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200 Responses to “Wazir (ongoing), the rest of the box office”
Bajirao Mastani Hits 175 Crore In Four Weeks
Friday 15 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastani had a good fourth week of 7 crore nett apprx. The film had its biggest drop since its release dropping around 75% but still the fourth week collections were among the top ten highest fourth weeks of all time. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 84,36,00,000
Week Two – 55,19,00,000
Week Three – 28,35,00,000
Fourth Weekend – 7,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 174,90,00,000
Share – 83 crore apprx
The film film still has potential to add 4-5 crore nett more as the new release Wazir floped and there is no new major release this week.
First Release Of The Year Wazir Flops
Friday 15 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
The first major release of the Year Wazir has flopped at the box office with first week collections of 28.50 crore nett. More than the low collections, the problem was the trend as the film found no appreciation in any circuit and collections came down fast from Monday onward.
The problems were there for the film over the weekend as Sunday failed to show much growth and Monday just sealed its fate. Despite no release this week the film will not make much headway and have low collections. Wazir may cross 35 crore nett if its lucky but 40 crore nett seems out of reach.
The best performance came in Mysore though it was lower than it should have been. The Mysore collections were 2.15 crore nett apprx. Mumbai grossed 8.75 crore nett and Delhi /UP grossed around 6.25 crore nett. The film was rejected in the multiplexes of both of the big circuits.
Wazir according to XYZ is a niche film and its flop status should be accepted as hit. After mega success of P. K, Vidhu Vinod Chopra had decided to do some charity and hence produced this film and it went as per his expectations. So, it’s time to celebrate for ABC fanatics as producers are happy over its performance plus lead actors have been able to carve a niche. What a way to get success! Now stand up and give three claps for ABC and fanatic XYZ.
The all kinds of anti BJP/ Hindus news posting happy person on this blog has an embarrassing San(J)annataa on the Malda news !! Not surprised though. SS at times seems exact replica of NDTV..lol
P.S.- Happy New Year 2016.
Malda news was to be “Broken” by you as a Pro-Hindu/BJP supporter! Last i heard that India was attacked under the same “person’s leadership” who once claimed “Tit for tat” kind of policy towards Pakistan and that too within a week of his ” dostana visit”!
Hum imply nahi karte hain, seedhe bolte hain without any “Jalaoing” anyone’s sentiments 🙂 And by the way i don’t support on the basis of “Hindu, Muslim, BJP, Congress, SP, BSP, Right or left” but my feelings are based on ” what is fair and right bereft of any ideology”.
They are not same but yes both should have ability to say things. Trump can be ridiculed for his Hispanic and Muslim comments but he has right to say and State protects his rights. Unfortunately law and order in India is something anything remotely offensive creates problem.
Freedom of expression ought not to be “Prerogative” of anyone be it any political party or any person. Even if i disagree with your ideas, i should remain civil, respectful while responding to you and expressing my counter-views. One should keep this template in mind while having any conversation as inflammatory and provocative remarks would yield the same from opposite side.
On your question, yes each wrong act should be condemned irrespective of where it is originating from! Which is what has been happening in this tolerant and intolerant debate where both sides are putting the blame on the other side declaring itself blot-free in this respect, which is absurd! So rather than relying on “My shirt is cleaner than you” kind of approach, introspection from both sides would be more fruitful in improving the current atmosphere.
I watched it couple of days ago, because I’d been interested in the film for a long time (despite the relatively poor reviews). Anyways, unfortunately it’s a mediocre film with plotholes and silly inconsistency (do these people not bother to watch/alter/amend their movies before releasing them) but elevated to the level of being pretty watchable thanks to Amitabh, Farhan and Aditi (she’s beautiful!). Some moderately decent music too.
Re Bachchan, he’s obviously always a pleasure to watch these days, but he had a much more exciting role in Shamitabh (I was one of the few who loved that movie) and Piku is one of my favourite performances of his.
Thanks Salim. I liked Shamitabh as well, specially Bachchan’s act. Dhanush was good too but not as good as he was in Raanjhna.
Piku is obviously a classic.
Chalo… is baat pe at least we are both in agreement. Finally saw Shamitabh on television, and felt that all the brickbats its received was undeserved. It is a flawed film yes, but ambitiously so. Of Balki’s three subversive experiments with Amitabh Bachchan and his iconography, I in fact preferred this the most. And of course, the Big B also had the superlative this year.
Once again proves just how pivotal the Bachchan signature is to the secular fabric of this diverse country… he erases barriers and boundaries. Ha!
Aap Kashyap clan se door rahte ho 🙂
The song is catchy…Better half did some gig in India on this song….Moustaches were brought from amazon for the gig.
Ya , we all danced a lot too on this song at two different events at two different family functions. Overall I thought the living standards / facilities have improved . For example with high fi Invertors and Generators the power cut is not felt that much.( May be in summer time it will pinch more ). All the houses ( middle class) have Acquaguard installed.
Traffic is a big problem.
I really wanted to watch Bajirao in a Single Screens- all my cousins made such a weird face as if I had gone crazy. needless to say I dropped the idea of going alone. LOL!
Aside- Aaptards and Keju are the most hated commodities right now in India.
Read Justice Katju’s latest blog where he rips the fraudster Keju.
Just as I said !! LOL !!
Komal Nahta @KomalNahta · Jan 16
This #Shaandaar song made us all tap our feet to its beat! #Gulaabo wins @ETCBollywood’s Song of the Year award! #ETCBBizAwards2015
I liked Piku. It was good to see a working girl taking care of her widowed dad, a man who is not actually keen on her getting married, somebody selfish in a way, yet humane and affectionate in his own manner. His obsession with his potty habits is actually so true to reality. I know a few people whose day revolves around the potty job — and actually, it’s true — your mood and mind don’t clear up if the alimentary canal is blocked!
Amitabh’s performance rang true, did not come off as a caricature. Loved Dipika too.
Saw Wazir; It is a decent movie. There are issues in movie:
*Mild spoilers*
1. Amitabh and Farhan track was good. But there was no point in adding complexity in Qureshi track (it could have been story in itself).
2.When you are making serious movie, the treatment should be serious. There are two raids and both of them are handled in masala way. There was no need of that.
3. It needed more flesh in Amitabh, Farhan track in terms of more incidences.
This is really stupid, case and will be thrown out of the court. The film people are so used to the sets that it may have not even crossed their minds that it is a Temple set.
Reminds me of a song sequence by Lucky Ali – see from 2.30
“Indore: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s ‘intolerance’ remarks continue to haunt him with a senior BJP leader today suggesting “treatment” to his upcoming movie ‘Dangal’ in the same way that was done to Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dilwale’, whose business was marred by protests from Hindutva groups. ”
The more the intolerance, the more our dear BJP politicos rant against people speaking about intolerance : witness BJP General secretary Kailash Vijaysomefellow threatening that Aamir’s Dangal would get the same treatment meted out to Dilwale. What a charming set of people, our ruling party. God save India from these divisive forces. And nobody to control these potty-mouths. Everyday somebody commenting against Aamir and his wife Kiran . Like a commenter wrote, behti Ganga mein haath dhula rahein hain.
Bajirao has swept the Filmfare awards .Glad for SLB and Ranveer Singh. well deserved. was afraid SRK and his dirty tricks will pull a Keju kind of fraud but glad it did not happen.
One of the more fairer Filmfare Awards in recent memory… though I do think that Bajrangi Bhaijaan deserved the Best Film honour… not only for being the event film of the year (apart from Bahubali of course), but also being a rather important one too, and one that nevertheless is the kind of commercial blockbuster that Filmfare would have no problems awarding.
Bajirao Mastani box office collections at Rs 167.10 cr beat Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale, Aamir Khan’s PK, others
According to Aamir Khan, “To measure a film’s success, you need to see the weekend figures and compare it with the total collection. Like 3 Idiots did Rs 40 crore on the weekend and the total business was Rs 202 crore, so the weekend multiplied by 5, is the behavior of the film which is very good. That shows people have gone again and again to see the film. Jo film teen din mein 100 crore karein aur total mein 200 crore karein, then that film is not good.”
Like 3 Idiots did Rs 40 crore on the weekend and the total business was Rs 202 crore, so the weekend multiplied by 5, is the behavior of the film which is very good. That shows people have gone again and again to see the film. Jo film teen din mein 100 crore karein aur total mein 200 crore karein, then that film is not good.
Completely agree. This is what we’re trying to achieve with the AII and the BOmbay reports. Let’s see.
Have to say Aamir is an tough spot. Dangal has to be superlative now for people to let their sense of fairness prevail over their sense of anger with his comments.
Or….BJP and Modi need to weaken further – lose some more state elections, and most of their credibility with the voting public. In that likely scenario, Aamir’s comments may actually work for him.
So unless Dangal is among one of the greatest films made, it might get stamped all over by the Modi bhakt brigade.
All this stuff or the extent to which it impacts a film depends fundamentally on the quality of the film. If there is a strong desire to see it I.e. WOM is hot nothing will stop it overall. Precisely why Dilwale hardly got impacted, there really was little content to cause a supporting cause for it.
I was fine as the most searched person. But I think the people are curious,” says adult film star-turned-Bollywood actor Sunny Leone in this very candid Walk The Talk interview. She speaks about her childhood days where she played street hockey, played with GI Joes rather than Barbies and made fort rather than castles. Sunny says that she was never molested or tortured which made her do adult movies. She talks about how Karanjeet Kaur Bora became Sunny Leone as she went to give an interview for a magazine
What is the connection? Everyday accidents and drunken driving happens. Courts are to be blamed for giving bails easily.
It maybe a powerful politican, a filmstar, a rich brat or even an ordinary driver who maybe the culprit. My neighbours, very healthy god fearing people, were travelling in an auto and knocked down by a truck and they are still in the hospital since last 2 months with serious injuries and medical bills running into lakhs with no hopes of complete recovery. And no shameless actors and their wives are condoling inspite of we being mumbaikers.
‘god fearing people’ ?
What is that? i have been hearing this a lot lately. Why should anyone fear God? Either their understanding of God is wrong or they are devil.
God never say fear me, only a bad person will say this fear me. I think your friends need to develop better understanding about God.
Really? Literal? i know where it is coming from. I have read kuraan. After islam invading india, Indians also starting using words like ‘bhagwan se daro’ which is totally bullshit. Anyways, it is off the topic and we can agree to disagree.
As for the topic, it wasnt about aamir only. Although, he likes to give opinion about everything, but only selective topic. Huh
I never read Quran. I am familiar with Geeta and some Bible.
My support for aamir is nothing to do with Islam or muslims. It is purely a fan thing. And also because he is really innocent and quite undiplomatic unlike his colleagues who are smart and dont land in messes like him. I hope this incident will make him less talkative and more career oriented. We, aamir fans are always fear what his next statement will be. But now he will also be more careful.
Agree with Raghav. There is only concept of god-love, no god-fear. There is no love when there is fear. Why should one fear god when god is your own self….We don’t have concept of sin, devil and god-fear.
That maybe the reason we do all the paap thinking that we love god and god also loves us whatever we do. We also offer bribes to pass exams, to get promotions, to get whatever.
We need not fear god but we certainly need to fear man. Man can destroy reputations, people in the name of some god he or she professes to believe. As is happening everywhere in the world.
“That maybe the reason we do all the paap thinking that we love god”
Paapa is not sin though, you have to understand this very clearly. Karma done out of ajana or sense of doership, results in ‘reaction’, just as every action has reaction, for the agyani. Dharma, artha, kama, moksha…there is a reason for Dharma being there. Actions can be adarmic. Papa can happen knowingly or unknowingly. Walking on earth I kill lot of insects, that will incurr papa because the bhakta thinks he is performing actions. For a jyani there is no papa, punya (but then jyani will not be doing adarmic actions either).
“Man can destroy reputations, people in the name of some god he or she professes to believe. ”
Sure there are adharmic people on earth, not just india. And sure they do bad things to swindle your money. Hopefully, in every society there is more dharma and less adarma/adharmic people. The prayer is always “sarve sukhenu santu…..”, it doesn’t say “may I alone be happy” 😉
When films deceive us
Unreliable flashbacks and other devices that movies use to mislead viewers
If you haven’t watched Bejoy Nambiar’s Wazir yet and intend to, you may want to skip this column for now (I’m not convinced a spoiler alert is really needed, but possibly I’m overestimating your deductive skills).
At the halfway point, the title character—a goon hired to strong-arm people—makes his showy appearance. Or…. he doesn’t. Because we subsequently learn that Wazir never existed: He was fabricated by master strategist Omkarnath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) as part of a convoluted, and very improbable, revenge plan. In the flashback that accompanied Omkarnath’s story about being attacked late at night, we saw Wazir all right (and gawped at Neil Nitin Mukesh’s scenery-chewing in the role), but now it turns out that the whole scene was a lie. Which means that in a sense, our eyes—with the movie camera as their guiding spirit—played us false.
The scene got me thinking about other such sequences where we are shown a person who doesn’t exist, or an incident that never took place, and to what degree they might be said to have misled the viewer. After all, film is a powerful and persuasive medium; once you have seen something on a screen, it is difficult to “un-see” it.
The conundrum of the unreliable flashback, for instance, goes back a long way. In 1950, Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright earned some notoriety for a flashback scene that turned out to be a murderer’s false account. While many viewers and critics felt cheated (and Hitchcock himself conceded the point during an interview with François Truffaut), defenders of the film felt the device was justifiable: When a person creates a cover-up story, he internalizes his own lies, and that is what the viewers were shown in this case.
The construction or framing of a scene can make a difference. In a film I otherwise enjoyed a great deal, Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 Kahaani, I had a slight issue with the scenes where Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) tells the police about her missing husband Arnab. As she relates her story, we see glimpses of them together in a happy past, but it later turns out that the man we saw in those supposed flashbacks was not her husband but her quarry. Friends have assured me that the scenes represent the images in the minds of the policemen listening to Vidya’s kahaani (she has shown them a photo of the wrong man), but I’m not convinced: The shots in question are bookended by close-ups of Vidya looking misty eyed, which to me indicates that they are meant to be her memories. And if that is so, the film is pulling a fast one on us.
Normally, when we see a character on screen, we take his or her reality—within the given context—at face value. There are exceptions to the rule when watching a supernatural story, for example; our scepticism meter is set high. But even in such cases it is possible to be fooled. M. Night Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense was an overrated film in some ways, but its first viewers will never forget the shock of realizing that Bruce Willis’ Dr Malcolm was a ghost; never mind that “I see dead people” was the film’s most famous line. One of the tricks—deceits?—used here was that Malcolm always looked normal, while the other ghosts shown in the film telegraphed their spectral state from miles away, being pale or other-worldly, or still carrying their death-wounds.
What about when a seemingly realistic narrative takes a sudden right turn to reveal a supernatural element? One recent example was in Reema Kagti’s Talaash (2012), a police procedural which builds to the revelation that the Kareena Kapoor character Rosie isn’t just an informer who keeps showing up to aid Inspector Surjan (Aamir Khan); she is from another dimension altogether. The impact of this reveal depends on the viewer being kept away from the possibility that Talaash could have anything “magical” in it; the narrative structure and characterizations establish it as a grounded, real-world story, and the pre-publicity didn’t hint at anything else. Which was a clever ploy, but it also accounts for the annoyed reactions by people who felt the film-makers had stepped outside the internal logic of their own story.
Of course, a reviewer who wants to justify a movie’s choices can always turn to the life-jacket of subtextual analysis. Thinking about the introduction scene of arch-villain “Wazir”, it struck me that Mukesh’s performance had a touch of Cheshire Cat about it (he even looks like he is suspended in mid-air at one point, a broad grin plastered on his face). Perhaps this was the film’s way of telling us we were in Wonderland, so don’t take anything at face value. Or maybe it was just poor acting and writing after all.
For Rocky Dada, as this answer of “SICKULAR” Ramchandra Guha would certainly please him:
Historian Ramachandra Guha calls Rahul Gandhi unsuited for politics, feels he can’t inspire confidence even in his party
Q. Narendra Modi’s government has disappointed on many counts — he has not delivered on the economic development, the promise that was really the key to his victory. Do you predict a return of the Congress?
A. No, and I don’t mind being quoted on this. Rahul Gandhi is an incompetent leader, unfit to lead a major party. There may be some natural incumbency, so from 44 seats (in the Lok Sabha), it may go to 80 or even 100, but the Congress is on the decline. Rahul Gandhi is manifestly unsuited to politics. He is not a leader that inspires confidence even in his own party men
Superstar Aamir Khan’s ‘intolerance’ remarks continue to haunt him with a senior BJP leader today suggesting “treatment” to his upcoming movie ‘Dangal’ in the same way that was done to Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Dilwale’, whose business was marred by protests from Hindutva groups.
BJP general secretary Kaliash Vijayvargiya hinted at teaching a lesson to Aamir by saying at a public function that “treatment to one has been done. Now it is time for the other to be treated. ‘Dangal me mangal karna hai’. You should keep this in mind.
“When anybody says that intolerance is rising in our society, then it makes me a little angry. Then he has to be treated. His treatment is very necessary.”
Though he did not name either Shahrukh or ‘Dilwale,’ his reference seemed to be aimed at him as his last movie was marred by protests at several places. Khan, too, had earlier spoken about rising intolerance in Indian, prompting the BJP leader to brand him a “traitor”, a remark he withdrew later facing public backlash.
Vijayvargiya’s remarks came a day after another party general secretary, Ram Madhav, had denounced Aamir Khan’s comments on ‘intolerance’, saying he should not preach about the country’s prestige only to an auto-rickshaw driver but also his wife.
The Opposite Of The Christmas Clash This Week
Saturday 16 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
The end of 2015 saw the Dilwale v Bajirao Mastani and the problem of shortage of screens came up or better put shortage of collecting screens. The two films together manage to go to around 5700 screens between them but many of the single screens that the films had to go were poor collecting ones. The clash clearly highlighted the problem with shortage of screens in the Hindi film market.
But then we cut to this week where the problem is the opposite and it seems that there are too many screens. Dilwale is almost out, Bajirao Mastani is now at low occupancy, Wazir has flopped which has meant that a film like Chalk & Duster is playing on 4-5-6 screens at some multiplexes, a multiplex in Delhi even has it on 10 shows daily which is insane.
This is not because its believed the film will give the collections but because there is no choice. Chalk & Duster is the sort of film that should really be only screened on select multiplexes on a show or two and then see whether it can find an audience and go from there.
This is a one of the reasons that growth of screens has come down from a few years back, simply because there are far more weeks like this week than the Xmas clash week. The need of the hour for the business to grow is software for the theatres, if the software is good the growth of screens will come which will lead to growth of business but when weak films like Chalk and Duster get this sort of screen time because of no choice its hard to see the big growth in screens which will allow two films to release simultaneously and get desired results.
Bajirao Mastani Continues Good Run
Saturday 16 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastani is still putting up good numbers as it takes advantage of the weak competition around it. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 84,36,00,000
Week Two – 55,19,00,000
Week Three – 28,35,00,000
Week Four – 7,00,00,000
Day 29 – 65,00,00,000
TOTAL – 175,55,00,000
The film probably should add close to 3 crore nett over the weekend and lifetime business is now looking to close over 180 crore nett.
Malda incident, when did it happen? Nothing happens in Malda and Purnia for the likes of NDTV and few bloggers on this blog.
Otherwise also, nothing happened in Malda. Only a crowd of more than 100000 of tolerant and peaceful community went on rampage, destroyed vehicles, burnt police station, made members of other community leave their homes. Not a big deal, nothing when compared to what happened in Dadri.
Yes, this incident could have been worth spending time, had the same thing been done by majority community of India. We could have seen 24X7 coverage of the same Malda by our ‘secular’ media, award wapsi could have been further intensified. The great superstar Aamir khan could have substantiated his statements.
Is it not “Intolerance” by the authorities in power to suppress one incident?? And this Malda incident is being fuelled by the same political parties to divide communities along religious lines, had it been exactly the same as is being projected in Malda and Purnia, BJP would have pounced upon the “Sickulars”!! But it is more of a social media ploy to propel it to combat “Dadri” and “Balance things out”. The central government has the power to intervene in case state governments fail to prevent social disharmony and anarchy kind of situations, but here BJP, despite being in power, has not asked or summoned or even briefed the media about the exact nature of the incident (Rioting) resulting in how many casualties and cause behind it! So rather than trusting “Hearsay”, i’d ask you to delve in a little deeper for truth to surface as all political parties have the identical goal that is to wrest power irrespective of means employed to reach there being wrong or right!
>Not a big deal, nothing when compared to what happened in Dadri.
Its not a big deal when compared to 2002.
In Dadri one was killed by a mob, one nearly killed.
Here no one was killed and they LEFT A HINDU TEMPLE UNTOUCHED.
Read that in the link I’ve given.
From where do you have your news if NO ONE is talking of it? LOL
Give link!
Trying to justify violence? In 2002, there was strong reaction to same violence burning of train bogey with 54 people.
Here also same thing could have happened, just because there was no reaction, it was peaceful. And peace where passenger bus full of people and a dozen of Police vehicles were set on fire.
Read this –
“when the protesters came across a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus trying to cross the rally.They got into an argument with the driver of the bus and the next moment passengers had to get off the bus because the protesters set it on fire.”
And First thing-
Why it happened ?
Tiwari’s statement came a day after UP Cabinet minister Azam Khan called RSS members homosexuals.Kamlesh Tiwari had called Prophet Muhammad the first homosexual in the world.
Azam khan is known for his notorious activities, and tiwari is no sane. But, It was already one month over for these statements and Tiwari was already behind bars weeks ago.
So why such hue and cry ? Because Islam considers others inferior (infidels kind of bullshit, such word never existed before islam) and teach violence against everyone as evident all over the world.
I regret if someone is hurted by some against islam. One notable thing which no one can deny is there is some very strong hateful content in there which misleads people and teach violence. No one else but its followers themselves can eradicate and stop its followers from being misled.
Even if muslim or any faith followers kill rest of faith’s followers, such hate and violence become self destruct.
Actually, faith itself is misleading, seeking truth is the way. because faith/belief is not truth unless one experience it yourself. Any faith’s prophet might have experienced it, but its followers have to seek themselves and find the truth. My way is meditation, and meditation doesnt belong to any religion, it belongs to who impersonates it.
And yes, these statements by Azam khan and Tiwari were made one month ago in U.P., and Tiwari was arrested. And nothing happened in U.P.
Why no protest in U.P.? because there will be strong reaction in U.P. for such violent protest. But. muslims are strong in West bengal, so going on rampage there. This is the nature of islam, if you are dominant, everything is justified.
Why there are no protest for so many attacks world over by terrorists? Neither media ever ask these actors for their opinions on these, even if they ask, they keep quiet frightened of backlash by their own community.
Due to the ruckus, the shops were shut down and Muslim protesters also looted some nearby houses. To tackle the situation, Rapid Action Force (RAF) was called.
Nearly two dozens police vehicles, including one belonging to India’s border-guarding agency Border Security Force (BSF), was set on fire and Malda’s Kaliachak police station was ransacked by a violent crowd in the Muslim-dominated Sujapur area in the district.
All the records that were stored in files and computers were destroyed.
The violent mob also attacked the BDO office at Kaliachak-I, they went to Khaltipur railway station and squatted on the railway tracks in protest. When the police reached the spot to take control of the situation, a clash broke out injuring several cops on duty.
Every movie year brings important new talents, enduring classics, and massive pop-culture phenomena — but it’s not always easy to predict at the time which careers will take off, and which critical and commercial favorites will hold up over time. Before 1996, the world had never heard of Wes Anderson, the siblings Wachowski and Farrelly, Michael Bay, Emily Watson, or Vince Vaughn; it seemed crazy to imagine that 20 years later, we’d still be celebrating our Independence Day. And those are just a few of the culture touchstones we’ll be remembering this year. Here are 30 films that turn 20 in 2016. One more year, and they’ll be able to legally buy beer.
This SS character makes me believe that a Harvard education is not necessarily a route to goodness or ethics; it can produce an arrogant muck-raker who thinks he is a King- maker and breaker. I hope karma bites him hard.
After PK release, SS spoke about the communications company ARY’s sponsorship of PK premiere in Dubai….and now some more wild allegations. Wasn’t PK produced by Chopra and Hirani? Why target Aamir in this manner? Every day some BJPwala makes a statement to the press against Aamir, duly reported by our supine media. A few days back SRK was the target of this SS character’s innuendo. Now Aamir.
Both these stars have entertained Indians through two decades. Does a change in government mean that they are to be demonised and demolished? And a pathetic social media mob egging on such behaviour…the idea is, throw enough mud, so some of it will stick.
I pray that these guys survive this tough period. They deserve a glorious exit, not this sort of third rate treatment. SRK will survive, I guess. The media likes him. Aamir only has his loyal fans.
Under this present ruling dispensation, the only one who may be allowed to survive could be the third Khan — possibly because a. His mom is a Maharashtrian Hindu; b. His kite- flying buddy relationships.
man guys like these remind me of the republicans here in the US using Iran/Muslims as scapegoats or fear mongering. Also why isn’t VVC and RKH mentioned when PK was their creation. Ridiculous stuff really.
VVC and RKH have rarely been attacked in the manner that Aamir has been dealt with. One careless line from an otherwise fine interview was misused to demonise the actor who dared to do PK. Every day some BJP loudmouth rants against Aamir, threatens ‘treatment’ to Dangal — and our craven media report such talk without bothering about how wrong such a threat is in reality. Ironically, that Kailash Vijasomebody is angry about Aamir’s intolerance statement — when he and his cronies are actually being intolerant.
During PK, there was hardly any criticism, and those were fringe elements, though some scenes i myself found offensive, but it is understandable so there were hardly any voice against PK team. And whoever protested didn’t get much support or attention.
But, this time Aamir is wrong, there have been incidents and tension atmosphere in various areas always. But, he loved it then, now suddenly he is giving political statements demeaning whole country is unjustified and derogatory.
As for his fans’ worry for Dangal is baseless, he is an actor and that’s how he is seen and should be seen.
Dangal may have impact of his not so good choice in last few years, Dhoom3 was bad, Talaash was bogged down by Ghost angle and didnt trend well, PK was underwhelming due to no novelty and repetitive cliched narration by Hirani.
I myself not so excited for Aamir or Hirani film as i used to be 3 years back.
Aamir better does something like Dhobi Ghaat, which may not earn much but sets him apart from mainstream cliches. RKH needs to reinvent himself, enough of same story telling.
Talaash was an unusual film, niche, with an ensemble cast, a good moody thriller. I am glad Aamir did this film, but it was Kareena and Nawaz who had the standout roles and performances. Aamir’s broody tortured soul act was good, but perhaps could have been defined or done a tad differently. But I and many others I know love this film, it’s music, it’s characters( even Pinky the ‘aware’ stray dog). And I had no problem with the slightly implausible ghost angle — you accept it at face value. If one can accept the concept of time-travel in a film like Kate and Leopold — why not a ghost who leads to justice? Old idea really.
Shoom 3 was not as bad as it was made out to be and it made money and many loved it for its backstory too. Talaash was a very good film and ghost angle contributed to its eeriness. As if all our films are full of logic and scientific! PK was appreciated here and abroad equally and both Dilwale and BN have to puff and huff to reach where PK reached. the so called even film BB, inspite of so much support from all quarters could not reach PK in terms of moolah. BB was a hypocritical film trying to appease to be consumed by the gullible public.
Bajirao Mastani Fifth Weekend Business
Monday 18 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastani had another good weekend as it heads for the best fifth week collection of all the films released last year. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 84,36,00,000
Week Two – 55,19,00,000 (-34.58%)
Week Three – 28,35,00,000 (-48.63%
Week Four – 9,43,00,000 (-66.74%)
Weekend Five – 3,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 180,33,00,000
Bajirao Mastani will finisg with business of around 183 crore nett making it the ninth highest grosser ever though in terms of share it will be outside the top ten.
Wazir Second Saturday Business
Sunday 17 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Wazir has low figures in its second weekend with the likely weekend to be around 5.25 crore nett. The first two day business of the second weekend is as follows.
Friday – 1,50,00,000
Saturday – 1,75,00,000
TOTAL – 3,25,00,000
Grand Total – 31,75,00,000 crore (9 days)
The only plus is that it did not see much of a drop on Friday as compared to Thursday due to lack of competition but the damage had been done with low weekday figures..
Top Ten Footfalls 2015
Monday 18 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajrangi Bhaijaan easilyy had the highest footfalls in 2015 and also the highest this decade. Another Salman khan starrer Prem Ratan Dhan Payo was second on the list and was the only other film to be above 2 crore. The top ten footfalls of 2015 are as follows.
All four Akshay Kumar starrers nearly made it into the top ten with only Brothers being just outside in 11th place. The top ten films sold 15.85 crore tickets and despite Bajrangi Bhaijaan being the highest for fourteen years it was still less than last year where the top ten sold 17 crore tickets apprx.
The wonder years: Flashback to the glory days of satellite TV in India
Poonam Saxena | Updated: Jan 10, 2016 12:35 IST
It was like being seduced by a shiny new toy. When satellite TV arrived in India in 1991, one of the first American soaps we saw was The Bold & The Beautiful (which is still playing; prompting a colleague to say that it should now be called The Old & The Beautiful). It was a convoluted story starring handsome men with names like Ridge and Thorne and glamorous blonde women called Caroline and Brooke who wore earrings that could double as hubcaps. It was all very novel and everyone was hooked.
But The Bold & The Beautiful was foreign. It was also just an appetiser. In 1992 we got our first Hindi satellite channel with desi shows – Zee TV. While Doordarshan had telecast some truly excellent programmes in the 1980s, they were (mostly) earnest, literary, wholesome. Zee introduced us to unapologetic fun and entertainment, with serials about single working girls in the city (Tara), reality shows such as Antakshari (a truly innovative idea), game shows, horror serials and so on.
Doordarshan was the long-standing marriage, but this was an exciting new affair.
The early years of the affair were heady. After Zee came Sony in 1995. Two years later, Star said goodbye to its English programming and turned 100 per cent Hindi. Meanwhile, staid Doordarshan, taking cognisance of the new threat, strode into the entertainment battle, all guns blazing.
Not everything on these channels was wonderful, but there was enough that was very good: the music countdown shows (Philips Top Ten, I’m looking at you), comedies like Filmi Chakkar (which had Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah), series like Star Bestsellers with episodes directed by Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Rajkumar Hirani (goosebump-inducing names when you look at where all of them have reached today) and many others. In the middle of all the fun, there were some genuinely bold, interesting ideas being explored by talented directors.
But then, about 10 years after the launch of satellite TV, the affair began turning sour. Saas-bahus paratrooped into our TV screens in 2000 – and never left.
For a brief period in 2004, it seemed as if things might change, with the launch of Star One and its more modern, urban content (for example, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai). But soon enough Star One also succumbed to the saas-bahu’s siren call, and the channel finally shut down in 2011.
I used to write a TV review column called Small Screen for many years and everyone I met always asked me the same question: do you really watch all those shows? The short answer was: yes (and I diligently took notes in case I got amnesia like one of the characters in the shows). There were many theories as to why these serials initially caught viewers’ imaginations: the fact that they echoed the joint family, that they created this idealised picture of a docile bahu who liked nothing better than to dress up in a zari sari and touch every elderly person’s feet in the vicinity.
But over time, this changed too. The saas-bahu soaps mutated into deeply unpleasant tales of suffering and oppression, overlaid with layers of garish makeup and gaudy costumes. The shiny toy had lost all its golden lustre.
What happened to the fresh, fun, modern programming of the early years of satellite TV in India? In broad brushstrokes, the following:
* Expansion. By the end of 1994, an estimated 12 million households were receiving satellite channels, but by 2000, this number had risen to more than 35 million. By the year 2009, it was more than 91 million. As the number continued to spiral upwards, TV began catering more and more to the lowest common denominator. The middle class metro audience of the 1990s slowly became irrelevant. My kind of viewer was of no consequence any more.
* Ratings. By the early 2000s, TV ratings had crept into the system and began dominating programming. Quality went flying out of the bahu’s kitchen window and all we were left with was a pile of rotting laddoos. Whenever I asked TV executives why they were showing such execrable serials, I was always told the same thing: “What can we do? This is what people want to watch.” This explanation is such a painful cliché, I don’t know why anyone would even bother to offer it. The truth is that audiences – even your absolute mass, lowest common denominator audiences – will watch ‘different’ programming, provided you give it to them. But most channels don’t. And if they do, they don’t have the courage to push and sustain such shows over a period of time. Instead, at the first sign of sagging ratings, the shows are pulled out. This is what happens when marketing begins controlling content.
Even when some shows started promisingly – such as the Mills & Boon-style romance Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon or the ‘mature love story’ Bade Achche Lagte Hain – they collapsed by the wayside after a while. Maybe if they had had seasons, they would have worked better and even found a place on our list of our favourite shows (for which you have to turn two pages).
* Lack of ideas. The TV industry in Mumbai is like an assembly-line factory making cookie-cutter shows. Channels, abandon your three-and-a-half production houses! Find new people.
The state of Hindi entertainment content is dire. No wonder we look back at the early years of satellite TV with yearning!
“We weren’t pressured to play gimmicks to boost TRPs,” says Sonu Nigam
Aasheesh Sharma | Updated: Jan 09, 2016 20:09 IST
It couldn’t have been easy hosting India’s first musical talent show at 21?
It wasn’t. When legends of the stature of Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, Shivkumar Sharma, Girija Devi, OP Nayyar, Anil Biswas and Khayyam Saheb are on the stage, the anchor has to be particular about introducing each of them with respect. He has to make sure the others don’t feel slighted. We didn’t have tele-prompters. So, I had to think on my feet.
People still remember your style of anchoring music shows.
My parents had brought me up in a certain way. Both of them were not just singers but genuine music lovers and purists who appreciated people like Lataji, Ashaji, Rafi saheb and Kishore Kumar. My mother was always concerned about whether my talaffuz was correct and whether I was addressing my seniors within a certain tehzeeb. Thanks to them, the decorum required to host a show with such sanctity came naturally to me.
How do today’s music talent shows compare with Sa Re Ga Ma?
Talent shows these days choose the contestants’ backstories before they even hear them sing. In my time, we were never concerned about their family backgrounds – whether the singer’s father was a rickshaw-puller or a banker. Our concern was whether the contestant could sing well. But being the first show in that genre, we were not pressured by the marketing department to play gimmicks to boost TRPs. These days, the channel tells you to do certain things to spice things up. In those days, we had a free hand.
I won’t mind brilliant minds giving their suggestions to an anchor. But you must never forget who is sitting in front of you. If I am a composer and there is a new girl who has come as a contestant, I can give her some suggestions and tips. But if I have Lata Mangeshkar sitting in front of me, can I dare give her a suggestion?
My own family was the inspiration behind Dekh Bhai Dekh: Anand Mahendroo
Atisha Jain | Updated: Jan 14, 2016 11:09 IST
What was the inspiration behind Dekh Bhai Dekh? How did it all happen?
The inspiration was my own family. I grew up in a very similar household. Farida Jalal’s character was like my mother, Navin Nischol’s character was like my elder brother.
Jaya Bachchan was a friend and one day she dropped in at my office. She said, “We’re starting a channel in the UK. So I want you to do a comedy for me.” I agreed, shot a pilot and showed it to her. She loved it and that was it!
How do you explain the show’s appeal?
Based on the feedback I’ve gathered over the last 22 years, I realise there were a couple of things that made it resonate with the audience.
First, the show had the basic concept of a quirky family. You have a mother, but she has a fun streak and the same applied to the dadi. Luckily we had a brilliant cast. The writing was brilliant too, and the credit for that goes to Lilliput (MM Faruqui). And we had multi-cameras. People hadn’t seen such high production values before that.
Bring them back: 25 Indian TV shows we loved and why
Team Brunch | Updated: Jan 10, 2016 12:37 IST
It’s 25 years since satellite TV came to India. We look back at the early years (before saas-bahu serials took over our screens) and zoom in on 25 desi shows we loved.
1. Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993) : People Like Us, Only Way Funnier
Anand Mahendroo put together an ensemble cast with great comic timing – Sushma Seth, Navin Nishchol, Shekhar Suman, Farida Jalal – in Dekh Bhai Dekh, which was shown on DD Metro. The story was of a khandan with all sorts of idiosyncrasies. Plus: a young Deven Bhojani playing Karima, the obese domestic help with panache. Also, Liliput, the writer, did several cameos.
2. Antakshari (1993): The Great Indian Singalong, And You Knew The Words
When Antakshari started in 1993 on Zee, nobody thought it would go on to become so popular. Using a combination of normal antakshari along with rounds based on audio and visual clues, the simple household game got a glamorous makeover. Host Annu Kapoor became synonymous with the show, though his co-hosts – a succession of women – kept changing over 11 seasons. Part of the joy of Antakshari was that audiences themselves played along with the show.
3. Tara (1993) : The First Touch Of Feminism
Four girls. Interweaving storylines of friendship, ambition, love, and secrets. When Raman Kumar’s soap, Tara, written by Vinta Nanda, aired on Zee in 1993, viewers were riveted. With its refreshingly honest depiction of urban women, it gave viewers their first taste of feminism and made the cropped haired Navneet Nishan a household name. Tara was axed five years later. Says Nanda: “I remember the programming head calling me to his office and saying, ‘women like you should not be allowed in the country’. I knew I had done something right!”
4. Philips Top Ten (1994) : Hit Songs, Hilarious Hosts
Wadda Kaun? Tussi.” Say this line and TV viewers of a certain generation will start to smile. That is the recall of Philips Top Ten, which aired on Zee from 1994 to 1999. A music countdown show in which the lines of the anchor duo were often more anticipated than the songs it featured. The show turned Satish Kaushik and Pankaj Kapur, who played two rustic Punjabi brothers, into household names.
5. Office Office (2001) : Laughing Along With The Common Man
This show, which touched a chord with thousands of TV viewers at the turn of the century, was a comment on our bureaucracy. First aired on SAB TV in 2000, it took a scathing dig at the exploits of a man who runs into red tape, corrupt officials and middlemen in the government.
“Incidentally, I have no hesitation in admitting that I was impetuous once. I had to buy the Filmfare Award for my performance in Bobby… why’re you looking at me like that? That’s not off-the-record.”
Overseas Top Ten 2015 – Xmas Releases Give $40 Million
Tuesday 14 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajrangi Bhaijaan was top grosser of the year Overseas. It was also the top grosser ever from the traditional markets. Other films have higher numbers but is due to wide releases in Far East markets . The top ten Overseas grossers of 2015 are as follows.
1. Bajrangi Bhaijaan – $28.6 million
2. Dilwale – $25.25 million (still running)
3. Bajirao Mastani – $14,80 million (still running)
4. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – $14.78 million
5. Tanu Weds Manu Returns – $7.21 million
6. Dil Dhadakne Do – $6.93 million
7. Tamasha – $6.25 million
8. Piku – $5.64 milliom
9. Welcome Back – $5.58 million
10. Singh Is Bling – $4.1 million
Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani have taken the Overseas market to another level with a combined total crossing $40 million just from the traditional Hindi film markets. It was Christmas which is very beneficial in Overseas but it means a $30-35 million total is there for the taking with the correct film releasing on a correct period.
The film will not collect much after this week as two major releases open though has an outside chance to hit 40 crore nett if it can get 2-2.50 crore nett after week two.The only achievement for the film is that it will now get a slightly better total than last years first release Tevar but that is hardly any consolation.
the film will probably end up with 40-45 crores depending on whose numbers one accepts. The best case scenario for this film might have been 60. It clearly sounds like a rather niche effort (haven’t been able to see it yet but plan to), which is to say not the sort of film that does a 100 no matter how much it’s liked because it never has that sort of audience base. But it might have done 60 because in general I’ve mostly discerned positive reactions here. Nothing over the top positive of course but most seem to have liked it. However (and I was always skeptical about this) films releasing in Jan between that Christmas/NY period and Republic Day almost always struggle to get enough of an audience. Even if they do ok they have competition soon enough on Republic day so they can’t amble along. So a bigger initial would have given this film 55-60, it’s been quite stable at the lower end but of course that low end isn’t enough to seriously add to the gross (though it’s enough to surprise BOI who couldn’t call it a flop fast enough just as they can’t call films like PRDP and Dilwale hits or semi hits fast enough on day 2 no matter how poorly they perform and no matter how disastrous their WOM is! Somehow films like Wazir must do at least 70-80 to even be considered decent by them — note how they weren’t as generous with Piku doing 80 as they seem to be with Dilwale doing 140 or some Akshay films doing far less, it’s one thing to be for or against a star, quite another to be so dumb about one’s commentary and give the game away every single time, once one had to argue against them, today one doesn’t even need to try! — but much bigger films are ok no matter what they do or do not do). But to repeat the point and based on what I know about the film this looks to be a niche deal that was never going to be a big grosser (one might have thought otherwise to the extent that the trailers suggested a more event-oriented or action-oriented plot whereas it seems to be more of a character study with the thriller elements tacked on). Overall I don’t really see this as a loss for those connected with it. Certain kinds of films don’t hurt you even when they don’t perform optimally. Bachchan in any case is in this phase currently where he’s doing smaller and/or niche films with certain kinds of talents. He had Piku before this, he has after this what I think looks to be the very promising Teen.
Amitabh doing these niche and or smaller films is better than full fledged Bollywood movies. It gives scope to do experiment without the burden to prove something.
Though its not surprise at all, BOI resorted to such tactics since its evolution .. until unless collections are huge enough to put their claims of flop in shame, these guys will do their best efforts to put bachchan movies in flop category .. by hook or crook. Take this latest case of Wazir .. before release BOI said that Wazir boxoffice prospects are not more than Broken Horses which did 3 Crore lifetime business. Now when utterly low key Wazir opened to pretty decent 5.25 Crore on day one itself, BOI set another target of 20 Crore weekend, else its a flop. Again when it did 21 Crore weekend, BOI still declare it flop on Sunday itself saying since it is flat on Sunday so will not go beyond 30 Crore lifetime. Now from Monday onwards with low but very steady collections of averaging 2 Crore every day for next 8 days, Wazir is not stands at 37 Crore .. and overseas 18.29 Crore. And almost certain to touch 43-45 Crore domestic. This is certainly not bad collections considering many factors like last year Hit Badlapur of same genre did 50 Crore and almost nothing overseas. Wazir will not be much behind Badlapur in domestic market and will have advantage of healthy collections of 22-25 Crore in overseas market. And budget wise Wazir is less expensive if we deduct satellite rights from production budget as Badlapur hardly got anything because of its A certificate.
Saying all this, I am not satisfied with Wazir collections, it could have been 60+ with more appreciation. But whole point is that how BOI started to put Wazir in Broken Horse category and then with every passing day setting new targets, and kudos to #Wazir for slowly but steadily putting respectable collections and getting appreciation.
My dear brother,
No need to blow the matter out of proportion wrt BOI. If you keenly observe their commentary of other films as well, you may find the same tone almost irrespective of whoes film that is. What I mean to say is that they aren’t doing all this specially for Bachchan movies. I myself never take their commentary seriously as most of the times it is full of flaws. But one thing is sure and that’s their nos are almost accurate as compared to others who most of the times throw wild guesses and later correct their mistakes. BOI recently did same commentary for BM and later deleted that article.
The main problem with fanatics like yourself and others is that you want everybody to exaggeregate the nos whenever a Bachchan movie releases but when somebody speaks truth then arises the problem and he’s branded as “somebody with hidden agenda”. I have many times seen in the past when Bachchan himself tweeted and advised his fans to take nos from IBOS for his films. Now what can one say after all this.
Anyway you have bear it in future as well. Whenever a Bachchan movie releases, you have struggle and fight with the people on blogs to describe it an average. My best wishes are with you people for all this😃😃😃
Very well said Yakuza..I think you had predicted 45cr after the first two days..So it may end up close to that..I enjoyed watching it yesterday..My thoughts are similar and wish it had fared lil better at BO..Hopefully it will get average tag in the end of its run..Somewhere close to ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ figures..
Amitabh was truly remarkable in the movie..And very very nicely rendered songs by Amitji too -‘ Khel Khel Mein’ and ‘Atrangi Yaari..
seen wazir couple of days ago,exquisite first half,after interval somehow they lost the plot and that in basis the film was lost,however amitabh performance was just awesome,farhan was just okay,this ,film was never meant to do 100cr plus,boxofficeindia seemed bewildered whenever bachan film.
bajirao has done well and no surprise there,awesome all around.
Dilwale ,less said the better,pathetic all round,flopped domesticly but superb overseas.
Bhupendra Chaubey ji is rightfully getting the flak here –
“An Indian male journalist couldn’t handle a leading Bollywood actor’s pornographic past”
Sunny Leone was working in the adult entertainment industry in the US when Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, invited her on the show. Little did she know then that it would be her ticket to Bollywood. In 2011, Leone accepted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s offer and signed her first Bollywood film, Jism 2. She hasn’t looked back since. Today, Leone is one of the most bankable Bollywood stars. In her four-year career, she has acted in films across several Indian languages such as Kannada, Telugu and Hindi.
Her earnings and fame put her at the 45th place in Forbes India Magazine’s top 100 celebrity list in 2015. And she was the most searched person on Google in India in 2015— for the fourth consecutive year.
Yet, despite her various accomplishments in Bollywood and as a businesswoman, 34-year-old Leone was subjected to a rather humiliating interview by an Indian male journalist on CNN-IBN’s talk show, The Hot Seat.
For all the commies/ libtards –
valid question by Vivek Agneehotri-
Vivek Agnihotri @vivekagnihotri · 7h7 hours ago
Dear @sagarikaghose obviously Sunny Leone must not be judged. What do you think about Gajendra Chauhan?
Vivek is so right, Gajendra was bad because he allegedly acted in B grade hindi movies. Sunny deserves respect because she acted in Firangee porn !!
“Is Sunny Leone being made the head of some institution?”
Doesn’t matter no? She cannot be A-lister and/or act with A-listers who have prejudice for her background and he (Chauhan) cannot head an institude because he would soil/spoil its ‘reputation’.
“Vivek is so right, Gajendra was bad because he allegedly acted in B grade hindi movies. Sunny deserves respect because she acted in Firangee porn !!”
aapka intolerance tolerance aur hamara intolerance, intolerance. wah-wah
(sorry writers of ishquia…I tried to copy you in vain)
Chaubey, constantly interrupting Leone to make his own point, dug out every possible negative statement or sentiment mentioning her.
Atul Anjan, who happens to be a member of parliament of the CPI, has consistently gone on record, and mind you, he is not the only one, the way he holds you responsible for corrupting Indian minds, Indian morality. When these kinds of comments are made, how do you react?
Leone, on the other hand, handled the questions deftly—and politely. “I am waiting for Obama to make a speech about me,” she joked.
++++++
Few noteworthy excerpts from the link above:
“You think that Aamir Khan would ever work with you?” Chaubey asked Leone next—a question she rightly pointed out must be asked of the actor.
“Would you want to work with Aamir Khan?” he went on. She said yes.
“So you would like to work with Aamir Khan but Aamir Khan wouldn’t want to work with you? How would that reflect on you then?” he probed.
Chaubey even sought to put the burden of India’s obsession with porn on her.
And there was still no stopping Chaubey. “There are some who believe that if Sunny Leone is becoming a brand ambassador of sorts of this new India, then it is a very dangerous trend to have. There are many housewives, there are many Indian married women who look at Sunny Leone as a threat to their husbands. They believe their husbands are all going to be taken away by Sunny Leone,” he commented.
She replied: “Sorry, I don’t want your husbands at all. I have my own, I love him, and he is hot and sexy. He is very smart and very talented. Sorry, ladies.”
Calling her an “item” girl, Chaubey asked her whether she took acting as a serious profession—surely a question no other major Bollywood actor would be asked.
“There are some viewers of mine who are saying that your identity remains that of your past, which is your association with pornography, and porn stuff. They believe that you are not an actor, still not an actor, some are accusing you of lowering the level of the fine art of cinema. Is that a just criticism?”
“Do you believe… you have a body… is it your body that will take your everywhere?”
“Are you saying we will see movies of Sunny Leone in the future where Sunny will be dressed up from head to toe, in a saree, covered completely?” (“Yeah, of course,” she said.)
Chaubey even sought to put the burden of India’s obsession with porn on her. “Since you have come in the mainstream, the number of people who are watching porn in India has, in a proportionate manner, increased to the extent that we are now the largest consumer of porn. Is there any correlation?”
“I didn’t create that,” she laughed the question off.
Maybe Chaubey needs to look at how India’s internet and mobile penetration has increased in the last four years.
Then came Chaubey’s worst, as he said: “A lot of chatterati (sic) that takes place, you see a Sunny Leone film, and you get morally corrupted. I am wondering whether I am getting morally corrupted because I am interviewing you.”
A poised Leone merely said, “I can leave, if you want me to.” That seemingly made the host a bit panicky, and he said, “Not at all, not at all…”
Leone’s fans and celebrities alike have come out in support of her.
Very unfair& rude interview with Sunny Leone on CNN IBN.She is taking it on her chin sportingly,obviously in the interest of her coming film
— rishi kapoor (@chintskap) January 17, 2016
I want to see @bhupendrachaube speak to Ekta Kapoor or @PritishNandy about their films, the way he spoke to Sunny Leone. Will never happen.
— Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) January 18, 2016
This is a classic example of how to handle media. Very impressed. This journalist was so obnoxious. https://t.co/xQ2RP49iaj via @YouTube
— punitsoni (@punitsoni) January 18, 2016
Soon after, Chaubey published a rebuttal of sorts on his blog, conceding the fact that he was obsessed with her past.
“The only reason why Sunny Leone… would have qualified to be on my show, is because it’s her past now evolving into her present, which is the story waiting to be told,” he wrote in the post.
Chaubey’s justification notwithstanding, the interview was a lesson in both how not to do it and how to—depending on which side you are.
The @SunnyLeone interview with @bhupendrachaube should be made compulsory viewing for politicians to learn how to handle hard questions
— bwoyblunder (@bwoyblunder) January 19, 2016
I was very disappointed when Serena Williams could not win the US Open against a much lower seed Roberta Vinci and accomplish the Grand Slam last year….esp since it was being done after god knows how many years…. At that time my Indian mind did start to suspect some sort of foul play as to why is Serena making so many unforced errors and playing like this …is this match ” fixed ” But reputation of Tennis was so clean and this seemed such a honest, gentlemanly sport, i just put it to my own cynical, pessimistic mind…
Though she has not been named in any reports yet but the lid seems to have blown off and match fixing scandal in Tennis out in the open.
The price of this story for me is loss of innocence watching/ following another sport i loved. To be frank the way things around us are these days of media / news cycle, its very depressing….
Truly sad !!!
++++
BuzzFeed News and the BBC on Sunday exposed secret files containing evidence of widespread match-fixing by players at the upper level of world tennis.
The investigation found that a core group of 16 players — all of whom have ranked in the top 50 — have been repeatedly flagged to the world tennis authorities over suspicions that they have thrown matches at major tournaments, allowing corrupt gamblers to cash in by betting against them.
More than half of them are playing at the Australian Open, which started on Monday….
The gulf between Hindi cinema’s finest current actor and his contemporaries widens with each film. But even Irrfan Khan, in Mick Jagger’s words, can’t always get what he wants. Raja Sen tells us why that’s not a bad thing
An ambitious Macbeth adaptation, Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool established Khan as one of the country’s most distinctive talents.
“I didn’t even read the Shakespeare play again, or watch any Macbeth films. I just felt that I was getting a chance to do the kind of love story I was longing for. For me, the story of his ambition was secondary. I never emphasised on it. For me, it was the story of Nimmi (the heroine, played by Tabu) and (Khan’s) Maqbool; it happened to be Shakespeare.”
“What I miss in Maqbool…,” he says, trailing off with a sigh. “I wish we had a lovemaking scene where we could see the chemistry of two bodies. Where it doesn’t remain physical, it goes on to a different level. Where everything is pure, there is no lust. You want to submerge into each other and dissolve. We couldn’t. We did shoot a love scene but maybe we were just not ready, or we were shy. All of us were shy.”
A scene like that today, with Bhardwaj, Khan and Tabu all at the height of their powers, would certainly be a whole other story.
In a position to be highly choosy with the roles he takes on, Khan has been craving overwhelming love stories, tales of heartbreak and passion and desire.
“For me in The Lunchbox, the character’s behaviour and his rhythm was a… byproduct. For me, the love was important. There is some spark that has come alive in what is a dead life, and he is just hovering around it. And he doesn’t know whether to touch that or not to touch that, but some wave is moving inside him and he’s just in a zone. Alive.”
To prepare, Khan zeroed in on a line in the script where his character describes how his smell felt like his grandfather’s smell.
“It was such fine writing, I kept repeating that voiceover again and again to find my rhythm. But no. I had to imagine Nimrat (Kaur, his heroine), because for me, it was very important to fall in love. They showed me faces of actresses but as soon as I saw Nimrat I said this is her. With her, I could imagine myself falling in love — and liking it. So as an actor, this also becomes important sometimes that you don’t push yourself, but instead… you find your triggers.”
The year ended with a big clash between Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani and the result went the unexpected way. The result may have gone the way of the underdog but there were no upsets as far as the initial was concerned with Dilwale opening to 70% better collections than Bajirao Mastani. There is another clash happening soon with Airlift against Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 and this could really shock as the initial response may be better for the smaller film.
The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection but its very rare that the smaller film actually fetches a better opening day. Its actually hard to remember when the smaller film actually beat a bigger film in terms of opening day collections.
When the news came out of the clash it looked an outside chance that Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 could battle Airlift but the outside chance has turned into a realistic possibility of not only battling it but over turning it on the opening day. The film could even release on more screens than Airlift as Kyaa Kool Hain Hum is a brand in Mumbai circuit as the first two films did bulk of their business in the circuit so the better single screens across Maharashtra and Gujarat are actually favoring the smaller film. Kyaa Kool Hain Hum has fetched 5.25 crore in Gujarat / Saurashtra and to put into perspective how big that price is that the big budget Xmas releases Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani will fetch a share of 6 and 8.5 crore respectively in Gujarat / Saurashtra. These films were made at 5-6 times the cost of Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3.
North is where it should be easy for an Akshay Kumar starrer even though the film does not look great from promos but here Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 is being distributed by PVR who have a huge presence so where Airlift should easily be dominating the screens it won’t be that easy now. Its very likely that Kyaa Kool Hain Hum will have a better single screen chain and probably cross 2000 screens and it won’t be easy for Airlift to match that. Even if Airlift manages to get there its still victory for the smaller film as its been made on half the cost of Airlift.
Akshay Kumar is still a very big star and even though the box office numbers have not come lately due to to disappointing content, in terms of all India popularity only the three Khan are ahead of him so on release day his popularity could come into play. But when a film like Kyaa Kool Hain Hum which eventually has a restricted audience and even as a brand has not seen success all over is giving a big star film a run for its money it means the problems are with the big film.
Ghayal Returns has been postponed but its probably too late for any of the films to change dates but after 22nd January its going to very possible that one side will think that they should have moved and the shock would be if that is the Airlift team.
“The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection”
?????????
Really since when ?
kkhh is being raised because it is sold for higher price, wow…doesnt that make it film with more burden ?
Sofar Airlift is leading bookings, it has much much higher number of shows, boi is living in fantasy.
“The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection””
what is this weird logic ? there was no such logic to before dilwale vs BM clash? They never said it before the clash.
BOI always come up with these fuzzy logic to save srk movie from FLOP tag since KANK. Since kank, most of srk movies are flop except 3 or 4, but BOI doesnt want to admit it. They behave like srkians.
Ha Ha .. Seriously .. Most absurd commentary .. Lolllll
Let me paste again ..
“The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection”
Ha Ha … and this is what they wrote before release :
Bajirao Mastaani To Find It Tough At The Box Office
Wednesday 16 December 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastaani will find it a tough struggle at the box office for two reasons, The first being its a clash against a big film and the second being a weak director who normally finds regional success which will not do with this huge budget. This regional success becomes an even bigger issue with a clash. Below are the ratios for Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed films for Mumbai circuit.
Pakistan’s legendary ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, whose performances in India were marred last year by Shiv Sena threats, is now geared to make his acting debut with Hindi feature film ‘Ghar Wapsi’, directed by Suhaib Ilyasi. He has also composed and lent his voice to an Indian patriotic song for the movie.
Ghulam Ali is here to dub his portion of the film. On Tuesday at a studio here, he was visibly excited to try out acting, which is a “new thing” for him.
“If I keep on doing this for three to four more days, I can be a (professional) actor. I guess singing is very easy,” Ghulam Ali, who seemed to have a childlike excitement during the dubbing, quipped during an interaction with IANS. He was also showcasing his singing prowess in between dubbing, and shared that he took up the acting assignment for Ilyasi, whom he considers as a “younger brother”.
The ghazal maestro has enthralled fans across the globe with his baritone voice, and just last week, he was in Kolkata where he performed to a packed audience, three months after the cancellation of his concert in Mumbai. In ‘Ghar Wapsi’, he has also contributed to the song ‘Apni mitti ki khushboo hain rago mein yeh basi hai…choomenge isko shaan se. Humko toh pyaara hain yeh watan, apni jaan se.’
The film stars Alok Nath, Farida Jalal, Reema Lagoo, Deepak Tijori and Zarina Wahab, and also includes the work of singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam and Shaan apart from Ghulam Ali.
Ghulam Ali will head to Mumbai on January 29 for the music launch of the film, which is both produced and directed by Ilyasi of ‘India’s Most Wanted’ fame. Ilyasi hoped the event goes off smoothly.
“I hope the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ music launch will be smooth and successful without any hiccups,” Ilyasi said, adding that “India and Pakistan’s relations are improving”.”Both the country’s governments and prime ministers are politically inclined to bring people of the two nations closer. Music, art and culture play a pivotal role in mending ties,” he said.
The backlash over the second straight year of all-white acting nominees is also putting heavy pressure on the Academy to diversify its overwhelmingly white male membership.
Growing calls for a boycott of the Academy Awards over the lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees are forcing stars to choose sides and threatening to throw the movie industry’s biggest night of the year into turmoil.
The backlash over the second straight year of all-white acting nominees is also putting heavy pressure on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to diversify its overwhelmingly white male membership.
The furor grew on Tuesday when the Rev. Al Sharpton said he would lead a campaign encouraging people not to watch the February 28 telecast. On Monday, Spike Lee, this year’s Oscar honouree for lifetime achievement, and Jada Pinkett Smith announced they will boycott the ceremony in protest.
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who has led efforts to diversify the academy, responded late Monday evening with a forceful statement saying that those previous measures weren’t enough.
Isaacs, the academy’s first African-American president, said that “it’s time for big changes” and that she will review membership recruiting to bring about “much-need diversity” in the academy’s ranks.
At a Los Angeles gala honouring Boone Isaacs on Monday night, actor David Oyelowo who was famously snubbed last year for his performance as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma expressed frustration with the academy.
UAE Top Ten 2015 – Two Hindi Films Hit Top Ten
Wednesday 20 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Two hindi films have emerged in the top ten grossers in UAE despite many big Hollywood releases. Both Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dilwale are the only Hindi films in history to cross $5 million in UAE. The top ten Overseas grossers of 2015 in UAE (all films) are as follows.
1. Furious 7 – $10.7 million
2. Avengers: Age Of Ultron – $7.5 million
3. Spectre – $6.3 million
4. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation- $6.25 million
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $5.8million
6. Bajrangi Bhaijaan – $5.65 million
7. Dilwale – $5.05 million
8. Minnions – $4.63 million
9. Taken 3 – $4.42 million
10. The Martian – $3.40 million
UAE has seen good growth in business but other Gulf markets like Kuwait, Qatar and Oman have seen even more growth. A couple of years back, Gulf outside of UAE was around 20% and now it has doubled to almost 40% for the big films.
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajirao Mastani were the next best Hindi films with around £2.3 million in UAE.
Bajirao Mastaani – Magic of content 😉 eventually collects more if it got a solo release but bcoz of a disastrous movie Dilwale it will fall just short of 200cr
अगर अमिताभ बच्चन न होते तो…
शुभम उपाध्याय 11 OCT ’15
अमिताभ बच्चन
लिविंग लेजेंड जैसे शब्दों को तमगा बनकर टंगने के लिए कोई नहीं मिलता. देश को इकलौता एंग्री यंग मैन नहीं मिलता. अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, हम फिल्मी नहीं होते. देश हमारा, जितना है उतना, फिल्मी नहीं होता
हिंदुस्तान संवादों में बात नहीं करता. डायलागबॉजी एक पूर्णत: विकसित कला नहीं होती. चार यार-दोस्तों या अजनबियों के सामने अपनी बात रखते वक्त हमारी आवाज भारी होकर बैरीटोन नहीं होती. सत्तर के दशक की फिल्मों की हालत नब्बे के दशक की कचरा फिल्मों सी होती. आलोचनाओं के परे भी जाया जा सकता है, यह सिखाने के लिए कोई नहीं होता. अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते तो हमारे पास, हमारी फिल्मों के पास, हमारे देश के पास क्या-क्या नहीं होता, यह 540 पन्नों की किताब का मसौदा है. फिलहाल संक्षेप में ही जानने की कोशिश करते हैं, बच्चन साहब के जन्मदिन पर, कि अगर वे न होते, तो कैसा होता?
हर शहर में अमिताभ बच्चन के बहरूपिये नहीं होते. उनको अपने-अपने शहर कस्बों में स्टार का दर्जा नहीं मिलता. उस दर्जी के यहां भीड़ कम रहती जो बच्चन-सा बनकर रहता है, 2015 में भी चौड़े बॉटम वाली पैंट पहनता है.
सबसे पहले शायद यह होता कि किसी कवि या लेखक का लड़का हीरो बनने का सपना नहीं देखता. या उससे पहले यह होता कि कोई साधारण नैन-नक्श वाला हद से ज्यादा लंबा और पतला एक नौकरीपेशा नौजवान फिल्मों में हीरो बनने के बारे में सोचकर खुद पर हंसता और फिर इसे भूल जाता. बहुत बाद में यह होता कि उस कवि का पोता शायद अभिनेता नहीं होता. गर होता तो अच्छा अभिनय करने के लिए उस पर पचपन तरह के दबावों का भार नहीं होता. उसे कबड़्डी टीम खरीदने और प्रोड्यूसर बनने में एक्टिंग करने से ज्यादा खुशी मिलती है, खुलकर कहने में डर नहीं लगता.
बच्चन नहीं होते, तो रेडियो में आवाज का रिजेक्ट होना कूल नहीं होता. राजेश खन्ना के बाद अगला सुपरस्टार सीधे शाहरुख खान को होना होता. या फिर ओशो-मुग्ध न हो गए होते तो विनोद खन्ना को. बच्चन न होते, तो नसीरुद्दीन शाह कम नाराज होते. चालीस सालों तक कोई कमर्शियल एंटरटेनमेंट की विधा को रॉकस्टार अंदाज में इतना नहीं साध पाता. कौन बनेगा करोड़पति और क्या आप पांचवी पास से तेज हैं, में कोई अंतर नहीं होता.
हॉलीवुड के रॉबर्ट डि नीरो, अल पचीनो, मार्लन ब्रांडो, क्लिंट ईस्टवुड, शॉन कॉनरी, हैरीसन फोर्ड का जवाब देने के लिए हमारे पास कोई अभिनेता नहीं होता. अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हीरो की बेहतरीन कॉमिक टाइमिंग से हमारी पहली मुलाकात गोविंदा ही कराते. और हम कभी भी आईने के सामने खड़े होकर शराबी की तरह नहीं बहक पाते. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो तमाम तरह के आरोप लगाने के बावजूद हर निर्देशक का सपना उनके साथ काम करना नहीं होता. अभिनय मेथड है या नेचुरल, हम इसी फेर में पड़े रहते. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो नाम की तरह लिखे जाने वाले हमारे कुछ गिने-चुने सरनेमों में से एक कम हो जाता.
तमाम आरोप लगाने के बावजूद हर निर्देशक का सपना उनके साथ काम करना नहीं होता. अभिनय मेथड है या नेचुरल, हम इसी फेर में पड़े रहते और नाम की तरह लिखे जाने वाले कुछ गिने-चुने सरनेमों में से एक कम हो जाता.
अमिताभ बच्चन की नन्ही फैन
अमिताभ बच्चन की नन्ही फैन
हमारे पिता की पीढ़ी, सफेद फ्रैंच-कट दाढ़ी को नहीं अपनाती. सफेद शॉल फैशन नहीं बन पाती. तीन-चार पीढ़ियों को मिमिक्री का शौक नहीं लगता, अगर बच्चन नहीं होते. हांय! तो मुंबई के दर्शनीय स्थलों में बच्चन के मकान शामिल नहीं होते. ये सीधी हाथ की तरफ जलसा है, थोड़ी दूर पर प्रतीक्षा भी है, ले चलूं? पूछकर टैक्सी वाला सौ के तीन नोट नहीं लूट पाता. अगर बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हर बदलते वक्त में खुद को बदलने की अद्भुत क्षमता रखने वाले कलाकार से हमारा परिचय कभी नहीं हो पाता. री-इनवेंट कैसे किया जाता है अभिनय में, एक्टिंग क्लासों में नहीं सिखाया जा पाता, क्योंकि संदर्भ देने के लिए बच्चन नहीं होते.
हर शहर में अमिताभ बच्चन के बहरूपिये नहीं होते. उनको अपने-अपने शहर कस्बों में स्टार का दर्जा नहीं मिलता. उस दर्जी के यहां भीड़ कम रहती जो बच्चन-सा बनकर रहता है, 2015 में भी चौड़े बॉटम वाली पैंट पहनता है. मधुशाला महान ग्रंथ होता, लेकिन जन के मानस में ऐसे अंकित नहीं होता, जैसे अब है. एक कवि और उसकी कविताओं को नई टेक नहीं मिलती. नया आयाम. अगर बच्चन उन कविताओं के साथ नहीं होते. ऐसा कम ही होता है कि दुनिया ने पिता को जाना हो बेटे से, और जब बेटा पिता हुआ, उसका बेटा भी जाना गया हो पिता ही से.***
अगर बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हमें शाहरुख खान का इंतजार करना पड़ता यह समझने के लिए कि हर अभिनेता हर वक्त अभिनय करता है. वो सिर्फ फिल्म में अभिनय नहीं करता, जहां कहीं भी जीवित मनुष्य पाया जाता है, अभिनेता का अभिनय सतत चालू पाया जाता है.
बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हम यह भी नहीं सोचते कि सत्तर का हो जाने पर कौन-सा खान उनके स्तर को छू पाएगा. कोई भी नहीं, हम यह भी नहीं कह पाते.
अगर बच्चन नहीं होते, हमें यह भी कम समझ आता कि राजनीति क्यूं हर किसी के बस की नहीं है. गांधी परिवार और बच्चन परिवार के बीच क्या बचा है और कितना टूट गया है, हमें कभी पूरा पता नहीं चलेगा, यह भी समझ नहीं आता. उत्तर प्रदेश में अपराध होते रहते, लेकिन वे विज्ञापन नहीं होते जो मुस्कुराते हुए बच्चन को अपराध कम हैं, कहने को मजबूर करते. ‘आज रपट जाएं तो हमें न उठाइयो’ दोस्तों के साथ बारिश में गाने में मजा नहीं आता. ‘जुम्मा चुम्मा दे दे’ अश्लील हो जाता. रंग बरसे के बाद होली को कुछ और ज्यादा बनाने के लिए होली खेले रघुबीरा नहीं होता. कुछ लोग इस कदर निराले हो जाते हैं अपने काम से, कि फिर वे भले ही खराब फिल्में करें और दर्जनों घटिया विज्ञापन, हमें फर्क नहीं पड़ता, ये भी हम नहीं सीख पाते अगर बच्चन नहीं होते.
अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, हमारा सिनेमा अभिनय के उस अनोखे मिजाज से महरूम रह जाता, जो किसी भी देश के सिनेमा की पहचान बनता है. वह घटना हिंदुस्तान के इतिहास में नहीं होती, जिसमें किसी अभिनेता की सेट पर हुई दुर्घटना के बाद पूरा देश मिलकर उसके लिए प्रार्थना कर रहा था. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो गरिमा से बोली जाने वाली हिंदी अपने अस्तित्व को खोने के डर में जीती और फिल्मों में अंग्रेजी भाषा के रिक्त स्थानों को भरने वाली भाषा बनकर रह जाती.
वे अफवाहें और गॉसिप नहीं होतीं, जिसमें बच्चन होते. अमिताभ बच्चन रिटायर कब होंगे? क्या बच्चन विग पहनते हैं? सलमान खान को वे पसंद करते हैं या नहीं? रेखा से अभी भी बात-मुलाकात होती होगी क्या? बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हम यह भी नहीं सोचते कि सत्तर का हो जाने पर कौन-सा खान उनके स्तर को छू पाएगा. कोई भी नहीं, हम यह भी नहीं कह पाते. लिविंग लेजेंड़ जैसे शब्द को तमगा बनकर टंगने के लिए आदमी नहीं मिलता. देश को इकलौता एंग्री यंग मैन नहीं मिलता. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो फिल्में थोड़ी कम अपनी लगतीं. हमें यह लिखने के लिए विशालतम-महानतम इंसान नहीं मिलता. सच ये है, अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, हम फिल्मी नहीं होते. देश हमारा, जितना है उतना, फिल्मी नहीं होता.
***(ऐसा कहना कई लोगों को आपत्तिजनक लगेगा कि अमिताभ की वजह से हरिवंश राय बच्चन जाने गए, लेकिन हिंदुस्तान में ऐसे अनेकों लोग हैं – बाहर तो हैं ही – जिनके जीवन में मधुशाला और हरिवंश राय बच्चन का आना अमिताभ बच्चन के आ जाने के बाद ही शुरू हुआ.)
आमिर खान पर मचे इस दंगल का सबब और सबक क्या है?
प्रियदर्शन 24 NOV ’15
आमिर खान
फोटो | आईएएनएस
असहिष्णुता को लेकर आमिर खान का बयान मौजूदा सरकार के समर्थकों को इसलिए चुभता है कि उसका एक ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ मौजूद है.
लेखकों के विरोध को प्रायोजित करार देने वाले वित्त मंत्री अरुण जेटली की उपस्थिति में आमिर ख़ान ने देश में बढ़ रही असहिष्णुता पर चिंता जताने की जो जुर्रत की है, उसकी कुछ प्रतिक्रियाएं और सज़ाएं तो स्पष्ट हैं. उन पर पहला आरोप यह लगाया जाएगा कि आमिर खान अपनी आने वाली फिल्म ‘दंगल’ की चर्चा कराने के लिए यह विवाद खड़ा कर रहे हैं.
लेकिन जो फिल्मों के कारोबार से जुड़े हैं, वे जानते हैं कि किन्हीं नामालूम से सितारों की अनजान फिल्मों को ऐसे विवाद से भले शोहरत मिलती हो, आमिर ख़ान जैसे स्टार और अभिनेता की फिल्म ऐसे प्रचार की मोहताज नहीं है. बल्कि इससे उनको कुछ नुकसान होने की आशंका ही है. अगर संघ परिवार से जुड़े अलग-अलग तत्व गुजरात-महाराष्ट्र से लेकर यूपी-बिहार तक सिनेमाघरों में तोड़फोड़ करने पर आमादा हो जाएं तो फिल्म को पहले तीन दिन के मुनाफे के गणित में खासा नुकसान हो जाएगा. आखिर आमिर के बयान के फौरन बाद वे बौद्धिक सेनाएं सक्रिय हो ही गई हैं जो सोशल मीडिया से लेकर अख़बारों तक में याद दिला रही हैं कि इसी देश ने आमिर खान को इतनी मोहब्बत दी है.
क्या आमिर ख़ान की शिकायत देश से है? क्या वे कह रहे हैं कि उन्हें मुसलमान होने की वजह से वह नहीं मिला जिसके वे हक़दार हैं?
लेकिन क्या आमिर ख़ान की शिकायत देश से है? क्या वे कह रहे हैं कि उन्हें मुसलमान होने की वजह से वह नहीं मिला जिसके वे हक़दार हैं? उन्होंने बस इतना कहा है कि जो नया माहौल बन रहा है, उसमें कई बार डर लगता है, उनकी पत्नी किरण राव इस के दिमाग में देश छोड़कर जाने की बात भी पैदा हुई थी. मुश्किल यह है कि उनके इस एहसास भर को देशद्रोह बताने और चुपचाप यह याद दिलाने वालों की कमी नहीं है कि आमिर मुसलमान हैं इसलिए यह सोच रहे हैं. जाहिर है, यह उस नए माहौल की देन ही है जिसकी ओर आमिर इशारा कर रहे हैं.
फिर क्या देश छोड़कर जाने की बात भी ऐसा भयानक देशद्रोह है? इस देश के हज़ारों इंजीनियर-डॉक्टर, प्रबंधक और वैज्ञानिक हर साल देश छोड़कर जाते हैं. वे यहां के सब्सिडी प्राप्त संस्थानों में सरकारी ख़र्च से महंगी पढ़ाई करते हैं और फिर यह शिकायत करते हैं कि इस देश में उनकी प्रतिभा की क़दर नहीं है. इस क़दर का मतलब वह पैसा है जो उनके वेतन के तौर पर चाहिए. यह पैसा सात समंदर पार मिलता है इसलिए वे बाहर जा रहे हैं. बेशक वहां जाकर, देश के दुख-दर्द से नाता टूटने के बाद, वे एक कृत्रिम भारतीयता, कृत्रिम देशप्रेम का निर्माण करते हैं और कभी क्रिकेट में पाकिस्तान की हार पर तो कभी ऐसे ही नकली मुद्दे पर तिरंगा लहराते हुए अपने देशप्रेम का इजहार करते हैं. इन बाहर जा रहे लोगों से कोई वैसी शिकायत नहीं करता जैसी आमिर खान से कर रहा है. उल्टे सब गर्व से बताते हैं कि उनका बेटा या बेटी विदेश जाकर बस गए हैं और उनको तो वह इतना रास आ रहा है कि वे वापस लौटेंगे नहीं.
यह इत्तिफाक भर नहीं है कि जिस शाम आमिर ने अपने भीतर के डर का जिक्र किया, उसके एक दिन पहले ही असम के राज्यपाल पीबी आचार्य यह बोलते नज़र आए कि यह देश हिंदुओं का है, लेकिन बहुत खुले दिल वाला है
लेकिन आमिर खान की प्रतिक्रिया वाकई ब्रेन-ड्रेन का मासूम बेखबर मामला नहीं है. उनकी शिकायत इसलिए चुभती है कि उसका एक ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ मौजूद है. इस देश में दलितों-आदिवासियों और मुसलमानों की स्थिति आर्थिक-सामाजिक तौर पर सबसे बुरी है- इसकी तस्दीक सारे आंकड़े करते हैं- चाहे वे सरकारी नौकरियों में भर्ती के हों या जेलों में विचाराधीन कैदियों की संख्या के. मध्यवर्गीय या उच्च मध्यवर्गीय घरों में यह भेदभाव अगर बहुत प्रत्यक्ष नहीं है तो बिल्कुल गायब भी नहीं है. ज़रूरत पड़ते ही किसी मुसलमान को याद दिलाया जा सकता है कि उसकी हैसियत वह नहीं है जो किसी हिंदू की है.
यह इत्तिफाक भर नहीं है कि जिस शाम आमिर खान ने अपने भीतर के डर का जिक्र किया, उसके एक दिन पहले ही असम के राज्यपाल पीबी आचार्य यह बोलते नज़र आए कि यह देश हिंदुओं का है, लेकिन बहुत खुले दिल वाला है इसलिए इसने सबको अपनाया है- टाटा और गोदरेज तक को. उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि मुसलमान चाहें तो पाकिस्तान, बांग्लादेश, जहां चाहे जाएं. याद दिलाने की ज़रूरत नहीं कि उसके पहले बीजेपी के महासचिव कैलाश विजयवर्गीय को यह खयाल आया था कि शाहरुख रहते यहां हैं लेकिन उनका दिल पाकिस्तान में रहता है. और शायद यह याद दिलाने की ज़रूरत है कि बीजेपी की सहयोगी शिवसेना ने एक दौर में दिलीप कुमार को पाकिस्तानी करार दिया था.
जो सहिष्णु, उदार, विशालहृदय भारत हमारी कल्पना का हिस्सा है और बहुत दूर तक हमारी लोकचेतना का भी, उसकी राह में सबसे बड़ी बाधा यह बहुसंख्यकवाद है
दरअसल यह वह ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ है जिसकी वजह से आमिर खान का वक्तव्य मौजूदा सरकार के समर्थकों को चुभता है. यह दावा बिल्कुल वैध है कि ऐसी असहिष्णुता की मिसालें मई 2015 में नरेंद्र मोदी के सत्तारोहण के बाद ही नहीं आई हैं, कांग्रेस के दौर में भी रही हैं. लेकिन दरअसल समझने की ज़रूरत यही है. जो सहिष्णु, उदार, विशालहृदय भारत हमारी कल्पना का हिस्सा है और बहुत दूर तक हमारी लोकचेतना का भी, उसकी राह में सबसे बड़ी बाधा यह बहुसंख्यकवाद है, हिंदू होने का दर्प है और यह दावा है कि यह देश सबसे पहले हिंदुओं का है. यह पहले-बाद वाली गिनती ख़तरनाक है, क्योंकि इतिहास में इस तरह पीछे जाना न संभव होता है न उचित होता है. तो सरकारें बदल जाती हैं, यह दर्प जाता नहीं, अपना काम करता रहता है.
इस सरकार से शिकायत बस इतनी है कि वह हिंदू राष्ट्रवाद के इस मिथ का पोषण कर रही है और जो इसका विरोध करता है, उसको अमान्य कर रही है. वह सारी तर्कशीलता और बौद्धिकता को ताक पर रखकर ऐसे अनपढ़ बहुसंख्यकवाद को बढ़ावा दे रही है जो पहले आमिर खान और शाहरुख़ खान को डराता है, फिर दूसरे उदारचेत्ता लोगों को और अंततः वह उन लोगों के खिलाफ़ खड़ा हो सकता है जो लोकतंत्र, न्याय और बराबरी के मानवीय सिद्धांत की बात करते हों.
आमिर बहुत दिन तक असहिष्णुता की बहस से दूर रहे. उन्होंने मुंह खोला तो ऐसे मंच पर, जहां सुनने के लिए वित्तमंत्री थे. इसका कुछ दंड तो उनको भुगतना पड़ेगा. बकौल मुक्तिबोध, ‘हाय-हाय, मैंने उनको नंगा देख लिया है, इसकी सज़ा मुझे मिलेगी, जरूर मिलेगी.‘ http://www.satyagrah.com/politics/aamir-khan-intolerance-remark/
आमिर खान अकेले नहीं हैं, मुझे भी भारत में रहने से थोड़ा डर लग रहा है
राहुल पंडिता 25 NOV ’15
आमिर खान
फोटो | आईएएनएस
आमिर खान गलत नहीं हैं. देश में निराशा की धुंध छा रही है और प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ऐसा कुछ करते नहीं दिख रहे जिससे यह छंटे.
हम जानते हैं कि इस्लाम की उग्रता की भारत में उतनी आलोचना नहीं होती जितनी हिंदू उग्रता की. हम यह भी जानते हैं कि इस्लामिक स्टेट की राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ से तुलना सीधे-सीधे मूर्खता है. हमें पता है कि इस देश के बुद्धिजीवियों का एक वर्ग नरेंद्र मोदी की हमेशा बुराई करता रहेगा. हम यह भी जानते हैं कि मणिशंकर अय्यर को बहुत पहले राजनीति से रिटायर हो जाना चाहिए था. तो हमें यह भी जानना ही चाहिए कि अपने मन की बात कहने के लिए आमिर खान को पाकिस्तान भेजने की बात करना ठीक नहीं है.
बीते कुछ महीनों से मैं अमेरिका में हूं और भारत में हो रहे जिस बदलाव की आमिर खान ने बात की है, उससे मुझे भी चिंता हुई है. सोशल मीडिया मुझे बता रहा है कि भारत में आज वही सुरक्षित महसूस कर सकता है जो ऊंची जाति का हिंदू पुरुष हो. मैं इसी वर्ग में आता हूं और इसके बावजूद सच कहूं तो मुझे वापस आने में थोड़ा डर लग रहा है.
येल के हर इंस्टीट्यूट ने अपनी बैठकें आयोजित कीं ताकि छात्र बेहिचक अपने अनुभव बता सकें. वहां किसी ने नहीं कहा कि विरोध कर रहे लोगों को अफ्रीका भेज दो.
मैं फिलहाल येल में हूं. अवसरों से भरे इस शहर में 30 फीसदी लोग पढ़ना-लिखना नहीं जानते और यहां भी गरीबी और गंदगी की कमी नहीं है. अपराध दर ऊंची है और हर दूसरे दिन यूनिवर्सिटी पुलिस चीफ हमें किसी न किसी वारदात के बारे में खबर करते रहते हैं. हमले या डकैती की ये घटनाएं कई बार तो ऐसी जगह पर होती हैं जहां से हम कुछ ही मिनट पहले गुजरे थे.
इसके बावजूद प्रशासन अपना काम करता है. ऐसा महसूस होता है कि कोई है जो ऊपर से लगातार हम पर निगाह रख रहा है. हमें बस खतरे का बटन दबाना है और सरकार का कोई आदमी एक मिनट में हमारी मदद के लिए हाजिर हो जाएगा.
येल में जिस जगह मैं रहता हूं उसके पास हाल में हुई नस्लवाद की एक घटना ने तूफान खड़ा कर दिया था. पूरी यूनिवर्सिटी में खूब विरोध प्रदर्शन हुए. लेकिन इस दौरान कभी भी ऐसा नहीं लगा कि उच्च स्तर से इस मुद्दे की अनदेखी हो रही है. येल कॉलेज के डीन ने गुस्से से उबलती अश्वेत छात्रों की भीड़ के साथ कई घंटे बिताए और धैर्य के साथ उनकी शिकायतें सुनीं. येल के हर इंस्टीट्यूट ने अपनी बैठकें आयोजित कीं ताकि छात्र बेहिचक अपने अनुभव बता सकें. वहां किसी ने नहीं कहा कि विरोध कर रहे लोगों को अफ्रीका भेज दो.
इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि अमेरिका में नस्लवाद की समस्या हल हो गई है या कल कोई श्वेत पुलिसकर्मी न्यूयॉर्क में किसी अश्वेत व्यक्ति को बिना जुर्म दबोचेगा नहीं. लेकिन यहां बोलना जुर्म नहीं है. आप बोल सकते हैं, पर्चे लिख सकते हैं और ऐसा नहीं होगा कि इसके लिए राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के साथ सेल्फी खिंचवाकर उसे अपनी डीपी बनाने वाला कोई शख्स आपको ट्विटर या फेसबुक पर गालियां दे या आप पर स्याही फेंक दे या फिर आपके दफ्तर में आकर आपको पीट जाए.
यहां आप बोल सकते हैं, पर्चे लिख सकते हैं और ऐसा नहीं होगा कि राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के साथ सेल्फी खिंचवाकर उसे अपनी डीपी बनाने वाला कोई शख्स आपको इसके लिए गालियां दे
एक मायने में यहां प्रशासन साइकोथेरेपी की तरह है. थेरेपी काम करे या न करे, लेकिन मरीज को यह महसूस होता है कि वह डॉक्टर की निगरानी में है. मरीज कुर्सी पर बैठा है और डॉक्टर उसे बता रहा है, ‘हां, मैं आपकी बात सुन रहा हूं.’ लेकिन भारत में ऐसा लगता है जैसे कुर्सी पर बैठी सरकार जनता की तरफ पीठ किए हुए है.
सवाल यह है कि आमिर खान ने ऐसा क्या कहा है जिस पर इतना गुस्सा जताया जा रहा है. उन्होंने कहा था कि भारतीय सुरक्षित महसूस करें, इसके लिए जरूरी है कि इंसाफ होता दिखे, कि जब माहौल में असुरक्षा हो तो लोग कोई आश्वस्ति भरी बात सुनने के लिए सरकार के मुखिया की तरफ देखते हैं. आमिर ने कहा कि एक मायूसी का माहौल बन गया है जिसमें लोग निराश महसूस कर रहे हैं.
आमिर खान ने जो कहा है कि उसे महसूस करने के लिए जरूरी नहीं कि आप अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय से ताल्लुक रखते हों. दादरी हो या कोई और मुद्दा, भारत में आज कहां इंसाफ होता दिख रहा है? यह सिर्फ अल्पसंख्यकों की सुरक्षा की बात नहीं है. किस मुद्दे पर हमने मोदी से आश्वस्त करने वाले शब्द सुने हैं? क्या उन्होंने हरियाणा में अपनी पार्टी के मुख्यमंत्री से कहा कि गाय पर बयानबाजी बंद करें और इस पर ध्यान दें कि साइबर सिटी कहे जाने वाले गुड़गांव में जगह-जगह कीचड़ में लोटते सुअरों को कैसे हटाया जाए? क्या उनकी पार्टी ने उस गरीब ट्रक ड्राइवर के परिवार के लिए सांत्वना के दो शब्द भी कहे जिसे जम्मू-नेशनल हाइवे पर गुंडों ने मार डाला? क्या उन्होंने राजस्थान में अपनी पार्टी की सरकार से पूछा कि उसने एक पाठ्यपुस्तक से सफदर हाशमी की कविता हटाने का फैसला किस आधार पर किया?
यह सच्चाई है कि भारत में आज कइयों के मन में निराशा घर कर गई है और यह मायूसी सिर्फ अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय को नहीं है. मोदी की चुप्पी ने उपद्रवी तत्वों का उत्साह बढ़ा दिया है. वे इस चुप्पी को खामोश स्वीकृति की तरह देख रहे हैं और इंटरनेट से लेकर सड़क तक कहर बरपा रहे हैं.
क्या उन्होंने हरियाणा में अपनी पार्टी के सीएम से कहा कि गाय पर बयानबाजी बंद करके इस पर ध्यान दें कि साइबर सिटी कहे जाने वाले गुड़गांव में जगह-जगह कीचड़ में लोटते सुअरों को कैसे हटाया जाए?
लेकिन इसके इतर एक ऐसी बात भी है जो सिर्फ अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय का कोई सदस्य ही महसूस कर सकता है. बहुसंख्यक समुदाय का कोई सदस्य कितना भी कहे कि वह अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय का डर समझता है, लेकिन सच यह है कि वह इस डर को महसूस नहीं कर सकता. अमेरिका में मेरे एक दोस्त ने मुझे अपनी दादी के बारे में बताया जो मुंबई में रहती हैं और जिन्हें 1992 के दंगों के दौरान पड़ोसी के घर में शरण लेनी पड़ी थी. उनका कहना है कि दादरी की घटना के बाद वे उस दरवाजे को बार-बार चेक करती हैं जिससे वे दो दशक पहले पड़ोस के घर में दाखिल हुई थीं–यह देखने के लिए कि वह तुरंत खुलता है कि नहीं. उन्होंने कोई पुरस्कार नहीं लौटाया है. न ही उन्होंने अपने बेटे से विदेश बसने की बात कही है. लेकिन उन्हें डर लगने लगा है. और यह डर वास्तविक है, चाहे इसका कोई कारण न हो .
भक्तों ने आमिर खान के पोस्टरों पर स्याही पोतने का काम शुरू कर दिया है. कोई पूछेगा कि बाबरी मस्जिद गिरने के बाद उन्हें ऐसा क्यों नहीं लगा. हो सकता है लगा हो, लेकिन हमने उनसे पूछा न हो. हो सकता है तब न लगा हो, लेकिन अब लग रहा हो. हो सकता है उन्होंने सोचा हो कि हालात बेहतर हो जाएंगे. अच्छे दिन आएंगे. हो सकता है कि सोशल मीडिया पर हाल ही में प्रकट हुई एक महिला की माया कोडनानी के साथ सेल्फ़ी-जिसमें उसका चेहरा गर्व से भरा है-से आमिर डर गए हों.
ऐसा नहीं है कि इससे पहले ट्रकों में गायें ले जाते लोगों की हत्याएं नहीं हुईं. या मनमोहन सिंह की सरकार के दौरान दलित बच्चों को प्रताड़ित करने की घटनाएं नहीं हुईं. लेकिन नरेंद्र मोदी की तरह उन्होंने हमें हॉलीवुड के संवादों से रिझाने का प्रयत्न नहीं किया. आज हमें महसूस हो रहा है कि मोदी के ये तमाम संवाद महज़ छलावा थे.
Airlift And Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 Set For Tight Battle
Thursday 21 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
This week will see an interesting clash at the box office with Airlift releasing with Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3. Though it should be easy for Airlift as it as far bigger star with Akshay Kumar and if it was an action film then it would be pretty easy but here its the thriller genre and this genre finds it hard at the box office. It always has been as far as Hindi films are concerned and the genre does tend to negate some of the star power as mass circuits under perform..
Its not that sex comedies like Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 have a universal market but they do have loyal following among the youth and this one is a brand with two hit films behind it though both were driven by Mumbai circuit. This makes it a tight battle as far as initial is concerned
It would be a shock if Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 came out with better day one collections as its probably never happened that a small film has bettered a big star film on the opening day. Its not happened in this decade for sure. The screen issue here is not much of a problem as both films don’t need 4000 screens each and can easily do with 4500-5000 between them.
This opening clash will definitely be closer than Dilwale v Bajirao Mastani as Dilwale comfortably had a better initial there. If Airlift can take an initial like a Gabbar Is Back or Singh Is Bling then it will come out on top but that looks unlikely given the genre and this opens up the clash and even gives the smaller film a chance to beat the bigger film.
Can Kyaa Kool Hain Hum Really Beat The Opening Of Airlift As Its A Big Film And Being Called The First 100 Crore Film Of The Year?
Thursday 21 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Q. Can Kyaa Kool Hain Hum really beat the opening of Airlift as its a big film and being called the first 100 crore film of the year?
Ans. It has chances and its not going to be one way traffic as it looked when the first reports of the clash came. Its looking a more closer battle in terms of initial than the Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani clash. Even if Kyaa Kool Hain Hum does not beat but is close it would be very good as the film is much smaller than Airlift.
R. Pahuja
Q. Bajrangi Bhaijaan has footfalls of 3.55 crore so it is possible than a big film like Sultan or Dabangg 3 can do 4 crore?
Ans. Footfalls seem to be on the up for the bigger films unlike the last decade. there was no 3 crore film for 8 years before 3 Idiots and then 3 Idiots came which was then beaten by PK and that was beaten by Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The trend seems to be upwards so chances are there of a higher number than Bajrangi Bhaijaan though to get 4 crore you need the luck of the run with holidays falling correctly and then a good open run.
Ayub Ali
Q. Why is there such a big difference in the distributor share between Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajirao Mastani at 106 crore and 85 crore when nett collections are just 10 crore apart, should it not be be 90 and 95 crore instead of huge 20 crore difference?
Ans. There is a huge difference in terms of their first week business when share are at their highest and also Prem Ratan Dhan Payo has a much higher business coming from single screens which give a better share in terms of the ratio with nett collections.
K. Sainath
Q. It is being said that Wazir has got 18-20 crore for satellite television so surely with sort of income it should be an earner?
Ans. What is said is not always correct. Even if we take it at face value, all that it means is that the producers loss has been transferred to the television channel. The loss is still there as to make any good revenue on television the film needed appreciation..
M. Madhav
On 14th January, Catch News (which has Shoma Chaudhary, ex-collegaue of rape accused Tarun Tejpal and who is often accused of shielding Tejpal, as Editor in Chief) did a hit-job on the Akshay Kumar starrer Airlift. The news showed Akshay Kumar’s photo with Neeraj Pandey. Neeraj Pandey is not associated with the movie Airlift, still they showed a pic which had both Neeraj and Akshay. Are there no pics of Neeraj by himself?
The story said that Neeraj Pandey, director of Baby & Special 26 was asked to leave a theatre for not standing up during the national anthem. This is even more absurd as we know that Neeraj Pandey’s movies are usually patriotic and one does not expect such behaviour from him.
But the person actually involved in this incident was a different person. This Neeraj Pandey is a screenwriter, and in no way connected to Director Neeraj Pandey and obviously not connected with Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is one of the few Bollywood superstars who has stood strongly against the Intolerance brigade. Unlike Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar clearly said India is a tolerant country. And Shahrukh’s latest movie Dilwale bore the brunt of his “anti-India” comments. So was CatchNews.com trying to link Akshay Kumar to some “anti-national” news so that his film too suffers http://myvoice.opindia.com/2016/01/malicious-reporting-against-akshay-kumar-to-derail-his-movie-airlift/
Love Akshay (more than your love for funny sunny) haha. Anyhow the accusations that have no basis in truth die normal death but the ones that have basis in truth will not. Public is like blood hound…sungh leti hai satya.
This is hilarious and full of Filmy references ( from a site I have long abandoned going to )
2. Chaubey: I’m calling you Sunny not Karanjeet. Does someone call you Karanjeet by any chance?
What Chaubey is really saying – From the film Deewar: Tumhari jaisi ladkiyan apna naam … kapdon ki tarah badalti hai
7. Chaubey: Do you think an Amir Khan would ever work with you? So you would want to work with Amir Khan but Amir would not want to work with you. How does that affect you?
Really saying: Ram Lakhan: Naachne gaane wali vaihsyaaein aayin hain toe kya hua, mehfil toe shareefon ki hai
11. Chaubey: You say you felt it was sexy, it was beautiful, but look at how your actions are being interpreted in India. Atul Anjan, CPI member of parliament of the CPI, has consistently gone on record, mind you he’s not the only one, where he holds you responsible for corrupting Indian minds, Indian morality. When these kinds of comments are made how do you deal with them?
Really saying: Aitraaz: Aurat nadi ke samaan hoti hai … yadi apne kinaron ki maryada mein rahe, toh lati hai khushali … aur yadi apne kinaron ki maryada todh de, toh lati hai vinash, barbadi
19. Chaubey: You know a lot of chatterrati which because I’m interviewing you, takes place that you see a Sunny Leone film you will get morally corrupted. I’m wondering if I’m being morally corrupted because I’m interviewing you.
Really saying: Jism: Mera dimag mere jism ka ghulam ho gaya tha.
#Airlift is a must must watch. One of the finest films to come out of the Hindi film industry. Just do not miss this one!
Some stories *should* be told. #Airlift sheds light on the evacuation of Indians in Kuwait after the invasion by Iraq. Narrated BRILLIANTLY.
#Airlift is taut, engrossing, leaves a hammer-strong impact. Raja Krishna Menon is a director to watch out for. Deserves brownie points
Akshay Kumar is OUTSTANDING. His performance is the soul of #Airlift. An award-worthy act. Ranks easily amongst his finest works
.
Nimrat Kaur is first-rate throughout, confrontation scene is memorable. Inaamulhaq [Iraqi Major] and Prakash Belawade are terrific. #Airlift
SATYAMSHOT 
January 15, 2016 at 6:18 AM
Bajirao Mastani Hits 175 Crore In Four Weeks
Friday 15 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastani had a good fourth week of 7 crore nett apprx. The film had its biggest drop since its release dropping around 75% but still the fourth week collections were among the top ten highest fourth weeks of all time. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 84,36,00,000
Week Two – 55,19,00,000
Week Three – 28,35,00,000
Fourth Weekend – 7,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 174,90,00,000
Share – 83 crore apprx
The film film still has potential to add 4-5 crore nett more as the new release Wazir floped and there is no new major release this week.
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January 15, 2016 at 6:19 AM
Dilwale Four Week Business Update
Friday 15 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dilwale dropped dropped 81% in week three as it grossed around 2 crore nett. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 95,37,00,000
Week Two – 31,11,00,000
Week Three – 10,71,00,000
Week Four – 2,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 139,19,00,000
Share – 70.75 crore
The film will add another 1 crore nett or so till the end of its run. It will be a 140 crore nett finish for the film..
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January 15, 2016 at 6:20 AM
First Release Of The Year Wazir Flops
Friday 15 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
The first major release of the Year Wazir has flopped at the box office with first week collections of 28.50 crore nett. More than the low collections, the problem was the trend as the film found no appreciation in any circuit and collections came down fast from Monday onward.
The problems were there for the film over the weekend as Sunday failed to show much growth and Monday just sealed its fate. Despite no release this week the film will not make much headway and have low collections. Wazir may cross 35 crore nett if its lucky but 40 crore nett seems out of reach.
The best performance came in Mysore though it was lower than it should have been. The Mysore collections were 2.15 crore nett apprx. Mumbai grossed 8.75 crore nett and Delhi /UP grossed around 6.25 crore nett. The film was rejected in the multiplexes of both of the big circuits.
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January 15, 2016 at 7:09 AM
Fantastic lines from Javed Jaffrey:
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January 15, 2016 at 7:11 AM
Wazir according to XYZ is a niche film and its flop status should be accepted as hit. After mega success of P. K, Vidhu Vinod Chopra had decided to do some charity and hence produced this film and it went as per his expectations. So, it’s time to celebrate for ABC fanatics as producers are happy over its performance plus lead actors have been able to carve a niche. What a way to get success! Now stand up and give three claps for ABC and fanatic XYZ.
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January 15, 2016 at 7:31 AM
Bhai tu rehan dey !!
You can only Raj the Charans…
abhee upar aaney mein waqt lagega tujhey !!
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January 15, 2016 at 7:25 AM
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January 15, 2016 at 7:29 AM
The all kinds of anti BJP/ Hindus news posting happy person on this blog has an embarrassing San(J)annataa on the Malda news !! Not surprised though. SS at times seems exact replica of NDTV..lol
P.S.- Happy New Year 2016.
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January 15, 2016 at 8:18 AM
Malda news was to be “Broken” by you as a Pro-Hindu/BJP supporter! Last i heard that India was attacked under the same “person’s leadership” who once claimed “Tit for tat” kind of policy towards Pakistan and that too within a week of his ” dostana visit”!
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January 15, 2016 at 8:43 AM
Oh so are you implying that only BJP/ Pro- Hindu are nationalists and Pro India ??
wow !!!!!
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January 15, 2016 at 8:44 AM
Lagta hai bade Zor kee Jaleee hai !!
Jao Sarfarosh phir sey dekho !!lol
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January 15, 2016 at 8:47 AM
BTW if you suppor FOE for that Comedian, do you also support FOE for Kamlesh Tiwari who is rotting in jail in UP ??
Yes or No ???
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January 15, 2016 at 9:03 AM
Hum imply nahi karte hain, seedhe bolte hain without any “Jalaoing” anyone’s sentiments 🙂 And by the way i don’t support on the basis of “Hindu, Muslim, BJP, Congress, SP, BSP, Right or left” but my feelings are based on ” what is fair and right bereft of any ideology”.
Happy New Year to you 🙂
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January 15, 2016 at 9:55 AM
Bhai it was a yes or No question !!
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January 15, 2016 at 10:01 AM
Rocky Sir Aap yeh dekhyein
Yaha yes or No hain – Teja 🙂
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January 15, 2016 at 10:05 AM
LOL, did see that earlier.
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January 15, 2016 at 11:32 AM
They are not same but yes both should have ability to say things. Trump can be ridiculed for his Hispanic and Muslim comments but he has right to say and State protects his rights. Unfortunately law and order in India is something anything remotely offensive creates problem.
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January 16, 2016 at 3:01 AM
Freedom of expression ought not to be “Prerogative” of anyone be it any political party or any person. Even if i disagree with your ideas, i should remain civil, respectful while responding to you and expressing my counter-views. One should keep this template in mind while having any conversation as inflammatory and provocative remarks would yield the same from opposite side.
On your question, yes each wrong act should be condemned irrespective of where it is originating from! Which is what has been happening in this tolerant and intolerant debate where both sides are putting the blame on the other side declaring itself blot-free in this respect, which is absurd! So rather than relying on “My shirt is cleaner than you” kind of approach, introspection from both sides would be more fruitful in improving the current atmosphere.
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January 15, 2016 at 10:09 AM
Carry on MyselfAamir! Aur jalao.
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January 15, 2016 at 10:16 AM
Truth sey Sannatta Phata….
Intolerance sey kaanpey Ameeer ..
Jab aaaya aaaya – Adarsh Liberal
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January 15, 2016 at 10:18 AM
Haha! What is truth by the way? Or fake truths?
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January 15, 2016 at 10:23 AM
Ardh Satya
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January 15, 2016 at 10:27 AM
BTW how are reports of Wazir- has anyone seen it ?
AnnJo / Q/ Satyam ??
I really want to watch it for Bachchan !!
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January 15, 2016 at 11:03 AM
I watched it couple of days ago, because I’d been interested in the film for a long time (despite the relatively poor reviews). Anyways, unfortunately it’s a mediocre film with plotholes and silly inconsistency (do these people not bother to watch/alter/amend their movies before releasing them) but elevated to the level of being pretty watchable thanks to Amitabh, Farhan and Aditi (she’s beautiful!). Some moderately decent music too.
Re Bachchan, he’s obviously always a pleasure to watch these days, but he had a much more exciting role in Shamitabh (I was one of the few who loved that movie) and Piku is one of my favourite performances of his.
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January 15, 2016 at 11:19 AM
Thanks Salim. I liked Shamitabh as well, specially Bachchan’s act. Dhanush was good too but not as good as he was in Raanjhna.
Piku is obviously a classic.
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January 15, 2016 at 11:44 AM
piku…sheesh..it was awful.
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January 16, 2016 at 8:24 AM
Chalo… is baat pe at least we are both in agreement. Finally saw Shamitabh on television, and felt that all the brickbats its received was undeserved. It is a flawed film yes, but ambitiously so. Of Balki’s three subversive experiments with Amitabh Bachchan and his iconography, I in fact preferred this the most. And of course, the Big B also had the superlative this year.
Once again proves just how pivotal the Bachchan signature is to the secular fabric of this diverse country… he erases barriers and boundaries. Ha!
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January 18, 2016 at 2:50 PM
agree on Bachchan .
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January 15, 2016 at 11:27 AM
People have liked it with some silliness in script.
ps – I have not seen it.
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January 15, 2016 at 1:08 PM
Munna Bhai – India mein “Gulabo” is a big big hit in the Shadi Circles !!
I had not even heard it here . LOL
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January 15, 2016 at 1:14 PM
Aap Kashyap clan se door rahte ho 🙂
The song is catchy…Better half did some gig in India on this song….Moustaches were brought from amazon for the gig.
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January 15, 2016 at 2:28 PM
Ya , we all danced a lot too on this song at two different events at two different family functions. Overall I thought the living standards / facilities have improved . For example with high fi Invertors and Generators the power cut is not felt that much.( May be in summer time it will pinch more ). All the houses ( middle class) have Acquaguard installed.
Traffic is a big problem.
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January 15, 2016 at 2:43 PM
I really wanted to watch Bajirao in a Single Screens- all my cousins made such a weird face as if I had gone crazy. needless to say I dropped the idea of going alone. LOL!
Aside- Aaptards and Keju are the most hated commodities right now in India.
Read Justice Katju’s latest blog where he rips the fraudster Keju.
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January 16, 2016 at 8:26 AM
Better half did some gig in India on this song
Sorry to pry… but is your better half some sort of artist/performer?
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January 16, 2016 at 1:36 PM
At a wedding Sangeet 🙂
Whenever there is a wedding, you decide on dress, makeup ,dance and things like that..well in advance..
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January 16, 2016 at 8:27 AM
And yes, Gulabo is quite a hit. It caught on late though, in fact even the title track from that film caught on. The songs have outlived the film.
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January 18, 2016 at 3:02 PM
Just as I said !! LOL !!
Komal Nahta @KomalNahta · Jan 16
This #Shaandaar song made us all tap our feet to its beat! #Gulaabo wins @ETCBollywood’s Song of the Year award! #ETCBBizAwards2015
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January 15, 2016 at 8:06 PM
I liked Piku. It was good to see a working girl taking care of her widowed dad, a man who is not actually keen on her getting married, somebody selfish in a way, yet humane and affectionate in his own manner. His obsession with his potty habits is actually so true to reality. I know a few people whose day revolves around the potty job — and actually, it’s true — your mood and mind don’t clear up if the alimentary canal is blocked!
Amitabh’s performance rang true, did not come off as a caricature. Loved Dipika too.
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January 15, 2016 at 12:29 PM
not yet but do plan to check it out.
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January 18, 2016 at 12:38 PM
Saw Wazir; It is a decent movie. There are issues in movie:
*Mild spoilers*
1. Amitabh and Farhan track was good. But there was no point in adding complexity in Qureshi track (it could have been story in itself).
2.When you are making serious movie, the treatment should be serious. There are two raids and both of them are handled in masala way. There was no need of that.
3. It needed more flesh in Amitabh, Farhan track in terms of more incidences.
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January 18, 2016 at 2:52 PM
I saw Bajirao instead . The 11.55 show was almost half full. I really liked the movie.
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January 15, 2016 at 12:37 PM
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January 15, 2016 at 12:38 PM
The extreme tolerence increases day by day.
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January 15, 2016 at 7:59 PM
Ha ha.
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January 15, 2016 at 1:06 PM
This is really stupid, case and will be thrown out of the court. The film people are so used to the sets that it may have not even crossed their minds that it is a Temple set.
Reminds me of a song sequence by Lucky Ali – see from 2.30
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January 15, 2016 at 2:14 PM
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January 15, 2016 at 2:19 PM
More on wonderful tolerance.
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January 15, 2016 at 2:23 PM
Malda ke tolerant events pe kya kehna hai aapka?
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January 15, 2016 at 3:15 PM
Ask BJP leader Siddharatha Singh. He says it wasn’t a communal attack.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/malda-violence-not-a-communal-reaction-was-planned-bjp/story-3sVjqAQainlUzqmEVryZkO.html
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January 15, 2016 at 3:17 PM
A lot going on in the border villages with poppy fields, bomb making home industries etc.
A warning to any govt/police to stay away & not take action.
At least no one was killed or made homeless. Thank God for small mercies.
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January 15, 2016 at 3:33 PM
More trouble for Amir and Dangal.
“Indore: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s ‘intolerance’ remarks continue to haunt him with a senior BJP leader today suggesting “treatment” to his upcoming movie ‘Dangal’ in the same way that was done to Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dilwale’, whose business was marred by protests from Hindutva groups. ”
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/intolerance-remarks-continue-to-haunt-aamir-khan-with-bjp-leader-threatening-dangal/16866191
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January 15, 2016 at 7:56 PM
The more the intolerance, the more our dear BJP politicos rant against people speaking about intolerance : witness BJP General secretary Kailash Vijaysomefellow threatening that Aamir’s Dangal would get the same treatment meted out to Dilwale. What a charming set of people, our ruling party. God save India from these divisive forces. And nobody to control these potty-mouths. Everyday somebody commenting against Aamir and his wife Kiran . Like a commenter wrote, behti Ganga mein haath dhula rahein hain.
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January 15, 2016 at 3:46 PM
Bajirao has swept the Filmfare awards .Glad for SLB and Ranveer Singh. well deserved. was afraid SRK and his dirty tricks will pull a Keju kind of fraud but glad it did not happen.
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January 15, 2016 at 3:50 PM
Worse would have been if SRK had pulled Feku’s deadly Vyapam fraud or lynched them to hand over the award
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January 15, 2016 at 3:55 PM
I have no intention of engaging with an Aaptad , specially a rabid one so just Shoooooo and spread your venom elsewhere !
Just shooooo away !!
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January 15, 2016 at 4:12 PM
Tolerence! Tolerence! This is not your drawing room.
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January 15, 2016 at 4:14 PM
And stop responding to me under different names. LOL
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January 15, 2016 at 4:23 PM
correction: not tolerence – Tolerance
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January 16, 2016 at 8:31 AM
One of the more fairer Filmfare Awards in recent memory… though I do think that Bajrangi Bhaijaan deserved the Best Film honour… not only for being the event film of the year (apart from Bahubali of course), but also being a rather important one too, and one that nevertheless is the kind of commercial blockbuster that Filmfare would have no problems awarding.
Must say Irrfan was criminally overlooked.
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January 15, 2016 at 4:23 PM
Kamal Haasan to join Shyam Benegal committee to reform Censor Board – See more at: http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kamal-haasan-join-shyam-benegal-committee-reform-censor-board-37714#sthash.DOGTdlVa.dpuf
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January 15, 2016 at 4:23 PM
I don’t respond to filth under one name leave alone other names !!
Jaisa Guru Keju waisa saley ka chela…chal bhaag !!!
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January 15, 2016 at 4:53 PM
Bhaaga toh Feku tha biwi ko chhod kar. Hehe
Waise main bhagnewali nahi. I will respond whenever I want to.
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January 15, 2016 at 4:37 PM
Bajirao Mastani box office collections at Rs 167.10 cr beat Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale, Aamir Khan’s PK, others
According to Aamir Khan, “To measure a film’s success, you need to see the weekend figures and compare it with the total collection. Like 3 Idiots did Rs 40 crore on the weekend and the total business was Rs 202 crore, so the weekend multiplied by 5, is the behavior of the film which is very good. That shows people have gone again and again to see the film. Jo film teen din mein 100 crore karein aur total mein 200 crore karein, then that film is not good.”
http://www.financialexpress.com/article/lifestyle/showbiz/bajirao-mastani-box-office-collections-at-rs-167-10-cr-beat-aamir-khans-pk-shah-rukh-khans-dilwale-others/192814/
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January 16, 2016 at 8:34 AM
Like 3 Idiots did Rs 40 crore on the weekend and the total business was Rs 202 crore, so the weekend multiplied by 5, is the behavior of the film which is very good. That shows people have gone again and again to see the film. Jo film teen din mein 100 crore karein aur total mein 200 crore karein, then that film is not good.
Completely agree. This is what we’re trying to achieve with the AII and the BOmbay reports. Let’s see.
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January 15, 2016 at 5:23 PM
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January 15, 2016 at 5:25 PM
BJP telling Amir – chal bhaag!!
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January 16, 2016 at 1:23 PM
Have to say Aamir is an tough spot. Dangal has to be superlative now for people to let their sense of fairness prevail over their sense of anger with his comments.
Or….BJP and Modi need to weaken further – lose some more state elections, and most of their credibility with the voting public. In that likely scenario, Aamir’s comments may actually work for him.
So unless Dangal is among one of the greatest films made, it might get stamped all over by the Modi bhakt brigade.
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January 16, 2016 at 1:30 PM
All this stuff or the extent to which it impacts a film depends fundamentally on the quality of the film. If there is a strong desire to see it I.e. WOM is hot nothing will stop it overall. Precisely why Dilwale hardly got impacted, there really was little content to cause a supporting cause for it.
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January 16, 2016 at 3:01 PM
>Or….BJP and Modi need to weaken further – lose some more state elections, and most of their credibility with the voting public.
The first clear phasing out of Modi has begun.
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January 15, 2016 at 5:36 PM
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) – Ranveer Singh (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) award – Deepika Padukone (Piku)
Best Film award – Bajirao Mastani
Best Director award- Sanjay Leela Bhansali (BajiraoMastani)
Critics’ Choice Best Actor (Male) award – Amitabh Bachchan (Piku)
Critics’ choice Best Actor (Female) award – Kangana Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu Returns)
Critics’ Choice Best Film Award – Piku
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) – Anil Kapoor (Dil Dhadakne Do)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) – Priyanka Chopra (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Debut (Male) award – Sooraj Pancholi (Hero)
Best Debut (Female) award – Bhumi Pednekar (Dum Laga Ke Haisha)
Best Debut Director award – Neeraj Ghaywan (Masaan)
Best Story award – Vijayendra Prasad (Bajrangi Bhaijaan)
Best Dialogue award – Himanshu Sharma (Tanu Weds Manu Returns)
Best Screenplay award – Juhi Chaturvedi (Piku)
Lifetime Achievement award – Moushumi Chatterjee
Best Production Design award – Sujeet Sawant, Sriram Iyengar and Saloni Dhatrak (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Costume award – Anju Modi (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Choreography award – Pandit Birju Maharaj (Mohe Rang Do Laal – Bajirao Mastani)
Best Background Score award – Anupam Roy (Piku)
Best Playback Singer (Female) award – Shreya Ghoshal (Deewani Mastani – Bajirao Mastani)
Best Playback Singer (Male) award – Arijit Singh (Sooraj Dooba – Roy)
Best Action award – Sham Kaushal (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Cinematography award – Manu Anand (Dum Laga Ke Haisha)
Best VFX award – Prana Studio (Bombay Velvet)
Best Lyrics award – Irshad Kamil (Agar Tum Saath Ho – Tamasha)
Best Music award – Ankit Tiwari, Meet Bros. Anjjan and Amaal Mallik (Roy)
The RD Burman award – Armaan Malik (Roy)
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/filmfare-awards-2016-winners-list-deepika-padukone-ranveer-singh-and-bajirao-mastani-sweep-away-all-the-awards/
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January 15, 2016 at 10:06 PM
One award i totally disagree with Sooraj Pancholi as best debutant. Vicky Kaushal was class apart, 100% more deserving.
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January 15, 2016 at 6:21 PM
I was fine as the most searched person. But I think the people are curious,” says adult film star-turned-Bollywood actor Sunny Leone in this very candid Walk The Talk interview. She speaks about her childhood days where she played street hockey, played with GI Joes rather than Barbies and made fort rather than castles. Sunny says that she was never molested or tortured which made her do adult movies. She talks about how Karanjeet Kaur Bora became Sunny Leone as she went to give an interview for a magazine
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-with-sunny-leone/399228?hp&video-featured
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January 15, 2016 at 6:25 PM
#TheHotSeat with @SunnyLeone. Some straight talk on her past, present and future
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1LyGBpWEyloxN
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January 15, 2016 at 7:34 PM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Litfest-gets-off-to-a-flying-start/articleshow/50583501.cms
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January 15, 2016 at 9:34 PM
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January 15, 2016 at 9:55 PM
No shameless actors and their wives will talk about this nonsense.
Kolkata Trinamool Leader’s Son Drove Audi That Killed Air Force Officer: Sources
http://www.ndtv.com/kolkata-news/audi-that-killed-air-force-officer-in-kolkata-was-driven-by-trinamool-leaders-son-1266330?pfrom=home-lateststories
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January 15, 2016 at 10:13 PM
What is the connection? Everyday accidents and drunken driving happens. Courts are to be blamed for giving bails easily.
It maybe a powerful politican, a filmstar, a rich brat or even an ordinary driver who maybe the culprit. My neighbours, very healthy god fearing people, were travelling in an auto and knocked down by a truck and they are still in the hospital since last 2 months with serious injuries and medical bills running into lakhs with no hopes of complete recovery. And no shameless actors and their wives are condoling inspite of we being mumbaikers.
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January 15, 2016 at 10:15 PM
They may not be airforce officers but they are tax paying citizens of this country whose contribution is no less.
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January 15, 2016 at 10:23 PM
‘god fearing people’ ?
What is that? i have been hearing this a lot lately. Why should anyone fear God? Either their understanding of God is wrong or they are devil.
God never say fear me, only a bad person will say this fear me. I think your friends need to develop better understanding about God.
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January 15, 2016 at 10:28 PM
Godfearing is not literal and you are a fool to interpret it like that. My neighbours are much better than you and more understanding.
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January 15, 2016 at 10:31 PM
Though they are devout hindus, they dont bring aamirkhan in every conversation like you.
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January 15, 2016 at 11:02 PM
Really? Literal? i know where it is coming from. I have read kuraan. After islam invading india, Indians also starting using words like ‘bhagwan se daro’ which is totally bullshit. Anyways, it is off the topic and we can agree to disagree.
As for the topic, it wasnt about aamir only. Although, he likes to give opinion about everything, but only selective topic. Huh
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January 15, 2016 at 11:13 PM
I never read Quran. I am familiar with Geeta and some Bible.
My support for aamir is nothing to do with Islam or muslims. It is purely a fan thing. And also because he is really innocent and quite undiplomatic unlike his colleagues who are smart and dont land in messes like him. I hope this incident will make him less talkative and more career oriented. We, aamir fans are always fear what his next statement will be. But now he will also be more careful.
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January 15, 2016 at 11:45 PM
has nothing to do with
We, aamir fans always fear
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January 16, 2016 at 1:29 PM
Agree with Raghav. There is only concept of god-love, no god-fear. There is no love when there is fear. Why should one fear god when god is your own self….We don’t have concept of sin, devil and god-fear.
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January 16, 2016 at 5:17 PM
That maybe the reason we do all the paap thinking that we love god and god also loves us whatever we do. We also offer bribes to pass exams, to get promotions, to get whatever.
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January 16, 2016 at 5:32 PM
We need not fear god but we certainly need to fear man. Man can destroy reputations, people in the name of some god he or she professes to believe. As is happening everywhere in the world.
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January 16, 2016 at 7:47 PM
“That maybe the reason we do all the paap thinking that we love god”
Paapa is not sin though, you have to understand this very clearly. Karma done out of ajana or sense of doership, results in ‘reaction’, just as every action has reaction, for the agyani. Dharma, artha, kama, moksha…there is a reason for Dharma being there. Actions can be adarmic. Papa can happen knowingly or unknowingly. Walking on earth I kill lot of insects, that will incurr papa because the bhakta thinks he is performing actions. For a jyani there is no papa, punya (but then jyani will not be doing adarmic actions either).
“Man can destroy reputations, people in the name of some god he or she professes to believe. ”
Sure there are adharmic people on earth, not just india. And sure they do bad things to swindle your money. Hopefully, in every society there is more dharma and less adarma/adharmic people. The prayer is always “sarve sukhenu santu…..”, it doesn’t say “may I alone be happy” 😉
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January 15, 2016 at 11:06 PM
When films deceive us
Unreliable flashbacks and other devices that movies use to mislead viewers
If you haven’t watched Bejoy Nambiar’s Wazir yet and intend to, you may want to skip this column for now (I’m not convinced a spoiler alert is really needed, but possibly I’m overestimating your deductive skills).
At the halfway point, the title character—a goon hired to strong-arm people—makes his showy appearance. Or…. he doesn’t. Because we subsequently learn that Wazir never existed: He was fabricated by master strategist Omkarnath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) as part of a convoluted, and very improbable, revenge plan. In the flashback that accompanied Omkarnath’s story about being attacked late at night, we saw Wazir all right (and gawped at Neil Nitin Mukesh’s scenery-chewing in the role), but now it turns out that the whole scene was a lie. Which means that in a sense, our eyes—with the movie camera as their guiding spirit—played us false.
The scene got me thinking about other such sequences where we are shown a person who doesn’t exist, or an incident that never took place, and to what degree they might be said to have misled the viewer. After all, film is a powerful and persuasive medium; once you have seen something on a screen, it is difficult to “un-see” it.
The conundrum of the unreliable flashback, for instance, goes back a long way. In 1950, Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright earned some notoriety for a flashback scene that turned out to be a murderer’s false account. While many viewers and critics felt cheated (and Hitchcock himself conceded the point during an interview with François Truffaut), defenders of the film felt the device was justifiable: When a person creates a cover-up story, he internalizes his own lies, and that is what the viewers were shown in this case.
The construction or framing of a scene can make a difference. In a film I otherwise enjoyed a great deal, Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 Kahaani, I had a slight issue with the scenes where Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) tells the police about her missing husband Arnab. As she relates her story, we see glimpses of them together in a happy past, but it later turns out that the man we saw in those supposed flashbacks was not her husband but her quarry. Friends have assured me that the scenes represent the images in the minds of the policemen listening to Vidya’s kahaani (she has shown them a photo of the wrong man), but I’m not convinced: The shots in question are bookended by close-ups of Vidya looking misty eyed, which to me indicates that they are meant to be her memories. And if that is so, the film is pulling a fast one on us.
Normally, when we see a character on screen, we take his or her reality—within the given context—at face value. There are exceptions to the rule when watching a supernatural story, for example; our scepticism meter is set high. But even in such cases it is possible to be fooled. M. Night Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense was an overrated film in some ways, but its first viewers will never forget the shock of realizing that Bruce Willis’ Dr Malcolm was a ghost; never mind that “I see dead people” was the film’s most famous line. One of the tricks—deceits?—used here was that Malcolm always looked normal, while the other ghosts shown in the film telegraphed their spectral state from miles away, being pale or other-worldly, or still carrying their death-wounds.
What about when a seemingly realistic narrative takes a sudden right turn to reveal a supernatural element? One recent example was in Reema Kagti’s Talaash (2012), a police procedural which builds to the revelation that the Kareena Kapoor character Rosie isn’t just an informer who keeps showing up to aid Inspector Surjan (Aamir Khan); she is from another dimension altogether. The impact of this reveal depends on the viewer being kept away from the possibility that Talaash could have anything “magical” in it; the narrative structure and characterizations establish it as a grounded, real-world story, and the pre-publicity didn’t hint at anything else. Which was a clever ploy, but it also accounts for the annoyed reactions by people who felt the film-makers had stepped outside the internal logic of their own story.
Of course, a reviewer who wants to justify a movie’s choices can always turn to the life-jacket of subtextual analysis. Thinking about the introduction scene of arch-villain “Wazir”, it struck me that Mukesh’s performance had a touch of Cheshire Cat about it (he even looks like he is suspended in mid-air at one point, a broad grin plastered on his face). Perhaps this was the film’s way of telling us we were in Wonderland, so don’t take anything at face value. Or maybe it was just poor acting and writing after all.
http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/DKpJiGXpi4Gu5nuvJWHaVO/When-films-deceive-us.html
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January 15, 2016 at 11:45 PM
taran adarsh@taran_adarsh
14h
#Wazir Week 1: ₹ 30.05 cr [revised]. Thu biz better than Wed. India biz.
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January 16, 2016 at 4:42 AM
Means calculator change came to surface? Better option for them was to borrow Rakesh Roshan’s one for few days as that works more aggressively.
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January 15, 2016 at 11:50 PM
For Rocky Dada, as this answer of “SICKULAR” Ramchandra Guha would certainly please him:
Historian Ramachandra Guha calls Rahul Gandhi unsuited for politics, feels he can’t inspire confidence even in his party
Q. Narendra Modi’s government has disappointed on many counts — he has not delivered on the economic development, the promise that was really the key to his victory. Do you predict a return of the Congress?
A. No, and I don’t mind being quoted on this. Rahul Gandhi is an incompetent leader, unfit to lead a major party. There may be some natural incumbency, so from 44 seats (in the Lok Sabha), it may go to 80 or even 100, but the Congress is on the decline. Rahul Gandhi is manifestly unsuited to politics. He is not a leader that inspires confidence even in his own party men
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/historian-ramachandra-guha-calls-rahul-gandhi-unsuited-for-politics-feels-he-cant-inspire-confidence-even-in-his-party/16867172
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January 16, 2016 at 1:00 AM
Superstar Aamir Khan’s ‘intolerance’ remarks continue to haunt him with a senior BJP leader today suggesting “treatment” to his upcoming movie ‘Dangal’ in the same way that was done to Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Dilwale’, whose business was marred by protests from Hindutva groups.
BJP general secretary Kaliash Vijayvargiya hinted at teaching a lesson to Aamir by saying at a public function that “treatment to one has been done. Now it is time for the other to be treated. ‘Dangal me mangal karna hai’. You should keep this in mind.
“When anybody says that intolerance is rising in our society, then it makes me a little angry. Then he has to be treated. His treatment is very necessary.”
Though he did not name either Shahrukh or ‘Dilwale,’ his reference seemed to be aimed at him as his last movie was marred by protests at several places. Khan, too, had earlier spoken about rising intolerance in Indian, prompting the BJP leader to brand him a “traitor”, a remark he withdrew later facing public backlash.
Vijayvargiya’s remarks came a day after another party general secretary, Ram Madhav, had denounced Aamir Khan’s comments on ‘intolerance’, saying he should not preach about the country’s prestige only to an auto-rickshaw driver but also his wife.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Aamir-Khans-film-Dangal-deserves-treatment-BJP-leader/articleshow/50600524.cms
See how threatening is his language! Teaching a lesson! And no action against him. Pathankot will be forgotten in this way by targetting Amir khan.
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January 16, 2016 at 1:21 AM
Don’t worry the country will also treat you in the next elections. What a bunch of jokers this BJP government has….
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January 16, 2016 at 2:22 AM
The Opposite Of The Christmas Clash This Week
Saturday 16 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
The end of 2015 saw the Dilwale v Bajirao Mastani and the problem of shortage of screens came up or better put shortage of collecting screens. The two films together manage to go to around 5700 screens between them but many of the single screens that the films had to go were poor collecting ones. The clash clearly highlighted the problem with shortage of screens in the Hindi film market.
But then we cut to this week where the problem is the opposite and it seems that there are too many screens. Dilwale is almost out, Bajirao Mastani is now at low occupancy, Wazir has flopped which has meant that a film like Chalk & Duster is playing on 4-5-6 screens at some multiplexes, a multiplex in Delhi even has it on 10 shows daily which is insane.
This is not because its believed the film will give the collections but because there is no choice. Chalk & Duster is the sort of film that should really be only screened on select multiplexes on a show or two and then see whether it can find an audience and go from there.
This is a one of the reasons that growth of screens has come down from a few years back, simply because there are far more weeks like this week than the Xmas clash week. The need of the hour for the business to grow is software for the theatres, if the software is good the growth of screens will come which will lead to growth of business but when weak films like Chalk and Duster get this sort of screen time because of no choice its hard to see the big growth in screens which will allow two films to release simultaneously and get desired results.
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January 17, 2016 at 3:56 AM
content = software in the warped world of BOI.
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January 16, 2016 at 2:23 AM
Bajirao Mastani Continues Good Run
Saturday 16 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastani is still putting up good numbers as it takes advantage of the weak competition around it. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 84,36,00,000
Week Two – 55,19,00,000
Week Three – 28,35,00,000
Week Four – 7,00,00,000
Day 29 – 65,00,00,000
TOTAL – 175,55,00,000
The film probably should add close to 3 crore nett over the weekend and lifetime business is now looking to close over 180 crore nett.
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January 16, 2016 at 5:41 AM
Malda incident, when did it happen? Nothing happens in Malda and Purnia for the likes of NDTV and few bloggers on this blog.
Otherwise also, nothing happened in Malda. Only a crowd of more than 100000 of tolerant and peaceful community went on rampage, destroyed vehicles, burnt police station, made members of other community leave their homes. Not a big deal, nothing when compared to what happened in Dadri.
Yes, this incident could have been worth spending time, had the same thing been done by majority community of India. We could have seen 24X7 coverage of the same Malda by our ‘secular’ media, award wapsi could have been further intensified. The great superstar Aamir khan could have substantiated his statements.
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January 16, 2016 at 7:02 AM
If he was asked to comment, he would have commented just as in the case of intolerance debate.
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January 16, 2016 at 7:10 AM
Is it not “Intolerance” by the authorities in power to suppress one incident?? And this Malda incident is being fuelled by the same political parties to divide communities along religious lines, had it been exactly the same as is being projected in Malda and Purnia, BJP would have pounced upon the “Sickulars”!! But it is more of a social media ploy to propel it to combat “Dadri” and “Balance things out”. The central government has the power to intervene in case state governments fail to prevent social disharmony and anarchy kind of situations, but here BJP, despite being in power, has not asked or summoned or even briefed the media about the exact nature of the incident (Rioting) resulting in how many casualties and cause behind it! So rather than trusting “Hearsay”, i’d ask you to delve in a little deeper for truth to surface as all political parties have the identical goal that is to wrest power irrespective of means employed to reach there being wrong or right!
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January 16, 2016 at 3:34 PM
It wasn’t a communal riot more an ‘afeem’ disturbance. BBC reported that a temple at the police station was left untouched.
http://www.bbc.com/hindi/india/2016/01/160115_malda_opium_fields_dil
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January 16, 2016 at 5:51 PM
>Not a big deal, nothing when compared to what happened in Dadri.
Its not a big deal when compared to 2002.
In Dadri one was killed by a mob, one nearly killed.
Here no one was killed and they LEFT A HINDU TEMPLE UNTOUCHED.
Read that in the link I’ve given.
From where do you have your news if NO ONE is talking of it? LOL
Give link!
I have mine from BBC whose link I’ve given above.
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January 16, 2016 at 6:44 PM
Trying to justify violence? In 2002, there was strong reaction to same violence burning of train bogey with 54 people.
Here also same thing could have happened, just because there was no reaction, it was peaceful. And peace where passenger bus full of people and a dozen of Police vehicles were set on fire.
Read this –
“when the protesters came across a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus trying to cross the rally.They got into an argument with the driver of the bus and the next moment passengers had to get off the bus because the protesters set it on fire.”
And First thing-
Why it happened ?
Tiwari’s statement came a day after UP Cabinet minister Azam Khan called RSS members homosexuals.Kamlesh Tiwari had called Prophet Muhammad the first homosexual in the world.
Azam khan is known for his notorious activities, and tiwari is no sane. But, It was already one month over for these statements and Tiwari was already behind bars weeks ago.
So why such hue and cry ? Because Islam considers others inferior (infidels kind of bullshit, such word never existed before islam) and teach violence against everyone as evident all over the world.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-malda-riots/1/563613.html
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January 16, 2016 at 7:40 PM
I regret if someone is hurted by some against islam. One notable thing which no one can deny is there is some very strong hateful content in there which misleads people and teach violence. No one else but its followers themselves can eradicate and stop its followers from being misled.
Even if muslim or any faith followers kill rest of faith’s followers, such hate and violence become self destruct.
Actually, faith itself is misleading, seeking truth is the way. because faith/belief is not truth unless one experience it yourself. Any faith’s prophet might have experienced it, but its followers have to seek themselves and find the truth. My way is meditation, and meditation doesnt belong to any religion, it belongs to who impersonates it.
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January 16, 2016 at 6:51 PM
And yes, these statements by Azam khan and Tiwari were made one month ago in U.P., and Tiwari was arrested. And nothing happened in U.P.
Why no protest in U.P.? because there will be strong reaction in U.P. for such violent protest. But. muslims are strong in West bengal, so going on rampage there. This is the nature of islam, if you are dominant, everything is justified.
Why there are no protest for so many attacks world over by terrorists? Neither media ever ask these actors for their opinions on these, even if they ask, they keep quiet frightened of backlash by their own community.
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January 16, 2016 at 6:57 PM
Due to the ruckus, the shops were shut down and Muslim protesters also looted some nearby houses. To tackle the situation, Rapid Action Force (RAF) was called.
Nearly two dozens police vehicles, including one belonging to India’s border-guarding agency Border Security Force (BSF), was set on fire and Malda’s Kaliachak police station was ransacked by a violent crowd in the Muslim-dominated Sujapur area in the district.
All the records that were stored in files and computers were destroyed.
The violent mob also attacked the BDO office at Kaliachak-I, they went to Khaltipur railway station and squatted on the railway tracks in protest. When the police reached the spot to take control of the situation, a clash broke out injuring several cops on duty.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-malda-riots/1/563613.html
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January 16, 2016 at 9:46 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/chalk-n-duster-review-very-dramatic-and-very-effective/story-d0k7oNLtp1rJuqKCWZ0b9H.html
Review of Chalk and Duster.
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January 16, 2016 at 9:48 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/raj-kapoor-s-haveli-in-pakistan-s-peshawar-is-facing-demolition/story-R1n1YZO2XFNg6aALUEgX8L.html
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January 16, 2016 at 11:42 AM
Every movie year brings important new talents, enduring classics, and massive pop-culture phenomena — but it’s not always easy to predict at the time which careers will take off, and which critical and commercial favorites will hold up over time. Before 1996, the world had never heard of Wes Anderson, the siblings Wachowski and Farrelly, Michael Bay, Emily Watson, or Vince Vaughn; it seemed crazy to imagine that 20 years later, we’d still be celebrating our Independence Day. And those are just a few of the culture touchstones we’ll be remembering this year. Here are 30 films that turn 20 in 2016. One more year, and they’ll be able to legally buy beer.
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/30-movies-turning-20-in-2016-20160115#ixzz3xQUovL1g
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January 16, 2016 at 2:13 PM
CHAL BHAAG – ISI kahin ka!!
Tolerant Subramaniyam to intolerant Amir Khan.
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January 16, 2016 at 4:37 PM
This SS character makes me believe that a Harvard education is not necessarily a route to goodness or ethics; it can produce an arrogant muck-raker who thinks he is a King- maker and breaker. I hope karma bites him hard.
After PK release, SS spoke about the communications company ARY’s sponsorship of PK premiere in Dubai….and now some more wild allegations. Wasn’t PK produced by Chopra and Hirani? Why target Aamir in this manner? Every day some BJPwala makes a statement to the press against Aamir, duly reported by our supine media. A few days back SRK was the target of this SS character’s innuendo. Now Aamir.
Both these stars have entertained Indians through two decades. Does a change in government mean that they are to be demonised and demolished? And a pathetic social media mob egging on such behaviour…the idea is, throw enough mud, so some of it will stick.
I pray that these guys survive this tough period. They deserve a glorious exit, not this sort of third rate treatment. SRK will survive, I guess. The media likes him. Aamir only has his loyal fans.
Under this present ruling dispensation, the only one who may be allowed to survive could be the third Khan — possibly because a. His mom is a Maharashtrian Hindu; b. His kite- flying buddy relationships.
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January 16, 2016 at 4:46 PM
man guys like these remind me of the republicans here in the US using Iran/Muslims as scapegoats or fear mongering. Also why isn’t VVC and RKH mentioned when PK was their creation. Ridiculous stuff really.
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January 16, 2016 at 7:02 PM
VVC and RKH have rarely been attacked in the manner that Aamir has been dealt with. One careless line from an otherwise fine interview was misused to demonise the actor who dared to do PK. Every day some BJP loudmouth rants against Aamir, threatens ‘treatment’ to Dangal — and our craven media report such talk without bothering about how wrong such a threat is in reality. Ironically, that Kailash Vijasomebody is angry about Aamir’s intolerance statement — when he and his cronies are actually being intolerant.
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January 16, 2016 at 7:20 PM
During PK, there was hardly any criticism, and those were fringe elements, though some scenes i myself found offensive, but it is understandable so there were hardly any voice against PK team. And whoever protested didn’t get much support or attention.
But, this time Aamir is wrong, there have been incidents and tension atmosphere in various areas always. But, he loved it then, now suddenly he is giving political statements demeaning whole country is unjustified and derogatory.
As for his fans’ worry for Dangal is baseless, he is an actor and that’s how he is seen and should be seen.
Dangal may have impact of his not so good choice in last few years, Dhoom3 was bad, Talaash was bogged down by Ghost angle and didnt trend well, PK was underwhelming due to no novelty and repetitive cliched narration by Hirani.
I myself not so excited for Aamir or Hirani film as i used to be 3 years back.
Aamir better does something like Dhobi Ghaat, which may not earn much but sets him apart from mainstream cliches. RKH needs to reinvent himself, enough of same story telling.
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January 16, 2016 at 8:06 PM
Talaash was an unusual film, niche, with an ensemble cast, a good moody thriller. I am glad Aamir did this film, but it was Kareena and Nawaz who had the standout roles and performances. Aamir’s broody tortured soul act was good, but perhaps could have been defined or done a tad differently. But I and many others I know love this film, it’s music, it’s characters( even Pinky the ‘aware’ stray dog). And I had no problem with the slightly implausible ghost angle — you accept it at face value. If one can accept the concept of time-travel in a film like Kate and Leopold — why not a ghost who leads to justice? Old idea really.
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January 16, 2016 at 9:34 PM
Shoom 3 was not as bad as it was made out to be and it made money and many loved it for its backstory too. Talaash was a very good film and ghost angle contributed to its eeriness. As if all our films are full of logic and scientific! PK was appreciated here and abroad equally and both Dilwale and BN have to puff and huff to reach where PK reached. the so called even film BB, inspite of so much support from all quarters could not reach PK in terms of moolah. BB was a hypocritical film trying to appease to be consumed by the gullible public.
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January 16, 2016 at 9:34 PM
Dhoom 3
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January 16, 2016 at 9:35 PM
BM
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January 16, 2016 at 9:52 PM
Munnabhai series was also done to make Sanjay dutt look good and so was BB.
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January 16, 2016 at 10:47 PM
No one is questioning the money it made. but if you are talking about BO, we are talking about different person.
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January 17, 2016 at 12:32 AM
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-pakistani-dystopia
http://www.newsweek.com/india-pakistan-china-nuclear-arms-416328
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January 17, 2016 at 12:28 PM
http://mashable.com/2014/12/01/hollywood-secret-beauty-procedure/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link#yWJDXA77mkqT
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January 17, 2016 at 12:52 PM
The Secret Behind Italy’s Favorite New Film
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January 17, 2016 at 12:53 PM
“And only 15.1 percent of Italians between 15 and 24 have a job at all, against 43.8 percent in Germany.”
astonishing..!
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January 18, 2016 at 2:43 AM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/Punjabi-singer-Manpreet-Akhtar-passes-away/articleshow/50621069.cms
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January 18, 2016 at 3:52 AM
Bajirao Mastani Fifth Weekend Business
Monday 18 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastani had another good weekend as it heads for the best fifth week collection of all the films released last year. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 84,36,00,000
Week Two – 55,19,00,000 (-34.58%)
Week Three – 28,35,00,000 (-48.63%
Week Four – 9,43,00,000 (-66.74%)
Weekend Five – 3,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 180,33,00,000
Bajirao Mastani will finisg with business of around 183 crore nett making it the ninth highest grosser ever though in terms of share it will be outside the top ten.
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January 19, 2016 at 8:07 AM
Every week since the first, BOIs final estimate for BM has kept increasing upwards, from around 150cr to 183cr now.
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January 18, 2016 at 3:56 AM
Wazir Second Saturday Business
Sunday 17 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Wazir has low figures in its second weekend with the likely weekend to be around 5.25 crore nett. The first two day business of the second weekend is as follows.
Friday – 1,50,00,000
Saturday – 1,75,00,000
TOTAL – 3,25,00,000
Grand Total – 31,75,00,000 crore (9 days)
The only plus is that it did not see much of a drop on Friday as compared to Thursday due to lack of competition but the damage had been done with low weekday figures..
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January 18, 2016 at 3:57 AM
Top Ten Footfalls 2015
Monday 18 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajrangi Bhaijaan easilyy had the highest footfalls in 2015 and also the highest this decade. Another Salman khan starrer Prem Ratan Dhan Payo was second on the list and was the only other film to be above 2 crore. The top ten footfalls of 2015 are as follows.
1. Bajrangi Bhaijaan – 3.55 crore
2. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – 2.28 crore
3. Bajirao Mastani – 1.86 crore (expected)
4. Dilwale – 1.55 crore (expected)
5. Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 1.50 crore
6. ABCD 2 – 1.22 crore
7. Welcome Back – 1.09 crore
8. Gabbar Is Back – 1.08 crore
9. Baby – 89 lakhs
10. Singh Is Bling – 83 lakhs
All four Akshay Kumar starrers nearly made it into the top ten with only Brothers being just outside in 11th place. The top ten films sold 15.85 crore tickets and despite Bajrangi Bhaijaan being the highest for fourteen years it was still less than last year where the top ten sold 17 crore tickets apprx.
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January 18, 2016 at 4:01 AM
The wonder years: Flashback to the glory days of satellite TV in India
Poonam Saxena | Updated: Jan 10, 2016 12:35 IST
It was like being seduced by a shiny new toy. When satellite TV arrived in India in 1991, one of the first American soaps we saw was The Bold & The Beautiful (which is still playing; prompting a colleague to say that it should now be called The Old & The Beautiful). It was a convoluted story starring handsome men with names like Ridge and Thorne and glamorous blonde women called Caroline and Brooke who wore earrings that could double as hubcaps. It was all very novel and everyone was hooked.
But The Bold & The Beautiful was foreign. It was also just an appetiser. In 1992 we got our first Hindi satellite channel with desi shows – Zee TV. While Doordarshan had telecast some truly excellent programmes in the 1980s, they were (mostly) earnest, literary, wholesome. Zee introduced us to unapologetic fun and entertainment, with serials about single working girls in the city (Tara), reality shows such as Antakshari (a truly innovative idea), game shows, horror serials and so on.
Doordarshan was the long-standing marriage, but this was an exciting new affair.
The early years of the affair were heady. After Zee came Sony in 1995. Two years later, Star said goodbye to its English programming and turned 100 per cent Hindi. Meanwhile, staid Doordarshan, taking cognisance of the new threat, strode into the entertainment battle, all guns blazing.
Not everything on these channels was wonderful, but there was enough that was very good: the music countdown shows (Philips Top Ten, I’m looking at you), comedies like Filmi Chakkar (which had Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah), series like Star Bestsellers with episodes directed by Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Rajkumar Hirani (goosebump-inducing names when you look at where all of them have reached today) and many others. In the middle of all the fun, there were some genuinely bold, interesting ideas being explored by talented directors.
But then, about 10 years after the launch of satellite TV, the affair began turning sour. Saas-bahus paratrooped into our TV screens in 2000 – and never left.
For a brief period in 2004, it seemed as if things might change, with the launch of Star One and its more modern, urban content (for example, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai). But soon enough Star One also succumbed to the saas-bahu’s siren call, and the channel finally shut down in 2011.
I used to write a TV review column called Small Screen for many years and everyone I met always asked me the same question: do you really watch all those shows? The short answer was: yes (and I diligently took notes in case I got amnesia like one of the characters in the shows). There were many theories as to why these serials initially caught viewers’ imaginations: the fact that they echoed the joint family, that they created this idealised picture of a docile bahu who liked nothing better than to dress up in a zari sari and touch every elderly person’s feet in the vicinity.
But over time, this changed too. The saas-bahu soaps mutated into deeply unpleasant tales of suffering and oppression, overlaid with layers of garish makeup and gaudy costumes. The shiny toy had lost all its golden lustre.
What happened to the fresh, fun, modern programming of the early years of satellite TV in India? In broad brushstrokes, the following:
* Expansion. By the end of 1994, an estimated 12 million households were receiving satellite channels, but by 2000, this number had risen to more than 35 million. By the year 2009, it was more than 91 million. As the number continued to spiral upwards, TV began catering more and more to the lowest common denominator. The middle class metro audience of the 1990s slowly became irrelevant. My kind of viewer was of no consequence any more.
* Ratings. By the early 2000s, TV ratings had crept into the system and began dominating programming. Quality went flying out of the bahu’s kitchen window and all we were left with was a pile of rotting laddoos. Whenever I asked TV executives why they were showing such execrable serials, I was always told the same thing: “What can we do? This is what people want to watch.” This explanation is such a painful cliché, I don’t know why anyone would even bother to offer it. The truth is that audiences – even your absolute mass, lowest common denominator audiences – will watch ‘different’ programming, provided you give it to them. But most channels don’t. And if they do, they don’t have the courage to push and sustain such shows over a period of time. Instead, at the first sign of sagging ratings, the shows are pulled out. This is what happens when marketing begins controlling content.
Even when some shows started promisingly – such as the Mills & Boon-style romance Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon or the ‘mature love story’ Bade Achche Lagte Hain – they collapsed by the wayside after a while. Maybe if they had had seasons, they would have worked better and even found a place on our list of our favourite shows (for which you have to turn two pages).
* Lack of ideas. The TV industry in Mumbai is like an assembly-line factory making cookie-cutter shows. Channels, abandon your three-and-a-half production houses! Find new people.
The state of Hindi entertainment content is dire. No wonder we look back at the early years of satellite TV with yearning!
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January 18, 2016 at 4:03 AM
Link for the above mentioned post:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/what-happened-to-the-fresh-fun-modern-programming-of-the-early-years-of-satellite-tv-in-india/story-NisNChvnIkSuBMaG0vTIXJ.html
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January 18, 2016 at 4:06 AM
“We weren’t pressured to play gimmicks to boost TRPs,” says Sonu Nigam
Aasheesh Sharma | Updated: Jan 09, 2016 20:09 IST
It couldn’t have been easy hosting India’s first musical talent show at 21?
It wasn’t. When legends of the stature of Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, Shivkumar Sharma, Girija Devi, OP Nayyar, Anil Biswas and Khayyam Saheb are on the stage, the anchor has to be particular about introducing each of them with respect. He has to make sure the others don’t feel slighted. We didn’t have tele-prompters. So, I had to think on my feet.
People still remember your style of anchoring music shows.
My parents had brought me up in a certain way. Both of them were not just singers but genuine music lovers and purists who appreciated people like Lataji, Ashaji, Rafi saheb and Kishore Kumar. My mother was always concerned about whether my talaffuz was correct and whether I was addressing my seniors within a certain tehzeeb. Thanks to them, the decorum required to host a show with such sanctity came naturally to me.
How do today’s music talent shows compare with Sa Re Ga Ma?
Talent shows these days choose the contestants’ backstories before they even hear them sing. In my time, we were never concerned about their family backgrounds – whether the singer’s father was a rickshaw-puller or a banker. Our concern was whether the contestant could sing well. But being the first show in that genre, we were not pressured by the marketing department to play gimmicks to boost TRPs. These days, the channel tells you to do certain things to spice things up. In those days, we had a free hand.
I won’t mind brilliant minds giving their suggestions to an anchor. But you must never forget who is sitting in front of you. If I am a composer and there is a new girl who has come as a contestant, I can give her some suggestions and tips. But if I have Lata Mangeshkar sitting in front of me, can I dare give her a suggestion?
For the rest follow the link:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/we-weren-t-pressured-to-play-gimmicks-to-boost-trps-says-sonu-nigam-on-sa-re-ga-ma/story-Ruzw77cqyc4U8tkEQ4lddJ.html
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January 18, 2016 at 4:08 AM
My own family was the inspiration behind Dekh Bhai Dekh: Anand Mahendroo
Atisha Jain | Updated: Jan 14, 2016 11:09 IST
What was the inspiration behind Dekh Bhai Dekh? How did it all happen?
The inspiration was my own family. I grew up in a very similar household. Farida Jalal’s character was like my mother, Navin Nischol’s character was like my elder brother.
Jaya Bachchan was a friend and one day she dropped in at my office. She said, “We’re starting a channel in the UK. So I want you to do a comedy for me.” I agreed, shot a pilot and showed it to her. She loved it and that was it!
How do you explain the show’s appeal?
Based on the feedback I’ve gathered over the last 22 years, I realise there were a couple of things that made it resonate with the audience.
First, the show had the basic concept of a quirky family. You have a mother, but she has a fun streak and the same applied to the dadi. Luckily we had a brilliant cast. The writing was brilliant too, and the credit for that goes to Lilliput (MM Faruqui). And we had multi-cameras. People hadn’t seen such high production values before that.
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January 18, 2016 at 4:09 AM
Link to the entire interview:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/director-anand-mahendroo-on-dekh-bhai-dekh/story-RsqWQrwjzGwb1MhaK6zslJ.html
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January 18, 2016 at 4:12 AM
Bring them back: 25 Indian TV shows we loved and why
Team Brunch | Updated: Jan 10, 2016 12:37 IST
It’s 25 years since satellite TV came to India. We look back at the early years (before saas-bahu serials took over our screens) and zoom in on 25 desi shows we loved.
1. Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993) : People Like Us, Only Way Funnier
Anand Mahendroo put together an ensemble cast with great comic timing – Sushma Seth, Navin Nishchol, Shekhar Suman, Farida Jalal – in Dekh Bhai Dekh, which was shown on DD Metro. The story was of a khandan with all sorts of idiosyncrasies. Plus: a young Deven Bhojani playing Karima, the obese domestic help with panache. Also, Liliput, the writer, did several cameos.
2. Antakshari (1993): The Great Indian Singalong, And You Knew The Words
When Antakshari started in 1993 on Zee, nobody thought it would go on to become so popular. Using a combination of normal antakshari along with rounds based on audio and visual clues, the simple household game got a glamorous makeover. Host Annu Kapoor became synonymous with the show, though his co-hosts – a succession of women – kept changing over 11 seasons. Part of the joy of Antakshari was that audiences themselves played along with the show.
3. Tara (1993) : The First Touch Of Feminism
Four girls. Interweaving storylines of friendship, ambition, love, and secrets. When Raman Kumar’s soap, Tara, written by Vinta Nanda, aired on Zee in 1993, viewers were riveted. With its refreshingly honest depiction of urban women, it gave viewers their first taste of feminism and made the cropped haired Navneet Nishan a household name. Tara was axed five years later. Says Nanda: “I remember the programming head calling me to his office and saying, ‘women like you should not be allowed in the country’. I knew I had done something right!”
4. Philips Top Ten (1994) : Hit Songs, Hilarious Hosts
Wadda Kaun? Tussi.” Say this line and TV viewers of a certain generation will start to smile. That is the recall of Philips Top Ten, which aired on Zee from 1994 to 1999. A music countdown show in which the lines of the anchor duo were often more anticipated than the songs it featured. The show turned Satish Kaushik and Pankaj Kapur, who played two rustic Punjabi brothers, into household names.
5. Office Office (2001) : Laughing Along With The Common Man
This show, which touched a chord with thousands of TV viewers at the turn of the century, was a comment on our bureaucracy. First aired on SAB TV in 2000, it took a scathing dig at the exploits of a man who runs into red tape, corrupt officials and middlemen in the government.
For the rest, follow the given:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/25-indian-tv-shows-we-loved/story-rjJ5FSJrAgg0oUetp0txiO.html
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January 18, 2016 at 12:01 PM
http://www.thequint.com/entertainment/2015/12/18/had-to-buy-the-filmfare-best-actor-award-for-bobby-rishi-kapoor
“Incidentally, I have no hesitation in admitting that I was impetuous once. I had to buy the Filmfare Award for my performance in Bobby… why’re you looking at me like that? That’s not off-the-record.”
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January 18, 2016 at 1:22 PM
LOL
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January 18, 2016 at 5:03 PM
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in trouble for dressing up like Lord Vishnu
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-in-trouble-for-dressing-up-like-lord-vishnu/16873182
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January 18, 2016 at 8:34 PM
amazing…
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January 18, 2016 at 11:17 PM
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office/special-features/id/568
Has wazir recovered it cost n made some profit?
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January 19, 2016 at 3:04 AM
Overseas Top Ten 2015 – Xmas Releases Give $40 Million
Tuesday 14 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajrangi Bhaijaan was top grosser of the year Overseas. It was also the top grosser ever from the traditional markets. Other films have higher numbers but is due to wide releases in Far East markets . The top ten Overseas grossers of 2015 are as follows.
1. Bajrangi Bhaijaan – $28.6 million
2. Dilwale – $25.25 million (still running)
3. Bajirao Mastani – $14,80 million (still running)
4. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – $14.78 million
5. Tanu Weds Manu Returns – $7.21 million
6. Dil Dhadakne Do – $6.93 million
7. Tamasha – $6.25 million
8. Piku – $5.64 milliom
9. Welcome Back – $5.58 million
10. Singh Is Bling – $4.1 million
Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani have taken the Overseas market to another level with a combined total crossing $40 million just from the traditional Hindi film markets. It was Christmas which is very beneficial in Overseas but it means a $30-35 million total is there for the taking with the correct film releasing on a correct period.
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January 19, 2016 at 3:05 AM
Wazir At 35 Crore After Eleven Days
Tuesday 19 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Wazir has grossed 35 crore nett apprx in eleven days. The first four day business of the second week is as follows.
Friday – 1,50,00,000
Saturday – 1,75,00,000
Sunday – 2,25,00,000
Monday – 1,00,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 6,50,00,000
Grand Total – 35,00,00,00 (11 days)
The film will not collect much after this week as two major releases open though has an outside chance to hit 40 crore nett if it can get 2-2.50 crore nett after week two.The only achievement for the film is that it will now get a slightly better total than last years first release Tevar but that is hardly any consolation.
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January 19, 2016 at 6:50 AM
taran adarsh@taran_adarsh
26m
#Wazir [Week 2] Fri 1.69 cr, Sat 2.14 cr, Sun 2.45 cr, Mon 92 lacs. Total: ₹ 37.26 cr. India biz… Overseas total: ₹ 18.28 cr.
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January 19, 2016 at 10:15 AM
the film will probably end up with 40-45 crores depending on whose numbers one accepts. The best case scenario for this film might have been 60. It clearly sounds like a rather niche effort (haven’t been able to see it yet but plan to), which is to say not the sort of film that does a 100 no matter how much it’s liked because it never has that sort of audience base. But it might have done 60 because in general I’ve mostly discerned positive reactions here. Nothing over the top positive of course but most seem to have liked it. However (and I was always skeptical about this) films releasing in Jan between that Christmas/NY period and Republic Day almost always struggle to get enough of an audience. Even if they do ok they have competition soon enough on Republic day so they can’t amble along. So a bigger initial would have given this film 55-60, it’s been quite stable at the lower end but of course that low end isn’t enough to seriously add to the gross (though it’s enough to surprise BOI who couldn’t call it a flop fast enough just as they can’t call films like PRDP and Dilwale hits or semi hits fast enough on day 2 no matter how poorly they perform and no matter how disastrous their WOM is! Somehow films like Wazir must do at least 70-80 to even be considered decent by them — note how they weren’t as generous with Piku doing 80 as they seem to be with Dilwale doing 140 or some Akshay films doing far less, it’s one thing to be for or against a star, quite another to be so dumb about one’s commentary and give the game away every single time, once one had to argue against them, today one doesn’t even need to try! — but much bigger films are ok no matter what they do or do not do). But to repeat the point and based on what I know about the film this looks to be a niche deal that was never going to be a big grosser (one might have thought otherwise to the extent that the trailers suggested a more event-oriented or action-oriented plot whereas it seems to be more of a character study with the thriller elements tacked on). Overall I don’t really see this as a loss for those connected with it. Certain kinds of films don’t hurt you even when they don’t perform optimally. Bachchan in any case is in this phase currently where he’s doing smaller and/or niche films with certain kinds of talents. He had Piku before this, he has after this what I think looks to be the very promising Teen.
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January 19, 2016 at 11:46 AM
Amitabh doing these niche and or smaller films is better than full fledged Bollywood movies. It gives scope to do experiment without the burden to prove something.
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January 19, 2016 at 12:25 PM
agree completely..
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January 19, 2016 at 9:18 PM
Though its not surprise at all, BOI resorted to such tactics since its evolution .. until unless collections are huge enough to put their claims of flop in shame, these guys will do their best efforts to put bachchan movies in flop category .. by hook or crook. Take this latest case of Wazir .. before release BOI said that Wazir boxoffice prospects are not more than Broken Horses which did 3 Crore lifetime business. Now when utterly low key Wazir opened to pretty decent 5.25 Crore on day one itself, BOI set another target of 20 Crore weekend, else its a flop. Again when it did 21 Crore weekend, BOI still declare it flop on Sunday itself saying since it is flat on Sunday so will not go beyond 30 Crore lifetime. Now from Monday onwards with low but very steady collections of averaging 2 Crore every day for next 8 days, Wazir is not stands at 37 Crore .. and overseas 18.29 Crore. And almost certain to touch 43-45 Crore domestic. This is certainly not bad collections considering many factors like last year Hit Badlapur of same genre did 50 Crore and almost nothing overseas. Wazir will not be much behind Badlapur in domestic market and will have advantage of healthy collections of 22-25 Crore in overseas market. And budget wise Wazir is less expensive if we deduct satellite rights from production budget as Badlapur hardly got anything because of its A certificate.
Saying all this, I am not satisfied with Wazir collections, it could have been 60+ with more appreciation. But whole point is that how BOI started to put Wazir in Broken Horse category and then with every passing day setting new targets, and kudos to #Wazir for slowly but steadily putting respectable collections and getting appreciation.
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January 19, 2016 at 9:59 PM
My dear brother,
No need to blow the matter out of proportion wrt BOI. If you keenly observe their commentary of other films as well, you may find the same tone almost irrespective of whoes film that is. What I mean to say is that they aren’t doing all this specially for Bachchan movies. I myself never take their commentary seriously as most of the times it is full of flaws. But one thing is sure and that’s their nos are almost accurate as compared to others who most of the times throw wild guesses and later correct their mistakes. BOI recently did same commentary for BM and later deleted that article.
The main problem with fanatics like yourself and others is that you want everybody to exaggeregate the nos whenever a Bachchan movie releases but when somebody speaks truth then arises the problem and he’s branded as “somebody with hidden agenda”. I have many times seen in the past when Bachchan himself tweeted and advised his fans to take nos from IBOS for his films. Now what can one say after all this.
Anyway you have bear it in future as well. Whenever a Bachchan movie releases, you have struggle and fight with the people on blogs to describe it an average. My best wishes are with you people for all this😃😃😃
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January 20, 2016 at 7:16 PM
Very well said Yakuza..I think you had predicted 45cr after the first two days..So it may end up close to that..I enjoyed watching it yesterday..My thoughts are similar and wish it had fared lil better at BO..Hopefully it will get average tag in the end of its run..Somewhere close to ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ figures..
Amitabh was truly remarkable in the movie..And very very nicely rendered songs by Amitji too -‘ Khel Khel Mein’ and ‘Atrangi Yaari..
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January 20, 2016 at 7:28 PM
seen wazir couple of days ago,exquisite first half,after interval somehow they lost the plot and that in basis the film was lost,however amitabh performance was just awesome,farhan was just okay,this ,film was never meant to do 100cr plus,boxofficeindia seemed bewildered whenever bachan film.
bajirao has done well and no surprise there,awesome all around.
Dilwale ,less said the better,pathetic all round,flopped domesticly but superb overseas.
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January 19, 2016 at 8:10 AM
Bhupendra Chaubey ji is rightfully getting the flak here –
“An Indian male journalist couldn’t handle a leading Bollywood actor’s pornographic past”
Sunny Leone was working in the adult entertainment industry in the US when Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, invited her on the show. Little did she know then that it would be her ticket to Bollywood. In 2011, Leone accepted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s offer and signed her first Bollywood film, Jism 2. She hasn’t looked back since. Today, Leone is one of the most bankable Bollywood stars. In her four-year career, she has acted in films across several Indian languages such as Kannada, Telugu and Hindi.
Her earnings and fame put her at the 45th place in Forbes India Magazine’s top 100 celebrity list in 2015. And she was the most searched person on Google in India in 2015— for the fourth consecutive year.
Yet, despite her various accomplishments in Bollywood and as a businesswoman, 34-year-old Leone was subjected to a rather humiliating interview by an Indian male journalist on CNN-IBN’s talk show, The Hot Seat.
http://qz.com/596818/an-indian-male-journalist-couldnt-handle-a-leading-bollywood-actors-pornographic-past/
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January 19, 2016 at 10:11 AM
For all the commies/ libtards –
valid question by Vivek Agneehotri-
Vivek Agnihotri @vivekagnihotri · 7h7 hours ago
Dear @sagarikaghose obviously Sunny Leone must not be judged. What do you think about Gajendra Chauhan?
Vivek is so right, Gajendra was bad because he allegedly acted in B grade hindi movies. Sunny deserves respect because she acted in Firangee porn !!
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January 19, 2016 at 12:32 PM
Two things.
-Is Sunny Leone being made the head of some institution?
-Did any channel interview Gajender in this manner?
Sagarika is talking about the interview – in case you think she was talking of Sunny Leone being made head of Film Institute?
Wondering if the non libtaards would be happy if they were to make her the head. LOL
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January 19, 2016 at 10:10 PM
“Is Sunny Leone being made the head of some institution?”
Doesn’t matter no? She cannot be A-lister and/or act with A-listers who have prejudice for her background and he (Chauhan) cannot head an institude because he would soil/spoil its ‘reputation’.
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January 19, 2016 at 10:12 PM
“Vivek is so right, Gajendra was bad because he allegedly acted in B grade hindi movies. Sunny deserves respect because she acted in Firangee porn !!”
aapka intolerance tolerance aur hamara intolerance, intolerance. wah-wah
(sorry writers of ishquia…I tried to copy you in vain)
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January 20, 2016 at 10:48 AM
Agree Di, well said !!
Aside- aajkal AnJo is MIA ??
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January 19, 2016 at 8:18 AM
Here is a nice retort from Sunny –
Chaubey, constantly interrupting Leone to make his own point, dug out every possible negative statement or sentiment mentioning her.
Atul Anjan, who happens to be a member of parliament of the CPI, has consistently gone on record, and mind you, he is not the only one, the way he holds you responsible for corrupting Indian minds, Indian morality. When these kinds of comments are made, how do you react?
Leone, on the other hand, handled the questions deftly—and politely. “I am waiting for Obama to make a speech about me,” she joked.
++++++
Few noteworthy excerpts from the link above:
“You think that Aamir Khan would ever work with you?” Chaubey asked Leone next—a question she rightly pointed out must be asked of the actor.
“Would you want to work with Aamir Khan?” he went on. She said yes.
“So you would like to work with Aamir Khan but Aamir Khan wouldn’t want to work with you? How would that reflect on you then?” he probed.
Chaubey even sought to put the burden of India’s obsession with porn on her.
And there was still no stopping Chaubey. “There are some who believe that if Sunny Leone is becoming a brand ambassador of sorts of this new India, then it is a very dangerous trend to have. There are many housewives, there are many Indian married women who look at Sunny Leone as a threat to their husbands. They believe their husbands are all going to be taken away by Sunny Leone,” he commented.
She replied: “Sorry, I don’t want your husbands at all. I have my own, I love him, and he is hot and sexy. He is very smart and very talented. Sorry, ladies.”
Calling her an “item” girl, Chaubey asked her whether she took acting as a serious profession—surely a question no other major Bollywood actor would be asked.
“There are some viewers of mine who are saying that your identity remains that of your past, which is your association with pornography, and porn stuff. They believe that you are not an actor, still not an actor, some are accusing you of lowering the level of the fine art of cinema. Is that a just criticism?”
“Do you believe… you have a body… is it your body that will take your everywhere?”
“Are you saying we will see movies of Sunny Leone in the future where Sunny will be dressed up from head to toe, in a saree, covered completely?” (“Yeah, of course,” she said.)
Chaubey even sought to put the burden of India’s obsession with porn on her. “Since you have come in the mainstream, the number of people who are watching porn in India has, in a proportionate manner, increased to the extent that we are now the largest consumer of porn. Is there any correlation?”
“I didn’t create that,” she laughed the question off.
Maybe Chaubey needs to look at how India’s internet and mobile penetration has increased in the last four years.
Then came Chaubey’s worst, as he said: “A lot of chatterati (sic) that takes place, you see a Sunny Leone film, and you get morally corrupted. I am wondering whether I am getting morally corrupted because I am interviewing you.”
A poised Leone merely said, “I can leave, if you want me to.” That seemingly made the host a bit panicky, and he said, “Not at all, not at all…”
Leone’s fans and celebrities alike have come out in support of her.
Very unfair& rude interview with Sunny Leone on CNN IBN.She is taking it on her chin sportingly,obviously in the interest of her coming film
— rishi kapoor (@chintskap) January 17, 2016
I want to see @bhupendrachaube speak to Ekta Kapoor or @PritishNandy about their films, the way he spoke to Sunny Leone. Will never happen.
— Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) January 18, 2016
This is a classic example of how to handle media. Very impressed. This journalist was so obnoxious. https://t.co/xQ2RP49iaj via @YouTube
— punitsoni (@punitsoni) January 18, 2016
Soon after, Chaubey published a rebuttal of sorts on his blog, conceding the fact that he was obsessed with her past.
“The only reason why Sunny Leone… would have qualified to be on my show, is because it’s her past now evolving into her present, which is the story waiting to be told,” he wrote in the post.
Chaubey’s justification notwithstanding, the interview was a lesson in both how not to do it and how to—depending on which side you are.
The @SunnyLeone interview with @bhupendrachaube should be made compulsory viewing for politicians to learn how to handle hard questions
— bwoyblunder (@bwoyblunder) January 19, 2016
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January 19, 2016 at 8:57 AM
I was very disappointed when Serena Williams could not win the US Open against a much lower seed Roberta Vinci and accomplish the Grand Slam last year….esp since it was being done after god knows how many years…. At that time my Indian mind did start to suspect some sort of foul play as to why is Serena making so many unforced errors and playing like this …is this match ” fixed ” But reputation of Tennis was so clean and this seemed such a honest, gentlemanly sport, i just put it to my own cynical, pessimistic mind…
Though she has not been named in any reports yet but the lid seems to have blown off and match fixing scandal in Tennis out in the open.
The price of this story for me is loss of innocence watching/ following another sport i loved. To be frank the way things around us are these days of media / news cycle, its very depressing….
Truly sad !!!
++++
BuzzFeed News and the BBC on Sunday exposed secret files containing evidence of widespread match-fixing by players at the upper level of world tennis.
The investigation found that a core group of 16 players — all of whom have ranked in the top 50 — have been repeatedly flagged to the world tennis authorities over suspicions that they have thrown matches at major tournaments, allowing corrupt gamblers to cash in by betting against them.
More than half of them are playing at the Australian Open, which started on Monday….
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jasonwells/tennis-match-fixing-expose-in-newspapers#.bw9524wrQ
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January 19, 2016 at 3:02 PM
When Irrfan wanted to be killed off
The gulf between Hindi cinema’s finest current actor and his contemporaries widens with each film. But even Irrfan Khan, in Mick Jagger’s words, can’t always get what he wants. Raja Sen tells us why that’s not a bad thing
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/when-irrfan-wanted-to-be-killed-off/20160119.htm
An ambitious Macbeth adaptation, Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool established Khan as one of the country’s most distinctive talents.
“I didn’t even read the Shakespeare play again, or watch any Macbeth films. I just felt that I was getting a chance to do the kind of love story I was longing for. For me, the story of his ambition was secondary. I never emphasised on it. For me, it was the story of Nimmi (the heroine, played by Tabu) and (Khan’s) Maqbool; it happened to be Shakespeare.”
“What I miss in Maqbool…,” he says, trailing off with a sigh. “I wish we had a lovemaking scene where we could see the chemistry of two bodies. Where it doesn’t remain physical, it goes on to a different level. Where everything is pure, there is no lust. You want to submerge into each other and dissolve. We couldn’t. We did shoot a love scene but maybe we were just not ready, or we were shy. All of us were shy.”
A scene like that today, with Bhardwaj, Khan and Tabu all at the height of their powers, would certainly be a whole other story.
In a position to be highly choosy with the roles he takes on, Khan has been craving overwhelming love stories, tales of heartbreak and passion and desire.
“For me in The Lunchbox, the character’s behaviour and his rhythm was a… byproduct. For me, the love was important. There is some spark that has come alive in what is a dead life, and he is just hovering around it. And he doesn’t know whether to touch that or not to touch that, but some wave is moving inside him and he’s just in a zone. Alive.”
To prepare, Khan zeroed in on a line in the script where his character describes how his smell felt like his grandfather’s smell.
“It was such fine writing, I kept repeating that voiceover again and again to find my rhythm. But no. I had to imagine Nimrat (Kaur, his heroine), because for me, it was very important to fall in love. They showed me faces of actresses but as soon as I saw Nimrat I said this is her. With her, I could imagine myself falling in love — and liking it. So as an actor, this also becomes important sometimes that you don’t push yourself, but instead… you find your triggers.”
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January 19, 2016 at 6:58 PM
Really interesting/funny
https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/689574011597008896
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January 19, 2016 at 9:04 PM
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January 20, 2016 at 12:26 AM
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January 20, 2016 at 12:31 AM
Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 Looking To Shock Airlift
The year ended with a big clash between Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani and the result went the unexpected way. The result may have gone the way of the underdog but there were no upsets as far as the initial was concerned with Dilwale opening to 70% better collections than Bajirao Mastani. There is another clash happening soon with Airlift against Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 and this could really shock as the initial response may be better for the smaller film.
The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection but its very rare that the smaller film actually fetches a better opening day. Its actually hard to remember when the smaller film actually beat a bigger film in terms of opening day collections.
When the news came out of the clash it looked an outside chance that Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 could battle Airlift but the outside chance has turned into a realistic possibility of not only battling it but over turning it on the opening day. The film could even release on more screens than Airlift as Kyaa Kool Hain Hum is a brand in Mumbai circuit as the first two films did bulk of their business in the circuit so the better single screens across Maharashtra and Gujarat are actually favoring the smaller film. Kyaa Kool Hain Hum has fetched 5.25 crore in Gujarat / Saurashtra and to put into perspective how big that price is that the big budget Xmas releases Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani will fetch a share of 6 and 8.5 crore respectively in Gujarat / Saurashtra. These films were made at 5-6 times the cost of Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3.
North is where it should be easy for an Akshay Kumar starrer even though the film does not look great from promos but here Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 is being distributed by PVR who have a huge presence so where Airlift should easily be dominating the screens it won’t be that easy now. Its very likely that Kyaa Kool Hain Hum will have a better single screen chain and probably cross 2000 screens and it won’t be easy for Airlift to match that. Even if Airlift manages to get there its still victory for the smaller film as its been made on half the cost of Airlift.
Akshay Kumar is still a very big star and even though the box office numbers have not come lately due to to disappointing content, in terms of all India popularity only the three Khan are ahead of him so on release day his popularity could come into play. But when a film like Kyaa Kool Hain Hum which eventually has a restricted audience and even as a brand has not seen success all over is giving a big star film a run for its money it means the problems are with the big film.
Ghayal Returns has been postponed but its probably too late for any of the films to change dates but after 22nd January its going to very possible that one side will think that they should have moved and the shock would be if that is the Airlift team.
http://boxofficeindia.com/art_detail.php?articalid=1715#.Vp8bXeRIg0Q
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January 20, 2016 at 12:33 AM
Airlift advance has opened to pretty well response .. BOI gonna shock once again after series of their DUD predictions …
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January 20, 2016 at 12:37 AM
“The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection”
?????????
Really since when ?
kkhh is being raised because it is sold for higher price, wow…doesnt that make it film with more burden ?
Sofar Airlift is leading bookings, it has much much higher number of shows, boi is living in fantasy.
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January 20, 2016 at 12:54 AM
“The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection””
what is this weird logic ? there was no such logic to before dilwale vs BM clash? They never said it before the clash.
BOI always come up with these fuzzy logic to save srk movie from FLOP tag since KANK. Since kank, most of srk movies are flop except 3 or 4, but BOI doesnt want to admit it. They behave like srkians.
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January 20, 2016 at 1:02 AM
Ha Ha .. Seriously .. Most absurd commentary .. Lolllll
Let me paste again ..
“The final result of the Christmas clash always has a chance of occurring as the film with lesser expectations gets the better word of mouth and eventually gets the higher collection”
Ha Ha … and this is what they wrote before release :
Bajirao Mastaani To Find It Tough At The Box Office
Wednesday 16 December 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Bajirao Mastaani will find it a tough struggle at the box office for two reasons, The first being its a clash against a big film and the second being a weak director who normally finds regional success which will not do with this huge budget. This regional success becomes an even bigger issue with a clash. Below are the ratios for Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed films for Mumbai circuit.
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January 20, 2016 at 12:47 AM
London: If someone claims that he or she has over 1,000 friends on Facebook, he or she is probably lying.
According to an interesting research, the average number of real close friends people have on the social networking site is less than 200, and here too women triumph with more genuine friends than men.
– See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/beat-this-you-just-cant-have-more-than-200-friends-on-facebook/16880162#sthash.gkY7uMfk.dpuf
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January 20, 2016 at 2:37 AM
Pakistan’s legendary ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, whose performances in India were marred last year by Shiv Sena threats, is now geared to make his acting debut with Hindi feature film ‘Ghar Wapsi’, directed by Suhaib Ilyasi. He has also composed and lent his voice to an Indian patriotic song for the movie.
Ghulam Ali is here to dub his portion of the film. On Tuesday at a studio here, he was visibly excited to try out acting, which is a “new thing” for him.
“If I keep on doing this for three to four more days, I can be a (professional) actor. I guess singing is very easy,” Ghulam Ali, who seemed to have a childlike excitement during the dubbing, quipped during an interaction with IANS. He was also showcasing his singing prowess in between dubbing, and shared that he took up the acting assignment for Ilyasi, whom he considers as a “younger brother”.
The ghazal maestro has enthralled fans across the globe with his baritone voice, and just last week, he was in Kolkata where he performed to a packed audience, three months after the cancellation of his concert in Mumbai. In ‘Ghar Wapsi’, he has also contributed to the song ‘Apni mitti ki khushboo hain rago mein yeh basi hai…choomenge isko shaan se. Humko toh pyaara hain yeh watan, apni jaan se.’
The film stars Alok Nath, Farida Jalal, Reema Lagoo, Deepak Tijori and Zarina Wahab, and also includes the work of singers like Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam and Shaan apart from Ghulam Ali.
Ghulam Ali will head to Mumbai on January 29 for the music launch of the film, which is both produced and directed by Ilyasi of ‘India’s Most Wanted’ fame. Ilyasi hoped the event goes off smoothly.
“I hope the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ music launch will be smooth and successful without any hiccups,” Ilyasi said, adding that “India and Pakistan’s relations are improving”.”Both the country’s governments and prime ministers are politically inclined to bring people of the two nations closer. Music, art and culture play a pivotal role in mending ties,” he said.
Timesofindia
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January 20, 2016 at 2:42 AM
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/calls-for-boycott-over-diversity-throw-oscars-into-turmoil/article8128140.ece?homepage=true
The backlash over the second straight year of all-white acting nominees is also putting heavy pressure on the Academy to diversify its overwhelmingly white male membership.
Growing calls for a boycott of the Academy Awards over the lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees are forcing stars to choose sides and threatening to throw the movie industry’s biggest night of the year into turmoil.
The backlash over the second straight year of all-white acting nominees is also putting heavy pressure on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to diversify its overwhelmingly white male membership.
The furor grew on Tuesday when the Rev. Al Sharpton said he would lead a campaign encouraging people not to watch the February 28 telecast. On Monday, Spike Lee, this year’s Oscar honouree for lifetime achievement, and Jada Pinkett Smith announced they will boycott the ceremony in protest.
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who has led efforts to diversify the academy, responded late Monday evening with a forceful statement saying that those previous measures weren’t enough.
Isaacs, the academy’s first African-American president, said that “it’s time for big changes” and that she will review membership recruiting to bring about “much-need diversity” in the academy’s ranks.
At a Los Angeles gala honouring Boone Isaacs on Monday night, actor David Oyelowo who was famously snubbed last year for his performance as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma expressed frustration with the academy.
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January 20, 2016 at 3:03 AM
Dilwale Business Update
Wednesday 20 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Dilwale is looking at a 140 crore nett finish. The collections of the film till date are as follows.
Week One – 95,37,00,000
Week Two – 31,11,00,000
Week Three – 10,71,00,000
Week Four – 2,04,00,000
Week Five – 50,00,000 aprx (5 days)
TOTAL – 139,79,00,000
The business of the film is more or less the same as Singham Returns and Bang Bang which both grossed 140 crore apprx.
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January 20, 2016 at 3:04 AM
UAE Top Ten 2015 – Two Hindi Films Hit Top Ten
Wednesday 20 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Two hindi films have emerged in the top ten grossers in UAE despite many big Hollywood releases. Both Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dilwale are the only Hindi films in history to cross $5 million in UAE. The top ten Overseas grossers of 2015 in UAE (all films) are as follows.
1. Furious 7 – $10.7 million
2. Avengers: Age Of Ultron – $7.5 million
3. Spectre – $6.3 million
4. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation- $6.25 million
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $5.8million
6. Bajrangi Bhaijaan – $5.65 million
7. Dilwale – $5.05 million
8. Minnions – $4.63 million
9. Taken 3 – $4.42 million
10. The Martian – $3.40 million
UAE has seen good growth in business but other Gulf markets like Kuwait, Qatar and Oman have seen even more growth. A couple of years back, Gulf outside of UAE was around 20% and now it has doubled to almost 40% for the big films.
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajirao Mastani were the next best Hindi films with around £2.3 million in UAE.
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January 20, 2016 at 3:04 AM
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/aamir-khan-doesnt-interfere-he-involves-himself-rajkumar-hirani/
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January 20, 2016 at 4:18 AM
Aamir Khan @aamir_khan 60m60 minutes ago
I think Sunny conductd herself wid a lot of grace & dignity.I wish I cud hav said the same abt the interviewer (1/2) http://www.scoopwhoop.com/sunny-leone-bhupendra-chaubey-full-interview/ …
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January 21, 2016 at 1:59 AM
The interviewer is mentally sick. She came out much better. I think she has sharp mind.
Much better interview:
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January 21, 2016 at 10:12 AM
I found BOTH the interviewer equally bad-ass. They want some sort of gory details for TRP.
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January 21, 2016 at 11:29 AM
In shekhar’s interview, I thought he is going same way when he mentioned..notoriety..Then he kind of salvaged himself with mechanics in question.
ps – That Chaubey guy started with Regret question. Typically this question is reserved for last.
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January 20, 2016 at 6:26 AM
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January 20, 2016 at 10:07 PM
Bajirao Mastaani – Magic of content 😉 eventually collects more if it got a solo release but bcoz of a disastrous movie Dilwale it will fall just short of 200cr
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January 20, 2016 at 11:47 PM
A very fun yet true read about Amitabh Bachchan:
अगर अमिताभ बच्चन न होते तो…
शुभम उपाध्याय 11 OCT ’15
अमिताभ बच्चन
लिविंग लेजेंड जैसे शब्दों को तमगा बनकर टंगने के लिए कोई नहीं मिलता. देश को इकलौता एंग्री यंग मैन नहीं मिलता. अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, हम फिल्मी नहीं होते. देश हमारा, जितना है उतना, फिल्मी नहीं होता
हिंदुस्तान संवादों में बात नहीं करता. डायलागबॉजी एक पूर्णत: विकसित कला नहीं होती. चार यार-दोस्तों या अजनबियों के सामने अपनी बात रखते वक्त हमारी आवाज भारी होकर बैरीटोन नहीं होती. सत्तर के दशक की फिल्मों की हालत नब्बे के दशक की कचरा फिल्मों सी होती. आलोचनाओं के परे भी जाया जा सकता है, यह सिखाने के लिए कोई नहीं होता. अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते तो हमारे पास, हमारी फिल्मों के पास, हमारे देश के पास क्या-क्या नहीं होता, यह 540 पन्नों की किताब का मसौदा है. फिलहाल संक्षेप में ही जानने की कोशिश करते हैं, बच्चन साहब के जन्मदिन पर, कि अगर वे न होते, तो कैसा होता?
हर शहर में अमिताभ बच्चन के बहरूपिये नहीं होते. उनको अपने-अपने शहर कस्बों में स्टार का दर्जा नहीं मिलता. उस दर्जी के यहां भीड़ कम रहती जो बच्चन-सा बनकर रहता है, 2015 में भी चौड़े बॉटम वाली पैंट पहनता है.
सबसे पहले शायद यह होता कि किसी कवि या लेखक का लड़का हीरो बनने का सपना नहीं देखता. या उससे पहले यह होता कि कोई साधारण नैन-नक्श वाला हद से ज्यादा लंबा और पतला एक नौकरीपेशा नौजवान फिल्मों में हीरो बनने के बारे में सोचकर खुद पर हंसता और फिर इसे भूल जाता. बहुत बाद में यह होता कि उस कवि का पोता शायद अभिनेता नहीं होता. गर होता तो अच्छा अभिनय करने के लिए उस पर पचपन तरह के दबावों का भार नहीं होता. उसे कबड़्डी टीम खरीदने और प्रोड्यूसर बनने में एक्टिंग करने से ज्यादा खुशी मिलती है, खुलकर कहने में डर नहीं लगता.
बच्चन नहीं होते, तो रेडियो में आवाज का रिजेक्ट होना कूल नहीं होता. राजेश खन्ना के बाद अगला सुपरस्टार सीधे शाहरुख खान को होना होता. या फिर ओशो-मुग्ध न हो गए होते तो विनोद खन्ना को. बच्चन न होते, तो नसीरुद्दीन शाह कम नाराज होते. चालीस सालों तक कोई कमर्शियल एंटरटेनमेंट की विधा को रॉकस्टार अंदाज में इतना नहीं साध पाता. कौन बनेगा करोड़पति और क्या आप पांचवी पास से तेज हैं, में कोई अंतर नहीं होता.
हॉलीवुड के रॉबर्ट डि नीरो, अल पचीनो, मार्लन ब्रांडो, क्लिंट ईस्टवुड, शॉन कॉनरी, हैरीसन फोर्ड का जवाब देने के लिए हमारे पास कोई अभिनेता नहीं होता. अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हीरो की बेहतरीन कॉमिक टाइमिंग से हमारी पहली मुलाकात गोविंदा ही कराते. और हम कभी भी आईने के सामने खड़े होकर शराबी की तरह नहीं बहक पाते. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो तमाम तरह के आरोप लगाने के बावजूद हर निर्देशक का सपना उनके साथ काम करना नहीं होता. अभिनय मेथड है या नेचुरल, हम इसी फेर में पड़े रहते. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो नाम की तरह लिखे जाने वाले हमारे कुछ गिने-चुने सरनेमों में से एक कम हो जाता.
तमाम आरोप लगाने के बावजूद हर निर्देशक का सपना उनके साथ काम करना नहीं होता. अभिनय मेथड है या नेचुरल, हम इसी फेर में पड़े रहते और नाम की तरह लिखे जाने वाले कुछ गिने-चुने सरनेमों में से एक कम हो जाता.
अमिताभ बच्चन की नन्ही फैन
अमिताभ बच्चन की नन्ही फैन
हमारे पिता की पीढ़ी, सफेद फ्रैंच-कट दाढ़ी को नहीं अपनाती. सफेद शॉल फैशन नहीं बन पाती. तीन-चार पीढ़ियों को मिमिक्री का शौक नहीं लगता, अगर बच्चन नहीं होते. हांय! तो मुंबई के दर्शनीय स्थलों में बच्चन के मकान शामिल नहीं होते. ये सीधी हाथ की तरफ जलसा है, थोड़ी दूर पर प्रतीक्षा भी है, ले चलूं? पूछकर टैक्सी वाला सौ के तीन नोट नहीं लूट पाता. अगर बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हर बदलते वक्त में खुद को बदलने की अद्भुत क्षमता रखने वाले कलाकार से हमारा परिचय कभी नहीं हो पाता. री-इनवेंट कैसे किया जाता है अभिनय में, एक्टिंग क्लासों में नहीं सिखाया जा पाता, क्योंकि संदर्भ देने के लिए बच्चन नहीं होते.
हर शहर में अमिताभ बच्चन के बहरूपिये नहीं होते. उनको अपने-अपने शहर कस्बों में स्टार का दर्जा नहीं मिलता. उस दर्जी के यहां भीड़ कम रहती जो बच्चन-सा बनकर रहता है, 2015 में भी चौड़े बॉटम वाली पैंट पहनता है. मधुशाला महान ग्रंथ होता, लेकिन जन के मानस में ऐसे अंकित नहीं होता, जैसे अब है. एक कवि और उसकी कविताओं को नई टेक नहीं मिलती. नया आयाम. अगर बच्चन उन कविताओं के साथ नहीं होते. ऐसा कम ही होता है कि दुनिया ने पिता को जाना हो बेटे से, और जब बेटा पिता हुआ, उसका बेटा भी जाना गया हो पिता ही से.***
अगर बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हमें शाहरुख खान का इंतजार करना पड़ता यह समझने के लिए कि हर अभिनेता हर वक्त अभिनय करता है. वो सिर्फ फिल्म में अभिनय नहीं करता, जहां कहीं भी जीवित मनुष्य पाया जाता है, अभिनेता का अभिनय सतत चालू पाया जाता है.
बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हम यह भी नहीं सोचते कि सत्तर का हो जाने पर कौन-सा खान उनके स्तर को छू पाएगा. कोई भी नहीं, हम यह भी नहीं कह पाते.
अगर बच्चन नहीं होते, हमें यह भी कम समझ आता कि राजनीति क्यूं हर किसी के बस की नहीं है. गांधी परिवार और बच्चन परिवार के बीच क्या बचा है और कितना टूट गया है, हमें कभी पूरा पता नहीं चलेगा, यह भी समझ नहीं आता. उत्तर प्रदेश में अपराध होते रहते, लेकिन वे विज्ञापन नहीं होते जो मुस्कुराते हुए बच्चन को अपराध कम हैं, कहने को मजबूर करते. ‘आज रपट जाएं तो हमें न उठाइयो’ दोस्तों के साथ बारिश में गाने में मजा नहीं आता. ‘जुम्मा चुम्मा दे दे’ अश्लील हो जाता. रंग बरसे के बाद होली को कुछ और ज्यादा बनाने के लिए होली खेले रघुबीरा नहीं होता. कुछ लोग इस कदर निराले हो जाते हैं अपने काम से, कि फिर वे भले ही खराब फिल्में करें और दर्जनों घटिया विज्ञापन, हमें फर्क नहीं पड़ता, ये भी हम नहीं सीख पाते अगर बच्चन नहीं होते.
अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, हमारा सिनेमा अभिनय के उस अनोखे मिजाज से महरूम रह जाता, जो किसी भी देश के सिनेमा की पहचान बनता है. वह घटना हिंदुस्तान के इतिहास में नहीं होती, जिसमें किसी अभिनेता की सेट पर हुई दुर्घटना के बाद पूरा देश मिलकर उसके लिए प्रार्थना कर रहा था. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो गरिमा से बोली जाने वाली हिंदी अपने अस्तित्व को खोने के डर में जीती और फिल्मों में अंग्रेजी भाषा के रिक्त स्थानों को भरने वाली भाषा बनकर रह जाती.
वे अफवाहें और गॉसिप नहीं होतीं, जिसमें बच्चन होते. अमिताभ बच्चन रिटायर कब होंगे? क्या बच्चन विग पहनते हैं? सलमान खान को वे पसंद करते हैं या नहीं? रेखा से अभी भी बात-मुलाकात होती होगी क्या? बच्चन नहीं होते, तो हम यह भी नहीं सोचते कि सत्तर का हो जाने पर कौन-सा खान उनके स्तर को छू पाएगा. कोई भी नहीं, हम यह भी नहीं कह पाते. लिविंग लेजेंड़ जैसे शब्द को तमगा बनकर टंगने के लिए आदमी नहीं मिलता. देश को इकलौता एंग्री यंग मैन नहीं मिलता. बच्चन नहीं होते, तो फिल्में थोड़ी कम अपनी लगतीं. हमें यह लिखने के लिए विशालतम-महानतम इंसान नहीं मिलता. सच ये है, अगर अमिताभ बच्चन नहीं होते, हम फिल्मी नहीं होते. देश हमारा, जितना है उतना, फिल्मी नहीं होता.
***(ऐसा कहना कई लोगों को आपत्तिजनक लगेगा कि अमिताभ की वजह से हरिवंश राय बच्चन जाने गए, लेकिन हिंदुस्तान में ऐसे अनेकों लोग हैं – बाहर तो हैं ही – जिनके जीवन में मधुशाला और हरिवंश राय बच्चन का आना अमिताभ बच्चन के आ जाने के बाद ही शुरू हुआ.)
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January 21, 2016 at 12:16 AM
आमिर खान पर मचे इस दंगल का सबब और सबक क्या है?
प्रियदर्शन 24 NOV ’15
आमिर खान
फोटो | आईएएनएस
असहिष्णुता को लेकर आमिर खान का बयान मौजूदा सरकार के समर्थकों को इसलिए चुभता है कि उसका एक ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ मौजूद है.
लेखकों के विरोध को प्रायोजित करार देने वाले वित्त मंत्री अरुण जेटली की उपस्थिति में आमिर ख़ान ने देश में बढ़ रही असहिष्णुता पर चिंता जताने की जो जुर्रत की है, उसकी कुछ प्रतिक्रियाएं और सज़ाएं तो स्पष्ट हैं. उन पर पहला आरोप यह लगाया जाएगा कि आमिर खान अपनी आने वाली फिल्म ‘दंगल’ की चर्चा कराने के लिए यह विवाद खड़ा कर रहे हैं.
लेकिन जो फिल्मों के कारोबार से जुड़े हैं, वे जानते हैं कि किन्हीं नामालूम से सितारों की अनजान फिल्मों को ऐसे विवाद से भले शोहरत मिलती हो, आमिर ख़ान जैसे स्टार और अभिनेता की फिल्म ऐसे प्रचार की मोहताज नहीं है. बल्कि इससे उनको कुछ नुकसान होने की आशंका ही है. अगर संघ परिवार से जुड़े अलग-अलग तत्व गुजरात-महाराष्ट्र से लेकर यूपी-बिहार तक सिनेमाघरों में तोड़फोड़ करने पर आमादा हो जाएं तो फिल्म को पहले तीन दिन के मुनाफे के गणित में खासा नुकसान हो जाएगा. आखिर आमिर के बयान के फौरन बाद वे बौद्धिक सेनाएं सक्रिय हो ही गई हैं जो सोशल मीडिया से लेकर अख़बारों तक में याद दिला रही हैं कि इसी देश ने आमिर खान को इतनी मोहब्बत दी है.
क्या आमिर ख़ान की शिकायत देश से है? क्या वे कह रहे हैं कि उन्हें मुसलमान होने की वजह से वह नहीं मिला जिसके वे हक़दार हैं?
लेकिन क्या आमिर ख़ान की शिकायत देश से है? क्या वे कह रहे हैं कि उन्हें मुसलमान होने की वजह से वह नहीं मिला जिसके वे हक़दार हैं? उन्होंने बस इतना कहा है कि जो नया माहौल बन रहा है, उसमें कई बार डर लगता है, उनकी पत्नी किरण राव इस के दिमाग में देश छोड़कर जाने की बात भी पैदा हुई थी. मुश्किल यह है कि उनके इस एहसास भर को देशद्रोह बताने और चुपचाप यह याद दिलाने वालों की कमी नहीं है कि आमिर मुसलमान हैं इसलिए यह सोच रहे हैं. जाहिर है, यह उस नए माहौल की देन ही है जिसकी ओर आमिर इशारा कर रहे हैं.
फिर क्या देश छोड़कर जाने की बात भी ऐसा भयानक देशद्रोह है? इस देश के हज़ारों इंजीनियर-डॉक्टर, प्रबंधक और वैज्ञानिक हर साल देश छोड़कर जाते हैं. वे यहां के सब्सिडी प्राप्त संस्थानों में सरकारी ख़र्च से महंगी पढ़ाई करते हैं और फिर यह शिकायत करते हैं कि इस देश में उनकी प्रतिभा की क़दर नहीं है. इस क़दर का मतलब वह पैसा है जो उनके वेतन के तौर पर चाहिए. यह पैसा सात समंदर पार मिलता है इसलिए वे बाहर जा रहे हैं. बेशक वहां जाकर, देश के दुख-दर्द से नाता टूटने के बाद, वे एक कृत्रिम भारतीयता, कृत्रिम देशप्रेम का निर्माण करते हैं और कभी क्रिकेट में पाकिस्तान की हार पर तो कभी ऐसे ही नकली मुद्दे पर तिरंगा लहराते हुए अपने देशप्रेम का इजहार करते हैं. इन बाहर जा रहे लोगों से कोई वैसी शिकायत नहीं करता जैसी आमिर खान से कर रहा है. उल्टे सब गर्व से बताते हैं कि उनका बेटा या बेटी विदेश जाकर बस गए हैं और उनको तो वह इतना रास आ रहा है कि वे वापस लौटेंगे नहीं.
यह इत्तिफाक भर नहीं है कि जिस शाम आमिर ने अपने भीतर के डर का जिक्र किया, उसके एक दिन पहले ही असम के राज्यपाल पीबी आचार्य यह बोलते नज़र आए कि यह देश हिंदुओं का है, लेकिन बहुत खुले दिल वाला है
लेकिन आमिर खान की प्रतिक्रिया वाकई ब्रेन-ड्रेन का मासूम बेखबर मामला नहीं है. उनकी शिकायत इसलिए चुभती है कि उसका एक ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ मौजूद है. इस देश में दलितों-आदिवासियों और मुसलमानों की स्थिति आर्थिक-सामाजिक तौर पर सबसे बुरी है- इसकी तस्दीक सारे आंकड़े करते हैं- चाहे वे सरकारी नौकरियों में भर्ती के हों या जेलों में विचाराधीन कैदियों की संख्या के. मध्यवर्गीय या उच्च मध्यवर्गीय घरों में यह भेदभाव अगर बहुत प्रत्यक्ष नहीं है तो बिल्कुल गायब भी नहीं है. ज़रूरत पड़ते ही किसी मुसलमान को याद दिलाया जा सकता है कि उसकी हैसियत वह नहीं है जो किसी हिंदू की है.
यह इत्तिफाक भर नहीं है कि जिस शाम आमिर खान ने अपने भीतर के डर का जिक्र किया, उसके एक दिन पहले ही असम के राज्यपाल पीबी आचार्य यह बोलते नज़र आए कि यह देश हिंदुओं का है, लेकिन बहुत खुले दिल वाला है इसलिए इसने सबको अपनाया है- टाटा और गोदरेज तक को. उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि मुसलमान चाहें तो पाकिस्तान, बांग्लादेश, जहां चाहे जाएं. याद दिलाने की ज़रूरत नहीं कि उसके पहले बीजेपी के महासचिव कैलाश विजयवर्गीय को यह खयाल आया था कि शाहरुख रहते यहां हैं लेकिन उनका दिल पाकिस्तान में रहता है. और शायद यह याद दिलाने की ज़रूरत है कि बीजेपी की सहयोगी शिवसेना ने एक दौर में दिलीप कुमार को पाकिस्तानी करार दिया था.
जो सहिष्णु, उदार, विशालहृदय भारत हमारी कल्पना का हिस्सा है और बहुत दूर तक हमारी लोकचेतना का भी, उसकी राह में सबसे बड़ी बाधा यह बहुसंख्यकवाद है
दरअसल यह वह ऐतिहासिक संदर्भ है जिसकी वजह से आमिर खान का वक्तव्य मौजूदा सरकार के समर्थकों को चुभता है. यह दावा बिल्कुल वैध है कि ऐसी असहिष्णुता की मिसालें मई 2015 में नरेंद्र मोदी के सत्तारोहण के बाद ही नहीं आई हैं, कांग्रेस के दौर में भी रही हैं. लेकिन दरअसल समझने की ज़रूरत यही है. जो सहिष्णु, उदार, विशालहृदय भारत हमारी कल्पना का हिस्सा है और बहुत दूर तक हमारी लोकचेतना का भी, उसकी राह में सबसे बड़ी बाधा यह बहुसंख्यकवाद है, हिंदू होने का दर्प है और यह दावा है कि यह देश सबसे पहले हिंदुओं का है. यह पहले-बाद वाली गिनती ख़तरनाक है, क्योंकि इतिहास में इस तरह पीछे जाना न संभव होता है न उचित होता है. तो सरकारें बदल जाती हैं, यह दर्प जाता नहीं, अपना काम करता रहता है.
इस सरकार से शिकायत बस इतनी है कि वह हिंदू राष्ट्रवाद के इस मिथ का पोषण कर रही है और जो इसका विरोध करता है, उसको अमान्य कर रही है. वह सारी तर्कशीलता और बौद्धिकता को ताक पर रखकर ऐसे अनपढ़ बहुसंख्यकवाद को बढ़ावा दे रही है जो पहले आमिर खान और शाहरुख़ खान को डराता है, फिर दूसरे उदारचेत्ता लोगों को और अंततः वह उन लोगों के खिलाफ़ खड़ा हो सकता है जो लोकतंत्र, न्याय और बराबरी के मानवीय सिद्धांत की बात करते हों.
आमिर बहुत दिन तक असहिष्णुता की बहस से दूर रहे. उन्होंने मुंह खोला तो ऐसे मंच पर, जहां सुनने के लिए वित्तमंत्री थे. इसका कुछ दंड तो उनको भुगतना पड़ेगा. बकौल मुक्तिबोध, ‘हाय-हाय, मैंने उनको नंगा देख लिया है, इसकी सज़ा मुझे मिलेगी, जरूर मिलेगी.‘
http://www.satyagrah.com/politics/aamir-khan-intolerance-remark/
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January 21, 2016 at 12:19 AM
आमिर खान अकेले नहीं हैं, मुझे भी भारत में रहने से थोड़ा डर लग रहा है
राहुल पंडिता 25 NOV ’15
आमिर खान
फोटो | आईएएनएस
आमिर खान गलत नहीं हैं. देश में निराशा की धुंध छा रही है और प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ऐसा कुछ करते नहीं दिख रहे जिससे यह छंटे.
हम जानते हैं कि इस्लाम की उग्रता की भारत में उतनी आलोचना नहीं होती जितनी हिंदू उग्रता की. हम यह भी जानते हैं कि इस्लामिक स्टेट की राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ से तुलना सीधे-सीधे मूर्खता है. हमें पता है कि इस देश के बुद्धिजीवियों का एक वर्ग नरेंद्र मोदी की हमेशा बुराई करता रहेगा. हम यह भी जानते हैं कि मणिशंकर अय्यर को बहुत पहले राजनीति से रिटायर हो जाना चाहिए था. तो हमें यह भी जानना ही चाहिए कि अपने मन की बात कहने के लिए आमिर खान को पाकिस्तान भेजने की बात करना ठीक नहीं है.
बीते कुछ महीनों से मैं अमेरिका में हूं और भारत में हो रहे जिस बदलाव की आमिर खान ने बात की है, उससे मुझे भी चिंता हुई है. सोशल मीडिया मुझे बता रहा है कि भारत में आज वही सुरक्षित महसूस कर सकता है जो ऊंची जाति का हिंदू पुरुष हो. मैं इसी वर्ग में आता हूं और इसके बावजूद सच कहूं तो मुझे वापस आने में थोड़ा डर लग रहा है.
येल के हर इंस्टीट्यूट ने अपनी बैठकें आयोजित कीं ताकि छात्र बेहिचक अपने अनुभव बता सकें. वहां किसी ने नहीं कहा कि विरोध कर रहे लोगों को अफ्रीका भेज दो.
मैं फिलहाल येल में हूं. अवसरों से भरे इस शहर में 30 फीसदी लोग पढ़ना-लिखना नहीं जानते और यहां भी गरीबी और गंदगी की कमी नहीं है. अपराध दर ऊंची है और हर दूसरे दिन यूनिवर्सिटी पुलिस चीफ हमें किसी न किसी वारदात के बारे में खबर करते रहते हैं. हमले या डकैती की ये घटनाएं कई बार तो ऐसी जगह पर होती हैं जहां से हम कुछ ही मिनट पहले गुजरे थे.
इसके बावजूद प्रशासन अपना काम करता है. ऐसा महसूस होता है कि कोई है जो ऊपर से लगातार हम पर निगाह रख रहा है. हमें बस खतरे का बटन दबाना है और सरकार का कोई आदमी एक मिनट में हमारी मदद के लिए हाजिर हो जाएगा.
येल में जिस जगह मैं रहता हूं उसके पास हाल में हुई नस्लवाद की एक घटना ने तूफान खड़ा कर दिया था. पूरी यूनिवर्सिटी में खूब विरोध प्रदर्शन हुए. लेकिन इस दौरान कभी भी ऐसा नहीं लगा कि उच्च स्तर से इस मुद्दे की अनदेखी हो रही है. येल कॉलेज के डीन ने गुस्से से उबलती अश्वेत छात्रों की भीड़ के साथ कई घंटे बिताए और धैर्य के साथ उनकी शिकायतें सुनीं. येल के हर इंस्टीट्यूट ने अपनी बैठकें आयोजित कीं ताकि छात्र बेहिचक अपने अनुभव बता सकें. वहां किसी ने नहीं कहा कि विरोध कर रहे लोगों को अफ्रीका भेज दो.
इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि अमेरिका में नस्लवाद की समस्या हल हो गई है या कल कोई श्वेत पुलिसकर्मी न्यूयॉर्क में किसी अश्वेत व्यक्ति को बिना जुर्म दबोचेगा नहीं. लेकिन यहां बोलना जुर्म नहीं है. आप बोल सकते हैं, पर्चे लिख सकते हैं और ऐसा नहीं होगा कि इसके लिए राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के साथ सेल्फी खिंचवाकर उसे अपनी डीपी बनाने वाला कोई शख्स आपको ट्विटर या फेसबुक पर गालियां दे या आप पर स्याही फेंक दे या फिर आपके दफ्तर में आकर आपको पीट जाए.
यहां आप बोल सकते हैं, पर्चे लिख सकते हैं और ऐसा नहीं होगा कि राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के साथ सेल्फी खिंचवाकर उसे अपनी डीपी बनाने वाला कोई शख्स आपको इसके लिए गालियां दे
एक मायने में यहां प्रशासन साइकोथेरेपी की तरह है. थेरेपी काम करे या न करे, लेकिन मरीज को यह महसूस होता है कि वह डॉक्टर की निगरानी में है. मरीज कुर्सी पर बैठा है और डॉक्टर उसे बता रहा है, ‘हां, मैं आपकी बात सुन रहा हूं.’ लेकिन भारत में ऐसा लगता है जैसे कुर्सी पर बैठी सरकार जनता की तरफ पीठ किए हुए है.
सवाल यह है कि आमिर खान ने ऐसा क्या कहा है जिस पर इतना गुस्सा जताया जा रहा है. उन्होंने कहा था कि भारतीय सुरक्षित महसूस करें, इसके लिए जरूरी है कि इंसाफ होता दिखे, कि जब माहौल में असुरक्षा हो तो लोग कोई आश्वस्ति भरी बात सुनने के लिए सरकार के मुखिया की तरफ देखते हैं. आमिर ने कहा कि एक मायूसी का माहौल बन गया है जिसमें लोग निराश महसूस कर रहे हैं.
आमिर खान ने जो कहा है कि उसे महसूस करने के लिए जरूरी नहीं कि आप अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय से ताल्लुक रखते हों. दादरी हो या कोई और मुद्दा, भारत में आज कहां इंसाफ होता दिख रहा है? यह सिर्फ अल्पसंख्यकों की सुरक्षा की बात नहीं है. किस मुद्दे पर हमने मोदी से आश्वस्त करने वाले शब्द सुने हैं? क्या उन्होंने हरियाणा में अपनी पार्टी के मुख्यमंत्री से कहा कि गाय पर बयानबाजी बंद करें और इस पर ध्यान दें कि साइबर सिटी कहे जाने वाले गुड़गांव में जगह-जगह कीचड़ में लोटते सुअरों को कैसे हटाया जाए? क्या उनकी पार्टी ने उस गरीब ट्रक ड्राइवर के परिवार के लिए सांत्वना के दो शब्द भी कहे जिसे जम्मू-नेशनल हाइवे पर गुंडों ने मार डाला? क्या उन्होंने राजस्थान में अपनी पार्टी की सरकार से पूछा कि उसने एक पाठ्यपुस्तक से सफदर हाशमी की कविता हटाने का फैसला किस आधार पर किया?
यह सच्चाई है कि भारत में आज कइयों के मन में निराशा घर कर गई है और यह मायूसी सिर्फ अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय को नहीं है. मोदी की चुप्पी ने उपद्रवी तत्वों का उत्साह बढ़ा दिया है. वे इस चुप्पी को खामोश स्वीकृति की तरह देख रहे हैं और इंटरनेट से लेकर सड़क तक कहर बरपा रहे हैं.
क्या उन्होंने हरियाणा में अपनी पार्टी के सीएम से कहा कि गाय पर बयानबाजी बंद करके इस पर ध्यान दें कि साइबर सिटी कहे जाने वाले गुड़गांव में जगह-जगह कीचड़ में लोटते सुअरों को कैसे हटाया जाए?
लेकिन इसके इतर एक ऐसी बात भी है जो सिर्फ अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय का कोई सदस्य ही महसूस कर सकता है. बहुसंख्यक समुदाय का कोई सदस्य कितना भी कहे कि वह अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय का डर समझता है, लेकिन सच यह है कि वह इस डर को महसूस नहीं कर सकता. अमेरिका में मेरे एक दोस्त ने मुझे अपनी दादी के बारे में बताया जो मुंबई में रहती हैं और जिन्हें 1992 के दंगों के दौरान पड़ोसी के घर में शरण लेनी पड़ी थी. उनका कहना है कि दादरी की घटना के बाद वे उस दरवाजे को बार-बार चेक करती हैं जिससे वे दो दशक पहले पड़ोस के घर में दाखिल हुई थीं–यह देखने के लिए कि वह तुरंत खुलता है कि नहीं. उन्होंने कोई पुरस्कार नहीं लौटाया है. न ही उन्होंने अपने बेटे से विदेश बसने की बात कही है. लेकिन उन्हें डर लगने लगा है. और यह डर वास्तविक है, चाहे इसका कोई कारण न हो .
भक्तों ने आमिर खान के पोस्टरों पर स्याही पोतने का काम शुरू कर दिया है. कोई पूछेगा कि बाबरी मस्जिद गिरने के बाद उन्हें ऐसा क्यों नहीं लगा. हो सकता है लगा हो, लेकिन हमने उनसे पूछा न हो. हो सकता है तब न लगा हो, लेकिन अब लग रहा हो. हो सकता है उन्होंने सोचा हो कि हालात बेहतर हो जाएंगे. अच्छे दिन आएंगे. हो सकता है कि सोशल मीडिया पर हाल ही में प्रकट हुई एक महिला की माया कोडनानी के साथ सेल्फ़ी-जिसमें उसका चेहरा गर्व से भरा है-से आमिर डर गए हों.
ऐसा नहीं है कि इससे पहले ट्रकों में गायें ले जाते लोगों की हत्याएं नहीं हुईं. या मनमोहन सिंह की सरकार के दौरान दलित बच्चों को प्रताड़ित करने की घटनाएं नहीं हुईं. लेकिन नरेंद्र मोदी की तरह उन्होंने हमें हॉलीवुड के संवादों से रिझाने का प्रयत्न नहीं किया. आज हमें महसूस हो रहा है कि मोदी के ये तमाम संवाद महज़ छलावा थे.
http://www.satyagrah.com/society-and-culture/aamir-khan-remark-opinion-rahul-pandita/
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January 21, 2016 at 2:02 PM
What a chutiyapa piece-
It’s same as Sarah Palin saying that Obama is responsible for her daughter’s boyfriend’s troubles.
Lage raho…Lage raho !!!
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January 21, 2016 at 1:59 AM
Airlift And Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 Set For Tight Battle
Thursday 21 January 2015 12.30 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
This week will see an interesting clash at the box office with Airlift releasing with Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3. Though it should be easy for Airlift as it as far bigger star with Akshay Kumar and if it was an action film then it would be pretty easy but here its the thriller genre and this genre finds it hard at the box office. It always has been as far as Hindi films are concerned and the genre does tend to negate some of the star power as mass circuits under perform..
Its not that sex comedies like Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 have a universal market but they do have loyal following among the youth and this one is a brand with two hit films behind it though both were driven by Mumbai circuit. This makes it a tight battle as far as initial is concerned
It would be a shock if Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 came out with better day one collections as its probably never happened that a small film has bettered a big star film on the opening day. Its not happened in this decade for sure. The screen issue here is not much of a problem as both films don’t need 4000 screens each and can easily do with 4500-5000 between them.
This opening clash will definitely be closer than Dilwale v Bajirao Mastani as Dilwale comfortably had a better initial there. If Airlift can take an initial like a Gabbar Is Back or Singh Is Bling then it will come out on top but that looks unlikely given the genre and this opens up the clash and even gives the smaller film a chance to beat the bigger film.
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January 21, 2016 at 3:28 AM
Can Kyaa Kool Hain Hum Really Beat The Opening Of Airlift As Its A Big Film And Being Called The First 100 Crore Film Of The Year?
Thursday 21 January 2015 12.00 IST
Box Office India Trade Network
Q. Can Kyaa Kool Hain Hum really beat the opening of Airlift as its a big film and being called the first 100 crore film of the year?
Ans. It has chances and its not going to be one way traffic as it looked when the first reports of the clash came. Its looking a more closer battle in terms of initial than the Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani clash. Even if Kyaa Kool Hain Hum does not beat but is close it would be very good as the film is much smaller than Airlift.
R. Pahuja
Q. Bajrangi Bhaijaan has footfalls of 3.55 crore so it is possible than a big film like Sultan or Dabangg 3 can do 4 crore?
Ans. Footfalls seem to be on the up for the bigger films unlike the last decade. there was no 3 crore film for 8 years before 3 Idiots and then 3 Idiots came which was then beaten by PK and that was beaten by Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The trend seems to be upwards so chances are there of a higher number than Bajrangi Bhaijaan though to get 4 crore you need the luck of the run with holidays falling correctly and then a good open run.
Ayub Ali
Q. Why is there such a big difference in the distributor share between Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajirao Mastani at 106 crore and 85 crore when nett collections are just 10 crore apart, should it not be be 90 and 95 crore instead of huge 20 crore difference?
Ans. There is a huge difference in terms of their first week business when share are at their highest and also Prem Ratan Dhan Payo has a much higher business coming from single screens which give a better share in terms of the ratio with nett collections.
K. Sainath
Q. It is being said that Wazir has got 18-20 crore for satellite television so surely with sort of income it should be an earner?
Ans. What is said is not always correct. Even if we take it at face value, all that it means is that the producers loss has been transferred to the television channel. The loss is still there as to make any good revenue on television the film needed appreciation..
M. Madhav
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January 21, 2016 at 4:05 AM
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January 21, 2016 at 10:32 AM
First review is out. Strong positive review for Airlift.
http://m.gulfnews.com/leisure/movies/reviews/airlift-is-raw-and-real-1.1657539
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January 21, 2016 at 1:53 PM
On 14th January, Catch News (which has Shoma Chaudhary, ex-collegaue of rape accused Tarun Tejpal and who is often accused of shielding Tejpal, as Editor in Chief) did a hit-job on the Akshay Kumar starrer Airlift. The news showed Akshay Kumar’s photo with Neeraj Pandey. Neeraj Pandey is not associated with the movie Airlift, still they showed a pic which had both Neeraj and Akshay. Are there no pics of Neeraj by himself?
The story said that Neeraj Pandey, director of Baby & Special 26 was asked to leave a theatre for not standing up during the national anthem. This is even more absurd as we know that Neeraj Pandey’s movies are usually patriotic and one does not expect such behaviour from him.
But the person actually involved in this incident was a different person. This Neeraj Pandey is a screenwriter, and in no way connected to Director Neeraj Pandey and obviously not connected with Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is one of the few Bollywood superstars who has stood strongly against the Intolerance brigade. Unlike Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar clearly said India is a tolerant country. And Shahrukh’s latest movie Dilwale bore the brunt of his “anti-India” comments. So was CatchNews.com trying to link Akshay Kumar to some “anti-national” news so that his film too suffers
http://myvoice.opindia.com/2016/01/malicious-reporting-against-akshay-kumar-to-derail-his-movie-airlift/
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January 21, 2016 at 9:18 PM
Love Akshay (more than your love for funny sunny) haha. Anyhow the accusations that have no basis in truth die normal death but the ones that have basis in truth will not. Public is like blood hound…sungh leti hai satya.
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January 21, 2016 at 1:59 PM
This is hilarious and full of Filmy references ( from a site I have long abandoned going to )
2. Chaubey: I’m calling you Sunny not Karanjeet. Does someone call you Karanjeet by any chance?
What Chaubey is really saying – From the film Deewar: Tumhari jaisi ladkiyan apna naam … kapdon ki tarah badalti hai
7. Chaubey: Do you think an Amir Khan would ever work with you? So you would want to work with Amir Khan but Amir would not want to work with you. How does that affect you?
Really saying: Ram Lakhan: Naachne gaane wali vaihsyaaein aayin hain toe kya hua, mehfil toe shareefon ki hai
11. Chaubey: You say you felt it was sexy, it was beautiful, but look at how your actions are being interpreted in India. Atul Anjan, CPI member of parliament of the CPI, has consistently gone on record, mind you he’s not the only one, where he holds you responsible for corrupting Indian minds, Indian morality. When these kinds of comments are made how do you deal with them?
Really saying: Aitraaz: Aurat nadi ke samaan hoti hai … yadi apne kinaron ki maryada mein rahe, toh lati hai khushali … aur yadi apne kinaron ki maryada todh de, toh lati hai vinash, barbadi
19. Chaubey: You know a lot of chatterrati which because I’m interviewing you, takes place that you see a Sunny Leone film you will get morally corrupted. I’m wondering if I’m being morally corrupted because I’m interviewing you.
Really saying: Jism: Mera dimag mere jism ka ghulam ho gaya tha.
http://www.newslaundry.com/2016/01/20/the-sunny-leone-interview-what-bhupendra-chaubey-really-meant/
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January 21, 2016 at 2:31 PM
Rave reviews sofar.
Bollywood film review: Akshay Kumar pilots a gripping ‘Airlift’
http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/bollywood/bollywood-film-review-akshay-kumar-pilots-a-gripping-airlift-2016-01-21-1.618194
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January 21, 2016 at 9:21 PM
haha…I know why you stopped going…Jaha ‘aap’ ka sanman ho, waha aap ka kya kaam hai….lolz
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January 21, 2016 at 3:10 PM
taran adarsh @taran_adarsh ·
#Airlift is a must must watch. One of the finest films to come out of the Hindi film industry. Just do not miss this one!
Some stories *should* be told. #Airlift sheds light on the evacuation of Indians in Kuwait after the invasion by Iraq. Narrated BRILLIANTLY.
#Airlift is taut, engrossing, leaves a hammer-strong impact. Raja Krishna Menon is a director to watch out for. Deserves brownie points
Akshay Kumar is OUTSTANDING. His performance is the soul of #Airlift. An award-worthy act. Ranks easily amongst his finest works
.
Nimrat Kaur is first-rate throughout, confrontation scene is memorable. Inaamulhaq [Iraqi Major] and Prakash Belawade are terrific. #Airlift
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January 21, 2016 at 4:09 PM
Booked the ticket for friday night. Tickets going fast. I couldnt get BM ticket on friday So just booking in advance this time.
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January 21, 2016 at 9:23 PM
dekho, aur dekho, dubara dekho…dekney ki cheez hai yeh dilrubaa. 🙂
Toda lift kara de…airlift kara de…
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January 21, 2016 at 5:12 PM
For NYC movie goers…Single Screen demise is not just limited to India!
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ziegfeld-theater-close-weeks-article-1.2503813
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January 21, 2016 at 7:19 PM
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January 21, 2016 at 9:18 PM
PRAKASH JAJU @Prakashjaaju 5m5 minutes ago
#Airlift : Pvr City Mall Mumbai :
11 am – almost full because tkt rate Rs.150.
12.15 pm – Not a single tkt. sold because tkt rate 250.
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January 21, 2016 at 9:19 PM
Girish Johar @girishjohar 13h13 hours ago
#VeryEarlyTrends ….ADVANCES of #Airlift are GOOD !!! @akshaykumar @NimratOfficial
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January 21, 2016 at 9:20 PM
Girish Johar @girishjohar 7h7 hours ago
So reports coming in of #Airlift are SIMPLY OUTSTANDING !!! Hope all enjoy too @akshaykumar @NimratOfficial
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