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204 Responses to “Udta Punjab, the rest of the box office”
To your comment Paapaas in other thread – ‘to cinema – you get what we call – Censor Board.’
Agree to an extent but we also need to have an understanding that Censor is a very different beast altogether and has become irrelevant in today’s age of worldwide web where most have access to everything at click of a button. Many sane voices have been pointing at Rating system which seems totally fair theoretically but one does not know how the implementation process will work in India which still remains a highly unregulated. ( more of an indiscipline issue )
Technically given a choice I will want to err on the side of freedom of expression / speech and that being our fundamental right. But there are times I am totally conflicted and never been able to grasp the freedom of expression debate in ‘totality’ because sometime provocative speech adds insult to the idea of free speech where words can be used as weapons to assault, and then you wonder why few words / expressions should remain unspoken. Freedom of expression in the form of hate speech and propaganda may instill beliefs of inferiority in others, the very things free speech is intended to protect.
What I was trying to say technological /internet age is jeopardizing part of this freedom of speech because it is now also flooded with bigotry and provokes a dangerous environment. How can the so-called free speech defenders control the narrative with their verbosity to spread prejudice and mistrust?
That is where everyone starts to agree to reasonable limits on what can be said and set down legal markers in an attempt to preserve a democratic, civilized and tolerant society……….so the debate for freedom of expression is somehow lost again??
It may be mentioned that the full 2 hours 20 minutes of the movie got leaked on the net even as it is scheduled for release on Friday. Not just that, the pirated film was made available in DVD too in Mumbai. On the print, it is clearly written ‘For Censor’, giving rise to doubts that it has been leaked by someone from the CBFC office.
The anti-piracy wing is now providing all inputs and details to the filmmakers so that law enforcing authorities can take the necessary action.
Top Comment
Catch the censor board insider who leaked the copy and teach him a lesson that he will remember his life time!!!a2zdigital
This is not the first time that a film got leaked on the internet before its release. In Tollywood, 40 minutes of the Pawan Kalyan-starrer ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ was found on the web before its release in September 2013. It was finally found that someone involved in the editing of the film was responsible for the leak.
Filmmakers had taken extreme precaution before the release of SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ too last year. The anti-piracy wing found a pirated portion of the film online on the day of the release and got it removed immediately.
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Imran Yousuf was working as a bouncer at the Pulse night club
Risked his life to open a back door allowing many people to escape
Yousuf said his quick action saved 60 to 70 lives
A former US Marine sergeant of Indian origin, Imran Yousuf, has been hailed as a hero for saving scores of lives at a Florida night club when a terrorist went on a rampage killing 49 people.
When Yousuf, who was working as a bouncer at the Pulse night club catering to the gay community in Orlando, Florida, heard the first gunshots his military experience fighting in Afghanistan kicked in, according to media reports. As everyone in the packed night club froze in fear, he jumped up and at personal risk opened a back door allowing many people to escape.
He told CBS News television that as panicked people streamed to the back of the hall, “I’m screaming ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ And no one is moving because they are scared.”
“There was only one choice,” he added in the interview. “Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch a we got everyone that we can out of there.”
Yousuf – whose mother and grandmother are Hindus – risked his life because he could have drawn the attention of Omar Mateen, who had sworn loyalty to the Islamic State and was carrying out the attack, considered the worst mass shooting in US history.
Yousuf said his quick action saved 60 to 70 lives .
The network reported that he cried as he said, “I wish I could have saved more to be honest. There are a lot of people that are dead”
And Yousuf has been modest, brushing off the praises as a hero. Marine Corps Times newspaper reported on its web site that Yousuf posted on his Facebook page, “There are a lot of people naming me a hero and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct. … While it might seem that my actions are heroic I decided that the others around me needed to be saved as well and so I just reacted.”
The newspaper said that he had left the Marine Corps just last month.
CBS News identified Yousuf as a Hindu and his name caused some confusion. California-based newspaper India West, which interviewed his uncle, clarified that his mother and paternal grandmother are Hindus and he identifies with their religion. His family emigrated from Guyana, where his ancestors had gone from India.
The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, New York, reported that he grew up in the nearby town of Niskayuna and joined the Marine Corps soon after he finished high school at the age of 17 and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
His brother, Ameer Yousuf, told the newspaper, “This was so unexpected but because of my brother’s training in the Marine Corps, he was prepared and used strategies from that to do everything he did.”
Marine Corps Times said he had been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his service.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Housefull 3 had a decent second weekend of around 22.75 crore nett. The drop is 71% from the first week which is a normal drop but the film should have done better as the new Hindi releases fared poorly and the film had held well in week one. The two week business of the film is a little under 103 crore nett. The last Housefull film in 2012 had collected over 30 crore nett in its second week.
Airlift grossed 28.75 crore nett in its second week which is quite a lot more than Housefull 3 although Housefull 3 has managed the second highest second week collection of the year. The film is the highest grosser of the year in Gujarat / Saurashtra, Rajasthan and CI. In Delhi / UP the GROSS collections are the highest of 2016.
The drop in the second week and the release of a major film like Udta Punjab will mean the film will struggle to cross 110 crore nett. This figure is now the best case scenario for the film.
What was once looking to cross 120 cr nett will not end below Rs 100 cr nett.
It’s quite a slowdown and disappointing one too as week 1 trending and gross made it look go beyond the HIT status.
However the movie is folding behind Housefull 2. Unlike many, for me HF3 was a shade below HF2 when i watched it last week. HF3 had the plot to make it but had lessed RFOL moments than HF2. The same is reflecting in the collection if my views are in majority.
Udta Punjab has taken an excellent start of 50% plus in Delhi city and East Punjab while other places range from good to average. Overall its a good opening in the 35% range driven by Delhi city, East Punjab and other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore. The initial is on par with a big film like Housefull 3 and only Fan (holiday) and Baaghi can be called better in terms of occupancy in morning shows.
The controversy with its release has aided the initial of the film. The collections in Delhi city and East Punjab could challenge the biggest opener of the year Fan as the morning collections there are on par with Fan even though Fan was a holiday.
The initial in the morning shows is actually the biggest ever for a Shahid Kapoor or Alia Bhatt film although its actaully by default as the controversy has helped and the North opening as far as face value goes will be because of Diljit Dosanjh who has a bigger following there.
Basically it will be about sustaining over the weekend and the film will be through, normally these type of films would work by growth but here the opening means just holding at these levels will be enough.
Contrary to what you might expect, this isn’t a greatly political film, focussing instead on the problem, the characters and their internal conflicts. And it makes room for a few references.
Chaubey borrows the sublime toilet sequence from Trainspotting, includes a stray Pulp Fiction reference in the way a line is said, and steals a villain reluctant to kill his relatives from his own Ishqiya films — and, in what must be an in-joke, names of Bollywood writers and director (and buddies of Chaubey and writer Sudip Sharma) like Akshat Verma and Navdeep Singh show up on a list of suspects.
But Udta Punjab truly soars when being its own madcap beast, profane and powerful and preening.
Oh, and a word about that music: Woof. Amit Trivedi is a master, Chaubey has a gift for placing music and adding context to moments, and the decision to use Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s dazzling poem Ikk Kudi as a literal part of the narrative is a marvellous one.
Naturally, this call — like that of sculpting his idiocy across the side of his own head — is made by the mad musician.
First things first – UDTA PUNJAB is a dark and serious film. Also the film’s screenplay (Sudip Sharma, Abhishek Chaubey) jumps through multiple stories at the same time making it complicated. Abhishek Chaubey, who gave a glimpse of his supreme directorial abilities with his previous films like ISHQIYA and DEDH ISHQIYA faces a challenge to narrate the dark story of UDTA PUNJAB and does manage to do so. As the film progresses however, it does seem to slip in parts, especially in the second half. In an attempt to narrate multiple parallel stories, Abhishek Chaubey struggles to keep it engaging in the latter half of the film.
On the whole, UDTA PUNJAB is a dark and serious film that does not offer the traditional entertainment that audiences seek from Bollywood movies. At same time, it is bold and brave in parts with strong performances by all actors.
As for the performances, it is the biggest of USP of UDTA PUNJAB. One has to give it to the actors to take up such challenging parts which are completely out of their comfort zone. Shahid Kapoor and his never-before-attempted ‘rockstar’ look had created a huge buzz, curiosity and excitement amongst his fans. He manages to pull off his role well while bringing in much needed humour in this otherwise serious film. He is strongly supported by the talented Satish Kaushik in the film. Alia Bhatt, on the other hand, goes totally de-glam for her role. She for sure has tried her best to portray a Bihari character in the film and does complete justice to her part. Kareena Kapoor Khan is good in her part. UDTA PUNJAB also sees the presence of Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh, who makes an impressive debut in Bollywood. If UDTA PUNJAB is a mere glimpse of what he is capable of, then Diljit is definitely a name to watch out for in Bollywood. Rest of the actors help the film move forward.
The film does have its share of decent music (Amit Trivedi) with a couple of hummable tracks like ‘Chitta Ve’ and ‘Ikk Kudi’, though one feels that a stronger music album could have helped the film. On the other hand, the film’s background score (Benedict Taylor, Naren Chandavarkar) is impressive and helps the film’s narrative.
Above all, this film undoubtedly belongs to Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor. Alia, as someone who tries fighting destiny with her loud, protesting sobs, as someone who fights succumbing to the drug filled world of the weak, is fantabulous.
Shahid Kapoor has proved his mettle earlier but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this his best performance till date. A badass with a good heart, Shahid plays this complex character with an admirable ease. From someone who foolishly thinks he conquers the world to a frightful realisation of the truth, he goes through a transformation with an absolute conviction. Diljit’s charm is used to the fullest here, and he does a good job. Even though Kareena Kapoor Khan doesn’t get as much screen space as one would have liked, she leaves her stamp with her honest and natural performance.
Walking out of the theatre, one is grateful that the filmmakers fought for this film. This had to be served undistilled, and untouched by people who don’t see or choose not to see the gravity of the situation.
Kapil Sharma beats Salman Khan in the most popular TV actors’ list
Kapil Sharma has secured the top position in the most famous TV celebs (non-fiction) in a recent survey conducted by Ormax Characters India Loves (Ormax CIL). The stand up comedian has beaten the likes of Boss host Salman Khan and Sunil Grover.
Rannvijay, who has returned as the host of the reality show ‘Splitsvilla’ is on number three, while So You Think You Can Dance Judge Madhuri Dixit has acquired the fifth position with Salman being on the fourth.
Chaubey uses a part-documentary-part-mainstream approach here. Post interval, the film is sometimes too indulgent and sluggish. Also this is not your sunny-side up cinema. It is stark and makes you cringe. However, its victory lies in making you empathise with its characters. As Alia and Shahid, both victims of drug and physical abuse fight their demons and destinies, you shed a silent tear. Shahid has got his act pat but Alia beats everyone hollow. Kareena and Diljit are adept. This review also doffs a hat to the nuanced performances of Satish Kaushik, Prabhjyot Singh and Manav Vij.
But it is Alia, who despite the battering that fate has reserved for her, never loses her appetite for a fight. The petite actress is the film’s towering totem.
The liberal use of cuss words may be too grating for some ears. Udta Punjab is not family entertainment, but it is an undeniably magnificent – and purposeful – commercial Hindi film. Do not miss it.
No wonder a scene in Udta Punjab broke my heart and betrayed these long-held beliefs in a mere instant. A patriarch gently addresses the Bihari migrant girl Pinky (Alia Bhatt, utterly real, raw and vulnerable) as “puttar” (child) and asks her why she stole heroin worth a crore if she had to eventually throw it away. The soft, soothing enquiry sets the most disturbing tenor for the viciousness and brutality that come to be heaped on her by his family of drug dealers, with his tacit nod of approval, of course. Udta Punjab is all about swallowing such bitter pills.
There could be much to nitpick on. The cop-doc romantic track as well as the tenuous bond between Tommy and Pinky do seem out of place – yet also provide a much needed breather in the film’s suffocating world. One would have liked to know more of Pinky’s life as it moved from playing hockey to working on the fields with sickle in hand. The resolution could appear a tad too convenient and Goa might not quite the right escape from Punjab after all. But ultimately for me Udta Punjab is not about the story, the four main characters, their acting or the music even. It’s about relentless exposure to a gut-wrenching reality for 148 minutes (a shorter version may have been even stronger) that I am still trying to process. It’s about the many innocent, helpless Ballis being born to drugs everyday. I came out of the screening with Balli’s cries ringing harsh in my ears. They are haunting me. Still.
Udta Punjab has taken an excellent start of 50% plus in Delhi city and East Punjab while other places range from good to average. Overall its a good opening in the 35% range driven by Delhi city, East Punjab and other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore. The initial is on par with a big film like Housefull 3 and only Fan (holiday) and Baaghi can be called better in terms of occupancy in morning shows.
The controversy with its release has aided the initial of the film. The collections in Delhi city and East Punjab could challenge the biggest opener of the year Fan as the morning collections there are on par with Fan even though Fan was a holiday.
The initial in the morning shows is actually the biggest ever for a Shahid Kapoor or Alia Bhatt film although its actaully by default as the controversy has helped and the North opening as far as face value goes will be because of Diljit Dosanjh who has a bigger following there.
Basically it will be about sustaining over the weekend and the film will be through, normally these type of films would work by growth but here the opening means just holding at these levels will be enough.
U-Turn starts with a disclaimer that it’s based on real events. What these real events mean, is revealed only during end-credits. One can consider it a deceit or a conceit by the helmer, depending on how one wishes to consume that information.
There are many scenes in this film that show something but convey something else; mostly hidden, few completely contrary. This is no Lucia, but writer-director Pawan Kumar’s U-Turn is surely an engrossing, above-average, song less thriller. The movie’s premise starts with a mysterious murder/death of a person having marital issues. The same person is shown to have made an illegal U-turn on the busy Double Road fly-over in Bangalore by shifting aside big blocks used as a make-shift median. An intern (a dusky and an extremely attractive Shraddha Srinath with a nose-ring in tow to make hearts go aflutter – at least mine did) at the Indian Express office (in Shivajinagar of course) is preparing a crime-story based on traffic violations/’un-civic’ sense of riders and drivers and has a home-less – well, he has a make-shift tent if you want to call it a home—guy give her the registration numbers of those vehicles for 100 rupees. It’s discovered that the guy who made the illegal U-turn that day dies the same night. It’s also discovered later, that so have many others who have made that U-turn on the fly-over. What’s going on here? What does someone taking a U-turn on some busy fly-over have to do with his or her death? Everyone is looking for answers, including a more-than-helpful and enthusiastic cop, a bereaved husband and a prospective boy-friend.
As mentioned earlier, by Pawan Kumar’s Lucia standards, this might appear, ironically, a ‘conventional’ movie! And the fact that it might hark back referentially to a Hindi movie not more than 4 years old which also dealt with death and its myriad consequences is quite unmissable: Thematically, yes, the two films are threaded but cinematically, Pawan Kumar’s treatment is quite divorced from the Hindi one and seeps with a local, linguistic authenticity. (There is a hilarious scene where a couple of ‘youths’ ask the intern what rights she has to question their ‘right’ to indulge in traffic violations; is she a ‘Kannadiga’? In the next scene, this patriot who considered himself the judge, jury, and executioner of state-citizenry and rights based on ethnicity is busy snorting coke listening to hard-rock with posters of bands from you-know-where! There’s not a single image or poster of even a Hindi album or a movie – let-alone Kannada music. Well, so much for hyper-statehood tongue-lashing.)
The film plays out on two levels but still manages to hold the interest on both the levels – the thriller and the meta-physical. Kumar explores ‘karma’ and its many manifestations through and within the Hindu philosophy. A U-turn, or its diagrammatic representation, in a sense, is symbolically filtered through thriller elements in the movie. The theory that there is a pay-back waiting for you for your deeds is given practice through the eventful life of some and mainly the death of many. [In one of the most cinematically/technically tacky but metaphorically rich scenes, a person dying is stopped and is, in a way, cursed to live and complete the life-time ‘assigned’ to him by the higher power. Now this is ‘karma’ and an understanding of PRABHDAM and AkAmiyam would help one in enriching the scene’s consumption as a viewer. Basically, the fact that you have to settle all the balances on all the deeds and mis-deeds your soul was a part of before achieving salvation; whether it be in this birth or multiple-births, is cemented on celluloid through a U-turn.)
Pawan Kumar, the writer-director gives subtle hints towards classism, regionalism (as I mentioned in the coke-addicted guy’s behavior) and just leaves them at that. (The old man picked up from the bridge is really given no choice; it is, as they say, the norm in India, ‘पहेले लात, फिर बात’ for the poor, while upper middle-class and the ‘educated’ get the boot only on 2nd or 3rd round of questioning – if they are luckier, they get a cutting chai first and then the boot.] Again, in the opening scene, he depicts a fine camaraderie and mother-daughter tidbits’ exchange; but throws in many societal observations, namely (i) Indian parents’ obsession with marriage and kids and age (ii) having a ‘safe’ job (in Bangalore parlance, read/write BOTH as software). And boy oh boy, if you are using an auto-rickshaw ‘service’ in Bangalore, make sure you have somebody with you who can go back or make a return-trip with and mainly, for the driver, from where you boarded, otherwise the poor driver has ABSOLUTELY no other choice but to extort you to pay at least half the ‘return-trip’ fare. There is another scene where the intern is accosted by the cops late in the night right in her apartment parking-basement/entrance and the ‘watch-man’ is sleeping. Well, he’s sleeping right through the entire noisy episode and even after the sirens have stopped blaring. The man believes in status-quo, and how!
Technically, the film does go through schizophrenic quality of savviness throughout. The technology employed in the climax is tacky. The cops trying to desperately break through a jail-cell where two guys are beating the hell out of each other is badly handled. The cops’ ineptitude at trying to break-open a jail-cell lock starts earnestly but borders and proceeds to hilarity. The ‘time-gap’ appears forcefully induced and the audience can easily sense it to the extent that they start thinking maybe they would have done a better job at smashing the lock than any cop! The good things: A fine background score by Poornachandra Tejaswi and fine lighting by the DOP especially in the chamber scenes. (The pre-death cinematographic treatment, however, is really old-school and tacky – the kind that you might have seen and forgotten in Ramsey Bros’ movies.) But for all this tackiness, there is one absolutely fantastic shot of the cop {Roger Narayanan’s G.K. Nayak} standing atop the fly-over trying to figure out the topography. The camera zooms out step-wise in such a spectacular fashion to capture a hawk-eye’s view of Bangalore that it might attract or force the Google behemoths to re-configure their street-view: Marvelous and absolutely superlative. All the action-scenes in Mad-Max to me are the cinematographic scenes par-excellence of this entire decade and a close, a very close-second is this shot from U-Turn.
Performance-wise, Shraddha Srinath does a good job of playing a novice but still needs to notch up in the acting department in terms of dialogue-delivery. (Do please keep the nose-ring on in your next movies). Roger Narayan as the cop has a fine screen-presence but comes across as too earnest. Hebbale Krishna is superb as the superior who wants to dismiss off the cases as suicide and not unnecessarily ‘complicate’ cases as well as one’s life.
In all, this is, a ‘safe’ film by Pawan Kumar’s standards but a ‘radical’ one by the Kannada film industry’s standards that for the past decade or so is quite happy ripping off legally or illegally Tamil and Telugu masala films. This is a surely recommended film but if one’s expecting something on par with Lucia, well, one’s not going to get it.
Why genius Aamir Khan revels in surprising his audience?By Faridoon Shahryar, Jun 17, 2016 – 11:05 IST
The prospect of doing an on location of Dangal in a village near Ludhiana received an instant yes from me. A late night flight to Delhi, fuel of a couple of hours of sleep at a recliner at New Delhi railway station lounge and catching an early morning Shatabdi express for Ludhiana meant a rollercoaster bumpy ride. As a journalist, imparting credible information and doing interesting interviews is something that I revel in. But I am also on a lookout for unique experiences that get imprinted on my mind, experiences that help me grow as a professional and as a person. Spending time with Aamir Khan has always been a learning experience for me. He means what he says, when he is talking to a crowd then it feels as if he’s talking to each one of them and then he’s extremely courteous. In the last ten years, I’ve keenly followed all his film promotions and the causes that he has been associated with. Now is the time for Dangal.
As the media bus reached Leel village, around 50 Kms from Ludhiana, I wasn’t surprised that why would a superstar want to shoot in such a hot condition at a location surrounded by agricultural fields and a narrow canal. Aamir has penchant for the unusual. He likes surprising his audience, even if it involves a bunch of media personnel (several of them were over excited fans). We were treated to a delicious Punjabi lunch which is meant for wrestlers. It included succulent Bhuna Mutton, Chicken Curry, Chicken Tikka, Paneer Tikka, Tandoori Chicken, Paneer Bhurji, Daal, Chapaati and a special desi roti. The interesting part was the presence of raw Badaam and Kaaju for strength while an amiable guy whipped out banana and mango shakes. There were Besan laddoo, Boondi Laddoo and Jalebi for dessert.
Aamir shot for a scene in the younger Mahaveer Phogat avatar. He was observing a duel between two wrestlers and was doling out excited inputs from the side-lines. It seemed like the state of an over involved spectator who is itching to be in the middle of all the sweaty dusty grind. A bunch of television cameras clamoured to take the best possible shots while Aamir tirelessly canned one take after another. At a crammed-for-space press conference a short while later, Aamir was showered with compliments for the weight loss and the extraordinarily chiselled physique.
In an informal conversation with me later, Aamir said that he was nervous that maybe this time he won’t be able to get into shape for the younger Mahaveer Phogat. Master Photographer Avinash Gowariker was also present with Aamir when we spoke. I complimented Avinash for the superlative picture of Aamir in a vest with a magically sculpted body that went viral recently. Avinash informed me that Aamir asked him to shoot his pictures at Taj Lands End gym. Aamir didn’t allow any assistants, lights inside the gym. Avinash shot several pictures. “Aamir has an amazing judgment. He chose this picture even though we had several other very fine pictures. He was looking at himself in the mirror hence the look that you see. Aamir didn’t allow me to touch up the picture at all. I wanted to remove the dark circle but he didn’t allow me. It has a rustic feel to it. The picture has gone viral receiving 21000 likes on his twitter page. None of my pictures has ever got as big an impact as this one,” Avinash told me excitedly.
In the evening Aamir met up with media once again. It was a casual conversation without any cameras. Aamir spoke for more than an hour, answering all sorts of questions. He introduced Nitesh Tiwari, the writer-director of Dangal and Kripashankar, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist Indian wrestler who trained him and the two girls Saniya Malhotra and Fatima Shaikh who play his daughters in the film. Aamir credited his dietician Dr Dhurandar and his trainers Rakesh (also trained Salman Khan for Sultan) and Rahul Bhatt (Mr Mahesh Bhatt’s son) for his chiselled physique and weight loss. Aamir informed that for the older version of Mahaveer Phogat he weighed 97 Kgs. For the younger version he lost around 17 Kgs. The fat was converted to muscle which has a weight of its own. Aamir has always been honest in telling his audience what they can expect from his films. He told the audience that they shouldn’t be expecting regular entertaining fare from Dhobi Ghat or Talaash. What would he tell his audience about Dangal? “It is a mainstream film,” Aamir said.
“Sakshi Tanwar is outstanding in Dangal. She’s superb. She is one of the best actresses that I’ve ever worked with,” Aamir said. He also said that if he indulged in 10% wrestling in the film, then the two girls playing Gita, Babita perform 90% of the wrestling in Dangal. When Aamir was asked about the ambitious Water Cup in Maharashtra, he passionately spoke about the cause that he and the entire Satyamev Jayate has undertaken in Maharashtra. He said that there are 86000 villages in Maharashtra. “India gets adequate rainfall but we need ways to conserve water. Villagers need to learn how to conserve water and someone has to teach them the same. Out of the 116 villages that participated in Water Cup, extraordinary work has happened in 40 villages. They earlier needed water tankers. Now they have so much of water that they can give water to other villages,” Aamir said passionately. Khan said that Satyamev Jayate will concentrate only on ending water woes in Maharashtra and won’t be doing the television show for a few years. He said that Maharashtra can be drought free in the next 5 years.
There is a lot more that one can document. Considering that Aamir makes himself available scarcely to the media, everything that he said yesterday was news. The interesting part about listening to what Aamir Khan says is that you carry the conversation with you. There are layers of meaning that may have an instant impact but there’s more to it when you think about it later on. As I write down my thoughts on the way back to Delhi enjoying the laid back rhythm of the train, I realise the effort was worth it. You do have to travel a distance if you wish to seek knowledge. The amount of valuable information that Aamir Khan shared yesterday about his personal and professional life and also his views on various causes may find its way in a book that I may write someday. All I can say as I sum up the experience is that more power to Aamir Khan. Keep on surprising the way only you can.
Oh come on…Please be a little more like KRK…Follow his advice on Lord Shiva as well!
Since you are such a big fan of KRK, I urge you to completely support his each and every accomplishment so far (being an alibi of Abu Salem; sending lewd messages to Bollywood heroines; supplying laborers to the Middle East illegally etc!)
And now merey SS key saathiyon jiska aapko dar thaa, I mean Intezaar thaa ….Yugpurush and his 21 Udtey ^^^^^ ka review –
Zigar thaam key baithiye- not a film review but a political review-
Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal · 39m39 minutes ago
Just watched UDTA Punjab. V powerful. Badals must watch it to see what they have done to Punjab.
The system from which Mani Ratnam emerged might have needed him to transcend, to inspire the younger lot but it seems it was Ratnam who might have needed the system more than the system wanting him. He was a part of the system but still considered to be one of a kind, and, at times, even above it. He became the beacon of a bright future and even created a platform where an entire generation of filmmakers benefited from what he had achieved yet couldn’t help but continue to keep looking over his shoulder at his own past. The legendary Hollywood filmmaker Billy Wilder had ‘How would Lubitsch do it?’ framed in gilt letters on a wall across his desk to remind him of his mentor Ernst Lubitsch and the way he’d tackle a scene.
Udta Punjab is looking at a solid day one with collections with around 10 crore nett as per early estimates. The number is a big one for a dark film which is off beat. The film has been helped by huge collections in Delhi city and East Punjab with a contribution of around 4 crore nett from both.
The other markets have seen lower business but still its still pretty decent and better than most films released this year. The business is dominated by multiplexes especially the high collecting ones. The controversy has helped but not a lot outside North India.
Udta Punjab has got a good day one number and now it will be about holding these numbers as the initial is the type which these sort of films don’t get. If Delhi city and East Punjab hold tomorrow at these high levels the film will be through.
The Dravida movement owes its rise to cinema – and let it not be said it was the glamour of an M.G. Ramachandran or a Jayalalithaa that did it. The DMK”s founder, C.N. Annadurai, and his successor Muthuvel Karunanidhi, wrote movie scripts that highlighted and challenged caste domination and exploitation of the poor in the Tamil Nadu of the 1940s and 1950s. Annadurai scripted “Velaikkari” (Maid Servant), a 1949 movie that highlighted a landlord’s atrocities. “Parasakthi,” released in 1952 and scripted by Karunanidhi, mocked Brahmin domination. Both Annadurai and Karunanidhi eventually became chief ministers.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party was created by N.T. Rama Rao more on the strength of his mythological movie roles, but in a way that shaped the “Telugu Pride” card that Rao used to challenge the dominant Congress party in the early 1980s.
In Hindi’s socio-political cinema, we have had Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zameen” (1953) on the plight of poor farmers, Amrit Nahata’s “Kissa Kursi Ka” (1978) that satirised the Emergency and “Aaj Ka MLA, Ram Avtaar” (1984) on the politics of defections. “Aaj Ka MLA” was directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, who eventually became Union minister for coal under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and has also been investigated for his role in the coalmine allocation scam.
Directors like Sudhir Mishra, who captured the Emergency and its milieu in “Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi,” and Prakash Jha, whose “Aarakshan” recently examined the politics of job reservations, are just two examples in a veritable procession of Indian movies exploring various shades of politics. Jha’s “Chakravyuh” probed Naxalism and his “Satyagraha” was said to be inspired by the Anna Hazare movement. Mishra’s “Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin” examined student politics.
Some of these films are termed arthouse or “parallel” while others are in the mainstream – such as the Anil Kapoor-starrer Nayak, directed by S. Shankar, which is a remake of his 1999 Tamil film, “Mudhalvan,” about a TV journalist who takes the chief minister’s job for a day after an on-air challenge.
After three back-to-back comedies, Abhishek Bachchan has decided to stay away from the comedy genre.
He has already said no to the big comedy franchise Hera Pheri.
“Yes,” he sighs, as he balances out this interview with a meeting with his sports team for the next kabaddi match. “It’s time to switch genres for a while. I’ve done three comedies in a row. After Happy New Year and All Is Well, I enjoyed Housefull 3 to the hilt. But, for now, it’s enough.”
Abhishek is looking at various scripts. “I am looking at something I have not done so far. I think I’ve done all genres-from slapstick comedies to family dramas. The only thing I haven’t done is horror. And I don’t want to do horror. I don’t like watching horror, so, why would I want the audience to watch me do it?”
At the moment, it’s celebration-time at the Bachchans for Housefull 3. Abhishek is joyous at the success. “We all worked so hard on it. All my co-stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Boman Irani and my directors Sajid-Farhad were pros at slapstick. I was completely new to the genre. They all guided me throughout the scenes. We had a lot of fun doing this one.”
And although Abhishek is off comedies, he wouldn’t want mind re-visiting the ‘Housefull’ franchise, “Provided, we come up with a script worth doing”.
Udta Punjab had a good first day with 10 crore nett which is the fifth best opening day of the year after Fan, Housefull 3, Baaghi and Airlift. In Delhi city and East Punjab it recorded the second highest opening day after Fan. The collections in Delhi city were better than Housefull 3 though the figures for the whole of Delhi / UP circuit were lower. The figures in East Punjab alone were best of the year.
The collections outside of North ranged from good to average barring Gujarat / Saurashtra which was poor. The performance of the Gujarat area was a lag on Mumbai circuit which collected around 2.50 crore nett which is the same figure as Delhi /UP.
Normally it would be easy to say the film will improve on Saturday for this type of film as that is when the target audience at high end multiplexes comes out but problem here is that normally films like this don’t put up double digit numbers on day one. There is potential for growth in many areas but that will depend on how the word of mouth is in these areas.
Udta Punjab recorded the highest opening day in East Punjab of 2016 due to the regional content and presence of Diljit Dosanjh. The top first day grossing Hindi films in East Punjab in 2016 are as follows.
1. Udta Punjab – 1,93,00,000
2. Fan – 1,75,00,000
3. Housefull 3 – 1,58,00,000
4. Airlift – 1,24,00,000
5. Baaghi – 1,03,00,000
Udta Punjab had fantastic numbers in Punjab but the cities outside the state were also strong. Gurgaon was excellent while places like Faridabad, Panipat, Jammu, Shimla, etc were also very good.
‘Udta Punjab’ made innumerable headlines before it’s release. But, irrespective of all the hulla gulla, the audience loves the movie and especially ‘Shahid Kapoor’ a.k.a. Tommy Singh has been receiving applauds for his stellar performance.
A few days ahead of the release, we got a chance to interact with Shahid and that’s when he shared about the difficulties he faced to prepare for his character.
So here’s what it took him to prepare for his dark yet amazing character.
Excerpts from the interview:
What was most difficult for you- playing a drug-addict or playing a rockstar?
Actually I can’t really break it up like that. Definitely the most difficult thing to play was a substance addict because I have never ever had alcohol, tried any kind of drugs. That’s true. I have never even had like half a bottle of beer or had any kind of substance. It just never happened. I wasn’t interested in it. I never supported it. I was one of those boring guys and my friends would quite often pull my leg about it. So it was very scary to attempt a role which I have no way of understanding what it’s like to be like that or to be in that state of mind. The most challenging and scary thing was whether I will make a fool of myself or I would be able to push my boundaries to try and achieve something that I actually have no exposure to.
So how did you prepare for your role?
To achieve that physicality of my character was a journey which took about three months. Basically I ate no food and trained for three hours a day. It’s a very odd combination. My character Tommy Singh is a star. He needs to look good. But he is an addict so he even needs to look destroyed. So you need somebody who is good-looking but looks like he is totally messed up. To achieve that, I had to train without eating. So that happened for three months as far as body was concerned. We carefully selected fourteen tattoos for my character. The whole thing of having a long hair with streaks was because when I heard the role of Tommy Singh from Abhishek Chaubey, the character was almost jumping out and hitting me in the face. I was like what kind of a guy Tommy is! I wanted the audience to have that similar taste. It was also difficult to understand what the state of mind of an addict is. My character in the film is a cocaine addict who starts chasing the drugs. He feels he needs to be high all the time. That’s what gives him confidence. So what happens to people in that space is that either they are over-confident or they are extremely under-confident when they don’t get it?
Did you take any real life inferences for this film?
The difficulty with this film was that nobody is ever going to show you that ‘this is what happens when I am on cocaine’. So I saw some documentaries and I think we have all partied enough to see what happens when people are high on alcohol and other stuff. (Laughs).
So was this character draining for you?
Every shot was quite draining. I used to actually go and lie down because I wasn’t really eating any food and I was having a lot of coffee. I needed to be very aggressive because the character is always up. So ya it was extremely tiring. In fact after the first 12-13 days of shoot for no reason I fell ill. I had no infection. I even underwent blood tests. I had fever for 13 days while shooting because my body was just too tired.
What’s Tommy Singh then all about?
‘Udta Punjab’ is a fictional film with fictional characters. It is not based on real life. The backdrop and issue is real. However the characters and the story are completely fictional. If you see Tommy Singh in the promos he is this huge star who is an addict. Now we have seen many people like this. There have been many pop stars having these fast lives. They die young, OD on stuff, people loves them, you know they are really cool looking, they come out and sing songs and have this really awesome shows. That’s the journey of Tommy Singh. His journey is the fall of a star because the musician in him falls prey to the addict in him. And he becomes nothing. It’s a journey of a guy who thinks that he is the best in the world recognizing that he isn’t and then fighting that reality.
How did you work upon the emotional part of your character?
I was very dependent on Abhishek (Chaubey). Like I said before I had no exposure to these things. But then you know you have an actor’s instinct. You are playing something and then you start feeling your character and then just go with the flow of your instinct.
What attracted you towards it?
Tommy Singh is bizarrely original. I found him very entertaining but very deep at the same time. That’s very rare combination. Usually entertaining characters are a little shallow. On the other hand the characters that are very complex are usually a little serious. But this guy had both which was very unique as an actor for me to do.
Do you like working more in out and out commercial films like ‘R..Rajkumar’ or content driven films like ‘Haider’ and ‘Udta Punjab’?
Characters excite me. I don’t have a problem with genres. I am happy to do all kind of genres. But more challenging the role, greater is the excitement. The more tired I get, the more I want a break. (laughs) After ‘Haider’, ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Rangoon’ I really want to do a light fluffy film where I can just sit, chat with the heroine and then cut into a song. (Jokes).
Do you keep a tab on the box office collections of your films?
Everybody keeps a tab. Forget me, even my Man Friday tells me ‘Sir, this film grossed 100 crores.’
Actors are showing a lot of maturity these days despite having baggage in the past. They are still very comfortable when it comes to working together in front of the screen, for example Ranbir- Katrina, you and Kareena…
You can choose to have a good attitude towards what’s going to happen. The word ‘baggage’ simply means loadDrop it and fly high.
Has ‘Shandaar’ taken away the novelty and excitement of your pairing with Alia Bhatt?
People really liked us a lot in ‘Shaandaar’. What I heard from people was that the only good thing about the film was me and Alia.
Would you ever get a tattoo in real life? Which one?
I really want a tattoo. But I haven’t been still able to figure out what I want. It’s a long time commitment. I just made one and I don’t think I am ready for another. (laughs)
Just saw Udta Punjab; Don’t have time for a full review but will jot down some random thoughts in a bullet list.
• The film is an uneasy mix of humour and harrowing scenes of violence. The violence is not just literal but also implied; it’s not just physical but also mental. It’s powerful enough to shake some pent up emotions inside you and it’s all interspersed with scenes of ironic humour. I think the two sides of the film are equally good.
• The story credits don’t include his name but make no mistake, this film has the quintessential Anurag Kashyap stamp on it. Think Gangs of Wasseypur, to be precise.
• Alia Bhatt can act! Go easy on the Bihari accent (she probably didn’t get the right coaching) but this is one helluva performance. Her scenes stand out prominently in a film littered with gut-wrenching moments. Shahid Kapoor has gone ahead in print and booked the next National Award for her…I wouldn’t be as generous perhaps but wouldn’t mind it one bit if she won.
• Diljit Dosanjh is very impressive in his debut. He makes the simpleton ASI character a treat to watch. Incidentally his character’s name (Sartaj Singh) is also the name of the hero in Vikram Chandra’s excellent book Sacred Games…which is going to be adapted on screen by Kashyap as well. Coincidence? Perhaps not.
• The film isn’t political at all. There’s some passing reference to politicians running a drug racket but the film eschews blame on any party to a large extent. Instead, the film chooses to focus on the story of 4 individuals caught in a drug menace. The intersecting storylines bit is no longer novel but it keeps things interesting nonetheless.
• You will enjoy the film more if you happen to like the music. I already did and for me the best portion of the film involved the song Ikk Kudi and its placement in the film. Only cinema has the power to make your heart jump with joy after watching a rather mundane celebration with a song like Ikk Kudi playing in the background.
• Finally, Shahid Kapoor is pretty darn good in the film. First off, it takes courage to play a character that’s by all counts a gigantic loser. Tommy Singh is a washed up rap artist; all macho on the outside but hollow and guilt-ridden from the inside. In the film he gets slapped around by the police, beaten up by joe public and has no real ‘heroic’ moments of his own. To his credit, Shahid Kapoor not only embodies the character’s spirit but also brings a maniacal feistiness that was also evident in Haider. In an erstwhile Shakespearean tragedy, his character would be that of a court jester! To his enormous credit, he plays the part with aplomb (and a sly rakishness) to leave a long lasting impression.
She’s good all right… but compared to the rest of the cast, she’s kind of bland — both in terms of how the character is written and also in tone and pitch.
I think it’s more the character that makes her less visible in the film. Don’t think she’s done a bad job at all…
Nice to hear good things about the movie….It is also holding very very well today on its second day…A good weekend means it should easily sail through and that is deserved returns for a movie that had to go through the wringer
While on one hand Punjab is getting succumbed into ‘substance abuse’ (as shown in the film Udta Punjab), on the other hand perfectionist Aamir Khan says people are good and polite in the villages of Punjab, based on his experience while shooting for his upcoming film ‘Dangal’.
According to a report in a leading daily Aamir Khan was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the villages in Punjab! He was quoted saying, “It has been a very nice experience in every way. There are facilities and people here are very humble, helpful and most importantly they meet everyone with respect. Our work is not in offices but on streets, villages and in public areas, so it will be very difficult for us if people at locations where we are shooting won’t cooperate. Our main set for Dangal is the Gujjarwal village where Mahavir lives with his family, we found Gujjarwal to be the ideal village. We also shot at Kila Raipur. We have combined Kila Raipur and Gujjarwal village and shown as one village in the film. I was in Gujjarwal for two months and each day whenever I used to reach sets in the morning, people of that area where we were shooting used to stand outside their homes to welcome me and so was the case every day when I used to leave sets after day’s work. That was so polite; it is the way they make a person feel welcome. It is not just their love for me; I think this is ingrained in their personality. I go to many places when I shoot and I don’t see this anywhere. When we first shot ‘Rang De Basanti’ in Punjab, I was surprised that people were so polite. I also met very nice people in Kutch, they are very loving. People are loving everywhere we go, but the level of hospitality is remarkable in Punjab.”
The ‘Mangal Pandey’ star said it’s not possible to talk to every individual the meet each day and gave a valid reason that why they look down while going to any event or any other places!
“The reason that stars or any celebrity keeps his eyes on the ground mostly is because if he would fail to address or look at anyone, people would think he is arrogant. But it is not so. But I am patient. I am a lot like my mother, she is of very soft nature,” says Aamir.
Housefull 3 dropped at the start of the third week as it faced major competition with the release of Udta Punjab. The collectons of Housefull 3 till date are as follows..
Week One – 80,02,00,000
Week Two – 23,14,00,000
Day 15 – 60,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 1,03,76,00,000
The third Friday has seen a drop of over 80% and this drop makes it tough for the film to reach 110 crore nett. The film has done well enough but has not really gone through with collections after the first week.
TE3N crashed out on day eight with business in the 30 lakhs nett region which will probably lead to lifetime business of around 18 crore nett. The film has dropped around 90% from its first day.
Extremely upset with news of Raghuram not taking up the 2nd term.
“…. He co-authored Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Luigi Zingales in 2003. He then wrote Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book in 2010”
And if the Governor is snazzily dressed, smart and intellectually gifted, which is not always the case, our P3P (Page 3 People) types consider him to be one of PLU (People Like Us) types.
Rajan is clearly a PLU. Which explains the fawning affection and fulsome praise showered on him by the Lutyens elite and their second cousins in south Mumbai.
It also explains why Manmohan Singh as RBI Governor never made the cut. A senior bureaucrat once recalled how Rajiv Gandhi, newly anointed Prime Minister, found him a crashing bore http://www.abplive.in/blog/after-rajan-who
Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta 2h2 hours ago New Delhi, India
One way of looking at #RaghuramRajan story: War on crony capitalism is over. Full normalcy restored. Capitalism lost, cronies won.
EconomicTimesVerified account @EconomicTimes 1h1 hour ago
.@kiranshaw : #RaghuramRajan laid out a dedicated plan to clean up Indian banking system, big loss for RBI #Rexit
Agreed. Raghuram Rajan leaving is bad news for the Indian economy. I’m not sure who’s going to replace him…It would be hard to find a more ‘honest’ man than Rajan.
Udta Punjab is set to show good growth on Saturday as collections will come in the 11-11.50 crore nett region which will take films collections to over 22 crore nett. The film has even managed to grow in Delhi and East Punjab despite strong first day collections.
The collections have seen most growth in Mumbai city, Pune and Bangalore as these cities do better for off beat films as they did not see the sort of opening North did and so have behaved as they would for most word of mouth films. The mass markers will be flat or limited growth depending on region. Rajasthan is better than other mass markets probably fue to the northern flavour of the film.
The film basically seems to be for the five metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Kolkata with the plus being that East Punjab is also on board in a big way which looks set to ensure a good weekend for the film.
It will be the first time that 30 crore nett will be crossed for a dark film, the pevious best being Badlapur. it will also be the highest weekend for a Shahid Kapoor starrer, the previous best being R… Rajkumar.
Yeah that’s how the right winger nutcases behave. Had there been no controversy, this film would have found a very limited audience…but no, since it was deemed to (allegedly) hurt election prospects of a certain political party, all efforts were made to stop it from releasing, including releasing it on torrents!
This when there’s hardly any political angle in the film.
The end result: just the exact opposite of what was intended by certain quarters!
I do disagree with your take on the film though. This isn’t just an above average film. It’s pretty good…but my grouse (if I can call it that; overall, I quite liked the film) is that it follows a certain template that’s not too hard to discern for the Anurag Kashyap viewer.
Having said that, I’m really happy that mainstream stars are now interested in films like Udta Punjab. Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are as mainstream as one can get. More importantly though, these stars don’t detract from the experience. They add to the experience, which is always a good thing!
They add to the experience, which is always a good thing!
In other words, some stars (unfortunately, still a handful) are good enough to add to a viewer’s experience even in films as dark as Udta Punjab. This is progress and what it implies in the grand scheme of things is that more such films will get made because stars are now willing to work in them.
It’s a positive feedback loop that should ideally result in much better cinema for viewers in the long run…
IF it was publicity then it would have dropped on Saturday itself. For sure the opening was better due to the controversy but once Saturday comes the movie is on its own. The movie is good and has been liked…
Really? The public is so wise that it would have realized on Saturday itself that this is not a good movie? For that to happen, it would have to be an UTTERLY BAD movie. And there-in lies the distinction..
This is an average to above-average movie that’s benefited IMMENSELY thanks to the fool Nihalani..No 2 ways about it..
What Nihalani has done is, brought together all age-groups and all criss-cross societal distinctions together with his idiotic debates in a sort of Wood-stock F-you response..
You have someone like LS 180 over here who is known to down-vote anyone who questions Aamir ‘logicially’ regarding ‘intolerance’ but up-vote when the same person stands up for the unethical Salman and the bully YRF when they try to out-release a film carrying the same atmospherics..
AnJo — what’s your problem with me — that I speak up for Aamir, that I question YRF very rightly for their unethical brazenness with Sultan, and have now liked Udta Punjab wholly for itself? Please don’t jump to conclusions based on the little you seem to see of me in these columns.
I am absolutely positive that Aamir’s supposed remark against intolerance was misinterpreted beyond reason.I have absolutely no doubt on that score. He was asked his opinion about the intolerance issue, and he gave it straight — that during the past few months, the mood of the country was disturbing to him — which is exactly how I feel. His interview with Indian Express , from 23 d Nov, 2015 — is there on the net. Read it carefully if you wish to refresh your memory. He did not openly speak out against the topic but seemed to agree that there was a mood of increasing intolerance — a point I agree on. And the rest of his interview made plenty of sense, as usual. He is a conscientious citizen, and I bloody admire him for that and his Satyamev Jayate, more than anything else. In fact I am a supporter of citizen Aamir more than movie man Aamir — he has made some good and not so great choices in his films, but overall he is ok, could be better.My liking Aamir’s cinema and general persona has nothing to do with my views on political- social situations. His only mistake was in quoting his wife unnecessarily. Quite a few people speak so in private, but it is not wise to repeat such talk on a public stage. And there are many more who agree with me, about Aamir getting a raw deal in this whole intolerance issue.
Udta Punjab will do well on its own steam. It is a very good film in my humble opinion. People are not fools to be swayed by controversies.
Hadd ho gayi. You can’t have your own opinions without somebody questioning their legitimacy.
I have no problem with you or anybody else.. But it’s upto you to
‘perceive’ that I have a problem with you. Sounds familiar? Oh by the way, I am an Aamir fan.You got to have multiple disclaimers in place these days..otherwise you run the risk of being labeled a ‘right-wing nut-case.’
I watched UDTA PUNJAB and found it a good one-time watch, inferior to the director’s DEDH ISHQIYA. But that’ s me.
You liked it. Happy for you.
Some hypocrisies need to be pointed out. You question OldGold why she deliberately mis-spells Aamir as Amir. But then, somebody who questions Aamir — oh God forbid if he is from the fascist BJP — is Vijay ‘something’? Was he born of ‘somethings’? Basically, anybody who questions Aamir or SRK needs to be pulled up.
Oh by the way, the darling of FOE Anurag Kashyap mentioned that ‘THIS country attacked Aamir and SRK for intolerance’.
Remember, they were ‘attacked.’ I question Aamir regarding the time-line of ‘intolerance’ and I ‘attack’ Aamir Khan.
So AnJo — is it so wrong to support Aamir logically on the intolerance issue? All of us who support Aamir on this issue — you think we are brainless fans just following him? So much contempt?
So many people — politicians, Sadhvis and sundry loudmouths — make a lot of outrageous statements — and few on social media nother to get outraged. But Aamir gives his genuine opinion, when questioned — yes, he has felt uncomfortable about somethings happening, the mood– a point on which ordinary Indians agree, at least some of us– and we become illogical supporters of Aamir? Is it even fair, such reasoning? I do believe that Aamir gets picked on whenever he opens his mouth to the media; his words are twisted– and now there is a baying social media mob waiting to demonise anybody who dares to speak in a politically incorrect manner.
Recently, in Ludhiana, Aamir was asked about CBFC and the Udta Punjab leak . I watched the complete video available on YouTube; he specifically and repeatedly asked the journalist whether the leak was really from CBFC; asked the journo to show his face; and then replied carefully that IF indeed CBFC was involved it would be a shame. He then went on to add that if it was not so, well, he has always spoken strongly against piracy.
But guess what? Expectedly the media has jumped on to the bit where Aamir has mentioned CBFC and the online leak , quoted him selectively — and made him look like a vindictive loser. So now you have the likes of KRK and sundry Bhakts demonizing Aamir again on Twitter.
Good that he ‘repeatedly’ asked the journalist if it was a deliberate leak from CBFC. But then as you mention, it’s the media that’s turned this upside down, not me, an Aamir fan, right? So if today, I question Aamir, independently, where would you put me? An Jo ‘something’?
And why would you keep underscoring SATYAMEV JAYATE as a highlighter for Aamir’s conscience? The man is bloody conscientious WITHOUT satyamev jayate. To hell with Satyamev Jayate. Maybe you need that check-box checked. I don’t. His film choices are enough for me.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out to you certain hypocrisies..as I am pointed out to by the way..if you so much like India, leave America..
AnJo — I do like most of what you write, your analysis of films; am aware that you have supported Aamir many times, except perhaps on the made up intolerance controversy. But I don’t understand why you find it difficult to reconcile my support of Aamir in this matter , with my stand against YRF- Salman on their brazen steamrolling with Sultan. Where is the hypocrisy here?
Yes,I do get irritated if Oldgold spells Aamir as Amir; she has once suggested that it’s a sort attitude on his part, spelling his name differently. I remember Aamir specifically saying tha he is Aamir, not Amir. Even his cousin Imran spoke about it. Why should I insult somebody by spelling his name wrong?
In fact as regards names, I remember Kamalahaasan and this original spelling; his brothers are Chandrahaasan and Charuhaasan. I always prefer to address Kamal by his original spelling; he later changed his name to Kamal Hasan. I don’t mean to disrespect Kamal. Just that I like the original name with its beautiful meaning ( Kamal and haasan).
I have watched Ishquia, like it. Not watched Dedh Ishquia yet. And I will be happy to watch Udta Punjab again. To me and a couple of friends who accompanied me, it is more than a one time watch.
And I don’t remember why I reacted to Vijay or whoever ; it would have been quite some time back. I used to respond to any comment that I could not agree with; then I steeled myself, learned to stay away from these fruitless discussions; there are far more important matters to fret over. In any case defenders like me are fair game….
I am not checking any box; it’s just that I like Satyamev Jayate, every episode; one of the few things on tv I have bothered to watch completely. Satyamev Jayate as repeatedly affirmed by Aamir, is a co- product and brainchild of Satyajit Bhatkal , a conscientious lawyer, schoolmate to Asmir, plus social activist in Mumbai. I was for a while in touch with Bhatkal through FB, suggesting topics I came across thru news. I absolutely loved his book The Spirit of Lagaan, a book about filmmaking against all odds. So my admiration for Satyamev Jayate goes beyond Aamir.
I have particularly liked Sarfarosh( 1999), a film that spoke about nation being above religion. Also loved Ghulam ( 1998), a commercial film with the raw appeal of a more artistic film . These two along with 1947 Earth( 1997) are my favourite Aamir films from the nineties. So Aamir’s good film choices predate Lagaan ( 2001). Also loved RDB ( 2006). Fanaa from the same year is commercial, but I have a soft spot for it.
Since May 2015, Aamir and Bhatkal have been busy with their practical version of Satyamev Jayate — gathering funds from industrialist friends, setting up a board with them, very busily involved in Maharashtra drought relief; have been following activities on this fron through ABP Majha’s weekly programs.
It is not wrong to like an actor beyond his film work. Some others too are doing commendable work. It makes them more complete citizens.
I guess the term Bhakts is rather unfair. Just that it s representative, convenient ( like the term Bollywood), not meant to demean. I have noticed that people who attack Aamir on Twitter , often quite senselessly and unfairly — are of a type; they cannot stand him because of his stand against the PM when he was not a PM. As if many others haven’t done the same. It s just that most people now prefer to remain silent. Wisely.
Krish does have a point. Films that have a mixed WOM do show a drop on Saturday. Take Fan for instance. They don’t show a growth in collections.
I’m actually quite surprised that Udta Punjab has held up so well…wasn’t expecting it at all. It’s too dark to invite any kind of family audience into theaters.
A film that over achieves on a Friday tends to drop on Saturday even if it is a mixed WOM. Its like you have a holiday on Day 1 and there is a invariable drop. This didn’t drop…That’s a good thing….It will not hold great on MOnday as movies such as this which usually banks on multiplex audience do drop…But as long the movie crosses 50 crores it is a big win….The way it is going now, 50 seems to be a easy target.
And this will be one of those dark movies which becomes a hit….Which is great news
Saket why are you under the impression that family audiences need to make it to the theaters to garner a hit status? Not needed. It is the ‘youth’ power that spends money and if that group makes it to the theater in groups, the job’s done..It is absolutely NO surprise that it’s doing well..This was NEVER a movie for family..if you go to watch Kashyap’s movie with your parents or your sister, you are either TOO ‘broad-minded’ or, you are a fool of the first-degree..
A better movie than this, TEEN, failed at the box-office, since the film had above 40 actors as the main protagonists…
When a movie starring Amitabh, Nawaz, and Vidya doesn’t even get decent foot-falls, well, apart from strategically released negative reviews 2 days prior to the release, you know what’s going on…
Yes, but the ‘youth’ have to still like the movie for it register growth. If WOM is bad, people bail out because at the end of the day it’s not cheap to watch a movie anymore.
The comparison with Teen isn’t quite fair. It doesn’t have younger stars to draw in a key audience segment or a foot-tapping musical score. It might be a better film (haven’t seen it yet) but it’s never guaranteed that a better film wins at the Box Office. In fact, a slow-paced film is always going to find it difficult to get any kind of support. Lootera is in my opinion, as close to perfection as a hindi film can get and it pretty much bombed at the Box Office. There’s a lack of film ‘culture’ in India…but then again, Hollywood doesn’t have a perfect track record in this matter either.
NEW DELHI: The controversy over Udta Punjab has barely died down when another Anurag Kashyap production has run in to rough weather. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has refused to certify Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer ‘Haraamkhor’ objecting to its theme which deals with a student-teacher romance. The filmmakers now plan to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
The Censor Board has “refused” certification on the grounds that a teacher is a “respectable figure in our society” and the film shows an illicit relationship between a teacher and a teenage student. “There are many filthy dialogues spoken by kids and body gestures of the kids were also found to be objectionable. Kids committing crime etc does not merit any certificate to the film. Hence, ‘refused’ because of its theme itself,” the CBFC letter said.
When asked, Kashyap confirmed that the producers were planning to appeal to FCAT against the CBFC decision.
The film, directed by Shlok Sharma, is a love story that revolves around a delicate relationship between a school teacher in a small Gujarati town and his teenage female student. It has been produced by Kashyap and Guneet Monga under the Sikhya Entertainment banner.
Haraamkhor was premiered in the 15th annual New York Indian Film Festival and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). Nawazuddin Siddiqui received the best actor award for the film at the New York Indian Film Festival.
Sources said that the board’s examining committee had a problem with the fact that a love affair between a teacher and student was being depicted when teachers are revered in India. Filmmakers pointed out that such themes had been explored in several films earlier and it was disturbing that the board was over-reaching in its functions to sit on judgement over social issues.
Watched Udta Punjab last night, loved it totally. Saturday evening show packed full, as expected. The audience in Chennai loved it every bit of the way. Many plan to watch it a second time. The Punjabi- Hindi dialogue is spot on; performances too. Loved the dialogue, the direction, the music.
A few felt that second half was slow. My friend and I did not feel so; the first half is frenetic and the second half calmer, the resolutions happening at a proper pace. I think it’s only some youngsters who find the second half slower.
Special mention for the thread of humour that runs through the film — it helped tone down the grim somber voice of the entire film.Thumbs up and four plus stars for this film that was saved from butchering ( with 89 unnecessary cuts) by a politically motivated censor board.
A friend who has met some Sikhs tells me that a high-placed politico’s son is the kingpin of the drug flow in Punjab.
To put things into context, let me add a comparison point for Udta Punjab. There have been Hindi films made on the drug menace before. Dev Anand’s Hare Ram Hare Krishna comes to mind as well as the more recent Dum Maaro Dum.
Well, Udta Punjab is about 10 times better than both! I know DMD gets a lot of praise here (the real world story is vastly different) and what Udta Punjab does is, it exposes the limitations of directors like Rohan Sippy — all style and panache on the outside but completely hollow in terms of character or even world-building. Now that’s an average film if there was one…
I’ve written a rather long piece on DMD so won’t add to that here (nor defend Sippy beyond this piece or my comments on BM elsewhere). I will say though that for me DMD isn’t about ‘drugs’ in any deeper sense. For that matter nor is Hare Rama.. necessarily. Now I’m not a fan of the latter but that’s another matter. In general films that are just about their stated subjects in that documentary sense of the word aren’t very interesting. For that matter even great documentaries are ‘fictions’ in the same sense.
Haven’t seen Udta Punjab so can’t comment on it. Glad to see it’s doing well though.
Then why take the trouble to name your film Dum Maaro Dum?
Unless it was a throwback to the song in Hare Rama… which makes it even worse!
Truth be told, there’s a B grade Hollywood film called Max Payne starring Mark Wahlberg. The entire trajectory of Abhishek Bachchan’s character has been lifted from that film.
because (and again don’t want to repeat the piece here) but the entire film is also an act of homage at certain levels including the grave reference at the end. Of course the song was literally re-used in the film.
I would take the title (Well made but also very banal) and add it to Dum Maaro Dum.
That ought to fix everything 🙂
On a serious note, do agree partially with Rangan’s review. The film does have some great directorial flourishes…but it’s certainly not banal. First off, there haven’t been many hindi films which have explored systematic drug abuse in India to begin with. The subject matter itself makes the film quite original.
Second, the characters are not cardboard cutouts. They have been fleshed out given the constraints of time and the format itself.
Third, the dialogues are fresh and original — like they always are in Chaubey’s films.
Fourth, films set in Punjab coming from the YRF banner portray a very rosy picture of the state. This is the anti-YRF portrait of Punjab.
How can the film be called ‘banal’ given all of this?
Saket is right.
Trying to compare dmd with udta Punjab is like comparing a kc bokadia auctioner with GOW!!!
Jus bcos u can block comments to this blog doesn’t affect the “real world” 🙂
Again haven’t seen the film so can’t comment specifically on it but I’d say this — I find 99% of the acclaimed films that come out of contemporary Bollywood to be banal. I’d go even further and say that it is the surest sign of banality in Bollywood when films are celebrated too much. It’s been a long-standing thesis of mine that the truly subversive (at any level) is not really celebrated in today’s Bollywood (or with its audiences) except when it operates below the radar. Much as films that truly question the complacencies of New India never really work or don’t work as they’re expected to. Such a list for me would include Khakee, DMD, Mangal pandey, Talaash, DMD, Raavan. This is not a partisan point because I actually don’t find for the purposes of this discussion Guru as interesting as Raavan, RDB as interesting as Talaash (though Mehra is otherwise a finer director) and so on. DMD would still have done ok if Abhishek had had better box office standing at the time. But put differently still I have not seen any important film for 20 years or so out of Bollywood that was really very successful at any end of the production spectrum and that was truly interesting or subversive (as I see it). And this includes for me much of the Kashyap reception. I do like most of his films (not all) and I certainly find him to be a significant (if an unrealized) talent but again the reasons he’s celebrated are for me part of the problem. I was for example a naysayer on GoW.
To my mind we just don’t live in any age where ‘subversion’ is celebrated in any ordinary sense (certainly in Hindi cinema..). It’s not been that sort of age since the great age of Bachchan for the most part. There are exceptions here and there but they hardly ever get the right kind of attention one way or the other. Khakee was an extraordinary film at many levels but did far less than a film of comparable quality would have done in a number of other genres. Dev never even got started at the box office. A film of stunning political boldness. To continue my analogies for me Black or Paa or Piku are far less interesting than these films though all three did a lot more relative to subject and production scale compared to those other films. Films that represent New India as a heart of darkness place or that critique it profoundly never succeed (Talaash, Khakee, DMD, Raavan, some do better than others but if you factor in the star’s box office you’re not left with a very significant difference on trending patterns if at all). On the other hand GoW represents what is already the multiplex imaginary on the Indian badlands. Again have said volumes about all of this in the past and won’t repeat everything but for the purposes of a response here just offering shorthand. But ‘banality’ is often about a film’s deepest meaning. A film can be very well-made, polemically charged at certain levels and still not have anything very important to say. This might still make it better than most other films at that point in time but that’s probably a low bar.
Not a response to the point above, but just remembered Badlapur. Badlapur did quite well even though it was dark…Udta Punjab will the next in the list. Then we also have the NH10’s etc which keep making a mark…
But Badlapur wasn’t a film that surprised me in this sense. The issue isn’t ‘dark’ films. A film like Kahaani did very well. It’s more about films that have a certain critique. What’s a good counterexample? In the 70s all the key Bachchan scripts were extremely critical of bourgeois family values (one of the reasons why this audience always had some degree of discomfort about those films) or even the institutions of the state. This was true of the age in general but specially in those important films of his. As late as Lawaaris (to my there isn’t a better commercial film out of Bombay since this film with the exception of Ghulaami) the critique of just about everything is just searing. Today if you said a tenth as much people would run out of the theaters screaming! But the other reason for this is a structural one. The drivers of the film economy today are multiplex audiences. Whether these multiplexes are in Bombay or Kanpur they automatically play to a certain class or a certain mindset. One which for a long time has been the New Indian aspirational one. Now you might get a Salman Khan film (which by the way is about as non-serious as masala can get.. because there is hardly any element of critique in it) which plays well in all kinds of theaters but no film could get to a huge gross simply by depending on non-multiplex screens. Everyone knows this. So even a Salman film has to be minimally acceptable to multiplex audiences which means it then also has to be a certain kind of ‘non-offensive’ masala. In any case you get films that have to play to multiplexes whether it’s Badlapur or Piku or a Salman film. This is hardly a ‘universal’ audience because even in major cities you cater to a class that can afford those tickets. Bollywood is really the name of a boutique cinema. This wasn’t the case for the longest time and still isn’t in just about any other part of the world.
And to be clear I am not against the ‘aspirational’. But New India is built on a certain forgetting, a certain escapism, ultimately a certain political irresponsibility that I find reprehensible. This is not about celebrating the ‘old’. One can be a strong critic of the latter without necessarily having a better or more progressive vision of the future.
‘Bollywood’ is a symptom of all this but it is also ultimately to my mind the name for the ‘death of Hindi cinema’ or a certain great and singular tradition of four decades or more. Now what we have is a good film only on the exceptional day. And even here it’s very seldom anything but a rehash of Hollywood or festival cinema genres. If I cannot get something specifically Indian in these films I’m just not interested. Because I can get far better examples of the same genres in all kinds of global cinema. And if it is ‘Indian’ it still has to live up to a certain bar. Incidentally this also isn’t about changing times or something. Yes things change but some changes are just regressive or poor. The 80s were a worse decade than the 70s in every measurable sense in Hindi cinema. The 60s weren’t as interesting as the 50s. One can make these judgments. Everything that is ‘new’ is not automatically admirable. And sometimes when a tradition is lost or weakened you can go years or decades or even centuries (I could cite other art forms as examples) without anything noteworthy coming about.
I know everything that I’ve said here isn’t related to your comment but I’ve just used the opportunity to expand on mind and just offer a summation of my larger critique in this sense.
Satyam u r trying to defend something that’s indefensible with DMD. It’s EMBARRASSING to see u attempt this!
It’s not even in the same building forget the same floor.
People like Rohan sippy & Abhishek are essentially just GLOROFIED NEPOKIDS!
they can’t be allowed to STAND in the same ROOM as people like Abhishek Chaubey or Anurag kashyap or even Amit trivedi who have done the slog & have real talent not jus genes…
Btw kareena kapoor &Alia Bhatt aren’t the NEPOKID category (both have proven talent)
Even if this doesn’t actually happen (bcos three clear open weeks during Dec holidays are too much to resist!)
The fact that aamir is mulling running way again is SHOCKING
And a SLAP for his devoted blind fans and PROVES aamirs “short”comings 🙂
I find 99% of the acclaimed films that come out of contemporary Bollywood to be banal. I’d go even further and say that it is the surest sign of banality in Bollywood when films are celebrated too much. It’s been a long-standing thesis of mine that the truly subversive (at any level) is not really celebrated in today’s Bollywood (or with its audiences) except when it operates below the radar. Much as films that truly question the complacencies of New India never really work or don’t work as they’re expected to. Such a list for me would include Khakee, DMD, Mangal pandey, Talaash, DMD, Raavan.
I find it interesting that only films starring Bachchan(s) or Aamir happen to be on your subversive list. This means one of the following:
a. Films otherwise acclaimed but not starring Bachchans or Aamir are not subversive at all
b. You don’t watch that many Hindi films or limit your viewing to films starring a few stars
c. This is the most subversive reading of your choices: you watch other acclaimed films but find faults in them that you would otherwise overlook in films starring your favourites.
I’m not trying to deliberately pin you down on this. It’s your choice as to what you watch and what you admire in the end…but there’s a question of consistency in your choices, perhaps. Also perhaps a moment to introspect as well?
But ‘banality’ is often about a film’s deepest meaning. A film can be very well-made, polemically charged at certain levels and still not have anything very important to say. This might still make it better than most other films at that point in time but that’s probably a low bar.
This isn’t what Rangan was referring to. Anyway, the deepest ‘meaning’ of a film would be open to subjective interpretation, no? How can you argue that your definition of the deepest meaning is the only one possible? Besides, you impart too much credit to a Hollywood wannabe like Rohan Sippy. You infer meaning in films like DMD when it’s obvious that he has copied stuff from films like Max Payne. I mean this is the guy whose debut effort was called Kuch Na Kaho. How original was that!? I’m actually being generous by not calling him a hack…because he’s obviously vastly superior to someone like Sanjay Gupta but to call him original would be a giant stretch!
To be honest I thought of naming Thakshak too, a film I love but I didn’t quite remember the release year and I thought it was much older. In any case another film that didn’t do well. On the rest note though that Aamir is known for doing different stuff. Abhishek when he became successful again decided to work with certain kinds of directors more than others. That’s precisely why I’ve been interested in these careers more than others. When Abhishek started doing other kinds of stuff (for whatever reason, understandable or otherwise) I wasn’t interested. As for his father he did a lot of poor stuff in this period but he’s also worked with some of the best talents.
Folks typing loooong essays was never easy for me and now difficult to get time n effort
So Twitter with few character is more apt
Ventured briefly today 1st time
Was drowned by ranveer fangirls today…lol
LOS ANGELES: Anton Yelchin, a charismatic and rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, has died at the age of 27. He was killed in a fatal traffic collision early Sunday morning, his publicist, Jennifer Allen confirmed.
Donald Trump was a brash scion of a real estate empire, a young developer anxious to leave his mark on New York. Roy Cohn was a legendary New York fixer, a ruthless lawyer in the hunt for new clients.
They came together by chance one night at Le Club, a hangout for Manhattan’s rich and famous. Trump introduced himself to Cohn, who was sitting at a nearby table, and sought advice: How should he and his father respond to Justice Department allegations that their company had systematically discriminated against black people seeking housing?
“My view is tell them to go to hell,” Cohn said, “and fight the thing in court.”
It was October 1973 and the start of one of the most influential relationships of Trump’s career.
Cohn soon represented Trump in legal battles, counseled him about his marriage and introduced Trump to New York power brokers, money men and socialites.
Cohn also showed Trump how to exploit power and instill fear through a simple formula: attack, counterattack and never apologize.
Since he announced his run for the White House a year ago, Trump has used such tactics more aggressively than any other candidate in recent memory, demeaning opponents, insulting minorities and women, and whipping up anger among his supporters.
Cohn gained notoriety in the 1950s as Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel and the brains behind his hunt for communist infiltrators. By the 1970s, Cohn maintained a powerful network in New York City, using his connections in the courts and City Hall to reward friends and punish those who crossed him.
He routinely pulled strings in government for clients, funneled cash to politicians and cultivated relationships with influential figures, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, mafia boss Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno and a succession of city leaders.
In the 1990s, a tragic character based on Cohn had a central place in Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer prize-winning play, “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.”
Trump prized Cohn’s reputation for aggression. According to a New York Times profile a quarter-century ago, when frustrated by an adversary, Trump would pull out a photograph of Cohn and ask, “Would you rather deal with him?” Trump remained friends with him even after the lawyer was disbarred in New York for ethical lapses. Cohn died in 1986.
Udta Punjab is had a good first weekend grossing 33.50 crore nett with East Punjab doing record weekend business for the year so far. Delhi / UP was also very good while other circuits ranged from good to decent. Mumbai and Mysore showed the best growth over the weekend as this sort of content normally does better in Mumbai city and Bangalore.
The trend overall was good as the film did get a little boost from the controversy on day one so fair value for the first day was around 9 crore nett instead of 10 crore nett which in real terms meant 20% growth on Saturday. The film followed up with 10-15% growth on Sunday. The weekend is the fifth best of 2016.
The censor issue created extra hype for the film but it did not reflect in collections as much as it could have. The opening numbers of the film were as Ki & Ka in Mumbai, South and East India. Central India was a little better and it was North India which was 2 crore nett better and that was always going to happen even if there was no controversy due to the regional content. This basically means only around 75 lakhs nett was added due to the controversy.
It we take the genre of the film then the weekend is very good as these sort of film don’t get over 30 crore nett in the first weekend though on the other side it did have a good cast which meant a wider audience than most dark thrillers.
A good Monday hold will see good business for 2 and a half weeks. The film does not have much in its way till Sultan though in East Punjab it will have to compete with Return Of Sardaarji which will hit collections. The big hollywood film Independence Day 2 is there but thats unlikely to be a 9 or 10 crore opener in India.
Housefull 3 crossed the 105 crore nett mark in its third weekend but collection did see a big drop of 83% from the previous weekend. The collectons of Housefull 3 till date are as follows..
Week One – 80,02,00,000
Week Two – 23,14,00,000
Weekend Three – 2,50,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 1,05,66,00,000 apprx
The collections of Housefull 2 were 7.75 crore nett in its third weekend which is three times higher. The film is now looking at a 108-109 crore nett finish with a distributor share of 54 crore.
TE3N crashed in the second weekend grossing 1.25 crore nett and taking its lifetime business to around 17.25 crore nett. The film will do around 18 crore nett business which is less than a film like Sanam Re.
Udta Punjab has done well at the Box Office. What has really gone in favor of the film is the word of mouth amongst the target audience. The Abhishek Chaubey film was anyways meant for the niche audience and the fact that it has managed to penetrate even beyond that has been a reason to smile for all involved. In fact for the director there is a lot to smile as in the opening weekend itself, Udta Punjab has now gone past the lifetime collections of Ishqiya [23 crore] and Dedh Ishqiya [28 crore]. Superb indeed!
Moreover, for Shahid Kapoor too these are the best weekend numbers of his 13 year career. This is how his recent films have scored:
Udta Punjab – 33.80 crore
R… Rajkumar – 30.7 crore
Shaandaar – 27.4 crore (first 3 days, since it released on Thursday)
Phata Poster Nikhla Hero – 21.25 crore
Haider – 19.45 crore (first 3 days, since it released on Thursday)
According to a Mumbai Mirror report, 20th Century Fox – the makers of Independence Day Resurgence – decided not to show any part of India or its historical monuments being destroyed in the film. Their reason, and we quote, being “Well, Indians are too touchy. Keeping the sensitivities of all the religious groups and other activists in mind, the makers were asked to not shoot in India or portray any prominent monuments being damaged.”
The report quotes a source from the production house saying, “There was also a request to only represent India on one of the film’s posters, by showing an attack on the Taj Mahal. But this too was rejected.” The film arrives June 24.
Maybe, the studio backing the Roland Emmerich film — starring Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Vivica Fox — decided not to mess with the wrong country keeping Pixels in mind. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had reportedly asked the production house backing the Adam Sandler movie to exclude the clip that shows the Taj Mahal being destroyed from the promo. An insider said at that time, “Originally, the film had scenes that showed many monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Houses of London, and so on, being destroyed. However, the final cut of the film featured the Taj Mahal scene.”
The scenes were later taken off. Earlier, Pixels’ director Chris Columbus had said about destroying the Taj: “It is the first real iconic thing to get destroyed in the film. There is a destruction scene prior to that but with Taj Mahal, you see that it is actually a game breakout. I had this visual image while designing these effects. It had nothing to do whether it was India or anywhere else. I just thought it will look really cool and awesome,” he had said. That is, till India took offence.
yeah most of the world’s most iconic cities have been partially or wholly destroyed in Hollywood including some of the America’s most cherished monuments. I doubt most Indians are so ‘hurt’ by this stuff either!
Both films were deeply rooted in the local culture and flavour of North India and explored intense themes like patriarchy and power relations in the badlands of Haryana (Anushka Sharma-starrer NH10) and the menace of drug abuse in Punjab (Shahid Kapoor’s Udta Punjab).
Sharma revealed his process of researching for Udta Punjab and writing the film to IndiaToday.in.
Excerpts from the interview:
(SPOILER ALERT: The conversation has references to the movie at several points. Please read only if you have watched Udta Punjab. Or if you don’t plan on watching it.)
What was the genesis of Udta Punjab?
Abhishek (Chaubey) approached me to write a movie on drugs. I had already done some research on Punjab so I suggested to him to base the story in Punjab. That’s where the problem is quite rampant and real. So, I travelled to Punjab and saw things first-hand.
How long did the research take and when did you begin writing the movie?
Three years ago. Research was done in few rounds. In the first round, I went to Punjab and met journalists, doctors, rehab centre officials, drug addicts, drug peddlers, policemen. I got an idea of the supply side, the law enforcement side, the addicts’ point of view and so on. I wanted to get an idea of why it is happening in Punjab, how it is spreading, how it’s being controlled and is there a way out?
There are seldom moments in the life of creatives within the world of entertainment that compel you to speech and words .. ‘Udta Punjab’ did that to me today .. cinema in its absolute .. artists – where the heck are they getting these superbly talented men and women from – without fault and without performance per se .. but living in the life of the character being portrayed .. simply mouth wide opened wonder as you watch them
Simultaneously, not because Abhishek is in it, I enjoyed ‘HOUSEFUL 3′ .. and I saw both of them back to back .. really a fun film extravagantly mounted and slickly performed project .. and well .. at times you have to read past the critics that did demolish the film ..
That is creative contentment in a day .. does not happen too often .. !!
The Great Bong on Udta Punjab-
Everyone is praising Alia Bhatt !!
It succeeds in one of the threads, Alia Bhatt’s, because she puts in a command performance, despite the mildly inauthentic Bihari accent, and because she has the most fully-realized character arc. I realize that for many Shahid Kapoor’s character, the conflicted bumbling fool of a rock-star, will be a favorite, but at least for me, it was largely a caricature, like an over-acted street-play on the effects of drugs, his motivations and conflict ill-defined, though he does have some great lines which makes his scenes eminently watchable. The real problem is with the Kareena-Diljit Dosanjh part of the film, the investigation formulaic and cliched and too much Deus Ex Machina, with Kareena (by the way, when did she start asking to be credited as Kareena Kapoor Khan)’s character reminiscent of the Sekhar Suman character in Tridev, never something to aspire for in a serious film.
We all know that Salman Khan always speaks his mind. The actor never steps back from executing his though and views.
His outspoken nature has landed him in various troubles in the past and yet again history has repeated itself.
Along with being trolled on social media, Salman Khan is also facing a severe backlash from the masses.
In an interview ahead of the release of his upcoming film ‘Sultan’ when he was asked how difficult was it shooting for his role of a wrestler in the film, Salman said, “While shooting, during those six hours, there’d be so much of lifting and thrusting on the ground involved. That was tough for me because if I was lifting, I’d have to lift the same 120-kilo guy 10 times for 10 different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times on the ground. This act is not repeated that many times in the real fights in the ring. When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn’t walk straight. I would eat and then, head right back to training. That couldn’t stop.”
From his complete answer his statement “I used to feel like a raped woman” spread like a wild fire in the media and didn’t go down well with his fans as well as the audience. The furious people then took to social media to express their anger against Salman.
However, Salman has not yet cleared his stance on the same.
This is a drop in the ocean as far as Salman’s history is concerned. The media/fans will quickly forgive and forget. His actions and mouth have never been duly punished, why now?
Nothing to take away from good boxoffice collections of Udta Punjab .. but Sarkar Raj had 17 Crore weekend on 1100 screens, 9 years ago … and for BOI it was poor weekend. Compare to 33 Crore weekend of Udta Punjab, on 2600 screen is good because it is dark movie. Wasn’t Sarkar Raj even more Darker ???
Readers are aware of the fact that Udta Punjab went through a lot of struggle to get a release without any cuts. After a prolonged battle with the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over 89 cuts in the film, Bombay High Court had passed the film with just one cut. The film finally released on June 17 but is once again facing another road block.
While the film has released in India and overseas, it is struggling to get a release in Pakistan. According to the chairman of Censor Board Sindh, Fakhr-Alam, they have asked the distributor to delete certain scenes due to the abusive language. Reports suggest that the law and censor code does not allow the extreme amount of abusive language. After the asked scenes will be removed, they will review the film and issue a certificate. Till then, Udta Punjab won’t be released.
Directed by Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom Films and Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures, Udta Punjab stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh.
I think in countries where the certification based on age is not followed, there needs to be cut.
Fos example, i saw teenagers (15 year olds) watching Udta Punjab in theatres. While i know that its an implementation issue and also lack of respect to certifications in India…it still cannot be put under the carpet.
Udta Punjab had a 54% drop on Monday from Friday but taking into account the little boost it got from the censor issue on day one, in real terms its that normal normal drop of around 50%. The four day first week business of Udta Punjab is as follows
Friday – 9,75,00,000
Saturday – 11,25,00,000
Sunday – 12,25,00,000
Monday – 4,50,00,000
Total – 37,75,00,000
The film is a content film so could have held better but evetually its a dark thriller for a limited audience and it got in the footfalls over the weekend so a strong hold was always going to be a tough ask.
The first week will go to around 48 crore nett and that is a healthy first week and then it will be about where the collections land on the second Friday
Salman Khan recently fell into a big controversy for his frivolous statement. However, he soon withdrew his statements but the damage was already done by then. As Salman was being bashed on the social media by the masses!
Today, his father Salim Khan took to his social media account and apologized for his son’s remarks.
[The Salman comment is justifiably attracting controversy. It is utterly sickening and unfortunately reveals a mindset that is hardly restricted to him. But it also offers sad (societal) commentary in another way. What he said was reprehensible but in a way this kind of remark becomes less pardonable than running poor people over and killing one of them. Not comparing the two but the the latter isn’t really a problem for very many people whether they admit this or not. That comment was assuredly disgusting but running people over should not get one a hero’s reception either. ]
“He looks very, very, very tired here”
Looks like asthma to me. Kitney vadiya actor hai. He doesn’t let on and instead controls how he talks. So the “tired” part is how asthmatic feels (being out of breath…deprived of oxygen literally).
I doubt it will affect the BO of Sultan at all !!
All the libtards had no problems with AIB, and Tammy Bhatt but Salman Khan kee toh keh key leni hai !!
Rocky this isn’t about whether others have hypocritical double standards or not, whether the industry is as always shamelessly quiet or not, whether his box office fortunes are affected or not… this is simply a disgusting, inexcusable comment. One can debate about the rest but one must start, it seems to me, from this point of ‘agreement’ — this is simply no excuse or justification for this comment, nothing that can explain it in any sense whatsoever. This is the mindset that leads to the kind of violence against women that is all too common in India (not only in India.. but India is one of the worst offenders, certainly among democracies). Now Salman is hardly unique in this sense. There are many like him and he’s symptomatic of this larger mindset but as a public figure it’s even more problematic if you say certain things. The least he could have done is apologize properly for it.
I agree that he should apologize and it really baffles me why he still has not.
If you remember even Bachchan had once said that if rape is inevitable, lay back and enjoy.
To go and interview Nirbhaya’s mom is a bit too much.
find it impossible to believe Bachchan could have said this. Where did you hear this? I’d be stunned if this were true. He’s so careful about what he says that he wouldn’t say a tenth as much on other subjects let alone on this one.
Satyam, he said that in the nineties when everyone was after him in one of the print magazines’ interview. I think it was either Cine blitz or “g”.
But that was before social media and twitter frenzy.
Aside- In a recent movie- Hamari Adhuri Kahani” Emran Hashmi goes- Itnee sareee security honey he bawazood ek aurat bachaney aayee”. I thought that was really offensive.
Totally agree the least he should have done by now is to come out and apologize and also tried to address concerns of various quarters amply displaying sincere regret / remorse.
By delaying he is providing his detractors who have an axe to grind for past reasons to have a field day at his expense. The whole media tamasha all day long yesterday was simply unbelievable. Arnab Goswami hit a new low as he has nothing substantive to say these days so he is latching on to each bollywood controversy to revive his sinking trps. I am happy Bachchan had in his recent interview on ‘content & news’ had rightfully called him out.
He needs to cut loose from the dreadful simile / metaphor / analogy first foremost and in doing so also take on the media by conveniently leaving out the portion which has his immediate regret. Very few outlets have covered –
“As soon as he made the comment, Khan appeared to regret his choice of words.”I don’t think I should have [said that],” he said immediately afterwards. “For me, it’s like the most difficult. I couldn’t take steps.”
Further what sadly appears to me (pointed out by Munna earlier) is the delay in apologizing may also be part of a perverse feeding in to a deviant new age media management, where any publicity results in good publicity.
…who would think Trump would be nominee of a very uptight & righteous party after referring to an upscale Megyn Kelly – “you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes….. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
He also said that references to Pakistan “have been excised”. Hasan added: “Scenes which even subtly refer to Pakistan, word ‘786’, words ‘Maryam kee seerat’ and all the foul language and such words have been excised, muted and beeped.” A well-placed source in the neighbouring country’s film distribution market told IANS that about eight minutes of “basically abusive language” have been cut. However, a release date is yet to be fixed.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Board of Film Certification, which works independent of the CBFC, is yet to grant a release certificate to the movie. “We have asked a local distributor and importer to mute all abusive language as that is a direct violation of the existing censor code, and a few cuts. The film will be certified soon and hopefully released soon,” Fakhr-e-Alam, chairperson of the Sindh Censor Board, told IANS from Karachi.
They are now waiting for the film’s Pakistan distributor to do the needful. “Only after that, the certificate will be issued,” Alam said. A hard-hitting but entertaining message-based drama, ‘Udta Punjab’ features power-packed and convincing performances by Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh. “It’s powerful cinema,” Alam said, adding: “Alia Bhatt has just set the bar too high for all the leading ladies.”
The film’s story delves into the drug problem that the youth in Punjab is facing, and this has been told through actors Shahid, a youth icon and music star who remains high on drugs; Alia, a Bihari woman who falls in the trap of drug peddlers; Kareena, a doctor on a mission to break the drug nexus in the state; and Diljit, a police officer who dares to take on the system after his brother falls victim to the drug menace.
With its unapologetic use of abusive language, ‘Udta Punjab’ wasn’t deemed fit for release even with an ‘A’ certificate by the Indian Censor Board.The makers — led by Anurag Kashyap who has been credited as being the face of a new wave of cinema in India — moved the Bombay High Court, and walked away victorious after agreeing to make one cut and adding three disclaimers. The controversy stretched for almost two weeks, and became a larger issue when political bigwigs stepped in with their comments. The row also raised questions — once again — about the feasibility of having a censor board — and brought filmmakers to demand an organisation which only certifies films and not excise parts of it.
Top Comment
Amazing.. And in the UAE, being released with zero cuts.. We sure have a lot to learn about growing up.. Or we only accept sleazy rain dances which titillate the nationRajesh Asarpota
Debunking common perception, women are becoming a part of the dark underbelly of the drug world in Punjab. In many cases they are forced into it by their partners.
Take the case of Gagneet Kaur in Baba Bakala town of Amritsar. Barely 15, she has drooping eyelids and pustules on her face. She can hardly read or write without taking her daily fix of a gram of heroin. Hostility is palpable in her voice and she wears long-sleeved shirts to hide her needle marks. This is her third relapse after she was first sent to a de-addiction centre in 2013.
Gurneet, a 19-year-old nursing school student in Amritsar city, has abscesses and scabs on her skin, even as she speaks incoherently while recalling how she and her friends would drop syringes filled with heroin at a dump outside her college. Such is the magnitu de of the drug problem that there are hundreds of wo men like “Udta Punjab’s” Kumari Pinky who have wasted away their formative years.
This is why when 48-year-old Baljit Kaur was convicted by an Amritsar court to nine years’ imprisonment for peddling smack and heroin in 2015, many in Khilchiyan village in the border area of Amritsar as well as the city dwellers erupted in joy.
Baljit, one of the most deadliest peddlers in Baba Bakala, was arrested by Amritsar Rural police in 2012 while carting a bag of drugs.The involvement of women in both peddling and consumption is an evolving crime in Punjab.
Arbaaz Khan has provided a baffling explanation of the 50-year-old’s comment that serves only to amplify its insensitivity.
“When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn’t walk straight,” Salman Khan told the press last weekend about filming the rigorous wrestling scenes of Sultan. On Tuesday, his brother suggested that it was the sort of commonplace comparison that is made in everyday conversation to illustrate how hard a working day has been.
Arbaaz’s response failed to grasp the magnitude of what Salman said. “There are some things which we say while talking but we should look at the intention – why was it said? I definitely have no doubt that whatever Salman said, the intention was not wrong. It was just the kind of (statement) where we compare things – ‘I worked like a donkey’ so now people will say you used the word donkey so some animal activist will come after you,” he said at an event in aid of his new film Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai in Mumbai.
Udta Punjab grossed 3.75 crore nett on Tuesday and is heading for business of around 47.50 crore nett in week one which is similar to the lifetime business of Haider. The five day first week business of Udta Punjab is as follows
Friday – 9,75,00,000
Saturday – 11,25,00,000
Sunday – 12,25,00,000
Monday – 4,50,00,000
Tuesday – 3,75,00,000 apprx
Total – 41,00,00,000
The film has done very well in East Punjab with business set to hit 9 crore nett in week one which is more than the lifetime business of all Hindi films in the circuit barring the two Akshay Kumar starrers Airlift and Housefull 3.
I knew I had to see the film one more time before I could dare to write anything on it. Now I have, and it got better on second viewing. For me, that is the acid test. A genuinely good film has to get better on second viewing. On third and subsequent viewing, it may hold its impact, or it may wane a little. But on second viewing it has to get better. And this one did.
First things first. It is NOT a public service film on the evils of drug addiction, or an expose of the nexus between the drug mafia and politicians in Punjab. (Just like ‘Anna Karenina’ is NOT a film on adultery and ‘Bombay’ is not a film about the Mumbai riots.) Like all good works of fiction it tells a great story involving some engaging characters. And what characters!
Let us take Tommy Singh first. We have seen rock stars on Indian screen before, perhaps the only one aiming at some degree of seriousness was Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’. But that I thought was a wasted opportunity as it did not delve into the character at all and got only the surface contours right. But Tommy Singh is something else. A small town boy, Tejinder Singh from Bathinda lands up in UK through a visa fraud. His musical talent keeps him afloat. Then he gets into drugs and his music starts celebrating drugs explicitly. The public laps it up, mistaking it for cool pop philosophy. (All you Jim Morrison fans, don’t you still think ‘Girl, we couldn’t get much higher I Come on baby, light my fire ‘ or ‘ Show me the way to the next whisky bar’ as some kind of profound lyrics? ) He is a rage. Asian Underground No 3 and all that. Back in Punjab he is even a bigger rage. The easy availability of drugs gives rise to addiction among the youth and Tommy’s music is the gospel. Tommy is God. The Gabaru. But this drug-induced creativity has its limit. ‘Cock’ ‘ Coke’ ‘Cock’ ‘ Coke’…..You are stuck in a groove. No matter how much your roadies cheer you the songs just do not flow. Because you have nothing to say damn it. But Tommy is an artist. And this artist’s block is killing him. He indulges in some more drug-induced bravado. ‘ No one fires Tommy. Only Tommy can fire Tommy’, he tells his record company executive. He goes through the highs and lows of being possessed by the powers of heroin. He goes berserk. He is arrested. In the lock up, he gets his first brush with reality, as his superstar status does not even get him a glass of water. Then he is thrown in with other convicts many of them drug users and his fans. He learns how one of them had even killed his own mother because she won’t give him the drug money. Tommy realizes what a monster he has been breeding. He realizes it in his bones, because the same monster has been gnawing at his innards too. He is a chastised man. Looking for redemption. His manager is goading him to come up with just another song, an anti-drug song this time, to segue with the government’s war on drugs. Won’t that be a master stroke of PR? Yes. But the song just does not flow. He has a wonderful chord progression. But some crucial piece is missing. His most devoted crew thinks it is the old magic powder that can do the trick. But Tommy knows otherwise. He decides to come clean, he wants to bear his heart to his adoring public. He is a loser, a ‘faddu’ he tells them. The public won’t have any of it. Who wants to lose a messiah ( As St John tells the devotees of Jesus in ‘ The Last Temptation of Christ’)? They want him to sing. He pisses on them instead. (Yes, the second viewing was the uncut version leaked on line.) This is the kind of disillusionment with fame built on false premises that Kurt Cobain take his own life. Tommy pretty much pushes himself on the path of self-destruction. Because the old Tommy must dies before a new one can be born. Redemption comes in the shape of girl named Mary Jane (Though he will learn her name only in the last scene of the film.) It is Mary Jane who helps him get his mojo back.
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“I am the wrongest guy to play Tommy Singh,” he says, adding, “He’s high on substance all the time and I don’t believe in indulging in any form of intoxication. Second, if you take Tommy at face value, he’s obnoxious and someone one could easily detest. But, if you look closely, only then would you know that he’s vulnerable, dependent on substance and someone to be pitied.”
Shahid says not only has he learnt that any form of intoxication is bad, but also steers clear of any kind of addiction — and that includes the high from adulation of people. “I am not a newcomer in this industry. I have been here for 13 years and have come to realise that everything is temporary. This fame and adulation gives you an artificial high and if you take it too seriously, you are bound to be doomed. When you continue being successful for a longer period of time, it starts altering your personality, even against your will. This is the biggest sacrifice that you have to make in exchange of fame; one tends to lose one’s soul. I have walked that line and thankfully, come out of that phase. Now, I choose not to run after work, fame or success. If you choose to be who you are, stand by your own self and be convinced of your decisions, fame will come looking for you. Even now, sometimes, I have to keep correcting myself, reminding myself how not to get lost. It is very easy to lose perspective in this madness,” he says.
After ‘Udta Punjab’, he has Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Rangoon’ lined up for release. After that? “I will be unemployed,” he says, laughing. “Both these films are strong. I am waiting to like something and I should be able to make a decision soon. Also, I want to be around Mira during her pregnancy. This is my once in a lifetime opportunity or twice in a lifetime opportunity, maybe (laughs). I am taking a full-fledged paternity leave. I was almost 14 when my brother (Ishaan) was born. I was grown up enough to know what my mother went through during her pregnancy. So, I want to be around Mira.
“There are also professional reasons for not signing on something new. When I did ‘Kaminey’ (2009), everyone liked my performance. I did too. I liked the fact that I had made a fearless choice. But then, after that, I lost my way and was part of some films that I shouldn’t have done. And then another good film, ‘Haider’, happened (2015). I want to back these films with good choices.
“You know the biggest problem that this industry has? We love recreating the past. I don’t want to be part of something that’s already happened. I want to make difficult choices… scary choices. I have always tried to change my looks in most of my films. So, for me, getting in and out of a film takes time. I like it that way,” he signs off.
Tiger is known to have spoken at length about Hrithik’s stardom and how he is the ultimate superstar for him possessing all the qualities one could imagine.
Having said that, Tiger’s statement comes across as a finding of sorts that Bollywood hasn’t seen a superstar other than Hrithik Roshan in the recent past.
“The hype didn’t work at all (for ‘Udta Punjab’) because even after so much controversy, it is clear that public was shy of coming to theatres. They thought that the film features a lot of abusive language. Particularly, the ladies have refrained from coming to watch the film. The whole theme of the film is lost in vulgarity,” trade expert Amod Mehra told IANS.
“Right now, it should first cross the Rs 50 crore mark. Rs 100 crore mark looks difficult. All the hype has actually backfired at the makers because ultimately the film had a very bad taste and people are reluctant to go to see the film,” he added.
Adding to that, Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan said: “The film has not received good response in single screens. It has only managed to get footfall at multiplexes. The film is getting the same response that ‘Dev. D’ and ‘Delhi Belly’ received upon their release.”
It would be interesting to see whether “Udta Punjab” will be able to survive at the box office in its second week when it will face stiff competition from “Raman Raghav 2.0”, “Shorgul”, “A Scandall” and “7 Hours to Go”. The line up also includes Punjabi film “Sardaar Ji 2” and Hollywood’s highly anticipated project “Independence Day: Resurgence”.
“I feel ‘Independence Day’ will steal the limelight. If we look at the response that Hollywood films have received in the domestic market in the last few weeks, then ‘Independence Day’ is a clear winner. Even expectations are there from ‘A Scandall’. ‘Udta Punjab’ will definitely lose screens and its business will get affected,” Mahajan said.
Mehra said it would be good if “Udta Punjab” will be able to recover its production cost in the coming days.
“If the film will be able to recover its production value in coming days, then that will be good. Chances are strong that ‘Udta Punjab’ will get wiped out by this Friday,” he said.
Shedding more light on the box office response to “Udta Punjab”, distributor Rajesh Thadani told IANS: “The collection of ‘Udta Punjab’ is pretty decent considering its genre. For a dark film, the response is quite good. If the film manages to sustain in weekdays, then nothing like it.”
Amidst the uproar over Salman Khan’s ‘ raped woman’ analogy, gang-rape survivor Sunitha Krishnan, a Padma Shri awardee social activist, has penned a scathing open letter to the actor. In her letter, Sunitha put together her thoughts and concerns about, saying “I do not wish to take the name of the person in question because I feel it would be an act of giving him too much respect. The fact that he could easily compare himself to being raped shows how badly he has trivialised rape and rape culture. The harsh truth is that good looks and some talent made him the star that he is and he takes this role very lightly. With such fame, comes responsibility.
She added, “Instead of being aware of this, he has basically compared the scars, trauma and abuse of a rape victim to his role in a movie. I keep hearing men and women making such remarks and recently too, I found a woman who made a joke along these lines. She used to say ‘I was raped by this’ or ‘I was raped by that’ with no thought on the repercussions of these statements.” “What we need to remember is rape culture is around us and all of these trivialising remarks add to it. As far as I can say, only perverts can make such statements. He is a disgrace,” continued Sunitha.
Adds more to his value where these days we are witnessing a very frustrated CR7 struggling to convert a simple penalty at the Euro/UEfA.
This pretty much sums up after the match. Some said – This game is like when you invite your friend over to play FIFA and he’s never played it and has to keep asking you the controls. #USAvARG
Cut to two days back. Salman Khan said that a rigorous shooting schedule was like getting raped. The imaginative man that he is, he went into some fine details too – that he couldn’t walk, like a woman can’t immediately after being raped. Also, he clubbed women with alcohol, drugs and cigarettes – dispensable vices that can make your life miserable. For any rational person, that’s the kind of statement that churns your gut and manufactures this unpleasant thing called puke.
However, Bollywood, it seems is made of quite something else. They couldn’t spot anyone being insulted, didn’t possibly find any show of insensitivity, definitely couldn’t see anything problematic or outrageous. Hence, while everyone around them raged and ranted, they fell eerily silent – possibly stunned by this strange, new thing called taking an unbiased stand
And he forgets that his mother and sister also come under the category of women.
Aamir Khan roasted AIB for talking badly about Salman’s sister. Now will he say something about woman’s dignity or keep quiet as he always says Salman’s is his friend?
Will SRK says something or keep a diplomatic stance?
And Anupam Kher who always jumps with quotes, whats his reaction?
This is the hypocrisy of these people who are selective and spare some and take on someone weaker.
Pakistani famous Qawwal Amjad Sabri shot dead in Karachi!
One of Pakistan’s most famous singers, Amjad Sabri, has been shot dead in the southern city of Karachi.
Two gunmen fired on his car in the busy Liaqatabad area, police said. Sabri died on his way to hospital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Sabri was a leading exponent of Sufi devotional music, known as Qawwali.
Sufism, a tolerant, mystical practice of Islam, has millions of followers in Pakistan – but in recent years has come under attack from hard-line Islamists.
Sabri was among the sub-continent’s top Qawwali singers.
He was the son of the late Ghulam Farid Sabri, who headed the Sabri brothers, a leading Sufi music band that has dominated the Qawwali scene in Pakistan and India since the 1970s.
This song in his special voice, always soothing especially in times of despair. This song along with the Gurbani from Halla Bol are two absolute stress relievers. Cant believe this voice has been forever silenced today:
Fatwa issued against Jimmy Sheirgill for ‘Shorgul’
A fatwa has been issued against actor Jimmy Sheirgill for starring in political drama ‘Shorgul’, which has also been banned in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, the film’s makers said on Wednesday.
The makers are planning to approach the state’s Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to resolve issues regarding the ban in places like Muzaffarnagar, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Lucknow.
‘Shorgul’ is a political drama which also touches upon the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
The fatwa has been issued by Khamman Peer Baba Committee to Jimmy and the makers, read a statement issued on behalf of the film’s producers.
“The fatwa states that a seasoned actor like Jimmy has hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community by enacting scenes that will cause unrest in the community through the dialogues and scene depictions,” read the statement.
Jimmy will be barred from shooting in Uttar Pradesh and his film’s release in the region will also not be allowed, the statement further read.
A 24 FPS Films Production, the movie is based on intolerance and aspires to make audiences contemplate where humanity stands amidst the noise of religious, social, political and economic prejudice.
Also featuring Sanjay Suri, Narendra Jha, Hiten Tejwani, Eijaz Khan, Suha Gezen, Anirudh Dave and Deepraj Rana, ‘Shorgul’ touches upon grave subjects that have transpired in the recent past such as the Muzaffarnagar, Godhra and Babri Masjid riots apart from making references to bureaucratic misdoings, mind games and controversial master strokes of some high profile dignitaries.
Earlier this month, a PIL filed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Milan Som against the film was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court bench in Lucknow. The film is slated for release on June 24.
Swatantra Vijay Singh, one of the producers of ‘Shorgul’, said, “Yes, we have received the PIL and the fatwa but as we have stated earlier our film is a cinematic recreation of various incidents that have transpired in the past without a reference to any specific issue…We believe no one can ban ‘Shorgul’ if the population supports films like these.”
Aman Singh, who is also a co-producer of the film, shared: “This news is extremely unfortunate and we will approach Akhilesh Yadav in the matter. Every citizen has the right to watch this film as the film is a reflection of the voice of the common man.”
The owner of torrent site allzmovies.in was arrested by the cyber cell of Mumbai Police on Wednesday in connection with Bollywood movie Udta Punjab leaking online, two days ahead of its release in theaters. The first torrent of the movie reportedly appeared on the site.
The accused, identified as Dilip Kumar, was traced by a police team after conducting searches in Delhi.
“The complainant was informed that the said movie was leaked on internet on two separate links of website of Torrent.com. On downloading the movie it was revealed that the first sensor copy was stolen and uploaded on Torrent.com by user robby007,” a Mumbai Police statement said.
“During the investigation, it was revealed that website allmovies.com had uploaded the said link on its website. A team visited Delhi and adjoining areas and after diligent efforts Dipak Kumar was traced. He was summoned to the cyber police station, Mumbai, and after thorough investigation, his active role was revealed. He has been arrested,” it added.
Earlier, the film’s producers had lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police in Mumbai after a copy of the film with ‘for censor’ written on the top left was leaked on various torrent websites, thereby raising questions about role of the censor board — Central Board of Film Certification — in the leak.
However, CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani had rejected the allegations saying the board has nothing to do with the leak.
“The person responsible has already been identified and the leak will be tracked down. We will cooperate if we are approached as part of the investigation,” Nihalani said.
The makers of Udta Punjab struggled to remove copies of the movie that were available for download on torrent sites, but managed to remove most of them.
The penultimate week of the year will see five new Hindi films with 7 Hours To Go, A Scandall, Junooniyat, Raman Raghav 2.0 and Shorgul buts its unlikely any of these will make much any impact unless the word of mouth is very strong. The Hollywood release Independence Day 2 will take the honors though probably not the level of films like Fast & Furious 7, The Avengers and The Jungle Book.
Udta Punjab will probably lead as far as Hindi films go as the film has done well in the North and even in week two it should run well in these markets.
The wait is now for Sultan to get the second half of the year off to a flyer and smash initial box office records. There have been over 100 Hindi releases already in the first six months and barring Baaghi none have really opened. Most films did not open and the few that did manage to get some crowd initially, it was still below from what was expected from the film.
This has meant a poor results in the first half of 2016 as with films struggling it harder to sustain with every passing year, the initial gains ever more importance and that has just not happened in the first half of the year. The second half has better releases as usual but films will have to open better if higher numbers are to be seen.
If a film has its heart in the right place, it *will* weave magic on the big screen. And Dhanak exactly does that, feels Namrata Thakker.
There are few films which feed your soul. They make you happy, they inspire you and most importantly, they reaffirm your faith in human relationships.
Nagesh Kukunoor’s latest venture Dhanak is one such film.
It’s an endearing story about brother-sister bonding, about love, hope and all things bright and beautiful.
One thing as a filmmaker that Kuknoor does amazingly well is that he shows you that a film doesn’t have to be high on drama and emotion to capture one’s attention.
If a film has its heart in the right place, it *will* weave magic on the big screen. And Dhanak exactly does that.
Pari (Hetal Gada) is a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan and her brother Chotu (Krrish Chhabria), who lost his eyesight at the age of four, loves Salman Khan.
But unlike most fans of these two superstars, Pari and Chotu don’t fight like arch rivals.
Their innocent brother-sister bonding is far bigger than their love for these two stars. Pari and Chotu live with their chacha (Vipin Sharma) and chachi (Gulfam Khan) in a quaint little village in Rajasthan.
While their chacha is a loving man who often takes them to watch movies, their chachi isn’t quite fond of them. Despite all the hardships, the kids are full of life and enjoy each other’s company the most.
Pari’s aim in life is to help Chotu get his eyesight back before his ninth birthday.
When she sees her favourite star Shah Rukh on a poster of eye donation campaign, Pari writes a letter to him, hoping he will help her fulfill her dream.
But when nothing happens, Pari decides to do something on her own. That’s when these two siblings set out on the journey of a lifetime during which they meet new people and
So get this. On June 21, when 190 countries celebrated International Yoga Day, one land in a distant galaxy somewhere celebrated World Music Day!!
Pata hai kaunsa rajya hai woh?? BIHAR !! RFLMAO.
She had a brief interaction in an elevator with a mother-son duo. The actress bumped into the student who was extremely disappointed with his examination results and his mother who was of the belief that good scores made successful individuals.
On seeing the boy lose heart after his mother’s displeasure, Deepika expressed her concern.
Sharing the incident on Twitter, Deepika posted: “Just met a boy in the lift who was very disappointed with his results… His mother said, ‘You are so successful you must have have scored well’.
“’65 per cent,’ I said…She says, ‘That’s it?’ ‘Yes aunty…that’s it!’ There is so much more to life than just academics, grades and results.”
Deepika’s words instantly put a smile on the face of the boy and got his mother thinking.
The actress ended her series of tweets by sharing a greater social message which read, “Follow your heart, do what your passionate about… And live, love and laugh.”
Hollywood actor and Oscar awardee Leonardo DiCaprio, noted broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and business magnet Richard Branson are among the special invitees RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat will hobnob with during his two-day visit to the United Kingdom next month.
While Hindustan Times could not independently verify the guest list, Daily O reported that Dicaprio and Branson are expected to lend their support to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s long standing campaign to ban beef eating and promote vegetarianism.
RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat will attend a function organised by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in July.
A vegetarian himself, Dicaprio has been campaigning against animal slaughter, while Branson, a vegan, had announced he would be setting up a ‘vegan airline’ in 2015.
The report also stated that Bhagwat will hold an interfaith meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, during his stopover.
SATYAMSHOT 
June 16, 2016 at 10:30 PM
To your comment Paapaas in other thread – ‘to cinema – you get what we call – Censor Board.’
Agree to an extent but we also need to have an understanding that Censor is a very different beast altogether and has become irrelevant in today’s age of worldwide web where most have access to everything at click of a button. Many sane voices have been pointing at Rating system which seems totally fair theoretically but one does not know how the implementation process will work in India which still remains a highly unregulated. ( more of an indiscipline issue )
Technically given a choice I will want to err on the side of freedom of expression / speech and that being our fundamental right. But there are times I am totally conflicted and never been able to grasp the freedom of expression debate in ‘totality’ because sometime provocative speech adds insult to the idea of free speech where words can be used as weapons to assault, and then you wonder why few words / expressions should remain unspoken. Freedom of expression in the form of hate speech and propaganda may instill beliefs of inferiority in others, the very things free speech is intended to protect.
What I was trying to say technological /internet age is jeopardizing part of this freedom of speech because it is now also flooded with bigotry and provokes a dangerous environment. How can the so-called free speech defenders control the narrative with their verbosity to spread prejudice and mistrust?
That is where everyone starts to agree to reasonable limits on what can be said and set down legal markers in an attempt to preserve a democratic, civilized and tolerant society……….so the debate for freedom of expression is somehow lost again??
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June 16, 2016 at 10:53 PM
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/udta-punjab-movie-review-by-audience-live-update-683048
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June 17, 2016 at 1:20 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/udta-punjab-flies-these-bollywood-stars-have-watched-the-film-and-can-t-stop-raving/story-ctNih3zKIgQcrMjlIHq6FP.html
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June 17, 2016 at 1:23 AM
It may be mentioned that the full 2 hours 20 minutes of the movie got leaked on the net even as it is scheduled for release on Friday. Not just that, the pirated film was made available in DVD too in Mumbai. On the print, it is clearly written ‘For Censor’, giving rise to doubts that it has been leaked by someone from the CBFC office.
The anti-piracy wing is now providing all inputs and details to the filmmakers so that law enforcing authorities can take the necessary action.
Top Comment
Catch the censor board insider who leaked the copy and teach him a lesson that he will remember his life time!!!a2zdigital
This is not the first time that a film got leaked on the internet before its release. In Tollywood, 40 minutes of the Pawan Kalyan-starrer ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ was found on the web before its release in September 2013. It was finally found that someone involved in the editing of the film was responsible for the leak.
Filmmakers had taken extreme precaution before the release of SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ too last year. The anti-piracy wing found a pirated portion of the film online on the day of the release and got it removed immediately.
Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Udta-Punjabs-pirated-copy-hosted-by-over-700-websites/articleshow/52788898.cms
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June 17, 2016 at 2:41 AM
New York:
Highlights
Imran Yousuf was working as a bouncer at the Pulse night club
Risked his life to open a back door allowing many people to escape
Yousuf said his quick action saved 60 to 70 lives
A former US Marine sergeant of Indian origin, Imran Yousuf, has been hailed as a hero for saving scores of lives at a Florida night club when a terrorist went on a rampage killing 49 people.
When Yousuf, who was working as a bouncer at the Pulse night club catering to the gay community in Orlando, Florida, heard the first gunshots his military experience fighting in Afghanistan kicked in, according to media reports. As everyone in the packed night club froze in fear, he jumped up and at personal risk opened a back door allowing many people to escape.
He told CBS News television that as panicked people streamed to the back of the hall, “I’m screaming ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ And no one is moving because they are scared.”
“There was only one choice,” he added in the interview. “Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch a we got everyone that we can out of there.”
Yousuf – whose mother and grandmother are Hindus – risked his life because he could have drawn the attention of Omar Mateen, who had sworn loyalty to the Islamic State and was carrying out the attack, considered the worst mass shooting in US history.
Yousuf said his quick action saved 60 to 70 lives .
The network reported that he cried as he said, “I wish I could have saved more to be honest. There are a lot of people that are dead”
And Yousuf has been modest, brushing off the praises as a hero. Marine Corps Times newspaper reported on its web site that Yousuf posted on his Facebook page, “There are a lot of people naming me a hero and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct. … While it might seem that my actions are heroic I decided that the others around me needed to be saved as well and so I just reacted.”
The newspaper said that he had left the Marine Corps just last month.
CBS News identified Yousuf as a Hindu and his name caused some confusion. California-based newspaper India West, which interviewed his uncle, clarified that his mother and paternal grandmother are Hindus and he identifies with their religion. His family emigrated from Guyana, where his ancestors had gone from India.
The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, New York, reported that he grew up in the nearby town of Niskayuna and joined the Marine Corps soon after he finished high school at the age of 17 and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
His brother, Ameer Yousuf, told the newspaper, “This was so unexpected but because of my brother’s training in the Marine Corps, he was prepared and used strategies from that to do everything he did.”
Marine Corps Times said he had been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his service.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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June 17, 2016 at 2:43 AM
http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/karan-affairs-dear-trolls-you-dont-get-me-never-will-1419770?pfrom=home-lateststories
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June 17, 2016 at 2:49 AM
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/art_detail.php?articalid=2091#.V2OdX9J97q4
Housefull 3 Has Decent Second Weekend
Housefull 3 had a decent second weekend of around 22.75 crore nett. The drop is 71% from the first week which is a normal drop but the film should have done better as the new Hindi releases fared poorly and the film had held well in week one. The two week business of the film is a little under 103 crore nett. The last Housefull film in 2012 had collected over 30 crore nett in its second week.
Airlift grossed 28.75 crore nett in its second week which is quite a lot more than Housefull 3 although Housefull 3 has managed the second highest second week collection of the year. The film is the highest grosser of the year in Gujarat / Saurashtra, Rajasthan and CI. In Delhi / UP the GROSS collections are the highest of 2016.
The drop in the second week and the release of a major film like Udta Punjab will mean the film will struggle to cross 110 crore nett. This figure is now the best case scenario for the film.
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June 17, 2016 at 2:53 AM
What was once looking to cross 120 cr nett will not end below Rs 100 cr nett.
It’s quite a slowdown and disappointing one too as week 1 trending and gross made it look go beyond the HIT status.
However the movie is folding behind Housefull 2. Unlike many, for me HF3 was a shade below HF2 when i watched it last week. HF3 had the plot to make it but had lessed RFOL moments than HF2. The same is reflecting in the collection if my views are in majority.
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June 17, 2016 at 2:52 AM
Udta Punjab has taken an excellent start of 50% plus in Delhi city and East Punjab while other places range from good to average. Overall its a good opening in the 35% range driven by Delhi city, East Punjab and other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore. The initial is on par with a big film like Housefull 3 and only Fan (holiday) and Baaghi can be called better in terms of occupancy in morning shows.
The controversy with its release has aided the initial of the film. The collections in Delhi city and East Punjab could challenge the biggest opener of the year Fan as the morning collections there are on par with Fan even though Fan was a holiday.
The initial in the morning shows is actually the biggest ever for a Shahid Kapoor or Alia Bhatt film although its actaully by default as the controversy has helped and the North opening as far as face value goes will be because of Diljit Dosanjh who has a bigger following there.
Basically it will be about sustaining over the weekend and the film will be through, normally these type of films would work by growth but here the opening means just holding at these levels will be enough.
Boxofficeindia
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June 17, 2016 at 3:31 AM
Review: Udta Punjab is a stunning film
Rajasen
Contrary to what you might expect, this isn’t a greatly political film, focussing instead on the problem, the characters and their internal conflicts. And it makes room for a few references.
Chaubey borrows the sublime toilet sequence from Trainspotting, includes a stray Pulp Fiction reference in the way a line is said, and steals a villain reluctant to kill his relatives from his own Ishqiya films — and, in what must be an in-joke, names of Bollywood writers and director (and buddies of Chaubey and writer Sudip Sharma) like Akshat Verma and Navdeep Singh show up on a list of suspects.
But Udta Punjab truly soars when being its own madcap beast, profane and powerful and preening.
Oh, and a word about that music: Woof. Amit Trivedi is a master, Chaubey has a gift for placing music and adding context to moments, and the decision to use Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s dazzling poem Ikk Kudi as a literal part of the narrative is a marvellous one.
Naturally, this call — like that of sculpting his idiocy across the side of his own head — is made by the mad musician.
Good on you, Tommy. Rock a doodle doo.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-udta-punjab-is-a-stunning-film/20160617.htm
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June 17, 2016 at 3:49 AM
Extremely bad new for the movie if sadists and loners like Raja Sen likes the film.
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June 17, 2016 at 4:14 AM
I agree…If Raja Sen says good then the movie is in trouble…Fan, Lootere…the list is endless literally…
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June 17, 2016 at 4:15 AM
Well said.
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June 17, 2016 at 3:47 AM
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/745366
First things first – UDTA PUNJAB is a dark and serious film. Also the film’s screenplay (Sudip Sharma, Abhishek Chaubey) jumps through multiple stories at the same time making it complicated. Abhishek Chaubey, who gave a glimpse of his supreme directorial abilities with his previous films like ISHQIYA and DEDH ISHQIYA faces a challenge to narrate the dark story of UDTA PUNJAB and does manage to do so. As the film progresses however, it does seem to slip in parts, especially in the second half. In an attempt to narrate multiple parallel stories, Abhishek Chaubey struggles to keep it engaging in the latter half of the film.
On the whole, UDTA PUNJAB is a dark and serious film that does not offer the traditional entertainment that audiences seek from Bollywood movies. At same time, it is bold and brave in parts with strong performances by all actors.
3/5
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June 17, 2016 at 4:39 AM
Rest of the review about actors and music only.
As for the performances, it is the biggest of USP of UDTA PUNJAB. One has to give it to the actors to take up such challenging parts which are completely out of their comfort zone. Shahid Kapoor and his never-before-attempted ‘rockstar’ look had created a huge buzz, curiosity and excitement amongst his fans. He manages to pull off his role well while bringing in much needed humour in this otherwise serious film. He is strongly supported by the talented Satish Kaushik in the film. Alia Bhatt, on the other hand, goes totally de-glam for her role. She for sure has tried her best to portray a Bihari character in the film and does complete justice to her part. Kareena Kapoor Khan is good in her part. UDTA PUNJAB also sees the presence of Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh, who makes an impressive debut in Bollywood. If UDTA PUNJAB is a mere glimpse of what he is capable of, then Diljit is definitely a name to watch out for in Bollywood. Rest of the actors help the film move forward.
The film does have its share of decent music (Amit Trivedi) with a couple of hummable tracks like ‘Chitta Ve’ and ‘Ikk Kudi’, though one feels that a stronger music album could have helped the film. On the other hand, the film’s background score (Benedict Taylor, Naren Chandavarkar) is impressive and helps the film’s narrative.
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June 17, 2016 at 4:40 AM
Alia is receiving all the accolades.
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June 17, 2016 at 4:48 AM
Shahid Kapoor too…really good to see both getting recognized for playing unconventional roles.
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June 17, 2016 at 6:03 AM
Alia is emerging as the real winner here followed by Shahid.
Feeling for Kareena here but she never actually arrived barring 2-3 scenes in her career.
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June 17, 2016 at 4:50 AM
Above all, this film undoubtedly belongs to Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor. Alia, as someone who tries fighting destiny with her loud, protesting sobs, as someone who fights succumbing to the drug filled world of the weak, is fantabulous.
Shahid Kapoor has proved his mettle earlier but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this his best performance till date. A badass with a good heart, Shahid plays this complex character with an admirable ease. From someone who foolishly thinks he conquers the world to a frightful realisation of the truth, he goes through a transformation with an absolute conviction. Diljit’s charm is used to the fullest here, and he does a good job. Even though Kareena Kapoor Khan doesn’t get as much screen space as one would have liked, she leaves her stamp with her honest and natural performance.
Walking out of the theatre, one is grateful that the filmmakers fought for this film. This had to be served undistilled, and untouched by people who don’t see or choose not to see the gravity of the situation.
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/udta-punjab—movie-review/17346155
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June 17, 2016 at 5:04 AM
Kapil Sharma beats Salman Khan in the most popular TV actors’ list
Kapil Sharma has secured the top position in the most famous TV celebs (non-fiction) in a recent survey conducted by Ormax Characters India Loves (Ormax CIL). The stand up comedian has beaten the likes of Boss host Salman Khan and Sunil Grover.
Rannvijay, who has returned as the host of the reality show ‘Splitsvilla’ is on number three, while So You Think You Can Dance Judge Madhuri Dixit has acquired the fifth position with Salman being on the fourth.
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/745366
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June 17, 2016 at 5:14 AM
Chaubey uses a part-documentary-part-mainstream approach here. Post interval, the film is sometimes too indulgent and sluggish. Also this is not your sunny-side up cinema. It is stark and makes you cringe. However, its victory lies in making you empathise with its characters. As Alia and Shahid, both victims of drug and physical abuse fight their demons and destinies, you shed a silent tear. Shahid has got his act pat but Alia beats everyone hollow. Kareena and Diljit are adept. This review also doffs a hat to the nuanced performances of Satish Kaushik, Prabhjyot Singh and Manav Vij.
Ihttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/Udta-Punjab/movie-review/52768749.cms
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June 17, 2016 at 5:55 AM
But it is Alia, who despite the battering that fate has reserved for her, never loses her appetite for a fight. The petite actress is the film’s towering totem.
The liberal use of cuss words may be too grating for some ears. Udta Punjab is not family entertainment, but it is an undeniably magnificent – and purposeful – commercial Hindi film. Do not miss it.
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/udta-punjab-movie-review-1279?pfrom=home-lateststories
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June 17, 2016 at 6:08 AM
No wonder a scene in Udta Punjab broke my heart and betrayed these long-held beliefs in a mere instant. A patriarch gently addresses the Bihari migrant girl Pinky (Alia Bhatt, utterly real, raw and vulnerable) as “puttar” (child) and asks her why she stole heroin worth a crore if she had to eventually throw it away. The soft, soothing enquiry sets the most disturbing tenor for the viciousness and brutality that come to be heaped on her by his family of drug dealers, with his tacit nod of approval, of course. Udta Punjab is all about swallowing such bitter pills.
There could be much to nitpick on. The cop-doc romantic track as well as the tenuous bond between Tommy and Pinky do seem out of place – yet also provide a much needed breather in the film’s suffocating world. One would have liked to know more of Pinky’s life as it moved from playing hockey to working on the fields with sickle in hand. The resolution could appear a tad too convenient and Goa might not quite the right escape from Punjab after all. But ultimately for me Udta Punjab is not about the story, the four main characters, their acting or the music even. It’s about relentless exposure to a gut-wrenching reality for 148 minutes (a shorter version may have been even stronger) that I am still trying to process. It’s about the many innocent, helpless Ballis being born to drugs everyday. I came out of the screening with Balli’s cries ringing harsh in my ears. They are haunting me. Still.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/udta-punjab-review-a-choppy-but-wholly-worthwhile-trip/article8741164.ece
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June 17, 2016 at 8:21 AM
This attack on Udhta Punjab is disgusting. Puducherry cable channels show the film on TV.
http://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/news/2016/puducherry-cable-tv-shakti-channel-airs-censor-copy-of-udta-punjab-230459.html
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June 17, 2016 at 8:47 AM
Udta Punjab has taken an excellent start of 50% plus in Delhi city and East Punjab while other places range from good to average. Overall its a good opening in the 35% range driven by Delhi city, East Punjab and other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore. The initial is on par with a big film like Housefull 3 and only Fan (holiday) and Baaghi can be called better in terms of occupancy in morning shows.
The controversy with its release has aided the initial of the film. The collections in Delhi city and East Punjab could challenge the biggest opener of the year Fan as the morning collections there are on par with Fan even though Fan was a holiday.
The initial in the morning shows is actually the biggest ever for a Shahid Kapoor or Alia Bhatt film although its actaully by default as the controversy has helped and the North opening as far as face value goes will be because of Diljit Dosanjh who has a bigger following there.
Basically it will be about sustaining over the weekend and the film will be through, normally these type of films would work by growth but here the opening means just holding at these levels will be enough.
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/art_detail.php?articalid=2092#.V2PxP7t97IU
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June 17, 2016 at 9:31 AM
MY THOUGHTS ON U-TURN (KANNADA)..
Cast: Shraddha Srinath, Radhika Chetan, Dilip Raj, Roger Narayan
Director: Pawan Kumar
Producers: Pawan Kumar
Rating: ★★★½
U-Turn starts with a disclaimer that it’s based on real events. What these real events mean, is revealed only during end-credits. One can consider it a deceit or a conceit by the helmer, depending on how one wishes to consume that information.
There are many scenes in this film that show something but convey something else; mostly hidden, few completely contrary. This is no Lucia, but writer-director Pawan Kumar’s U-Turn is surely an engrossing, above-average, song less thriller. The movie’s premise starts with a mysterious murder/death of a person having marital issues. The same person is shown to have made an illegal U-turn on the busy Double Road fly-over in Bangalore by shifting aside big blocks used as a make-shift median. An intern (a dusky and an extremely attractive Shraddha Srinath with a nose-ring in tow to make hearts go aflutter – at least mine did) at the Indian Express office (in Shivajinagar of course) is preparing a crime-story based on traffic violations/’un-civic’ sense of riders and drivers and has a home-less – well, he has a make-shift tent if you want to call it a home—guy give her the registration numbers of those vehicles for 100 rupees. It’s discovered that the guy who made the illegal U-turn that day dies the same night. It’s also discovered later, that so have many others who have made that U-turn on the fly-over. What’s going on here? What does someone taking a U-turn on some busy fly-over have to do with his or her death? Everyone is looking for answers, including a more-than-helpful and enthusiastic cop, a bereaved husband and a prospective boy-friend.
As mentioned earlier, by Pawan Kumar’s Lucia standards, this might appear, ironically, a ‘conventional’ movie! And the fact that it might hark back referentially to a Hindi movie not more than 4 years old which also dealt with death and its myriad consequences is quite unmissable: Thematically, yes, the two films are threaded but cinematically, Pawan Kumar’s treatment is quite divorced from the Hindi one and seeps with a local, linguistic authenticity. (There is a hilarious scene where a couple of ‘youths’ ask the intern what rights she has to question their ‘right’ to indulge in traffic violations; is she a ‘Kannadiga’? In the next scene, this patriot who considered himself the judge, jury, and executioner of state-citizenry and rights based on ethnicity is busy snorting coke listening to hard-rock with posters of bands from you-know-where! There’s not a single image or poster of even a Hindi album or a movie – let-alone Kannada music. Well, so much for hyper-statehood tongue-lashing.)
The film plays out on two levels but still manages to hold the interest on both the levels – the thriller and the meta-physical. Kumar explores ‘karma’ and its many manifestations through and within the Hindu philosophy. A U-turn, or its diagrammatic representation, in a sense, is symbolically filtered through thriller elements in the movie. The theory that there is a pay-back waiting for you for your deeds is given practice through the eventful life of some and mainly the death of many. [In one of the most cinematically/technically tacky but metaphorically rich scenes, a person dying is stopped and is, in a way, cursed to live and complete the life-time ‘assigned’ to him by the higher power. Now this is ‘karma’ and an understanding of PRABHDAM and AkAmiyam would help one in enriching the scene’s consumption as a viewer. Basically, the fact that you have to settle all the balances on all the deeds and mis-deeds your soul was a part of before achieving salvation; whether it be in this birth or multiple-births, is cemented on celluloid through a U-turn.)
Pawan Kumar, the writer-director gives subtle hints towards classism, regionalism (as I mentioned in the coke-addicted guy’s behavior) and just leaves them at that. (The old man picked up from the bridge is really given no choice; it is, as they say, the norm in India, ‘पहेले लात, फिर बात’ for the poor, while upper middle-class and the ‘educated’ get the boot only on 2nd or 3rd round of questioning – if they are luckier, they get a cutting chai first and then the boot.] Again, in the opening scene, he depicts a fine camaraderie and mother-daughter tidbits’ exchange; but throws in many societal observations, namely (i) Indian parents’ obsession with marriage and kids and age (ii) having a ‘safe’ job (in Bangalore parlance, read/write BOTH as software). And boy oh boy, if you are using an auto-rickshaw ‘service’ in Bangalore, make sure you have somebody with you who can go back or make a return-trip with and mainly, for the driver, from where you boarded, otherwise the poor driver has ABSOLUTELY no other choice but to extort you to pay at least half the ‘return-trip’ fare. There is another scene where the intern is accosted by the cops late in the night right in her apartment parking-basement/entrance and the ‘watch-man’ is sleeping. Well, he’s sleeping right through the entire noisy episode and even after the sirens have stopped blaring. The man believes in status-quo, and how!
Technically, the film does go through schizophrenic quality of savviness throughout. The technology employed in the climax is tacky. The cops trying to desperately break through a jail-cell where two guys are beating the hell out of each other is badly handled. The cops’ ineptitude at trying to break-open a jail-cell lock starts earnestly but borders and proceeds to hilarity. The ‘time-gap’ appears forcefully induced and the audience can easily sense it to the extent that they start thinking maybe they would have done a better job at smashing the lock than any cop! The good things: A fine background score by Poornachandra Tejaswi and fine lighting by the DOP especially in the chamber scenes. (The pre-death cinematographic treatment, however, is really old-school and tacky – the kind that you might have seen and forgotten in Ramsey Bros’ movies.) But for all this tackiness, there is one absolutely fantastic shot of the cop {Roger Narayanan’s G.K. Nayak} standing atop the fly-over trying to figure out the topography. The camera zooms out step-wise in such a spectacular fashion to capture a hawk-eye’s view of Bangalore that it might attract or force the Google behemoths to re-configure their street-view: Marvelous and absolutely superlative. All the action-scenes in Mad-Max to me are the cinematographic scenes par-excellence of this entire decade and a close, a very close-second is this shot from U-Turn.
Performance-wise, Shraddha Srinath does a good job of playing a novice but still needs to notch up in the acting department in terms of dialogue-delivery. (Do please keep the nose-ring on in your next movies). Roger Narayan as the cop has a fine screen-presence but comes across as too earnest. Hebbale Krishna is superb as the superior who wants to dismiss off the cases as suicide and not unnecessarily ‘complicate’ cases as well as one’s life.
In all, this is, a ‘safe’ film by Pawan Kumar’s standards but a ‘radical’ one by the Kannada film industry’s standards that for the past decade or so is quite happy ripping off legally or illegally Tamil and Telugu masala films. This is a surely recommended film but if one’s expecting something on par with Lucia, well, one’s not going to get it.
http://www.bollybrit.com/reviews-blog/film-review-u-turn#h27DZz83LJsfRujm.99
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June 18, 2016 at 10:22 PM
All:
Do try to catch this one – with sub-titles if you need. Recommended viewing.
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June 17, 2016 at 9:44 AM
Why genius Aamir Khan revels in surprising his audience?By Faridoon Shahryar, Jun 17, 2016 – 11:05 IST
The prospect of doing an on location of Dangal in a village near Ludhiana received an instant yes from me. A late night flight to Delhi, fuel of a couple of hours of sleep at a recliner at New Delhi railway station lounge and catching an early morning Shatabdi express for Ludhiana meant a rollercoaster bumpy ride. As a journalist, imparting credible information and doing interesting interviews is something that I revel in. But I am also on a lookout for unique experiences that get imprinted on my mind, experiences that help me grow as a professional and as a person. Spending time with Aamir Khan has always been a learning experience for me. He means what he says, when he is talking to a crowd then it feels as if he’s talking to each one of them and then he’s extremely courteous. In the last ten years, I’ve keenly followed all his film promotions and the causes that he has been associated with. Now is the time for Dangal.
As the media bus reached Leel village, around 50 Kms from Ludhiana, I wasn’t surprised that why would a superstar want to shoot in such a hot condition at a location surrounded by agricultural fields and a narrow canal. Aamir has penchant for the unusual. He likes surprising his audience, even if it involves a bunch of media personnel (several of them were over excited fans). We were treated to a delicious Punjabi lunch which is meant for wrestlers. It included succulent Bhuna Mutton, Chicken Curry, Chicken Tikka, Paneer Tikka, Tandoori Chicken, Paneer Bhurji, Daal, Chapaati and a special desi roti. The interesting part was the presence of raw Badaam and Kaaju for strength while an amiable guy whipped out banana and mango shakes. There were Besan laddoo, Boondi Laddoo and Jalebi for dessert.
Aamir shot for a scene in the younger Mahaveer Phogat avatar. He was observing a duel between two wrestlers and was doling out excited inputs from the side-lines. It seemed like the state of an over involved spectator who is itching to be in the middle of all the sweaty dusty grind. A bunch of television cameras clamoured to take the best possible shots while Aamir tirelessly canned one take after another. At a crammed-for-space press conference a short while later, Aamir was showered with compliments for the weight loss and the extraordinarily chiselled physique.
In an informal conversation with me later, Aamir said that he was nervous that maybe this time he won’t be able to get into shape for the younger Mahaveer Phogat. Master Photographer Avinash Gowariker was also present with Aamir when we spoke. I complimented Avinash for the superlative picture of Aamir in a vest with a magically sculpted body that went viral recently. Avinash informed me that Aamir asked him to shoot his pictures at Taj Lands End gym. Aamir didn’t allow any assistants, lights inside the gym. Avinash shot several pictures. “Aamir has an amazing judgment. He chose this picture even though we had several other very fine pictures. He was looking at himself in the mirror hence the look that you see. Aamir didn’t allow me to touch up the picture at all. I wanted to remove the dark circle but he didn’t allow me. It has a rustic feel to it. The picture has gone viral receiving 21000 likes on his twitter page. None of my pictures has ever got as big an impact as this one,” Avinash told me excitedly.
In the evening Aamir met up with media once again. It was a casual conversation without any cameras. Aamir spoke for more than an hour, answering all sorts of questions. He introduced Nitesh Tiwari, the writer-director of Dangal and Kripashankar, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist Indian wrestler who trained him and the two girls Saniya Malhotra and Fatima Shaikh who play his daughters in the film. Aamir credited his dietician Dr Dhurandar and his trainers Rakesh (also trained Salman Khan for Sultan) and Rahul Bhatt (Mr Mahesh Bhatt’s son) for his chiselled physique and weight loss. Aamir informed that for the older version of Mahaveer Phogat he weighed 97 Kgs. For the younger version he lost around 17 Kgs. The fat was converted to muscle which has a weight of its own. Aamir has always been honest in telling his audience what they can expect from his films. He told the audience that they shouldn’t be expecting regular entertaining fare from Dhobi Ghat or Talaash. What would he tell his audience about Dangal? “It is a mainstream film,” Aamir said.
“Sakshi Tanwar is outstanding in Dangal. She’s superb. She is one of the best actresses that I’ve ever worked with,” Aamir said. He also said that if he indulged in 10% wrestling in the film, then the two girls playing Gita, Babita perform 90% of the wrestling in Dangal. When Aamir was asked about the ambitious Water Cup in Maharashtra, he passionately spoke about the cause that he and the entire Satyamev Jayate has undertaken in Maharashtra. He said that there are 86000 villages in Maharashtra. “India gets adequate rainfall but we need ways to conserve water. Villagers need to learn how to conserve water and someone has to teach them the same. Out of the 116 villages that participated in Water Cup, extraordinary work has happened in 40 villages. They earlier needed water tankers. Now they have so much of water that they can give water to other villages,” Aamir said passionately. Khan said that Satyamev Jayate will concentrate only on ending water woes in Maharashtra and won’t be doing the television show for a few years. He said that Maharashtra can be drought free in the next 5 years.
There is a lot more that one can document. Considering that Aamir makes himself available scarcely to the media, everything that he said yesterday was news. The interesting part about listening to what Aamir Khan says is that you carry the conversation with you. There are layers of meaning that may have an instant impact but there’s more to it when you think about it later on. As I write down my thoughts on the way back to Delhi enjoying the laid back rhythm of the train, I realise the effort was worth it. You do have to travel a distance if you wish to seek knowledge. The amount of valuable information that Aamir Khan shared yesterday about his personal and professional life and also his views on various causes may find its way in a book that I may write someday. All I can say as I sum up the experience is that more power to Aamir Khan. Keep on surprising the way only you can.
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/10755
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June 17, 2016 at 12:09 PM
Guy 1: ‘Udta Punjab’ has been banned.
Guy 2: Why?
Guy 1: Drugs problem in Punjab.
Guy 2: Punjab Mein Drugs Problem Nahi Hai, Sab Aaram Se Milta Hai!
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June 17, 2016 at 1:16 PM
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
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June 17, 2016 at 1:27 PM
LOL, good one…
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June 17, 2016 at 1:30 PM
Karan Affairs: Dear Trolls, You Don’t Get Me, Never Will
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June 17, 2016 at 1:32 PM
Very good post! I may not like his films but KJo, outside of cinema, is beginning to earn some respect.
Even some of his films these days are not so bad…Kapoor & Sons is a prime example.
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June 17, 2016 at 1:39 PM
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June 17, 2016 at 1:56 PM
Right…the guy who questions why Hindus worship Lord Shiva’s penis is the film critic for Udta Punjab
But what can one expect from bhakts?! LOL
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June 17, 2016 at 1:59 PM
Karan Affairs: Dear Trolls, You Don’t Get Me, Never Will
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June 17, 2016 at 2:09 PM
Oh come on…Please be a little more like KRK…Follow his advice on Lord Shiva as well!
Since you are such a big fan of KRK, I urge you to completely support his each and every accomplishment so far (being an alibi of Abu Salem; sending lewd messages to Bollywood heroines; supplying laborers to the Middle East illegally etc!)
It’s your duty to do this now!
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June 17, 2016 at 2:12 PM
Karan Affairs: Dear Trolls, You Don’t Get Me, Never Will
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June 17, 2016 at 2:17 PM
Oh dear…stuck like a broken record; copy and paste like a monkey. The new mantra for bhakts?
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June 17, 2016 at 2:21 PM
Karan Affairs: Dear Trolls, You Don’t Get Me, Never Will
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June 17, 2016 at 1:44 PM
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June 17, 2016 at 1:48 PM
Komal Nahta seems to have liked the movie-
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June 17, 2016 at 1:52 PM
If Komal Nahata has liked it, then it means it may do well !! Glad for Bala jee Films !!
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June 17, 2016 at 1:49 PM
Ha ha ha ha………………Delete your ……
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June 17, 2016 at 1:50 PM
……………Frustration !!
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June 17, 2016 at 1:58 PM
And now merey SS key saathiyon jiska aapko dar thaa, I mean Intezaar thaa ….Yugpurush and his 21 Udtey ^^^^^ ka review –
Zigar thaam key baithiye- not a film review but a political review-
Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal · 39m39 minutes ago
Just watched UDTA Punjab. V powerful. Badals must watch it to see what they have done to Punjab.
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June 17, 2016 at 2:26 PM
LMAO – Epic ( case in point ek yahee SS par uchal raha hai )!!!
Rahul Raj @bhak_sala ·
Badals needed drugs to convert people into zombies. You have done the same without using drugs.
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June 17, 2016 at 2:16 PM
Listen to the Sholay BGM at 2.00 mark ….maza aa gaya !
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June 17, 2016 at 2:22 PM
Vicky Kaushal is a good actor, liked him in Masan. Richa Chaddha though is smoking HOT !!
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June 18, 2016 at 4:07 AM
Super!.. Happy Fathers day Weekend to all Dads here..
Rocky check out this:
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June 17, 2016 at 2:59 PM
The system from which Mani Ratnam emerged might have needed him to transcend, to inspire the younger lot but it seems it was Ratnam who might have needed the system more than the system wanting him. He was a part of the system but still considered to be one of a kind, and, at times, even above it. He became the beacon of a bright future and even created a platform where an entire generation of filmmakers benefited from what he had achieved yet couldn’t help but continue to keep looking over his shoulder at his own past. The legendary Hollywood filmmaker Billy Wilder had ‘How would Lubitsch do it?’ framed in gilt letters on a wall across his desk to remind him of his mentor Ernst Lubitsch and the way he’d tackle a scene.
http://swarajyamag.com/culture/is-mani-ratnam-a-victim-of-his-own-image
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June 17, 2016 at 3:27 PM
Udta Punjab is looking at a solid day one with collections with around 10 crore nett as per early estimates. The number is a big one for a dark film which is off beat. The film has been helped by huge collections in Delhi city and East Punjab with a contribution of around 4 crore nett from both.
The other markets have seen lower business but still its still pretty decent and better than most films released this year. The business is dominated by multiplexes especially the high collecting ones. The controversy has helped but not a lot outside North India.
Udta Punjab has got a good day one number and now it will be about holding these numbers as the initial is the type which these sort of films don’t get. If Delhi city and East Punjab hold tomorrow at these high levels the film will be through.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 17, 2016 at 10:54 PM
Sanjana:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Udta-Punjab-released-some-hail-reality-others-deplore-abuses/articleshow/52804178.cms
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June 17, 2016 at 11:10 PM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/udta-punjab-takes-political-cinema-up-north-from-the-deep-south/story-f7EH1MXzA3Nw6ikV4u8hzL.html
The Dravida movement owes its rise to cinema – and let it not be said it was the glamour of an M.G. Ramachandran or a Jayalalithaa that did it. The DMK”s founder, C.N. Annadurai, and his successor Muthuvel Karunanidhi, wrote movie scripts that highlighted and challenged caste domination and exploitation of the poor in the Tamil Nadu of the 1940s and 1950s. Annadurai scripted “Velaikkari” (Maid Servant), a 1949 movie that highlighted a landlord’s atrocities. “Parasakthi,” released in 1952 and scripted by Karunanidhi, mocked Brahmin domination. Both Annadurai and Karunanidhi eventually became chief ministers.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party was created by N.T. Rama Rao more on the strength of his mythological movie roles, but in a way that shaped the “Telugu Pride” card that Rao used to challenge the dominant Congress party in the early 1980s.
In Hindi’s socio-political cinema, we have had Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zameen” (1953) on the plight of poor farmers, Amrit Nahata’s “Kissa Kursi Ka” (1978) that satirised the Emergency and “Aaj Ka MLA, Ram Avtaar” (1984) on the politics of defections. “Aaj Ka MLA” was directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, who eventually became Union minister for coal under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and has also been investigated for his role in the coalmine allocation scam.
Directors like Sudhir Mishra, who captured the Emergency and its milieu in “Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi,” and Prakash Jha, whose “Aarakshan” recently examined the politics of job reservations, are just two examples in a veritable procession of Indian movies exploring various shades of politics. Jha’s “Chakravyuh” probed Naxalism and his “Satyagraha” was said to be inspired by the Anna Hazare movement. Mishra’s “Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin” examined student politics.
Some of these films are termed arthouse or “parallel” while others are in the mainstream – such as the Anil Kapoor-starrer Nayak, directed by S. Shankar, which is a remake of his 1999 Tamil film, “Mudhalvan,” about a TV journalist who takes the chief minister’s job for a day after an on-air challenge.
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June 18, 2016 at 2:11 AM
After three back-to-back comedies, Abhishek Bachchan has decided to stay away from the comedy genre.
He has already said no to the big comedy franchise Hera Pheri.
“Yes,” he sighs, as he balances out this interview with a meeting with his sports team for the next kabaddi match. “It’s time to switch genres for a while. I’ve done three comedies in a row. After Happy New Year and All Is Well, I enjoyed Housefull 3 to the hilt. But, for now, it’s enough.”
Abhishek is looking at various scripts. “I am looking at something I have not done so far. I think I’ve done all genres-from slapstick comedies to family dramas. The only thing I haven’t done is horror. And I don’t want to do horror. I don’t like watching horror, so, why would I want the audience to watch me do it?”
At the moment, it’s celebration-time at the Bachchans for Housefull 3. Abhishek is joyous at the success. “We all worked so hard on it. All my co-stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Boman Irani and my directors Sajid-Farhad were pros at slapstick. I was completely new to the genre. They all guided me throughout the scenes. We had a lot of fun doing this one.”
And although Abhishek is off comedies, he wouldn’t want mind re-visiting the ‘Housefull’ franchise, “Provided, we come up with a script worth doing”.
Bollywoodhungama.com
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June 18, 2016 at 2:58 AM
Udta Punjab had a good first day with 10 crore nett which is the fifth best opening day of the year after Fan, Housefull 3, Baaghi and Airlift. In Delhi city and East Punjab it recorded the second highest opening day after Fan. The collections in Delhi city were better than Housefull 3 though the figures for the whole of Delhi / UP circuit were lower. The figures in East Punjab alone were best of the year.
The collections outside of North ranged from good to average barring Gujarat / Saurashtra which was poor. The performance of the Gujarat area was a lag on Mumbai circuit which collected around 2.50 crore nett which is the same figure as Delhi /UP.
Normally it would be easy to say the film will improve on Saturday for this type of film as that is when the target audience at high end multiplexes comes out but problem here is that normally films like this don’t put up double digit numbers on day one. There is potential for growth in many areas but that will depend on how the word of mouth is in these areas.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 18, 2016 at 2:59 AM
Udta Punjab recorded the highest opening day in East Punjab of 2016 due to the regional content and presence of Diljit Dosanjh. The top first day grossing Hindi films in East Punjab in 2016 are as follows.
1. Udta Punjab – 1,93,00,000
2. Fan – 1,75,00,000
3. Housefull 3 – 1,58,00,000
4. Airlift – 1,24,00,000
5. Baaghi – 1,03,00,000
Udta Punjab had fantastic numbers in Punjab but the cities outside the state were also strong. Gurgaon was excellent while places like Faridabad, Panipat, Jammu, Shimla, etc were also very good.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 18, 2016 at 5:22 AM
‘Udta Punjab’ made innumerable headlines before it’s release. But, irrespective of all the hulla gulla, the audience loves the movie and especially ‘Shahid Kapoor’ a.k.a. Tommy Singh has been receiving applauds for his stellar performance.
A few days ahead of the release, we got a chance to interact with Shahid and that’s when he shared about the difficulties he faced to prepare for his character.
So here’s what it took him to prepare for his dark yet amazing character.
Excerpts from the interview:
What was most difficult for you- playing a drug-addict or playing a rockstar?
Actually I can’t really break it up like that. Definitely the most difficult thing to play was a substance addict because I have never ever had alcohol, tried any kind of drugs. That’s true. I have never even had like half a bottle of beer or had any kind of substance. It just never happened. I wasn’t interested in it. I never supported it. I was one of those boring guys and my friends would quite often pull my leg about it. So it was very scary to attempt a role which I have no way of understanding what it’s like to be like that or to be in that state of mind. The most challenging and scary thing was whether I will make a fool of myself or I would be able to push my boundaries to try and achieve something that I actually have no exposure to.
So how did you prepare for your role?
To achieve that physicality of my character was a journey which took about three months. Basically I ate no food and trained for three hours a day. It’s a very odd combination. My character Tommy Singh is a star. He needs to look good. But he is an addict so he even needs to look destroyed. So you need somebody who is good-looking but looks like he is totally messed up. To achieve that, I had to train without eating. So that happened for three months as far as body was concerned. We carefully selected fourteen tattoos for my character. The whole thing of having a long hair with streaks was because when I heard the role of Tommy Singh from Abhishek Chaubey, the character was almost jumping out and hitting me in the face. I was like what kind of a guy Tommy is! I wanted the audience to have that similar taste. It was also difficult to understand what the state of mind of an addict is. My character in the film is a cocaine addict who starts chasing the drugs. He feels he needs to be high all the time. That’s what gives him confidence. So what happens to people in that space is that either they are over-confident or they are extremely under-confident when they don’t get it?
Did you take any real life inferences for this film?
The difficulty with this film was that nobody is ever going to show you that ‘this is what happens when I am on cocaine’. So I saw some documentaries and I think we have all partied enough to see what happens when people are high on alcohol and other stuff. (Laughs).
So was this character draining for you?
Every shot was quite draining. I used to actually go and lie down because I wasn’t really eating any food and I was having a lot of coffee. I needed to be very aggressive because the character is always up. So ya it was extremely tiring. In fact after the first 12-13 days of shoot for no reason I fell ill. I had no infection. I even underwent blood tests. I had fever for 13 days while shooting because my body was just too tired.
What’s Tommy Singh then all about?
‘Udta Punjab’ is a fictional film with fictional characters. It is not based on real life. The backdrop and issue is real. However the characters and the story are completely fictional. If you see Tommy Singh in the promos he is this huge star who is an addict. Now we have seen many people like this. There have been many pop stars having these fast lives. They die young, OD on stuff, people loves them, you know they are really cool looking, they come out and sing songs and have this really awesome shows. That’s the journey of Tommy Singh. His journey is the fall of a star because the musician in him falls prey to the addict in him. And he becomes nothing. It’s a journey of a guy who thinks that he is the best in the world recognizing that he isn’t and then fighting that reality.
How did you work upon the emotional part of your character?
I was very dependent on Abhishek (Chaubey). Like I said before I had no exposure to these things. But then you know you have an actor’s instinct. You are playing something and then you start feeling your character and then just go with the flow of your instinct.
What attracted you towards it?
Tommy Singh is bizarrely original. I found him very entertaining but very deep at the same time. That’s very rare combination. Usually entertaining characters are a little shallow. On the other hand the characters that are very complex are usually a little serious. But this guy had both which was very unique as an actor for me to do.
Do you like working more in out and out commercial films like ‘R..Rajkumar’ or content driven films like ‘Haider’ and ‘Udta Punjab’?
Characters excite me. I don’t have a problem with genres. I am happy to do all kind of genres. But more challenging the role, greater is the excitement. The more tired I get, the more I want a break. (laughs) After ‘Haider’, ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Rangoon’ I really want to do a light fluffy film where I can just sit, chat with the heroine and then cut into a song. (Jokes).
Do you keep a tab on the box office collections of your films?
Everybody keeps a tab. Forget me, even my Man Friday tells me ‘Sir, this film grossed 100 crores.’
Actors are showing a lot of maturity these days despite having baggage in the past. They are still very comfortable when it comes to working together in front of the screen, for example Ranbir- Katrina, you and Kareena…
You can choose to have a good attitude towards what’s going to happen. The word ‘baggage’ simply means loadDrop it and fly high.
Has ‘Shandaar’ taken away the novelty and excitement of your pairing with Alia Bhatt?
People really liked us a lot in ‘Shaandaar’. What I heard from people was that the only good thing about the film was me and Alia.
Would you ever get a tattoo in real life? Which one?
I really want a tattoo. But I haven’t been still able to figure out what I want. It’s a long time commitment. I just made one and I don’t think I am ready for another. (laughs)
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/starry-takes/65789-i-even-underwent-blood-tests-shahid-kapoor.htm
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June 18, 2016 at 5:25 AM
Just saw Udta Punjab; Don’t have time for a full review but will jot down some random thoughts in a bullet list.
• The film is an uneasy mix of humour and harrowing scenes of violence. The violence is not just literal but also implied; it’s not just physical but also mental. It’s powerful enough to shake some pent up emotions inside you and it’s all interspersed with scenes of ironic humour. I think the two sides of the film are equally good.
• The story credits don’t include his name but make no mistake, this film has the quintessential Anurag Kashyap stamp on it. Think Gangs of Wasseypur, to be precise.
• Alia Bhatt can act! Go easy on the Bihari accent (she probably didn’t get the right coaching) but this is one helluva performance. Her scenes stand out prominently in a film littered with gut-wrenching moments. Shahid Kapoor has gone ahead in print and booked the next National Award for her…I wouldn’t be as generous perhaps but wouldn’t mind it one bit if she won.
• Diljit Dosanjh is very impressive in his debut. He makes the simpleton ASI character a treat to watch. Incidentally his character’s name (Sartaj Singh) is also the name of the hero in Vikram Chandra’s excellent book Sacred Games…which is going to be adapted on screen by Kashyap as well. Coincidence? Perhaps not.
• The film isn’t political at all. There’s some passing reference to politicians running a drug racket but the film eschews blame on any party to a large extent. Instead, the film chooses to focus on the story of 4 individuals caught in a drug menace. The intersecting storylines bit is no longer novel but it keeps things interesting nonetheless.
• You will enjoy the film more if you happen to like the music. I already did and for me the best portion of the film involved the song Ikk Kudi and its placement in the film. Only cinema has the power to make your heart jump with joy after watching a rather mundane celebration with a song like Ikk Kudi playing in the background.
• Finally, Shahid Kapoor is pretty darn good in the film. First off, it takes courage to play a character that’s by all counts a gigantic loser. Tommy Singh is a washed up rap artist; all macho on the outside but hollow and guilt-ridden from the inside. In the film he gets slapped around by the police, beaten up by joe public and has no real ‘heroic’ moments of his own. To his credit, Shahid Kapoor not only embodies the character’s spirit but also brings a maniacal feistiness that was also evident in Haider. In an erstwhile Shakespearean tragedy, his character would be that of a court jester! To his enormous credit, he plays the part with aplomb (and a sly rakishness) to leave a long lasting impression.
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June 18, 2016 at 5:34 AM
What about Kareena Kapoor?
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June 18, 2016 at 5:59 AM
She’s good all right… but compared to the rest of the cast, she’s kind of bland — both in terms of how the character is written and also in tone and pitch.
I think it’s more the character that makes her less visible in the film. Don’t think she’s done a bad job at all…
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June 18, 2016 at 12:30 PM
Nice to hear good things about the movie….It is also holding very very well today on its second day…A good weekend means it should easily sail through and that is deserved returns for a movie that had to go through the wringer
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June 18, 2016 at 5:36 PM
This is good to know! Hope it makes 60 crores+ in India alone, which would be quite an achievement.
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June 18, 2016 at 5:31 AM
While on one hand Punjab is getting succumbed into ‘substance abuse’ (as shown in the film Udta Punjab), on the other hand perfectionist Aamir Khan says people are good and polite in the villages of Punjab, based on his experience while shooting for his upcoming film ‘Dangal’.
According to a report in a leading daily Aamir Khan was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the villages in Punjab! He was quoted saying, “It has been a very nice experience in every way. There are facilities and people here are very humble, helpful and most importantly they meet everyone with respect. Our work is not in offices but on streets, villages and in public areas, so it will be very difficult for us if people at locations where we are shooting won’t cooperate. Our main set for Dangal is the Gujjarwal village where Mahavir lives with his family, we found Gujjarwal to be the ideal village. We also shot at Kila Raipur. We have combined Kila Raipur and Gujjarwal village and shown as one village in the film. I was in Gujjarwal for two months and each day whenever I used to reach sets in the morning, people of that area where we were shooting used to stand outside their homes to welcome me and so was the case every day when I used to leave sets after day’s work. That was so polite; it is the way they make a person feel welcome. It is not just their love for me; I think this is ingrained in their personality. I go to many places when I shoot and I don’t see this anywhere. When we first shot ‘Rang De Basanti’ in Punjab, I was surprised that people were so polite. I also met very nice people in Kutch, they are very loving. People are loving everywhere we go, but the level of hospitality is remarkable in Punjab.”
The ‘Mangal Pandey’ star said it’s not possible to talk to every individual the meet each day and gave a valid reason that why they look down while going to any event or any other places!
“The reason that stars or any celebrity keeps his eyes on the ground mostly is because if he would fail to address or look at anyone, people would think he is arrogant. But it is not so. But I am patient. I am a lot like my mother, she is of very soft nature,” says Aamir.
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/65810-i-am-a-lot-like-my-mother-she-is-of-very-soft-nature-says-aamir.htm
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June 18, 2016 at 5:41 AM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Microsoft-enters-the-marijuana-business/articleshow/52806639.cms
Udta MS?
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June 18, 2016 at 7:40 AM
Housefull 3 dropped at the start of the third week as it faced major competition with the release of Udta Punjab. The collectons of Housefull 3 till date are as follows..
Week One – 80,02,00,000
Week Two – 23,14,00,000
Day 15 – 60,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 1,03,76,00,000
The third Friday has seen a drop of over 80% and this drop makes it tough for the film to reach 110 crore nett. The film has done well enough but has not really gone through with collections after the first week.
TE3N crashed out on day eight with business in the 30 lakhs nett region which will probably lead to lifetime business of around 18 crore nett. The film has dropped around 90% from its first day.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 18, 2016 at 10:47 AM
Extremely upset with news of Raghuram not taking up the 2nd term.
“…. He co-authored Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Luigi Zingales in 2003. He then wrote Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book in 2010”
http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/r/raghuram-g-rajan
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June 20, 2016 at 10:42 AM
And if the Governor is snazzily dressed, smart and intellectually gifted, which is not always the case, our P3P (Page 3 People) types consider him to be one of PLU (People Like Us) types.
Rajan is clearly a PLU. Which explains the fawning affection and fulsome praise showered on him by the Lutyens elite and their second cousins in south Mumbai.
It also explains why Manmohan Singh as RBI Governor never made the cut. A senior bureaucrat once recalled how Rajiv Gandhi, newly anointed Prime Minister, found him a crashing bore
http://www.abplive.in/blog/after-rajan-who
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June 20, 2016 at 10:48 AM
Ori Baba…..what does the Rudali gang of Libtards do now ?????
Aside- The markets were supposed to crash as well !!
“The government was offering another regular term but he was available only for a shorter duration,” said the person cited above, which may clarify a key part of Rajan’s statement related to the central bank’s unfinished tasks such as inflation control and banks’ bad loans.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Did-RBI-Governor-Raghuram-Rajan-want-shorter-second-stay/articleshow/52827965.cms
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June 18, 2016 at 10:54 AM
Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta 2h2 hours ago New Delhi, India
One way of looking at #RaghuramRajan story: War on crony capitalism is over. Full normalcy restored. Capitalism lost, cronies won.
EconomicTimesVerified account @EconomicTimes 1h1 hour ago
.@kiranshaw : #RaghuramRajan laid out a dedicated plan to clean up Indian banking system, big loss for RBI #Rexit
Niraj Bhatia™© @bhatia_niraj23 2h2 hours ago
This is what we Indians Think About u Sir #RaghuramRajan .. Many Swamys will Come & Go ..We stand by u, plz rethink
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June 18, 2016 at 2:01 PM
The FD interests have hit an alltime low making investors looking for riskier options in the hope of getting more returns to fight inflation.
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June 18, 2016 at 5:32 PM
Agreed. Raghuram Rajan leaving is bad news for the Indian economy. I’m not sure who’s going to replace him…It would be hard to find a more ‘honest’ man than Rajan.
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June 18, 2016 at 3:49 PM
Udta Punjab is set to show good growth on Saturday as collections will come in the 11-11.50 crore nett region which will take films collections to over 22 crore nett. The film has even managed to grow in Delhi and East Punjab despite strong first day collections.
The collections have seen most growth in Mumbai city, Pune and Bangalore as these cities do better for off beat films as they did not see the sort of opening North did and so have behaved as they would for most word of mouth films. The mass markers will be flat or limited growth depending on region. Rajasthan is better than other mass markets probably fue to the northern flavour of the film.
The film basically seems to be for the five metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Kolkata with the plus being that East Punjab is also on board in a big way which looks set to ensure a good weekend for the film.
It will be the first time that 30 crore nett will be crossed for a dark film, the pevious best being Badlapur. it will also be the highest weekend for a Shahid Kapoor starrer, the previous best being R… Rajkumar.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 18, 2016 at 4:15 PM
Hopefully Nihalani will get some commission for giving undue publicity to this just about above-average movie..Infamous publicity’s helped damn well..
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June 18, 2016 at 5:28 PM
Yeah that’s how the right winger nutcases behave. Had there been no controversy, this film would have found a very limited audience…but no, since it was deemed to (allegedly) hurt election prospects of a certain political party, all efforts were made to stop it from releasing, including releasing it on torrents!
This when there’s hardly any political angle in the film.
The end result: just the exact opposite of what was intended by certain quarters!
I do disagree with your take on the film though. This isn’t just an above average film. It’s pretty good…but my grouse (if I can call it that; overall, I quite liked the film) is that it follows a certain template that’s not too hard to discern for the Anurag Kashyap viewer.
Having said that, I’m really happy that mainstream stars are now interested in films like Udta Punjab. Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are as mainstream as one can get. More importantly though, these stars don’t detract from the experience. They add to the experience, which is always a good thing!
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June 18, 2016 at 5:42 PM
They add to the experience, which is always a good thing!
In other words, some stars (unfortunately, still a handful) are good enough to add to a viewer’s experience even in films as dark as Udta Punjab. This is progress and what it implies in the grand scheme of things is that more such films will get made because stars are now willing to work in them.
It’s a positive feedback loop that should ideally result in much better cinema for viewers in the long run…
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June 19, 2016 at 2:17 AM
IF it was publicity then it would have dropped on Saturday itself. For sure the opening was better due to the controversy but once Saturday comes the movie is on its own. The movie is good and has been liked…
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June 19, 2016 at 4:20 AM
Really? The public is so wise that it would have realized on Saturday itself that this is not a good movie? For that to happen, it would have to be an UTTERLY BAD movie. And there-in lies the distinction..
This is an average to above-average movie that’s benefited IMMENSELY thanks to the fool Nihalani..No 2 ways about it..
What Nihalani has done is, brought together all age-groups and all criss-cross societal distinctions together with his idiotic debates in a sort of Wood-stock F-you response..
You have someone like LS 180 over here who is known to down-vote anyone who questions Aamir ‘logicially’ regarding ‘intolerance’ but up-vote when the same person stands up for the unethical Salman and the bully YRF when they try to out-release a film carrying the same atmospherics..
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June 19, 2016 at 4:41 AM
AnJo — what’s your problem with me — that I speak up for Aamir, that I question YRF very rightly for their unethical brazenness with Sultan, and have now liked Udta Punjab wholly for itself? Please don’t jump to conclusions based on the little you seem to see of me in these columns.
I am absolutely positive that Aamir’s supposed remark against intolerance was misinterpreted beyond reason.I have absolutely no doubt on that score. He was asked his opinion about the intolerance issue, and he gave it straight — that during the past few months, the mood of the country was disturbing to him — which is exactly how I feel. His interview with Indian Express , from 23 d Nov, 2015 — is there on the net. Read it carefully if you wish to refresh your memory. He did not openly speak out against the topic but seemed to agree that there was a mood of increasing intolerance — a point I agree on. And the rest of his interview made plenty of sense, as usual. He is a conscientious citizen, and I bloody admire him for that and his Satyamev Jayate, more than anything else. In fact I am a supporter of citizen Aamir more than movie man Aamir — he has made some good and not so great choices in his films, but overall he is ok, could be better.My liking Aamir’s cinema and general persona has nothing to do with my views on political- social situations. His only mistake was in quoting his wife unnecessarily. Quite a few people speak so in private, but it is not wise to repeat such talk on a public stage. And there are many more who agree with me, about Aamir getting a raw deal in this whole intolerance issue.
Udta Punjab will do well on its own steam. It is a very good film in my humble opinion. People are not fools to be swayed by controversies.
Hadd ho gayi. You can’t have your own opinions without somebody questioning their legitimacy.
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June 19, 2016 at 5:04 AM
I have no problem with you or anybody else.. But it’s upto you to
‘perceive’ that I have a problem with you. Sounds familiar? Oh by the way, I am an Aamir fan.You got to have multiple disclaimers in place these days..otherwise you run the risk of being labeled a ‘right-wing nut-case.’
I watched UDTA PUNJAB and found it a good one-time watch, inferior to the director’s DEDH ISHQIYA. But that’ s me.
You liked it. Happy for you.
Some hypocrisies need to be pointed out. You question OldGold why she deliberately mis-spells Aamir as Amir. But then, somebody who questions Aamir — oh God forbid if he is from the fascist BJP — is Vijay ‘something’? Was he born of ‘somethings’? Basically, anybody who questions Aamir or SRK needs to be pulled up.
Oh by the way, the darling of FOE Anurag Kashyap mentioned that ‘THIS country attacked Aamir and SRK for intolerance’.
Remember, they were ‘attacked.’ I question Aamir regarding the time-line of ‘intolerance’ and I ‘attack’ Aamir Khan.
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June 19, 2016 at 5:05 AM
So AnJo — is it so wrong to support Aamir logically on the intolerance issue? All of us who support Aamir on this issue — you think we are brainless fans just following him? So much contempt?
So many people — politicians, Sadhvis and sundry loudmouths — make a lot of outrageous statements — and few on social media nother to get outraged. But Aamir gives his genuine opinion, when questioned — yes, he has felt uncomfortable about somethings happening, the mood– a point on which ordinary Indians agree, at least some of us– and we become illogical supporters of Aamir? Is it even fair, such reasoning? I do believe that Aamir gets picked on whenever he opens his mouth to the media; his words are twisted– and now there is a baying social media mob waiting to demonise anybody who dares to speak in a politically incorrect manner.
Recently, in Ludhiana, Aamir was asked about CBFC and the Udta Punjab leak . I watched the complete video available on YouTube; he specifically and repeatedly asked the journalist whether the leak was really from CBFC; asked the journo to show his face; and then replied carefully that IF indeed CBFC was involved it would be a shame. He then went on to add that if it was not so, well, he has always spoken strongly against piracy.
But guess what? Expectedly the media has jumped on to the bit where Aamir has mentioned CBFC and the online leak , quoted him selectively — and made him look like a vindictive loser. So now you have the likes of KRK and sundry Bhakts demonizing Aamir again on Twitter.
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June 19, 2016 at 5:15 AM
You used ‘bhakts’, for your information.
Good that he ‘repeatedly’ asked the journalist if it was a deliberate leak from CBFC. But then as you mention, it’s the media that’s turned this upside down, not me, an Aamir fan, right? So if today, I question Aamir, independently, where would you put me? An Jo ‘something’?
And why would you keep underscoring SATYAMEV JAYATE as a highlighter for Aamir’s conscience? The man is bloody conscientious WITHOUT satyamev jayate. To hell with Satyamev Jayate. Maybe you need that check-box checked. I don’t. His film choices are enough for me.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out to you certain hypocrisies..as I am pointed out to by the way..if you so much like India, leave America..
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June 19, 2016 at 5:20 AM
AnJo — I do like most of what you write, your analysis of films; am aware that you have supported Aamir many times, except perhaps on the made up intolerance controversy. But I don’t understand why you find it difficult to reconcile my support of Aamir in this matter , with my stand against YRF- Salman on their brazen steamrolling with Sultan. Where is the hypocrisy here?
Yes,I do get irritated if Oldgold spells Aamir as Amir; she has once suggested that it’s a sort attitude on his part, spelling his name differently. I remember Aamir specifically saying tha he is Aamir, not Amir. Even his cousin Imran spoke about it. Why should I insult somebody by spelling his name wrong?
In fact as regards names, I remember Kamalahaasan and this original spelling; his brothers are Chandrahaasan and Charuhaasan. I always prefer to address Kamal by his original spelling; he later changed his name to Kamal Hasan. I don’t mean to disrespect Kamal. Just that I like the original name with its beautiful meaning ( Kamal and haasan).
I have watched Ishquia, like it. Not watched Dedh Ishquia yet. And I will be happy to watch Udta Punjab again. To me and a couple of friends who accompanied me, it is more than a one time watch.
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June 19, 2016 at 5:23 AM
And I don’t remember why I reacted to Vijay or whoever ; it would have been quite some time back. I used to respond to any comment that I could not agree with; then I steeled myself, learned to stay away from these fruitless discussions; there are far more important matters to fret over. In any case defenders like me are fair game….
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June 19, 2016 at 5:39 AM
I am not checking any box; it’s just that I like Satyamev Jayate, every episode; one of the few things on tv I have bothered to watch completely. Satyamev Jayate as repeatedly affirmed by Aamir, is a co- product and brainchild of Satyajit Bhatkal , a conscientious lawyer, schoolmate to Asmir, plus social activist in Mumbai. I was for a while in touch with Bhatkal through FB, suggesting topics I came across thru news. I absolutely loved his book The Spirit of Lagaan, a book about filmmaking against all odds. So my admiration for Satyamev Jayate goes beyond Aamir.
I have particularly liked Sarfarosh( 1999), a film that spoke about nation being above religion. Also loved Ghulam ( 1998), a commercial film with the raw appeal of a more artistic film . These two along with 1947 Earth( 1997) are my favourite Aamir films from the nineties. So Aamir’s good film choices predate Lagaan ( 2001). Also loved RDB ( 2006). Fanaa from the same year is commercial, but I have a soft spot for it.
Since May 2015, Aamir and Bhatkal have been busy with their practical version of Satyamev Jayate — gathering funds from industrialist friends, setting up a board with them, very busily involved in Maharashtra drought relief; have been following activities on this fron through ABP Majha’s weekly programs.
It is not wrong to like an actor beyond his film work. Some others too are doing commendable work. It makes them more complete citizens.
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June 19, 2016 at 5:47 AM
I guess the term Bhakts is rather unfair. Just that it s representative, convenient ( like the term Bollywood), not meant to demean. I have noticed that people who attack Aamir on Twitter , often quite senselessly and unfairly — are of a type; they cannot stand him because of his stand against the PM when he was not a PM. As if many others haven’t done the same. It s just that most people now prefer to remain silent. Wisely.
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June 19, 2016 at 6:13 AM
Krish does have a point. Films that have a mixed WOM do show a drop on Saturday. Take Fan for instance. They don’t show a growth in collections.
I’m actually quite surprised that Udta Punjab has held up so well…wasn’t expecting it at all. It’s too dark to invite any kind of family audience into theaters.
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June 19, 2016 at 11:53 AM
A film that over achieves on a Friday tends to drop on Saturday even if it is a mixed WOM. Its like you have a holiday on Day 1 and there is a invariable drop. This didn’t drop…That’s a good thing….It will not hold great on MOnday as movies such as this which usually banks on multiplex audience do drop…But as long the movie crosses 50 crores it is a big win….The way it is going now, 50 seems to be a easy target.
And this will be one of those dark movies which becomes a hit….Which is great news
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June 19, 2016 at 5:26 AM
You reacted to this Vijay ‘something’ because this dumbo called for a boycott of Aamir’s films. And you reacted more than twice to a ‘something.’
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June 19, 2016 at 6:28 AM
Saket why are you under the impression that family audiences need to make it to the theaters to garner a hit status? Not needed. It is the ‘youth’ power that spends money and if that group makes it to the theater in groups, the job’s done..It is absolutely NO surprise that it’s doing well..This was NEVER a movie for family..if you go to watch Kashyap’s movie with your parents or your sister, you are either TOO ‘broad-minded’ or, you are a fool of the first-degree..
A better movie than this, TEEN, failed at the box-office, since the film had above 40 actors as the main protagonists…
When a movie starring Amitabh, Nawaz, and Vidya doesn’t even get decent foot-falls, well, apart from strategically released negative reviews 2 days prior to the release, you know what’s going on…
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June 19, 2016 at 7:03 AM
Yes, but the ‘youth’ have to still like the movie for it register growth. If WOM is bad, people bail out because at the end of the day it’s not cheap to watch a movie anymore.
The comparison with Teen isn’t quite fair. It doesn’t have younger stars to draw in a key audience segment or a foot-tapping musical score. It might be a better film (haven’t seen it yet) but it’s never guaranteed that a better film wins at the Box Office. In fact, a slow-paced film is always going to find it difficult to get any kind of support. Lootera is in my opinion, as close to perfection as a hindi film can get and it pretty much bombed at the Box Office. There’s a lack of film ‘culture’ in India…but then again, Hollywood doesn’t have a perfect track record in this matter either.
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June 18, 2016 at 7:00 PM
NEW DELHI: The controversy over Udta Punjab has barely died down when another Anurag Kashyap production has run in to rough weather. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has refused to certify Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer ‘Haraamkhor’ objecting to its theme which deals with a student-teacher romance. The filmmakers now plan to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
The Censor Board has “refused” certification on the grounds that a teacher is a “respectable figure in our society” and the film shows an illicit relationship between a teacher and a teenage student. “There are many filthy dialogues spoken by kids and body gestures of the kids were also found to be objectionable. Kids committing crime etc does not merit any certificate to the film. Hence, ‘refused’ because of its theme itself,” the CBFC letter said.
When asked, Kashyap confirmed that the producers were planning to appeal to FCAT against the CBFC decision.
The film, directed by Shlok Sharma, is a love story that revolves around a delicate relationship between a school teacher in a small Gujarati town and his teenage female student. It has been produced by Kashyap and Guneet Monga under the Sikhya Entertainment banner.
Haraamkhor was premiered in the 15th annual New York Indian Film Festival and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). Nawazuddin Siddiqui received the best actor award for the film at the New York Indian Film Festival.
Sources said that the board’s examining committee had a problem with the fact that a love affair between a teacher and student was being depicted when teachers are revered in India. Filmmakers pointed out that such themes had been explored in several films earlier and it was disturbing that the board was over-reaching in its functions to sit on judgement over social issues.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Another-Anurag-Kashyap-film-faces-trouble/articleshow/52814665.cms
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June 19, 2016 at 2:08 AM
Watched Udta Punjab last night, loved it totally. Saturday evening show packed full, as expected. The audience in Chennai loved it every bit of the way. Many plan to watch it a second time. The Punjabi- Hindi dialogue is spot on; performances too. Loved the dialogue, the direction, the music.
A few felt that second half was slow. My friend and I did not feel so; the first half is frenetic and the second half calmer, the resolutions happening at a proper pace. I think it’s only some youngsters who find the second half slower.
Special mention for the thread of humour that runs through the film — it helped tone down the grim somber voice of the entire film.Thumbs up and four plus stars for this film that was saved from butchering ( with 89 unnecessary cuts) by a politically motivated censor board.
A friend who has met some Sikhs tells me that a high-placed politico’s son is the kingpin of the drug flow in Punjab.
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June 19, 2016 at 7:32 AM
To put things into context, let me add a comparison point for Udta Punjab. There have been Hindi films made on the drug menace before. Dev Anand’s Hare Ram Hare Krishna comes to mind as well as the more recent Dum Maaro Dum.
Well, Udta Punjab is about 10 times better than both! I know DMD gets a lot of praise here (the real world story is vastly different) and what Udta Punjab does is, it exposes the limitations of directors like Rohan Sippy — all style and panache on the outside but completely hollow in terms of character or even world-building. Now that’s an average film if there was one…
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June 19, 2016 at 7:41 AM
Good comparisons.
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June 19, 2016 at 9:10 AM
Liked the real world story jibe 😄😂😜
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June 19, 2016 at 10:27 AM
I’ve written a rather long piece on DMD so won’t add to that here (nor defend Sippy beyond this piece or my comments on BM elsewhere). I will say though that for me DMD isn’t about ‘drugs’ in any deeper sense. For that matter nor is Hare Rama.. necessarily. Now I’m not a fan of the latter but that’s another matter. In general films that are just about their stated subjects in that documentary sense of the word aren’t very interesting. For that matter even great documentaries are ‘fictions’ in the same sense.
Haven’t seen Udta Punjab so can’t comment on it. Glad to see it’s doing well though.
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June 19, 2016 at 11:06 AM
Then why take the trouble to name your film Dum Maaro Dum?
Unless it was a throwback to the song in Hare Rama… which makes it even worse!
Truth be told, there’s a B grade Hollywood film called Max Payne starring Mark Wahlberg. The entire trajectory of Abhishek Bachchan’s character has been lifted from that film.
That’s the limit of Rohan Sippy’s ‘originality’.
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June 19, 2016 at 11:26 AM
because (and again don’t want to repeat the piece here) but the entire film is also an act of homage at certain levels including the grave reference at the end. Of course the song was literally re-used in the film.
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June 19, 2016 at 10:41 AM
Rangan’s dissent on Udta Punjab:
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June 19, 2016 at 11:03 AM
I would take the title (Well made but also very banal) and add it to Dum Maaro Dum.
That ought to fix everything 🙂
On a serious note, do agree partially with Rangan’s review. The film does have some great directorial flourishes…but it’s certainly not banal. First off, there haven’t been many hindi films which have explored systematic drug abuse in India to begin with. The subject matter itself makes the film quite original.
Second, the characters are not cardboard cutouts. They have been fleshed out given the constraints of time and the format itself.
Third, the dialogues are fresh and original — like they always are in Chaubey’s films.
Fourth, films set in Punjab coming from the YRF banner portray a very rosy picture of the state. This is the anti-YRF portrait of Punjab.
How can the film be called ‘banal’ given all of this?
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June 19, 2016 at 11:12 AM
Saket is right.
Trying to compare dmd with udta Punjab is like comparing a kc bokadia auctioner with GOW!!!
Jus bcos u can block comments to this blog doesn’t affect the “real world” 🙂
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June 19, 2016 at 11:37 AM
Haven’t seen udta Punjab but this sounds the apex of shahids career till now
And sense elements of kashyap here
Liked the
“Milna hai tommy singh se?”
Btw remembered Prabhu deva’s cult
Beedi peeke nukkad pe wait tera kiya re
Khali-peeli 18 cup chai bhi toh piya re
ABCD padhli bohot
Thandi aahein bhar li bohot
Acchi baatein kar li bohot
Ab karunga tere saath
Gandi baat…
Btw Srk with alcohol bottles
http://m.indiatoday.in/story/raees-shah-rukh-film-poster-alcohol-bottles-publicity/1/690502.html
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June 19, 2016 at 1:53 PM
lol at last part!
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June 19, 2016 at 11:40 AM
Again haven’t seen the film so can’t comment specifically on it but I’d say this — I find 99% of the acclaimed films that come out of contemporary Bollywood to be banal. I’d go even further and say that it is the surest sign of banality in Bollywood when films are celebrated too much. It’s been a long-standing thesis of mine that the truly subversive (at any level) is not really celebrated in today’s Bollywood (or with its audiences) except when it operates below the radar. Much as films that truly question the complacencies of New India never really work or don’t work as they’re expected to. Such a list for me would include Khakee, DMD, Mangal pandey, Talaash, DMD, Raavan. This is not a partisan point because I actually don’t find for the purposes of this discussion Guru as interesting as Raavan, RDB as interesting as Talaash (though Mehra is otherwise a finer director) and so on. DMD would still have done ok if Abhishek had had better box office standing at the time. But put differently still I have not seen any important film for 20 years or so out of Bollywood that was really very successful at any end of the production spectrum and that was truly interesting or subversive (as I see it). And this includes for me much of the Kashyap reception. I do like most of his films (not all) and I certainly find him to be a significant (if an unrealized) talent but again the reasons he’s celebrated are for me part of the problem. I was for example a naysayer on GoW.
To my mind we just don’t live in any age where ‘subversion’ is celebrated in any ordinary sense (certainly in Hindi cinema..). It’s not been that sort of age since the great age of Bachchan for the most part. There are exceptions here and there but they hardly ever get the right kind of attention one way or the other. Khakee was an extraordinary film at many levels but did far less than a film of comparable quality would have done in a number of other genres. Dev never even got started at the box office. A film of stunning political boldness. To continue my analogies for me Black or Paa or Piku are far less interesting than these films though all three did a lot more relative to subject and production scale compared to those other films. Films that represent New India as a heart of darkness place or that critique it profoundly never succeed (Talaash, Khakee, DMD, Raavan, some do better than others but if you factor in the star’s box office you’re not left with a very significant difference on trending patterns if at all). On the other hand GoW represents what is already the multiplex imaginary on the Indian badlands. Again have said volumes about all of this in the past and won’t repeat everything but for the purposes of a response here just offering shorthand. But ‘banality’ is often about a film’s deepest meaning. A film can be very well-made, polemically charged at certain levels and still not have anything very important to say. This might still make it better than most other films at that point in time but that’s probably a low bar.
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June 19, 2016 at 11:57 AM
Not a response to the point above, but just remembered Badlapur. Badlapur did quite well even though it was dark…Udta Punjab will the next in the list. Then we also have the NH10’s etc which keep making a mark…
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June 19, 2016 at 1:18 PM
But Badlapur wasn’t a film that surprised me in this sense. The issue isn’t ‘dark’ films. A film like Kahaani did very well. It’s more about films that have a certain critique. What’s a good counterexample? In the 70s all the key Bachchan scripts were extremely critical of bourgeois family values (one of the reasons why this audience always had some degree of discomfort about those films) or even the institutions of the state. This was true of the age in general but specially in those important films of his. As late as Lawaaris (to my there isn’t a better commercial film out of Bombay since this film with the exception of Ghulaami) the critique of just about everything is just searing. Today if you said a tenth as much people would run out of the theaters screaming! But the other reason for this is a structural one. The drivers of the film economy today are multiplex audiences. Whether these multiplexes are in Bombay or Kanpur they automatically play to a certain class or a certain mindset. One which for a long time has been the New Indian aspirational one. Now you might get a Salman Khan film (which by the way is about as non-serious as masala can get.. because there is hardly any element of critique in it) which plays well in all kinds of theaters but no film could get to a huge gross simply by depending on non-multiplex screens. Everyone knows this. So even a Salman film has to be minimally acceptable to multiplex audiences which means it then also has to be a certain kind of ‘non-offensive’ masala. In any case you get films that have to play to multiplexes whether it’s Badlapur or Piku or a Salman film. This is hardly a ‘universal’ audience because even in major cities you cater to a class that can afford those tickets. Bollywood is really the name of a boutique cinema. This wasn’t the case for the longest time and still isn’t in just about any other part of the world.
And to be clear I am not against the ‘aspirational’. But New India is built on a certain forgetting, a certain escapism, ultimately a certain political irresponsibility that I find reprehensible. This is not about celebrating the ‘old’. One can be a strong critic of the latter without necessarily having a better or more progressive vision of the future.
‘Bollywood’ is a symptom of all this but it is also ultimately to my mind the name for the ‘death of Hindi cinema’ or a certain great and singular tradition of four decades or more. Now what we have is a good film only on the exceptional day. And even here it’s very seldom anything but a rehash of Hollywood or festival cinema genres. If I cannot get something specifically Indian in these films I’m just not interested. Because I can get far better examples of the same genres in all kinds of global cinema. And if it is ‘Indian’ it still has to live up to a certain bar. Incidentally this also isn’t about changing times or something. Yes things change but some changes are just regressive or poor. The 80s were a worse decade than the 70s in every measurable sense in Hindi cinema. The 60s weren’t as interesting as the 50s. One can make these judgments. Everything that is ‘new’ is not automatically admirable. And sometimes when a tradition is lost or weakened you can go years or decades or even centuries (I could cite other art forms as examples) without anything noteworthy coming about.
I know everything that I’ve said here isn’t related to your comment but I’ve just used the opportunity to expand on mind and just offer a summation of my larger critique in this sense.
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June 19, 2016 at 2:03 PM
Start a new post or use Anjo’s post…
This gets buried in BO thread.
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June 19, 2016 at 2:17 PM
done, thanks for the suggestion.
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June 19, 2016 at 12:05 PM
Satyam u r trying to defend something that’s indefensible with DMD. It’s EMBARRASSING to see u attempt this!
It’s not even in the same building forget the same floor.
People like Rohan sippy & Abhishek are essentially just GLOROFIED NEPOKIDS!
they can’t be allowed to STAND in the same ROOM as people like Abhishek Chaubey or Anurag kashyap or even Amit trivedi who have done the slog & have real talent not jus genes…
Btw kareena kapoor &Alia Bhatt aren’t the NEPOKID category (both have proven talent)
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June 19, 2016 at 12:09 PM
Even if this doesn’t actually happen (bcos three clear open weeks during Dec holidays are too much to resist!)
The fact that aamir is mulling running way again is SHOCKING
And a SLAP for his devoted blind fans and PROVES aamirs “short”comings 🙂
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June 19, 2016 at 1:14 PM
I find 99% of the acclaimed films that come out of contemporary Bollywood to be banal. I’d go even further and say that it is the surest sign of banality in Bollywood when films are celebrated too much. It’s been a long-standing thesis of mine that the truly subversive (at any level) is not really celebrated in today’s Bollywood (or with its audiences) except when it operates below the radar. Much as films that truly question the complacencies of New India never really work or don’t work as they’re expected to. Such a list for me would include Khakee, DMD, Mangal pandey, Talaash, DMD, Raavan.
I find it interesting that only films starring Bachchan(s) or Aamir happen to be on your subversive list. This means one of the following:
a. Films otherwise acclaimed but not starring Bachchans or Aamir are not subversive at all
b. You don’t watch that many Hindi films or limit your viewing to films starring a few stars
c. This is the most subversive reading of your choices: you watch other acclaimed films but find faults in them that you would otherwise overlook in films starring your favourites.
I’m not trying to deliberately pin you down on this. It’s your choice as to what you watch and what you admire in the end…but there’s a question of consistency in your choices, perhaps. Also perhaps a moment to introspect as well?
But ‘banality’ is often about a film’s deepest meaning. A film can be very well-made, polemically charged at certain levels and still not have anything very important to say. This might still make it better than most other films at that point in time but that’s probably a low bar.
This isn’t what Rangan was referring to. Anyway, the deepest ‘meaning’ of a film would be open to subjective interpretation, no? How can you argue that your definition of the deepest meaning is the only one possible? Besides, you impart too much credit to a Hollywood wannabe like Rohan Sippy. You infer meaning in films like DMD when it’s obvious that he has copied stuff from films like Max Payne. I mean this is the guy whose debut effort was called Kuch Na Kaho. How original was that!? I’m actually being generous by not calling him a hack…because he’s obviously vastly superior to someone like Sanjay Gupta but to call him original would be a giant stretch!
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June 19, 2016 at 1:55 PM
To be honest I thought of naming Thakshak too, a film I love but I didn’t quite remember the release year and I thought it was much older. In any case another film that didn’t do well. On the rest note though that Aamir is known for doing different stuff. Abhishek when he became successful again decided to work with certain kinds of directors more than others. That’s precisely why I’ve been interested in these careers more than others. When Abhishek started doing other kinds of stuff (for whatever reason, understandable or otherwise) I wasn’t interested. As for his father he did a lot of poor stuff in this period but he’s also worked with some of the best talents.
the rest HERE
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June 19, 2016 at 1:15 PM
Happy Father’s day.
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June 19, 2016 at 1:40 PM
Folks typing loooong essays was never easy for me and now difficult to get time n effort
So Twitter with few character is more apt
Ventured briefly today 1st time
Was drowned by ranveer fangirls today…lol
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June 19, 2016 at 11:39 PM
LOS ANGELES: Anton Yelchin, a charismatic and rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, has died at the age of 27. He was killed in a fatal traffic collision early Sunday morning, his publicist, Jennifer Allen confirmed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/Star-Trek-actor-Anton-Yelchin-dies-in-a-car-crash-at-age-27/articleshow/52824782.cms
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June 20, 2016 at 1:20 AM
Donald Trump was a brash scion of a real estate empire, a young developer anxious to leave his mark on New York. Roy Cohn was a legendary New York fixer, a ruthless lawyer in the hunt for new clients.
They came together by chance one night at Le Club, a hangout for Manhattan’s rich and famous. Trump introduced himself to Cohn, who was sitting at a nearby table, and sought advice: How should he and his father respond to Justice Department allegations that their company had systematically discriminated against black people seeking housing?
“My view is tell them to go to hell,” Cohn said, “and fight the thing in court.”
It was October 1973 and the start of one of the most influential relationships of Trump’s career.
Cohn soon represented Trump in legal battles, counseled him about his marriage and introduced Trump to New York power brokers, money men and socialites.
Cohn also showed Trump how to exploit power and instill fear through a simple formula: attack, counterattack and never apologize.
Since he announced his run for the White House a year ago, Trump has used such tactics more aggressively than any other candidate in recent memory, demeaning opponents, insulting minorities and women, and whipping up anger among his supporters.
Cohn gained notoriety in the 1950s as Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel and the brains behind his hunt for communist infiltrators. By the 1970s, Cohn maintained a powerful network in New York City, using his connections in the courts and City Hall to reward friends and punish those who crossed him.
He routinely pulled strings in government for clients, funneled cash to politicians and cultivated relationships with influential figures, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, mafia boss Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno and a succession of city leaders.
In the 1990s, a tragic character based on Cohn had a central place in Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer prize-winning play, “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.”
Trump prized Cohn’s reputation for aggression. According to a New York Times profile a quarter-century ago, when frustrated by an adversary, Trump would pull out a photograph of Cohn and ask, “Would you rather deal with him?” Trump remained friends with him even after the lawyer was disbarred in New York for ethical lapses. Cohn died in 1986.
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trumps-early-lesson-from-legendary-new-york-lawyer-roy-cohn-tell-them-to-go-to-hell-1420780?pfrom=home-topstories
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June 20, 2016 at 3:16 AM
Udta Punjab is had a good first weekend grossing 33.50 crore nett with East Punjab doing record weekend business for the year so far. Delhi / UP was also very good while other circuits ranged from good to decent. Mumbai and Mysore showed the best growth over the weekend as this sort of content normally does better in Mumbai city and Bangalore.
The trend overall was good as the film did get a little boost from the controversy on day one so fair value for the first day was around 9 crore nett instead of 10 crore nett which in real terms meant 20% growth on Saturday. The film followed up with 10-15% growth on Sunday. The weekend is the fifth best of 2016.
The censor issue created extra hype for the film but it did not reflect in collections as much as it could have. The opening numbers of the film were as Ki & Ka in Mumbai, South and East India. Central India was a little better and it was North India which was 2 crore nett better and that was always going to happen even if there was no controversy due to the regional content. This basically means only around 75 lakhs nett was added due to the controversy.
It we take the genre of the film then the weekend is very good as these sort of film don’t get over 30 crore nett in the first weekend though on the other side it did have a good cast which meant a wider audience than most dark thrillers.
A good Monday hold will see good business for 2 and a half weeks. The film does not have much in its way till Sultan though in East Punjab it will have to compete with Return Of Sardaarji which will hit collections. The big hollywood film Independence Day 2 is there but thats unlikely to be a 9 or 10 crore opener in India.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 20, 2016 at 3:19 AM
According to BOI, controversy gave only Rs.75 lakhs extra perhaps.
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June 20, 2016 at 8:33 AM
LOL!!
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June 20, 2016 at 3:18 AM
Housefull 3 crossed the 105 crore nett mark in its third weekend but collection did see a big drop of 83% from the previous weekend. The collectons of Housefull 3 till date are as follows..
Week One – 80,02,00,000
Week Two – 23,14,00,000
Weekend Three – 2,50,00,000 apprx
TOTAL – 1,05,66,00,000 apprx
The collections of Housefull 2 were 7.75 crore nett in its third weekend which is three times higher. The film is now looking at a 108-109 crore nett finish with a distributor share of 54 crore.
TE3N crashed in the second weekend grossing 1.25 crore nett and taking its lifetime business to around 17.25 crore nett. The film will do around 18 crore nett business which is less than a film like Sanam Re.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 20, 2016 at 5:03 AM
Udta Punjab has done well at the Box Office. What has really gone in favor of the film is the word of mouth amongst the target audience. The Abhishek Chaubey film was anyways meant for the niche audience and the fact that it has managed to penetrate even beyond that has been a reason to smile for all involved. In fact for the director there is a lot to smile as in the opening weekend itself, Udta Punjab has now gone past the lifetime collections of Ishqiya [23 crore] and Dedh Ishqiya [28 crore]. Superb indeed!
Moreover, for Shahid Kapoor too these are the best weekend numbers of his 13 year career. This is how his recent films have scored:
Udta Punjab – 33.80 crore
R… Rajkumar – 30.7 crore
Shaandaar – 27.4 crore (first 3 days, since it released on Thursday)
Phata Poster Nikhla Hero – 21.25 crore
Haider – 19.45 crore (first 3 days, since it released on Thursday)
http://www.koimoi.com/box-office/box-office-shahid-kapoor-gets-his-career-best-weekend-with-udta-punjab/
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June 20, 2016 at 5:19 AM
According to a Mumbai Mirror report, 20th Century Fox – the makers of Independence Day Resurgence – decided not to show any part of India or its historical monuments being destroyed in the film. Their reason, and we quote, being “Well, Indians are too touchy. Keeping the sensitivities of all the religious groups and other activists in mind, the makers were asked to not shoot in India or portray any prominent monuments being damaged.”
The report quotes a source from the production house saying, “There was also a request to only represent India on one of the film’s posters, by showing an attack on the Taj Mahal. But this too was rejected.” The film arrives June 24.
Maybe, the studio backing the Roland Emmerich film — starring Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Vivica Fox — decided not to mess with the wrong country keeping Pixels in mind. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had reportedly asked the production house backing the Adam Sandler movie to exclude the clip that shows the Taj Mahal being destroyed from the promo. An insider said at that time, “Originally, the film had scenes that showed many monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Houses of London, and so on, being destroyed. However, the final cut of the film featured the Taj Mahal scene.”
The scenes were later taken off. Earlier, Pixels’ director Chris Columbus had said about destroying the Taj: “It is the first real iconic thing to get destroyed in the film. There is a destruction scene prior to that but with Taj Mahal, you see that it is actually a game breakout. I had this visual image while designing these effects. It had nothing to do whether it was India or anywhere else. I just thought it will look really cool and awesome,” he had said. That is, till India took offence.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/hollywood/why-independence-day-resurgence-destroyed-the-world-but-left-india-alone/story-gFbm6YetFMSyJ4CDBfSl3K.html
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June 20, 2016 at 9:18 AM
yeah most of the world’s most iconic cities have been partially or wholly destroyed in Hollywood including some of the America’s most cherished monuments. I doubt most Indians are so ‘hurt’ by this stuff either!
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June 20, 2016 at 12:32 PM
JUDTA PUNJAB
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June 20, 2016 at 4:51 PM
LOL!
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June 20, 2016 at 1:57 PM
Both films were deeply rooted in the local culture and flavour of North India and explored intense themes like patriarchy and power relations in the badlands of Haryana (Anushka Sharma-starrer NH10) and the menace of drug abuse in Punjab (Shahid Kapoor’s Udta Punjab).
Sharma revealed his process of researching for Udta Punjab and writing the film to IndiaToday.in.
Excerpts from the interview:
(SPOILER ALERT: The conversation has references to the movie at several points. Please read only if you have watched Udta Punjab. Or if you don’t plan on watching it.)
What was the genesis of Udta Punjab?
Abhishek (Chaubey) approached me to write a movie on drugs. I had already done some research on Punjab so I suggested to him to base the story in Punjab. That’s where the problem is quite rampant and real. So, I travelled to Punjab and saw things first-hand.
How long did the research take and when did you begin writing the movie?
Three years ago. Research was done in few rounds. In the first round, I went to Punjab and met journalists, doctors, rehab centre officials, drug addicts, drug peddlers, policemen. I got an idea of the supply side, the law enforcement side, the addicts’ point of view and so on. I wanted to get an idea of why it is happening in Punjab, how it is spreading, how it’s being controlled and is there a way out?
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/udta-punjab-shahid-kapoor-controversy-drugs-audience-hit-sudip-sharma-anurag-kashyap-cbfc/1/696102.html
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June 20, 2016 at 4:52 PM
Bachchan on UP and HF-3
There are seldom moments in the life of creatives within the world of entertainment that compel you to speech and words .. ‘Udta Punjab’ did that to me today .. cinema in its absolute .. artists – where the heck are they getting these superbly talented men and women from – without fault and without performance per se .. but living in the life of the character being portrayed .. simply mouth wide opened wonder as you watch them
Simultaneously, not because Abhishek is in it, I enjoyed ‘HOUSEFUL 3′ .. and I saw both of them back to back .. really a fun film extravagantly mounted and slickly performed project .. and well .. at times you have to read past the critics that did demolish the film ..
That is creative contentment in a day .. does not happen too often .. !!
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June 20, 2016 at 5:56 PM
The Great Bong on Udta Punjab-
Everyone is praising Alia Bhatt !!
It succeeds in one of the threads, Alia Bhatt’s, because she puts in a command performance, despite the mildly inauthentic Bihari accent, and because she has the most fully-realized character arc. I realize that for many Shahid Kapoor’s character, the conflicted bumbling fool of a rock-star, will be a favorite, but at least for me, it was largely a caricature, like an over-acted street-play on the effects of drugs, his motivations and conflict ill-defined, though he does have some great lines which makes his scenes eminently watchable. The real problem is with the Kareena-Diljit Dosanjh part of the film, the investigation formulaic and cliched and too much Deus Ex Machina, with Kareena (by the way, when did she start asking to be credited as Kareena Kapoor Khan)’s character reminiscent of the Sekhar Suman character in Tridev, never something to aspire for in a serious film.
https://greatbong.net/2016/06/19/udta-punjab-the-review/
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June 20, 2016 at 6:59 PM
We all know that Salman Khan always speaks his mind. The actor never steps back from executing his though and views.
His outspoken nature has landed him in various troubles in the past and yet again history has repeated itself.
Along with being trolled on social media, Salman Khan is also facing a severe backlash from the masses.
In an interview ahead of the release of his upcoming film ‘Sultan’ when he was asked how difficult was it shooting for his role of a wrestler in the film, Salman said, “While shooting, during those six hours, there’d be so much of lifting and thrusting on the ground involved. That was tough for me because if I was lifting, I’d have to lift the same 120-kilo guy 10 times for 10 different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times on the ground. This act is not repeated that many times in the real fights in the ring. When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn’t walk straight. I would eat and then, head right back to training. That couldn’t stop.”
From his complete answer his statement “I used to feel like a raped woman” spread like a wild fire in the media and didn’t go down well with his fans as well as the audience. The furious people then took to social media to express their anger against Salman.
However, Salman has not yet cleared his stance on the same.
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/65879-salman-khan-calls-himself-a-raped-woman.htm
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June 20, 2016 at 9:51 PM
this dude is an total idiot. has a history of being insincere towards women.
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June 21, 2016 at 3:16 AM
This is a drop in the ocean as far as Salman’s history is concerned. The media/fans will quickly forgive and forget. His actions and mouth have never been duly punished, why now?
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June 21, 2016 at 4:35 AM
Like Trump, this actually helps him in certain perverse way.
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June 20, 2016 at 11:04 PM
Nothing to take away from good boxoffice collections of Udta Punjab .. but Sarkar Raj had 17 Crore weekend on 1100 screens, 9 years ago … and for BOI it was poor weekend. Compare to 33 Crore weekend of Udta Punjab, on 2600 screen is good because it is dark movie. Wasn’t Sarkar Raj even more Darker ???
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June 21, 2016 at 1:53 AM
Readers are aware of the fact that Udta Punjab went through a lot of struggle to get a release without any cuts. After a prolonged battle with the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over 89 cuts in the film, Bombay High Court had passed the film with just one cut. The film finally released on June 17 but is once again facing another road block.
While the film has released in India and overseas, it is struggling to get a release in Pakistan. According to the chairman of Censor Board Sindh, Fakhr-Alam, they have asked the distributor to delete certain scenes due to the abusive language. Reports suggest that the law and censor code does not allow the extreme amount of abusive language. After the asked scenes will be removed, they will review the film and issue a certificate. Till then, Udta Punjab won’t be released.
Directed by Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom Films and Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures, Udta Punjab stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh.
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/20167968/Udta-Punjab-struggles-to-release-in-Pakistan
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June 21, 2016 at 5:12 AM
I think in countries where the certification based on age is not followed, there needs to be cut.
Fos example, i saw teenagers (15 year olds) watching Udta Punjab in theatres. While i know that its an implementation issue and also lack of respect to certifications in India…it still cannot be put under the carpet.
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June 21, 2016 at 3:31 AM
Udta Punjab had a 54% drop on Monday from Friday but taking into account the little boost it got from the censor issue on day one, in real terms its that normal normal drop of around 50%. The four day first week business of Udta Punjab is as follows
Friday – 9,75,00,000
Saturday – 11,25,00,000
Sunday – 12,25,00,000
Monday – 4,50,00,000
Total – 37,75,00,000
The film is a content film so could have held better but evetually its a dark thriller for a limited audience and it got in the footfalls over the weekend so a strong hold was always going to be a tough ask.
The first week will go to around 48 crore nett and that is a healthy first week and then it will be about where the collections land on the second Friday
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 21, 2016 at 7:04 AM
Salim Khan APOLOGIZES for Salman Khan!
Salman Khan recently fell into a big controversy for his frivolous statement. However, he soon withdrew his statements but the damage was already done by then. As Salman was being bashed on the social media by the masses!
Today, his father Salim Khan took to his social media account and apologized for his son’s remarks.
Clearing his son’s stance he posted,
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/65891-salim-khan-apologizes-for-salman-khan.htm
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June 21, 2016 at 8:58 AM
Hiding behind daddy to apologise after doing dirty work….nice!
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June 21, 2016 at 9:29 AM
yeah why can’t he issue a proper apology himself?!
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June 21, 2016 at 9:32 AM
on twitter:
[The Salman comment is justifiably attracting controversy. It is utterly sickening and unfortunately reveals a mindset that is hardly restricted to him. But it also offers sad (societal) commentary in another way. What he said was reprehensible but in a way this kind of remark becomes less pardonable than running poor people over and killing one of them. Not comparing the two but the the latter isn’t really a problem for very many people whether they admit this or not. That comment was assuredly disgusting but running people over should not get one a hero’s reception either. ]
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June 21, 2016 at 8:42 AM
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/rs-30-crore-in-three-days-udta-punjab-off-to-a-flying-start/254858.html
Comments by punjabi sikhs mostly about the film.
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June 21, 2016 at 10:40 AM
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June 21, 2016 at 10:42 AM
Zaroori thaa office time mein yeh post karna ?? LOL
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June 21, 2016 at 10:44 AM
Ha! You can get to the real stuff now..
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June 21, 2016 at 3:48 PM
Good post.
He looks very, very, very tired here. Since they showed AGNEEPATH, this must be after 1990.
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June 21, 2016 at 4:03 PM
yes thought the same..
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June 21, 2016 at 10:15 PM
“He looks very, very, very tired here”
Looks like asthma to me. Kitney vadiya actor hai. He doesn’t let on and instead controls how he talks. So the “tired” part is how asthmatic feels (being out of breath…deprived of oxygen literally).
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June 22, 2016 at 7:23 AM
brings the Khakee scene to mind when he is chasing Devgan and has the asthma attack.
Can watch that movie again and again just for AB and Akshay
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June 22, 2016 at 10:34 AM
Agree Di….good observation. The Anupma song selected though less popular was a great choice.
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June 21, 2016 at 11:12 AM
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-he-is-a-child-subhash-ghai-s-defence-of-salman-khan-will-make-you-cringe-2226229
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June 21, 2016 at 12:14 PM
Re: Ghai’s comments: Hey, I know children who compare their experiences pretending to wrestle to that of a woman getting raped.
Oh wait, I don’t.
Aside: note how Ghai even tries to blame the reporter by saying it is a “mischievous translation”; what translation?!
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June 21, 2016 at 1:33 PM
Salman should pay Ghai not to defend him..
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June 21, 2016 at 11:23 AM
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June 22, 2016 at 10:32 AM
This Chu**ya defends a rapist named Tejpal and then questions Salman for his insensitive rape comment.
Waah !!
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June 21, 2016 at 11:36 AM
http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/salman-khans-fans-bully-singer-sona-mohapatra-after-she-tweets-about-his-raped-woman-comment/
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June 21, 2016 at 3:22 PM
https://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/bhaicott?utm_term=.ksERmA8vw#.dmBmoREq9
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June 22, 2016 at 12:56 AM
Aamir to Salman, after hearing his comment: “I felt the same after you announced Sultan, but now I will have the last laugh. HA HA HA HA HA……”
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June 22, 2016 at 10:37 AM
I doubt it will affect the BO of Sultan at all !!
All the libtards had no problems with AIB, and Tammy Bhatt but Salman Khan kee toh keh key leni hai !!
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June 22, 2016 at 10:52 AM
Rocky this isn’t about whether others have hypocritical double standards or not, whether the industry is as always shamelessly quiet or not, whether his box office fortunes are affected or not… this is simply a disgusting, inexcusable comment. One can debate about the rest but one must start, it seems to me, from this point of ‘agreement’ — this is simply no excuse or justification for this comment, nothing that can explain it in any sense whatsoever. This is the mindset that leads to the kind of violence against women that is all too common in India (not only in India.. but India is one of the worst offenders, certainly among democracies). Now Salman is hardly unique in this sense. There are many like him and he’s symptomatic of this larger mindset but as a public figure it’s even more problematic if you say certain things. The least he could have done is apologize properly for it.
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June 22, 2016 at 11:02 AM
I agree that he should apologize and it really baffles me why he still has not.
If you remember even Bachchan had once said that if rape is inevitable, lay back and enjoy.
To go and interview Nirbhaya’s mom is a bit too much.
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June 22, 2016 at 11:40 AM
find it impossible to believe Bachchan could have said this. Where did you hear this? I’d be stunned if this were true. He’s so careful about what he says that he wouldn’t say a tenth as much on other subjects let alone on this one.
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June 22, 2016 at 11:55 AM
Satyam, he said that in the nineties when everyone was after him in one of the print magazines’ interview. I think it was either Cine blitz or “g”.
But that was before social media and twitter frenzy.
Aside- In a recent movie- Hamari Adhuri Kahani” Emran Hashmi goes- Itnee sareee security honey he bawazood ek aurat bachaney aayee”. I thought that was really offensive.
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June 22, 2016 at 12:00 PM
Totally agree the least he should have done by now is to come out and apologize and also tried to address concerns of various quarters amply displaying sincere regret / remorse.
By delaying he is providing his detractors who have an axe to grind for past reasons to have a field day at his expense. The whole media tamasha all day long yesterday was simply unbelievable. Arnab Goswami hit a new low as he has nothing substantive to say these days so he is latching on to each bollywood controversy to revive his sinking trps. I am happy Bachchan had in his recent interview on ‘content & news’ had rightfully called him out.
He needs to cut loose from the dreadful simile / metaphor / analogy first foremost and in doing so also take on the media by conveniently leaving out the portion which has his immediate regret. Very few outlets have covered –
“As soon as he made the comment, Khan appeared to regret his choice of words.”I don’t think I should have [said that],” he said immediately afterwards. “For me, it’s like the most difficult. I couldn’t take steps.”
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June 22, 2016 at 12:05 PM
Further what sadly appears to me (pointed out by Munna earlier) is the delay in apologizing may also be part of a perverse feeding in to a deviant new age media management, where any publicity results in good publicity.
…who would think Trump would be nominee of a very uptight & righteous party after referring to an upscale Megyn Kelly – “you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes….. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
Sad, distasteful and totally sickening all over !
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June 22, 2016 at 1:44 AM
He also said that references to Pakistan “have been excised”. Hasan added: “Scenes which even subtly refer to Pakistan, word ‘786’, words ‘Maryam kee seerat’ and all the foul language and such words have been excised, muted and beeped.” A well-placed source in the neighbouring country’s film distribution market told IANS that about eight minutes of “basically abusive language” have been cut. However, a release date is yet to be fixed.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Board of Film Certification, which works independent of the CBFC, is yet to grant a release certificate to the movie. “We have asked a local distributor and importer to mute all abusive language as that is a direct violation of the existing censor code, and a few cuts. The film will be certified soon and hopefully released soon,” Fakhr-e-Alam, chairperson of the Sindh Censor Board, told IANS from Karachi.
They are now waiting for the film’s Pakistan distributor to do the needful. “Only after that, the certificate will be issued,” Alam said. A hard-hitting but entertaining message-based drama, ‘Udta Punjab’ features power-packed and convincing performances by Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh. “It’s powerful cinema,” Alam said, adding: “Alia Bhatt has just set the bar too high for all the leading ladies.”
The film’s story delves into the drug problem that the youth in Punjab is facing, and this has been told through actors Shahid, a youth icon and music star who remains high on drugs; Alia, a Bihari woman who falls in the trap of drug peddlers; Kareena, a doctor on a mission to break the drug nexus in the state; and Diljit, a police officer who dares to take on the system after his brother falls victim to the drug menace.
With its unapologetic use of abusive language, ‘Udta Punjab’ wasn’t deemed fit for release even with an ‘A’ certificate by the Indian Censor Board.The makers — led by Anurag Kashyap who has been credited as being the face of a new wave of cinema in India — moved the Bombay High Court, and walked away victorious after agreeing to make one cut and adding three disclaimers. The controversy stretched for almost two weeks, and became a larger issue when political bigwigs stepped in with their comments. The row also raised questions — once again — about the feasibility of having a censor board — and brought filmmakers to demand an organisation which only certifies films and not excise parts of it.
Top Comment
Amazing.. And in the UAE, being released with zero cuts.. We sure have a lot to learn about growing up.. Or we only accept sleazy rain dances which titillate the nationRajesh Asarpota
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52851711.cms
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June 22, 2016 at 1:52 AM
Debunking common perception, women are becoming a part of the dark underbelly of the drug world in Punjab. In many cases they are forced into it by their partners.
Take the case of Gagneet Kaur in Baba Bakala town of Amritsar. Barely 15, she has drooping eyelids and pustules on her face. She can hardly read or write without taking her daily fix of a gram of heroin. Hostility is palpable in her voice and she wears long-sleeved shirts to hide her needle marks. This is her third relapse after she was first sent to a de-addiction centre in 2013.
Gurneet, a 19-year-old nursing school student in Amritsar city, has abscesses and scabs on her skin, even as she speaks incoherently while recalling how she and her friends would drop syringes filled with heroin at a dump outside her college. Such is the magnitu de of the drug problem that there are hundreds of wo men like “Udta Punjab’s” Kumari Pinky who have wasted away their formative years.
This is why when 48-year-old Baljit Kaur was convicted by an Amritsar court to nine years’ imprisonment for peddling smack and heroin in 2015, many in Khilchiyan village in the border area of Amritsar as well as the city dwellers erupted in joy.
Baljit, one of the most deadliest peddlers in Baba Bakala, was arrested by Amritsar Rural police in 2012 while carting a bag of drugs.The involvement of women in both peddling and consumption is an evolving crime in Punjab.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/How-Udta-Punjab-missed-it-448-women-addicts-too/articleshow/52836018.cms
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June 22, 2016 at 2:12 AM
Arbaaz Khan has provided a baffling explanation of the 50-year-old’s comment that serves only to amplify its insensitivity.
“When I used to walk out of the ring, after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn’t walk straight,” Salman Khan told the press last weekend about filming the rigorous wrestling scenes of Sultan. On Tuesday, his brother suggested that it was the sort of commonplace comparison that is made in everyday conversation to illustrate how hard a working day has been.
Arbaaz’s response failed to grasp the magnitude of what Salman said. “There are some things which we say while talking but we should look at the intention – why was it said? I definitely have no doubt that whatever Salman said, the intention was not wrong. It was just the kind of (statement) where we compare things – ‘I worked like a donkey’ so now people will say you used the word donkey so some animal activist will come after you,” he said at an event in aid of his new film Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai in Mumbai.
http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/salman-khan-will-apologise-if-he-feels-he-needs-to-says-brother-arbaaz-1421888?pfrom=home-topstories
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June 22, 2016 at 4:14 AM
Udta Punjab grossed 3.75 crore nett on Tuesday and is heading for business of around 47.50 crore nett in week one which is similar to the lifetime business of Haider. The five day first week business of Udta Punjab is as follows
Friday – 9,75,00,000
Saturday – 11,25,00,000
Sunday – 12,25,00,000
Monday – 4,50,00,000
Tuesday – 3,75,00,000 apprx
Total – 41,00,00,000
The film has done very well in East Punjab with business set to hit 9 crore nett in week one which is more than the lifetime business of all Hindi films in the circuit barring the two Akshay Kumar starrers Airlift and Housefull 3.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 22, 2016 at 4:18 AM
MY THOUGHTS ON UDTA PUNJAB
I knew I had to see the film one more time before I could dare to write anything on it. Now I have, and it got better on second viewing. For me, that is the acid test. A genuinely good film has to get better on second viewing. On third and subsequent viewing, it may hold its impact, or it may wane a little. But on second viewing it has to get better. And this one did.
First things first. It is NOT a public service film on the evils of drug addiction, or an expose of the nexus between the drug mafia and politicians in Punjab. (Just like ‘Anna Karenina’ is NOT a film on adultery and ‘Bombay’ is not a film about the Mumbai riots.) Like all good works of fiction it tells a great story involving some engaging characters. And what characters!
Let us take Tommy Singh first. We have seen rock stars on Indian screen before, perhaps the only one aiming at some degree of seriousness was Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’. But that I thought was a wasted opportunity as it did not delve into the character at all and got only the surface contours right. But Tommy Singh is something else. A small town boy, Tejinder Singh from Bathinda lands up in UK through a visa fraud. His musical talent keeps him afloat. Then he gets into drugs and his music starts celebrating drugs explicitly. The public laps it up, mistaking it for cool pop philosophy. (All you Jim Morrison fans, don’t you still think ‘Girl, we couldn’t get much higher I Come on baby, light my fire ‘ or ‘ Show me the way to the next whisky bar’ as some kind of profound lyrics? ) He is a rage. Asian Underground No 3 and all that. Back in Punjab he is even a bigger rage. The easy availability of drugs gives rise to addiction among the youth and Tommy’s music is the gospel. Tommy is God. The Gabaru. But this drug-induced creativity has its limit. ‘Cock’ ‘ Coke’ ‘Cock’ ‘ Coke’…..You are stuck in a groove. No matter how much your roadies cheer you the songs just do not flow. Because you have nothing to say damn it. But Tommy is an artist. And this artist’s block is killing him. He indulges in some more drug-induced bravado. ‘ No one fires Tommy. Only Tommy can fire Tommy’, he tells his record company executive. He goes through the highs and lows of being possessed by the powers of heroin. He goes berserk. He is arrested. In the lock up, he gets his first brush with reality, as his superstar status does not even get him a glass of water. Then he is thrown in with other convicts many of them drug users and his fans. He learns how one of them had even killed his own mother because she won’t give him the drug money. Tommy realizes what a monster he has been breeding. He realizes it in his bones, because the same monster has been gnawing at his innards too. He is a chastised man. Looking for redemption. His manager is goading him to come up with just another song, an anti-drug song this time, to segue with the government’s war on drugs. Won’t that be a master stroke of PR? Yes. But the song just does not flow. He has a wonderful chord progression. But some crucial piece is missing. His most devoted crew thinks it is the old magic powder that can do the trick. But Tommy knows otherwise. He decides to come clean, he wants to bear his heart to his adoring public. He is a loser, a ‘faddu’ he tells them. The public won’t have any of it. Who wants to lose a messiah ( As St John tells the devotees of Jesus in ‘ The Last Temptation of Christ’)? They want him to sing. He pisses on them instead. (Yes, the second viewing was the uncut version leaked on line.) This is the kind of disillusionment with fame built on false premises that Kurt Cobain take his own life. Tommy pretty much pushes himself on the path of self-destruction. Because the old Tommy must dies before a new one can be born. Redemption comes in the shape of girl named Mary Jane (Though he will learn her name only in the last scene of the film.) It is Mary Jane who helps him get his mojo back.
Read the rest at : http://utkaleidoscope.com/udta-punjab/
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June 22, 2016 at 4:42 AM
After An Jo and your reviews, I am waiting for Qalander’s.
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June 22, 2016 at 12:51 PM
*Like*
@satyam
How does one get to register so that I can officialy ‘like’ a comment?
Is it necessary to start a website?
I don’t want to do that.
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June 22, 2016 at 1:56 PM
I thought anyone could ‘like’ a comment.. aren’t you able to do it?
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June 22, 2016 at 1:58 PM
oldgold: You need to Register with WordPress.com and login with that username/password always when accessing this site (or any other WordPress blogs) and you can like the comments.
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June 22, 2016 at 1:59 PM
“I thought anyone could ‘like’ a comment.. aren’t you able to do it?”
If you don’t have ‘wordpress’ userid, you can’t like comments.
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June 22, 2016 at 3:15 PM
ok..thx
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June 22, 2016 at 5:59 PM
This is a very good review, Utkal…very comprehensive and detailed. Thanks!
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June 22, 2016 at 4:28 AM
“I am the wrongest guy to play Tommy Singh,” he says, adding, “He’s high on substance all the time and I don’t believe in indulging in any form of intoxication. Second, if you take Tommy at face value, he’s obnoxious and someone one could easily detest. But, if you look closely, only then would you know that he’s vulnerable, dependent on substance and someone to be pitied.”
Shahid says not only has he learnt that any form of intoxication is bad, but also steers clear of any kind of addiction — and that includes the high from adulation of people. “I am not a newcomer in this industry. I have been here for 13 years and have come to realise that everything is temporary. This fame and adulation gives you an artificial high and if you take it too seriously, you are bound to be doomed. When you continue being successful for a longer period of time, it starts altering your personality, even against your will. This is the biggest sacrifice that you have to make in exchange of fame; one tends to lose one’s soul. I have walked that line and thankfully, come out of that phase. Now, I choose not to run after work, fame or success. If you choose to be who you are, stand by your own self and be convinced of your decisions, fame will come looking for you. Even now, sometimes, I have to keep correcting myself, reminding myself how not to get lost. It is very easy to lose perspective in this madness,” he says.
After ‘Udta Punjab’, he has Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Rangoon’ lined up for release. After that? “I will be unemployed,” he says, laughing. “Both these films are strong. I am waiting to like something and I should be able to make a decision soon. Also, I want to be around Mira during her pregnancy. This is my once in a lifetime opportunity or twice in a lifetime opportunity, maybe (laughs). I am taking a full-fledged paternity leave. I was almost 14 when my brother (Ishaan) was born. I was grown up enough to know what my mother went through during her pregnancy. So, I want to be around Mira.
“There are also professional reasons for not signing on something new. When I did ‘Kaminey’ (2009), everyone liked my performance. I did too. I liked the fact that I had made a fearless choice. But then, after that, I lost my way and was part of some films that I shouldn’t have done. And then another good film, ‘Haider’, happened (2015). I want to back these films with good choices.
“You know the biggest problem that this industry has? We love recreating the past. I don’t want to be part of something that’s already happened. I want to make difficult choices… scary choices. I have always tried to change my looks in most of my films. So, for me, getting in and out of a film takes time. I like it that way,” he signs off.
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/shahid-kapoor-now-i-choose-not-to-run-after-work-fame-or-success/17358163
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June 22, 2016 at 5:08 AM
Tiger is known to have spoken at length about Hrithik’s stardom and how he is the ultimate superstar for him possessing all the qualities one could imagine.
Having said that, Tiger’s statement comes across as a finding of sorts that Bollywood hasn’t seen a superstar other than Hrithik Roshan in the recent past.
http://www.india-forums.com/bollywood/hot-n-happening/65926-hrithik-is-the-only-superstar-apart-from-the-khans-for-tiger-shr.htm
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June 22, 2016 at 6:16 AM
“The hype didn’t work at all (for ‘Udta Punjab’) because even after so much controversy, it is clear that public was shy of coming to theatres. They thought that the film features a lot of abusive language. Particularly, the ladies have refrained from coming to watch the film. The whole theme of the film is lost in vulgarity,” trade expert Amod Mehra told IANS.
“Right now, it should first cross the Rs 50 crore mark. Rs 100 crore mark looks difficult. All the hype has actually backfired at the makers because ultimately the film had a very bad taste and people are reluctant to go to see the film,” he added.
Adding to that, Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan said: “The film has not received good response in single screens. It has only managed to get footfall at multiplexes. The film is getting the same response that ‘Dev. D’ and ‘Delhi Belly’ received upon their release.”
It would be interesting to see whether “Udta Punjab” will be able to survive at the box office in its second week when it will face stiff competition from “Raman Raghav 2.0”, “Shorgul”, “A Scandall” and “7 Hours to Go”. The line up also includes Punjabi film “Sardaar Ji 2” and Hollywood’s highly anticipated project “Independence Day: Resurgence”.
“I feel ‘Independence Day’ will steal the limelight. If we look at the response that Hollywood films have received in the domestic market in the last few weeks, then ‘Independence Day’ is a clear winner. Even expectations are there from ‘A Scandall’. ‘Udta Punjab’ will definitely lose screens and its business will get affected,” Mahajan said.
Mehra said it would be good if “Udta Punjab” will be able to recover its production cost in the coming days.
“If the film will be able to recover its production value in coming days, then that will be good. Chances are strong that ‘Udta Punjab’ will get wiped out by this Friday,” he said.
Shedding more light on the box office response to “Udta Punjab”, distributor Rajesh Thadani told IANS: “The collection of ‘Udta Punjab’ is pretty decent considering its genre. For a dark film, the response is quite good. If the film manages to sustain in weekdays, then nothing like it.”
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/will-udta-punjab-udta-punjab-box-office-collections-100-crore-mark-pass-its-next-test-2868601/
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June 22, 2016 at 6:57 AM
Amidst the uproar over Salman Khan’s ‘ raped woman’ analogy, gang-rape survivor Sunitha Krishnan, a Padma Shri awardee social activist, has penned a scathing open letter to the actor. In her letter, Sunitha put together her thoughts and concerns about, saying “I do not wish to take the name of the person in question because I feel it would be an act of giving him too much respect. The fact that he could easily compare himself to being raped shows how badly he has trivialised rape and rape culture. The harsh truth is that good looks and some talent made him the star that he is and he takes this role very lightly. With such fame, comes responsibility.
She added, “Instead of being aware of this, he has basically compared the scars, trauma and abuse of a rape victim to his role in a movie. I keep hearing men and women making such remarks and recently too, I found a woman who made a joke along these lines. She used to say ‘I was raped by this’ or ‘I was raped by that’ with no thought on the repercussions of these statements.” “What we need to remember is rape culture is around us and all of these trivialising remarks add to it. As far as I can say, only perverts can make such statements. He is a disgrace,” continued Sunitha.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Rape-survivor-pens-open-letter-to-disgrace-Salman-Khan/articleshow/52866973.cms
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June 22, 2016 at 7:07 AM
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June 22, 2016 at 12:15 PM
That was unbelievable perfection !
Adds more to his value where these days we are witnessing a very frustrated CR7 struggling to convert a simple penalty at the Euro/UEfA.
This pretty much sums up after the match. Some said – This game is like when you invite your friend over to play FIFA and he’s never played it and has to keep asking you the controls. #USAvARG
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June 22, 2016 at 7:59 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/06/21/can-you-hear-bollywood-de_n_10586958.html
Cut to two days back. Salman Khan said that a rigorous shooting schedule was like getting raped. The imaginative man that he is, he went into some fine details too – that he couldn’t walk, like a woman can’t immediately after being raped. Also, he clubbed women with alcohol, drugs and cigarettes – dispensable vices that can make your life miserable. For any rational person, that’s the kind of statement that churns your gut and manufactures this unpleasant thing called puke.
However, Bollywood, it seems is made of quite something else. They couldn’t spot anyone being insulted, didn’t possibly find any show of insensitivity, definitely couldn’t see anything problematic or outrageous. Hence, while everyone around them raged and ranted, they fell eerily silent – possibly stunned by this strange, new thing called taking an unbiased stand
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June 22, 2016 at 9:28 AM
And he forgets that his mother and sister also come under the category of women.
Aamir Khan roasted AIB for talking badly about Salman’s sister. Now will he say something about woman’s dignity or keep quiet as he always says Salman’s is his friend?
Will SRK says something or keep a diplomatic stance?
And Anupam Kher who always jumps with quotes, whats his reaction?
This is the hypocrisy of these people who are selective and spare some and take on someone weaker.
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June 22, 2016 at 5:12 PM
Couldn’t agree more.
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June 22, 2016 at 10:09 AM
Pakistani famous Qawwal Amjad Sabri shot dead in Karachi!
One of Pakistan’s most famous singers, Amjad Sabri, has been shot dead in the southern city of Karachi.
Two gunmen fired on his car in the busy Liaqatabad area, police said. Sabri died on his way to hospital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Sabri was a leading exponent of Sufi devotional music, known as Qawwali.
Sufism, a tolerant, mystical practice of Islam, has millions of followers in Pakistan – but in recent years has come under attack from hard-line Islamists.
Sabri was among the sub-continent’s top Qawwali singers.
He was the son of the late Ghulam Farid Sabri, who headed the Sabri brothers, a leading Sufi music band that has dominated the Qawwali scene in Pakistan and India since the 1970s.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36597498
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June 22, 2016 at 4:08 PM
OMG! Just terrible. Pak Taliban seems to have claimed the murder.
The Sabri Brothers are such ambassadors to Pakistan. Bhar do Jholi being their most iconic. Truely Saddening. RIP
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June 22, 2016 at 4:50 PM
This song in his special voice, always soothing especially in times of despair. This song along with the Gurbani from Halla Bol are two absolute stress relievers. Cant believe this voice has been forever silenced today:
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June 22, 2016 at 12:42 PM
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June 23, 2016 at 8:31 AM
Very impressive trailer. Never heard of the director, but a must-watch on my list.
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June 22, 2016 at 2:52 PM
Fatwa issued against Jimmy Sheirgill for ‘Shorgul’
A fatwa has been issued against actor Jimmy Sheirgill for starring in political drama ‘Shorgul’, which has also been banned in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, the film’s makers said on Wednesday.
The makers are planning to approach the state’s Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to resolve issues regarding the ban in places like Muzaffarnagar, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Lucknow.
‘Shorgul’ is a political drama which also touches upon the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
The fatwa has been issued by Khamman Peer Baba Committee to Jimmy and the makers, read a statement issued on behalf of the film’s producers.
“The fatwa states that a seasoned actor like Jimmy has hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community by enacting scenes that will cause unrest in the community through the dialogues and scene depictions,” read the statement.
Jimmy will be barred from shooting in Uttar Pradesh and his film’s release in the region will also not be allowed, the statement further read.
A 24 FPS Films Production, the movie is based on intolerance and aspires to make audiences contemplate where humanity stands amidst the noise of religious, social, political and economic prejudice.
Also featuring Sanjay Suri, Narendra Jha, Hiten Tejwani, Eijaz Khan, Suha Gezen, Anirudh Dave and Deepraj Rana, ‘Shorgul’ touches upon grave subjects that have transpired in the recent past such as the Muzaffarnagar, Godhra and Babri Masjid riots apart from making references to bureaucratic misdoings, mind games and controversial master strokes of some high profile dignitaries.
Earlier this month, a PIL filed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Milan Som against the film was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court bench in Lucknow. The film is slated for release on June 24.
Swatantra Vijay Singh, one of the producers of ‘Shorgul’, said, “Yes, we have received the PIL and the fatwa but as we have stated earlier our film is a cinematic recreation of various incidents that have transpired in the past without a reference to any specific issue…We believe no one can ban ‘Shorgul’ if the population supports films like these.”
Aman Singh, who is also a co-producer of the film, shared: “This news is extremely unfortunate and we will approach Akhilesh Yadav in the matter. Every citizen has the right to watch this film as the film is a reflection of the voice of the common man.”
Jimmy is currently in Canada.
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/fatwa-issued-against-jimmy-sheirgill-for-shorgul/17362151
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June 22, 2016 at 5:07 PM
http://m.rediff.com/movies/report/nimrat-kaurs-hot-vacation-photos/20160621.htm
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June 22, 2016 at 10:45 PM
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June 22, 2016 at 11:13 PM
The owner of torrent site allzmovies.in was arrested by the cyber cell of Mumbai Police on Wednesday in connection with Bollywood movie Udta Punjab leaking online, two days ahead of its release in theaters. The first torrent of the movie reportedly appeared on the site.
The accused, identified as Dilip Kumar, was traced by a police team after conducting searches in Delhi.
“The complainant was informed that the said movie was leaked on internet on two separate links of website of Torrent.com. On downloading the movie it was revealed that the first sensor copy was stolen and uploaded on Torrent.com by user robby007,” a Mumbai Police statement said.
“During the investigation, it was revealed that website allmovies.com had uploaded the said link on its website. A team visited Delhi and adjoining areas and after diligent efforts Dipak Kumar was traced. He was summoned to the cyber police station, Mumbai, and after thorough investigation, his active role was revealed. He has been arrested,” it added.
Earlier, the film’s producers had lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police in Mumbai after a copy of the film with ‘for censor’ written on the top left was leaked on various torrent websites, thereby raising questions about role of the censor board — Central Board of Film Certification — in the leak.
However, CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani had rejected the allegations saying the board has nothing to do with the leak.
“The person responsible has already been identified and the leak will be tracked down. We will cooperate if we are approached as part of the investigation,” Nihalani said.
The makers of Udta Punjab struggled to remove copies of the movie that were available for download on torrent sites, but managed to remove most of them.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/udta-punjab-leak-arrest-cbfc-censor-board-2869731/
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June 22, 2016 at 11:14 PM
It seems to be a censor copy. Stolen? Is it so easy to steal censor copies?
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June 23, 2016 at 12:22 AM
Our Oriya babu has confessed to ‘enjoying’ this online version. Hopefully he will be careful in the future…
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June 23, 2016 at 3:46 AM
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June 23, 2016 at 3:49 AM
The penultimate week of the year will see five new Hindi films with 7 Hours To Go, A Scandall, Junooniyat, Raman Raghav 2.0 and Shorgul buts its unlikely any of these will make much any impact unless the word of mouth is very strong. The Hollywood release Independence Day 2 will take the honors though probably not the level of films like Fast & Furious 7, The Avengers and The Jungle Book.
Udta Punjab will probably lead as far as Hindi films go as the film has done well in the North and even in week two it should run well in these markets.
The wait is now for Sultan to get the second half of the year off to a flyer and smash initial box office records. There have been over 100 Hindi releases already in the first six months and barring Baaghi none have really opened. Most films did not open and the few that did manage to get some crowd initially, it was still below from what was expected from the film.
This has meant a poor results in the first half of 2016 as with films struggling it harder to sustain with every passing year, the initial gains ever more importance and that has just not happened in the first half of the year. The second half has better releases as usual but films will have to open better if higher numbers are to be seen.
Boxofficeindia.com
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June 23, 2016 at 3:55 AM
If a film has its heart in the right place, it *will* weave magic on the big screen. And Dhanak exactly does that, feels Namrata Thakker.
There are few films which feed your soul. They make you happy, they inspire you and most importantly, they reaffirm your faith in human relationships.
Nagesh Kukunoor’s latest venture Dhanak is one such film.
It’s an endearing story about brother-sister bonding, about love, hope and all things bright and beautiful.
One thing as a filmmaker that Kuknoor does amazingly well is that he shows you that a film doesn’t have to be high on drama and emotion to capture one’s attention.
If a film has its heart in the right place, it *will* weave magic on the big screen. And Dhanak exactly does that.
Pari (Hetal Gada) is a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan and her brother Chotu (Krrish Chhabria), who lost his eyesight at the age of four, loves Salman Khan.
But unlike most fans of these two superstars, Pari and Chotu don’t fight like arch rivals.
Their innocent brother-sister bonding is far bigger than their love for these two stars. Pari and Chotu live with their chacha (Vipin Sharma) and chachi (Gulfam Khan) in a quaint little village in Rajasthan.
While their chacha is a loving man who often takes them to watch movies, their chachi isn’t quite fond of them. Despite all the hardships, the kids are full of life and enjoy each other’s company the most.
Pari’s aim in life is to help Chotu get his eyesight back before his ninth birthday.
When she sees her favourite star Shah Rukh on a poster of eye donation campaign, Pari writes a letter to him, hoping he will help her fulfill her dream.
But when nothing happens, Pari decides to do something on her own. That’s when these two siblings set out on the journey of a lifetime during which they meet new people and
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/dhanak-review-a-heart-warming-tale-of-love-and-hope/20160617.htm
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June 23, 2016 at 4:15 AM
So get this. On June 21, when 190 countries celebrated International Yoga Day, one land in a distant galaxy somewhere celebrated World Music Day!!
Pata hai kaunsa rajya hai woh?? BIHAR !! RFLMAO.
Nitish loves to cut his nose to spite his face.
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/no-yoga-day-in-bihar-as-nitish-kumar-decides-to-observe-world-music-day-2846582.html
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June 23, 2016 at 7:41 AM
She had a brief interaction in an elevator with a mother-son duo. The actress bumped into the student who was extremely disappointed with his examination results and his mother who was of the belief that good scores made successful individuals.
On seeing the boy lose heart after his mother’s displeasure, Deepika expressed her concern.
Sharing the incident on Twitter, Deepika posted: “Just met a boy in the lift who was very disappointed with his results… His mother said, ‘You are so successful you must have have scored well’.
“’65 per cent,’ I said…She says, ‘That’s it?’ ‘Yes aunty…that’s it!’ There is so much more to life than just academics, grades and results.”
Deepika’s words instantly put a smile on the face of the boy and got his mother thinking.
The actress ended her series of tweets by sharing a greater social message which read, “Follow your heart, do what your passionate about… And live, love and laugh.”
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/heres-how-deepika-padukone-encouraged-a-disheartened-student/17363188
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June 23, 2016 at 8:00 AM
Hollywood actor and Oscar awardee Leonardo DiCaprio, noted broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and business magnet Richard Branson are among the special invitees RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat will hobnob with during his two-day visit to the United Kingdom next month.
While Hindustan Times could not independently verify the guest list, Daily O reported that Dicaprio and Branson are expected to lend their support to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s long standing campaign to ban beef eating and promote vegetarianism.
RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat will attend a function organised by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in July.
A vegetarian himself, Dicaprio has been campaigning against animal slaughter, while Branson, a vegan, had announced he would be setting up a ‘vegan airline’ in 2015.
The report also stated that Bhagwat will hold an interfaith meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, during his stopover.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/will-rss-chief-mohan-bhagwat-meet-leonardo-dicaprio-in-london/story-QNlZ9TTAxR3IkkTgVypN2K.html
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June 23, 2016 at 1:17 PM
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