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350 Responses to “Dil Dhadakne Do, the rest of the box office”
Dil Dhadakne Do Looking Good For Big Metros
Thursday 04 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne Do is looking good for multiplexes in the metros but the key will be the word of mouth in these big 5 to 6 cities as the budget is big so these cities will have to sustain well for a couple of weeks.
The content is very urban so the support from smaller centres will not be there. The music has seen average response and although there is a cast with many names no one is that big star to give the film a really big push initially. There will be goodwill from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and as that worked in the metros it is that audience which the film is depending in for an initual.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara had grossed nearly 90 crore nett from a weak 7 crore nett opening despite the presence of Hrithik Roshan. The highest grosser which only scored in metros so far is Barfi at 105 crore so that is the first target for Dil Dhadakne Do to cross.
As with all urban films it will be Saturday that decides its fate if a big jump comes the film will have good chances to sustain and put up a good final number. The business in Overseas should be a plus where it should become the top film of the year so far as the opening is looking to be very good.
Raju Hirani writing a script for Amitabh Bachchan.
Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani has the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood to his credit and has worked with actors like Aamir Khan and Sanjay Dutt, but when it comes to directing the Shahenshah of B-town, Amitabh Bachchan, Hirani seems to find it difficult.
“I have grown up wanting to be like Amitabh Bachchan. As a child I used to speak like him, get clothes stitched like him, and listen to his father’s poems that he recites. I remember when he came to my place he did recite his father’s poems and I have recorded that and kept it. It is a precious possession. It is a joy to hear it. I am a huge fan of his,” admits Rajkumar, adding further, “I have directed him in two advertisements. If ever there was a need to change something in the shoot, I used to hesitate to tell him anything. It is difficult to direct him because as a fan I was always awestruck. But he is so good at what he does and I am looking forward to work with him.”
Now that he has expressed his desire to work with Big B, probe Hirani does he have a script in mind for Senior Bachchan?
“I am working on a script and when it will get done I’ll narrate it to Mr. Bachchan, hopefully by year end I will be done,” concludes Raju.
**The film has no story to look forward to. How it will fare only time will tell. It looks too plastic as of now.**
It doesn’t need a story. If it HAD story, it wouldn’t work. That is what such films are about. Like the cruise. You just breeze by. You just ‘saw’ something. You didn’t feel anything.
I am however confident Pluto getting a credible back-story..
They have promoted it intensely. So, it should at least open well. I was watching a couple of tv channels and since 2 or 3 weeks, they have the songs and promos playing at every 10-15 minutes and at every commercial break. You would rarely see such an overdose of promos and songs from a film. They seem to have invested big in promotions and I guess it should translate into a good opening.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 10h10 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns should close Week 2 at ₹ 115 cr+ in India. Week 3 should take it ₹ 125 cr. BLOCKBUSTER.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 11h11 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns [Week 2] Fri 6.65 cr, Sat 9.40 cr, Sun 12.25 cr, Mon 5.15 cr, Tue 4.65 cr, Wed 4.35 cr. Grand total: ₹ 112.52 cr.
Shame on such ‘icons’–this fight is all about money !
It is a recent case of ego tussle. Two big names play father-daughter in one movie…movie turns hit…and the on-screen father goes completely MIA because not being ‘invited’ at a certain success bash. A TOI report suggested that the on-screen daughter only wanted to credit herself for the film’s success.
While the female co-star tried to cover up the absence of this legendary actor at a party by saying there was a technical error. Apparently this actor followed up with every other invitee multiple times via text messages ensuring their presence.
It is learnt that an ego tussle between the actress and the senior actor cropped up over remuneration for the film. Trade reports suggested that both of them were paid exactly the same amount of money. Looks like this actor believes she is as tall as her co-actor in the acting department!
Deepika Padukone opposite Hrithik Roshan in YRF’s next!!
We had asked Deepika Padukone to name an actor she wants to work with, during the promotions of her last film. We could not finish our question but Deepika shot back with an answer. “Hrithik Roshan for sure,” she told. And now, it seems that her dreams might have just come true. We hear that Deepika has been signed opposite Hrithik in YRF’s next.
We had already told all of you that Hrithik has been signed on for an action thriller, planned by Yash Raj Films, much on the lines of a Dhoom. The director of Dhoom 3, Vijay Krishna Acharya will be helming the project and he has got Deepika on board.
Reveals our source, “Deepika is the perfect choice for the film. Victor feels Dippy will do total justice to the role. It is an action film where Hrithik will yet again be playing a thief like he did in Dhoom 2. But this will be bigger and better.”
But will Deepika also do some hardcore action stunts? The source hints at a possibility. “You never know. They wanted someone athletic and hence, chose Deepika. Obviously, Victor must have something in his mind.”
Believe it or not, Aamir Khan has a surprising and very fun role in DDD as well.
Ranveer Singh’s Kabir and Priyanka Chopra’s Ayesha assume the larger roles. The rest are all on an even keel. The stand out performance comes from Ranveer Singh. He is quite literally the heart and soul of DDD. His comic timing, his sense of aloofness make his character memorable. He’s looking good, in top form and he’s 100 per cent authentic to his character portrayal. This film also proves that Ranveer can have great chemistry with a wooden cupboard. Thankfully, he has the talented Anushka Sharma to play off. Together, they look stunning and their romance is top notch. Anushka is faultless in her supporting character. The more complex role is handled by Priyanka Chopra. Her portrayal of Ayesha is testament to her talent. She displays versatility in her performance. Her character goes from being helpless to being nervously independent. It’s a great graph and Priyanka nails it like a champ.
Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah do a remarkable job as well. There’s no point in talking about their potential. Anil Kapoor is a proven acting legend and he just displays a range that could inspire a thousand new actors to take up the vocation. Shefali too shines in a more restrained and quiet way. Farhan Akhtar makes a late entry but manages a decent impact in a small role. Rahul Bose though, plays his character of part schmuck and part misguided husband with great effect. Believe it or not, Aamir Khan has a surprising and very fun role in DDD as well. http://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-dil-dhadakne-do-9417.html
Finger crossed for Ranveer singh. Praying 4 success of this film and appriciation of his role. If Both things happens then he will come in top bracket.
As I had mentioned before, I was pretty confident the dog would be the central and saner voice in such type of a film. And lo, it is none other than Aamir– one of the saner voices in Hi-fi– voicing it!!
This is what I have been saying about Ranveer’s performance based on the trailers.
‘The project is lifted by a couple of actors, Anil Kapoor and Ranveer Singh playing the Mehra father and son and injecting Dil Dhadakne Do with energy and repose respectively. The film is about a family on a cruise with their friends, a nearly-bankrupt family taking a last-gasp holiday because saving face is too important, and it is Kapoor’s undying ebullience and Singh’s perplexed inwardness that defines the film and sets it on course. Zoya Akhtar’s film doesn’t provide much insight and leans too heavily on repetitive, sitcom-like reaction shots to underline its own obvious points over and over again — this is a film that generalises too much, one where all the parents are regressive, all the women are marriage-bait — but in the cacophony of these belaboured caricatures, Singh provides tremendous calm and brings nuance to the table. He’s excellent. It’s as if an understated actor from a Pakistani TV show walked out into a deafening Balaji crowd.’
Dil Dhadakne Do had a decent start of around 25-30% at multiplexes with the premium ones being better. The single screens as expected were not good at 15-20%. The film was released on around 2300 screens. The film will grow in the evenings as it caters to that auduence.
The opening day numbers will come out good in the major metros and a few other cities where there are a number of premium multiplexes but the crunch will come on Saturday as a lot will depend on how they grow. The smaller centres will not support much but if cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow can support it will be a big plus for the film.
The best opening came in the Delhi Ncr belt with multiplexes having good occupancies in Delhi city, Gurgaon and Noida.
According to a report published in Mumbai Mirror, Deepika also says, “I’ve yet to see ‘Bombay Velvet’ but it belonged to friends of mine and I empathise with their pain, I think the negativity surrounding it is unfair.”
While the dimpled actress has been on a winning spree for long as far as her movies are concerned, she has always maintained a stoic silence over her relationship status with actor Ranveer Singh. Upon being asked about getting clicked together at the ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ special screening, Deepika says, “He and I are very clear about our equation and what we mean to each other. I don’t have to give the relationship a tag for someone reading this.”
The talented actress is all praises for her ‘RamLeela’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ co-actor Ranveer’s performance in the Zoya Akhtar directorial. “He’s a chameleon. I’d seen him in ‘Band Baaja Baraat’, ‘Lootera’ and ‘RamLeela’. Then to see him so comfortable in a different, more urban world, made me react with an amazed, ‘You can do this also!’” Deepika says.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 4h4 hours ago
#PK is nearing ₹ 100 cr mark in China. Has set a benchmark. Total till Thu [4 June; 14th day]: ₹ 92.60 cr. FANTASTIC.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns At 115 Crore After Two Weeks
Friday 05 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had an excellent second week grossing around 45.75 crore nett and taking its two week total to 115 crore nett. The drop is just 34% in week two and that is the highest for any film with a 30 crore nett plus second week apart from 3 Idiots.
The second week is also the fifth highest of all time beating films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Krrish 3. Business all over India barring Gujarat / Saurashtra is fantastic with North India competing with some of the biggest grossers ever.
Despite the release of a big film like Dil Dhadakne Do it still will put a good third week figure as the weekdays in the second week were rock steady. The film is going over 135 crore nett for sure and its just question how much over 135 crore nett it goes.
“The drop is just 34% in week two and that is the highest for any film with a 30 crore nett plus second week apart from 3 Idiots.”
Another misleading statement.. first off why do they forget these trending patterns when lots of big films fizzle out in week 2? But secondly the qualification of 34% is fine overall. There’s no need to add the ‘at least 30 crore’ thing. That’s completely arbitrary. But if you’re doing that you should also point out how so many big films were nowhere near this mark. If TWM is the only film that’s fulfilling both conditions what does this say about all the other blockbuster-type movies?
Top Fourth Weeks 2015 – Piku Ahead Of Baby
Friday 05 June 2015 10.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Piku managed good fourth week figures of 3.75 crore nett apprx taking its business to near the 77 crore nett mark. It was the highest fourth week collection of the year. The top fourth week collections this year are.
1. Piku – 3.75 crore apprx
2. Baby – 2.78 crore
3. Dum Laga Ke Haisha – 2.38 crore
4. Gabbar is Back – 1.59 crore
These are the only four films to go over 1 crore nett in week four though the way Tanu Weds Manu Returns is going it is sure to at the top of the list soon.
GOSSIP: Abhishek Bachchan signs a film with wife Aishwarya?
Dailybhaskar.com | Jun 05, 2015, 13:34PM IST
Abhishek Bachchan who is busy shooting Hera Pheri 3 has signed a new film deal with best buddy and producer Bunty Walia. The actor has apparently given his green signal to do the film. Bunty is all set to produce director Sohum Shah’s film and has asked to cast Junior AB in the lead.
An industry source has it, “Bunty loved Sohum’s script and went on to discuss with Abhishek, he too like the script and has almost confirmed to be a part of it. Abhishek is the first cast to be on board, the female lead is yet to be finalised.
Apparently Bunty is willing to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but nothing has been confirmed yet. If all goes well, the shooting will start at the end of this year, adds the source”.
A source close to the film says, “Dada loves to shoot and then re-shoot and get everything edited on the sets. But, this time, because they are shooting in bits and pieces, he feels the actors have not been able to stay with the characters. Also, they started shooting in 2013 and the look of both the actors has changed. So he has decided to reshoot those scenes where there is inconsistency in their look. Now he will shoot in one go so that the emotions and the continuity are not broken. And that’s why he now wants Ranbir and Katrina to finish their respective films and shoot Jagga Jasoos in one stretch.”
Rajkumar Hirani is known to make outstanding films and after the super box-office success of PK, everyone wants to know what he is working on next. “We are still working on Sanjay Dutt’s biopic for which I have only spoken to Ranbir but I am yet to finish the script. As you all know, I take my own time to finish a script,” Hirani says.
The director also reveals that he has written a script keeping Amitabh Bachchan in mind. “Who doesn’t want to work with him? I have written a script keeping sir in mind but I haven’t yet narrated him the story because I haven’t finished it yet. I won’t narrate it unless I am happy with it. Hopefully, if I finish it by this year-end, we can start rolling soon.”
Bachchan even at this stage of his life has worked with all of Bombay’s brightest contemporary talents at one stage or the other. Hirani was the one big exception and looks like this is finally happening too.
Sultan To Start
by Soumita Sengupta (May 30, 2015)
Everyone is eyeing Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, whose teaser was recently launched. It is a given that this film will do massive business just like all Khan’s movies do. We hear that soon after the release of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the actor will start shooting for Yash Raj Films’ Sultan, which will be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
Khan will be playing a 40-year-old boxer in the film. He is trying to get his physique to look like wrestler Sushil Kumar’s body, for which he needs to look lean. His trainer believes he has the perfect body for this. We’re told the film will be shot in one schedule.
Zoya Akhtar had organised a special screening of Dil Dhadakne Do, for her industry friends. Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Rahul Bose, Imran Khan were present at the special screening. According to a report on Bollywoodlife.com, Deepika and Kangana avoided each other at the screening. A source was quoted in a Bollywoodlife.com report as saying that Deepika and Kangana completely avoided each other. The cold war between the two was obvious when Deepika dedicated an award to Kangana. Later, Kangana had said that she would have appreciated a call rather than an award dedication. Reportedly, Deepika had then called Kangana and both the actress had patched up. But things between them soured again after Deepika missed the special screening of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. So miffed was Kangana that she left as soon as Deepika came for the film’s success party.
The trailer of Salman Khan’s awaited film Bajrangi Bhaijaan was released on May 28, 2015, and has been appreciated by one and all. However, there is someone who is not so pleased with the promo. And that is none other than Nawazuddin Siddiqui, states a report on Bollywoodlife.com. And the reason for the same being the promo featuring Salman in most of the scenes, leaving Nawaz with barely one dialogue, the report further stated. Reportedly, Nawaz plays a prominent role in the film, but the teaser barely features him for 30-secs. The report quoted a source as saying that the actor was disappointed with the trailer as he just had one punch line and thought it was too little. Further to the report, he also contacted director Kabir Khan who assured him that he will be given more prominence in the next trailer.
Komal-
The comic dialogues by Farhan Akhtar are witty and humorous whereas the dramatic ones are even cutting-edge at times. The dialogues of Pluto have been penned by Javed Akhtar and they are appropriately philosophical and humorous.
Since the entire film is narrated from the point of view of the Mehras’ dog, Pluto, the narration does get monotonous at times, when it starts sounding like a sermon. In fact, the dog’s initial talking gets on the audience’s nerves after a point of time
Our review of Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do starring Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma, Rahul Bose etc. Anupama Chopra says – like the Mehras, the film is flawed, frustrating and very special.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play Dalbir Kaur in Omung Kumar’s Sarabjit biopic
Earlier we had reported that filmmaker Omung Kumar, whose directorial debut Mary Kom won the National Award for Best Popular Film of 2013, had already locked on his next project – Sarabjit. Omung even confirmed the same saying, “Yes, I will be directing and co-producing Sarabjit. Even though I have three scripts lined up, this will be my next film after Mary Kom.” Now we hear that the director has roped in none other than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play the role of Dalbir Kaur in the film.
In fact while the film will be the story of Sarabjit, it will be told through the eyes of his sister, Dalbir Kaur, after his conviction of terrorism and spying by the Pakistani court and him getting sentenced to death in 1991, and the subsequent campaign stated by his sister for his release.
When we contacted Omung, the director confirmed the smae saying, “Yes Aishwarya will be part of the Sarabjit bio pic and will be playing the role of his sister, Dalbir Kaur.” Further talking about how he managed to rope in the actress Omung adds, “In fact when I narrated the script to Aishwarya she had tears in her eyes and said a straight yes to being a part of the film.”
meh.. too much out of nothing and now they want to make a movie on this topic. Also for Aishwarya, everyone from Kangana to even Sonkashi rejected this role and not sure why she accepted. Reminds me of that silly role in ‘Provoked’ with Jag Mundra.
Sad and funny at the same time! We have few of the sharpest minds in the world yet basics are missing!!
There are few comments under this article but there are two standouts which are the crux of how our Indian society works and behaves in the real world.
David- “have never seen a place with more engineers than India. How is it their villages do not have running water? At least to a water source in the village. There are international programs that will provide the materials at no cost to the villiage, they just have to be able to assist in doing the work. I have several friends that do this in places where they don’t even have a solid house.”
O – “Water is essential to all life. I’m just surprised that no one in that community put together enough resource to purchase a solar water pump. It would make everyone’s life a lot easier.”
The film has mixed reviews and wom is not great. Seems the dog is annoying. Rather its talkativeness!
The complain is film is too long and the first half is dragging.
The film is not liked for other reasons too. Because the akhthars have good friends among the film fraternity, I think the reviewers are somewhat kind.
Haven’t seen the movie yet, but our desi crowd may not be ready for an anthropomorphic dog in a movie setting and its a bit much for a zoya / aamir combo to do a seth macfarlane here
Nonetheless really looking forward to this movie esp. Pluto as I am a big fan of Brian Griffin and his sophisticated wry wit…
I don’t know if I should say this here, but on several occasions while watching Family Guy, Brian’s overly opinionated and
vastly superior intelligence but sometimes pretentious ramblings remind me about the “owner” of this blog.
Aamir Khan gets notice for using national emblem on Satyamev Jayate
Actor Aamir Khan might be in trouble. An activist has sent a legal notice to the Bollywood actor and director of popular television show Satyamev Jayate, for using the emblem of the country as the title of the programme allegedly without the Central government’s permission.
The notice, sent by advocate Manoj Singh on Roy’s behalf, demands that producers of the show furnish a copy of government permission. “Otherwise our client has given us peremptory instructions to initiate legal proceedings against you,” it says.
The notice’s recipients are Aamir Khan, his wife Kiran Rao (both producers) and the show’s director Satyajit Bhatkal.
The title Satyamev Jayate is a part of the State Emblem which cannot be used without permission as per State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act 2009, it says.
No authority has the right to register or grant patent which contains the State Emblem or its part, the notice says, adding that “it cannot be used to get monetary benefit or for the purpose of advertisement.”
Not everyone knows all the laws.. when they stumble upon that law and remember the TV series name.. they plan the legal notice. I remember there was Vinod Khanna movie of the same name during his comeback in 80’s.
The complainant has no locus standi; The aggrieved party is Govt; If they have no issue you can bug them with RTI. It is same as people protesting against a movie rather than censor board which cleared the movie.
People should be fined heavily to desist clogging the overloaded courts.
Akshay, Saif & Ranbir cut fees following Bollywood’s economic hassles ?
2015 has been one of Bollywood’s worst years so far. Most bankable projects & films have fallen flat, thereby leading to a revision in the approach to ‘bankable’ stars (read male stars).
In most recent developments, Akshay Kumar, amongst the highest paid Bollywood actors at 35 crores and above per film, has reportedly agreed to revise his remuneration. Both releases of Akshay this year- Baby & Gabbar is Back- have crawled to the guaranteed 100 crore mark of the action star. Ranbir Kapoor is also reported to have knocked off a couple of crores from his compensation of ‘Bombay Velvet’ recently, although no one from the film’s team is saying anything. And Saif Ali Khan, who used to refuse to budge from his 15 crore compensation, has decided to knock off his fee substantially in the past one year (for Devotion of Suspect X). It should be noted that these fees are often linked to a share in profit percentages from the film. Making a star co producer also dilutes their fee substantially. So for instance, making a star a co producer in a film (like NH 10 and Anushka Sharma) knocks off a chunk of the fee.
Profit percentages are the method that Aamir Khan has used so far to collect his pay cheque. Aamir who is the only actor in India to have delivered a 300 crore film (grossing a lot more in China currently), with PK, approaches his payment differently. In an interview to Hindustan Times, Aamir said, “When I do a film, I don’t charge a fee. What it does is that it immediately takes away the weight or pressure of signing a big star. I am like a street performer. I do a film for which I don’t charge anything. If the film is good, people will come to the theatres and pay money for the tickets, making the film a success. And then, I will charge from the box-office earnings as per how the film has done economically.
While his contemporary Khans have also worked with profit percentages, producers seem to be wary of this approach too. Look at Salman Khan’s jocular comment that he didn’t work in Shuddhi as it’s producer, Karan Johar, wanted to work with a less expensive actor. With the producers association strongly lobbying against entourage costs of stars, this current turn of poor business in films has ensured that producers negotiate hard on fee reduction. Entourage costs, particularly of leading ladies, tend to go up to 1.5 lakh per day.
While no one comes on the record so far, reports suggest that the film producers’ association might soon be working towards contractual accountability of a star. This means that final payments will be linked to a film’s box office performance. Perhaps that’s why an upcoming male star with a big film hitting theatres this week was ruefully recounting how their lot has ‘missed the bus’ on profit percentages.
Will these changes from Bollywood stars ring in a paradigm shift in skewed film economics? Like the fate of a film, it is too soon to speak on that.
keeping pace with znmd. probably not doing more unless it shows big weekend jumps. ZNMD had 7-7.5 on opening day but that too was somewhat low at the time. I actually thought earlier it could go past the ZNMD total rather easily but that might not be the case. If will more likely settle in that range or do 10-20% more which amounts to the same thing adjusting for all factors.
I think this benifits from goodwill of ZNMD but unlikely to trend like it.
I don’t think reports/WOM are in anyway strong. I would imagine a 70 crore total here.
that too is very possible.. but even at 90-100 or a bit higher I’d call it a lesser performance than ZNMD. Because after that film this was much bigger. Even if it didn’t have anyone like Hrithik or Katrina in it. Now if it does 70 or so that must be considered very subpar. When Piku’s doing 80 there’s no excuse for such a total. It would be more or less in Kahaani range at that point. Anyway any subpar performance here would quite thrill me!
Is it Really 100 crores? Wow what a waste of money. I heard around 70. I don’t get why they spent 100 crores on this when they spent less on bigger films such as 70 crores on Don 2 and 60 on ZNMD…
Yeah I read it somewhere…But I wont be surprised if it is. A lot of those actors will charge in crores. Plus shot entirely in a liner and then P and A.
I think the stars are cheaper than any of the Khans. Shooting on a liner would have been sponsored by the liner to some extent. It would not be another BV in terms of cost and in terms of loss.
Dil Dhahakne Do Heads For Second Highest Opening Day Of 2015
Friday 05 June 2015 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne Do is heading for the second biggest opening day of the year after Gabbar Is Back which grossed around 12.50 crore nett. The collections should come in at the 10 crore nett range or maybe little more if Mumbai circuit comes in higher than present expectations.
The number is decent for a film which is very urban and has little face value in terms of stars for most of the country. It is basically the metro multiplexes that have taken the film to this mark. The multiplexes have seen the best day one collections this year but the performance in mass markets is dull with the film collecting less than films like Roy and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.
The opening day gives the film a good chance but only if the 30% or thereabouts jump comes on Saturday. The big city audience comes out in force on Saturday and that is the target audience so the film must show good growth.
Not bad but I think ZNMD had a similar 1st day 4 years ago. Also shows that Ram-Leela and Gunday’s opening was bigger than Ranveer’s pull, 9-10 crores seems about correct. The reviews don’t seem as positive as ZNMD and that film had good trending, so I think even its 90crores will not be easy. Before watching the film, I am with Satyam in that I would be thrilled at a subpar performance however I am watching it tonight and hopefully I won’t regret spending the 3 hours.
Kathy Gibson: After her very insightful piece on ‘TWMR, here is her wholehearted endorsement of DDD.
Singh is something to behold in Dil Dhadakne Do. He contains his normally boundless energy, unleashing it in the dance numbers but otherwise playing it cool. His chemistry with Sharma is super. Her character is smitten but wary, given her far-less-stable financial footing.
Even better is the relationship between Singh and Chopra, playing adult children who still make faces behind their parents’ backs. So many of their scenes feel authentic: like the way Kabir calls his sister “Dude,” and his claim that the ice cream he steals from her bowl tastes better because it’s flavored with her annoyance. Their immaturity together belies an unbreakable allegiance.
It surely helps that Akhtar’s own brother, Farhan — who has a great supporting role as Ayesha’s former flame — wrote the film’s dialogue. Credit also to Akhtar’s co-writer, Reema Kagti, for a script with so many moving parts but no loose ends. It’s always clear which of the dozen or so aunties are aligned with whom, and which fellow businessmen are looking to gain an advantage.
Akhtar let scenes breathe, taking advantage of the sprawling cruise ship to allow characters to cover lots of physical ground while lost in thought. She has a top-notch cast at her disposal, and she gets the best out of her performers. Some of the best moments consist of knowing glances and wordless exchanges. She even gives the film’s villain, Manav, some funny reaction shots as he fends off his wife’s high-speed, anger-fueled tennis volleys.
The theme of women’s equality (or the lack thereof) runs throughout the film, through Manav’s possessive attitude toward Ayesha to Neelam’s willingness to tolerate Kamal’s infidelity because of her financial dependence on him. The subject is explored in a thoughtful way without seeming preachy, often presented as the younger generation trying to explain their beliefs to an older generation more comfortable with traditional gender roles.
Akhtar sets the right tones throughout Dil Dhadakne Do, interspersing serious ideas and insightful commentary without ever veering too far from the film’s comedic core. It’s funny, thought-provoking, and tear-jerking in all the right places. There’s so much to like in Dil Dhadakne Do.
Just back from DDD. The movie is watchable but a huge disappointment if you consider the director and her previous work. Basically, Zoya took the most cliche formula’s of Hindi films and put together on rich family going on a cruise. Everything from Rich boy-poor girl, marrying someone’s daughter to save the business to double standard behavior by the elite everything inspite well captured doesn’t bring any fresh perspective nor add to the movie watching experience. Like Priyanka is an unhappy marriage, Ranveer is rich brat who is not worthy of becoming the heir to the business and wants to do something else. Usually its music in Hindi films… the only change Zoya added is flying planes. Don’t want to add more scenes incase some of the folks plan to watch it.
First half is slow but 2nd half is good but again the whole base of the movie is so weak that even though the scenes are well executed the final result is just about average.
The only disappointment from this movie is from Zoya Akhtar as I think all the performers would gain something out of it. Everyone had well defined characters, I mean 4 – Anil, Shefali, Priyanka and Ranveer. Anushka had passe role and Farhan Akhtar is credited as special appearance with short and simple footage. My pick of the performances would be Priyanka > Anil Kapoor > Ranveer > Shefali. Priyanka is the best and in she did very well and even Shefali is good. Anil Kapoor and Ranveer adds some massy touch to their characters and brings out entertainment at some crucial scenes. Pluto talks a lot and even though some dialogues are good it is not really philosophical to the extent its required by the script.
A colossal waste of efforts and bollywood folks really needs to take it easy with tweets for a change. The movie is no where even avg and even with performances except Anil Kapoor not even a single actor deserves any accolades. For a change I was impressed with Ranveer in the initial reels but he squanders that opportunity midway and by the end all of them get on the nerves and that Piggy Chop role is so bastardize in the name of women empowerment. The only standout and original scene in the whole movie was shefali’s character gorging herself with chocolate when she goes into depression. Also gadda song was lively and well staged.
Wtf was Pluto Mehra about? Though the lines were well written and delivered with aplomb, there wasn’t any physicality to it and the whole thing seemed like an after thought.
And when will theses gen-x behen ke takeys stop their obsession with Godfather. The background score seemed lifted whenever family drama would play out.
In KRK style I give this movie 2 eshstar and my business rating is 1 eshtaar.
Master : ” Basically, Zoya took the most cliche formula’s of Hindi films and put together on rich family going on a cruise. ” Really? In how many Hindi films have you seen the woman being good at running a business? In how many Hindi films have you seen a woman walk out of a marriage because she does not like her husband ( Mind you he is not having an affair, is not an alcoholic or is ill-treating her.) ? In how many Hindi films have you seen a son accusing his father of womanizing and telling his mother that she has stayed with his father because she had no place to go? Cliches? Think again.
Am talking about the foundation or the issues which needs to be resolved. The issues are cliches and I stand by that. Just top of my head…
1) Ranveer Singh don’t want to take over his family business but rather do something else. Character is similar Varun Dhawan in SOTY
2) Priyanka is nto happy with her husband even though he’s loving and good. Infact Abhishek was 200% perfect husband to Rani in KANK but she still mentions she doesn’t love him and not compatible. Here, Rahul Bose even though appears as good husband his character as MCP as they come.
3) Also, looks like Zoya borrowed from Indian TV serials for this movie who doesn’t let her mom air her opinions on the dining table. When she asks Priyanka, does her husband drink and beat her? Doesn’t give money for shopping? Have another affair?
4) Anil Kapoor keeps saying you just need to stick to marriage. Reason? In our families no one gets divorce. (meh)
5) Anil Kapoor plans to marry his son to another business’s daughter to save his business. Innumerable movies(Titanic?)
6) Anil Kapoor sees that Priyanka is close to his manager’s son(Farhan Akhtar) sends him away from her.
Btw, the whole aunties pack is borrowed from other movies directly 🙂
Thanks.. if it was made by some inferior director.. it would have been alright but it is surely not a follow up for Zoya after making two remarkable films.
Nothing could have saved BV, you can’t save such movies. Instead of 23 crores lifetime, it could have done some 35crores lifetime. That’s about it. Don’t agree with vested interests angle.
Master: ‘Also, looks like Zoya borrowed from Indian TV serials” Unfortunately, I do not watch TV serials, so I wont know.
Yes Abhishek and Priety want a divorce. That was in one film, in how many? 10,000? In my dictionary, 1 in 10,000 is nota cliche.
“Anil Kapoor sees that Priyanka is close to his manager’s son(Farhan Akhtar) sends him away from her.” But Farhan reurns the money with interest. Cooly, matter-if-fcatly. Shefali Chhaya tells Anil he should not have taken the money back. In which film have you seen this?
“Here, Rahul Bose even though appears as good husband his character as MCP as they come.” ‘t Yes. But she doesn’t an MCP as a husband. That’s the point…and the difference from a hundred other films.
‘Btw, the whole aunties pack is borrowed from other movies directly.’ Like from which film?
Ok Sir. You can like a movie, no wrong with that. Infact I love Zoya Akhtar’s direction so much and I kept saying I will watch this FDFS.
I keep saying the foundation or the issues are cliche and you are replying with their resolutions. Its not about movies but the issues the movie is talking about. Having a incapable heir to business, having philandering husband and wife bearing quietly for years, planning a marriage as business deal, breaking out of a restrained marriage more-so after the ex-flame shows up at the same place. I never felt am seeing these issues addressed in the movies for first time.
Zoya Akhtar’s standards are different. Just imagine LBC climax scene.. Farhan comes and apologizes to Konkana and wants her back in his life. But in its revolutionary scene, Konkana says you came back coz you want me in your life.. its again about your life. You still not thinking about me.. and then she rejects. Rejecting is fine but the reason she gave is quite different anything we’ve seen in Hindi movies.
The situations you are mentioning comes out of the characters which might be new but the ‘issues’ which the movie is trying to resolve are not new. That’s my point for the last time.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns grossed 2.50 crore apprx on its third Friday despite the competition from a big release like Dil Dhadakne Do. The film will probably go to the 10 crore nett for its third weekend which is easily the best this year with no film even hitting 10 crore for the third week let alone weekend.
The lifetime business of the film could now go to around 140 crore nett It could even beat some if the big releases of last year like Bang Bang and Singham Returns. The film has 20% of the cost compared to a film like Bang Bang.
In North India the film will be amongst the top five grossers ever. In East Punjab it can go even higher as that market has become bigger over the last year or so.
You’re exaggerating.. I said (don’t think anyone else commented on this) that for me Piku’s 80 crores were worth more than TWMR’s 120. Didn’t say I would say the same for every number. I also added (and I’ve said this before too) that YJHD’s 185 or so is more impressive than CE’s or Kick’s greater gross let alone films in the same range. So no I don’t think all genres are the same. Only in India is the same yardstick used for every kind of film. Leaving this aside if we keep celebrating TWMR’s huge numbers we must also make the related point on almost every other big film which compared to this is either a massive underperformer or in some cases even a big failure. But that never happens. Somehow those results are also considered good or at least ok. What does it mean when Bang Bang does only as much as TWMR? There are tons of examples that could be offered.
If one must enter this discussion right away, here’s what I think this film is about. Which is one of the reasons I liked it so much. I suspect what it’s trying to say is that marriage (more often than not a compromise or an imposition), unlike love, is naturally a dysfunctional institution. Most families only reflect that inherent flaw.
Does the movie go ahead and suggest acceptable alternatives to the institution? Or get you to rethink your own life’s calls? Oh no, it’s far too lighthearted for that. It does make you face up to some harsh, hidden truths however. In doing so it gently forces us to look inwards—if not at our own family entirely,then a close friend’s or relative’s. One can safely compare them to the Mehras being closely examined on the screen. There is a touch of recognition. Overtly though, the specifically “dysfunctional” family before us isn’t necessarily anything like yours or mine.
There is no point describing the Mehras and their issues any further, or at all in fact. Their family dog does it best. This dog Pluto, who should’ve been called Plato (displaying wit, which is vintage Javed Akhtar) is partly the narrator of this film that is essentially set over a week / ten days, when a large group of old friends and family get together to celebrate the Mehras’ 30th wedding anniversary.
“But patiently drawing out emotions from every character, allowing them space to grow, makes this movie not just horrendously long (10 minutes short of three hours), but also far too languidly paced. You wish there had been enough editing of the film’s plot, without quite tinkering with its thought.
Eventually the film’s beats become way too television like. Speaking of which, I’ve seen Zoya’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara at least four or five times on TV since it opened as absolutely the best Bollywood film of 2011. ”
I liked ZNMD but beyond a point there is nothing relatable in that movie. Hritik was a majorly over the top specially when he was a acting as a I-bank guy. He was better in the second half but Farhan was easily the best written role. But even though I could watch the movie, there was a not a single time I could invest in any character – maybe because their hobbies like snorkeling etc was too high end for my liking. Speaking of coming of age movies, Bangalore Days (Malayalam) was the best movie I have seen in that genre. It was everything ZNMD wasn’t and I loved every bit of it.
Good to see another end of spectrum. For me, I totally connect with ZNMD. Totally means more than 100%.. also you could still connect with the movie even ignoring the pact activities which really are the metaphors for their life’s issues. For example, it is really coming of age movie to show a guy who’s already dating a girl and eventually would end up marrying her… just gets so frustrated and confused in life by going ahead with the marriage when it wasn’t his intention at that moment. I don’t think anyone could have imagined that kind of situation in a movie ever and it was so done so brilliantly by Zoya.
@ KRISH – completely agree about ZNMD. I am surprised many here have found it an ‘entertaining’ movie. It was a second-hand DCH at best. It just watered the seed planted in DCH be it Abhay’s marriage conflict [Zinta?] or the ‘maturity’ of Farhan [Akshay]. I could barely complete that movie. It plodded, lagged, and put me to sleep.
And Hrithik as you said was really horrific as the ‘cool’ investment banker [this is another of those Hollywood-borrowed professions; if you are a desi in Europe and successful, let’s make you an i-banker, then let’s try doctors, and then, the lowest of them all – an IT coolie!]. His act — that act over the phone where he barks about shares — was as irritating as dragging nails over blackboard.
And precisely since he is such an artificial, vain actor, he PERFECTLY nailed the role of a vanity-filled actor in LBC. After KNPH, LBC is perhaps his ONLY memorable role. As a complete fake, he was fantastically original!
An Jo I didn’t really see the DCH connection till now. However, I’d say Abhay was Saif (the marriage confusion and the drama around it), Farhan was very much like the mature Akshaye and Hrithik unfortunately was everything but the charming, smug, confident, brash, arrogant Aamir ……. Even though he was an Investment Banker! In the end he was a bit of a wuss. His story could easily have been of a the stereo-typical smug rich boy banker ala Di Caprio who meets his friends after years and flashes his cash in their face. And through the film is bought down a notch or two. Plus he could be fake. And be pretty good at it.
Masand also gave 3 stars. But check this line.. I too had same thoughts.
“Priyanka Chopra’s Ayesha is a curious paradox; the kind of character I have trouble believing actually exists. She’s a successful entrepreneur, a woman of the world, but also strangely submissive when her husband or her father unfairly bears down on her.”
If she’s just working lady(like normal employee), I can understand but when she is a person who started her own company from scratch by selling her jewelry and no help from her father and gets married to Rahul Bose and still continue to be her company’s CEO and then becomes the top 10 young Entrepreneurs of India but when she has to talk anything to her father or husband or mother-in-law, her head is down and low voice. She is unfit to make any point or scared of her in-law and husband. Kinda hard to believe.
Hmmm…in the past few weeks we’ve witnessed family dramas with an elderly Indian father who boasts of his daughter’s sexual independence to prospective suitors and a traditional, small-town Indian husband who watches from the sidelines as his wife feeds the children in her creche alcohol.
And yet, it is DDD that is receiving all the flak, simply because it shows an Indian woman who despite attaining business success adheres to the demure behavior expected of women in her family? Parents’ attitudes really do influence their children and it is unsurprising that PC isn’t assertive when she has been raised by parents with conservative views on how a woman should behave and has grown up seeing their highly regressive marriage.
The fact that she had the grit to succeed in business and that she eventually walked out of the marriage shows that she isn’t a typical saas-bahu character.
IMO there is plenty of truth in all of the so-called cliches shown in the film. For example, we’ve seen plenty of bratty billionaires’ sons who spend their time judging swimsuit pageants rather than worrying about the catastrophic happenings in the family business (Mallya) or who get their daddies to cover for them when they run people over (Ambani) so IMO Ranveer’s character is actually toned down compared to real life examples of feckless business heirs.
Re: …in the past few weeks we’ve witnessed family dramas with an elderly Indian father who boasts of his daughter’s sexual independence to prospective suitors
That is an unfair representation of what actually is going on in the movie and I am sure you are too smart not to realise it.
I think the larger point is not whether what is shown in the movie happens in real life or not. It doesn’t have to. That is what movie making is about. The point is whether the maker is able to sell his characterization to the viewers or not. TWMR ( even if I absolute hated the movie) has been able to do it where as DDD hasn’t been able to do it that well.
Honestly, TWMR did a far less persuasive job of selling its ridiculous strawoman lead (Tanu) to me than DDD. I thought the problems faced by the Mehras were highly plausible, even if their effortless resolution on a cruise liner was too glib and filmy. Kangana herself admitted that she felt Tanu’s characterization was very shallow and illogical and only served to deliver the most shocking/ entertaining one-liners (watch her on film companion with Irrfan Khan).
For example, the scene in TWMR where Tanu visits her husband’s wedding and publically insults Kusum was extremely contrived and merely set up so that the audience could get some satisfaction from seeing this rebel-without-a-cause heroine being insulted and put in her place. Or Kusum, who comes from such an utterly oppressive background, agreeing to marry a much older divorced man and him selfishly pursuing her knowing that he will not only jeopardize her future but that of all the girls from her village (don’t even get me started on the whole Khap panchayat sermonizing). Or the inexplicable subplot with the girl who is assaulted and abducted from her own wedding and then promptly forgotten about!
I actually far prefer DDD to ZNMD (as enjoyable as I found that film) because it doesn’t pretend that the Indian elite exist in an alternative universe. You scratch the glitzy surface and they have a pretty middle class Indian attitude to marriage, reputation, society etc. IMO it’s more reflective of typical Indian social norms than either Piku or TWMR.
Like I said, you can find innumerable real life parallels for any of the situations shown be it the feckless heir who is reluctant to accept the responsibility that is forcefully thrust on him, the daughter who no longer feels part of her parents family now that she is married or the parents who makes elaborate efforts to save face in society. Perhaps that’s the problem; it hits too close to home for some and they would rather see an incompatible couple reconcile and live in misery simply to perserve the sanctity of marriage than see this deconstruction of the aspirational, self-made Indian industrialist family.
All of which isn’t to say that that DDD is a great work of art- it isn’t. But it’s an enjoyable enough comedy of manners with some real bite and it is quite far-removed from the escapist/ aspirational fantasy for the multiplex-goer that Satyam accuses it of being.
To be honest I found ZNMD entertaining.. despite my objections on other counts didn’t mind watching it. I was expecting the same with DDD, looks like it might not be that but it might still be good for home viewing (for never take the terrifying risk of watching this on a big screen!). The thing though is that I can never look at this genre (within the Indian context) outside of its larger ideological framing. Tanu isn’t my kind of thing either and I have some objections here too but it doesn’t bother me otherwise. The DDD sort of thing does. But all of this still doesn’t mean I cannot be entertained by the better film in such a genre. I am never that blinded to the pure entertainment value of a film. I’d rather watch ZNMD than 95% of Salman’s fare even though I have far less objections to the latter. and yes in some ways I find the Zoya Akhtar enterprise much more dishonest than the erstwhile Johar one. Because there were no pretensions there. Here it’s not just about pandering to the multiplexes but the added layer of pretending to be ‘superior’ cinema of some sort. The problem with the Zoya Akhtar fairly unrooted class is that they really grew up (assuming they ever did) with a Hollywood model in mind. At some deep level they consider many Indian genres to be regressive or unrefined or whatever and meanwhile they’re forever trying to clone the Hollywood scene or the film festival scene, as the case might be. But I have a low opinion of any filmmaker who has all these ‘internationalist’ pretensions but is unable to recognize ‘value’ in native genres when many important critics are the world over. Similarly one can make any kind of film one likes but it’s deeply problematic to be that divorced from the contexts of one’s society. You can certainly make a film about upper classes or whatever but it should be something sharper and not just Wes Anderson or something in disguise. I of course haven’t seen the film but when you import situations or lines in this way you make your film seem better than other multiplex films but you still do not anchor it in anything more meaningful. And this isn’t just about over reading films or responding too strongly to them. if it were ‘only’ about films I wouldn’t care but they do unfortunately reflect the attitudes of a certain aspirational class and which attitudes are then available elsewhere too in the media and elsewhere. So Zoya Akhtar’s films invite my polemics because they are ‘symptomatic’. otherwise I wouldn’t care.
I am sure I Will also enjoy DDD more than TWMR which was an embarrassment
My problem with DDD Is that doesn’t seem to be able to strike the balance that ZNMD did.
Zoya is a very capable director and her calling in life IMO is not something like DDD.
Am also not a big fan of Ranveer either. Am glad for Priyanka and Anil Kapoor as regardless of the fate of the film, these two are getting noticed and getting credit.
Satyam- All of your criticisms hold true for ZNMD but not for DDD. This is a good-old-fashioned Bollywood family melodrama, not a hipster road movie or a festival film. If anything, it is a critique of the aspirational new India paradigm; the film has a Vogue-worthy facade, but the problems lurking beneath it are very same cultural and social issues that might plague a middle-class family in any small Indian town.
Rajen – Fair enough. To be fair, DDD does suffer from a painfully slow pace and poor editing. It is nowhere near as well-crafted as ZNMD, but it is a far more sincere film IMO.
PK has hit the 700 crore Worldwide mark as it takes its China business to $14.4 million. Week one was $8.4 million and week two has grossed $6 million.
The Overseas business has gone to $41 million which is 250 crore apprx and the India gross business is around 450 crore. It became the first film to hit 600 crore Worldwide and not has also hit the 700 crore benchmark. Dhoom 3 the previous record holder grossed around 535 crore Wordwide
The China business is showing no signs of stopping with $20 million being the target now.
“Priyanka Chopra’s Ayesha is a curious paradox; the kind of character I have trouble believing actually exists. She’s a successful entrepreneur, a woman of the world, but also strangely submissive when her husband or her father unfairly bears down on her.”
Hard to believe? In which world do you all.live. Haven’t you read how Indra Nooyi after a late night meeting was sent by her mother to buy milk, because there was none in the fridge?
Thanks but that is so passe and I would still find it hard to believe to believe in today’s generation a girl who is around 26-27 and starts her own business and is top 10 entrepreneurs is so tongue tied to speak infront of in-laws or husband. Is there a possibility? Yes. Is it common? Far from it.
As reported earlier R Balki’s next in which we will get to watch a new chemistry; Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan. The duo will be seen as husband and wife in the film. R Balki is known for his out of the box movies like Cheeni Kum and Paa, what has he got for us this time?
Kareena Kapoor’s last movie was Singham Returns which was a block buster and Arjun Kapoor’ was seen last in Tevar, a flop film though Arjun’s acting skills were appreciated.
R Balki knows to spice up things very well so this time the spice is a cameo role of Amitabh Bachchan! R. Balki has probably never made a film without Amitabh in it. If his script doesn’t have him in the lead, so be it a cameo.
Yes! It’s confirmed! Great cast with classic director what more can we expect!
Dil Dhadakne Do First Day Business
Saturday 06 June 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne Do had a decent first day on the strength of metro multipkexes as it grossed around 10 crore nett. The business was very lopsided as metros like Mumbai and Delhi did well but other major cities be it Ahmedabad, Jaipur or Hyderabad did not perform.
The film is basically going to appeal in just 5-6 cities and it is these cities which show the biggest growth on Saturday so Dil Dhadakne will be dependent on what happens on Saturday. If there is no growth or limited growth the film will find it tough.
The business was best in Mumbai, Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore with all mass circuits like CP Berar, Rajasthan, CI and Bihar being low.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo picked up at plexes towards evening shows. Fri ₹ 10.53 cr. India biz. Sat and Sun biz needs to grow to post a good total.
I think Rajen might be right here. Reading some of the responses here as well I’d now be surprised if it trended like ZNMD or got to that sort of total.
It wouldn’t trend like ZNMD. It isn’t that kind of free flowing movie and am not even talking about the entertainment value. It is also more serious movie though worth a watch but has no repeat value. I avoided reading any feedback and went to watch it FDFS and even if I knew about the reviews, I would have still went ahead and watched it over the weekend. It deserves a watch at least for me.
I had really liked the promos and was looking forward to this multi starrer as a follow up to ZNMD. But the issues this movie deals about isn’t simply upscale but it is exuberance at another level where planes are bought and sold type and business rating done on Fortune entrepreneur level. There is nothing wrong there and first 20-30 minutes set you up for a fantastic engrossing fare where even an obnoxious Ranvir seemed in the right zone and Anil, Priyanka were all pitch perfect. If the movie remained in that zone and Zoya had kept the tone of the movie at same level, the movie would make a lot of sense to me but here all those initial reels were simply KJO level of exaggerations and she basically sold-out and made a populist fare which was neither here or there.
All the characters came out looking pretentious and towards the last 1 hour I had lost total interest as to how the characters would eventually evolve. She also made a damn long movie and except Anil Kapoor not even a single character was defined and had any sort of reasonable setting. And then for all the prolonged sequences, the end came across so absurd and hurriedly done that I now have to place Zoya in a ‘wannabe’ category now. She seemed to have taken the accolades of a ZNMD too seriously and wanted to impress more people rather than making a movie with heart.
Haven’t seen DDD –though I can’t believe that zoya is so stupid that she has been persevering with this script for years (beyond kareen-ranbir phase!). There HAS to be something worthy in it
but ZNMD was always a hardtough act to follow
Unlike others I believe ZNMD WAS A CULT CLASSIC !!
as for twmr –kanganas performance there is LEGENDARY…
Two decades back, writing on Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun…?, I argued why it was the quintessential Indian film. The American film mirrored the American society’s reverence for individualism and had a lone hero, a cowboy or an explorer engaged in an act of heroism at its core. For the French and the European cinema it was man-woman relationship at the core. But for Indians it was the family, and no other film before HAHK placed its narrative solely within the ideal of the Indian family. Now we have Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do, not so much celebrating the Indian family as raising some tough questions about it.
Once again I must thank the Indian film reviewers for giving me a great time at a film. It is impossible to miss all the reviews coming out on the very day of its release or even a day before, an almost all of them had given the impression that it was a lightweight and light-hearted romp. Well, the film was anything but. If anything, it was a much heavier film than Zindagi Na Milega Dobara.
I got hooked to the theme of the film within the first few minutes when Kabir tells his mother that he has no interest in running the business and at the same time the only wish, if he was granted one, was that the plane his father owns should not be sold. I knew at that instant that Zoya was an honest director who was letting her characters be who they are and not sugarcoat or airbrush them in any way to fit a preconceived template.
The questions she raises about the Indian family are not new, and they will be asked as long as the Indian family continues in its present format. This is epitomized well my Kabir in his taunt to his father in reply to Senior Mehra’s talk of niti and sanskriti of the older generation. Kabir talks of his father’s philandering ways and his mother’s marital loyalty being nothing but a direct consequence of her not having any place to go. It was brave of Zoya to make a son say this about his parents. But I have often wondered about this while bringing up teen-aged children. Why do Indian parents appropriate the rights of telling their children what to study, how to lead their life and whom to marry? Are they leading such exemplary lives themselves? And just because they are older, they know better? And with our system of kanyadan, will a daughter be given the same status as the son? How is that possible if a marriage is considered a as a ritual of a daughter leaving one’s family and becoming a part of another.
The crisis that the Mehra family is facing is a good construct to frame these questions in the right perspective.
Zoya takes her time in building up the drama, but once the drama gathers traction it is an engaging presentation. The ensemble cast is in top form. I read somewhere that while making ‘ Neerja’ on the PanAm hijacking, director Ram Madhavan auditioned people for the role of all the 223 passengers because each of them was going to be a significant member of the cast. I think Zoya applied the same criteria while choosing the passengers on the cruise. But the main characters played by Anil Kapoor, Shefali Chhaya, Ranveer Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma are all in superb form and the film’s chief pleasure is in watching these actors essay their well-etched roles. Even Rahul Bose manages to come through as an alpha male Punjabi quite convincingly and Zarina Wahab as his mother is chilling. I was touched by the actor playing Farhan’s father, the manager. Such an epitome of a decent human being.
Farhan’s entry makes a big impact in the film. His confrontation scene with Rahul Bose was the kind of scene that gave the film its mojo.
But the film has its shortcomings. Films like Piku ,TWMR, NH 10, Dum Laga Ke Haisa and Badalpur had shortcomings , but those got submerged under their chutzpah. And chutzpah is what DDD lacks to an extent. It is a little calculated, the script structure planned and the pencil lines of the plan are there to see. Except for the last lifeboat scene which can be accepted as cinematic license, DDD is more real, closer to life and more sincere to its theme. But for me that’s not always a winning deal. Reality for me is not good cinema. Craziness is, Energy is. A compulsive sucking in of the audience to the films own world is. An elegant aesthetic pattern is. DDD lacks all of these. There are two scenes which ramp up the craziness quotient well. The one where Divya vomit’s on Rana’s shoes and Kabir makes those quips – ‘ Epic or e puke’ ‘ Vomitonno’ – and the other when Senior Mehra chances upon Rana and Noorie making out, and instead of the couple getting embarrassed, it is he who wants to hide and slink away. There are many witty lines and funny sequences throughout the film, but they don’t have the zing and crazy energy of the two sequences that really fly. (In contrast, almost every gag in TWMR has that kind of zing.) The dramatic sequences on the other hand work better and I wish Zoya had written it as a serious Ibsenian drama of human failings and parent-children tension rather than a social comedy turned serious. And I wish they had thought of a more ‘realistic’ climax than the airport rom-com kind of climax they have chosen, in light of the turn the film had already taken into the domain of serious drama.
Then there is the length of the film, which seems a little desultory because of its sitcom-style narration. If I was the script doctor I would have moved the story out of the ship a couple of times or more and flashed back to earlier lives of the characters and would have come back to the cruise for the climax. That kind of structuring has helped films like Rang De Basanti and Bhag Mikha Bhag appear more colorful and lively that they would have been with a straight-linear narrative. Under the constraints, Pluto’s commentary was a good idea and a film like Bombay Velvet would have benefitted from a similar commentary.
I was very disappointed with the two set-piece songs: Girls Like To Swing and Galiyan Goodiyan. In today’s times you stop the film’s narration to stage a song only if you are going to give the audience a rollicking good time. ‘ Banno’ and ‘Ghani Bawri’ in TWMR did that. But not these two. I appreciate the challenge of the Anushka’s dance number. It had to be a number learnt in London’s dance schools and classy enough to be performed for the guests of a cruise. It is not easy to make such a sing authentic and entertaining. But ‘ Kaisi Yeh Paheli’ with Rekha in ‘Parineeta’ managed to do that and wish Zoya had worked harder to get something as good. The Galiyan Goodiyan song is perfect in thought and so flat in execution. ‘Sajni Vari vari’ in Reema’s own Honeymon Travels had more free-flowing energy. If it was meant to be a string of couplets that the people improvised, it lacked that half-cooked feel. It sounded like just another Javed Akhtar lyrics. The ‘ Wah wah Ramji’ or ‘ Sambadhan’ or ‘ Dhikk tana’ songs in HAH are better examples of how it should be done, where the characters’ own stories and feelings are built into what they sing. I wish someone like Amitabh Bhattacharya had written it. The ‘ Pehli Baar’ song is nicely written and staged. But here too I was thinking how a bit of Mani magic (like in the song ‘Paranthu Sella va’ in ‘OK Kanmani’) would have made the song impossible to forget.
But the shortcoming at a more basic level was the inconsistency of tone. ‘Badalpur’, ‘NH 10’, DLKHS’, ‘Piku’ and ‘ TWMR’ are films which appeared to be consistent whole, each cut from a single specific cloth. But this one doesn’t seem to have made up its mind. And that dilutes one’s enjoyment of the film.
But as I said, there is much good writing and brilliant performances, some well-written funny lines and some well-staged dramatic scenes; and most importantly a strong theme that makes you think. That’s quite enough take-home for the price of a ticket. In fact I am willing to watch the film again for the performances alone.
Good review Utkal. I have one issue which is your expectation/reaction for a movie. Obviously even a flawed Zoya Akhtar (or any good director) movie will have lot of good stuff in it like the performances some great sequences and dialogues. The majority of the critics are giving it 2 to 3 stars out of 5. Even your review will be in that range and infact that is only failure for Zoya’s standards. So, you expect the movie to be 0 stars to call it a disappointment? Like no good dialogues in 170 mins, no good performances, nothing and then you would call it bad? Even a flop or flawed movie can have all of the good traits of a hit and sucessful. Its just that all that good parts doesn’t come together easily and gives a jarring effect to the viewer and movies don’t connect. Also, no one is calling this movie downright bad, its just a disappointment from the director and step down from her previous 2 movies.
You can get something good out of every flop film out there.. some great scenes, writing and lot of good performances but that doesn’t make the movies really good.
Rangan as usual getting to the heart (sorry couldn’t resist) of what ails DDD.
“What’s unforgivable is the complete absence of life. The only heart that’s beating here is the one in the title. There’s a difference between finely detailed and just… slow. Sitting through the 170 minutes (seriously?) of Dil Dhadakne Do is like entering a five-star hotel. The outside noise disappears. It’s all very hush-hush. You feel you’re stuck in an elevator and the damn muzak won’t stop. When Karan Johar made a similar multi-starrer about a dysfunctional upper-crust family, he infused the proceedings with deliciously vulgar energy. The look may have been five-star but the feel was like that of a ghee-soaked dhaba. It was silly, it was fun. Scene after farcical scene in Dil Dhadakne Do cries out for Almodóvarian camp, but Akhtar seems to think she’s staging Chekhov. ”
It is not bad but it is a below average movie; People who thought Roy was slow, this is super slow in many parts. Things don’t move. It is like Barjatya movies with better/updated sensibilities in dialogues but towards end it became loud and Priyardarshanian. I don’t mind audience friendly movies but I think director got confused; First half is hers later it becomes audience friendly. Reema Kagti’s Talaash had dark tone through out but ending became tonally different movie.
ps: *Spoilesr**
When you are making a relatively serious movie, you don’t have place for Anil Kapoor heroics; Be holding Rahul Bose by throat who is much stronger and younger; or the whole boat theatricals.
Exactly what I said.. hopefully Utkal Uncle agrees now. The issues are the most cliche from older hindi movies and just set in rich family.
“This is essentially an update of a 1960s family melodrama. It’s all here – the line about how, after marriage, beti parayi ho gayi; the concern over log kya kahenge when they hear about a divorce; the mangni toot gayi tragedy; a father’s expectation that his daughter should gift him a grandson; the rich girl falling in love with her father’s manager ka beta…”
“What’s unforgivable is the complete absence of life.”
Haven’t seen ddd so can’t comment on it -That’s what I say about (most not all nowadays) Rangans reviews.
These are people who are treating or critiquing films but have no idea of what ‘art’ is …
It’s one thing buying an expensive painting & adorning your living room with it but not knowing that it’s actually a ‘fake’ (but hey Buber paid big bucks 4 it!)
Just like ‘reebok’ and ‘reebuk’ as in twmr (quoting kangs!)
Infact these chaps have never really ‘lived’
They watch and review films like an ‘office job’
Anyhow
It’s one thing (& much safer) to say that a Satya/ iruvar is a cult classic
& there are many rangans and ‘Satyams’ to state this fact
It’s another to say that ZNMD was a modern day cult classic
By choosing to play safe, Amitabh Bachchan has become a stranger to his own image
“This safety-first Bachchan is more painful to watch than the eponymous caricature of his own self in Lal Badshah and Mrityudata, the two box-office duds that ended the legend of Angry Young Man on screen. Why should he feel vulnerable, what is he afraid of losing, what stops him from speaking his mind? At 73, why does Bachchan—Padma Vibhushan, Star of the Millennium, Brand Ambassador of Narendra Modi’s Gujarat— act like an insecure aam aadmi? Doesn’t he yearn for confrontation in the cage of compromise he has chosen for himself? Doesn’t he wish to break the Zanjeer that makes him sound so Majboor?”
Have watched Dil Dhadakne Do and the only good things about it are the cinematography and Priyanka Chopra. She looks and acts like an old time Hollywood superstar. I used to believe she always tries too hard but never hits the mark. This time maybe because the role is of an elegant demure woman, Priyanka captures her pretty well. There are some amazing moments like the first close up when she walks out of her first family council or when Ranveer sees her crying from a ship’s porthole (this was the finest moment for the actor.)
Apart from her, the characters are all stock characters and their evolutions are merely operative. Case in point is Rahul Bose who was all nice and decent throughout the movie but lets out a regressive remark just when Farhan has to make a move on Priyanka.
Biggest problem with the movie : Aamir’s voiceovers for the dog. The pedestrian narrations take so much time and offer so little, the film would improve tremendously if all of it has been cut. Second biggest problem is lack of wit. Both Piku and TWMR succeeded because of the felicity of their wit. There was only one genuinely funny line in DDD: “humein jobs kaun dega” one. The others are too glib and fail to hit the mark and even those are very few in the movie.
According to many, he is the most adorable member of the DDD family. And Pluto’s most redeeming feature is the fact that he speaks in the voice of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. Dil Dhadakne Do, that opened to glowing reviews, has also sparked off curiosity about the pooch. Like all principal actors — Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Anushka Sharma — Pluto too is an important member of the ensemble cast.
He is the raconteur of the story and gives it a philosophical twist, making the tale absorbing and believable. Says a unit hand, “Like all other characters, Pluto too was Zoya’s brainchild. She went to great lengths in choosing a pet whom people would find adorable.” And when she gave her friend Aamir a narration he fell in love with the pet. At that stage, Javed Akhtar (Zoya’s dad) had done the voice over for the dog. When Zoya casually asked Aamir whether he would be willing do dub for Pluto, the actor readily agreed. While it may be a first for a Bollywood superstar to have lent his voice to a dog in a live feature film, Aamir’s reason for doing this was because he wanted to be a part of Zoya’s film in some way or the other.
I would have preferred if they retained Javed Akhtar as pluto’s voice. Brings the philosophical aspect better than Aamir Khan. But looks like Zoya fell for the star trap and trying to fill with every opportunity possible.
Master – I’d posted earlier also – check this again: Aamir’s cameo in zoya’s LBC was so wonderful that i thought Zoya’s next film would be a full-fledged film starring aamir……..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE0DZZoLaI
probably she considers him a lucky mascot? also the writers for DDD are ZA and reema kagti (Talaash fame)…………
Dil Dhadakne Do showed solid growth of around 20-25% on Saturday. It the film had manged to grow over 30% it would have set it up for very good run but still its good growth for a Saturday where a film has opened at 10 crore levels. The second day should come in the region of 12.25 crore nett.
The major centres have grown in the 25-30% region while smaller circuits are looking at 10-15% growth. The film is scoring well in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Bangalalore with these areas all likely to have growth over 25%.
The film is behaving best in Mumbai and Mysore with Mumbai likely to be around the 8 crore nett mark in two days while Mysore will be close to 1.75 crore nett .
Probably points towards a 52 -55cr 1st week and around 80cr lifetime. It would need out of the norm trending to go above that. It would look like disappointing results finally if it can’t cross the 80cr mark. The distributors shares are going to be on the lower side.
It will need a further big jump on sunday (which is doable) and then sustain during week-days and next couple of week-ends (which is not given).
Actress Aarthi Agarwal, 31, who has acted in 21 Telugu, Tamil and Hindi movies died after suffering a cardiac arrest due to respiratory complications at a hospital in the US on Saturday. Only on Friday, her latest film ‘Ranam 2′ in Telugu was released across theatres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Aarthi, who suffered from asthma for several years, had undergone a liposuction surgery about a month back but post-surgery she developed respiratory problems and is said to have suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday while recuperating at a hospital in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Aarthi, who was born and brought up in New Jersey, first made her acting debut in Hindi movie `Pagalpan’ when she was 16 which did not do well. She moved to Tollywood and made Telugu debut with `Nuvu Naaku Nachav’ in 2001, which went on to become a hit. She did two other Telugu films that year, which also did very well.
She became the toast of Tollywood and in 2002 she did four films, three in 2003 and four movies in 2004. She is one of the few non-Telugu speaking actresses who went on to work with some of the biggest Tollywood stars like K Chiranjeevi, N Balakrishna, A Nagarjuna, D Venkatesh, G Mahesh Babu, Ravi Teja, and NTR Junior.
Her sister, Aditi Agarwal, is also an actress. Aarthi was the lead actress in the 2002 the hit Telugu movie `Nee Sneham’ in which the lead actor was V Uday Kiran who committed suicide in January, 2014, after failing to get any new roles which landed him in financial crisis.
In 2005, Aarthi acted in five movies, including a cameo appearance, which was her career high. After acting in three other movies which did well, Aarthi’s career slumped in 2007 in which she did not get a single offer. Sources in Tollywood said that Aarthi was one of the many young Telugu actresses who are battling depression and obesity after hitting a rough patch in their acting careers.
In fact, Aarthi is believed to have tried to commit suicide in March, 2005 at her home in Hyderabad after failing to get new film offers as the four films she acted in that year failed to do well. She was also allegedly romantically linked to a Tollywood actor which ended bitterly.
“From 2008 to 2015 she worked in only four films and was almost forgotten. I think she had put on weight and had decided to undergo surgery,’’ an official of the Movie Artists Association said.
A teary-eyed Shashank (Aarthi’s Father) explained the whole episode while speaking to the Telugu news channels. Aarthi was supposed to start working for a new project from July this year and she preferred liposuction to be fit by that time. The surgery which was carried out by one of best doctors in New York went off well but Aarthi complained of breathing problem after some time. Doctor came for a home visit and assured the family that such minor complications are quite common after a surgery. As the condition kept deteriorating, Family Members called the Doctor in the night and the physician told there is nothing to worry apart from asking to bring her for a personal visit on Monday. Just after half-an-hour, Aarthi Agarwal lost her breath completely and she was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Her heart failed to respond and doctors have declared that she was brought dead. ‘I don’t have words to speak right now. We have lost the soul of our family,’ he told.
– See more at: http://www.gulte.com/movienews/39315/Aarthi-Agarwals-Death-Family-speaks-out#sthash.anrvR93c.dpuf
So in the end, even though the man realizes that the girl with the inner beauty, the woman of substance, is who he should actually spend his life with, it is the woman with the outer beauty, charm and guiles who manages to hold on to him. And is this what happens in real life? Do I really need to answer this question?
So am I blaming the beautiful woman for this? Not at all. Everyone has the right to be what he or she is. I don’t advocate being moralistic about anything in life. Do I blame the simple woman, the plain Jane for her devotion? Of course not. The only person I’m blaming here is the man, who is wise enough to perceive the true beauty of a woman, and is yet ultimately so blinded by external beauty that he foolishly goes back into a relationship that is bound to give both the concerned parties future grief and misery. And yes, probably all the men in the world are like that.
A man usually knows what will make him truly happy in life. But he will still desire only those things that will make him seem like a success in the eyes of other men
Dil Dhadakne Do Day Two Business
Sunday 07 June 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne showed growth of around 20 % on Saturday as it grossed around 12 crore nett taking its two day total to 22 crore. The growth is decent and collections are at decent level. The first two day business of Dil Dhadakne Do is as follows.
There will be growth on Sunday but it is sometimes limited for multiplex films especially ones that are doing best in metros which is the case here. Monday will be all important for the film.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 6h6 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo witnesses GOOD growth on Day 2. Major centres/plexes are rocking! Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr. Total: ₹ 22.80 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 9h9 hours ago
#PK creates HISTORY in China. Crosses ₹ 100 cr on Sat [6 June; 16th day]. Total: $ 15.88 million [₹ 101.81 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
Apart from that Shefali Shah’s character gorging on those brownies in frustration/depression which was LMAO scene, another original / redeeming factor was how the romantic track began between leads. Looking at the innovational new age romantic scenes of Ranvir and Anushka in DDD one starts to feel there is such a dearth / scarcity of good romantic movies lately and these new actors are idiots not capitalizing on this age old / tried and tested genre to build up their innings and build their fan base. Plus there is an added advantage of not having to compete with SRK/Aamir Salman/Akshay who are passe and can never get back to doing this romance effectively.
What a lovely, infectious track and esp. the tune is contemporary / cutting-edge something we experienced during DCH title track –
I doubt we have heard the tune at this point in song – Laga ki tumse milna tha tabaahi , Iss dil ko hi samjhaane maine kahaa
Pehli Baar is a wonderful trcak and Ranveer and Anushka absolutely nailed. And the younger actors are building their brand with romantic films. Ranbir and deepik adid it with YJHD. Deepika did it with Cocktail, Raam Leela. Varun did it with Humpty Sharma. Ranbir i sgoing to do it again in Tamasha and Yeh Dil Hai Mushkil.
Utkal its been 7-8 years since they are in circulation and they are far too few to name plus btw where are Ranbir & Ranvir fans ? In today’s ‘young’ India / market where 100 cr is simply a 3-day deal , they are even struggling to reach a 50- 70 Cr lifetime totals ?
Don’t you think just out on the basis of his fan base, Ranbir should be commanding at least a 80-90 cr for BV. They haven’t build up any brand and that is easier with romantic genre where likability factor is easy to acquire.
I mean where is Bobby, Love Story, MPK, QSQT, DDLJ of this generation. Look at Imran Khan’s career where he started well with Jaane Tu….well and don’t know what made him do a Kidnap or a Once Upon A time Mumbai and be totally clueless in them and get out of circulation so soon. Even a Ranbir after a stupendous YJHD, jumped on to meaningful cinema far too soon and I consider him a bit of ‘dhakkan’ trying to do a Salman with Besharam a bit too early where he should have just focused on being natural successor to SRK and done breezy romantic stuff.
Ranbir fortunately now has a Kjo who somehow has taken to his cause and out to prove him to be the next superstar. Sensing BV disaster well ahead of time, KJO was quick to resurrect Ranbir by announcing Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and that too under his own direction which adds more value to the project rather it just being a Dharma project.
On an aside there seems some undercurrent of battle running between kjo and srk and and until now it’s not out in the open. Seems like KJO out to prove something to SRK with Ranbir…
“Don’t you think just out on the basis of his fan base, Ranbir should be commanding at least a 80-90 cr for BV. ” No. Ranbir’s fans for his romnatic films got Roy a start of a level same as that of Akshay Kumar’s actiiners. You will see how he opens Tamasha. Ranveer, yes. He should capitalize on his super turn in DDD and do some straight romantic films.’he should have just focused on being natural successor to SRK and done breezy romantic stuff.’ Agree 100%. You have to play to your strengths
Nice to see the Pesident and Bachchan in one frame Two gentlemen who are pride of India. Wishing Bachchan long innings and many more accolades. He looks so handsome.
Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar says the bond between brothers and sisters is not well represented on the big screen in India.
“I’ve always wanted to make a family drama. Drama is my favourite genre. Brother-sister relationship at the core hasn’t been well represented on Indian screens. It’s always wrapped in rituals, never what it really is. Nobody else knows you better. I wanted to show that relationship in Dil Dhadakne Do,” Zoya told reporters after the screening of her film at the Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards here on Saturday.
She hoped that the film, which revolves around a dysfunctional family with actors Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh playing siblings, moves people. “I hope it moves people and entertains them. I hope they think about the things that they don’t think about,” she said about the film, which released on Friday.
Dil Dhadakne Do also stars Zoya’s brother Farhan Akhtar, who believes Zoya makes films that are universally applicable. Zoya said found working with her brother easy.
“He (Farhan) became a part of the film since its scripting process. He has written the dialogues of the film,” she said.
Zoya also said she felt ‘blessed’ because superstar Aamir Khan accepted her request to be the voice of a dog named Pluto in the film. “Aamir has been good to Farhan, Ritesh (Sidhwani) and me. He saw the film, liked it and he was on for Pluto,” she said.
Imaginary Conversation Over Master’s Comment that for this blog PIKU is bigger hit then TWMR.
SS (Satyamshot) – PIKU is bigger hit then TWMR
VC (Virat Kohli) – MC/BC But TWMR will do Double then PIKU with lass production cost how is it Bigger hit.
SS – PIKU’s theme is multiplex based.
VC – So ? MC/BC TWMR’s theme is single screen based. Going by multiplex ticket rates PIKU should earn more.
SS – But TWMR theme is more massy while PIKU’s is classy
VC – MC/BC…Seedhe kyon nahi kehte ki Amitabh ko Zindagi main pehli baar 50 cr paar kiya hai isliye PIKU is bigger hit then TWMR.
Forgot to tell you early on that this blog isn’t a place for kids (actual ones or those masquerading as adults). Of course not even ‘kids’ “pray” for the success of Ranveer Singh’s films. But then their hearts don’t flutter for him the way yours apparently does..
The film did its best business in Mumbai belt follwed by Mysore, a belt known for the performance of urban niche films. The film did show good growth over the weekend with good jumps on both Saturday and Sunday which means the word of mouth is on the positive side.
This being an expensive film, the need of the hour was immediate escalation in days to follow. While there was good momentum on Saturday and Sunday, it wasn’t monumental enough to bring the film into a situation from where it can be said with utmost certainty that it would enjoy a really good run for itself. With around 38-39 crores* in its kitty, the film’s collections are in the same range as Tanu Weds Manu Returns opening weekend. However, the Aanand L. Rai directed film had seen massive appreciation at a much lesser number of screens while Zoya Akhtar has a lesser target audience on a bigger screen count.
Dil Dhadakne Do had a first weekend of 36 crore nett. Its a pretty good weekend considering that the film is mainly collection in just 5-6 cities. The trend was also pretty good with a 20% increase on Saturday and 17% on Sunday. The Saturday growth of 20% could gave been better but 17% on Sunday is good for this type of film as does not have mass support.
Dil Dhadakne Do has done very well Overseas with collections set to go past $3.5 miilion and maybe even a little hugher. The best performance is in North America where collections will come in at around the $1.5 million mark. United Kingdom is looking at £220,000 gross while Gulf will be around $1 million.
The three major markets will be around $2.9 millionand easily the rest should contribute enough to take it over $3.5 million. All three main markets of UK, US and Gulf have seen the best openings of the year. The best opening prior to Dil Dhadakne Do was Tanu Weds Manu Returns at $2.75 million.
The performance in North America is best with weekend figures beating all the releases of 2014 apart from PK and Happy New Year.
Someone ( Shrabonti) on Rangan’s blog who has elaborated nicely on some of the points I had made in my review:
I agree with almost every word Utkal has written in his first, long comment. The film was much deeper, denser than ZNMD, and its observations of marriage and protocols within marriage were so spot-on my husband and I turned to look at each other spontaneously in the theatre quite a few times with a guilty, sheepish look on our faces. For eg, when Shefali tells AK someone dropped out from the cruise and he says ‘Achha hua, 8000 Euro bach gaye.’ Or when she berates him for taking money from Farhan, money he had leant him to get out of the way. There is just so much to like in the movie. Each frame was a delight. And people who feel that characters such as the intelligent, nerdy girl who keeps making fun of everyone were “underused” — well, the film was not about them and I’d rather have interested characters popping up everywhere than boring stereotypes.
This is not to say the film doesn’t have its flaws. The framing device of the dog is truly cringe-worthy. But everyone acts so well, everything is so tightly woven together, that I for one couldn’t look away. And it’s such an inherently progressive film — not just in its big ‘let the Mehra who knows business handle it’ moments — but in small moments such as the one where Ranvir turns up yet again to pester Anushka at her rehearsal and she snarls at him ‘This is my place of WORK. Just leave’. Or the subtle manifestations of tensions within the family, when early on, people who had decided not to bring it up talk about the invitation with the missing Mehra name just to score a point against the others. Pure gold, man. How can anyone not love the scene in the medical cabin after AK has had his health scare and the family are, finally, alone and have a mindblowing fight, with Ranvir turning around and telling his father — ‘Woh dancer hai, aur Mussulman hai.’ Note the choice of words, wanting to create maximum impact. I can watch the film all over again for that scene alone.
Dil Dhadakne Do is the biggest worldwide opener of 2015 edging past Tanu Weds Manu Retuns. Dil Dhadakne Do grossed grossed 48 crore (GROSS) in India and grossed 21 crore apprx Overseas for a Worldwide GROSS of 69 crore. The top Worldwide openers of 2015 are as follows.
1. Dil Dhadakne Do – 69 crore apprx
2. Tanu Weds Manu – 66.50 crore
3. Gabbar Is Back – 62 crore
4. Baby – 47 crore
5. Piku – 44 crore.
The top three which are Dil Dhadakne Do, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Gabbar Is Back have a gap to the rest. Comparatively the Dil Dhadakne Do Overseas performance is better as it is among the top twenty openings of all time while India figures are just outside the top thirty.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns continues its victory march [Week 3] Fri 2.70 cr, Sat 4.18 cr, Sun 5.40 cr. Grand total: ₹ 129.01 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
Looking at its speed, #TanuWedsManuReturns is looking at ₹ 140 cr/₹ 150 cr biz in India. May even cross that figure. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 4h4 hours ago
#PK is UNSTOPPABLE in China. Total till Sun [7 June; 17th day]: $ 16.71 million [₹ 107.07 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
On target to get close to $20mm in China. 100 crores in one territory overseas and in India 100 crores is considered amazing.
Quite remarkable that the US number of $10.6mm was monstrous and historic, a good 30% ahead of the next best Dhoom 3’s $8mm (which itself was over 20% ahead of 3 Idiots $6.5mm, and 3 Idiots was way ahead of everything before its time by over 60%, with MNIK at $4mm the previous record holder) and now China completely hits one out the park, nearly doubling the US record by the end of P.K’s run.
Pretty sure Dilwale will challenge the US figures given the track record of SRK/Kajol grossers but seems the Chinese aren’t that interested in SRK films yet…think Happy New Year made about 100 times less then P.K will.
The PK Chinese number is quite stunning and really should be getting a lot more attention than it has. On Dilwale I’m unsure whether it will sustain even if it opens very big. Because the Rohit Shetty films typically don’t trend extraordinarily whether in India or outside. If however he makes more of CE kind of deal where it’s all about the lead pair he might possibly have a chance. Still I’d say that number is hard to beat, i.e. in the absence of a film that truly connects. Will say though that Dilwale is in a way SRK’s last bid for some sort of relevance in the top bracket. Clearly he’s not with Salman and Aamir at the moment. One can establish this any number of ways. But he could still be considered a cut above the rest (or at the most Hrithik’s with him here). However he’s completely run out of big film options that can do the trick for him. He’s clearly not working with Johar at the moment (why couldn’t Johar’s next with Aishwarya feature him.. I have to say this combo would certainly be bigger at this very moment than the same with Ranbir, certainly overseas), even Farah Khan didn’t work out for him this time the way OSO did last time. There isn’t a big Yashraj film on the cards (it’s smaller stuff like Fan). Rohit Shetty is really his only big ticket at the moment. And here a CE repeat with greater numbers at both ends accounting for inflation and so on is really the best he can hope for. Unless Shetty has surprisingly made the best film of his career! That’s still going to be a very long way from PK. Salman is too but he’s in the zone in other ways. You get the feeling with SRK that if he can pull of a CE and then do some smaller films he’d be back to Shetty a couple of years later with another younger star or whatever. it’s not much of a plan. Even this late in the day SRK rather surprisingly seems unable to do some serious reinvention. Particularly strange given all the opportunities that are available today unlike say the 90s. Then again SRK has wedded himself so much to the idea of the big gross that he now cannot leave that history behind. And his ‘Khan’ generational peers have made this even harder for him.
It should be getting a lot more attention given this is very early in the cycle of Chinese releases. If you consider how the UK/US markets were cornered in the mid to late 90’s, none of those markets showed this abnormal type of grosser so early on. SRK built it up bit by bit, every release got bigger and thereby records kept following but not at this level of enormity. The poster film overseas still pretty much remained K3G by in large for many years. That was the peak with MNIK doing some damage, maybe KANK and OSO along the way.
But 3 Idiots, D3 and P.K have not just “added” at that rate that SRK films were doing. They have completely destroyed records. The rate of knots the records have gone are similar to the benchmarks in India for these 3 films too.
Can see Dilwale getting a record opening. Overseas invests “a lot” more in the marriage of SRK and Kajol than India does for sure. Can see the US and UK opening to storming results, but agree with you that the sustaining power will need to be there to get the big numbers. And big numbers for the overseas still remain 3 Idiots for everyone that isn’t Aamir Khan, let alone D3 and now P.K.
I think even Aamir will struggle getting to 3 Idiots for the time being, certainly Dangal does not sound like the kind of film that is going to set any kind of records IMO.
Definitely does not seem like SRK-Johar get along the same as before. I don’t think MNIK did much for SRK and he probably realised that. Think if it’s his decision he’s made the right call but then going back to Farah for HNY is not great wisdom either. He can rely on Rohit Shetty to produce something safe.
The results are pretty clear now about his standing though now. Don’t think it can be disputed but his last “top” year was 2007. That is now many years ago. Since then Aamir-Salman have pretty much decimated his records in every sense. He can hang with them, but like Hrithik he just does not have ability to pick a project that will open big and sustain. Salman doesn’t really have this ability either but he has clearly a much more loyal fan base then anyone.
I think people tend to overlook the main factor about the repeat value. Not every good movie or loved movie has repeat value. Reaching the maximum ‘unique’ people to watch a movie is different than maximum tickets sold. I don’t think you are really getting new audience when PK does huge amount over D3 or 3 Idiots. Yes of course, some percentage is additional and new but majority of them are the same folks watching it multiple times. For example, even though if someone loved K3G, I don’t think one would have patience to watch that movie 2-3 times in Cinemas especially at 3:45 mins duration. Good to see full blown masala action like Dhoom3 doing huge business and movies like 3 Idiots and PK if connected or loved does have huge repeat value and its easier to watch it multiple times than an emotional saga.
“I don’t think you are really getting new audience when PK does huge amount over D3 or 3 Idiots”
well but this is why one shouldn’t just look at the absolute gross. The 205 crores or so 3I is much more than the PK gross when one makes all the necessary adjustments. Put differently 3I would have grossed a lot more than PK today. Having said that PK is still worth more than every other big film including D3. Nothing else is even within striking distance including the latter. And then so far nothing is within striking distance of D3 either. So Aamir owns these records whichever way one slices or dices them. And if one then wants to get into individual genres he’s been doing uniquely well here for a much longer time. Even today I’d maintain that no one else could have got Talaash to that number. Clearly this film didn’t trend well at all and in fact poorly given Aamir’s standards. Nonetheless he made this film a ‘must watch’ for many people in week 1 which is why it got to that big number. Otherwise even with big stars you’d probably see a 50-60 crore close here. For all these reasons (and more) and even accepting Salman keeps producing these big initials one after the other I think there’s a certain unfairness and anti-Aamir bias to this whole narrative. If a guy has PK, D3, 3I, Ghajini there’s simply no room for debate. Specially when Salman despite the big openings doesn’t break those records either barring probably with ETT and even here just a bit later a pure multiplex film like YJHD did as much.
But getting back to your initial point this is precisely why one cannot look at absolute numbers. From the length of the film to competition to genre to scale of production to co-stars to sequels etc one has to look at a variety of things. Again when someone like Aamir does it consistently for 15 years with many different directors and genres it cannot be said that he’s dependent on any one factor. So Dangal might be a very successful but it would be absurd to use D3 or Ghajini standards here. The same for TZP or RDB or anything else. There is always a ceiling on a given genre, the right star or film can maximize it but cannot shatter that ceiling altogether. So no matter how much an audience loves Talaash it’s not a 200 crore film (without of course altering it altogether and making it a lot more audience-friendly.. but then you have a different film).
And so it’s true that not every film that is liked a lot has great repeat value just as some films that do have this are not necessarily appreciated the most (3I was off the charts so this is a different deal). But this cannot be used as an excuse to justify lots of big films that are total under performers if not failures if one gets past the initial. with Shetty yes he just isn’t the sort of director who invests enough on a film to make it more than watchable with some very entertaining moments. this on a good day. So to expect him to trend like Hirani would be odd. On the other hand this is always true. The best trending films are usually the best made ones too, relatively to dominant genres at any given point. This can’t be held against the director or star. A somewhat absurd logic has crept in over time where proponents of certain stars who usually act in junk films actually hold it against people like Aamir for doing good films. It’s like saying Sholay doesn’t mean much because it was exceptionally well made! Or saying things like ‘anyone can act well in a Scorsese film, the key is to act well in Fast and Furious’! All these cynical and downright silly arguments are advanced from time to time. Not saying you’re doing it but this sort of claim often becomes the surround sound if you will. So on K3G it wouldn’t be about ‘patience’ if it were a much better film. It was enjoyable enough to be very successful but not so enjoyable as to overcome that length hump. On the other hand I suspect that even at 3 hrs it wouldn’t do significantly more. Because we’ve seen many 2.5 hr films too that follow the same trajectory. Time in a film is also relative. With lagaan the 3 hr 45 min just went by. With K3G even if it was enjoyable things dragged at points. People could have probably seen 3 hr 45 min of 3I! JA was long, opened weakly but it found a certain audience and trended well from that point on despite the length and despite not attracting a universal audience. So films that are liked find a certain mark. At least in some of these genres you can understand why everyone wouldn’t take to the film. But the most commercial films with everything in place underperform. There’s no excuse for it and then when you see the films you’re not surprised. On your final point it might seem like comedies are easier to watch more than heavier stuff. Probably true to some degree, at least today. On the other hand Ghajini still trended better than every comedy out there (barring Hirani’s) and every light masala entertainer as well. It’s not as if others have made such films. Most just don’t try this sort of thing.
In fact Rajen and K3G will be like the Maratha Mandir / DDLJ of the television world. It will go on forever so long as Rajen turns up to watch it. And only needs the one viewer to keep it going.
Ha! but in all seriousness and despite it being stagey at points it’s probably his most even film. But in terms of individual sequences I think he’s been best in a couple of moments in BB (the mother scene for example) and the then the initial train sequence in CE. He’s been truly inspired here and genuinely funny, unfortunately the films otherwise tend to be business as usual. BB especially he had a number of great things to work with in terms of symbolism and so on and far more situational moments in the script. He’s just not interested in really working hard on any one film.
“pretty sure Dilwale will challenge the US figures given the track record of SRK/Kajol ”
The current US number records are big as well in absolute terms because ticket prices have been below $10 for most part. There is certainly more audience. SRK gets help from more subcontinent audience but he has lost some territory within Indians audience.
I don’t think Dilwale will do anything different from what SRK’s other movies have been doing in US. They all start big but never seem to have legs. And a Rohit Shetty movie is always front loaded outside India. I don’t expect it to play any different unless he has made a truly great movie. The China numbers of PK is probably one of the single most stunning achievement I have seen in the film industry since I started following it. And if it has reached that number it means a lot of non Indians have watched it. This does open a new market but not every movie will have that appeal. Infact I didn’t realise PK had such an appeal too. The movie is good but I cannot fathom how it appeals to a non Indian – all this religion thing and the god man angle which is all very desi. Either ways hats off to that number.
Satyam, I am actually happy SRK is no longer doing a KJo or a Aditya Chopra. His next 2 movies, Fan and Raees are not the typical 200 crores big ticket movies which we would usually associate with him. They don’t look like the circus which you normally associate him with. So atleast it is a step in the right direction, a tad late perhaps. I don’t mind SRK doing a movie with the likes of Anand Rai (who wants to work with him) or Imtiaz. Those films give him a departure even within the romance genre as they are far more rooted romances. Yeah he will have to forego the big grosses but the fact that he agreed to do a Fan and Raees indicates he might be ready for it. And yes I agree with Jay, he should stay clear of Farah Khan too. I don’t mind him doing a Rohit Shetty once in 3 years…His movies have always interested me though I didn’t like CE at all, atleast he attempts to make honest masala movies…
yes but the problem is that the moment HNY didn’t do what it was supposed to he immediately delayed those two projects and got onto Rohit Shetty. You can’t do this sort of thing on the side. He’s tried some of this stuff before too but the desire to produce the super grosser and be seen as the ‘biggest’ always gets the better of him. Admittedly Aamir and Salman have both made life difficult for him. it’s one thing to eventually start losing out to a newer generation and quite another to have your peers do it to you.
I think the trajectory of Dilwale is pretty simple. SRK is going for the biggest initial ever. As usual, it won’t be a complete remake but definitely inspired from some old film. BB was Golmaal, CE was DDLJ. From the reports it seems like Dilwale will be a Hum. 25th Xmas release, Pritam’s hit music, SRK-Kajol jodi, Varun Dhawan after some big hits, Rohit Shetty, OTT promotions and marketing, widest release ever, increased ticket prices. SRK will probably hit 60crore on the opening day probably.
I already know this won’t be a good film, its just a matter of if it will be entertaining. CE didn’t trend as well as G3/Singham/BB and Singham 2 crashed after its huge opening and I’m sure RS is aware of this. Worst case therefore I think is CE type trending which can take it to 300 crores. CE lost half its screen after week 1 because of OUATIM and one medium-big budget film released every week after its release. In this case only BM is releasing before it and it should have 2-3 weeks of a clear run.
This year BO wise will be interesting- Dilwale vs. BB. vs. PRDP. I really want to see how PRDP does and if the masses/family come out for the film like HAHK 20 years ago.
Also it’s pretty evident that Aamir will never be #1 according to the media. During Salman’s court case he was called the biggest star in bollywood. As long as SRK keeps getting the CE/HNY type huge initials, they will put him above Aamir as well. 20 million in China for a Hindi movie is extraordinary, more historic that 3 Idiots/Ghajini/PK’s Domestic gross. But still I haven’t heard about this from the media besides BOI. Similarly 700 crore worldwide gross is extraordinary but once again I’ve rarely heard it. But everyone knows HNY’s first day of 45 crores. Aamir should work on his PR or something. 4/5 of his last films were ATBB and the highest grossing film ever but no one still calls him the undisputed king of the BO.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 5h5 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo has STRONG weekend. Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr, Sun 14.25 cr. Total: ₹ 37.05 cr. India biz. Weekdays [Mon-Thu] are crucial.
Liked DDD a lot…it’s more like a Jane Austen comedy of manners, with plenty of jabs at the ways of the upper crust. I could easily see this as a BBC drama set in 18th century Victorian society.
Agreed most of the plot points are cliched but these cliches still exist world over and Zoya Akhtar is still able to tell the story in a refreshing manner, with great usage of silences rather than an overdone background score.
Also this is one of the best ensemble I have seen in hindi cinema where each and every performance is absolutely on the mark. The final showdown between Ranveer and Shefali Chaaya is spectacularly good and brutally honest. I even liked Aamirs gentle voiceover, comforting stuff like chicken soup for the soul.
Was reading Rangans review, he mentions he preferred Karan Johars gaudy KANK to this film. Very interesting opinion I must say but one I completely disagree with.
I thought Priyanka was good rest of them were adequate. Tonally the movie switches between serious and audience friendly (loud). What everyone is liking the serious sensibility parts but IMO they are far apart.
Dil Dhadakne Do 4th Day 1st Monday Box Office Collections is 6.5 7 cr according to early estimates. The Day 4 Business takes the 4 Days total collections to 43.55 – 44.05 cr.
The film is performing decently well on Monday too with a drop of around 35-40 % from Friday which is very good result and clearly stating the word of mouth is positive. The multiplexes are performing quite well after the weekend too.
The film is set for a good run at the box office for the next two-three weeks at least inspite of the onslaught of new releases in the upcoming weeks.
The film did its best business in Mumbai belt follwed by Mysore, a belt known for the performance of urban niche films. The film did show good growth over the weekend with good jumps on both Saturday and Sunday which means the word of mouth is on the positive side.
Day Wise Business of Dil Dhadakne Do
Friday :- 10.53 cr
Saturday :- 12.27 cr
Sunday :- 14.25 cr
Monday :- 6.5-7 cr (estimates)
Total (1st Weekend) :- ~44 cr
Saw DDD. I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed PK which was the last but one movie I saw in theatre. In PK, anushka failed while here she did better and looked better.
Aamir’s voiceover hardly took around 15 to 20 minutes and it did not disrupt the narration the way every second person is crying. He had a clear voice and clear pronounciation and they were mainly introducing the characters and their traits. Once the movie fell into grrove, they became less and less.
There were many dialogues which evoked laughter among the audience. Ranveer and Shefali Chaya stole the show. PC was adequate and Farhan impressed in his short but impactful role. The music was not bad and in context, they jelled well.
There were fun moments with Rana, Noorie and Ranveer. The film was entertaining, visuals were great and the film did not drag anywhere.
One can empathise with PC. One can empathise even with ranveer as he was always called a failure as a businessman and he started believing it. I felt bad even for Rahul Bose when he said that he did not say being unhappy in the marriage. PC had no answer for that.
The film did not become too moody and was enjoyable for even the not so rich like me.
The cruise was shot well and they were realistic and authentic.
The cycle race between anushka and ranveer in that narrow road was a treat to watch.
I usually watch movies when I feel the criticism is a bit unfair. I also wanted to see BV but it left the theatres too early. The films which I think are overpraised, I catch them on TV.
I watched Piku over BV. There was one another bangaladeshi family in the whole theater apart from us for Piku. I peaked into BV after my show was over and it was running on empty and I felt sad for everyone involved in the movie. There was some scene with Anushka going on the screen and it looked very fake, boring and not engaging enough for me to grab few moments of it 😦
“I usually watch movies when I feel the criticism is a bit unfair. The films which I think are overpraised, I catch them on TV”
Yes, but you would know if it is really ‘overpraised’ or ‘unfairly criticized’ only if you watch it but you seem to take the decision before you watch it 🙂
Another gem of a scene was when Anil Kapoor tries to base compatibility measure upon they both being young, from same community and both playing tennis (Sqaush !)…. he is so dismissive about the whole issue. Probably he does not have the same with his own wife and so since his daughter and S-I-L have a little more frivolous things in common….. they become compatible in his books.
Even when Zarina Wahab asks PC “Shopping Nahi karvata kya mera beta”…. the way we materialize relations in society… I mean if the husband is taking wife out for dinner or shopping… then its a measure of a Happy marriage…. the expression on Zarina’s face is also awesome… sheer bewilderment…. how can u be unhappy with my son… he is not cheating on u and takes u shopping and that should be good enough for u ! The scene hits you with the reality of our society and the mindset problem.
Even the scene in while Rahul Bose says he “allows” his wife the freedom to run her business….. basking in the pride of being such a ‘liberal’ husband…. yet not realising how outdated his thinking actually is. The look on Priyanka’s face…. it conveys a lot. I have come across several such liberal husbands…. have heard this line very often “I have given total freedom to my wife to work post marriage”. The scene really makes you think that how far are we from reality and what we project and what we are.
the scene where Shefali says that she is afraid her husband would leave her and she sticks to him coz she has no where to go…. the scene where PC asks her family to support her more when she is taking the most difficult step of her life.
The above are the scenes which stood out for me…. there are many such subtle gems in the movie.
Zoya is a master of telling a lot in very little….. that’s what sets her apart from anyone else….. its almost as if she has witnessed this first hand ! The movie will fade away from memory but some of these scenes will stay with me.
My views on DDD. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Its very relevant movie which didnt become too emotional and went in a breezy manner. I agree with Sanjana views, pretty much summed it up for me.
I spoke today with a friend who watched DDD and identified with Priyanka’s character. She studied engineering at an excellent university in the USA and came back to Hyderabad to work with her family business (albeit a much smaller one than the Mehra’s empire, and sans assets like private jets) to help it expand. Now, after all her hard work, she is being pressurized into marriage while her underachieving, slacker younger brother will take over the business. She is upset by this, but she will not fight her parents as she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother’s success and she thinks it is inevitable that she will one day become part of another family. And this is a young, ambitious, well-educated woman.
IMO, you have to be incredibly far removed from / in denial of the social realities of India to think that the issues portrayed onscreen are no longer relevant to today’s generation.
I think there are issues even in rich people’s life; It is the treatment which differentiates the movie. My main grouse is that movie is very slow in parts (to masquerade its progressive sensibilities, otherwise it is another KJO film). And in between it does all the things a Yash Chopra/KJO movies have dances, fun and all. It makes an uneven film. (from above comments) TWMR never tries to be a serious movie like PIKU. The tone is even through out (both in PIKU and TWMR). You can always find plot holes and inconsistencies in any movie but it is important where the director wants to position the movie. For example Satyam criticized the ending of Talaash which was a dark movie through out but in end it became very Bollywoodish like digging bones and doing rituals.
Munna- IMO it works along the same lines as an Austen novel (although the two are in no way even remotely comparable as works of art)- It is a comedy of manners with a bit of satirical bite. I think that element of social commentary is essential to any good comedy of manners. So the ‘progressive sensibilities’ and the tone which veered between lighthearted humour and more serious observation didn’t put me off as I think it is usual for the genre.
What they could have done differently, in my opinion, is toned down the melodrama a bit and made Pluto more of an anthropologist rather than a philosopher. The dog’s tone was too pompous and really spoon-fed the viewer. Instead, if he had been merely observing the peculiar/hypocritical customs of his human family with a dry, almost scientific tone I think it would have been funnier and more subtly effective.
> if he had been merely observing the peculiar/hypocritical customs of his human family with a dry, almost scientific tone I think it would have been funnier and more subtly effective.
And then we could have compared it to Jane Austen’s witty dry humour about society and its manners.
“she is being pressurized into marriage”
Is she forced into marraige? Well, one can always say no (to the ‘pressure’). I know many rich kids (in my circle), who didn’t fall to parental (heavy) pressure and are single into their 40s and 50s. Some parents have given up and some still try to ‘pressure’. Parents, at the end of the day want good for their children. I myself would like my kids to get married by decent age, have kids….but in the end, every parent wants only one thing, that their kid is happy in life. Whether you are amir parent or garib parent.
“her underachieving, slacker younger brother”
Who told you that? The sister na. So that is her perception. If you ask the brother he may view her as hyper, over-bearing bully.
I think zoya made a movie which represents her world-view which would always be south-bombay-karan-johar type of world. As a multiplex viewer, you want popcorn entertainment that doesn’t squeeze too much of brain cells.
It’s not just her opinion of her brother, it’s something that her parents occasionally complain about when I go to visit them and that her brother himself jokingly admits to. And why would you would assume she is perceived as a ‘hyper, over-bearing bully’ even when I told you that she is well-educated, hard-working and yet has no desire to oppose her brother’s claims to the business? Your pre-conception of her says everything about the attitude problem that the film is referring to.
But anyway, it is absurd for me to argue with you about my friend whom you don’t even know, so let’s not get further into this discussion. I only offered this example to show that the attitude portrayed in the film- that an Indian son is a son forever, but an Indian daughter is only family until she gets married- very much still exists, even amongst some members of the urban, educated, upper-middle classes.
(a)You friend ought to be mighty grateful to her parents that they were able to afford her a foreign education. So many meritorious girls in India born in a middle class family cannot have the luxury of an American degree.
(b) She ought to be doubly obliged to her papa because even after having a foreign degree it’s very hard to land up a job in this recession. But thanks to her rich industrialist father she was spared the ignominy of having to appear at job interviews and being rejected for random reasons. So many Indian girls have to face this every day.
(c) Lastly, she ought to worship her father that after arranging for her both A class education and an A class job without her having to do anything, now he must be marrying her to some rich kid. Everything is so rosy and easy for her as her big daddy is there to take care of it all. Sadly, most Indian women with a higher IQ and deeper wisdom than your born with a silver spoon friend never get all these perks. They have to slave their way for getting a decent education or a decent job or marriage. Instead of being grateful she wants more? she wants share in her father’s business too? My god!
Are you completely nuts?! Never did I say that she wants her family business, I specifically said she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother inheriting it and believes it is not her right as she belongs to another family after marriage! In fact, I brought this point up in answer Master’s comment where he said that PC’s character was unrealistic because young women today don’t subscribe to such traditional ideas and I wanted to show that yes, some of them still do hold such views.
She loves her parents very much; she is simply upset that her family is pressurizing her into marriage while her brother is being allowed to pursue his career at leisure despite never showing much aptitude or working hard for it. And she is NOT expecting them to arrange her marriage; they want to do it!
Cast your misogynistic assumptions aside and stop stereotyping her as a dumb goldidgger just because she doesn’t constantly cry in gratitude that, despite being an Indian woman, she was allowed an education abroad (that she mostly earned on her own merit). She has an engineering degree from a well-reputed American university and spent her summers working in internships, so she is neither lacking in intelligence nor in experience of the job recruitment process. Her father isn’t a filthy rich industrialist; he owns a medium-sized business and she went abroad with generous financial aid. It isn’t a plush financial empire that she can swan around in, it is hard, unglamorous work requiring travel to industrial sites etc and her father specifically requested her help as the company was expanding and he needed more hands on the deck. It is he who is lucky in this respect as people with her qualifications would typically be recruited by an MNC in India, not by a small family business.
The question isn’t whether she is more privileged than Indian women from a less financially meritorious background (obviously, yes). The question is whether in her own family, her brother always receives favorable treatment despite working less hard for it because it is assumed that an Indian woman doesn’t belong to her paternal family once she marries.
What Priyanka’s character wanted in the film wasn’t money or shares, it was affection and belonging to her birth family! It is a complete red herring to bring in the undoubtedly far worse fate of less well-off women in this context when the focus of the movie was the parents preferential treatment of the son over the daughter and the focus of he debate on this thread has been whether characters like Priyanka (educated, urban, young businesswoman) still behave and think in a traditional manner.
BTW- if you want to discuss this further, let’s debate the principles rather than the specific example. I only brought it up in answer to Master pondering over whether such people like Priyanka in DDD actually exist. I don’t want to conduct an argument over my personal, anecdotal evidence when you have no information of the context or of the person I’m talking about. Thanks.
Or if you want to use example, let’s use Utkal’s as it widely discussed and well-known.
Is Indra Nooyi more privileged, wealthy, famous and rich than 99.99% of the world’s population? Yes.
Does that make it fair that when she comes back home from a much longer and more stressful day at work than her husband, her mother still expects only her to do the household chores? IMO, No
Does that mean she in unwise or ungrateful to use this example from her privileged life to discuss the problems that Indian career women in general face? IMO, No
Does the fact that she is comparing the preferential treatment given to men of her own economic class mean that she is ignorant about the lives of women of lower economic classes? IMO, No.
Can a valuable discussion be had about how powerful these attitudes are if even the most educated and well-off women in our society are not impervious to them? IMO, Yes
Two quick points: (First point here, second point in another post):
(a) If her parents are pressurizing her for marriage against her wish she always has the option of saying no. If saying no creates problems for her, she can always go independent (thanks to the fancy foreign degree which her father provided her with his hard earned money) and take up a job in another organization. I personally think these rich women who had it all easy need to get a taste of the real bad world away from the protection of their fathers. She can say no and stay a spinster all her life!
But she is too smart for that. She knows the chances of finding a love mate on her own would be difficult and it’s wiser to rely on her father yet again to provide her with a groom. Please don’t make it sound as if her repressive family is forcing her to marry. It is her own choice and she must take the full responsibility for it. She cannot lay the blame on patriarchy here. In fact she should thank the patriarchal structure and family system which is ensuring an arranged marriage for her as it is not always easy to find a lover and do love marriage.
She is not the victim of patriarchy here simply because she didn’t say no to the arrange marriage, in fact she is the beneficiary of patriarchy. Very cleverly she has manipulated her patriarchal father to ensure she gets married. Why can’t she say no if she is not interested in marriage?
You may say it is because she respects her father too much and won’t hurt him by saying no? Hence, you mean to imply that even if she has her career aspirations she is subtly forced to sacrifice them at the altar of marriage because of patriarchy?
Suppose I accept this view. Let me give you a hypothetical example. Suppose she was born in feudal times in medieval India and she became a widow. Her father asks her to sit on the burning pyre with the body of her dead husband just as he is asking her now to do arrange marriage. Do you think she will still accept the option of immolation because she respects her father too much and does not want to hurt him by saying no? I think she will scream and shout and make everyone know that she won’t under any circumstance sit on the funeral pyre and get herself burned. She will make sure her no to that proposition is loud and clear. She won’t give a damn about his father’s patriarchal feelings. So why do you think she is giving so much damn about her father’s feeling now when the proposition is for arrange marriage? why is she not shouting and screaming and being emphatic about her no to the marriage? It is simply because she herself wants to get married and is the beneficiary here…not the victim of patriarchy.
LOL! Ok, carry on with your views that Indian women are dumb gold-diggers who are the beneficiaries of arranged marriage and continue to ignore the mountain of easily available evidence to the absolute contrary if that is what makes you happy. I didn’t say she was accepting arranged marriage- she isn’t, she is being pressurized to! She is resisting the pressure, and is in the process of obtaining corporate funding for a startup venture as she needs to quit the family business to make way for her brother. Hence why Ayesha Mehra from DDD reinstated with her.
But in any case, my apologies for trying to debate with you. Please persist with your idea that Sati never happened against the wishes of women in India, I do not wish to continue discussions based on such staggeringly stupid assumptions.
Also, it is a bit rich of you to make comments about her IQ when you obviously can’t even read and comprehend simple English. I quite clearly said that she went abroad with generous financial assistance but it seems your brain cannot process the idea of a woman who can study at a good university abroad on her own merits and you continue with your silly little misogynistic assumption that her father paid for her degree.
“Please persist with your idea that Sati never happened against the wishes of women in India'”
Wow! I never said that. Sati happened very much against the women in India. And there are accounts that women were forced to sit on the burning pyre. However, in this specific case your friend (based on your above posts) is seen to be accepting the proposition of arrange marriage without raising her voice against it. I merely gave the example of sati to show that women do raise their voice and say no when they don’t want something. However, in this case it is clear that marriage is what she herself wants as she is seen to be accepting it. Please don’t blame patriarchy for her decision, this decision is made in her own cold and calculative self interest.
Priyankas exist. I mean Ayeshas. They may have servants to do household chores but to remain in the family, they are expected not to ruffle too many feathers.
Ayesha might have thought that the arranged marriage may work and she tried to make it work. Even Manav wanted it to last. But both were battling incompatibility in their own ways and the cruise incidents made Ayesha to take the final plunge not caring for consequences anymore. The last straw.
Why most of our industries are manned by the sons and their wives?
Many marriages arranged or love turn out to be compromises for the sake of children, society and stability.
David Boon- where have you seen my friend accept an arranged marriage proposal? Have I not clearly said that she is RESISTING the pressure (precisely because she knows she will not be the beneficiary of such an arrangement). Do you not understand basic English? Why do you insist on replying to my comments when you ignore everything I mention and replace them with your own utterly absurd assumptions about my friend? Did I not request that we please continue this debate on the topic of Indra Nooyi precisely to avoid you making such random assumptions about somebody whom you know so little about?
Anyway, this is my final comment on this topic. Thanks for the amusing diversion though.
And Manav had to bear the brunt of his upbringing style which is believing in male supremacy and to cope with a very successful wife. Next time he will opt for gharelu type.
I wish DDD 2 also comes out. How their lives went about afterwards?
What I found galling was that Neelam Mehra was able to laugh and compromise after her husband’s many trips of infidelity. Has that woman lost it completely? That heart attack should have killed Kamal Mehra and she should have been relieved of putting up with a wayward husband. He was worse than Manav.
(b) You are talking about the double standards of her parents. Why can’t she inherit the family business just like her brother can. The simple answer is because after marriage she will inherit the business share in her Husband’s family. You don’t expect her to have both, do you? That she should have a claim in her father’s business also along with her husband’s business. That’s simply unfair. However, if she decides to stay unmarried then definitely she will have a stake in her father’s business as much as her brother. But the problem is that she doesn’t want to take that decision. She wants to get married, so it’s only fair she should waive her claim in her father’s business.
“where have you seen my friend accept an arranged marriage proposal?”
Let me quote you for your edification, since you seem to be having selective memory loss problem:
“Now, after all her hard work, she is being pressurized into marriage while her underachieving, slacker younger brother will take over the business. She is upset by this, but she will not fight her parents as she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother’s success and she thinks it is inevitable that she will one day become part of another family.
Evidence:1: “she will not fight her parents.”
Evidence:2: “she thinks it is inevitable that she will one day become part of another family.”
These are your words. Any reasonable man will make the same inference as I have done. How long U have been having selective amnesia? Have you consulted a doctor?
When I said she will not fight her parents because she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother’s success, I meant she is not disputing his sole claim over the business, as I explained repeatedly in my subsequent comments. Curious how your comments miss this point entirely and keep insisting that she wants to inherit her family business yet you somehow latched on to the bit about marriage pressure. Selective amnesia, perhaps?
And she will *one day* become part of another family, not right now through an arranged marriage but rather when she is more established in her career and finds somebody herself. That she believes she will belong to another family someday was to explain her traditional attitude to marriage and to illustrate that real-life Ayeshas do exist, not to suggest that she wants to get an arranged married right away. I did clarify her current intentions of resisting matrimonial pressure and pursuing a startup in my subsequent comments as I did the fact that her father didn’t pay for her education (which you also blatantly ignored in your subsequent replies to me). Again, this is why a discussion on Nooyi would have been far more beneficial!
“yet has no desire to oppose her brother’s claims to the business? ” What a doormat. She should not marry out of pressure and fight for her rightful share in the business or quit the job at home company and work elsewhere. It is not the world but she, who is educated, would complain but do nothing and fall in line with what her parents want for her, instead of what she wants for herself!!! I understand Ami, where you are coming from. Zoya’s film still applies to that top 10% of population and those are multi-multi not single-single.
She is quitting the family business (as she needs to make way for her brother) and looking to start her own venture, if she can secure the corporate funding for it. I don’t think its easy to demand claims in the family business when you could alienate the very people you will be working with and many women do feel its their brother’s rightful inheritance and it is greedy of them to demand it.
I think its easy to say that an educated woman should fight for her rights but academia isn’t the only form of learning, we also learn from social conditioning. Often, this can lead to women like Ayesha Mehra who are successful in their professional lives but submissive in their personal lives (i.e. not a beneficiary of either the traditional man as the sole provider or of the modern man as a more equal and egalitarian partner, which is why she wants the divorce).
“submissive in their personal lives” Agree. Sometimes it is better to fight for few things that are most important than to try to change the mindsets of people including your own parents. Very proud that she is starting her solo business venture. Please ask her to follow her own path and not fall into marraige just out of pressure. Parents will leave her alone after certain age 🙂
I completely agree. If educated and professionally qualified women do not stand up for their own rights, then it is pretty meaningless to expect the patriarchal society would change its antiquated notions vis a vis women in India. I find it very hypocritical if not outright duplicitous of her if she cannot stand by her feminist convictions and credentials against her own family. It would send a very bad message to females across the nation if she bows down to parental pressure and gets married.
If she decides not to marry then she must and legally will have a share in her family business. She can enforce her rights in the courts. It would be a very exemplary thing to do and stand as a great example to emulate for women all over. But lately I have been seeing that women do not have the spine for the fight. Feminism has become all talk and no action.
” It would send a very bad message to females across the nation if she bows down to parental pressure and gets married.”
I often have discussions with children on various issues. e.g. take “arranged” marraige and what it means. It is how you look at it. If I explain it as blind date, suddenly it becomes a shockingly progressive idea!! I always emphasis that it is not some ‘bali-ka-bakra’ where there is force involved. There is blind date and several dates and each party finds one another compatible enough to proceed. The next step is engagement. Then if things don’t go right, people often break engagements. Getting married in itself is not a problem. Such pressures exists on not just women or girls of the family but also boys/men! Males in my own family uncles, brothers were “pressured” to get married once they were “settled” in their jobs! Some got pressured, some were looking for the parents to suggest and waiting/wanting to get married! It is healthy to get married at certain age in a society where pre-marital/live-in relationships don’t exist (I have seen very orthodox young jewish males with long side-burns in video shops asking for porn). Piku on the other hand, may want to get married but her father thinks it is low-IQ wali baat.
The actors, who made a grand entry on the stage with a pun on the film Karan Arjun, greeted the host country Malaysia with mentions of Bollywood films shot in the South-East Asian nation like Don, Fanaa, Humraaz and the more recent Roy.
The 2 States star took a jibe at the Arjun Rampal-Jacqueline Fernandez starrer, which saw Ranbir Kapoor in a guest appearance, saying, “The film should be called Destroy and not Roy.”
Another Ranbir-starrer, Bombay Velvet, was also at the receiving end of the mockery as the hosts narrated the nursery poem “Johnny Johnny” referring to the Barfi! star’s character name Johnny Balraj in the film.
“Ranbir should be named Roti in the film because his co-star Anushka was called Rosie and that makes Rosie-Roti. And they both took the Rosie-Roti away from Anurag Kashyap’s pocket,” they said.
While the visual was me, the audio was by Wang Baoqiang, a leading actor in China who was I think very generous to do this film. The Chinese Film Group also gave PK a great release across China,” said PK’s star Aamir Khan.
While China produced over 600 films in 2014, largely local, its screen density has quadrupled since 2010 taking the count to over 23,600. This offers a huge theatrical opportunity for any film. “With an average ticket price of $8, any traction that our Hindi films see in this market is going to see a significant spike in the international collections,” said Priti Shahani, president of Junglee Pictures, whose Dil Dhadkane Do, with Excel Entertainment, will be the next Hindi film to release in Chi ..
In fact, China’s film market growing at 34% is expected to surpass the US in the next five years, according to the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA).
Dil Dhadakne Do has held well on Monday with collections looking at around a fall of 40% from collections on Friday. This would give it a 6 crore nett Monday. The fall could be 2-3% more or less but either way its a good hold.
“When I told her I loved it, Zoya said, ‘Listen, I want you to play Pluto’. I was a bit surprised because I thought Javed sir had done a great job. I had loved the film so much that I was just happy to be a part of it and I agreed. I didn’t even think twice. And two days later, I was dubbing for it. That was it,” Mr Khan said.
While the Talaash actor is not literally in the frame, his voice over for Pluto the philosophical dog has been grabbing the limelight given the importance of the character in the narrative of the film. The movie otherwise has actors like Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar and Rahul Bose.
In real life, Aamir Khan is, as he described himself, “a real animal lover”.
“I had two dogs, and now I have cats and a dog. Earlier, I had a boxer named Chhoti and another was a pariah dog named Peanuts. Now I have a Yorkshire terrier, and she is called Imli,” he said with a childlike excitement.
But Pluto, he said, is “quite different from the dogs I have had”.
“My dogs have been quite crazy. Pluto is a very philosophical dog. He is really into observing human nature and has a take on everything. But yes, since I am an animal lover, pets very much become a part of family,” said the 50-year-old, who is father to three children – Junaid, Azad and Ira.
” Pluto is a very philosophical dog. He is really into observing human nature and has a take on everything. ” said the 50-year-old…..”
Did I see the same movie ??? This is so nonsensical and typical of bollywood where ‘til ka taad’ (making mountain out of rye) is being made. So much commentary / hype on Pluto Mehra before release and look at them doing it even after the movie has been released when the audience who have seen the movie know there is freakin nothing which Pluto baba has done in the movie.
What we have is a simple Bullmastiff sitting with a blank face and Aamir mouthing few philosophical lines as voiceover. There is neither any facial or physical movement for us to emotionally connect with this dog. I knew it would be too much for zoya /aamir to do a Seth Macfarlane type of thing and give us some sort of a desi Brian Griffin! But this was plain dumb there are umpteenth examples of voice-over in a movie to take the story forward.
lol…the guy didn’t even do a Tuffy of Hum Aapke Kaun forget doing a Jackie’s Teri Meherbaniya or a Akki’s recent ‘Entertainment’
This is nothing against Aamir. I think you are too much of a movie buff to not buy into this Pluto Mehra ‘hype’ when actually there is nothing innovative to take home. A simple Aamir voiceover would be just fine and it’s been done so many times in the past. I have already mentioned earlier tt lines are well written and competently delivered.
The only voiceover which helped move the proceedings quicker and was a bit funny and inventively done , when lovebirds Ranvir and Anushka’s characters were in the pool taking those laps. But that too was not adding anything to Pluto Mehra’s anthropomorphism.
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Third Monday Business
Tuesday 09 June 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns continued to go strong on its third Monday with collections in the 2 crore nett range. The four day third week business of Tanu Weds Manu is as follows.
Dil Dhadakne Do First Monday Business
Tuesday 09 June 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne held up well on Monday showing a fall of 40% apprx. It was similar trend all over with most circuits falling in same range. Delhi/UP was better. The first four day business of Dil Dhadakne Do is as follows.
The week should go to around 55-56 crore nett which would be a healthy first week total and then remains to be seen how the new releases affect in the second week.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 4h4 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo holds well on Mon. Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr, Sun 14.25 cr, Mon 5.77 cr. Total: ₹ 42.82 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 6h6 hours ago
#PK is aiming at $ 20 million in China. May be even more! Total till Mon [8 June]: $ 17.12 million [₹ 109.49 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
It would have been wonderful with a pet monkey and Salman giving his voice in Bhajrangi style!
It would have been wonderful if it is a lamb and SRK doing the voiceover!
The pompous voice or imperial voice seems to have irked many haters.
Deepika or Kangana or Vidya should have given their voices if the female version of dog was used. Because they are the hottest and poor Aamir is such a good for nothing actor!
I don’t think Aamir is the issue here at all. I think the mechanism of the dog was a nice idea but the tone adopted by Javed Akhtar was simply not suitable for the scenario. You can’t have a gimmick like a cute dog speaking about its masters and then give it such self-serious lines. Instead of spoonfeeding the viewer cliched philosophy I would have preferred if Aamir as Pluto had been more self-deprecating- a witty pooch that was honestly bewildered by the strange habits of its human family rather than an all-knowing pet imparting some precious wisdom to his viewers.
Results from AVA’s laboratory tests, which cover “a wide range of hazards associated with food” showed that the India-made Maggi instant noodles meet local food safety standards, the report said.
The AVA had cleared the India-made Maggi noodles last night.
The authorities also tested Maggi instant noodles produced in other countries and results revealed that these meet the food safety requirements too, the report added.
DDD’s lifetime collections will probably settle at around the 80cr mark. The trending is alright but the opening week end’s collections were not high enough to ensure high lifetime totals.
80cr is probably decent results. I don’t know about the costs involved. But there were some predictions that it could end up being the year’s top grosser and there seemed to be lots of money invested in its publicity when you look at the promotions overdrive. I would find a 80cr lifetime quite underwhelming here.
Agree there Rahul and movie in all likelihood will turn out a flop in domestic market. Yes the overseas income which was always part of the deal will compensate the shortfall and overall it won’t be a losing proposition for anyone involved with this movie.
I think too many silly fights for DDD. I think the average consensus is that movie is no path breaker. It is just about average veering towards disappointment and certainly a step down to Zoya Akhtar. I wouldn’t care for BO for Zoya’s films (like LBC didn’t do anything but is quality movie) but this won’t do even 100 crores domestically with all the starcast and post benefit of ZNMD. All the talk about depth and silences and definitive characters, it isn’t even 50% interesting or depth of Zoya’s film Luck by Chance.
As I mentioned, the foundation script is weak for her to make a movie and unless you really hit the ball out of the park, no need to attempt such a weak script, all you got now is average movie with some good sequences. Even ZMDB script idea looks weak on paper but the screenplay really rocked the movie and turned into a great one(no wonder she swept all the awards). I see nothing like that in DDD. Yes, few percentage will like the movie but that happens with all the movies of good directors as its very rare to deliver a turkey quality wise.
Nothing Zoya Akhtar has made gets even close to the class of Dil Chahta Hai. So overrated. Dil Chahta Hai is still the gold standard for these types of movies even today and I think Farhan probably if given the right opportunity would prosper much better as a director than Zoya.
Well, DCH started this trend of movies so, good or bad, DCH will be rated higher than any of its subsequent followers. DCH is so cool but as a screenplay, ZNMD and even Rock On is way more free flowing than DCH which had rough edges towards the ending. Also, I could see Farhan Akhtar influence in RO and ZNMD as him being part in major way. But the way how remakes can’t be better than originals, similarly influenced films can’t be credited to be better than the original which started this cool wave cinema. Apart from DCH, I think both LBC and ZNMD are way better than Lakshya and DON directed by Farhan.
I liked Rock On and LBC. Some parts of Lakshya I have a soft spot for (the problem with that film was pacing for sure, it dragged at points). I think ZNMD is likeable but very overrated as a film and script. I only found Abhay Deol’s track interesting as the jealousy track and marrying the wrong person track was done with comedy. Farhan’s search for his father was filmy. And Hrithik’s search for life very dull.
This modern, yuppie, hip film for the middle classes, Farhan had the right pulse in DCH. Sure it is always going to be tough to beat the original but I don’t even think any of these films even come close. The repeat value on DCH is very high. And the bro-luv comedy even higher. And the soundtrack smacks all of these films left right and centre. Barring the last 20mins which is a typical Bollywood melodrama, it is fluid and entertaining all the way. A film in that vein would not be setting its sight on 100 crore today for sure. The youth today would take that kind of film to another level.
The way Zoya is elevated, it’s like we are seeing some kind of exceptional story teller. I suspect I will find Piku and TWMR much more enthralling and entertaining, but I should give it go before making that call! Not sure if I have enough courage to watch it though.
agreed almost everywhere.. didn’t care much for LBC but it as watchable. Liked Rock On much more. And yes DCH is way ahead of everything that has followed in its wake. ZNMD was watchable too, probably didn’t prefer any one track over the other but it was alright overall. I’d say Lakshya though more uneven than ZNMD was superior otherwise. For one it was superbly shot, also the first half was good. The second half became too conformist unfortunately but I’d still take it over ZNMD. I’ve even revisited this film and it holds up fairly well. It’s certainly a pity that Farhan Akhtar hasn’t made directing films his real focus. As far as I’m concerned the Don films were a waste of time too. He might have done something else instead. But it’s clear that he just want to be an actor more than anything else.
You will not get a DCH 2. But this will be as close as you can get.
‘After receiving tremendous praises for his work in the recently released Dil Dhadakne Do, Farhan Akhtar is now working round the clock for the music of his forthcoming project Rock On 2. The actor has been completely absorbed into it and is almost working day and night on it.
The multi talented personality, Farhan is working very closely with music composers Shankar Ehsaan Loy for the music of the film.
The music of the film will be one of the significant elements of the film therefore Farhan has been working constantly to get the right feel of it. The music will almost be the soul of the film.
Farhan is jamming along with the music composers way in advance, creating and figuring the right tone of the film. As Rock On’s music created a flutter with the audience, the expectations with its sequel are much more.’
Ami “You can’t have a gimmick like a cute dog speaking about its masters and then give it such self-serious lines. Instead of spoonfeeding the viewer cliched philosophy I would have preferred if Aamir as Pluto had been more self-deprecating- a witty pooch that was honestly bewildered by the strange habits of its human family rather than an all-knowing pet imparting some precious wisdom to his viewers.” You hit the nail on the head. There are portions where the tone is self-deprecatory or ironic. Those parts work the best. The spouting of serious philosophy is a Javed-Akkhtarism that spoilt the poetry trackof ZNMD. That poetry was so sod-school so uncool. How I wish the Akhtar siblings use Amitabh Bhattacharya instead of the Sr Akhtar for lyrics writing duties. But the speaking dog was swell idea, a great post-modernist sutradhar. The idea stlll works half way inspite of the clunky wriing, because of the originality of the idea and its aptness in the narrative scheme.
**But the speaking dog was swell idea, a great post-modernist sutradhar. The idea stlll works half way inspite of the clunky wriing, because of the originality of the idea and its aptness in the narrative scheme.**
Really Utkalda? You are calling this an original idea; this dog-gone idea??
I understand the dog in DDD philosophical sitting on the fence but the seed, the seed is right there in the link.
The sooner one realizes that Zoya and her ilk get almost all their inspirations from foreign shores the better – LBC being the exception but that’s because of being the insider. And TALAASH because of Kagti’s and Kashyap’s involvement.
DCH was an adventure tale for the overgrown boys. I could not connect to that story that much. It was from boys point of view. The only role I liked was that of Akshaye Khanna.
There is some similarity. Preity Zinta’s tieup with an insecure and overbearing fiance and Genelia’s in JTYJN, Kajol’s in DDLJ and now Priyanka Chopra’s not liking her husband.
It is not something new that Zoya invented. Old wine in new bottle.The way it was presented was really good.
The interesting part was that of the older Mehra’s love marriage turning into loveless marriage.
The Boxoffice fate does not decide whether the film is good or not. Because mindless films like Kick and HNY get good boxoffice results.
On the face of it, DDD is supposed to be a more MATURE version of ZNMD. In a way, zoya wishes to expand her target audience by throwing in the uncle, aunty, boy, girl, heck even the dog…
Won’t go into the politics of it all
But zoya Akhtar is a v competent director
Zoya > Farhan as a director (& more!)
Who loves film making and is passionate about films
She is a keen observer and
Her camera lingers on the reaction of the key person(s) in any encounter making us ‘care’ for him /her a wee bit more
There’s a scene in LBC wherein an acting tutor sermonises to students that in Hollywood it’s easy to become a hero
But in hindi films it’s v difficult
Similarly it’s not easy to become a director
But it’s more difficult to be a financially viable director
And it’s more difficult being a financially viable yet ‘ sensible’ director
Zoya restrains her directorial urges
(Along with her ‘partner’ kagti in more ways than one)
DDD is not ‘lesser’ than ZNMD –infact it’s a more ‘grown up’ work
Infact it’s somewhat of a CONTINUUM of ZNMD
But still it’s no wonder that the title of DDD
is borrowed from the opening track of ZNMD …
But somehow I missed something in DDD compares to znmd
Btw it’s good to see people sharing /imparting/acquiring counselling and semi/autobiographical advice here
In the garb of film ‘reviewing’ as witnessed above
A good trend
Ps: ‘bong’ girl thanks for all your lovely tips and advice: cheers
Dil Dhadakne was steady on Tuesday with collections around 5 crore nett. The first five day business of Dil Dhadakne Do is as follows.
Friday – 10,00,00,000
Saturday – 12,00,00,000
Sunday – 14,00,00,000
Monday – 5,75,00,000
Tuesday – 5,00,00,000
TOTAL – 46,75,00,000
The fil should do around 55 crore nett plus in the first week which will be the third highest first week collection of 2015 after Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Gabbar Is Back.
Q. Which film is the biggest opening of the year as different places its different films like Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Gabbar Is Back and Dil Dhadakne Do?
Q. Is Ranbir Kapoor still the biggest young star or are Ranveer Singh or Shahid Kapoor ahead of him due to films like Ram Leela, Haider and now Dil Dhadakne Do ?
Q. Is Tanu Weds Manu Returns the biggest small budget hit after Maine Pyar Kiya?
Q. Can Tanu Weds Manu Returns cross 150 crore?
The immense success of “PK” in India and overseas has given a reason to the cast and crew of the movie to party on Wednesday.
The film, which features Aamir Khan in the role of an alien who questions the existence of godmen and differences due to religion, has gone on to mint Rs.620 crore globally — said to be the highest ever by any Bollywood film.
While in India, the movie is said to have made Rs.340 crore, it has managed a business of Rs.280 crore overseas. The collections, of course, are continuing to grow.
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the film was released in China just last month, and it managed to cross the Rs.100 crore mark there too.
The success bash is a toast to each and every member of the “PK” team who has contributed towards this astronomical success.
The trailer of Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan starrer, Katti Batti will be out this week, on 14th June.
It will be interesting to see this unique pair on screen for the first time. Imran and Kangana will be coming together to launch the trailer on the 14th.
Directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Katti Batti will release on 18th September.
Salman Khan has warned his fans against trolling Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan on the micro-blogging site.
The actor also threatened to quit Twitter if his fans didn’t stop trolling the other two Khans, clearly mentioning that he doesn’t like this ‘negativity’ and is definitely not interested in this ‘ugly war’.
“Jokes aside have nothing against Tanu even it isn’t my kind of deal. On DDD though I’ve been actively rooting for its failure!”–
That didn’t stop tanu rewriting female solo record books
Nor will it stop DDD becoming a decent success
“What’s unforgivable is the complete absence of life”
I actually found DDD good but not outstanding or mindblowing but one can’t say it had ‘absence of life’–
C’mon give the ‘in(ter)dependent’ girls zoya & kagti some credit
Now let’s analyse these voices (& others of their ilk)–I have nothing against them
They remind me of a certain ANGST
an angst that gets elicited for eg when they took their girl friend to a party only to find that she ends up dancing with (even boning) a different guy in front of them lol
One can visualise Rangan spending hours after watching DDD or even TWMR trying to SQUEEZE in punches and allegories and smart quips
Wonder why he forgot he was to do a ‘review’
But that’s what happens with ANGST…
But can we /should we blame these guys or their ‘angst’ –
-No
“Fandango has revealed that Jurassic World is currently outselling every single summer blockbuster from 2014. For those of you with short memories, this is a list that includes X-Men: Days Of Future Past, Transformers: Age Of Extinction, Godzilla, and Chris Pratt’s previous cinematic adventure Guardians Of The Galaxy.”
“It’s also worth noting that Universal is giving Jurassic World the best opportunity to make as much money as possible, because the fourth instalment to the adventure franchise is being opened on 4,237 theaters. That’s the widest opening ever from the studio. It also helps that that the domestic box office projections for 2015 are currently around $100 million down, which could suggest that herds of viewers may be flocking to their local cinemas this weekend, having saved up in anticipation. Because of all of this information, Deadline is estimating that Jurassic World could have an opening of anywhere between $110 million and $140 million.”
Not often do we find all big stars under one roof and that’s exactly what happened at the PK success bash. The Aamir Khan film after making a stupendous business in India, recently took China by storm as it collected over 100 crores there too.
Celebrating this success, the team hosted a party which was attended by several celebrities. Snapped at the bash were hosts Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani. Amongst other celebs spotted at the events, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Zoya Akhtar, Kiran Rao made their presence felt.
Jurassic World Looking To Topple Major Hindi Release
Thursday 11 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
The Hollywood release Jurassic World may do a first and that is topple a major Hindi release on the opening day. There have been many times that Hollywood releases have scored over Hindi films but none of those Hindi films would have been in the level of Hamari Adhuri Kahani.
The early bookings though there are not much of them suggest that Jurassic World will score over Hamari Adhuri Kahani at most of the major multiplex chains. North India seems to have a decent lead for Jurassic World and North has a big multiplex contribution.
Hamari Adhuri Kahani will probably have to rely on the single screens to outscore Jurassic World but that is an unlikely scenario. Its better chance will be strong word of mouth so that the evenings at multiplexes show huge growth which enable it to catch Jurassic World or even surpass it. Jurassic World will release on Thursday at many places so this can also give Hamari Adhuri Kahani a chance if the film is not up to the mark.
Hamari Adhuri Kahani To Struggle For An Opening
Thursday 11 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Hamari Adhuri Kahani looks set to struggle for an opening tomorrow. The film does a have a hit song but the picturisation probably had to be better to translate into a strong box office opening. Also the the main actors Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan are on a lean patch with their last few films not doing well.
The film will also face competition in the form of Hollywood release and the holdover releases Dil Dhadakne Do and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.
The film will may do better in the evening but that probably wont be enough for a good first day so as has been the case for most of the year it all hangs on word of mouth and how much can you grow on Saturday.
The drop on Monday sealed the films fate. Won’t trend well and won’t do much more than 75cr+. After the big success of Piku and TWMR, this one is a underperformer for sure.
This weekend is all about Jurassic World. I don’t have much hope that this will be anywhere near as good as Jurassic Park but I just love monster films, especially the special effects of today.
Then we have some pseudo intellectuals mentioning that Indian audience doesn’t appreciate ‘good’ films. DDD had everything going for it, if it was really worth it, it could have easily done great. ZNMD did phenomenal trending to reach 90 crores from 8 crs 1st day.
There are some genres or films where the bar is high. The audience will accept these films but they have to be excellent efforts. The audience doesn’t give such a film much leeway. This might happen because it’s not a favorite genre or the film is too dark (Talaash for example) or the genre is fine but the film is ideologically on the wrong side of the audience. With DDD it’s none of the above. This could have been a true blue multiplex hit. I even expected it. From everything that has been said about this I think it’s probably an uneven effort. With the lack of a true blue star and/or hot music this probably made it missable for many people who might have showed up for ZNMD. And here I’d add one thing about Hrithik. Though it’s true that ZNMD didn’t open strong despite him (this always happens when a star does something other than a strength genre) it is also the case that in such situations since the star is otherwise popular good or even better than decent WOM might have some of the fans show up. But without that star the film has to receive much better WOM because no one is showing up for Ranveer Singh! Admittedly ZNMD is not the best example for what I’m saying but something like CE is. Because this sort of film has potentially a much more universal audience. When WOM is decent (doubt it was ever great here) SRK’s long history suddenly kicks in and the film does much better than Shetty’s film normally do. On the other hand with BB the film worked but neither star here could really give the film that sort of extra jump. With Abhishek this wasn’t surprising at the time. But Devgan couldn’t do it either. In fairness not many stars are in that category at any given point.
My sense is that this one might be better than the previous two. Ultimately the novelty factor is always lost after the first in a franchise, specially one which depended on dinosaurs. I enjoyed the other two as well but the second one was ‘too much’ in some ways with lots of new dinosaurs added and then the Godzilla like finale. At the time the film did 90m or so over the first weekend and then went on to do 220m. It was considered a bit disappointing by some because the original started off at 60m and did 350 or something. But again that was a unique moment. The third one (not directed by Spielberg) was a much leaner and ultimately more modest film. Some critics preferred it. I liked the pterodactyls! Or perhaps they were pteranodons. This current film seems like a return to basics and perhaps a truer sequel of the original. I’m encouraged by the reviews. It’s probably going to be between 73-75%. But if this were the first of a franchise that score would go up significantly. My sense is that this is about as good a film as one is likely to get on a sequel. Some are saying the thrills are great but the soul of the first one might still be missing. However that too is hard to replicate. Not that I go to Hollywood thrillers for this hokey stuff!
On DDD I’d agree.. I think this is doing decently but nothing more. It’s stabilized at a somewhat lower end. The best case scenario was looking to be 85 or so. But with Jurassic and so on I think it will be lower. So yes definitely not doing what ZNMD did, and even in terms of the opening it just about matched the latter, might even have been a bit behind all things considered. In this day and age when Piku does as much as it did, when TWMR has been so huge (I won’t even get into YJHD), when BMB and Barfi have cleared a 100 even 90 would have been an underperformance. But 75 (if that is the final result) would be poor. Clearly it has some base of support but not enough.
Thanks a lot for this Salim. Made my day!! That’s one remarkable, classic, unforgettable performance from Amitabh. I had written something about this on Rangan’s blog:
@ Karrvakarela: Here he has Amitabh Bachchan playing against type and hamming it to the rafters. Lately, we’ve seen so much of Bachchan trying to be an Actor (paging “Black” and “Paa”) that it’s easy to forget how excellent his comic timing is. (For my money’s worth, Bachchan never was an actor; he’s just been a mere superstar all along.) “Piku” reminds me of the Amitabh Bachchan in Chupke Chupke or Namak Halal where he could have you in fits with a well-timed look or a juicy turn of phrase.***
You make a lot of contradictory statements here. If he has been just a mere superstar all along, then I am afraid I do not follow the odes to his comic timing in Chupke Chupke or Namal Halal.
That aside, it is a glorious butchering of history and assessment if one were to say that Amitabh has been a super-star all along. I can understand if one says – and to an extent rightly so – that he harnessed his superstardom quality more than the purist superlative actor in him. But to dismiss his outstanding craftsmanship as almost non-existent in the face of super-stardom is entirely inaccurate.
The problem with most ‘critics’ of star-actors is that they always look for ‘acting’ in those kind of roles that are tangential to the exaggerated characteristics of our films. So it would be easy to dismiss and difficult to appreciate what goes on in roles like that of Coolie’s or Sharaabi’s or Aakhree Raasta. And it would obviously be easier – not taking away anything at all from these classic performances – to appreciate Naseer in Paar or Sparsh. But when an actor is so rich that he can convey the nava-rasas even in superficial characters like the above ones, why would one need to go digging for ‘realistic’ roles? Within our ‘masala’ mould itself, there are fine instances where the ONLY actor to have done it all is Amitabh – and convincingly so. So much so that even when suffering from the utmost complex, an actor like Naseer says that the ONLY actor that can pull of all the inherent idiosyncrasies our cinema has to offer is Amitabh, followed not-very-closely by Dilip Kumar. And to paraphrase him further, Amitabh can easily be mentioned of as the only actor in the world who can be better than his films!! Only in the role of a dwarf or that of a mentally-disabled person does not one find ‘talent.’
Even if one were strict as to where one ‘looks’ for talent, Amitabh has demonstrated his prowess in the ‘subtlety’ genre amply. One just needs to watch MILI and SAUDAGAR to get the range that this actor has under his command. If this doesn’t define ‘true’ artistry, I don’t know what else will.
I’d disagree at some points here. First off a star-actor is fundamentally a very different creature from any other sort of actor. A serious actor who’s not a star is required to act well. There is no other burden on him or her. This doesn’t mean the job is easy. Naseer clearly did some very difficult roles. It’s not as if just any actor who wanted to not be a star could pull off such stuff. But yes Naseer clearly sounds absurd when he says what you’ve mentioned. I’d chalk it down to his anxiety about not being a star at very many levels. I’d take it further. He is precisely anxious about Bachchan because Bacchhan is a great performer. But people have this very poor sense of ‘acting’ where they think that a commercial cinema performance by a star can never reach those highest levels. Naseer should have learnt better in Pune (or wherever he went) or certainly he should have gathered as much from all the canonical critics of the West.
But leaving aside Naseer’s comments the fact is that a star who is also a serious actor is required to play star before he plays the part. This is to say that the ‘signature’ must always be visible. If this isn’t so the star wouldn’t even be recognizable (here I completely disagree with those who say that Bachchan isn’t recognizable in Piku, his mannerisms and gestures are there at every turn). The audience is there to see the star perform and not to see the star disappear in a performance. If they wanted that they would indeed go to someone like Naseer. So it’s just two different kinds of performance. Of course a certain confusion happens at the other end too. For instance people think Salman puts in a great performance. Salman just isn’t an actor but as a successful star he knows how to manage and deploy his signature. A number of very great stars in cinema (not just in India) are fantastic in terms of leveraging their signature but they’re not actors in any ordinary sense of the word. To say that Aamir acts in Talaash and that Salman does the same in Dabanng is a little absurd. This by the way does not imply any judgment either way. In many cases I prefer stars who are not actors to those who are.
What is true also is that in many cases stars who have not been actors in any normal sense for very long do something half serious, do it well and are celebrated for ‘acting’ well. But that’s not the same thing as DeNiro putting up a great show. When you get to Bachchan you have this odd mix of a star who’s signature is unmatched but whose performance abilities are also exceptional. You almost never get this mix in equal measure. You might get an extraordinary screen presence who’s ok as an actor or an extraordinary actor who’s not special otherwise but the combination is rare. And this again defines Naseer’s anxiety. he precisely cannot account for him the way he might many other great stars.
On the rest though and not to repeat everything I’ve said on this but I wouldn’t agree that Bachchan was always a superstar. What happens is that once he becomes that kind of star and specially if we’ve only seen him through that prism we find it impossible to judge those early performances as anything but the ‘promise’ of a star-to-come. We cannot say how we would understand Anand or something in real time. Once the event happens everything is reset. The older roles become the ‘pre-history’ of a great star. When we watch such films we are forever connecting those moments to later ones. It’s certainly fair to say that Bachchan always had a presence and so forth but also remember that for that age he also seemed very odd, awkward and gawky. This is not apparent in Anand but it’s certainly so in something like Pyar ki kahani and a number of his earlier films. No one is born a superstar. the greatest ones always develop a signature over time even if they seem promising initially. Someone like Hrithik who seems completely in place on day 1 is actually not that sort of great star, he has nowhere to go because that’s the extent of his abilities. And so you can watch any film of his or any role of his but it’s hard to make the case that he is in any sense ‘better’ than he was in KNPH. He’s more or less the same guy one every part. It’s not just about someone like Bachchan. Even at lesser levels this happens. It takes Salman a number of years to develop his current signature. SRK was successful from day one but he too took time to develop his DDLJ signature (in his case he also exhausted it very quickly).
With Bachchan the extraordinary thing is precisely his metamorphosis from year to year. Deewar is very different from Zanjeer, Trishul very different still, he’s the angry young man in each case but each part is modulated rather differently. Similarly he’s very fluid early on doing comedy in Chupke Chupke but Anthony is a miraculous performance. Then one could look at his drunk scenes and even though the masala terrain might be the same the way he does them is often subtly altered from film to film. His entire signature and a performance consonant with this is developed in very singular ways over time. And part of the pleasure in revisiting his stuff is to get that sense each time. But he wasn’t always this way. I’d also add here that I wouldn’t say Bachchan is the very best at every kind of commercial outing. He has the gifts to attempt very many things successfully but I wouldn’t find him as credible in certain parts as I would some lesser stars and actors. Because no matter how great one is as a star and actor there are physical and other limitations. The guy doing Don couldn’t have done Bobby at any age or for that matter some Rajesh Khanna romances and so on. Because again it’s not just about doing these parts well, it’s also about doing so effectively as a star. Also there are parts which require stars but which also do not require them to be overwhelming presences like Bachchan. But the latter takes over the film irrespective of the part. He’s that kind of star and actor. This works in many kinds of cinema but not all. Some roles just require more modest stars. They might or might not be fine actors but they cannot be so physically dominant.
it’s not just cinema, the greatest talents in any art form (or sport for that matter) take time to mature and truly reach their peaks. As such they also surprise us along the way because whatever they promise early on they exceed that promise by leaps and bounds.
She has won accolades for her double role in “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”, which has turned out to be a box office bonanza. Now, actress Kangana Ranaut will enter the same territory with her upcoming film “Katti Batti”, according to sources.
Kangana will be seen in a double role as Payal and Bijlee in Nikhil Advani’s directorial, which also stars Imran Khan.
However, the filmmakers are tight lipped about the project.
Again, don’t agree. I don’t think any of the other Khans would really reject Jurassic World for monetary reason. If the role is good in a major franchise, that is an offer no one would reject; they wouldn’t mind doing it for free or as much they are paying Irrfan Khan.
not a fair comparison with the original… to be honest it would require a reboot from a Nolan-like talent to do that sort of thing and even then this isn’t Batman where you can re-conceive the whole thing. On a related note the new Planet of the Apes is developing into a superb franchise. The first one was good, the second was outstanding.
by the way the original has 93% on rottentomatoes, obviously fantastic. But the next two were around 50% which I think is ridiculously harsh for both. The current one is around 72%.
The original was historic. It was the biggest film in terms of worldwide till Titanic arrived. Pretty tough to beat that kind of love with this genre which is quite formulaic.
If all goes as planned, actor Abhishek Bachchan will be seen in the TV show “Diya Aur Baati Hum” to promote his Kabaddi team Jaipur Pink Panthers, a a franchise of the Pro-Kabaddi League. Currently the show has an ongoing Kabaddi track, for which TV actor Anas Rashid who plays Sooraj, has been working on his body since months. –
So it’s Jurassic that’s in demand now. I didn’t even know it was releasing this week. Hope it would release a couple of weeks later. Jurassic being released so huge means ALL imaxs will now pull down MAD MAX. And I want to watch MAD MAX only in IMAX.
While I did like Jurassic as a kid and what Steven did with it, MAD MAX any day is what I prefer — especially with 99% on RT, and with critics sleeping with the audience in totality, this is mind-boggling.
SATYAMSHOT 
June 4, 2015 at 6:15 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do Looking Good For Big Metros
Thursday 04 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne Do is looking good for multiplexes in the metros but the key will be the word of mouth in these big 5 to 6 cities as the budget is big so these cities will have to sustain well for a couple of weeks.
The content is very urban so the support from smaller centres will not be there. The music has seen average response and although there is a cast with many names no one is that big star to give the film a really big push initially. There will be goodwill from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and as that worked in the metros it is that audience which the film is depending in for an initual.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara had grossed nearly 90 crore nett from a weak 7 crore nett opening despite the presence of Hrithik Roshan. The highest grosser which only scored in metros so far is Barfi at 105 crore so that is the first target for Dil Dhadakne Do to cross.
As with all urban films it will be Saturday that decides its fate if a big jump comes the film will have good chances to sustain and put up a good final number. The business in Overseas should be a plus where it should become the top film of the year so far as the opening is looking to be very good.
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June 4, 2015 at 6:40 AM
Hahahahaaaaaaa 😀
SRK at home vs Srk at office
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June 4, 2015 at 6:41 AM
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June 4, 2015 at 9:39 AM
Bliss, how old are you?
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June 4, 2015 at 6:46 AM
Review
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/dil-dhadakne-do—movie-review/16265195
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June 4, 2015 at 9:38 AM
Raju Hirani writing a script for Amitabh Bachchan.
Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani has the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood to his credit and has worked with actors like Aamir Khan and Sanjay Dutt, but when it comes to directing the Shahenshah of B-town, Amitabh Bachchan, Hirani seems to find it difficult.
“I have grown up wanting to be like Amitabh Bachchan. As a child I used to speak like him, get clothes stitched like him, and listen to his father’s poems that he recites. I remember when he came to my place he did recite his father’s poems and I have recorded that and kept it. It is a precious possession. It is a joy to hear it. I am a huge fan of his,” admits Rajkumar, adding further, “I have directed him in two advertisements. If ever there was a need to change something in the shoot, I used to hesitate to tell him anything. It is difficult to direct him because as a fan I was always awestruck. But he is so good at what he does and I am looking forward to work with him.”
Now that he has expressed his desire to work with Big B, probe Hirani does he have a script in mind for Senior Bachchan?
“I am working on a script and when it will get done I’ll narrate it to Mr. Bachchan, hopefully by year end I will be done,” concludes Raju.
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June 4, 2015 at 9:45 AM
wow! This is incredible news!
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June 4, 2015 at 10:00 AM
The film has no story to look forward to. How it will fare only time will tell. It looks too plastic as of now.
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June 4, 2015 at 12:30 PM
**The film has no story to look forward to. How it will fare only time will tell. It looks too plastic as of now.**
It doesn’t need a story. If it HAD story, it wouldn’t work. That is what such films are about. Like the cruise. You just breeze by. You just ‘saw’ something. You didn’t feel anything.
I am however confident Pluto getting a credible back-story..
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June 4, 2015 at 12:39 PM
LOL, great comment!
I was hoping for a Titanic-like result here but apparently it’s not a happy ending..
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June 4, 2015 at 10:59 AM
They have promoted it intensely. So, it should at least open well. I was watching a couple of tv channels and since 2 or 3 weeks, they have the songs and promos playing at every 10-15 minutes and at every commercial break. You would rarely see such an overdose of promos and songs from a film. They seem to have invested big in promotions and I guess it should translate into a good opening.
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June 4, 2015 at 1:44 PM
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June 4, 2015 at 1:53 PM
‘teen shtar’
When will this moron make Desh Drohi 2? Can’t wait to catch it on the nearest IMAX.
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June 4, 2015 at 2:15 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 10h10 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns should close Week 2 at ₹ 115 cr+ in India. Week 3 should take it ₹ 125 cr. BLOCKBUSTER.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 11h11 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns [Week 2] Fri 6.65 cr, Sat 9.40 cr, Sun 12.25 cr, Mon 5.15 cr, Tue 4.65 cr, Wed 4.35 cr. Grand total: ₹ 112.52 cr.
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June 4, 2015 at 2:15 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh Jun 3
#DilDhadakneDo certified 12A by British censors on 3 June. Run time: 169 min 33 sec.
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June 4, 2015 at 2:15 PM
long film.. given this kind of subject.
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June 4, 2015 at 3:58 PM
Shame on such ‘icons’–this fight is all about money !
It is a recent case of ego tussle. Two big names play father-daughter in one movie…movie turns hit…and the on-screen father goes completely MIA because not being ‘invited’ at a certain success bash. A TOI report suggested that the on-screen daughter only wanted to credit herself for the film’s success.
While the female co-star tried to cover up the absence of this legendary actor at a party by saying there was a technical error. Apparently this actor followed up with every other invitee multiple times via text messages ensuring their presence.
It is learnt that an ego tussle between the actress and the senior actor cropped up over remuneration for the film. Trade reports suggested that both of them were paid exactly the same amount of money. Looks like this actor believes she is as tall as her co-actor in the acting department!
http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainmenttags/guess-who/guess-who-screen-father-daughter-duo-had-fight-over-remuneration
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June 4, 2015 at 8:44 PM
She deserves all the money and more…
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June 4, 2015 at 4:09 PM
A WATERSHED towering performance by kangana Ranaut in twmr
The box office performance is significant and has paved the way for the first 125 cr plus solo heroine deal
An actress who has it in her to deliver an oscar –if she keeps her head in place
Cheers to kangs –she deserves to be my drink-buddy (not f-buddy) 🙂
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June 4, 2015 at 4:18 PM
Deepika Padukone opposite Hrithik Roshan in YRF’s next!!
We had asked Deepika Padukone to name an actor she wants to work with, during the promotions of her last film. We could not finish our question but Deepika shot back with an answer. “Hrithik Roshan for sure,” she told. And now, it seems that her dreams might have just come true. We hear that Deepika has been signed opposite Hrithik in YRF’s next.
We had already told all of you that Hrithik has been signed on for an action thriller, planned by Yash Raj Films, much on the lines of a Dhoom. The director of Dhoom 3, Vijay Krishna Acharya will be helming the project and he has got Deepika on board.
Reveals our source, “Deepika is the perfect choice for the film. Victor feels Dippy will do total justice to the role. It is an action film where Hrithik will yet again be playing a thief like he did in Dhoom 2. But this will be bigger and better.”
But will Deepika also do some hardcore action stunts? The source hints at a possibility. “You never know. They wanted someone athletic and hence, chose Deepika. Obviously, Victor must have something in his mind.”
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-deepika-padukone-opposite-hrithik-roshan-in-yrf-s-next-2092008
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June 4, 2015 at 4:57 PM
Believe it or not, Aamir Khan has a surprising and very fun role in DDD as well.
Ranveer Singh’s Kabir and Priyanka Chopra’s Ayesha assume the larger roles. The rest are all on an even keel. The stand out performance comes from Ranveer Singh. He is quite literally the heart and soul of DDD. His comic timing, his sense of aloofness make his character memorable. He’s looking good, in top form and he’s 100 per cent authentic to his character portrayal. This film also proves that Ranveer can have great chemistry with a wooden cupboard. Thankfully, he has the talented Anushka Sharma to play off. Together, they look stunning and their romance is top notch. Anushka is faultless in her supporting character. The more complex role is handled by Priyanka Chopra. Her portrayal of Ayesha is testament to her talent. She displays versatility in her performance. Her character goes from being helpless to being nervously independent. It’s a great graph and Priyanka nails it like a champ.
Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah do a remarkable job as well. There’s no point in talking about their potential. Anil Kapoor is a proven acting legend and he just displays a range that could inspire a thousand new actors to take up the vocation. Shefali too shines in a more restrained and quiet way. Farhan Akhtar makes a late entry but manages a decent impact in a small role. Rahul Bose though, plays his character of part schmuck and part misguided husband with great effect. Believe it or not, Aamir Khan has a surprising and very fun role in DDD as well.
http://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-dil-dhadakne-do-9417.html
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June 4, 2015 at 8:58 PM
Finger crossed for Ranveer singh. Praying 4 success of this film and appriciation of his role. If Both things happens then he will come in top bracket.
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June 4, 2015 at 11:46 PM
Aamir doing a VoiceOver for a dog in DDD 🙂 SRK-Fans will go bonkers 🙂
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June 5, 2015 at 1:07 AM
Of course. It is one of the highlights. If you watch the film, write how the voiceover worked.
SRK fans will say, ‘now who is the dog?’
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June 5, 2015 at 11:38 AM
As I had mentioned before, I was pretty confident the dog would be the central and saner voice in such type of a film. And lo, it is none other than Aamir– one of the saner voices in Hi-fi– voicing it!!
This is one dog’s day afternoon…
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June 5, 2015 at 1:50 AM
This is what I have been saying about Ranveer’s performance based on the trailers.
‘The project is lifted by a couple of actors, Anil Kapoor and Ranveer Singh playing the Mehra father and son and injecting Dil Dhadakne Do with energy and repose respectively. The film is about a family on a cruise with their friends, a nearly-bankrupt family taking a last-gasp holiday because saving face is too important, and it is Kapoor’s undying ebullience and Singh’s perplexed inwardness that defines the film and sets it on course. Zoya Akhtar’s film doesn’t provide much insight and leans too heavily on repetitive, sitcom-like reaction shots to underline its own obvious points over and over again — this is a film that generalises too much, one where all the parents are regressive, all the women are marriage-bait — but in the cacophony of these belaboured caricatures, Singh provides tremendous calm and brings nuance to the table. He’s excellent. It’s as if an understated actor from a Pakistani TV show walked out into a deafening Balaji crowd.’
http://rajasen.com/2015/06/05/review-zoya-akhtars-dil-dhadakne-do/
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June 5, 2015 at 2:10 AM
Surely this Raja sen has a huge aamir khan complex. He could not help taking potshots even for his voice overs!
One full para just to diss aamir khan.
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June 5, 2015 at 3:14 AM
ha ha that is just raja – wait for skr-fans sanju – 🙂
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June 5, 2015 at 2:27 AM
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June 5, 2015 at 2:43 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do had a decent start of around 25-30% at multiplexes with the premium ones being better. The single screens as expected were not good at 15-20%. The film was released on around 2300 screens. The film will grow in the evenings as it caters to that auduence.
The opening day numbers will come out good in the major metros and a few other cities where there are a number of premium multiplexes but the crunch will come on Saturday as a lot will depend on how they grow. The smaller centres will not support much but if cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow can support it will be a big plus for the film.
The best opening came in the Delhi Ncr belt with multiplexes having good occupancies in Delhi city, Gurgaon and Noida.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedohasdecentstart#.VXFErbWCwqE
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June 5, 2015 at 12:26 PM
Extremely soft landing.
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June 5, 2015 at 3:48 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/dil-dhadakne-do-review-this-star-studded-cruise-trip-isn-t-docking-nowhere/article1-1355172.aspx
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June 5, 2015 at 4:58 AM
According to a report published in Mumbai Mirror, Deepika also says, “I’ve yet to see ‘Bombay Velvet’ but it belonged to friends of mine and I empathise with their pain, I think the negativity surrounding it is unfair.”
While the dimpled actress has been on a winning spree for long as far as her movies are concerned, she has always maintained a stoic silence over her relationship status with actor Ranveer Singh. Upon being asked about getting clicked together at the ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ special screening, Deepika says, “He and I are very clear about our equation and what we mean to each other. I don’t have to give the relationship a tag for someone reading this.”
The talented actress is all praises for her ‘RamLeela’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ co-actor Ranveer’s performance in the Zoya Akhtar directorial. “He’s a chameleon. I’d seen him in ‘Band Baaja Baraat’, ‘Lootera’ and ‘RamLeela’. Then to see him so comfortable in a different, more urban world, made me react with an amazed, ‘You can do this also!’” Deepika says.
Deepika will next be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’ and Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Tamasha’.
– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/i-had-invited-ranbir-and-katrina-for-the-piku-bash-deepika-padukone/#sthash.v8ben7h5.dpuf
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June 5, 2015 at 5:12 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 48m48 minutes ago
#Piku [Week 4] collected ₹ 3.55 cr. Grand total: ₹ 78.63 cr. India biz. SUPER HIT.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 24m24 minutes ago
#TWMReturns [Week 2] Fri 6.65 cr, Sat 9.40 cr, Sun 12.25 cr, Mon 5.15 cr, Tue 4.65 cr, Wed 4.35 cr, Thu 4.21 cr. Grand total: ₹ 116.73 cr.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:12 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 4h4 hours ago
#PK is nearing ₹ 100 cr mark in China. Has set a benchmark. Total till Thu [4 June; 14th day]: ₹ 92.60 cr. FANTASTIC.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:14 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns At 115 Crore After Two Weeks
Friday 05 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns had an excellent second week grossing around 45.75 crore nett and taking its two week total to 115 crore nett. The drop is just 34% in week two and that is the highest for any film with a 30 crore nett plus second week apart from 3 Idiots.
The second week is also the fifth highest of all time beating films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Krrish 3. Business all over India barring Gujarat / Saurashtra is fantastic with North India competing with some of the biggest grossers ever.
Despite the release of a big film like Dil Dhadakne Do it still will put a good third week figure as the weekdays in the second week were rock steady. The film is going over 135 crore nett for sure and its just question how much over 135 crore nett it goes.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:18 AM
“The drop is just 34% in week two and that is the highest for any film with a 30 crore nett plus second week apart from 3 Idiots.”
Another misleading statement.. first off why do they forget these trending patterns when lots of big films fizzle out in week 2? But secondly the qualification of 34% is fine overall. There’s no need to add the ‘at least 30 crore’ thing. That’s completely arbitrary. But if you’re doing that you should also point out how so many big films were nowhere near this mark. If TWM is the only film that’s fulfilling both conditions what does this say about all the other blockbuster-type movies?
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June 5, 2015 at 5:19 AM
Top Fourth Weeks 2015 – Piku Ahead Of Baby
Friday 05 June 2015 10.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Piku managed good fourth week figures of 3.75 crore nett apprx taking its business to near the 77 crore nett mark. It was the highest fourth week collection of the year. The top fourth week collections this year are.
1. Piku – 3.75 crore apprx
2. Baby – 2.78 crore
3. Dum Laga Ke Haisha – 2.38 crore
4. Gabbar is Back – 1.59 crore
These are the only four films to go over 1 crore nett in week four though the way Tanu Weds Manu Returns is going it is sure to at the top of the list soon.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:25 AM
It will be interesting to see next week’s story.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:26 AM
GOSSIP: Abhishek Bachchan signs a film with wife Aishwarya?
Dailybhaskar.com | Jun 05, 2015, 13:34PM IST
Abhishek Bachchan who is busy shooting Hera Pheri 3 has signed a new film deal with best buddy and producer Bunty Walia. The actor has apparently given his green signal to do the film. Bunty is all set to produce director Sohum Shah’s film and has asked to cast Junior AB in the lead.
An industry source has it, “Bunty loved Sohum’s script and went on to discuss with Abhishek, he too like the script and has almost confirmed to be a part of it. Abhishek is the first cast to be on board, the female lead is yet to be finalised.
Apparently Bunty is willing to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but nothing has been confirmed yet. If all goes well, the shooting will start at the end of this year, adds the source”.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:33 AM
A source close to the film says, “Dada loves to shoot and then re-shoot and get everything edited on the sets. But, this time, because they are shooting in bits and pieces, he feels the actors have not been able to stay with the characters. Also, they started shooting in 2013 and the look of both the actors has changed. So he has decided to reshoot those scenes where there is inconsistency in their look. Now he will shoot in one go so that the emotions and the continuity are not broken. And that’s why he now wants Ranbir and Katrina to finish their respective films and shoot Jagga Jasoos in one stretch.”
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/basu’s-thinking/
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June 5, 2015 at 5:34 AM
Rajkumar Hirani is known to make outstanding films and after the super box-office success of PK, everyone wants to know what he is working on next. “We are still working on Sanjay Dutt’s biopic for which I have only spoken to Ranbir but I am yet to finish the script. As you all know, I take my own time to finish a script,” Hirani says.
The director also reveals that he has written a script keeping Amitabh Bachchan in mind. “Who doesn’t want to work with him? I have written a script keeping sir in mind but I haven’t yet narrated him the story because I haven’t finished it yet. I won’t narrate it unless I am happy with it. Hopefully, if I finish it by this year-end, we can start rolling soon.”
http://www.boxofficeindia.co.in/rajkumar-hirani’s-next/
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June 5, 2015 at 5:34 AM
Sounds like he’s going with the Bachchan film first.. that’s fantastic news!
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June 5, 2015 at 5:40 AM
Bachchan even at this stage of his life has worked with all of Bombay’s brightest contemporary talents at one stage or the other. Hirani was the one big exception and looks like this is finally happening too.
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June 5, 2015 at 5:39 AM
Sultan To Start
by Soumita Sengupta (May 30, 2015)
Everyone is eyeing Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, whose teaser was recently launched. It is a given that this film will do massive business just like all Khan’s movies do. We hear that soon after the release of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the actor will start shooting for Yash Raj Films’ Sultan, which will be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
Khan will be playing a 40-year-old boxer in the film. He is trying to get his physique to look like wrestler Sushil Kumar’s body, for which he needs to look lean. His trainer believes he has the perfect body for this. We’re told the film will be shot in one schedule.
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June 5, 2015 at 6:33 AM
Zoya Akhtar had organised a special screening of Dil Dhadakne Do, for her industry friends. Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Rahul Bose, Imran Khan were present at the special screening. According to a report on Bollywoodlife.com, Deepika and Kangana avoided each other at the screening. A source was quoted in a Bollywoodlife.com report as saying that Deepika and Kangana completely avoided each other. The cold war between the two was obvious when Deepika dedicated an award to Kangana. Later, Kangana had said that she would have appreciated a call rather than an award dedication. Reportedly, Deepika had then called Kangana and both the actress had patched up. But things between them soured again after Deepika missed the special screening of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. So miffed was Kangana that she left as soon as Deepika came for the film’s success party.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Bollywood-actors-who-will-never-be-friends/photostory/47552322.cms
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June 5, 2015 at 6:35 AM
The trailer of Salman Khan’s awaited film Bajrangi Bhaijaan was released on May 28, 2015, and has been appreciated by one and all. However, there is someone who is not so pleased with the promo. And that is none other than Nawazuddin Siddiqui, states a report on Bollywoodlife.com. And the reason for the same being the promo featuring Salman in most of the scenes, leaving Nawaz with barely one dialogue, the report further stated. Reportedly, Nawaz plays a prominent role in the film, but the teaser barely features him for 30-secs. The report quoted a source as saying that the actor was disappointed with the trailer as he just had one punch line and thought it was too little. Further to the report, he also contacted director Kabir Khan who assured him that he will be given more prominence in the next trailer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Bajrangi-Bhaijaan-Things-that-we-liked-in-the-trailer/photostory/47551807.cms
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June 5, 2015 at 10:08 AM
Komal-
The comic dialogues by Farhan Akhtar are witty and humorous whereas the dramatic ones are even cutting-edge at times. The dialogues of Pluto have been penned by Javed Akhtar and they are appropriately philosophical and humorous.
Since the entire film is narrated from the point of view of the Mehras’ dog, Pluto, the narration does get monotonous at times, when it starts sounding like a sermon. In fact, the dog’s initial talking gets on the audience’s nerves after a point of time
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June 5, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Our review of Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do starring Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma, Rahul Bose etc. Anupama Chopra says – like the Mehras, the film is flawed, frustrating and very special.
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June 5, 2015 at 11:31 AM
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play Dalbir Kaur in Omung Kumar’s Sarabjit biopic
Earlier we had reported that filmmaker Omung Kumar, whose directorial debut Mary Kom won the National Award for Best Popular Film of 2013, had already locked on his next project – Sarabjit. Omung even confirmed the same saying, “Yes, I will be directing and co-producing Sarabjit. Even though I have three scripts lined up, this will be my next film after Mary Kom.” Now we hear that the director has roped in none other than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play the role of Dalbir Kaur in the film.
In fact while the film will be the story of Sarabjit, it will be told through the eyes of his sister, Dalbir Kaur, after his conviction of terrorism and spying by the Pakistani court and him getting sentenced to death in 1991, and the subsequent campaign stated by his sister for his release.
When we contacted Omung, the director confirmed the smae saying, “Yes Aishwarya will be part of the Sarabjit bio pic and will be playing the role of his sister, Dalbir Kaur.” Further talking about how he managed to rope in the actress Omung adds, “In fact when I narrated the script to Aishwarya she had tears in her eyes and said a straight yes to being a part of the film.”
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/13529985/Aishwarya-Rai-Bachchan-to-play-Dalbir-Kaur-in-Omung-Kumar%27s-Sarabjit-biopic
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June 5, 2015 at 11:33 AM
meh.. too much out of nothing and now they want to make a movie on this topic. Also for Aishwarya, everyone from Kangana to even Sonkashi rejected this role and not sure why she accepted. Reminds me of that silly role in ‘Provoked’ with Jag Mundra.
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June 5, 2015 at 12:45 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/water-wives-of-maharashtra-1433431313-slideshow/wider-image-water-wives-maharashtra-photo-114139384.html
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June 5, 2015 at 3:06 PM
Sad and funny at the same time! We have few of the sharpest minds in the world yet basics are missing!!
There are few comments under this article but there are two standouts which are the crux of how our Indian society works and behaves in the real world.
David- “have never seen a place with more engineers than India. How is it their villages do not have running water? At least to a water source in the village. There are international programs that will provide the materials at no cost to the villiage, they just have to be able to assist in doing the work. I have several friends that do this in places where they don’t even have a solid house.”
O – “Water is essential to all life. I’m just surprised that no one in that community put together enough resource to purchase a solar water pump. It would make everyone’s life a lot easier.”
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June 5, 2015 at 1:46 PM
The film has mixed reviews and wom is not great. Seems the dog is annoying. Rather its talkativeness!
The complain is film is too long and the first half is dragging.
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June 5, 2015 at 1:55 PM
Since Aamir = Dog, you mean Aamir is annoying?
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June 5, 2015 at 2:03 PM
I think so. I have not seen the film or planning to see.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:09 PM
I’m watching it today.. will give my thoughts.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:06 PM
The film is not liked for other reasons too. Because the akhthars have good friends among the film fraternity, I think the reviewers are somewhat kind.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:49 PM
Haven’t seen the movie yet, but our desi crowd may not be ready for an anthropomorphic dog in a movie setting and its a bit much for a zoya / aamir combo to do a seth macfarlane here
Nonetheless really looking forward to this movie esp. Pluto as I am a big fan of Brian Griffin and his sophisticated wry wit…
I don’t know if I should say this here, but on several occasions while watching Family Guy, Brian’s overly opinionated and
vastly superior intelligence but sometimes pretentious ramblings remind me about the “owner” of this blog.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:10 PM
Aamir Khan gets notice for using national emblem on Satyamev Jayate
Actor Aamir Khan might be in trouble. An activist has sent a legal notice to the Bollywood actor and director of popular television show Satyamev Jayate, for using the emblem of the country as the title of the programme allegedly without the Central government’s permission.
The notice, sent by advocate Manoj Singh on Roy’s behalf, demands that producers of the show furnish a copy of government permission. “Otherwise our client has given us peremptory instructions to initiate legal proceedings against you,” it says.
The notice’s recipients are Aamir Khan, his wife Kiran Rao (both producers) and the show’s director Satyajit Bhatkal.
The title Satyamev Jayate is a part of the State Emblem which cannot be used without permission as per State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act 2009, it says.
No authority has the right to register or grant patent which contains the State Emblem or its part, the notice says, adding that “it cannot be used to get monetary benefit or for the purpose of advertisement.”
http://www.hindustantimes.com/television/aamir-khan-gets-notice-for-using-national-emblem-on-satyamev-jayate/article1-1355410.aspx
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June 5, 2015 at 2:13 PM
When did this complainant woke up?
It is sponsored by Reliance. Why not act against Ambanis too?
And what about Starplus?
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June 5, 2015 at 2:22 PM
Not everyone knows all the laws.. when they stumble upon that law and remember the TV series name.. they plan the legal notice. I remember there was Vinod Khanna movie of the same name during his comeback in 80’s.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:43 PM
there was even a movie called satyamev jayate starring vindo khanna!
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June 5, 2015 at 2:28 PM
The complainant has no locus standi; The aggrieved party is Govt; If they have no issue you can bug them with RTI. It is same as people protesting against a movie rather than censor board which cleared the movie.
People should be fined heavily to desist clogging the overloaded courts.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:20 PM
Akshay, Saif & Ranbir cut fees following Bollywood’s economic hassles ?
2015 has been one of Bollywood’s worst years so far. Most bankable projects & films have fallen flat, thereby leading to a revision in the approach to ‘bankable’ stars (read male stars).
In most recent developments, Akshay Kumar, amongst the highest paid Bollywood actors at 35 crores and above per film, has reportedly agreed to revise his remuneration. Both releases of Akshay this year- Baby & Gabbar is Back- have crawled to the guaranteed 100 crore mark of the action star. Ranbir Kapoor is also reported to have knocked off a couple of crores from his compensation of ‘Bombay Velvet’ recently, although no one from the film’s team is saying anything. And Saif Ali Khan, who used to refuse to budge from his 15 crore compensation, has decided to knock off his fee substantially in the past one year (for Devotion of Suspect X). It should be noted that these fees are often linked to a share in profit percentages from the film. Making a star co producer also dilutes their fee substantially. So for instance, making a star a co producer in a film (like NH 10 and Anushka Sharma) knocks off a chunk of the fee.
Profit percentages are the method that Aamir Khan has used so far to collect his pay cheque. Aamir who is the only actor in India to have delivered a 300 crore film (grossing a lot more in China currently), with PK, approaches his payment differently. In an interview to Hindustan Times, Aamir said, “When I do a film, I don’t charge a fee. What it does is that it immediately takes away the weight or pressure of signing a big star. I am like a street performer. I do a film for which I don’t charge anything. If the film is good, people will come to the theatres and pay money for the tickets, making the film a success. And then, I will charge from the box-office earnings as per how the film has done economically.
While his contemporary Khans have also worked with profit percentages, producers seem to be wary of this approach too. Look at Salman Khan’s jocular comment that he didn’t work in Shuddhi as it’s producer, Karan Johar, wanted to work with a less expensive actor. With the producers association strongly lobbying against entourage costs of stars, this current turn of poor business in films has ensured that producers negotiate hard on fee reduction. Entourage costs, particularly of leading ladies, tend to go up to 1.5 lakh per day.
While no one comes on the record so far, reports suggest that the film producers’ association might soon be working towards contractual accountability of a star. This means that final payments will be linked to a film’s box office performance. Perhaps that’s why an upcoming male star with a big film hitting theatres this week was ruefully recounting how their lot has ‘missed the bus’ on profit percentages.
Will these changes from Bollywood stars ring in a paradigm shift in skewed film economics? Like the fate of a film, it is too soon to speak on that.
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June 5, 2015 at 2:24 PM
Interesting. Can you provide me the link?
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June 5, 2015 at 4:01 PM
BOI
Ten crore opening day
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June 5, 2015 at 4:04 PM
http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhahaknedoheadsforsecondhighestopeningdayof2015#.VXIAmkuwjoA
keeping pace with znmd. probably not doing more unless it shows big weekend jumps. ZNMD had 7-7.5 on opening day but that too was somewhat low at the time. I actually thought earlier it could go past the ZNMD total rather easily but that might not be the case. If will more likely settle in that range or do 10-20% more which amounts to the same thing adjusting for all factors.
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June 5, 2015 at 4:08 PM
I think this benifits from goodwill of ZNMD but unlikely to trend like it.
I don’t think reports/WOM are in anyway strong. I would imagine a 70 crore total here.
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June 5, 2015 at 4:11 PM
that too is very possible.. but even at 90-100 or a bit higher I’d call it a lesser performance than ZNMD. Because after that film this was much bigger. Even if it didn’t have anyone like Hrithik or Katrina in it. Now if it does 70 or so that must be considered very subpar. When Piku’s doing 80 there’s no excuse for such a total. It would be more or less in Kahaani range at that point. Anyway any subpar performance here would quite thrill me!
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June 5, 2015 at 8:53 PM
BTW This is a turkey at 90 crores. This is budgeted at 100 crores…
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June 5, 2015 at 9:15 PM
Is it Really 100 crores? Wow what a waste of money. I heard around 70. I don’t get why they spent 100 crores on this when they spent less on bigger films such as 70 crores on Don 2 and 60 on ZNMD…
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June 5, 2015 at 10:07 PM
Yeah I read it somewhere…But I wont be surprised if it is. A lot of those actors will charge in crores. Plus shot entirely in a liner and then P and A.
I will see if I can get anything on its budget
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June 5, 2015 at 10:18 PM
I think the stars are cheaper than any of the Khans. Shooting on a liner would have been sponsored by the liner to some extent. It would not be another BV in terms of cost and in terms of loss.
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June 5, 2015 at 8:51 PM
That’s exactly the amount I said this will do on the opening day in the previous BO thread!!
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June 5, 2015 at 11:00 PM
You are getting (or have been) really good at predictions. I remember you called the 40+ opening for HNY which sounded absurd pre-release.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:05 AM
beginners luck….
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June 6, 2015 at 1:11 AM
Krisha = Doga?
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June 6, 2015 at 8:34 AM
Whose Doga?
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June 5, 2015 at 4:21 PM
Dil Dhahakne Do Heads For Second Highest Opening Day Of 2015
Friday 05 June 2015 23.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne Do is heading for the second biggest opening day of the year after Gabbar Is Back which grossed around 12.50 crore nett. The collections should come in at the 10 crore nett range or maybe little more if Mumbai circuit comes in higher than present expectations.
The number is decent for a film which is very urban and has little face value in terms of stars for most of the country. It is basically the metro multiplexes that have taken the film to this mark. The multiplexes have seen the best day one collections this year but the performance in mass markets is dull with the film collecting less than films like Roy and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.
The opening day gives the film a good chance but only if the 30% or thereabouts jump comes on Saturday. The big city audience comes out in force on Saturday and that is the target audience so the film must show good growth.
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June 5, 2015 at 4:24 PM
Not bad but I think ZNMD had a similar 1st day 4 years ago. Also shows that Ram-Leela and Gunday’s opening was bigger than Ranveer’s pull, 9-10 crores seems about correct. The reviews don’t seem as positive as ZNMD and that film had good trending, so I think even its 90crores will not be easy. Before watching the film, I am with Satyam in that I would be thrilled at a subpar performance however I am watching it tonight and hopefully I won’t regret spending the 3 hours.
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June 5, 2015 at 7:28 PM
This week in recent history has produced huge hits:
2014: Holiday
2013: YJHD second Friday
2012: Rowdy Rathore (June 1st)
2011: Ready
2010: Rajneeti
All of the above films made it to 100cr at the very least. DDD is off to a disappointing start IMO especially when they have a huge start cast.
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June 5, 2015 at 10:07 PM
Kathy Gibson: After her very insightful piece on ‘TWMR, here is her wholehearted endorsement of DDD.
Singh is something to behold in Dil Dhadakne Do. He contains his normally boundless energy, unleashing it in the dance numbers but otherwise playing it cool. His chemistry with Sharma is super. Her character is smitten but wary, given her far-less-stable financial footing.
Even better is the relationship between Singh and Chopra, playing adult children who still make faces behind their parents’ backs. So many of their scenes feel authentic: like the way Kabir calls his sister “Dude,” and his claim that the ice cream he steals from her bowl tastes better because it’s flavored with her annoyance. Their immaturity together belies an unbreakable allegiance.
It surely helps that Akhtar’s own brother, Farhan — who has a great supporting role as Ayesha’s former flame — wrote the film’s dialogue. Credit also to Akhtar’s co-writer, Reema Kagti, for a script with so many moving parts but no loose ends. It’s always clear which of the dozen or so aunties are aligned with whom, and which fellow businessmen are looking to gain an advantage.
Akhtar let scenes breathe, taking advantage of the sprawling cruise ship to allow characters to cover lots of physical ground while lost in thought. She has a top-notch cast at her disposal, and she gets the best out of her performers. Some of the best moments consist of knowing glances and wordless exchanges. She even gives the film’s villain, Manav, some funny reaction shots as he fends off his wife’s high-speed, anger-fueled tennis volleys.
The theme of women’s equality (or the lack thereof) runs throughout the film, through Manav’s possessive attitude toward Ayesha to Neelam’s willingness to tolerate Kamal’s infidelity because of her financial dependence on him. The subject is explored in a thoughtful way without seeming preachy, often presented as the younger generation trying to explain their beliefs to an older generation more comfortable with traditional gender roles.
Akhtar sets the right tones throughout Dil Dhadakne Do, interspersing serious ideas and insightful commentary without ever veering too far from the film’s comedic core. It’s funny, thought-provoking, and tear-jerking in all the right places. There’s so much to like in Dil Dhadakne Do.
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June 5, 2015 at 10:18 PM
Budget :- 55 cr + 20 cr = 75 cr
Screen Count/Release Size – 2500-2600 screens (Final Numbers May go higher)
Run Time/Running Time :- 2 hrs 50 mins (170 mins – U/A Rating)
http://www.talkingmoviez.com/dil-dhadakne-do-hit-or-flop-budget-economics-box-office-prediction/
Like Baby, it will be plus at 90 cr and a HIT at 100cr.
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June 5, 2015 at 10:24 PM
Satyam will be sad if it turns out to be a hit!
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June 6, 2015 at 7:57 AM
Utkal,
Do you have any idea what a distributor share will be with 90 crore ?
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June 5, 2015 at 10:38 PM
Just back from DDD. The movie is watchable but a huge disappointment if you consider the director and her previous work. Basically, Zoya took the most cliche formula’s of Hindi films and put together on rich family going on a cruise. Everything from Rich boy-poor girl, marrying someone’s daughter to save the business to double standard behavior by the elite everything inspite well captured doesn’t bring any fresh perspective nor add to the movie watching experience. Like Priyanka is an unhappy marriage, Ranveer is rich brat who is not worthy of becoming the heir to the business and wants to do something else. Usually its music in Hindi films… the only change Zoya added is flying planes. Don’t want to add more scenes incase some of the folks plan to watch it.
First half is slow but 2nd half is good but again the whole base of the movie is so weak that even though the scenes are well executed the final result is just about average.
The only disappointment from this movie is from Zoya Akhtar as I think all the performers would gain something out of it. Everyone had well defined characters, I mean 4 – Anil, Shefali, Priyanka and Ranveer. Anushka had passe role and Farhan Akhtar is credited as special appearance with short and simple footage. My pick of the performances would be Priyanka > Anil Kapoor > Ranveer > Shefali. Priyanka is the best and in she did very well and even Shefali is good. Anil Kapoor and Ranveer adds some massy touch to their characters and brings out entertainment at some crucial scenes. Pluto talks a lot and even though some dialogues are good it is not really philosophical to the extent its required by the script.
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June 5, 2015 at 11:14 PM
i wonder what makes aamir do such bizzare roles…
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June 5, 2015 at 11:18 PM
It is actually aamir’s ghost or reincarnation as Pluto!
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June 5, 2015 at 11:55 PM
A colossal waste of efforts and bollywood folks really needs to take it easy with tweets for a change. The movie is no where even avg and even with performances except Anil Kapoor not even a single actor deserves any accolades. For a change I was impressed with Ranveer in the initial reels but he squanders that opportunity midway and by the end all of them get on the nerves and that Piggy Chop role is so bastardize in the name of women empowerment. The only standout and original scene in the whole movie was shefali’s character gorging herself with chocolate when she goes into depression. Also gadda song was lively and well staged.
Wtf was Pluto Mehra about? Though the lines were well written and delivered with aplomb, there wasn’t any physicality to it and the whole thing seemed like an after thought.
And when will theses gen-x behen ke takeys stop their obsession with Godfather. The background score seemed lifted whenever family drama would play out.
In KRK style I give this movie 2 eshstar and my business rating is 1 eshtaar.
Poor coming from Zoya !
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June 6, 2015 at 12:09 AM
Master : ” Basically, Zoya took the most cliche formula’s of Hindi films and put together on rich family going on a cruise. ” Really? In how many Hindi films have you seen the woman being good at running a business? In how many Hindi films have you seen a woman walk out of a marriage because she does not like her husband ( Mind you he is not having an affair, is not an alcoholic or is ill-treating her.) ? In how many Hindi films have you seen a son accusing his father of womanizing and telling his mother that she has stayed with his father because she had no place to go? Cliches? Think again.
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June 6, 2015 at 12:55 AM
Am talking about the foundation or the issues which needs to be resolved. The issues are cliches and I stand by that. Just top of my head…
1) Ranveer Singh don’t want to take over his family business but rather do something else. Character is similar Varun Dhawan in SOTY
2) Priyanka is nto happy with her husband even though he’s loving and good. Infact Abhishek was 200% perfect husband to Rani in KANK but she still mentions she doesn’t love him and not compatible. Here, Rahul Bose even though appears as good husband his character as MCP as they come.
3) Also, looks like Zoya borrowed from Indian TV serials for this movie who doesn’t let her mom air her opinions on the dining table. When she asks Priyanka, does her husband drink and beat her? Doesn’t give money for shopping? Have another affair?
4) Anil Kapoor keeps saying you just need to stick to marriage. Reason? In our families no one gets divorce. (meh)
5) Anil Kapoor plans to marry his son to another business’s daughter to save his business. Innumerable movies(Titanic?)
6) Anil Kapoor sees that Priyanka is close to his manager’s son(Farhan Akhtar) sends him away from her.
Btw, the whole aunties pack is borrowed from other movies directly 🙂
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June 6, 2015 at 7:45 AM
Master agree totally with your review….and saas bahu stuff.
some parts are brilliant but is a bore fest overall !! ZNMD was much better and engaging.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:25 AM
Thanks.. if it was made by some inferior director.. it would have been alright but it is surely not a follow up for Zoya after making two remarkable films.
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June 6, 2015 at 12:33 AM
I don’t know if my ears were ringing , but whenever something serious was happening to the family I heard this distinct theme in the background.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:04 AM
Aamir Khan going berserk on twitter.. not expected especially after you are part of that movie.
Dil Dhadakne Do is one of the best films I have seen in a long time… don’t miss it guys, it’s releasing today!
Farhan and Anushka are outstanding ! ( LMAO 🙂
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June 6, 2015 at 1:27 AM
Maybe he saw what happened to BV and he does not want the same fate for another big movie. To counter bad wom by vested interests.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:33 AM
Nothing could have saved BV, you can’t save such movies. Instead of 23 crores lifetime, it could have done some 35crores lifetime. That’s about it. Don’t agree with vested interests angle.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:14 AM
Master: ‘Also, looks like Zoya borrowed from Indian TV serials” Unfortunately, I do not watch TV serials, so I wont know.
Yes Abhishek and Priety want a divorce. That was in one film, in how many? 10,000? In my dictionary, 1 in 10,000 is nota cliche.
“Anil Kapoor sees that Priyanka is close to his manager’s son(Farhan Akhtar) sends him away from her.” But Farhan reurns the money with interest. Cooly, matter-if-fcatly. Shefali Chhaya tells Anil he should not have taken the money back. In which film have you seen this?
“Here, Rahul Bose even though appears as good husband his character as MCP as they come.” ‘t Yes. But she doesn’t an MCP as a husband. That’s the point…and the difference from a hundred other films.
‘Btw, the whole aunties pack is borrowed from other movies directly.’ Like from which film?
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June 6, 2015 at 1:30 AM
Ok Sir. You can like a movie, no wrong with that. Infact I love Zoya Akhtar’s direction so much and I kept saying I will watch this FDFS.
I keep saying the foundation or the issues are cliche and you are replying with their resolutions. Its not about movies but the issues the movie is talking about. Having a incapable heir to business, having philandering husband and wife bearing quietly for years, planning a marriage as business deal, breaking out of a restrained marriage more-so after the ex-flame shows up at the same place. I never felt am seeing these issues addressed in the movies for first time.
Zoya Akhtar’s standards are different. Just imagine LBC climax scene.. Farhan comes and apologizes to Konkana and wants her back in his life. But in its revolutionary scene, Konkana says you came back coz you want me in your life.. its again about your life. You still not thinking about me.. and then she rejects. Rejecting is fine but the reason she gave is quite different anything we’ve seen in Hindi movies.
The situations you are mentioning comes out of the characters which might be new but the ‘issues’ which the movie is trying to resolve are not new. That’s my point for the last time.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:16 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns grossed 2.50 crore apprx on its third Friday despite the competition from a big release like Dil Dhadakne Do. The film will probably go to the 10 crore nett for its third weekend which is easily the best this year with no film even hitting 10 crore for the third week let alone weekend.
The lifetime business of the film could now go to around 140 crore nett It could even beat some if the big releases of last year like Bang Bang and Singham Returns. The film has 20% of the cost compared to a film like Bang Bang.
In North India the film will be amongst the top five grossers ever. In East Punjab it can go even higher as that market has become bigger over the last year or so.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/tanuwedsmanureturnsgoingtowards140crore#.VXKBwc-qqko
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June 6, 2015 at 1:37 AM
By the trend it showed in earlier weeks, 12 to 13 crore weekend and 20 crore week is possible for TWMR. 150 crores is a good estimate now…
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June 6, 2015 at 1:58 AM
TWMR can reach 150 crores but still Piku is still bigger success (atleast on here).
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June 6, 2015 at 6:31 AM
You’re exaggerating.. I said (don’t think anyone else commented on this) that for me Piku’s 80 crores were worth more than TWMR’s 120. Didn’t say I would say the same for every number. I also added (and I’ve said this before too) that YJHD’s 185 or so is more impressive than CE’s or Kick’s greater gross let alone films in the same range. So no I don’t think all genres are the same. Only in India is the same yardstick used for every kind of film. Leaving this aside if we keep celebrating TWMR’s huge numbers we must also make the related point on almost every other big film which compared to this is either a massive underperformer or in some cases even a big failure. But that never happens. Somehow those results are also considered good or at least ok. What does it mean when Bang Bang does only as much as TWMR? There are tons of examples that could be offered.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:04 AM
Its a joke Satyam… also TWMR is not my kind of movie, I wouldn’t even bother watching it whereas I totally loved Piku.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:45 AM
LOL, it’s risky joking with me!
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June 6, 2015 at 1:22 AM
If one must enter this discussion right away, here’s what I think this film is about. Which is one of the reasons I liked it so much. I suspect what it’s trying to say is that marriage (more often than not a compromise or an imposition), unlike love, is naturally a dysfunctional institution. Most families only reflect that inherent flaw.
Does the movie go ahead and suggest acceptable alternatives to the institution? Or get you to rethink your own life’s calls? Oh no, it’s far too lighthearted for that. It does make you face up to some harsh, hidden truths however. In doing so it gently forces us to look inwards—if not at our own family entirely,then a close friend’s or relative’s. One can safely compare them to the Mehras being closely examined on the screen. There is a touch of recognition. Overtly though, the specifically “dysfunctional” family before us isn’t necessarily anything like yours or mine.
http://www.abplive.in/author/mayankshekhar/2015/06/05/article609308.ece/FILM-REVIEW—Dil-Dhadakne-Do-Long-languid-but-intensely-real–likeable
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June 6, 2015 at 1:34 AM
He also said this about Pluto.
There is no point describing the Mehras and their issues any further, or at all in fact. Their family dog does it best. This dog Pluto, who should’ve been called Plato (displaying wit, which is vintage Javed Akhtar) is partly the narrator of this film that is essentially set over a week / ten days, when a large group of old friends and family get together to celebrate the Mehras’ 30th wedding anniversary.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:46 AM
“But patiently drawing out emotions from every character, allowing them space to grow, makes this movie not just horrendously long (10 minutes short of three hours), but also far too languidly paced. You wish there had been enough editing of the film’s plot, without quite tinkering with its thought.
Eventually the film’s beats become way too television like. Speaking of which, I’ve seen Zoya’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara at least four or five times on TV since it opened as absolutely the best Bollywood film of 2011. ”
Agree with this.
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June 6, 2015 at 2:07 AM
I liked ZNMD but beyond a point there is nothing relatable in that movie. Hritik was a majorly over the top specially when he was a acting as a I-bank guy. He was better in the second half but Farhan was easily the best written role. But even though I could watch the movie, there was a not a single time I could invest in any character – maybe because their hobbies like snorkeling etc was too high end for my liking. Speaking of coming of age movies, Bangalore Days (Malayalam) was the best movie I have seen in that genre. It was everything ZNMD wasn’t and I loved every bit of it.
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June 6, 2015 at 2:34 AM
Good to see another end of spectrum. For me, I totally connect with ZNMD. Totally means more than 100%.. also you could still connect with the movie even ignoring the pact activities which really are the metaphors for their life’s issues. For example, it is really coming of age movie to show a guy who’s already dating a girl and eventually would end up marrying her… just gets so frustrated and confused in life by going ahead with the marriage when it wasn’t his intention at that moment. I don’t think anyone could have imagined that kind of situation in a movie ever and it was so done so brilliantly by Zoya.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:06 PM
@ KRISH – completely agree about ZNMD. I am surprised many here have found it an ‘entertaining’ movie. It was a second-hand DCH at best. It just watered the seed planted in DCH be it Abhay’s marriage conflict [Zinta?] or the ‘maturity’ of Farhan [Akshay]. I could barely complete that movie. It plodded, lagged, and put me to sleep.
And Hrithik as you said was really horrific as the ‘cool’ investment banker [this is another of those Hollywood-borrowed professions; if you are a desi in Europe and successful, let’s make you an i-banker, then let’s try doctors, and then, the lowest of them all – an IT coolie!]. His act — that act over the phone where he barks about shares — was as irritating as dragging nails over blackboard.
And precisely since he is such an artificial, vain actor, he PERFECTLY nailed the role of a vanity-filled actor in LBC. After KNPH, LBC is perhaps his ONLY memorable role. As a complete fake, he was fantastically original!
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June 10, 2015 at 4:08 AM
An Jo I didn’t really see the DCH connection till now. However, I’d say Abhay was Saif (the marriage confusion and the drama around it), Farhan was very much like the mature Akshaye and Hrithik unfortunately was everything but the charming, smug, confident, brash, arrogant Aamir ……. Even though he was an Investment Banker! In the end he was a bit of a wuss. His story could easily have been of a the stereo-typical smug rich boy banker ala Di Caprio who meets his friends after years and flashes his cash in their face. And through the film is bought down a notch or two. Plus he could be fake. And be pretty good at it.
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June 6, 2015 at 7:57 AM
Aamir’s cameo in zoya’s LBC was so wonderful that i thought Zoya’s next film would be a full-fledged film starring aamir……..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE0DZZoLaI
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June 6, 2015 at 1:56 AM
Masand also gave 3 stars. But check this line.. I too had same thoughts.
“Priyanka Chopra’s Ayesha is a curious paradox; the kind of character I have trouble believing actually exists. She’s a successful entrepreneur, a woman of the world, but also strangely submissive when her husband or her father unfairly bears down on her.”
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/movies/dil-dhadakne-do-review-its-easy-and-breezy-and-packed-with-terrific-actors-1002090.html
If she’s just working lady(like normal employee), I can understand but when she is a person who started her own company from scratch by selling her jewelry and no help from her father and gets married to Rahul Bose and still continue to be her company’s CEO and then becomes the top 10 young Entrepreneurs of India but when she has to talk anything to her father or husband or mother-in-law, her head is down and low voice. She is unfit to make any point or scared of her in-law and husband. Kinda hard to believe.
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June 6, 2015 at 4:52 AM
Hmmm…in the past few weeks we’ve witnessed family dramas with an elderly Indian father who boasts of his daughter’s sexual independence to prospective suitors and a traditional, small-town Indian husband who watches from the sidelines as his wife feeds the children in her creche alcohol.
And yet, it is DDD that is receiving all the flak, simply because it shows an Indian woman who despite attaining business success adheres to the demure behavior expected of women in her family? Parents’ attitudes really do influence their children and it is unsurprising that PC isn’t assertive when she has been raised by parents with conservative views on how a woman should behave and has grown up seeing their highly regressive marriage.
The fact that she had the grit to succeed in business and that she eventually walked out of the marriage shows that she isn’t a typical saas-bahu character.
IMO there is plenty of truth in all of the so-called cliches shown in the film. For example, we’ve seen plenty of bratty billionaires’ sons who spend their time judging swimsuit pageants rather than worrying about the catastrophic happenings in the family business (Mallya) or who get their daddies to cover for them when they run people over (Ambani) so IMO Ranveer’s character is actually toned down compared to real life examples of feckless business heirs.
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June 6, 2015 at 8:22 AM
Re: …in the past few weeks we’ve witnessed family dramas with an elderly Indian father who boasts of his daughter’s sexual independence to prospective suitors
That is an unfair representation of what actually is going on in the movie and I am sure you are too smart not to realise it.
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June 6, 2015 at 8:26 AM
I think the larger point is not whether what is shown in the movie happens in real life or not. It doesn’t have to. That is what movie making is about. The point is whether the maker is able to sell his characterization to the viewers or not. TWMR ( even if I absolute hated the movie) has been able to do it where as DDD hasn’t been able to do it that well.
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June 6, 2015 at 8:54 AM
I think the larger point is that Ahmedabad has underperformed on Tanu and so far on DDD. Which makes it my favorite city in India at the moment!
Jokes aside have nothing against Tanu even it isn’t my kind of deal. On DDD though I’ve been actively rooting for its failure!
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June 6, 2015 at 9:07 AM
Honestly, TWMR did a far less persuasive job of selling its ridiculous strawoman lead (Tanu) to me than DDD. I thought the problems faced by the Mehras were highly plausible, even if their effortless resolution on a cruise liner was too glib and filmy. Kangana herself admitted that she felt Tanu’s characterization was very shallow and illogical and only served to deliver the most shocking/ entertaining one-liners (watch her on film companion with Irrfan Khan).
For example, the scene in TWMR where Tanu visits her husband’s wedding and publically insults Kusum was extremely contrived and merely set up so that the audience could get some satisfaction from seeing this rebel-without-a-cause heroine being insulted and put in her place. Or Kusum, who comes from such an utterly oppressive background, agreeing to marry a much older divorced man and him selfishly pursuing her knowing that he will not only jeopardize her future but that of all the girls from her village (don’t even get me started on the whole Khap panchayat sermonizing). Or the inexplicable subplot with the girl who is assaulted and abducted from her own wedding and then promptly forgotten about!
I actually far prefer DDD to ZNMD (as enjoyable as I found that film) because it doesn’t pretend that the Indian elite exist in an alternative universe. You scratch the glitzy surface and they have a pretty middle class Indian attitude to marriage, reputation, society etc. IMO it’s more reflective of typical Indian social norms than either Piku or TWMR.
Like I said, you can find innumerable real life parallels for any of the situations shown be it the feckless heir who is reluctant to accept the responsibility that is forcefully thrust on him, the daughter who no longer feels part of her parents family now that she is married or the parents who makes elaborate efforts to save face in society. Perhaps that’s the problem; it hits too close to home for some and they would rather see an incompatible couple reconcile and live in misery simply to perserve the sanctity of marriage than see this deconstruction of the aspirational, self-made Indian industrialist family.
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June 6, 2015 at 9:10 AM
All of which isn’t to say that that DDD is a great work of art- it isn’t. But it’s an enjoyable enough comedy of manners with some real bite and it is quite far-removed from the escapist/ aspirational fantasy for the multiplex-goer that Satyam accuses it of being.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:57 AM
To be honest I found ZNMD entertaining.. despite my objections on other counts didn’t mind watching it. I was expecting the same with DDD, looks like it might not be that but it might still be good for home viewing (for never take the terrifying risk of watching this on a big screen!). The thing though is that I can never look at this genre (within the Indian context) outside of its larger ideological framing. Tanu isn’t my kind of thing either and I have some objections here too but it doesn’t bother me otherwise. The DDD sort of thing does. But all of this still doesn’t mean I cannot be entertained by the better film in such a genre. I am never that blinded to the pure entertainment value of a film. I’d rather watch ZNMD than 95% of Salman’s fare even though I have far less objections to the latter. and yes in some ways I find the Zoya Akhtar enterprise much more dishonest than the erstwhile Johar one. Because there were no pretensions there. Here it’s not just about pandering to the multiplexes but the added layer of pretending to be ‘superior’ cinema of some sort. The problem with the Zoya Akhtar fairly unrooted class is that they really grew up (assuming they ever did) with a Hollywood model in mind. At some deep level they consider many Indian genres to be regressive or unrefined or whatever and meanwhile they’re forever trying to clone the Hollywood scene or the film festival scene, as the case might be. But I have a low opinion of any filmmaker who has all these ‘internationalist’ pretensions but is unable to recognize ‘value’ in native genres when many important critics are the world over. Similarly one can make any kind of film one likes but it’s deeply problematic to be that divorced from the contexts of one’s society. You can certainly make a film about upper classes or whatever but it should be something sharper and not just Wes Anderson or something in disguise. I of course haven’t seen the film but when you import situations or lines in this way you make your film seem better than other multiplex films but you still do not anchor it in anything more meaningful. And this isn’t just about over reading films or responding too strongly to them. if it were ‘only’ about films I wouldn’t care but they do unfortunately reflect the attitudes of a certain aspirational class and which attitudes are then available elsewhere too in the media and elsewhere. So Zoya Akhtar’s films invite my polemics because they are ‘symptomatic’. otherwise I wouldn’t care.
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June 6, 2015 at 9:37 AM
I am sure I Will also enjoy DDD more than TWMR which was an embarrassment
My problem with DDD Is that doesn’t seem to be able to strike the balance that ZNMD did.
Zoya is a very capable director and her calling in life IMO is not something like DDD.
Am also not a big fan of Ranveer either. Am glad for Priyanka and Anil Kapoor as regardless of the fate of the film, these two are getting noticed and getting credit.
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June 6, 2015 at 12:23 PM
Satyam- All of your criticisms hold true for ZNMD but not for DDD. This is a good-old-fashioned Bollywood family melodrama, not a hipster road movie or a festival film. If anything, it is a critique of the aspirational new India paradigm; the film has a Vogue-worthy facade, but the problems lurking beneath it are very same cultural and social issues that might plague a middle-class family in any small Indian town.
Rajen – Fair enough. To be fair, DDD does suffer from a painfully slow pace and poor editing. It is nowhere near as well-crafted as ZNMD, but it is a far more sincere film IMO.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:02 PM
good to hear.. thanks..
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June 11, 2015 at 2:58 AM
Ami: Thanks much for your views. I will now check this out in the theatre.
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June 6, 2015 at 5:06 AM
PK has hit the 700 crore Worldwide mark as it takes its China business to $14.4 million. Week one was $8.4 million and week two has grossed $6 million.
The Overseas business has gone to $41 million which is 250 crore apprx and the India gross business is around 450 crore. It became the first film to hit 600 crore Worldwide and not has also hit the 700 crore benchmark. Dhoom 3 the previous record holder grossed around 535 crore Wordwide
The China business is showing no signs of stopping with $20 million being the target now.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/pkhits700croreworldwidechinaat145million#.VXK3rLWCwqE
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June 6, 2015 at 5:39 AM
“Priyanka Chopra’s Ayesha is a curious paradox; the kind of character I have trouble believing actually exists. She’s a successful entrepreneur, a woman of the world, but also strangely submissive when her husband or her father unfairly bears down on her.”
Hard to believe? In which world do you all.live. Haven’t you read how Indra Nooyi after a late night meeting was sent by her mother to buy milk, because there was none in the fridge?
It is this reality that Zoya captures.
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June 6, 2015 at 5:45 AM
Excellent comment Utkal!
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June 6, 2015 at 10:17 AM
Thanks but that is so passe and I would still find it hard to believe to believe in today’s generation a girl who is around 26-27 and starts her own business and is top 10 entrepreneurs is so tongue tied to speak infront of in-laws or husband. Is there a possibility? Yes. Is it common? Far from it.
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June 6, 2015 at 6:29 AM
As reported earlier R Balki’s next in which we will get to watch a new chemistry; Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan. The duo will be seen as husband and wife in the film. R Balki is known for his out of the box movies like Cheeni Kum and Paa, what has he got for us this time?
Kareena Kapoor’s last movie was Singham Returns which was a block buster and Arjun Kapoor’ was seen last in Tevar, a flop film though Arjun’s acting skills were appreciated.
R Balki knows to spice up things very well so this time the spice is a cameo role of Amitabh Bachchan! R. Balki has probably never made a film without Amitabh in it. If his script doesn’t have him in the lead, so be it a cameo.
Yes! It’s confirmed! Great cast with classic director what more can we expect!
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/53137-balki-not-without-bachchan.htm
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June 6, 2015 at 7:20 AM
what would induce a top filmmaker to cast arjun kapoor. bizarre
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June 6, 2015 at 6:35 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do First Day Business
Saturday 06 June 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne Do had a decent first day on the strength of metro multipkexes as it grossed around 10 crore nett. The business was very lopsided as metros like Mumbai and Delhi did well but other major cities be it Ahmedabad, Jaipur or Hyderabad did not perform.
The film is basically going to appeal in just 5-6 cities and it is these cities which show the biggest growth on Saturday so Dil Dhadakne will be dependent on what happens on Saturday. If there is no growth or limited growth the film will find it tough.
The business was best in Mumbai, Delhi/UP, East Punjab and Mysore with all mass circuits like CP Berar, Rajasthan, CI and Bihar being low.
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June 6, 2015 at 6:36 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo picked up at plexes towards evening shows. Fri ₹ 10.53 cr. India biz. Sat and Sun biz needs to grow to post a good total.
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June 6, 2015 at 6:37 AM
I think Rajen might be right here. Reading some of the responses here as well I’d now be surprised if it trended like ZNMD or got to that sort of total.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:10 AM
It wouldn’t trend like ZNMD. It isn’t that kind of free flowing movie and am not even talking about the entertainment value. It is also more serious movie though worth a watch but has no repeat value. I avoided reading any feedback and went to watch it FDFS and even if I knew about the reviews, I would have still went ahead and watched it over the weekend. It deserves a watch at least for me.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:45 AM
also it’s a long film.. 170 min is quite a bit for this genre!
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June 6, 2015 at 10:32 AM
I had really liked the promos and was looking forward to this multi starrer as a follow up to ZNMD. But the issues this movie deals about isn’t simply upscale but it is exuberance at another level where planes are bought and sold type and business rating done on Fortune entrepreneur level. There is nothing wrong there and first 20-30 minutes set you up for a fantastic engrossing fare where even an obnoxious Ranvir seemed in the right zone and Anil, Priyanka were all pitch perfect. If the movie remained in that zone and Zoya had kept the tone of the movie at same level, the movie would make a lot of sense to me but here all those initial reels were simply KJO level of exaggerations and she basically sold-out and made a populist fare which was neither here or there.
All the characters came out looking pretentious and towards the last 1 hour I had lost total interest as to how the characters would eventually evolve. She also made a damn long movie and except Anil Kapoor not even a single character was defined and had any sort of reasonable setting. And then for all the prolonged sequences, the end came across so absurd and hurriedly done that I now have to place Zoya in a ‘wannabe’ category now. She seemed to have taken the accolades of a ZNMD too seriously and wanted to impress more people rather than making a movie with heart.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:42 AM
Good points MS Dhoni. Agree, the tone wasn’t consistent this time around. The characters kept jumping from the boundaries created by Zoya herself.
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June 6, 2015 at 10:54 AM
http://www.outlookindia.com/article/the-monsoon-beauties/294516
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June 6, 2015 at 11:00 AM
http://www.outlookindia.com/article/killer-kangana/294480
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June 6, 2015 at 11:03 AM
Haven’t seen DDD –though I can’t believe that zoya is so stupid that she has been persevering with this script for years (beyond kareen-ranbir phase!). There HAS to be something worthy in it
but ZNMD was always a hardtough act to follow
Unlike others I believe ZNMD WAS A CULT CLASSIC !!
as for twmr –kanganas performance there is LEGENDARY…
Ps: may catch ddd soon/in a few days …
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June 6, 2015 at 11:20 AM
Two decades back, writing on Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun…?, I argued why it was the quintessential Indian film. The American film mirrored the American society’s reverence for individualism and had a lone hero, a cowboy or an explorer engaged in an act of heroism at its core. For the French and the European cinema it was man-woman relationship at the core. But for Indians it was the family, and no other film before HAHK placed its narrative solely within the ideal of the Indian family. Now we have Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do, not so much celebrating the Indian family as raising some tough questions about it.
Once again I must thank the Indian film reviewers for giving me a great time at a film. It is impossible to miss all the reviews coming out on the very day of its release or even a day before, an almost all of them had given the impression that it was a lightweight and light-hearted romp. Well, the film was anything but. If anything, it was a much heavier film than Zindagi Na Milega Dobara.
I got hooked to the theme of the film within the first few minutes when Kabir tells his mother that he has no interest in running the business and at the same time the only wish, if he was granted one, was that the plane his father owns should not be sold. I knew at that instant that Zoya was an honest director who was letting her characters be who they are and not sugarcoat or airbrush them in any way to fit a preconceived template.
The questions she raises about the Indian family are not new, and they will be asked as long as the Indian family continues in its present format. This is epitomized well my Kabir in his taunt to his father in reply to Senior Mehra’s talk of niti and sanskriti of the older generation. Kabir talks of his father’s philandering ways and his mother’s marital loyalty being nothing but a direct consequence of her not having any place to go. It was brave of Zoya to make a son say this about his parents. But I have often wondered about this while bringing up teen-aged children. Why do Indian parents appropriate the rights of telling their children what to study, how to lead their life and whom to marry? Are they leading such exemplary lives themselves? And just because they are older, they know better? And with our system of kanyadan, will a daughter be given the same status as the son? How is that possible if a marriage is considered a as a ritual of a daughter leaving one’s family and becoming a part of another.
The crisis that the Mehra family is facing is a good construct to frame these questions in the right perspective.
Zoya takes her time in building up the drama, but once the drama gathers traction it is an engaging presentation. The ensemble cast is in top form. I read somewhere that while making ‘ Neerja’ on the PanAm hijacking, director Ram Madhavan auditioned people for the role of all the 223 passengers because each of them was going to be a significant member of the cast. I think Zoya applied the same criteria while choosing the passengers on the cruise. But the main characters played by Anil Kapoor, Shefali Chhaya, Ranveer Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma are all in superb form and the film’s chief pleasure is in watching these actors essay their well-etched roles. Even Rahul Bose manages to come through as an alpha male Punjabi quite convincingly and Zarina Wahab as his mother is chilling. I was touched by the actor playing Farhan’s father, the manager. Such an epitome of a decent human being.
Farhan’s entry makes a big impact in the film. His confrontation scene with Rahul Bose was the kind of scene that gave the film its mojo.
But the film has its shortcomings. Films like Piku ,TWMR, NH 10, Dum Laga Ke Haisa and Badalpur had shortcomings , but those got submerged under their chutzpah. And chutzpah is what DDD lacks to an extent. It is a little calculated, the script structure planned and the pencil lines of the plan are there to see. Except for the last lifeboat scene which can be accepted as cinematic license, DDD is more real, closer to life and more sincere to its theme. But for me that’s not always a winning deal. Reality for me is not good cinema. Craziness is, Energy is. A compulsive sucking in of the audience to the films own world is. An elegant aesthetic pattern is. DDD lacks all of these. There are two scenes which ramp up the craziness quotient well. The one where Divya vomit’s on Rana’s shoes and Kabir makes those quips – ‘ Epic or e puke’ ‘ Vomitonno’ – and the other when Senior Mehra chances upon Rana and Noorie making out, and instead of the couple getting embarrassed, it is he who wants to hide and slink away. There are many witty lines and funny sequences throughout the film, but they don’t have the zing and crazy energy of the two sequences that really fly. (In contrast, almost every gag in TWMR has that kind of zing.) The dramatic sequences on the other hand work better and I wish Zoya had written it as a serious Ibsenian drama of human failings and parent-children tension rather than a social comedy turned serious. And I wish they had thought of a more ‘realistic’ climax than the airport rom-com kind of climax they have chosen, in light of the turn the film had already taken into the domain of serious drama.
Then there is the length of the film, which seems a little desultory because of its sitcom-style narration. If I was the script doctor I would have moved the story out of the ship a couple of times or more and flashed back to earlier lives of the characters and would have come back to the cruise for the climax. That kind of structuring has helped films like Rang De Basanti and Bhag Mikha Bhag appear more colorful and lively that they would have been with a straight-linear narrative. Under the constraints, Pluto’s commentary was a good idea and a film like Bombay Velvet would have benefitted from a similar commentary.
I was very disappointed with the two set-piece songs: Girls Like To Swing and Galiyan Goodiyan. In today’s times you stop the film’s narration to stage a song only if you are going to give the audience a rollicking good time. ‘ Banno’ and ‘Ghani Bawri’ in TWMR did that. But not these two. I appreciate the challenge of the Anushka’s dance number. It had to be a number learnt in London’s dance schools and classy enough to be performed for the guests of a cruise. It is not easy to make such a sing authentic and entertaining. But ‘ Kaisi Yeh Paheli’ with Rekha in ‘Parineeta’ managed to do that and wish Zoya had worked harder to get something as good. The Galiyan Goodiyan song is perfect in thought and so flat in execution. ‘Sajni Vari vari’ in Reema’s own Honeymon Travels had more free-flowing energy. If it was meant to be a string of couplets that the people improvised, it lacked that half-cooked feel. It sounded like just another Javed Akhtar lyrics. The ‘ Wah wah Ramji’ or ‘ Sambadhan’ or ‘ Dhikk tana’ songs in HAH are better examples of how it should be done, where the characters’ own stories and feelings are built into what they sing. I wish someone like Amitabh Bhattacharya had written it. The ‘ Pehli Baar’ song is nicely written and staged. But here too I was thinking how a bit of Mani magic (like in the song ‘Paranthu Sella va’ in ‘OK Kanmani’) would have made the song impossible to forget.
But the shortcoming at a more basic level was the inconsistency of tone. ‘Badalpur’, ‘NH 10’, DLKHS’, ‘Piku’ and ‘ TWMR’ are films which appeared to be consistent whole, each cut from a single specific cloth. But this one doesn’t seem to have made up its mind. And that dilutes one’s enjoyment of the film.
But as I said, there is much good writing and brilliant performances, some well-written funny lines and some well-staged dramatic scenes; and most importantly a strong theme that makes you think. That’s quite enough take-home for the price of a ticket. In fact I am willing to watch the film again for the performances alone.
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June 6, 2015 at 11:55 AM
Good review Utkal. I have one issue which is your expectation/reaction for a movie. Obviously even a flawed Zoya Akhtar (or any good director) movie will have lot of good stuff in it like the performances some great sequences and dialogues. The majority of the critics are giving it 2 to 3 stars out of 5. Even your review will be in that range and infact that is only failure for Zoya’s standards. So, you expect the movie to be 0 stars to call it a disappointment? Like no good dialogues in 170 mins, no good performances, nothing and then you would call it bad? Even a flop or flawed movie can have all of the good traits of a hit and sucessful. Its just that all that good parts doesn’t come together easily and gives a jarring effect to the viewer and movies don’t connect. Also, no one is calling this movie downright bad, its just a disappointment from the director and step down from her previous 2 movies.
You can get something good out of every flop film out there.. some great scenes, writing and lot of good performances but that doesn’t make the movies really good.
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June 6, 2015 at 11:58 AM
Master:
http://thereviewmonk.com/movie/dil-dhadakne-do/
Average 6.3. Same as for Baby. I think that’s fair.
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June 6, 2015 at 12:10 PM
Yes getting 6/10 for Zoya is step down and getting 6/10 for Akshay Kumar movie is a step up.
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June 6, 2015 at 1:01 PM
Story of the day : US Navy SEAL 6
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/world/asia/the-secret-history-of-seal-team-6.html?referrer=&_r=0
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June 6, 2015 at 1:23 PM
Rangan as usual getting to the heart (sorry couldn’t resist) of what ails DDD.
“What’s unforgivable is the complete absence of life. The only heart that’s beating here is the one in the title. There’s a difference between finely detailed and just… slow. Sitting through the 170 minutes (seriously?) of Dil Dhadakne Do is like entering a five-star hotel. The outside noise disappears. It’s all very hush-hush. You feel you’re stuck in an elevator and the damn muzak won’t stop. When Karan Johar made a similar multi-starrer about a dysfunctional upper-crust family, he infused the proceedings with deliciously vulgar energy. The look may have been five-star but the feel was like that of a ghee-soaked dhaba. It was silly, it was fun. Scene after farcical scene in Dil Dhadakne Do cries out for Almodóvarian camp, but Akhtar seems to think she’s staging Chekhov. ”
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June 6, 2015 at 2:06 PM
Lol! Rangan has just slaughtered the film and his reading is totally in line with the impression I got from the promos.
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June 6, 2015 at 2:34 PM
It is not bad but it is a below average movie; People who thought Roy was slow, this is super slow in many parts. Things don’t move. It is like Barjatya movies with better/updated sensibilities in dialogues but towards end it became loud and Priyardarshanian. I don’t mind audience friendly movies but I think director got confused; First half is hers later it becomes audience friendly. Reema Kagti’s Talaash had dark tone through out but ending became tonally different movie.
ps: *Spoilesr**
When you are making a relatively serious movie, you don’t have place for Anil Kapoor heroics; Be holding Rahul Bose by throat who is much stronger and younger; or the whole boat theatricals.
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June 6, 2015 at 2:29 PM
Exactly what I said.. hopefully Utkal Uncle agrees now. The issues are the most cliche from older hindi movies and just set in rich family.
“This is essentially an update of a 1960s family melodrama. It’s all here – the line about how, after marriage, beti parayi ho gayi; the concern over log kya kahenge when they hear about a divorce; the mangni toot gayi tragedy; a father’s expectation that his daughter should gift him a grandson; the rich girl falling in love with her father’s manager ka beta…”
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June 6, 2015 at 3:04 PM
lol!
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June 6, 2015 at 1:49 PM
There is still hope for science 🙂
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June 6, 2015 at 2:07 PM
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June 6, 2015 at 2:59 PM
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June 6, 2015 at 3:17 PM
Two great ‘pathani’ men…two great legends.
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June 6, 2015 at 2:11 PM
“What’s unforgivable is the complete absence of life.”
Haven’t seen ddd so can’t comment on it -That’s what I say about (most not all nowadays) Rangans reviews.
These are people who are treating or critiquing films but have no idea of what ‘art’ is …
It’s one thing buying an expensive painting & adorning your living room with it but not knowing that it’s actually a ‘fake’ (but hey Buber paid big bucks 4 it!)
Just like ‘reebok’ and ‘reebuk’ as in twmr (quoting kangs!)
Infact these chaps have never really ‘lived’
They watch and review films like an ‘office job’
Anyhow
It’s one thing (& much safer) to say that a Satya/ iruvar is a cult classic
& there are many rangans and ‘Satyams’ to state this fact
It’s another to say that ZNMD was a modern day cult classic
It was brilliant …
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June 6, 2015 at 3:36 PM
By choosing to play safe, Amitabh Bachchan has become a stranger to his own image
“This safety-first Bachchan is more painful to watch than the eponymous caricature of his own self in Lal Badshah and Mrityudata, the two box-office duds that ended the legend of Angry Young Man on screen. Why should he feel vulnerable, what is he afraid of losing, what stops him from speaking his mind? At 73, why does Bachchan—Padma Vibhushan, Star of the Millennium, Brand Ambassador of Narendra Modi’s Gujarat— act like an insecure aam aadmi? Doesn’t he yearn for confrontation in the cage of compromise he has chosen for himself? Doesn’t he wish to break the Zanjeer that makes him sound so Majboor?”
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/by-choosing-to-play-safe-amitabh-bachchan-has-become-a-stranger-to-his-own-image-2283022.html
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June 6, 2015 at 6:10 PM
Have watched Dil Dhadakne Do and the only good things about it are the cinematography and Priyanka Chopra. She looks and acts like an old time Hollywood superstar. I used to believe she always tries too hard but never hits the mark. This time maybe because the role is of an elegant demure woman, Priyanka captures her pretty well. There are some amazing moments like the first close up when she walks out of her first family council or when Ranveer sees her crying from a ship’s porthole (this was the finest moment for the actor.)
Apart from her, the characters are all stock characters and their evolutions are merely operative. Case in point is Rahul Bose who was all nice and decent throughout the movie but lets out a regressive remark just when Farhan has to make a move on Priyanka.
Biggest problem with the movie : Aamir’s voiceovers for the dog. The pedestrian narrations take so much time and offer so little, the film would improve tremendously if all of it has been cut. Second biggest problem is lack of wit. Both Piku and TWMR succeeded because of the felicity of their wit. There was only one genuinely funny line in DDD: “humein jobs kaun dega” one. The others are too glib and fail to hit the mark and even those are very few in the movie.
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June 6, 2015 at 8:37 PM
Aamir’s voice-over for the Mehras’ pet Pluto is one of the highlights of ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Aamirs-voice-over-for-the-Mehras-pet-Pluto-is-one-of-the-highlights-of-Dil-Dhadakne-Do/articleshow/47564651.cms
According to many, he is the most adorable member of the DDD family. And Pluto’s most redeeming feature is the fact that he speaks in the voice of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. Dil Dhadakne Do, that opened to glowing reviews, has also sparked off curiosity about the pooch. Like all principal actors — Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Anushka Sharma — Pluto too is an important member of the ensemble cast.
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June 6, 2015 at 8:38 PM
He is the raconteur of the story and gives it a philosophical twist, making the tale absorbing and believable. Says a unit hand, “Like all other characters, Pluto too was Zoya’s brainchild. She went to great lengths in choosing a pet whom people would find adorable.” And when she gave her friend Aamir a narration he fell in love with the pet. At that stage, Javed Akhtar (Zoya’s dad) had done the voice over for the dog. When Zoya casually asked Aamir whether he would be willing do dub for Pluto, the actor readily agreed. While it may be a first for a Bollywood superstar to have lent his voice to a dog in a live feature film, Aamir’s reason for doing this was because he wanted to be a part of Zoya’s film in some way or the other.
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June 6, 2015 at 11:21 PM
I would have preferred if they retained Javed Akhtar as pluto’s voice. Brings the philosophical aspect better than Aamir Khan. But looks like Zoya fell for the star trap and trying to fill with every opportunity possible.
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June 7, 2015 at 4:56 AM
Master – I’d posted earlier also – check this again: Aamir’s cameo in zoya’s LBC was so wonderful that i thought Zoya’s next film would be a full-fledged film starring aamir……..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE0DZZoLaI
probably she considers him a lucky mascot? also the writers for DDD are ZA and reema kagti (Talaash fame)…………
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June 6, 2015 at 9:01 PM
Dil Dhadakne Do showed solid growth of around 20-25% on Saturday. It the film had manged to grow over 30% it would have set it up for very good run but still its good growth for a Saturday where a film has opened at 10 crore levels. The second day should come in the region of 12.25 crore nett.
The major centres have grown in the 25-30% region while smaller circuits are looking at 10-15% growth. The film is scoring well in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune and Bangalalore with these areas all likely to have growth over 25%.
The film is behaving best in Mumbai and Mysore with Mumbai likely to be around the 8 crore nett mark in two days while Mysore will be close to 1.75 crore nett .
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedoshowsgoodgrowthonsaturday#.VXOXdrWCwqE
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June 6, 2015 at 11:24 PM
good growth, looks like a healthy weekend for DDD.
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June 7, 2015 at 4:02 AM
Probably points towards a 52 -55cr 1st week and around 80cr lifetime. It would need out of the norm trending to go above that. It would look like disappointing results finally if it can’t cross the 80cr mark. The distributors shares are going to be on the lower side.
It will need a further big jump on sunday (which is doable) and then sustain during week-days and next couple of week-ends (which is not given).
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June 7, 2015 at 6:32 AM
Cult movies : HT Brunch
http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch-stories/the-great-brunch-checklist-of-cultmovies/article1-1354922.aspx
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June 7, 2015 at 6:46 AM
Telugu actress Aarthi Agarwal passes away at 31.
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/regional/south-actress-aarthi-agarwal-dies-at-30/
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June 7, 2015 at 6:48 AM
Excerpts
Actress Aarthi Agarwal, 31, who has acted in 21 Telugu, Tamil and Hindi movies died after suffering a cardiac arrest due to respiratory complications at a hospital in the US on Saturday. Only on Friday, her latest film ‘Ranam 2′ in Telugu was released across theatres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Aarthi, who suffered from asthma for several years, had undergone a liposuction surgery about a month back but post-surgery she developed respiratory problems and is said to have suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday while recuperating at a hospital in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Aarthi, who was born and brought up in New Jersey, first made her acting debut in Hindi movie `Pagalpan’ when she was 16 which did not do well. She moved to Tollywood and made Telugu debut with `Nuvu Naaku Nachav’ in 2001, which went on to become a hit. She did two other Telugu films that year, which also did very well.
She became the toast of Tollywood and in 2002 she did four films, three in 2003 and four movies in 2004. She is one of the few non-Telugu speaking actresses who went on to work with some of the biggest Tollywood stars like K Chiranjeevi, N Balakrishna, A Nagarjuna, D Venkatesh, G Mahesh Babu, Ravi Teja, and NTR Junior.
Her sister, Aditi Agarwal, is also an actress. Aarthi was the lead actress in the 2002 the hit Telugu movie `Nee Sneham’ in which the lead actor was V Uday Kiran who committed suicide in January, 2014, after failing to get any new roles which landed him in financial crisis.
In 2005, Aarthi acted in five movies, including a cameo appearance, which was her career high. After acting in three other movies which did well, Aarthi’s career slumped in 2007 in which she did not get a single offer. Sources in Tollywood said that Aarthi was one of the many young Telugu actresses who are battling depression and obesity after hitting a rough patch in their acting careers.
In fact, Aarthi is believed to have tried to commit suicide in March, 2005 at her home in Hyderabad after failing to get new film offers as the four films she acted in that year failed to do well. She was also allegedly romantically linked to a Tollywood actor which ended bitterly.
“From 2008 to 2015 she worked in only four films and was almost forgotten. I think she had put on weight and had decided to undergo surgery,’’ an official of the Movie Artists Association said.
Aarthi’s father Shashank Agarwal informed members of Tollwood who made several anxious calls after hearing of her death that she suffered a cardiac arrest due respiratory problems but did not mention any liposuction related surgery.
– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/regional/south-actress-aarthi-agarwal-dies-at-30/#sthash.NT2OH5IK.dpuf
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June 7, 2015 at 7:44 AM
RIP
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June 7, 2015 at 6:53 AM
A teary-eyed Shashank (Aarthi’s Father) explained the whole episode while speaking to the Telugu news channels. Aarthi was supposed to start working for a new project from July this year and she preferred liposuction to be fit by that time. The surgery which was carried out by one of best doctors in New York went off well but Aarthi complained of breathing problem after some time. Doctor came for a home visit and assured the family that such minor complications are quite common after a surgery. As the condition kept deteriorating, Family Members called the Doctor in the night and the physician told there is nothing to worry apart from asking to bring her for a personal visit on Monday. Just after half-an-hour, Aarthi Agarwal lost her breath completely and she was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Her heart failed to respond and doctors have declared that she was brought dead. ‘I don’t have words to speak right now. We have lost the soul of our family,’ he told.
– See more at: http://www.gulte.com/movienews/39315/Aarthi-Agarwals-Death-Family-speaks-out#sthash.anrvR93c.dpuf
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June 7, 2015 at 7:35 AM
So in the end, even though the man realizes that the girl with the inner beauty, the woman of substance, is who he should actually spend his life with, it is the woman with the outer beauty, charm and guiles who manages to hold on to him. And is this what happens in real life? Do I really need to answer this question?
So am I blaming the beautiful woman for this? Not at all. Everyone has the right to be what he or she is. I don’t advocate being moralistic about anything in life. Do I blame the simple woman, the plain Jane for her devotion? Of course not. The only person I’m blaming here is the man, who is wise enough to perceive the true beauty of a woman, and is yet ultimately so blinded by external beauty that he foolishly goes back into a relationship that is bound to give both the concerned parties future grief and misery. And yes, probably all the men in the world are like that.
A man usually knows what will make him truly happy in life. But he will still desire only those things that will make him seem like a success in the eyes of other men
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June 7, 2015 at 8:35 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do Day Two Business
Sunday 07 June 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne showed growth of around 20 % on Saturday as it grossed around 12 crore nett taking its two day total to 22 crore. The growth is decent and collections are at decent level. The first two day business of Dil Dhadakne Do is as follows.
Friday – 10,00,00,000
Saturday – 12,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 22,00,00,000
There will be growth on Sunday but it is sometimes limited for multiplex films especially ones that are doing best in metros which is the case here. Monday will be all important for the film.
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June 7, 2015 at 8:37 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 6h6 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo witnesses GOOD growth on Day 2. Major centres/plexes are rocking! Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr. Total: ₹ 22.80 cr. India biz.
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June 7, 2015 at 8:37 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 9h9 hours ago
#PK creates HISTORY in China. Crosses ₹ 100 cr on Sat [6 June; 16th day]. Total: $ 15.88 million [₹ 101.81 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
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June 7, 2015 at 8:38 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh Jun 6
#TanuWedsManuReturns refuses to slow down [Week 3] Fri 2.70 cr. Grand total: ₹ 119.43 cr. India biz. BLOCKBUSTER.
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June 7, 2015 at 8:59 AM
17 gems of Ilayaraja.
http://swarajyamag.com/lite/17-gems-of-ilayaraja-not-many-know-about/
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June 7, 2015 at 11:30 AM
Apart from that Shefali Shah’s character gorging on those brownies in frustration/depression which was LMAO scene, another original / redeeming factor was how the romantic track began between leads. Looking at the innovational new age romantic scenes of Ranvir and Anushka in DDD one starts to feel there is such a dearth / scarcity of good romantic movies lately and these new actors are idiots not capitalizing on this age old / tried and tested genre to build up their innings and build their fan base. Plus there is an added advantage of not having to compete with SRK/Aamir Salman/Akshay who are passe and can never get back to doing this romance effectively.
What a lovely, infectious track and esp. the tune is contemporary / cutting-edge something we experienced during DCH title track –
I doubt we have heard the tune at this point in song – Laga ki tumse milna tha tabaahi , Iss dil ko hi samjhaane maine kahaa
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June 7, 2015 at 12:01 PM
Pehli Baar is a wonderful trcak and Ranveer and Anushka absolutely nailed. And the younger actors are building their brand with romantic films. Ranbir and deepik adid it with YJHD. Deepika did it with Cocktail, Raam Leela. Varun did it with Humpty Sharma. Ranbir i sgoing to do it again in Tamasha and Yeh Dil Hai Mushkil.
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June 7, 2015 at 12:39 PM
Utkal its been 7-8 years since they are in circulation and they are far too few to name plus btw where are Ranbir & Ranvir fans ? In today’s ‘young’ India / market where 100 cr is simply a 3-day deal , they are even struggling to reach a 50- 70 Cr lifetime totals ?
Don’t you think just out on the basis of his fan base, Ranbir should be commanding at least a 80-90 cr for BV. They haven’t build up any brand and that is easier with romantic genre where likability factor is easy to acquire.
I mean where is Bobby, Love Story, MPK, QSQT, DDLJ of this generation. Look at Imran Khan’s career where he started well with Jaane Tu….well and don’t know what made him do a Kidnap or a Once Upon A time Mumbai and be totally clueless in them and get out of circulation so soon. Even a Ranbir after a stupendous YJHD, jumped on to meaningful cinema far too soon and I consider him a bit of ‘dhakkan’ trying to do a Salman with Besharam a bit too early where he should have just focused on being natural successor to SRK and done breezy romantic stuff.
Ranbir fortunately now has a Kjo who somehow has taken to his cause and out to prove him to be the next superstar. Sensing BV disaster well ahead of time, KJO was quick to resurrect Ranbir by announcing Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and that too under his own direction which adds more value to the project rather it just being a Dharma project.
On an aside there seems some undercurrent of battle running between kjo and srk and and until now it’s not out in the open. Seems like KJO out to prove something to SRK with Ranbir…
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June 7, 2015 at 1:09 PM
“Don’t you think just out on the basis of his fan base, Ranbir should be commanding at least a 80-90 cr for BV. ” No. Ranbir’s fans for his romnatic films got Roy a start of a level same as that of Akshay Kumar’s actiiners. You will see how he opens Tamasha. Ranveer, yes. He should capitalize on his super turn in DDD and do some straight romantic films.’he should have just focused on being natural successor to SRK and done breezy romantic stuff.’ Agree 100%. You have to play to your strengths
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June 7, 2015 at 3:49 PM
Sometimes,as Anupam said in BABY, it helps to work on your brain along with your vada-pavs that in today’s times constitute ‘acting.’
http://m.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/actor-offered-rs4-31-crore-lottery-cheated-of-lakhs/article1-1355523.aspx
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June 7, 2015 at 4:07 PM
at a screening for the President:
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June 7, 2015 at 10:12 PM
Nice to see the Pesident and Bachchan in one frame Two gentlemen who are pride of India. Wishing Bachchan long innings and many more accolades. He looks so handsome.
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June 7, 2015 at 10:09 PM
Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar says the bond between brothers and sisters is not well represented on the big screen in India.
“I’ve always wanted to make a family drama. Drama is my favourite genre. Brother-sister relationship at the core hasn’t been well represented on Indian screens. It’s always wrapped in rituals, never what it really is. Nobody else knows you better. I wanted to show that relationship in Dil Dhadakne Do,” Zoya told reporters after the screening of her film at the Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards here on Saturday.
She hoped that the film, which revolves around a dysfunctional family with actors Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh playing siblings, moves people. “I hope it moves people and entertains them. I hope they think about the things that they don’t think about,” she said about the film, which released on Friday.
Dil Dhadakne Do also stars Zoya’s brother Farhan Akhtar, who believes Zoya makes films that are universally applicable. Zoya said found working with her brother easy.
“He (Farhan) became a part of the film since its scripting process. He has written the dialogues of the film,” she said.
Zoya also said she felt ‘blessed’ because superstar Aamir Khan accepted her request to be the voice of a dog named Pluto in the film. “Aamir has been good to Farhan, Ritesh (Sidhwani) and me. He saw the film, liked it and he was on for Pluto,” she said.
http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/zoya-akhtar-wanted-to-show-brother-sister-relationship-in-dil-dhadakne-do-769508
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June 7, 2015 at 10:23 PM
Imaginary Conversation Over Master’s Comment that for this blog PIKU is bigger hit then TWMR.
SS (Satyamshot) – PIKU is bigger hit then TWMR
VC (Virat Kohli) – MC/BC But TWMR will do Double then PIKU with lass production cost how is it Bigger hit.
SS – PIKU’s theme is multiplex based.
VC – So ? MC/BC TWMR’s theme is single screen based. Going by multiplex ticket rates PIKU should earn more.
SS – But TWMR theme is more massy while PIKU’s is classy
VC – MC/BC…Seedhe kyon nahi kehte ki Amitabh ko Zindagi main pehli baar 50 cr paar kiya hai isliye PIKU is bigger hit then TWMR.
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June 8, 2015 at 12:31 AM
Forgot to tell you early on that this blog isn’t a place for kids (actual ones or those masquerading as adults). Of course not even ‘kids’ “pray” for the success of Ranveer Singh’s films. But then their hearts don’t flutter for him the way yours apparently does..
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June 8, 2015 at 12:32 AM
The film did its best business in Mumbai belt follwed by Mysore, a belt known for the performance of urban niche films. The film did show good growth over the weekend with good jumps on both Saturday and Sunday which means the word of mouth is on the positive side.
http://www.talkingmoviez.com/dil-dhadakne-do-sunday-3rd-day-1st-weekend-box-office-collections/
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June 8, 2015 at 1:13 AM
http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/emma-jlaw-and-scarletts-older-man-problem.html
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June 8, 2015 at 1:58 AM
This being an expensive film, the need of the hour was immediate escalation in days to follow. While there was good momentum on Saturday and Sunday, it wasn’t monumental enough to bring the film into a situation from where it can be said with utmost certainty that it would enjoy a really good run for itself. With around 38-39 crores* in its kitty, the film’s collections are in the same range as Tanu Weds Manu Returns opening weekend. However, the Aanand L. Rai directed film had seen massive appreciation at a much lesser number of screens while Zoya Akhtar has a lesser target audience on a bigger screen count.
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/dil-dhadakne-do-has-a-fantastic-run-at-the-box-office-in-its-1st-weekend/
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June 8, 2015 at 2:28 AM
Ya..One must pray only for Baccha Bachchan (AB Jr).
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June 8, 2015 at 2:43 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do had a first weekend of 36 crore nett. Its a pretty good weekend considering that the film is mainly collection in just 5-6 cities. The trend was also pretty good with a 20% increase on Saturday and 17% on Sunday. The Saturday growth of 20% could gave been better but 17% on Sunday is good for this type of film as does not have mass support.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedofirstweekendbusiness#.VXU5U8-qqko
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June 8, 2015 at 2:45 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do has done very well Overseas with collections set to go past $3.5 miilion and maybe even a little hugher. The best performance is in North America where collections will come in at around the $1.5 million mark. United Kingdom is looking at £220,000 gross while Gulf will be around $1 million.
The three major markets will be around $2.9 millionand easily the rest should contribute enough to take it over $3.5 million. All three main markets of UK, US and Gulf have seen the best openings of the year. The best opening prior to Dil Dhadakne Do was Tanu Weds Manu Returns at $2.75 million.
The performance in North America is best with weekend figures beating all the releases of 2014 apart from PK and Happy New Year.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedoscoresinoverseas#.VXU5qs-qqko
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June 8, 2015 at 3:42 AM
Someone ( Shrabonti) on Rangan’s blog who has elaborated nicely on some of the points I had made in my review:
I agree with almost every word Utkal has written in his first, long comment. The film was much deeper, denser than ZNMD, and its observations of marriage and protocols within marriage were so spot-on my husband and I turned to look at each other spontaneously in the theatre quite a few times with a guilty, sheepish look on our faces. For eg, when Shefali tells AK someone dropped out from the cruise and he says ‘Achha hua, 8000 Euro bach gaye.’ Or when she berates him for taking money from Farhan, money he had leant him to get out of the way. There is just so much to like in the movie. Each frame was a delight. And people who feel that characters such as the intelligent, nerdy girl who keeps making fun of everyone were “underused” — well, the film was not about them and I’d rather have interested characters popping up everywhere than boring stereotypes.
This is not to say the film doesn’t have its flaws. The framing device of the dog is truly cringe-worthy. But everyone acts so well, everything is so tightly woven together, that I for one couldn’t look away. And it’s such an inherently progressive film — not just in its big ‘let the Mehra who knows business handle it’ moments — but in small moments such as the one where Ranvir turns up yet again to pester Anushka at her rehearsal and she snarls at him ‘This is my place of WORK. Just leave’. Or the subtle manifestations of tensions within the family, when early on, people who had decided not to bring it up talk about the invitation with the missing Mehra name just to score a point against the others. Pure gold, man. How can anyone not love the scene in the medical cabin after AK has had his health scare and the family are, finally, alone and have a mindblowing fight, with Ranvir turning around and telling his father — ‘Woh dancer hai, aur Mussulman hai.’ Note the choice of words, wanting to create maximum impact. I can watch the film all over again for that scene alone.
https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/…/dil-dhadakne-do-its…/
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June 8, 2015 at 6:14 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do is the biggest worldwide opener of 2015 edging past Tanu Weds Manu Retuns. Dil Dhadakne Do grossed grossed 48 crore (GROSS) in India and grossed 21 crore apprx Overseas for a Worldwide GROSS of 69 crore. The top Worldwide openers of 2015 are as follows.
1. Dil Dhadakne Do – 69 crore apprx
2. Tanu Weds Manu – 66.50 crore
3. Gabbar Is Back – 62 crore
4. Baby – 47 crore
5. Piku – 44 crore.
The top three which are Dil Dhadakne Do, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Gabbar Is Back have a gap to the rest. Comparatively the Dil Dhadakne Do Overseas performance is better as it is among the top twenty openings of all time while India figures are just outside the top thirty.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedoistopworldwideopenerof2015#.VXVoWM-qqko
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June 8, 2015 at 6:43 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#TanuWedsManuReturns continues its victory march [Week 3] Fri 2.70 cr, Sat 4.18 cr, Sun 5.40 cr. Grand total: ₹ 129.01 cr. India biz.
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
Looking at its speed, #TanuWedsManuReturns is looking at ₹ 140 cr/₹ 150 cr biz in India. May even cross that figure. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
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June 8, 2015 at 6:44 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 4h4 hours ago
#PK is UNSTOPPABLE in China. Total till Sun [7 June; 17th day]: $ 16.71 million [₹ 107.07 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
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June 8, 2015 at 9:25 AM
On target to get close to $20mm in China. 100 crores in one territory overseas and in India 100 crores is considered amazing.
Quite remarkable that the US number of $10.6mm was monstrous and historic, a good 30% ahead of the next best Dhoom 3’s $8mm (which itself was over 20% ahead of 3 Idiots $6.5mm, and 3 Idiots was way ahead of everything before its time by over 60%, with MNIK at $4mm the previous record holder) and now China completely hits one out the park, nearly doubling the US record by the end of P.K’s run.
Pretty sure Dilwale will challenge the US figures given the track record of SRK/Kajol grossers but seems the Chinese aren’t that interested in SRK films yet…think Happy New Year made about 100 times less then P.K will.
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June 8, 2015 at 9:48 AM
The PK Chinese number is quite stunning and really should be getting a lot more attention than it has. On Dilwale I’m unsure whether it will sustain even if it opens very big. Because the Rohit Shetty films typically don’t trend extraordinarily whether in India or outside. If however he makes more of CE kind of deal where it’s all about the lead pair he might possibly have a chance. Still I’d say that number is hard to beat, i.e. in the absence of a film that truly connects. Will say though that Dilwale is in a way SRK’s last bid for some sort of relevance in the top bracket. Clearly he’s not with Salman and Aamir at the moment. One can establish this any number of ways. But he could still be considered a cut above the rest (or at the most Hrithik’s with him here). However he’s completely run out of big film options that can do the trick for him. He’s clearly not working with Johar at the moment (why couldn’t Johar’s next with Aishwarya feature him.. I have to say this combo would certainly be bigger at this very moment than the same with Ranbir, certainly overseas), even Farah Khan didn’t work out for him this time the way OSO did last time. There isn’t a big Yashraj film on the cards (it’s smaller stuff like Fan). Rohit Shetty is really his only big ticket at the moment. And here a CE repeat with greater numbers at both ends accounting for inflation and so on is really the best he can hope for. Unless Shetty has surprisingly made the best film of his career! That’s still going to be a very long way from PK. Salman is too but he’s in the zone in other ways. You get the feeling with SRK that if he can pull of a CE and then do some smaller films he’d be back to Shetty a couple of years later with another younger star or whatever. it’s not much of a plan. Even this late in the day SRK rather surprisingly seems unable to do some serious reinvention. Particularly strange given all the opportunities that are available today unlike say the 90s. Then again SRK has wedded himself so much to the idea of the big gross that he now cannot leave that history behind. And his ‘Khan’ generational peers have made this even harder for him.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:11 AM
It should be getting a lot more attention given this is very early in the cycle of Chinese releases. If you consider how the UK/US markets were cornered in the mid to late 90’s, none of those markets showed this abnormal type of grosser so early on. SRK built it up bit by bit, every release got bigger and thereby records kept following but not at this level of enormity. The poster film overseas still pretty much remained K3G by in large for many years. That was the peak with MNIK doing some damage, maybe KANK and OSO along the way.
But 3 Idiots, D3 and P.K have not just “added” at that rate that SRK films were doing. They have completely destroyed records. The rate of knots the records have gone are similar to the benchmarks in India for these 3 films too.
Can see Dilwale getting a record opening. Overseas invests “a lot” more in the marriage of SRK and Kajol than India does for sure. Can see the US and UK opening to storming results, but agree with you that the sustaining power will need to be there to get the big numbers. And big numbers for the overseas still remain 3 Idiots for everyone that isn’t Aamir Khan, let alone D3 and now P.K.
I think even Aamir will struggle getting to 3 Idiots for the time being, certainly Dangal does not sound like the kind of film that is going to set any kind of records IMO.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:23 AM
hard to disagree on anything here..
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June 8, 2015 at 10:21 AM
Definitely does not seem like SRK-Johar get along the same as before. I don’t think MNIK did much for SRK and he probably realised that. Think if it’s his decision he’s made the right call but then going back to Farah for HNY is not great wisdom either. He can rely on Rohit Shetty to produce something safe.
The results are pretty clear now about his standing though now. Don’t think it can be disputed but his last “top” year was 2007. That is now many years ago. Since then Aamir-Salman have pretty much decimated his records in every sense. He can hang with them, but like Hrithik he just does not have ability to pick a project that will open big and sustain. Salman doesn’t really have this ability either but he has clearly a much more loyal fan base then anyone.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:22 AM
I think people tend to overlook the main factor about the repeat value. Not every good movie or loved movie has repeat value. Reaching the maximum ‘unique’ people to watch a movie is different than maximum tickets sold. I don’t think you are really getting new audience when PK does huge amount over D3 or 3 Idiots. Yes of course, some percentage is additional and new but majority of them are the same folks watching it multiple times. For example, even though if someone loved K3G, I don’t think one would have patience to watch that movie 2-3 times in Cinemas especially at 3:45 mins duration. Good to see full blown masala action like Dhoom3 doing huge business and movies like 3 Idiots and PK if connected or loved does have huge repeat value and its easier to watch it multiple times than an emotional saga.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:42 AM
“I don’t think you are really getting new audience when PK does huge amount over D3 or 3 Idiots”
well but this is why one shouldn’t just look at the absolute gross. The 205 crores or so 3I is much more than the PK gross when one makes all the necessary adjustments. Put differently 3I would have grossed a lot more than PK today. Having said that PK is still worth more than every other big film including D3. Nothing else is even within striking distance including the latter. And then so far nothing is within striking distance of D3 either. So Aamir owns these records whichever way one slices or dices them. And if one then wants to get into individual genres he’s been doing uniquely well here for a much longer time. Even today I’d maintain that no one else could have got Talaash to that number. Clearly this film didn’t trend well at all and in fact poorly given Aamir’s standards. Nonetheless he made this film a ‘must watch’ for many people in week 1 which is why it got to that big number. Otherwise even with big stars you’d probably see a 50-60 crore close here. For all these reasons (and more) and even accepting Salman keeps producing these big initials one after the other I think there’s a certain unfairness and anti-Aamir bias to this whole narrative. If a guy has PK, D3, 3I, Ghajini there’s simply no room for debate. Specially when Salman despite the big openings doesn’t break those records either barring probably with ETT and even here just a bit later a pure multiplex film like YJHD did as much.
But getting back to your initial point this is precisely why one cannot look at absolute numbers. From the length of the film to competition to genre to scale of production to co-stars to sequels etc one has to look at a variety of things. Again when someone like Aamir does it consistently for 15 years with many different directors and genres it cannot be said that he’s dependent on any one factor. So Dangal might be a very successful but it would be absurd to use D3 or Ghajini standards here. The same for TZP or RDB or anything else. There is always a ceiling on a given genre, the right star or film can maximize it but cannot shatter that ceiling altogether. So no matter how much an audience loves Talaash it’s not a 200 crore film (without of course altering it altogether and making it a lot more audience-friendly.. but then you have a different film).
And so it’s true that not every film that is liked a lot has great repeat value just as some films that do have this are not necessarily appreciated the most (3I was off the charts so this is a different deal). But this cannot be used as an excuse to justify lots of big films that are total under performers if not failures if one gets past the initial. with Shetty yes he just isn’t the sort of director who invests enough on a film to make it more than watchable with some very entertaining moments. this on a good day. So to expect him to trend like Hirani would be odd. On the other hand this is always true. The best trending films are usually the best made ones too, relatively to dominant genres at any given point. This can’t be held against the director or star. A somewhat absurd logic has crept in over time where proponents of certain stars who usually act in junk films actually hold it against people like Aamir for doing good films. It’s like saying Sholay doesn’t mean much because it was exceptionally well made! Or saying things like ‘anyone can act well in a Scorsese film, the key is to act well in Fast and Furious’! All these cynical and downright silly arguments are advanced from time to time. Not saying you’re doing it but this sort of claim often becomes the surround sound if you will. So on K3G it wouldn’t be about ‘patience’ if it were a much better film. It was enjoyable enough to be very successful but not so enjoyable as to overcome that length hump. On the other hand I suspect that even at 3 hrs it wouldn’t do significantly more. Because we’ve seen many 2.5 hr films too that follow the same trajectory. Time in a film is also relative. With lagaan the 3 hr 45 min just went by. With K3G even if it was enjoyable things dragged at points. People could have probably seen 3 hr 45 min of 3I! JA was long, opened weakly but it found a certain audience and trended well from that point on despite the length and despite not attracting a universal audience. So films that are liked find a certain mark. At least in some of these genres you can understand why everyone wouldn’t take to the film. But the most commercial films with everything in place underperform. There’s no excuse for it and then when you see the films you’re not surprised. On your final point it might seem like comedies are easier to watch more than heavier stuff. Probably true to some degree, at least today. On the other hand Ghajini still trended better than every comedy out there (barring Hirani’s) and every light masala entertainer as well. It’s not as if others have made such films. Most just don’t try this sort of thing.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:56 AM
K3G is one of the most watched movies on TV. It gets at least one viewer each time in Rajen.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:58 AM
In fact Rajen and K3G will be like the Maratha Mandir / DDLJ of the television world. It will go on forever so long as Rajen turns up to watch it. And only needs the one viewer to keep it going.
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June 8, 2015 at 12:13 PM
LOL!
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June 8, 2015 at 11:44 AM
“unless Shetty has surprisingly made the best film of his career! ”
He has already made : ATB 😉
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June 8, 2015 at 12:12 PM
Ha! but in all seriousness and despite it being stagey at points it’s probably his most even film. But in terms of individual sequences I think he’s been best in a couple of moments in BB (the mother scene for example) and the then the initial train sequence in CE. He’s been truly inspired here and genuinely funny, unfortunately the films otherwise tend to be business as usual. BB especially he had a number of great things to work with in terms of symbolism and so on and far more situational moments in the script. He’s just not interested in really working hard on any one film.
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June 8, 2015 at 11:36 AM
“pretty sure Dilwale will challenge the US figures given the track record of SRK/Kajol ”
The current US number records are big as well in absolute terms because ticket prices have been below $10 for most part. There is certainly more audience. SRK gets help from more subcontinent audience but he has lost some territory within Indians audience.
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June 8, 2015 at 8:11 PM
I don’t think Dilwale will do anything different from what SRK’s other movies have been doing in US. They all start big but never seem to have legs. And a Rohit Shetty movie is always front loaded outside India. I don’t expect it to play any different unless he has made a truly great movie. The China numbers of PK is probably one of the single most stunning achievement I have seen in the film industry since I started following it. And if it has reached that number it means a lot of non Indians have watched it. This does open a new market but not every movie will have that appeal. Infact I didn’t realise PK had such an appeal too. The movie is good but I cannot fathom how it appeals to a non Indian – all this religion thing and the god man angle which is all very desi. Either ways hats off to that number.
Satyam, I am actually happy SRK is no longer doing a KJo or a Aditya Chopra. His next 2 movies, Fan and Raees are not the typical 200 crores big ticket movies which we would usually associate with him. They don’t look like the circus which you normally associate him with. So atleast it is a step in the right direction, a tad late perhaps. I don’t mind SRK doing a movie with the likes of Anand Rai (who wants to work with him) or Imtiaz. Those films give him a departure even within the romance genre as they are far more rooted romances. Yeah he will have to forego the big grosses but the fact that he agreed to do a Fan and Raees indicates he might be ready for it. And yes I agree with Jay, he should stay clear of Farah Khan too. I don’t mind him doing a Rohit Shetty once in 3 years…His movies have always interested me though I didn’t like CE at all, atleast he attempts to make honest masala movies…
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June 8, 2015 at 8:24 PM
yes but the problem is that the moment HNY didn’t do what it was supposed to he immediately delayed those two projects and got onto Rohit Shetty. You can’t do this sort of thing on the side. He’s tried some of this stuff before too but the desire to produce the super grosser and be seen as the ‘biggest’ always gets the better of him. Admittedly Aamir and Salman have both made life difficult for him. it’s one thing to eventually start losing out to a newer generation and quite another to have your peers do it to you.
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June 8, 2015 at 9:34 PM
I think the trajectory of Dilwale is pretty simple. SRK is going for the biggest initial ever. As usual, it won’t be a complete remake but definitely inspired from some old film. BB was Golmaal, CE was DDLJ. From the reports it seems like Dilwale will be a Hum. 25th Xmas release, Pritam’s hit music, SRK-Kajol jodi, Varun Dhawan after some big hits, Rohit Shetty, OTT promotions and marketing, widest release ever, increased ticket prices. SRK will probably hit 60crore on the opening day probably.
I already know this won’t be a good film, its just a matter of if it will be entertaining. CE didn’t trend as well as G3/Singham/BB and Singham 2 crashed after its huge opening and I’m sure RS is aware of this. Worst case therefore I think is CE type trending which can take it to 300 crores. CE lost half its screen after week 1 because of OUATIM and one medium-big budget film released every week after its release. In this case only BM is releasing before it and it should have 2-3 weeks of a clear run.
This year BO wise will be interesting- Dilwale vs. BB. vs. PRDP. I really want to see how PRDP does and if the masses/family come out for the film like HAHK 20 years ago.
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June 8, 2015 at 9:40 PM
Also it’s pretty evident that Aamir will never be #1 according to the media. During Salman’s court case he was called the biggest star in bollywood. As long as SRK keeps getting the CE/HNY type huge initials, they will put him above Aamir as well. 20 million in China for a Hindi movie is extraordinary, more historic that 3 Idiots/Ghajini/PK’s Domestic gross. But still I haven’t heard about this from the media besides BOI. Similarly 700 crore worldwide gross is extraordinary but once again I’ve rarely heard it. But everyone knows HNY’s first day of 45 crores. Aamir should work on his PR or something. 4/5 of his last films were ATBB and the highest grossing film ever but no one still calls him the undisputed king of the BO.
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June 8, 2015 at 6:44 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 5h5 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo has STRONG weekend. Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr, Sun 14.25 cr. Total: ₹ 37.05 cr. India biz. Weekdays [Mon-Thu] are crucial.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:27 AM
Liked DDD a lot…it’s more like a Jane Austen comedy of manners, with plenty of jabs at the ways of the upper crust. I could easily see this as a BBC drama set in 18th century Victorian society.
Agreed most of the plot points are cliched but these cliches still exist world over and Zoya Akhtar is still able to tell the story in a refreshing manner, with great usage of silences rather than an overdone background score.
Also this is one of the best ensemble I have seen in hindi cinema where each and every performance is absolutely on the mark. The final showdown between Ranveer and Shefali Chaaya is spectacularly good and brutally honest. I even liked Aamirs gentle voiceover, comforting stuff like chicken soup for the soul.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:30 AM
Was reading Rangans review, he mentions he preferred Karan Johars gaudy KANK to this film. Very interesting opinion I must say but one I completely disagree with.
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June 8, 2015 at 11:22 AM
I thought Priyanka was good rest of them were adequate. Tonally the movie switches between serious and audience friendly (loud). What everyone is liking the serious sensibility parts but IMO they are far apart.
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June 8, 2015 at 12:26 PM
Dil Dhadakne Do 4th Day 1st Monday Box Office Collections is 6.5 7 cr according to early estimates. The Day 4 Business takes the 4 Days total collections to 43.55 – 44.05 cr.
The film is performing decently well on Monday too with a drop of around 35-40 % from Friday which is very good result and clearly stating the word of mouth is positive. The multiplexes are performing quite well after the weekend too.
The film is set for a good run at the box office for the next two-three weeks at least inspite of the onslaught of new releases in the upcoming weeks.
The film did its best business in Mumbai belt follwed by Mysore, a belt known for the performance of urban niche films. The film did show good growth over the weekend with good jumps on both Saturday and Sunday which means the word of mouth is on the positive side.
Day Wise Business of Dil Dhadakne Do
Friday :- 10.53 cr
Saturday :- 12.27 cr
Sunday :- 14.25 cr
Monday :- 6.5-7 cr (estimates)
Total (1st Weekend) :- ~44 cr
http://www.talkingmoviez.com/dil-dhadakne-do-monday-4th-day-box-office-collections/
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June 8, 2015 at 1:08 PM
If Monday is indeed over 6 crores, it is a very good hold.
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June 8, 2015 at 12:38 PM
Spoilers.
Saw DDD. I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed PK which was the last but one movie I saw in theatre. In PK, anushka failed while here she did better and looked better.
Aamir’s voiceover hardly took around 15 to 20 minutes and it did not disrupt the narration the way every second person is crying. He had a clear voice and clear pronounciation and they were mainly introducing the characters and their traits. Once the movie fell into grrove, they became less and less.
There were many dialogues which evoked laughter among the audience. Ranveer and Shefali Chaya stole the show. PC was adequate and Farhan impressed in his short but impactful role. The music was not bad and in context, they jelled well.
There were fun moments with Rana, Noorie and Ranveer. The film was entertaining, visuals were great and the film did not drag anywhere.
One can empathise with PC. One can empathise even with ranveer as he was always called a failure as a businessman and he started believing it. I felt bad even for Rahul Bose when he said that he did not say being unhappy in the marriage. PC had no answer for that.
The film did not become too moody and was enjoyable for even the not so rich like me.
The cruise was shot well and they were realistic and authentic.
The cycle race between anushka and ranveer in that narrow road was a treat to watch.
After NH 10, I liked this film.
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June 8, 2015 at 1:15 PM
I usually watch movies when I feel the criticism is a bit unfair. I also wanted to see BV but it left the theatres too early. The films which I think are overpraised, I catch them on TV.
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June 8, 2015 at 1:21 PM
Good strategy Sanjana! Nice review.
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June 8, 2015 at 1:25 PM
I watched Piku over BV. There was one another bangaladeshi family in the whole theater apart from us for Piku. I peaked into BV after my show was over and it was running on empty and I felt sad for everyone involved in the movie. There was some scene with Anushka going on the screen and it looked very fake, boring and not engaging enough for me to grab few moments of it 😦
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June 8, 2015 at 2:16 PM
” There was some scene with Anushka going on the screen and it looked very fake, boring and not engaging enough for me to grab few moments of it”
If you had spent money for the show, it would have been surely ‘engaging’ 🙂
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June 8, 2015 at 2:37 PM
Did you see it? How was it?
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June 8, 2015 at 2:52 PM
Not yet, waiting for DVD.
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June 8, 2015 at 2:14 PM
“I usually watch movies when I feel the criticism is a bit unfair. The films which I think are overpraised, I catch them on TV”
Yes, but you would know if it is really ‘overpraised’ or ‘unfairly criticized’ only if you watch it but you seem to take the decision before you watch it 🙂
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June 8, 2015 at 12:39 PM
https://www.facebook.com/groups/moviebuffmembers/permalink/881734885201381/
Another gem of a scene was when Anil Kapoor tries to base compatibility measure upon they both being young, from same community and both playing tennis (Sqaush !)…. he is so dismissive about the whole issue. Probably he does not have the same with his own wife and so since his daughter and S-I-L have a little more frivolous things in common….. they become compatible in his books.
Even when Zarina Wahab asks PC “Shopping Nahi karvata kya mera beta”…. the way we materialize relations in society… I mean if the husband is taking wife out for dinner or shopping… then its a measure of a Happy marriage…. the expression on Zarina’s face is also awesome… sheer bewilderment…. how can u be unhappy with my son… he is not cheating on u and takes u shopping and that should be good enough for u ! The scene hits you with the reality of our society and the mindset problem.
Even the scene in while Rahul Bose says he “allows” his wife the freedom to run her business….. basking in the pride of being such a ‘liberal’ husband…. yet not realising how outdated his thinking actually is. The look on Priyanka’s face…. it conveys a lot. I have come across several such liberal husbands…. have heard this line very often “I have given total freedom to my wife to work post marriage”. The scene really makes you think that how far are we from reality and what we project and what we are.
the scene where Shefali says that she is afraid her husband would leave her and she sticks to him coz she has no where to go…. the scene where PC asks her family to support her more when she is taking the most difficult step of her life.
The above are the scenes which stood out for me…. there are many such subtle gems in the movie.
Zoya is a master of telling a lot in very little….. that’s what sets her apart from anyone else….. its almost as if she has witnessed this first hand ! The movie will fade away from memory but some of these scenes will stay with me.
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June 8, 2015 at 4:52 PM
My views on DDD. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Its very relevant movie which didnt become too emotional and went in a breezy manner. I agree with Sanjana views, pretty much summed it up for me.
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June 8, 2015 at 7:22 PM
I spoke today with a friend who watched DDD and identified with Priyanka’s character. She studied engineering at an excellent university in the USA and came back to Hyderabad to work with her family business (albeit a much smaller one than the Mehra’s empire, and sans assets like private jets) to help it expand. Now, after all her hard work, she is being pressurized into marriage while her underachieving, slacker younger brother will take over the business. She is upset by this, but she will not fight her parents as she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother’s success and she thinks it is inevitable that she will one day become part of another family. And this is a young, ambitious, well-educated woman.
IMO, you have to be incredibly far removed from / in denial of the social realities of India to think that the issues portrayed onscreen are no longer relevant to today’s generation.
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June 8, 2015 at 8:44 PM
I think there are issues even in rich people’s life; It is the treatment which differentiates the movie. My main grouse is that movie is very slow in parts (to masquerade its progressive sensibilities, otherwise it is another KJO film). And in between it does all the things a Yash Chopra/KJO movies have dances, fun and all. It makes an uneven film. (from above comments) TWMR never tries to be a serious movie like PIKU. The tone is even through out (both in PIKU and TWMR). You can always find plot holes and inconsistencies in any movie but it is important where the director wants to position the movie. For example Satyam criticized the ending of Talaash which was a dark movie through out but in end it became very Bollywoodish like digging bones and doing rituals.
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June 9, 2015 at 3:52 AM
Munna- IMO it works along the same lines as an Austen novel (although the two are in no way even remotely comparable as works of art)- It is a comedy of manners with a bit of satirical bite. I think that element of social commentary is essential to any good comedy of manners. So the ‘progressive sensibilities’ and the tone which veered between lighthearted humour and more serious observation didn’t put me off as I think it is usual for the genre.
What they could have done differently, in my opinion, is toned down the melodrama a bit and made Pluto more of an anthropologist rather than a philosopher. The dog’s tone was too pompous and really spoon-fed the viewer. Instead, if he had been merely observing the peculiar/hypocritical customs of his human family with a dry, almost scientific tone I think it would have been funnier and more subtly effective.
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June 9, 2015 at 10:20 AM
> if he had been merely observing the peculiar/hypocritical customs of his human family with a dry, almost scientific tone I think it would have been funnier and more subtly effective.
And then we could have compared it to Jane Austen’s witty dry humour about society and its manners.
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June 8, 2015 at 9:17 PM
“she is being pressurized into marriage”
Is she forced into marraige? Well, one can always say no (to the ‘pressure’). I know many rich kids (in my circle), who didn’t fall to parental (heavy) pressure and are single into their 40s and 50s. Some parents have given up and some still try to ‘pressure’. Parents, at the end of the day want good for their children. I myself would like my kids to get married by decent age, have kids….but in the end, every parent wants only one thing, that their kid is happy in life. Whether you are amir parent or garib parent.
“her underachieving, slacker younger brother”
Who told you that? The sister na. So that is her perception. If you ask the brother he may view her as hyper, over-bearing bully.
I think zoya made a movie which represents her world-view which would always be south-bombay-karan-johar type of world. As a multiplex viewer, you want popcorn entertainment that doesn’t squeeze too much of brain cells.
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June 9, 2015 at 3:44 AM
It’s not just her opinion of her brother, it’s something that her parents occasionally complain about when I go to visit them and that her brother himself jokingly admits to. And why would you would assume she is perceived as a ‘hyper, over-bearing bully’ even when I told you that she is well-educated, hard-working and yet has no desire to oppose her brother’s claims to the business? Your pre-conception of her says everything about the attitude problem that the film is referring to.
But anyway, it is absurd for me to argue with you about my friend whom you don’t even know, so let’s not get further into this discussion. I only offered this example to show that the attitude portrayed in the film- that an Indian son is a son forever, but an Indian daughter is only family until she gets married- very much still exists, even amongst some members of the urban, educated, upper-middle classes.
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June 9, 2015 at 5:04 AM
@ ami
(a)You friend ought to be mighty grateful to her parents that they were able to afford her a foreign education. So many meritorious girls in India born in a middle class family cannot have the luxury of an American degree.
(b) She ought to be doubly obliged to her papa because even after having a foreign degree it’s very hard to land up a job in this recession. But thanks to her rich industrialist father she was spared the ignominy of having to appear at job interviews and being rejected for random reasons. So many Indian girls have to face this every day.
(c) Lastly, she ought to worship her father that after arranging for her both A class education and an A class job without her having to do anything, now he must be marrying her to some rich kid. Everything is so rosy and easy for her as her big daddy is there to take care of it all. Sadly, most Indian women with a higher IQ and deeper wisdom than your born with a silver spoon friend never get all these perks. They have to slave their way for getting a decent education or a decent job or marriage. Instead of being grateful she wants more? she wants share in her father’s business too? My god!
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June 9, 2015 at 6:12 AM
Are you completely nuts?! Never did I say that she wants her family business, I specifically said she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother inheriting it and believes it is not her right as she belongs to another family after marriage! In fact, I brought this point up in answer Master’s comment where he said that PC’s character was unrealistic because young women today don’t subscribe to such traditional ideas and I wanted to show that yes, some of them still do hold such views.
She loves her parents very much; she is simply upset that her family is pressurizing her into marriage while her brother is being allowed to pursue his career at leisure despite never showing much aptitude or working hard for it. And she is NOT expecting them to arrange her marriage; they want to do it!
Cast your misogynistic assumptions aside and stop stereotyping her as a dumb goldidgger just because she doesn’t constantly cry in gratitude that, despite being an Indian woman, she was allowed an education abroad (that she mostly earned on her own merit). She has an engineering degree from a well-reputed American university and spent her summers working in internships, so she is neither lacking in intelligence nor in experience of the job recruitment process. Her father isn’t a filthy rich industrialist; he owns a medium-sized business and she went abroad with generous financial aid. It isn’t a plush financial empire that she can swan around in, it is hard, unglamorous work requiring travel to industrial sites etc and her father specifically requested her help as the company was expanding and he needed more hands on the deck. It is he who is lucky in this respect as people with her qualifications would typically be recruited by an MNC in India, not by a small family business.
The question isn’t whether she is more privileged than Indian women from a less financially meritorious background (obviously, yes). The question is whether in her own family, her brother always receives favorable treatment despite working less hard for it because it is assumed that an Indian woman doesn’t belong to her paternal family once she marries.
What Priyanka’s character wanted in the film wasn’t money or shares, it was affection and belonging to her birth family! It is a complete red herring to bring in the undoubtedly far worse fate of less well-off women in this context when the focus of the movie was the parents preferential treatment of the son over the daughter and the focus of he debate on this thread has been whether characters like Priyanka (educated, urban, young businesswoman) still behave and think in a traditional manner.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:15 AM
BTW- if you want to discuss this further, let’s debate the principles rather than the specific example. I only brought it up in answer to Master pondering over whether such people like Priyanka in DDD actually exist. I don’t want to conduct an argument over my personal, anecdotal evidence when you have no information of the context or of the person I’m talking about. Thanks.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:39 AM
Or if you want to use example, let’s use Utkal’s as it widely discussed and well-known.
Is Indra Nooyi more privileged, wealthy, famous and rich than 99.99% of the world’s population? Yes.
Does that make it fair that when she comes back home from a much longer and more stressful day at work than her husband, her mother still expects only her to do the household chores? IMO, No
Does that mean she in unwise or ungrateful to use this example from her privileged life to discuss the problems that Indian career women in general face? IMO, No
Does the fact that she is comparing the preferential treatment given to men of her own economic class mean that she is ignorant about the lives of women of lower economic classes? IMO, No.
Can a valuable discussion be had about how powerful these attitudes are if even the most educated and well-off women in our society are not impervious to them? IMO, Yes
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June 9, 2015 at 7:26 AM
Two quick points: (First point here, second point in another post):
(a) If her parents are pressurizing her for marriage against her wish she always has the option of saying no. If saying no creates problems for her, she can always go independent (thanks to the fancy foreign degree which her father provided her with his hard earned money) and take up a job in another organization. I personally think these rich women who had it all easy need to get a taste of the real bad world away from the protection of their fathers. She can say no and stay a spinster all her life!
But she is too smart for that. She knows the chances of finding a love mate on her own would be difficult and it’s wiser to rely on her father yet again to provide her with a groom. Please don’t make it sound as if her repressive family is forcing her to marry. It is her own choice and she must take the full responsibility for it. She cannot lay the blame on patriarchy here. In fact she should thank the patriarchal structure and family system which is ensuring an arranged marriage for her as it is not always easy to find a lover and do love marriage.
She is not the victim of patriarchy here simply because she didn’t say no to the arrange marriage, in fact she is the beneficiary of patriarchy. Very cleverly she has manipulated her patriarchal father to ensure she gets married. Why can’t she say no if she is not interested in marriage?
You may say it is because she respects her father too much and won’t hurt him by saying no? Hence, you mean to imply that even if she has her career aspirations she is subtly forced to sacrifice them at the altar of marriage because of patriarchy?
Suppose I accept this view. Let me give you a hypothetical example. Suppose she was born in feudal times in medieval India and she became a widow. Her father asks her to sit on the burning pyre with the body of her dead husband just as he is asking her now to do arrange marriage. Do you think she will still accept the option of immolation because she respects her father too much and does not want to hurt him by saying no? I think she will scream and shout and make everyone know that she won’t under any circumstance sit on the funeral pyre and get herself burned. She will make sure her no to that proposition is loud and clear. She won’t give a damn about his father’s patriarchal feelings. So why do you think she is giving so much damn about her father’s feeling now when the proposition is for arrange marriage? why is she not shouting and screaming and being emphatic about her no to the marriage? It is simply because she herself wants to get married and is the beneficiary here…not the victim of patriarchy.
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June 9, 2015 at 7:54 AM
LOL! Ok, carry on with your views that Indian women are dumb gold-diggers who are the beneficiaries of arranged marriage and continue to ignore the mountain of easily available evidence to the absolute contrary if that is what makes you happy. I didn’t say she was accepting arranged marriage- she isn’t, she is being pressurized to! She is resisting the pressure, and is in the process of obtaining corporate funding for a startup venture as she needs to quit the family business to make way for her brother. Hence why Ayesha Mehra from DDD reinstated with her.
But in any case, my apologies for trying to debate with you. Please persist with your idea that Sati never happened against the wishes of women in India, I do not wish to continue discussions based on such staggeringly stupid assumptions.
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June 9, 2015 at 7:57 AM
Also, it is a bit rich of you to make comments about her IQ when you obviously can’t even read and comprehend simple English. I quite clearly said that she went abroad with generous financial assistance but it seems your brain cannot process the idea of a woman who can study at a good university abroad on her own merits and you continue with your silly little misogynistic assumption that her father paid for her degree.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:07 AM
“Please persist with your idea that Sati never happened against the wishes of women in India'”
Wow! I never said that. Sati happened very much against the women in India. And there are accounts that women were forced to sit on the burning pyre. However, in this specific case your friend (based on your above posts) is seen to be accepting the proposition of arrange marriage without raising her voice against it. I merely gave the example of sati to show that women do raise their voice and say no when they don’t want something. However, in this case it is clear that marriage is what she herself wants as she is seen to be accepting it. Please don’t blame patriarchy for her decision, this decision is made in her own cold and calculative self interest.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:12 AM
Priyankas exist. I mean Ayeshas. They may have servants to do household chores but to remain in the family, they are expected not to ruffle too many feathers.
Ayesha might have thought that the arranged marriage may work and she tried to make it work. Even Manav wanted it to last. But both were battling incompatibility in their own ways and the cruise incidents made Ayesha to take the final plunge not caring for consequences anymore. The last straw.
Why most of our industries are manned by the sons and their wives?
Many marriages arranged or love turn out to be compromises for the sake of children, society and stability.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:18 AM
David Boon- where have you seen my friend accept an arranged marriage proposal? Have I not clearly said that she is RESISTING the pressure (precisely because she knows she will not be the beneficiary of such an arrangement). Do you not understand basic English? Why do you insist on replying to my comments when you ignore everything I mention and replace them with your own utterly absurd assumptions about my friend? Did I not request that we please continue this debate on the topic of Indra Nooyi precisely to avoid you making such random assumptions about somebody whom you know so little about?
Anyway, this is my final comment on this topic. Thanks for the amusing diversion though.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:25 AM
And Manav had to bear the brunt of his upbringing style which is believing in male supremacy and to cope with a very successful wife. Next time he will opt for gharelu type.
I wish DDD 2 also comes out. How their lives went about afterwards?
What I found galling was that Neelam Mehra was able to laugh and compromise after her husband’s many trips of infidelity. Has that woman lost it completely? That heart attack should have killed Kamal Mehra and she should have been relieved of putting up with a wayward husband. He was worse than Manav.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:26 AM
Second Point:
(b) You are talking about the double standards of her parents. Why can’t she inherit the family business just like her brother can. The simple answer is because after marriage she will inherit the business share in her Husband’s family. You don’t expect her to have both, do you? That she should have a claim in her father’s business also along with her husband’s business. That’s simply unfair. However, if she decides to stay unmarried then definitely she will have a stake in her father’s business as much as her brother. But the problem is that she doesn’t want to take that decision. She wants to get married, so it’s only fair she should waive her claim in her father’s business.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:39 AM
@ ami
“where have you seen my friend accept an arranged marriage proposal?”
Let me quote you for your edification, since you seem to be having selective memory loss problem:
“Now, after all her hard work, she is being pressurized into marriage while her underachieving, slacker younger brother will take over the business. She is upset by this, but she will not fight her parents as she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother’s success and she thinks it is inevitable that she will one day become part of another family.
Evidence:1: “she will not fight her parents.”
Evidence:2: “she thinks it is inevitable that she will one day become part of another family.”
These are your words. Any reasonable man will make the same inference as I have done. How long U have been having selective amnesia? Have you consulted a doctor?
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June 9, 2015 at 8:54 AM
When I said she will not fight her parents because she doesn’t want to stand in the way of her brother’s success, I meant she is not disputing his sole claim over the business, as I explained repeatedly in my subsequent comments. Curious how your comments miss this point entirely and keep insisting that she wants to inherit her family business yet you somehow latched on to the bit about marriage pressure. Selective amnesia, perhaps?
And she will *one day* become part of another family, not right now through an arranged marriage but rather when she is more established in her career and finds somebody herself. That she believes she will belong to another family someday was to explain her traditional attitude to marriage and to illustrate that real-life Ayeshas do exist, not to suggest that she wants to get an arranged married right away. I did clarify her current intentions of resisting matrimonial pressure and pursuing a startup in my subsequent comments as I did the fact that her father didn’t pay for her education (which you also blatantly ignored in your subsequent replies to me). Again, this is why a discussion on Nooyi would have been far more beneficial!
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June 9, 2015 at 8:42 AM
“yet has no desire to oppose her brother’s claims to the business? ” What a doormat. She should not marry out of pressure and fight for her rightful share in the business or quit the job at home company and work elsewhere. It is not the world but she, who is educated, would complain but do nothing and fall in line with what her parents want for her, instead of what she wants for herself!!! I understand Ami, where you are coming from. Zoya’s film still applies to that top 10% of population and those are multi-multi not single-single.
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June 9, 2015 at 9:01 AM
She is quitting the family business (as she needs to make way for her brother) and looking to start her own venture, if she can secure the corporate funding for it. I don’t think its easy to demand claims in the family business when you could alienate the very people you will be working with and many women do feel its their brother’s rightful inheritance and it is greedy of them to demand it.
I think its easy to say that an educated woman should fight for her rights but academia isn’t the only form of learning, we also learn from social conditioning. Often, this can lead to women like Ayesha Mehra who are successful in their professional lives but submissive in their personal lives (i.e. not a beneficiary of either the traditional man as the sole provider or of the modern man as a more equal and egalitarian partner, which is why she wants the divorce).
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June 9, 2015 at 9:24 AM
“submissive in their personal lives” Agree. Sometimes it is better to fight for few things that are most important than to try to change the mindsets of people including your own parents. Very proud that she is starting her solo business venture. Please ask her to follow her own path and not fall into marraige just out of pressure. Parents will leave her alone after certain age 🙂
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June 9, 2015 at 9:44 AM
@ bong
I completely agree. If educated and professionally qualified women do not stand up for their own rights, then it is pretty meaningless to expect the patriarchal society would change its antiquated notions vis a vis women in India. I find it very hypocritical if not outright duplicitous of her if she cannot stand by her feminist convictions and credentials against her own family. It would send a very bad message to females across the nation if she bows down to parental pressure and gets married.
If she decides not to marry then she must and legally will have a share in her family business. She can enforce her rights in the courts. It would be a very exemplary thing to do and stand as a great example to emulate for women all over. But lately I have been seeing that women do not have the spine for the fight. Feminism has become all talk and no action.
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June 9, 2015 at 10:38 AM
” It would send a very bad message to females across the nation if she bows down to parental pressure and gets married.”
I often have discussions with children on various issues. e.g. take “arranged” marraige and what it means. It is how you look at it. If I explain it as blind date, suddenly it becomes a shockingly progressive idea!! I always emphasis that it is not some ‘bali-ka-bakra’ where there is force involved. There is blind date and several dates and each party finds one another compatible enough to proceed. The next step is engagement. Then if things don’t go right, people often break engagements. Getting married in itself is not a problem. Such pressures exists on not just women or girls of the family but also boys/men! Males in my own family uncles, brothers were “pressured” to get married once they were “settled” in their jobs! Some got pressured, some were looking for the parents to suggest and waiting/wanting to get married! It is healthy to get married at certain age in a society where pre-marital/live-in relationships don’t exist (I have seen very orthodox young jewish males with long side-burns in video shops asking for porn). Piku on the other hand, may want to get married but her father thinks it is low-IQ wali baat.
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June 8, 2015 at 10:04 PM
The actors, who made a grand entry on the stage with a pun on the film Karan Arjun, greeted the host country Malaysia with mentions of Bollywood films shot in the South-East Asian nation like Don, Fanaa, Humraaz and the more recent Roy.
The 2 States star took a jibe at the Arjun Rampal-Jacqueline Fernandez starrer, which saw Ranbir Kapoor in a guest appearance, saying, “The film should be called Destroy and not Roy.”
Another Ranbir-starrer, Bombay Velvet, was also at the receiving end of the mockery as the hosts narrated the nursery poem “Johnny Johnny” referring to the Barfi! star’s character name Johnny Balraj in the film.
“Ranbir should be named Roti in the film because his co-star Anushka was called Rosie and that makes Rosie-Roti. And they both took the Rosie-Roti away from Anurag Kashyap’s pocket,” they said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/ranveer-arjun-say-sorry-for-aib-roast-make-fun-of-aamir-at-iifa/article1-1356228.aspx
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June 8, 2015 at 11:00 PM
While the visual was me, the audio was by Wang Baoqiang, a leading actor in China who was I think very generous to do this film. The Chinese Film Group also gave PK a great release across China,” said PK’s star Aamir Khan.
While China produced over 600 films in 2014, largely local, its screen density has quadrupled since 2010 taking the count to over 23,600. This offers a huge theatrical opportunity for any film. “With an average ticket price of $8, any traction that our Hindi films see in this market is going to see a significant spike in the international collections,” said Priti Shahani, president of Junglee Pictures, whose Dil Dhadkane Do, with Excel Entertainment, will be the next Hindi film to release in Chi ..
In fact, China’s film market growing at 34% is expected to surpass the US in the next five years, according to the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA).
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/47592705.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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June 9, 2015 at 12:21 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do has held well on Monday with collections looking at around a fall of 40% from collections on Friday. This would give it a 6 crore nett Monday. The fall could be 2-3% more or less but either way its a good hold.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedoholdsfirmonmonday#.VXZpK8-qqko
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June 9, 2015 at 2:52 AM
“When I told her I loved it, Zoya said, ‘Listen, I want you to play Pluto’. I was a bit surprised because I thought Javed sir had done a great job. I had loved the film so much that I was just happy to be a part of it and I agreed. I didn’t even think twice. And two days later, I was dubbing for it. That was it,” Mr Khan said.
While the Talaash actor is not literally in the frame, his voice over for Pluto the philosophical dog has been grabbing the limelight given the importance of the character in the narrative of the film. The movie otherwise has actors like Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar and Rahul Bose.
In real life, Aamir Khan is, as he described himself, “a real animal lover”.
“I had two dogs, and now I have cats and a dog. Earlier, I had a boxer named Chhoti and another was a pariah dog named Peanuts. Now I have a Yorkshire terrier, and she is called Imli,” he said with a childlike excitement.
But Pluto, he said, is “quite different from the dogs I have had”.
“My dogs have been quite crazy. Pluto is a very philosophical dog. He is really into observing human nature and has a take on everything. But yes, since I am an animal lover, pets very much become a part of family,” said the 50-year-old, who is father to three children – Junaid, Azad and Ira.
http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/aamir-khan-didnt-think-twice-about-playing-dil-dhadakne-dos-pluto-769865
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June 9, 2015 at 9:05 AM
” Pluto is a very philosophical dog. He is really into observing human nature and has a take on everything. ” said the 50-year-old…..”
Did I see the same movie ??? This is so nonsensical and typical of bollywood where ‘til ka taad’ (making mountain out of rye) is being made. So much commentary / hype on Pluto Mehra before release and look at them doing it even after the movie has been released when the audience who have seen the movie know there is freakin nothing which Pluto baba has done in the movie.
What we have is a simple Bullmastiff sitting with a blank face and Aamir mouthing few philosophical lines as voiceover. There is neither any facial or physical movement for us to emotionally connect with this dog. I knew it would be too much for zoya /aamir to do a Seth Macfarlane type of thing and give us some sort of a desi Brian Griffin! But this was plain dumb there are umpteenth examples of voice-over in a movie to take the story forward.
lol…the guy didn’t even do a Tuffy of Hum Aapke Kaun forget doing a Jackie’s Teri Meherbaniya or a Akki’s recent ‘Entertainment’
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June 9, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Spotted an aamir hater!
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June 9, 2015 at 9:38 AM
Spotted an aamir hater!
This is nothing against Aamir. I think you are too much of a movie buff to not buy into this Pluto Mehra ‘hype’ when actually there is nothing innovative to take home. A simple Aamir voiceover would be just fine and it’s been done so many times in the past. I have already mentioned earlier tt lines are well written and competently delivered.
The only voiceover which helped move the proceedings quicker and was a bit funny and inventively done , when lovebirds Ranvir and Anushka’s characters were in the pool taking those laps. But that too was not adding anything to Pluto Mehra’s anthropomorphism.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:22 AM
Tanu Weds Manu Returns Third Monday Business
Tuesday 09 June 2015 11.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Tanu Weds Manu Returns continued to go strong on its third Monday with collections in the 2 crore nett range. The four day third week business of Tanu Weds Manu is as follows.
Friday – 2,50,00,000
Saturday 4,00,00,000
Sunday – 5,50,00,000
Monday 2,00,00,000
TOTAL – 14,00,00,000
The third week business of the film shold cross 19 crore nett which would be among the top five highest third week collections.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:23 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do First Monday Business
Tuesday 09 June 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dil Dhadakne held up well on Monday showing a fall of 40% apprx. It was similar trend all over with most circuits falling in same range. Delhi/UP was better. The first four day business of Dil Dhadakne Do is as follows.
Friday – 10,00,00,000
Saturday – 12,00,00,000
Sunday – 14,00,00,000
Monday 5,75,00,000
TOTAL – 41,75,00,000
The week should go to around 55-56 crore nett which would be a healthy first week total and then remains to be seen how the new releases affect in the second week.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:29 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 4h4 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo holds well on Mon. Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr, Sun 14.25 cr, Mon 5.77 cr. Total: ₹ 42.82 cr. India biz.
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June 9, 2015 at 6:29 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 6h6 hours ago
#PK is aiming at $ 20 million in China. May be even more! Total till Mon [8 June]: $ 17.12 million [₹ 109.49 cr]. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER.
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June 9, 2015 at 9:16 AM
It would have been wonderful with a pet monkey and Salman giving his voice in Bhajrangi style!
It would have been wonderful if it is a lamb and SRK doing the voiceover!
The pompous voice or imperial voice seems to have irked many haters.
Deepika or Kangana or Vidya should have given their voices if the female version of dog was used. Because they are the hottest and poor Aamir is such a good for nothing actor!
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June 9, 2015 at 9:30 AM
I don’t think Aamir is the issue here at all. I think the mechanism of the dog was a nice idea but the tone adopted by Javed Akhtar was simply not suitable for the scenario. You can’t have a gimmick like a cute dog speaking about its masters and then give it such self-serious lines. Instead of spoonfeeding the viewer cliched philosophy I would have preferred if Aamir as Pluto had been more self-deprecating- a witty pooch that was honestly bewildered by the strange habits of its human family rather than an all-knowing pet imparting some precious wisdom to his viewers.
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June 9, 2015 at 1:28 PM
A cute speaking dog!
The whole idea is so 1980s and so Barjatya! What the hell was Zoya thinking?? This alone is enough to make the films unwatchable.
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June 9, 2015 at 8:58 AM
Singapore resumes sale of India-made Maggi noodles
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Singapore-resumes-sale-of-India-made-Maggi-noodles/articleshow/47597535.cms
Results from AVA’s laboratory tests, which cover “a wide range of hazards associated with food” showed that the India-made Maggi instant noodles meet local food safety standards, the report said.
The AVA had cleared the India-made Maggi noodles last night.
The authorities also tested Maggi instant noodles produced in other countries and results revealed that these meet the food safety requirements too, the report added.
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June 9, 2015 at 9:26 AM
DDD’s lifetime collections will probably settle at around the 80cr mark. The trending is alright but the opening week end’s collections were not high enough to ensure high lifetime totals.
80cr is probably decent results. I don’t know about the costs involved. But there were some predictions that it could end up being the year’s top grosser and there seemed to be lots of money invested in its publicity when you look at the promotions overdrive. I would find a 80cr lifetime quite underwhelming here.
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June 9, 2015 at 9:44 AM
Agree there Rahul and movie in all likelihood will turn out a flop in domestic market. Yes the overseas income which was always part of the deal will compensate the shortfall and overall it won’t be a losing proposition for anyone involved with this movie.
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June 9, 2015 at 10:36 AM
i think i have fallen in love with kangana ranawat.
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June 9, 2015 at 10:59 AM
I think too many silly fights for DDD. I think the average consensus is that movie is no path breaker. It is just about average veering towards disappointment and certainly a step down to Zoya Akhtar. I wouldn’t care for BO for Zoya’s films (like LBC didn’t do anything but is quality movie) but this won’t do even 100 crores domestically with all the starcast and post benefit of ZNMD. All the talk about depth and silences and definitive characters, it isn’t even 50% interesting or depth of Zoya’s film Luck by Chance.
As I mentioned, the foundation script is weak for her to make a movie and unless you really hit the ball out of the park, no need to attempt such a weak script, all you got now is average movie with some good sequences. Even ZMDB script idea looks weak on paper but the screenplay really rocked the movie and turned into a great one(no wonder she swept all the awards). I see nothing like that in DDD. Yes, few percentage will like the movie but that happens with all the movies of good directors as its very rare to deliver a turkey quality wise.
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June 9, 2015 at 11:13 AM
Nothing Zoya Akhtar has made gets even close to the class of Dil Chahta Hai. So overrated. Dil Chahta Hai is still the gold standard for these types of movies even today and I think Farhan probably if given the right opportunity would prosper much better as a director than Zoya.
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June 9, 2015 at 11:33 AM
Well, DCH started this trend of movies so, good or bad, DCH will be rated higher than any of its subsequent followers. DCH is so cool but as a screenplay, ZNMD and even Rock On is way more free flowing than DCH which had rough edges towards the ending. Also, I could see Farhan Akhtar influence in RO and ZNMD as him being part in major way. But the way how remakes can’t be better than originals, similarly influenced films can’t be credited to be better than the original which started this cool wave cinema. Apart from DCH, I think both LBC and ZNMD are way better than Lakshya and DON directed by Farhan.
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June 9, 2015 at 11:55 AM
I liked Rock On and LBC. Some parts of Lakshya I have a soft spot for (the problem with that film was pacing for sure, it dragged at points). I think ZNMD is likeable but very overrated as a film and script. I only found Abhay Deol’s track interesting as the jealousy track and marrying the wrong person track was done with comedy. Farhan’s search for his father was filmy. And Hrithik’s search for life very dull.
This modern, yuppie, hip film for the middle classes, Farhan had the right pulse in DCH. Sure it is always going to be tough to beat the original but I don’t even think any of these films even come close. The repeat value on DCH is very high. And the bro-luv comedy even higher. And the soundtrack smacks all of these films left right and centre. Barring the last 20mins which is a typical Bollywood melodrama, it is fluid and entertaining all the way. A film in that vein would not be setting its sight on 100 crore today for sure. The youth today would take that kind of film to another level.
The way Zoya is elevated, it’s like we are seeing some kind of exceptional story teller. I suspect I will find Piku and TWMR much more enthralling and entertaining, but I should give it go before making that call! Not sure if I have enough courage to watch it though.
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June 9, 2015 at 12:04 PM
I cant name one Excel film that doesnt have pacing problems in the larger narrative except DCH. Each has it’s own pacing issues.
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June 9, 2015 at 3:06 PM
agreed almost everywhere.. didn’t care much for LBC but it as watchable. Liked Rock On much more. And yes DCH is way ahead of everything that has followed in its wake. ZNMD was watchable too, probably didn’t prefer any one track over the other but it was alright overall. I’d say Lakshya though more uneven than ZNMD was superior otherwise. For one it was superbly shot, also the first half was good. The second half became too conformist unfortunately but I’d still take it over ZNMD. I’ve even revisited this film and it holds up fairly well. It’s certainly a pity that Farhan Akhtar hasn’t made directing films his real focus. As far as I’m concerned the Don films were a waste of time too. He might have done something else instead. But it’s clear that he just want to be an actor more than anything else.
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June 9, 2015 at 12:39 PM
hi rooney ,how you doing dude,its been ages
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June 9, 2015 at 3:11 PM
I am all fine vijay! Long time… Unfortunately because of the work I am not much active on the blog this days… how’s ya?
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June 9, 2015 at 1:20 PM
You will not get a DCH 2. But this will be as close as you can get.
‘After receiving tremendous praises for his work in the recently released Dil Dhadakne Do, Farhan Akhtar is now working round the clock for the music of his forthcoming project Rock On 2. The actor has been completely absorbed into it and is almost working day and night on it.
The multi talented personality, Farhan is working very closely with music composers Shankar Ehsaan Loy for the music of the film.
The music of the film will be one of the significant elements of the film therefore Farhan has been working constantly to get the right feel of it. The music will almost be the soul of the film.
Farhan is jamming along with the music composers way in advance, creating and figuring the right tone of the film. As Rock On’s music created a flutter with the audience, the expectations with its sequel are much more.’
http://www.talkingmoviez.com/farhan-akhtar-busy-composing-the-music-for-rock-on-2/
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June 9, 2015 at 1:31 PM
Dil Dhadakne Do does 1.34 mn USD in North America in its first weekend.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/
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June 9, 2015 at 1:49 PM
Ami “You can’t have a gimmick like a cute dog speaking about its masters and then give it such self-serious lines. Instead of spoonfeeding the viewer cliched philosophy I would have preferred if Aamir as Pluto had been more self-deprecating- a witty pooch that was honestly bewildered by the strange habits of its human family rather than an all-knowing pet imparting some precious wisdom to his viewers.” You hit the nail on the head. There are portions where the tone is self-deprecatory or ironic. Those parts work the best. The spouting of serious philosophy is a Javed-Akkhtarism that spoilt the poetry trackof ZNMD. That poetry was so sod-school so uncool. How I wish the Akhtar siblings use Amitabh Bhattacharya instead of the Sr Akhtar for lyrics writing duties. But the speaking dog was swell idea, a great post-modernist sutradhar. The idea stlll works half way inspite of the clunky wriing, because of the originality of the idea and its aptness in the narrative scheme.
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June 9, 2015 at 2:48 PM
**But the speaking dog was swell idea, a great post-modernist sutradhar. The idea stlll works half way inspite of the clunky wriing, because of the originality of the idea and its aptness in the narrative scheme.**
Really Utkalda? You are calling this an original idea; this dog-gone idea??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin
I understand the dog in DDD philosophical sitting on the fence but the seed, the seed is right there in the link.
The sooner one realizes that Zoya and her ilk get almost all their inspirations from foreign shores the better – LBC being the exception but that’s because of being the insider. And TALAASH because of Kagti’s and Kashyap’s involvement.
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June 9, 2015 at 2:11 PM
DCH was an adventure tale for the overgrown boys. I could not connect to that story that much. It was from boys point of view. The only role I liked was that of Akshaye Khanna.
There is some similarity. Preity Zinta’s tieup with an insecure and overbearing fiance and Genelia’s in JTYJN, Kajol’s in DDLJ and now Priyanka Chopra’s not liking her husband.
It is not something new that Zoya invented. Old wine in new bottle.The way it was presented was really good.
The interesting part was that of the older Mehra’s love marriage turning into loveless marriage.
The Boxoffice fate does not decide whether the film is good or not. Because mindless films like Kick and HNY get good boxoffice results.
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June 9, 2015 at 3:09 PM
To be frank I never liked DCH when it first released. I guess I was quite young and frankly didn’t understand the hype about it.
It was later during my college life, when I caught it again, I realised what a gem of a movie it was.
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June 9, 2015 at 4:42 PM
Carpe Diem–
Dil dhadakne d(t)o znmd
On the face of it, DDD is supposed to be a more MATURE version of ZNMD. In a way, zoya wishes to expand her target audience by throwing in the uncle, aunty, boy, girl, heck even the dog…
Won’t go into the politics of it all
But zoya Akhtar is a v competent director
Zoya > Farhan as a director (& more!)
Who loves film making and is passionate about films
She is a keen observer and
Her camera lingers on the reaction of the key person(s) in any encounter making us ‘care’ for him /her a wee bit more
There’s a scene in LBC wherein an acting tutor sermonises to students that in Hollywood it’s easy to become a hero
But in hindi films it’s v difficult
Similarly it’s not easy to become a director
But it’s more difficult to be a financially viable director
And it’s more difficult being a financially viable yet ‘ sensible’ director
Zoya restrains her directorial urges
(Along with her ‘partner’ kagti in more ways than one)
DDD is not ‘lesser’ than ZNMD –infact it’s a more ‘grown up’ work
Infact it’s somewhat of a CONTINUUM of ZNMD
But still it’s no wonder that the title of DDD
is borrowed from the opening track of ZNMD …
But somehow I missed something in DDD compares to znmd
Which can be summed as
– Carpe diem
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June 9, 2015 at 6:43 PM
The other thing I missed in DDD was the carpe diem dictum of
katrina Kaif aka laila
The ( above average) acting chops of PC (Ayesha) & the curiously interesting bra that anushka (farah) reveals in a scene —
Could NOT fill the space /’vacuum’ left by laila
PS: heck When one finds even ‘Noorie’ more attractive / beddable than the other two leading ladies
There’s something wrong in the heroines
And the ‘viewer’
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June 9, 2015 at 6:47 PM
Btw it’s good to see people sharing /imparting/acquiring counselling and semi/autobiographical advice here
In the garb of film ‘reviewing’ as witnessed above
A good trend
Ps: ‘bong’ girl thanks for all your lovely tips and advice: cheers
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June 9, 2015 at 8:18 PM
Where is NYkavi?
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June 9, 2015 at 8:31 PM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Drunk-woman-lawyer-rams-Audi-into-cab-on-Eastern-Freeway-kills-2/articleshow/47607933.cms
Comments are more interesting than the story.
About Salman Khan, about being a woman, about empowerment etc. etc.
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June 9, 2015 at 11:08 PM
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-popular/ajay-devgn-starrer-drishyams-brand-new-stills-out/
Ajay Devgn Starrer Drishyam’s Brand New Stills Out!
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June 9, 2015 at 11:23 PM
The Success of DDD is that we are getting atleast meaningfull discussion here. Otherwise same boring BO stuff.
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June 10, 2015 at 2:18 AM
Dil Dhadakne was steady on Tuesday with collections around 5 crore nett. The first five day business of Dil Dhadakne Do is as follows.
Friday – 10,00,00,000
Saturday – 12,00,00,000
Sunday – 14,00,00,000
Monday – 5,75,00,000
Tuesday – 5,00,00,000
TOTAL – 46,75,00,000
The fil should do around 55 crore nett plus in the first week which will be the third highest first week collection of 2015 after Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Gabbar Is Back.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/dildhadaknedofirsttuesdaybusiness#.VXfWILWCwqE
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June 10, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Good, looks to be another mini-success like Akshay’s Gabbar is Back.
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June 10, 2015 at 2:22 AM
Q. Which film is the biggest opening of the year as different places its different films like Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Gabbar Is Back and Dil Dhadakne Do?
Q. Is Ranbir Kapoor still the biggest young star or are Ranveer Singh or Shahid Kapoor ahead of him due to films like Ram Leela, Haider and now Dil Dhadakne Do ?
Q. Is Tanu Weds Manu Returns the biggest small budget hit after Maine Pyar Kiya?
Q. Can Tanu Weds Manu Returns cross 150 crore?
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/istanuwedsmanureturnsthebiggestsmallbudgethitaftermainepyarkiya#.VXfW7rWCwqE
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June 10, 2015 at 2:28 AM
The immense success of “PK” in India and overseas has given a reason to the cast and crew of the movie to party on Wednesday.
The film, which features Aamir Khan in the role of an alien who questions the existence of godmen and differences due to religion, has gone on to mint Rs.620 crore globally — said to be the highest ever by any Bollywood film.
While in India, the movie is said to have made Rs.340 crore, it has managed a business of Rs.280 crore overseas. The collections, of course, are continuing to grow.
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the film was released in China just last month, and it managed to cross the Rs.100 crore mark there too.
The success bash is a toast to each and every member of the “PK” team who has contributed towards this astronomical success.
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/53240-pk-team-to-host-success-bash.htm
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June 10, 2015 at 3:14 AM
“It took Aamir Khan to go and convince Anil Kapoor for Dil Dhadakne Do” – Zoya Akhtar
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/8470
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June 10, 2015 at 3:19 AM
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/8488
Subhash K Jha speaks about Dil Dhadakne Do
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June 10, 2015 at 3:37 AM
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/10-management-lessons-that-salman-khan-taught-on-twitter-last-night/
10 Management Lessons That Salman Khan Taught On Twitter Last Night
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June 10, 2015 at 7:05 AM
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/the-real-star-of-dil-dhadakne-do-not-farhan-or-ranveer-twitter-says-its-priyanka-chopra-2288396.html
Who’s the real star of Dil Dhadakne Do? Not Farhan, Ranveer, Twitter says it’s Priyanka Chopra
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June 10, 2015 at 9:26 AM
I too liked Priyanka the best in the movie followed by Anil, Ranveer and Shefali.
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June 10, 2015 at 7:18 AM
For a moment I thought I had mistakenly clicked on Samachar.com rather than Satyamshot.com !!
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June 10, 2015 at 7:23 AM
I am doing this for the last so many months!
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June 10, 2015 at 7:29 AM
The trailer of Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan starrer, Katti Batti will be out this week, on 14th June.
It will be interesting to see this unique pair on screen for the first time. Imran and Kangana will be coming together to launch the trailer on the 14th.
Directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Katti Batti will release on 18th September.
Indiaforums
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/bollywood-events/53264-trailer-of-katti-batti-to-be-out-on-14th-june.htm
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June 10, 2015 at 9:44 AM
Salman Khan threaten to quit Twiitter
Salman Khan has warned his fans against trolling Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan on the micro-blogging site.
The actor also threatened to quit Twitter if his fans didn’t stop trolling the other two Khans, clearly mentioning that he doesn’t like this ‘negativity’ and is definitely not interested in this ‘ugly war’.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/salman-khan-aamir-khan-quit-twitter-shah-rukh-khan-bajrangi-bhaijaan-fan-warning/1/443402.html
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June 10, 2015 at 1:57 PM
“Jokes aside have nothing against Tanu even it isn’t my kind of deal. On DDD though I’ve been actively rooting for its failure!”–
That didn’t stop tanu rewriting female solo record books
Nor will it stop DDD becoming a decent success
“What’s unforgivable is the complete absence of life”
I actually found DDD good but not outstanding or mindblowing but one can’t say it had ‘absence of life’–
C’mon give the ‘in(ter)dependent’ girls zoya & kagti some credit
Now let’s analyse these voices (& others of their ilk)–I have nothing against them
They remind me of a certain ANGST
an angst that gets elicited for eg when they took their girl friend to a party only to find that she ends up dancing with (even boning) a different guy in front of them lol
One can visualise Rangan spending hours after watching DDD or even TWMR trying to SQUEEZE in punches and allegories and smart quips
Wonder why he forgot he was to do a ‘review’
But that’s what happens with ANGST…
But can we /should we blame these guys or their ‘angst’ –
-No
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June 10, 2015 at 8:20 PM
Aamir at PK success party also talks about Salman & Srk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY8K9WBybuA
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June 10, 2015 at 10:41 PM
the camera people are so loud and obnoxious. it’s pretty funny how they are having another success party. great accomplishment for a very good film.
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June 11, 2015 at 12:07 AM
“Fandango has revealed that Jurassic World is currently outselling every single summer blockbuster from 2014. For those of you with short memories, this is a list that includes X-Men: Days Of Future Past, Transformers: Age Of Extinction, Godzilla, and Chris Pratt’s previous cinematic adventure Guardians Of The Galaxy.”
“It’s also worth noting that Universal is giving Jurassic World the best opportunity to make as much money as possible, because the fourth instalment to the adventure franchise is being opened on 4,237 theaters. That’s the widest opening ever from the studio. It also helps that that the domestic box office projections for 2015 are currently around $100 million down, which could suggest that herds of viewers may be flocking to their local cinemas this weekend, having saved up in anticipation. Because of all of this information, Deadline is estimating that Jurassic World could have an opening of anywhere between $110 million and $140 million.”
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Jurassic-World-Going-Massive-Hit-Here-Proof-71934.html
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June 11, 2015 at 12:08 AM
watching it Fri.. this is a first day deal for me!
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June 11, 2015 at 1:14 AM
Same here hopefully…sucker for the dinosaurs!
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June 11, 2015 at 9:39 AM
it opens today-Thursday
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June 11, 2015 at 10:21 AM
yes true, there are some shows this evening.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:20 PM
Just got back from watching it!
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June 11, 2015 at 1:48 AM
Dil Dhadakne Do joins the debate over the role of women in India, says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/column/the-hidden-lessons-of-dil-dhadakne-do/20150610.htm
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June 11, 2015 at 3:36 AM
http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-popular/star-alert-aamir-anushka-big-b-deepika-ranveer-kanagana-at-pk-success-bash/
Not often do we find all big stars under one roof and that’s exactly what happened at the PK success bash. The Aamir Khan film after making a stupendous business in India, recently took China by storm as it collected over 100 crores there too.
Celebrating this success, the team hosted a party which was attended by several celebrities. Snapped at the bash were hosts Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani. Amongst other celebs spotted at the events, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Zoya Akhtar, Kiran Rao made their presence felt.
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June 11, 2015 at 6:04 AM
Jurassic World Looking To Topple Major Hindi Release
Thursday 11 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
The Hollywood release Jurassic World may do a first and that is topple a major Hindi release on the opening day. There have been many times that Hollywood releases have scored over Hindi films but none of those Hindi films would have been in the level of Hamari Adhuri Kahani.
The early bookings though there are not much of them suggest that Jurassic World will score over Hamari Adhuri Kahani at most of the major multiplex chains. North India seems to have a decent lead for Jurassic World and North has a big multiplex contribution.
Hamari Adhuri Kahani will probably have to rely on the single screens to outscore Jurassic World but that is an unlikely scenario. Its better chance will be strong word of mouth so that the evenings at multiplexes show huge growth which enable it to catch Jurassic World or even surpass it. Jurassic World will release on Thursday at many places so this can also give Hamari Adhuri Kahani a chance if the film is not up to the mark.
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June 11, 2015 at 6:05 AM
Hamari Adhuri Kahani To Struggle For An Opening
Thursday 11 June 2015 11.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Hamari Adhuri Kahani looks set to struggle for an opening tomorrow. The film does a have a hit song but the picturisation probably had to be better to translate into a strong box office opening. Also the the main actors Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan are on a lean patch with their last few films not doing well.
The film will also face competition in the form of Hollywood release and the holdover releases Dil Dhadakne Do and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.
The film will may do better in the evening but that probably wont be enough for a good first day so as has been the case for most of the year it all hangs on word of mouth and how much can you grow on Saturday.
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June 11, 2015 at 6:06 AM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh 3h3 hours ago
#DilDhadakneDo crosses ₹ 50 cr mark! Fri 10.53 cr, Sat 12.27 cr, Sun 14.25 cr, Mon 5.77 cr, Tue 5.09 cr, Wed 4.48 cr. Total: ₹ 52.39 cr.
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June 11, 2015 at 6:20 AM
The drop on Monday sealed the films fate. Won’t trend well and won’t do much more than 75cr+. After the big success of Piku and TWMR, this one is a underperformer for sure.
This weekend is all about Jurassic World. I don’t have much hope that this will be anywhere near as good as Jurassic Park but I just love monster films, especially the special effects of today.
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June 11, 2015 at 9:21 AM
Then we have some pseudo intellectuals mentioning that Indian audience doesn’t appreciate ‘good’ films. DDD had everything going for it, if it was really worth it, it could have easily done great. ZNMD did phenomenal trending to reach 90 crores from 8 crs 1st day.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:37 AM
There are some genres or films where the bar is high. The audience will accept these films but they have to be excellent efforts. The audience doesn’t give such a film much leeway. This might happen because it’s not a favorite genre or the film is too dark (Talaash for example) or the genre is fine but the film is ideologically on the wrong side of the audience. With DDD it’s none of the above. This could have been a true blue multiplex hit. I even expected it. From everything that has been said about this I think it’s probably an uneven effort. With the lack of a true blue star and/or hot music this probably made it missable for many people who might have showed up for ZNMD. And here I’d add one thing about Hrithik. Though it’s true that ZNMD didn’t open strong despite him (this always happens when a star does something other than a strength genre) it is also the case that in such situations since the star is otherwise popular good or even better than decent WOM might have some of the fans show up. But without that star the film has to receive much better WOM because no one is showing up for Ranveer Singh! Admittedly ZNMD is not the best example for what I’m saying but something like CE is. Because this sort of film has potentially a much more universal audience. When WOM is decent (doubt it was ever great here) SRK’s long history suddenly kicks in and the film does much better than Shetty’s film normally do. On the other hand with BB the film worked but neither star here could really give the film that sort of extra jump. With Abhishek this wasn’t surprising at the time. But Devgan couldn’t do it either. In fairness not many stars are in that category at any given point.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:30 AM
My sense is that this one might be better than the previous two. Ultimately the novelty factor is always lost after the first in a franchise, specially one which depended on dinosaurs. I enjoyed the other two as well but the second one was ‘too much’ in some ways with lots of new dinosaurs added and then the Godzilla like finale. At the time the film did 90m or so over the first weekend and then went on to do 220m. It was considered a bit disappointing by some because the original started off at 60m and did 350 or something. But again that was a unique moment. The third one (not directed by Spielberg) was a much leaner and ultimately more modest film. Some critics preferred it. I liked the pterodactyls! Or perhaps they were pteranodons. This current film seems like a return to basics and perhaps a truer sequel of the original. I’m encouraged by the reviews. It’s probably going to be between 73-75%. But if this were the first of a franchise that score would go up significantly. My sense is that this is about as good a film as one is likely to get on a sequel. Some are saying the thrills are great but the soul of the first one might still be missing. However that too is hard to replicate. Not that I go to Hollywood thrillers for this hokey stuff!
On DDD I’d agree.. I think this is doing decently but nothing more. It’s stabilized at a somewhat lower end. The best case scenario was looking to be 85 or so. But with Jurassic and so on I think it will be lower. So yes definitely not doing what ZNMD did, and even in terms of the opening it just about matched the latter, might even have been a bit behind all things considered. In this day and age when Piku does as much as it did, when TWMR has been so huge (I won’t even get into YJHD), when BMB and Barfi have cleared a 100 even 90 would have been an underperformance. But 75 (if that is the final result) would be poor. Clearly it has some base of support but not enough.
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June 11, 2015 at 8:43 AM
http://m.rediff.com/movies/report/classic-revisited-amitabh-bachchans-underrated-saudagar/20150611.htm
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June 11, 2015 at 10:49 AM
Thanks a lot for this Salim. Made my day!! That’s one remarkable, classic, unforgettable performance from Amitabh. I had written something about this on Rangan’s blog:
@ Karrvakarela: Here he has Amitabh Bachchan playing against type and hamming it to the rafters. Lately, we’ve seen so much of Bachchan trying to be an Actor (paging “Black” and “Paa”) that it’s easy to forget how excellent his comic timing is. (For my money’s worth, Bachchan never was an actor; he’s just been a mere superstar all along.) “Piku” reminds me of the Amitabh Bachchan in Chupke Chupke or Namak Halal where he could have you in fits with a well-timed look or a juicy turn of phrase.***
You make a lot of contradictory statements here. If he has been just a mere superstar all along, then I am afraid I do not follow the odes to his comic timing in Chupke Chupke or Namal Halal.
That aside, it is a glorious butchering of history and assessment if one were to say that Amitabh has been a super-star all along. I can understand if one says – and to an extent rightly so – that he harnessed his superstardom quality more than the purist superlative actor in him. But to dismiss his outstanding craftsmanship as almost non-existent in the face of super-stardom is entirely inaccurate.
The problem with most ‘critics’ of star-actors is that they always look for ‘acting’ in those kind of roles that are tangential to the exaggerated characteristics of our films. So it would be easy to dismiss and difficult to appreciate what goes on in roles like that of Coolie’s or Sharaabi’s or Aakhree Raasta. And it would obviously be easier – not taking away anything at all from these classic performances – to appreciate Naseer in Paar or Sparsh. But when an actor is so rich that he can convey the nava-rasas even in superficial characters like the above ones, why would one need to go digging for ‘realistic’ roles? Within our ‘masala’ mould itself, there are fine instances where the ONLY actor to have done it all is Amitabh – and convincingly so. So much so that even when suffering from the utmost complex, an actor like Naseer says that the ONLY actor that can pull of all the inherent idiosyncrasies our cinema has to offer is Amitabh, followed not-very-closely by Dilip Kumar. And to paraphrase him further, Amitabh can easily be mentioned of as the only actor in the world who can be better than his films!! Only in the role of a dwarf or that of a mentally-disabled person does not one find ‘talent.’
Even if one were strict as to where one ‘looks’ for talent, Amitabh has demonstrated his prowess in the ‘subtlety’ genre amply. One just needs to watch MILI and SAUDAGAR to get the range that this actor has under his command. If this doesn’t define ‘true’ artistry, I don’t know what else will.
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June 11, 2015 at 11:34 AM
I’d disagree at some points here. First off a star-actor is fundamentally a very different creature from any other sort of actor. A serious actor who’s not a star is required to act well. There is no other burden on him or her. This doesn’t mean the job is easy. Naseer clearly did some very difficult roles. It’s not as if just any actor who wanted to not be a star could pull off such stuff. But yes Naseer clearly sounds absurd when he says what you’ve mentioned. I’d chalk it down to his anxiety about not being a star at very many levels. I’d take it further. He is precisely anxious about Bachchan because Bacchhan is a great performer. But people have this very poor sense of ‘acting’ where they think that a commercial cinema performance by a star can never reach those highest levels. Naseer should have learnt better in Pune (or wherever he went) or certainly he should have gathered as much from all the canonical critics of the West.
But leaving aside Naseer’s comments the fact is that a star who is also a serious actor is required to play star before he plays the part. This is to say that the ‘signature’ must always be visible. If this isn’t so the star wouldn’t even be recognizable (here I completely disagree with those who say that Bachchan isn’t recognizable in Piku, his mannerisms and gestures are there at every turn). The audience is there to see the star perform and not to see the star disappear in a performance. If they wanted that they would indeed go to someone like Naseer. So it’s just two different kinds of performance. Of course a certain confusion happens at the other end too. For instance people think Salman puts in a great performance. Salman just isn’t an actor but as a successful star he knows how to manage and deploy his signature. A number of very great stars in cinema (not just in India) are fantastic in terms of leveraging their signature but they’re not actors in any ordinary sense of the word. To say that Aamir acts in Talaash and that Salman does the same in Dabanng is a little absurd. This by the way does not imply any judgment either way. In many cases I prefer stars who are not actors to those who are.
What is true also is that in many cases stars who have not been actors in any normal sense for very long do something half serious, do it well and are celebrated for ‘acting’ well. But that’s not the same thing as DeNiro putting up a great show. When you get to Bachchan you have this odd mix of a star who’s signature is unmatched but whose performance abilities are also exceptional. You almost never get this mix in equal measure. You might get an extraordinary screen presence who’s ok as an actor or an extraordinary actor who’s not special otherwise but the combination is rare. And this again defines Naseer’s anxiety. he precisely cannot account for him the way he might many other great stars.
On the rest though and not to repeat everything I’ve said on this but I wouldn’t agree that Bachchan was always a superstar. What happens is that once he becomes that kind of star and specially if we’ve only seen him through that prism we find it impossible to judge those early performances as anything but the ‘promise’ of a star-to-come. We cannot say how we would understand Anand or something in real time. Once the event happens everything is reset. The older roles become the ‘pre-history’ of a great star. When we watch such films we are forever connecting those moments to later ones. It’s certainly fair to say that Bachchan always had a presence and so forth but also remember that for that age he also seemed very odd, awkward and gawky. This is not apparent in Anand but it’s certainly so in something like Pyar ki kahani and a number of his earlier films. No one is born a superstar. the greatest ones always develop a signature over time even if they seem promising initially. Someone like Hrithik who seems completely in place on day 1 is actually not that sort of great star, he has nowhere to go because that’s the extent of his abilities. And so you can watch any film of his or any role of his but it’s hard to make the case that he is in any sense ‘better’ than he was in KNPH. He’s more or less the same guy one every part. It’s not just about someone like Bachchan. Even at lesser levels this happens. It takes Salman a number of years to develop his current signature. SRK was successful from day one but he too took time to develop his DDLJ signature (in his case he also exhausted it very quickly).
With Bachchan the extraordinary thing is precisely his metamorphosis from year to year. Deewar is very different from Zanjeer, Trishul very different still, he’s the angry young man in each case but each part is modulated rather differently. Similarly he’s very fluid early on doing comedy in Chupke Chupke but Anthony is a miraculous performance. Then one could look at his drunk scenes and even though the masala terrain might be the same the way he does them is often subtly altered from film to film. His entire signature and a performance consonant with this is developed in very singular ways over time. And part of the pleasure in revisiting his stuff is to get that sense each time. But he wasn’t always this way. I’d also add here that I wouldn’t say Bachchan is the very best at every kind of commercial outing. He has the gifts to attempt very many things successfully but I wouldn’t find him as credible in certain parts as I would some lesser stars and actors. Because no matter how great one is as a star and actor there are physical and other limitations. The guy doing Don couldn’t have done Bobby at any age or for that matter some Rajesh Khanna romances and so on. Because again it’s not just about doing these parts well, it’s also about doing so effectively as a star. Also there are parts which require stars but which also do not require them to be overwhelming presences like Bachchan. But the latter takes over the film irrespective of the part. He’s that kind of star and actor. This works in many kinds of cinema but not all. Some roles just require more modest stars. They might or might not be fine actors but they cannot be so physically dominant.
it’s not just cinema, the greatest talents in any art form (or sport for that matter) take time to mature and truly reach their peaks. As such they also surprise us along the way because whatever they promise early on they exceed that promise by leaps and bounds.
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June 11, 2015 at 1:49 PM
No one can judge what acting is.Its a matter of personal opinion.
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June 11, 2015 at 9:24 AM
She has won accolades for her double role in “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”, which has turned out to be a box office bonanza. Now, actress Kangana Ranaut will enter the same territory with her upcoming film “Katti Batti”, according to sources.
Kangana will be seen in a double role as Payal and Bijlee in Nikhil Advani’s directorial, which also stars Imran Khan.
However, the filmmakers are tight lipped about the project.
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/53324-kangana-to-have-double-role-in-katti-batti.htm
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June 11, 2015 at 9:53 AM
Another blockbuster?
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June 11, 2015 at 9:30 AM
Hamari Adhuri Kahani got tax exemption in M.P. Before that Piku was also granted tax exemption in that state.
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June 11, 2015 at 9:32 AM
Dinosaur, sorry JP 4 is getting mixed reviews being compared to the original one.
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June 11, 2015 at 9:37 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/jurassic-world-review-irrfan-khan-bigger-dinosaurs-keep-you-engaged/article1-1357395.aspx
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June 11, 2015 at 9:40 AM
Forget the original classic, it is way better than Part 2 and Part 3 and that is very good as lot of the folks still enjoyed Part 2 & 3.
72% is very healthy for this franchise. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jurassic_world/
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June 11, 2015 at 9:51 AM
I think they took Irrfan so that Indian market will be taken care of.
For Hollywood films India has become a very lucrative market.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:35 AM
Not that simple logic. They took Irrfan Khan not Salman Khan 🙂
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June 11, 2015 at 10:46 AM
roflol.
So True!!
Though (a fat) Aamir Khan in the role of park owner would have been a great cast/catch!
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June 11, 2015 at 11:11 AM
Irrfan is the cheapest Khan and most acceptable face after Pi.
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June 11, 2015 at 11:19 AM
“Irrfan is the cheapest Khan”
Again, don’t agree. I don’t think any of the other Khans would really reject Jurassic World for monetary reason. If the role is good in a major franchise, that is an offer no one would reject; they wouldn’t mind doing it for free or as much they are paying Irrfan Khan.
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June 11, 2015 at 11:29 AM
It seems you are determined not to agree to anything. Haha!
Today is thursday in India. Hope you will agree with me.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:39 AM
not a fair comparison with the original… to be honest it would require a reboot from a Nolan-like talent to do that sort of thing and even then this isn’t Batman where you can re-conceive the whole thing. On a related note the new Planet of the Apes is developing into a superb franchise. The first one was good, the second was outstanding.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:43 AM
by the way the original has 93% on rottentomatoes, obviously fantastic. But the next two were around 50% which I think is ridiculously harsh for both. The current one is around 72%.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:47 AM
The original was historic. It was the biggest film in terms of worldwide till Titanic arrived. Pretty tough to beat that kind of love with this genre which is quite formulaic.
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June 11, 2015 at 10:39 AM
Xhobdo:
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June 11, 2015 at 10:43 AM
Xhobdo:
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June 11, 2015 at 12:04 PM
Christopher Lee passed away:
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June 11, 2015 at 3:58 PM
If all goes as planned, actor Abhishek Bachchan will be seen in the TV show “Diya Aur Baati Hum” to promote his Kabaddi team Jaipur Pink Panthers, a a franchise of the Pro-Kabaddi League. Currently the show has an ongoing Kabaddi track, for which TV actor Anas Rashid who plays Sooraj, has been working on his body since months. –
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/abhishek-bachchan-on-diya-aur-baati-hum/#sthash.3XW8thNn.dpuf
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June 11, 2015 at 4:58 PM
So it’s Jurassic that’s in demand now. I didn’t even know it was releasing this week. Hope it would release a couple of weeks later. Jurassic being released so huge means ALL imaxs will now pull down MAD MAX. And I want to watch MAD MAX only in IMAX.
While I did like Jurassic as a kid and what Steven did with it, MAD MAX any day is what I prefer — especially with 99% on RT, and with critics sleeping with the audience in totality, this is mind-boggling.
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June 11, 2015 at 6:08 PM
Mad Max Fury Road is the most stunning movie I have seen in my life. I wonder what other people here think about it.
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