Category: Hindi

Bollywood supports Govt’s Pak policy; pleads for ongoing projects

NEW DELHI: The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd today expressed “genuine concern of all those film producers who have invested heavily in films featuring artistes from across the border.”

Even as it expressed unflinching support to the Central Government and solidarity with the Armed Forces on their supreme sacrifice at Uri during the recent counter-terrorism operations, it noted there had been some discourse in the media recently with regard to certain threats to disrupt the release of these movies.

The Guild, which represents most of the active Hindi film producers, said there were many producers who had either already shot their films or were in the process of completing their unfinished films prior to the escalation of hostilities with Pakistan, including Karan Johar’s soon to be released film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ which has also been certified by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC).

Similarly, there are many other films which are scheduled to be released in months ahead including ‘Dear Zindagi’ and ‘Raees’ which also feature artistes from across the border.

Guild President Mukesh Bhatt said, “The Guild in no uncertain terms confirms that the film industry stands in unison with the Government’s recent steps to counter terrorism and will naturally abide by decision with regard to government’s policy on issuance of work visa to foreign artistes. We would however urge the government to appreciate that the film producers who have already shot their films or are in the process of completing their unfinished films should not end up paying heavy price for no fault of theirs.”

He further added: “The Central Government has taken several steps in the past to foster cultural exchanges by inviting industry representatives to participate in the Government’s efforts to improve our relationship with Pakistan”.

Meanwhile, the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India President Nitin Datar has requested all theatres to ban Karan Johar’s film which stars Pak actor Fawad Khan, who was also seen in ‘Kapoor and Sons’ and earlier in ‘Khoobsoorat’ opposite Sonam Kapoor .

October 14, 2016
MotuPatlu: King Of Kings (3D)…….Kid stuff

MotuPatlu: King Of Kings (3D) is India’s own homebred animation film featuring characters of the popular Hindi comic strip of the same name that features in Lot Pot magazine.

Motu and Patlu are brothers, one fat and one thin, who have this tendency of getting involved in odd situations. There has been a fire in the circus and, the lion, Guddu Ghalib, runs for his life. Guddu and Motu Patlu come face to face when the escaped lion lands up in their town, Furfuri Nagariya. Not knowing what to do, they realize that this is a vegetarian lion munching on carrots and radish, they cage him to take him to a jungle and set it free among other animals. They have now become friends with Guddu.

Meanwhile, in the jungle, the marauders led by Narsimha, have descended to loot the goldmine. But, before they dig the mines, they have to contend with, Singha, the ferocious lion king of the jungle who enjoys following of all animals. After a long fight between Narsimha’s man and Singha, the latter is killed. The villains are now free to loot the gold.
Motu and Patlu don’t want the jungle to be ransacked which would displace all the animals. They try to convince Guddu to take Singha’s place and lead the animals in a fight with the villains. But, Guddu is reluctant because he knows that he is a tamed lion good enough only for a circus and not to fight villains who are well equipped with modern arms.
However, one war song by Motu Patlu and the rest of the animals and Guddu is ready to fight. A long fight ensues where the animals together with Motu Patlu and Guddu rout the evil-doers.

The fact that this is an all Indian project may be a matter to rejoice, but Motu Patlu comes across as the only small kids’ stuff unlike Hollywood cartoon films which have proved to be popular with all age-groups over a period. Being limited in substance, the film stretches itself too thin with runtime of 110 minutes. The 3D effect makes no difference except being an added attraction.

Motu Patlu: King of Kings may find a better market on video circuit.

Producers: Ketan Mehta, Deepasahi, Anish JS Mehta.

Direction: Suhas D Kadav.

Cast-voices: (Voices) Vinay Pathak (Guddu), SouravChakraborty (Motu, Patlu, Dr. Jhatka, Chingam, Ghaseta).

Anna…Once upon a time…

Anna Hazare hogged the national headlines and TV time on a daily basis just a few years ago. He was a man with a mission and had taken it upon himself to fight corruption and make public servants answerable to people. Having started his movement in his native village of Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), he made it to a national level crusader. He followed Gandhian ways of protest to make authorities act.

The biopic starts with school going Kishan Baburao Hazare, played by Shashank Udapurkar, (later to be called Anna the term used for an older brother in Maharashtra) the way M K Gandhi earned the honour of being addressed as Bapu.

Anna has not done his homework and, to escape punishment, lies to teacher that he did his homework but left it at home. The teacher sends him home to fetch his homework, Anna wants his mother to accompany him to school and explain the fact to the teacher. His mother advises Anna to confess and never lie again. This lays the foundation of values in young Krishna Hazare who went on to be regarded as Anna to a whole nation.

The Indian Army was on a recruiting spree. With the fervour of patriotism high, Anna too volunteered. Though disqualified due to his physical attributes, the army, in the need of every extra hand, took him. This was 1960. After surviving 1965 Indo Pak war on the border where his other colleagues were killed, followed by another close shave in Nagaland, Anna was convinced that he was spared death for a purpose.

On his way back after his term with the army, Anna picks up a book by Swami Vivekanand which becomes his inspiration; his mind has been made up. He decides to spend rest of his life serving people. Literature on Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave add to his resolve.

Anna starts his journey to save the way of life of the people in his village. He funds the rebuilding of the local temple from his army savings. He later takes on the building of a lake in the village to save his people from vagaries of rains. He later takes on other issues like setting up a school, regular supply of electricity for the farmers, setting up a grain bank and banishing alcohol from his village. Wherever simple approach does not work, he resorts to the Gandhian way of ‘Fast until Death’.

With successes in his district, Anna’s attention was not focused on corruption on state level in Maharashtra. His first movement against corruption in the state 1991 took place in Mumbai which followed many more causes including the most noticeable Right to Information Act that Anna took up.

Having created a mass following, Anna’s next movement was the Lokpal Bill in Delhi; the passage of this Bill is where the film ends. The film avoids mention or the rise of a new political setup, Aam Aadmi Party, under the umbrella of Anna which changed the politics of Delhi. That is something Anna himself may not be happy with and is not known to have taken up any cause to fight for since.

The script follows a linear narration which feels like reading a book. It barely touches the parts where Anna became a national figure. This makes the film a totally local affair. The film has a Marathi native feeling all through and, save for the language, it could well be a Marathi film.

There is little deviation or imagination at use when it comes to treatment.
Shashank Udpurkar does a good job of imitating Anna’s mannerisms but does not fit into the frame and persona of Anna who still graces the visual media on and off. Anna as a film is an outcome of its maker’s personal conviction.

Producers: Manindra Jain, Shobhit Kumar, Shekhar Kumar, Uddipt Jain, Aniruddha Gaikar.

Director: Shashank Udapurkar.

Cast: Shashank Udapurkar, Tanishaa Mukerji, Govind Namdeo, Rajit Kapur, Sharat Saxena,
Kishor Kadam.

Saat Uchakke…RIP comedy!

Saat Uchakke follows a simple formula: bring together a bunch of oft-seen character artistes, all bad apples, and let them loose on the screen till as long as they can last. The story idea is that they all nurse bad intentions in that want to make money without toil. Dimwitted otherwise, their only tool of trade is choicest of desi cuss words.

The place is the innards of Old Delhi where Manoj Bajpayee polishes metal antique-look statues to make a living and also cater to the needs and desires of his lady love, Aditi Sharma. Manoj aspires to start his own business for which he keeps borrowing money against his aspirations. Since his aspirations never materialize, he is on the lookout for ways to make a quick fortune.

The basti where Manoj works and lives is an open house in that everybody knows what the other is up to. In midst of the locality is an old haveli occupied by dewan, Anupam Kher. How he got possession of the palatial haveli is suspect. But, the word is out that haveli is a storehouse of a treasure worth millions and Manoj is very interested. But, such plans as Manoj’s have a way to spread. Soon, there are seven people on board to share the loot.

Having defaulted on his last loan, Manoj decides to do something about the wealth in the haveli. He confides into Aditi and his loyal sidekick. The locality also has a police station where the cop, K K Menon, rules the roost. Menon is also a suitor for Aditi. If there is one reason why he would like to see Manoj behind bars, it is to give him a free run with Aditi. This time Menon has put Manoj behind the bars for a fight in the area.

Ina hurry to execute his plan, Manoj escapes. Since he can’t be seen in the same area, he changes his look to that of a Sikh.

The gang of seven is now ready to strike and embark on the haveli. What follows in the name of comedy is cacophony and buffoonery.
The film looks promising as it moves through its first half but as the characters are added to the proceedings, it goes haywire. Not much to say about technical aspects. As for actors, Manoj Bajpayee is convincing. Aditi Sharma impresses. Kay Kay Menon is good. Anupam Kher and Annu Kapoor are both loud and overact. Vijay Raaz thrives on filthy language as if that was a way to get better of the other actors; he irritates.

Producers: Wave Cinemas, Crouching Tiger, Shital Bhatia.

Director: Sanjeev Sharma.

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Annu Kapoor, Vijay Raaz, Aditi Sharma.

October 14, 2016
MotuPatlu: King Of Kings (3D)…….Kid stuff

MotuPatlu: King Of Kings (3D) is India’s own homebred animation film featuring characters of the popular Hindi comic strip of the same name that features in Lot Pot magazine.

Motu and Patlu are brothers, one fat and one thin, who have this tendency of getting involved in odd situations. There has been a fire in the circus and, the lion, Guddu Ghalib, runs for his life. Guddu and Motu Patlu come face to face when the escaped lion lands up in their town, Furfuri Nagariya. Not knowing what to do, they realize that this is a vegetarian lion munching on carrots and radish, they cage him to take him to a jungle and set it free among other animals. They have now become friends with Guddu.

Meanwhile, in the jungle, the marauders led by Narsimha, have descended to loot the goldmine. But, before they dig the mines, they have to contend with, Singha, the ferocious lion king of the jungle who enjoys following of all animals. After a long fight between Narsimha’s man and Singha, the latter is killed. The villains are now free to loot the gold.
Motu and Patlu don’t want the jungle to be ransacked which would displace all the animals. They try to convince Guddu to take Singha’s place and lead the animals in a fight with the villains. But, Guddu is reluctant because he knows that he is a tamed lion good enough only for a circus and not to fight villains who are well equipped with modern arms.
However, one war song by Motu Patlu and the rest of the animals and Guddu is ready to fight. A long fight ensues where the animals together with Motu Patlu and Guddu rout the evil-doers.

The fact that this is an all Indian project may be a matter to rejoice, but Motu Patlu comes across as the only small kids’ stuff unlike Hollywood cartoon films which have proved to be popular with all age-groups over a period. Being limited in substance, the film stretches itself too thin with runtime of 110 minutes. The 3D effect makes no difference except being an added attraction.

Motu Patlu: King of Kings may find a better market on video circuit.

Producers: Ketan Mehta, Deepasahi, Anish JS Mehta.

Direction: Suhas D Kadav.

Cast-voices: (Voices) Vinay Pathak (Guddu), SouravChakraborty (Motu, Patlu, Dr. Jhatka, Chingam, Ghaseta).

Anna…Once upon a time…

Anna Hazare hogged the national headlines and TV time on a daily basis just a few years ago. He was a man with a mission and had taken it upon himself to fight corruption and make public servants answerable to people. Having started his movement in his native village of Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), he made it to a national level crusader. He followed Gandhian ways of protest to make authorities act.

The biopic starts with school going Kishan Baburao Hazare, played by Shashank Udapurkar, (later to be called Anna the term used for an older brother in Maharashtra) the way M K Gandhi earned the honour of being addressed as Bapu.

Anna has not done his homework and, to escape punishment, lies to teacher that he did his homework but left it at home. The teacher sends him home to fetch his homework, Anna wants his mother to accompany him to school and explain the fact to the teacher. His mother advises Anna to confess and never lie again. This lays the foundation of values in young Krishna Hazare who went on to be regarded as Anna to a whole nation.

The Indian Army was on a recruiting spree. With the fervour of patriotism high, Anna too volunteered. Though disqualified due to his physical attributes, the army, in the need of every extra hand, took him. This was 1960. After surviving 1965 Indo Pak war on the border where his other colleagues were killed, followed by another close shave in Nagaland, Anna was convinced that he was spared death for a purpose.

On his way back after his term with the army, Anna picks up a book by Swami Vivekanand which becomes his inspiration; his mind has been made up. He decides to spend rest of his life serving people. Literature on Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave add to his resolve.

Anna starts his journey to save the way of life of the people in his village. He funds the rebuilding of the local temple from his army savings. He later takes on the building of a lake in the village to save his people from vagaries of rains. He later takes on other issues like setting up a school, regular supply of electricity for the farmers, setting up a grain bank and banishing alcohol from his village. Wherever simple approach does not work, he resorts to the Gandhian way of ‘Fast until Death’.

With successes in his district, Anna’s attention was not focused on corruption on state level in Maharashtra. His first movement against corruption in the state 1991 took place in Mumbai which followed many more causes including the most noticeable Right to Information Act that Anna took up.

Having created a mass following, Anna’s next movement was the Lokpal Bill in Delhi; the passage of this Bill is where the film ends. The film avoids mention or the rise of a new political setup, Aam Aadmi Party, under the umbrella of Anna which changed the politics of Delhi. That is something Anna himself may not be happy with and is not known to have taken up any cause to fight for since.

The script follows a linear narration which feels like reading a book. It barely touches the parts where Anna became a national figure. This makes the film a totally local affair. The film has a Marathi native feeling all through and, save for the language, it could well be a Marathi film.

There is little deviation or imagination at use when it comes to treatment.
Shashank Udpurkar does a good job of imitating Anna’s mannerisms but does not fit into the frame and persona of Anna who still graces the visual media on and off. Anna as a film is an outcome of its maker’s personal conviction.

Producers: Manindra Jain, Shobhit Kumar, Shekhar Kumar, Uddipt Jain, Aniruddha Gaikar.

Director: Shashank Udapurkar.

Cast: Shashank Udapurkar, Tanishaa Mukerji, Govind Namdeo, Rajit Kapur, Sharat Saxena,
Kishor Kadam.

Saat Uchakke…RIP comedy!

Saat Uchakke follows a simple formula: bring together a bunch of oft-seen character artistes, all bad apples, and let them loose on the screen till as long as they can last. The story idea is that they all nurse bad intentions in that want to make money without toil. Dimwitted otherwise, their only tool of trade is choicest of desi cuss words.

The place is the innards of Old Delhi where Manoj Bajpayee polishes metal antique-look statues to make a living and also cater to the needs and desires of his lady love, Aditi Sharma. Manoj aspires to start his own business for which he keeps borrowing money against his aspirations. Since his aspirations never materialize, he is on the lookout for ways to make a quick fortune.

The basti where Manoj works and lives is an open house in that everybody knows what the other is up to. In midst of the locality is an old haveli occupied by dewan, Anupam Kher. How he got possession of the palatial haveli is suspect. But, the word is out that haveli is a storehouse of a treasure worth millions and Manoj is very interested. But, such plans as Manoj’s have a way to spread. Soon, there are seven people on board to share the loot.

Having defaulted on his last loan, Manoj decides to do something about the wealth in the haveli. He confides into Aditi and his loyal sidekick. The locality also has a police station where the cop, K K Menon, rules the roost. Menon is also a suitor for Aditi. If there is one reason why he would like to see Manoj behind bars, it is to give him a free run with Aditi. This time Menon has put Manoj behind the bars for a fight in the area.

Ina hurry to execute his plan, Manoj escapes. Since he can’t be seen in the same area, he changes his look to that of a Sikh.

The gang of seven is now ready to strike and embark on the haveli. What follows in the name of comedy is cacophony and buffoonery.
The film looks promising as it moves through its first half but as the characters are added to the proceedings, it goes haywire. Not much to say about technical aspects. As for actors, Manoj Bajpayee is convincing. Aditi Sharma impresses. Kay Kay Menon is good. Anupam Kher and Annu Kapoor are both loud and overact. Vijay Raaz thrives on filthy language as if that was a way to get better of the other actors; he irritates.

Producers: Wave Cinemas, Crouching Tiger, Shital Bhatia.

Director: Sanjeev Sharma.

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Annu Kapoor, Vijay Raaz, Aditi Sharma.

October 14, 2016
No trick in the book worked on screen

MUMBAI: *The week’s major release, Mirzya, seems to have started on a wrong note in that, the posters designs as well as promos of the film did not quite manage to raise curiosity. If at all, they gave out a sort of negative vibes about the film. That the Navratri festival and the pre-Diwali period are never known to draw crowds to cinemas. Owing to these factors, the film had a very poor opening response. The reports from the early watchers only added to the problem as these went against every aspect of the film. The new romantic pair, both from the pedigree stock, failed to create the magic needed for a launch vehicle.

The film had a poor run on day one at the box office managing to put together less than Rs 2 crore with the Saturday figures dropping marginally while Sunday remained stagnant. The film collected just Rs 5.2 crore for its first weekend. That spelt disaster for the film.

*Tutak Tutak Tutiya in which Sonu Sood decided to play the hero, a super star at that, was not a very bright idea. To add to that confidence, Sonu also danced through the film instead of letting the master dancer, Prabhu Deva, do it. Also, this comic horror film provided none of the two really.

The film met with a poor response all over with its collections remaining in lakhs. It collected Rs 2.15 lakh in its opening weekend.

*M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, after an excellent weekend, could manage to sustain only at top-rung multiplexes. The film faced a major drop at single screens with some exhibitors at B Class single screen centres even losing the MGs paid. The rest of the four days could muster only a third of its opening weekend as the film collected Rs 82.6crore in its first week.

*Banjo ran out of steam at the end of its first week run as it could collect a mere Rs 10 lakh in its second week taking its two week total to Rs 7.7 crore.

*Parched collected Rs 2.5 lakh in its second week to take its two-week total to Rs 1.45 crore.
*Days of Tafree: In Class Out Of Class collected Rs 10 lakh in its second week to take its two-week tally to Rs 1.85 crore.

*Pink has remained steady in its third week with collection figures of Rs 6.4 crore taking its three-week tally to Rs 65.3 crore.

October 10, 2016
No trick in the book worked on screen

MUMBAI: *The week’s major release, Mirzya, seems to have started on a wrong note in that, the posters designs as well as promos of the film did not quite manage to raise curiosity. If at all, they gave out a sort of negative vibes about the film. That the Navratri festival and the pre-Diwali period are never known to draw crowds to cinemas. Owing to these factors, the film had a very poor opening response. The reports from the early watchers only added to the problem as these went against every aspect of the film. The new romantic pair, both from the pedigree stock, failed to create the magic needed for a launch vehicle.

The film had a poor run on day one at the box office managing to put together less than Rs 2 crore with the Saturday figures dropping marginally while Sunday remained stagnant. The film collected just Rs 5.2 crore for its first weekend. That spelt disaster for the film.

*Tutak Tutak Tutiya in which Sonu Sood decided to play the hero, a super star at that, was not a very bright idea. To add to that confidence, Sonu also danced through the film instead of letting the master dancer, Prabhu Deva, do it. Also, this comic horror film provided none of the two really.

The film met with a poor response all over with its collections remaining in lakhs. It collected Rs 2.15 lakh in its opening weekend.

*M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, after an excellent weekend, could manage to sustain only at top-rung multiplexes. The film faced a major drop at single screens with some exhibitors at B Class single screen centres even losing the MGs paid. The rest of the four days could muster only a third of its opening weekend as the film collected Rs 82.6crore in its first week.

*Banjo ran out of steam at the end of its first week run as it could collect a mere Rs 10 lakh in its second week taking its two week total to Rs 7.7 crore.

*Parched collected Rs 2.5 lakh in its second week to take its two-week total to Rs 1.45 crore.
*Days of Tafree: In Class Out Of Class collected Rs 10 lakh in its second week to take its two-week tally to Rs 1.85 crore.

*Pink has remained steady in its third week with collection figures of Rs 6.4 crore taking its three-week tally to Rs 65.3 crore.

October 10, 2016
Mirzya…Dud with a thud!

MUMBAI: Mirzya is a fantasy, romantic, thriller as the tagline describes it. The inspiration is claimed to be the folk story of Mirza Sahiban which is one of the four Punjabi love stories popular to date in local folk. As with others, the love story of Mirza Sahiban made it to folklore mainly on the strength of its tragic ingredients.

To start with its descriptions, Mirzya is neither a fantasy nor a thriller and, when it comes to love, it backfires on just about every count — be it depth or chemistry. As an inspiration from Mirza Sahiban, it does injustice to the folklore. The film runs on two tracks, that of the folklore and the other being the maker, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s contemporary version. To what avail a viewer is at loss to know.

In a small town in Rajashthan, Harshvardhan Kapoor’s character goes to the same school as Saiyami Kher’s, the daughter of a policeman played by Art Malik. The two are inseparable and share a bond. Once the teacher asks Kapoor to submit his homework which he does but the teacher can make out that it is copied from Saiyami’s notes. When he wants to compare the two, just to save Kapoor from teacher’s lashes, she lies and says she has not done her homework. The lashes are for her now as is the school’s tradition. At every lash that Saiyami bears, her winces make Kapoor lose his mind. He steals Malik’s pistol and shoots the teacher.

Consigned to a children’s home, he does not plan to stay there for long. He has to go back to Saiyami. He breaks out but, as it happens in films, Saiyami has left the town with her father not to come face to face with Kapoor any time soon.

Time has elapsed and Saiyami is returning from wherever she was all these years. She is engaged to the local prince, Anuj Chaudhry. Her father is now the commissioner of police and fit enough for a family bonding with royalty headed by K K Raina. Rajasthan may be old-fashioned when it comes to traditions but Saiyami makes the palace her home where she is being trained in to the royal ways. Her first lessons are in horse riding and, guess who the stable head is? Kapoor, of course.

Soon, as if on cue, Saiyami starts rattling to Kapoor the story of her childhood and the boy she knew who cared very much for her. The love is rekindled. Saiyami, who just a few scenes back was coochie-cooing with her fiancé, Anuj, is now in love with Kapoor.

The romance of Kapoor and Saiyami blossoms with no holds barred as they romp around town, its forts and the countryside. There are no prying eyes, no gossip. So what if Saiyami is the royalty’s bahu to be? That is till the time the duo plans to elope. Eloping is always reserved for the wedding day and, in keeping with the tradition, Saiyami has escaped while her groom, Anuj, waits for the rituals to start.

Mirzya starts off with a deceptive title; the name has nothing to do with any character in the film. It is just an attempt to give the film a pretentious air. The love story of star-crossed lovers offers no novelty even if branded after Mirza Sahiban. Scripting is poor. The direction borders on mediocre. Dialogue lacks the required feel (Raina even mouths his dialogue in Punjabi!). Lyrics writing is uninspiring which reflects on soulless songs. The one positive in the film is its cinematography.

As for performances, a newcomers’ love story hinges majorly on the chemistry between the lead pair which is totally lacking in this film. Kapoor and Saiyami both lack screen presence and, as far as acting talent goes, they have a long way to go. Anuj is the one who does a sincere job. Rest fill the bill. MIrzya is one of the poorest films to hit the screen in recent times.
Producers: Rohit Khattar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, P.S. Bharathi, Rajiv Tandon.

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Cast: Harshvardhan Kapoor, Saiyami Kher, Anuj Choudhry, Anjali Patil, Om Puri, Art Malik, K. K. Raina.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya…Nothing to sing and dance about!

Tutak Tutak Tutiya (also made in Tamil as Devi and Telugu as Abhinetri) is a comedy film with a touch of horror to its story. As such, the film features actors whose faces are well recognized by the southern India audience. It has a blend of south and Hindi film actors with the Hindi actors being ones who have done a number of films in southern languages.

The character of Prabhu Deva (used to be Dheva for a while) has settled in Mumbai to make a living and made progress from a dispatch boy to a decent post. He is recalled to his native place in Kerala because his grandmother is on her deathbed.

Once in his village, the grandmother now wants to see him married to a nice girl. After seeing a dozen or so girls, the grandmother approves of Tamannaah. Deva is a habitual proposal maker. He approaches every single but English-speaking girl in sight and always carries his CV printout.

Coming back as a married man, Deva keeps pretending he is still single for this is not the kind of girl he had in mind for marriage. After all, she is a village girl and can’t speak English!
Deva shifts into a rented house with his new bride. Tamannaah surprises him on many counts as against his expectations, she can speak fluent Hindi and also cook the dishes he desires. But, the biggest surprise she springs on him is when he takes her along for a film awards function where he suddenly sees her on stage in trendy short dress dancing like a star and later also joins Sonu Sood, the award function’s best actor award winner, over drinks. She even speaks English now!

Deva can’t figure out what got into his wife because next morning she does not remember a thing from the night before. To add to Deva’s troubles, Sonu is besotted by Tamannaah and wants her to do a film with him. Deva is trapped because he does not want anybody to know he is married to Tamannaah.

Tamannaah not only keeps alternating between a simple village girl to a modern-day city girl who also agrees to do a film with Sonu. When she is his village-bred wife, she is comely, homely and caring while, otherwise, she is aggressive, bent on acting and there is no way can Deva stop her.

That is when the touch of supernatural comes in. The house they have shifted into was earlier occupied by a girl called Ruby, an aspiring actor who was signed for a film against Sonu but dropped at the last moment leading her to suicide. Her ghost gets into Tamannaah to fulfill her desire to act.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya had a good idea going for it but somewhere on the writing table, it has not been expanded on sincerely. The comedy lacks in this comic film. The direction is average. Music does not meet the requirements of a film counting on dances; the songs lacking in popular appeal.

Dialogue is good at places but too subtle. Editing-wise, the second half needs some trimming. Deva looks fresher but disappoints his fans as he has few dancing moments in the film. Sood dancing in his stead is no consolation and shows it is not his forte. Tamannaah does very well. Murli Sharma shines.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya has no drawing power and will make the list of also rans.

Producers: SonuSood.

Director: Vijay.

Cast: Prabhu Deva, SonuSood, Tamannaah, Murali Sharma, Amy Jackson, Esha Gupta and Farah Khan in guest appearance.

October 7, 2016
Mirzya…Dud with a thud!

MUMBAI: Mirzya is a fantasy, romantic, thriller as the tagline describes it. The inspiration is claimed to be the folk story of Mirza Sahiban which is one of the four Punjabi love stories popular to date in local folk. As with others, the love story of Mirza Sahiban made it to folklore mainly on the strength of its tragic ingredients.

To start with its descriptions, Mirzya is neither a fantasy nor a thriller and, when it comes to love, it backfires on just about every count — be it depth or chemistry. As an inspiration from Mirza Sahiban, it does injustice to the folklore. The film runs on two tracks, that of the folklore and the other being the maker, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s contemporary version. To what avail a viewer is at loss to know.

In a small town in Rajashthan, Harshvardhan Kapoor’s character goes to the same school as Saiyami Kher’s, the daughter of a policeman played by Art Malik. The two are inseparable and share a bond. Once the teacher asks Kapoor to submit his homework which he does but the teacher can make out that it is copied from Saiyami’s notes. When he wants to compare the two, just to save Kapoor from teacher’s lashes, she lies and says she has not done her homework. The lashes are for her now as is the school’s tradition. At every lash that Saiyami bears, her winces make Kapoor lose his mind. He steals Malik’s pistol and shoots the teacher.

Consigned to a children’s home, he does not plan to stay there for long. He has to go back to Saiyami. He breaks out but, as it happens in films, Saiyami has left the town with her father not to come face to face with Kapoor any time soon.

Time has elapsed and Saiyami is returning from wherever she was all these years. She is engaged to the local prince, Anuj Chaudhry. Her father is now the commissioner of police and fit enough for a family bonding with royalty headed by K K Raina. Rajasthan may be old-fashioned when it comes to traditions but Saiyami makes the palace her home where she is being trained in to the royal ways. Her first lessons are in horse riding and, guess who the stable head is? Kapoor, of course.

Soon, as if on cue, Saiyami starts rattling to Kapoor the story of her childhood and the boy she knew who cared very much for her. The love is rekindled. Saiyami, who just a few scenes back was coochie-cooing with her fiancé, Anuj, is now in love with Kapoor.

The romance of Kapoor and Saiyami blossoms with no holds barred as they romp around town, its forts and the countryside. There are no prying eyes, no gossip. So what if Saiyami is the royalty’s bahu to be? That is till the time the duo plans to elope. Eloping is always reserved for the wedding day and, in keeping with the tradition, Saiyami has escaped while her groom, Anuj, waits for the rituals to start.

Mirzya starts off with a deceptive title; the name has nothing to do with any character in the film. It is just an attempt to give the film a pretentious air. The love story of star-crossed lovers offers no novelty even if branded after Mirza Sahiban. Scripting is poor. The direction borders on mediocre. Dialogue lacks the required feel (Raina even mouths his dialogue in Punjabi!). Lyrics writing is uninspiring which reflects on soulless songs. The one positive in the film is its cinematography.

As for performances, a newcomers’ love story hinges majorly on the chemistry between the lead pair which is totally lacking in this film. Kapoor and Saiyami both lack screen presence and, as far as acting talent goes, they have a long way to go. Anuj is the one who does a sincere job. Rest fill the bill. MIrzya is one of the poorest films to hit the screen in recent times.
Producers: Rohit Khattar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, P.S. Bharathi, Rajiv Tandon.

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Cast: Harshvardhan Kapoor, Saiyami Kher, Anuj Choudhry, Anjali Patil, Om Puri, Art Malik, K. K. Raina.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya…Nothing to sing and dance about!

Tutak Tutak Tutiya (also made in Tamil as Devi and Telugu as Abhinetri) is a comedy film with a touch of horror to its story. As such, the film features actors whose faces are well recognized by the southern India audience. It has a blend of south and Hindi film actors with the Hindi actors being ones who have done a number of films in southern languages.

The character of Prabhu Deva (used to be Dheva for a while) has settled in Mumbai to make a living and made progress from a dispatch boy to a decent post. He is recalled to his native place in Kerala because his grandmother is on her deathbed.

Once in his village, the grandmother now wants to see him married to a nice girl. After seeing a dozen or so girls, the grandmother approves of Tamannaah. Deva is a habitual proposal maker. He approaches every single but English-speaking girl in sight and always carries his CV printout.

Coming back as a married man, Deva keeps pretending he is still single for this is not the kind of girl he had in mind for marriage. After all, she is a village girl and can’t speak English!
Deva shifts into a rented house with his new bride. Tamannaah surprises him on many counts as against his expectations, she can speak fluent Hindi and also cook the dishes he desires. But, the biggest surprise she springs on him is when he takes her along for a film awards function where he suddenly sees her on stage in trendy short dress dancing like a star and later also joins Sonu Sood, the award function’s best actor award winner, over drinks. She even speaks English now!

Deva can’t figure out what got into his wife because next morning she does not remember a thing from the night before. To add to Deva’s troubles, Sonu is besotted by Tamannaah and wants her to do a film with him. Deva is trapped because he does not want anybody to know he is married to Tamannaah.

Tamannaah not only keeps alternating between a simple village girl to a modern-day city girl who also agrees to do a film with Sonu. When she is his village-bred wife, she is comely, homely and caring while, otherwise, she is aggressive, bent on acting and there is no way can Deva stop her.

That is when the touch of supernatural comes in. The house they have shifted into was earlier occupied by a girl called Ruby, an aspiring actor who was signed for a film against Sonu but dropped at the last moment leading her to suicide. Her ghost gets into Tamannaah to fulfill her desire to act.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya had a good idea going for it but somewhere on the writing table, it has not been expanded on sincerely. The comedy lacks in this comic film. The direction is average. Music does not meet the requirements of a film counting on dances; the songs lacking in popular appeal.

Dialogue is good at places but too subtle. Editing-wise, the second half needs some trimming. Deva looks fresher but disappoints his fans as he has few dancing moments in the film. Sood dancing in his stead is no consolation and shows it is not his forte. Tamannaah does very well. Murli Sharma shines.

Tutak Tutak Tutiya has no drawing power and will make the list of also rans.

Producers: SonuSood.

Director: Vijay.

Cast: Prabhu Deva, SonuSood, Tamannaah, Murali Sharma, Amy Jackson, Esha Gupta and Farah Khan in guest appearance.

October 7, 2016
Cinepolis expands to G. Noida; to invest Rs 800 crore

NEW DELHI: India’s first international and world’s fourth largest movie theatre chain Cinépolis has opened its five-screen multiplex at The Grand Venice Mall in Greater Noida (Delhi NCR). The tally of Cinépolis multiplexes in the city now stands at 29 screens across eight properties in the National Capital Region.

This five-screen Cinépolis property can accommodate up to 851 movie goers, at a time. The theatre will run 22 daily shows, which will comprise a mix of the best of Bollywood, Hollywood and regional content.

Cinépolis is one of the first properties to start operations at The Grand Venice Mall located off the Yamuna Expressway. This, first of its kind mall, is inspired and themed after the picturesque city of Venice, situated 15 minutes from Noida. The Noida and Greater Noida belt is an affluent one, with a huge demand for luxury entertainment.

The seventh organic opening of the year, this brand is steadily adding screens across various cities. With the launch of this latest multiplex in NCR, Cinépolis stands strong at 274 screens across 41 cities in India. Cinépolis has now become the fastest growing multiplex chain across India.

Cinépolis India MD Javier Sotomayor, said, “We have aggressive expansion plans which include investment of up to Rs 800 crore over the next six years. The aim is to become one of the top three players in the Indian exhibition space in the next 3-4 years.”

Cinépolis India director-expansion Ashish Shukla said, “This new cinema will expand our current NCR circuit from 24 to 29 screens. We have 70-plus screens planned to be opened in the Delhi NCR Region in the next couple of years.”

Cinépolis India director–India strategic initiatives Devang Sampat said, “Our theatres are equipped with the best sound and projection systems to provide the most intimate atmosphere for the movie-goers, coupled with RealD 3D technology for best 3D experience.”

Mall owner Satinder Singh Bhasin said, “Cinépolis team has a very clear vision of consolidating its presence in India.”

In future, the exhibition market would consolidate and only three to four big players would remain in the business, according to Sotomayor, quoted in Mint earlier. Cinepolis would continue to add screen in metro markets as well as tier II and III cities. As to whether it would adopt a different strategy for the price sensitive non-metro markets, Sotomayor replied in the negative.

October 4, 2016
Cinepolis expands to G. Noida; to invest Rs 800 crore

NEW DELHI: India’s first international and world’s fourth largest movie theatre chain Cinépolis has opened its five-screen multiplex at The Grand Venice Mall in Greater Noida (Delhi NCR). The tally of Cinépolis multiplexes in the city now stands at 29 screens across eight properties in the National Capital Region.

This five-screen Cinépolis property can accommodate up to 851 movie goers, at a time. The theatre will run 22 daily shows, which will comprise a mix of the best of Bollywood, Hollywood and regional content.

Cinépolis is one of the first properties to start operations at The Grand Venice Mall located off the Yamuna Expressway. This, first of its kind mall, is inspired and themed after the picturesque city of Venice, situated 15 minutes from Noida. The Noida and Greater Noida belt is an affluent one, with a huge demand for luxury entertainment.

The seventh organic opening of the year, this brand is steadily adding screens across various cities. With the launch of this latest multiplex in NCR, Cinépolis stands strong at 274 screens across 41 cities in India. Cinépolis has now become the fastest growing multiplex chain across India.

Cinépolis India MD Javier Sotomayor, said, “We have aggressive expansion plans which include investment of up to Rs 800 crore over the next six years. The aim is to become one of the top three players in the Indian exhibition space in the next 3-4 years.”

Cinépolis India director-expansion Ashish Shukla said, “This new cinema will expand our current NCR circuit from 24 to 29 screens. We have 70-plus screens planned to be opened in the Delhi NCR Region in the next couple of years.”

Cinépolis India director–India strategic initiatives Devang Sampat said, “Our theatres are equipped with the best sound and projection systems to provide the most intimate atmosphere for the movie-goers, coupled with RealD 3D technology for best 3D experience.”

Mall owner Satinder Singh Bhasin said, “Cinépolis team has a very clear vision of consolidating its presence in India.”

In future, the exhibition market would consolidate and only three to four big players would remain in the business, according to Sotomayor, quoted in Mint earlier. Cinepolis would continue to add screen in metro markets as well as tier II and III cities. As to whether it would adopt a different strategy for the price sensitive non-metro markets, Sotomayor replied in the negative.

October 4, 2016
Cricket movie brings in the moolah

MUMBAI: There have been a few biopics made earlier on sport personalities, most with tepid reception with, may be, a couple of them making an impact and sustain at the box office. However, cricket has no barrier between audiences as it enjoys universal following.

To add to the delight of the lovers of cricket, M S Dhoni: The Untold Story tells about the struggles of an aspiring cricketer from a small town middleclass India, M S Dhoni, who went to lead the Indian cricket team on the path of glory. The combination proved just the recipe to draw the viewers. Cricket and Dhoni lovers alike took to the film instantly overlooking all its flaws.

M S Dhoni: The Untold Story opened to an excellent response all over befitting a regular commercial star cast film. The film collected about Rs 20 crore on day one, sustained very well on Saturday with a negligible drop but held on very well on Sunday. Being a solo release after a deluge of mediocre and poor films also helped its cause. The film collected Rs 61.6crore for its opening weekend.

However, the film has shown a noticeable drop today (Monday), especially at single screens. The film was exempt from entertainment tax in UP (200 screens over two months) which may utilized next Friday onwards. Tax exemption is also expected from Delhi government soon.

While the collections match the appreciation the film has earned, the film faces a massive challenge for the status of a commercial success is its huge price tag.

*Banjo, a film about a gully bred Banjo player, suffered due to its outright regional Marathi flavor; the musical instrument as well as the flavor, both lacking all India identity.

However, what this purported musical lacked the most was what it needed the most, music. The film lacked grossly in popular songs. The film met with rejection on the very onset. Having met with a poor response and collecting a mere Rs 4.45 crore for its opening weekend, the film continued with its poor run through the week to collect Rs 7.6 crore for its first week.

*Parched will have to remain contended with the festival circuit as the film has not been able to make an impact at the box office. The film managed just Rs 1.2 crore for its first week.
*Days OfTafree: In Class, Out Of Class, a remake of the Gujarati film, Chhello Divas, goes overboard with its theme of college campus fun, as it depicts the fun few would identify with. The film collected Rs 1.75 crore in its first week.

*DilSala Sanki and Chapekar Brothers fail miserably at the box office.

*Pink makes the most of poor oppositions in its second week and sustains with excellent collections of Rs 22.4 crore to take its two week total to Rs 57.9 crore.

*Raaz: Reboot collets 1.35 crore in its second week taking its two week tally to Rs 24.05 crore.

October 3, 2016