IDIOTS setting Boxoffice on Fire

3-Idiots: Excellent opening of Three Idiots is old news now. Opening in the range of 70 – 100% was given, And this sort of opening owe more weightage if volume of screenings is huge (1400+). Well this range was way before expected and is now evident at majority of centers, Now biggest question is that weather single screens/multiplexes at interiors opened to similar response ? Well this is just Friday and its 1:46 PM at the moment. Bookings of first show is over and if I check some figures from Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Ambala, Panipat, Karnal, Meerut and Saharanpur, Occupancy is in range of 45 – 80% which can simply be considered as excellent as this is just first day first show. Three Idiots as a product can be considered as unbelievable and incredible consistent quality and entertaining product from Hirani. If MBBS was Ace product, LRMB was also Ace and Now Three idiots again is also Ace with Ace Khan itself. Boxoffice aside, Three idiots will also be remembered as Iconic movie from Ace Khan and Brilliant Hirani.

Avatar showed highly consistent collections(High end) at 3D screens over weekdays. But other screens for English and Hindi versions both underperformed during weekdays. First week Collections for both versions are in range of 21-22 Crore (Lower if compared to 2012). Second Friday opened to rocking response.

Rocket singh is almost DONE in second week. Collections were all time low throughout week in range of 20-30%. Second week contributes in range of 5 Crore taking its Two weeks total to approx. 19.5 Crore.

Paa performed rock steady business over third week (8.5 Crore) taking its three weeks total to 38.5 Crore. But Paa will face tough time from here on as fourth week screenings are 80% lower than third week as Three Idiots occupied most of screens. Nothing much significant will add from here on (Unless it regain screenings next week again).

3-IDIOTS: REVIEW

You would be an IDIOT if you are not watching 3-IDIOTS in next three days and biggest IDIOT possible if you thinking of giving it a miss. If AVATAR is Hollywood at its best then this one is TYPICAL BOLLYWOOD MASALA at it's best. Wish India had 3-4 more RAJKUMAR HIRANI. AAMIR,SHARMAN,MADHVAN,KAREENA and BOMAN IRANI all ...of them have given dhamaakedar performances. Watch it to beleive it!! GBR METER SCALE 9.9999/10.:)

JASHNN Misses TASHAN

Banner: Vishesh Films

Release Date: 17th July, 2009

Genre: Drama

Director: Raksha Mistry,Hasnain S hyderbadwala

Starcast: Adhyan Suman, Sahana Goswami, Humayun Sayeed, Anjana Sukhani.

GiBRa Ratings: 5.5/10

What to expect: DEKHEIN PAR KYON?

- Brilliant performances by all four leads.

- Music is the soul of the movie.

-Few Emotional scenes speaks volume for the talent director duo have.

Suggestions for DIRECTOR: YUN HOTA TOH KYA HOTA?

-Romantic scenes aren't executed well.

-Film drags in first half.

-Treatment of climax being a big time downer.

GBR KYA BOLA?

What could have been a gripping tale,doesn't turns out to be one. Watch "JASHNN" for bravura performances of ADHYAN SUMAN, SAHANA GOSWAMI and HUMAYUN SAEED. Film does have high points but lags in the first half and climax being a downer. Still commendable effort by director duo after their disastrous stint with boxoffice ( THE TRAIN & THE KILLER). A griping second half makes it watchable affair. GBR METER SCALE gives it 5.5/10.

RATINGS ON OTHER PORTALS:

Glamsham.com - 3/5

Indiafm.com - 3/5

Rediff.com - 2/5

SHORTKUT's- SHORT REVIEW!!

Banner: Studio 18

               Anil Kapoor Films Company

Release Date: 10th July, 2009

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Producer: Anil Kapoor

Director: Neeraj Vohra

Starcast: Akshay Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao

GiBRa Ratings: 4.5 /10

Suggestions for the director:YUN HOTA TOH KYA HOTA?

NO SUGGESTIONS THIS TIME!!

Suggestion for producer rather: Dude next time you make a movie, make it with same script and hand it over to Priyadarshan or David Dhawan and you yourself see the miracle happening.

GBR KYA BOLA?

Anil kapoor was seriously looking for some "shortkuts" to make  quick money. A good script gone total haywire in the hands of NEERAJ VOHRA. After giving disastrous sequel to HERA PHERI,he is back and HOW??!!! Watch SHORTKUT for Akshay Khanna (nothing exceptional though...still) !!! GBR Meter scale gives it.....4.5/10......thank god i got the tickets for Rs.80!!!:)

EK "TRIVIA" AISA BHI- PRAKASH MEHRA's ZANJEER

"Iss aitihasik jeet ke baad bhi BHUVAN ka naam itihaas ke pannon mein kahin kho gaya...."

Wondering how this line is related to the title? Let me tell you - there's no relation indeed, besides the fact that with both movies JAVED AKHTAR was involved in the story-writing.

Here, in this section EK "TRIVIA" AISA BHI, I will bring out some facts related to famous movies and actors that created ripples when they occurred. So, who better than the legendary PRAKASH MEHRA to start with? (For those who are not aware: He is the man behind AMITABH BACHCHAN's SUPERSTARDOM. The director of movies such as LAWAARIS, SHARABI, MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR, etc. Yesterday, i.e Sunday - May 17, 2009, he died because of multiple organ failure). So, here is the first article of this segment as a tribute to PRAKASH MEHRA which I have brought from yore:

Prakash Mehra, the film's producer and director, discusses his experiences while making the landmark movie. 

With Amitabh Bachchan.

Zanjeer, actually, wasn't my film. The film was bought over by Dharmendra from the writers Salim-Javed. Dharmendra came to know that I was planning to make a film called Samadhi written by Pandit Mukhram Sharma. He liked the story idea and told me to exchange the script with that of Zanjeer.

I agreed, but told him that besides acting in the film Zanjeer, he would be a co-producer for the film. He readily agreed.

At the same time, I had bought another story idea for a film called Kahani Kismet Ki from the well known writer K Narayan. Dharmendra liked that subject too.

He told me to give that subject to his godfather in the film industry, Arjun Hingorani. In return he said he would give me full co-operation for Zanjeer. I was disheartened but I said that I did not mind sacrificing two films for Zanjeer..

Dharmendra had already paid the initial amount for the film and he was to play the hero. But he told me that he wanted to start a film for his own brother and would shoot for Zanjeer after half of that film was over. But, I had decided to finish the film within six months with Dharmendra because he was the top actor then.

I told him not to delay things, but Dharam said he was helpless. I told him I had already announced that he would be the hero, Mumtaz, the heroine. He still told me to wait.

But I didn't find it fun waiting so long. One fine day, both of us amicably settled the matter with Dharam agreeing not to work in the film because of his busy schedule.

Then I decided on Dev Anand. I had seen Dev's Kaala Pani and liked it. I thought a change of image could make this film a landmark film for him.

But the only thing which bugged Dev Anand was that there were no songs in the film. He told me to put three-four songs in the film. But I said I wouldn't do that. He then offered me whatever money I wanted for the film if I did it for Nav Ketan, his home production. I refused. And so even he was ruled out as a hero.

After that I went to Raaj Kumar who was already working with Mumtaz for a film in Madras. He liked the film. He felt it was a terrific subject, and that he would like to shoot from the very next day. But he wanted me to go South to shoot the film since he had given bulk dates to a producer in Madras.

I told him the film was based in Bombay and that there was no way that I could shoot in Madras. He told me to reconsider my decision. I didn't.

Now I was getting tensed. Then one day, Pran, who played the Pathan's role in the film, told me to consider Amitabh Bachchan. He told me to see Amitabh's Bombay to Goa. After seeing the film, my gut feeling said that he was a future star.

I was especially impressed by the fight scene between Amitabh and Shatrughan Sinha in the film. I selected Amitabh because of the emotions his eyes could generate. I thought I should give this man a break in my film even though his earlier films had flopped.

Everyone criticised me when I selected him. They came back when O P Ralhan's film Bandhe Haathin which Amitabh acted flopped. There was no way my film could do well, they said, because, in those days, O P Ralhan's name was bigger than Prakash Mehra's.

Amitabh was very upset by the Bandhe Haath fiasco. He told me that he was planning to move back to his native Allahabad if Zanjeer too failed.

I had another shock when the heroine, Mumtaz, decided to get married and quit acting. I think one reason she left could be the flopping of Bande Haath in which she had acted opposite Amitabh. I guess she did not wanted to take one more risk with this film.

Luckily, I was working with Jaya Bhaduri on another film. Amitabh told Jaya that no heroine was willing to work with him. And she told him that I had approached her to play the heroine in the film.

One person I can never forget is Pran. Had it not been for him, the film wouldn't have been completed. Though Manoj Kumar gave him a new role in the film Pukar and asked him to do his new film Shor, he refused, stating that he had committed himself to me for Zanjeer. He used to pamper me like a child during the film.

After 25 years, I won't be wrong if I say Zanjeer became a trend-setter. However, I always object when people say I brought violence to Bollywood cinema. I never made Zanjeer with a violent story in mind. The name, 'angry young man' was given by the press.

Zanjeer was not a violent movie. If you see the film, you will find out that it is the inner conflict of a person who is suffocating and wants to fight against the system. And he cannot do it alone.

When I made the film, I knew it would either be a washout or a trend-setter. There is no romance in the film. The hero never smiles in the film, except during the song Yaari hai iman mera when Pran makes him smile. But my inner feeling was: This film will do something miraculous.

Pran in Zanjeer.

People laughed at me because they felt that after making three jubilees, Prakash has gone senile. How can this man pair Amitabh and Jaya together? They used to say, 'Prakash is making an art film.' I think in making Zanjeer or any other film, the film-maker's convictions are very important.

I had other problems -- there were no financiers and the distributors ran away. They laughed at me, 'Who is this tall idiot hero?' Amitabh used to cry. He used to feel very put off. He used to call me "Sir" in those days. I told him I wasn't his teacher or professor, I am your director. He then started calling me lalla. In UP, one calls his brother aslalla.

He used to complain, 'Lalla, I don't know what will happen to my future after this film.' I used to tell him not to be selfish and think about me. Because it was I who stood to lose every pie if something went wrong.

Among those I should give credit is Manoj Kumar, who inspired me to start my own production. He told me that if I give a flop film as director, I would be jobless. Which is why I made my own film. And some distributors picked the film because they hazarded that since I had given three hits earlier, there were chances this film too could do well.

Interestingly, Bobby was being released on the same day. And, believe me, I was not worried about Zanjeer though Raj Kapoor was shocked byZanjeer's success despite there being only three songs in the film.

Someone told me that Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors of Bobby,had bought out all the cassettes of Zanjeer to stop the three songs by Kalyanji-Anandji from flooding the market. I used to telephone HMV and seek the latest update on the cassette stocks.

The film was released on May 20, 1973. Though the film clicked in Calcutta, it did not do well for the first four days in Bombay. I thought then that the film would flop.

The bad time the film was having affected Amitabh so badly that he went down with a fever. But after four days, when the booking for the second week began, I happened to pass through Gaiety-Galaxy theatre in Bandra. There was a huge rush at the advance booking window. A five rupee ticket was being sold at Rs 100.

I was shocked. To this day, I have never seen such a huge rush outside Gaiety-Galaxy. When Amitabh heard the news, it affected him so much that his fever worsened to 104 degrees centigrade.

He could not believe it. For now he was a star.

SOURCE: INTERVIEW GIVEN TO REDIFF IN 1998.

Critic’s criticism

For some, these are the people who actually help them, save their hard earned money by giving useful tips bang on time.

 

For some, these are insane people who take their profession quite literally.

 

I wont confuse you further, here the community I am talking about is the CRITIC circuit. For a country like INDIA where usually 2-3 movies release every week on an average (Including regional cinema), critics are people who, 95% of the time decide the fate of a movie.

 

This has been a topic of discussion for long, “whether  critics’ ratings play any role in a film’s fate?”. I won’t start a debate over here but would love to highlight a simple point:

 

*

 

This one star can prove to be a nightmare for many directors and producers.

 

*****

 

A combination of these stars can prove to be a boon.

 

Critics are doing a great job by reviewing movies for the sake of cinema, for the sake of audiences and also, helping them in choosing the perfect movie for their perfect outing. BRAVO!!

 

But  do they (critics) ever realize  how much this trend is backfiring INDIAN CINEMA?

 

As a matter of fact:

 

• (One star)--------- Gives an idea to a regular moviegoer that the movie isn’t worth a watch.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

People who wanted to see the flick are now told that they shouldn’t.

Saves a lot of the audience’s money, which otherwise would have been a waste.

Though the PRODUCER and the DIRECTOR who worked for years to complete that movie bear losses in Crores.

BUT WHY SHOULD WE CARE??

 

*****( FIVE STAR RATING) --------Gives an idea that a movie is a must watch.

 

Now, here is the main concern. A low-star rating can definitely influence one not to go to the cinema hall, but higher ratings do not bear the same results. Else, a movie like FIRAAQ would not have been a flop. A WEDNESDAY would have earned more than 30 – 40 CRORE NET GROSS. (Actual figure being 9.9 crores)!!

 

But NO!!! It isn’t happening!!!

 

It’s high time these critics realize that they are part of this industry; if they can’t think well for this industry then no one can. A movie like LADIES TAILOR manages to get more than one  star in a few reviews but NO SMOKING barely manages more than one in any review!! We definitely need a check here- “ON WHAT BASIS ARE RATINGS GIVEN??"

 

Bollywood’s famous critic KHALID MOHAMMED decided the fate of more than hundreds of movies but his own cinema sense could not give him a single hit till date. And he has been continuously delivering duds in the form of FIZA, TEHZEEB, and SILSILAY. Now, CAN he explain, “WHAT CONTENT WAS HE LOOKING FOR IN A MOVIE FOR YEARS?? (For the records, he hardly ever gave more than 2-3 stars to a movie unless it had SHAHRUKH). If these people themselves can’t make a good movie then how they can criticize someone else’s product??

 

A few CRITICS like RAJA SEN and MAYANK SHEKHAR act as if they were born in AMERICA, not INDIA. As if, they've always seen HOLLYWOOD movies and now, are suddenly exposed to the harsh world of BOLLYWOOD. All they can appreciate from BOLLYWOOD is the so-called PARALLEL OR MEANINGFUL CINEMA.

 

I don’t say it’s wrong to criticize a movie but its high time critics realize, that this is their own industry for GOD’S sake!! The latest example is the outright rejection of 99. Agreed it’s not the best product to come out of Bollywood, but it definitely isn’t as bad as its made out to be. In such adverse times when BOLLYWOOD is bleeding, even small successes can bring a smile on at least a few faces.

 

But WHO CARES? All they care about is sticking to their profession, as if FILMFARE has been announcing the Best Critic award to those who grant the lowest star ratings through out the year.

 

 

 

It’s high time we show some maturity, realize and accept the facts, instead of running away from reality. This is our own industry and every effort in a positive direction can bring us laurels and lots of smiles on many faces :)