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125 Responses to “Margarita with a Straw, the rest of the box office”
Have liked all of the director’s previous films (especially Amen) so I will have my antenna up for this one. DO wish Fahadh, who was originally cast for Arya’s part, would have done the film-
CG: Not sure if you have seen this, but Ann Augustine is back which is a great news as far as I am concerned…I haven’t enjoyed too many Lal Jose’s films (from whatever I have seen Diamond Necklace might be my favourite), but I will be checking this out-
Yes, I saw this. Ann Augustine’s return is definitely welcome. Lal Jose can be widely inconsistent but of his movies, I liked Ayalum Njanum Thammil recently with an excellent Prithvi performance, and the older Neelathaamara and Arabikkattha (an excellent satire, which unfortunately peters out at the very end).
On a separate note, I finally caught up with Munariyippu. Thanks very much for the recommendation- this was an excellent watch, and the best Mammotty performance in ages. Now to watch Varsham and Iyobinte Pusthakam.
Munariyippu has proven tough to track down: Amazon.in (a great source of subtitled Malayalam DVDs in general, and for that matter Tamil audio CDs as well, unlike Flipkart) has Varsham and Iyobinte Pusthakam but not Munariyippu…
Q: I don’t know whether you have some sort of moral resistance against watching pirated versions of films, but if you don’t Munnariyippu is easily available with subs on torrents in exactly the same transfer which is available on the official DVD. As far as Malayalam films are concerned, they become available on Torrents only when their official DVD is released in the market..and so the transfers are most often taken from those DVDs/BluRay. I, for one, use these occult means to watch these films.
Am dying to catch this one..unfortunately no marathi films in the US..
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For those of us who have grown up on the diet of Bollywood’s court room dramas, Chaitanya Tamhane’s film will come as a reality check. Devoid of the dramatic showdowns between lawyers showcasing their knowledge of Urdu, the film takes us to dreary alleys of our judicial system where there is no Sunny Deol or Amrish Puri to liven up the proceedings. Instead we have Narayan Kamble, a Dalit singer and activist who is charged with abetting the suicide of a conservancy worker.
And with its smooth amalgamation of Marathi, Hindi, English and Gujarati, Court is a timely reminder to those who bracket cinema in languages. Don’t miss the date!
Bottomline: An accomplished piece of work whose natural tone is surreal.
coincidentally someone was telling me about this the other day.. certainly sounds interesting. my one criticism of Marathi films (though I concede I’ve not seen enough to make a generalization) and you would know better whether I’m completely off the mark here or not but I often find the narratives a bit sluggish. In the past I’ve sometimes found them less cinematic as well, almost as if a theater culture had newly discovered cinema (the sort of thing that you find in portions of OMG), but I think things have probably changed on this score. In short I’d call it the Ashutosh Gowariker kind of cinema. Even when he’s making JA it’s a lethargic narrative (Lagaan is the only exception in his career to this rule). In Tamil cinema you sometimes have the opposite problem. You want filmmakers to relax a bit sometimes! But I’d rather have that ‘extreme’. Again I could be entirely wrong about this but that’s been my sense based on some limited exposure. And it’s not that small scale industries always have to be this way. Hindi cinema made middle cinema in the 70s that did’t have this problem or better still Malayalam cinema has rich examples of a small scale industry in the 80s that often betrayed its production limitations but the films were never less engaging for that reason because they made up for it in other ways.
You are not completely off the mark but slightly when you talk of the ‘age’ and time-line of Marathi cinema where it was heavily influenced by Marathi theater/stage. The ‘merging’ of theater and cinematic as art-forms started with the ‘sangeet natak’ during the ‘40s. The erstwhile hugely popular ‘sangeet natak’ bit-by-bit transposed onto Marathi talkie cinema. Ironically, sangeet natak, which was actually representative of live-wire drama was stripped of sangeet more and more and there was a high retention of the ‘natak.’ They actually existed in their own spaces before the advent of the talkies. Later, cinema just absorbed the tradition and it carried on. [You can see its very strong influence actually in each of V. Shantaram’s films, especially NAVRANG and DO AANKHEN BAARAH HAATH in Hindi]. The ‘60s and ‘70s too did see this influence albeit faintly owing to the entry of stal-warts like Vijay Tendulkar who steered more into grittiness and chamber-room dramas. The ‘80s and ‘90s were of course the worst period of Marathi cinema with Hindi cinema’s complete domination on the type of content and writing. Everything starring Ajinkya Deo or even Mahesh Kothare were either clones of Hindi cinema with a very weak scale or an extremely cringe-worthy original.
It was only in the mid-2000s that it really started blossoming.
So the cinemas that you actually see today are really highly independent and do not embody the ‘dour’ nature that you mention of. [Of course, it has only evolved, as you can see the evolution from SHWAAS to SHAALA or DEOOL or NATRANG in today’s times. ] Today, it is a different story and it is THE BEST period to make Marathi films. I don’t think you can find much of the ‘staginess’ that you did find earlier. And yes, the naturalistic versions that you find in Malayalam films – especially during the reign of the 2 mega-Ms during the ‘80s – is definitely not easy to find in Marathi films..Marathi films and theater and too conjoined in that way to demarcate..
Satyam: I am hardly acquainted with the pre-2000 Marathi cinema, but the few films that I have seen from that period (few of Jabbar Patel films, 22 June 1897-which might be one of the best Indian film of its kind, Akriet…I will recommend the latter two especially AKriet to you you quite strongly though. It is directed by Amol Palekar and stars him in a role which is polar opposite to all other roles he has done…it’s a gut-wrenching film) were definitely “stage-y” (though unsurprisingly they were very well written). And that problem of having a sluggish narrative still continues. Even most of the important Marathi films since 2000 are hardly noteworthy on visual grounds (Shwaas, Natarang etc). But there are a handful of VERY notable exceptions. And here I am pointing out films which can match upto most of Indian cinema
The first one is the films of this director called Umesh Kulkarni. I actually believe that he is a very unique craftsman as far contemporary mainstream Indian cinema is concerned (they guy is schooled in World Cinema, but he makes very rooted films). And he films are very strong visually (Vihir especially, but even Deool). Vihir would very easily make my list of favourite Indian films from the last 20 years or so.- I don’t think there is a better Indian film dealing with adolescence. The film is definitely inspired from the humanistic works of Iranian cinema (Majidi etc), but it’s very rooted in its milieu. And I love the visuals especially the opening credits of the film (putting the link to the opening credits below, sadly the transfer is very poor, but even here you can see what I am saying. The DVD of the film never came out sadly and the pirated versions available online don’t do any sort of justice to its visual strengths. BTW the entire film is available with subs on Youtube, I doubt you will get a print elsewhere). Also his Deool might be the best Indian film on politics.
Then there was Nagraj Manjule’s “Fandry” from last year, I thought this was the best Indian film of the year. Here thankfully one can get a very good transfer (and I believe an official DVD must also be available). The story is essentially about a young Dalit kid (and his romantic pursuit of a girl who belongs to a different cast), but it’s not at all dour even if it’s not a lightweight tale. Incidentally these Marathi directors are exceptionally good at capturing childhood (I have already mentioned Vihir and Fandry, but Shaala- which An Jo mentioned- is also worth checking out in this regard). And I just checked, you can officially pay and watch Fandry on Youtube here (and it’s available in HD quality with subs)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grtxmNofk4Y
The Fandry trailer-
Then there was this Gabhricha Paus- a satire set in drought-stricken Vidarbha. Superb, superb film with a very fine performance from Sonali Kulkarni. And yet again fairly strong on visual grounds-
If I have to make a list of the unmissable Marathi films from the post 2000 period, I will include Vihir, Fandry, Deool and Gabhricha Paus. Incidentally Umesh Kulkarni’s debut Valu is also very good though not in the league of Deool and Vihir.
The other director worth mentioning here is Sachin Kundalkar (I haven’t seen his latest film, Happy Journey though), yet another guy whose works carry the influences of directors like Almodovar and yet are completely true to their Marathi settings. I like both his Nirop and his omnibus film Gandha.
There are other important films as well which are very good on narrative rounds and performances (for instance Natarang has an outstanding Atul Kulkarni performance), but are not very strong on technical grounds.. but certainly worth checking out- stuff like Shwaas. Dombivali fast (Nishikant Kamat’s debut which he later remade in Tamil with Madhavan), Shaala, Natarang etc
thanks for this very comprehensive note.. I’ll definitely try and get hold of these films. Do remember Vihir. AB Corp distributed it I think (or maybe produced it).
ROTFLOL…the grand old man has declared that this is to be avoided and i will dutifully follow..check out what he says regarding Hashmi’s kissing at 0:58..
‘Ok Kanmani’, ‘Kanchana 2’ First Day Box Office Collection: Films of Mani Ratnam, Raghava Get Fantastic Openings Worldwide
By Prakash Upadhyaya April 18, 2015 01:00 IST
Mani Ratnam’s “Ok Kanmani” and Raghava Lawrence’s “Kanchana 2” have opened to fantastic openings worldwide. Both the films have been warmly welcomed with positive reviews.
“Ok Kanmani” has been released worldwide in 750-800 screens on Friday, 17 April. The Tamil film has been released in over 250 screens in Tamil Nadu, 50 screens in Karnataka, 80 in Kerala and about 50 in rest of India, taking its Indian screen count to 430. In the overseas, the movie has been released in 200 screens.
Mani Ratnam’s film has been released overseas including the Gulf countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA, UK and Canada. The early reports say that places where it was already released has got a grand reception in foreign territories and it is likely to create new records at the box office.
On the other end, “Kanchana 2” is releasing in 367 screens in Tamil Nadu, 90 screens in Andhra Pradesh, 48 screens in Kerala and 45 screens in North India to take its Indian screen tally to 550. It is releasing in 200 screens abroad. Like “Ok Bangaram”, Raghava Lawrence’s film has its Telugu version and it will release on Saturday, 18 April.
The advance booking for both the films have been good and clearly tell that the films have got fantastic openings in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The early estimation says that the films are close to ₹10-crore mark worldwide on the release day.
However, “Ok Kanmani” and “Kanchana 2” are expected to perform better on the second day given the word-of-mouth the films have received.
Gautham Menon mighty impressed by ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’
By MOVIEBUZZ
Source : SIFY
Last Updated: Sat, Apr 18, 2015 11:26 hrs0 Comments
We all know that Gautham Menon is a huge fan of Mani Ratnam and he has said in many of his interviews that it was Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan which inspired him to take up film-making as a career.
Gautham watched Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani on release day and was mighty impressed with the film.
“Mani sir sets a trend again surely with O kaadhal kanmani..I myself feel like writing a love story. Respect, sir” posted Gautham Menon in his Twitter page.
The Yennai Arindhaal director lauded the performances of both Dulquer and Nithya Menon , he also declared the latter as the best actor in town
“Dulquer-easy, simple, in control and dashing.. Nithya-arrests with her performance, the frames stay alive long after..the best actor in town..” praised Gautham Menon on the lead pair of O Kadhal Kanmani.
“Does he have any regrets? Stewart recounts one big disappointment – an anodyne interview with Donald Rumsfeld in 2011 that failed to claim the former secretary of defence’s scalp. “He just went into the general gobbledegook.” Stewart puts on a pretty good imitation of Rumsfeld: “‘Mnah mnah mnah, well, you have to remember, it was 9/11 mnah mnah.’ I should have pushed, but he’s very adept at deflecting.” He looks genuinely crushed for a moment, then rallies: “That interview with Rumsfeld went shitty, but it’s still just an interview. He’s the one who has to live with the repercussions of what he really did, so there’s nothing that could happen on my show that carries that same level of regret.””
Rangan’s review of OK Kanmani is complete and utter bilge. On the one hand you have people on this blog excoriating the Akhtars for producing films about ‘rich kid problems’ and on the other hand Rangan is praised for crudely and gleefully crowing about how a rom-com regarding two young people who want to study architecture in France/ develop video games in California is allegedly only meant for the upper-class Tambrahm multiplex audience.
“To appropriate the film and relegate it to a particular section is to deny that the so-called ‘rest’ can comprehend aspirations. Repetitive use of the word ‘class’ just recreates some problematic categories. Stooping to the level of referring to the surnames further leads one to question the sensitivity with which the review has been written. It is not ‘focus’ on a class, rather detailing – that the aspirations strengthen the context with specificity and make the flow of the plot coherent and convincing. Reducing the plot’s focus to being a class story trivialises the themes that are central to the plot. “
Rangan is saying exactly the opposite though. His review is partly wry commentary on precisely this aspect of the film.
But now on the larger point. Speaking only for myself I think it’s a total misunderstanding of my position to think I have some kind of crude Marxist angle here where I want programmatic films to be made represented a certain class of people. if that were the case I wouldn’t be able to enjoy or admire tons of films at every end of the production spectrum from different parts of the world. It’s not about what class is represented as much as how that class is represented. I don’t have a problem with Zoya Akhtar or anyone else focusing on that class. what I don’t like is the ideological arsenal that is also brought to the table as justification for the same. I’m not going to repeat the volumes I’ve said on all of this. But a Ratnam film on this score is simply about the choices of those characters. Their ‘class’ if you will is not projected as an ‘ideal’ or as a way of moving beyond the ‘regressiveness’ of the ‘old’. It would be rather odd in any case if someone who made Dil Se or Raavan or Nayagan or Iruvar or KM and so on.. films which suggest a certain kind of politics or in another language a deep sensitivity towards fault-lines of identity, the nation state, ethnic and religious categories, etc suddenly became Zoya Akhtar in a film. It doesn’t stand to reason. Take that superb moment in AE where when the girl insists on paying for her coffee runs into this retort — ‘you pay for mine too’! This sort of little, sparkling moment that only a finer director can come up with even in a genre film.
The problem isn’t the rom-com. Hollywood makes tons of them. It’s about what is said through the rom-com. The existential crises of Zoya Akhtar’s films are utterly empty and fake. Forget about the rest, they’re even caricatures of that class. Just compare where Ratnam’s film is set and where Zoya Akhtar’s are. These choices are part of the respective films. Who in Bombay cinema really makes romcoms that are also odes to the city in this sense? or odes to any Indian city for that matter?
A film made for certain cross-sections of the audience is fine. I couldn’t in good conscience argue otherwise when most of the arts (that I like and support), when most good or great examples in any art form, are almost definitionally ‘elitist’ enterprises. Because they depend on circumstances of class and education and so forth. To be the ideal reader of those works one already must have been through a certain sort of education or belong to a class (loosely speaking) where such an education can always be had. There is nothing neutral about appreciating Antonioni or enjoying Kalidasa in translation (yes even in translation!) or what have you. Similarly a lot of meaningful commercial cinema or alternative cinema clearly isn’t for everyone. But that is not problematic on its own (or it might be but one would then have to get into much more involved theoretical discussions to debate this point).
By the way I don’t place DCH in the Zoya Akhtar category by a long shot.
You’ve misread my comment Satyam. I wasn’t implying that OKK is as empty as ZNMD; I meant that Rangan’s running gag about the single screen distributor reduces the film to a series of crude aspirational signposts (cool career, study in a European city, westernised relationship norms etc).
Rangan *clearly* implies that Ratnam is making his films for the upper class, upper castes: “It’s very focused about who it is targeting, and at least one segment of that “who” is discernible from Aadhi’s surname – Varadarajan – and the Thyagaraja and Annamacharya compositions that pop up on the soundtrack.
Precisely because Ratnam’s films aren’t as vapid as the average multiplex fare, I would say they are accessible to people across class/ caste barriers. Sure some art is inherently elitist, because one needs a certain ‘education’ to appreciate it. However, Rangan isn’t talking here about being schooled in the nuances of classical music or possessing the linguistic skills to truly appreciate a literary masterpiece.
He is crudely jeering at the ‘C-centre’ folk who apparently don’t possess the cultural exposure to relate to aspirations like studying in France. It’s one thing to say that an unschooled ear can’t identify the precise krithis and ragas of Thyagaraja’s compositions, and it’s another to say that a lower middle class/ caste person can’t appreciate a lighthearted rom-com simply because the central characters want to study abroad!
also I might have misunderstood you on Ratnam v Rangan. If your point is that Ratnam is far less elitist than Rangan believes you might be right, I haven’t seen the film yet. I just don’t think that irrespective of his characterization of the film he (Rangan) has a jeering tone or that sort of sensibility when it comes to ‘C class centers’ or whatever.
“OKK is an unapologetically upper-class movie. We don’t want all films to be like this one. But given the mortal fear our directors have of openly courting this upper-class audience, it’s nice to have one of these films, once in a while.”
Now remember he’s speaking about a Tamil structure here. In Bollywood it’s the exact opposite. But his larger point seems to be that this film is very organic in this sense including with its lingo. That everything in the film belongs to the world of those characters. And he says right at the very beginning that the film doesn’t pander to other classes the way other films in this genre do by including elements that otherwise don’t belong to that world. So again I just don’t think he’s condescending in any way but perhaps we just see it differently.
Now your other point could nonetheless be valid.. that this isn’t as ‘classy’ a film as Rangan keeps insisting. Or that Rangan might be over-reading what is possibly ‘hipness’ connected with a certain class. Again haven’t seen the film, you’d know more.
my own sense from reading that piece was Rangan saying that despite the film having elements that might make the C-center distributor sigh (and legitimately) that the film had something valuable going for it. I think he sets up a similar case for the absence of drama here.
Ami and Satyam: Not that he needed to clarify, but Rangan explains his “C-Centre” point-
“Okay. What I mean by that “Varadarajan” line is this:
This film isn’t afraid to zoom in on a segment of society and stay true to that milieu. I’m not saying that this movie is made for Tam-Brahms. I am saying that it is not afraid to unapologetically include them — and also other “south Madras types” — in its purview, unlike other films dread courting this audience.
Given the mortal fear our filmmakers have of courting the upper class audiences (and yes, also what’s called the upper castes), I’m saying this is a remarkable thing.”
Both Saurabh and Ami are saying something which I also share. That you are less demanding from Ratnam while you demand the highest from Kashyap and others. This is the overall impression. And that fine print is difficult to understand immediately unless one is as logical and as erudite as you.
I’m not going to accept the generosity of your last sentence here but I will say that my ideological positions in this sense ought to always have been clear. But one doesn’t necessarily spell these out each time. For me ‘Bollywood’ is the name of a larger malady and most of cinema coming from this industry at every end of the production spectrum confirms the problem. There are few exceptions as I see it. Much as Bollywood audiences (primarily multiplex ones) are invested in the same worldview. A quick example here — people see something like BV and might be ‘impressed’ but what they’re impressed by is precisely the colonized substratum that is common to both the filmmaker and his audiences. In other words a set of concerns that they share. Put differently it is precisely to the degree that such a film ‘resembles’ a certain Hollywood (again using this term loosely) representation or the extent to which it follows the same filmic codes can it be recognized by its target audience as ‘cutting edge’. A different sort of equally impressive film if not more might not attract that much attention. And so we have a circle in a sense. The audience does not coincidentally respond warmly to such films. It is only really able to recognize ‘value’ in them because it is trained to do so for reasons of exposure to ‘international’ cinema. You tend to relate what you see to a globalized (hence ‘authorized’) archive and you think ‘this is ok’. So Byomkesh to the character’s past or other films featuring this character is a bit like Donwney’s Sherlock Holmes to the movie and TV past of the same character (incidentally I find those Hollywood efforts poor too but that’s another matter).
Now the ‘colonized’ itself is in my polemic not just the appearance of a set of features that one might trace to ‘foreign’ archives (this has always been true for Bombay cinema in every decade, sometimes more, sometimes less), it is about what one does with that ‘influence’. Does one use it to re-configure native space or is one simply ‘cloning’ form without breathing any life into it? Is there something genuinely different or interesting that emerges within the ‘local’ by virtue of such influence? Or at the least something mildly subversive? What we see in Bollywood is a certain class congratulating itself (on both sides of the screen) for living life the way (which here simply means ‘Western consumerism’) it imagines a globalized (‘Americanized’) elite can be defined. It’s aspirational which is fine but unanchored in anything more it becomes ‘wannabe’. ‘Colonization’ is then precisely about a certain abdication of thinking or even the ability to imagine a native space which might be considered authentic without relying on those same colonized codes. When we see a hero beat up ten people in a film why do we automatically think this is ridiculous or at best merely escapist? Because we don’t see the same in a Hollywood film. We think this is crude entertainment for desis of a certain class. There is no thought behind such claims or beliefs. It is simply about cultural colonization.
Now all of this doesn’t mean that I’m somehow privileging the native. Quite the opposite. I’m not at all interested in easy right-wing platitudes on this score. And I’ve argued this too many times in the past.
and so getting back to the original point this doesn’t mean that there aren’t accomplished directors in certain formal ways who are nonetheless colonized as I see it. But I find that sort of accomplishment boring. Not just in Bombay but anywhere in the world. One of the reasons why a lot of film festival stuff is quite banal. Because it too clones the same tropes in different parts of the world without necessarily adding anything worthwhile. I think directors like Kashyap primarily access international cinema for its formal registers. They might then produce interesting subjects to go along with those choices but they’re rarely in the business of adequately thinking through the connections between those visual choices (or whatever) and the thematic ones. And this is where the critical culture (to use a term that is nowhere earned in this context) of India fails massively to understand what the attempt is in a film like Dil Se or Raavan or Kadal (to stick with ratnam). One is free to not like the films but one should at least understand what the attempt is in the first place.
In general I’m not very happy with national cinemas that are divorced from the important concerns of their societies. This doesn’t preclude the production of rom-coms or whatever. But there should be something more on the menu. Hollywood does this. Tamil cinema does this. Bollywood doesn’t 99% of the time. There’s nothing radical about this idea. It’s what we expect from any great artistic tradition as a matter of course.
It’s not an anti-Ram film in any easy sense. The Kamban Ramayana might be considered anti-Ram from a traditional Northern perspective but these alternatives have always existed. Again in the context of Uttama Villaim Kamal talked about Kamban. This has always been the canonical Ramayana for that region.
Sanjana- actually it’s Rangan rather than Ratnam I’m criticising here. I loved OKK, and Ratnam demonstrates once again exactly why he is several leagues above Imitiaz, Homi and their ilk, even within a lightweight genre like the youthful rom-com. Have you seen the film?
It’s easy to say Mani Ratnam plays it safe with O Kadhal Kanmani. Maybe he did, given the risks he has taken with his previous works, but it’s fine because it’s been a long time since his film has been so enjoyable.
This is his best work in years and this magical spell won’t be forgotten easily.
I’ve often said here that when Ratnam had really wanted to make a success he’s come up with one more often than not. But this raises a few issues and I’m going to repeat myself here..
One must then retire the easy notion that Ratnam forgets how to make a film when he tries something major that isn’t a box office success. or that his best is behind him or whatever. Because he’s clearly been trying to push the envelope more often than not over the past 20 years and more often than not he’s failed in box-office terms. In the same sense though he’s often come up with a hit when he’s really needed to (AP, Guru, now Ok Kanmani). There’s nothing wrong with these films (of course Guru is hardly in the category of AP or Kanmani anyway) but the point is that even on safer terrain a director like Ratnam will be interesting. But secondly in saying Ratnam failed with Raavan and didn’t with Kanmani one is only illustrating the obvious box office truth or the fact that one might be agreeing with those box office majorities. In other words there is no way to be absolutely safe once you decide on certain kinds of subjects. You can guarantee a kind of success with Roja that you can’t with Iruvar. Or if you make a film with Rajni a certain way you are far less likely to get optimal results than if you make AP. So there are different ways of pushing the envelope. Cinema isn’t worthwhile or not only based on one’s immediate connection with it. So for will one ever be able to connect with everything that is worthwhile. That’s just not humanly possible. Rather than constantly making ‘impossible’ cases to find that correlation between criticism/box office and the inherent worth of the film one should simply accept that one is not the audience for a certain film. Recently there was a piece on the Great Gatsby in the Atlantic on a major anniversary and it talked about how the book was a huge commercial and critical failure when it first came out and now there’s no novel more iconic than this one in the 20th century (i.e. in the US). these things happen. It’s perfectly fine if a certain Ratnam isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten how to make films.
Judging from all that I have read line between the lines of the reviews, I think I am going to like Ok Kadal Kannamani. I especially like the fact that It has no drama and no story. I like my films that way. That’s why I liked Huma Aapke Hain Kaun and not so much Maine Pyar Kiya. That’s why I like Dil Chahta Hai and not Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge.
Satyam: No one is saying that Ratnam has forgotten to make films. All one is saying is that he made some bad films. Surely Spielberg has made some bad films. Surely Hitchcock has made some bad films. Surely Woody Allen has made some bad films. They did not forget how to make films. They tried somethings that did not work out. That’s how they came out bad. And it has nothing to do with box office. No one has called Iruvar a bad film,or Kannathil Muthumittal. And as far as what happens fifty years later who knows, a film like OKK which si being called a ‘ lightweight’ film may be considered a classic !
Many films were called bad by critics even if you continue to refuse to recognize this. I don’t see how one can argue the opposite. I just gave you the Great Gatsby example. in no artistic field has there not been serious revision of critical views. Secondly the point isn’t that great talents cannot make ‘bad’ films but I completely reject such a definition when it suspiciously enjoys a very high correlation with the box office! Indeed things change over time which is why Great Gatsby now enjoys a very different sort of reception. You can argue for many things one way or the other. But the idea that there is some sort of absolute rejection of a film that suggests the film is ‘bad’ falsifies the history in very many ways.
Just for the record, Iruvar hasa rating of 8.5 on imdb, and Kannathil Muthumittal, 8.5. Raavan: 5.3 and Kadal: 5.8. So all these four films are obviously not perceived in the same way.
LOL, that’s just what I said.. what has one really illustrated here other than a box office reality?! Obviously if more people liked them these films would have done better too.
Satyam: By your logic, if there has beena critical revision today, there can bea critical revision 50 years hence too and may be The Great Gatsby will be considered trash. Is there any way to see into the future? If it wasnt possible 50 years back, it is the same today. So we can only talk of how a film appears to us today. Yes, THe great Gatsby appears like a great book to us today, but it may not , to a genration 50 years hence. Which law of artistic evaluation says that critical revision can be only upwards? So defending a film through that kind of second guessing is quite lame and pointless.
But you are deconstructing your own case further with that point. I actually don’t think revisions of view means we’re somehow in the zone of the unknowable. Why? Because most works that are celebrated as significant after the passage of a certain time period are not likely to be considered junk after more time has passed. Now of course one work might be more popular in a given age, another less but that’s different from a later age dismissing it altogether. The other thing here is that with time enough tradition is built on such opinion. And that is hard to undo beyond a point. And so it is not possible to deconstruct the Great Gatsby at this point. It is simply too entrenched in the culture and in the critical literature. It might not seem as central in a different age, that goes without saying but no one will ever dismiss it again the way they once did. But either way the real risk usually lies in the immediacy of the present. There are far far more cases of works in any field being liked or loved or estimated a certain way in a certain age and then becoming dead later on. Not even being rejected necessarily but just fading completely.
However if you believe in the anarchic position where anything can be reevaluated one way or the other it’s puzzling why you would then argue that the present is everything! Those two claims contradict each other! Let me put it another way — if no work can hope to have any lasting claim on meaning one way or the other anything anyone says on any work in a ‘present’ is always only about the fashions of that age and doesn’t mean anything more than this. Because if there were ‘transferable meaning’ from age to age it could not only be about the present. But if it is then any opinion is hopelessly provisional. Even pointless because it is imprisoned in its age. Of course I don’t believe all of this because I have to account for why many films or novels or plays or concertos or whatever seem to endure while others don’t. There must be something transferable just looking at these obvious histories. No one considered Kaalia more important than Deewar in the present of those films nor does anyone believe the opposite 40 years later.
So any way you slice and dice this your position comes out untenable.
SAtyam: “Obviously if more people liked them these films would have done better too.” No. Tahtlogic is not right. Mard might have done better than Deewar in box office, but that does not mean Mard was liked more than Deewar. I do not think there is no doubt in anyone’s mind as to which was the better film. Box office is no indicator of which film was liked more.
As a matter of fact a film like Mard was liked more than Deewar. This is precisely the point. Because Deewar was loved by many people, admired more (which is why though it was a success there were many Bachchan films that were vastly bigger grossers just in that film’s present) but a film like MKS or Mard and many others just attracted a larger cross-section of the audience. There is nothing odd about this. VEry many critically acclaimed films are either hits, semi-hits, sectional hits, less than this or even flops. Apocalypse Now did nothing when it initially released. It’s entire reputation was constructed later. It always had a cult following but that wasn’t close to enough to give it box office glory. You cannot have a simplistic view of the correlations between the box office and the audience reception of a film. The equation is fairly obviously for run of the mill films. But for films that are ahead of their time or radical in some way and so forth these might or might not work in the present but even when they do they do not reach their full potentiality right away. For obvious reasons. Deewar was big in 1975 but it’s even bigger now because it’s endured for 40 years. Agneepath didn’t work when it released (though it’s box office failure has always been exaggerated in certain ways, though for not entirely unfair reasons) but now it’s one of Bachchan’s 5 most important films judging by many yardsticks (at least for this age). Cinema in any case is always about the critical registers as well. Films that never work massively (Deewar still worked rather well, many acclaimed films don’t even get this much) but that always seem important to people across the ages. Again the whole easy equation between the box office and cinematic worth is a deeply misunderstood one. It assuredly misrepresents the nature of cinema. As I’ve said before there is a paradox at the heart of cinema. No art form is as difficult to produce as an economic matter, no other art form requires more commercial justification and yet it is also in cinema where the greatest works often come about by rejecting such economic rationality, where furthermore huge commercial failures have often made ‘greatest’ lists far more than hugely successful films. And this is so in very many of the world’s industries, not just Hollywood. In India the gap still seems relatively less in this sense because we don’t had the critical culture and/or the informed audience to reinvent films from the past one way or the other.
Shankar doesn’t fail to catch up with Mani Ratnam
Apr 19, 2015
Mani Ratnam’s latest OK Kanmani has been garnering applause from not just movie buffs and critics, but also from respected members of the film fraternity such as Gautham Menon, Suriya to name just a few.
Director Shankar also seems to have immensely enjoyed OK Kanmani when he saw a screening of the movie in a premiere show in the USA. Shankar has always said that Mani Ratnam is one of the senior directors that he really respects and admires.
”OK Kanmani is the biggest blockbuster of our career”
Apr 19, 2015
Distributors Prime Media released Mani Ratnam’s latest OK Kanmani in the US and the response from the audience there has been simply fabulous. The movie was released in around 73 locations and Houseful seems to be the constant phenomenon across all the centers.
The distributors tweeted “#HouseFull everywhere. Thanks #ManiRatnam for giving biggest blockbuster of our distribution career #OKKanmani”
Leading trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the film’s box-office stats in the US, and called it outstanding in both the Tamil and Telugu versions.
Tamil film #OKKanmani is OUTSTANDING in USA. Thu + Fri $ 175,795 [₹ 1.10 cr]. Telugu version #OKBangaram Thu + Fri $ 73,360 [₹ 45.89 lacs].
So, even before the Sat – Sun weekend, OKK has grossed close to 1.6 crores from its 2 versions. The weekend stats would be keenly awaited. We will keep you posted.
The movie is made on a very tight budget so this will get to hit status easily. They havent released it in any C centre at all. But Muni 2 is huge in TN. Without that competition, OKK could have done better. I am quite happy for Mani though. He gets a decent success finally.
In n o universe is Mard liked more than Deewar. Mard has an imdb rating of 6.1 while Deewar 8.2. The lines of Deewar are still remembered and quoted time and again. With names like Amitabh and Manmohan and its frothy theme more people went to see it, does not mean more people liked it. More people have seen Besharam than Rocket Singh, does not mean more people liked it.
IMDB doesn’t mean anything here since it reflects the very folks who are big on Deewar. For instance DCH has 8.3 on IMDB and Gadar has 7.1. Both released the same year. Gadar however had probably 3.5 times the gross of DCH and the gap is even wider than that because DCH did well in a few major metros while Gadar though it was good in these places was a monster in many centers where ticket prices were lower. But most of the Gadar audience is not going to be voting on IMDB.
Gadar was liked more than DCH. Why? Because it appealed to a much greater cross-section of the audience than DCH. And this isn’t just about an initial. It’s also about trending.
Now getting back to Mard you clearly don’t know enough here. Mard grossed more than Ram teri Ganga Maili that same year which itself was huge. It was an absolutely massive hit. It was way bigger than Desh premee for example, the previous Desai film. So again this wasn’t about the initial nor was it about a greater audience pool.
Abhishek Bachchan supports UK MP Vaz’s poll campaign
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan visited Leicester to support the election campaign of Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz who was officially nominated as the local Labour Party candidate for the upcoming polls.
Mr. Bachchan participated in a public question-and-answer session with Mr. Vaz and over 350 residents of Leicester, at the Peepul Centre.
He was quizzed on his life and career, as well as his captaincy of the Bollywood Stars football team, before being presented with a personalised Leicester City football shirt. They continued on a tour of Belgrave Road and Uppingham Road.
“I am here for Keith. He works so hard for Leicester and I am delighted to be here to help him today. Keith is a close family friend. He possesses so many values I hold close to my heart for our politicians; he is warm, generous and kind. I know that he is a true leader for the Indian community in the United Kingdom, who does great work for people of Indian origin,” Mr. Bachchan said at the event.
“It was an honour to have one of Bollywood’s megastars with us in Leicester. Our city was bouncing with the joy and excitement of thousands of adoring fans who came out to see Abhishek,” said Mr. Vaz, the longest-serving British-Asian MP.
“Abhishek was wonderful, and people adored him. He is a close friend, and for him to take time to come to Leicester is truly special. The thousands who came out to Belgrave Road and Uppingham Road were awestruck. My only request to Abhishek is that he does not stand to be the Member of Parliament for Leicester East, as I would not have a chance!” he said.
The 44-year-old, who has successfully battled cancer, took to social media to share some glimpses of her look from the film before starting with the movie.
“Shooting in Bangalore for #game,” the actress shared on micro-blogging site along with her photographs.
In the images, the “Khamoshi: The Musical” actress is seen beaming with a smile in a crop hairstyle with a black ensemble.
Being directed by AMR Ramesh, the film also features Arjun Sarja, who had earlier worked with Manisha in Tamil blockbuster “Mudhalvan”.
Byomkesh Bakshi – kickass movie. Best of the year in Indian cinema.
Was watching Mani ratnam interview the other day with Rajeev Masand. Mani says he hasnt watched non-tamil films for a long time. Its time for ppl like him and Kamal to be aware of what fantastic work is happening in Bollywood (with VB, Dibankar, Kashyap, Soojit Sircar, Sriram Raghvan etc etc) and stop pampering their ego as they are great filmmakers.
“It was an absolutely massive hit. It was way bigger than Desh premee for example, ” But my point is no one liked Desh Premee nuch. Almost anyone who has seen Dewar and Desh Premee has liked Deeewar more. I can say that with certainty. You see a film like Desh Premee because of the star cast and the director, anf knowing that it wont be intolerable. That is why I saw it, but I hated it. Someone may have found it okay at best, but not better than Deewar. Maybe a handful, but not too many.
Take the case of Happy New Year, from among the millions who saw it most would have found it average. On the other hand, a large percentage of people seeing Dum Laga Ke Haisa would have found it excellent. So the average rating of DLKH would be much higher than that of HNY. THe box office collections can’t show you that.
You’re still not getting the point. This is NOT about the initial. It’s about the holdover after the initial. By Bachchan’s standards Desh premee wasn’t liked by the audience the way Naseeb was or the way Mard was. So yes a greater audience will show up for a certain kind of commercial film but they won’t keep watching it if they don’t like it. HNY collapsed after a strong initial, mostly it didn’t match the big day 1 numbers at any later point. On the other hand Ghajini or 3I weren’t just about the initial audience. Had the same audience found Naseeb or Mard average each of those films wouldn’t have done more than Desh premee business. that wasn’t the case.
IMDB represents the very audience that is much more kindly disposed towards certain kinds of films. Again the core Gadar audience is not likely to vote very much on IMDB. Similarly when the same audience votes on Deewar versus MKS the former is going to be higher. Because again the equivalent of the MKS audience today is going to be severely underrepresented on IMDB or any online forum. 100% of the DCH audience is on a computer every single day, that number plummets for Gadar. IMDB isn’t a serious survey for these things. Unless one keeps that caveat in mind (you can compare DCH with ZNMD for example on it.. here the audience overlaps).
But again you’re also confused about something else. You do not represent the entire cross-section of the Indian audience. You represent one segment. if it’s only about multiplex cinema you’re probably with the majority. But this is not so when it comes to a wider audience. There are simply MORE people in any society that like a certain kind of commercial format compared to those who like more cutting edge entertainment. There is MORE of a potential audience for MKS than Deewar. The latter matters vastly more ‘historically’ but that’s a very different claim with very different implications. Citizen Kane is one of the most important films of movie history and yet it didn’t do much when it released. The audience did not like it. Now different films cannot be automatically compared in terms of gross because they have different audiences. However they CAN be compared when it comes to trending because that shows how much each film was liked by its respective audience. So every film in Deewar’s category did not gross like Deewar not did every film in the MKS category gross like MKS. Again Desh Premee did not gross like Naseeb or Mard. In each case one is working off the same audience. Most Salman films today fizzle out after a big opening. Why? Because though they attract a larger audience most in that group end up not liking those films very much. On the other hand a similar audience shows up for Ghajini and likes it a lot more. So Ghajini is not bigger than a multiplex hit simply because more people are watching it. Because that would only explain the initial. RGV’s Company did poorly compared to his own Satya and not because other films were doing that much more. Deewar was more liked than many other pure masala films but many masala films were also liked more than Deewar. And of course in those days the audiences overlapped vastly more. Deewar wasn’t a Hrishikesh Mukherjee small film or something. Films often matter more than their gross and equally often less than it, assuming solid trending in each case (I never look at grosses that are simply the result of big initials) but that’s a separate debate.
Satyam: I am not talking about the initial. I am talking about ALL the people who have seen , let us say, Happy New Year. Not ONE of them will rate it 8 on 10. Most people would have found it just about above average. So the average rating could be 6. While for Dum Laga Ke Haisa, a vast majority would have found it excellent, say 8 on 10. And that is the kind of average rating itb would have. Total office collections cannot give you this picture.
you’re not making sense Utkal.. I’m not sure what’s so hard to follow here.. the people who vote for Dum Laga ke haisha and HNY on IMDB is the very SAME audience. But when it’s about Gadar most of that film’s small or smaller town audience is not represented on IMDB. Because those people aren’t going online for lack of access or whatever. So if you do DCH v Gaddar you’ll get a lopsided result. It’s not about big or small films when it comes to IMDB because the very same folks are voting on everything. These folks liked Dum laga ke more than HNY. But HNY didn’t do very well anyway because it collapsed after a strong initial. So even its core audience didn’t much care for it.
Let me put this in even more basic terms. Film A because of genre or whatever reason attracts 10 people. Of those 6 like it and this is reflected accordingly in the trending. Now film B attracts 20 people but 17 of those like it. That’s a much higher percentage. This isn’t about film B grossing more than film A. A film that attracts a larger crossection will obviously gross more all else being equal. It’s about how much the audience of each film likes that film. So 60% like the first one and 85% the second. This is how you do the comparison.
But now let’s take the same example for IMDB. What happens here is that the 10 who show up for film A and possibly show up for film B are the only people who vote on IMDB. The additional 10 that film B gets never show up on the same because they represents markets and or cross-sections of the major centers that don’t have the same sort of internet access or if they do are not the sort to register their preferences on IMDB. It’s possible that within those additional 10 folks that film B attracts the film is liked a 100%. But in that initial 10 that overlaps with film A the film is liked 50%. Just making up the numbers here for argument’s sake. Now if those same 10 people vote on IMDB you will get higher ratings for film A as opposed to film B. However if you could get everyone for both films film B would still register higher than film A.
No one in any serious system just looks at the gross of the film. people look to trending for a reason. Anyway I won’t continue to harp on this point because I’ve explained it a number of different ways and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to understand the point. Unless you’re choosing not to.
IMDB represents class audience to some extent and the films they appreciate are usually good. Nowadays fans understood the importance of IMDB and started to vote for their favourite stars’ movies which is diluting the IMDB as a reliable source of class cinema. And now internet is fairly spread allover and has become more democratic with all the pitfalls of democracy. Atleast in the case of non hollywood movies.
ritzritz: I have posted my impressions about the film quite sometime back. And my immediate FB updtae after seeing the film was : Badass Byomkesh Bakshi, Kickass Sneha Khanilkar take a bow. You guys made my day.
I agree with you. This is a kickass film. An Epic!!!
TV serial Byomkesh Bakshy gave too much only in narrative. It was all about narrative and no real drama and action. This one (film) also has a narrative by Bakshy in the end but it does not leave whole thing to the narrative. There is superb drama, thrilling/suspense moments in the film.
TV serial was really bad IMO – nothing in search of a crime was shown…we have Bakshy in a room narrating all the stuff. Thats not how u create a suspense thriller.
Dibankar is a real craftsman ! Looking forward to the sequel….. “kahaan jaoge Bakshyyyyy….!!!!”
and here’s your problem Utkal given your traditional positions in these matters. Byomkesh did terribly at the box office, even worse than Shanghai all things considered. So you better hope for a historical revision here! Clearly the audience didn’t like this one. Now of course it had some good reviews though clearly not enough.
Seems Margarita with a straw could not make it inspite of rave reviews and promotion by celebrities. It was reported that Aamir Khan cried after watching the film.
While TZP and Paa with disability themes could stir hearts on a much larger scale.
Is it because Kalki is too foreign for Indian audience?
No. I think it was because there were many films on this subject and disability etc in Indian film Industry.
Plus Kalki acting was so disgusting (in the trailer) . I mean who wants to go and watch such movie with such a face as hers ?!?
Probably both. And she’s not that kind of ‘star’ as Aamir or Big. Besides – as far as i know [I haven’t seen the movie yet] – Margarita is less ‘masaled’ and shows emotions in a more balanced [‘european’] way? [which is a reason I think I’d like it more than TZP or Paa- but I’m definitely not a ‘mainstream indian audience’:D]
Satyam: Audience did like Byomkesh Bakshy. In fact they LOVED it.
Proof? I was in theater today and all were spellbound by the movie. I always watch ppl’s reaction when they are watching it. After the movie no one got up from their seats.
But you are a Bachchan fan.
you might want to check out the gross of this film, even relative to small movies. It’s going to fall way behind the absolute gross of Rock On for example. So I’m afraid I can’t really go by your anecdotal evidence. If there were even a minority audience for this film it would have been stable at some lower level.
No Hindi film has ever failed because of a Hollywood film. And sure it’s running in some screens. that doesn’t mean much. Specially with a big production house a certain number of screens a maintained for a few weeks. Out of it’s 25 crores or so 20 or more came in week 1. That’s the trending of a flop. And this isn’t even a big scale film which attracted a huge audience in week 1 and lost more of it in week 2. This doesn’t mean that a minority hasn’t liked the film, it’s just too small to make much of an impact. And such minorities exist for many failures. Overseas it’s better than this. The US is relatively respectable. But then you’re also getting in these markets probably much more of a Bengali a diaspora audience for whom this character is massively iconic.
Now Sarkar 3?
by Box Office India (April 18, 2015)
The news making rounds in the film trade is that Ram Gopal Varma is all set to make a re-entry into Bollywood. We’re also told that he has cracked the basic plot of his next film which is going to be the second sequel to his Sarkar and in all probability, this third part will be called Sarkar Returns.
Well, we all know that the earlier two parts featured Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan and the third installment will also cast them. If sources close to RGV are to be believed he has already had a word with the Bachchans and they have liked the basic plot of the film.
So, if all goes well, we will soon see RGV return to Bollywood with Sarkar Returns!
Satyam: ” Byomkesh did terribly at the box office, even worse than Shanghai all things considered. So you better hope for a historical revision here! Clearly the audience didn’t like this one.” I have been saying just the opposite all along – that the box office has no linear link with how much a film has been liked. For the record, it has an imdb rating of 8.2. And what is most relevant to me is that I liked it. Of course there are many that didnt like it. Which is the way I would feel insecure if everyone was smart enough to like a more adventurous No Smoking, Cocktail, Rockstar, Gangs of Wasseypur or DDB. I am happy that quite some people like these films. DDB is trickier than Shanghai and it doing as well is good enough. And frankly the box office of a film does not bother me. A good film has ben made. I have seen it. And it is there. That’s good enough.
“I have been saying just the opposite all along – that the box office has no linear link with how much a film has been liked.”
Man you keep saying bizarre stuff..! and there’s the IMDB reference again..
“And what is most relevant to me is that I liked it.” ” I am happy that quite some people like these films. ” “And frankly the box office of a film does not bother me. A good film has ben made.”
Yeah I said a number of such things with Raavan or Dil Se but I’m not sure how these positions are not completely inconsistent with your stated positions otherwise. You can’t keep changing the terms of the debate. Sometimes a film is good because it worked and everyone liked it, sometimes it’s because of the reviews, sometimes it’s about IMDB, when all else fails it’s only about one’s individual choice! Of course when the shoe is on the other foot (say Dil Se) neither good reviews nor good pieces in serious studies on Indian cinema nor the individual choices of others seem to mean much..
There are a whole group of people who have not liked DDB. This includes my friend who cursed me for recommending him Go Goa Gone. This group likes Shanghai..because it has the serious and realistic tone which they mistake for good cinema. They cannot relish playfulness or expressionistic story telling. Corrupted by mainstream Hollywood and middle-class Bengali cinema , logical, realistic narration is synonym for good cinema to them. But my other set of friends who are open and not shackled by the tyranny of realism, have relished this whole-heatedly. Many of this group have enjoyed Dhoom 3 and Chennai Express. They have a childlike willingness to enjoy a good story and are willing to have a good laugh and celebrate the imagination of a good story-teller. Those who were expecting a straight-jacketed Bengali bhadralok Byomkesh of Doordarshan have been disappointed for sure. Just as I would have been disappointed if Byomkesh was done that boring way.
yes because with this sort of multiplex film the numbers are always going to be limited. Even AP which made a lot of waves at the time was easily outgrossed by Minnale. Of course Raavaan isn’t the same thing. You had Vikram there, you had Aishwarya. This was a major project. You can’t compare it with this film in any sense.
Think Ratnam missed a trick here (box-office wise) by not simultaneously making the film in Malayalam. If nothing else, he should have dubbed it in Malayalam like he dubbed it in Telugu. ANd it’s not only because both Dulquer and Nithya are pretty hot in Malayalam film industry (they have been paired twice before, in the much appreciated Ustad Hotel and also in the very recent 100 Days of Love which released about a month back), but also because you have bigger audience for this sort of rom-com in Kerala than in Tamil Nadu (that’s why most Malayalam rom-coms are “purer” in the sense they are devoid of the “mass” elements found in Tamil films).
Saurabh, the market for Tamil movies in Kerala is pretty huge, so perhaps Ratnam felt there was nothing really to be gained by the effort to make it a Malayalam/Tamil bilingual. The audience for this sort of movie would probably turn out about the same whether it was Malayalam or Tamil.
CG: True, that could be one of the reasons. But then why did someone like Balaji Mohan (a Tamil filmmaker just like Rathnam) make a Tamil-Malayalam bilingual (Vaayai Moodi Pesavum/Samsaram Arogyathinu Hanikaram with Dulquer) with Dulquer (the film incidentally flopped in Kerala, but was a hit in T.N….will recommend the film BTW in case you haven’t seen it yet?! It was promoted as a rom-com, but it isn’t one actually. But really wacky film and I am glad that it became a hit)?!
And I have been trying to find a subtitled print of Manjadikuru since ages, but can’t find any?! I think I will have to buy the official DVD here 🙂 .
BTW I saw Vanaprastham last night and was simply blown away by it. Just left speechless (and emotionally overwhelmed). This was my third Karun film (Kutty Srank and Swapaanam being the other two) and easily the best among the three (Piravi seems to be only available with French subs). And while I have seen very few Mohanlal films, this might be my favourite performance of his (found him great in Iruvar as well, but this performance is the more accessible one IMO). I will say this, while Bachchan remains my absolute favourite, I don’t think I have seen a more “subtle” Indian star-actor than Mohanlal (though I still prefer Mammootty to him). And inspite of his weight, he seems to be so fleet-footed during the Kathakali performance in the film. But really I am glad I saw this film. So now my favourite Malayalam films (from the few I have seen) would be (in no particular order though Thaniyavarthanam might be my favourite followed by OVV)- Eilppathayam, Oru Vadakkan Veeragtha, Thaniyavarthanam, Amma Ariyan and Vanaprastham.
Saurabh, thanks for the samsaram recco. By the way, really glad to hear you caught Thaniyavarthanam and Vaanaprastham. Both are really excellent movies, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on Thaniyavarthanam as well. Of Shaji’s movies, Piravi and Vaanaprastham are easily my favorites- can’t say I really liked Swapaanam and was left somewhat indifferent by Kutty Sranku. I’d also recommend Bharatham and Varavelpu for a taste of Lal’s range in his heyday.
Also very impressed that you saw and liked Amma Ariyan. I liked this, but definitely wasn’t very accessible. If you’re interested, I’d also recommend some KG George movies from around the same timeframe for classic middle of the road cinema. Yavanika has an excellent performance by Gopi and Mammotty in one of his pre-stardome roles.
I found DBB decent…nothing to hate or to fall in love with…have positive and negatives both…I think if Banerjee would have made more simple version then audience would have liked it more…but he went on to make more ambitious movie…a lot of backlash and prejudice is because of how BB is imagined or was played by Rajit Kapoor…its difficult for most people to watch without comparison..DBB is well made ambitious film…not a great one though but neither something which deserves backlash/hatred..this kind of movie couldn’t have worked at bo at all..specially the female and family audience will stay far away from such movies..
‘Kanchana 2’ and ‘OK Kanmani’ are super hits!
By MOVIEBUZZ
Source : SIFY
Last Updated: Tue, Apr 21, 2015 09:40 hrs0 Comments
Raghava Lawrence’s third installment of horror franchise, Kanchana 2 is turning out to be a money spinner as summer of 2015 started on a bright note. First Studio Green’s Karthi starrer Komban became a hit and it was followed by Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani. The trade is delighted over the tremendous box office collection of both April 17 releases.
Sri Thenandal Films Kanchana 2 is a massive blockbuster in the making . The film has grossed approximately Rs 17.5 crs in its opening weekend in Tamil Nadu, which is star like opening for a Raghavendra Lawrence film. In Karnataka, the film has netted 1.55 crs and in Kerala, the film has netted Rs 88 Lakhs. In North India too, the film has become an unexpected victory for its buyers as it has grossed nearly 22 lakhs in its opening weekend.
The number of screens and show times for the film has been increased in various territories across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Kanchana 2 is also doing massive collections at the Malaysian box office as it has attracted the mass Tamil crowd.
Overseas advantage for OK Kanmani, a hit for Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani or OK Kanmani is the current favorite among the elite overseas crowd and the film is doing extra-ordinary business in the trade belts of USA, Australia, UK and UAE.
The Tamil version of the film has approximately grossed 2.76 crs in its opening weekend at USA while the Telugu version has grossed 1.40 crs. Altogether the USA collection of the film is approximately 4.16 crs which also includes the Thursday premiere report.
In Australia, OK Kanmani has grossed Rs 50.82 lakhs and in UK the film has grossed 46.62 lakhs. In Tamil Nadu, OK Kanmani has grossed nearly 6.30 cr in its opening weekend.
Going by the opening weekend numbers and the budget involved in the film, trade predictions say that the film will become a profitable venture for all the parties involved.
On Monday evening Mani Ratnam thanked the media for the great support and positive reviews they have given for OK Kanmani
Tamil Nadu box office – How has Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani fared?
Apr 21, 2015
Mani Ratnam’s latest celebration of romance, OK Kanmani is being raved about by a large section of the audience. In particular, the urban centers and overseas markets are giving a big thumbs-up for the film, which offers a good mix of modern and traditional perceptions towards relationships.
Mani Ratnam is thrilled with the response and recently sent a thanksgiving note to the media for their positive reception towards his film.
At the Tamil Nadu box office, the film is reported to have grossed around 7.5 crores after the first 4 days. Studio Green released the film in the state and they followed a smart release strategy by focusing predominantly on the A and B centers, befitting the genre of the film.
The signs are positive and the film is on the right track towards success.
Kanchana 2 is minting crores and crores in Tamil Nadu
Apr 21, 2015
Raghava Lawrence’s Kanchana 2 is literally minting money at the Tamil Nadu box office. At the end of the first 4 days, the film has reportedly already grossed in excess of 20 crores. Thenandal Films and Sun Pictures released the movie in Tamil Nadu and they must be thrilled with the way the film is performing, akin to any big ticket starry film.
The weekend days were jam-packed, with even the special morning shows going chock-a-block. Even on Monday, the film was getting full houses in most of the theaters.
The extensive marketing blitz and the summer holidays are also playing a positive part in the film’s run after initial reviews were highly positive from the mainstream masses.
He should do one with Big B. Time for the Megastar to work with directors who can show him like BigB rather than the one he is portrayed by Balki or RGV.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 15h 15 hours ago
#FastAndFurious7 creates HISTORY. Crosses ₹ 100 cr mark in India. Total after Wknd 3: ₹ 104 cr net. GrossBOC: ₹ 146 cr. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER
Satyam: You are watching/revisiting Striker, glad to see that. Really, really like this film. Also has one of Pancholi’s most effective performances. BTW Chandan Arora edited Fandry recently, the Marathi film I was talking about the other day
”KANCHANA 2 HAS HAD AN ALMOST COMPLETELY HOUSEFULL FIRST WEEK”
When we go to an acclaimed restaurant we have a lot to choose, starting from the spicy desi biriyanis to the suave international fare like pastas and pizzas. Both the varieties have their own sets of dedicated fans who would consume them without second thoughts. And the total foodie would nevertheless explore based on his / her liking, tastes and mood on that particular day.
Likewise at the box-office, we have several genres of films being dished out every other week. For the action buffs we have the racy fare, for the masala lovers we have the commercial crackers, for the romantically inclined we have the sweet love stories and so on and so forth. And the complete ‘movie maniac’ would schedule his appointments and check out all these kinds.
This past Friday on the 17th of April, we had two diametrically opposite films – Kanchana 2 and OK Kanmani, clashing for a share of the audience’s limited attention span. The beauty about this clash was that both the films were lapped up by their respective dedicated target audience and also by the movie buff who just wants some quality time at the cinema hall.
Kanchana 2 had everything going in its favor ever since the film was announced – it was an extension of the successful Muni franchise, it belonged to the preferred horror-comedy space, it had the backing of Sun Pictures and Thenandal Films and the subsequent release of the promo posters and teasers did the trick big time in pulling in the audience by the droves to theaters. Initial reviews were decent to good, but importantly the movie connected big time with the common man. A,B,C and every other class has been flocking to theaters since Day 1 and the first 4 days gross in Tamil Nadu reportedly exceeded 20 crores. Given all the main single screens and the big screens in multiplexes across the state, Kanchana 2 registered a blockbuster opening and continues to hold very firm on the weekdays as well with more and more Housefull shows. No mean feat this! The film has been outperforming outside Tamil Nadu as well, and Malaysia in particular has been humongous.
OK Kanmani on the other hand was a progressive take on modern day romance, and at the same time didn’t compromise on old-school values regarding relationships and marriage. The youth, upper class and upper middle class audience who form Mani Ratnam’s core visitor base loved the film and this group was exactly the intended audience. The hardcore movie buff was also glad that Mani Ratnam was back to his preferred turf and had made a breezy feel-good product. The first 4 days TN gross was reportedly around 7.5 crores and overseas markets such as the US, UK and Australia were also very welcoming of the film.
We spoke to Mr Rakesh Gowthaman, Managing Director of the popular Vettri Theaters in the outskirts of Chennai to get a perspective on the performance of the two films
“OK Kanmani is performing well to its potential and in the intended target group. The film is a success to that end.
On the other hand, we are experiencing tremendous pressure for tickets for Kanchana 2. The pressure for tickets on the first Monday was in fact more than even Enthiran. By default, the first 3 days go full in our complex but even from Monday, we have had mostly full shows. Yesterday’s noon show and today’s noon show have gone for around 90% occupancy and the rest of the shows have all been completely Housefull. This is more than just a benchmark and in recent times, after Kaththi and ‘I’, Kanchana 2 has been the best performer in our complex. And it has done all this without any star power or director’s brand. If there hadn’t been other releases, we would have given all the shows in both our screens and still gotten full houses. Ladies and kids are just loving the film and we expect the film to run for a few more weeks at least, irrespective of other releases. Generally we don’t run new films for more than 2 weeks, but Kanchana 2 will most likely be among the Top 5 grossers ever in our complex.
On the whole, a great week for us with the incredible Kanchana 2 and the good enough OK Kanmani. We can’t expect every film to be a Kanchana 2 ! “, sums up Mr.Rakesh. Enough said, right?
SATYAMSHOT 
April 17, 2015 at 9:27 AM
Have liked all of the director’s previous films (especially Amen) so I will have my antenna up for this one. DO wish Fahadh, who was originally cast for Arya’s part, would have done the film-
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April 17, 2015 at 1:56 PM
This definitely looks interesting and quirky- hope it’s as good as Amen…
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April 18, 2015 at 5:27 AM
CG: Not sure if you have seen this, but Ann Augustine is back which is a great news as far as I am concerned…I haven’t enjoyed too many Lal Jose’s films (from whatever I have seen Diamond Necklace might be my favourite), but I will be checking this out-
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April 18, 2015 at 7:09 PM
Yes, I saw this. Ann Augustine’s return is definitely welcome. Lal Jose can be widely inconsistent but of his movies, I liked Ayalum Njanum Thammil recently with an excellent Prithvi performance, and the older Neelathaamara and Arabikkattha (an excellent satire, which unfortunately peters out at the very end).
On a separate note, I finally caught up with Munariyippu. Thanks very much for the recommendation- this was an excellent watch, and the best Mammotty performance in ages. Now to watch Varsham and Iyobinte Pusthakam.
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April 19, 2015 at 5:43 AM
Munariyippu has proven tough to track down: Amazon.in (a great source of subtitled Malayalam DVDs in general, and for that matter Tamil audio CDs as well, unlike Flipkart) has Varsham and Iyobinte Pusthakam but not Munariyippu…
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April 19, 2015 at 6:11 AM
Q: I don’t know whether you have some sort of moral resistance against watching pirated versions of films, but if you don’t Munnariyippu is easily available with subs on torrents in exactly the same transfer which is available on the official DVD. As far as Malayalam films are concerned, they become available on Torrents only when their official DVD is released in the market..and so the transfers are most often taken from those DVDs/BluRay. I, for one, use these occult means to watch these films.
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April 17, 2015 at 12:08 PM
http://indianexpress.com/photos/entertainment-gallery/funny-take-on-net-neutrality-a-la-bollywood-style/5/
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April 17, 2015 at 4:02 PM
LOL!!!
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April 17, 2015 at 4:02 PM
Am dying to catch this one..unfortunately no marathi films in the US..
——————————————
For those of us who have grown up on the diet of Bollywood’s court room dramas, Chaitanya Tamhane’s film will come as a reality check. Devoid of the dramatic showdowns between lawyers showcasing their knowledge of Urdu, the film takes us to dreary alleys of our judicial system where there is no Sunny Deol or Amrish Puri to liven up the proceedings. Instead we have Narayan Kamble, a Dalit singer and activist who is charged with abetting the suicide of a conservancy worker.
And with its smooth amalgamation of Marathi, Hindi, English and Gujarati, Court is a timely reminder to those who bracket cinema in languages. Don’t miss the date!
Bottomline: An accomplished piece of work whose natural tone is surreal.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/court-examining-the-enemy/article7113686.ece
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April 17, 2015 at 5:39 PM
coincidentally someone was telling me about this the other day.. certainly sounds interesting. my one criticism of Marathi films (though I concede I’ve not seen enough to make a generalization) and you would know better whether I’m completely off the mark here or not but I often find the narratives a bit sluggish. In the past I’ve sometimes found them less cinematic as well, almost as if a theater culture had newly discovered cinema (the sort of thing that you find in portions of OMG), but I think things have probably changed on this score. In short I’d call it the Ashutosh Gowariker kind of cinema. Even when he’s making JA it’s a lethargic narrative (Lagaan is the only exception in his career to this rule). In Tamil cinema you sometimes have the opposite problem. You want filmmakers to relax a bit sometimes! But I’d rather have that ‘extreme’. Again I could be entirely wrong about this but that’s been my sense based on some limited exposure. And it’s not that small scale industries always have to be this way. Hindi cinema made middle cinema in the 70s that did’t have this problem or better still Malayalam cinema has rich examples of a small scale industry in the 80s that often betrayed its production limitations but the films were never less engaging for that reason because they made up for it in other ways.
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April 21, 2015 at 3:26 PM
You are not completely off the mark but slightly when you talk of the ‘age’ and time-line of Marathi cinema where it was heavily influenced by Marathi theater/stage. The ‘merging’ of theater and cinematic as art-forms started with the ‘sangeet natak’ during the ‘40s. The erstwhile hugely popular ‘sangeet natak’ bit-by-bit transposed onto Marathi talkie cinema. Ironically, sangeet natak, which was actually representative of live-wire drama was stripped of sangeet more and more and there was a high retention of the ‘natak.’ They actually existed in their own spaces before the advent of the talkies. Later, cinema just absorbed the tradition and it carried on. [You can see its very strong influence actually in each of V. Shantaram’s films, especially NAVRANG and DO AANKHEN BAARAH HAATH in Hindi]. The ‘60s and ‘70s too did see this influence albeit faintly owing to the entry of stal-warts like Vijay Tendulkar who steered more into grittiness and chamber-room dramas. The ‘80s and ‘90s were of course the worst period of Marathi cinema with Hindi cinema’s complete domination on the type of content and writing. Everything starring Ajinkya Deo or even Mahesh Kothare were either clones of Hindi cinema with a very weak scale or an extremely cringe-worthy original.
It was only in the mid-2000s that it really started blossoming.
So the cinemas that you actually see today are really highly independent and do not embody the ‘dour’ nature that you mention of. [Of course, it has only evolved, as you can see the evolution from SHWAAS to SHAALA or DEOOL or NATRANG in today’s times. ] Today, it is a different story and it is THE BEST period to make Marathi films. I don’t think you can find much of the ‘staginess’ that you did find earlier. And yes, the naturalistic versions that you find in Malayalam films – especially during the reign of the 2 mega-Ms during the ‘80s – is definitely not easy to find in Marathi films..Marathi films and theater and too conjoined in that way to demarcate..
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April 21, 2015 at 3:30 PM
thanks much.. this is a useful comment..
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April 21, 2015 at 5:26 PM
Satyam: I am hardly acquainted with the pre-2000 Marathi cinema, but the few films that I have seen from that period (few of Jabbar Patel films, 22 June 1897-which might be one of the best Indian film of its kind, Akriet…I will recommend the latter two especially AKriet to you you quite strongly though. It is directed by Amol Palekar and stars him in a role which is polar opposite to all other roles he has done…it’s a gut-wrenching film) were definitely “stage-y” (though unsurprisingly they were very well written). And that problem of having a sluggish narrative still continues. Even most of the important Marathi films since 2000 are hardly noteworthy on visual grounds (Shwaas, Natarang etc). But there are a handful of VERY notable exceptions. And here I am pointing out films which can match upto most of Indian cinema
The first one is the films of this director called Umesh Kulkarni. I actually believe that he is a very unique craftsman as far contemporary mainstream Indian cinema is concerned (they guy is schooled in World Cinema, but he makes very rooted films). And he films are very strong visually (Vihir especially, but even Deool). Vihir would very easily make my list of favourite Indian films from the last 20 years or so.- I don’t think there is a better Indian film dealing with adolescence. The film is definitely inspired from the humanistic works of Iranian cinema (Majidi etc), but it’s very rooted in its milieu. And I love the visuals especially the opening credits of the film (putting the link to the opening credits below, sadly the transfer is very poor, but even here you can see what I am saying. The DVD of the film never came out sadly and the pirated versions available online don’t do any sort of justice to its visual strengths. BTW the entire film is available with subs on Youtube, I doubt you will get a print elsewhere). Also his Deool might be the best Indian film on politics.
Then there was Nagraj Manjule’s “Fandry” from last year, I thought this was the best Indian film of the year. Here thankfully one can get a very good transfer (and I believe an official DVD must also be available). The story is essentially about a young Dalit kid (and his romantic pursuit of a girl who belongs to a different cast), but it’s not at all dour even if it’s not a lightweight tale. Incidentally these Marathi directors are exceptionally good at capturing childhood (I have already mentioned Vihir and Fandry, but Shaala- which An Jo mentioned- is also worth checking out in this regard). And I just checked, you can officially pay and watch Fandry on Youtube here (and it’s available in HD quality with subs)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grtxmNofk4Y
The Fandry trailer-
Then there was this Gabhricha Paus- a satire set in drought-stricken Vidarbha. Superb, superb film with a very fine performance from Sonali Kulkarni. And yet again fairly strong on visual grounds-
If I have to make a list of the unmissable Marathi films from the post 2000 period, I will include Vihir, Fandry, Deool and Gabhricha Paus. Incidentally Umesh Kulkarni’s debut Valu is also very good though not in the league of Deool and Vihir.
The other director worth mentioning here is Sachin Kundalkar (I haven’t seen his latest film, Happy Journey though), yet another guy whose works carry the influences of directors like Almodovar and yet are completely true to their Marathi settings. I like both his Nirop and his omnibus film Gandha.
There are other important films as well which are very good on narrative rounds and performances (for instance Natarang has an outstanding Atul Kulkarni performance), but are not very strong on technical grounds.. but certainly worth checking out- stuff like Shwaas. Dombivali fast (Nishikant Kamat’s debut which he later remade in Tamil with Madhavan), Shaala, Natarang etc
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April 21, 2015 at 5:45 PM
thanks for this very comprehensive note.. I’ll definitely try and get hold of these films. Do remember Vihir. AB Corp distributed it I think (or maybe produced it).
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April 21, 2015 at 3:44 PM
An Jo: Thanks for this comment
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April 17, 2015 at 7:27 PM
ROTFLOL…the grand old man has declared that this is to be avoided and i will dutifully follow..check out what he says regarding Hashmi’s kissing at 0:58..
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April 18, 2015 at 4:40 AM
Any reviews on OK Kanmani? How’s the film holding up?
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April 18, 2015 at 7:27 AM
Mostly there are positive reviews and audience reaction is positive It is another romcom.
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April 18, 2015 at 7:35 AM
check out the ok kanmani thread.. reviews are good as is the audience reaction. Should be a success.
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April 18, 2015 at 8:15 AM
‘Ok Kanmani’, ‘Kanchana 2’ First Day Box Office Collection: Films of Mani Ratnam, Raghava Get Fantastic Openings Worldwide
By Prakash Upadhyaya April 18, 2015 01:00 IST
Mani Ratnam’s “Ok Kanmani” and Raghava Lawrence’s “Kanchana 2” have opened to fantastic openings worldwide. Both the films have been warmly welcomed with positive reviews.
“Ok Kanmani” has been released worldwide in 750-800 screens on Friday, 17 April. The Tamil film has been released in over 250 screens in Tamil Nadu, 50 screens in Karnataka, 80 in Kerala and about 50 in rest of India, taking its Indian screen count to 430. In the overseas, the movie has been released in 200 screens.
Mani Ratnam’s film has been released overseas including the Gulf countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA, UK and Canada. The early reports say that places where it was already released has got a grand reception in foreign territories and it is likely to create new records at the box office.
On the other end, “Kanchana 2” is releasing in 367 screens in Tamil Nadu, 90 screens in Andhra Pradesh, 48 screens in Kerala and 45 screens in North India to take its Indian screen tally to 550. It is releasing in 200 screens abroad. Like “Ok Bangaram”, Raghava Lawrence’s film has its Telugu version and it will release on Saturday, 18 April.
The advance booking for both the films have been good and clearly tell that the films have got fantastic openings in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The early estimation says that the films are close to ₹10-crore mark worldwide on the release day.
However, “Ok Kanmani” and “Kanchana 2” are expected to perform better on the second day given the word-of-mouth the films have received.
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April 18, 2015 at 8:17 AM
Gautham Menon mighty impressed by ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’
By MOVIEBUZZ
Source : SIFY
Last Updated: Sat, Apr 18, 2015 11:26 hrs0 Comments
We all know that Gautham Menon is a huge fan of Mani Ratnam and he has said in many of his interviews that it was Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan which inspired him to take up film-making as a career.
Gautham watched Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani on release day and was mighty impressed with the film.
“Mani sir sets a trend again surely with O kaadhal kanmani..I myself feel like writing a love story. Respect, sir” posted Gautham Menon in his Twitter page.
The Yennai Arindhaal director lauded the performances of both Dulquer and Nithya Menon , he also declared the latter as the best actor in town
“Dulquer-easy, simple, in control and dashing.. Nithya-arrests with her performance, the frames stay alive long after..the best actor in town..” praised Gautham Menon on the lead pair of O Kadhal Kanmani.
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April 18, 2015 at 8:21 AM
Meanwhile Mammootty’s latest looks to be doing well:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/its-father-versus-son-at-box-office-this-weekend/article7115866.ece
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April 18, 2015 at 8:22 AM
This looks really great-
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April 18, 2015 at 11:50 AM
How?
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April 18, 2015 at 9:12 PM
Jon Stewart: why I quit The Daily Show
“Does he have any regrets? Stewart recounts one big disappointment – an anodyne interview with Donald Rumsfeld in 2011 that failed to claim the former secretary of defence’s scalp. “He just went into the general gobbledegook.” Stewart puts on a pretty good imitation of Rumsfeld: “‘Mnah mnah mnah, well, you have to remember, it was 9/11 mnah mnah.’ I should have pushed, but he’s very adept at deflecting.” He looks genuinely crushed for a moment, then rallies: “That interview with Rumsfeld went shitty, but it’s still just an interview. He’s the one who has to live with the repercussions of what he really did, so there’s nothing that could happen on my show that carries that same level of regret.””
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/18/jon-stewart-why-i-quit-the-daily-show
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April 19, 2015 at 12:16 PM
Rangan’s review of OK Kanmani is complete and utter bilge. On the one hand you have people on this blog excoriating the Akhtars for producing films about ‘rich kid problems’ and on the other hand Rangan is praised for crudely and gleefully crowing about how a rom-com regarding two young people who want to study architecture in France/ develop video games in California is allegedly only meant for the upper-class Tambrahm multiplex audience.
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April 19, 2015 at 12:19 PM
Good comment on Rangan’s blog:
“To appropriate the film and relegate it to a particular section is to deny that the so-called ‘rest’ can comprehend aspirations. Repetitive use of the word ‘class’ just recreates some problematic categories. Stooping to the level of referring to the surnames further leads one to question the sensitivity with which the review has been written. It is not ‘focus’ on a class, rather detailing – that the aspirations strengthen the context with specificity and make the flow of the plot coherent and convincing. Reducing the plot’s focus to being a class story trivialises the themes that are central to the plot. “
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April 19, 2015 at 1:03 PM
Rangan is saying exactly the opposite though. His review is partly wry commentary on precisely this aspect of the film.
But now on the larger point. Speaking only for myself I think it’s a total misunderstanding of my position to think I have some kind of crude Marxist angle here where I want programmatic films to be made represented a certain class of people. if that were the case I wouldn’t be able to enjoy or admire tons of films at every end of the production spectrum from different parts of the world. It’s not about what class is represented as much as how that class is represented. I don’t have a problem with Zoya Akhtar or anyone else focusing on that class. what I don’t like is the ideological arsenal that is also brought to the table as justification for the same. I’m not going to repeat the volumes I’ve said on all of this. But a Ratnam film on this score is simply about the choices of those characters. Their ‘class’ if you will is not projected as an ‘ideal’ or as a way of moving beyond the ‘regressiveness’ of the ‘old’. It would be rather odd in any case if someone who made Dil Se or Raavan or Nayagan or Iruvar or KM and so on.. films which suggest a certain kind of politics or in another language a deep sensitivity towards fault-lines of identity, the nation state, ethnic and religious categories, etc suddenly became Zoya Akhtar in a film. It doesn’t stand to reason. Take that superb moment in AE where when the girl insists on paying for her coffee runs into this retort — ‘you pay for mine too’! This sort of little, sparkling moment that only a finer director can come up with even in a genre film.
The problem isn’t the rom-com. Hollywood makes tons of them. It’s about what is said through the rom-com. The existential crises of Zoya Akhtar’s films are utterly empty and fake. Forget about the rest, they’re even caricatures of that class. Just compare where Ratnam’s film is set and where Zoya Akhtar’s are. These choices are part of the respective films. Who in Bombay cinema really makes romcoms that are also odes to the city in this sense? or odes to any Indian city for that matter?
A film made for certain cross-sections of the audience is fine. I couldn’t in good conscience argue otherwise when most of the arts (that I like and support), when most good or great examples in any art form, are almost definitionally ‘elitist’ enterprises. Because they depend on circumstances of class and education and so forth. To be the ideal reader of those works one already must have been through a certain sort of education or belong to a class (loosely speaking) where such an education can always be had. There is nothing neutral about appreciating Antonioni or enjoying Kalidasa in translation (yes even in translation!) or what have you. Similarly a lot of meaningful commercial cinema or alternative cinema clearly isn’t for everyone. But that is not problematic on its own (or it might be but one would then have to get into much more involved theoretical discussions to debate this point).
By the way I don’t place DCH in the Zoya Akhtar category by a long shot.
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April 19, 2015 at 1:38 PM
You’ve misread my comment Satyam. I wasn’t implying that OKK is as empty as ZNMD; I meant that Rangan’s running gag about the single screen distributor reduces the film to a series of crude aspirational signposts (cool career, study in a European city, westernised relationship norms etc).
Rangan *clearly* implies that Ratnam is making his films for the upper class, upper castes: “It’s very focused about who it is targeting, and at least one segment of that “who” is discernible from Aadhi’s surname – Varadarajan – and the Thyagaraja and Annamacharya compositions that pop up on the soundtrack.
Precisely because Ratnam’s films aren’t as vapid as the average multiplex fare, I would say they are accessible to people across class/ caste barriers. Sure some art is inherently elitist, because one needs a certain ‘education’ to appreciate it. However, Rangan isn’t talking here about being schooled in the nuances of classical music or possessing the linguistic skills to truly appreciate a literary masterpiece.
He is crudely jeering at the ‘C-centre’ folk who apparently don’t possess the cultural exposure to relate to aspirations like studying in France. It’s one thing to say that an unschooled ear can’t identify the precise krithis and ragas of Thyagaraja’s compositions, and it’s another to say that a lower middle class/ caste person can’t appreciate a lighthearted rom-com simply because the central characters want to study abroad!
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April 19, 2015 at 2:17 PM
I must say we have a disagreement.. I don’t believe Rangan is doing that.. sneering at those classes..
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April 19, 2015 at 2:54 PM
also I might have misunderstood you on Ratnam v Rangan. If your point is that Ratnam is far less elitist than Rangan believes you might be right, I haven’t seen the film yet. I just don’t think that irrespective of his characterization of the film he (Rangan) has a jeering tone or that sort of sensibility when it comes to ‘C class centers’ or whatever.
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April 19, 2015 at 6:56 PM
“also I might have misunderstood you on Ratnam v Rangan. If your point is that Ratnam is far less elitist than Rangan believes”
Yes, that is exactly what I meant
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April 19, 2015 at 7:21 PM
here’s a bit from his review:
“OKK is an unapologetically upper-class movie. We don’t want all films to be like this one. But given the mortal fear our directors have of openly courting this upper-class audience, it’s nice to have one of these films, once in a while.”
Now remember he’s speaking about a Tamil structure here. In Bollywood it’s the exact opposite. But his larger point seems to be that this film is very organic in this sense including with its lingo. That everything in the film belongs to the world of those characters. And he says right at the very beginning that the film doesn’t pander to other classes the way other films in this genre do by including elements that otherwise don’t belong to that world. So again I just don’t think he’s condescending in any way but perhaps we just see it differently.
Now your other point could nonetheless be valid.. that this isn’t as ‘classy’ a film as Rangan keeps insisting. Or that Rangan might be over-reading what is possibly ‘hipness’ connected with a certain class. Again haven’t seen the film, you’d know more.
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April 19, 2015 at 3:00 PM
my own sense from reading that piece was Rangan saying that despite the film having elements that might make the C-center distributor sigh (and legitimately) that the film had something valuable going for it. I think he sets up a similar case for the absence of drama here.
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April 20, 2015 at 10:20 AM
Ami and Satyam: Not that he needed to clarify, but Rangan explains his “C-Centre” point-
“Okay. What I mean by that “Varadarajan” line is this:
This film isn’t afraid to zoom in on a segment of society and stay true to that milieu. I’m not saying that this movie is made for Tam-Brahms. I am saying that it is not afraid to unapologetically include them — and also other “south Madras types” — in its purview, unlike other films dread courting this audience.
Given the mortal fear our filmmakers have of courting the upper class audiences (and yes, also what’s called the upper castes), I’m saying this is a remarkable thing.”
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April 20, 2015 at 10:46 AM
yes that’s how I understood him in the first place..
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April 19, 2015 at 1:38 PM
Both Saurabh and Ami are saying something which I also share. That you are less demanding from Ratnam while you demand the highest from Kashyap and others. This is the overall impression. And that fine print is difficult to understand immediately unless one is as logical and as erudite as you.
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April 19, 2015 at 2:43 PM
I’m not going to accept the generosity of your last sentence here but I will say that my ideological positions in this sense ought to always have been clear. But one doesn’t necessarily spell these out each time. For me ‘Bollywood’ is the name of a larger malady and most of cinema coming from this industry at every end of the production spectrum confirms the problem. There are few exceptions as I see it. Much as Bollywood audiences (primarily multiplex ones) are invested in the same worldview. A quick example here — people see something like BV and might be ‘impressed’ but what they’re impressed by is precisely the colonized substratum that is common to both the filmmaker and his audiences. In other words a set of concerns that they share. Put differently it is precisely to the degree that such a film ‘resembles’ a certain Hollywood (again using this term loosely) representation or the extent to which it follows the same filmic codes can it be recognized by its target audience as ‘cutting edge’. A different sort of equally impressive film if not more might not attract that much attention. And so we have a circle in a sense. The audience does not coincidentally respond warmly to such films. It is only really able to recognize ‘value’ in them because it is trained to do so for reasons of exposure to ‘international’ cinema. You tend to relate what you see to a globalized (hence ‘authorized’) archive and you think ‘this is ok’. So Byomkesh to the character’s past or other films featuring this character is a bit like Donwney’s Sherlock Holmes to the movie and TV past of the same character (incidentally I find those Hollywood efforts poor too but that’s another matter).
Now the ‘colonized’ itself is in my polemic not just the appearance of a set of features that one might trace to ‘foreign’ archives (this has always been true for Bombay cinema in every decade, sometimes more, sometimes less), it is about what one does with that ‘influence’. Does one use it to re-configure native space or is one simply ‘cloning’ form without breathing any life into it? Is there something genuinely different or interesting that emerges within the ‘local’ by virtue of such influence? Or at the least something mildly subversive? What we see in Bollywood is a certain class congratulating itself (on both sides of the screen) for living life the way (which here simply means ‘Western consumerism’) it imagines a globalized (‘Americanized’) elite can be defined. It’s aspirational which is fine but unanchored in anything more it becomes ‘wannabe’. ‘Colonization’ is then precisely about a certain abdication of thinking or even the ability to imagine a native space which might be considered authentic without relying on those same colonized codes. When we see a hero beat up ten people in a film why do we automatically think this is ridiculous or at best merely escapist? Because we don’t see the same in a Hollywood film. We think this is crude entertainment for desis of a certain class. There is no thought behind such claims or beliefs. It is simply about cultural colonization.
Now all of this doesn’t mean that I’m somehow privileging the native. Quite the opposite. I’m not at all interested in easy right-wing platitudes on this score. And I’ve argued this too many times in the past.
and so getting back to the original point this doesn’t mean that there aren’t accomplished directors in certain formal ways who are nonetheless colonized as I see it. But I find that sort of accomplishment boring. Not just in Bombay but anywhere in the world. One of the reasons why a lot of film festival stuff is quite banal. Because it too clones the same tropes in different parts of the world without necessarily adding anything worthwhile. I think directors like Kashyap primarily access international cinema for its formal registers. They might then produce interesting subjects to go along with those choices but they’re rarely in the business of adequately thinking through the connections between those visual choices (or whatever) and the thematic ones. And this is where the critical culture (to use a term that is nowhere earned in this context) of India fails massively to understand what the attempt is in a film like Dil Se or Raavan or Kadal (to stick with ratnam). One is free to not like the films but one should at least understand what the attempt is in the first place.
In general I’m not very happy with national cinemas that are divorced from the important concerns of their societies. This doesn’t preclude the production of rom-coms or whatever. But there should be something more on the menu. Hollywood does this. Tamil cinema does this. Bollywood doesn’t 99% of the time. There’s nothing radical about this idea. It’s what we expect from any great artistic tradition as a matter of course.
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April 19, 2015 at 7:24 PM
Ace comment there …
Though I’m surprised that this ‘subject’ is what the mani ratnam is indulging in nowadays …(& is being celebrated so much for it)
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April 19, 2015 at 7:27 PM
Btw by ‘ace’ comment, I meant Amy…
“Have you seen the film?” –haha sanjana c’mon why don’t u ever see a film …
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April 19, 2015 at 2:15 PM
I will not slot film makers and reviewers. The same Ratnam made an anti Ram film in Raavan and the same Rangan praised that film.
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April 19, 2015 at 2:19 PM
It’s not an anti-Ram film in any easy sense. The Kamban Ramayana might be considered anti-Ram from a traditional Northern perspective but these alternatives have always existed. Again in the context of Uttama Villaim Kamal talked about Kamban. This has always been the canonical Ramayana for that region.
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April 19, 2015 at 2:52 PM
Sanjana- actually it’s Rangan rather than Ratnam I’m criticising here. I loved OKK, and Ratnam demonstrates once again exactly why he is several leagues above Imitiaz, Homi and their ilk, even within a lightweight genre like the youthful rom-com. Have you seen the film?
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April 19, 2015 at 2:55 PM
It’s easy to say Mani Ratnam plays it safe with O Kadhal Kanmani. Maybe he did, given the risks he has taken with his previous works, but it’s fine because it’s been a long time since his film has been so enjoyable.
This is his best work in years and this magical spell won’t be forgotten easily.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/o-kadhal-kanmani-review-a-refreshing-take-on-romance-and-relationship/article1-1338585.aspx
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April 19, 2015 at 3:09 PM
I’ve often said here that when Ratnam had really wanted to make a success he’s come up with one more often than not. But this raises a few issues and I’m going to repeat myself here..
One must then retire the easy notion that Ratnam forgets how to make a film when he tries something major that isn’t a box office success. or that his best is behind him or whatever. Because he’s clearly been trying to push the envelope more often than not over the past 20 years and more often than not he’s failed in box-office terms. In the same sense though he’s often come up with a hit when he’s really needed to (AP, Guru, now Ok Kanmani). There’s nothing wrong with these films (of course Guru is hardly in the category of AP or Kanmani anyway) but the point is that even on safer terrain a director like Ratnam will be interesting. But secondly in saying Ratnam failed with Raavan and didn’t with Kanmani one is only illustrating the obvious box office truth or the fact that one might be agreeing with those box office majorities. In other words there is no way to be absolutely safe once you decide on certain kinds of subjects. You can guarantee a kind of success with Roja that you can’t with Iruvar. Or if you make a film with Rajni a certain way you are far less likely to get optimal results than if you make AP. So there are different ways of pushing the envelope. Cinema isn’t worthwhile or not only based on one’s immediate connection with it. So for will one ever be able to connect with everything that is worthwhile. That’s just not humanly possible. Rather than constantly making ‘impossible’ cases to find that correlation between criticism/box office and the inherent worth of the film one should simply accept that one is not the audience for a certain film. Recently there was a piece on the Great Gatsby in the Atlantic on a major anniversary and it talked about how the book was a huge commercial and critical failure when it first came out and now there’s no novel more iconic than this one in the 20th century (i.e. in the US). these things happen. It’s perfectly fine if a certain Ratnam isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten how to make films.
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April 19, 2015 at 3:12 PM
Judging from all that I have read line between the lines of the reviews, I think I am going to like Ok Kadal Kannamani. I especially like the fact that It has no drama and no story. I like my films that way. That’s why I liked Huma Aapke Hain Kaun and not so much Maine Pyar Kiya. That’s why I like Dil Chahta Hai and not Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge.
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April 19, 2015 at 3:59 PM
“I especially like the fact that It has no drama and no story. I like my films that way.”
you must not like Awara or Sholay or Deewar then.. not to mention scores of other films..
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April 19, 2015 at 3:19 PM
Satyam: No one is saying that Ratnam has forgotten to make films. All one is saying is that he made some bad films. Surely Spielberg has made some bad films. Surely Hitchcock has made some bad films. Surely Woody Allen has made some bad films. They did not forget how to make films. They tried somethings that did not work out. That’s how they came out bad. And it has nothing to do with box office. No one has called Iruvar a bad film,or Kannathil Muthumittal. And as far as what happens fifty years later who knows, a film like OKK which si being called a ‘ lightweight’ film may be considered a classic !
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April 19, 2015 at 3:57 PM
Many films were called bad by critics even if you continue to refuse to recognize this. I don’t see how one can argue the opposite. I just gave you the Great Gatsby example. in no artistic field has there not been serious revision of critical views. Secondly the point isn’t that great talents cannot make ‘bad’ films but I completely reject such a definition when it suspiciously enjoys a very high correlation with the box office! Indeed things change over time which is why Great Gatsby now enjoys a very different sort of reception. You can argue for many things one way or the other. But the idea that there is some sort of absolute rejection of a film that suggests the film is ‘bad’ falsifies the history in very many ways.
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April 19, 2015 at 3:23 PM
Just for the record, Iruvar hasa rating of 8.5 on imdb, and Kannathil Muthumittal, 8.5. Raavan: 5.3 and Kadal: 5.8. So all these four films are obviously not perceived in the same way.
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April 19, 2015 at 3:55 PM
LOL, that’s just what I said.. what has one really illustrated here other than a box office reality?! Obviously if more people liked them these films would have done better too.
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April 19, 2015 at 7:28 PM
Satyam: By your logic, if there has beena critical revision today, there can bea critical revision 50 years hence too and may be The Great Gatsby will be considered trash. Is there any way to see into the future? If it wasnt possible 50 years back, it is the same today. So we can only talk of how a film appears to us today. Yes, THe great Gatsby appears like a great book to us today, but it may not , to a genration 50 years hence. Which law of artistic evaluation says that critical revision can be only upwards? So defending a film through that kind of second guessing is quite lame and pointless.
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April 19, 2015 at 9:50 PM
But you are deconstructing your own case further with that point. I actually don’t think revisions of view means we’re somehow in the zone of the unknowable. Why? Because most works that are celebrated as significant after the passage of a certain time period are not likely to be considered junk after more time has passed. Now of course one work might be more popular in a given age, another less but that’s different from a later age dismissing it altogether. The other thing here is that with time enough tradition is built on such opinion. And that is hard to undo beyond a point. And so it is not possible to deconstruct the Great Gatsby at this point. It is simply too entrenched in the culture and in the critical literature. It might not seem as central in a different age, that goes without saying but no one will ever dismiss it again the way they once did. But either way the real risk usually lies in the immediacy of the present. There are far far more cases of works in any field being liked or loved or estimated a certain way in a certain age and then becoming dead later on. Not even being rejected necessarily but just fading completely.
However if you believe in the anarchic position where anything can be reevaluated one way or the other it’s puzzling why you would then argue that the present is everything! Those two claims contradict each other! Let me put it another way — if no work can hope to have any lasting claim on meaning one way or the other anything anyone says on any work in a ‘present’ is always only about the fashions of that age and doesn’t mean anything more than this. Because if there were ‘transferable meaning’ from age to age it could not only be about the present. But if it is then any opinion is hopelessly provisional. Even pointless because it is imprisoned in its age. Of course I don’t believe all of this because I have to account for why many films or novels or plays or concertos or whatever seem to endure while others don’t. There must be something transferable just looking at these obvious histories. No one considered Kaalia more important than Deewar in the present of those films nor does anyone believe the opposite 40 years later.
So any way you slice and dice this your position comes out untenable.
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April 19, 2015 at 7:32 PM
SAtyam: “Obviously if more people liked them these films would have done better too.” No. Tahtlogic is not right. Mard might have done better than Deewar in box office, but that does not mean Mard was liked more than Deewar. I do not think there is no doubt in anyone’s mind as to which was the better film. Box office is no indicator of which film was liked more.
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April 19, 2015 at 10:02 PM
As a matter of fact a film like Mard was liked more than Deewar. This is precisely the point. Because Deewar was loved by many people, admired more (which is why though it was a success there were many Bachchan films that were vastly bigger grossers just in that film’s present) but a film like MKS or Mard and many others just attracted a larger cross-section of the audience. There is nothing odd about this. VEry many critically acclaimed films are either hits, semi-hits, sectional hits, less than this or even flops. Apocalypse Now did nothing when it initially released. It’s entire reputation was constructed later. It always had a cult following but that wasn’t close to enough to give it box office glory. You cannot have a simplistic view of the correlations between the box office and the audience reception of a film. The equation is fairly obviously for run of the mill films. But for films that are ahead of their time or radical in some way and so forth these might or might not work in the present but even when they do they do not reach their full potentiality right away. For obvious reasons. Deewar was big in 1975 but it’s even bigger now because it’s endured for 40 years. Agneepath didn’t work when it released (though it’s box office failure has always been exaggerated in certain ways, though for not entirely unfair reasons) but now it’s one of Bachchan’s 5 most important films judging by many yardsticks (at least for this age). Cinema in any case is always about the critical registers as well. Films that never work massively (Deewar still worked rather well, many acclaimed films don’t even get this much) but that always seem important to people across the ages. Again the whole easy equation between the box office and cinematic worth is a deeply misunderstood one. It assuredly misrepresents the nature of cinema. As I’ve said before there is a paradox at the heart of cinema. No art form is as difficult to produce as an economic matter, no other art form requires more commercial justification and yet it is also in cinema where the greatest works often come about by rejecting such economic rationality, where furthermore huge commercial failures have often made ‘greatest’ lists far more than hugely successful films. And this is so in very many of the world’s industries, not just Hollywood. In India the gap still seems relatively less in this sense because we don’t had the critical culture and/or the informed audience to reinvent films from the past one way or the other.
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April 19, 2015 at 10:27 PM
Shankar doesn’t fail to catch up with Mani Ratnam
Apr 19, 2015
Mani Ratnam’s latest OK Kanmani has been garnering applause from not just movie buffs and critics, but also from respected members of the film fraternity such as Gautham Menon, Suriya to name just a few.
Director Shankar also seems to have immensely enjoyed OK Kanmani when he saw a screening of the movie in a premiere show in the USA. Shankar has always said that Mani Ratnam is one of the senior directors that he really respects and admires.
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April 19, 2015 at 10:28 PM
”OK Kanmani is the biggest blockbuster of our career”
Apr 19, 2015
Distributors Prime Media released Mani Ratnam’s latest OK Kanmani in the US and the response from the audience there has been simply fabulous. The movie was released in around 73 locations and Houseful seems to be the constant phenomenon across all the centers.
The distributors tweeted “#HouseFull everywhere. Thanks #ManiRatnam for giving biggest blockbuster of our distribution career #OKKanmani”
Leading trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the film’s box-office stats in the US, and called it outstanding in both the Tamil and Telugu versions.
Tamil film #OKKanmani is OUTSTANDING in USA. Thu + Fri $ 175,795 [₹ 1.10 cr]. Telugu version #OKBangaram Thu + Fri $ 73,360 [₹ 45.89 lacs].
So, even before the Sat – Sun weekend, OKK has grossed close to 1.6 crores from its 2 versions. The weekend stats would be keenly awaited. We will keep you posted.
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April 19, 2015 at 10:37 PM
Sreedhar Pillai
@sri50
#OKKanmani – TN Box-Office Barometer – Classification: Hit. Best in – Coimbatore, Chengalpet, Chennai City & Tiruchi.
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April 20, 2015 at 8:20 AM
The movie is made on a very tight budget so this will get to hit status easily. They havent released it in any C centre at all. But Muni 2 is huge in TN. Without that competition, OKK could have done better. I am quite happy for Mani though. He gets a decent success finally.
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April 20, 2015 at 2:27 AM
Hrithik Roshan Confirms Signing A Hollywood Project
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/hrithik-roshan-confirms-signing-a-hollywood-project/
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April 20, 2015 at 4:45 AM
In n o universe is Mard liked more than Deewar. Mard has an imdb rating of 6.1 while Deewar 8.2. The lines of Deewar are still remembered and quoted time and again. With names like Amitabh and Manmohan and its frothy theme more people went to see it, does not mean more people liked it. More people have seen Besharam than Rocket Singh, does not mean more people liked it.
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April 20, 2015 at 6:37 AM
IMDB doesn’t mean anything here since it reflects the very folks who are big on Deewar. For instance DCH has 8.3 on IMDB and Gadar has 7.1. Both released the same year. Gadar however had probably 3.5 times the gross of DCH and the gap is even wider than that because DCH did well in a few major metros while Gadar though it was good in these places was a monster in many centers where ticket prices were lower. But most of the Gadar audience is not going to be voting on IMDB.
Gadar was liked more than DCH. Why? Because it appealed to a much greater cross-section of the audience than DCH. And this isn’t just about an initial. It’s also about trending.
Now getting back to Mard you clearly don’t know enough here. Mard grossed more than Ram teri Ganga Maili that same year which itself was huge. It was an absolutely massive hit. It was way bigger than Desh premee for example, the previous Desai film. So again this wasn’t about the initial nor was it about a greater audience pool.
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April 20, 2015 at 7:08 AM
Abhishek Bachchan supports UK MP Vaz’s poll campaign
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan visited Leicester to support the election campaign of Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz who was officially nominated as the local Labour Party candidate for the upcoming polls.
Mr. Bachchan participated in a public question-and-answer session with Mr. Vaz and over 350 residents of Leicester, at the Peepul Centre.
He was quizzed on his life and career, as well as his captaincy of the Bollywood Stars football team, before being presented with a personalised Leicester City football shirt. They continued on a tour of Belgrave Road and Uppingham Road.
“I am here for Keith. He works so hard for Leicester and I am delighted to be here to help him today. Keith is a close family friend. He possesses so many values I hold close to my heart for our politicians; he is warm, generous and kind. I know that he is a true leader for the Indian community in the United Kingdom, who does great work for people of Indian origin,” Mr. Bachchan said at the event.
“It was an honour to have one of Bollywood’s megastars with us in Leicester. Our city was bouncing with the joy and excitement of thousands of adoring fans who came out to see Abhishek,” said Mr. Vaz, the longest-serving British-Asian MP.
“Abhishek was wonderful, and people adored him. He is a close friend, and for him to take time to come to Leicester is truly special. The thousands who came out to Belgrave Road and Uppingham Road were awestruck. My only request to Abhishek is that he does not stand to be the Member of Parliament for Leicester East, as I would not have a chance!” he said.
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April 20, 2015 at 8:24 AM
http://movies.ndtv.com/videos/abhishek-bachchan-leaves-leicester-star-struck-364355
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April 20, 2015 at 8:23 AM
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/51619-manisha-starts-working-on-game.htm
The 44-year-old, who has successfully battled cancer, took to social media to share some glimpses of her look from the film before starting with the movie.
“Shooting in Bangalore for #game,” the actress shared on micro-blogging site along with her photographs.
In the images, the “Khamoshi: The Musical” actress is seen beaming with a smile in a crop hairstyle with a black ensemble.
Being directed by AMR Ramesh, the film also features Arjun Sarja, who had earlier worked with Manisha in Tamil blockbuster “Mudhalvan”.
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April 20, 2015 at 8:49 AM
Byomkesh Bakshi – kickass movie. Best of the year in Indian cinema.
Was watching Mani ratnam interview the other day with Rajeev Masand. Mani says he hasnt watched non-tamil films for a long time. Its time for ppl like him and Kamal to be aware of what fantastic work is happening in Bollywood (with VB, Dibankar, Kashyap, Soojit Sircar, Sriram Raghvan etc etc) and stop pampering their ego as they are great filmmakers.
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April 20, 2015 at 8:59 AM
“It was an absolutely massive hit. It was way bigger than Desh premee for example, ” But my point is no one liked Desh Premee nuch. Almost anyone who has seen Dewar and Desh Premee has liked Deeewar more. I can say that with certainty. You see a film like Desh Premee because of the star cast and the director, anf knowing that it wont be intolerable. That is why I saw it, but I hated it. Someone may have found it okay at best, but not better than Deewar. Maybe a handful, but not too many.
Take the case of Happy New Year, from among the millions who saw it most would have found it average. On the other hand, a large percentage of people seeing Dum Laga Ke Haisa would have found it excellent. So the average rating of DLKH would be much higher than that of HNY. THe box office collections can’t show you that.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:26 AM
You’re still not getting the point. This is NOT about the initial. It’s about the holdover after the initial. By Bachchan’s standards Desh premee wasn’t liked by the audience the way Naseeb was or the way Mard was. So yes a greater audience will show up for a certain kind of commercial film but they won’t keep watching it if they don’t like it. HNY collapsed after a strong initial, mostly it didn’t match the big day 1 numbers at any later point. On the other hand Ghajini or 3I weren’t just about the initial audience. Had the same audience found Naseeb or Mard average each of those films wouldn’t have done more than Desh premee business. that wasn’t the case.
IMDB represents the very audience that is much more kindly disposed towards certain kinds of films. Again the core Gadar audience is not likely to vote very much on IMDB. Similarly when the same audience votes on Deewar versus MKS the former is going to be higher. Because again the equivalent of the MKS audience today is going to be severely underrepresented on IMDB or any online forum. 100% of the DCH audience is on a computer every single day, that number plummets for Gadar. IMDB isn’t a serious survey for these things. Unless one keeps that caveat in mind (you can compare DCH with ZNMD for example on it.. here the audience overlaps).
But again you’re also confused about something else. You do not represent the entire cross-section of the Indian audience. You represent one segment. if it’s only about multiplex cinema you’re probably with the majority. But this is not so when it comes to a wider audience. There are simply MORE people in any society that like a certain kind of commercial format compared to those who like more cutting edge entertainment. There is MORE of a potential audience for MKS than Deewar. The latter matters vastly more ‘historically’ but that’s a very different claim with very different implications. Citizen Kane is one of the most important films of movie history and yet it didn’t do much when it released. The audience did not like it. Now different films cannot be automatically compared in terms of gross because they have different audiences. However they CAN be compared when it comes to trending because that shows how much each film was liked by its respective audience. So every film in Deewar’s category did not gross like Deewar not did every film in the MKS category gross like MKS. Again Desh Premee did not gross like Naseeb or Mard. In each case one is working off the same audience. Most Salman films today fizzle out after a big opening. Why? Because though they attract a larger audience most in that group end up not liking those films very much. On the other hand a similar audience shows up for Ghajini and likes it a lot more. So Ghajini is not bigger than a multiplex hit simply because more people are watching it. Because that would only explain the initial. RGV’s Company did poorly compared to his own Satya and not because other films were doing that much more. Deewar was more liked than many other pure masala films but many masala films were also liked more than Deewar. And of course in those days the audiences overlapped vastly more. Deewar wasn’t a Hrishikesh Mukherjee small film or something. Films often matter more than their gross and equally often less than it, assuming solid trending in each case (I never look at grosses that are simply the result of big initials) but that’s a separate debate.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:30 AM
Satyam: I am not talking about the initial. I am talking about ALL the people who have seen , let us say, Happy New Year. Not ONE of them will rate it 8 on 10. Most people would have found it just about above average. So the average rating could be 6. While for Dum Laga Ke Haisa, a vast majority would have found it excellent, say 8 on 10. And that is the kind of average rating itb would have. Total office collections cannot give you this picture.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:57 AM
you’re not making sense Utkal.. I’m not sure what’s so hard to follow here.. the people who vote for Dum Laga ke haisha and HNY on IMDB is the very SAME audience. But when it’s about Gadar most of that film’s small or smaller town audience is not represented on IMDB. Because those people aren’t going online for lack of access or whatever. So if you do DCH v Gaddar you’ll get a lopsided result. It’s not about big or small films when it comes to IMDB because the very same folks are voting on everything. These folks liked Dum laga ke more than HNY. But HNY didn’t do very well anyway because it collapsed after a strong initial. So even its core audience didn’t much care for it.
Let me put this in even more basic terms. Film A because of genre or whatever reason attracts 10 people. Of those 6 like it and this is reflected accordingly in the trending. Now film B attracts 20 people but 17 of those like it. That’s a much higher percentage. This isn’t about film B grossing more than film A. A film that attracts a larger crossection will obviously gross more all else being equal. It’s about how much the audience of each film likes that film. So 60% like the first one and 85% the second. This is how you do the comparison.
But now let’s take the same example for IMDB. What happens here is that the 10 who show up for film A and possibly show up for film B are the only people who vote on IMDB. The additional 10 that film B gets never show up on the same because they represents markets and or cross-sections of the major centers that don’t have the same sort of internet access or if they do are not the sort to register their preferences on IMDB. It’s possible that within those additional 10 folks that film B attracts the film is liked a 100%. But in that initial 10 that overlaps with film A the film is liked 50%. Just making up the numbers here for argument’s sake. Now if those same 10 people vote on IMDB you will get higher ratings for film A as opposed to film B. However if you could get everyone for both films film B would still register higher than film A.
No one in any serious system just looks at the gross of the film. people look to trending for a reason. Anyway I won’t continue to harp on this point because I’ve explained it a number of different ways and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to understand the point. Unless you’re choosing not to.
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April 20, 2015 at 10:14 AM
IMDB represents class audience to some extent and the films they appreciate are usually good. Nowadays fans understood the importance of IMDB and started to vote for their favourite stars’ movies which is diluting the IMDB as a reliable source of class cinema. And now internet is fairly spread allover and has become more democratic with all the pitfalls of democracy. Atleast in the case of non hollywood movies.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:37 AM
I dont know if I missed some action but this site is so quiet abt greatest epic of the year – Byomkesh Bakshy?!?!
I see nonsense fan posts and comments everywhere.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:45 AM
ritzritz: I have posted my impressions about the film quite sometime back. And my immediate FB updtae after seeing the film was : Badass Byomkesh Bakshi, Kickass Sneha Khanilkar take a bow. You guys made my day.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:55 AM
Oh Ok. I am not on social media anymore.
I agree with you. This is a kickass film. An Epic!!!
TV serial Byomkesh Bakshy gave too much only in narrative. It was all about narrative and no real drama and action. This one (film) also has a narrative by Bakshy in the end but it does not leave whole thing to the narrative. There is superb drama, thrilling/suspense moments in the film.
TV serial was really bad IMO – nothing in search of a crime was shown…we have Bakshy in a room narrating all the stuff. Thats not how u create a suspense thriller.
Dibankar is a real craftsman ! Looking forward to the sequel….. “kahaan jaoge Bakshyyyyy….!!!!”
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April 20, 2015 at 10:00 AM
and here’s your problem Utkal given your traditional positions in these matters. Byomkesh did terribly at the box office, even worse than Shanghai all things considered. So you better hope for a historical revision here! Clearly the audience didn’t like this one. Now of course it had some good reviews though clearly not enough.
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April 20, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Seems Margarita with a straw could not make it inspite of rave reviews and promotion by celebrities. It was reported that Aamir Khan cried after watching the film.
While TZP and Paa with disability themes could stir hearts on a much larger scale.
Is it because Kalki is too foreign for Indian audience?
Is it because of that lesbian angle?
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April 20, 2015 at 10:04 AM
No. I think it was because there were many films on this subject and disability etc in Indian film Industry.
Plus Kalki acting was so disgusting (in the trailer) . I mean who wants to go and watch such movie with such a face as hers ?!?
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April 20, 2015 at 10:44 AM
Probably both. And she’s not that kind of ‘star’ as Aamir or Big. Besides – as far as i know [I haven’t seen the movie yet] – Margarita is less ‘masaled’ and shows emotions in a more balanced [‘european’] way? [which is a reason I think I’d like it more than TZP or Paa- but I’m definitely not a ‘mainstream indian audience’:D]
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April 20, 2015 at 10:02 AM
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/20/fast-furious-7-leads-us-box-office-fastest-film-ever-1bn-global
Fast & Furious 7 becomes quickest film ever to reach $1bn globally
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April 20, 2015 at 10:09 AM
“Clearly the audience didn’t like this one.”
Satyam: Audience did like Byomkesh Bakshy. In fact they LOVED it.
Proof? I was in theater today and all were spellbound by the movie. I always watch ppl’s reaction when they are watching it. After the movie no one got up from their seats.
But you are a Bachchan fan.
Alas…
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April 20, 2015 at 10:15 AM
you might want to check out the gross of this film, even relative to small movies. It’s going to fall way behind the absolute gross of Rock On for example. So I’m afraid I can’t really go by your anecdotal evidence. If there were even a minority audience for this film it would have been stable at some lower level.
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April 20, 2015 at 10:15 AM
I think DBB failed because of Fast and Furious. But it is appreciated and still running overseas and also in domestic circuits.
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April 20, 2015 at 10:47 AM
No Hindi film has ever failed because of a Hollywood film. And sure it’s running in some screens. that doesn’t mean much. Specially with a big production house a certain number of screens a maintained for a few weeks. Out of it’s 25 crores or so 20 or more came in week 1. That’s the trending of a flop. And this isn’t even a big scale film which attracted a huge audience in week 1 and lost more of it in week 2. This doesn’t mean that a minority hasn’t liked the film, it’s just too small to make much of an impact. And such minorities exist for many failures. Overseas it’s better than this. The US is relatively respectable. But then you’re also getting in these markets probably much more of a Bengali a diaspora audience for whom this character is massively iconic.
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April 20, 2015 at 10:30 AM
Having loved Kaadhal and Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (and liked Samurai as well), I am really looking forward to this-
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April 20, 2015 at 10:32 AM
Ah sorry, didn’t know that putting the link would embed the image.
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April 20, 2015 at 11:00 AM
Now Sarkar 3?
by Box Office India (April 18, 2015)
The news making rounds in the film trade is that Ram Gopal Varma is all set to make a re-entry into Bollywood. We’re also told that he has cracked the basic plot of his next film which is going to be the second sequel to his Sarkar and in all probability, this third part will be called Sarkar Returns.
Well, we all know that the earlier two parts featured Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan and the third installment will also cast them. If sources close to RGV are to be believed he has already had a word with the Bachchans and they have liked the basic plot of the film.
So, if all goes well, we will soon see RGV return to Bollywood with Sarkar Returns!
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April 20, 2015 at 11:02 AM
This news is 18 days late?
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April 20, 2015 at 11:05 AM
Ha!
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April 20, 2015 at 1:51 PM
Or two days early.
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April 20, 2015 at 1:13 PM
Satyam: ” Byomkesh did terribly at the box office, even worse than Shanghai all things considered. So you better hope for a historical revision here! Clearly the audience didn’t like this one.” I have been saying just the opposite all along – that the box office has no linear link with how much a film has been liked. For the record, it has an imdb rating of 8.2. And what is most relevant to me is that I liked it. Of course there are many that didnt like it. Which is the way I would feel insecure if everyone was smart enough to like a more adventurous No Smoking, Cocktail, Rockstar, Gangs of Wasseypur or DDB. I am happy that quite some people like these films. DDB is trickier than Shanghai and it doing as well is good enough. And frankly the box office of a film does not bother me. A good film has ben made. I have seen it. And it is there. That’s good enough.
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April 20, 2015 at 1:24 PM
“I have been saying just the opposite all along – that the box office has no linear link with how much a film has been liked.”
Man you keep saying bizarre stuff..! and there’s the IMDB reference again..
“And what is most relevant to me is that I liked it.” ” I am happy that quite some people like these films. ” “And frankly the box office of a film does not bother me. A good film has ben made.”
Yeah I said a number of such things with Raavan or Dil Se but I’m not sure how these positions are not completely inconsistent with your stated positions otherwise. You can’t keep changing the terms of the debate. Sometimes a film is good because it worked and everyone liked it, sometimes it’s because of the reviews, sometimes it’s about IMDB, when all else fails it’s only about one’s individual choice! Of course when the shoe is on the other foot (say Dil Se) neither good reviews nor good pieces in serious studies on Indian cinema nor the individual choices of others seem to mean much..
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April 20, 2015 at 1:36 PM
There are a whole group of people who have not liked DDB. This includes my friend who cursed me for recommending him Go Goa Gone. This group likes Shanghai..because it has the serious and realistic tone which they mistake for good cinema. They cannot relish playfulness or expressionistic story telling. Corrupted by mainstream Hollywood and middle-class Bengali cinema , logical, realistic narration is synonym for good cinema to them. But my other set of friends who are open and not shackled by the tyranny of realism, have relished this whole-heatedly. Many of this group have enjoyed Dhoom 3 and Chennai Express. They have a childlike willingness to enjoy a good story and are willing to have a good laugh and celebrate the imagination of a good story-teller. Those who were expecting a straight-jacketed Bengali bhadralok Byomkesh of Doordarshan have been disappointed for sure. Just as I would have been disappointed if Byomkesh was done that boring way.
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April 20, 2015 at 2:09 PM
I am waiting. Who will give up first? Satyam or Utkal?
Meanwhile munna has given a puzzle about fish and fins. What the puzzle is about? Waiting for enlightenment.
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April 20, 2015 at 2:15 PM
lol..I removed it..It was a Venn diagram hint for multiplex-demographics 🙂
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April 20, 2015 at 2:15 PM
Behindwoods on the OKK opening:
http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/o-kadhal-kanmani/o-kadhal-kanmani-box-office-apr-19.html
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April 20, 2015 at 2:16 PM
Sify:
http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=15059199&cid=13525926
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April 20, 2015 at 8:53 PM
Its a fine opening vis-a-vis the budget but in pure numbers term I think even ravanan had a bigger opening weekend. kada I think was around 70 lacs…
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April 20, 2015 at 8:59 PM
yes because with this sort of multiplex film the numbers are always going to be limited. Even AP which made a lot of waves at the time was easily outgrossed by Minnale. Of course Raavaan isn’t the same thing. You had Vikram there, you had Aishwarya. This was a major project. You can’t compare it with this film in any sense.
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April 23, 2015 at 10:19 AM
Think Ratnam missed a trick here (box-office wise) by not simultaneously making the film in Malayalam. If nothing else, he should have dubbed it in Malayalam like he dubbed it in Telugu. ANd it’s not only because both Dulquer and Nithya are pretty hot in Malayalam film industry (they have been paired twice before, in the much appreciated Ustad Hotel and also in the very recent 100 Days of Love which released about a month back), but also because you have bigger audience for this sort of rom-com in Kerala than in Tamil Nadu (that’s why most Malayalam rom-coms are “purer” in the sense they are devoid of the “mass” elements found in Tamil films).
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April 23, 2015 at 10:38 AM
Saurabh, the market for Tamil movies in Kerala is pretty huge, so perhaps Ratnam felt there was nothing really to be gained by the effort to make it a Malayalam/Tamil bilingual. The audience for this sort of movie would probably turn out about the same whether it was Malayalam or Tamil.
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April 23, 2015 at 11:24 AM
CG: True, that could be one of the reasons. But then why did someone like Balaji Mohan (a Tamil filmmaker just like Rathnam) make a Tamil-Malayalam bilingual (Vaayai Moodi Pesavum/Samsaram Arogyathinu Hanikaram with Dulquer) with Dulquer (the film incidentally flopped in Kerala, but was a hit in T.N….will recommend the film BTW in case you haven’t seen it yet?! It was promoted as a rom-com, but it isn’t one actually. But really wacky film and I am glad that it became a hit)?!
And I have been trying to find a subtitled print of Manjadikuru since ages, but can’t find any?! I think I will have to buy the official DVD here 🙂 .
BTW I saw Vanaprastham last night and was simply blown away by it. Just left speechless (and emotionally overwhelmed). This was my third Karun film (Kutty Srank and Swapaanam being the other two) and easily the best among the three (Piravi seems to be only available with French subs). And while I have seen very few Mohanlal films, this might be my favourite performance of his (found him great in Iruvar as well, but this performance is the more accessible one IMO). I will say this, while Bachchan remains my absolute favourite, I don’t think I have seen a more “subtle” Indian star-actor than Mohanlal (though I still prefer Mammootty to him). And inspite of his weight, he seems to be so fleet-footed during the Kathakali performance in the film. But really I am glad I saw this film. So now my favourite Malayalam films (from the few I have seen) would be (in no particular order though Thaniyavarthanam might be my favourite followed by OVV)- Eilppathayam, Oru Vadakkan Veeragtha, Thaniyavarthanam, Amma Ariyan and Vanaprastham.
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April 23, 2015 at 1:21 PM
Saurabh, thanks for the samsaram recco. By the way, really glad to hear you caught Thaniyavarthanam and Vaanaprastham. Both are really excellent movies, and I’d like to hear your thoughts on Thaniyavarthanam as well. Of Shaji’s movies, Piravi and Vaanaprastham are easily my favorites- can’t say I really liked Swapaanam and was left somewhat indifferent by Kutty Sranku. I’d also recommend Bharatham and Varavelpu for a taste of Lal’s range in his heyday.
Also very impressed that you saw and liked Amma Ariyan. I liked this, but definitely wasn’t very accessible. If you’re interested, I’d also recommend some KG George movies from around the same timeframe for classic middle of the road cinema. Yavanika has an excellent performance by Gopi and Mammotty in one of his pre-stardome roles.
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April 20, 2015 at 3:12 PM
I found DBB decent…nothing to hate or to fall in love with…have positive and negatives both…I think if Banerjee would have made more simple version then audience would have liked it more…but he went on to make more ambitious movie…a lot of backlash and prejudice is because of how BB is imagined or was played by Rajit Kapoor…its difficult for most people to watch without comparison..DBB is well made ambitious film…not a great one though but neither something which deserves backlash/hatred..this kind of movie couldn’t have worked at bo at all..specially the female and family audience will stay far away from such movies..
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April 21, 2015 at 4:24 PM
Q & A with DB on DBB!
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April 21, 2015 at 5:00 PM
‘Kanchana 2’ and ‘OK Kanmani’ are super hits!
By MOVIEBUZZ
Source : SIFY
Last Updated: Tue, Apr 21, 2015 09:40 hrs0 Comments
Raghava Lawrence’s third installment of horror franchise, Kanchana 2 is turning out to be a money spinner as summer of 2015 started on a bright note. First Studio Green’s Karthi starrer Komban became a hit and it was followed by Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani. The trade is delighted over the tremendous box office collection of both April 17 releases.
Sri Thenandal Films Kanchana 2 is a massive blockbuster in the making . The film has grossed approximately Rs 17.5 crs in its opening weekend in Tamil Nadu, which is star like opening for a Raghavendra Lawrence film. In Karnataka, the film has netted 1.55 crs and in Kerala, the film has netted Rs 88 Lakhs. In North India too, the film has become an unexpected victory for its buyers as it has grossed nearly 22 lakhs in its opening weekend.
The number of screens and show times for the film has been increased in various territories across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Kanchana 2 is also doing massive collections at the Malaysian box office as it has attracted the mass Tamil crowd.
Overseas advantage for OK Kanmani, a hit for Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani or OK Kanmani is the current favorite among the elite overseas crowd and the film is doing extra-ordinary business in the trade belts of USA, Australia, UK and UAE.
The Tamil version of the film has approximately grossed 2.76 crs in its opening weekend at USA while the Telugu version has grossed 1.40 crs. Altogether the USA collection of the film is approximately 4.16 crs which also includes the Thursday premiere report.
In Australia, OK Kanmani has grossed Rs 50.82 lakhs and in UK the film has grossed 46.62 lakhs. In Tamil Nadu, OK Kanmani has grossed nearly 6.30 cr in its opening weekend.
Going by the opening weekend numbers and the budget involved in the film, trade predictions say that the film will become a profitable venture for all the parties involved.
On Monday evening Mani Ratnam thanked the media for the great support and positive reviews they have given for OK Kanmani
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April 21, 2015 at 5:01 PM
Tamil Nadu box office – How has Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani fared?
Apr 21, 2015
Mani Ratnam’s latest celebration of romance, OK Kanmani is being raved about by a large section of the audience. In particular, the urban centers and overseas markets are giving a big thumbs-up for the film, which offers a good mix of modern and traditional perceptions towards relationships.
Mani Ratnam is thrilled with the response and recently sent a thanksgiving note to the media for their positive reception towards his film.
At the Tamil Nadu box office, the film is reported to have grossed around 7.5 crores after the first 4 days. Studio Green released the film in the state and they followed a smart release strategy by focusing predominantly on the A and B centers, befitting the genre of the film.
The signs are positive and the film is on the right track towards success.
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April 21, 2015 at 5:01 PM
Kanchana 2 is minting crores and crores in Tamil Nadu
Apr 21, 2015
Raghava Lawrence’s Kanchana 2 is literally minting money at the Tamil Nadu box office. At the end of the first 4 days, the film has reportedly already grossed in excess of 20 crores. Thenandal Films and Sun Pictures released the movie in Tamil Nadu and they must be thrilled with the way the film is performing, akin to any big ticket starry film.
The weekend days were jam-packed, with even the special morning shows going chock-a-block. Even on Monday, the film was getting full houses in most of the theaters.
The extensive marketing blitz and the summer holidays are also playing a positive part in the film’s run after initial reviews were highly positive from the mainstream masses.
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April 21, 2015 at 5:01 PM
Shankar might be doing another film with Rajini:
http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-15/rajinikanth-and-shankar-are-likely-to-join-hands-yet-again.html
Looks like it’s either Rajini or Vikram for him! he’s going to alternate between the two!
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April 22, 2015 at 3:36 AM
He should do one with Big B. Time for the Megastar to work with directors who can show him like BigB rather than the one he is portrayed by Balki or RGV.
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April 21, 2015 at 5:03 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 15h 15 hours ago
#FastAndFurious7 creates HISTORY. Crosses ₹ 100 cr mark in India. Total after Wknd 3: ₹ 104 cr net. GrossBOC: ₹ 146 cr. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER
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April 22, 2015 at 3:25 AM
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/popular-online-column-the-vigil-idiot-gets-booked/16155169
Popular online column The Vigil Idiot gets booked
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April 22, 2015 at 4:36 AM
Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan to star in 1965 ‘Waqt’ remake? – See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood-confidential/amitabh-bachchan-akshay-kumar-varun-dhawan-to-star-in-1965-waqt-remake/#sthash.0KbdFDQB.dpuf
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April 22, 2015 at 7:30 AM
Some common factor between Kanchan 2 and OKK.
NItya and Suhansini.
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April 22, 2015 at 9:10 AM
New feature? Blue star? Why? Like? Oh my god!
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April 22, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Ha! I like to update things once every five years!
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April 22, 2015 at 9:12 AM
It is not simple like but one has to provide user ID too, it seems.
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April 23, 2015 at 11:47 AM
Satyam- Have you considered adding a ‘like’ feature that allows one to upvote a comment without signing in, as this feature is kind of a pain to use?
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April 23, 2015 at 11:59 AM
unfortunately there’s no option to do so on wordpress without signing in. I agree though that this limitation shouldn’t be there.
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April 22, 2015 at 1:27 PM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Aishwaryas-representative-reacts-to-racist-ad-row/articleshow/47018668.cms
Aishwarya’s representative reacts to ‘racist’ ad row
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April 22, 2015 at 4:29 PM
What’s this blue star? Like?
Not fair. Till now one knew my comments are not liked now the world will know 😀
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April 23, 2015 at 8:01 AM
ABCD 2 trailor
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April 23, 2015 at 10:04 AM
Satyam: You are watching/revisiting Striker, glad to see that. Really, really like this film. Also has one of Pancholi’s most effective performances. BTW Chandan Arora edited Fandry recently, the Marathi film I was talking about the other day
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April 23, 2015 at 11:12 AM
Yes I revisited it and liked it a lot this time as well..
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April 23, 2015 at 11:38 AM
”KANCHANA 2 HAS HAD AN ALMOST COMPLETELY HOUSEFULL FIRST WEEK”
When we go to an acclaimed restaurant we have a lot to choose, starting from the spicy desi biriyanis to the suave international fare like pastas and pizzas. Both the varieties have their own sets of dedicated fans who would consume them without second thoughts. And the total foodie would nevertheless explore based on his / her liking, tastes and mood on that particular day.
Likewise at the box-office, we have several genres of films being dished out every other week. For the action buffs we have the racy fare, for the masala lovers we have the commercial crackers, for the romantically inclined we have the sweet love stories and so on and so forth. And the complete ‘movie maniac’ would schedule his appointments and check out all these kinds.
This past Friday on the 17th of April, we had two diametrically opposite films – Kanchana 2 and OK Kanmani, clashing for a share of the audience’s limited attention span. The beauty about this clash was that both the films were lapped up by their respective dedicated target audience and also by the movie buff who just wants some quality time at the cinema hall.
Kanchana 2 had everything going in its favor ever since the film was announced – it was an extension of the successful Muni franchise, it belonged to the preferred horror-comedy space, it had the backing of Sun Pictures and Thenandal Films and the subsequent release of the promo posters and teasers did the trick big time in pulling in the audience by the droves to theaters. Initial reviews were decent to good, but importantly the movie connected big time with the common man. A,B,C and every other class has been flocking to theaters since Day 1 and the first 4 days gross in Tamil Nadu reportedly exceeded 20 crores. Given all the main single screens and the big screens in multiplexes across the state, Kanchana 2 registered a blockbuster opening and continues to hold very firm on the weekdays as well with more and more Housefull shows. No mean feat this! The film has been outperforming outside Tamil Nadu as well, and Malaysia in particular has been humongous.
OK Kanmani on the other hand was a progressive take on modern day romance, and at the same time didn’t compromise on old-school values regarding relationships and marriage. The youth, upper class and upper middle class audience who form Mani Ratnam’s core visitor base loved the film and this group was exactly the intended audience. The hardcore movie buff was also glad that Mani Ratnam was back to his preferred turf and had made a breezy feel-good product. The first 4 days TN gross was reportedly around 7.5 crores and overseas markets such as the US, UK and Australia were also very welcoming of the film.
We spoke to Mr Rakesh Gowthaman, Managing Director of the popular Vettri Theaters in the outskirts of Chennai to get a perspective on the performance of the two films
“OK Kanmani is performing well to its potential and in the intended target group. The film is a success to that end.
On the other hand, we are experiencing tremendous pressure for tickets for Kanchana 2. The pressure for tickets on the first Monday was in fact more than even Enthiran. By default, the first 3 days go full in our complex but even from Monday, we have had mostly full shows. Yesterday’s noon show and today’s noon show have gone for around 90% occupancy and the rest of the shows have all been completely Housefull. This is more than just a benchmark and in recent times, after Kaththi and ‘I’, Kanchana 2 has been the best performer in our complex. And it has done all this without any star power or director’s brand. If there hadn’t been other releases, we would have given all the shows in both our screens and still gotten full houses. Ladies and kids are just loving the film and we expect the film to run for a few more weeks at least, irrespective of other releases. Generally we don’t run new films for more than 2 weeks, but Kanchana 2 will most likely be among the Top 5 grossers ever in our complex.
On the whole, a great week for us with the incredible Kanchana 2 and the good enough OK Kanmani. We can’t expect every film to be a Kanchana 2 ! “, sums up Mr.Rakesh. Enough said, right?
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April 24, 2015 at 5:28 AM
Man, only RGV could come up with something so twisted! He has cast Rajkumar’s son for this Veerappan film-
http://data1.ibtimes.co.in/en/full/570495/killing-veerappan.jpg?w=660&h=1000&l=50&t=40
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