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Tag: Aditya Chopra

  • Sultan…….Means Salman!

    Sultan…….Means Salman!

    The name Sultan fits Salman like a T but the tag of underdog? When was the last time the actor essayed the role of an underdog? Sultan is about wrestling and romance where romance is the cause for wrestling as well as the cause to put an end to it.

    Salman Khan has been the reigning superstar of Hindi cinema since his second film, Maine Pyar KIya, but neither he nor people around him took that status seriously as a result of which, nor did his fans. It is since Wanted (2009) that he has reasserted his status as the top draw which his flowing films consolidated. However, the films so far had Salman fighting others’ wars; for example, Ek Tha Tiger was about patriotism, Bajrangi Bhajan had Being Human as the theme. Sultan is purely personal story and cause for which the hero fights.

    Salman is a waster and romps around his small town of Rewari in Haryana with boys much younger than him. If he is good at anything, it is chasing kites floating towards earth after having lost a dual of survival with another kite. His occupation as such is installing TV discs for his decent clients whose dirty minds extend only till Fashion TV and not porn! As would happen with such lads, he is his father’s main worry and grandmother’s apple of her eye! Salman while chasing a kite has his first encounter with Anushka Sharma and, for him, it is love at first sight. She has studied in Delhi, is a state level women’s wrestling champion and aspires to win an Olympic Gold someday. She finds Salman simple and a fun person and accepts his friendship. His dream is soon shattered when Anushka cuts him down to size making him realize that he did not amount to anything and she was only being friendly to him. As all such lads do, Salman decides to amount to something. Seems like in his town, where every second block houses an Akhada, wrestling is the only source or opportunity for a boy to amount to something. He joins one run by Anushka’s father. Thereafter, Salman’s strides are huge and soon is the champ. Now, Anushka is ready to accept him. While both, Salman and Anushka, are preparing to go to the Olympics, Anushka’s dream ends due to her pregnancy. Salman earns the Olympic medal but loses his head in the bargain. He behaves like a star, become arrogant and also misbehaves with people. While Salman is busy pocketing medals, Anushka delivers and loses her baby. The baby was anemic, needed blood of a very rare group which only Salman had. But, he was away, is blamed for baby’s death and Anushka decides to part ways with him. This is strange as Anushka herself is a sportsperson and would be expected to understand why Salman was away. Here onwards, the film tries to incorporate some commercial ingredients for the love story has lost its shine. Anushka has sulked permanently while Salman has a job and raises money to launch a blood bank in memory of his lost child. This is when Amit Sadh approaches him. He runs pro-fighting, a sort of free style, no holds barred fighting which has little to do with wrestling. However, Salman is talked into joining it. Randeep Hooda, a coach with a hangover of being an American coach shown in such boxing movies first refuses and then, seeing that Salman is the hero of the film, agrees to train him. After initial hurdles and taking some punches, Salman masters this fight genre. The last fight is tough so Anushka decides that Salman needs her support and breaks the ice.

    Sultan is a routine story showing passable scripting. The film sags for a long while at places. Direction complies with the script offering no flash of genius. It is only Salman all the way because of whom, the weak aspects are overlooked by enthusiastic initial audience. The film has good music which blends with the subject. For popular appeal, it has a romantic number, Jag ghoomeya…. Dialogue penned for Salman is claptrap. Editing is slack. Cinematography is good. This a Salman film all the way and his very presence is the savior. He has only Anushka to share his burden with as rest of the cast consists of unfamiliar faces. With the Eid week- Salman combine striking once again, Sultan has drawn unprecedented advance booking in a long time. Having opened today (Wednesday) the film should cash in on the festive period till Sunday.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.

    Director: Ali Abbas Zafar.

    Cast: Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Amit Sadh, Randeep Hooda, Parikshat Sahni.

  • Fan….For Shah Rukh fans

    Fan….For Shah Rukh fans

    Fan is not a usual Shah Rukh Khan film in that it has no romance. While the banner, Yash Raj Films, is more known for their its for great musical scores, Fan has no scope for songs in its story.

    The film is about a superstar, Gaurav Khanna, played by Shah Rukh, and his devoted fan, also played by Shah Rukh.

    The fan is much younger and that look has been generated with the help of special effects. The fan’s life revolves around Shah Rukh and nature has been on his side in that his face bears similarity to that of the star. He is popular in his area as Junior (Shah Rukh), acts and behaves like the star and also imitates Shah Rukh in the local programmes to win prizes. There is not an inch left on the walls of his room which does not have pictures of various sizes and hues of his favourite star.

    The fan’s one ambition is to meet Shah Rukh in person. And, he manages to win a prize of 20k at his area’s festival where he performs. He is the only son and his parents let him indulge in his hero worship. They even help as aides during his performance.

    Having won the money, the fan is now ready to visit Mumbai and his star. The fan wants to follow in the footsteps of Shah Rukh and does whatever he has heard the star do on his first trip to Mumbai, that is to travel without ticket and stay in the same hotel and same room where Shah Rukh stayed. His parents also pack in a box of famous halwa for Shah Rukh.

    Having reached Mumbai and checked into the same hotel room where his idol stayed, he is now ready to visit the star. Once there, he realizes that he is only one of the thousands thronging the bungalow of the star. His attempts to sneak in with the media inside the bungalow fail. The fan has not given up yet. He watches an interview of some new hero who has had a problem with Shah Rukh and got slapped in return. The fan barges into his vanity and forces him to tender an apology to Shah Rukh on record.

    And the apology by the new star makes it to the media. But, in an unexplained way, the exploits of the fan are also recorded and somehow land up on Shah Rukh’s table. Worried that this may harm his image, Shah Rukh gets the fan arrested requesting the police to not put it on record, keep him for a couple of days and then dispatch him off back to Delhi. When they meet, the fan wants Shah Rukh to apologise to him for getting him beaten so badly by the cops which, the star refuses to do.

    The fan has now turned vengeful. He won’t let the star get away without apologising. He now stalks Shah Rukh who is on a show tour of UK to be followed by a dance appearance at a big shot wedding. The fan is one step ahead and does things that would ruin the hero and succeeds so much so that Shah Rukh gets arrested in UK and gets accused of molestation at the wedding tamasha.

    The police have no proof against the fan and it is now left to Shah Rukh to find the fan and put an end to his mischief which is costing him dearly. He tracks down the fan to his home in Delhi when, again, it is the time for the annual festival and for the fan to do his Shah Rukh act. Some gunshots, a chase and a hand to hand follow. Shah Rukh’s problem ends but not the way he wanted and not sure the viewers would want either.

    Fan is a dry film which does not quite manage to take a grip. With just Shah Rukh on the screen in either of his versions, and not much of a supporting cast, it provides no relief of any kind. The fight between two Shah Rukh is not convincing and looks lopsided with the fan looking like a kid being beaten up mercilessly by the star. The climax is not justified. The film needed some more trimming. There are some variations in the look of the Shah Rukh the fan.

    Performance wise, while the star Shah Rukh is his usual self, Shah Rukh the fan is excellent. Sayani Gupta, Yogendra Tiku and Deepika Amin are good in support.

    Fan has had a fair beginning, cashing in on a general holiday (Ram Navami) opening, and has appeal mainly for die hard Shah Rukh Khan fans.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.

    Director: Maneesh Sharma.

    Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tiku,

    Sayani Gupta.

     

  • Fan….For Shah Rukh fans

    Fan….For Shah Rukh fans

    Fan is not a usual Shah Rukh Khan film in that it has no romance. While the banner, Yash Raj Films, is more known for their its for great musical scores, Fan has no scope for songs in its story.

    The film is about a superstar, Gaurav Khanna, played by Shah Rukh, and his devoted fan, also played by Shah Rukh.

    The fan is much younger and that look has been generated with the help of special effects. The fan’s life revolves around Shah Rukh and nature has been on his side in that his face bears similarity to that of the star. He is popular in his area as Junior (Shah Rukh), acts and behaves like the star and also imitates Shah Rukh in the local programmes to win prizes. There is not an inch left on the walls of his room which does not have pictures of various sizes and hues of his favourite star.

    The fan’s one ambition is to meet Shah Rukh in person. And, he manages to win a prize of 20k at his area’s festival where he performs. He is the only son and his parents let him indulge in his hero worship. They even help as aides during his performance.

    Having won the money, the fan is now ready to visit Mumbai and his star. The fan wants to follow in the footsteps of Shah Rukh and does whatever he has heard the star do on his first trip to Mumbai, that is to travel without ticket and stay in the same hotel and same room where Shah Rukh stayed. His parents also pack in a box of famous halwa for Shah Rukh.

    Having reached Mumbai and checked into the same hotel room where his idol stayed, he is now ready to visit the star. Once there, he realizes that he is only one of the thousands thronging the bungalow of the star. His attempts to sneak in with the media inside the bungalow fail. The fan has not given up yet. He watches an interview of some new hero who has had a problem with Shah Rukh and got slapped in return. The fan barges into his vanity and forces him to tender an apology to Shah Rukh on record.

    And the apology by the new star makes it to the media. But, in an unexplained way, the exploits of the fan are also recorded and somehow land up on Shah Rukh’s table. Worried that this may harm his image, Shah Rukh gets the fan arrested requesting the police to not put it on record, keep him for a couple of days and then dispatch him off back to Delhi. When they meet, the fan wants Shah Rukh to apologise to him for getting him beaten so badly by the cops which, the star refuses to do.

    The fan has now turned vengeful. He won’t let the star get away without apologising. He now stalks Shah Rukh who is on a show tour of UK to be followed by a dance appearance at a big shot wedding. The fan is one step ahead and does things that would ruin the hero and succeeds so much so that Shah Rukh gets arrested in UK and gets accused of molestation at the wedding tamasha.

    The police have no proof against the fan and it is now left to Shah Rukh to find the fan and put an end to his mischief which is costing him dearly. He tracks down the fan to his home in Delhi when, again, it is the time for the annual festival and for the fan to do his Shah Rukh act. Some gunshots, a chase and a hand to hand follow. Shah Rukh’s problem ends but not the way he wanted and not sure the viewers would want either.

    Fan is a dry film which does not quite manage to take a grip. With just Shah Rukh on the screen in either of his versions, and not much of a supporting cast, it provides no relief of any kind. The fight between two Shah Rukh is not convincing and looks lopsided with the fan looking like a kid being beaten up mercilessly by the star. The climax is not justified. The film needed some more trimming. There are some variations in the look of the Shah Rukh the fan.

    Performance wise, while the star Shah Rukh is his usual self, Shah Rukh the fan is excellent. Sayani Gupta, Yogendra Tiku and Deepika Amin are good in support.

    Fan has had a fair beginning, cashing in on a general holiday (Ram Navami) opening, and has appeal mainly for die hard Shah Rukh Khan fans.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.

    Director: Maneesh Sharma.

    Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tiku,

    Sayani Gupta.

     

  • YRF casts Anushka Sharma opposite Salman Khan in ‘Sultan’

    YRF casts Anushka Sharma opposite Salman Khan in ‘Sultan’

    MUMBAI: Yash Raj Films has cast Anushka Sharma opposite Salman Khan in the upcoming movie Sultan. 

    The movie, which is slated to release on Eid this year, is produced by Aditya Chopra and written-directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.

     

    Sultan will see Khan essaying the role of a wrestler and the actor has been training with international action director Larnell Stovall for the same.

     

    After being paired opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aamir Khan in PK, this is the first time that Sharma will be sharing screen space with Salman Khan.

     

  • Vaani Kapoor cast opposite Ranveer Singh in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Befikre’

    Vaani Kapoor cast opposite Ranveer Singh in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Befikre’

    MUMBAI: Yash Raj Films’ chairman Aditya Chopra, who will be directing his next film titled Befikre after a hiatus of seven years, has cast actress Vaani Kapoor as the female lead opposite Ranveer Singh.

     

    Kapoor made her film debut in YRF’s Shuddh Desi Romance in 2013, where she starred alongside Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra.

     

    Just like YRF did with Singh – the lead actor of Befikre, it released a video message wherein Kapoor shared her excitement on being part of Chopra’s next directorial venture.

     

    Chopra’s last film was Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008 starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma. He made the Befikre announcement on the eve of his father and veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra’s 83rd birth anniversary on 27 September. According to him, Befikre is his “riskiest” and “youngest” film. The film’s tagline is – “Those who dare to love.”

  • Aditya Chopra casts Ranveer Singh in ‘Befikre’

    Aditya Chopra casts Ranveer Singh in ‘Befikre’

    MUMBAI: Yash Raj Films’ chairman Aditya Chopra has cast actor Ranveer Singh in his next directorial film titled Befikre. The film’s tagline is – “Those who dare to love.”

     

    Chopra will be donning the director’s hat again after a span of seven years. His last film was Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ in 2008 starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma.

     

    YRF unveiled a video that showed Singh on the fourth floor of the studio’s office building. In the video spanning more than three minutes, Singh reveals that he will be part of Chopra’s next movie – Befikre.

     

    It may be recalled that Singh began his acting career in 2010 with YRF’s Band Baaja Baraat, which was directed by Maneesh Sharma.

     

    Chopra made the announcement of his next film on the eve of his father and veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra’s 83rd birth anniversary on 27 September. According to Chopra, Befikre is his “riskiest” and “youngest” film.

  • Punjabi film What The Jatt set for release

    Punjabi film What The Jatt set for release

    NEW DELHI: ‘I took up this film because of my love for the Punjabi language and the beautiful script. If French and Spanish movies can be termed as world cinema, why can our movies not have the same status internationally, especially when there is a strong presence of Indian diaspora all over the world?” said producer Saket Behl on the eve of the release of his film What The Jatt!!

     

     He added that the film deals with a global subject. “’I promise the audience a good experience in the theatres as my film is a complete family entertainer.’

     

     Although What The Jatt!! is Behl’s first Punjabi film, he is not new to the field and has many prestigious feats under his belt.

     

     The highlights of his career range from producing the highly acclaimed Hindi feature film Dhoop to launching Anurag Kashyap as a director with Last Train to Mahakali, a television film that won many awards. Behl also partnered Aditya Chopra on Yash Raj’s ambitious TV project Powder. 

     

     “I have hands down production experience as well as creative knowledge for I have worked with immensely talented names like Aditya Chopra, Sriram Raghavan, Anurag Kashyap and Shivam Nair as a producer,” he said. 

     

     What The Jatt!! stars Harish Verma, Binnu Dhillion, BN Sharma, Vipul Roy and Isha Rekki .The film was shot in one schedule in 24 days in Punjab, thanks to the strong pre-production and a hands down creative crew, Behl said.

     

    Behl is now working on the release of his Hindi film 27.

  • Curtain call for ‘DDLJ’ at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir

    Curtain call for ‘DDLJ’ at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir

    MUMBAI: After a historic 1000 week run, the iconic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) made its final curtain call at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir on 19 February, 2015.

     

     Post the 1000 week celebrations in December last year, the theatre had requested YRF to prepone the DDLJ morning show to 9:15 am instead of 11:30 am as it was becoming difficult for the cinema to accommodate multiple new releases every week with just three regular shows.

     

     YRF obliged from 13 February, 2015. However, while the theatre management was happy to continue the film for as long as it continued to draw in the audiences, owing to logistical issues of their staff having to work inordinately long hours to accommodate an additional early morning show, it was mutually decided to end the films historic and record breaking run.

     

     After playing for 1009 uninterrupted weeks, the films unprecedented performance has come to an end at the Maratha Mandir. The film played out in the 9:15 am today for the last time at the theatre.

     

    The movie, which is directed by Aditya Chopra, stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead along with the late Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik, Mandira Bedi and Parmeet Sethi amongst others.

  • Fall in love 1000 times over with DDLJ on Max2

    Fall in love 1000 times over with DDLJ on Max2

     MUMBAI:  Max 2, India’s iconic Hindi movie channel brings back Indian cinema’s most iconic love story ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ on Friday, 12th December at 8pm with a simulcast on Max. The blockbuster hit of the 90’s is synonymous to channel’s positioning of ‘Kuch filmon ka jaadu kabhi kam nahin hota’. Whilst taking its viewers on a nostalgic trip it also is giving the viewers a chance to relive the moments of the movie by initiating a contest where lucky winners can stand to win memorabilia signed by the stars of the film.

    The trans-continental romance which helped popularize locales like Switzerland was declared an all-time blockbuster and remains the longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema, completing 1000 weeks at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai. Produced by Yash Chopra and written and directed by his son Aditya, the film stars Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in lead roles.

    Commenting on the movie Max & Max 2 Sr. EVP & business head Neeraj Vyas says, “It is a timeless classic which has charmed Indian audiences through the decades and is the reason why it is longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema. We would like to bring this magic alive for our viewers and what better way to do this than have a simulcast of this iconic film on both our channels.”

    Participate in the 1000 weeks celebrations by tuning-in to ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ on 12 December, Friday at 8pm on Max 2 and Max.

     

  • ‘Kill/Dil’… Will too

    ‘Kill/Dil’… Will too

    MUMBAI: The stories of orphan children turning into juvenile delinquents who then graduate to hard core criminals have become rather commonplace. One of YRF’s own recent films, Gunday, is one such example. Here is another.

    Govinda, a don of some sort whose main business is to accept supari killing contracts, finds two tiny tots in a garbage bin. The boys grow up into Ranveer Singh and Ali Zafar. The boys get into petty crimes as soon as they learn to stand on their two feet. They are invincible. Nobody ever catches them or hits back. Soon they also become bullet proof as they take to guns becoming Govinda’s main shooters. 

    When they are not shooting down people out of the blue, they also have lot of fun. After all, they have never let Govinda down and he, on his part, has been generous with them. And, between the assignments they have nothing to do except spend that money. 

    Their home is Delhi and soon the Delhi culture brings them, especially Singh, face to face with his future romance, Parineeti Chopra. At this pub, the duo of Zafar and Singh are guzzling their alcohol when on the dance floor, someone makes a pass at Parineeti who in turn tells him off. The lad pulls a gun on Parineeti giving Singh a chance to save her and drive the villain off. 

     

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.

    Director: Shaad Ali.

    Cast: Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar, Parineeti Chopra, Govinda.

    Romance blossoms between Singh and Parineeti, which Singh knows Govinda won’t approve of. To add to that, for the first time ever, Singh fails to shoot a person he has been assigned to eliminate. While Govinda is livid, Singh’s conscience has caught up with him. He wants to change his ways and lead an honest life to be worthy of Parineeti. For her part, Parineeti has herself given up a career where she could have made enough money to instead take up the challenge of helping ex-convicts settle into a normal life away from crime. He even starts selling insurance policies. Unaware of Singh’s background, this is one more criminal she is helping turn honest. 

    When Govinda is sure Singh is now out of his control, he plays a double game. He asks one of his men to kill Singh while he warns Zafar what is about to happen and also tells Parineeti how she will soon know what Singh’s past is.

    Having found out about Singh, Parineeti now does not want anything to do with him. On his part, Govinda’s purpose has been served as Singh returns to the fold and is ready for his next assignment. But, with Parineeti on his mind, Singh draws his gun but does not manage to fire, giving his victim the chance to shoot at him and receiving a bullet in his back for his efforts. 

    However, not having got a chance to tell his story to Parineeti, Singh has made a disc of his life story and sent it to Parineeti who sobs as she watches it and wants Singh back. 

    Kill/Dil has a weak plot and shoddy script which starts bad and goes on deteriorating as it progresses. By the second half, it is a mess. Direction is lacklustre. Musically, this 127-minute film is crowded with nine songs, probably to make up for lack of content. Photography is not up to the mark. Performance wise, Govinda is good while Zafar is passable. Singh looks funny in his clean-shaven look sans moustache; there is nothing different about his acting from other films. Parineeti’s role is ill-defined.

    Kill/Dil, trying to be a thriller, a romance, and a comedy and fails to deliver on all fronts.