedy in between for the most part.
The problem with HNY is (leaving aside my own distaste for most of it) that the last hour is at least somewhat fluid. the comedy here is better integrated with moving the story forward. In the rest of the film it’s about a collection of skits, some of which might be enjoyable on their own but don’t really create the sense of narrative. The SRK frame story starts off well. His fight introduction is unnecessary and ruined by slow motion (what’s new for Bollywood?!) not to mention the fact that I’m not sure what cross-section of the audience fantasized about seeing SRK as Rambo (mud-caked and all!). Surely there were better ways of displaying him! And the film does some of it elsewhere. But beyond this the story about a guy putting together a gang to attempt a heist is constantly offset by comedy that not only does not add to the drama of this frame narrative but also completely deconstructs it at every turn. Here I’ll add part of an older comment:
[Heist films even traditionally tend to be ‘comedies’ much more than dramas. I don’t mean this in the literal sense but in a genre one. In the West they’re more often than not about a certain ‘cool’, a certain wryness (I’m overusing this word today!) and so forth. The films are interesting without ever being edge of the seat thrillers. And they’re quite often slices of cultural history. Hollywood when it remakes older heists tends to inject more drama into them. Ocean’s 11 is an exception but you have the Thomas Crown Affair or Italian Job among others, both much more regular thrillers than the original works. Farah Khan, specially given her excessive tendencies, doesn’t fall into this category. Then there’s the desperation to make everyone do comedy. Every member of the team does it in one way or the other. Which is fine if you have Hirani’s level of filmmaking! Otherwise it starts wearing thin after a while]
A heist film has to be about the plot. But this takes up an hour or so in the film (if you include everything). Otherwise it’s just comedy while you wait for the plot to happen at some point. It’s a cardinal error for this genre. Had the entire film been like the last hour it would have been an easy hit. And once again it was so easy to do that here. Everything was in place. The team chemistry is also more or less there. In a more specific sense the planning and plotting that is so much a part of every heist film, the major part in fact (in this genre 75-80% of the narrative focussed on the pre-heist stage and 20% or so on the actual proceedings.. this really builds a certain interest in what’s going to happen.. you offset the two portions in a sense and then add some comedy or whatever along the way), is treated as more or less an excuse for the comedy show to be put in place rather than the reverse. All the planning here is dealt with summarily, as if this is the easiest thing in the world (again the ‘obstacle course’ aspect is never brought forth). Once more towards the end the safe sequence was well-handled, the way they escape and so on. This is what should have been done more often. Or the Abhishek scene at that point might be funny on its own but in the midst of a tense sequence you can’t have that sort of thing. it’s a complete mood-breaker. Once the heist begins that’s all it needs to be about. Finally even the song at the end could have been used far more dramatically as in the Karz moment Farah Khan used in OSO. There might have even been a bit of a twist at the end. Whatever. Lots of better possibilities here. The amazing (and frustrating) thing with this (and most of Bollywood) is that it doesn’t take a genius to make up a half serviceable plot. And no one’s looking for a great classic either. Just a film that does the job. Hey even plays it by the numbers! Even that isn’t to be had!
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October 28, 2014 at 4:40 AM
Well keep trending/BO aside .. While watching HNY, I was truly appreciating Farah efforts .. she is most successful woman director in B town and its not easy to pull this kind of magnum opus when you have three kids at home.
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October 28, 2014 at 4:41 AM
actually 4 kids .. including Shirish .. 😉
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October 28, 2014 at 12:16 PM
In my first thoughts on HNY, I mentioned how HNY is a sucess for Farah and she has put her best foot forward and she couldn’t have done nothing much with her talent. The movie might not click as big as expected as it is not a love story like OSO and also expecting patriotism from Farah is too much. It is kinda departure subject for Farah making an heist movie with Dance and sacrificing romantic angle which people expect the most.
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October 28, 2014 at 12:39 PM
LOL!
Let me get this straight.
You think the reason for rather lack lustre performance is because this was somehow a ‘risky’ project?
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October 28, 2014 at 5:07 PM
I think if you can’t comprehend my simple comment, then I’m sure additional comments won’t do it for you either.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:13 PM
LOL good answer.
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October 28, 2014 at 6:54 AM
NY Times:
Kashmiri ‘Hamlet’ Stirs Rage in India
‘Haider’ Angers Hindu Nationalists but Excites Film Critics
By VAIBHAV VATSOCT. 27, 2014
NEW DELHI — The Bollywood director Vishal Bhardwaj has made his name by adapting Shakespeare into film, using the plays to reflect the violence and vicissitudes of modern India. “Maqbool,” an adaptation of “Macbeth,” was set in the Mumbai underworld; “Omkara” transported “Othello” to the feudal badlands of northern India. His latest effort, a loose adaptation of “Hamlet” called “Haider,” which takes place in Kashmir during the turbulent 1990s, has become the most acclaimed and contentious Bollywood movie of the year.
The film, which opened internationally on Oct. 2, drew a fierce reaction on social media from Hindu nationalists, who called for a boycott. Kashmir, a disputed territory claimed by both India and Pakistan, remains a sensitive subject on the Indian subcontinent.
One post said on Twitter: “Any movie that sympathizes with terrorists, glorifies them; insults Indian Army & justifies ethnic cleansing, goes to the bin. #BoycottHaider.” The campaign’s Facebook page includes a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a conservative whose election this year has emboldened Indians who advocate a muscular, unapologetic nationalism.
Journalists in India’s national media, however, greeted the movie with rapturous praise. The columnist Mukul Kesavan, writing in The Telegraph newspaper in Kolkata, said its “great achievement is to bring Kashmir out of the closet.” The Mint newspaper called it an “immensely effective reimagination of Shakespeare.”
In The New York Times, Rachel Saltz suggested that the movie “grafts its source story less convincingly to its setting” than Mr. Bhardwaj’s previous efforts while providing “the occasional sharp reminder of how cinematically he can construct Shakespearean moments.” Over the weekend, “Haider” won the people’s choice award in the world genre category at the Rome Film Festival.
The movie’s portrait of Kashmir is radical by Bollywood standards. Avoiding nationalist arguments, the film portrays the tragic human cost of the conflict and its netherworld of disappearances, military torture and extrajudicial killings.
“When we saw the final edit, we prayed the movie would make it through the censor,” said the journalist Basharat Peer, who helped write the script. Censors cleared “Haider” after 41 cuts. (Mr. Bhardwaj says he made 35 of those cuts “voluntarily,” for narrative purposes.)
Even in the film’s fourth week in theaters, the controversy surrounding it shows little sign of abating. It has been banned in Pakistan, where the censors claimed — surprisingly, for a movie that casts a negative light on the Indian state — that “Haider” was “against the ideology of Pakistan.”
The Hindu Front for Justice, a group of rightist lawyers, petitioned India’s Allahabad High Court to seek a ban on screenings of the film, arguing that “Haider” was against the “national interest.” Mr. Bhardwaj and Mr. Peer have until Nov. 15 to reply. The movie is likely to complete its theatrical run in India by mid-November, in any case.
The idea for a Kashmiri “Hamlet” originated last year, when Mr. Bhardwaj was seeking a vehicle to complete his trilogy of Shakespearean tragedies. He happened upon “Curfewed Night,” a memoir by Mr. Peer about growing up in Kashmir amid the conflict.
“The stories in the book gripped me,” he said. A few weeks later, Mr. Bhardwaj met Mr. Peer in New Delhi, and they began collaborating on the screenplay, drawing on Mr. Bhardwaj’s mastery of Shakespearean adaptations and Mr. Peer’s journalistic realism.
Mr. Peer was an unusual choice for a Bollywood screenwriter. Bollywood movies are for the most part loud, rambunctious affairs, far removed from Mr. Peer’s literary sensibility. Mr. Peer had his reservations, too. “I knew Vishal as an accomplished filmmaker, but I did not know much about his politics,” he said.
Bollywood has not been kind to Kashmir. In the years before conflict erupted in the late 1980s, it served as little more than a tourist backdrop for romantic dance numbers. More recently, it has been portrayed through a purely nationalist prism as a sinister haven seething with terrorists.
Mr. Peer said he felt that “Haider” could chart a new direction. “When I told Vishal the basic premise, he had no problems with it,” he said. “I felt, this is already a big start. Nobody in Mumbai, nobody in the last 25 years in the film industry, had even come close.”
In perhaps the most chilling scene of the movie, a truck full of bodies arrives at a morgue, and a boy jumps from the bloodstained pile, dazed to discover he is still alive. “I was taking material from stories I had reported on and grafting them onto Shakespeare,” Mr. Peer said.
Autobiographical elements seeped into the narrative. Haider’s parents send him to Aligarh, a university town in north India, to shelter him from the violence overtaking Kashmir. The movie’s plot is set in motion when he returns to his homeland to search for his father, who has been abducted by the military.
He is plunged into a looking-glass world where lies and deception are common, and the government has abandoned human rights and the rule of law to crush the armed insurgency.
In a recent interview at a cafe here, Mr. Peer checked his Twitter account repeatedly as dozens of messages poured in, mostly either strong praise or vile insults.
“I’m not apologetic, or scared, or afraid,” he said, noting that he had been denounced or threatened for his journalistic work on several occasions. “I’m proud of a lot of stories and moments in this film. Within the limits of Bollywood, we pushed things as far as we could.”
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October 28, 2014 at 1:21 PM
http://www.newslaundry.com/blogs/kashmirs-tale-of-two-wolves-why-has-haider-only-zeroed-in-on-one/
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October 28, 2014 at 1:28 PM
Considering Shahrukh Khan has a huge fan following internationally, the opening for this movie was a little slow, as reported in Koimoi.com. With elaborate promotional and marketing strategies employed to promote the film internationally too, Happy New Year hasn’t done as well as compared to SRK’s last outing, Chennai Express, which opened to Rs 35.92 crores on the opening weekend.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/box-office/Happy-New-Year-box-office-Low-opening-weekend-in-overseas-market-collects-Rs-29-5-crores/articleshow/44956006.cms
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October 28, 2014 at 2:10 PM
I didnt know that priyanka had a sister
http://www.bollyvision.in/bollywood-news?detail=2831
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October 28, 2014 at 1:28 PM
His comments were removed by Zee when he mentioned K.P.
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October 28, 2014 at 7:12 AM
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/why-abhishek-bachchan-really-needs-to-break-off-from-the-pack-now-and-go-it-alone-in-solohero-films/508824-8-66.html
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October 28, 2014 at 9:09 AM
yes posted this here yesterday..
by the way great to see you here after a while..
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October 29, 2014 at 6:49 AM
I’m still here Satyam it’s just feels sometimes we are going round in circles chasing our tails.
Your still doing a splendid job with the blog and I’m glad the passion from all side has hardly waned though I think it needs to be reined in a little.
I will try and post more often
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October 28, 2014 at 7:57 AM
Looks like multiplexes have crashed.
Girish Johar @girishjohar · 5h 5 hours ago
Monday Gurgaon #HappyNewYear 11.50lacs aprox
Girish Johar @girishjohar · Oct 26
Gurgaon #HappyNewYear Friday 58lacs Saturday 48lacs aproxs
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October 28, 2014 at 8:09 AM
Tuesday another fall on crds.
Girish Johar @girishjohar · 5m
Comparing data, limited till now, of Tuesday with Monday….they are less #HappyNewYear
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October 28, 2014 at 8:10 AM
Trend is same as BB and Singham returns.
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October 28, 2014 at 8:43 AM
KRK @kamaalrkhan · 2h 2 hours ago
Yestrdy night a theatre’s security forced ppl to watch complete film #HNY in delhi. Security didn’t allow ppl 2leave theatre before the end.
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October 28, 2014 at 8:58 AM
“KRK @kamaalrkhan · 2h 2 hours ago
Yestrdy night a theatre’s security forced ppl to watch complete film #HNY in delhi. Security didn’t allow ppl 2leave theatre before the end.”
OMG ROFLOL
HAHAHA
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October 28, 2014 at 9:55 AM
Shame on satyam
Blocking normal box office comments
Total meltdown by Satyam
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October 28, 2014 at 10:05 AM
As always Apex I’m not blocking stuff. You can say everything you need to more sensibly. You have these long comments where you keep saying the same stuff everyday and which is just incredibly (actually I’m at a loss for adjectives here but let’s stick with ‘silliness’-that-would-make-a-one-year-old-blush). Believe me I am being polite and respecting the fact that you’ve been here for very long that I even allow a few of these comments. They’re nonsense (even this is dignifying it) of the highest order. And I have no problem saying this because you have degraded yourself here. I could bring up some of the comments you once used to post. These comments are really ‘unhinged’ to be very honest. It’s not about any star, it’s not about anything, this is just unhinged stuff. And it clutters the forum. But you’re again lucky that even some of these are let through.
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October 28, 2014 at 10:01 AM
check out at the 2.45 mark.. the question and SRK’s eventual response..
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October 28, 2014 at 10:23 AM
Dear me. I hope that was all spin at the end to do a sequel! That is totally not the direction Abhishek needs right now.
For me basically he has got some stock back from BB, D3, HNY. Mainly BB and HNY. Roles have been liked…but the test really is a solo film. And I think he is more than capable to carry a film right now, but it needs to be the right film. He is not in a position like Salman who can literally turn up on screen and twist his belt and get some big numbers in!
He has got to be far more script selective at this stage as let’s say the “door” from being firmly smashed in his face box office wise for a few years has opened slightly. But it can quickly collapse if he picks a bad film (like a Drona!). And although “comedy” might be the obvious choice, he’s got to find that broody, moody, aggressive role in my opinion. A Guru or Yuva or DMD but more commercial – he needs a middler. Something like Raavan or Yuva or DMD where the box office kind of goes neither here nor there won’t cut it as the media will lynch him quickly, even if he gets some critical bandwidth.
And if it is comedy, I would prefer a Dostana to a Housefull. The former he was the star in the first film. He’d gain more, it’s got more mileage for him whereas Housefull is an Akshay film first and foremost.
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October 28, 2014 at 10:31 AM
agreed on all counts… one of the problems is (and maybe he solves it with his home production, talked about starting it in Nov) that he does these big scale ‘blockbuster’ types when he does multistarrers but then a very different sort of film when goes solo. All is Well for example is a family subject and in any case a more low key film. If it’s like OMG it might trend very well but isn’t going to create the opening bang. But yeah I agree totally. Even on the home production which looks to be masala (new director, the guy who did the Idea ads, his first film releases with Arjun Kapoor in Jan, remake of Okkadu) unless there’s something more to the script I think it might be fine as a one-off but he really needs to get back to the original mix. Has to be smarter about it of course but that’s really where his talents lie. The comedies can be fillers in between. Not because I have a problem with comedies (though I always prefer dramas with any actor), I just have a problem with most of Bollywood’s comedies! The thing also is one can sometimes become too cautious or overcorrect. Ultimately some risks will have to be taken. There’s no simple cumulative path to great box office success unless one just does it through completely predictable films (as a solo) and it would be a shame for him to waste himself that way. On HNY hopefully there won’t be a sequel but if there were one I think there are multiple reasons now why he would do it. Ideally a film like DMD should have released at this time. maybe it would never have been a big hit but certainly it would have become some sort of success if he hadn’t suffered as much box office damage as he had at the time.
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October 28, 2014 at 11:10 AM
IMO, his comic timing is undoubtedly tops amongst all his peers, perhaps only matched by Varun Dhawan and to a certain extent by Ranvir/Ranbir. He needs something with the right dose of comedy, emotion and gravitas. He really needs a Namak Halaal kinda deal, ie a script that can accentuate his talent and hit it out of the ballpark. Unfortunately, with the Bachchan script sense, I would not bet on him being able to do so. If he had not screwed up his BO performance in the 2006-12 years, he couldve had stuff like Ek Villain, 2States, etc coming to him. Perhaps his solo door is still shut as of now, only to be opened by his own production company with a miracle of a good script.
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October 28, 2014 at 12:18 PM
From whatever i have seen of Varun Dhawan, he is just sensational in that comic space. I doubt anyone currently is even close to him. I recently saw HSKD and he was very very good in it.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:17 PM
Let me put something out. Becoming bankable star in comedy is not going to happen with 1-2 movies. It never will. You need to do multiple movies and regular hits(even smaller hits) and then you will became a major star in comedy. You can become top actor with a Yuva, Guru, Rockstar, Ram-Leela moment in drama or serious roles (even if the movie is not big hit) but comedy image and hits are only taken seriously if you can do it multiple times and constantly. Varun Dhawan is on that comedy route and if he does couple more comedy hits, he’ll be undoubtely the Govinda of younger actors.
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October 28, 2014 at 7:43 PM
fair point though in Abhishek’s case he needs solos one way or the other.
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October 28, 2014 at 1:03 PM
I observed one thing … Mostly positive feedback is coming out from people whose show has massive number of SRkians creating atmosphere (like i pointed out in my review) with whistles and claps even on ordinary moments.
Feedback is not exactly positive from audience who saw movie in half filled show and quite audience.
And i observed same while watching Singham Returns .. due to extraordinary atmosphere in cinema, It was thumbs up from me. But later when i saw on TV .. i was wondering if it is same movie i watched earlier ?
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October 28, 2014 at 3:22 PM
Yakuza i agree. Lot of the time it has to do with the mood and festivities. HNY enjoyed it for first day or at max 2nd day. But 12.5 crore on day 4..goes to show..audience just tolerated it coz of Holiday. I liked the movie but i cannot watch it 2nd time at all.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:29 PM
Talking about Abhishek Bachchan…i feel this movie did gives him some recognition and even the entry was great with the Radhe Radhe song but at the end of it, HNY is a SRK film…social media doesnt take time to appreciate who Nandu was or how Abhishek got great points for it, it simply says…SRK’s HNY is doing this and breaking records.
Bol Bacchan was the movie where he got the most scope. Dhoom3 was full on Aamir and goes to show how badly he has done in his career post 2006 that he was relegated to the supporting actor role in his own franchise.
Abhi now has to fight the young talent like Siddharth, Varun and then continue battling with Hrithik, Emraan etc.
I would recommend him doing 2 things next. Get a film with the directors like Neeraj Pandey..Special 26 kind of a film and follow it up with Romantic comedy ala SAK..this builds base for him both domestic and nri audiences. If he continues doing 2nd lead..he will be relegated and considered a good to have presence in these films. Time to try something out as Solo.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:30 PM
HNY is done, but at least compared to other underperforming SRK (i.e. everything except CE post 2008), the media narrative is much better. I’ve been hearing relatives/friends say that it’s first day was 57 crores lol. I think that’s the worldwide collection on day 1 but still. Because of the media, HNY will probably be remembered (if remembered at all) as an Ek Tha Tiger- a huge blockbuster but a “thik thak okayish film”. If you consider just the opening day/weekend/week or even the raw total of both then the movies are blockbusters, but reality is something else.
Anyways, as a SRK fan I’m disappointed and I’m moving on to FAN and Raees. Even though Maneesh Sharma hasn’t done anything path braking or even great. But neither did Shimit Amin before CDI imo. So I’m hoping FAN will be another CDI for SRK. Although I think if FAN doesn’t do well Raees won’t happen and he’ll do Rohit Shetty’s next.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:56 PM
Raj5, i guess SRK is not at all affected by HNY’s result. For him the Raees and other movies would be much better as the commercial films like ROhit Shetty will be unfloppable.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:56 PM
Yes agreed. The next RS movie will be huge before release because of CE. CE itself didn’t seem like a big movie before its release and there wasn’t any excitement when we first heard that SRK and RS would team up.
@Satyam your thoughts on SRK’s future/lineup? I used to completely disagree with your opinion on SRK but now with the failure of HNY (the one movie I thought in January could be the biggest grosser ever), and this being the 4th consecutive year that he has been out shone/grossed by the other 2 Khan’s, I’m starting to believe your theory about how he’s never really been the star with the “absolute” biggest grosser(s)…nor will he in the future given his age.
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October 28, 2014 at 9:32 PM
My points (often distorted by those who didn’t like what I said in this regard) were a few..
1)SRK was easily the most iconic star of ‘New India’ which is to say a post-economic reforms dispensation. He represented the ethos of the new upwardly mobile classes. He starred in the most iconic films of the age. Obviously he was a very important box office force, even the ‘biggest’ inasmuch as he did the biggest films and the rest followed.
2)However if you leave aside the big Yashraj/Johar films suddenly his record looks distinctively ordinary. The successes are very few (at any level) once you take away those banners (referring to a post-DDLJ career here in the 90s when he had a relatively high volume). If you then compare Aamir’s career and also account for the fact that he was pretty much staying away from the dominant genres of the period his success rate is much more impressive, again counting from ’94 and beyond. His ratio is easily the best even then. He has a megabit like RH but of course the media doesn’t really care about it at that point. And he has lesser hits that are also not iconic for the most part. Salman comes back at some point towards the later 90s and does well for a while before pretty much disappearing over the next decade (Wanted and in the truest sense Dabanng, there is stuff like MSK and Partner in between but nothing that changes the narrative for him).
3)In the new millennium Hrithik suddenly emerges, Aamir completely changes everything with Lagaan. After this point Aamir really starts setting himself apart with every film collecting for himself an astonishing amount of critical and commercial success (which of course climaxes in Ghajini and 3I). Hrithik stagnates after a while but he keeps having these high points once every few years (’06 with D2 and Krrish is his career best, so far). The point here is that SRK in this entire past decade and since can never match the biggest grosses of a Filmkraft Hrithik venture on his own nor can he do anything to rival Aamir in the prestige sweepstakes. Eventually Aamir has the biggest hits of all and Salman wakes up from the dead and performs an enormous U-turn in his career beyond which every film gets a big initial. You put it all together and SRK is constantly on the defensive in this period, constantly having to prove that he is either the biggest or belongs with the biggest. The problem is that he is unable to set the pace anymore. for a few years into the decade he still remains the most iconic (arguably) but I’d say after 2004 nothing is ever the same for him again. It’s been a decade since. He had nothing in ’05 except for Paheli, KANK fizzled out in ’06, and Abhishek got more attention, Don was ok though nothing spectacular, in ’07 he was back with a bang with OSO/CDI but somehow couldn’t capitalize on it later. RNBDJ didn’t open huge (though trended well) and was completely eclipsed by Ghajini. Then MNIk was another damp squib. Ra One was a big crash. JTHJ much like MNIK. Don2 sluggish as well. But then suddenly 7 years after OSO he had a huge moment in CE. He tried to make it a one two punch with HNY and everything was certainly in place but looks like that’s not happening. But even if you start counting before 2004, even when SRK has other hits the point is he doesn’t have the biggest absolute ones. And all of this isn’t a problem unless you keep selling the idea that you’re the biggest or that you’re a superstar. Though this word is much abused, much cheapened in contemporary and though it has more or less lost all meaning one could argue that Salman with one big initial after another (even if most of the films trend poorly) and in a compressed period of time at least makes that sort of claim more understandable. SRK never did the Aamir thing where the lesser grosses could be made up by prestigious films that were extremely iconic (RDB or DCH or whatever) but nor did he have the consistency that Salman did. Nor did he on his best day outgross everyone else.
4) This doesn’t mean that SRK isn’t still a huge star. He clearly is. the opening day of HNY proves this. But the problem is a) it takes him much more to get that initial than it takes Salman. He can’t just walk into any film and get it done. It has to be a big circus in some form or fashion. And/or it has to be crazily hyped. b) the ‘biggest’ stars also need to have the real prestige films. SRK doesn’t have them. Salman doesn’t either but it matters less to his narrative.
5) If you then think ahead of what the historical claim of many of these stars might be Aamir is the only one in that generation in a good position. because he has many works that will probably be revisited over time. It’s always hard to make these predictions because not everything worthwhile is necessarily reinvented but the worthless is on the other hand ‘never’ reinvented! SRK might have classics for the future with a few films but over time just success in a given age doesn’t count. It’s the films and if you’re calling card is just the Yashraj stuff (and maybe a Dil Se or Swades here and there) things get tricky.
The last point here is the least relevant to your question. But I was just trying to be as thorough as possible. It would be foolish to underestimate SRK’s stardom and I never have. But it’s a question of relative weakness when you’re a certain kind of star. It’s not just about him. Why do we talk so much about Abhishek? Whatever he has or has not achieved it wouldn’t matter if one just had Saif-like expectations for him! So depending on the star’s narrative it’s about what the opposition is doing. Once SRK was Bachchanesque in the overseas markets, in India he was ordinary on comparison (even at his peak) but again he had the iconic stuff and this coupled with extraordinarily generous media coverage he got papered over the gap. For a long time now the overseas thing has vanished too. We see with HNY how even with the SLAM concerts explicitly designed to promote the film he couldn’t catch D3. Nonetheless still a very major star. The question is: what does it take (in every sense) to get him to a big one? I think it is this reinvention question SRK hasn’t successfully answered for very many years. The Yashraj paradigm is done but he’s been struggling to find the alternative. In fairness there isn’t an easy answer for him. On the other hand I think, specially given his strengths, he’s made a series of extremely poor choices. There’s no way that post KANK he shouldn’t have had a way better track record than he does given his audience base and all his history. For instance he could have done much better scripts with Yashraj and Johar. He could have insisted on this. He needn’t have become so obsessed with the Don stuff. He could have done better with the Ra One idea. So on and so forth. And even this late in the day couldn’t he have detected some sort of problem with HNY? And it’s not as if he did some very risky films like D6 or Raavan or whatever and failed. He failed or underperformed in very commercial stuff. Secondly why didn’t he follow the CDI lead and do other smaller films? Even today though Raees and Fan might work isn’t there something better he could be doing? Fan looks to have a double for him. The star and the guy obsessed with the star. I suspect SRK isn’t the star to be able to pull this off convincingly beyond some sort of initial. Unless there’s a good script here. Then you have Farhan Akhtar as cop chasing him as gangster. Anything can work of course but these don’t sound like the most promising films (barring surprises). SRK just doesn’t have that sort of script sense. Even in the 90s the Duplicate, Baadshah kind of deal never really worked for him beyond an initial. He could have been definitive still in some ways, something in between Salman and Aamir (incidentally I also think he could have done much better with his Yashraj history.. those romances could have been updated). As things stand he can still come up with the initial but the opportunity cost of doing so greatly increases. You have HNY more or less ending up in YJHD range (unless it remains very stable at this point and does something more).
People talk about Abhishek a lot but SRK’s own career this past decade has been one of missed opportunities. Much as a in a different way Hrithik’s entire career is one of stagnation. yes he’s one of the biggest openers, he was this after KNPH, hasn’t really done anything other than to prove this from time to time. Don’t think this was his only aim. He clearly was waiting to take over at some point but this isn’t a job where you ‘graduate’ to something better. His Bang Bang failed much like Kites. ZNMD didn’t really do enough for his ‘alternative’ career, Agneepath hasn’t led to anything along those lines (he should have done the Johar follow up rather than Bang Bang), Krrish underperformed rather badly, and now there are a number of stars outgrossing him on a good day or quite often.
Anyway this has gone on too long! I should stop.
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October 29, 2014 at 7:16 AM
Except few points here and there, terrific comment, Satyam 🙂
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October 29, 2014 at 8:40 AM
I don’t think any of these dudes came to collect Oscar or National awards 🙂
Bottomline and what matters is this:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/may/21/bollywood-shah-rukh-khan-actor
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October 29, 2014 at 9:24 AM
don’t buy this at all.. just basic common sense would dictate against it.. Hollywood stars who earn millions of dollars a film, many of them have a profit sharing arrangement which sometimes gives them massive paychecks and makes the films less profitable for the studio along the way.. they too have incredible business interests and properties and what not globally.. and one is expected to believe that SRK is the second richest in the world? Yeah right. And I’m not even getting into the East Asian scene where again some actors who are top stars and also cosy with for instance the Chinese government have all kinds of business interests and real estate deals (that they’re not eager to publicize but these are places where $100m for a property is not that unusual.. in HK for instance but now real estate has gone crazy in many parts of Shanghai and so on.. as one might expect). This is the sort of thing that is really just meant for local consumption. A story spreads out, it is pick ed up by the Western media as well. This ‘I am the richest’ narrative is the latest manifestation of the ‘I am the biggest’ claim. Hey maybe Aamir and Salman are doing better but I’m the richest! And he is certainly richer than those guys.
by the way 350m in sterling is about 3500 crores. You know what? Gimme a break!
Some years ago Spielberg was supposed to be a billionaire (currently he’s at 3.6 bn). That’s less than 700m in sterling. One of the most powerful producer/director figures in movie history with incredibly grossing films and an extraordinary success even by Hollywood standards and SRK is more than halfway there (going by the figure some years ago). This is so stupid. I mean even for consumption one should come up with more plausible stuff. But the reason again is that it’s for local consumption. people don’t care what the actual number is. they just follow the headline.
One year there was a list where Salman Khan was supposed to be at 200m for the year while DiCaprio was 215m. Just find it a bit hard to believe! and these lists are a dime a dozen anyway. Check this out:
http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/entertainment/the-50-richest-actors-in-the-world/
Has-been actors are worth 350-400m! Somewhow it’s a bit implausible that contemporary ones are lower but in any case this list at #50 has people who are worth 150m! Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is at 3bn according to this! Here Madonna is at 650m. So SRK is in the same range as one of the most bestselling global artists in contemporary music history? I think not..! And again I don’t set much store by these Hollywood lists either.
On a related note there was a sly moment in HNY when the team makes fun of Indians for being losers at everything from the Olympics to the Oscars! Of course the two are not comparable. The former is inexcusable for a nation of 1.2 bn people. But Lagaan (which is what this is about! doubt they were thinking of Mother India or Salaam Bombay!) losing is not the same thing because many very fine films have either not been sent to the Oscars, not made it to the top 5 or not won. The list of films that did win is far dwarfed by those that did not. Sometimes even a director’s best works don’t necessarily win. These awards depend on a lot of things. Lagaan winning would have been great but there’s hardly any shame in losing once one gets to the top 5. Not making a big deal here. Just some humor in a movie but I think this joke had more than a little edge to it! Because after all the Lagaan moment is the ghost that keeps haunting SRK and all of his fan base! Imagine how this would have been sold if SRK had been there instead. He would have been the called the greatest star, the greatest actor, the greatest everything in Indian history!
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October 29, 2014 at 10:26 AM
“Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is at 3bn according to this!”
Yep. Check it out. She is scion of the famous mutual fund (Dreyfuss is give away). She does acting for her “shawkh”. Doesn’t really need a career or paycheck of it!!
On rest of it, I don’t argue either way. I don’t really care if SRK is number one or richest in India or not. He is certainly one of the wealthiest. His home in Bandra cost huge sums of money. For a poor, starving, orphan from Delhi, he did swell and doesn’t need to work for rest of his life.
Indians do have black money and SRK does have homes overseas (and so does Bachchan; they both have homes in Dubai etc ). Modi govt needs to come down heavily on these stars with homes/money stashed overseas. Also the rich spend million in foreign universities (All the industrial families send their kids abroad to ivy leagues and give huge amounts of donation to Wharton; even Kareena went to Harvard). This should be somehow illegal and they should be ‘forced’ to spend money on their kids education in India. The money they made here in India should stay here in India!! Some of my pet peeves….
🙂
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October 29, 2014 at 11:00 AM
Yeah Modi needs to come down heavily on those corporates first who’ve contributed a lot to him! Currently his govt is in the news for shielding these folks just like the UPA! LOL! But who’s surprised? When there’s institutional corruption (as for instance in the US) changing parties does not change this sort of ‘corporate’ logic overnight. You need revolutions for that. Not just changes in government! When you spend thousands of crores just on a Maharashtra election these are not checks people are writing out of the goodness of their hearts! In some sense even attacking politicians for stashing away money is a bit too easy (much like attacking movie stars). It’s the corporates who get away with murder and who win either way. But then this is the world we live in globally.
As for money staying ‘in’ India this is simply not possible in today’s world. You can’t build forts around countries this way. Of course this is a popular election slogan everywhere from the US to India. If it were only that easy to arrest transnational capitalist logic! Not that I’m saying this out to be done. Just saying nationalist ‘feel good’ slogans are cheap (in every country). The reality is a bit tougher to deal with. Much as chirping away about ‘Hindi first’ is one thing, showing up on Hindi blogs another!
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October 29, 2014 at 11:14 AM
I love you too Satyam 😉
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October 29, 2014 at 7:24 AM
Yes a wonderful comment Satyam…After seeing last few movies of SRK I wonder if he even tries to act in his movies. Its become more of a ‘smile a bit, smirk a bit, show the dimples’ kind of routine. Its a pity because even in masala capers you can display good acting. And whats even more pitiful to me is SRK when he tries, can be a very good actor. A movie like Swades, Chak De and even parts of commercial movies like Jab Tak Hai Jaan etc are all wonderful example where when he puts his mind into acting he can come up with wonderful performances. More than anything, more than his choices of movies, I feel his complete dont care attitude towards ‘acting’ is a missed opportunity for me.
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October 29, 2014 at 8:17 AM
thanks much Bliss and Krrish..
yes SRK unfortunately gave up a bit too early on trying to be the actor. He tried some stuff in the 90s, intermittently since. Nothing quite worked and he decided there was nothing more to be had there. But the CDI example is more telling. here he did get a lot of it. However by this point I think his narrative had overtaken him. He’d made it so much about getting the biggest grosses and so on over the years (this was the sort of message that was delivered to Aamir for the longest time when he had commercial and prestige films but not the absolute biggest grossers.. of course I didn’t need to wait for Ghajini to see the opposite.. because even with MP it was obvious that Aamir could come up with very big numbers.. that film didn’t last but it had a slightly bigger initial than VZ, this despite slipping over the week..) that suddenly he couldn’t turn to CDI and state the opposite. Even that very year the OSO deal is what really made him smile. Now in a way most stars follow the box office trail. The best have done this. there’s nothing odd about it. But SRK made too much of brand-name of pushing the ‘I am the king’ narrative. And actually even this narrative really peaked not when SRK was at his absolute peak but a bit later when he was getting challenged by others. In any case if you sell the ‘baadshah’ narrative for years it’s hard to suddenly become the CDI cheerleader! At any rate my larger point here is that despite all this he might have made much better career choices and specially in an age when unlike the 90s a lot of different stuff was working and a lot of Bollywood’s brightest talents were doing this sort of stuff.
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October 28, 2014 at 3:41 PM
I am still laughing at this tweet .. 🙂
https://twitter.com/Addicted_Abhi/status/527174709222195200
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October 28, 2014 at 4:07 PM
Satyam, I am going to do a shameless plug for my own personal blog that I started 🙂 Hope that’s ok, and if it’s not, delete away.
http://faltuthoughts.wordpress.com/
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October 28, 2014 at 4:29 PM
Thanks for letting us know.. all the very best with it.. your comment was earlier in moderation because you used a different ID.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:34 PM
Enjoyed reading your Moroccan trip. Just a mild criticism, the letters are too pale. A darker shade would be easy on the eyes.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:44 PM
Kanpur and Varanasi numbers for tuesday are out.
Kanpur fell by 20% and Varanasi by 25% as compared to monday.
So, tuesday will be around 9-9.5 cr based on these trends.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:47 PM
Kick was 8 cr on second friday as per BOI. HNY could go below 5 cr if this trend continues.
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October 28, 2014 at 5:55 PM
24% Fall in Varanasi.
Girish Johar @girishjohar · 54m 54 minutes ago
Tuesday Varanasi #HappyNewYear 5.37lacs aprox !
Girish Johar @girishjohar · Oct 27
Monday Varanasi #HappyNewYear 7 lacs aprox
20% Fall in Kanpur.
Girish Johar @girishjohar · 54m 54 minutes ago
Tuesday Kanpur #HappyNewYear 7.85lacs aprox !
Girish Johar @girishjohar · Oct 27
Monday Kanpur #HappyNewYear 9.70lacs aprox
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October 28, 2014 at 7:33 PM
Satyam – This deserves a separate post.
Superb Rap. SRK vs Aamir
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October 28, 2014 at 9:36 PM
Lol…its a desi twist to the ERB. Aamir wins that one.
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October 28, 2014 at 9:39 PM
10.5 crore for HNY today. So it was relatively stable.
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October 28, 2014 at 10:33 PM
Check this comparison between CE and HNY https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/happy-new-year-the-rest-of-the-box-office/#comment-285706
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October 28, 2014 at 11:54 PM
On course for a 135cr first week and probably 180cr lifetime. Will probably just about outgross Krish 3 finally but it’s a year since the latter released, so the underperformance from HNY is going to be as big.
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October 29, 2014 at 2:43 AM
The Tuesday numbers vis a vis Monday are only around 10 percent less which is actually good. BOI will have it around 11+ crores I think and producers around 14 crores
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October 29, 2014 at 5:50 AM
Watched HNY twice (once in multiplex and one time in Single screen). below Avg movie, i never expected Abhishek to do such loosely written role. Now coming to the actuals, SRK will loose the trust of multiplex audiences if he continues to do such roles. Surprisingly multiplex audience enjoyed AB’s role (i dont know for what!!) and in Single screen Nandu Bhide is a Star!! So, practically AB is the only winner / gainer out of this shit HNY. When it comes to a movie, audience (especially multiplex) are thoroughly disappointed. Mark my words, people will think thrice before watching Farah and Sajid khan movies. you cant fool people every time. Hope SRK will bounce back with right scripts. SRK is a super star for class audiences as well as Mass, i dont know the real reason why he should produce and act in these kind of shit movies.
Surprisingly AB is getting lot of appreciation for this shitty role, means his time has come. AB, pls dont take peoples good comments seriously. HNY is the winner by chance. Yes, in a way, its good that people atleast getting a chance to see your talent and take note of it. Looks like lady charm / luck is smiling back at you, pls concentrate on quality movies (i dont mind, good south indian remakes) like Guru, Sarkar, or even films like Bunty babli and bol bachchan is ok with me but dont waste your talent by working with films / directors like HNY/ farah. Its like dis respecting your father’s legacy. Do Mard remake OR sharabhi i dont mind but i do mind if Amitabh son will do Ulti Nandu…..Hope in future, u will not disappoint your loyal fans like me.
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October 29, 2014 at 6:33 AM
Happy New Year At 120 Crore Nett After Five Days
Wednesday 29 October 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year tooks it total to a huge 120 crore nett in five days as the Tuesday business was in the 11 crore nett range. The film had a decent hold from Monday in a few circuits.
There is likely to be a drop on Wednesday as business in Gujarat falls but the week is looking at a huge 135 crore nett. The best performing circuit is Mumbai due to Gujarat while West Bengal is the under performing circuit as it should be doing higher business as most Shahrukh Khan films tend to outperform in West Bengal.The business in Gujarat for the week may come out to be the highest ever.
The second week business will decide where the film is going and it would have settled to normal levels in all circuits by then as the the holidays in various circuits will be over…
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October 29, 2014 at 6:33 AM
Happy New Year Tuesday Early Estimate
Tuesday 28 October 2014 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Happy New Year has grossed around 10.50 crore nett on Tuesday as per early estimates which is a good figure for Tuesday. There was a fall in the big cities on Monday but those have held much better on Tuesday. Gujarat is continuing its extraordinary run.
The falls are a bit more in circuits like CI and Rajasthan but they were steadier on Monday. the film is being helped by holidays in Gujarat but that will not be the case on Wednesday. The collections in Delhi/UP will around 2 crore nett and the circuit is heading for huge first week total of around 25 crore nett.
The second weekend will decide where the film is going in terms of lifetime business, the advantage is that although there are a couple of releases they are not really going to hurt the collections of Happy New Year.
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October 29, 2014 at 6:34 AM
200 seems hard unless the second weekend is relatively better. With the producer’s total it might possibly get there though without that second weekend it might fall short even here.
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October 29, 2014 at 6:47 AM
Lol ROFLOL
Didn’t want to interrupt the “alternate universe” being peddled here
By Satyam and forcing this down the throats of others lest he blocks comments and so on
But when u read something as mind boggling like this
“People talk about Abhishek a lot but SRK’s own career this past decade has been one of missed opportunities. Much as a in a different way Hrithik’s entire career is one of stagnation.”
Trying to compare the ‘stagnation’ of the career of poor abhishrek with the ‘stagnation’ of the careers of Hrithik and SRK
the for mere ‘underperformers’ make 180 crores net domestic and the latter’s breaks the alltime record of opening day by a distance!
The sheer DISHONESTY at display here is mind boggling
And no amount of moderation or censorship can save it 🙂
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October 29, 2014 at 7:10 AM
Who’s comparing? But it’s precisely people like you who find Abhishek a useful screen when not facing up to questions regarding (in your case) Hrithik. So yeah after Krrish 3 and BB if you want to do the ‘look at Abhishek’ thing go right ahead! Now might not be the best time to do that but that’s another matter. When the star is doing well it’s about how he’s one of the biggest star, when he’s not then ‘hey he’s better than Abhishek’ is the logic that shows up.
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October 29, 2014 at 7:07 AM
TOI:
Happy New Year: Abhishek Bachchan steals the show as Nandu
TNN | Oct 28, 2014, 01.12PM IST
Abhishek Bachchan is on a roll . With the stupendous success of his last film Dhoom 3, followed by his championship win at the Pro-Kabaddi League, the actor now has another reason to celebrate as his recent blockbuster, Happy New Year creates a landmark in box-office history.
What’s more, is that the actor has been touted as the one to watch out for, in the masala entertainer, with the audiences and critics alike lauding him as the show-stealer. Essaying the role of Nandu Bhide, a tapori who is involved in the heist that forms the crux of the film, Abhishek Bachchan had the audience in splits, with people taking to the social media platform to voice their praise. The industry took to a popular microblogging site as they spoke highly of Abhishek’s performance in the film. Karan Johar tweeted, “junior bachchan AB you were absolutely amazing in the film!!!! Nandu on a roll!!!!!”.
Punit Malhotra tweeted, “Nandu Bhide is unreal. You’ll crack up everytime he’s on screen. Loved junior bachchan”.
Sanjay Gupta tweeted, “junior bachchan Loved your act buddy.”
Nikhil Dwivedi tweeted “So they r all saying …rush to see HNY for Abhishek Bachchan & him alone. Toh shaq kisko tha “.
Despite being part of an ensemble starcast Abhishek always manages to standout as he performs without inhibition, which speaks volumes for the security he has as an actor and his likability when it comes to the masala-movie watching audience.
Humbled with the response Abhishek Bachchan said, “Overwhelmed with the response to #HNY. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR KIND WORDS!! “
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October 29, 2014 at 8:20 AM
Xhobdo:
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October 29, 2014 at 9:21 AM
hahaha!!
I hope it doesn’t face problems. I’m guessing it’s a satire on Z securities handed left right and centre by the pradhan mantri’s govt. Even to a non entity like Vadra who he had vowed to bring to justice for his land scams when in power – instead he gives him Z security. Amit Shah from whom people need protection also gets Z security.
Andher nagri!!
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October 29, 2014 at 9:52 AM
What is a miss in all SRK Diwali releases is the content has been week, year after year. RA ONe, JTHJ and HNY. The openings have gone up and up but the dish out has been sub standard movies. SRK has pretty much owned Diwali for a long time…DDLJ started it, DTPH, KKHH and so on and on. The audience took dearly of movies which were striking an emotional chord but the dynamics change as the generation and audience mindset changes. HNY and JTJH are examples of what SRK should stop doing and he should mix CE and CDI in his portfolio more often. As a star he is bulletproof and should simply follow this rule more closely to win over continuously….why didn’t they explore the romantic angle in HNY…is a mystery..that would have got it Rab Ne style longevity at least in Overseas.
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October 29, 2014 at 11:16 AM
This wasn’t meant to be a romance though. And if SRK wanted to do a romance he would have done one. He’s been trying hard to move away from romance for a long time. Sometimes he just does it for Yashraj (I think he shouldn’t even do this) but other than JTHJ and RNBDJ there’s no pure romance he has between KANK and the present. Barring perhaps CE where his history is placed in a masala framework. If anything Yashraj should be doing this as well with him. The weird thing is they had BnB years ago, more recently they’ve had smaller more rooted love stories. They even did RNBDJ with SRK. But weirdly they went back to a tired format with JTHJ.
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October 29, 2014 at 10:08 AM
“why didn’t they explore the romantic angle in HNY…is a mystery..that would have got it Rab Ne style longevity at least in Overseas.”
That’s a worthy question folks
And reminds me –one that I will tackle v soon time permitting …in my upcoming post(s)– shudder
Anyhow Satyam if u r so ‘convinced’ about your arguments, plz have the guts and release the post again today ( copy paste from before)
Why the need for ‘muffling’ the voice of others
As for ‘silliness’ many will find most long essays here ‘more than silly’–let the reading public judge it
Don’t behave like indian censors
The readers are ‘mature’ (no pun intended)
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October 29, 2014 at 11:13 AM
I don’t have the guts to post the nonsensical stuff again and again. I must admit. As for others not sure who’s reading! As far as I can tell pretty much all your comments are ignored 99% of the time and the 1% of the time that anyone responds it’s hard to agree with you. And yes because the readers are mature they deserve better than your comments. You can still get back to your older self and become a part of the conversation again. Otherwise if you’re going to stay at the level of spelling ‘crores’ as ‘crwhores’ every time you will have to be kept away. Sorry. that’s just the way it is. And I don’t think anyone’s complaining.
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October 29, 2014 at 10:11 AM
Satyam, need new thread. This pages takes ages loading and comments are difficult to track. Over 650+ comments in this thread.
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