ITV

Category: Hindi

  • Simran: Ill-defined

    Simran: Ill-defined

    Gujarati NRI family or a Gujarati abroad seems to be the current theme for filmmakers. We recently had Jab Harry Met Sejal and this week has seen the release of Simran. 

    Simran is about a Gujarati family settled in the US that consists of a mother, a father and a daughter. The daughter, KanganaRanaut, is a divorcee and, mainly, a rebel without a cause. She works at a hotel in the housekeeping department. Her job is the usual – making beds and cleaning room, but, she is particular about calling her job as one in housekeeping department; that probably gives it dignity according to her. Still, she does not think much of her father’s business of vending Gujarati savouries. 

    Kangana is always at loggerheads with her father except, of course, when she needs a favour, especially monetary help. While her father and mother are keen on getting her married again, her priority is to move out to a place of her own. She has been saving for a new house due to which her contribution to the household is nil.

    Asked to accompany her cousin to Vegas, she agrees. Her cousin has a rendezvous planned with her boyfriend there.Deciding to leave her cousin alone with her man, she wanders into a casino. On the bar counter she spots a handsome man and decides to hit on him. As the hunk goes to a gambling table, she follows him there where she meets another Gujarati who encourages and teaches her to gamble. 

    Kangana has that customary beginners luck, wins some money and immediately decides cater to some urges to buy a dress and other things. And, she is back to the gambling table. The beginners luck has worn out and she starts losing and, like most gamblers, wants to one more go finally also losing her savings. The casino loans her money, 32,000 dollars! 

    Kangana’s troubles have started. Since her savings are finished, her credit rating falls and her application for a loan for her new home is denied. The gun totting black collector for the casino is at her back, threatening all the time. 

    To lay her hands on money, Kangana decides to rob banks. Her three attempts are successful but, strangely, no bank seems to have 50,000 dollars which she now owes to the casino including interest. Kangana loses her job when the black casino collector comes to her workplace. To add to her troubles, the stolen money which she kept in her locker in the hotel changing room is also gone.

    Kangana decides on one final robbery.

    In the meanwhile, she has come close to the guy her family has chosen, takes a liking to him as well. But, it is also the time for her troubles to climax. 
    The film’s story does not quite convince a viewer. There is no logic to the protagonist’s behaviour. Her attitude, way of life and thinking are not identifiable. The walking into a bank and scaring the teller enough to hand over all the money on a lipstick inscribed threat chit seems easier than cashing a cheque in any bank! For one who never cares for the feelings of her father or the saamaj which he often cites, it is strange that she decides to lead the police away from the population lest the samaaj sees her. The direction of the movie is passable but has taken too many liberties. The cinematography is good as the US locations provide ample scope. Using Gujarati dialogue frequently does not help the cause with other audiences as has been seen in earlier films that have resorted to a regional language. The music works well for the film.

    This is purely a KanganaRanaut vehicle with other actors being incidental. She excels. Soham Shah in a small role is sincere. 

    Simran has had a poor opening. The chances of picking up are dim during this dull period.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Shailesh R Singh, Amit Agarwal.
    Director: Hansal Mehta.
    Cast: KanganaRanaut, Soham Shah.
     

  • Lucknow Central…Script of convenience

    Lucknow Central…Script of convenience

    Lucknow Central has its inspiration from some foreign films. The titles acknowledge that it was inspired by Healing Hearts –the story is of a band promoted by a jail superintendent at a Lucknow jail with inmates. Whatever the source, the film has a similar storyline to the recently released film from Yash Raj Films, Qaidi Band, which had its inspiration from the life of Machang Lalung, a man who spent 52 years in jail without facing a trial.

    The basic plot in both the films is the same. A few inmates are asked by a politician to form a music band to showcase the good work being done by authorities to rehabilitate prisoners. But, the inmates want to use the opportunity to escape from jail.

    Farhan Akhtar is a small town UP lad who loves to sing and aspires to form his own music band someday. He cuts a CD of his music, and, during a public rally, he tries to reach out to the chief guest, Manoj Tiwari, to hand over his CD but is pushed back by a government official. His CD is stepped upon and trampled.

    On the way back, Farhan observes that the same official’s car has broken down. He offers to help but makes fun of him and drives off. Unfortunately, for Farhan, this official is found murdered at the same spot.

    Farhan is picked up the next morning and, in a speedy trial, consigned to life imprisonment which is later challenged by vested interests seeking capital punishment for him. The latter part is not necessary to carry on the story as such.

    Independence Day and the Republic Day are celebrated in jails with active participation of the inmates and a minister uses the occasion to gain some photo-ops. The Chief Minister of the state, Ravi Kissen, wants the jail in Lucknow to have its own band for the forthcoming celebrations and competition between all the jails from the state. The task to put together a band is handed to Diana Penty, a social worker.

    Farhan convinces her that only he can make a band in Lucknow Jail. He is transferred from Moradabad Jail to Lucknow Central Jail. Farhan’s plan is to use the celebrations when all jail authorities will be busy to escape from the jail.

    Of course, his entry to Lucknow Central has some usual sequences one has been seeing in jail scenes for ages. There are groups and people who call the shots and dominate other inmates. Farhan is invited to join one group, and, when he refuses, he is made to suffer. But, soon his resistance brings the other group, led by Rajesh Sharma, to his side.

    Farhan gets down to forming the band and adds Sharma, Deepak Dobriyal, Inaamulhaq and Gippy Grewal to the band. The band uses its practice sessions to plan their escape.While, the band has the blessings of the CM and the IG of Police, the one against it is Ronit Roy, the jailor who thinks that this jail is his personal fiefdom.

    The jailed inmates who don’t know M of music are singing in tune and unison when Ronit decides to test them. The IG is impressed.

    Lucknow Central is a script of convenience. Anything can happen at the will and whim of the writer. It makes everything look so simple in a heavily guarded jail, especially for those who have the jailor’s evil eyes set on them! For one thing, there are no pleasant moments in the film nor glamour even in passing. Not a presentable face either. Some sequences are unnecessary while some others are stretched. The direction is patchy and predictable. Editing, obviously, is lacking. The cinematography is okay. Production values are average. Music was supposed to be the film’s main theme but it falls short on that count also, with just a couple of its songs being good. But, is a Punjabi song necessary in Hindi films that too in the climax as a bunch of UP jail mates, led by a UPite Farhan, perform a Punjabi number for the UP CM? Choreography, however, is not up to the mark.

    Lucknow Central has nothing to lure the viewers to the cinema.

    Producers: Nikhil Advani, MonishaAdvani, Madhu G Bhojwani.
    Director: Ranjit Tiwari.
    Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Diana Penty, Gippy Grewal, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, Inaamulhaq, RonitRoy, Ravi Kissen, Manoj Tiwari (sp. App).

  • Film entertainment overcame many hurdles, not this time

    Film entertainment overcame many hurdles, not this time

    From the beginning of the Ganesh festival till Diwali, is generally considered a dull period. Even if one discounts the belief that the Shraddha period of 15 days post-Ganesh festival is considered inauspicious for releasing a new film as well as taking up any new venture and so, movie going is the last priority.

    Film entertainment has overcome many hurdles like the introduction of television in India, telecast of films and film based programmes, colour television, video player, CD and DVD, the cricket cups and the IPL. However, it has not been able to overcome this slot of poor run for films.

    Why this misadventure then of not waiting out a couple of weeks for an opportune period for release? Especially, in the case of Poster Boys, which happens to be the debut film for actor turned director, Shreyas Talpade. Also, in consideration was the fact that the film’s performance could have meant a breather for the brothers, Sunny and Bobby Deol, whose careers are in limbo for some time now.

    *Poster Boys, a comedy with rural background, has a kind of old-fashioned touch to it. A remake of the Marathi film, Poshter Boyz, it had gone well with the Marathi audience. But, the cast in the theme limited the film’s business prospects to mainly Hindi belt, leaving out Maharshtra and most of South.

    The film managed poor opening response with the first day figures remaining low at Rs 17 million with Saturday showing only a marginal increase. On Sunday, the film was at its best yet, not good enough at about Rs 30 million as the film managed to collect barely Rs 71 million for its opening weekend.

    *Daddy, a film about the local Mumbai don, Arun Gawli, had some curiosity value mainly because of Arjun Rampal essaying the role of the gangster.

    While, it has been proved that films on dons don’t work be they from Mumbai, UP or Bihar, the film’s drawback was that even in Mumbai, Gawli’s reign was limited to a pocket of Mumbai, this kind of dons existed in just about every area in Mumbai and they were called Dada. If anything that made Gawli come to limelight, it was his enmity with the bigger dons.

    An earlier film on Gwali, Dagdi Chwal, was made in Marathi language and had been dubbed in Hindi. While the original Marathi version did well, the dubbed version failed. Daddy has got the opening that was expected, poor, and just about managed to cross Rs 10 million figure on its day one with a negligible increase on Saturday and Sunday, which did not add up to much. The film closed its opening weekend with Rs 41 million.

    *Badshaho added about 50 per cent of its weekend collection over the next four days taking its first week total to Rs 54.4 million. The film has shown a downward trend during its second weekend.

    *Shubh Mangal Saavdhan maintained steady after its opening weekend, albeit, on the lower figures. The film collected Rs 223 million for its first week.

    *A Gentleman dropped badly in its second week by collecting 73 lakh to take its two week tally to Rs 162.5 million.

    *Bareilly Ki Barfi has added Rs 31 million in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 319 million.

    *Toilet Ek Prem Katha continued to draw footfalls. It added Rs 17 million in its fourth week taking its four week total to Rs 1.284 billion.

  • Mr Kabaadi…is where the film belongs

    Mr Kabaadi…is where the film belongs

    A number of not-so-regular filmmakers try their luck at film production. Their intention may be honest but lack of knowledge about how the film industry works as well as what works with moviegoers usually drowns them.

    Since these newcomers don’t have access to big stars nor would the big stars agree to work with them, they end up making films with whoever is ready to work for money. Such films go unnoticed and the new entrepreneur ends up losing money.

    What is grossly disheartening about Mr Kabaadi is that, it is not only a waste of money but also of a huge talent bank of actors like Om Puri, Annu Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and Brijendra Kala.

    The film has no purpose, no head or tail and depicts total bankruptcy of ideas.

    The role played by Annu Kapoor is that of a ‘kabaadiwala,’ a scrap dealer who suddenly inherits millions. From his shabby basti and his equally poor friends, he shifts to a bungalow with three balconies and two wading pools. He has married his kabaadi days love, Sarika, and now has a son and a daughter. Now that he is rich, Annu hates the word kabaadi and does not want anybody to remind him of his past.

    While his daughter is shown to be fairly educated and can converse in English, his son is a fifth standard dropout who has excelled in the business of running a chain of public toilets! (This is the kind of comedy it is, believe it.)

    Annu wants to get his son married but no family would tie the knot with a boy who has a business of toilets. The girl is a rebel and won’t agree to the match her parents find.

    The boy and the girl separately fall in love and this senseless ‘tamasha’ goes on.

    There is no sense talking about performances in this film because, as mentioned earlier. Less said about writing, direction and other aspects of the film, the better.

    Producer: Anup Jalota.

    Director: Seema Kapoor.

    Cast: Om Puri, Annu Kapoor, Sarika, Vinay Pathak and Brijendra Kala.

  • Poster Boys: Old-fashioned entertainer

    Poster Boys: Old-fashioned entertainer

    Poster Boys is a remake of the 2014 Marathi film, Poshter Boyz. A comedy, the film also carries a social message for men to go for vasectomy as there was no shame in doing so while also not forcing only women to take that responsibility.

    The characters played by Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Shreyas Talpade are three individuals from different walks of life.

    Sunny is an ex-army man and a ‘chaudhary,’ the head of the house and much respected in the locality. Bobby, a schoolteacher, is a henpecked husband and a father of two daughters. Bobby’s wife is known to throw tantrums at the end of which walks off to her ‘maika.’ So much so that the driver and conductor on the bus to her village are also familiar with the couple.

    The role played by Shreyas is a footloose young man, using strong-arm tactics working as a loan recovery agent along with his two childhood friends. Shreyas is in love with a girl and plans to marry her.

    Sunny is preparing for his sister’s engagement ceremony but when it is time for the groom and his family, he is told that the match is off and the groom’s family did want to have anything more with Sunny’s family. However, no explanation is forthcoming.

    Similarly, Shreyas’s match is vetoed by the girl’s father but he won’t explain why.

    Bobby faces his usual problem, his wife walks out on him for devising a way to destroy their hope for a son. Bobby is at sea about what she means.

    The three are out when, one by one, they face the cause of their problem and ostracisation by people. They see posted behind a state transport bus a poster with three of them modelling for vasectomy/nasbandi and advocating its virtues. The place the trio comes from, it is like sacrilege, something akin to losing one’s manhood! The trio becomes a butt of jokes and ridicule.

    Of the three, Sunny is the mighty one but opts for peace and logic most of the time; Shreyas is aggressive and ready to fight while Bobby is the shy, xxx kind. The three, on Sunny’s say-so, decide to go to the root of this problem as to how and why their pictures were used, and who is responsible.

    They realize that, in the era of digital cameras, their zest for selfies and posing for pictures has been misused.

    The film is a frame-to-frame remake of its Marathi version, and has a script that cares more for gags. Some characters could have been avoided or given limited footage.

    Direction is fair as Shreyas makes his directorial debut but follows the original to the T. Dialogue and gags are the lifeline and have an impact at places.

    The film has one song by Daler Mehndi from Sunny Deol’s 1999 film, Arjun, that works. The production value is shoddy.

    As for performances, Sunny is restrained and effective. Bobby is awkward at times but that goes with his character. Shreyas has the author -backed role of an extrovert and caters to the gallery.

    Poster Boys is an average entertainer. Having opened below par, it has the weekend to cash in on. The prospects thereafter hold limited hope.

    Director: Shreyas Talpade.

    Cast: Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Shreyas Talpde, Samiksha Bhatnagar,Murli Sharma, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Bharti Achrekar and Randheer Rai.

  • Previous releases continue to rule box office as new releases fail

    Previous releases continue to rule box office as new releases fail

    This has been another week of disappointments. Two new releases in Ajay Devgn starrer Baadshaho and Ayushmann Khurrana’s Shubh mangal Saavdhan, have failed to meet the expectations. Though the films opened with poor response, both got the advantage of Saturday being a Bakra Eid holiday.

    Coming as it came from director Milan Luthria and his regular writer Rajat Arora, one familiar with the trade expected a lot from the film Baadshaho. The film can easily be rated as the worst from the duo. This despite the fact that Milan has directed eight films before this and was a co-producer here. But, alas!

    Shubh Mangal Saavdhan promised little and did just that. Aayushman Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar have not been able to emerge from their initial success. Still passing off the same expressions as acting does not work for either.

    The film could have thrived from the mere contradictions 0f a man used to having fun with other women suddenly discovering at the age of 26 when he meets a girl he loves, that he suffers from an erectile dysfunction!

    Hence, save for the Eid holiday and the baasi Eid falling on Sunday which may help augment the collections, theMonday test will be tough for both the films to live up to.

    *Baadshaho, which opened with a little over Rs 100 million, added a bit on Saturday cashing in on the Eid crowd. The weekend was fair with the post Eid crowd to help as the film collect Rs 354 million for the weekend. The film will find it tough to hold through rest of the week.

    *Shubh Mangal Saavdhan had a poor opening. It gained a little on Saturday and Sunday being Eid weekend, it ended up collecting Rs 133.5 million for its opening weekend.

    *A Gentleman fails badly as the film managed to collect just Rs 155 million in its first week.

    *Babumoshai Bandookbaaz fared poorly and collected Rs 68 million in its first week.

    *Sniff managed to collect about Rs 10 million in its first week.

    *Barreilly KI Barfi holds reasonably well in its second week to collect Rs 73 million taking its two week total to Rs 288 million.

    *Toilet Ek Prem Katha held very well in its third week by collecting Rs 65 million to take its three week tally to Rs 1.267 billion.

    *Mubarakan has added about Rs two million in its fifth week to take its five-week total to Rs 566 million.

  • NFDC to manage International Film Festival of India now

    NFDC to manage International Film Festival of India now

    MUMBAI: International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will no longer be managed by the Directorate of Film Festivals. The information and broadcasting ministry has reportedly transferred operational responsibilities for IFFI to the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

    IFFI, which is considered as one of the top 10 film festivals of the world, will be held from 20 to 28 November at Panaji in Goa. Renowned filmmakers Jahnu Barua and Nagesh Kukunoor had been chosen to head the steering and technical committees respectively for IFFI.

    Earlier, a 40-member preview committee with Vivek Agnihotri as the convenor has been set up to continue the process of shortlisting of films for IFFI.

    Indiantelevision.com had reported that the preview committee for shortlisting films for IFFI which had already seen around 150 films had also been dissolved. These changes have coincided with Smriti Zubin Irani taking on additional charge of the information and broadcasting ministry. The preview committee not merely shortlists films from all entries received, but recommends films for competition section which will then be seen by the International jury, and for the Country Focus section of the Festival.

    The NFDC had earlier invited entries for the 11th edition of NFDC Film Bazaar Co-Production Market. The co-production market is for feature film projects with South Asian themes. The regular deadline for the entries is 7 August 2017 but it has been extended to 21 August 2017. The Bazaar will be held from 20 November 2017, the day the festival opens, and close on 24 November 2017.

  • A rustic comedy and a thriller fail to lift spirits this week

    A rustic comedy and a thriller fail to lift spirits this week

    Baadshaho………..Poor show

    Baadshaho is an action heist film which bases its story in the period after the declaration of the National Emergency in 1975. However for its plot, it takes its inspiration from various English as well as Hindi films where a bunch of daredevils are assigned to hijack an armoured truck full of royal treasure.

    A person, a lookalike of Sanjay Gandhi, is at a party. Also present is the princess, Ileana D’Cruz, of some place in Rajasthan. The privy purses have been withdrawn and now the source of sustenance for the princess is the treasure her ancestors gathered during their reign.

    The Sanjay lookalike has a eye on Ileana and when he makes his advances, she stops him cold by pulling out a family sword.

    The Emergency has been declared and it is time for the bad man to seek his revenge. He orders an army officer to confiscate all of Ileana’s family treasure and also arrest her on the grounds that she failed to declare her assets.

    Ileana has a personal bodyguard, Ajay Devgn, who earlier served under her father and who is the only person her father trusted. She romances Ajay to make doubly sure he remains loyal to her. She asks him to save her treasure which is being transferred in a fool-proof armoured military truck to the bad man’s personal collection.

    Ajay forms a group of four. He enlists Emraan Hashmi and Sanjay Mishra, an expert at opening any safe. The fourth in the group is Esha Gupta, Ileana’s friend.

    All this seems very exciting but the dull part starts when the four get into planning the heist. Ajay and his gang has to contend with men from the army no less, and they have assigned their best commando, Vidyut Jamwal, to protect and deliver the treasure-laden truck to the baddie in Delhi.

    What follows is a chase through the deserted roads of Rajasthan as Ajay, Emraan, Esha and Mishra get in the act to hijack the truck. There are some stunts and some gunfights before they take hold of the truck. The chase has now reverses with Ajay and his group being chased by Jamwal and his men to regain control of the truck. Some more action and some hand-to-hand fight and the final deceit—as Ajay was not the only one Ileana was romancing.

    The story is not convincing and the screenplay is too loose. An action-adventure film needs tense moments which are lacking. Even during the Emergency, one does not expect the army to help a politician, howsoever powerful, to steal somebody’s treasure. And, that an army commando on duty should be leading the theft. The direction lacks the slickness of a usual Luthria film. The film has thankfully avoided too many songs. An old Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan number, Mere Rashke Qamar….has been put to good use here. Cinematography is good but the climax action shot in desert amid a dust storm makes it impossible to see who is fighting who.

    Performance wise, the film is lacking as Ajay Devgn looks mechanical while Emraan is little better. Sanjay Mishra is good as usual. Jamwal dons a wig as big as a helmet and has none of his signature bare-chested fights. Esha Gupta adds the necessary glam angle. Ileana D’Cruz does not fill the personality of a royal.

    Baadshaho is a poor film with some appeal for single screen and poor prospects as a whole.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Kishan Kumar, Milan Luthria.

    Director: Milan Luthria.

    Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Ileana D’Cruz, Vidyut Jamwal, Sanjay Mishra.

    Shubh Mangal Saavdhan………..The title warns!

    Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is one more romantic comedy set in UP. The arranged marriages are said to tie two families and the extended families are meant to respect each other while also maintaining a kind of distance. The families in this film are a bit different.

    In an effort to give a purpose to the story, the film’s main theme is erectile dysfunction. Ayushman Khurrana is an engineering diploma holder working somewhere in the NCR. He has taken a liking to Bhumi Pednekar and stalks her every day. Yet, he stops short of approaching her and striking up a conversation. Bhumi, on her part, is pleased that a presentable young man is interested in her and, every day, when Ayushman stalks her, she expects him to come and break the ice.

    Finally, when he gathers courage to approach her, a bear from a roadside madari clings to his leg and his mission remains incomplete. The family may look traditional but their thinking is quite contemporary. On his mother’s advice, Ayushman sends a marriage proposal online to Bhumi.

    Both families are happy at the prospects of the wedding of their respective wards. A video conference between both families finalises the rishta.

    Bhumi is happy and  yet disappointed at the sudden development. She did not plan on a sudden arranged marriage. She dreamt of romance; to meet Ayushman, go through the whole process and the excitement of courting, the SMS, the late night chats, before marrying.

    The couple now plans to make up on the romance before the wedding date. And, one fine evening, both get excited and plan to celebrate their honeymoon not waiting for the wedding. To their disappointment, Ayushman realizes that he is not quite up to it (a bit late at age 26). He has a problem of erectile dysfunction. Looks like, he cannot get excited enough. Ayushman tries all the quacks and Bangalibabas to no avail.

    Ayushman is not sure about getting into matrimony anymore but Bhumi is determined. Her contention is that the duo can do a lot of things so what if there is no sex. Soon, Ayushman’s problem is known to everybody. The rest of the film tries to thrive on that but does not quite manage it. For the sake of comedy, the girl’s and boy’s parents trade blames, exchange insults, stopping just short of coming to blows.

    The writers seem to be in a hurry to introduce the erectile dysfunction angle and see the whole film through on that ‘ace’ in their script. So, that happens soon into the film even before the plot develops or before whiling away some footage on romance, song and dance.

    The erectile problem should have served its purpose had it been introduced best at the break of the first half. For, after springing early, there is nothing left to lift the film. The comedy situations are forced and you do not know who is doing what and to what end! The outcome is a farce.

    There is nothing much to say about the performances of the lead pair, Ayushman

    Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar. The supporting cast has some talented lot who give a good account of themselves. Direction is below par. The film is only 105 minutes in duration but, lacking substance, seems too long. Cinematography is okay. Musically, Kanha….has some appeal. Dialogues provide some pleasant moments at times.

    Opened with poor response, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan offers little in the name of comedy.

    Producers: Aanand L Rai, Krishika Lulla.

    Director: R S Prasanna.

    Cast: Ayushman Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Brijendra Kala.

  • Films’ miscalculated releases & no face or value

    Films’ miscalculated releases & no face or value

    Four films releasing in one week, all lacking in face value with no star who can pull the audience and worst of all, the wrong period to release, bang on the day the Ganesh Festival started.

    Ganesh festival has never been the right time to release a film and expect people to flock to cinema halls. This festival which was celebrated as a public event in Maharashtra mainly with some influence till Surat in Gujarat, and Baroda and Indore both having considerable Maharashtrian population being erstwhile Maratha states and, a part of Karnataka.

    Now, the festivities are almost pan India and catching up. Entire Maharashtra celebrates this festival and, now, the celebrations have spread equally across entire Gujarat, MP, Karnataka and heading towards other parts of India.

    To add to the miscalculated release, the Ram Rahim court ruling made matters worse as it just about ruled out people in the two states of Haryana and Punjab as well as the parts of Delhi venturing out to watch a movie.
    Considering the quantum of punishment to the accused baba, there is little hope of moviegoers stepping out in the affected areas. Then, there are flood situations in parts of East to contend with.

    Here is the gory picture:

    *A Gentleman, an unlikely title which failed to convey anything what the film was about, backfired. If you don’t have enough imagination to name your film, why go ahead and make one at all? Don’t know who uses this word gentleman anymore!

    The film opened badly and remained almost stagnant on day two, Saturday. The film showed a marginal increase on Sunday to end its opening weekend with Rs 113 million.

    *Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, an odd title for an all-India audience, again shows lack of imagination. The film goes haywire within minutes after its start. It starts with the Vividh Bharati signature tune playing and Kishore Kumar songs on the air but, soon, shifts to the mobile phone era! Nobody ages in this film and you don’t know where it is all happening.

    A total bankruptcy of ideas, the film managed to cross the Rs 10 million on the opening day, nothing changed on day two and day three as the film collected Rs 35 million for its opening weekend.

    *The fact that the company with a sound background and pedigree, Yash Raj Films should release its all new star cast, Qaidi Band, during the Ganpati Festival, showed a lack of acumen. The film had nothing going for it anyways so why this hasty release? The fact that the film carried the dreams of many newcomers, it deserved a better exploitation.

    The film hovered around Rs 3-million figure over its first weekend and can be called the worst failure from Yash Raj Films who, when they make such economical films, are known to cash in from various sources while also creating a library.

    *Sniff is poor as collections remained poor at about Rs 4 million for the first weekend.

    *Bareilly Ki Barfi falls short of its target as the poor opening took its toll and the film showed only a marginal improvement over its first weekend even as the collections started diminishing as the new week began. The film ended its first week with Rs 165 million.

    *Partition: 1947 (Hindi-Dubbed) meets with a disastrous outcome managing to collect just about Rs 7 million in its opening week.

    *Toilet Ek Prem Katha adds a handsome Rs 266 million in its second week taking its two-week tally to Rs 1.2 billion.

    *Mubarakan collected Rs 11 million in its fourth week taking its four-week total to Rs 564 million.

  • A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky: Dream native and act Hollywood

    A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky: Dream native and act Hollywood

    The title of the film needs some elaborate explaining. A film’s title says a lot about the film. When did you last hear somebody use the word Gentleman? It is a phrase from history, the British era. And, what is more, does the title say anything at all about the film? It does not, nothing at all.

    A Gentleman seems to be a film inspired from all the popular action movies from the late 20th Century James Bond, Bourne Identity and such. The idea is to dream native and act Hollywood.

    Director-duo Raj and Dk’s films like Go Goa Gone and Shor in the City are mostly made on alien themes. A Gentleman is also one of those where there is action galore, justification be damned.

    The character of Sidharth Malhotra, living in Miami, works for a force called National Security Council, headed by the character of Suniel Shetty. Though dealing in violence, at heart he is a simple man with simple dreams of having a home and family. He wants to settle down with his love played by Jaqueline Fernandez, to a quiet life and bring up kids! As the film’s tagline says, he is Sundar, Susheel, Risky.

    Towards this end, Sidharth plays a simple man, Gautam, with no hint of his other side as the undercover operative, Rishi. He wants to get out of this business to live a tranquil life. But, the Group and Shetty won’t let him. He will be hunted down by Shetty’s men. What follows is mayhem. It is the stylish, Bond kind of action with guys dressed in tuxedos spraying bullets.

    The flavour is that of a light comedy as dialogues laced with humour are thrown around. It is mainly all about Sidharth and Jacqueline hanging around driving fast cars and pole dancing.

    Being a Hollywood type film made by Indians, the location is the picturesque Miami, the style is like a Bond film. Humour and action are the mainstay of the film. The emphasis is on style rather than content.

    The direction is slick. Cinematography captures the locations very well. But, stretching a film on such a genre, with not yet established faces, to 133 minutes takes its toll. Things get monotonous. The film could have done with some trimming. Songs don’t help much.

    Sidharth passes the sartorial test but is yet to polish up his performance. Jacqueline provides the glamour quotient. Shetty gets little worthwhile to do.

    Amit Mistry and Hussain Dalal make their presence felt. Rajit Kapoor and Supriya Pilgaonkar are okay.

    A Gentleman has not been able to arouse any curiosity through its pre-release promotions while the title is also uninspiring. Faces poor prospects.

    Producer: Fox Star Studios.

    Directors: Raj and D K.

    Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Suniel Shetty, Darshan Kumar, Hussain Dalal, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Rajit Kapur.