This entry was posted on May 20, 2015 at 11:52 PM and is filed under the bad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
393 Responses to “Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Piku (ongoing), the rest of the box office”
Bollywood Box-Office Bubble Bursts: What Are the Biggest Flops of the Decade?
“Bombay Velvet,” which has a measly projected lifetime collection of Rs 25 crore compared to its Rs. 120 crore production budget, joins the list of all-time movie flops, including “RA.One,” “Kites,” “Besharam,” “Mausam” and “Rockstar.”
Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 2:30 pm | Updated: 3:13 pm, Wed May 20, 2015.
R.M. VIJAYAKAR, Special to India-West | 0 comments
MUMBAI — The scale of the flop of “Bombay Velvet” may be unprecedented — the production budget is touted as Rs. 120 crore against a projected lifetime collection of Rs 25 crore — but there have been many films that have flopped miserably over the last few years.
To understand the magnitude of any flop, we have to see the money that goes to the distributor from the Indian collections — an average of 40 to 45 percent of the domestic net (money at a theater after entertainment tax is deducted). This means that the take-home sum for the film will be around Rs 10 crore against an expense of Rs 120 crore!!!
Films that have collected (at the box office) as much as or less than their production budget include “RA.One” (2011) despite Shah Rukh Khan as the star, a 3D version and a three-language Diwali release. The film was touted as a member of the Indian 100-crore-plus club as it raked in Rs 120 crore domestic net and around Rs 20 to 25 crore more overseas, but its budget was a whopping Rs 180 crore! Unless the film does very well overseas, an average film earns anywhere from 10 to 15 percent abroad vis-à-vis its domestic counterpart. “RA.One” did fairly well in traditional Shah Rukh Khan-heavy markets like the U.S., U.K. and the Middle East.
Back home, Hrithik Roshan’s “Kites” made Rs 45 to 50 crore against a budget of Rs 65 to 70 crore in 2010. Ranbir Kapoor’s “Besharam” (2013) could only manage a lifetime of Rs 59 crore against a budget of over Rs. 80 cr., while Shahid Kapoor’s “Mausam” (2011) collected Rs. 70 crore against Rs. 75 crore. In the same year, Ranbir Kapoor’s “Rockstar” managed to impress media, despite taking in just Rs. 62 crore on a cost of Rs 80 crore!
Truly big fiascoes where the earnings at the Indian box office were half the acquisition costs included the 2013 Ajay Devgn film “Himmatwala,” which made only Rs. 40 cr on a budget of Rs 80 crore and “Blue,” which despite a Diwali 2009 release, made Rs. 54 crore while costing almost double that at Rs. 100 crore. “Main Aur Mrs Khanna,” “Chandni Chowk to China” (2009) and “Delhi-6” in the same year were also major tremors at the box office.
The 100 crore club technically started with “Ghajini” in 2008, and this was when figures started to be discussed (and manipulated) as much as facts. Pre-2008, among the huge flops were Amitabh Bachchan-Ajay Devgn’s “Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag” (2007), Amitabh Bachchan-Sanjay Dutt-Saif Ali Khan’s “Eklavya-The Royal Guard” (2007), Ranbir’s debut film “Saawariya” (2007), Salman Khan’s “Kyon Ki…” (2005), Amitabh Bachchan’s “Aks”(2001) and Ajay Devgn’s “Raju Chacha” (2000). Shah Rukh Khan’s “Asoka” was a success internationally, and three other SRK movies, “Paheli” (2005), “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” (2006) and “My Name Is Khan” (2010) were hits overseas, rescuing them from the disaster tags.
Major disasters in earlier decades include “Mera Naam Joker” (1970), “Razia Sultan” (1983) and “Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja” (1993) and “Mrityudaata” (1997).
One factual inaccuracy after another in this article. Don’t know where to start. At least it is consistent in its inaccuracy and doesn’t discriminate against a Bollywood camp…
Favorite question for this blog by BoxofficeIndia 🙂
Q. Is Ranbir Kapoor going the Abhishek Bachchan way as the disaster of Bombay velvet is like Drona, Raavan and Khelein Jee Jaan Se?
Ans. There is a huge difference in talent so that should not be the case. The affect of Bombay Velvet can only be seen in the next release but he has a gained a fan following amongst the city youth and that not disappear after one film. The expectations were of super stardom by now a few years back in some quarters but mass penetration takes a long time and even longer without an action image.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns To Get Goodwill Of First Film
Thursday 21 May 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns should get the goodwill of Tanu Weds Manu which released in 2011 and was appreciated in the metros and other major cities in North India. Tanu Weds Manu got an extended run as major films did not release due to the ongoing Cricket World Cup at the time. The film finished with 38.50 crore nett business.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns does not have music as strong as Tanu Weds Manu which featured the super hit song Saadi Gali but that should not be a problem as the theatrical promo found appreciation from a section of the audience.
The plus for the film is a rooted Indian feel in the film which should give it an audience outside the metros. Although B and C centres will be tough as the face value is not there, Tanu Weds Manu Returns can score in the mini metros and other A centres especially in North which should be more than enough for the film.
That’s a heartening and even moving image, only because it’s almost a piece of evidence that reasserts, in a very unique way, how intimately connected Bachchan has been to the local industries (and their histories) outside of Bombay.
In many ways the truer heirs of Bachchan’s iconic cinema and the space it opened up are really to be found in the South. In Bombay there has been no authentic follow-through in any sense. Or more precisely they’ve operated in his wake without doing anything noteworthy with the legacy. Perhaps one could also be kinder here and say that in his immediate contexts there is really nothing to do after him! Not that Bombay has done anything very significant in other respects either!
Review: ‘Tomorrowland,’ Brad Bird’s Lesson in Optimism
By A. O. SCOTT MAY 21, 2015
“My son briefly had a youth baseball coach whose way of inspiring his demoralized players was to stand at the dugout entrance screaming at them to have fun. “Tomorrowland,” Brad Bird’s energetic new film, a shiny live-action spectacle from Disney, reminds me of that guy. There is nothing casual or whimsical about this movie’s celebration of imagination, optimism and joy. On the contrary: It’s a determined and didactic argument in favor of all those things, and an angry indictment of everyone who opposes them….”
“…I was tempted to affix a little trademark sign to the word “amazing” there. The effects in “Tomorrowland” fall short of that standard, but part of Casey’s job is to serve as a kind of on-screen shill, cuing the desired audience response by exclaiming “Whoa, that’s amazing!” or “Wow, incredible!” at regular intervals. And while some of the images are interesting, even startling — a visit to the Eiffel Tower, for instance — the action is more frantic than thrilling and the sense of wonder rarely materializes.
It gives me no pleasure at all to report this. I yield to no one in my admiration for Mr. Bird’s animated Pixar features — “The Incredibles” and especially “Ratatouille,” for my money one of the finest movies ever made about the pursuit of artistic excellence. And it’s important to note that “Tomorrowland” is not disappointing in the usual way. It’s not another glib, phoned-in piece of franchise mediocrity but rather a work of evident passion and conviction.
What it isn’t is in any way convincing or enchanting. Mr. Clooney is wry and gruff, and then earnest and amiable, in a role that dozens of actors could have played. Ms. Robertson is perky and panicky in the same way. Among the characters only Athena has any real distinction, and Ms. Cassidy is an intriguing performer, funny and a little scary in her composure. Everyone else, Mr. Laurie included (and Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key partly excepted), would be better as a cartoon.
To some extent, that goes for the whole movie. Its enormous lapses in narrative and conceptual coherence — its blithe disregard for basic principles of science-fiction credibility — would be less irksome in the fantastical cosmos of animation. And it would look better, too. Tomorrowland looks less like a magical city of the future, or even the Disney environment it’s meant to evoke, than like an unusually clean and efficient airport, or the shopping mall beyond the multiplex where you’re seeing the movie. …”
“Brad Bird’s Disney-produced sci-fi adventure Tomorrowland is the most enchanting reactionary cultural diatribe ever made. It’s so smart, so winsome, so utterly rejuvenating that you’ll have to wait until your eyes have dried and your buzz has worn off before you can begin to argue with it. And you should argue with it — even if you had a blast, as I did, and want to see it again with the kids, as I do — because it’s a major pop-culture statement with all sorts of implications, both vital and nutty.
As he has demonstrated in The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, Bird can tell stories with the lightheartedness of a child and the cunning of a master craftsman: His tightly plotted movies feel as if he were making them up as he went along. …”
“…It emerges that Bird, in Tomorrowland, is mounting nothing less than a full-throated assault on the nihilism, dystopianism, and what might be called the fetishization of apocalypse in today’s movies, TV shows, and books — especially YA books that worm their way into the fantasies of impressionable kids. This is not, you understand, the movie’s subtext. It’s the Über-Über-text. It’s the message that’s articulated in multiple ways, as boldly as that Einstein sign, by characters bad and good, and it’s implicit in the riddle posed by Casey’s NASA dad that becomes the cornerstone of his daughter’s worldview: You have two wolves, one representing darkness and despair, the other light and hope. Which one lives? Says Casey: “The one you feed.”
My response to Bird’s anti-dystopianism is “Cool.” Because, really, how many more plague–flood–road warrior–kids-killing-kids movies do we need? It is time to feed that other wolf, if only for the sake of variety. And maybe we’ve learned too well since the days of Dr. Strangelove — which came out the same year as the New York World’s Fair — to “stop worrying and love the bomb.”
The trouble comes when Bird gets carried away with his critique of all things critical. In Tomorrowland, he suggests that it’s the people sounding the alarm — the ones constantly reminding us about climate change or the dangers of nuclear power — who are accelerating our demise, their pessimism wreaking havoc on imaginations that would otherwise be busy inventing solutions. I suspect that’s Bird’s Ayn Rand side showing its warty head, spinning another tale of extraordinary individuals kept from manifesting their creativity by repressive liberal groupthink. If Bird really believes we should shift the blame from a fossil-fuel industry bankrolling anti-science propaganda embraced by greedheads and fundamentalist wackjobs to the 98 percent of the world’s scientists saying, “If we don’t act now, and we mean now, we’re royally screwed,” he’s living in his own private Disneyland.
Did I mention how delightful the movie is apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln? It moves lightly from scene to scene, its follow-the-bouncing-ball ease a reminder that Bird has always straddled two worlds, his animation grounded by love of classic cinema, his live-action films liberated by an animator’s sense of possibilities. As a bitter exile from the world of his dreams, Clooney mugs more than he acts, but his comic timing remains superb and he plainly adores his young female co-stars, who are plainly adorable. Robertson is goosey and high-strung, her reactive style pairing beautifully with Cassidy’s crisp, poised underplaying as the enigmatic Athena. A Brit who looks like a young, freckled Felicity Jones, Cassidy is the movie’s breakout star, and wouldn’t it be a grim irony if she ends up starring in the next dystopian YA “franchise”? What else does Hollywood do with kids these days besides pulp them?”
The plot sounds very convoluted.
First one had a novelty value. This one doesn’t hold the same appeal for me. Only reason I may watch it is for one of the most under rated talents of BW- Shergill.
What if you try to ‘replace’ love of your life with a lookalike? Salman Khan did that by hiring aish lookalike in one of the movies, soon after his breakup. So it could be interesting take if done nicely. I like KR in double role and her haryanvi accent.
Sukanya has given it 4 stars.
“The actress completely disappears into the feisty Kusum aka Datto, a Haryanvi hockey player studying in Delhi University under sports quota — a detail she is proud to remind anyone who dare demean her. It’s not a major physical transformation per se, mostly a pixie-hair wig to tell her apart from Tanu. Having said that, her body language, which alternates between assertive and serene depending on the surrounding, and the sureness with which she rattles off her mother tongue is nothing short of flawless.”
“Tanu Weds Manu Returns is not merely superior to its predecessor but the flamboyance and fun it provides is an implication we’re not quite done with this mad duo and their quirky universe yet.”
Why is Ranbir Kapoor feeling insecure about his career?
Ranbir Kapoor’s Bombay Velvet hasn’t been able to impress people as it was supposed to and it tanked at the Box Office. The big-budgeted film didn’t even recover its making cost, which was enormous. Ranbir, whose last Besharam too bombed at the Box Office, was away from the silver screen for quite a long time.
In an interview to NDTV, Ranbir was quoted, “There’s a sense of insecurity that’s starting to trend inside of me. I’m feeling a sense of friction where I really don’t know what’s happening with my career. I know what’s happening with my work but I don’t know what’s going to happen with my career.”
I have heard a lot of good things about Piku but haven’t got the time to see it.
I am also waiting for Tanu Weds Manu Returns. I saw the promos and Kangana looks fantastic with her Haryanvi accent.
I am also looking forward to Dil Dhadakne Do. I guess that will be the biggest film of the year.
Are you nervous that the film is having such a huge release?
I am nervous not because the film is having such a wide release but because most of them have already seen the film.
I went on a television show and the host tried to comfort me by saying, ‘Most of the people have already seen your film but I would now request them to go and watch the film again in theatres. (laughs).
So now I am keeping my fingers crossed.
While talking to my Chinese fans, I came to know that they love Raj Kapoor’s films.
They remember the title song from Awara (1951). Another film that is very famous is Jeetendra’s Caravan (1971), which was produced by my father (Tahir Hussain) and was directed by my uncle Nasir Hussain.
I was really thrilled and excited to hear that.
Also, Mithunda (Mithun Chakraborty) is very famous because of his song Jimmy Jimmy.
It’s not possible for me to do the film because they are planning to start shooting by September this year.
I have gained weight for my upcoming film Dangal, which will start around the same time.
By December, I will start losing weight to shoot for the first half of Dangal where I need to look leaner and younger. I will only finish shooting the entire film by June 2016.
Much as I would love to be part of Kung Fu Yoga, it would be wrong to ask them to wait for so long. I am sure I will get another chance to work with them.
But the real draw of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is that you get two Kangana Ranauts to entertain you, and she delivers in a huge way. Both her avatars are so likable you (almost) forget the gaffes of the film. The others in the cast don’t fare as well. The usually fantastic Deepak Dobriyal is needlessly over the top, while Madhavan doesn’t emote much apart from sullenness. Ayyub does his best to salvage a rather inconsistent character, while Jimmy Shergil seems at ease with the lack of logic around the film. There are quite a few throwaway one-liners to keep things chugging along, so full credit to writer Himanshu Sharma.
The biggest takeaway from Tanu Weds Manu Returns is that there has to be some sort of a demon that enters the minds of filmmakers and turns the second half of their movies into a horrific mess. Instead of the incredible devices that fill the second half, the film would have benefitted with some exorcism and an injection of logic.
Movie sequels are all too often horribly musty affairs. Tanu Weds Manu Returns isn’t one.
Notwithstanding the stray false notes that the film strikes, especially in the run-up to the climax, it is a bright and breezy romp that draws sustenance from its droll dialogues, outstanding cast of actors and all-round jollity.
The film hits the ground running, cruises along like a song until its final moments, where it comes close to losing its way just a tad.
But one leaves the auditorium with a smile on the face, having witnessed the misadventures of an array of flawed but loveably high-spirited characters who thrive on confusion.
Yes, it’s frothy, but this is fluff that is rooted in recognisable and relatable settings.
In Himanshu Sharma’s busy screenplay, little nuances of culture and language – which obviously vary wildly from the bylanes of Kanpur to the precincts of Delhi University to the rustic ambience of Haryana – are underscored with love, care and precision.
Don’t like such films. Both Tanu and Mannu are selfish self centred people. Somehow a drinking, idiotic Tanu is supposed to be ‘modern’ or fun, or cool or… I really don’t know what.
And the film is supposed to end on a happy note without a thought for the poor ‘other’ girl.
Utter waste of time, thankfully ‘not’ money 😉 LOL
I think first time there was some novelty but this one just looks like a sorry attempt to ride on the coat tails of the first one with a rather bizarre and convoluted story line. I would be surprised if it holds up at the BO.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
It’s a rarity, especially in today’s times when films sink faster than Titanic. #Piku Tue, Wed and Thu biz was same: ₹ 2.20 cr. No decline!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#Piku [Wk 2] Fri 3.10 cr, Sat 5.10 cr, Sun 6.40 cr, Mon 2.60 cr, Tue 2.20 cr, Wed 2.20 cr, Thu 2.20 cr. Grand total: ₹ 65.22 cr. SMASH HIT!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 2h 2 hours ago
#BombayVelvet Fri 5.20 cr, Sat 5.10 cr, Sun 5.80 cr, Mon 2.10 cr, Tue 1.45 cr, Wed 1.32 cr, Thu 1.30 cr. Total: ₹ 22.27 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 2h 2 hours ago
#BombayVelvet *7-day* total [₹ 22.27 cr] is slightly more than *Day 1* biz of super-flop #Besharam [₹ 21.56 cr]. #BV = EPIC DISASTER!
Bombay Velvet Has Just One Week Run
Friday 22 May 2015 10.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bombay Velvet is a huge disaster as it grossed 22 crore nett in week one. the film has a very low weekend and collections kept on dropping badly from Monday onwards. The film could not even show any sort of hold at sub 2 crore nett days. The film faced total rejection.
The film will struggle to hit 25 crore nett as most multiplexes reduce the screenings to one show a day. Its the same picture abroad as well as India and its Worldwide Gross will hardly be 45 crore.
This puts its Worldwide figures less than low grossing flops of last year like Shaadi Ke Side Effects and Finding Fanny. Every circuit was a disaster with best performance coming in Mysore comparatively.
Piku Has Very Good Hold In Week Two
Friday 22 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Piku held up very well in week two grossing around 22 crore nett which was a similar collection to the new release Bombay Velvet as it also grossed that much in week one. The drop from week one is less than 50% which is very good trending. The film should be able to do 75 crore nett and maybe even hit 80 crore nett.
The best performance is in West Bengal where the film should cross 6 crore nett which is excellent and easily beats Baby at 4 crore nett which was the top grosser before Piku.
Mumbai and Mysore are also very good with Mumbai expected to cross 25 crore nett and Mysore should comfortably cross 6 crore nett. Mass dominated circuits like CPCI and Bihar have not done well.
This is absolutely fantastic. Despite me not loving the film to the extent some of the few here have, the excellent hold at BO by piku suggests majority have liked this film, like me. 🙂
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Opens Very Well In North India
Friday 22 May 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a very good opening in North and was good in most other places. Overall the initial is strong. North India multiplexes had the best opening of the year ahead of Gabbar Is Back. The Delhi NCR area is excellent as theatres in places like Gurgaon which don’t open normally record strong occupancies till later in the day were 50% plus for morning shows.
Despite on lesser screens than Gabbar Is Back it could record the top first day figures in the North. East Punjab will be best bet as the Delhi/UP total may be let down by figures in UP where opening was much less than Gabbar Is Back. Mumbai, Rajasthan and CI also opened well.
The opening is average in a couple of circuits like Nizam / Andhra and West Bengal but the film is not the sort that has to score universally to succeed. The film should record the highest initial for a heroine orientated film though being a sequel it had an upper hand compared to other heroine orientated films which got solid day one numbers like a Mary Kom and Heroine.
Gabbar Is Back At 84 Crore In Three Weeks
Friday 22 May 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Gabbar Is Back is the biggest grosser of 2015 as it has collected 84 crore nett apprx in three weeks. The film has done well despite competition from new releases over the last two weeks. Bombay velvet did not provide competition but Gabbar Is Back lost a lot of screen space due to its release especially in single screens and its pretty clear that Gabbar Is Back would have done better in these screens despite being in week three..
The performance in Bihar is very good where it will be amongst the top fifteen grossing films. It will not reach top 25 in any other circuit.
The film should just about cross the 85 crore nett mark with a distributor share of 43.50 crore apprx.
Looking forward to TWM2, i loved the first one and this one seems to have good reports. Kangna seems to be entertaining and can carry movie on her shoulders post Queen.
The power struggles within the shareef badmash of our nation
“The breaking point was a dinner at Anil Ambani’s house where Mr Bachchan accused me of manipulating his family’s resignation from Sahara board and promoting Bonny Kapoor there,” he said.
He claims that he told the Bachchans to never sit in a car if you don’t know who is driving it (a reference to Sahara businesses.) “If I had not warned them, Mr Bachchan and his entire family who were on the board would have been in jail along with other members instead of picking up Padma Vibhushans or clicking selfies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or promoting Gir forest,” he says.
Last year, when Amar Singh was undergoing another surgery, the Bachchans tried contacting him, but Singh claims he did not respond. “I don’t have any feelings for them. I am absolutely numb. They stand completely exposed.”
Namrata Joshi:: She stole the words from my mouth.
“At one level, one is tempted to see Mad Max: Fury Road purely as an extended allegory. And it is one. About despotic leaders, civilisational crises and precipitous decline, about taking on patriarchy and organised religion and about flocking together, and gaining strength in numbers to fight for survival. It is also about the dystopic future that might be humanity’s lot and the frightening variety of ecological disasters that stare us in the face, a world without water, a world of gasoline wars. George Miller’s off-the-wall creation of a futuristic wasteland offers somewhat more. It makes all the action franchisees seem like stuff of adolescent imagination and turns popular superheroes seem mere toyboys in comparison. It takes action into an entirely new level.
Miller offers action at its most grown-up, fantastic, surreal, weird, insane, primeval and visceral all at once and never ever lets up on the thrills even once. He gives a new dimension to larger than life. The canvas, the characters, the assault vehicles—those rigs and bikes, the chases, the action and stunts are all bewilderingly crazy, eccentric and extreme. So are the places you whiz past in the adventure—Gas Town, Bullet Farm, Green Place. Not to forget the ear-splitting sound, the one thing I would like to nitpick on. And you are thrown headlong into it with the first road battle itself—as Furiosa (Theron) flees, with War Boys hot on the chase and Max (Hardy getting into Mel Gibson’s shoes), a captive of the desperado Joe (Byrne), joining hands with her.
The pursuit continues though desert, swampland and salt flats. In fact, you hardly get any time to pause and breathe. Miller sends you on a relentless run along with his characters, while giving you not a chance of moving an inch off your seats. It’s like being on a long simulated ride in a theme park that makes you shout and scream while certainly not wanting to get out of it. What’s more, it’s a movie that even comes to haunt you in your dreams. The strange flame-throwing guitarist is still stuck in the mind a whole week after the screening. And to think that this furious, fuming, freaky world should have been created by a man in his 70s, the same guy who warmed the cockles of our heart with Happy Feet and Babe, is unbelievable.
At the end of it all Mad Max: Fury Road leaves you at once exhilarated and exhausted. And it leaves you at a complete loss for words when asked, ‘how was it’. See it to believe it. A film you have to experience to understand. A world worth immersing yourself in for the time it lasts on screen.”
You can watch the movie just for punches. The topic is interesting but its handling is simple. The movie is very watchable and should do good business.
I probably enjoyed Baby the most out of the movies that I have seen this year, I was most disappointment with Badlapur..I thought the preformances across the board were pretty weak (even from Nawazuddin who i really enjoy watching otherwise)
I can never get tried of this quote. So here it is again:
“To live without seeing the films of the Indian director Satyajit Ray, said Akira Kurosawa in 1975, “means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” Though Ray was 11 years his junior, Kurosawa spoke of him that day in Moscow as a master. “I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing it,” he recalled of Ray’s debut Pather Panchali, 20 years after that film’s success at Cannes helped to usher in a new era of cinematic globalism—one that would eventually make it possible for a Japanese filmmaker to praise an Indian one in a speech being translated for a Russian audience. “It is the kind of cinema that flows with the serenity and nobility of a big river.” http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2015/05/satyajit_ray_s_apu_trilogy_restoration_and_re_release_of_pather_panchali.html?wpsrc=fol_tw
agree.. specially if it continues being mostly a North Indian affair! Or else it would have to trend strongly to get to a 100. I’d bet on your 70-80 range though. Of course it has two weeks to do this because DDD releases after this.
I must say even otherwise that I find the entire sense of excitement about Tanu weds Manu a bit mystifying. I’m sure it’s an entertaining film (I wasn’t that crazy about the first one) but there seems to be a certain exaggeration to some of the responses to it. of course any film that does well at the box office can automatically not be argued against!
On a related note though BOI has been celebrating Gabbar for getting to a number Piku will now reach or one that Tanu will reach or better! And unlike Baby Gabbar is a very normal masala deal.
Gabbar is a Semi Hit at best…I think BOI will have that verdict too. Piku is a sure Hit. This one can go above that…I had liked TWM, it was quite a bit of fun. I also liked the directors Ranjhanaa, a wonderful effort. Satyam, this one is behaving like a biggie in the North but Saturday it has picked up in West too. There is lot in this movie for all strata compared to a Piku which we knew will be more of a multiplex affair. As a summer movie, TWM2 will score with the audience. There is nothing much to read into it apart from that…But this year has been good for low budget movies or small movies Badlapur, Dum Lagaake Aisha (delightful), Piku and now TWM2. Even a movie like Hunterrr did reasonably well…
There is 2 weeks for TWM2 and it has a very good chance to get to 100 crores with decent trending. I am more hopeful on ABCD2 than DDD to become the first 100 crores grosser but in the end it is just 100 crores…
BOI has now corrected their figure to 8.75 crs. Once the CI and Rajasthan numbers were out, it was clear that Day 1 was closer to 9 crs than the 7.5 crores which BOI was saying…
Piku Strong On Third Friday Bombay Velvet 95 Percent Down
Piku held up strongly again on its third Friday despite the release of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. It grossed in the range of 1.25-1.50 crore nett which will be around 50% down from last Friday. The film is now on course for 80 crore nett.
The film continued to be very strong in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. The fact that Tany Weds Manu Returns was not as strong in these areas as in North helped the film a little. The third week end will easily be the best of 2015.
Bombay Velvet collections were practically nothing at around 15-20 lakhs nett. Its a huge 95% plus crash from day one. The film will hardly collect 1 crore nett in its second week.
“Bombay Velvet collections were practically nothing at around 15-20 lakhs nett. Its a huge 95% plus crash from day one. The film will hardly collect 1 crore nett in its second week.”
I have no words to express for 15-20 lakhs collections on 8th day 🙂
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Day One Business
Saturday 23 May 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a good first day grossing around 8.50-8.75 crore nett. The business was lopsided towards North India which grossed excellent numbers while others were good to decent. The opening of the film is in the same range as Baby which was a much bigger film.
The film is a huge hit in the North and remains to be seen how the rest of the country performs. Markets like Rajasthan and CI will be okay but the crunch will be Mumbai circuit and if that picks up and goes on a run the film could emerge the first super hit film of 2015.
The potential for growth on Saturday is mainly outside North India. Mumbai and South have huge potential for growth though even if the film holds at first day levels it would have done very well.
Superstar Aamir Khan says he wants to watch Anurag Kashyap’s “Bombay Velvet”, which opened to mixed reviews.
The much-talked ‘Bombay Velvet’ is a period crime drama based on historian Gyan Prakash’s book ‘Mumbai Fables’. Released on May 15, the film was mocked on social media.
“I haven’t seen the film yet. I had seen the trailer and it shows that a lot of hard work had gone into it. It feels sad that the film did not do well… I would still like to watch ‘Bombay Velvet’,” Aamir said in an interview here.
Also read – ‘Bombay Velvet’ an ‘epic disaster’; Anurag Kashyap and Ranbir Kapoor bear the brunt
“When a film doesn’t work, we feel bad. There are films that work and there are some that don’t work. We should learn from these experiences,” he added.
North India – Tanu Weds Manu Returns V Gabbar Is Back
Saturday 23 May 2015 13.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns set benchmarks for the year beating the figures of Gabbar Is Back. Below are the first day figures of Tanu Weds Manu Returns from Delhi/UP and East Punjab.
Delhi/UP
Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 2,48,00,000
Gabbar Is Back – 2,26,00,000
East Punjab
Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 1,33,00,000
Gabbar Is Back – 1,09,00,000
Although figures in most of the other circuits are much less than Gabbar Is Back, it is still commendable that a film like this is setting highs in some circuits.
That’s why Mad Max: Fury Road is like no other summer blockbuster. It isn’t even like any other movie around. I’ve never seen such a wildly imaginative mix of ideas and visuals – a matriarchal clan and metallic silver paint; seeds in a bag and a pregnant belly used as a shield; a comic-relief guitarist and a solitary tree in a desert; blindness and blood transfusion; collapsing rocks and a self-effacing protagonist. Every frame of this film has behind it this thought: How can we make this better, new, different, unique? Go watch this movie, again and again, for we may sooner see the apocalypse than an action movie that’s this artisanal.
Cannes: ‘Son of Saul,’ ‘Masaan’ Take Fipresci Prizes –
“… The critics also honored Masaan, which screened in Un Certain Regard. Neeraj Ghaywa’s film follows a group of people living in Benares, the holy city on the banks of the Ganges, which reserves a cruel punishment for those who play with moral traditions. …”
After Priyanka Chopra impressed everyone as a cop in the trailer of the US TV series, Quantico, it is Nargis Fakhri’s turn to surprise her fans. The actress, who is seen in the Hollywood film, Spy, an action-comedy alongside Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, and Jude Law shared the poster of her Hollywood film on Instagram.
this film is amazing ,surprised everyone ,including amitabh haters,
bachan fans always had faith and particular for this film…just feeling great this film has done well …
“What an odd title: Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Considering the audience just needs to be told that this is a sequel, was Tanu and Manu Again unavailable? Tanu Weds Manu Returns sounds like Tanu weds and Manu returns. The blue-penciller in me kept wanting to insert a comma midway”
LOL! Rangan doesn’t seem to be sold on it anyway. Glad we have a review that breaks out of the ‘hey-it’s-Sholay’ syndrome!
Rangan’s review is pretty much spot on– if anything I liked it even less than he did. This is probably Kangana’s best performance (I have rarely seen a double role where it really does seem that two different actors are involved) although Tanu is, by the end, so poorly written, no one could pull that off. Maddy’s character is just boring and doughy; and I wish there were more of Jimmy Shergill here…
The reviews this film is getting are astounding, given what it actually is: that first scene — of the wedding — is damn good, followed by an atrocious farce at the mental hospital (as a plot device this is so bad it has to be seen), followed by a very enjoyable first half. And then, it just goes horribly horribly wrong in the second half, and by the end I was hating Anand Rai for messing this up so thoroughly…
Second half drama was not up to mark with some 3-4 songs in sequence. But movie is very watchable as it very light even during those melodramatic scenes. The movie needed to be serious in second half and needed good writing.
ps – People who are married already for 4-5 years and who have stayed in UP will appreciate it more.
**Contains Spoiler**
very much agree Q – Kangana’s performance is so towering that it overshadows all the weak points at the same time highlights them too!:-) what an actress! (spoiler aert) – that haryanvi accent and the whole body language was so amazing that towards the end I was actually wanting that maddy’s character should not dump her…………
I am pretty sure you will like this movie minus some drama in second half (see with your better half). One of the things about Aanand Rai’s movies is the middle and lower middle class sensibilities, milieu are shown much better than any of the newer breed directors I have seen in terms of authencity. Anurag Kahsyap may shout about authentic part from rooftop but they are not.
Planning to watch it TONITE but hopefully doesn’t give my better half ideas about committing me to a mental institution. Because in my case , it would be very easy to convince them that I should be committed😄
I loved Tanu Weds Manu. It’s central conceit is almost philosophical. If you can’t get the real thing, would you be satisfied by a simulacrum? Both Madhavan and Jimmy Shergill love Tanu but because they can’t control her, they want someone who looks like like her but behaves differently. But the simulacrum in question is no chopped liver. She has her own brain too.
The Summer-Autumn angle of Madhavan and Kusum is dealt with astonishing maturity. There is a scene wherein Madhavan gifts Kusum a pair of studs, and she unused to such attention, is frantic on losing them. He is a sugar daddy to her and that is almost unexplored territory in Hindi cinema.
The second half plot devices that some critics are complaining about are actually its strength. It gives the comedy the pace and froth of a Rossinian opera. Tanu’s initial carousing in Kanpur reminds you of Fiorilla, one of Rossini’s most formidable buffa heroines, a wife disappointed by her marriage who start flirting with everyone including a Turkish Pasha!
It’s an interesting thing to watch that film fraternity seems to get the achievement of the movie whereas the critics are expressing some qualms. Maybe because it doesn’t pander to their limited Anglicised weltanschauung.
We have a true battle royale between Kangana and Deepika as far as performances go. While Deepika is exceptionally good, Kangana’s is a watershed. I wouldn’t mind Deepika winning the awards but I hope Kangana gets them.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 12h 12 hours ago
#Piku [Week 3] is UNSTOPPABLE. Fri 1.35 cr. Grand total: ₹ 66.57 cr. India biz. Should cross ₹ 70 cr by Sun. SUPER HIT!
they’re all so blatantly biased.. Taran was big on Piku and sure enough he’s been updating regularly. nahta meanwhile felt that certain sections would love it but not overall. He wasn’t expecting this kind of gross. He’s not had a single update on the film. On the other hand he’s been big on Tanu.. and he already has half a dozen updates.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 12h 12 hours ago
#PK is a WINNER in China too. Fri $ 899,000. Fri + Sat [till now] $ 1.47 million [₹ 9.33 cr] on 4600 screens. SUPERB!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 13h 13 hours ago
PK is now the HIGHEST grossing Indian film ever in Overseas: $ 28.1 million [₹ 178.34 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
Wow 4600 screens, I think that is more screens that it released in India! How many screens does China have?? And I think we are looking at the 1st 200 crore overseas Grosser
As of 2014, there were about 24,000 in China opposed to about 39,000 in US BUT China has been adding them at a rate of several thousand every year, so it could easily be a few thousand more by now.
3I released on 2000 screens and had 4.3 if total screenings. So, a lot of them probably have one showing per day.
I don’t know how it works in China but are these all Hindi version of the movie in so many theatres? And considering the number of theatre isn’t that number low?
Are you nervous that the film is having such a huge release?
I am nervous not because the film is having such a wide release but because most of them have already seen the film.
I went on a television show and the host tried to comfort me by saying, ‘Most of the people have already seen your film but I would now request them to go and watch the film again in theatres. (laughs).
I was just wondering if it made any business sense. You need to spend heavily on prints etc and you get returns less than a million. But maybe I am not aware of the dynamics in China.
I’m surprised you have more questions about PK’s China release than many Indian releases (i.e. in India) where the most ‘fantastical’ claims are made about budgets and distribution costs and eventual hit/flop status!
On your other question I believe these are dubbed prints in China.
watched Piku. Didn’t enjoy it the way Q did (possibly my expectations were sky high due to all the hype and they had generated similar hype for finding fanny too) but did laugh one that one scene that Rajen mentioned. Rest of the movie wasn’t a ‘comedy’ for me. Romance never took off.
Have been totally off touch with movies etc but came to know that even in FLOPDOM, BV has created RECORDS –EPICNESS even in failure haha
Some more random musings
There are many things the public hated (or didn’t quite latch onto!)
Kashyaps dark mind was typically at work
Note how he used sexuality (or different sexuality or lack thereof) to associate characters with
How DEPRAVED CORRUPT(ED) humans had some sexual characteristics
Kjo was OVERTLY ‘GAY’
and DISTRIBUTED his wife as sexual favours (& perhaps did a favor to her as well given his own lack of any ‘manhood’)
Even jimi mistry was apparently ‘not even a man’ as per anushka
Heck even anushkas (sexual) past was a bit shrouded in mystery
IRONICALLY the ONLY ‘normal’ clear and SEXUALLY HONEST & MORALLY UNAMBIGUOUS character was the ANTIHERO ranbir who was PURE in his ‘love’
On a related note, ranbir gave a good account of himself
Kashyap extracted good perfomances from everyone and the absolute HEIGHT was that Naseers NONACTOR son (forgot his name -the one who was also seen in HNY) was also good here
I didn’t expect it but ranbir did well in the action scenes here
Raging bull , scar face, godfather and the other conglomerate of influences were visible
But specially enjoyed the duel with JAPAANI —
Who is not a Japanese but perhaps represents the MERCENARY, MACHINISED HUMANOID he plays…
The word ‘japani’ does find it’s way back into the kapoor filmography after decades.
And reminded me in a v STRANGE way of this work (that I now realise the greatness of!)
Sometimes even utter flops remind u of cultness & greatness
Ps: the last such moment was in rockstar –when ranbir was with Shammi kapoor –that was an ethereal moment imo
Ranbir Kapoor definitely showed his class (& pedigree) though..
Having said that –I felt the casting of the lead pair was SUBOPTIMAL INSPITE of their ability and efforts and both being v good actors
In my view, in the current lot the BEST person to play Johny balraj would have been RANVEER SINGH
& the best person to play Rosie Noronha was difficult —
But my pick(s) would have been
Nargis Fakhri ( for no specific reason!)
ileana da cruz (for a couple of reasons)
kangana Renaut ( for kanganas acting credentials)….
There’s a dialogue that I loved —
Agli baar yahaan dikha Na
Aankh me beech mein Rakh Ke
dabaa daaloonga…..
Wtf??
Then they should have made ME the star !!
I would have done the movie for free –even paid them a bit for it
(Provided it starred nargis fakhri or ileana da cruz)
🙂
Now I don’t have anything against ‘female oriented films’ infact I fully ‘support’ such films (& females in general)
But have heard that deepika and kangana are now talking about pay parity amongst actors and actresses
As usual I will be POLITICALLY INCORRECT
It’s a simple MARKET–plain n simple n crude
U will take home what u bring to the table
What do u expect when your BIG HITS DONT CROSS 70-80 crores liketime total—
Be it kahaani, queen, Piku or tabu weds Manu
Yes things are changing slowly
But where’s the comparison with a
Salman, hrithik, aamir, srk (in that order nowadays!) when stardom can catapult a mediocre project to a near 100 Crore WEEKEND (not lifetime!?)
I know budgets are differnt but CONFIDENCE to invest in a BIG SOLO FEMALE ORIENTED project also comes from experience and DEMONSTRATION of performance at the ticket window
Till then, this talk of parity is just for deepika /kangana interviews, politically correct circles and BLOGS etc
Anyhow all the sent for such CHICK FLICKS oops I meant female oriented flicks …
Ps: a BRILLIANT comment by ‘prose’ above —
May watch tabu weds Manu soon –sounds interesting this….
Saturday numbers might touch 12.5 crores or even 13 crores. The numbers in North are very huge for a small movie of this kinds. There is a chance of a 35 crore weekend now.
Due respect to Deepika, but Kangana’s performance is on a different chart altogether.
There are still lot of things, the whole logisitics piece, theatre rental etc. As I said I am not aware of dynamics in China so cannot comment but for my naïve eye, it doesn’t make sense.
That is their headache. Why worry? If it is loss, why will they agree in the first place? It is a communist country and so the theatre rentals maybe nominal. The profit ratio or loss ratio wil be calculated and for this we must go to boxofficechina if there is one. Even HNY was released recently and declared as well received. What does that mean? Komal and Taran may answer better.
Watched TWMR with not much expectations
But was not prepared for what I saw.
A melodramatic kitsch that is an affront to intelligence and sensibilities. If you take out KAngna’s rebellious character , this could easily be a J.Omprakash film from 70’s or a Jeetu-Padmalaya melodrama from that era.
I can see why it has found some takers as melodrama with endings that confirm have always worked but in 2015, I regard this as an insult. Have not seen a more disappointing film in several years.
More later.
Hmmm..the melodrama was only fifth of the movie towards the end..The whole movie is filled with one liners and punches.. So either you didn’t get the jokes or you went with some different expectations. It is true that movie treatment of subject was skin deep but IMO movie is very entertaining and watchable.
The movie will do good. There is nothing in movie to remember but the movie is filled with funny dialogues and situations. The funny situations are really funny unlike say Rohit Shetty’s brand (barring ATB).
In parts the movie is actually an embarrassment.
The scene where the U.S. return doctor is invited to give a lecture to some scientific society about Cardiovascular diseases is so unrealistically staged. It is outdoors in a park with some chairs and a podium and some banners made of cloth- more like a kinder garten graduation or a local political event. Indian scientific meetings are sophisticated multi media events. Certainly they would be in Delhi.
Then , when he talks he says some garbage like bi- cardia and tri – cardia which he says means slow and fast heart rates. There are no such words. Correct terms are Bradycardia and Tachycardia. This is extremely elementary stuff and it is very embarrassing that in 2015, there is inability or unwillingness to get it right.
But, this is indicative of the level the film operates. One can suspend disbelief and give the film makers some license but this movie is just full of unrealistic, implausible situations and turns that defy logic. There is NOTHING intelligent about the movie.
If this is comedy, would take a Shetty film any day over it.
Crass,crude, unfunny and stupid. And takes audience for a ride.
And, there is something offensively patronizing about all these going ga- ga over realistic portrayal of lower middle class milieu of small cities. Sitting several steps removed in our comfort, we find it ‘cute’ how this life of lower middle class is staged with the crowded dwellings and very basic living.
The movie gets that part right but it is not an achievement.
“And, there is something offensively patronizing about all these going ga- ga over realistic portrayal of lower middle class milieu of small cities.”
yes and this is exactly the reason why I’ve always been suspicious of this entire genre. The multiplex classes can want it all and have it all whereas these other folks living in small town India or belonging to the same classes in major cities must enjoy their bittersweet lives with fat wives (saw the first 10 min of Dum laga ke haisha.. will complete it at another point) or whatever! This kind of representation becomes everything the former isn’t. So when it comes to making choices or making do with what one has or living with reduced aspiration the burden entirely falls on these small town folks. Meanwhile the multiplex guys have models as wives or whatever. So your word ‘cute’ is exactly right here. And on this note one of the rare exceptions was Do Dooni Char. There is a way of representing this sort of life without making it a vehicle of multiplex consumption or complacency (see what happens when you don’t become like us.. you have to be happy with a VHS store! again dum laga ke..).
I would love to know what you think of Dum Lagaake Haisha.
I thought it was delightful. The newcomer did a wonderful job and Sanjay Mishra is always a joy to see. I thought BR captured the essence of the movie perfectly in his review. And in a strange way it was good to hear Kumar Sanu.
On that VHS store thing, the movie was set in the early 90’s and I thought for a small town and considering the VCD boom then, it was a good choice of profession. In a way, that movie was the most pro-woman flick I have seen for some time considering it was the hero who had to adjust to the heroine’s ‘bulky’ figure rather than the other way around.
It seemed like a perfectly enjoyable film. I do plan to finish it at some point. The issue also isn’t about what happens ‘within’ the film but about what happens within this larger representation of small town life or life lived in the same way in the equivalent classes in larger metros. If one watches enough of them a formula emerges which I find suspect for the reasons I’ve just described. Sure enough none of these films are ever big in small town India. What works there? Either something very commercial but rooted or something more low key like Vivaah but which still cannot be confused with such films. In other words this peddling of ‘authenticity’ is really meant for multiplexes. Now people who’ve lived in such parts of India also find these films authentic. What’s the problem then? Well these people tend to confuse ethnographic detail with overall authenticity. A film isn’t ‘truer’ because it shows how people really live and talk. It becomes so when it’s deeper meaning is more truthful. The very fact that one thinks representing a certain way of life (museum-like) is enough is the problem. I of course know where that film is set and why the VHS store is there. My question is: why these choices and not others? So again one has to be sensitive to the overall framing as well, not just what happens within the film. In this sense these films become the other side of the ZNMD coin. Both cater equally to the same multiplex audiences.
In that way nothing is authentic. The small town likes nautanki and ranjhana kind of regressive ness. I once pointed to Q who was commending on revival of Bhojpuri movies is that the movies were filled with same melodrama, cliches and lecherous dance numbers. Now they run in small town but I don’t think they are authentic in any sense.
yes but there is sometimes a ‘higher’ authenticity in such films. We don’t like Deewar because we think it is real in some documentary sense. But the questions it raises speak to a greater truth. In the same sense I find Ghulami persuasive where I’m not at all convinced by GoW. This isn’t about the aesthetics in each case or whatever. That’s a different debate. I find Ghulami truer than GoW. I find many good masala films truer than many good realistic films. And this seems to be the question we raise anywhere else in life too. We don’t ask whether the Mahabharata is more realistic or not, we find truth in it. A film can belong to any genre. A fantasy film can be truer than a realistic docudrama. It all depends on how things are handled.
On Ranjhanaa I’d say that clearly those audiences found something there that they didn’t in Dum… Yes those audiences often like regressive stuff too. But my point is less about progressive and regressive here and more about putting the ‘other’ in some kind of stereotypical corner. Ranjhanaa (though I think it was messed up in the second half) follows a certain commercial format, it becomes aspirational in certain ways for those audiences. But Dum… doesn’t have anything like this (I’m making an assumption here). If multiplex audiences can aspire to certain things why can’t those small town audiences as well (actually many of them want exactly what ZNMD depicts!)? You see the problem here? The aspirational is put on the side of a certain class whereas when it comes to a different one suddenly it’s all about ‘realistically’ living your life and being happy with it! What happened in those older films though? Kallu became Kaalia! No one though this was possible. No one was foolish enough to believe this but there was something aspirational about it. that even if you were nothing in the world you could become something. Today it’s about how if you already are someone you can enjoy your life in Europe whereas if you’re nobody you should learn how to be happy about your limited moments of possible happiness!
Of course I agree with you that everything poor cannot be justified. I don’t think Salman’s movies are great, the same for Bhojpuri cinema. However there the debate is a different one. Those audiences aren’t getting subjects they like from Hindi cinema as they once did. For them this kind of cinema is simply a way to access something rooted. Similarly no one believes Salman Khan’s films to be great which is why not one has trended even like Ghajni (including Dabanng) let along anything more than this. But the kind of posture and agenda they’re looking for they can find in these films. it’s either this or Dil Dhadakne Do! And again the difference is illustrated by something like Do Dooni Char. This is a normal film. The sort they often made in the 70s. So you can have that sort of film without making it an ethnographic exercise. You can have any kind of work on even the most minor slice of life and so on but ultimately it should be universal otherwise it holds limited interest. And this is the sort of question we bring to everything else as well. When we watch small Iranian films we don’t just do so because we want to see Iranian life. We want to see how being in a certain place and time in a repressive regime like Iran’s tells us more universal things about being human and so on.
there is only multiplex audience left. There is no small town audience. Even a B center has many multiplexes than single screens. And most of the small town audience want to see entertaining melodrama than a realistic/relatable movie on their life.
The setting of the lecture is not uncommon in India (I have seen similar pictures in better institute). Your point regarding bi and tri cardia is valid but I think you were reading the captions in hall or the words are pronounced differently. The movie is feel good like Raju Hirani movie. There is drama which was contrived in second half.There is nothing in the movie to remember or profound. But the dialogues and one-liners were the best in some time. And I think that makes people overlook obvious weakness in the movie; at least for me.
The MOST interestingly written character here was syed afroze.
In a key moment, after amitabh got drunk and berserk, deepika (who had earlier not responded to his phone call) INVITED him for a bout of sex at his room. The next morning deepika showed concern and token guilt to see amitabhs deterioration in health.
Now this was an interesting guy who was apparently deepikas ‘boss’ or superior and was a ‘friend’ who lent his arm, helped her our and was also a ‘friend with benefits’ who helped out deepika with her ‘need’ for sex. He was very ‘passive’ and even ‘docile’ but given the obvious (physical) charms of deepika, I wonder whether that docility was default or by design since he seemed to ‘benefit’ from this a lot (which is why deepika could go off work as and when she desired)
So it was a refreshingly mutually symbiotic relationship (more on it later)
The film benefits from CONSISTENT PACING
and i think this director has had exposure to some auteuristic cinema in his formative years (even ray since he is a Bengali!)
Ps: there are sprinklings of unanswered questions
Towards the end, after amitabh dies, after a very very brief (shockingly brief period of mourning) deepika was back what she does best
Playing ‘badminton’ with irrfan
But notably he still hasn’t entered the ‘GATE’ of her ‘home’
Good reading,Apex except for the sleazy part.
Very nice interpretation of the badminton scene as long as you meant actual home and gate with no sexual connotations.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns To Be First SUPER HIT Of 2015
Saturday 23 May 2015 22.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is set to emerge the first big hit of the year. The collections have jumped across the board including places like Maharashta and Nizam which was important. The second day collections should be around 11.50-12 crore nett and could even go a little higher depending on Mumbai growth.
The film is set to be the first SUPER HIT film of 2015 which is a ray of rope considering what has happened so far this year including the disastrous Bombay Velvet last week.
North India has gone crazy for the film where it will be a blockbuster as Delhi/UP and East Punjab hit figures on Saturday which are normally associated with event films.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Day Two Business
Sunday 24 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a huge 50% plus jump on Saturday. The film showed growth all over India including Mumbai circuit which was on lower side on day one. The first two day business of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is as follows.
The difference between Tanu Weds Manu Returns and the other releases like Baby, Piku, NH 10 etc which have jumped on Saturday is mass circuits. This film has shown extraordinary growth on in mass circuits which is rare. Even single screens are up which hardly ever happens. This film is the biggest hit of the year so far.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 4h 4 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns biz witnesses PHENOMENAL growth. Biz multiplies on Day 2. Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 13.10 cr+. Total: ₹ 21.85 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 4h 4 hours ago
At the speed #TanuWedsManuReturns is sprinting, ₹ 35 cr [+/-] opening weekend is on the cards. Cost [incl P&A]: ₹ 30 cr. FABULOUS!
stunning! straight 50% jump on sat. – sunday would be around 15 – so yea 35-36 on card. and first week above 60 cr – kangana is a female amitabh (of yores of course) ! 🙂
BOI cannot resist saying foolish stuff. How could a movie like Piku be expected to do well in mass circuits? If anything it’s been a super-performer given it’s for a more limited audience? Baby is of course a different matter. But what about Gabbar? Now that’s a mass circuit film and its doing only as much as Piku! And BOI consider that a good result too. of course they now have their ‘North Indian’ film to go crazy about in Tanu.
On that note BOI haven’t updated on Piku but as Taran’s Fri/Sat numbers show it’s remarkably stable even over the 3rd weekend.
Didn’t realize you minded it so much when I criticized BOI!
I also wake up on the wrong side of the bed when Ra One and HNY become super hits much more easily than Baby and Piku! So yes I am more ‘curious’ about these claims than whether the PK gross in China is actually a good one relative to print count or not!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#PK China Fri+Sat: $ 3.43 million. Higher than #PK 2-day collection in USA, UK and Middle East each.
PK overseas total: $ 30.13 million.
Is this the number on 4600 screens! In that case, what can be the economics of this number.
or, it will just be added to foreign gross of PK to make this even more record breaking.
How times have changed! On the NDTV weekend show Big Fight the guests were asked to rate Modi on the 1 year mark. The American journalist here (he’s lived in India for a while) said ‘we were promised the Salman Khan movie but got the Shahrukh Khan one’! Now of course this isn’t the right analogy as the host pointed out but the very idea that someone could use SRK as the opposite to Salman’s ‘big bang’ (again the journalist’s words) shows how things have changed. And as I pointed out earlier in this sense the coverage over his conviction and so on was totally united on one message — he’s the country’s biggest superstar! Now I’ve often made the case for Aamir and I still would today and certainly after PK (to quote the most recent example) this isn’t a hard case to make. Still Salman has that top status in the popular imagination today. Aamir still has his unique calling card one way or the other. SRK remains the worst affected in this sense.
Lets agree to disagree on BOI…You don’t believe them, I do a bit more than you. But cant one ask a genuine question on print count without offending anyone here? And why cant one be curious on something without being the same on something else!!
ANd on HNY I had made myself clear that I was purely talking of economics and not on whether the audience liked it or not. If anything I never rated the movie very high myself and I said it after seeing it. You have your way to judge a movie, I don’t disagree with that but whats wrong if the verdict from economics point of view is different..And no one said Piku is not a Hit…And Baby is not a hit because people did lose money…whereas they didn’t as much for Gabbar. And BOI has indeed called it a semi hit only…
Lets agree to disagree on the way we rate movie as hits or flops also. Simple…
Krrish, but here’s the problem. And it’s an old one I have. The ‘cost’ argument is used to justify any and every claim. But where are these numbers every established in a verifiable sense? Sure the media throws out figures but these are as often false as true. How do we know? Similarly you ‘believe’ BOI. But why? Do you have a reason to do so beyond a ‘feeling’? It is not that I distrust you or anything. I just distrust an argument that always remains unverifiable. I too am not arguing about who liked HNY or not. I have however seen for more than a decade now claims advanced or costs and eventual ratings that simply don’t make sense. Which is to say they don’t make any internal sense. In Hollywood no one feels that any 100m grosser is automatically somewhat better than any 30m one. But this is the logic behind all such arguments in India. The idea that costs are always greater for that sort of film in the same proportionate sense is made no part of the equation. It just runs contrary to any accounting system of any industry where things are done verifiably that such things could happen? Since I don’t these new laws have been discovered in India in this sense I have to believe that bull is mostly reported in the trade and the media on this stuff. No one doubts the obvious super hit or the obvious super flop. It’s stuff in between that becomes questionable because of these narratives. And I refuse to accept a system where i just have to take someone on face value. If you believe BOI you should tell us why you do so. I doubt them in many cases and I’ve given these examples many times before. Again their claims don’t make sense and their narratives are often blatantly dishonest. If you think otherwise what do you have to show for it? Even if you know the folks who run the site personally that wouldn’t be good enough for me. Because that still isn’t verifiable information. You’ve just said all these things about Baby and so on. But how do we know this? Where did you get production costs or distribution ones or sub-distribution ones and how much the film made in all these places against those costs and so on? Where are these numbers? In the trade journals where they give these ratings (and this was true for older stuff as well) the same films would get different ratings from different trade figures. They were often not even using the same formulas for success or failure. when nothing is standardized, when nothing is verifiable how do we know how to judge things? And then when bigger films suspiciously reach safety much more easily than smaller ones one has a reason to doubt this narrative. So it’s not about ‘agreeing to disagree’. I’d love to do that but there are no facts on the table here! What is there to agree or disagree with?!
Satyam, you are basically saying you dont believe anything, any numbers, whatsoever. So you dont believe BOI, NBOC, BOI.co.in, Addatoday who have a way to get numbers from distributors or the kinds of Taran, KOIMOI or whoever else who quote producer numbers. You also dont believe Trade Journals or Film Guides or budgets given by producers too. And that is a fine position to have. But I dont have an issue in going by the numbers thrown by the same media outlets or publications. I can take the lowest range of BOI and highest range of producers and be happy with a range for the collection rather than an absolute number. When there are clear outliers like the case of Krrish3, the producers are usually found out. As long as the large proportion of media stick to around 10 % of a number whether it is budget or collections I have no problem. The simple reason being I dont know where else to go for a verifiable number. These are our only sources available and not just me most of the fraternity follows these numbers. So unless we have a Hollywood like model I have no reason to change my way of thinking. Maybe when a Hollywood kind of model comes, I will also stop believing these outlets and go with the ultimate truth. But for good or bad these are the only outlets I have for numbers. And I do believe HNY had a production budget of 90 crs with P and A of 30 crs and total landing cost of 120 crs. This was what many outlets reported. And If i take that, the movie is a hit in economics terms. Fine it is not verifiable according to you, and you may be correct, but unless you tell me a verifiable outlet, I dont have any options but to trust what is published by 80% of the media outlets, do I? Same goes for a hit like Piku or TWM2 where it is a hit based on costs provided by these same media outlets and I dont have any reason to believe they are not hits. Same reasoning for thinking BV is a disaster and Baby is an average affair…
The numbers provided are almost round figures. It is easy to add a couple of crores here and there and start inflating.. And the narrative adds fuel to the fire. Not in all cases. Only where the stakes are very high and where the producer or an actor has a vested interest. And there is no credible auditing. There is so much haziness here. To arrive at the correct figure, we may have to access incometax filed by the producer and also the distributors and exhibitors. Who will do this and who will bell the cat? to be on the safe side, they always say according to the statistics received by them. What about statistics not received by them? Are the statistics authorised one duly signed?
In US you just cant fudge figures or statistics like they do here with gay abandon.
I’m not saying I don’t believe anyone. One can certainly look at everything and arrive at a general sense of how a film has done or not. But again your very long response still doesn’t feature the one question I ask repeatedly. Where’s the verifiable here? Because such a thing does not exist in India in these matters doesn’t mean we develop complete faith in an imperfect system. whether everyone else looks at this also scarcely matters. As an aside you also haven’t told me why you have greater faith in BOI. You keep asserting that this film or that is a hit based on ‘costs’ and what not. Where are these numbers? If you’re relying on another source you should at least point out what it is. So for instance if you see numbers for a film in Trade Guide (costs or whatever) you can say you’re referencing that source. Not trying to give you a tough time but one cannot sound authoritative and then indulge in generalities when questioned about one’s sources. Also it’s not enough to say that in the absence of the verifiable one will keep believing whatever’s out there. One should be a lot more ‘critical’ about this stuff. And if one knows anything in these matters one should also be aware that these distribution deals are very often structured in very complicated ways and where profit and loss are tricky to figure out except in obvious cases one way or the other. The way it’s presented one would believe there’s producer ‘A’, distributors ‘B’ (covering all the major territories), production cost ‘C’, distribution cost ‘D’ and then one does the quick math on this and one arrives at a conclusion. There are sub-distribution deals, sometimes within these someone might pick up a small percentage, so on and so forth. It’s rather complicated at various levels. Again for the outright hit or flop it’s easy to figure things out but with everything in between the reality is in no way like the way it is represented in all of these outlets. Which would be fine if one followed the trending model. here one would only have said that an audience had liked a film or that there was enough of one for a film. This is however where the ‘fun’ begins. Arbitrary standards are used for a different films, arbitrary centers are used, arbitrary show info is provided, the sources in question are quite often biased and even downright dishonest. It’s obvious they’re trying to support certain films and reject others. This is the entire environment and yet one has a touching sort of faith in such a system. Because there’s no other. That’s not a good enough argument. What’s the alternative? One should look at everything critically and be willing to live with the fact that one will not know for sure in many of these cases beyond the obvious hits or flops. You can’t start believing in stories because the verifiable doesn’t exist. And even if you do you should tell us why you believe BOI more and where you get the numbers from and so on. By the way I have long experience in this matter too. You ask people too many questions in this sense and they get testy. Again I’m not trying to give you a tough time. I would ask the same questions of anyone who made similar claims and have in the past too. I am always curious about one thing though — from time to time people emerge who have total faith in BOI but for many years now no one has been able to explain ‘why’ they have this greater faith in them!
The question really is, whose numbers will you believe if not for the sources we have? As far as I know there are none…
If one compares totals of NBOC, BOI.co.in, BOI with Trade guide, most times than not their final verdict will not match but their numbers are pretty close. I have admitted many times that BOI’s commentary is sometimes very murky, their verdicts too can be lenient but I dont find any issues with their numbers..It is lower than producer numbers for mass releases but for urban movies, their numbers match the producer numbers as well as Guides. Do they have agendas, I dont know. They might. I have heard they are Pro Khan here but Their numbers for CE, JTHJ, Kick are lowest among all guides. I have heard they are pro North but I have also heard here they run down Akshay Kumar movies which does well there. Their commentary is dicey and the way they pick and choose data is also dicey but their numbers are close enough to Trade guides. And not just BOI, I am as comfortable with NBOC whose numbers are even lower than BOI. Same goes for BOI.Co.In. This site itself quotes BOI more than any other sites. If no one believes them, why quote them. I do agree there is no one number but I am comfortable living with the range between the lowest and highest number. But yes there is no need to believe Trade Guide film journals too. There is no doubt that the in-between movies which are neither hits nor flops can be agenda ridden in their verdicts but when we know the numbers, it is easy to form a verdict. In the last 5 years has there been any movie other than Krrish 3 when there has been a unbelievable variance between producers numbers and NBOC (which is lowest number). The variance has been within acceptable limits. And that is enough for me till there is a more trustworthy source for numbers.
it will actually help if someone can put up scans of Trade guides here.
I don’t believe anyone in your sense of the word. I get a general sense of what’s happening looking at everything but I don’t think this is some of existential drama where if I don’t accept one version or the other I will face a crisis in life! And again there’s a difference between accepting things generally on a film and being so certain about specific like distribution costs and what not. Here one must at least quote the source. A lot of these numbers are not covered in the popular media.
Rajkumar Hirani is simultaneously working on the scripts of Sanjay Dutt Biopic, Munnabhai 3, PK 2 and Sequel to 3 Idiots confirms Bollywood Superstar Aamir Khan.
After the record breaking run of PK and 3 Idiots at the box office, everyone is awaiting for the announcement of Aamir Khan’s next film with Rajkumar Hirani. The director who has associated his name with Entertaining Quality Cinema is one of the most sought after director in Bollywood.
In an exclusive interview with us, when we asked Aamir to speak about PK 2, he said-
“I don’t know when will PK 2 happen. Raju has got the basic idea of PK 2, 3 Idiots Sequel, Munnabhai 3 with Sanjay Dutt and A Biopic on Sanjay Dutt. He is working on all the scripts simultaneously and it is up to him where in which script he goes ahead with. It will not be right on my part to ask Raju to give a film with me a priority over others.”
Well, we heard right from the horses mouth that the sequel for two of the most loved films of Bollywood is on cards.
PK 2 may even star Ranbir Kapoor and Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan character can join Ranbir and they can go through a lot o adventure together. Ranbir can have the romantic angle brought in. Aamir can be the wry, funny philosopher and guide. That will have a huge box office heft.
Hope this time they will tone down the religious angle. Once bitten twice shy. It will be interesting if Ranbir and Aamir star together with equal roles.
Lol,Kangna sure is a force to reckon with.
Wouldn’t mind if BW was ruled by Deepika,Katrina and Kangna instead of the Khans but it ain’t happening.
The review is spot on.
A blathering mess is the right way to describe the movie.
John Nash, 86, the Nobel prize winning mathematician, and his wife, Alicia Nash, 82, died in a car crash in New Jersey on Saturday, reported local media.
The duo were travelling in a taxi when the driver lost control of the car and crashed into a guard rail, reports abc News.
Authorities believe that the couple weren’t wearing a seat belt when the crash happened. This caused them to be thrown out of the vehicle.
The world renowned Princeton mathematician was suffering from schizophrenia. The story of his life told in the Oscar winning film – A Beautiful Mind.
Russel Crowe, the actor who portrayed Nash in the film, tweeted:
Now this is what a good movie does to the audience. It creates such all around positive vibes that it makes you forget all the bad times that one may have experienced in theaters and makes you wonder if there was anything wrong at all in the first place. That’s the kind of magic Tanu Weds Manu Returns has created over the weekend gone by, what with fantastic word of mouth ensuring that audience footfalls has increased manifold with every passing day.
If Day One of the film was pretty much on expected lines with an average opening of over 50%, the real fun started from Saturday onwards when the collections started escalating, courtesy very good word of mouth. The reviews were out and out positive as well and with glowing words coming in on social media as well for the Aanand L Rai directed film, there were no surprises in store when the film collected huge on Sunday as well, despite IPL finals. Result? Collections in the vicinity of 37 crore* which are not just phenomenal but also next only to Gabbar Is Back which had enjoyed best weekend collections of the year so far and that too at much greater number of screens.
For Kangna and Madhavan, the success of TWMR is huge indeed as it is marching towards the Superhit zone now. The film is clearly enjoying the best word of mouth of the year and the surprising part is that it is doing well even in non-Hindi speaking zones of the country. Meanwhile, the film’s super success has further buoyed the fortunes of Eros as they have now scored a hat trick of successes this year after Badlapur and NH10, each of which were very different affairs as well.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has emerged the biggest hit of 2015 by a distance with weekend collections of around 38 crore nett. The collections are a little less than the weekend filo Gabbar Is Back which was 38 crore nett plus but here the trend is phenomenal with 50% growth on Saturday and 25% on Sunday.
The film had the best weekend collections of the year in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore. The figures in Delhi/ UP of 10.50 cr a aprx and East Punjab and 5.50 crore apprx are extraordinary. The film will is the biggest hit of the year and will also emerge the highest grossing film of the year surpassing the figures of Gabbar Is Back.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is the biggest worldwide opener of 2015 beating the figures of Gabbar Is Back. Gabbar Is Back grossed 62 crore worldwide with a contribution of 52.50 crore (GROSS) from India and 9.50 crore from Overseas for a total of 62 crore.
Tanu Weds Manu has a 49.50 crore GROSS in India and the four main markets in Overseas (UK, US, Gulf and Australia) are $2 million apprx (INR 12 crore) which means final total overseas should go to 15 crore plus. The worldwide weekend Of Tanu Weds Manu will be around 65 crore.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns at 65 crore apprx, Gabbar Is Back at 62 crore, Baby at 47 crore and Piku at 44 crore lead the Worldwide figures in first weekend. .
I really didn’t care of this movie. Didn’t think it was authentic at all or its unidimentional focus on one subject for me was boring even if it was metaphor blah, blah. At the ending I was as irritated as Piku the protagonist of every frame was.
Deepika is alright. Certainly better than kareena and katrina kapoor’s of this world but this role truely belonged to Konkana Sen Sharma or Vidya Balan who would have brought nuances to the character which Depeeka Madam couldn’t! But since the movie is great success one will clap on everything and go gaga over maestro Deepika and all aspects of this ‘flawless’ movie. Her training wheels are off but she is not a super driver yet.
Incidentally Sircar made Deepika watch Konkona’s movies to get into Piku’s character. Obviously she is signed not for her talent but for the stardom. Bachchan and Irrfan were signed year back and they were trying everyone from Parineeti etc and finally managed to get Deepika, the team was ecstatic as she’s flavor of the season. For her range, she did very well but she’s no art-house performer.
In Ideal world, this role has written Konkona sen all over it. My second choice would be Vidya Balan (was on break that time). Can’t imagine anyone else.
And of course I didn’t care for the hero. Very unfair. While heroines are beautiful and glamourous, not at all your small town woman in a small town life you want to show, the hero is…well …quite gross.
Not only that, he happily gets ready to marry another young and pretty girl, while the glamourous beautiful wife pines for him when is about to lose him.
Lucky lucky more than ordinary Indian men.
I didn’t like it. Bhaskor got on my nerves, and I felt that AB’s portrayal of the character was over-the-top and struck the wrong note. IMO they should have either made Bhaskor more endearing and loveable or they should have been more blunt about the dysfunctionality of his relationship with Piku. Instead, they fell between both stools by making Bhaskor a selfish, whiny old man but still trying to create sentiment about the father-daughter bond, especially towards the end of the film.
I have never liked Deepika. Apart from her obvious lack of acting ability (just place Konkana or Vidya in that movie and see the difference.) Deepika has a very weird body language, I don’t know how to express it but I think she has some kind of mental disorder. No wonder, there have been rumors about her lapsing into depression during the filming of Happy New Year.
There is a pervasive sense of emotional vacuity and introversion in her. It was apparent in the chemistry between Irffan and Deepika in the movie. No wonder Ranbir got scared and ditched her.
She is no art house material as the movie PIKU and others in the past have consistently been proving. She should better stick to dance and song stuff, where her obvious lack of talent will not be analyzed under a microscope.
Amitabh Bachchan was over the top as one would expect. but the guy is getting old and senile. Lets spare him the criticism.
An acting legend like Irffan couldn’t do much because the story and dialogues were so remote and facile that it didn’t connect with the audience.
“In my humble opinion, I think Juhi Chaturvedi’s writing has some major problems, which are quite evident in both her films. My biggest problems with her is the use of stereotypes. I am no way against use of stereotypes(I mean here, not just punjabi, bengali etc. cultural stereotypes). I think there is value in them. But how and when to use them, I feel, is what a good writer should know. Juhi Chaturvedi’s characters, like Raj Kumar Hirani’s, seldom have a life of their own. In case of both these writers film’s characters are just props to pass on a larger message.
Such kind of writing works sometimes because it is written for comedy, or the actor is so good and inventive that he or she brings life to character which is on paper so sketchy( in Vicky Donor: Anu Kapoor and in Piku: Irrffan Khan). But in hands of lesser actors these issues are mush more apparent.
For example, take character of Piku. There are nice touches here and there which you have mentioned in your blog. But a character description could not be just a strong independent woman who can’t give up taking care of father. You have to give me something more to identify with her. For example, why she cares for her father so much? (I know everybody is suppose to love their parents, but it is never that simple in real life. Isn’t it?? ) We are never told what kind of family it was like when her mother was alive. We don’t know what things the father contributed in her personality. We don’t know what her personal philosophy in her life is. In fact we never get any reason for her affection apart from the fact that he is her father and she thinks it is her duty.
Look at the affect of these things on Deepika’s performance, when she is supposed to just sitting there and brooding(in the car , by the ghat). You look in the eyes and all you see is emptiness. A greater actor like Tabu with much better writing (Maachis, Maqbool and Haider) will reveal a whole range of emotions in just one look of her eyes. Yes, Deepika is no Tabu, but all her efforts were seem to be not working because there is no much material to hang on to.
The same problem is with Amitabh Bachchan’s character in the film. It is so sketchy that’s why Bachchan has to ham it up.
Such writing never pays off in emotional scenes. In both Vicky Donor and Piku i was just a bystander. I didn’t feel anything. And I cry very easily while watching films. Piku sometimes feel to be designed to make a point about portrayal of female characters in Hindi Cinema. And many critics like you have rightly appreciated it. I am all for appraising a film for the novelty it bring to popular culture.
But to me it has to be fulfilling emotive experience first. For me this film didn’t pass that test. A film can’t be designed just on the basis of a list of ‘what we will not do’ decisions.”
A cut and paste. I agree with most everything she says here.
Yes, Amitabh didn’t even have proper close up. He is so callous of his (dead) wife and then there are glaring inconsistencies in his character (e.g. he is demanding all attention from his daughter so much so that he would tell complete stranger that she is not ‘nice’ because she is not virgin and then he blamed her after reaching kolkatta that just like her mom she has devoted herself to him etc) . There are several places were sircar could have exploited AB’s skills as an actor and developed endearing character which for instance AK did successfully in GoW for Bajpai. But AB is holy grail on this blog so I just went with Deepika/Piku lest Rajen and Satyam come after me with their axes and knives threatening with dire consequences and permanent black list.
Since almost a 99% of people have liked this one you might want to be a bit less dogmatic about your own response to the film! On having holy grails yeah some have Amitabh Bachchan as one, some have Vidya Balan. Different standards for different folks..!
99%!!!! Where the heck you got that number? Just on this blog space so many came out to Saurabh’s query!!!!!
😦
It is a hatke movie, I would give it that. I would still watch it over Happy New year etc….it is good attempt but not great. Certainly not a masterpiece like (everyone is making it out to be) Ray’s that is making cinema history or anything like that. Lot of people took their parents to see this which explains BO numbers. So many I know also did that for Baghban.
I certainly felt ‘bait and switch’ upon watching the movie. I thought even finding fanny was more funnier (and I didn’t quite like finding fanny). I think Sircar wasted Bigb’s talent.
Maybe 3 came out after Saurabh asked..! I did allow for 1%..!
On the rest maybe you find Bachchan’s good stuff overrated more often than not. Judging by you’re examples! And given that you find every other Balan film a masterpiece you might not be the best judge of these matters anyway! For the record I haven’t heard anyone call it a masterpiece but I could be wrong. Certain films strike a chord. Piku has done this. It’s not just about becoming a very successful film, it’s about making that connection with the audience. Now you might want to examine why and how it did that. But that’s the reason it’s being talked about so much.
Now you of course have the right to like or dislike anything. But if you’re going to be dogmatic about it you need better reasons than the ones you’re providing. You’re just speaking in utter generalities. One could say this about any successful film. I for instance actually believe that Balan though talented is grossly overrated as an actress. She’s a good actress, just haven’t seen Smita Patil in her so far!
As for your box office theory on Piku that too is pure foolishness on your part. Even explaining why seems too easy!
I have an easier answer.. maybe you should check out the movie another time or more. You might figure out the secret by then!
The Box Office business of Piku came as a big surprise to all the Trade Pundits. Though the movie is okay kinda mediocre, the only reason I can think of its Box Office success is the debacle of BV. Piku had no competition. BV is indeed the kind of movie which tests the patience of the viewers in obscene ways and after watching that movie any other movie in comparison will appear to be a true masterpiece.
I was just wondering, who will gain the most in bollywood if big studios like fox, etc pack up their business and go? Because sometimes I feel maybe bollywood conspired along with kashyap to deliberately make an abhorrent and cliched shit pile movie like BV in order to hurt the Fox Studio. If big studios leave bollywood maybe the indigenous producers and studios stand to gain from this. And Kashyap was hired to do that job. Am I being delusional?
4 people out of 10 people who read blog. It is called a sample size. You do math based on your likes and dislikes. You famously changed math numbers during modi’s elections too. Anyhow, there were people who created similar buzz about finding fanny too. If I got bored in FF then in Piku I was totally bored and annoyed. I think Finding had some (more) humor compared to this one. However I would give one thing to Piku the movie. A piku part 2. I would love to see how and what happens to their relationship.
Know you didn’t ask me specifically but just replying my thoughts:
Amitabh’s character is mostly modeled on that of Arkin’s in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE [Remember the guy asking Paul Dano’s character right in front of the dad whether he is getting any woman-action in bed WHATEVER be the time or venue?]. Having Amitabh play a little more self-lessly human character or a complete jerk, in my opinion, would have defeated the appropriate ‘tensile’ strength of his relationship with his daughter. Making him more of a jerk would have made a ‘martyr’ out of Piku. One would not want that. [As Irfan says, NOT everyone does this for one’s parents, but one doesn’t want, per this film, for Piku to the ONLY extra-ordinary person to do this!] This is a film about the tug-of-war; where you want to get out of the somewhat suffocating bind to genes but also want to still be stuck and try to ‘re-pay’ back the genes. It is this requisite amount of dis-proportionality that makes the movie work and the relationship lie in the realm of believability. The whole point is to traverse a ‘grey’ area. Amitabh’s character has his own way of showing love or affection for his near-and-dear-ones. On the one hand, he makes life difficult for his wife and daughter; on the other, he doesn’t forget to wear a kurta his wife had gifted him on his birthday. On the one hand, he is self-absorbed enough in his enjoyment to go out cycling without even as much as bothering to tell his daughter who would be worried sick about his whereabouts while on the other, he doesn’t forget to get a bucket-load of sweets for the folks back home. This is how characters like Amitabh’s Bhaskor work. They ‘think’ there is nothing wrong in their way of loving or caring. It is the ‘other’s’ faults that they would prefer more normalized ways of loving. I have seen such stuff – again I repeat here, the biggest success bullet-point of this movie is the way it has resonated with the middle and upper-middle class folks in India in the metros or semi-metros. Not to get too personal but here’s an example: My father always has this habit of getting ready and going to buy ration or visit the bank or run any errands WITHOUT initially trying to inquire about the timings or the possibility of the person you want to visit being absent. He would just leave. This would irk my mother a great extent. What on earth is so difficult that you cannot make preparations and inquire before you get out? He would ride the Chetak 8 kms; find out the shop is closed for the after-noon, and come back empty-handed! He never changed! He still does it! But whatever be the case – rain, sunshine, storm— he would never forget to get her a couple of saabudana-vadas that one of the tapris prepared near the Matunga station since they were her favorite since college-days!!
I didn’t get it on first viewing but the house, Champa-kunj, could as well be a metaphor for the old cantankerous man! It is dilapidated, structurally damaged; there is always some sort of ‘congestion’, something that is ‘stuck.’ But hey, Bhaskor won’t sell it. And Piku won’t sell it precisely because of the fact that you can’t sell your roots {as hinted by Irfan} – however damaged or troublesome they might have become with advancing time and age. Selling Champa-kunj for her would be akin to selling a part of Bhaskor — a part where-in lies emotional bundle of the joy of your mom looking after you as well as you looking at her dead-body stretched across the court-yard..
An Jo
Would welcome your views on TWMR.
I don’t want to subject you to this trash but if you have seen it, would like to hear from you.
Just need to reassure myself that I am not being unduly harsh here.
The thing I’ve noticed with this entire genre of ‘North Indian’ films set in Delhi or otherwise but usually representing certain classes is that people from that region (and with all due respect to them) get very excited when they get that sort of lingo or gestures in these films. You kind of get the sense that half the sale has been made right there! You see the ‘hey they really speak like this’ kind of response. I’m not saying one doesn’t relate to these regional things but to be honest I’m never more moved by a film just on these grounds.
All movies are not same. The Kanpur in Dabangg is very different than Kanpur of TWM. So when a movies uses jhand, telhande, Patak, kantaap they make the movie authentic in some degree and setup. You will never see such dialogues in dabangg. It is not that theses words are not used by anyone else (Abhishek Chaubey has done it) but the usage need to be plausible to connect.
“get very excited when they get that sort of lingo or gestures in these films” and whats so earth shattering about it. My tamil friends had similar reaction watching life of pi. It is called being normal and normal reaction. Whole bengal wants to see Bhaskor and his accent. So?
aap ne dusri bar jhel liya. Congrats man! Interesting details and I have fond memories of Matunga as well. Champakunj is metaphor, so is the cycle, so is the taxi and its driver and so is the journey and the badminton and the 😉
haha..PK has lot of weaknesses but it was a feel good movie. The Raju Hirani took some liberties even though the subject was profound. Here the handling of a serious subject like marriage breakup is done in light way and the director has taken lots of liberties. But you feel good through out the movie. It could have been done differently but then the movie would have been different and probably less audience.
Ami: Thanks much for your views. I was under the impression that the toilet humour was going to keep you away from watching this one.
“IMO they should have either made Bhaskor more endearing and loveable or they should have been more blunt about the dysfunctionality of his relationship with Piku”-
Thoughtful points here (it would be nice actually if you could write more on the film- perhaps even a piece or note- especially because I haven’t seen any other review on the film which has pointed this out). I do agree that the film would have been stronger (though less box-office friendly) had they gone with your latter option (I don’t think they could have made Bhaskor any more endearing otherwise there would be no central conflict and I doubt there would be anything left to motor the narrative). And this is not necessarily a defence of the film, but atleast with Bachchan’s character I think Sircar and Juhi were following the footsteps of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (I refer to his comedies, not his more dramatic works) where an irritating yet lovable ‘cantankerous’ father/father figure/family patriarch (represented as some sort of a Hitler like figure, and often played by Utpal Dutt, Om Prakash and even Dina Pathak)- here too they would have an Irrfan like character (quite often an “outsider” to the family, but unlike Irrfan’s character, he would be the central character) who would teach the “father” a lesson by the end of the film. And yet the irritable father would have these very endearing quirks (and would still be liked by most members of the household…or atleast would be considered as a necessary evil of sorts).
I think (and of course your POV is equally valid) it’s easier to like Piku if one considers it essentially as a “comedy” (peppered with some quirky dramatic bits) not the least because unlike 99% of contemporary Bollywood comedies, this one is actually funny throughout its running time- most of the jokes actually land (for instance the comedy here is far sharper than in PK IMO). And I liked the fact that once the director decided that they would be using constipation as a plot point, they went the whole nine yards with it! I think the problem starts when the film tries to become slightly more ambitious (though I credit it for even attempting some of those things) than just a gentle comedy. For instance An Jo talks about Little Miss Sunshine w.r.t Bhaskor and I thought that bit in Piku- Bhaskor’s sexually liberated views- looked completely off when seen in an Indian context. Purely as a thought, it might have made for a cool and progressive-sounding conceit, but atleast for me it came out as fake/pretentious. I mean which Indian father would talk about his daughter’s sexual promiscuity in public. I know Sircar tries to handle that part with as much taste as possible, but it didn’t work for me. I will say this though that all this might have worked with some folks- because my sister was greatly impressed with Bachchan’s character (she was saying how liberated his views are, how she has allowed Piku to develop her own independent way of thinking, etc)
I must admit though that I found the film compulsively enjoyable (perhaps even more so because after a long time I saw a film with my sister in the theatre). One of the film’s greatest triumph is isolated C.R.Park (C.R. Park is really a Bengal outside Bengal and a lot of people from that area do like to keep to themselves…they don’t like to interact much with the “uncouth” Delhi folks) world it creates. Deepika also has a dialogue in the film regarding this (where she reprimands Bachchan for acting difficult with every “outsider” he meets. That bit is a gem just like the bg score with that Sarod theme).
“I felt that AB’s portrayal of the character was over-the-top and struck the wrong note”-
Do you mean to say that AB didn’t hit “as many notes” as he could/should have?! In other words more than the “over-the-top” bit, the problem may be that he didn’t imbue the character with as many shades (or nuances) as he could have (because let’s face it, the character itself was quite over-the-top. I think his was the most difficult character and performance since he was stranded with a character who was supposed to operate on a higher pitches especially when compared to Piku and Rana). I enjoyed his performance (not the least because it allowed him show his comedic chops after a long time). And it was such a respite from Shamitabh where he was actually hamming and hamming quite badly.
BTW I would like to hear your views on Ankhon Dekhi in case you have seen it. The film does share a few similarities with Piku (mostly in terms of the world both the films operate in), but is ultimately a far better film than the latter (it handles it quirks far better than Piku). Infact it is far and away the best (and most unique) Delhi film to have been made IMO. And while the father-daughter angle is not central to the proceedings, it does form an important plot-thread and is handles beautifully (and is a marked departure from this relationship is represented in Bollywood. It’s played out in freshest of manners and really subverts the notion of a middle-class North Indian father bossing over his daughter and his family).
Also on a different note, how would you compare Ok Kanmani with Bollywood (or regional) romcoms (urban ones)- say something like Socha Na Tha or Shuddh Desi Romance whatever?
TWMR Cruising To 100 Crore – Superb Hold On Monday
Monday 25 May 2015 14.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has a superb hold on Monday morning and is cruising to a 100 crore nett total. Although its hard to put a number on Monday this early its safe to say the drop will not be much more than 20% from Friday. It could even get close to the Friday total depending on the evening though lower ticket rates at multiplexes do play a part.
The film has found appreciation across the country and that is what has set it apart from the rest of the films this year.
There are centres in Gujarat and Rajasthan which are on par or even better than Friday. They may have been on the lower side on Friday but are a key for big success especially for a film like this which does not have a big cast.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 6h 6 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns does MASSIVE biz on Day 3, despite IPL finals. Fri 8.85 cr, Sat 13.20 cr, Sun 16.10 cr. Total: ₹ 38.10 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 6h 6 hours ago
The jump in the biz of #TanuWedsManuReturns is an eye-opener. Almost doubled the biz on Sun [16.10] vis-à-vis Fri [8.85]. Achhe din aa gaye!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 32m 32 minutes ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns Overseas total [weekend]: ₹ 17 cr. Worldwide total [India + Overseas]: ₹ 55 cr. AWESOME!
Sometimes even 100 crores seems a big number with TWMR possibly the 1st film of 2015. Great achievement for Kangana as aunties/families are in love with her after Queen to do business when none of the other released films managed this year. Both Akki movies though appreciated couldn’t touch 100 crores and doen’t look like Piku will touch and those are the only 3 films which crossed 50 crores this year. Kinda disastrous year so far.
But one should get away from this 100 or 200 obsession. For that matter any gross doesn’t mean anything on its own, it’s all relative to the subject of the film under discussion. At 80-90 Gabbar is a big under-performer. Why? Because a few years ago Rowdy did 40 crores or so more than this! On the other hand baby at the same gross is fine though even here Akshay is only bettering the Kahani kind of gross by a bit if one accounts for inflation. Still acceptable otherwise because the Baby kind of thriller is a never a big grosser. Now Piku on the other hand is a super achiever at the same gross. Because this sort of subject usually gets credit just for doing 40 or 50. It’s not a mainstream commercial film, it’s a quirky subject with stars but it’s put up an awesome gross. Its 80 crores or whatever are the equivalent of several times that on a proper masala film. Similarly if Tanu does 100 it’s again a very commercial subject and it’s a sequel to a successful film. It’s 100 is worth a lot lot less than Piku’s 80 (if those are the final numbers). I could keep adding example but the point once again is it’s not about an arbitrary number. It’s about the film’s performance and set of expectations in getting to that number. Unfortunately the way these things are done in Bombay is that Tanu gets credit for getting to 100 which is a very good performance for this film but then Salman with Jai Ho doing slightly more is considered ok. A failure perhaps but not an outright flop because hey it did a 100! Or a film that does a 100 within a week or something is then given credit for getting to 150. As if the costs for Tanu and that sort of blockbuster production are the same. You could have 10 films doing 60-80 one year and 2 doing a 100 while in another year you could have 6 doing a 100 and 2 doing 60-80 and the former would probably have been a more healthy year. Because with a certain kind of production a 100 is guaranteed unless it’s an absolute disaster (which rarely happens). Even with a tank after a great initial you can get to 150. So that’s not creditable either. So on and so forth. but if you keep thinking about it only in 100 or 200 terms or whatever you keep investing in this distortion. Which then also gets back to the points I’ve been making to Krrish. every source talks about 100 or 200 in absolute terms. They all peddle this nonsense. Just because no one’s sane about this I’m not going to follow the insane!
Somehow none have come up with a compelling / conclusive reason for a 22-23 cr lifetime for BV, a huge production in the making. It negates all suppositions and assumptions made whatsoever.
It only reminds me of Aamir’s character in Rangeela –
“Munna: Apun public hai public…kisiko bhi kuch bhi bol sakta hai…Jispe apna paisa vasool nahi, uska dabba gul…Chahe woh tera pyaara Rajkamal hi kyun na ho.”
Bombay Velvet debacle which was the last nail on the coffin of Kashyap’s Bollywood Career….(may It’s highly disturbed rebel indie soul rest in peace.) was because of several reasons:
(a) Every Director has an expiry date. Anurag has reached his. His craft has lost the magic. BV was a monumentally boring film.
(b) AK’s obvious arrogance and his constant refrain: “mediocrity everywhere”. Has rubbed not only the Bollywood insiders but also media and even his devoted fans the wrong way. It was as if the whole world was waiting for AK to make a slip in order to pounce upon him.
(c) Even Kashyap’s best movies were never Box Office success. His fan base is small. Ranbir is not a superstar yet and is losing credibility flop after flop. Moreover, Anurag is so insecure that he won’t let any actor take credit for his movie. Bombay Velvet was too much about Anurag and too less about it’s actors.
In short the Failure of BV is because of the monumental ego of one man.
Actually Satyam, No one would have expected a movie starring Madhavan and kangana to outgross a movie starring DP and AB specially once the former was on its way to 80 crores atleast on face value. Don’t you agree? TWM2 performance is a huge surprise to the industry, specially its all round success and not just restricted to urban centres. The best I thought the movie would do was around the Ranjhanaa range – 50 to 60 crores before release.
No I don’t find this surprising at all. Because this isn’t a film in Piku’s genre. Just having stars doesn’t prove anything. If Finding Fanny had done 80 that would have been pretty remarkable too. If there were a Raanjhana 2 it would have a shot at a 100. It’s a simply mathematical thing for mainstream genres.
Seriously??
If I we had a poll on this site before release of TWM2 if it had been a 100 cr grosser, I doubt anyone would have said Yes to it. Piku’s 80 cr grosser was a huge surprise, that almost was the Queen of this year but TWM2 100 crore (and this now has a chance to go to 125 crores) is a double surprise atleast to me and in terms of trending it is actually doing a proper Queen at high levels…Monday is almost same as Friday…
You need minimal acceptance even with big stars in mainstream movies to do 100 crs as proved by Besharam but with no stars you need massive acceptance and super strong trending across the board for a small movie to touch 100 crores. 100 crores is a nothing gross for a big star but for this small movie it is quite a big achievement.
Its important to appreciate the performance of TWM2 specially when we have instances like BV and Besharam happening all the while.
Satyam: You took that completely out of context. With all that talk that 100crores is pretty easy and we having 1st 100crore in 5 months is good indication that its not that easy. I know 100 crores for big stars is nothing but for a movie like TWMR, its completely surprising. I didn’t even compare it to Piku but since you brought it up, I feel its 100+ crores is as surprising as Piku doing 80 crores, no more no less. TWMR has nothing compared to Piku, just Kangana not even a great director or leading hero. I think TWMR doing 80 crores would have been more than enough for everyone associated with it calling it huge success. But if it reaches 125+ crores, we are talking about different level of success than Piku.
I understood you correctly and I’d say the opposite. It’s actually quite easy for films in various commercial genres to get to 100. When Arjun Kapoor has a 100 with 2 States, when BMB and Barfi and Ram Leela got to a 100, how difficult could it be? The fact that major stars are celebrated for doing this is an index of the perverse way these things are measured in Bollywood. I’ve said forever that those major films are under performers most of the time. we saw with YJHD how a multiplex-only kind of film went unto 185 or whatever. And then we celebrate ETT for getting to the same amount! If Akshay Kumar cannot get to 100 between Baby and Gabbar that’s again an index of his low standing (relatively). Other than on a Houseful sequel or something he cannot get those numbers anymore. Even then those sequels need a circus in terms of other stars or lots of actors. If one looks at the 100 crore grossers in recent years all kinds of genres, all kinds of stars/actors get there. Of course a film has to be liked minimally by the audience. Sometimes it’s about what kinds of releases there are, what kinds of stars and so on. Depending on how the schedule is stacked up you might get more or less within a comparable period. Ultimately the way these things are measured is just faulty. 100 crores is not much of a barrier anymore. If even some relatively less commercial (in the most mainstream sense of the word) films have a shot at a 100 and have done it then this is no kind of bar at all for any sort of star in a major release. If tomorrow ABCD2 did a 100 I wouldn’t be surprised at all. So Tanu is not surprising as far as I’m concerned. it doesn’t take away from the film’s success (let’s see how much it actually does first) to say this. Much as 200 these days is not the kind of deal for a major production the way it was for 3I. Because of course many films either do this or are in striking range. Again, and as I’ve said forever, if things are measured in perverse fashion a lot of things seem impressive. So 3I got to 200 off an 80 crore week. Today we celebrate films for getting to 200 or 220 off 130-150 crore weeks! Those films are under performers. A lot of those films could have done 300 had these been liked more. Getting back to Tanu again I’d still judge Piku’s 80 or so more impressive than Tanu’s 100 (if it comes down to that). Even at 125 I’d say the same. Because Piku just isn’t commercial the way Tanu is. But even within commercial genres I’d say YJHD’s gross is for example a lot more impressive than that of Chennai Express or Kick or everything else within that range. Both equally commercial films but CE and Kick still have a larger audience base to work with and no multiplex only film has done as much as YJHD. Nonetheless tomorrow a lot more might start doing this in which case one would have to use different standards once again. But again as a larger matter if we keep using the wrong standards of measurement we’ll of course arrive at faulty conclusions. Taran and Nahta and BOI celebrating Tanu like it’s Sholay is not something that particularly moves me. First off they do this for every other success. But secondly a film can be a big success (as Tanu might well be) without it being some sort of completely unexpected massive surprise. I’d finally say that in a Hollywoodized system which Bollywood increasingly has become the project matters far more than stars in the older sense of the term. There are of course exceptions. But even most major stars today don’t do business-as-usual films. Most of their films are also projects in one sense of the other. Salman is an exception but note how he’s also one because of what everyone else is doing. it’s not as if he’s in the South where many stars might be doing this sort of thing on a regular basis. The same happens in Hollywood. All kinds of films can be huge successes. obviously when major stars do major projects the possibilities are magnified. But you routinely get films with no stars or minor stars clearing all kinds of benchmarks. In India this logic has held increasingly for quite sometime but the trade/media pretend it’s still about the old system. Here Salman and Aamir are the only real exceptions. Salman keeps producing these huge initials whereas Aamir does well in all kinds of genres and on his big films his grosses are still in a league of their own. And here I’d say that no matter how much credit one gives to Salman the trade and so on is very soft on him. Aamir has never been loved in these circles though he’s been grudgingly accepted over time. The fact is that despite everything it’s a bit insane that a guy with massive initials on films that almost never trend well is celebrated more than a guy who has D3 and PK as his last two films not to mention everything else over time. I know of course that Salman is loved by the audience in a way Aamir isn’t. With the latter it’s more about prestige and a certain respect the audience has developed for him. but still this doesn’t matter in pure box office terms, specially when a guy is getting better results. for all this I accept Salman is doing something special by producing these initials in nothing films (for the most part) one after the other. But to wrap up in every one of these instances Bollywood just measures things stupidly. These narratives are then spread, people accept them uncritically and this leads to debates like the present one.
TWMR success deconstructs other “big” stars more than anything else. It’s a success no doubt, but it really shows how a number of big films, big stars are just failing big time.
What is quite commendable for TWMR is that it has a Friday and Monday number in the same area. That hold is super strong. Piku 2 weekends straight has trended superbly.
One absolute way of having a hit is making a decent film and trending well. Name me one film that trended well and isn’t considered a hit! I doubt no one can name one in the last 15 years! But I think many can name an awful lot that grossed a so called big number but did it mostly in the first 3 or 7 days. Glad to see Piku and TWMR do it the best way possible. Baby to an extent held up well for a few weeks too and considering that films genre, it did well. But everything else this year is practically a non-starter. And whatever these 3 films achieved, it was unravelled by one colossal disaster in Bombay Velvet. If films actually made what they are aiming for, we would not be celebrating TWMR the way we are.
Madhavan and Kangana are hardly elite stars. Kangana has a bit of a following but its hardly in the biggest films. Madhavan is hardly even a lead actor in Hindi films. If films like this or 2 States or Ek Villain are getting to 100 crore, well there are a few big stars simply not picking the right films or a lot of money being wasted on pretty rubbish films and scripts. That’s blatantly obvious.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Is Biggest Hit Of 2015
Sunday 24 May 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has emerged the biggest hit of 2015 by a distance with weekend collections of around 38 crore nett. The collections are a little less than the weekend filo Gabbar Is Back which was 38 crore nett plus but here the trend is phenomenal with 50% growth on Saturday and 25% on Sunday.
The film had the best weekend collections of the year in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore. The figures in Delhi/ UP of 10.50 cr a aprx and East Punjab and 5.50 crore apprx are extraordinary. The film will is the biggest hit of the year and will also emerge the highest grossing film of the year surpassing the figures of Gabbar Is Back.
Its been a dull year but Tanu Weds Manu Returns gives hope that when content is there then films can become all India hits without the aid of big stars and big budget. The huge plus is the performance of mass circuits. A circuit like Rajasthan is touching 1 crore on Sunday this is a number which normally comes when a film has a big male star.
Piku Continues Good Run In Third Weekend
Monday 25 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Piku did well it its third weekend grossing around 6.50 crore nett and taking its business to 69 crore nett apprx. The film maintained well despite Tanu Weds Manu Returns scoring very at the box office. The collections are the highest for the third weekend. They are almost similar to the the third week of Baby which had the previous highest third weekend.
The film looks on course for an 80 crore nett total and maybe even a chance to go past the 81 crore nett plus of Baby though has little chance of beating highest grosser so far this year Gabbar Is Back.
The third of the film should be able to cross 10 crore nett which would mean business of around 73 crore nett in three weeks. The business in Mumbai will hit 25 crore nett at the end of week three.
Bombay Velvet continued its disastrous run on a limited number of screens in second weekend grossing around 50-60 lakhs nett.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 4h 4 hours ago
#Piku [Week 3] continues its victory march. Fri 1.35 cr, Sat 2.40 cr, Sun 2.75 cr. Grand total: ₹ 71.72 cr. India biz. SUPER HIT!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#Piku Overseas total: $ 5.36 million [₹ 34.09 cr]. Worldwide total [India + Overseas] crossed ₹ 100 cr. FANTASTIC!
We haven’t seen you in Hindi films for a while — the last one you were in was Mumbai Express (2005). Are you working on any Hindi film?
Nothing has come up that interests me. We are in talks with Abhishek Bachchan. It is a project with an ensemble star cast. I would like to do Hindi cinema on my own terms. I am at a stage where I want to tell stories that need to be told. I like doing Hindi films because it gets me a larger audience. Actually doing Telugu cinema helped me get into Hindi cinema, because Ek Duje ke Liye (1981) was a remake of a Telugu film.
‘Tomorrowland’ Is a Box-Office Disappointment
By BROOKS BARNESMAY 24, 2015
LOS ANGELES — Disney’s big-budget “Tomorrowland” was a relative bust at the domestic box office over the holiday weekend, a result that will likely make Hollywood even more reluctant to invest in original stories.
Costing at least $280 million to make and market, “Tomorrowland” will take in about $40.7 million between Friday and Monday, according to box office analysts, or about 20 percent less than anticipated going into the holiday weekend.
The PG-rated “Tomorrowland,” directed by Brad Bird, who was also a writer, notably had the prime Memorial Day period almost entirely to itself. The only other new wide-release movie was a remake of “Poltergeist” (20th Century Fox), which analysts said on Sunday would take in about $27.7 million, a solid result for a PG-13-rated horror film that cost Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer a modest $35 million to make.
“Tomorrowland” was the No. 1 movie, but it only narrowly beat a holdover: “Pitch Perfect 2” (Universal Pictures) will sell an estimated $37.9 million in tickets over the four-day period, for a two-week domestic total of $125.4 million.
A science-fiction adventure starring George Clooney and Britt Robertson, “Tomorrowland” must perform better overseas to avoid a write-down. So far, the film has taken in about $26.7 million from release in 56 percent of the international marketplace, Disney said. Big markets like Japan, China and Brazil are still to come.
Disney hopes that a shortage of family-friendly movies in the weeks ahead will allow “Tomorrowland” to find a bigger audience in the United States and Canada. Depending on word of mouth is a risk, however. The movie divided critics; ticket buyers gave it a B grade in CinemaScore exit polls.
“It is what it is, but we’re not too disappointed just yet,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president for theatrical distribution, said in a telephone interview on Sunday morning. “In a summer of sequels, we hold out a lot of hope that wildly underserved families will find ‘Tomorrowland’ and enjoy its originality.”
Even so, there is no question that “Tomorrowland” is a major misfire for Disney’s live-action movie division, which, with films like “Maleficent” and “Cinderella,” had finally managed to move beyond flops like “The Lone Ranger.” Lackluster “Tomorrowland” ticket sales came despite an aggressive two-year marketing campaign that included a Super Bowl commercial, trailers on “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” and exhibitions at Disney theme parks.
“Tomorrowland” was also released in 354 Imax theaters, which typically offer a boost because tickets sell for higher prices.
What happened?
For a start, audiences seemed to be unsure what “Tomorrowland” was about, box-office analysts said. Disney did that on purpose, partly because Mr. Bird and his co-writer, Damon Lindelof, strongly believe that marketing materials should not give too much away. (Christopher Nolan and J. J. Abrams are other proponents of the keep-them-guessing strategy.)
“Tomorrowland” was also an attempt by Mr. Bird to cut against the grain. While moviegoers have shown a taste for post-apocalyptic movies in recent years, Mr. Bird wanted to offer a more optimistic portrait of the future. But there is a reason studios continue to churn out dystopian fare: People seem to like it.
In the end, “Tomorrowland” may have simply been too ambitious. With a complicated structure, the film attempted to embrace the present, the past (the 1960s) and the future. Movies that try to take audiences to multiple worlds at once — “Green Lantern,” “Jupiter Ascending,” “Tron: Legacy” — are difficult to market.
The good news: Even if “Tomorrowland” ends up losing a substantial amount of money, Walt Disney Studios has a cushion from its Marvel and Pixar units. “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” has taken in $1.3 billion worldwide. Coming up, Pixar’s “Inside Out” is also expected to be a blockbuster.
“Tomorrowland” also brought Mr. Bird back into the Disney family; he recently agreed to make a sequel to his 2004 animated hit, “The Incredibles.”
TWMR has stupendously well at BO
No denying that. Seems to have resonated with many people. Not in any way a validation of the film but is a huge success
Happy for Kangna and Maddy.
These are the comments I heard after I got out of the theater.
“Kangana looked hot yaar, Madhavan has become too fat but he is still cute, Pappiji was too funny”.
Indian audience (for the most part) don’t think deeply about movies. It’s like a piece of candy – you unwrap it, eat it, forget about it.
Your comments about the movie showing poverty in a somewhat glamorized fashion was probably not something the director intended. I think he just loves to portray the music, language and humor of small-town India.
I thought the dialogues really captured the essence of North India (especially Punjabis) and were absolutely hilarious. And Kangana is just a bona fide star.
Kangna has come a long way and in some ways she has become a huge star but the thing with females in BW is that unless they are willing to be glamour dolls , they are always going to be on shaky ground. Poor Vidya was being hailed as a superstar after Kahaani and the Silk Smitha movie but where is she now?
Things are slowly changing though. Look at this year’s biggest hits so far- Piku and TWMR. NH10 was also promising because it was a film that an actress produced for herself, to create the kind of role she wanted to portray.
Yes, the heroines still can’t open films as well as the Khans, but the Khans are in the final phase of their stardom and are fast approaching senior citizen status. They aren’t going to be heroes forever and at the moment there don’t seem a clear set of male successors in line.
With some smart choices and good luck, somebody like Deepika just might be able to fill that lacunae. Yes, BW heroines are always going to have to look glamorous – you’re not going to have a female Devgn/ SRK/ Madhavan making waves anytime soon. But there’s no reasons why a heroine shouldn’t be both glamorous and powerful at the box office- isn’t that the route Hrithik has pursued, for instance?
I think that’s why Vidya didn’t sustain her success, because unfortunately glamorous looks are always a prerequisite for heroines. But if somebody like Deepika made the right career choices, she could potentially achieve the sort of stardom that Sri Devi or Madhuri or whoever used to command. After all, they were also Bollywood heroines right?
Sridevi, Madhuri and Ash are great dancers. I mean classical dancers. That gave them an edge. Vidya is also a beautiful woman and a good dancer. But she did not care to become number one. She underestimated her potential.
Komal Nahta @KomalNahta ·
First one to see something sensational. Can u guess what? My lips r sealed till Wednesday. But it is S-E-N-S-A-T-I-O-N-A-L! Believe me!!
Given Nahta’s tweet, given your plugging of the same, given stories elsewhere that the Bajrangi Bhaijan trailer might be out in a couple of days, don’t think any of us will get any credit for solving this Einsteinian equation.
It is clearly not Madhavan who earned the 100 crores though. That’s as silly as when Kareena keeps claiming credit for all of the 100 crore films she has starred in…
Madhavan already got into that club with 3 Idiots. I forgot about that. I think anyone who is part of a big film with a good role also contribute to the success of the film in some ways. It is collateral benefit.
Salman Khan’s admission that he was no longer a part of Karan Johar’s Shhuddhi was immediately followed by Karan Johar’s announcement that Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt had been cast in the film. While there was no explanation for Salman’s decision to quit the project, the rumour mill was abuzz with speculation. However, a DNA report claims that Salman had opted out of the project months ago. Reportedly, Salman wasn’t too happy with Karan Johar’s participation in the infamous AIB Roast. Apparently a lot of jokes at the do were cracked at Salman’s sister, Arpita’s expense. Reportedly, he had opted out of Karan’s project immediately after but maintained his silence till the time KJo had his cast in place. The decision was taken amicably.
TWMR
A TOWERING ‘HEROIC’ perfomance by Kangana Ranaut!
Superlative stuff
Don’t care about box office but this should be the FIRST BONAFIDE SOLO HEROINE 100 crore earner
Congrats kangana
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has had a phenomenal Monday as collections may come in at around the 8 crore nett which is not far off what it collected on day one. Multiplexes nearly always drop on Monday due to to the ticket rate drop so even if footfalls match Friday the collections drop but here the collections are actually up at places.
There has been a slight drop in the North where collections were excellent on day one but the rest of the country which opened lower is hardly showing a drop and some places are even better. Some circuits may show an increase from Friday and if somehow Mumbai increases the final total cane be very close the Friday number.
It will be interesting to see the drop on Monday when final collections come in the morning as it could be in single digits. The film is set to emerge a BLOCKBUSTER and words like Super Hit and Blockbuster had become a dream as far as Hindi films were concerned over the last five months.
The menace of nepotism is such that inspite of the STRONGEST autoregUlatory RINSES & PURGES, there are lots of ‘average’ abhishrek bachchans and arjun kapoors still somehow surviving (obviously thankfully the likes of Tushar, fardeen and co are no longer in circulation!). The same for other aspects like technical deptt, direction etc
But when u see TRUE TALENT is still shines thru…
And when u see something PEERLESS it’s evident to anyone who is NOT blinded by bias/ prejudice or other compulsions !!
Somehow I don’t find her attractive and find her diction and accent off-putting
But even that’s not enough to stop me from giving a
STANDING OVATION to the UNIQUE & SPECIAL
kangana Ranaut
Loved the movie
Anand l rai was v good
And madhavans best perfomance that I’ve seen (an under rated restrained act)
As for ACTING TALENT & SPONTANEITY
kangana Ranaut isn’t in comparison with her Bollywood contemporaries
She is competing with all time greats
The other day, the SUPERLATIVE (but flawed) BV made me google and youtube some vintage tracks like “jaapaani”
Here kangana made me visit another classic
Her late night stroll with alcohol at hand was superlative
The ONLY recent performance I can compare this to in calibre is Deepikas alltime best perfomance –cocktail
And I haven’t even taken into account her small time athlete girl perfomance yet !
Contd—
Kangana Ranaut totally OWNS the screen & the film
(Inspite of all the actors being top notch incl dobriyal!)
I don’t know about the other South Indian actors and couldn’t understand the fandom for the likes of rajnikant & dhanush but madhavans was a brilliant act & hate for those fans for neglecting madhavan and going after all sorts of wierd people.
But even though she doesn’t belong to the deepika padukone-katrina kapoor ‘desirability’ slot (that’s another long discussion!), kangana hit it out of the park
In terms of acting ability and screen presence-kangana is incomparable currently
Check out kangana totally in the ‘ZONE’ ( as I say)
The ‘zone’ in the ‘apex’
We always had women power but we did not acknowledge them in the past this much.
Nargis Dutt, Madhubala, Vyjayantimala, Hema malini, Rakhee Gulzar, Dimple Kapadia, Jafya Bhaduri, Rani Mukherjee, Kajol to name a few. and they acted in better films than crowd pleasing ones. They were star actors.
Baazigar and DDLJ would have worked with any heroine. Kajol is nowhere close to divas like Sridevi and Madhuri. She doesnt even have a Black or Mardani to her name.
Satyam, I posted a comment which was under moderation and now perhaps deleted.
I believe, you know that I do comment here sometimes, though, not often.
With a more-than-impressive Rs 38 crore opening weekend, Kangana Ranaut’s latest film Tanu Weds Manu Returns looks all set to bulldoze past the other two big winners of May this year: Gabbar Is Back and Piku. Indeed, the queen of the moment is Kangana: The driving force behind this mad caper which lays its canvas between Kanpur and Jhajjar. In fact, critics are already speculating she will be the toast of all eyes in next year’s award ceremonies.
Mind you, the hurdle to breaking the box office record wasn’t that high—these are not Transformers numbers we’re talking about. But still, a record is a record, and with its estimated $5.3 million (32.6 million RMB) weekend gross, the Bollywood blockbuster easily zipped past Dhoom 3’s $3.17 million 2014 PRC record gross to become the new Indian king of Chinese cinema.PK tells the story of an alien who comes to Earth on a research mission, befriends a television journalist and questions religious dogmas and superstitions.
The film became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, the first to reach $100 million in box office revenue.The picture benefited from strong word of mouth in China, receiving an 8.2 rating and 94% “liked” approval on China’s movie rating site Douban. It out-earned the new Chinese rom-com release Love Without Distance to score second place for the weekend behind Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a phenomenal Monday as collections were similar to day one. The film only really dropped in North where the opening was strong. Elsewhere collections were as good as Friday or better. The first four day business of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is as follows.
“Kajol was never a preening diva. She was always the girl next door. And she has tremendous screen presence.” We are not asking her to be a preening diva. We want to her to be an actinf diva…that is , if she has got it in her. Let her carry a film on her shoulder with her acting talent. Like Sridevi did in English Vinglish, Rani in Black and Mardani, Priyanka in Fashion and Mary Kom, Vidya in Kahani and Dirty Picture, Anushka in NH 10, Deepika in Piku, and Kangana in Twm, Queen and TWMR.
Is it necessary to carry a film on one’s shoulder to prove how good an actor is? That maybe the reason why Salman Khan is adulated. He carries an entire film on his shoulders which Irrfan or Nawajuddin cant. Thats how star system is born. Which we detest so much!
sanju – not necessary to prove how good an actor one is but yeah when it comes to the “star” system – it is mandatory and I think Kangana has done which perhaps only sridevi could do so far at the BO (Chandani / Chalbaaz / English Vinglish……) – a superb actress + BO star – that is a real litmus test which KR has passed with flying colors – Tabu did that too with Chandani Baar / Maachis / Namesake…….but Tabu is in a league of her own 🙂
Kangana and Deepika may not yet be at the level of Khans but can we deny that they have almost achieved the level that Akshay Kumar is and have surpassed the level of Kapoors (Ranbir, Ranveer and Arjun Kapoors).
“Is it necessary to carry a film on one’s shoulder to prove how good an actor is?” Then why Kajol? WE ahve so many good actresses. Tabu, Kalki, Mahie Gill, Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadda, Radhika Apte, Tejaswini Kolhapure…Are you sure, you are not talking of stars ?
Kajol has had her fair share of Dushmans etc where she played the lead and was commanding a lot of respect in her time.
Kangana’s journey is highly commendable considering she has taken her own charted path after not so successful customary Bollywood journey. She is also a byproduct of partisanship /nepotism existing in Bollywood where the same bunch is playing musical chairs esp when it came to female leads. Most of these so called A-list project are being announced either with an Alia Bhatt or a Shraddha Kapoor or a Sonakshi….. ( wonder what happened to the talented Asin, Ileana or even a Diana Penty).
So she was forced to break away from this clutter and find her own Anand Rai which is at times risky but ends up paying handsome returns. I feel the new male leads should also follow her bold path and be willing to stand out with their choices.
On that note now comes the difficult part for Kangana – maintaining such super stardom ! From audience point of view the most important aspect is how she conducts herself past such glory and the choices she makes and the gracefulness of it all.
This is where the real winners pull ahead like a Sridevi and Madhuri and be remembered past their expiry dates.
Asin and Ileana lost out because of hindi accent, I think. And yes, the clout is definitely there. But inspite of clout, Sonakshi’s career is not taking off. even Arjun Kapoor may not be there just like Imran Khan. Clout gives the initial push and then they have to do their own thing.
Just when girls are orgasming over twmr success
Srk tweets first look of bajrangi bhaijaan
[post created]
This is expected to open v big
Ps: Kabir khans ETT was the only Salman starrer I loved (barring dabang) –should be big –tho Ihave reservation about its politics
Saw TWMR at a packed theater and going by the audience reaction, people are crazy about the film. I enjoyed it thoroughly and was a good follow up to the first one. Kangna rules the movie hands down..no 2 ways about it. Hoping for a 100 crore Kangna movie.
Yes. Kajol did films like Dushman and We Are Family. But did she leave behind any impression? And I am not talking box office. Chandni Bar, Maqbool or Haider may not have been big hits, but who can forget Tabu in it ? Waht has Kajol done except be arm candy to Shahurkh in films like DDLJ, KKHHH and K3G? Has she shone in a comedy like Sridevi did in Chaalbaz or Mr India and Kangana did in TWM, Queen and TWM2? Has she done an action role like Rani in Mardani or Anoushka in NH10? Has she shone in a serious dramatic role like Black, Beta, Sadma, Fashion, Kahani, Dirty Picture, Chameli, Piku , VeerZara, Cocktail, HDDCS, Devdas, Raincoat? . Has she shone in a breezy romcom like Sridevi In Lamhe, Madhuri in HAHK, Anoushka in Band Baja Barat, Kareena in Jab We Met? I think Fanaa and DDLJ are her worthwhile performances…and the range is extremely .limited.
She may not have left impression for you but I still watch those flicks because of her only. Tabu acted in serious films and I dont go for them in a big way. I loved Sridevi in comedy roles but they are not that memorable for me. As for others, they are as good or as bad as Kajol for me. It is my personal choice, not universal truth by any means.
I agree with Sanjana. Also I think Dushman was hugely appreciated. These kind of films rarely win awards, but kajol and Dutt stole the show when it released.
Kajol was the best thing in Yeh Dillagi.
Kajol’s films with SRK are those that were huge hits and Kajol did share the credits, unlike Kareena, who doesn’t even have a solo hit in her credit.
Problel with Kajol has been her last few films like MNIK where she just repeated herself. She is a talent powerhouse and needs to take more risk. Dilwale again will hardly be any thing different for her.
My 2 cents: Kajol never tried variety of roles nor proved her versatility but whatever big commercial movies she did, she is the best by a huge margin for any female actor in last 2 decades(1995 to 2015). She is beyond awesome in movies like DDLJ, KKHH, PTHHT, K3G, Fanaa, etc. She’s got the huge connect with the movie watching public(critics might differ).
Kareena doesn’t have solo hits? What solo hits does Kajol have? And sorry, neither the film nor anyone’s performance in Dushman was particularly remarkable.
Absolutely Sanjana. Kajol is a very good actress, no question there. Just that there are so many others as good or better, each with a more remarkable body of work behind her.
Disclaimer:
The Box Office figures are compiled from various sources and our own research. The figures can be approximate and Bollywood Hungama does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the film(s).
As I sit down to pen my immediate thoughts after seeing Tanu Weds Manu Returns, I wonder whether I should start by doing aarti to Goddess Kangana or by taking the foot-dust of sage Himanshu Rai. Since I have done some or the other kind of writing all my life, I pick up the latter. ( Kangana, no, I cannot aspire to be like you. ) Take a bow Rai Saheb, aapne toh tabiyat khush kar di. I happened to be reading Oscar Wilde’s collected plays at the moment ( ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ and ‘An Ideal Husband’, since I know ‘Importance Of Being Earnest’ more or less by heart.) and I am amazed how this guy built his career as a major playwright by sprinkling these brilliant epigram, bon mots , on-liners, whatever you call them, over serviceable plots of social comedy. Rai can match Wilde one-liner per liner, and he does one better: he comes up with heart-breaking insights into man-woman relationship that are cunningly cloaked under hare-brained tomfoolery lest people avoid his films as ‘serious’. Here I must be thankful to most reviewers who gave no clue as to the film’s serious content and left me free to be sucked into the film’s poignant core without any prior warning.
In fact the film is as meaningful musing on marriage you will ever find on screen, and not just in Hindi films, and it gets established right in the first interrogation scene in the mental institution, so reminiscent of the similar scene in the Iranian film ‘A Separation’. The marriage counsellor is replaced by the mental institution to create comedic momentum. But like the vacuum birth scene in 3 Idiots it is not as far-fetched as it is made out to be by some – people do go to NIMHANS with marital problems. Manu’s father sums it up thus, “You fall in love. You get married. You get bored. Then…? Then you can drink it with water, or ice…or even neat. Bas kisi tarah jhelo.” It helps that the father is played by someone like KK Raina. That’s the thing with Anand L Rai…he picks up such consummate actors for every small supporting role and crafts every little scene featuring them with such care…Raja Awasthi, Pappi, the lawer-tenant, Tanu’s father, Kusuma’s brother, Jassi, Payal. Needless to add Madhvan as Manu is pitch perfect even though he may be a bit like a tuber of ginger, as Tanu says, growing in any which way. Tanu’s antics and Kusuma’s charms won’t have worked without our lovable and believable Manu.
Coming back to the opening interrogation scene, it establishes how so much understanding in a marriage is a result of Rashomon vision of the same event by two different people.
“Spark. From where will I produce spark? I am not a lighter.” “You are a pervert, you kissed me when I was sleep? You did or did not?” “Sex? The last time was in 2013 on Bhai duj.” Bhai duj! That’s the Anand L Rai and Himanshu Rai touch; and the whole film is peppered with similar gems.
The best thing about the film is that the double role of Kangana as Tanu and Kusuma does not turn out to be just a gimmick but a device to reflect on the nature of love and obsession much in the way it was treated in Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Manu is enticed by Kusuma because she looks like Tanu but with a different persona inhabiting the visage. Raja Awasthi too agrees to the match after four years of search only because she looks somewhat like Tanu whom he doted on. (He says he is a building contractor. He wants brick to join with brick, and for that he needs cement. Doesn’t matter if it is Ambuja or JK.) And in the end when Kusuma is sitting over a soft drink with Raja Awasthi, she asks him, “When you look for the third one , will you gain look for someone who looks similar? (Thankfully Anand L Rai does not Kusuma accept Raj on the rebound. As she tells Manu, “I am an athlete and a consolation prize can never make me happy.” She by now has realized neither Manu nor Raja love her or want her for who she really is. This visage and identity angle is further explored when Tanu puts on a Pixie-cut wig and tries to move like Musuam. But like the Deepika character in Cocktail says about Diana Penty who has enticed Saif from her says, “This hair and all I can do, but from where will I get that adaa?”
“ Can no one hear the sound, if a heart breaks with lot of funny gags and one-liners strewn all around?” There are a lot of hearts breaking all around in the second half and in case we weren’t paying heed because hum log ‘thoda busy mein thay’ laughing at the gags and lines and all that, Tanu brings us to attention with that superbly times smashing of the bottle in the restaurant with the scream, “ Can’t you see, we are talking!’ Kusuma makes us cry when she goes behind the curtain and breaks down after proffering this piece of advice to Sharmaji / Manu: “What do they tell you before take off on a flight? First put on the oxygen mask on yourself then help your neighbor. So you take care of yourself and your lugai first, then think of me.”
But she gives it to Tanu when she tries to slight her with her taunts about her being an inferior substitute for the real thing – “ Reebok nahin toh Ribuk?” – with the rejoinder “ I can feed my family rotis , unlike you who buys her underwear with the husband’s credit card.’ Below the belt but like a true athlete, punched where it hurts.’
I like the way Tanu has been painted as an incorrigible flirt. When she asks the rickshawalla does he remember her ever and he replies’ Kabhi kabhi’, she asks ‘Kab?’ “ Kab,’ she repeats as he blushes. She uses her charm on the lawyer-tenant who forgets to call her didi when he is especially happy; and she happy to see for herself the power she still has over Raja Awasthi. But it is so mature of the two Rais to avoid being politically correct and impose some ‘ goodness’ on her. She is everything Kusuma accuses her of being and yet this is the woman Manu had fallen for and this is the woman she is going back to. You don’t fall in love seeing someone’s character certificate.
Of course it is going to be the Groundhog Day once again as revealed by the blue tie that Manu wears to the disrupted second wedding and we know the rumblings will repeat. That concluding scene is such a lovely punchline (as effective as the final four commandments given by Aamir to Ranbir in PK) for a film that maintains a very high level of witticism throughout.
It is vastly superior to the first part in almost every department. Firstly, there is the powerful central theme and a coherent narrative built around it. The filmmaking too is more measured with a more sophisticated narrative style. Songs here are not used as item songs. The heart-strealer ‘ banno Teri’ is picturized very naturally without trying to focus too blatantly on Kusuma and her killer moves which we can see from miles any way. The song ‘I am sentimental. Don’t be judgmental’ is used so intelligently, morphing from its funny version in a Haryanvi accent to proper version when the mood is meant to be poignant. There are many beautiful songs used only in the background in sntaches. There are many scenes staged with perfect detailing even though they are not critical to the narrative. Take the scene where A drunken Tanu collides with another stray drunk on the road. Or the scene where Pappi is shouting “ Koi mera kyun nahin soon ta ‘ as he is trying to get a quarter of booze among a crowd of drunks. These add texture to the film, making it feel so lived in.
But more than anything else it is the triumph of good writing. You do not want to miss a line becayuse no line is ordinary here. If Kusuma’s brother wants to castigate his clansmen for asterism, he says, “ Is your biradari that of dinosaurs that by marrying outside it you will become extinct?’ Raja Awasthi expresses his exasperation at Manu trying to marry his betrothed thus: “ Woh toh original bhi rakhna chathta hai, aur duplicate bhi.’ But there are even more subtle and elegant ones. Take this line by Tanu said to Manu for example, “Hum thoda bewafai kya kar di aap badchalan ban gaye!’ Look who is talking! Many years back I used to watch Deewar again and again just so I could remember EVERY line spoken in the film. I am absolutely determined to do so with Tanu Weds Manu Part 2. The writing is that good.
But if I started by partaking of the foot-dust of Himanshu Rai, there is no way I can close without doing a full-scale aarti of Goddess Kangana. We have seen Sridevi in Chaalbaz, we have seen Hemamalini in Seeta aur Geeta, and we have seen Nargis in Raat aur Din. But no one can hold a candle to this tour-de-force – no one has made us double up with laughter and tug gently at our heart strings at the same time the way Kangana does. This is a performance that will be remembered for a long time.
Aab toh dekni padegi!!! I got conned into watching Piku and I see there are two extreme reactions to TWMR as well. Was trying to stay away after Rajen’s reaction to it. 😦
Ultimately movie watching and reactions are highly subjective, I suppose.
Must be ‘ waqt and umar’ as Tanu says in the film. For some reason (ignorance and not reading and remembering actually) I have assumed Himanshu Sharma to be Himanshu Rai. Maybe I thought they were the talented siblings.
Look how Anurag Kashyap got it all wrong. When directors like Sarat Katariya, Shoojit Sircar and Anand Rai are drawing in the audience in droves with their stories of ordinary people set in Varanasi, Delhi, Kolkata and Kanpur, narrated with loving derail , he is rushing off to to Bombay with his generic telling of done-to-death gangster stories!
The definition of small town keeps changing, because the goalposts keep shifting. Small towns keep getting bigger, and systematic overuse has leached them, for the purposes of Bollywood, of freshness and flavour. It’s time for the rise of a new genre — the subaltern film, glimpses of which were visible in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. It replaces Bollywood’s artificially lit-up small towns with locations and characters not confined to, or defined by, their “small-town quirks”. It gives us Tanu, a girl with multiple exaggerations; it also gives us the gloriously provincial Datto, a first for Bollywood.
The heavily Haryanvi Datto’s idea of a hot date is to pedal around the slimy lake outside Delhi zoo, not a spot your average multiplexer would set foot in. She races off to the bus “adda” to go to Chandigarh. A bus? Not even a deluxe one? Kangana Ranaut is startlingly svelte, but Datto’s tracks and tees look as if they were picked up from Delhi’s street stalls. These are people and milieus usually seen in documentaries, not in films starring A-list heroines.
Q. Why is there a difference in your commentary when Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Return both have similar jumps in weekend, Piku is a success while Tanu Weds Manu returns is a blockbuster success?
Ans. Its more about where you jump. Piku jumped in cities where it always had a a chance to show big jump and where films normally show growth. Tanu Weds Manu Returns jumped in cities where films do not normally show huge growth. The jump may have been the same but Tanu Weds Manu pushed its reach on day two which meant a very big grosser. Only with reach you can get true appreciation and a big number, in another words go outside the target audience which very few films do and that is difference between normal hit and Blockbuster hit.
Was reading Satyam’s argument of Piku being bigger achievement than Tany Weds Many Returns. It was convenient for him to keep TWMR at 100 (far less than what it will nett) and Piku at 80 (same as what it will nett)…but the fact is YWMR is 125Cr….a big 45050Cr above Piku.
I agree with BOI here.
“Its more about where you jump. Piku jumped in cities where it always had a a chance to show big jump and where films normally show growth. Tanu Weds Manu Returns jumped in cities where films do not normally show huge growth.”
no you weren’t reading my argument carefully.. I said even at 125 I’d say the same thing. Beyond this I might have a different opinion.
On BOI’s response there one stupidity per day is probably par for the course for them. If a film is made only for a multiplex crowd to then ask it to jump in mass centers is more than a little ridiculous. This is why I also said that the YJHD gross was more creditable than ETT or Kick or CE (or for that matter every Salman movie out there so far). Why? Because a multiplex only deal did 185 crores or something. Compared to this films with bigger stars and with a universal audience and sometimes with big productions or directors (ETT or CE for example) end up doing 220 or so.
Again you need sanity to measure these things! Rock on or Wake up Sid were successes. But one would have been nuts to expect them to jump in mass centers! Similarly Dil Dhadakne Do isn’t a mass center film. ZNMD did 90 crores or so the same way some years ago.
I don’t know for others, but TWMR’s figures have surprised me. Never expected it to gross anywhere near 125cr. It’s the kind of movie that would have been called a genuine hit at 50cr.
How many heroine-oriented flicks have grossed 125cr domestically? This is way, way higher than Kahaani, Pikku or Queen. Kareena was elated at managing to reach the 30cr mark for Heroine!
Forget Abhishek or John Abraham or Shahid or Ranveer. Saif has yet to deliver a 125cr solo. Akshay Kumar, Ranbir and Devgan would be very happy to reach these figures again.
I think the BO success of TWMR is astounding. Pikku, of course has done very well. 80cr for a multiplex audience kind of deal is very good result. Bachan deserves it.
Gabbar’s total at 90cr is decent, nothing more, nothing less. 90cr coming from mainly B or C centres is alright and people have made money. However, there is the presence of a star who has done much better in the past. So, I would term result as merely ‘decent’.
However TWMR’s BO is terrific. And I have to admit, I didn’t even like the first part and I am probably not even going to bother to watch the sequel. Not my kind of deal.
I was thinking about this possibility today . 200 crores is a stretch but a lot depends on DDD on where TWMR ends up. Yet again shows how even if a movie is successful a new movie can affect it simply because it reduces the theatre count. The good thing is DDD will not be able to compete with TWMR beyond the cities. This could now do a 70 crore Week 1 and a 40 to 50 crores Week 2 and then we need to wait and watch. At the moment 125 to 140 crore range is possible. Incidentally 3I I think (dont remember exactly though) did 70 in Week 1 and 50 in Week 2 and went to 200 crores…
If TWMR can do 6 crores on the Friday of Week 2, we are looking at around a 45 crores 2nd week.
even for 125 it would have to trend much better than 95% of films do in week 2. It would have to almost double its week 1 number. that’s a rather tall order these days. Possible but I wouldn’t take it at face value at the moment, and even if trending has been very strong in week 1. 200 is ridiculous to be even suggested as possibility. No film has done that so far (other than 3I) without doing double or so of what Tanu will do in week 1 in the same period.
However they can always do another sequel to get there… Tanu weds manu weds Tanu returns weds Manu weds weds Tanu returns returns Manu… oh well I can’t work out every single permutation here..
on another note Tanu will soon have competition in the Bajrangi Bhaijaan trailer.. Taran and Nahta will give it 200 crores right off the bat.. and they’ll keep going orgasmic over it for days.. I wouldn’t underestimate this competition..
Not sure what film Rajen went to see, maybe he went to a matinee show of K3G?
I felt the film was fine. Very funny throughout, although I feel the humour never reaches the peaks of the first scene itself. Kangana, deservedly so gets a lot of praise. Crowd pleasing act for sure, she is a hoot of an actress when left to do whatever she wants. Her and Madhavan have some good chemistry. Lines, situations are witty. Pappi though is the show stealer.
The Hirani comparison – well I am leaning towards Munna here. The reason is, this film could easily have been something Hirani could conjure up…a mock against the institution of marriage and all the clichés that follow. He’d have a done a better job too of keeping it on the lines and notes the film starts on.
The second half is a drag though. Film enters a melodramatic spree towards the end as most films do. I don’t know why there is this urge to get people to get their tissues! Something Piku never did and needed to do. TWMR works for its comedy rather than melodrama.
3 idiots got 4 complete open weeks and it maximised its WOM was was extraordinary.
TWMR has competition from 3rd week and hence it may not maximise its WOM which is excellent but not extraordinary.
Still 130-140 Cr deal here is possible, which will be All time Block Buster status.
On 3I.. I see we’re back into silly season.. of course all such factors are important though they can’t be used selectively but especially 3I was the sort of juggernaut that wouldn’t have been easily derailed by anything. Most films that release around the same time also have no competition more or less till Republic Day. They don’t all do 200 crores off 80 crores in week 1! Tanu.. is doing very well, it might even do extraordinarily well (even if at this point discussion 125 plus grosses is really jumping the gun!) but to pretend this is some sort of 3I is downright silly. Aamir though continues to unsettle folks. Time and time again there are fans of other stars willing to deconstruct his grosses but no one attempts the same with SRK or Salman or whoever, when it’s far easier to do so. Not surprising I suppose. One can keep arguing against Aamir’s grosses and overall success. One’s hair will become white and one’s teeth will fall out before one makes a convincing case!
2008 Ghajini – new record holder
2009 3I – new record holder
2010 – Tees Mar Khan
2011 – Don 2
2012 – Dabbang 2
2013 – Dhoom 3 – new record holder
2014 – PK – new record holder
I am never in number game. If I like movie it doesn’t matter it makes x or y crores. One of the movies I liked is Roy this year. It is a flop but I liked it nevertheless and recommended to Satyam.
thanks for reminding me.. I totally forgot about this. But yes I totally agree with you on this point. I’d add to this that one can argue for the greatest flop or against the greatest hit. the only thing is it shouldn’t be a cynical argument where one defends anything one’s favorite star does. But perhaps even more importantly one should always be aware of the distance between liking something or enjoying it and valuing it for something more objectively worthwhile in it. I like many junk films, I don’t believe they’re worth anything, I just enjoy them. Then there are films that I find somewhat unwatchable but where I appreciate the strengths of the work. And this is something people often find hard to understand. One cannot ‘like’ everything that is of value. Not just in cinema. We all have our tastes, our preferences. In Bollywood though we have developed this culture of gross hyperbole over the past decade or more. it’s not enough for a film to be good, it has to be historically good! It’s not enough to like actors, one must go crazy about their work in each and every film. If a film is a success the same hyperbole in celebrating anything and everything about it, if it fails there’s a sneering and what not in the other direction. And of course almost all discussions on Bollywood today whether they’re in the media or blogs like this one are really about the box office. everything people say is really code for the box office reality of the film.
Roy is essentially a far poorer (though not unwatchable, I will probably take it over TWMR) version of “Shabd” (not saying that they are similar plot wise, but aesthetic and feel wise both do share a lot of similarities..). And it doesn’t help that unlike Aish and Dutt (who made a damn good pair), there is no chemistry between the leads here.
My favourite Indian films this year are “Byomkesh”, “Qissa” (which you can watch legally on the NFDC site) and “NH10”- apart from Byomkesh think you should be able to get all these films at your end now on a decent enough transfer.
TWMR Rock Steady On Tuesday – 125 Crore Plus Possible For Lifetime
Wednesday 27 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns held up very strong on Tuesday with a small drop from Monday. The film only dropped a little in the metros while other cities were same as Monday and some even better. The first five day business of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is as follows.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is heading for a 65 crore nett plus week and could even go close to 70 crore nett. The film will cross 100 crore nett before the end if it’s second week and the third week will determine it’s lifetime business but a 125 crore nett plus total is looking a realistic possibility.
To think of it, Kangana had to fight with the director during 1st part to change the title from “Manu weds Tanu” to “Tanu weds Manu”. The movie is about Tanu and now the 3rd part of the series will be “Tanu weds someone”
The sad fallout of this is that most critics are now reduced to one more voice on the sidelines, cheering or booing the film. Short attention spans and crowded movie slates have reduced film reviewing to two transactional questions: One, is the film paisa vasool? Two, how many stars?
Both these questions result in the misplaced notion that the film critic is now a stand-in for the audience, whose only qualification is that he/she gets to see the film before they do. How good a critic is gets measured against how well their verdict syncs with that of the general public. According to approval-hungry media houses then, a film critic is merely a human barometer that pre-emptively and accurately measures public opinion about a film.
This is probably the reason that Rahul Desai’s lovely review of Tanu Weds Manu Returns in Mumbai Mirror got unceremoniously ‘upgraded’ yesterday. Desai gave the film 2.5 stars and wrote a well-argued piece on the film. Clearly the public loves the film much more than Desai did, as demonstrated by the Rs 38 crore it grossed in its opening weekend. At which point Mumbai Mirror possibly felt it would be nice to retrospectively hike only the star rating to 3.5. Please note that his entire review stands as is. It is only the stars that Mumbai Mirror wanted to fiddle with. The tabloid hasn’t officially clarified their stance, but it probably knows that the average reader does not have the time to comprehend a review that gently teases out the layers in a film. The easiest way then, to appease any perceived dissonance is wave a wand and tack on a couple of stars. Presto! Everything is awesome!
In his review of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the New York Times’ A.O Scott says of the director: “At 70, he has a master craftsman’s intuitive sense of proportion and a visual artisan’s mistrust of extraneous verbiage.” Now it is only once I saw the film that the line fully impressed itself upon me in all its glory.
Similarly, in his review of Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Bharadwaj Rangan says: “Rai is the anti-Zoya Akhtar. He thinks in Hindi. This isn’t just about the great lines dripping with ghee (I howled when a translator went from “[night]club” to “Gymkhana”), or the rooted, small-town atmosphere. It’s that his reference points are all from Hindi cinema.”
Again, only after I saw the film, did Rangan’s point pop like a lightbulb above my head. Neither Rangan nor Scott use star ratings in their review. Even though critics have been decrying the tyranny of star ratings for a while now, to do away with it could signal the death knell for the profession as it stands today. (Editor’s note: Rubbish. Firstpost doesn’t do star ratings and we’re alive and kicking, thank you very much.)
Here is an easier solution: give out the star rating first and release the full review a day later for post-viewing consumption. For those who read reviews only to figure out if they should watch a film or not, a star rating is functional enough. If they want to seek out a more informed way of making sense of the experience of watching a film, they can return for the actual review later. Maybe a truly great review, like the post-coital cigarette, is best consumed after doing the deed.
You’ve played a Bengali character many times before. What made this one so special?
Yes, I have played a Bengali character before, but I don’t think it was ever done with the kind of characterisation study that Shoojit wanted me to have. My working years in Kolkata, in my house, my directors that I worked with, gave me enough insight for Bhashkor. Also the fact that this was a character role as opposed to earlier efforts, which were leading men roles. Too much emphasis on the characterisation of Bengali in a Hindi film leading man, it was felt may not have been attractive. I thought and so did Shoojit, that this is how we wanted to play this character. In fact, there was a lot more Bengal in the performance during the shoots; but because it was a Hindi production, advisors felt we should try to keep it to a minimum in order to get a more universal clientele! What was really special in Piku was its writing and direction. You will find it hard to find a story in the film. It is just conversation, and that is what made it so attractive and special. Just normal banter in any household.
As an actor, which was the toughest scene for you in the film?
Each and every scene, everyday, is tough for me. I fret over it, get sleepless nights, lie awake thinking how I would perform it the following morning. But when you get on set and find a conducive atmosphere, a sympathetic director and such exceptional talent by your side, you find the moment exciting enough to perform to your abilities. Your colleague on set is the one that shall guide your performance. You could be the greatest actor in the world, but if your colleague is not competent, you could be reduced to just an ordinary performance. Praise for an actor’s performance can never come without complementing the one opposite.
You’ve always maintained that Kolkata (where Piku was shot) is very special for you. What are your most memorable memories associated with the city?
I shall need a book to describe all that to you. But let us just say that when you spend seven years of a very formative time of your life in a city like Kolkata, it shall be next to impossible to do away with memories associated with it. Kolkata has a charm of its own. Its people have the passion unseen anywhere else. Be it sports, culture, theatre, music or dance, their passion for it, is indescribable. Each time I visit the city, I sneak out to the places that I lived in, connect with friends that have remained behind, ex-bosses and their families, the lot. Nostalgia is a hidden component in us all. It does not need any provocation for it to be aroused.
The screen chemistry between you and Deepika is one of the film’s highlights. Did you both rehearse or was it more spontaneous?
Every bit of the film is rehearsed and at most times, unrehearsed spontaneity. It comes when all involved immerse themselves completely into the hands of the director. Our style of shooting was also most helpful in this regard. A 10-page scene would be rehearsed endlessly for one entire day on set, and then the next morning it would be canned (well now this expression does not have the same meaning; its more ‘stored in digital memory’) in a single shot with multiple cameras working, within minutes. That is what brought on the spontaneous nature. At times, I must admit, we did break into impromptu reactions and speech, and if it had the director’s approval, we stayed with it.
You’re slowly tilting towards the more contemporary and unconventional cinema – Shamitabh, Piku and now Wazir. Is that a conscious call?
No, it is not a conscious call. Circumstances make you do that. The typical commercial escapist fare, does not, perhaps, have the need or space for such character-driven roles to be the main subject of the film. So you take what comes your way, and be thankful for it. I have been fortunate to be getting the kind of roles that you see. But this is not a conscious call. It is a phenomena that can be noticed the world over.
Brando, one of the greats of cinema and a favourite of mine, played Corleone in a perhaps 15-20-minute appearance in Godfather. Played Superman’s father in a three-minute appearance and a renegade army chief for a minuscule moment in Apocalypse Now. And may I just add, that the lines that have been drawn to differentiate the ‘more contemporary and unconventional cinema’, with the commercial escapist fare, have never before been as close to each other, as of now.
With the universal success of Piku, do you feel the boundaries of commercial cinema have now expanded beyond the conservative definition?
Yes indeed. But it’s not just with Piku, it started some years ago, when the more, so-called ‘realistic’ cinema received attention beyond Indian shores. Audience maturity and their acceptance has more to do with it than any other. And may this continue. It shall bode well for most makers.
The beauty of Anurag Kashyap’s failures
May 24, 2015 14:00 IST
Bombay Velvet has been garnering a lot of negative reviews since its release. Most of the critics sound like they’re frustrated by the sudden tone-shift in the movie’s second half.
The truth of the matter is that, without that tone-shift, most of these very critics would have been left bewildered by the supposed absence of a ‘well-defined storyline’.
When plans to make a film set in the Bombay of the 1960s were doing the rounds, my immediate response was that nobody except Anurag Kashyap could do it the way it was meant to be.
For starters, the subject demanded a peep-job from the quintessential ‘outsider’ — someone who was too fascinated by the juices that the city provided to approach the subject rationally.
My belief was strengthened by the fact that of all the texts we have about the city in the ’60s, the Louis Malle documentary Bombay, 1969 has to be the one that had the most impact; and Malle was as much an outsider as anyone could possibly be.
The material of Bombay Velvet (partly adapted from Gyan Prakash’s book Mumbai Fables) seemed perfect for Kashyap because he is inherently a child of the subculture.
Anyone who delves deeper would know that the culture of Mumbai, as we see it today, is a direct descendant of the subculture that existed in the city back then. A lesser director — if he was handed material that seems so ‘ready-fit’ — would have, with all safety nets in place, made a movie that we so naturally expected from him.
However, Kashyap, in addition to being the most exciting filmmaker in the country right now, is also one who most readily risks failure; the kind that his overreaching self will often take him to and also the kind that the other directors would normally avoid.
As my instincts were proved right on watching the movie, I felt compelled not to write about it immediately. There are movies that you want to write about without letting go the very feverish sensation with which it grips you, there are also ones like Bombay Velvet that demand a certain distance.
The distance also made sense because the tawdriness of Bombay Velvet’s second half has such a looming effect that it very nearly overshadows some of the truly inventive things that Kashyap does with the material in the first half.
Whether it’s the casual cynicism of the ‘aam Hindustani’ that foretells the tough times that await a regular Joe looking to base his life in Bombay, the scene that shows the young protagonist Johnny Balraj arriving in the city (mounted almost consciously to resemble the young Vito Corleone’s first taste of America in Godfather II), the jazz riffs that cut to life and back to the singer moving dangerously close to living the lines she is singing, or the subtext of ambition being the greatest leveller and love the greatest tranquiliser… the effects are dizzying.
Kashyap shatters so many glasses in the first hour or so that we know he is going to have a tough time picking up the pieces.
The brilliance of the first half lies in the fact that there are as many thumbnail essays about the city in those sequences as there are the notes about the specific characters we are introduced to.
The movie suffers when the essays about the city stop coming and the characters start inhabiting worlds of their own.
Bombay, we realise, was the thing that kept these dreamy-eyed munchkins together. And because the sensualist in Kashyap is only interested in playing spectator in the first half, we as the audience can sit back and enjoy the beautiful effect of lushness and grime played back-to-back.
In a wonderfully conceived sequence, Johnny, after having grasped that his mother has run away with his loot, corners a ‘lead’ and asks, “Maa kahaan hai?” once before he proceeds to ask “Sona Kahaan hai?”, thrice. Kashyap’s wickedly flamboyant sensibility comes to the fore in scenes such as these more than once.
In the second half, however, the pleasure of gliding through sequences is replaced by the burden of having to sit through the staging.
This would have never made for a plot-dependent movie (it’s too smart for that and the material too trashy), but, in the second half, Kashyap feels this almost sanitised desire to make his plot work; which is when his camera starts ‘capturing things’ that let us ‘soak it all in’.
The same characters who didn’t mind being gibberish early on now have to outsmart and out-speak each other to get through the day.
If the first half of Bombay Velvet is a ‘masterpiece of chaos’, the second half is the ‘chaos of the sweep’. Kashyap tries to create fake poetry from fakeness and, because he is so incapable of lying, we catch him doing it; the final shootout sequence can only work for those who don’t really get where the director’s prodigious talents lie.
As I sat through Bombay Velvet, I kept asking myself if Kashyap would probably do better if he had stuck to his smaller set of stock actors rather than play hooptedoodle with big stars.
Ranbir Kapoor for all his radiance –- he is terrific here as well –- is the kind of star that Marlon Brando was in his pre-Last Tango in Paris days; someone who can walk into a frame and cut the frame down to his size.
However, Kashyap, like Robert Altman, is at his very best when he handles density; distributing the weight of his conception equally amongst his actors and the ambience.
Some of the most wonderful sequences in his best films — Ugly, Gangs Of Wasseypur and Black Friday — are where the director introduces us to a character and the movie goes off at a tangent, zooming into the life of the just-introduced character.
That kind of digression has such a whirling effect that, by the time we come back to the spot we left from, we are more thrilled than exhausted.
The flipside of working with a brilliant performer and yet an unquestionable star like Ranbir is that Kashyap can’t take digressions; he has a singular protagonist who will always, always call attention to himself.
Bombay Velvet has been garnering a lot of negative reviews since its release. Most of our critics sound like they’re frustrated by the sudden tone-shift in the movie’s second half.
The truth of the matter is that, without that tone-shift, most of these very critics would have been left bewildered by the supposed absence of a ‘well-defined storyline’.
Kashyap tries to offset these complaints by shooting arrows all over the place. Not only does he fail in the process, he also reinforces his Hemingway-like personality that regards failure as a badge of honour, something he warns we all should probably get used to.
For all the fights he picks with the system, for all his acidic comments and all his disillusionment, Kashyap is also an incredibly complex screen artist.
When Anurag Kashyap storms the Bastille, he isn’t looking at a simplistic revolution for the guillotine to savour blood; he is also aiming for a taste-renaissance that will linger on, forever.
**********Sreehari Nair in Mumbai
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 11h 11 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns is UNSTOPPABLE. Fri 8.85 cr, Sat 13.20 cr, Sun 16.10 cr, Mon 8.90 cr, Tue 8.20 cr. Total: ₹ 55.25 cr. India biz. WOW!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 11h 11 hours ago
Looking at its dream run in India and Overseas, #TanuWedsManuReturns emerges the first BLOCKBUSTER OF 2015. Eyeing ₹ 100 cr in India.
On a different note I expect DDD to be a big one. The standard of course is ZNMD. That film’s 90 crores should be worth a lot more in today’s money. I don’t disagree with some who’ve said here that the overall look is inconsistent at times but that hasn’t stopped the audience from liking films before. Also ZNMD did not open big so the Hrithik advantage was ruled out in this sense. I of course don’t expect a YJHD here, don’t think it has the soundtrack to get that far let alone the stars. But it could punch above its weight.
Mixed feelings about DDD. Didn’t really like the trailer but I liked a couple of the dialogue promos. All the song promos have been bad and inferior to ZNMD. I don’t think it will be as entertaining as that film. I had no doubts from the trailer of ZNMD that this would be a 100% multiplex ideal with soul searching and identity crisis and what not. But this seems like Zoya Akhtar’s “Masala” movie. I feel like she thinks that the whole Punjabi family angle will bring in the masses lol.
For some reason I am more optimistic about ABCD2 and HAK than DDD. I think DDD will open slow and then can become a hit on WOM. But lack of stars will prevent it from opening big. I am thinking a 10cr Day 1 is its best hope.
You may be underestimating this movies’ reach. This is one ‘panju’ flick which is going to be lapped up in a big way and I won’t be surprised if it starts with a bang and does a 15-20 cr day 1 since this one is a multistarrer after a long time and music is not too bad with watchable choreography .
The visuals are clean cut and bright which is a prerequisite for a movie to connect with Hindi audience initially. Was watching aamir’s interview today on tv premier launch of PK and he was non stop with his praise on the depth part and praising zoya. He also had his usual disclaimer that he does not give his comments unless he likes the movie tremendously. The director has decent sensibilities so its not going to be just pop and there may be sufficient drama and build up.
It’s very nice to see a lot of movies working recently and May / June will turn out to be hot months for movie relelase land all this IPL talk will take a backseat and bollywood will loosen up with more options within that limited 52 weekend framework / set up.
Skimmed thru the piece on kashyap above by some sreehari Nair in rediff– brilliant stuff
The way he dissects what was good and what was ‘bad’ in BV (& why) was superb–I don’t know where to begin
And THIS is the level that folks like b Rangan should be operating in or atleast striving for –& not playing with words !
True ‘Criticism’ needs some maturity and background info. Whilst he is improving, there’s a lot to be desired
The problem is that most people aren’t the best people in that job but happen to be doing it –the better amongst them rise to the ‘top’
PK was also released in China on May 22, in more than 3,500 screens and raked in Rs 34 crore ($5.32 million) in the first weekend. After China, the Raj Kumar Hirani film which also stars Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjay Dutt, will be travelling to other Southeast Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea.
“We are thrilled with the audience response in China. Khan, Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra travelled across China with our marketing team promoting the film at media and audience events and culminated this with a grand premiere in Shanghai. It was such a warm reception for them in China and now the movie has become a talking point and opened to such phenomenal collections. This is a really proud moment for us, and we are happy to have made this impact in a new market,” said Amrita Pandey from UTV.
The film has been co-produced by Hirani, in association with UTV who distributed the film worldwide, as well. PK has been breaking records since its release. It is now the highest grossing movie of all time in Bollywood with a net collection of Rs 340 crore (after tax). With this, Khan has cemented his place as the most successful Indian actor in the foreign market with not one, but three movies in the top five overseas grossers from Bollywood. His movies — PK, Dhoom 3 and 3 Idiots — have collected more than Rs 500 crore in the international circuit. The other two films in the top five are Shah Rukh Khan’s Chennai Express and My Name is Khan.
PK is also one of the most profitable movies of all time produced in Bollywood. While it had an A-list cast and had a significant amount of money allotted to marketing, the film’s cost was capped at Rs 70 crore. With the global box office collection now at around Rs 550 crore (taking net after tax for domestic market), the film has made almost eight times the investment only through its theatrical business.
Even if ones takes only the Indian theatrical business, the film has got the makers a return on investment to the tune of 385 per cent.
Amongst the many millions of Indians who are going gaga over her performance, one of them is none other than the legend of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan. Every actor waits for the day when Big B will send him his patented letter and bouquet of flowers, a proof that he has loved their performance. This time however, Big B sent not just one, but two letters and two bouquets for Kangana, one for Tanu and the other for Datto.
Actress Priyanka Chopra who will be portraying the role of Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao’s first wife in “Bajirao Mastani”, says her character Kashibai is a tortured soul in the story, and that has made the role challenging for her.
The 32-year-old, who is currently awaiting the release of “Dil Dhadakne Do” on June 5, said that her role as the first wife in the film was emotionally draining and traumatising.
“I haven’t dealt with such emotions. I needed to find out a way to feel those emotions to portray the same. In those times, the women did not say as much, so it’s mostly expressions… I am not vocal. I have a poignant role, where Kashibai is a tortured soul,” said Priyanka.
“For the first few days, I used to be so emotionally drained that I could not have conversations with people,” added the “Barfi” actress, explaining her role in the multi-starrer.
Also featuring actress Deepika Padukone, the film will see both the actresses performing in a song together.
The film is based on the story of Bajirao and his second wife Mastani. While Ranveer Singh plays Bajirao, Deepika will be seen as his second wife.
Scheduled to release on December 18, the film has been directed and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Classifucations 2015 – Tanu Weds Manu Returns Tops
Thursday 28 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
After 85 releases, may finally gave that big hit with Tanu Weds Manu Returns with its domestic revenue heading for te 60 crore mark. The month also saw Piku and Gabbar Is Back do well but the combined profits from all three are not enough to cover the losses of Bombay Velvet.
So despite one big success and two other successes the month still does not end up in the black and its not very often that a month has three successes.
Since Diwali last year only big films like Happy New Year and PK have had footfalls and its heartening that a film with limited face value like Tanu Weds Manu Returns scores all over. It also proves if the content is there then even non cast films can score in mass circuits. In a circuit like Rajasthan the film could put up a figure challenging films like Bang Bang and Singham Returns which is huge for a film like this. The classifications of films in 2015 are as follows with their apprx distributor shares in brackets.
All Time Blockbuster
–
Blockbuster
1. Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Will cross 60 crore)
Super Hit
–
Hit
2. Piku – (Expected – 34 crore)
3. Badlapur (23.50 crore)
4. Dum Laga Ke Haisha (12.75 crore)
Semi Hit
5. Gabbar Is Back – (Expected – 45 crore)
6. NH 10 (14.75 crore)
In the next series, Tanu may do triple role Tanu. Datto and Muthulakshmi( sout Indian role) and Manu may do double role as Manu and Murugan.
I am writing script for that sequel!
lol. Aamir dream of such roles (triple role). More woman power. I am happy for Kangana. I will take her anyday, bad accent and all, over kareenas and katrinas and others.
It’s a bit amusing to see those who have the most regressive views and often back the most regressive films otherwise (I’m not referring to any one person but I’ve seen a number of such comments) suddenly adopt this moralistic stance about Tanu. ‘We’re so happy that it’s doing well, it’s a great step forward for Indian women’. Gimme a break! We can all agree that it’s great to have an industry where women are more powerful than less and where they have more central roles. But to suddenly develop a conscience when this sort of film comes around is a bit hard to swallow! And this has been true of the film’s narrative in general. Great it’s doing so well, great it’s empowering Kangana. But it’s constantly been cast as something ‘higher’. Good for Indian women, Kangana-as-superstar-as-deserving-actor, bigger than male stars, on and on. Each claim sillier than the previous one. If one wants to celebrate the film for doing so well but that’s one thing but I am highly dubious of certain kinds of arguments developed only for certain films. If these issues are important to one they would crop up with every film, not just once in a blue moon.
Box Office : Tanu Weds Manu Returns Crushes Bombay Velvet And How!
And so the cinegoers chose Tanu Weds Manu Returns over Bombay Velvet. Not to forget, there has been a good demand for Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Piku, which has entered its third week.
Both these movies have made excellent collections at the box office and so the exhibitors are keen on giving the audiences more of Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Returns by shelving the shows of Bombay Velvet.
The May of 2015 has none the less created a history at the box office. Bombay Velvet whose budget equals the budget of Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Returns combined has not even managed to gross the half of what the other two movies have independently earned at the box office http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/box-office-tanu-weds-manu-returns-crushes-bombay-velvet-and-how/
these write-ups get a bit silly beyond a point. BV would have had the same fate had it been the only release for a month and with no competition for another month. It’s not as if the other films were killing it!
‘I have been dropped from many movies. I did not want to compromise my self-respect.’
‘I was born in a house with all the facilities. I had a car and servants. I got married into a family that had everything. So there was no need for me to compromise.’
‘I was never ambitious about being the number one actress.’
Moushumi Chatterjee, one of the biggest stars of her time, gives us a peek into her life.
Her father in law was such a humble man.
Moushumi is a typical bengali women and I find almost all the bengali actresses quite quirky in some way, It seems to be their trait. I liked Moushumi in Angoor. She was not a bad actress.
The macho hard-drinking male who stalks the female character in the first half only to have her fall in love with him in the second is still around, finding his niche in the regressive blockbuster. But there’s also a gentler modern man showing up on our screens. A man not afraid to cry, a man who’s a colleague and friend first, a man who refuses to use a gun when his brain will do. We like this man. Why then do we applaud a Tanu, who has taken on the worst aspects of the commercial Hindi film hero?
Can Kangana be a heroine without being a Revolver Ranior a hard drinking, foul-mouthed caricature of the leading man? Is it possible for Rani Mukherjee to be strong without being Mardaani? Can Anushka rebel against the wrongs against her and society without a cigarette in her mouth depicting her liberation?
Love is no longer enough on the screen. There are now real men out there, who respect, care and understand. Don’t they deserve women who do the same?
“Appropriate that I resign as Mirror Critic on the day Bhaijaan teaser appears. Not always wise to adapt to changing systems, broken trust,” he said on his Twitter and Facebook.
SATYAMSHOT 
May 21, 2015 at 12:04 AM
Bollywood Box-Office Bubble Bursts: What Are the Biggest Flops of the Decade?
“Bombay Velvet,” which has a measly projected lifetime collection of Rs 25 crore compared to its Rs. 120 crore production budget, joins the list of all-time movie flops, including “RA.One,” “Kites,” “Besharam,” “Mausam” and “Rockstar.”
Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 2:30 pm | Updated: 3:13 pm, Wed May 20, 2015.
R.M. VIJAYAKAR, Special to India-West | 0 comments
MUMBAI — The scale of the flop of “Bombay Velvet” may be unprecedented — the production budget is touted as Rs. 120 crore against a projected lifetime collection of Rs 25 crore — but there have been many films that have flopped miserably over the last few years.
To understand the magnitude of any flop, we have to see the money that goes to the distributor from the Indian collections — an average of 40 to 45 percent of the domestic net (money at a theater after entertainment tax is deducted). This means that the take-home sum for the film will be around Rs 10 crore against an expense of Rs 120 crore!!!
Films that have collected (at the box office) as much as or less than their production budget include “RA.One” (2011) despite Shah Rukh Khan as the star, a 3D version and a three-language Diwali release. The film was touted as a member of the Indian 100-crore-plus club as it raked in Rs 120 crore domestic net and around Rs 20 to 25 crore more overseas, but its budget was a whopping Rs 180 crore! Unless the film does very well overseas, an average film earns anywhere from 10 to 15 percent abroad vis-à-vis its domestic counterpart. “RA.One” did fairly well in traditional Shah Rukh Khan-heavy markets like the U.S., U.K. and the Middle East.
Back home, Hrithik Roshan’s “Kites” made Rs 45 to 50 crore against a budget of Rs 65 to 70 crore in 2010. Ranbir Kapoor’s “Besharam” (2013) could only manage a lifetime of Rs 59 crore against a budget of over Rs. 80 cr., while Shahid Kapoor’s “Mausam” (2011) collected Rs. 70 crore against Rs. 75 crore. In the same year, Ranbir Kapoor’s “Rockstar” managed to impress media, despite taking in just Rs. 62 crore on a cost of Rs 80 crore!
Truly big fiascoes where the earnings at the Indian box office were half the acquisition costs included the 2013 Ajay Devgn film “Himmatwala,” which made only Rs. 40 cr on a budget of Rs 80 crore and “Blue,” which despite a Diwali 2009 release, made Rs. 54 crore while costing almost double that at Rs. 100 crore. “Main Aur Mrs Khanna,” “Chandni Chowk to China” (2009) and “Delhi-6” in the same year were also major tremors at the box office.
The 100 crore club technically started with “Ghajini” in 2008, and this was when figures started to be discussed (and manipulated) as much as facts. Pre-2008, among the huge flops were Amitabh Bachchan-Ajay Devgn’s “Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag” (2007), Amitabh Bachchan-Sanjay Dutt-Saif Ali Khan’s “Eklavya-The Royal Guard” (2007), Ranbir’s debut film “Saawariya” (2007), Salman Khan’s “Kyon Ki…” (2005), Amitabh Bachchan’s “Aks”(2001) and Ajay Devgn’s “Raju Chacha” (2000). Shah Rukh Khan’s “Asoka” was a success internationally, and three other SRK movies, “Paheli” (2005), “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” (2006) and “My Name Is Khan” (2010) were hits overseas, rescuing them from the disaster tags.
Major disasters in earlier decades include “Mera Naam Joker” (1970), “Razia Sultan” (1983) and “Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja” (1993) and “Mrityudaata” (1997).
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 2:02 AM
One factual inaccuracy after another in this article. Don’t know where to start. At least it is consistent in its inaccuracy and doesn’t discriminate against a Bollywood camp…
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 12:15 AM
Master:
Favorite question for this blog by BoxofficeIndia 🙂
Q. Is Ranbir Kapoor going the Abhishek Bachchan way as the disaster of Bombay velvet is like Drona, Raavan and Khelein Jee Jaan Se?
Ans. There is a huge difference in talent so that should not be the case. The affect of Bombay Velvet can only be seen in the next release but he has a gained a fan following amongst the city youth and that not disappear after one film. The expectations were of super stardom by now a few years back in some quarters but mass penetration takes a long time and even longer without an action image.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 5:54 AM
all ranbir has to do is a film with Deepika and lo! he will have another BB 🙂
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 6:43 AM
Every hero should do a film with Deepika if he wants to be overshadowed by her. She has become a hero.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 6:44 AM
Aamir escaped because of height issues.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 1:30 AM
The trade feedback of TWM2 is not just very good, its stunning and sensational..Looks like we might have a big one on the hands
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 6:48 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns To Get Goodwill Of First Film
Thursday 21 May 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns should get the goodwill of Tanu Weds Manu which released in 2011 and was appreciated in the metros and other major cities in North India. Tanu Weds Manu got an extended run as major films did not release due to the ongoing Cricket World Cup at the time. The film finished with 38.50 crore nett business.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns does not have music as strong as Tanu Weds Manu which featured the super hit song Saadi Gali but that should not be a problem as the theatrical promo found appreciation from a section of the audience.
The plus for the film is a rooted Indian feel in the film which should give it an audience outside the metros. Although B and C centres will be tough as the face value is not there, Tanu Weds Manu Returns can score in the mini metros and other A centres especially in North which should be more than enough for the film.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 6:48 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 2h 2 hours ago
#BombayVelvet Fri 5.20 cr, Sat 5.10 cr, Sun 5.80 cr, Mon 2.10 cr, Tue 1.45 cr, Wed 1.32 cr. Total: ₹ 20.97 cr. India biz.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 6:49 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#Piku [Week 2] Fri 3.10 cr, Sat 5.10 cr, Sun 6.40 cr, Mon 2.60 cr, Tue 2.20 cr, Wed 2.20 cr. Grand total: ₹ 63.02 cr. India biz. SMASH HIT!
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 6:55 AM
Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Dilwale Will Be Big Hits Says Aamir
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-popular/bajrangi-bhaijaan-prem-ratan-dhan-payo-dilwale-will-be-big-hits-says-aamir/
Let us see.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 9:56 AM
Dulquer on Bachchan’s response to Kanmani:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/When-Amitabh-Bachchan-praised-Dulquer/articleshow/47357232.cms
check out the image..
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 12:56 PM
That’s a heartening and even moving image, only because it’s almost a piece of evidence that reasserts, in a very unique way, how intimately connected Bachchan has been to the local industries (and their histories) outside of Bombay.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 1:13 PM
In many ways the truer heirs of Bachchan’s iconic cinema and the space it opened up are really to be found in the South. In Bombay there has been no authentic follow-through in any sense. Or more precisely they’ve operated in his wake without doing anything noteworthy with the legacy. Perhaps one could also be kinder here and say that in his immediate contexts there is really nothing to do after him! Not that Bombay has done anything very significant in other respects either!
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 1:15 PM
better image here:
http://businessofcinema.com/regionalmovies/dulquer-salmaans-trip-down-memory-lane-with-amitabh-bachchan/208189
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 12:29 PM
A. O. Scott on Tomorrowland-
Review: ‘Tomorrowland,’ Brad Bird’s Lesson in Optimism
By A. O. SCOTT MAY 21, 2015
“My son briefly had a youth baseball coach whose way of inspiring his demoralized players was to stand at the dugout entrance screaming at them to have fun. “Tomorrowland,” Brad Bird’s energetic new film, a shiny live-action spectacle from Disney, reminds me of that guy. There is nothing casual or whimsical about this movie’s celebration of imagination, optimism and joy. On the contrary: It’s a determined and didactic argument in favor of all those things, and an angry indictment of everyone who opposes them….”
“…I was tempted to affix a little trademark sign to the word “amazing” there. The effects in “Tomorrowland” fall short of that standard, but part of Casey’s job is to serve as a kind of on-screen shill, cuing the desired audience response by exclaiming “Whoa, that’s amazing!” or “Wow, incredible!” at regular intervals. And while some of the images are interesting, even startling — a visit to the Eiffel Tower, for instance — the action is more frantic than thrilling and the sense of wonder rarely materializes.
It gives me no pleasure at all to report this. I yield to no one in my admiration for Mr. Bird’s animated Pixar features — “The Incredibles” and especially “Ratatouille,” for my money one of the finest movies ever made about the pursuit of artistic excellence. And it’s important to note that “Tomorrowland” is not disappointing in the usual way. It’s not another glib, phoned-in piece of franchise mediocrity but rather a work of evident passion and conviction.
What it isn’t is in any way convincing or enchanting. Mr. Clooney is wry and gruff, and then earnest and amiable, in a role that dozens of actors could have played. Ms. Robertson is perky and panicky in the same way. Among the characters only Athena has any real distinction, and Ms. Cassidy is an intriguing performer, funny and a little scary in her composure. Everyone else, Mr. Laurie included (and Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key partly excepted), would be better as a cartoon.
To some extent, that goes for the whole movie. Its enormous lapses in narrative and conceptual coherence — its blithe disregard for basic principles of science-fiction credibility — would be less irksome in the fantastical cosmos of animation. And it would look better, too. Tomorrowland looks less like a magical city of the future, or even the Disney environment it’s meant to evoke, than like an unusually clean and efficient airport, or the shopping mall beyond the multiplex where you’re seeing the movie. …”
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 12:53 PM
David Edelstein on the film-
Tomorrowland Is the Anti–Hunger Games
By David Edelstein
http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/movie-review-tomorrowland.html
“Brad Bird’s Disney-produced sci-fi adventure Tomorrowland is the most enchanting reactionary cultural diatribe ever made. It’s so smart, so winsome, so utterly rejuvenating that you’ll have to wait until your eyes have dried and your buzz has worn off before you can begin to argue with it. And you should argue with it — even if you had a blast, as I did, and want to see it again with the kids, as I do — because it’s a major pop-culture statement with all sorts of implications, both vital and nutty.
As he has demonstrated in The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, Bird can tell stories with the lightheartedness of a child and the cunning of a master craftsman: His tightly plotted movies feel as if he were making them up as he went along. …”
“…It emerges that Bird, in Tomorrowland, is mounting nothing less than a full-throated assault on the nihilism, dystopianism, and what might be called the fetishization of apocalypse in today’s movies, TV shows, and books — especially YA books that worm their way into the fantasies of impressionable kids. This is not, you understand, the movie’s subtext. It’s the Über-Über-text. It’s the message that’s articulated in multiple ways, as boldly as that Einstein sign, by characters bad and good, and it’s implicit in the riddle posed by Casey’s NASA dad that becomes the cornerstone of his daughter’s worldview: You have two wolves, one representing darkness and despair, the other light and hope. Which one lives? Says Casey: “The one you feed.”
My response to Bird’s anti-dystopianism is “Cool.” Because, really, how many more plague–flood–road warrior–kids-killing-kids movies do we need? It is time to feed that other wolf, if only for the sake of variety. And maybe we’ve learned too well since the days of Dr. Strangelove — which came out the same year as the New York World’s Fair — to “stop worrying and love the bomb.”
The trouble comes when Bird gets carried away with his critique of all things critical. In Tomorrowland, he suggests that it’s the people sounding the alarm — the ones constantly reminding us about climate change or the dangers of nuclear power — who are accelerating our demise, their pessimism wreaking havoc on imaginations that would otherwise be busy inventing solutions. I suspect that’s Bird’s Ayn Rand side showing its warty head, spinning another tale of extraordinary individuals kept from manifesting their creativity by repressive liberal groupthink. If Bird really believes we should shift the blame from a fossil-fuel industry bankrolling anti-science propaganda embraced by greedheads and fundamentalist wackjobs to the 98 percent of the world’s scientists saying, “If we don’t act now, and we mean now, we’re royally screwed,” he’s living in his own private Disneyland.
Did I mention how delightful the movie is apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln? It moves lightly from scene to scene, its follow-the-bouncing-ball ease a reminder that Bird has always straddled two worlds, his animation grounded by love of classic cinema, his live-action films liberated by an animator’s sense of possibilities. As a bitter exile from the world of his dreams, Clooney mugs more than he acts, but his comic timing remains superb and he plainly adores his young female co-stars, who are plainly adorable. Robertson is goosey and high-strung, her reactive style pairing beautifully with Cassidy’s crisp, poised underplaying as the enigmatic Athena. A Brit who looks like a young, freckled Felicity Jones, Cassidy is the movie’s breakout star, and wouldn’t it be a grim irony if she ends up starring in the next dystopian YA “franchise”? What else does Hollywood do with kids these days besides pulp them?”
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 1:31 PM
With brilliant acting, music and hilarious lines the Kangana Ranaut film is a fun weekend watch
http://gulfnews.com/leisure/movies/reviews/film-review-tanu-weds-manu-returns-1.1519412
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 4:43 PM
The plot sounds very convoluted.
First one had a novelty value. This one doesn’t hold the same appeal for me. Only reason I may watch it is for one of the most under rated talents of BW- Shergill.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 10:10 AM
What if you try to ‘replace’ love of your life with a lookalike? Salman Khan did that by hiring aish lookalike in one of the movies, soon after his breakup. So it could be interesting take if done nicely. I like KR in double role and her haryanvi accent.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 11:21 AM
Sukanya has given it 4 stars.
“The actress completely disappears into the feisty Kusum aka Datto, a Haryanvi hockey player studying in Delhi University under sports quota — a detail she is proud to remind anyone who dare demean her. It’s not a major physical transformation per se, mostly a pixie-hair wig to tell her apart from Tanu. Having said that, her body language, which alternates between assertive and serene depending on the surrounding, and the sureness with which she rattles off her mother tongue is nothing short of flawless.”
“Tanu Weds Manu Returns is not merely superior to its predecessor but the flamboyance and fun it provides is an implication we’re not quite done with this mad duo and their quirky universe yet.”
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 2:34 PM
Piku still has steam. And it will go on for another 2 weeks. Best trending.
LikeLike
May 21, 2015 at 5:08 PM
Why is Ranbir Kapoor feeling insecure about his career?
Ranbir Kapoor’s Bombay Velvet hasn’t been able to impress people as it was supposed to and it tanked at the Box Office. The big-budgeted film didn’t even recover its making cost, which was enormous. Ranbir, whose last Besharam too bombed at the Box Office, was away from the silver screen for quite a long time.
In an interview to NDTV, Ranbir was quoted, “There’s a sense of insecurity that’s starting to trend inside of me. I’m feeling a sense of friction where I really don’t know what’s happening with my career. I know what’s happening with my work but I don’t know what’s going to happen with my career.”
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 12:27 AM
http://www.rediff.com/movies/interview/aamir-i-couldnt-really-enjoy-the-food-in-china/20150521.htm
excerpts
I have heard a lot of good things about Piku but haven’t got the time to see it.
I am also waiting for Tanu Weds Manu Returns. I saw the promos and Kangana looks fantastic with her Haryanvi accent.
I am also looking forward to Dil Dhadakne Do. I guess that will be the biggest film of the year.
Are you nervous that the film is having such a huge release?
I am nervous not because the film is having such a wide release but because most of them have already seen the film.
I went on a television show and the host tried to comfort me by saying, ‘Most of the people have already seen your film but I would now request them to go and watch the film again in theatres. (laughs).
So now I am keeping my fingers crossed.
While talking to my Chinese fans, I came to know that they love Raj Kapoor’s films.
They remember the title song from Awara (1951). Another film that is very famous is Jeetendra’s Caravan (1971), which was produced by my father (Tahir Hussain) and was directed by my uncle Nasir Hussain.
I was really thrilled and excited to hear that.
Also, Mithunda (Mithun Chakraborty) is very famous because of his song Jimmy Jimmy.
It’s not possible for me to do the film because they are planning to start shooting by September this year.
I have gained weight for my upcoming film Dangal, which will start around the same time.
By December, I will start losing weight to shoot for the first half of Dangal where I need to look leaner and younger. I will only finish shooting the entire film by June 2016.
Much as I would love to be part of Kung Fu Yoga, it would be wrong to ask them to wait for so long. I am sure I will get another chance to work with them.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 12:31 AM
[added to post]
New poster of DDD
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 12:32 AM
http://www.koimoi.com/videos/mat-ja-re-tanu-weds-manu-returns-kangana-ranaut-r-madhavan/
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 12:36 AM
But the real draw of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is that you get two Kangana Ranauts to entertain you, and she delivers in a huge way. Both her avatars are so likable you (almost) forget the gaffes of the film. The others in the cast don’t fare as well. The usually fantastic Deepak Dobriyal is needlessly over the top, while Madhavan doesn’t emote much apart from sullenness. Ayyub does his best to salvage a rather inconsistent character, while Jimmy Shergil seems at ease with the lack of logic around the film. There are quite a few throwaway one-liners to keep things chugging along, so full credit to writer Himanshu Sharma.
The biggest takeaway from Tanu Weds Manu Returns is that there has to be some sort of a demon that enters the minds of filmmakers and turns the second half of their movies into a horrific mess. Instead of the incredible devices that fill the second half, the film would have benefitted with some exorcism and an injection of logic.
As of now, Tanu Weds Manu Returns is half a good movie, and half a dunderhead. If you consider both halves of this movie like a couple, then one of them surely needed to give some love and affection to the other before the fuse blew.
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/tanu-weds-manu-returns-review-kangana-is-brilliant-in-a-sequel-thats-half-good-and-half-idiotic-2257562.html
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 1:10 AM
Movie sequels are all too often horribly musty affairs. Tanu Weds Manu Returns isn’t one.
Notwithstanding the stray false notes that the film strikes, especially in the run-up to the climax, it is a bright and breezy romp that draws sustenance from its droll dialogues, outstanding cast of actors and all-round jollity.
The film hits the ground running, cruises along like a song until its final moments, where it comes close to losing its way just a tad.
But one leaves the auditorium with a smile on the face, having witnessed the misadventures of an array of flawed but loveably high-spirited characters who thrive on confusion.
Yes, it’s frothy, but this is fluff that is rooted in recognisable and relatable settings.
In Himanshu Sharma’s busy screenplay, little nuances of culture and language – which obviously vary wildly from the bylanes of Kanpur to the precincts of Delhi University to the rustic ambience of Haryana – are underscored with love, care and precision.
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/tanu-weds-manu-returns-movie-review-1129
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 5:51 PM
Don’t like such films. Both Tanu and Mannu are selfish self centred people. Somehow a drinking, idiotic Tanu is supposed to be ‘modern’ or fun, or cool or… I really don’t know what.
And the film is supposed to end on a happy note without a thought for the poor ‘other’ girl.
Utter waste of time, thankfully ‘not’ money 😉 LOL
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:20 PM
I think first time there was some novelty but this one just looks like a sorry attempt to ride on the coat tails of the first one with a rather bizarre and convoluted story line. I would be surprised if it holds up at the BO.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 7:33 PM
For me the only redeeming factor was an old song of Geeta Dutt’s used in this film.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 5:33 AM
TWM is erasing the bad memories of last week.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:09 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
It’s a rarity, especially in today’s times when films sink faster than Titanic. #Piku Tue, Wed and Thu biz was same: ₹ 2.20 cr. No decline!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#Piku [Wk 2] Fri 3.10 cr, Sat 5.10 cr, Sun 6.40 cr, Mon 2.60 cr, Tue 2.20 cr, Wed 2.20 cr, Thu 2.20 cr. Grand total: ₹ 65.22 cr. SMASH HIT!
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:10 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 2h 2 hours ago
#BombayVelvet Fri 5.20 cr, Sat 5.10 cr, Sun 5.80 cr, Mon 2.10 cr, Tue 1.45 cr, Wed 1.32 cr, Thu 1.30 cr. Total: ₹ 22.27 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 2h 2 hours ago
#BombayVelvet *7-day* total [₹ 22.27 cr] is slightly more than *Day 1* biz of super-flop #Besharam [₹ 21.56 cr]. #BV = EPIC DISASTER!
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:12 AM
Bombay Velvet Has Just One Week Run
Friday 22 May 2015 10.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bombay Velvet is a huge disaster as it grossed 22 crore nett in week one. the film has a very low weekend and collections kept on dropping badly from Monday onwards. The film could not even show any sort of hold at sub 2 crore nett days. The film faced total rejection.
The film will struggle to hit 25 crore nett as most multiplexes reduce the screenings to one show a day. Its the same picture abroad as well as India and its Worldwide Gross will hardly be 45 crore.
This puts its Worldwide figures less than low grossing flops of last year like Shaadi Ke Side Effects and Finding Fanny. Every circuit was a disaster with best performance coming in Mysore comparatively.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:13 AM
Piku Has Very Good Hold In Week Two
Friday 22 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Piku held up very well in week two grossing around 22 crore nett which was a similar collection to the new release Bombay Velvet as it also grossed that much in week one. The drop from week one is less than 50% which is very good trending. The film should be able to do 75 crore nett and maybe even hit 80 crore nett.
The best performance is in West Bengal where the film should cross 6 crore nett which is excellent and easily beats Baby at 4 crore nett which was the top grosser before Piku.
Mumbai and Mysore are also very good with Mumbai expected to cross 25 crore nett and Mysore should comfortably cross 6 crore nett. Mass dominated circuits like CPCI and Bihar have not done well.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 10:36 AM
This is absolutely fantastic. Despite me not loving the film to the extent some of the few here have, the excellent hold at BO by piku suggests majority have liked this film, like me. 🙂
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:11 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Opens Very Well In North India
Friday 22 May 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a very good opening in North and was good in most other places. Overall the initial is strong. North India multiplexes had the best opening of the year ahead of Gabbar Is Back. The Delhi NCR area is excellent as theatres in places like Gurgaon which don’t open normally record strong occupancies till later in the day were 50% plus for morning shows.
Despite on lesser screens than Gabbar Is Back it could record the top first day figures in the North. East Punjab will be best bet as the Delhi/UP total may be let down by figures in UP where opening was much less than Gabbar Is Back. Mumbai, Rajasthan and CI also opened well.
The opening is average in a couple of circuits like Nizam / Andhra and West Bengal but the film is not the sort that has to score universally to succeed. The film should record the highest initial for a heroine orientated film though being a sequel it had an upper hand compared to other heroine orientated films which got solid day one numbers like a Mary Kom and Heroine.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:11 AM
Gabbar Is Back At 84 Crore In Three Weeks
Friday 22 May 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Gabbar Is Back is the biggest grosser of 2015 as it has collected 84 crore nett apprx in three weeks. The film has done well despite competition from new releases over the last two weeks. Bombay velvet did not provide competition but Gabbar Is Back lost a lot of screen space due to its release especially in single screens and its pretty clear that Gabbar Is Back would have done better in these screens despite being in week three..
The performance in Bihar is very good where it will be amongst the top fifteen grossing films. It will not reach top 25 in any other circuit.
The film should just about cross the 85 crore nett mark with a distributor share of 43.50 crore apprx.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 8:31 AM
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/from-serving-drinks-to-pulling-a-rickshaw-photos-of-robots-replacing-humans-around-the-world-995367.html
From serving drinks to pulling a rickshaw: Photos of robots replacing humans around the world
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 9:51 AM
Looking forward to TWM2, i loved the first one and this one seems to have good reports. Kangna seems to be entertaining and can carry movie on her shoulders post Queen.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 10:44 AM
The power struggles within the shareef badmash of our nation
“The breaking point was a dinner at Anil Ambani’s house where Mr Bachchan accused me of manipulating his family’s resignation from Sahara board and promoting Bonny Kapoor there,” he said.
He claims that he told the Bachchans to never sit in a car if you don’t know who is driving it (a reference to Sahara businesses.) “If I had not warned them, Mr Bachchan and his entire family who were on the board would have been in jail along with other members instead of picking up Padma Vibhushans or clicking selfies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or promoting Gir forest,” he says.
Last year, when Amar Singh was undergoing another surgery, the Bachchans tried contacting him, but Singh claims he did not respond. “I don’t have any feelings for them. I am absolutely numb. They stand completely exposed.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Amar-Singh-gets-ready-to-leave-home-of-13-years/articleshow/47386726.cms
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 11:32 AM
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 11:39 AM
Namrata Joshi:: She stole the words from my mouth.
“At one level, one is tempted to see Mad Max: Fury Road purely as an extended allegory. And it is one. About despotic leaders, civilisational crises and precipitous decline, about taking on patriarchy and organised religion and about flocking together, and gaining strength in numbers to fight for survival. It is also about the dystopic future that might be humanity’s lot and the frightening variety of ecological disasters that stare us in the face, a world without water, a world of gasoline wars. George Miller’s off-the-wall creation of a futuristic wasteland offers somewhat more. It makes all the action franchisees seem like stuff of adolescent imagination and turns popular superheroes seem mere toyboys in comparison. It takes action into an entirely new level.
Miller offers action at its most grown-up, fantastic, surreal, weird, insane, primeval and visceral all at once and never ever lets up on the thrills even once. He gives a new dimension to larger than life. The canvas, the characters, the assault vehicles—those rigs and bikes, the chases, the action and stunts are all bewilderingly crazy, eccentric and extreme. So are the places you whiz past in the adventure—Gas Town, Bullet Farm, Green Place. Not to forget the ear-splitting sound, the one thing I would like to nitpick on. And you are thrown headlong into it with the first road battle itself—as Furiosa (Theron) flees, with War Boys hot on the chase and Max (Hardy getting into Mel Gibson’s shoes), a captive of the desperado Joe (Byrne), joining hands with her.
The pursuit continues though desert, swampland and salt flats. In fact, you hardly get any time to pause and breathe. Miller sends you on a relentless run along with his characters, while giving you not a chance of moving an inch off your seats. It’s like being on a long simulated ride in a theme park that makes you shout and scream while certainly not wanting to get out of it. What’s more, it’s a movie that even comes to haunt you in your dreams. The strange flame-throwing guitarist is still stuck in the mind a whole week after the screening. And to think that this furious, fuming, freaky world should have been created by a man in his 70s, the same guy who warmed the cockles of our heart with Happy Feet and Babe, is unbelievable.
At the end of it all Mad Max: Fury Road leaves you at once exhilarated and exhausted. And it leaves you at a complete loss for words when asked, ‘how was it’. See it to believe it. A film you have to experience to understand. A world worth immersing yourself in for the time it lasts on screen.”
http://www.outlookindia.com/article/mad-max-fury-road/294367
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 2:10 PM
Last week Piku gave a tight slap to ranbir – before he recovers – tanu has punched him on the face 🙂
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 3:21 PM
that’s pretty juvenile
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 3:22 PM
glad to see these small movies doing well, doubt i’ll be able to catch either Piku or TWMR in the theatres
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:43 AM
yeah ranbir is behaving like a juvenile in selecting such films 😉
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 4:33 PM
My Top 5 film of the year so far
1. BABY
2. Tanu Weds Manu Returns
3. PIKU
4. Badlapur
5. Gabbar is Back / Jor laga Ke Haisha
Top 5 actor
1. Akshay Kumar in Baby
2. Akshay Kumar in Gabbar
3. Irfan Khan in PIKU
4. Amitabh in PIKU
5. Varun Dhawan in Badlapur
Top actress
1. Kangana in Tanu Weds Manu Returns
2. Deepika in PIKU
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 4:56 PM
Did you see TWMR??
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:41 AM
You can watch the movie just for punches. The topic is interesting but its handling is simple. The movie is very watchable and should do good business.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:44 PM
I probably enjoyed Baby the most out of the movies that I have seen this year, I was most disappointment with Badlapur..I thought the preformances across the board were pretty weak (even from Nawazuddin who i really enjoy watching otherwise)
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 6:44 PM
*disappointed
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 5:19 PM
The reason for Piku’s success. Do watch.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 9:41 PM
I can never get tried of this quote. So here it is again:
“To live without seeing the films of the Indian director Satyajit Ray, said Akira Kurosawa in 1975, “means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” Though Ray was 11 years his junior, Kurosawa spoke of him that day in Moscow as a master. “I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing it,” he recalled of Ray’s debut Pather Panchali, 20 years after that film’s success at Cannes helped to usher in a new era of cinematic globalism—one that would eventually make it possible for a Japanese filmmaker to praise an Indian one in a speech being translated for a Russian audience. “It is the kind of cinema that flows with the serenity and nobility of a big river.”
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2015/05/satyajit_ray_s_apu_trilogy_restoration_and_re_release_of_pather_panchali.html?wpsrc=fol_tw
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 7:55 PM
First day looks like 9 crores with lot of opportunity to grow in West and South. We are looking at a big one here. WOM is strong too.
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 8:48 PM
I think it is wishful thinking.
Will be a money maker for sure but in a 65-70 crore range.
BTW, it is about 7.75 as per BOI
LikeLike
May 22, 2015 at 10:28 PM
Yeah I didnt mean a big one in net terms. I meant in terms of profits. This one is half the cost of Piku but can do the same net as Piku.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 7:56 AM
Okay, am not sure about costs but it may match Piku’s collections.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:07 AM
agree.. specially if it continues being mostly a North Indian affair! Or else it would have to trend strongly to get to a 100. I’d bet on your 70-80 range though. Of course it has two weeks to do this because DDD releases after this.
I must say even otherwise that I find the entire sense of excitement about Tanu weds Manu a bit mystifying. I’m sure it’s an entertaining film (I wasn’t that crazy about the first one) but there seems to be a certain exaggeration to some of the responses to it. of course any film that does well at the box office can automatically not be argued against!
On a related note though BOI has been celebrating Gabbar for getting to a number Piku will now reach or one that Tanu will reach or better! And unlike Baby Gabbar is a very normal masala deal.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 7:53 PM
Gabbar is a Semi Hit at best…I think BOI will have that verdict too. Piku is a sure Hit. This one can go above that…I had liked TWM, it was quite a bit of fun. I also liked the directors Ranjhanaa, a wonderful effort. Satyam, this one is behaving like a biggie in the North but Saturday it has picked up in West too. There is lot in this movie for all strata compared to a Piku which we knew will be more of a multiplex affair. As a summer movie, TWM2 will score with the audience. There is nothing much to read into it apart from that…But this year has been good for low budget movies or small movies Badlapur, Dum Lagaake Aisha (delightful), Piku and now TWM2. Even a movie like Hunterrr did reasonably well…
There is 2 weeks for TWM2 and it has a very good chance to get to 100 crores with decent trending. I am more hopeful on ABCD2 than DDD to become the first 100 crores grosser but in the end it is just 100 crores…
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:57 AM
BOI has now corrected their figure to 8.75 crs. Once the CI and Rajasthan numbers were out, it was clear that Day 1 was closer to 9 crs than the 7.5 crores which BOI was saying…
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:28 AM
Piku Strong On Third Friday Bombay Velvet 95 Percent Down
Piku held up strongly again on its third Friday despite the release of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. It grossed in the range of 1.25-1.50 crore nett which will be around 50% down from last Friday. The film is now on course for 80 crore nett.
The film continued to be very strong in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. The fact that Tany Weds Manu Returns was not as strong in these areas as in North helped the film a little. The third week end will easily be the best of 2015.
Bombay Velvet collections were practically nothing at around 15-20 lakhs nett. Its a huge 95% plus crash from day one. The film will hardly collect 1 crore nett in its second week.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:30 AM
“Bombay Velvet collections were practically nothing at around 15-20 lakhs nett. Its a huge 95% plus crash from day one. The film will hardly collect 1 crore nett in its second week.”
I have no words to express for 15-20 lakhs collections on 8th day 🙂
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:32 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Day One Business
Saturday 23 May 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a good first day grossing around 8.50-8.75 crore nett. The business was lopsided towards North India which grossed excellent numbers while others were good to decent. The opening of the film is in the same range as Baby which was a much bigger film.
The film is a huge hit in the North and remains to be seen how the rest of the country performs. Markets like Rajasthan and CI will be okay but the crunch will be Mumbai circuit and if that picks up and goes on a run the film could emerge the first super hit film of 2015.
The potential for growth on Saturday is mainly outside North India. Mumbai and South have huge potential for growth though even if the film holds at first day levels it would have done very well.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:03 AM
Superstar Aamir Khan says he wants to watch Anurag Kashyap’s “Bombay Velvet”, which opened to mixed reviews.
The much-talked ‘Bombay Velvet’ is a period crime drama based on historian Gyan Prakash’s book ‘Mumbai Fables’. Released on May 15, the film was mocked on social media.
“I haven’t seen the film yet. I had seen the trailer and it shows that a lot of hard work had gone into it. It feels sad that the film did not do well… I would still like to watch ‘Bombay Velvet’,” Aamir said in an interview here.
Also read – ‘Bombay Velvet’ an ‘epic disaster’; Anurag Kashyap and Ranbir Kapoor bear the brunt
“When a film doesn’t work, we feel bad. There are films that work and there are some that don’t work. We should learn from these experiences,” he added.
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/aamir-khan-wants-to-see-anurag-kashyaps-bombay-velvet/
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:05 AM
Now I realise why saas bahu serials get the highest trps.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 7:26 AM
North India – Tanu Weds Manu Returns V Gabbar Is Back
Saturday 23 May 2015 13.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns set benchmarks for the year beating the figures of Gabbar Is Back. Below are the first day figures of Tanu Weds Manu Returns from Delhi/UP and East Punjab.
Delhi/UP
Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 2,48,00,000
Gabbar Is Back – 2,26,00,000
East Punjab
Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 1,33,00,000
Gabbar Is Back – 1,09,00,000
Although figures in most of the other circuits are much less than Gabbar Is Back, it is still commendable that a film like this is setting highs in some circuits.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 7:27 AM
Nothing excites BOI like a film doing well in N India and here too in E Punjab!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 10:28 AM
Ha!!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:08 AM
My older piece on Tanu Weds Manu and related things:
Tanu weds Manu or Testosterone Delhi!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:09 AM
Incidentally I will be doing something on Piku but another screening is on the cards this weekend. Will probably do it after this.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 10:15 AM
I agree with every word of Rangan here..
That’s why Mad Max: Fury Road is like no other summer blockbuster. It isn’t even like any other movie around. I’ve never seen such a wildly imaginative mix of ideas and visuals – a matriarchal clan and metallic silver paint; seeds in a bag and a pregnant belly used as a shield; a comic-relief guitarist and a solitary tree in a desert; blindness and blood transfusion; collapsing rocks and a self-effacing protagonist. Every frame of this film has behind it this thought: How can we make this better, new, different, unique? Go watch this movie, again and again, for we may sooner see the apocalypse than an action movie that’s this artisanal.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 12:03 PM
This is a huge achievement!
Cannes: ‘Son of Saul,’ ‘Masaan’ Take Fipresci Prizes –
“… The critics also honored Masaan, which screened in Un Certain Regard. Neeraj Ghaywa’s film follows a group of people living in Benares, the holy city on the banks of the Ganges, which reserves a cruel punishment for those who play with moral traditions. …”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-son-saul-masaan-take-797339
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 1:53 PM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Bollywood-stars-on-Hollywood-films-posters/photostory/47306370.cms
After Priyanka Chopra impressed everyone as a cop in the trailer of the US TV series, Quantico, it is Nargis Fakhri’s turn to surprise her fans. The actress, who is seen in the Hollywood film, Spy, an action-comedy alongside Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, and Jude Law shared the poster of her Hollywood film on Instagram.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:04 PM
‘Piku’ 15 Days Box Office Collection: Deepika Padukone Starrer Continues Success Run despite Release of ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/piku-15-days-box-office-collection-deepika-padukone-starrer-continues-success-run-despite-633448
this film is amazing ,surprised everyone ,including amitabh haters,
bachan fans always had faith and particular for this film…just feeling great this film has done well …
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:10 PM
“What an odd title: Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Considering the audience just needs to be told that this is a sequel, was Tanu and Manu Again unavailable? Tanu Weds Manu Returns sounds like Tanu weds and Manu returns. The blue-penciller in me kept wanting to insert a comma midway”
LOL! Rangan doesn’t seem to be sold on it anyway. Glad we have a review that breaks out of the ‘hey-it’s-Sholay’ syndrome!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:13 PM
Rangan always surprises his readers.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:22 PM
Rangan’s review is pretty much spot on– if anything I liked it even less than he did. This is probably Kangana’s best performance (I have rarely seen a double role where it really does seem that two different actors are involved) although Tanu is, by the end, so poorly written, no one could pull that off. Maddy’s character is just boring and doughy; and I wish there were more of Jimmy Shergill here…
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:26 PM
The reviews this film is getting are astounding, given what it actually is: that first scene — of the wedding — is damn good, followed by an atrocious farce at the mental hospital (as a plot device this is so bad it has to be seen), followed by a very enjoyable first half. And then, it just goes horribly horribly wrong in the second half, and by the end I was hating Anand Rai for messing this up so thoroughly…
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:48 PM
“The reviews this film is getting are astounding, given what it actually is”
wait and see how the reviews for Zoya Akhtar’s next give Pather Panchali a run for its money..
Utkal, ‘sarcasm alert’ for the above.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:55 PM
Second half drama was not up to mark with some 3-4 songs in sequence. But movie is very watchable as it very light even during those melodramatic scenes. The movie needed to be serious in second half and needed good writing.
ps – People who are married already for 4-5 years and who have stayed in UP will appreciate it more.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:04 PM
“People who are married already for 4-5 years and who have stayed in UP will appreciate it more.”
does one need to be punished twice?
LOL! Just having some fun. Nothing against the state (or marriage)! Hopefully Rocky doesn’t see this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 23, 2015 at 3:29 PM
Hmm,Q. You never said a word about PIKU so far. I thought you were going to watch it?
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:55 PM
I watched it twice in the cinema and loved it! And amidst a crazy period at work, so that should give some indication of how thoroughly I enjoyed it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 23, 2015 at 3:32 PM
Re: does one need to be punished twice?
Ha! Ha!
Line of the week surely!
Guess that explains MUnna’s and Rocky’s mental issues.😄
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:40 PM
Rajen – Aap us (marriage) school ke headmaster ho 🙂
Ps – there is a funny Gujarati reference in the movie.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 4:17 PM
Munna, Gujarati Weltanschauung is different from UP’s. And, no I am not referring to an anatomical part as one would think. 😄
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:43 PM
Weltanschauung….jesus!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 4:43 PM
**Contains Spoiler**
very much agree Q – Kangana’s performance is so towering that it overshadows all the weak points at the same time highlights them too!:-) what an actress! (spoiler aert) – that haryanvi accent and the whole body language was so amazing that towards the end I was actually wanting that maddy’s character should not dump her…………
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:10 PM
added spoiler warning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 23, 2015 at 5:13 PM
Yup, read it by mistake!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:27 PM
I am pretty sure you will like this movie minus some drama in second half (see with your better half). One of the things about Aanand Rai’s movies is the middle and lower middle class sensibilities, milieu are shown much better than any of the newer breed directors I have seen in terms of authencity. Anurag Kahsyap may shout about authentic part from rooftop but they are not.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 23, 2015 at 5:38 PM
Planning to watch it TONITE but hopefully doesn’t give my better half ideas about committing me to a mental institution. Because in my case , it would be very easy to convince them that I should be committed😄
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 2:51 PM
I loved Tanu Weds Manu. It’s central conceit is almost philosophical. If you can’t get the real thing, would you be satisfied by a simulacrum? Both Madhavan and Jimmy Shergill love Tanu but because they can’t control her, they want someone who looks like like her but behaves differently. But the simulacrum in question is no chopped liver. She has her own brain too.
The Summer-Autumn angle of Madhavan and Kusum is dealt with astonishing maturity. There is a scene wherein Madhavan gifts Kusum a pair of studs, and she unused to such attention, is frantic on losing them. He is a sugar daddy to her and that is almost unexplored territory in Hindi cinema.
The second half plot devices that some critics are complaining about are actually its strength. It gives the comedy the pace and froth of a Rossinian opera. Tanu’s initial carousing in Kanpur reminds you of Fiorilla, one of Rossini’s most formidable buffa heroines, a wife disappointed by her marriage who start flirting with everyone including a Turkish Pasha!
It’s an interesting thing to watch that film fraternity seems to get the achievement of the movie whereas the critics are expressing some qualms. Maybe because it doesn’t pander to their limited Anglicised weltanschauung.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:02 PM
“Maybe because it doesn’t pander to their limited Anglicised weltanschauung.”
I see you’re giving Utkal a run for his money!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:02 PM
We have a true battle royale between Kangana and Deepika as far as performances go. While Deepika is exceptionally good, Kangana’s is a watershed. I wouldn’t mind Deepika winning the awards but I hope Kangana gets them.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 4:52 PM
it is DP’s star-power which may does the trick her but clearly Kangana’s double role is much ahead in the performance dept.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:09 PM
Kangana’s role was much better even though they were in different genres.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:25 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 12h 12 hours ago
#Piku [Week 3] is UNSTOPPABLE. Fri 1.35 cr. Grand total: ₹ 66.57 cr. India biz. Should cross ₹ 70 cr by Sun. SUPER HIT!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:29 PM
they’re all so blatantly biased.. Taran was big on Piku and sure enough he’s been updating regularly. nahta meanwhile felt that certain sections would love it but not overall. He wasn’t expecting this kind of gross. He’s not had a single update on the film. On the other hand he’s been big on Tanu.. and he already has half a dozen updates.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:26 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 12h 12 hours ago
#PK is a WINNER in China too. Fri $ 899,000. Fri + Sat [till now] $ 1.47 million [₹ 9.33 cr] on 4600 screens. SUPERB!
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 3:26 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 13h 13 hours ago
PK is now the HIGHEST grossing Indian film ever in Overseas: $ 28.1 million [₹ 178.34 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 4:22 PM
Wow 4600 screens, I think that is more screens that it released in India! How many screens does China have?? And I think we are looking at the 1st 200 crore overseas Grosser
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 4:31 PM
As of 2014, there were about 24,000 in China opposed to about 39,000 in US BUT China has been adding them at a rate of several thousand every year, so it could easily be a few thousand more by now.
3I released on 2000 screens and had 4.3 if total screenings. So, a lot of them probably have one showing per day.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 7:46 PM
I don’t know how it works in China but are these all Hindi version of the movie in so many theatres? And considering the number of theatre isn’t that number low?
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:31 PM
PK was already seen almost by everyone on pirated DVDs.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:42 PM
Are you nervous that the film is having such a huge release?
I am nervous not because the film is having such a wide release but because most of them have already seen the film.
I went on a television show and the host tried to comfort me by saying, ‘Most of the people have already seen your film but I would now request them to go and watch the film again in theatres. (laughs).
So now I am keeping my fingers crossed.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:51 PM
I was just wondering if it made any business sense. You need to spend heavily on prints etc and you get returns less than a million. But maybe I am not aware of the dynamics in China.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 9:01 PM
I dont think they will release it to do charity. It maybe only one or two shows. Or one theatre in a multiplex.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:23 AM
I’m surprised you have more questions about PK’s China release than many Indian releases (i.e. in India) where the most ‘fantastical’ claims are made about budgets and distribution costs and eventual hit/flop status!
On your other question I believe these are dubbed prints in China.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:31 AM
Well I dont recollect any movie releasing in so many theatres thats the reason for my curiosity..
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:10 AM
They must not have thought anything else big enough…!
http://variety.com/2015/film/asia/aamir-khan-pk-china-release-1201495942/
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:45 PM
watched Piku. Didn’t enjoy it the way Q did (possibly my expectations were sky high due to all the hype and they had generated similar hype for finding fanny too) but did laugh one that one scene that Rajen mentioned. Rest of the movie wasn’t a ‘comedy’ for me. Romance never took off.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:49 PM
Bombay velvet -Contd from https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2015/05/14/bombay-velvet-piku-ongoing-the-rest-of-the-box-office/#comment-303252
Have been totally off touch with movies etc but came to know that even in FLOPDOM, BV has created RECORDS –EPICNESS even in failure haha
Some more random musings
There are many things the public hated (or didn’t quite latch onto!)
Kashyaps dark mind was typically at work
Note how he used sexuality (or different sexuality or lack thereof) to associate characters with
How DEPRAVED CORRUPT(ED) humans had some sexual characteristics
Kjo was OVERTLY ‘GAY’
and DISTRIBUTED his wife as sexual favours (& perhaps did a favor to her as well given his own lack of any ‘manhood’)
Even jimi mistry was apparently ‘not even a man’ as per anushka
Heck even anushkas (sexual) past was a bit shrouded in mystery
IRONICALLY the ONLY ‘normal’ clear and SEXUALLY HONEST & MORALLY UNAMBIGUOUS character was the ANTIHERO ranbir who was PURE in his ‘love’
On a related note, ranbir gave a good account of himself
Kashyap extracted good perfomances from everyone and the absolute HEIGHT was that Naseers NONACTOR son (forgot his name -the one who was also seen in HNY) was also good here
I didn’t expect it but ranbir did well in the action scenes here
Raging bull , scar face, godfather and the other conglomerate of influences were visible
But specially enjoyed the duel with JAPAANI —
Who is not a Japanese but perhaps represents the MERCENARY, MACHINISED HUMANOID he plays…
The word ‘japani’ does find it’s way back into the kapoor filmography after decades.
And reminded me in a v STRANGE way of this work (that I now realise the greatness of!)
Sometimes even utter flops remind u of cultness & greatness
Ps: the last such moment was in rockstar –when ranbir was with Shammi kapoor –that was an ethereal moment imo
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:26 AM
On BV —Contd from above —
Ranbir Kapoor definitely showed his class (& pedigree) though..
Having said that –I felt the casting of the lead pair was SUBOPTIMAL INSPITE of their ability and efforts and both being v good actors
In my view, in the current lot the BEST person to play Johny balraj would have been RANVEER SINGH
& the best person to play Rosie Noronha was difficult —
But my pick(s) would have been
Nargis Fakhri ( for no specific reason!)
ileana da cruz (for a couple of reasons)
kangana Renaut ( for kanganas acting credentials)….
There’s a dialogue that I loved —
Agli baar yahaan dikha Na
Aankh me beech mein Rakh Ke
dabaa daaloonga…..
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:29 AM
Ranveer was the choice before Ranbir but the producers weren’t willing to provide that higher budget without the latter.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:36 AM
“Ranveer was the choice before Ranbir”
I’m not surprised
Great minds think alike lol
The problem here was the CURSE OF the ‘ICONIC’..
when u go about making an ‘iconic’ project one gets stuck in the ‘bigger better deal’ compulsion
There was NO NEED for going to Sri Lanka to recreate Bombay though …
Lots of opportunities that are RIPE cinematically in india !
The budget should have been kept down so kashyap could indulge in more of his typical mischief …
Ps: sometimes I feel like PLAYING with the rushes of these flicks & CURE them of their ILLS 🙂
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:50 AM
It was probably cheaper to recreate it in SL..
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:04 AM
Wtf??
Then they should have made ME the star !!
I would have done the movie for free –even paid them a bit for it
(Provided it starred nargis fakhri or ileana da cruz)
🙂
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:15 AM
“Then they should have made ME the star !!”
It’s not a porn flick..
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 5:59 PM
‘UNSTOPPABLE’ MAMMOTH hits -piku /twm
Now I don’t have anything against ‘female oriented films’ infact I fully ‘support’ such films (& females in general)
But have heard that deepika and kangana are now talking about pay parity amongst actors and actresses
As usual I will be POLITICALLY INCORRECT
It’s a simple MARKET–plain n simple n crude
U will take home what u bring to the table
What do u expect when your BIG HITS DONT CROSS 70-80 crores liketime total—
Be it kahaani, queen, Piku or tabu weds Manu
Yes things are changing slowly
But where’s the comparison with a
Salman, hrithik, aamir, srk (in that order nowadays!) when stardom can catapult a mediocre project to a near 100 Crore WEEKEND (not lifetime!?)
I know budgets are differnt but CONFIDENCE to invest in a BIG SOLO FEMALE ORIENTED project also comes from experience and DEMONSTRATION of performance at the ticket window
Till then, this talk of parity is just for deepika /kangana interviews, politically correct circles and BLOGS etc
Anyhow all the sent for such CHICK FLICKS oops I meant female oriented flicks …
Ps: a BRILLIANT comment by ‘prose’ above —
May watch tabu weds Manu soon –sounds interesting this….
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 7:47 PM
Saturday numbers might touch 12.5 crores or even 13 crores. The numbers in North are very huge for a small movie of this kinds. There is a chance of a 35 crore weekend now.
Due respect to Deepika, but Kangana’s performance is on a different chart altogether.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:59 PM
This is the year of small films conquering. Giant killers.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 8:39 PM
Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor in R Balki’s next
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Kareena-Kapoor-Khan-and-Arjun-Kapoor-in-R-Balkis-next/articleshow/47396493.cms
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:10 AM
RIP Balki.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:14 AM
Lol,An Jo . Saw your comment first before seeing above and for a moment my heart stopped beating!
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 10:17 AM
There is some more. Pluto Mehra is promoting DDD!
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 10:43 AM
I think Balki will nail it in his own way. An older heroine with a young hero must be something interesting inspite of BO.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 10:25 PM
Krish: “You need to spend heavily on prints etc ” No, you don’t. These days it’s all digital.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 24, 2015 at 4:29 AM
There are still lot of things, the whole logisitics piece, theatre rental etc. As I said I am not aware of dynamics in China so cannot comment but for my naïve eye, it doesn’t make sense.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 4:38 AM
That is their headache. Why worry? If it is loss, why will they agree in the first place? It is a communist country and so the theatre rentals maybe nominal. The profit ratio or loss ratio wil be calculated and for this we must go to boxofficechina if there is one. Even HNY was released recently and declared as well received. What does that mean? Komal and Taran may answer better.
LikeLike
May 23, 2015 at 11:32 PM
Watched TWMR with not much expectations
But was not prepared for what I saw.
A melodramatic kitsch that is an affront to intelligence and sensibilities. If you take out KAngna’s rebellious character , this could easily be a J.Omprakash film from 70’s or a Jeetu-Padmalaya melodrama from that era.
I can see why it has found some takers as melodrama with endings that confirm have always worked but in 2015, I regard this as an insult. Have not seen a more disappointing film in several years.
More later.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 2:31 AM
Hmmm..the melodrama was only fifth of the movie towards the end..The whole movie is filled with one liners and punches.. So either you didn’t get the jokes or you went with some different expectations. It is true that movie treatment of subject was skin deep but IMO movie is very entertaining and watchable.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 4:40 AM
So rajen declares the film as underwhelming and also rangan.
Next week trending will show where the film is heading.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 5:17 AM
The movie will do good. There is nothing in movie to remember but the movie is filled with funny dialogues and situations. The funny situations are really funny unlike say Rohit Shetty’s brand (barring ATB).
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:04 AM
In parts the movie is actually an embarrassment.
The scene where the U.S. return doctor is invited to give a lecture to some scientific society about Cardiovascular diseases is so unrealistically staged. It is outdoors in a park with some chairs and a podium and some banners made of cloth- more like a kinder garten graduation or a local political event. Indian scientific meetings are sophisticated multi media events. Certainly they would be in Delhi.
Then , when he talks he says some garbage like bi- cardia and tri – cardia which he says means slow and fast heart rates. There are no such words. Correct terms are Bradycardia and Tachycardia. This is extremely elementary stuff and it is very embarrassing that in 2015, there is inability or unwillingness to get it right.
But, this is indicative of the level the film operates. One can suspend disbelief and give the film makers some license but this movie is just full of unrealistic, implausible situations and turns that defy logic. There is NOTHING intelligent about the movie.
If this is comedy, would take a Shetty film any day over it.
Crass,crude, unfunny and stupid. And takes audience for a ride.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:51 AM
And, there is something offensively patronizing about all these going ga- ga over realistic portrayal of lower middle class milieu of small cities. Sitting several steps removed in our comfort, we find it ‘cute’ how this life of lower middle class is staged with the crowded dwellings and very basic living.
The movie gets that part right but it is not an achievement.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 8:27 AM
“And, there is something offensively patronizing about all these going ga- ga over realistic portrayal of lower middle class milieu of small cities.”
yes and this is exactly the reason why I’ve always been suspicious of this entire genre. The multiplex classes can want it all and have it all whereas these other folks living in small town India or belonging to the same classes in major cities must enjoy their bittersweet lives with fat wives (saw the first 10 min of Dum laga ke haisha.. will complete it at another point) or whatever! This kind of representation becomes everything the former isn’t. So when it comes to making choices or making do with what one has or living with reduced aspiration the burden entirely falls on these small town folks. Meanwhile the multiplex guys have models as wives or whatever. So your word ‘cute’ is exactly right here. And on this note one of the rare exceptions was Do Dooni Char. There is a way of representing this sort of life without making it a vehicle of multiplex consumption or complacency (see what happens when you don’t become like us.. you have to be happy with a VHS store! again dum laga ke..).
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 24, 2015 at 8:50 AM
That is a superb comment and such a smart reading of this genre. I feel the same except that I can’t say it so eloquently.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 8:54 AM
No you’ve said it concisely and to the point. I just draw things out too much!
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:47 AM
I would love to know what you think of Dum Lagaake Haisha.
I thought it was delightful. The newcomer did a wonderful job and Sanjay Mishra is always a joy to see. I thought BR captured the essence of the movie perfectly in his review. And in a strange way it was good to hear Kumar Sanu.
On that VHS store thing, the movie was set in the early 90’s and I thought for a small town and considering the VCD boom then, it was a good choice of profession. In a way, that movie was the most pro-woman flick I have seen for some time considering it was the hero who had to adjust to the heroine’s ‘bulky’ figure rather than the other way around.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 4:32 PM
It seemed like a perfectly enjoyable film. I do plan to finish it at some point. The issue also isn’t about what happens ‘within’ the film but about what happens within this larger representation of small town life or life lived in the same way in the equivalent classes in larger metros. If one watches enough of them a formula emerges which I find suspect for the reasons I’ve just described. Sure enough none of these films are ever big in small town India. What works there? Either something very commercial but rooted or something more low key like Vivaah but which still cannot be confused with such films. In other words this peddling of ‘authenticity’ is really meant for multiplexes. Now people who’ve lived in such parts of India also find these films authentic. What’s the problem then? Well these people tend to confuse ethnographic detail with overall authenticity. A film isn’t ‘truer’ because it shows how people really live and talk. It becomes so when it’s deeper meaning is more truthful. The very fact that one thinks representing a certain way of life (museum-like) is enough is the problem. I of course know where that film is set and why the VHS store is there. My question is: why these choices and not others? So again one has to be sensitive to the overall framing as well, not just what happens within the film. In this sense these films become the other side of the ZNMD coin. Both cater equally to the same multiplex audiences.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 5:15 PM
In that way nothing is authentic. The small town likes nautanki and ranjhana kind of regressive ness. I once pointed to Q who was commending on revival of Bhojpuri movies is that the movies were filled with same melodrama, cliches and lecherous dance numbers. Now they run in small town but I don’t think they are authentic in any sense.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 5:59 PM
yes but there is sometimes a ‘higher’ authenticity in such films. We don’t like Deewar because we think it is real in some documentary sense. But the questions it raises speak to a greater truth. In the same sense I find Ghulami persuasive where I’m not at all convinced by GoW. This isn’t about the aesthetics in each case or whatever. That’s a different debate. I find Ghulami truer than GoW. I find many good masala films truer than many good realistic films. And this seems to be the question we raise anywhere else in life too. We don’t ask whether the Mahabharata is more realistic or not, we find truth in it. A film can belong to any genre. A fantasy film can be truer than a realistic docudrama. It all depends on how things are handled.
On Ranjhanaa I’d say that clearly those audiences found something there that they didn’t in Dum… Yes those audiences often like regressive stuff too. But my point is less about progressive and regressive here and more about putting the ‘other’ in some kind of stereotypical corner. Ranjhanaa (though I think it was messed up in the second half) follows a certain commercial format, it becomes aspirational in certain ways for those audiences. But Dum… doesn’t have anything like this (I’m making an assumption here). If multiplex audiences can aspire to certain things why can’t those small town audiences as well (actually many of them want exactly what ZNMD depicts!)? You see the problem here? The aspirational is put on the side of a certain class whereas when it comes to a different one suddenly it’s all about ‘realistically’ living your life and being happy with it! What happened in those older films though? Kallu became Kaalia! No one though this was possible. No one was foolish enough to believe this but there was something aspirational about it. that even if you were nothing in the world you could become something. Today it’s about how if you already are someone you can enjoy your life in Europe whereas if you’re nobody you should learn how to be happy about your limited moments of possible happiness!
Of course I agree with you that everything poor cannot be justified. I don’t think Salman’s movies are great, the same for Bhojpuri cinema. However there the debate is a different one. Those audiences aren’t getting subjects they like from Hindi cinema as they once did. For them this kind of cinema is simply a way to access something rooted. Similarly no one believes Salman Khan’s films to be great which is why not one has trended even like Ghajni (including Dabanng) let along anything more than this. But the kind of posture and agenda they’re looking for they can find in these films. it’s either this or Dil Dhadakne Do! And again the difference is illustrated by something like Do Dooni Char. This is a normal film. The sort they often made in the 70s. So you can have that sort of film without making it an ethnographic exercise. You can have any kind of work on even the most minor slice of life and so on but ultimately it should be universal otherwise it holds limited interest. And this is the sort of question we bring to everything else as well. When we watch small Iranian films we don’t just do so because we want to see Iranian life. We want to see how being in a certain place and time in a repressive regime like Iran’s tells us more universal things about being human and so on.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 5:21 PM
there is only multiplex audience left. There is no small town audience. Even a B center has many multiplexes than single screens. And most of the small town audience want to see entertaining melodrama than a realistic/relatable movie on their life.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 1:00 AM
The setting of the lecture is not uncommon in India (I have seen similar pictures in better institute). Your point regarding bi and tri cardia is valid but I think you were reading the captions in hall or the words are pronounced differently. The movie is feel good like Raju Hirani movie. There is drama which was contrived in second half.There is nothing in the movie to remember or profound. But the dialogues and one-liners were the best in some time. And I think that makes people overlook obvious weakness in the movie; at least for me.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 5:30 AM
Piku -contd
Contains ‘spoilers’
The MOST interestingly written character here was syed afroze.
In a key moment, after amitabh got drunk and berserk, deepika (who had earlier not responded to his phone call) INVITED him for a bout of sex at his room. The next morning deepika showed concern and token guilt to see amitabhs deterioration in health.
Now this was an interesting guy who was apparently deepikas ‘boss’ or superior and was a ‘friend’ who lent his arm, helped her our and was also a ‘friend with benefits’ who helped out deepika with her ‘need’ for sex. He was very ‘passive’ and even ‘docile’ but given the obvious (physical) charms of deepika, I wonder whether that docility was default or by design since he seemed to ‘benefit’ from this a lot (which is why deepika could go off work as and when she desired)
So it was a refreshingly mutually symbiotic relationship (more on it later)
The film benefits from CONSISTENT PACING
and i think this director has had exposure to some auteuristic cinema in his formative years (even ray since he is a Bengali!)
Ps: there are sprinklings of unanswered questions
Towards the end, after amitabh dies, after a very very brief (shockingly brief period of mourning) deepika was back what she does best
Playing ‘badminton’ with irrfan
But notably he still hasn’t entered the ‘GATE’ of her ‘home’
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 8:59 AM
Good reading,Apex except for the sleazy part.
Very nice interpretation of the badminton scene as long as you meant actual home and gate with no sexual connotations.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:05 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns To Be First SUPER HIT Of 2015
Saturday 23 May 2015 22.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is set to emerge the first big hit of the year. The collections have jumped across the board including places like Maharashta and Nizam which was important. The second day collections should be around 11.50-12 crore nett and could even go a little higher depending on Mumbai growth.
The film is set to be the first SUPER HIT film of 2015 which is a ray of rope considering what has happened so far this year including the disastrous Bombay Velvet last week.
North India has gone crazy for the film where it will be a blockbuster as Delhi/UP and East Punjab hit figures on Saturday which are normally associated with event films.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:05 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Day Two Business
Sunday 24 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a huge 50% plus jump on Saturday. The film showed growth all over India including Mumbai circuit which was on lower side on day one. The first two day business of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is as follows.
Friday – 8,50,00,000
Saturday – 13,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 21,50,00,000
The difference between Tanu Weds Manu Returns and the other releases like Baby, Piku, NH 10 etc which have jumped on Saturday is mass circuits. This film has shown extraordinary growth on in mass circuits which is rare. Even single screens are up which hardly ever happens. This film is the biggest hit of the year so far.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:06 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 4h 4 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns biz witnesses PHENOMENAL growth. Biz multiplies on Day 2. Fri 8.75 cr, Sat 13.10 cr+. Total: ₹ 21.85 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 4h 4 hours ago
At the speed #TanuWedsManuReturns is sprinting, ₹ 35 cr [+/-] opening weekend is on the cards. Cost [incl P&A]: ₹ 30 cr. FABULOUS!
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:21 AM
stunning! straight 50% jump on sat. – sunday would be around 15 – so yea 35-36 on card. and first week above 60 cr – kangana is a female amitabh (of yores of course) ! 🙂
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:13 AM
BOI cannot resist saying foolish stuff. How could a movie like Piku be expected to do well in mass circuits? If anything it’s been a super-performer given it’s for a more limited audience? Baby is of course a different matter. But what about Gabbar? Now that’s a mass circuit film and its doing only as much as Piku! And BOI consider that a good result too. of course they now have their ‘North Indian’ film to go crazy about in Tanu.
On that note BOI haven’t updated on Piku but as Taran’s Fri/Sat numbers show it’s remarkably stable even over the 3rd weekend.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 7:50 AM
You are in some mood today!! Got up on wrong side of the bed or what?? 🙂
http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/pikustrongonthirdfridaybombayvelvet95percentdown#.VWG67NKqqko
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 8:30 AM
Didn’t realize you minded it so much when I criticized BOI!
I also wake up on the wrong side of the bed when Ra One and HNY become super hits much more easily than Baby and Piku! So yes I am more ‘curious’ about these claims than whether the PK gross in China is actually a good one relative to print count or not!
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:07 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#PK China Fri+Sat: $ 3.43 million. Higher than #PK 2-day collection in USA, UK and Middle East each.
PK overseas total: $ 30.13 million.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:27 AM
IIRC, second Aamir film to hit 30 M overseas
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:18 AM
Is this the number on 4600 screens! In that case, what can be the economics of this number.
or, it will just be added to foreign gross of PK to make this even more record breaking.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 6:07 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 1h 1 hour ago
#Piku [Week 3] Fri 1.35 cr, Sat 2.40 cr. Grand total: ₹ 68.97 cr. India biz. SUPER HIT!
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 8:58 AM
How times have changed! On the NDTV weekend show Big Fight the guests were asked to rate Modi on the 1 year mark. The American journalist here (he’s lived in India for a while) said ‘we were promised the Salman Khan movie but got the Shahrukh Khan one’! Now of course this isn’t the right analogy as the host pointed out but the very idea that someone could use SRK as the opposite to Salman’s ‘big bang’ (again the journalist’s words) shows how things have changed. And as I pointed out earlier in this sense the coverage over his conviction and so on was totally united on one message — he’s the country’s biggest superstar! Now I’ve often made the case for Aamir and I still would today and certainly after PK (to quote the most recent example) this isn’t a hard case to make. Still Salman has that top status in the popular imagination today. Aamir still has his unique calling card one way or the other. SRK remains the worst affected in this sense.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:29 AM
Lets agree to disagree on BOI…You don’t believe them, I do a bit more than you. But cant one ask a genuine question on print count without offending anyone here? And why cant one be curious on something without being the same on something else!!
ANd on HNY I had made myself clear that I was purely talking of economics and not on whether the audience liked it or not. If anything I never rated the movie very high myself and I said it after seeing it. You have your way to judge a movie, I don’t disagree with that but whats wrong if the verdict from economics point of view is different..And no one said Piku is not a Hit…And Baby is not a hit because people did lose money…whereas they didn’t as much for Gabbar. And BOI has indeed called it a semi hit only…
Lets agree to disagree on the way we rate movie as hits or flops also. Simple…
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:33 AM
Satyam, think my comment went at the bottom. I was actually responding to ur earlier comment…Sorry it went haywire
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 4:43 PM
Krrish, but here’s the problem. And it’s an old one I have. The ‘cost’ argument is used to justify any and every claim. But where are these numbers every established in a verifiable sense? Sure the media throws out figures but these are as often false as true. How do we know? Similarly you ‘believe’ BOI. But why? Do you have a reason to do so beyond a ‘feeling’? It is not that I distrust you or anything. I just distrust an argument that always remains unverifiable. I too am not arguing about who liked HNY or not. I have however seen for more than a decade now claims advanced or costs and eventual ratings that simply don’t make sense. Which is to say they don’t make any internal sense. In Hollywood no one feels that any 100m grosser is automatically somewhat better than any 30m one. But this is the logic behind all such arguments in India. The idea that costs are always greater for that sort of film in the same proportionate sense is made no part of the equation. It just runs contrary to any accounting system of any industry where things are done verifiably that such things could happen? Since I don’t these new laws have been discovered in India in this sense I have to believe that bull is mostly reported in the trade and the media on this stuff. No one doubts the obvious super hit or the obvious super flop. It’s stuff in between that becomes questionable because of these narratives. And I refuse to accept a system where i just have to take someone on face value. If you believe BOI you should tell us why you do so. I doubt them in many cases and I’ve given these examples many times before. Again their claims don’t make sense and their narratives are often blatantly dishonest. If you think otherwise what do you have to show for it? Even if you know the folks who run the site personally that wouldn’t be good enough for me. Because that still isn’t verifiable information. You’ve just said all these things about Baby and so on. But how do we know this? Where did you get production costs or distribution ones or sub-distribution ones and how much the film made in all these places against those costs and so on? Where are these numbers? In the trade journals where they give these ratings (and this was true for older stuff as well) the same films would get different ratings from different trade figures. They were often not even using the same formulas for success or failure. when nothing is standardized, when nothing is verifiable how do we know how to judge things? And then when bigger films suspiciously reach safety much more easily than smaller ones one has a reason to doubt this narrative. So it’s not about ‘agreeing to disagree’. I’d love to do that but there are no facts on the table here! What is there to agree or disagree with?!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 4:52 AM
Satyam, you are basically saying you dont believe anything, any numbers, whatsoever. So you dont believe BOI, NBOC, BOI.co.in, Addatoday who have a way to get numbers from distributors or the kinds of Taran, KOIMOI or whoever else who quote producer numbers. You also dont believe Trade Journals or Film Guides or budgets given by producers too. And that is a fine position to have. But I dont have an issue in going by the numbers thrown by the same media outlets or publications. I can take the lowest range of BOI and highest range of producers and be happy with a range for the collection rather than an absolute number. When there are clear outliers like the case of Krrish3, the producers are usually found out. As long as the large proportion of media stick to around 10 % of a number whether it is budget or collections I have no problem. The simple reason being I dont know where else to go for a verifiable number. These are our only sources available and not just me most of the fraternity follows these numbers. So unless we have a Hollywood like model I have no reason to change my way of thinking. Maybe when a Hollywood kind of model comes, I will also stop believing these outlets and go with the ultimate truth. But for good or bad these are the only outlets I have for numbers. And I do believe HNY had a production budget of 90 crs with P and A of 30 crs and total landing cost of 120 crs. This was what many outlets reported. And If i take that, the movie is a hit in economics terms. Fine it is not verifiable according to you, and you may be correct, but unless you tell me a verifiable outlet, I dont have any options but to trust what is published by 80% of the media outlets, do I? Same goes for a hit like Piku or TWM2 where it is a hit based on costs provided by these same media outlets and I dont have any reason to believe they are not hits. Same reasoning for thinking BV is a disaster and Baby is an average affair…
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 6:30 AM
The numbers provided are almost round figures. It is easy to add a couple of crores here and there and start inflating.. And the narrative adds fuel to the fire. Not in all cases. Only where the stakes are very high and where the producer or an actor has a vested interest. And there is no credible auditing. There is so much haziness here. To arrive at the correct figure, we may have to access incometax filed by the producer and also the distributors and exhibitors. Who will do this and who will bell the cat? to be on the safe side, they always say according to the statistics received by them. What about statistics not received by them? Are the statistics authorised one duly signed?
In US you just cant fudge figures or statistics like they do here with gay abandon.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:53 AM
I’m not saying I don’t believe anyone. One can certainly look at everything and arrive at a general sense of how a film has done or not. But again your very long response still doesn’t feature the one question I ask repeatedly. Where’s the verifiable here? Because such a thing does not exist in India in these matters doesn’t mean we develop complete faith in an imperfect system. whether everyone else looks at this also scarcely matters. As an aside you also haven’t told me why you have greater faith in BOI. You keep asserting that this film or that is a hit based on ‘costs’ and what not. Where are these numbers? If you’re relying on another source you should at least point out what it is. So for instance if you see numbers for a film in Trade Guide (costs or whatever) you can say you’re referencing that source. Not trying to give you a tough time but one cannot sound authoritative and then indulge in generalities when questioned about one’s sources. Also it’s not enough to say that in the absence of the verifiable one will keep believing whatever’s out there. One should be a lot more ‘critical’ about this stuff. And if one knows anything in these matters one should also be aware that these distribution deals are very often structured in very complicated ways and where profit and loss are tricky to figure out except in obvious cases one way or the other. The way it’s presented one would believe there’s producer ‘A’, distributors ‘B’ (covering all the major territories), production cost ‘C’, distribution cost ‘D’ and then one does the quick math on this and one arrives at a conclusion. There are sub-distribution deals, sometimes within these someone might pick up a small percentage, so on and so forth. It’s rather complicated at various levels. Again for the outright hit or flop it’s easy to figure things out but with everything in between the reality is in no way like the way it is represented in all of these outlets. Which would be fine if one followed the trending model. here one would only have said that an audience had liked a film or that there was enough of one for a film. This is however where the ‘fun’ begins. Arbitrary standards are used for a different films, arbitrary centers are used, arbitrary show info is provided, the sources in question are quite often biased and even downright dishonest. It’s obvious they’re trying to support certain films and reject others. This is the entire environment and yet one has a touching sort of faith in such a system. Because there’s no other. That’s not a good enough argument. What’s the alternative? One should look at everything critically and be willing to live with the fact that one will not know for sure in many of these cases beyond the obvious hits or flops. You can’t start believing in stories because the verifiable doesn’t exist. And even if you do you should tell us why you believe BOI more and where you get the numbers from and so on. By the way I have long experience in this matter too. You ask people too many questions in this sense and they get testy. Again I’m not trying to give you a tough time. I would ask the same questions of anyone who made similar claims and have in the past too. I am always curious about one thing though — from time to time people emerge who have total faith in BOI but for many years now no one has been able to explain ‘why’ they have this greater faith in them!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 8:37 AM
The question really is, whose numbers will you believe if not for the sources we have? As far as I know there are none…
If one compares totals of NBOC, BOI.co.in, BOI with Trade guide, most times than not their final verdict will not match but their numbers are pretty close. I have admitted many times that BOI’s commentary is sometimes very murky, their verdicts too can be lenient but I dont find any issues with their numbers..It is lower than producer numbers for mass releases but for urban movies, their numbers match the producer numbers as well as Guides. Do they have agendas, I dont know. They might. I have heard they are Pro Khan here but Their numbers for CE, JTHJ, Kick are lowest among all guides. I have heard they are pro North but I have also heard here they run down Akshay Kumar movies which does well there. Their commentary is dicey and the way they pick and choose data is also dicey but their numbers are close enough to Trade guides. And not just BOI, I am as comfortable with NBOC whose numbers are even lower than BOI. Same goes for BOI.Co.In. This site itself quotes BOI more than any other sites. If no one believes them, why quote them. I do agree there is no one number but I am comfortable living with the range between the lowest and highest number. But yes there is no need to believe Trade Guide film journals too. There is no doubt that the in-between movies which are neither hits nor flops can be agenda ridden in their verdicts but when we know the numbers, it is easy to form a verdict. In the last 5 years has there been any movie other than Krrish 3 when there has been a unbelievable variance between producers numbers and NBOC (which is lowest number). The variance has been within acceptable limits. And that is enough for me till there is a more trustworthy source for numbers.
it will actually help if someone can put up scans of Trade guides here.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 8:55 AM
I don’t believe anyone in your sense of the word. I get a general sense of what’s happening looking at everything but I don’t think this is some of existential drama where if I don’t accept one version or the other I will face a crisis in life! And again there’s a difference between accepting things generally on a film and being so certain about specific like distribution costs and what not. Here one must at least quote the source. A lot of these numbers are not covered in the popular media.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:36 AM
Rajkumar Hirani is simultaneously working on the scripts of Sanjay Dutt Biopic, Munnabhai 3, PK 2 and Sequel to 3 Idiots confirms Bollywood Superstar Aamir Khan.
After the record breaking run of PK and 3 Idiots at the box office, everyone is awaiting for the announcement of Aamir Khan’s next film with Rajkumar Hirani. The director who has associated his name with Entertaining Quality Cinema is one of the most sought after director in Bollywood.
In an exclusive interview with us, when we asked Aamir to speak about PK 2, he said-
“I don’t know when will PK 2 happen. Raju has got the basic idea of PK 2, 3 Idiots Sequel, Munnabhai 3 with Sanjay Dutt and A Biopic on Sanjay Dutt. He is working on all the scripts simultaneously and it is up to him where in which script he goes ahead with. It will not be right on my part to ask Raju to give a film with me a priority over others.”
Well, we heard right from the horses mouth that the sequel for two of the most loved films of Bollywood is on cards.
http://www.talkingmoviez.com/aamir-khan-raju-hirani-is-working-on-pk-2-3-idiots-2-munnabhai-3/
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 9:40 AM
Wow, that’s a lot of sequels. Am more interested in Dutt biopic followed by Munnabhai.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 10:30 AM
First Sanjay Dutt should come out of jail. He is lucky that something big is waiting for him.
PK 2 will star Ranbir Kapoor.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 10:42 AM
PK 2 may even star Ranbir Kapoor and Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan character can join Ranbir and they can go through a lot o adventure together. Ranbir can have the romantic angle brought in. Aamir can be the wry, funny philosopher and guide. That will have a huge box office heft.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 10:45 AM
Hope this time they will tone down the religious angle. Once bitten twice shy. It will be interesting if Ranbir and Aamir star together with equal roles.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 11:04 AM
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/tanu-weds-manu-returns-review-the-film-could-make-kangana-the-female-khan-of-bollywood-2258048.html
An interesting take on TWMR. First Post.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 11:37 AM
Lol,Kangna sure is a force to reckon with.
Wouldn’t mind if BW was ruled by Deepika,Katrina and Kangna instead of the Khans but it ain’t happening.
The review is spot on.
A blathering mess is the right way to describe the movie.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 11:55 PM
I would watch it for puppy 🙂
Here is hilarious scene from part one.
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 11:30 AM
John Nash, 86, the Nobel prize winning mathematician, and his wife, Alicia Nash, 82, died in a car crash in New Jersey on Saturday, reported local media.
The duo were travelling in a taxi when the driver lost control of the car and crashed into a guard rail, reports abc News.
Authorities believe that the couple weren’t wearing a seat belt when the crash happened. This caused them to be thrown out of the vehicle.
The world renowned Princeton mathematician was suffering from schizophrenia. The story of his life told in the Oscar winning film – A Beautiful Mind.
Russel Crowe, the actor who portrayed Nash in the film, tweeted:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/beautiful-mind-mathematician-john-nash-killed-in-auto-accident/article1-1350762.aspx
LikeLike
May 24, 2015 at 11:32 AM
RIP
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 2:47 AM
Now this is what a good movie does to the audience. It creates such all around positive vibes that it makes you forget all the bad times that one may have experienced in theaters and makes you wonder if there was anything wrong at all in the first place. That’s the kind of magic Tanu Weds Manu Returns has created over the weekend gone by, what with fantastic word of mouth ensuring that audience footfalls has increased manifold with every passing day.
If Day One of the film was pretty much on expected lines with an average opening of over 50%, the real fun started from Saturday onwards when the collections started escalating, courtesy very good word of mouth. The reviews were out and out positive as well and with glowing words coming in on social media as well for the Aanand L Rai directed film, there were no surprises in store when the film collected huge on Sunday as well, despite IPL finals. Result? Collections in the vicinity of 37 crore* which are not just phenomenal but also next only to Gabbar Is Back which had enjoyed best weekend collections of the year so far and that too at much greater number of screens.
For Kangna and Madhavan, the success of TWMR is huge indeed as it is marching towards the Superhit zone now. The film is clearly enjoying the best word of mouth of the year and the surprising part is that it is doing well even in non-Hindi speaking zones of the country. Meanwhile, the film’s super success has further buoyed the fortunes of Eros as they have now scored a hat trick of successes this year after Badlapur and NH10, each of which were very different affairs as well.
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/box-office-aanand-kangna-madhavan-eros-score-a-superhit-with-twmr/
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 2:57 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has emerged the biggest hit of 2015 by a distance with weekend collections of around 38 crore nett. The collections are a little less than the weekend filo Gabbar Is Back which was 38 crore nett plus but here the trend is phenomenal with 50% growth on Saturday and 25% on Sunday.
The film had the best weekend collections of the year in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore. The figures in Delhi/ UP of 10.50 cr a aprx and East Punjab and 5.50 crore apprx are extraordinary. The film will is the biggest hit of the year and will also emerge the highest grossing film of the year surpassing the figures of Gabbar Is Back.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/tanuwedsmanureturnsisbiggesthitof2015#.VWLHxk-qqko
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 4:07 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is the biggest worldwide opener of 2015 beating the figures of Gabbar Is Back. Gabbar Is Back grossed 62 crore worldwide with a contribution of 52.50 crore (GROSS) from India and 9.50 crore from Overseas for a total of 62 crore.
Tanu Weds Manu has a 49.50 crore GROSS in India and the four main markets in Overseas (UK, US, Gulf and Australia) are $2 million apprx (INR 12 crore) which means final total overseas should go to 15 crore plus. The worldwide weekend Of Tanu Weds Manu will be around 65 crore.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns at 65 crore apprx, Gabbar Is Back at 62 crore, Baby at 47 crore and Piku at 44 crore lead the Worldwide figures in first weekend. .
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/tanuwedsmanuistopworldwideopenerof2015#.VWLXtFKCwqE
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 25, 2015 at 8:52 AM
kangana deserves all the applause and I wish she gets paid at par with all the Khans for her next film…………that wud be true star-power………..
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 4:21 AM
Is there anyone here who didn’t like Piku (or didn’t love it as much as others have). Would like to know his/her thoughts?! Thanks.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 9:07 AM
I really didn’t care of this movie. Didn’t think it was authentic at all or its unidimentional focus on one subject for me was boring even if it was metaphor blah, blah. At the ending I was as irritated as Piku the protagonist of every frame was.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 9:23 AM
Deepika is alright. Certainly better than kareena and katrina kapoor’s of this world but this role truely belonged to Konkana Sen Sharma or Vidya Balan who would have brought nuances to the character which Depeeka Madam couldn’t! But since the movie is great success one will clap on everything and go gaga over maestro Deepika and all aspects of this ‘flawless’ movie. Her training wheels are off but she is not a super driver yet.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:59 AM
I agree. She was alright but too shrill and used physical movements to express her frustration, despair etc. a bit too much.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:09 PM
Incidentally Sircar made Deepika watch Konkona’s movies to get into Piku’s character. Obviously she is signed not for her talent but for the stardom. Bachchan and Irrfan were signed year back and they were trying everyone from Parineeti etc and finally managed to get Deepika, the team was ecstatic as she’s flavor of the season. For her range, she did very well but she’s no art-house performer.
In Ideal world, this role has written Konkona sen all over it. My second choice would be Vidya Balan (was on break that time). Can’t imagine anyone else.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:16 PM
And of course I didn’t care for the hero. Very unfair. While heroines are beautiful and glamourous, not at all your small town woman in a small town life you want to show, the hero is…well …quite gross.
Not only that, he happily gets ready to marry another young and pretty girl, while the glamourous beautiful wife pines for him when is about to lose him.
Lucky lucky more than ordinary Indian men.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:19 PM
Huh? Are you talking about Piku?
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:09 PM
I didn’t like it. Bhaskor got on my nerves, and I felt that AB’s portrayal of the character was over-the-top and struck the wrong note. IMO they should have either made Bhaskor more endearing and loveable or they should have been more blunt about the dysfunctionality of his relationship with Piku. Instead, they fell between both stools by making Bhaskor a selfish, whiny old man but still trying to create sentiment about the father-daughter bond, especially towards the end of the film.
What did you think of it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 25, 2015 at 1:16 PM
Piku was a thoroughly boring film.
I have never liked Deepika. Apart from her obvious lack of acting ability (just place Konkana or Vidya in that movie and see the difference.) Deepika has a very weird body language, I don’t know how to express it but I think she has some kind of mental disorder. No wonder, there have been rumors about her lapsing into depression during the filming of Happy New Year.
There is a pervasive sense of emotional vacuity and introversion in her. It was apparent in the chemistry between Irffan and Deepika in the movie. No wonder Ranbir got scared and ditched her.
She is no art house material as the movie PIKU and others in the past have consistently been proving. She should better stick to dance and song stuff, where her obvious lack of talent will not be analyzed under a microscope.
Amitabh Bachchan was over the top as one would expect. but the guy is getting old and senile. Lets spare him the criticism.
An acting legend like Irffan couldn’t do much because the story and dialogues were so remote and facile that it didn’t connect with the audience.
Piku 2.5 out of 5.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 3:59 PM
“In my humble opinion, I think Juhi Chaturvedi’s writing has some major problems, which are quite evident in both her films. My biggest problems with her is the use of stereotypes. I am no way against use of stereotypes(I mean here, not just punjabi, bengali etc. cultural stereotypes). I think there is value in them. But how and when to use them, I feel, is what a good writer should know. Juhi Chaturvedi’s characters, like Raj Kumar Hirani’s, seldom have a life of their own. In case of both these writers film’s characters are just props to pass on a larger message.
Such kind of writing works sometimes because it is written for comedy, or the actor is so good and inventive that he or she brings life to character which is on paper so sketchy( in Vicky Donor: Anu Kapoor and in Piku: Irrffan Khan). But in hands of lesser actors these issues are mush more apparent.
For example, take character of Piku. There are nice touches here and there which you have mentioned in your blog. But a character description could not be just a strong independent woman who can’t give up taking care of father. You have to give me something more to identify with her. For example, why she cares for her father so much? (I know everybody is suppose to love their parents, but it is never that simple in real life. Isn’t it?? ) We are never told what kind of family it was like when her mother was alive. We don’t know what things the father contributed in her personality. We don’t know what her personal philosophy in her life is. In fact we never get any reason for her affection apart from the fact that he is her father and she thinks it is her duty.
Look at the affect of these things on Deepika’s performance, when she is supposed to just sitting there and brooding(in the car , by the ghat). You look in the eyes and all you see is emptiness. A greater actor like Tabu with much better writing (Maachis, Maqbool and Haider) will reveal a whole range of emotions in just one look of her eyes. Yes, Deepika is no Tabu, but all her efforts were seem to be not working because there is no much material to hang on to.
The same problem is with Amitabh Bachchan’s character in the film. It is so sketchy that’s why Bachchan has to ham it up.
Such writing never pays off in emotional scenes. In both Vicky Donor and Piku i was just a bystander. I didn’t feel anything. And I cry very easily while watching films. Piku sometimes feel to be designed to make a point about portrayal of female characters in Hindi Cinema. And many critics like you have rightly appreciated it. I am all for appraising a film for the novelty it bring to popular culture.
But to me it has to be fulfilling emotive experience first. For me this film didn’t pass that test. A film can’t be designed just on the basis of a list of ‘what we will not do’ decisions.”
A cut and paste. I agree with most everything she says here.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 3:03 PM
Yes, Amitabh didn’t even have proper close up. He is so callous of his (dead) wife and then there are glaring inconsistencies in his character (e.g. he is demanding all attention from his daughter so much so that he would tell complete stranger that she is not ‘nice’ because she is not virgin and then he blamed her after reaching kolkatta that just like her mom she has devoted herself to him etc) . There are several places were sircar could have exploited AB’s skills as an actor and developed endearing character which for instance AK did successfully in GoW for Bajpai. But AB is holy grail on this blog so I just went with Deepika/Piku lest Rajen and Satyam come after me with their axes and knives threatening with dire consequences and permanent black list.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:12 PM
Since almost a 99% of people have liked this one you might want to be a bit less dogmatic about your own response to the film! On having holy grails yeah some have Amitabh Bachchan as one, some have Vidya Balan. Different standards for different folks..!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:18 PM
99%!!!! Where the heck you got that number? Just on this blog space so many came out to Saurabh’s query!!!!!
😦
It is a hatke movie, I would give it that. I would still watch it over Happy New year etc….it is good attempt but not great. Certainly not a masterpiece like (everyone is making it out to be) Ray’s that is making cinema history or anything like that. Lot of people took their parents to see this which explains BO numbers. So many I know also did that for Baghban.
I certainly felt ‘bait and switch’ upon watching the movie. I thought even finding fanny was more funnier (and I didn’t quite like finding fanny). I think Sircar wasted Bigb’s talent.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:38 PM
Maybe 3 came out after Saurabh asked..! I did allow for 1%..!
On the rest maybe you find Bachchan’s good stuff overrated more often than not. Judging by you’re examples! And given that you find every other Balan film a masterpiece you might not be the best judge of these matters anyway! For the record I haven’t heard anyone call it a masterpiece but I could be wrong. Certain films strike a chord. Piku has done this. It’s not just about becoming a very successful film, it’s about making that connection with the audience. Now you might want to examine why and how it did that. But that’s the reason it’s being talked about so much.
Now you of course have the right to like or dislike anything. But if you’re going to be dogmatic about it you need better reasons than the ones you’re providing. You’re just speaking in utter generalities. One could say this about any successful film. I for instance actually believe that Balan though talented is grossly overrated as an actress. She’s a good actress, just haven’t seen Smita Patil in her so far!
As for your box office theory on Piku that too is pure foolishness on your part. Even explaining why seems too easy!
I have an easier answer.. maybe you should check out the movie another time or more. You might figure out the secret by then!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:59 PM
The Box Office business of Piku came as a big surprise to all the Trade Pundits. Though the movie is okay kinda mediocre, the only reason I can think of its Box Office success is the debacle of BV. Piku had no competition. BV is indeed the kind of movie which tests the patience of the viewers in obscene ways and after watching that movie any other movie in comparison will appear to be a true masterpiece.
I was just wondering, who will gain the most in bollywood if big studios like fox, etc pack up their business and go? Because sometimes I feel maybe bollywood conspired along with kashyap to deliberately make an abhorrent and cliched shit pile movie like BV in order to hurt the Fox Studio. If big studios leave bollywood maybe the indigenous producers and studios stand to gain from this. And Kashyap was hired to do that job. Am I being delusional?
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 1:47 PM
4 people out of 10 people who read blog. It is called a sample size. You do math based on your likes and dislikes. You famously changed math numbers during modi’s elections too. Anyhow, there were people who created similar buzz about finding fanny too. If I got bored in FF then in Piku I was totally bored and annoyed. I think Finding had some (more) humor compared to this one. However I would give one thing to Piku the movie. A piku part 2. I would love to see how and what happens to their relationship.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 1:49 PM
I have some advice for you… stop digging… unless you’re competing with yourself to make each new response sillier than the previous one..
And I hate to break it to you but you’re not the center of the world..!
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:44 PM
‘I hate to break it to you..” Don’t hate so much. Sehat ke liye accha nahi.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:53 PM
@ Bane: ** Am I being delusional?**
YES.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 8:38 PM
To put it kindly and mildly.😄
The bad news is it is nothing new for you.
The good news is that sometimes consistency can be a virtue.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 11:57 AM
Know you didn’t ask me specifically but just replying my thoughts:
Amitabh’s character is mostly modeled on that of Arkin’s in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE [Remember the guy asking Paul Dano’s character right in front of the dad whether he is getting any woman-action in bed WHATEVER be the time or venue?]. Having Amitabh play a little more self-lessly human character or a complete jerk, in my opinion, would have defeated the appropriate ‘tensile’ strength of his relationship with his daughter. Making him more of a jerk would have made a ‘martyr’ out of Piku. One would not want that. [As Irfan says, NOT everyone does this for one’s parents, but one doesn’t want, per this film, for Piku to the ONLY extra-ordinary person to do this!] This is a film about the tug-of-war; where you want to get out of the somewhat suffocating bind to genes but also want to still be stuck and try to ‘re-pay’ back the genes. It is this requisite amount of dis-proportionality that makes the movie work and the relationship lie in the realm of believability. The whole point is to traverse a ‘grey’ area. Amitabh’s character has his own way of showing love or affection for his near-and-dear-ones. On the one hand, he makes life difficult for his wife and daughter; on the other, he doesn’t forget to wear a kurta his wife had gifted him on his birthday. On the one hand, he is self-absorbed enough in his enjoyment to go out cycling without even as much as bothering to tell his daughter who would be worried sick about his whereabouts while on the other, he doesn’t forget to get a bucket-load of sweets for the folks back home. This is how characters like Amitabh’s Bhaskor work. They ‘think’ there is nothing wrong in their way of loving or caring. It is the ‘other’s’ faults that they would prefer more normalized ways of loving. I have seen such stuff – again I repeat here, the biggest success bullet-point of this movie is the way it has resonated with the middle and upper-middle class folks in India in the metros or semi-metros. Not to get too personal but here’s an example: My father always has this habit of getting ready and going to buy ration or visit the bank or run any errands WITHOUT initially trying to inquire about the timings or the possibility of the person you want to visit being absent. He would just leave. This would irk my mother a great extent. What on earth is so difficult that you cannot make preparations and inquire before you get out? He would ride the Chetak 8 kms; find out the shop is closed for the after-noon, and come back empty-handed! He never changed! He still does it! But whatever be the case – rain, sunshine, storm— he would never forget to get her a couple of saabudana-vadas that one of the tapris prepared near the Matunga station since they were her favorite since college-days!!
I didn’t get it on first viewing but the house, Champa-kunj, could as well be a metaphor for the old cantankerous man! It is dilapidated, structurally damaged; there is always some sort of ‘congestion’, something that is ‘stuck.’ But hey, Bhaskor won’t sell it. And Piku won’t sell it precisely because of the fact that you can’t sell your roots {as hinted by Irfan} – however damaged or troublesome they might have become with advancing time and age. Selling Champa-kunj for her would be akin to selling a part of Bhaskor — a part where-in lies emotional bundle of the joy of your mom looking after you as well as you looking at her dead-body stretched across the court-yard..
LikeLiked by 2 people
May 26, 2015 at 1:43 PM
An Jo
Would welcome your views on TWMR.
I don’t want to subject you to this trash but if you have seen it, would like to hear from you.
Just need to reassure myself that I am not being unduly harsh here.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 1:55 PM
The thing I’ve noticed with this entire genre of ‘North Indian’ films set in Delhi or otherwise but usually representing certain classes is that people from that region (and with all due respect to them) get very excited when they get that sort of lingo or gestures in these films. You kind of get the sense that half the sale has been made right there! You see the ‘hey they really speak like this’ kind of response. I’m not saying one doesn’t relate to these regional things but to be honest I’m never more moved by a film just on these grounds.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 3:09 PM
All movies are not same. The Kanpur in Dabangg is very different than Kanpur of TWM. So when a movies uses jhand, telhande, Patak, kantaap they make the movie authentic in some degree and setup. You will never see such dialogues in dabangg. It is not that theses words are not used by anyone else (Abhishek Chaubey has done it) but the usage need to be plausible to connect.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:10 AM
Someone writing on same line and better:
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/at-home-in-kanpur/99/
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:52 PM
“get very excited when they get that sort of lingo or gestures in these films” and whats so earth shattering about it. My tamil friends had similar reaction watching life of pi. It is called being normal and normal reaction. Whole bengal wants to see Bhaskor and his accent. So?
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:57 PM
No I haven’t seen it yet Rajen. But am surely curious now what with the collective orgasm and our own Utkal da’s reaction!!
Could be a post methinks…
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 26, 2015 at 6:48 PM
Ab dekh bhi lo 🙂 Story handling is weak/simplistic..similar to say PK ..but movie is replete with killer one liners.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 26, 2015 at 7:17 PM
Utkalda ne is baar picture dekhne se Pehle sharaab pee lee
Last time single malt pee ke review likha tha.
Is baar single malt pee ke picture dekhi
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:36 PM
“picture dekhne se Pehle sharaab pee lee” hahaha. Agar yeh hi rahasya hai movie enjoy karney kaa toh hum abtak sharabi ho chuke hote
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:49 PM
aap ne dusri bar jhel liya. Congrats man! Interesting details and I have fond memories of Matunga as well. Champakunj is metaphor, so is the cycle, so is the taxi and its driver and so is the journey and the badminton and the 😉
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:55 PM
Munna should be put in front of a firing squad or fed to a pack of hungry wolves for mentioning this tasteless atrocity and PK in same sentence.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 10:27 PM
Oh no, oh no. God forbid! On the otherhand Munna will befriend the firing squad and the wolves may become his pets.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:30 AM
haha..PK has lot of weaknesses but it was a feel good movie. The Raju Hirani took some liberties even though the subject was profound. Here the handling of a serious subject like marriage breakup is done in light way and the director has taken lots of liberties. But you feel good through out the movie. It could have been done differently but then the movie would have been different and probably less audience.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 3:34 AM
An Jo: Speaking for myself, I wasn’t asking anyone specifically. So thanks a lot for your thoughts 🙂
I loved that last para of yours.
P.S.- Don’t love saabudana-vada, but used to love eating Misal Paav and Dabeli (which is a Gujarati dish I assume) during my stay in Sangli.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 3:28 AM
Ami: Thanks much for your views. I was under the impression that the toilet humour was going to keep you away from watching this one.
“IMO they should have either made Bhaskor more endearing and loveable or they should have been more blunt about the dysfunctionality of his relationship with Piku”-
Thoughtful points here (it would be nice actually if you could write more on the film- perhaps even a piece or note- especially because I haven’t seen any other review on the film which has pointed this out). I do agree that the film would have been stronger (though less box-office friendly) had they gone with your latter option (I don’t think they could have made Bhaskor any more endearing otherwise there would be no central conflict and I doubt there would be anything left to motor the narrative). And this is not necessarily a defence of the film, but atleast with Bachchan’s character I think Sircar and Juhi were following the footsteps of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (I refer to his comedies, not his more dramatic works) where an irritating yet lovable ‘cantankerous’ father/father figure/family patriarch (represented as some sort of a Hitler like figure, and often played by Utpal Dutt, Om Prakash and even Dina Pathak)- here too they would have an Irrfan like character (quite often an “outsider” to the family, but unlike Irrfan’s character, he would be the central character) who would teach the “father” a lesson by the end of the film. And yet the irritable father would have these very endearing quirks (and would still be liked by most members of the household…or atleast would be considered as a necessary evil of sorts).
I think (and of course your POV is equally valid) it’s easier to like Piku if one considers it essentially as a “comedy” (peppered with some quirky dramatic bits) not the least because unlike 99% of contemporary Bollywood comedies, this one is actually funny throughout its running time- most of the jokes actually land (for instance the comedy here is far sharper than in PK IMO). And I liked the fact that once the director decided that they would be using constipation as a plot point, they went the whole nine yards with it! I think the problem starts when the film tries to become slightly more ambitious (though I credit it for even attempting some of those things) than just a gentle comedy. For instance An Jo talks about Little Miss Sunshine w.r.t Bhaskor and I thought that bit in Piku- Bhaskor’s sexually liberated views- looked completely off when seen in an Indian context. Purely as a thought, it might have made for a cool and progressive-sounding conceit, but atleast for me it came out as fake/pretentious. I mean which Indian father would talk about his daughter’s sexual promiscuity in public. I know Sircar tries to handle that part with as much taste as possible, but it didn’t work for me. I will say this though that all this might have worked with some folks- because my sister was greatly impressed with Bachchan’s character (she was saying how liberated his views are, how she has allowed Piku to develop her own independent way of thinking, etc)
I must admit though that I found the film compulsively enjoyable (perhaps even more so because after a long time I saw a film with my sister in the theatre). One of the film’s greatest triumph is isolated C.R.Park (C.R. Park is really a Bengal outside Bengal and a lot of people from that area do like to keep to themselves…they don’t like to interact much with the “uncouth” Delhi folks) world it creates. Deepika also has a dialogue in the film regarding this (where she reprimands Bachchan for acting difficult with every “outsider” he meets. That bit is a gem just like the bg score with that Sarod theme).
“I felt that AB’s portrayal of the character was over-the-top and struck the wrong note”-
Do you mean to say that AB didn’t hit “as many notes” as he could/should have?! In other words more than the “over-the-top” bit, the problem may be that he didn’t imbue the character with as many shades (or nuances) as he could have (because let’s face it, the character itself was quite over-the-top. I think his was the most difficult character and performance since he was stranded with a character who was supposed to operate on a higher pitches especially when compared to Piku and Rana). I enjoyed his performance (not the least because it allowed him show his comedic chops after a long time). And it was such a respite from Shamitabh where he was actually hamming and hamming quite badly.
BTW I would like to hear your views on Ankhon Dekhi in case you have seen it. The film does share a few similarities with Piku (mostly in terms of the world both the films operate in), but is ultimately a far better film than the latter (it handles it quirks far better than Piku). Infact it is far and away the best (and most unique) Delhi film to have been made IMO. And while the father-daughter angle is not central to the proceedings, it does form an important plot-thread and is handles beautifully (and is a marked departure from this relationship is represented in Bollywood. It’s played out in freshest of manners and really subverts the notion of a middle-class North Indian father bossing over his daughter and his family).
Also on a different note, how would you compare Ok Kanmani with Bollywood (or regional) romcoms (urban ones)- say something like Socha Na Tha or Shuddh Desi Romance whatever?
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:25 AM
Did Mumbai Mirror succumb to pressure and upgrade ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ review?
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/buzz/did-mumbai-mirror-succumb-to-pressure-and-upgrade-tanu-weds-manu-returns-review-996499.html
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:55 AM
TWMR Cruising To 100 Crore – Superb Hold On Monday
Monday 25 May 2015 14.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has a superb hold on Monday morning and is cruising to a 100 crore nett total. Although its hard to put a number on Monday this early its safe to say the drop will not be much more than 20% from Friday. It could even get close to the Friday total depending on the evening though lower ticket rates at multiplexes do play a part.
The film has found appreciation across the country and that is what has set it apart from the rest of the films this year.
There are centres in Gujarat and Rajasthan which are on par or even better than Friday. They may have been on the lower side on Friday but are a key for big success especially for a film like this which does not have a big cast.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:58 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 6h 6 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns does MASSIVE biz on Day 3, despite IPL finals. Fri 8.85 cr, Sat 13.20 cr, Sun 16.10 cr. Total: ₹ 38.10 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 6h 6 hours ago
The jump in the biz of #TanuWedsManuReturns is an eye-opener. Almost doubled the biz on Sun [16.10] vis-à-vis Fri [8.85]. Achhe din aa gaye!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 32m 32 minutes ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns Overseas total [weekend]: ₹ 17 cr. Worldwide total [India + Overseas]: ₹ 55 cr. AWESOME!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:51 AM
Sometimes even 100 crores seems a big number with TWMR possibly the 1st film of 2015. Great achievement for Kangana as aunties/families are in love with her after Queen to do business when none of the other released films managed this year. Both Akki movies though appreciated couldn’t touch 100 crores and doen’t look like Piku will touch and those are the only 3 films which crossed 50 crores this year. Kinda disastrous year so far.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:46 PM
But one should get away from this 100 or 200 obsession. For that matter any gross doesn’t mean anything on its own, it’s all relative to the subject of the film under discussion. At 80-90 Gabbar is a big under-performer. Why? Because a few years ago Rowdy did 40 crores or so more than this! On the other hand baby at the same gross is fine though even here Akshay is only bettering the Kahani kind of gross by a bit if one accounts for inflation. Still acceptable otherwise because the Baby kind of thriller is a never a big grosser. Now Piku on the other hand is a super achiever at the same gross. Because this sort of subject usually gets credit just for doing 40 or 50. It’s not a mainstream commercial film, it’s a quirky subject with stars but it’s put up an awesome gross. Its 80 crores or whatever are the equivalent of several times that on a proper masala film. Similarly if Tanu does 100 it’s again a very commercial subject and it’s a sequel to a successful film. It’s 100 is worth a lot lot less than Piku’s 80 (if those are the final numbers). I could keep adding example but the point once again is it’s not about an arbitrary number. It’s about the film’s performance and set of expectations in getting to that number. Unfortunately the way these things are done in Bombay is that Tanu gets credit for getting to 100 which is a very good performance for this film but then Salman with Jai Ho doing slightly more is considered ok. A failure perhaps but not an outright flop because hey it did a 100! Or a film that does a 100 within a week or something is then given credit for getting to 150. As if the costs for Tanu and that sort of blockbuster production are the same. You could have 10 films doing 60-80 one year and 2 doing a 100 while in another year you could have 6 doing a 100 and 2 doing 60-80 and the former would probably have been a more healthy year. Because with a certain kind of production a 100 is guaranteed unless it’s an absolute disaster (which rarely happens). Even with a tank after a great initial you can get to 150. So that’s not creditable either. So on and so forth. but if you keep thinking about it only in 100 or 200 terms or whatever you keep investing in this distortion. Which then also gets back to the points I’ve been making to Krrish. every source talks about 100 or 200 in absolute terms. They all peddle this nonsense. Just because no one’s sane about this I’m not going to follow the insane!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:14 PM
Somehow none have come up with a compelling / conclusive reason for a 22-23 cr lifetime for BV, a huge production in the making. It negates all suppositions and assumptions made whatsoever.
It only reminds me of Aamir’s character in Rangeela –
“Munna: Apun public hai public…kisiko bhi kuch bhi bol sakta hai…Jispe apna paisa vasool nahi, uska dabba gul…Chahe woh tera pyaara Rajkamal hi kyun na ho.”
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:37 PM
Bombay Velvet debacle which was the last nail on the coffin of Kashyap’s Bollywood Career….(may It’s highly disturbed rebel indie soul rest in peace.) was because of several reasons:
(a) Every Director has an expiry date. Anurag has reached his. His craft has lost the magic. BV was a monumentally boring film.
(b) AK’s obvious arrogance and his constant refrain: “mediocrity everywhere”. Has rubbed not only the Bollywood insiders but also media and even his devoted fans the wrong way. It was as if the whole world was waiting for AK to make a slip in order to pounce upon him.
(c) Even Kashyap’s best movies were never Box Office success. His fan base is small. Ranbir is not a superstar yet and is losing credibility flop after flop. Moreover, Anurag is so insecure that he won’t let any actor take credit for his movie. Bombay Velvet was too much about Anurag and too less about it’s actors.
In short the Failure of BV is because of the monumental ego of one man.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:51 PM
Reading your three points I guess I’m thankful it’s not going to be the apocalypse tomorrow..
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 6:12 PM
Actually Satyam, No one would have expected a movie starring Madhavan and kangana to outgross a movie starring DP and AB specially once the former was on its way to 80 crores atleast on face value. Don’t you agree? TWM2 performance is a huge surprise to the industry, specially its all round success and not just restricted to urban centres. The best I thought the movie would do was around the Ranjhanaa range – 50 to 60 crores before release.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 6:20 PM
No I don’t find this surprising at all. Because this isn’t a film in Piku’s genre. Just having stars doesn’t prove anything. If Finding Fanny had done 80 that would have been pretty remarkable too. If there were a Raanjhana 2 it would have a shot at a 100. It’s a simply mathematical thing for mainstream genres.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 8:48 PM
Seriously??
If I we had a poll on this site before release of TWM2 if it had been a 100 cr grosser, I doubt anyone would have said Yes to it. Piku’s 80 cr grosser was a huge surprise, that almost was the Queen of this year but TWM2 100 crore (and this now has a chance to go to 125 crores) is a double surprise atleast to me and in terms of trending it is actually doing a proper Queen at high levels…Monday is almost same as Friday…
You need minimal acceptance even with big stars in mainstream movies to do 100 crs as proved by Besharam but with no stars you need massive acceptance and super strong trending across the board for a small movie to touch 100 crores. 100 crores is a nothing gross for a big star but for this small movie it is quite a big achievement.
Its important to appreciate the performance of TWM2 specially when we have instances like BV and Besharam happening all the while.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:23 AM
Satyam: You took that completely out of context. With all that talk that 100crores is pretty easy and we having 1st 100crore in 5 months is good indication that its not that easy. I know 100 crores for big stars is nothing but for a movie like TWMR, its completely surprising. I didn’t even compare it to Piku but since you brought it up, I feel its 100+ crores is as surprising as Piku doing 80 crores, no more no less. TWMR has nothing compared to Piku, just Kangana not even a great director or leading hero. I think TWMR doing 80 crores would have been more than enough for everyone associated with it calling it huge success. But if it reaches 125+ crores, we are talking about different level of success than Piku.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:44 AM
I understood you correctly and I’d say the opposite. It’s actually quite easy for films in various commercial genres to get to 100. When Arjun Kapoor has a 100 with 2 States, when BMB and Barfi and Ram Leela got to a 100, how difficult could it be? The fact that major stars are celebrated for doing this is an index of the perverse way these things are measured in Bollywood. I’ve said forever that those major films are under performers most of the time. we saw with YJHD how a multiplex-only kind of film went unto 185 or whatever. And then we celebrate ETT for getting to the same amount! If Akshay Kumar cannot get to 100 between Baby and Gabbar that’s again an index of his low standing (relatively). Other than on a Houseful sequel or something he cannot get those numbers anymore. Even then those sequels need a circus in terms of other stars or lots of actors. If one looks at the 100 crore grossers in recent years all kinds of genres, all kinds of stars/actors get there. Of course a film has to be liked minimally by the audience. Sometimes it’s about what kinds of releases there are, what kinds of stars and so on. Depending on how the schedule is stacked up you might get more or less within a comparable period. Ultimately the way these things are measured is just faulty. 100 crores is not much of a barrier anymore. If even some relatively less commercial (in the most mainstream sense of the word) films have a shot at a 100 and have done it then this is no kind of bar at all for any sort of star in a major release. If tomorrow ABCD2 did a 100 I wouldn’t be surprised at all. So Tanu is not surprising as far as I’m concerned. it doesn’t take away from the film’s success (let’s see how much it actually does first) to say this. Much as 200 these days is not the kind of deal for a major production the way it was for 3I. Because of course many films either do this or are in striking range. Again, and as I’ve said forever, if things are measured in perverse fashion a lot of things seem impressive. So 3I got to 200 off an 80 crore week. Today we celebrate films for getting to 200 or 220 off 130-150 crore weeks! Those films are under performers. A lot of those films could have done 300 had these been liked more. Getting back to Tanu again I’d still judge Piku’s 80 or so more impressive than Tanu’s 100 (if it comes down to that). Even at 125 I’d say the same. Because Piku just isn’t commercial the way Tanu is. But even within commercial genres I’d say YJHD’s gross is for example a lot more impressive than that of Chennai Express or Kick or everything else within that range. Both equally commercial films but CE and Kick still have a larger audience base to work with and no multiplex only film has done as much as YJHD. Nonetheless tomorrow a lot more might start doing this in which case one would have to use different standards once again. But again as a larger matter if we keep using the wrong standards of measurement we’ll of course arrive at faulty conclusions. Taran and Nahta and BOI celebrating Tanu like it’s Sholay is not something that particularly moves me. First off they do this for every other success. But secondly a film can be a big success (as Tanu might well be) without it being some sort of completely unexpected massive surprise. I’d finally say that in a Hollywoodized system which Bollywood increasingly has become the project matters far more than stars in the older sense of the term. There are of course exceptions. But even most major stars today don’t do business-as-usual films. Most of their films are also projects in one sense of the other. Salman is an exception but note how he’s also one because of what everyone else is doing. it’s not as if he’s in the South where many stars might be doing this sort of thing on a regular basis. The same happens in Hollywood. All kinds of films can be huge successes. obviously when major stars do major projects the possibilities are magnified. But you routinely get films with no stars or minor stars clearing all kinds of benchmarks. In India this logic has held increasingly for quite sometime but the trade/media pretend it’s still about the old system. Here Salman and Aamir are the only real exceptions. Salman keeps producing these huge initials whereas Aamir does well in all kinds of genres and on his big films his grosses are still in a league of their own. And here I’d say that no matter how much credit one gives to Salman the trade and so on is very soft on him. Aamir has never been loved in these circles though he’s been grudgingly accepted over time. The fact is that despite everything it’s a bit insane that a guy with massive initials on films that almost never trend well is celebrated more than a guy who has D3 and PK as his last two films not to mention everything else over time. I know of course that Salman is loved by the audience in a way Aamir isn’t. With the latter it’s more about prestige and a certain respect the audience has developed for him. but still this doesn’t matter in pure box office terms, specially when a guy is getting better results. for all this I accept Salman is doing something special by producing these initials in nothing films (for the most part) one after the other. But to wrap up in every one of these instances Bollywood just measures things stupidly. These narratives are then spread, people accept them uncritically and this leads to debates like the present one.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:57 AM
TWMR success deconstructs other “big” stars more than anything else. It’s a success no doubt, but it really shows how a number of big films, big stars are just failing big time.
What is quite commendable for TWMR is that it has a Friday and Monday number in the same area. That hold is super strong. Piku 2 weekends straight has trended superbly.
One absolute way of having a hit is making a decent film and trending well. Name me one film that trended well and isn’t considered a hit! I doubt no one can name one in the last 15 years! But I think many can name an awful lot that grossed a so called big number but did it mostly in the first 3 or 7 days. Glad to see Piku and TWMR do it the best way possible. Baby to an extent held up well for a few weeks too and considering that films genre, it did well. But everything else this year is practically a non-starter. And whatever these 3 films achieved, it was unravelled by one colossal disaster in Bombay Velvet. If films actually made what they are aiming for, we would not be celebrating TWMR the way we are.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 6:02 AM
Madhavan and Kangana are hardly elite stars. Kangana has a bit of a following but its hardly in the biggest films. Madhavan is hardly even a lead actor in Hindi films. If films like this or 2 States or Ek Villain are getting to 100 crore, well there are a few big stars simply not picking the right films or a lot of money being wasted on pretty rubbish films and scripts. That’s blatantly obvious.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 6:52 AM
yes I’d forgotten about ek Villain..
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:55 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Is Biggest Hit Of 2015
Sunday 24 May 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has emerged the biggest hit of 2015 by a distance with weekend collections of around 38 crore nett. The collections are a little less than the weekend filo Gabbar Is Back which was 38 crore nett plus but here the trend is phenomenal with 50% growth on Saturday and 25% on Sunday.
The film had the best weekend collections of the year in Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore. The figures in Delhi/ UP of 10.50 cr a aprx and East Punjab and 5.50 crore apprx are extraordinary. The film will is the biggest hit of the year and will also emerge the highest grossing film of the year surpassing the figures of Gabbar Is Back.
Its been a dull year but Tanu Weds Manu Returns gives hope that when content is there then films can become all India hits without the aid of big stars and big budget. The huge plus is the performance of mass circuits. A circuit like Rajasthan is touching 1 crore on Sunday this is a number which normally comes when a film has a big male star.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:56 AM
Piku Continues Good Run In Third Weekend
Monday 25 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Piku did well it its third weekend grossing around 6.50 crore nett and taking its business to 69 crore nett apprx. The film maintained well despite Tanu Weds Manu Returns scoring very at the box office. The collections are the highest for the third weekend. They are almost similar to the the third week of Baby which had the previous highest third weekend.
The film looks on course for an 80 crore nett total and maybe even a chance to go past the 81 crore nett plus of Baby though has little chance of beating highest grosser so far this year Gabbar Is Back.
The third of the film should be able to cross 10 crore nett which would mean business of around 73 crore nett in three weeks. The business in Mumbai will hit 25 crore nett at the end of week three.
Bombay Velvet continued its disastrous run on a limited number of screens in second weekend grossing around 50-60 lakhs nett.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 7:57 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 4h 4 hours ago
#Piku [Week 3] continues its victory march. Fri 1.35 cr, Sat 2.40 cr, Sun 2.75 cr. Grand total: ₹ 71.72 cr. India biz. SUPER HIT!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#Piku Overseas total: $ 5.36 million [₹ 34.09 cr]. Worldwide total [India + Overseas] crossed ₹ 100 cr. FANTASTIC!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 8:45 AM
We haven’t seen you in Hindi films for a while — the last one you were in was Mumbai Express (2005). Are you working on any Hindi film?
Nothing has come up that interests me. We are in talks with Abhishek Bachchan. It is a project with an ensemble star cast. I would like to do Hindi cinema on my own terms. I am at a stage where I want to tell stories that need to be told. I like doing Hindi films because it gets me a larger audience. Actually doing Telugu cinema helped me get into Hindi cinema, because Ek Duje ke Liye (1981) was a remake of a Telugu film.
http://www.ourhindustan.com/i-would-do-hindi-cinema-my-own-terms-says-kamal-haasan
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 8:57 AM
‘Tomorrowland’ Is a Box-Office Disappointment
By BROOKS BARNESMAY 24, 2015
LOS ANGELES — Disney’s big-budget “Tomorrowland” was a relative bust at the domestic box office over the holiday weekend, a result that will likely make Hollywood even more reluctant to invest in original stories.
Costing at least $280 million to make and market, “Tomorrowland” will take in about $40.7 million between Friday and Monday, according to box office analysts, or about 20 percent less than anticipated going into the holiday weekend.
The PG-rated “Tomorrowland,” directed by Brad Bird, who was also a writer, notably had the prime Memorial Day period almost entirely to itself. The only other new wide-release movie was a remake of “Poltergeist” (20th Century Fox), which analysts said on Sunday would take in about $27.7 million, a solid result for a PG-13-rated horror film that cost Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer a modest $35 million to make.
“Tomorrowland” was the No. 1 movie, but it only narrowly beat a holdover: “Pitch Perfect 2” (Universal Pictures) will sell an estimated $37.9 million in tickets over the four-day period, for a two-week domestic total of $125.4 million.
A science-fiction adventure starring George Clooney and Britt Robertson, “Tomorrowland” must perform better overseas to avoid a write-down. So far, the film has taken in about $26.7 million from release in 56 percent of the international marketplace, Disney said. Big markets like Japan, China and Brazil are still to come.
Disney hopes that a shortage of family-friendly movies in the weeks ahead will allow “Tomorrowland” to find a bigger audience in the United States and Canada. Depending on word of mouth is a risk, however. The movie divided critics; ticket buyers gave it a B grade in CinemaScore exit polls.
“It is what it is, but we’re not too disappointed just yet,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president for theatrical distribution, said in a telephone interview on Sunday morning. “In a summer of sequels, we hold out a lot of hope that wildly underserved families will find ‘Tomorrowland’ and enjoy its originality.”
Even so, there is no question that “Tomorrowland” is a major misfire for Disney’s live-action movie division, which, with films like “Maleficent” and “Cinderella,” had finally managed to move beyond flops like “The Lone Ranger.” Lackluster “Tomorrowland” ticket sales came despite an aggressive two-year marketing campaign that included a Super Bowl commercial, trailers on “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” and exhibitions at Disney theme parks.
“Tomorrowland” was also released in 354 Imax theaters, which typically offer a boost because tickets sell for higher prices.
What happened?
For a start, audiences seemed to be unsure what “Tomorrowland” was about, box-office analysts said. Disney did that on purpose, partly because Mr. Bird and his co-writer, Damon Lindelof, strongly believe that marketing materials should not give too much away. (Christopher Nolan and J. J. Abrams are other proponents of the keep-them-guessing strategy.)
“Tomorrowland” was also an attempt by Mr. Bird to cut against the grain. While moviegoers have shown a taste for post-apocalyptic movies in recent years, Mr. Bird wanted to offer a more optimistic portrait of the future. But there is a reason studios continue to churn out dystopian fare: People seem to like it.
In the end, “Tomorrowland” may have simply been too ambitious. With a complicated structure, the film attempted to embrace the present, the past (the 1960s) and the future. Movies that try to take audiences to multiple worlds at once — “Green Lantern,” “Jupiter Ascending,” “Tron: Legacy” — are difficult to market.
The good news: Even if “Tomorrowland” ends up losing a substantial amount of money, Walt Disney Studios has a cushion from its Marvel and Pixar units. “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” has taken in $1.3 billion worldwide. Coming up, Pixar’s “Inside Out” is also expected to be a blockbuster.
“Tomorrowland” also brought Mr. Bird back into the Disney family; he recently agreed to make a sequel to his 2004 animated hit, “The Incredibles.”
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 10:25 AM
TWMR has stupendously well at BO
No denying that. Seems to have resonated with many people. Not in any way a validation of the film but is a huge success
Happy for Kangna and Maddy.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 10:35 AM
These are the comments I heard after I got out of the theater.
“Kangana looked hot yaar, Madhavan has become too fat but he is still cute, Pappiji was too funny”.
Indian audience (for the most part) don’t think deeply about movies. It’s like a piece of candy – you unwrap it, eat it, forget about it.
Your comments about the movie showing poverty in a somewhat glamorized fashion was probably not something the director intended. I think he just loves to portray the music, language and humor of small-town India.
I thought the dialogues really captured the essence of North India (especially Punjabis) and were absolutely hilarious. And Kangana is just a bona fide star.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 10:43 AM
Kangna has come a long way and in some ways she has become a huge star but the thing with females in BW is that unless they are willing to be glamour dolls , they are always going to be on shaky ground. Poor Vidya was being hailed as a superstar after Kahaani and the Silk Smitha movie but where is she now?
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Things are slowly changing though. Look at this year’s biggest hits so far- Piku and TWMR. NH10 was also promising because it was a film that an actress produced for herself, to create the kind of role she wanted to portray.
Yes, the heroines still can’t open films as well as the Khans, but the Khans are in the final phase of their stardom and are fast approaching senior citizen status. They aren’t going to be heroes forever and at the moment there don’t seem a clear set of male successors in line.
With some smart choices and good luck, somebody like Deepika just might be able to fill that lacunae. Yes, BW heroines are always going to have to look glamorous – you’re not going to have a female Devgn/ SRK/ Madhavan making waves anytime soon. But there’s no reasons why a heroine shouldn’t be both glamorous and powerful at the box office- isn’t that the route Hrithik has pursued, for instance?
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:00 AM
I think that’s why Vidya didn’t sustain her success, because unfortunately glamorous looks are always a prerequisite for heroines. But if somebody like Deepika made the right career choices, she could potentially achieve the sort of stardom that Sri Devi or Madhuri or whoever used to command. After all, they were also Bollywood heroines right?
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 25, 2015 at 11:30 AM
Would love to see Anushka ,Deepika and Kangna rule BW instead of the Khans
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:55 AM
Lot of d-r-e-a-m-y talk on here… 🙂
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:54 PM
Sridevi, Madhuri and Ash are great dancers. I mean classical dancers. That gave them an edge. Vidya is also a beautiful woman and a good dancer. But she did not care to become number one. She underestimated her potential.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:45 PM
Komal Nahta @KomalNahta ·
First one to see something sensational. Can u guess what? My lips r sealed till Wednesday. But it is S-E-N-S-A-T-I-O-N-A-L! Believe me!!
Any takers for Nahta’s guesswork ???
Swaagat Nahi Karoge Hamara !!!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:56 PM
Given Nahta’s tweet, given your plugging of the same, given stories elsewhere that the Bajrangi Bhaijan trailer might be out in a couple of days, don’t think any of us will get any credit for solving this Einsteinian equation.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 12:59 PM
teaser for BB…
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 4:26 AM
Nahta works with few producers at the script selection level and promotes it.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:34 PM
4 Indian actresses who stood up for themselves
http://www.dawn.com/news/1184143/4-indian-actresses-who-stood-up-for-themselves
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:47 PM
There are more than 4.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:36 PM
No one is talking about Madhavan getting his first 100 crore film if this film achieves that milestone.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 1:51 PM
It is clearly not Madhavan who earned the 100 crores though. That’s as silly as when Kareena keeps claiming credit for all of the 100 crore films she has starred in…
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 2:13 PM
Madhavan already got into that club with 3 Idiots. I forgot about that. I think anyone who is part of a big film with a good role also contribute to the success of the film in some ways. It is collateral benefit.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 2:25 PM
If Kareena can be blamed for Bodyguard, why she should not take credit for success of BB or any other flick?
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 2:23 PM
Salman Khan’s admission that he was no longer a part of Karan Johar’s Shhuddhi was immediately followed by Karan Johar’s announcement that Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt had been cast in the film. While there was no explanation for Salman’s decision to quit the project, the rumour mill was abuzz with speculation. However, a DNA report claims that Salman had opted out of the project months ago. Reportedly, Salman wasn’t too happy with Karan Johar’s participation in the infamous AIB Roast. Apparently a lot of jokes at the do were cracked at Salman’s sister, Arpita’s expense. Reportedly, he had opted out of Karan’s project immediately after but maintained his silence till the time KJo had his cast in place. The decision was taken amicably.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Karan-Johar-Controversies-he-has-courted/photostory/47412168.cms
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 4:23 PM
TWMR
A TOWERING ‘HEROIC’ perfomance by Kangana Ranaut!
Superlative stuff
Don’t care about box office but this should be the FIRST BONAFIDE SOLO HEROINE 100 crore earner
Congrats kangana
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:12 PM
BOI has gone in that mode..
http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/tanuwedsmanureturnsheadsforblockbusterstatus#.VWOP_M4rjzI
Tanu Weds Manu Returns has had a phenomenal Monday as collections may come in at around the 8 crore nett which is not far off what it collected on day one. Multiplexes nearly always drop on Monday due to to the ticket rate drop so even if footfalls match Friday the collections drop but here the collections are actually up at places.
There has been a slight drop in the North where collections were excellent on day one but the rest of the country which opened lower is hardly showing a drop and some places are even better. Some circuits may show an increase from Friday and if somehow Mumbai increases the final total cane be very close the Friday number.
It will be interesting to see the drop on Monday when final collections come in the morning as it could be in single digits. The film is set to emerge a BLOCKBUSTER and words like Super Hit and Blockbuster had become a dream as far as Hindi films were concerned over the last five months.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:13 PM
LOL, true! But as I said the other day nothing excites BOI like a North Indian hit!
More seriously though, and whatever my sense might be about such a film, it’s good for the industry to have more empowered actresses.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 5:59 PM
TWMR–contd from above
The menace of nepotism is such that inspite of the STRONGEST autoregUlatory RINSES & PURGES, there are lots of ‘average’ abhishrek bachchans and arjun kapoors still somehow surviving (obviously thankfully the likes of Tushar, fardeen and co are no longer in circulation!). The same for other aspects like technical deptt, direction etc
But when u see TRUE TALENT is still shines thru…
And when u see something PEERLESS it’s evident to anyone who is NOT blinded by bias/ prejudice or other compulsions !!
Somehow I don’t find her attractive and find her diction and accent off-putting
But even that’s not enough to stop me from giving a
STANDING OVATION to the UNIQUE & SPECIAL
kangana Ranaut
Loved the movie
Anand l rai was v good
And madhavans best perfomance that I’ve seen (an under rated restrained act)
As for ACTING TALENT & SPONTANEITY
kangana Ranaut isn’t in comparison with her Bollywood contemporaries
She is competing with all time greats
The other day, the SUPERLATIVE (but flawed) BV made me google and youtube some vintage tracks like “jaapaani”
Here kangana made me visit another classic
Her late night stroll with alcohol at hand was superlative
The ONLY recent performance I can compare this to in calibre is Deepikas alltime best perfomance –cocktail
And I haven’t even taken into account her small time athlete girl perfomance yet !
A performance(s) that earns from me :
RESPECT
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 6:38 PM
I completely agree with your assessment of Kangana’s acting abilities. However, she is a much better actor than Depika.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 6:24 PM
Contd—
Kangana Ranaut totally OWNS the screen & the film
(Inspite of all the actors being top notch incl dobriyal!)
I don’t know about the other South Indian actors and couldn’t understand the fandom for the likes of rajnikant & dhanush but madhavans was a brilliant act & hate for those fans for neglecting madhavan and going after all sorts of wierd people.
But even though she doesn’t belong to the deepika padukone-katrina kapoor ‘desirability’ slot (that’s another long discussion!), kangana hit it out of the park
In terms of acting ability and screen presence-kangana is incomparable currently
Check out kangana totally in the ‘ZONE’ ( as I say)
The ‘zone’ in the ‘apex’
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:39 PM
I agree…TWMR works due to Kangna being in form. Something which she missed in Revolver Rani.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 10:27 PM
Atlast we have women power in full bloom!
We always had women power but we did not acknowledge them in the past this much.
Nargis Dutt, Madhubala, Vyjayantimala, Hema malini, Rakhee Gulzar, Dimple Kapadia, Jafya Bhaduri, Rani Mukherjee, Kajol to name a few. and they acted in better films than crowd pleasing ones. They were star actors.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:12 PM
Kajol? I don’t remember any such movie from her.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:47 PM
Gupt and even Fanaa to some extent. She was always equal to her heroes and sometimes overshadowed them. Such a spontaneous actress.
LikeLike
May 25, 2015 at 11:58 PM
Can we think of DDLJ and Baazigar with anyone but her?
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:03 AM
I was more focussed on crowd pleasing 🙂
Gupt, Baazigar were at start of the career. So after getting established she did conventional roles ?
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:07 AM
Kajol was also sort of crowd pleasing! Unlike Manisha Koirala.
She did conventional roles because she got them on a platter. And I think she never wanted to reduce her price to do unconventional roles.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:10 AM
Baazigar and DDLJ would have worked with any heroine. Kajol is nowhere close to divas like Sridevi and Madhuri. She doesnt even have a Black or Mardani to her name.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:22 AM
But agewise Kajol matched SRK and also her energy was equal to his. People loved that jodi including myself.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:32 AM
Kajol was never a preening diva. She was always the girl next door. And she has tremendous screen presence.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:16 AM
Satyam, I posted a comment which was under moderation and now perhaps deleted.
I believe, you know that I do comment here sometimes, though, not often.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:52 AM
I think name used was different than the regular.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:42 AM
With a more-than-impressive Rs 38 crore opening weekend, Kangana Ranaut’s latest film Tanu Weds Manu Returns looks all set to bulldoze past the other two big winners of May this year: Gabbar Is Back and Piku. Indeed, the queen of the moment is Kangana: The driving force behind this mad caper which lays its canvas between Kanpur and Jhajjar. In fact, critics are already speculating she will be the toast of all eyes in next year’s award ceremonies.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/tanu-weds-manu-returns-give-all-awards-to-kangana-but-don-t-ignore-others/article1-1350871.aspx
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:32 AM
Mind you, the hurdle to breaking the box office record wasn’t that high—these are not Transformers numbers we’re talking about. But still, a record is a record, and with its estimated $5.3 million (32.6 million RMB) weekend gross, the Bollywood blockbuster easily zipped past Dhoom 3’s $3.17 million 2014 PRC record gross to become the new Indian king of Chinese cinema.PK tells the story of an alien who comes to Earth on a research mission, befriends a television journalist and questions religious dogmas and superstitions.
The film became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, the first to reach $100 million in box office revenue.The picture benefited from strong word of mouth in China, receiving an 8.2 rating and 94% “liked” approval on China’s movie rating site Douban. It out-earned the new Chinese rom-com release Love Without Distance to score second place for the weekend behind Avengers: Age of Ultron.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2015/05/25/box-office-aamir-khan-bollywood-blockbuster-pk-sizzles-into-chinas-record-books/
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 3:22 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had a phenomenal Monday as collections were similar to day one. The film only really dropped in North where the opening was strong. Elsewhere collections were as good as Friday or better. The first four day business of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is as follows.
Friday – 8,50,00,000
Saturday – 13,00,00,000
Sunday 16,00,00,000
Monday – 8,50,00,000
TOTAL – 46,00,00,000
The film is heading for a week of 63-65 crore and Blockbuster success. The film will record the highest first week collections of 2015.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/tanuwedsmanureturnsmondaybusiness#.VWQeUk-qqko
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:23 AM
Kangana – U beauty!!!
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 4:46 AM
“Kajol was never a preening diva. She was always the girl next door. And she has tremendous screen presence.” We are not asking her to be a preening diva. We want to her to be an actinf diva…that is , if she has got it in her. Let her carry a film on her shoulder with her acting talent. Like Sridevi did in English Vinglish, Rani in Black and Mardani, Priyanka in Fashion and Mary Kom, Vidya in Kahani and Dirty Picture, Anushka in NH 10, Deepika in Piku, and Kangana in Twm, Queen and TWMR.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:27 AM
Is it necessary to carry a film on one’s shoulder to prove how good an actor is? That maybe the reason why Salman Khan is adulated. He carries an entire film on his shoulders which Irrfan or Nawajuddin cant. Thats how star system is born. Which we detest so much!
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:35 AM
sanju – not necessary to prove how good an actor one is but yeah when it comes to the “star” system – it is mandatory and I think Kangana has done which perhaps only sridevi could do so far at the BO (Chandani / Chalbaaz / English Vinglish……) – a superb actress + BO star – that is a real litmus test which KR has passed with flying colors – Tabu did that too with Chandani Baar / Maachis / Namesake…….but Tabu is in a league of her own 🙂
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:22 AM
Kangana and Deepika may not yet be at the level of Khans but can we deny that they have almost achieved the level that Akshay Kumar is and have surpassed the level of Kapoors (Ranbir, Ranveer and Arjun Kapoors).
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:32 AM
‘Wazir’ second teaser to be tagged with ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/52756-wazir-second-teaser-to-be-tagged-with-dil-dhadakne-do.htm
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 6:03 AM
“Is it necessary to carry a film on one’s shoulder to prove how good an actor is?” Then why Kajol? WE ahve so many good actresses. Tabu, Kalki, Mahie Gill, Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadda, Radhika Apte, Tejaswini Kolhapure…Are you sure, you are not talking of stars ?
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:16 AM
I am talking only about Kajol, not others. I dont care whether she is a big star or not. I will take Kajol over Madhuri and Sridevi.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:36 AM
over Sridevi? naah…….that woman is notches ahead (despite her childish voice) any other actresses minus Tabu
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:55 AM
apni apni pasand!
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 9:38 AM
Kajol has had her fair share of Dushmans etc where she played the lead and was commanding a lot of respect in her time.
Kangana’s journey is highly commendable considering she has taken her own charted path after not so successful customary Bollywood journey. She is also a byproduct of partisanship /nepotism existing in Bollywood where the same bunch is playing musical chairs esp when it came to female leads. Most of these so called A-list project are being announced either with an Alia Bhatt or a Shraddha Kapoor or a Sonakshi….. ( wonder what happened to the talented Asin, Ileana or even a Diana Penty).
So she was forced to break away from this clutter and find her own Anand Rai which is at times risky but ends up paying handsome returns. I feel the new male leads should also follow her bold path and be willing to stand out with their choices.
On that note now comes the difficult part for Kangana – maintaining such super stardom ! From audience point of view the most important aspect is how she conducts herself past such glory and the choices she makes and the gracefulness of it all.
This is where the real winners pull ahead like a Sridevi and Madhuri and be remembered past their expiry dates.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 10:03 AM
Asin and Ileana lost out because of hindi accent, I think. And yes, the clout is definitely there. But inspite of clout, Sonakshi’s career is not taking off. even Arjun Kapoor may not be there just like Imran Khan. Clout gives the initial push and then they have to do their own thing.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 6:35 AM
Just when girls are orgasming over twmr success
Srk tweets first look of bajrangi bhaijaan
[post created]
This is expected to open v big
Ps: Kabir khans ETT was the only Salman starrer I loved (barring dabang) –should be big –tho Ihave reservation about its politics
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 6:41 AM
1st look –akshay with Amy Jackson
[post created]
This should be fun lol
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:34 AM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Sonam-Kapoor-What-makes-the-actress-bold-and-beautiful/photostory/47428209.cms
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 12:36 PM
Saw TWMR at a packed theater and going by the audience reaction, people are crazy about the film. I enjoyed it thoroughly and was a good follow up to the first one. Kangna rules the movie hands down..no 2 ways about it. Hoping for a 100 crore Kangna movie.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 1:50 PM
Anyone here admires Phantom Tollbooth? And its quotes?
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:03 PM
Yes. Kajol did films like Dushman and We Are Family. But did she leave behind any impression? And I am not talking box office. Chandni Bar, Maqbool or Haider may not have been big hits, but who can forget Tabu in it ? Waht has Kajol done except be arm candy to Shahurkh in films like DDLJ, KKHHH and K3G? Has she shone in a comedy like Sridevi did in Chaalbaz or Mr India and Kangana did in TWM, Queen and TWM2? Has she done an action role like Rani in Mardani or Anoushka in NH10? Has she shone in a serious dramatic role like Black, Beta, Sadma, Fashion, Kahani, Dirty Picture, Chameli, Piku , VeerZara, Cocktail, HDDCS, Devdas, Raincoat? . Has she shone in a breezy romcom like Sridevi In Lamhe, Madhuri in HAHK, Anoushka in Band Baja Barat, Kareena in Jab We Met? I think Fanaa and DDLJ are her worthwhile performances…and the range is extremely .limited.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:09 PM
She may not have left impression for you but I still watch those flicks because of her only. Tabu acted in serious films and I dont go for them in a big way. I loved Sridevi in comedy roles but they are not that memorable for me. As for others, they are as good or as bad as Kajol for me. It is my personal choice, not universal truth by any means.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:23 PM
I agree with Sanjana. Also I think Dushman was hugely appreciated. These kind of films rarely win awards, but kajol and Dutt stole the show when it released.
Kajol was the best thing in Yeh Dillagi.
Kajol’s films with SRK are those that were huge hits and Kajol did share the credits, unlike Kareena, who doesn’t even have a solo hit in her credit.
Problel with Kajol has been her last few films like MNIK where she just repeated herself. She is a talent powerhouse and needs to take more risk. Dilwale again will hardly be any thing different for her.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:18 PM
My 2 cents: Kajol never tried variety of roles nor proved her versatility but whatever big commercial movies she did, she is the best by a huge margin for any female actor in last 2 decades(1995 to 2015). She is beyond awesome in movies like DDLJ, KKHH, PTHHT, K3G, Fanaa, etc. She’s got the huge connect with the movie watching public(critics might differ).
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 2:35 PM
Kareena doesn’t have solo hits? What solo hits does Kajol have? And sorry, neither the film nor anyone’s performance in Dushman was particularly remarkable.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 3:03 PM
Absolutely Sanjana. Kajol is a very good actress, no question there. Just that there are so many others as good or better, each with a more remarkable body of work behind her.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 4:42 PM
Disclaimer:
The Box Office figures are compiled from various sources and our own research. The figures can be approximate and Bollywood Hungama does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the film(s).
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office/special-features/id/493
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 4:47 PM
Note: For Filmkraft productions, Mr. Rakesh Roshan directly provides us the collections a week in advance.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 8:42 PM
very funny…someone or the other brings Rakesh Roshan name when boxoffice is discussed
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:30 PM
As I sit down to pen my immediate thoughts after seeing Tanu Weds Manu Returns, I wonder whether I should start by doing aarti to Goddess Kangana or by taking the foot-dust of sage Himanshu Rai. Since I have done some or the other kind of writing all my life, I pick up the latter. ( Kangana, no, I cannot aspire to be like you. ) Take a bow Rai Saheb, aapne toh tabiyat khush kar di. I happened to be reading Oscar Wilde’s collected plays at the moment ( ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ and ‘An Ideal Husband’, since I know ‘Importance Of Being Earnest’ more or less by heart.) and I am amazed how this guy built his career as a major playwright by sprinkling these brilliant epigram, bon mots , on-liners, whatever you call them, over serviceable plots of social comedy. Rai can match Wilde one-liner per liner, and he does one better: he comes up with heart-breaking insights into man-woman relationship that are cunningly cloaked under hare-brained tomfoolery lest people avoid his films as ‘serious’. Here I must be thankful to most reviewers who gave no clue as to the film’s serious content and left me free to be sucked into the film’s poignant core without any prior warning.
In fact the film is as meaningful musing on marriage you will ever find on screen, and not just in Hindi films, and it gets established right in the first interrogation scene in the mental institution, so reminiscent of the similar scene in the Iranian film ‘A Separation’. The marriage counsellor is replaced by the mental institution to create comedic momentum. But like the vacuum birth scene in 3 Idiots it is not as far-fetched as it is made out to be by some – people do go to NIMHANS with marital problems. Manu’s father sums it up thus, “You fall in love. You get married. You get bored. Then…? Then you can drink it with water, or ice…or even neat. Bas kisi tarah jhelo.” It helps that the father is played by someone like KK Raina. That’s the thing with Anand L Rai…he picks up such consummate actors for every small supporting role and crafts every little scene featuring them with such care…Raja Awasthi, Pappi, the lawer-tenant, Tanu’s father, Kusuma’s brother, Jassi, Payal. Needless to add Madhvan as Manu is pitch perfect even though he may be a bit like a tuber of ginger, as Tanu says, growing in any which way. Tanu’s antics and Kusuma’s charms won’t have worked without our lovable and believable Manu.
Coming back to the opening interrogation scene, it establishes how so much understanding in a marriage is a result of Rashomon vision of the same event by two different people.
“Spark. From where will I produce spark? I am not a lighter.” “You are a pervert, you kissed me when I was sleep? You did or did not?” “Sex? The last time was in 2013 on Bhai duj.” Bhai duj! That’s the Anand L Rai and Himanshu Rai touch; and the whole film is peppered with similar gems.
The best thing about the film is that the double role of Kangana as Tanu and Kusuma does not turn out to be just a gimmick but a device to reflect on the nature of love and obsession much in the way it was treated in Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Manu is enticed by Kusuma because she looks like Tanu but with a different persona inhabiting the visage. Raja Awasthi too agrees to the match after four years of search only because she looks somewhat like Tanu whom he doted on. (He says he is a building contractor. He wants brick to join with brick, and for that he needs cement. Doesn’t matter if it is Ambuja or JK.) And in the end when Kusuma is sitting over a soft drink with Raja Awasthi, she asks him, “When you look for the third one , will you gain look for someone who looks similar? (Thankfully Anand L Rai does not Kusuma accept Raj on the rebound. As she tells Manu, “I am an athlete and a consolation prize can never make me happy.” She by now has realized neither Manu nor Raja love her or want her for who she really is. This visage and identity angle is further explored when Tanu puts on a Pixie-cut wig and tries to move like Musuam. But like the Deepika character in Cocktail says about Diana Penty who has enticed Saif from her says, “This hair and all I can do, but from where will I get that adaa?”
“ Can no one hear the sound, if a heart breaks with lot of funny gags and one-liners strewn all around?” There are a lot of hearts breaking all around in the second half and in case we weren’t paying heed because hum log ‘thoda busy mein thay’ laughing at the gags and lines and all that, Tanu brings us to attention with that superbly times smashing of the bottle in the restaurant with the scream, “ Can’t you see, we are talking!’ Kusuma makes us cry when she goes behind the curtain and breaks down after proffering this piece of advice to Sharmaji / Manu: “What do they tell you before take off on a flight? First put on the oxygen mask on yourself then help your neighbor. So you take care of yourself and your lugai first, then think of me.”
But she gives it to Tanu when she tries to slight her with her taunts about her being an inferior substitute for the real thing – “ Reebok nahin toh Ribuk?” – with the rejoinder “ I can feed my family rotis , unlike you who buys her underwear with the husband’s credit card.’ Below the belt but like a true athlete, punched where it hurts.’
I like the way Tanu has been painted as an incorrigible flirt. When she asks the rickshawalla does he remember her ever and he replies’ Kabhi kabhi’, she asks ‘Kab?’ “ Kab,’ she repeats as he blushes. She uses her charm on the lawyer-tenant who forgets to call her didi when he is especially happy; and she happy to see for herself the power she still has over Raja Awasthi. But it is so mature of the two Rais to avoid being politically correct and impose some ‘ goodness’ on her. She is everything Kusuma accuses her of being and yet this is the woman Manu had fallen for and this is the woman she is going back to. You don’t fall in love seeing someone’s character certificate.
Of course it is going to be the Groundhog Day once again as revealed by the blue tie that Manu wears to the disrupted second wedding and we know the rumblings will repeat. That concluding scene is such a lovely punchline (as effective as the final four commandments given by Aamir to Ranbir in PK) for a film that maintains a very high level of witticism throughout.
It is vastly superior to the first part in almost every department. Firstly, there is the powerful central theme and a coherent narrative built around it. The filmmaking too is more measured with a more sophisticated narrative style. Songs here are not used as item songs. The heart-strealer ‘ banno Teri’ is picturized very naturally without trying to focus too blatantly on Kusuma and her killer moves which we can see from miles any way. The song ‘I am sentimental. Don’t be judgmental’ is used so intelligently, morphing from its funny version in a Haryanvi accent to proper version when the mood is meant to be poignant. There are many beautiful songs used only in the background in sntaches. There are many scenes staged with perfect detailing even though they are not critical to the narrative. Take the scene where A drunken Tanu collides with another stray drunk on the road. Or the scene where Pappi is shouting “ Koi mera kyun nahin soon ta ‘ as he is trying to get a quarter of booze among a crowd of drunks. These add texture to the film, making it feel so lived in.
But more than anything else it is the triumph of good writing. You do not want to miss a line becayuse no line is ordinary here. If Kusuma’s brother wants to castigate his clansmen for asterism, he says, “ Is your biradari that of dinosaurs that by marrying outside it you will become extinct?’ Raja Awasthi expresses his exasperation at Manu trying to marry his betrothed thus: “ Woh toh original bhi rakhna chathta hai, aur duplicate bhi.’ But there are even more subtle and elegant ones. Take this line by Tanu said to Manu for example, “Hum thoda bewafai kya kar di aap badchalan ban gaye!’ Look who is talking! Many years back I used to watch Deewar again and again just so I could remember EVERY line spoken in the film. I am absolutely determined to do so with Tanu Weds Manu Part 2. The writing is that good.
But if I started by partaking of the foot-dust of Himanshu Rai, there is no way I can close without doing a full-scale aarti of Goddess Kangana. We have seen Sridevi in Chaalbaz, we have seen Hemamalini in Seeta aur Geeta, and we have seen Nargis in Raat aur Din. But no one can hold a candle to this tour-de-force – no one has made us double up with laughter and tug gently at our heart strings at the same time the way Kangana does. This is a performance that will be remembered for a long time.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 6:44 PM
Aab toh dekni padegi!!! I got conned into watching Piku and I see there are two extreme reactions to TWMR as well. Was trying to stay away after Rajen’s reaction to it. 😦
Ultimately movie watching and reactions are highly subjective, I suppose.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 10:29 PM
To watch it or not. Hamlet is one of us!
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 5:58 PM
Must be ‘ waqt and umar’ as Tanu says in the film. For some reason (ignorance and not reading and remembering actually) I have assumed Himanshu Sharma to be Himanshu Rai. Maybe I thought they were the talented siblings.
LikeLike
May 26, 2015 at 10:08 PM
[post created]
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 12:59 AM
RajuJanak: That’s great news. I was waiting fora Bollywood take on Casablanca. I am glad it si Vishal who is doing it.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:19 AM
Look how Anurag Kashyap got it all wrong. When directors like Sarat Katariya, Shoojit Sircar and Anand Rai are drawing in the audience in droves with their stories of ordinary people set in Varanasi, Delhi, Kolkata and Kanpur, narrated with loving derail , he is rushing off to to Bombay with his generic telling of done-to-death gangster stories!
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:25 AM
The definition of small town keeps changing, because the goalposts keep shifting. Small towns keep getting bigger, and systematic overuse has leached them, for the purposes of Bollywood, of freshness and flavour. It’s time for the rise of a new genre — the subaltern film, glimpses of which were visible in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. It replaces Bollywood’s artificially lit-up small towns with locations and characters not confined to, or defined by, their “small-town quirks”. It gives us Tanu, a girl with multiple exaggerations; it also gives us the gloriously provincial Datto, a first for Bollywood.
The heavily Haryanvi Datto’s idea of a hot date is to pedal around the slimy lake outside Delhi zoo, not a spot your average multiplexer would set foot in. She races off to the bus “adda” to go to Chandigarh. A bus? Not even a deluxe one? Kangana Ranaut is startlingly svelte, but Datto’s tracks and tees look as if they were picked up from Delhi’s street stalls. These are people and milieus usually seen in documentaries, not in films starring A-list heroines.
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/at-home-in-kanpur/99/
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:38 AM
Q. Why is there a difference in your commentary when Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Return both have similar jumps in weekend, Piku is a success while Tanu Weds Manu returns is a blockbuster success?
Ans. Its more about where you jump. Piku jumped in cities where it always had a a chance to show big jump and where films normally show growth. Tanu Weds Manu Returns jumped in cities where films do not normally show huge growth. The jump may have been the same but Tanu Weds Manu pushed its reach on day two which meant a very big grosser. Only with reach you can get true appreciation and a big number, in another words go outside the target audience which very few films do and that is difference between normal hit and Blockbuster hit.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/willtherebeaclashbetweendilwaleandbajiraomastaniindecember2015#.VWVmPdKeDRY
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:41 AM
Was reading Satyam’s argument of Piku being bigger achievement than Tany Weds Many Returns. It was convenient for him to keep TWMR at 100 (far less than what it will nett) and Piku at 80 (same as what it will nett)…but the fact is YWMR is 125Cr….a big 45050Cr above Piku.
I agree with BOI here.
“Its more about where you jump. Piku jumped in cities where it always had a a chance to show big jump and where films normally show growth. Tanu Weds Manu Returns jumped in cities where films do not normally show huge growth.”
Bang on.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 6:12 AM
no you weren’t reading my argument carefully.. I said even at 125 I’d say the same thing. Beyond this I might have a different opinion.
On BOI’s response there one stupidity per day is probably par for the course for them. If a film is made only for a multiplex crowd to then ask it to jump in mass centers is more than a little ridiculous. This is why I also said that the YJHD gross was more creditable than ETT or Kick or CE (or for that matter every Salman movie out there so far). Why? Because a multiplex only deal did 185 crores or something. Compared to this films with bigger stars and with a universal audience and sometimes with big productions or directors (ETT or CE for example) end up doing 220 or so.
Again you need sanity to measure these things! Rock on or Wake up Sid were successes. But one would have been nuts to expect them to jump in mass centers! Similarly Dil Dhadakne Do isn’t a mass center film. ZNMD did 90 crores or so the same way some years ago.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 4:05 AM
I don’t know for others, but TWMR’s figures have surprised me. Never expected it to gross anywhere near 125cr. It’s the kind of movie that would have been called a genuine hit at 50cr.
How many heroine-oriented flicks have grossed 125cr domestically? This is way, way higher than Kahaani, Pikku or Queen. Kareena was elated at managing to reach the 30cr mark for Heroine!
Forget Abhishek or John Abraham or Shahid or Ranveer. Saif has yet to deliver a 125cr solo. Akshay Kumar, Ranbir and Devgan would be very happy to reach these figures again.
I think the BO success of TWMR is astounding. Pikku, of course has done very well. 80cr for a multiplex audience kind of deal is very good result. Bachan deserves it.
Gabbar’s total at 90cr is decent, nothing more, nothing less. 90cr coming from mainly B or C centres is alright and people have made money. However, there is the presence of a star who has done much better in the past. So, I would term result as merely ‘decent’.
However TWMR’s BO is terrific. And I have to admit, I didn’t even like the first part and I am probably not even going to bother to watch the sequel. Not my kind of deal.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 5:44 AM
I will not be surprised if it joins 200 crore club slaughtering DDD on its way! It has bulldozed its way through other films already.
Munna will be happy!
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 6:04 AM
I was thinking about this possibility today . 200 crores is a stretch but a lot depends on DDD on where TWMR ends up. Yet again shows how even if a movie is successful a new movie can affect it simply because it reduces the theatre count. The good thing is DDD will not be able to compete with TWMR beyond the cities. This could now do a 70 crore Week 1 and a 40 to 50 crores Week 2 and then we need to wait and watch. At the moment 125 to 140 crore range is possible. Incidentally 3I I think (dont remember exactly though) did 70 in Week 1 and 50 in Week 2 and went to 200 crores…
If TWMR can do 6 crores on the Friday of Week 2, we are looking at around a 45 crores 2nd week.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 6:07 AM
3 Idiots went 80cr, 55cr, 35cr, 18cr, 10cr…
200 crores here is really not possible.
I think even 125cr will prove to be quite a stiff target
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 6:09 AM
Since the second week is free, 125 crores should be possible. But yeah 200 crores is not possible.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:34 PM
even for 125 it would have to trend much better than 95% of films do in week 2. It would have to almost double its week 1 number. that’s a rather tall order these days. Possible but I wouldn’t take it at face value at the moment, and even if trending has been very strong in week 1. 200 is ridiculous to be even suggested as possibility. No film has done that so far (other than 3I) without doing double or so of what Tanu will do in week 1 in the same period.
However they can always do another sequel to get there… Tanu weds manu weds Tanu returns weds Manu weds weds Tanu returns returns Manu… oh well I can’t work out every single permutation here..
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:38 PM
on another note Tanu will soon have competition in the Bajrangi Bhaijaan trailer.. Taran and Nahta will give it 200 crores right off the bat.. and they’ll keep going orgasmic over it for days.. I wouldn’t underestimate this competition..
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 3:11 PM
There is one angle which has been unresolved, so there is potential 🙂 But I don’t know what it would be called; Pappi weds komal?
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 4:16 AM
Saw TWMR yesterday.
Not sure what film Rajen went to see, maybe he went to a matinee show of K3G?
I felt the film was fine. Very funny throughout, although I feel the humour never reaches the peaks of the first scene itself. Kangana, deservedly so gets a lot of praise. Crowd pleasing act for sure, she is a hoot of an actress when left to do whatever she wants. Her and Madhavan have some good chemistry. Lines, situations are witty. Pappi though is the show stealer.
The Hirani comparison – well I am leaning towards Munna here. The reason is, this film could easily have been something Hirani could conjure up…a mock against the institution of marriage and all the clichés that follow. He’d have a done a better job too of keeping it on the lines and notes the film starts on.
The second half is a drag though. Film enters a melodramatic spree towards the end as most films do. I don’t know why there is this urge to get people to get their tissues! Something Piku never did and needed to do. TWMR works for its comedy rather than melodrama.
Everyone I went with, the theatre too enjoyed it.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 5:37 AM
Rajen’s guns are trained on you 🙂
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 5:52 AM
I just read Rajen’s review. Must have been his time of the month moment.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 7:07 AM
3 idiots got 4 complete open weeks and it maximised its WOM was was extraordinary.
TWMR has competition from 3rd week and hence it may not maximise its WOM which is excellent but not extraordinary.
Still 130-140 Cr deal here is possible, which will be All time Block Buster status.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 8:18 AM
On 3I.. I see we’re back into silly season.. of course all such factors are important though they can’t be used selectively but especially 3I was the sort of juggernaut that wouldn’t have been easily derailed by anything. Most films that release around the same time also have no competition more or less till Republic Day. They don’t all do 200 crores off 80 crores in week 1! Tanu.. is doing very well, it might even do extraordinarily well (even if at this point discussion 125 plus grosses is really jumping the gun!) but to pretend this is some sort of 3I is downright silly. Aamir though continues to unsettle folks. Time and time again there are fans of other stars willing to deconstruct his grosses but no one attempts the same with SRK or Salman or whoever, when it’s far easier to do so. Not surprising I suppose. One can keep arguing against Aamir’s grosses and overall success. One’s hair will become white and one’s teeth will fall out before one makes a convincing case!
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 7:08 AM
Note to forget #I was a holiday (Christmas + year end) release.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:18 PM
Christmas releases
2008 Ghajini – new record holder
2009 3I – new record holder
2010 – Tees Mar Khan
2011 – Don 2
2012 – Dabbang 2
2013 – Dhoom 3 – new record holder
2014 – PK – new record holder
Notice something here???
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:23 PM
Yes akshay and srk just don’t like Xmas!
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 3:32 PM
If there is a sequel it will be called- people with taste shoot anand Rai!
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 9:42 AM
I am never in number game. If I like movie it doesn’t matter it makes x or y crores. One of the movies I liked is Roy this year. It is a flop but I liked it nevertheless and recommended to Satyam.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 9:53 AM
ROY is great cure for Insomnia. It should be recommended as official drug for sleepless patients.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 9:55 AM
thanks for reminding me.. I totally forgot about this. But yes I totally agree with you on this point. I’d add to this that one can argue for the greatest flop or against the greatest hit. the only thing is it shouldn’t be a cynical argument where one defends anything one’s favorite star does. But perhaps even more importantly one should always be aware of the distance between liking something or enjoying it and valuing it for something more objectively worthwhile in it. I like many junk films, I don’t believe they’re worth anything, I just enjoy them. Then there are films that I find somewhat unwatchable but where I appreciate the strengths of the work. And this is something people often find hard to understand. One cannot ‘like’ everything that is of value. Not just in cinema. We all have our tastes, our preferences. In Bollywood though we have developed this culture of gross hyperbole over the past decade or more. it’s not enough for a film to be good, it has to be historically good! It’s not enough to like actors, one must go crazy about their work in each and every film. If a film is a success the same hyperbole in celebrating anything and everything about it, if it fails there’s a sneering and what not in the other direction. And of course almost all discussions on Bollywood today whether they’re in the media or blogs like this one are really about the box office. everything people say is really code for the box office reality of the film.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 10:28 AM
Roy is essentially a far poorer (though not unwatchable, I will probably take it over TWMR) version of “Shabd” (not saying that they are similar plot wise, but aesthetic and feel wise both do share a lot of similarities..). And it doesn’t help that unlike Aish and Dutt (who made a damn good pair), there is no chemistry between the leads here.
My favourite Indian films this year are “Byomkesh”, “Qissa” (which you can watch legally on the NFDC site) and “NH10”- apart from Byomkesh think you should be able to get all these films at your end now on a decent enough transfer.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 12:49 PM
In what sense poorer? Only complain I have heard is pacing.
I haven’t seen Shabd but just read wiki for plot and sounds interesting.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:01 PM
Roy was worse than Udaan and Raavan combined !!!
ab SS par Yudh hoga!! LOL
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:07 PM
haha…I thought you liked Jacqueline… Udaan I liked a lot..I had issues with Raavan’s screenplay.
Aapka Tanu ka review nahi aaya?
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:10 PM
loved udaan and raavan.. haven’t seen Roy yet..
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:18 PM
Unfortunately , could not watch Piku or Tanu …..
have no desire to watch DDD but am sure Janta pakad kar ley jaayegee !!
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:19 PM
I liked both and no intention of watching DDD..sounds like a porn movie 😉
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:22 PM
“Unfortunately , could not watch Piku or Tanu …..”
Typo hai. It should be fortunately, could not watch…..paisa aur samay dono hi bachh gaya.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 6:07 AM
TWMR Rock Steady On Tuesday – 125 Crore Plus Possible For Lifetime
Wednesday 27 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns held up very strong on Tuesday with a small drop from Monday. The film only dropped a little in the metros while other cities were same as Monday and some even better. The first five day business of Tanu Weds Manu Returns is as follows.
Friday – 8,50,00,000
Saturday – 13,00,00,000
Sunday 16,00,00,000
Monday – 8,50,00,000
Tuesday – 8,00,00,000
TOTAL – 54,00,00,000
Tanu Weds Manu Returns is heading for a 65 crore nett plus week and could even go close to 70 crore nett. The film will cross 100 crore nett before the end if it’s second week and the third week will determine it’s lifetime business but a 125 crore nett plus total is looking a realistic possibility.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 9:50 AM
To think of it, Kangana had to fight with the director during 1st part to change the title from “Manu weds Tanu” to “Tanu weds Manu”. The movie is about Tanu and now the 3rd part of the series will be “Tanu weds someone”
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:11 AM
From Tanu Weds Manu Returns to Piku: The hype of star ratings and celebrity tweets
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/from-tanu-weds-manu-returns-to-piku-the-hype-of-star-ratings-and-celebrity-tweets-2263240.html
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:13 AM
Excerpts
The sad fallout of this is that most critics are now reduced to one more voice on the sidelines, cheering or booing the film. Short attention spans and crowded movie slates have reduced film reviewing to two transactional questions: One, is the film paisa vasool? Two, how many stars?
Both these questions result in the misplaced notion that the film critic is now a stand-in for the audience, whose only qualification is that he/she gets to see the film before they do. How good a critic is gets measured against how well their verdict syncs with that of the general public. According to approval-hungry media houses then, a film critic is merely a human barometer that pre-emptively and accurately measures public opinion about a film.
This is probably the reason that Rahul Desai’s lovely review of Tanu Weds Manu Returns in Mumbai Mirror got unceremoniously ‘upgraded’ yesterday. Desai gave the film 2.5 stars and wrote a well-argued piece on the film. Clearly the public loves the film much more than Desai did, as demonstrated by the Rs 38 crore it grossed in its opening weekend. At which point Mumbai Mirror possibly felt it would be nice to retrospectively hike only the star rating to 3.5. Please note that his entire review stands as is. It is only the stars that Mumbai Mirror wanted to fiddle with. The tabloid hasn’t officially clarified their stance, but it probably knows that the average reader does not have the time to comprehend a review that gently teases out the layers in a film. The easiest way then, to appease any perceived dissonance is wave a wand and tack on a couple of stars. Presto! Everything is awesome!
In his review of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the New York Times’ A.O Scott says of the director: “At 70, he has a master craftsman’s intuitive sense of proportion and a visual artisan’s mistrust of extraneous verbiage.” Now it is only once I saw the film that the line fully impressed itself upon me in all its glory.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:15 AM
Some more excerpts
Similarly, in his review of Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Bharadwaj Rangan says: “Rai is the anti-Zoya Akhtar. He thinks in Hindi. This isn’t just about the great lines dripping with ghee (I howled when a translator went from “[night]club” to “Gymkhana”), or the rooted, small-town atmosphere. It’s that his reference points are all from Hindi cinema.”
Again, only after I saw the film, did Rangan’s point pop like a lightbulb above my head. Neither Rangan nor Scott use star ratings in their review. Even though critics have been decrying the tyranny of star ratings for a while now, to do away with it could signal the death knell for the profession as it stands today. (Editor’s note: Rubbish. Firstpost doesn’t do star ratings and we’re alive and kicking, thank you very much.)
Here is an easier solution: give out the star rating first and release the full review a day later for post-viewing consumption. For those who read reviews only to figure out if they should watch a film or not, a star rating is functional enough. If they want to seek out a more informed way of making sense of the experience of watching a film, they can return for the actual review later. Maybe a truly great review, like the post-coital cigarette, is best consumed after doing the deed.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:19 AM
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/interview-i-was-not-invited-amitabh-bachchan-2089402
Bachchan’s interview Piku and its success
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:21 AM
Some excerpts
You’ve played a Bengali character many times before. What made this one so special?
Yes, I have played a Bengali character before, but I don’t think it was ever done with the kind of characterisation study that Shoojit wanted me to have. My working years in Kolkata, in my house, my directors that I worked with, gave me enough insight for Bhashkor. Also the fact that this was a character role as opposed to earlier efforts, which were leading men roles. Too much emphasis on the characterisation of Bengali in a Hindi film leading man, it was felt may not have been attractive. I thought and so did Shoojit, that this is how we wanted to play this character. In fact, there was a lot more Bengal in the performance during the shoots; but because it was a Hindi production, advisors felt we should try to keep it to a minimum in order to get a more universal clientele! What was really special in Piku was its writing and direction. You will find it hard to find a story in the film. It is just conversation, and that is what made it so attractive and special. Just normal banter in any household.
As an actor, which was the toughest scene for you in the film?
Each and every scene, everyday, is tough for me. I fret over it, get sleepless nights, lie awake thinking how I would perform it the following morning. But when you get on set and find a conducive atmosphere, a sympathetic director and such exceptional talent by your side, you find the moment exciting enough to perform to your abilities. Your colleague on set is the one that shall guide your performance. You could be the greatest actor in the world, but if your colleague is not competent, you could be reduced to just an ordinary performance. Praise for an actor’s performance can never come without complementing the one opposite.
You’ve always maintained that Kolkata (where Piku was shot) is very special for you. What are your most memorable memories associated with the city?
I shall need a book to describe all that to you. But let us just say that when you spend seven years of a very formative time of your life in a city like Kolkata, it shall be next to impossible to do away with memories associated with it. Kolkata has a charm of its own. Its people have the passion unseen anywhere else. Be it sports, culture, theatre, music or dance, their passion for it, is indescribable. Each time I visit the city, I sneak out to the places that I lived in, connect with friends that have remained behind, ex-bosses and their families, the lot. Nostalgia is a hidden component in us all. It does not need any provocation for it to be aroused.
The screen chemistry between you and Deepika is one of the film’s highlights. Did you both rehearse or was it more spontaneous?
Every bit of the film is rehearsed and at most times, unrehearsed spontaneity. It comes when all involved immerse themselves completely into the hands of the director. Our style of shooting was also most helpful in this regard. A 10-page scene would be rehearsed endlessly for one entire day on set, and then the next morning it would be canned (well now this expression does not have the same meaning; its more ‘stored in digital memory’) in a single shot with multiple cameras working, within minutes. That is what brought on the spontaneous nature. At times, I must admit, we did break into impromptu reactions and speech, and if it had the director’s approval, we stayed with it.
You’re slowly tilting towards the more contemporary and unconventional cinema – Shamitabh, Piku and now Wazir. Is that a conscious call?
No, it is not a conscious call. Circumstances make you do that. The typical commercial escapist fare, does not, perhaps, have the need or space for such character-driven roles to be the main subject of the film. So you take what comes your way, and be thankful for it. I have been fortunate to be getting the kind of roles that you see. But this is not a conscious call. It is a phenomena that can be noticed the world over.
Brando, one of the greats of cinema and a favourite of mine, played Corleone in a perhaps 15-20-minute appearance in Godfather. Played Superman’s father in a three-minute appearance and a renegade army chief for a minuscule moment in Apocalypse Now. And may I just add, that the lines that have been drawn to differentiate the ‘more contemporary and unconventional cinema’, with the commercial escapist fare, have never before been as close to each other, as of now.
With the universal success of Piku, do you feel the boundaries of commercial cinema have now expanded beyond the conservative definition?
Yes indeed. But it’s not just with Piku, it started some years ago, when the more, so-called ‘realistic’ cinema received attention beyond Indian shores. Audience maturity and their acceptance has more to do with it than any other. And may this continue. It shall bode well for most makers.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:27 AM
great read..
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:39 AM
The beauty of Anurag Kashyap’s failures
May 24, 2015 14:00 IST
Bombay Velvet has been garnering a lot of negative reviews since its release. Most of the critics sound like they’re frustrated by the sudden tone-shift in the movie’s second half.
The truth of the matter is that, without that tone-shift, most of these very critics would have been left bewildered by the supposed absence of a ‘well-defined storyline’.
When plans to make a film set in the Bombay of the 1960s were doing the rounds, my immediate response was that nobody except Anurag Kashyap could do it the way it was meant to be.
For starters, the subject demanded a peep-job from the quintessential ‘outsider’ — someone who was too fascinated by the juices that the city provided to approach the subject rationally.
My belief was strengthened by the fact that of all the texts we have about the city in the ’60s, the Louis Malle documentary Bombay, 1969 has to be the one that had the most impact; and Malle was as much an outsider as anyone could possibly be.
The material of Bombay Velvet (partly adapted from Gyan Prakash’s book Mumbai Fables) seemed perfect for Kashyap because he is inherently a child of the subculture.
Anyone who delves deeper would know that the culture of Mumbai, as we see it today, is a direct descendant of the subculture that existed in the city back then. A lesser director — if he was handed material that seems so ‘ready-fit’ — would have, with all safety nets in place, made a movie that we so naturally expected from him.
However, Kashyap, in addition to being the most exciting filmmaker in the country right now, is also one who most readily risks failure; the kind that his overreaching self will often take him to and also the kind that the other directors would normally avoid.
As my instincts were proved right on watching the movie, I felt compelled not to write about it immediately. There are movies that you want to write about without letting go the very feverish sensation with which it grips you, there are also ones like Bombay Velvet that demand a certain distance.
The distance also made sense because the tawdriness of Bombay Velvet’s second half has such a looming effect that it very nearly overshadows some of the truly inventive things that Kashyap does with the material in the first half.
Whether it’s the casual cynicism of the ‘aam Hindustani’ that foretells the tough times that await a regular Joe looking to base his life in Bombay, the scene that shows the young protagonist Johnny Balraj arriving in the city (mounted almost consciously to resemble the young Vito Corleone’s first taste of America in Godfather II), the jazz riffs that cut to life and back to the singer moving dangerously close to living the lines she is singing, or the subtext of ambition being the greatest leveller and love the greatest tranquiliser… the effects are dizzying.
Kashyap shatters so many glasses in the first hour or so that we know he is going to have a tough time picking up the pieces.
The brilliance of the first half lies in the fact that there are as many thumbnail essays about the city in those sequences as there are the notes about the specific characters we are introduced to.
The movie suffers when the essays about the city stop coming and the characters start inhabiting worlds of their own.
Bombay, we realise, was the thing that kept these dreamy-eyed munchkins together. And because the sensualist in Kashyap is only interested in playing spectator in the first half, we as the audience can sit back and enjoy the beautiful effect of lushness and grime played back-to-back.
In a wonderfully conceived sequence, Johnny, after having grasped that his mother has run away with his loot, corners a ‘lead’ and asks, “Maa kahaan hai?” once before he proceeds to ask “Sona Kahaan hai?”, thrice. Kashyap’s wickedly flamboyant sensibility comes to the fore in scenes such as these more than once.
In the second half, however, the pleasure of gliding through sequences is replaced by the burden of having to sit through the staging.
This would have never made for a plot-dependent movie (it’s too smart for that and the material too trashy), but, in the second half, Kashyap feels this almost sanitised desire to make his plot work; which is when his camera starts ‘capturing things’ that let us ‘soak it all in’.
The same characters who didn’t mind being gibberish early on now have to outsmart and out-speak each other to get through the day.
If the first half of Bombay Velvet is a ‘masterpiece of chaos’, the second half is the ‘chaos of the sweep’. Kashyap tries to create fake poetry from fakeness and, because he is so incapable of lying, we catch him doing it; the final shootout sequence can only work for those who don’t really get where the director’s prodigious talents lie.
As I sat through Bombay Velvet, I kept asking myself if Kashyap would probably do better if he had stuck to his smaller set of stock actors rather than play hooptedoodle with big stars.
Ranbir Kapoor for all his radiance –- he is terrific here as well –- is the kind of star that Marlon Brando was in his pre-Last Tango in Paris days; someone who can walk into a frame and cut the frame down to his size.
However, Kashyap, like Robert Altman, is at his very best when he handles density; distributing the weight of his conception equally amongst his actors and the ambience.
Some of the most wonderful sequences in his best films — Ugly, Gangs Of Wasseypur and Black Friday — are where the director introduces us to a character and the movie goes off at a tangent, zooming into the life of the just-introduced character.
That kind of digression has such a whirling effect that, by the time we come back to the spot we left from, we are more thrilled than exhausted.
The flipside of working with a brilliant performer and yet an unquestionable star like Ranbir is that Kashyap can’t take digressions; he has a singular protagonist who will always, always call attention to himself.
Bombay Velvet has been garnering a lot of negative reviews since its release. Most of our critics sound like they’re frustrated by the sudden tone-shift in the movie’s second half.
The truth of the matter is that, without that tone-shift, most of these very critics would have been left bewildered by the supposed absence of a ‘well-defined storyline’.
Kashyap tries to offset these complaints by shooting arrows all over the place. Not only does he fail in the process, he also reinforces his Hemingway-like personality that regards failure as a badge of honour, something he warns we all should probably get used to.
For all the fights he picks with the system, for all his acidic comments and all his disillusionment, Kashyap is also an incredibly complex screen artist.
When Anurag Kashyap storms the Bastille, he isn’t looking at a simplistic revolution for the guillotine to savour blood; he is also aiming for a taste-renaissance that will linger on, forever.
**********Sreehari Nair in Mumbai
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 1:07 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 9h 9 hours ago
#Piku [Week 3] Fri 1.35 cr, Sat 2.40 cr, Sun 2.75 cr, Mon 92 lacs, Tue 85 lacs. Grand total: ₹ 73.49 cr. India biz. SUPER HIT!
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 1:07 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 11h 11 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns is UNSTOPPABLE. Fri 8.85 cr, Sat 13.20 cr, Sun 16.10 cr, Mon 8.90 cr, Tue 8.20 cr. Total: ₹ 55.25 cr. India biz. WOW!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 11h 11 hours ago
Looking at its dream run in India and Overseas, #TanuWedsManuReturns emerges the first BLOCKBUSTER OF 2015. Eyeing ₹ 100 cr in India.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 1:57 PM
more here…
http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainmenttags/abhishek-bachchan/big-b-abhishek-ranbir-john-and-ambanis-football-match#1
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 6:15 AM
http://indianexpress.com/photos/entertainment-gallery/ranbir-abhishek-amitabh-bachchan-sachin-tendulkar-ambanis-jiogarden/
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 9:32 AM
In 5th picture, who is the woman wearing nightie (to such event)?
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 10:02 AM
Mrs. Tendulkar.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 2:43 PM
On a different note I expect DDD to be a big one. The standard of course is ZNMD. That film’s 90 crores should be worth a lot more in today’s money. I don’t disagree with some who’ve said here that the overall look is inconsistent at times but that hasn’t stopped the audience from liking films before. Also ZNMD did not open big so the Hrithik advantage was ruled out in this sense. I of course don’t expect a YJHD here, don’t think it has the soundtrack to get that far let alone the stars. But it could punch above its weight.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 4:04 PM
Mixed feelings about DDD. Didn’t really like the trailer but I liked a couple of the dialogue promos. All the song promos have been bad and inferior to ZNMD. I don’t think it will be as entertaining as that film. I had no doubts from the trailer of ZNMD that this would be a 100% multiplex ideal with soul searching and identity crisis and what not. But this seems like Zoya Akhtar’s “Masala” movie. I feel like she thinks that the whole Punjabi family angle will bring in the masses lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 27, 2015 at 5:40 PM
For some reason I am more optimistic about ABCD2 and HAK than DDD. I think DDD will open slow and then can become a hit on WOM. But lack of stars will prevent it from opening big. I am thinking a 10cr Day 1 is its best hope.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 9:09 PM
You may be underestimating this movies’ reach. This is one ‘panju’ flick which is going to be lapped up in a big way and I won’t be surprised if it starts with a bang and does a 15-20 cr day 1 since this one is a multistarrer after a long time and music is not too bad with watchable choreography .
The visuals are clean cut and bright which is a prerequisite for a movie to connect with Hindi audience initially. Was watching aamir’s interview today on tv premier launch of PK and he was non stop with his praise on the depth part and praising zoya. He also had his usual disclaimer that he does not give his comments unless he likes the movie tremendously. The director has decent sensibilities so its not going to be just pop and there may be sufficient drama and build up.
It’s very nice to see a lot of movies working recently and May / June will turn out to be hot months for movie relelase land all this IPL talk will take a backseat and bollywood will loosen up with more options within that limited 52 weekend framework / set up.
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 3:10 PM
Skimmed thru the piece on kashyap above by some sreehari Nair in rediff– brilliant stuff
The way he dissects what was good and what was ‘bad’ in BV (& why) was superb–I don’t know where to begin
And THIS is the level that folks like b Rangan should be operating in or atleast striving for –& not playing with words !
True ‘Criticism’ needs some maturity and background info. Whilst he is improving, there’s a lot to be desired
The problem is that most people aren’t the best people in that job but happen to be doing it –the better amongst them rise to the ‘top’
Can somebody who visits rangans blog post this piece there if only to humbly point him to the right direction
http://www.rediff.com/movies/column/the-beauty-of-anurag-kashyaps-failures/20150524.htm
Ps: Scratching each others’ back/ crotch can only take one so far…
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 10:24 PM
PK was also released in China on May 22, in more than 3,500 screens and raked in Rs 34 crore ($5.32 million) in the first weekend. After China, the Raj Kumar Hirani film which also stars Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjay Dutt, will be travelling to other Southeast Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea.
“We are thrilled with the audience response in China. Khan, Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra travelled across China with our marketing team promoting the film at media and audience events and culminated this with a grand premiere in Shanghai. It was such a warm reception for them in China and now the movie has become a talking point and opened to such phenomenal collections. This is a really proud moment for us, and we are happy to have made this impact in a new market,” said Amrita Pandey from UTV.
The film has been co-produced by Hirani, in association with UTV who distributed the film worldwide, as well. PK has been breaking records since its release. It is now the highest grossing movie of all time in Bollywood with a net collection of Rs 340 crore (after tax). With this, Khan has cemented his place as the most successful Indian actor in the foreign market with not one, but three movies in the top five overseas grossers from Bollywood. His movies — PK, Dhoom 3 and 3 Idiots — have collected more than Rs 500 crore in the international circuit. The other two films in the top five are Shah Rukh Khan’s Chennai Express and My Name is Khan.
PK is also one of the most profitable movies of all time produced in Bollywood. While it had an A-list cast and had a significant amount of money allotted to marketing, the film’s cost was capped at Rs 70 crore. With the global box office collection now at around Rs 550 crore (taking net after tax for domestic market), the film has made almost eight times the investment only through its theatrical business.
Even if ones takes only the Indian theatrical business, the film has got the makers a return on investment to the tune of 385 per cent.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/pk-crosses-rs-200-cr-mark-abroad-115052701302_1.html
LikeLike
May 27, 2015 at 11:50 PM
Ajay Devgn Confirms Son Of Sardaar Sequel; Releases On Diwali 2017
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-popular/ajay-devgn-confirms-son-of-sardaar-sequel-releases-on-diwali-2017/
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 12:08 AM
Tabu Replaces Rekha To Play Miss Havisham In Fitoor
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-popular/tabu-replaces-rekha-to-play-miss-havisham-in-fitoor/
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 12:59 AM
Amongst the many millions of Indians who are going gaga over her performance, one of them is none other than the legend of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan. Every actor waits for the day when Big B will send him his patented letter and bouquet of flowers, a proof that he has loved their performance. This time however, Big B sent not just one, but two letters and two bouquets for Kangana, one for Tanu and the other for Datto.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Kangana-gets-not-just-one-but-two-letters-and-bouquets-from-Amitabh-Bachchan/articleshow/47430650.cms
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 1:22 AM
Actress Priyanka Chopra who will be portraying the role of Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao’s first wife in “Bajirao Mastani”, says her character Kashibai is a tortured soul in the story, and that has made the role challenging for her.
The 32-year-old, who is currently awaiting the release of “Dil Dhadakne Do” on June 5, said that her role as the first wife in the film was emotionally draining and traumatising.
“I haven’t dealt with such emotions. I needed to find out a way to feel those emotions to portray the same. In those times, the women did not say as much, so it’s mostly expressions… I am not vocal. I have a poignant role, where Kashibai is a tortured soul,” said Priyanka.
“For the first few days, I used to be so emotionally drained that I could not have conversations with people,” added the “Barfi” actress, explaining her role in the multi-starrer.
Also featuring actress Deepika Padukone, the film will see both the actresses performing in a song together.
The film is based on the story of Bajirao and his second wife Mastani. While Ranveer Singh plays Bajirao, Deepika will be seen as his second wife.
Scheduled to release on December 18, the film has been directed and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/52810-playing-kashibai-emotionally-draining-for-priyanka.htm
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 3:36 AM
Another boring, done-to-death Prabhu Deva dance routine. Anyone interested in this bore-fest of a film?
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 6:04 AM
Classifucations 2015 – Tanu Weds Manu Returns Tops
Thursday 28 May 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
After 85 releases, may finally gave that big hit with Tanu Weds Manu Returns with its domestic revenue heading for te 60 crore mark. The month also saw Piku and Gabbar Is Back do well but the combined profits from all three are not enough to cover the losses of Bombay Velvet.
So despite one big success and two other successes the month still does not end up in the black and its not very often that a month has three successes.
Since Diwali last year only big films like Happy New Year and PK have had footfalls and its heartening that a film with limited face value like Tanu Weds Manu Returns scores all over. It also proves if the content is there then even non cast films can score in mass circuits. In a circuit like Rajasthan the film could put up a figure challenging films like Bang Bang and Singham Returns which is huge for a film like this. The classifications of films in 2015 are as follows with their apprx distributor shares in brackets.
All Time Blockbuster
–
Blockbuster
1. Tanu Weds Manu Returns (Will cross 60 crore)
Super Hit
–
Hit
2. Piku – (Expected – 34 crore)
3. Badlapur (23.50 crore)
4. Dum Laga Ke Haisha (12.75 crore)
Semi Hit
5. Gabbar Is Back – (Expected – 45 crore)
6. NH 10 (14.75 crore)
Average
7 Baby (38.50 crore)
Below Average
8. Hunterrr (6 crore)
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 6:06 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#Piku [Week 3] Fri 1.35 cr, Sat 2.40 cr, Sun 2.75 cr, Mon 92 lacs, Tue 85 lacs, Wed 84 lacs. Grand total: ₹ 74.33 cr. India biz. SUPER HIT!
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh · 3h 3 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns Fri 8.85 cr, Sat 13.20 cr, Sun 16.10 cr, Mon 8.90 cr, Tue 8.20 cr, Wed 7.70 cr. Total: ₹ 62.95 cr. BLOCKBUSTER.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 6:06 AM
BOI back to their old ways with this Piku classification! And of course rather too kind on Gabbar.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 6:23 AM
its outrages by BOI, although it crosses 100cr inc overseas still piku is ” hit “….biased site
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 7:50 AM
In the next series, Tanu may do triple role Tanu. Datto and Muthulakshmi( sout Indian role) and Manu may do double role as Manu and Murugan.
I am writing script for that sequel!
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 9:30 AM
lol. Aamir dream of such roles (triple role). More woman power. I am happy for Kangana. I will take her anyday, bad accent and all, over kareenas and katrinas and others.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 10:32 AM
I like Kareena and also Katrina.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 8:33 AM
Waiting for new thread Welcome to Karchi, Tanu, Piku and ongoing
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 10:05 AM
It’s a bit amusing to see those who have the most regressive views and often back the most regressive films otherwise (I’m not referring to any one person but I’ve seen a number of such comments) suddenly adopt this moralistic stance about Tanu. ‘We’re so happy that it’s doing well, it’s a great step forward for Indian women’. Gimme a break! We can all agree that it’s great to have an industry where women are more powerful than less and where they have more central roles. But to suddenly develop a conscience when this sort of film comes around is a bit hard to swallow! And this has been true of the film’s narrative in general. Great it’s doing so well, great it’s empowering Kangana. But it’s constantly been cast as something ‘higher’. Good for Indian women, Kangana-as-superstar-as-deserving-actor, bigger than male stars, on and on. Each claim sillier than the previous one. If one wants to celebrate the film for doing so well but that’s one thing but I am highly dubious of certain kinds of arguments developed only for certain films. If these issues are important to one they would crop up with every film, not just once in a blue moon.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 2:18 PM
Box Office : Tanu Weds Manu Returns Crushes Bombay Velvet And How!
And so the cinegoers chose Tanu Weds Manu Returns over Bombay Velvet. Not to forget, there has been a good demand for Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Piku, which has entered its third week.
Both these movies have made excellent collections at the box office and so the exhibitors are keen on giving the audiences more of Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Returns by shelving the shows of Bombay Velvet.
The May of 2015 has none the less created a history at the box office. Bombay Velvet whose budget equals the budget of Piku and Tanu Weds Manu Returns combined has not even managed to gross the half of what the other two movies have independently earned at the box office
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/box-office-tanu-weds-manu-returns-crushes-bombay-velvet-and-how/
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 2:43 PM
these write-ups get a bit silly beyond a point. BV would have had the same fate had it been the only release for a month and with no competition for another month. It’s not as if the other films were killing it!
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 3:54 PM
‘I have been dropped from many movies. I did not want to compromise my self-respect.’
‘I was born in a house with all the facilities. I had a car and servants. I got married into a family that had everything. So there was no need for me to compromise.’
‘I was never ambitious about being the number one actress.’
Moushumi Chatterjee, one of the biggest stars of her time, gives us a peek into her life.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/interview/moushumi-chatterjee-i-was-always-a-superstar/20150528.htm
——————————-
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/two-interesting-malayalam-releases-this-weekend-south/20150528.htm
——————————
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/red-hot-nargis-fakhri-at-spys-uk-premiere/20150528.htm
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 4:52 PM
‘I was never ambitious about being the number one actress.’
that’s good because she was in no danger of becoming one! Personally never liked her at all. was well cast for Piku though.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 4:56 PM
I liked her to a point.
Btw, was a bit disheartening to read that Ms Padukone threw a party to celebrate PIKU and AB wasn’t invited.
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 3:30 AM
Her father in law was such a humble man.
Moushumi is a typical bengali women and I find almost all the bengali actresses quite quirky in some way, It seems to be their trait. I liked Moushumi in Angoor. She was not a bad actress.
LikeLike
May 28, 2015 at 5:02 PM
The macho hard-drinking male who stalks the female character in the first half only to have her fall in love with him in the second is still around, finding his niche in the regressive blockbuster. But there’s also a gentler modern man showing up on our screens. A man not afraid to cry, a man who’s a colleague and friend first, a man who refuses to use a gun when his brain will do. We like this man. Why then do we applaud a Tanu, who has taken on the worst aspects of the commercial Hindi film hero?
Can Kangana be a heroine without being a Revolver Ranior a hard drinking, foul-mouthed caricature of the leading man? Is it possible for Rani Mukherjee to be strong without being Mardaani? Can Anushka rebel against the wrongs against her and society without a cigarette in her mouth depicting her liberation?
Love is no longer enough on the screen. There are now real men out there, who respect, care and understand. Don’t they deserve women who do the same?
http://www.huffingtonpost.in/samina-motlekar-/the-faux-feminism-in-tanu_b_7449256.html?utm_source=COLUMBIA&utm_medium=COLUMBIA&utm_campaign=COLUMBIA
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 3:40 AM
She picked on Kangana, Anushka, Rani and left out Deepika. Seems to be a big fan of Deepika.
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 4:28 AM
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/mumbai-mirror-film-critic-rahul-desai-quits-tanu-weds-manu-returns-rating-furore-2268894.html
Mumbai Mirror film critic Rahul Desai quits after ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ rating furore
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 4:29 AM
“Appropriate that I resign as Mirror Critic on the day Bhaijaan teaser appears. Not always wise to adapt to changing systems, broken trust,” he said on his Twitter and Facebook.
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 4:31 AM
Good on him. What a bunch of tools at Mumbai Mirror.
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 5:28 AM
Drishyam’s New Still Out | Ft. Ajay Devgn As Vijay Salgaonkar & His Family
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-popular/drishyams-new-still-out-ft-ajay-devgn-as-vijay-salgaonkar-his-family/
LikeLike
May 29, 2015 at 5:32 AM
Album Cover of Dil Dhadakne Do
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/52872-album-cover-of-dil-dhadakne-do.htm
LikeLike