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52 Responses to “Love Sex aur Dhokha 2, other releases and the rest of the box office”
A celebration of mediocrity masquerading as quality from sasta film makers like Imtiaz, Motwane, Kashyap & Dibakar expertising in gareebi aur bechaargi brand of cinema is the perfect opium for a few self proclaimed buddhijeevis on this forum, its founder (posting from random ACs) being the first among equals 😆
I read that Aavesham means charged up. Looks like Tony is charged after watching Avesham and not only asking folks to watch it in cinemas but even travel Internationally to watch it, Lol.
“Avesham” director Jithu Madhavan’s debut directorial was a runaway hit “Romancham” which is available on ott, but his second one was highly anticipated as it was coming from the producer of “Premam”, “Bangalore days” and “Trance”..i saw it with high expectations due to the above quality of films..but didnt like it except Fahad’s full blown massy character…but i liked the other release along with Aavesham, which is titled “Varshangalke Shesham” with Nivin pauli and Pranav Mohanlal.
having said that, I think DB as a director refuses to play by the rules or expectations of his audience of him. Every new film of his springs a surprise and has become progressively complicated. Whenever I get to watch it, I think there will be some takeaways from it.
A lighthearted and well-made romcom that’s in equal parts funny and Gen Z relatable. It is a medley of anecdotes—the office environment, the pleasant girl, the colleagues, the after-work parties, the hunt for a decent job and accommodation in a metropolitan all but serve as the background for the simple love story. The characters don’t intend to chew scenery through long and overwritten dialogue so the actors can practise their acting chops. Situations are far from contrived, never overblown for dramatic effect, and flow organically, and we’re left wondering whether much of the writing that happened, specially with the dialogues, was improvised.
Naslen is spot-on as the clueless yet likeable protagonist Sachin, a hopelessly-in-love young man who falls for a woman he meets at a wedding. Mamita Baiju as Reenu is an effortlessly charming actress who delivers her lines were aplomb, as if the character was written for her. The protagonist’s friend, Amal David, played by a fantastic Sangeeth Pratap, is the loyal and brutal friend we’ve all known, who keeps us grounded by constantly dropping truth bombs, whether we like it or not. And the maximum laughs are derived out of Shyam Mohan playing Aadhi and his interactions with Sachin. He is the (kind of) antagonist that serves as the major roadblock for Sachin in professing his love for Reenu.
A film like Premalu reinforces the importance of building characters and situations by being in touch with the real world, that how important it is to tell relatable stories when your target audience are a younger lot who aren’t swayed as much by fancy sets and big stars as one would expect them to. I love this generation of Malayalam writers and filmmakers: writing strong characters and putting them in situations that ring a bell, and then casting age-appropriate actors suitable for the part to play them. When the film becomes a journey that the viewer and the characters face together, it’s half the job done.
My first ever crush #ImranKhan returning after 10 yrs just to publicly bash #RanbirKapoor & @ImVangaSandeep 🥹 "Films where heroes shoot 7 people in the head & their heads explode to music, trying to make it "cool," I don't want to play a character who solves problems with a gun" pic.twitter.com/8n3asxPulh
@Master, you had good write up on King in the other thread.
I hope SRK doesn’t try to manufacture a hit and instead make it with conviction without thinking much about adding too many things to make everyone happy.
It gives me hope that the movie has bee in pre-production for long time now so they are planning it well and not rushing in to it.
I think SRK will not make mistakes he made in past.
I think this will be a proper SRK lead movie and not something like Antim.
My point is once you start the announcement that SRK is doing cameo or supporting role then it’ll never get the momentum. Even Dear Zindagi, Karan Johar announced it saying SRK & Alia are lead actors but everyone figured out that’s its cameo and it never will be looked as SRK release or on that scale. King can have bigger SRK role but then it defeats the point of making the movie for Suhana. The whole point of King is to launch Suhana and you can’t hide that fact or cut short Suhana’s role and increase SRK’s and missing out the point of making this movie in first place.
Also, if it was proper SRK movie, there’s no way SRK would have signed Sujoy Ghosh’s movie ignoring all the offers he get. Then ask Sid Anand to direct action sequences knowing Sujoy isn’t good with that section. That’s too much of a comprise and effort to sign Sujoy’s movie. Sujoy has basically 2 hits – Kahaani & Badla but both smaller scale movies.
Prashant Narayan, one my fav underutilized talented guys but never gets work for his stupid attitude. This one is correct though especially Ranveer saying he spent alone days in hotel to get into mind of Khilji and I can’t imagine someone being so evil etc, blah blah. Just build up hype for decent performance which 75% is taken by direction, costumes and setup. Even average performance will stand out in that.
Ranveer played khilji exactly how I expected him to play Khilji. Extension of his real-life personality. I’m still trying to place what people found extraordinary in that performance.
The Worst Week Ever And Horrible Times In Industry
boxofficeindia.com
The last week has been the worst week ever for the film industry with two huge disasters Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan hitting cinemas on Eid. The lowest point ever before was that Independence Day week of 2022 when Lal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan came together. Still those were dark days with heavy post covid leftovers so there was some sort of excuse.
Gradually the box office started recovering but now Eid 2024 sees the lowest of lows. Not much was really expected from either film but the hope was Bade Miyan Chote Miyan can get some sort of opening and Maidaan would pick up due to the zone it is in. Neither happened Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was dead on arrival with no interest while Maidaan was never going to open but it also refused to pick up.
The losses are huge for both films as Maidaan is a 240 crore film and recovery from all revenue will be around 160 crore. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will recover around 185 crore on a 365 crore budget. There is a caveat on Bade Miyan Chote Miyan as there will be rebate from United Kingdom which brings the budget down. The number filed for a UK rebate will actually bring the budget down heavily if this rebate comes but we will go by fair value which makes it comes down to 290 crore, So basically its a 200 crore fair value loss this Eid between the two films.
Internally it gets worse for the industry with films being shelved across the board. The scenario is such today that by the time news of a film happenning breaks into the public domain it is probably actually shelved. The announcements are many but many of these will not get made. This is not the doing of Eid releases as was there before but the results of the Eid films just shakes up the industry more.
The first quater has done okay but only Shaitaan has done well all over and is that real HIT film in the first quarter. More than that the first quarter had almost every other film giving incentives and there was smatterings of feeding as well. So irrespective of where the numbers land when these things are happenning it signals things are NOT right. A positive picture may well be painted with perception through the media for films but within the industry everyone knows its a shambles at present and no one really knows when it will get better.
The second quarter will be worse than the first quarter due to lack of films and all hope is pinned on the second half of the year which should bring some relief though only if the films have merits. There are original Hindi films like Singham Again, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Stree 2 which on paper looke like those desi entertainers and can maybe unlock the business in the Hindi speaking states. This is the key going forward as once the films start scoring in these belts it will lift the gloomy clouds as these limited footfalls in the big states in teh first quarter just cannot take the indsutry anywhere.
SATYAMSHOT 
April 18, 2024 at 10:17 PM
https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/amar-singh-chamkila-amarjot-visited-his-first-wife-gurmail-two-days-before-death-9277273/
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April 19, 2024 at 12:53 AM
Watch Aavesham.
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April 20, 2024 at 2:54 AM
A celebration of mediocrity masquerading as quality from sasta film makers like Imtiaz, Motwane, Kashyap & Dibakar expertising in gareebi aur bechaargi brand of cinema is the perfect opium for a few self proclaimed buddhijeevis on this forum, its founder (posting from random ACs) being the first among equals 😆
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April 19, 2024 at 8:03 AM
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April 19, 2024 at 9:17 AM
But Avesham is a clean family entertainer that promises lots of laughs too.
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April 19, 2024 at 9:56 AM
It’s not playing where i am, will wait until it’s on OTT.
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April 19, 2024 at 12:43 PM
why don’t you come to India? Book the middle seats and then take the early flight the next day.
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April 19, 2024 at 1:36 PM
I read that Aavesham means charged up. Looks like Tony is charged after watching Avesham and not only asking folks to watch it in cinemas but even travel Internationally to watch it, Lol.
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April 19, 2024 at 9:35 PM
I’m sure he can afford it. Or maybe he can justify that trip by watching Bade Miyan Chote Miyan too.
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April 20, 2024 at 5:18 PM
“Avesham” director Jithu Madhavan’s debut directorial was a runaway hit “Romancham” which is available on ott, but his second one was highly anticipated as it was coming from the producer of “Premam”, “Bangalore days” and “Trance”..i saw it with high expectations due to the above quality of films..but didnt like it except Fahad’s full blown massy character…but i liked the other release along with Aavesham, which is titled “Varshangalke Shesham” with Nivin pauli and Pranav Mohanlal.
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April 19, 2024 at 1:34 PM
Good answer by Imtiaz for a stupid question.
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April 19, 2024 at 8:01 PM
Tony, when is your review coming for Love Sex aur Dhoka2? I love LSD part 1 but couldn’t bear even the trailer of part 2.
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April 19, 2024 at 9:32 PM
I’m not very sure about it, Master.
the trailer was very off-putting (seemed to be intentional) and its reviews range from terrible to mildly good.
of course, I am a big fan of the first film. That had left me shaken and mesmerised for days.
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April 19, 2024 at 9:42 PM
having said that, I think DB as a director refuses to play by the rules or expectations of his audience of him. Every new film of his springs a surprise and has become progressively complicated. Whenever I get to watch it, I think there will be some takeaways from it.
LikeLike
April 19, 2024 at 9:45 PM
https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/love-sex-aur-dhokha-2-movie-review-dibakar-banerjee-film-is-sharp-and-impactful-9279645/lite/
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April 20, 2024 at 1:48 PM
https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/exclusive-sukhwinder-singh-denies-ram-gopal-varmas-claim-that-he-composed-jai-ho-not-ar-rahman-i-only-sang-it-101713617608622.html
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April 20, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Premalu:
A lighthearted and well-made romcom that’s in equal parts funny and Gen Z relatable. It is a medley of anecdotes—the office environment, the pleasant girl, the colleagues, the after-work parties, the hunt for a decent job and accommodation in a metropolitan all but serve as the background for the simple love story.
The characters don’t intend to chew scenery through long and overwritten dialogue so the actors can practise their acting chops. Situations are far from contrived, never overblown for dramatic effect, and flow organically, and we’re left wondering whether much of the writing that happened, specially with the dialogues, was improvised.
Naslen is spot-on as the clueless yet likeable protagonist Sachin, a hopelessly-in-love young man who falls for a woman he meets at a wedding. Mamita Baiju as Reenu is an effortlessly charming actress who delivers her lines were aplomb, as if the character was written for her. The protagonist’s friend, Amal David, played by a fantastic Sangeeth Pratap, is the loyal and brutal friend we’ve all known, who keeps us grounded by constantly dropping truth bombs, whether we like it or not. And the maximum laughs are derived out of Shyam Mohan playing Aadhi and his interactions with Sachin. He is the (kind of) antagonist that serves as the major roadblock for Sachin in professing his love for Reenu.
A film like Premalu reinforces the importance of building characters and situations by being in touch with the real world, that how important it is to tell relatable stories when your target audience are a younger lot who aren’t swayed as much by fancy sets and big stars as one would expect them to. I love this generation of Malayalam writers and filmmakers: writing strong characters and putting them in situations that ring a bell, and then casting age-appropriate actors suitable for the part to play them. When the film becomes a journey that the viewer and the characters face together, it’s half the job done.
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April 20, 2024 at 9:46 PM
really loved premalu…its a writer’s triumph than such a normal movie can appear so good on viewing.i watched it twice in a week now…nice review tony…
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April 20, 2024 at 11:45 PM
thanks Krish. Did you watch Manjummel boys or Varshangalkku Shesham? Been hearing a lot of good stuff about them.
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April 21, 2024 at 4:01 AM
not seen either .the latter is very good apparently…
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April 21, 2024 at 1:06 AM
Sukhwinder Singh denies Ram Gopal Varma’s claims that he composed Jai Ho, not AR Rahman: ‘Unhe kuch galat pata chala hoga’
https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/sukhwinder-singh-denies-ram-gopal-varma-claims-that-he-composed-jai-ho-not-ar-rahman-9281501/
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April 21, 2024 at 1:50 AM
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April 21, 2024 at 1:57 AM
how much time will it now take for vanga reddy to write an open letter to him with personal remarks?
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April 21, 2024 at 4:30 AM
He does not want?? Who wants him in the first place?
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April 21, 2024 at 5:54 AM
Typically, big hit movies are conformist. Animal evokes emotions and reactions on extreme ends of the spectrum.
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April 23, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Bhardwaj is scared 🙂
https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/exclusive-interview-vishal-bhardwaj-i-enjoyed-hated-ranbir-kapoor-sandeep-reddy-vangas-animal-at-the-same-time-not-just-bollywood-13762646.html
What do you have to say about Animal ?
I have still not made up my mind what to feel about that film. because I enjoyed it and at the same time I hated it.
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April 21, 2024 at 11:09 AM
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April 21, 2024 at 11:09 AM
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April 21, 2024 at 12:03 PM
listen to this twitter space:
and decide for yourself what fans are really like (trust me, I haven’t listened to it yet)
https://x.com/gs_unfiltered/status/1782067744327803023?s=46
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April 21, 2024 at 8:20 PM
With war and so much noise..Indian film makers in Moscow!
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April 22, 2024 at 9:52 AM
Finally, Supreme Court makes the decision
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April 22, 2024 at 12:01 PM
luck will rule in favour of you if you watch Aavesham.
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April 22, 2024 at 12:58 PM
I will when it comes on OTT. Not possible to watch on big screen.
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April 22, 2024 at 2:26 PM
you must be on faahad fasil payroll 😉
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April 22, 2024 at 12:29 PM
Laal Miyan Peele Miyan
**Deadpool & Wolverine | Official Hindi Trailer***e
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April 22, 2024 at 8:59 PM
munna: I’m so disappointed that you gave my credit of posting this to Tony. Just coz he liked Avesham, he can’t get this credit as well. 😥
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April 23, 2024 at 4:02 AM
munna is impressed by me 😎
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April 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM
haha…my mistake…must be sleepy 🙂
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April 22, 2024 at 9:00 PM
Mohanlal is about only 4-5 yrs older to SRK! Good dance!
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April 23, 2024 at 11:03 PM
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April 24, 2024 at 1:24 AM
Sad.
Bollywood producers seem to be arm twisting cinema owners to play only their films, despite a no show.
seems the likes of BMCM were the final nail in the coffin.
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April 24, 2024 at 1:38 AM
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April 24, 2024 at 1:40 AM
King = Don & Don = King
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April 24, 2024 at 8:06 AM
@Master, you had good write up on King in the other thread.
I hope SRK doesn’t try to manufacture a hit and instead make it with conviction without thinking much about adding too many things to make everyone happy.
It gives me hope that the movie has bee in pre-production for long time now so they are planning it well and not rushing in to it.
I think SRK will not make mistakes he made in past.
I think this will be a proper SRK lead movie and not something like Antim.
LikeLike
April 24, 2024 at 8:43 PM
My point is once you start the announcement that SRK is doing cameo or supporting role then it’ll never get the momentum. Even Dear Zindagi, Karan Johar announced it saying SRK & Alia are lead actors but everyone figured out that’s its cameo and it never will be looked as SRK release or on that scale. King can have bigger SRK role but then it defeats the point of making the movie for Suhana. The whole point of King is to launch Suhana and you can’t hide that fact or cut short Suhana’s role and increase SRK’s and missing out the point of making this movie in first place.
LikeLike
April 24, 2024 at 9:32 PM
Also, if it was proper SRK movie, there’s no way SRK would have signed Sujoy Ghosh’s movie ignoring all the offers he get. Then ask Sid Anand to direct action sequences knowing Sujoy isn’t good with that section. That’s too much of a comprise and effort to sign Sujoy’s movie. Sujoy has basically 2 hits – Kahaani & Badla but both smaller scale movies.
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April 25, 2024 at 8:18 AM
Having a movie titled “KING” (if this is the title), then it gives me hope that this will be SRK as main lead.
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April 24, 2024 at 5:04 PM
Prashant Narayan, one my fav underutilized talented guys but never gets work for his stupid attitude. This one is correct though especially Ranveer saying he spent alone days in hotel to get into mind of Khilji and I can’t imagine someone being so evil etc, blah blah. Just build up hype for decent performance which 75% is taken by direction, costumes and setup. Even average performance will stand out in that.
LikeLike
April 24, 2024 at 10:49 PM
Ranveer played khilji exactly how I expected him to play Khilji. Extension of his real-life personality.
I’m still trying to place what people found extraordinary in that performance.
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April 24, 2024 at 9:50 PM
Based on the budget issues and movies flopping, below should be the price for movie stars.
SRK – 100 crs
Salman, Ranbir – 75 crs
Aamir, Hrithik, Ajay – 50 crs
Akshay, Sunny – 30crs
Ranveer – 20 crs
Shahid, Kartik – 15 crs
Varun, Vicky, John – 10 crs
Ayushman, Rajkumar Rao, Tiger, Siddharth – 5 crs
Rest all less than 5 crs.
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April 25, 2024 at 12:09 AM
The Worst Week Ever And Horrible Times In Industry
boxofficeindia.com
The last week has been the worst week ever for the film industry with two huge disasters Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan hitting cinemas on Eid. The lowest point ever before was that Independence Day week of 2022 when Lal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan came together. Still those were dark days with heavy post covid leftovers so there was some sort of excuse.
Gradually the box office started recovering but now Eid 2024 sees the lowest of lows. Not much was really expected from either film but the hope was Bade Miyan Chote Miyan can get some sort of opening and Maidaan would pick up due to the zone it is in. Neither happened Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was dead on arrival with no interest while Maidaan was never going to open but it also refused to pick up.
The losses are huge for both films as Maidaan is a 240 crore film and recovery from all revenue will be around 160 crore. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will recover around 185 crore on a 365 crore budget. There is a caveat on Bade Miyan Chote Miyan as there will be rebate from United Kingdom which brings the budget down. The number filed for a UK rebate will actually bring the budget down heavily if this rebate comes but we will go by fair value which makes it comes down to 290 crore, So basically its a 200 crore fair value loss this Eid between the two films.
Internally it gets worse for the industry with films being shelved across the board. The scenario is such today that by the time news of a film happenning breaks into the public domain it is probably actually shelved. The announcements are many but many of these will not get made. This is not the doing of Eid releases as was there before but the results of the Eid films just shakes up the industry more.
The first quater has done okay but only Shaitaan has done well all over and is that real HIT film in the first quarter. More than that the first quarter had almost every other film giving incentives and there was smatterings of feeding as well. So irrespective of where the numbers land when these things are happenning it signals things are NOT right. A positive picture may well be painted with perception through the media for films but within the industry everyone knows its a shambles at present and no one really knows when it will get better.
The second quarter will be worse than the first quarter due to lack of films and all hope is pinned on the second half of the year which should bring some relief though only if the films have merits. There are original Hindi films like Singham Again, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Stree 2 which on paper looke like those desi entertainers and can maybe unlock the business in the Hindi speaking states. This is the key going forward as once the films start scoring in these belts it will lift the gloomy clouds as these limited footfalls in the big states in teh first quarter just cannot take the indsutry anywhere.
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April 25, 2024 at 2:59 AM
BMCM budget = 365 crs
Maidaan budget = 240 crs
Biggest disaster week in Bollywood history is correct reference. Nothing else to say on this topic.
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