Shakuntala Devi and the rest of the box office

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  1. sanjana Says:

    Industry Has Chance To Rid Of Some Scum
    Thursday 30 July 2020 12.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    Excerpts

    The issue of blind items has also come to the fore. These are negative articles about an artist done by the media to paint a certain picture without naming the actual artist. The name is withheld as there is little proof and it the articles screw the artist. The writers who do such things are scum and now its the public bringing this to the fore so the industry has a chance to disassociate itself from this scum.

    On a lighter note this website has also done many negative articles mainly due to the bad cinema dished out in the last 10-15 years so had to go through a seventeen year history to make sure there were no blind type articles and thankfully there were none towards the industry. Funnily enough two did come to notice a few years back but it was not related to the industry as such. These were about someone who did not name this website but called it an ill informed source so you have to pay back in the same way and not name the person but point out what they do. The second one came as the guy actually responded to the first one with some studipty These articles can be read again below.

    Race 3 Box Office Collection Story – Media Plays Games

    The Clown Continues With Games Post Race 3

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    • There you go our lady….Thank you bold & beautiful Ankita for coming ahead & disclosing many facts about SSR which are of paramount importance in the further investigation ….nobody could prove better these facts other than you because next to family, you were the one who truly loved our SSR & been in a close relationship for almost 6yrs long……your words spoke volume that I literally developed goosebumps listening to you.. ..n how passionately you have placed it…huge respect to you mam..you epitomise a true & passionate lover..god bless you 😍😍

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  2. Wishing everyone at SS a very Mubarak Eid .

    Liked by 1 person

    • He is already 55. Wonder how many films he will be able to do before turning full-time director-producer for AKP. My guess is max 4-5 films more (including LSC).

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      • Yes, this CV-19 is a big problem now for our ageing/aged Khans. At least in playing roles as leads and with younger heroines. Unless they play a role which has a significant portion of the film’s length playing a 45+ character. Aamir is definitely looking aged here. Bhai is all buffed up and always looks like a drunk Popeye. SRK has not been looking good at all for the past 5 years which he tries to cover up with his beard. Only Akshay, I believe thanks to his fitness regime, has maintained some glow though even for him, it’s catching on but he has already kind of moved away from being the center of attraction in movies starring him, so folks go in with an expectation of a good, wholesome film.

        I am surprised and never thought I would say this but Bachchan looked surprisingly good at the age of 48 in AGNEEPATH, though of course he had aged considerably from AAKHREE RAASTA in 1986 June to AGNEEPATH in 1990. But again, his roles in that were hardly romantic.

        He looked the best in KHUDA GAWAH, and that was released in 1993. Of course, there was the beard…

        But I think being a tetotaler and a strict vegetarian-diet might have helped..

        And I only talk of Amitabh in light of the fact that he was already a hot-bed of illnesses including Myasthenia Gravis and what not…

        Liked by 1 person

        • Agree on Bachchan and Akhshay .
          I think the current situation will impact Salman the most since he is essentially a single screen super-star and majority of them may not subscribe to OTT.

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        • But Salman isnt going to OTT. He categorically stated that.

          Movies will b back in theaters from sometime next yr.

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        • “He looked the best in KHUDA GAWAH, and that was released in 1993. Of course, there was the beard…”

          That’s why reading just data will never be right. For example. Khuda Gawah was launched in 1988 and and released in 1992. Mukul Anand launched this but went to make Agneepath and then shot half of Khuda Gawah and then halted(and shot HUM from start to finish and then came back to Khuda Gawah.

          Ageneepath released in 1990
          HUM – 1991
          Khuda Gawah – 1992.

          Mukul Anand, Danny & Big B being part of same team!

          Most of the portions you are mentioning are shot around 1990 and Amitabh was 48 years old.

          There was no superstar who has continued till 50 years(successfully) before that in Bollywood and Amitabh also retired in 1992 before his 50th birthday (though delayed Insaniyat released in ’94) but he didn’t shoot from 1992 till 1997. In that sense, Khans are pushed the leading men’s on screen age beyond 50 and they are the first to do so in Bollywood history. Dilip Kumar also took a break after 52 and came back with Kranti as old man’s role and he was just 59 similar to Amitabh in Mohabbatein where he was 58.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Also, Khuda Gawah and HUM are not right examples where he played older man for 75% of the movie.

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        • *“He looked the best in KHUDA GAWAH, and that was released in 1993. Of course, there was the beard…”

          That’s why reading just data will never be right. For example.*

          Ha! I knew you would exactly come back with that! I omitted it thinking it would be inferred that the point I am making would already be embedded within the context: Well, my bad. The time-lines of movie-making can be stretched to years or be over straight within 6 months. I think everybody knows that. My discussion was a relative one and I specifically mentioned that KHUDA GAWAH was released in 1992, and not shot and released 1992. [And my bad, I wrote 1993 in the previous post.] The discussion was never about who played a lead role as late into their fifties or whatever but how they looked and are ‘buyable’ as solo lead actors on screen doing some of the same stuff they were doing in 2005. [By the way, Bachchan really looked aged in the initial portions of HUM, and the hair-style didn’t help him at all.] In that sense, all the 3 quite don’t possess the distinction marks I think. The one advantage Aamir had/has was of course he transitioned sooner into the senior category roles when compared to the other two. People were happy with Sallu and he continued on the longest till as well into as the last Tiger film.

          Your timeline regarding AB’s releases with Mukul are spot-on. However, I am talking of how an actor looks on-screen. The Khans, at least in my opinion, started looking aged since 4-5 years, with Aamir looking more aged than the other two. But Salman was the worst in the sense of that unnatural buffing up, and SRK messed it up royally with that unnaturally 6-pack crap — I don’t even know why he did that; he has a naturally lean look that works so well for him — in Farah Khan’s film. But now, going forward, with films getting delayed, I don’t know how it will work for them. Aamir can hide behind a beard in LSC, am not sure how Salman and SRK will do it: At least Salman turns around films  quick; SRK is really a tricky one. And problems would be more compounded for Aamir with the inordinate amounts of time he takes in completing and releasing a film! So he has no option but to keep experimenting with his looks to look younger! It’s also better that he plays Sethupati’s role in VIKRAM VEDHA, otherwise I would shudder to think which ‘young’ lady would play  Shraddha Srinath opposite him!!

          By the way, the healthiest and one who comes close to physical ‘age-less’ ness is our Chembur ka Anil Kapoor LOL! In fact he looks so good and healthy at his age that something is really freakish about it!!!

           

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        • Movies will be back eventually but I think by then the shift would have taken place .

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      • Fifties is anyways a tricky decade for superstars. AB experienced unremarkable fifties before emerging as grand old man in his sixties. The transition was hardly smooth.

        The khans are also not at their best in their fifties. Salman had 3 hits and 3 flops in last five years. Aamir had a big one in Dangal and an equally embarrassing one in TOH. So mixed bags for these two, while SRK had pretty much nothing to talk abt since he turned 50.

        Any golden run for any of the khans in next 5 years seem unlikely at this point.

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        • Talking of stars in their fifties, Akshay is really the winner here. With a string of 5 superhits and a good lineup awaiting, he is turning out to be perhaps the only bollywood star who is peaking past fifty. AB went downhill and Khans are surviving, while Akshay is growing from strength to strength.

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        • Ajay Devgn? Tanhaji, DDPD, Golmaal Again, Total Dhamaal and critically acclaimed Raid his last 5 movies

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        • Not talkinhg abt last 5 movies but success in fifties. Devgn had a big one in Tanhaji since he turned 50. But he has a long way to go …

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        • And again, going through statistics, Marcus, you above all, I believe would understand: When one puts in a blanket statement regarding Bachchan’s failure in his 50s, one also needs to consider the circumstances!

          Look at Amitabh today, at the grand old age. Directors like Shoojit, Sujoy, Santoshi, and many, many more want to work with him. What was Bachchan faced with during the ’90s? The so-called ‘young blood’ was devoted to the Khan triumvirate. Ajay Devgan’s father? HINDUSTAN KI KASAM? Bokadia’s LAL BADSHAH? [Though technically a supposed hit from Bokadia; and embarrassing to watch this man romancing…well, you know who]. INSAANYIAT [Before Master comes back with ‘data’, want to mention that I know the data and the time-line being a data analyst professionally], let me talk of options.Who should Bachchan have gone to at the age of 50 plus? I wished Mani Ratnam, and I wished Ramu at his peak. But alas, these only turned out to be wishes.  Was there anyone in Bombay who would harness his talent  in the noughties? I blame, Amitabh himself, for going ahead with folks like Mehul or Indra Kumar [at least he had Aamir with him, though of course, having Aamir proved a mis-fortune in TOH!]. Who were the guys/gals who wanted to work with him and exploit his talent? NONE!

          Compare this with the Khans! A horribly mediocre actor like Saif Ali Khan gets the praises for working in OTT and speaking horrific Hindi.  SRK gets to act in Gauri Shinde’s film; and is really painful to watch in the film, albeit with his fantastic green shirts and bicycling. Aamir produces and acts in SECRET SUPERSTAR.

          The kind of ‘luxury’ the Khans have, even the likes of Amitabh couldn’t afford it…and that’s a fact.

          Hence, data if fine; but as Master suggested, data massaging within the circumstances,  would be helpful!!

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        • @AnJo – Didnt mean to offend with that one-liner. See, circumstances r always what leads to results (or stats), but after time goes by … the stats remain more prominent as the new generations wont understand the circumstances, having not lived through them. I wasnt even born during Sholay and was a baby during AB’s extended mega-stardom. Was introduced to ‘Bollywood’ with Aamir films in the early nineties such as QSQT, Dil, DHKMN, JJWS, HHRPK, AAA, AHAT which made better impression on a young mind than a Darr/Baazigar or a Salman film. I dont consider myself an expert on AB from any angle. I have only looked at awe-inspiring stats of AB’s mega-stardom days and have witnessed his rise and sustenance as the grand old man.

          Btw, not a big fan of Indra Kumar or his association with Aamir either. Dil hasnt aged that well, Ishq doesnt have shelf life today and Mann didnt do that well even when it released (although it wasnt a washout either). Same goes for Dharmesh Darshan and his RH (though i may have liked the movie better if Juhi had starred in it as initially planned).

          At their fifties, are Khans at more privileged status in the industry? I think yes but i wud credit themselves for this. They had turned producers pretty early in their career and are now in a position to launch and produce big films even if the tide is not with them. Srk even at this stage has 3 films ready to roll after Covid subsides (2 wud be his own home productions). Salman is producing Radhe and working with Sajid on 2 more films – Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali and Kick 2. Both Srk and Salman are hot favorites of Aditya Chopra, who wud soon be launching tent-poles with both of them (Sid Anand’s next after War and Tiger 3) as part of project YRF50.

          Aamir is unlikely to tie-up with outside banners like YRF much more, after the debacle of ToH (though i personally found an ok entertainer). But circumstances are also bringing him down in his fifties. He lost 2 years trusting Vijay Acharya. Now Covid has played havoc on LSC, which wud have been completed shooting by now. At present they are trying to work out formalities to take the remaining shoot abroad to Turkey and some other countries. The schedules will have to be reworked and no one knows when this film will finally wrap up. Unlikely to release before later half of 2021, Aamir will eventually have a circumstantial break of 3 years between TOH and LSC. Also his other movies under considerations will be postponed substantially. End of the day, he is losing time (more so because of the way he works) and will most probably have a mediocre fifties to show statistically after everything is said and done.

          Such is life.

          Liked by 1 person

        • No Marcus, not at all! I love having debates with folks who don’t have condescending attitude built into their sentences!! I was merely pointing out to what I knew since I became active in regards to Amit only during the ’90s! I am merely pointing out to you, as an after-thought, things that I saw. Again, I am quite happy blaming Amit, but considering the times he was in, should I blame in, or the times? I just do not know..but one thing I know is that Aamir, SRK, and Sallu are far better-placed that Amit in ’90s..

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  3. How much fit Akshay can be but its hard to pass off a guy opposite Sara Ali Khan! That’s too much age gap!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. sanjana Says:

    Watched Deewangee. Ajay Devgn was very good in that film while Urmila looked too plastic and superficial. The much feted Akshaye Khanna did not impress.
    Watched Manorama 6 feet Under twice just for Ajay Deol. It was funny when he imitates his famous uncle in one scene. The scenes between him and Gul Panag were natural . Kulbhushan is such a cool villain!.
    Shakuntala Devi. Interesting movie. More about mother and daughter and maths was secondary. Some factual errors. Some relevant questions raised about women and their aspirations. Too emotional for a movie about a gifted woman. Almost a tv soap and a tear jerker.

    Liked by 1 person

    • tonymontana Says:

      Still about 45 minutes to completion, and find it an okay watch. Vidya Balan keeps it afloat, although she has a tendency to become rather ‘dramatic’ in such roles, as she admitted somewhere in the beginning of the film. Good entertainer, though the character’s genius in solving complex mathematical problems with ease becomes rather repetitive after a while. On the rest, it’s the same old personal vs professional life story. Kind of predictable

      Liked by 1 person

    • Saw Shakuntala in parts (sitting thru it whole is difficult). As melodramatic as Dil Bechara was juvenile. Didnt mind Fault in our Stars mainly due to young teenage kids starring in it. Ssr at 34 was too old for such a story.

      What i like abt OTT platform is the fast fwd option when the film starts going hayware. No such option in theaters!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Lootcase on hotstar. Good timepass. Good to see so many talented actors in funny situations.

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  6. Amar Singh, former SP leader & Rajya Sabha MP, passes away at 64
    Amar Singh had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore for several months.

    https://indianexpress.com/article/india/amar-singh-passes-away-6534415/

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    • I will take this with a pinch of salt. There are too many issues involved here. Human beings are so complicated. And depression is not a rare thing. No one is exempted from feeling depressed at some point of time. As for bipolar, many have some mild form of it which is but natural. No human being is perfect. A perfect person is but an illusion. That is why parents want their children to get married and settled and become busy. In olden times, joint families protected their members from falling prey to loneliness and related upsets. Now everyone wants to be alone, independent, non interference.

      Have not we heard about moody persons, difficult persons, cantenkarous ones?

      We all act. In our work places, in our social lives. And that takes a toll sometimes. We relax only with someone who are close.

      Some are happy with themselves. They dont need validation from others. These kind of persons can survive being alone or with families.

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    • Interesting that therapist Susan Walker has more loyalty towards Rhea Chakroborty than her dead patient , literally offering character certificate to Rhea.
      And Barkha referring other media as circus while helping another fraud to break Patient confidentiality.
      #CBIForSushant

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      • BTW she cannot prescribe medicine; for that you need to be a psychiatrist (medical degree). In US, some states have allowed psychologist to prescribe but you have to do psychopharmacologist course.

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      • I might be wrong, but at most this can turn out to be abetment to suicide. Don’t think murder charges are still on the table.

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  8. Lootcase is somewhat gender reverse of Choked. And with lots of violence and National Geography. And some SRK. Watch it and enjoy the silliness. Everyone is stupid including the goons and the cops.

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  9. my take on NASEER on BR’s blog..

    Ah Naseer: He especially shines when he plays the swine in his own way: Too bad he isn’t able to/ never been able to get out of  bad-mouthing Amitabh and the commercial Hindi cinema and the resulting insecurity: Infact, even in the scene I mentioned in Bezubaan, he isn’t able to get Amitabh out of his mind! ‘Angry Young Man’, he says! He’s dedicated 2.5 pages of his ‘autobiography’ to dissing Sholay and Amit! If he wasn’t so  petty-minded, and bitter, as Anupam Kher rightly put it, he would have turned out a better human being, inspite of his dumb utterances about his kids’ irreligious upbringings and falling prey to the loony left in India and hinting to Modi putting his kids into concentration camps!

    As an actor, he is a gift to the cinema art-form. Wish he had embraced the commercial Hindi cinema – the masala, as a part of the pot pourri of the Indian cinematic universe rather than trying to diss it. And even if he did, that’s fine, he could have come up with constructive ways and suggestions as to what he thought would better Hindi commercial cinema. It’s been painful to see his inferiority complex with regard to Amitabh especially. He is just unable to understand Amitabh because Amitabh, the actor, and the star, confused him. With his condescending attitude toward masala and Dilip followed by Amitabh, he thought he could put down Amitabh but he realized that Amitabh is the only Indian/Hindi actor who straddled across Desai and Chatterjee/Mukherjee. He thought he could pin him down to doing ‘nonsensical’ films directed by Desai or Mehra: And much to his chagrin, he realize there were folks like Satyajit Ray and Govind  Nihalani; the latter, obviously a part of the parallel cinema movement acknowledging the pure actor – don’t know if this term exists, but mangling the English language anyway – in Amitabh, his jealousy started rearing its head. When a director like Ray, who called out Ramesh Sippy as to why there would be an over-head tank in SHOLAY when there wasn’t any electricity in the whole of Ramgarh, Naseer got mad. And when Nihalani — by the way, Amit was the first choice for ARDH SATYA and not Om, and because in those days in ’83, Bachchan was booked for movies uptil 4 years down the line, he couldn’t do it — went with Bachchan for DEV, he went on a rant calling Om a ‘superior’ actor than the ‘other’ person. [I fell out of my chair LOL since this was the EXACT language used by reviewers during the emergency, refusing to take Amitabh’s name and calling him Dharmendra’s ‘friend’!

    He was spectacular in Karnad’s ‘Tabbaleyu Ninade Magane‘ and Kasarvalli’s ‘Mane

    Here’s a fantastic list of his terrific performances – and I agree with each and everyone of them..

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  10. Watched Raat Akeli Hai. A very meh thriller with Nawaz doing his usual stuff and Radhika Apte like a deer caught in the headlights

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  13. Watched The Great Gatsby. Sort of ode to friendship between Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. A cameo by Bachchan. Grand sets and grand story too. Great drama. Recommended.

    On Friendship Day!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya
    A telugu movie, a remake of a malayalam movie. Very sweet and heartwarming film. On netflix. No one is whitewashed but all are in their natural skin which enhances the appeal. Nice songs. And some nice dancing too.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Amitabh Tested Covid -VE and discharged from hospital!

    Liked by 2 people

  16. I quite loved RAAT AKELI HAI! There are so many things going on in the movie – it is like a labyrinth of emotions, moods, and the nightly colors. It covers so much, that the whodunit mystery is the least on your minds, though very smartly, the makers give you a clue that what ‘starts’ at home hits you at ‘home.’! Casteism, class-privilege, money, position, power, inferiority/superiority complexes, everything is dealt here; and the best part is, it is never preachy but veers you toward thinking about them.

    Nawaz is terrific here – it’s become a joke but what else can one expect of him – and is a hoot with the mirror scenes; stealing Fair and Lovely whenever he gets a chance. His banter with Ila Arun — and what a delight she is here — is the best part of the movie; and his screaming ‘Mummy’ whenever water runs out is, well, something only he can achieve. He’s always been terrific, but where he held me by the throat was not in the Hollywood-decorated ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ but in KAHAANI where he played a hard-ass cop. He really kicks it up a notch when he plays a hardened and a system-defying cop; almost like the spirit of Bachchan from INQUILAAB takes him over. Watch him deal with his superior Tigmanshu Dhulia, or his counterpart Nandu, or Munna Raja, and you will get the gist. Horribly disappointed with Radhika Apte’s act; never thought I would say this.

    It’s a beautiful mood-piece; the last one of which I saw from the Hindi film industry was TALAASH – and way back in 2012!

    It stretches and out-lives its welcome in the second half, but as I said, it never is the destination, but the journey that was important here. The casting is pitch-perfect here; no wonder with Honey Trehan at the helm.

    Man, why I miss the big old theater experience? The cinematography is terrific here. The first scene of the truck’s lights pinning down on an Ambassador is so terrific to watch, I cursed myself for not seeing that shot on the big screen. And the Nawaz’s escape with Radhika; and the chase in Kanpur – or just even, Nawaz stopping the bike on a bridge where Nandu blasts him about Radhika playing him like a violin.

    Highly, highly recommended; only if you are into slow-burn movies.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. A Call to Spy trailer: Radhika Apte plays Indian-origin British spy Noor Inayat Khan
    Radhika Apte’s character in her upcoming A Call to Spy was a real-life figure, a woman who was a spy tasked by the British government to undermine Nazi operations in occupied France.
    https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/hollywood/a-call-to-spy-trailer-radhika-apte-plays-indian-origin-british-spy-noor-inayat-khan-6536715/

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  19. LSC … 10 years in the making!

    —————-

    When asked about his experience on writing Laal Singh Chaddha, Atul Kulkarni said, “It has been a really long, long journey, because I had written it almost 10 years back and Aamir took a couple of years because he did not believe that I must have written a good script. So he did not want to hurt me. We used to meet but he never heard the script. After a couple of years he heard the script and within 30 seconds he said I am going to do the film. For the last 7-8 years we were trying for the rights because it is completely based on Forrest Gump. It is an adaptation of the film. We could not get the rights. Aamir made multiple trips to LA and he met the studio bosses and a lot of other people. But after 7-8 years we got the rights. We have started the shoot. I think we have completed 60-70 percent of the shoot. But now because of corona the shooting has stopped and we hope to complete it soon.”

    https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-atul-kulkarni-says-wrote-script-laal-singh-chaddha-10-years-back-says-aamir-khan-not-believe-wrote-good-script/

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    • Aamir has really aged a lot. All the physical transformations finally has taken its toll.

      https://twitter.com/MarzokRe/status/1290387519939452928

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      • probably all the nicotine and caffeine he indulges in

        Liked by 1 person

      • He is perfectly fine for his age with grey hair.

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        • Yes…Aamir is looking quite good here.

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        • Grey hair is never a problem, one can color it black for a younger look. Its the lines on your face that gives a haggard look. Happened to Srk a few years back too.

          Anyways, hope he plays a 50 yr old gangster in the Vikram Vedha remake and carries off his grey hair with elan.

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        • he cannot look his age and romance 30 something heroines like kareena, katrina and even trying his charm with the 20s something fatima like akshay is attempting with sara ali khan.

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        • Kareena is almost 40 i guess, so that pairing isnt too bad. In vikram vedha the gangster has no romantic pairing, so its ideal for him to play his age with grey hair and all.

          I dont think he will do a romantic movie with a gal in her twenties anymore. He spent the first decade of his career doing that, must b bored with all that.

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  20. EXCLUSIVE: Ram Gopal Varma says Arnab – The News Prostitute would be a docu-drama, plans to release by November
    ByBollywood Hungama News NetworkCreated: Aug 4, 2020 – 16:43 IST

    https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-ram-gopal-varma-says-arnab-the-news-prostitute-would-be-a-docu-drama-plans-to-release-by-november/

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  21. Seems like Bollywood is finally getting out of the Covid scare. Akshay is off to Scotland to shoot Bell Bottom and Aamir is traveling for location scouting for LSC. Only option for the industry is to shoot abroad or wait for another few months …

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  22. Inspite of some mandatory cuss words, Bandish Bandits is a refreshing change. Anyone will fall with classical music after watching the first few episodes. It has an engrossing story too.

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    • the cuss words weren’t mandatory but forced instead. wasn’t required at all. like panchayat which had only a couple minimally used when the protagonist played by jitu bhai loses his cool

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      • I am hooked onto music and trying to ignore the bad language Well, cuss words or kissing are not necessary just to look cool.

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        • forget the cussing. In a wedding scene, couples making out wildly without any elderly family or kids present in the function. beyond belief. what was that for?

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  23. https://boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6073

    “The film industry has to start thinking about disconnecting from this digital and social media world as these things dont make much a difference to the Friday which is the bottom line. Obviously, the thought is that you must have a presence all the time but in truth absence makes the heart grow fonder and more so in the world of cinema.”

    One of the rare times I’d agree with a BOI article. Not only does the film industry, but most of us general citizens too need to either disconnect or keep distance from social media in order to avoid negativity, ranting and now fear & rumour mongering in these times of pandemic.

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  24. Looking so much forward to this Bobby Deol’s movie. After truly long time he’s got such role and it’ll be nice to watch it. Hopefully it turns out good for him!

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Not sure if it has been posted here before. But came across an interesting re-read on Raakh in scroll mag. Sharing it here:

    https://scroll.in/reel/872412/raakh-revisited-from-the-ashes-of-time-a-cult-movie-starring-aamir-khan-as-a-lone-hitman

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  26. question for all film experts. What does the word meta mean about a movie? can you please share examples of meta in English and Hindi movies?

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  27. Sources inform that producer Aditya Chopra has planned an elaborate choreographic confection with profusion of chorus dancers. And Saif and Rani are not okay with that. Informs a source, “They’ve already expressed their unhappiness with being put in such a heavy crowd during these times of corona contagion. Of course Aditya Chopra will be taking every possible precaution. But Saif and Rani would rather have the song situation scaled down, since scrapping it is not possible, as it comes at an essential juncture in the story.”

    Since the heroine of Bunty Aur Babli 2 also happens to be the producer’s wife, convincing Aditya Chopra to change the choreographic scale should not be difficult.

    https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/bunty-aur-babli-2-resume-shoot-huge-song-dance-actors-afraid/

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  28. Rewind – Twenty Six Years Of Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!
    Thursday 06 August 2020 11.30 IST
    Box Office India Trade Network

    The film which changed the face of Hindi cinema Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! is 26 years old now. There is not much to say its weekly collections below tell the story of this legendary BLOCKBUSTER. The film had started with just 30 odd prints in its first week and eventually more than 600 prints had to be taken out in its theatrical run. Only Sholay (1975) had this many prints taken before while no other film in history had even topped 400 prints.

    The film was released in just one cinema in Mumbai which was Liberty. The film was released in more than one in just three cities. In Delhi it had Sapna and Satyam, in Kolkata it was on Hind and Menoka while Nagpur saw a release on Smriti and Panchsheel. Bangalore was also two cinemas (Santosh and Galaxy) but both were noon shows only.

    There is a complain today from makers they do not get enough screens but that is never an issue as if you get high occupancy in the screens you do get then more will be added and if occupancy stays high then more will be added and the sky is the limit. Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! could have been releases on far more screens but this is the strategy that the distributors took to curb piracy and give to cinemas which were worthy of the product. This led to many exhibitors updating their theatres to show Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!

    The film eventually got close to 7.5 crore footfalls which works out to be around 1000 crore nett today. The film saw its best weekly collections in week 22. The film saw a dip in business week 13 as it was the week before Diwali but after that the film set a record every week as unbelievable numbers of 2 crore nett plus started coming from week 18 onward. the film was the sort of Historic BLOCKBUSTER which may never be seen again. Below are the weekly collections of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun…!.

    Week 1 – 68,00,000

    Week 2 – 69,00,000

    Week 3 – 73,00,000

    Week 4 – 87,50,000

    Week 5 – 1,08,00,000

    Week 6 – 1,25,00,000

    Week 7 – 1,34,00,000

    Week 8 – 1,49,00,000

    Week 9 – 1,58,00,000

    Week 10 – 1,77,00,000

    Week 11 – 1,75,00,000

    Week 12 – 1,71,00,000

    Week 13 – 1,32,00,000 (pre Diwali week)

    Week 14 – 2,20,00,000

    Week 15 – 1,95,00,000

    Week 16 – 1,98,00,000

    Week 17 – 1,91,00,000

    Week 18 – 2,24,00,000

    Week 19 – 2,13,00,000

    Week 20 – 2,26,00,000

    Week 21 – 2,29,00,000

    Week 22 – 2,52,00,000

    Week 24 – 2,38,00,000

    Week 25 – 2,25,00,000

    Week 26 – 2,12,00,000

    Week 27 – 1,95,00,000

    Week 28 – 1,83,00,000

    Week 29 – 1,80,00,000

    Week 30 – 1,74,00,000

    Week 31 – 1,69,00,000

    Week 32 – 1,62,00,000

    Week 33 – 1,74,00,000

    Week 34 – 1,66,00,000

    Week 35 – 1,45,00,000

    Week 36 – 1,53,00,000

    Week 36 – 1,34,00,000

    Week 37 – 1,28,00,000

    Week 38 – 1,31,00,000

    Week 39 – 1,17,00,000

    Week 40 – 98,00,000

    Week 41 – 95,00,000

    Week 42 – 86,00,000

    Week 43 – 78,00,000

    Week 44 – 71,00,000

    Week 45 – 57,00,000

    Week 46 – 41,00,000

    Week 47 – 35,00,000

    Week 48 – 29,00,000

    Week 49 – 22,00,000

    Week 50 – 17,00,000

    Week 51 and after – 1,47,00,000

    TOTAL – 72,46,50,00,000

    Liked by 2 people

    • This is Madhuri magic at its peak. No other heroine carried the entire film on her shoulder ably supported by stellar of star cast.

      What a movie and what a trending.

      Mesmerising!!!

      My personal connect with HAHK

      5 times watch at theatres,
      Over 10,000 + songs revisited on audio/laptop
      Timeless classic.

      Liked by 1 person

      • “This is Madhuri magic at its peak. No other heroine carried the entire film on her shoulder”

        HAHK was not madhuri magic, it was Sooraj Barjatyas magic.

        some of other madhuri films around HAHK are Yaarana, paapi devta, raajkumar, prem granth, raaja, koyla, mohabbat, mahaanta, phool, anjaam, etc…

        Which one of these films set boxoffice on fire like HAHK?

        Her next big hit wasn’t until 3 years later in Dil to pagal hai. And i assue you that movie would have done just as well if any other actress was there instead of madhuri.

        By the way have you seen films like Chandni, Chaalbaaz, Nagina, etc to see how a heroine carries the whole film on her shoulder?

        Also, Sooraj had showen his magic in MPK and Vivah which trended extremely well too.

        Like

        • “Chandni, Chaalbaaz, Nagina,”

          Overacting ki dukaan – Sri Devi. Clearly not her best acting in any of the above.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Madhuri can be compared in stardom with Hema Malini and Madhubala.

          Barjatya’s magic no doubt. Same as Sholay was Sippy’s magic.

          But Mads was to HAHK as what Amitabh was in Sharaabi. Total and complete epitome of beauty with talent.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Why do Akhshay fan need to undermine Salman and Salman fans need to undermine Akhshay ?
          Madhuri was IMO way better than Sridevi but to compare her in HAHK to AB in Sharabi is preposterous .
          IMO- HAHK was – Sooraj / Music/ Madhuri / Salman, in that order. .

          Like

        • “Madhuri was IMO way better than Sridevi”

          Lock kiya jaaye.
          No comparison with Big B. Used him as an analogy.

          Liked by 1 person

        • “But Mads was to HAHK as what Amitabh was in Sharaabi”

          LOL, surprised you didn’t say what Dilip was in Devdas.

          Like

        • It is laughable this attempt to de-legitimize Madhuri’s talent and stardom. I have seen it on BR’s blog, am seeing it here – again.

          So Sooraj Barjatya is responsible for people dancing in the aisles and theaters putting up lights in theaters for DIDI TERA TEWAR DEEWANA. LOL I watched HAHK in 3 different areas; Belgaum, Bombay, and Faridabad. In Belgaum, there’s theater named ‘Roopali’, a single-screen  theater going broke. That theater, which was about to be shattered down, screened HAHK for 3 years, so much so, that even in the fag end of 1st year of HAHK, tickets needed to be booked in advance! Inspite of the onslaught of movies like ANDAZ APNA APNA starring the 2 Khans! That theater, had HAHK screened for all the shows!

          HAHK was PURELY Madhuri’s movie. And there’s a history behind it. She was the first choice for 1942. It was handed over to Manisha – thanks to the great idiot VV Chopra. Then, she was considered ‘damaged’ thanks to a certain Juhi Chawala in DARR and HUM HAI RAHI PYAAR KE. But Mads came back with a sting in HAHK and KHALNAYAK.

          Both HAHK and KHALNAYAK are important since she displayed subtle/overt display of sexuality in HAHK versus KHALNAYAK [CHOLI KE PEECHE].

          In Faridabad, I was stunned to discover that the theater was full, in HAHk’S  second year, and yet, I was sold a ticket! I sat on the stairs and watched the movie! That’s what the usher told me; Sit there and watch it!

          After HAHK, Mads came back with RAJA which the whole bloody press commented, should have been named RANI. Go figure, a nation that was so fickle as to take over from Sridevi to Juhi to Madhuri…

          I have de-bunked this theory; but this raises up again…

          Liked by 2 people

        • BETA was also Madhuri show

          Liked by 1 person

        • some of other madhuri films around HAHK are Yaarana, paapi devta, raajkumar, prem granth, raaja, koyla, mohabbat, mahaanta, phool, anjaam, etc…

          Which one of these films set boxoffice on fire like HAHK?

          So the question is why just HAHK, why not all of these other movies since madhuri was there?

          I’m not saying madhuri has nothing to do with hahk but saying that hahk is due to madhuri without giving any credit to sooraj is just being dishonest.

          Sridevi ended with English vinglish and mom, what did madhuri do?

          Like

        • Z, your intent to bring Sri Devi into this is laughable.
          Please do not keep grudge against the mighty Mads.

          Lots of Sri devi fans actually is suffering from this. Mads single handedly closed the chapter for Sri for a long time. Just like Akram ended the career of Srikanth.

          I would not go into arguments further because it is not Mads Vs Sri.

          It has always been Mads Vs Sri + Juhi + Manisha + Karishma, etc.

          Madhuri won by a yard and miles.

          Like

        • Some great memories An Jo.

          My cases had been similar.

          In my city, theatres were asked to upgrade themselves, get Dolby, create a family friendly environment before they can get the prints of HAHK. The transformation in theatres were there for all to see. Suddenly families started thronging. Madhuri at that time just shot up in popularity.

          There were Madhuri’s backless posters every where. Archies poster reportedly made a record breaking sales.

          Madhuri was also offered insane money for Prem granth, Raajkumar etc.

          The movie which released after Hum Aapke Hain Kaun was Yaraana. Such was the craze then that tickets for Yararana got bumper advance booking. The movie was a dud but thanks to crazy Madhuri fans, Yaraana recovered its money and got average status.

          Hum Aapke Hain Kaun also has its tryst with MF Hussain and Madhuri Dixit. It was quite a story then.

          The movie was re-released with a new song – Chocolate Limejuice….the Madhuri song.
          The movie ran for 4 weeks again.

          Those were the times where one felt that it would be difficult to reach the stardom of Madhuri. it remains true till today.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Mads was pretty much the dominant sex symbol onscreen and a decent actress since her debut in Tezaab (top grosser of 1988) and for the next 10 years or so. She had a string of big hits throughout that period – Ram Lakhan, Tridev (1989); Dil (top grosser), Kishen Kanhaiya, Thaneddar in 1990; Saajan again was top grosser of 1991; Beta was the top grosser and blockbuster of 1992; Khalnayak did v well in 1993; HAHK was historic in 1994 and then Raja was blockbuster in 1995. This was followed by another blockbuster in DTPH (1997), but by that time age had started to catch up which is a always a big deterrent for actresses in lead roles. The next clean hit she delivered was in 2002 Devdas and that has pretty much been her amazing run.

          Of course she had lot of flops in between. But the rule of those days were to do 5 films a year and no one expected all the 5 films to be hits. A couple of hits were considered good to great. Naming a few flops around HAHK does not belittle her by an inch.

          Like

        • “The movie was re-released with a new song – Chocolate Limejuice….the Madhuri song.
          The movie ran for 4 weeks again.”

          Sooraj had done same with his previous movie too MPK by adding Antakshri later on and the movie ran for another 3 months.

          Like

        • This discussion reminded me of the competition Jay was putting out earlier and there was one for Sri and Madhuri movies, in end, it was Sri movie vs Sri movie 🙂

          i love madhuri but i know what made her famous (ek do teen, dhak dhak, cholie ke piche…), i think you’ll get the point if you are old enough to understand cinema during Sri and Madhuri days, meaning you would have to be around 50 right now.

          Producer/Directors were making film with in mind that Sri will be the lead of the film between actor/actress. Script were written with heroine being the lead. She wasn’t called Lady Bachchan for nothing.

          Run any survey you want and you’ll never have madhuri film top Sri. Run in in india or USA or anywhere.

          Like

        • AnJo, I for one is not trying to de-legitimize Madhuri’s talent and stardom.
          I am her huge fan. but to say Madhuri in HAHK is same as Bachchan to Sharabi is blasphemy . It is like saying Sholay is all Hema Malini .
          In the case of Sholay it was written by SJ and directed bu Ramesh Sippy.
          HAHK was written, scripted and directed by Sooraj and therefore it is only fair that he gets the maximum credit. That does not mean I am de legitimizing Madhuri. In my comment above – I had put her contribution to HAHK above Salman. So….

          Like

        • Rocky, i think i was trying to say same thing as what you’re saying.

          Rekha had said that should would not have even mind playing the role of that little dog in HAHK. That’s how much that movie was loved and had taken over the nation. It wasn’t madhuri, it was the movie, that had taken over the nation. Otherwise madhuri was in plenty of movies before and after but none did the magic of HAHK.

          Once again, not putting down madhuri but noway HAHK became an event because of madhuri. And this movie was truly an event.

          Liked by 1 person

    • BOI is a fraud site. It was not there in 1994. It uses information from other sources.
      From 26 cinemas it is less than 47 lakh..ther are 3 more cinemas to report where it was released. Even if we say Ahmedabad number look suspiciously low in below link..It will not reach 68 lakh .. the numbers are 25-35% higher than reported center wise numbers.

      https://filminformation.com/flash-back/flash-back-9-august-2019/

      Like

  29. Leaving behind awkward comparisons of Mads and AB, here is an interesting trivia on HAHK. The film was offered to Aamir but he rejected it and Salman was the obvious choice for Sooraj Barjatya of MPK fame.

    Aamir actually rejected both HAHK and DDLJ and instead did Rangeela and AHAT in that timeframe. Now, I am not a big fan of Rangeela (found it just ok), but i actually like AHAT more than DDLJ and HAHK. Of course its not youth friendly like DDLJ or as family friendly (in a happy happy way) like HAHK; so the box office prospects were less. Nonetheless it was a good indianized version of K vs K. Maybe I am just a sucker for Mansoor Khan films.

    Like

    • What dreams? Aamir rejected HAHK and also DDLJ right after Aamir & Yash Chopra fought? Lol.

      Like

      • HAHK, i’m pretty sure was not offered to aamir. there are many interviews by sooraj where he has said that salman was going to be in the film even before the script started. why wouldn’t he after MPK???

        Why would aamir be in DDLJ and why would yash offer it to aamir after they had that big fight???

        I could be worng but i don’tthink i’ve ever heard sooraj or aditya say something other wise.

        Like

      • Aamir never faught with chopras, he just rejected darr because his request for a joint script session with sunny was declined.

        Anyways,
        https://m.timesofindia.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/photo-features/aamir-khan-films-that-he-rejected/aamir-khan-films-that-he-rejected/photostory/46565159.cms

        Like

        • So, you are trusting such random articles. Most of the folks who write them are teenagers who were not even born in 90’s. Well, to each to his own. I do know even beyond the regular gossip articles and there’s no way Aamir rejected DDLJ or HAHK. There is not even 0.1% possibility of it.

          Like

        • Dunno. Ddlj may hv been offered to Aamir. Srk was not an established romantic hero at that point like Aamir was. Anyways, i wudnt b surprised if Aamir rejected it coz ideologically its against his filmography where the boy elopes with the girl against parental opposition ( QSQT, Dil, etc) than cheat his way thru posing as someone else in ddlj.

          Like

        • ” Aamir rejected it coz ideologically its against his filmography ”

          Man… wow!! I don’t have any words after that. Lol!

          Either ways, Aamir was busy doing one of the worst Godfather remakes during sametime Aatank hi Aatank with Rajnikanth and according to Aamir himself, it’s one of his worst performances in his career. Maybe it goes more with his filmography ideologically! 🙂

          Like

        • @master – u need to read first. U missed the ‘if’ part in ur quotation. Anyways, ddlj is a story of a cheat as much as darr was a story of a psycho. Enuf said.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Btw, Godfather or its remakes (good or bad ones) are not about cheating ur inlaws – ideologically speaking again.

          Like

    • Masoor Khan was a very honest film maker. He should have actually ventured into small budget films without top tier stars.

      Like

      • Mansoor Khan was a commercial filmmaker mainly for classes and not for masses. All his films with Aamir (QSQT, JJWS and AHAT) did well to decent with classes. QSQT was of course a universal superhit film. The other 2 were commission earners or avg fares due to business from cities mainly.

        Like

        • Mansoor did try to reach out to the masses with Josh, by letting Srk play to the gallery. But it ended up as avg again at BO. It perhaps needed a bigger star than Chandrachur in the parallel role for which Mansoor wanted Aamir. But Aamir was more intesrested in Srk’s role and didnt do the film.

          That was the last of Mansoor. Would hv loved to see to more from him.

          Like

        • I think mansoor wanted srk, aamir and salman for it.
          Salman for Sharad and aamir for candrachur.

          Also, i think mansoor is not a true masala filmmaker and for josh, you needed a masala filmmaker. Mansoor films feels little heavy.

          Aish playing srk sister didn’t help either, public perception.

          Like

    • HAHK was never offered to Aamir.
      DDLJ was also never offered to Aamir.

      After Darr and Baazigar, SRK had actually wiped off the gaines of Aamir and Salman and emerged as the most exciting anti-hero.

      SRK remained ahead till Main Hoon naa/ Devdas. Quite a long reign of super stardom. Extra ordinary.

      Aside – i am a big fan of Akele Hum Akele Tum. What an amazing album by Any Malik and in the movie i remember the last monologue by Aamir in the climax, which was brilliant and unheard of till then. Manisha played a poorly written character and appeared bitchy.

      Like

  30. Liked by 1 person

    • I was expecting names of chopra, johar, khans 🙂

      So, looks like it’s the GF and her family. Saw something on news where they said his bank balance was around 55 crore in mid 2019 and it went to like 4 crore in may 2020.

      Pretty sad what money does to people.

      Like

  31. Like

    • Are they smoking something? First look just mountain. 2nd look all lead cast but with their backs. Who has so much time for a OTT release in 3 weeks. Why don’t they just have 1 look and trailer and be done with it.

      Like

    • The pot holes behind Alia looks like a dog face.

      Like

  32. An eclectic collection of essays by the winner of the National Award Swarna Kamal for Best Film Critic 1997 With more than a thousand films produced annually in over fifteen languages India is acknowledged as the largest producer of motion pictures in the world.50 Indian Film Classics provides detailed critical accounts of the most important Indian films beginning with Prem Sanyas (1925) to Rang De Basanti (2006) in languages ranging from Bengali and Hindi to Manipuri and Malayalam and representing a whole gamut of themes: from the 1930s mythological Sant Tukaram to the politically radical Calcutta ’71, from art-house favourites like Uski Roti and Mukhamukham to blockbusters like Sholay and Lagaan. These perceptive essays introduce the reader to the many moods that inform Indian cinema, the austerity of Pather Panchali, the lavishness of Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!, the solemnity of Samskara and the fun and frolic of Amar Akbar Anthony.Illustrated with rare posters and stills this is an invaluable guide to the most significant cinema India has ever produced.

    https://harpercollins.co.in/product/50-indian-film-classics/

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