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Tag: Bipasha Basu

  • Eros Now to launch three original shows; ties up with Anil Kapoor Film Company

    Eros Now to launch three original shows; ties up with Anil Kapoor Film Company

    MUMBAI: As India’s digital landscape is poised to undergo a renaissance, Eros International’s over-the-top (OTT) platform Eros Now is gearing up to  produce multiple in-house flagship original programmes. Additionally, the platform will also showcase premieres of recently released Bollywood films. 

     

    The Eros Now mobile app for Android and iOS platforms, which will be free for download as of now, has also tied up with Anil Kapoor Film Company to co-produce the Indian adaptation of a popular international sitcom, the name of which will be revealed at a later date.

     

    Eros’ OTT platform will roll out its original content strategy with three ad-free shows namely Khel, The Client and Ponniyin Selvan. These shows will have film-like production values targeted at young Indians, which is the largest demographic of the Indian population. 

     

    Khel is a wicked dark drama featuring an insider’s perspective on the twisted characters that populate the world of cricket and the Indian Premier League. It is directed by Karan Anshuman. On the other hand, Rohan Sippy will helm The Client, which is a thriller based show starring Bipasha Basu as the main character. Ponniyin Selvan is an epic period drama based on a popular Tamil historical novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, which is an in-house production by Eros South. 

     

    Moreover, in a bid to create hype for internet users, Eros Now will also be premiering the latest Bollywood movie Tanu Weds Manu Returns on 19 July even prior to its television release. The other Bollywood movies that are scheduled to stream on the platform are Badlapur, NH10, Shamitabhand Happy Ending amongst others.

     

    Eros Now COO Karan Bedi said, “Eros Now is a premier online application for Android and IOS users, which will feature different genre of movies, TV serials, music albums and releases, that too free of cost. Eros Now’s library has over 1.5 lakh movies, which will be showcased only for the online app users. The app will also feature TV shows of different channels like Colors, Sab, Sony and Pakistani TV channel Hum TV.

     

    While the Eros Now app will be free for now, the company will be building an in-app payment mechanism, wherein users will have to pay for some content that they want to watch exclusively in the near future. These may be movies sans ads or movies in HD quality. The price point will range from Rs 50 – 150, which might include daily, weekly or monthly chargers.

     

    Eros International Plc Group CEO and managing director Jyoti Deshpande said, “Eros Now app has over 19 million users across the country in its pre-launch phase and Eros has done their market survey in which there are 500 million internet users out of which 382 million people are active smart phone users, so as consumption patterns has change globally, Internet entertainment networks have begun to rapidly replace traditional, linear television. It’s our turn now. And I believe that Eros will have the first mover advantage in this space with the strength of its vast content library and dominant market share to further consolidate its leadership position as it reinvents itself from a film studio to a more consumer facing content and digital company in the next phase of growth.”

     

    It may be recalled that recently Asian OTT player HOOQ entered the Indian market and also has plans to introduce original content. On the other hand, Indian broadcasters like Star India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Entertainment Television are also upping their digital strategy by putting their might behind their OTT platforms namely Hotstar, Ditto TV and Sony Liv respectively. With more and more players entering the digital fray, premium content and competitive price points will play a major role in acquiring subscribers as well as raking in the moolah.

  • ‘Alone’ tots Rs 11.4 crore at BO

    ‘Alone’ tots Rs 11.4 crore at BO

    MUMBAI: Bipasha Basu’s sex appeal and skin show does not quite work at the box office as the content and treatment of Alone don’t back her up. A routine horror film with forced scary moments, which fail to scare, the film opens with tepid response.

     

    Not a film for single screens, its magic has limited appeal even at the multiplexes, where it was aimed. Alone has managed to put together collections of Rs 11.4 crore in its opening weekend with Saturday and Sunday showing a symbolic growth over its opening day.

     

    Sharafat Gayee Tel Lene took home a few lakhs with poor performance at the box office. Crazy Cukkad Family followed suit at the box office, its investment being total waste of resources.

     

    I (dubbed but promoted as the Hindi version) gets better response than all other films of the week though the collections remain at below average levels as South actors and films don’t find ready takers in the Hindi market. The film has collected about Rs 6.5 crore over the weekend including paid previews on Thursday.

     

    Tevar, with its adverse reports and weak opening, ends the first week with uninspiring figures. The film collects Rs 33.15 crore. Not much is expected in its second week.

     

    Coming at the end of its run at the box office, Ugly adds Rs 60 lakh to its second week to take its three week tally to Rs 8.4 crore.

     

    On the other hand, the Aamir Khan starrer PK, which is directed by Rajkumar Hirani, remains rock steady in its fourth week. The film collects Rs 12.5 crore and takes its four week tally to Rs 324.2 crore.

  • ‘Alone’: Better left alone

    ‘Alone’: Better left alone

    MUMBAI: Alone has two selling points: First, it is directed by Bhushan Patel (Ragini MMS 2). Second, it stars Bipasha Basu, who exudes enough sex appeal for the audience of the voyeur kind, a mandatory ingredient in a contemporary horror films.

    Inspired by the 2007 Thai film of the same name, the movie is shot in Kerala to make it visually appealing. Bipasha plays a double role. She and her twin sister have promised to always stick by each other. Bipasha has to rush home to Kerala with her husband, Karan Singh Grover, when her mother meets with an accident. Her return takes her into past memories about her dead twin.

    Soon Bipasha starts experiencing a strange phenomenon. She feels the presence of her dead sister. Only she can feel this. She explains her situation to Karan but he thinks this is because she is missing her sister. However, Karan takes Bipasha to a psychiatrist friend who thinks it is beyond science. The couple then indulge in romance and songs.

    Producer: Panorama Films

    Director: Bhushan Patel

    Cast: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh Grover, Zakeer Hussain

    The mandatory Babas claiming to get rid of ghosts and spirits and other such mumbo jumbo included, what the film never does is scare you. This is because it has nothing new to show. All this and much better stuff has preceded Alone. What actually happens is that the supposedly scary scenes only make you laugh.

    Those who made it to the cinema halls after watching the promos will not find in the film what they saw in promos. There are some intimate scenes and a lot of skin on display from both, Bipasha as well Karan but, again, nothing that a seasoned moviegoer has not seen before.

    In an effort to Indianise a borrowed foreign film, the length stretches to 133 minutes, which is a tad too long for a ‘scary’ movie. The film has some good numbers in Katra katra…. and Chaand aasman se lapataa.. but  they do lessen the impact of a scary film.

     Direction is average with no spark. The script can aptly be described as loose. One thing the film needed was some sharp editing. The belief that low light can make a horror film more effective, even if true, does not work here.

     With little scope, the performance by Bipasha is fair while Karan is there just for his body mass.

     Alone is mediocre fare with no drawing power as far as its stars go.

    ‘Crazy Cukkad Family’: That’s not entertainment!

    Crazy Cukkad Family is like a stage play, implausible but zany. It is more like a farce. It is about a family, which does odd things and may remind you of the 2007 film, Buddha Mar Gaya, starring Anupam Kher. The film is about a dysfunctional family of four siblings, all failures. To give a contemporary touch, one of them is gay.

    Producer: Prakash Jha

    Director: Ritesh Menon

    Cast: Swanand Kirkire, Shilpa Shukla, Kushal Punjabi, Siddharth Sharma, Kiran Karmarkar, Ninad Kamat

    Swanand Kirkire, Shilpa Shukla, Kushal Punjabi and Siddharth Sharma gather at their grand family home when their father slips into his third coma. Hoping this once he does not regain conscious, all four are keen to know what is for them in their filthy rich father’s last will. The four have their own traits; they need the money for various reasons. There is no family feeling or love for each other. Before the will can be read, a condition applies: for inheritance, all four have to be married. The siblings devise their individual ways out of this condition.

    While all four are failures in their respective lives, they try to conceal this fact from others. However, they can’t hide their real standing from each other for long as each kin’s secret is out.

    The father has no long term plan to remain in coma or to kick the bucket. He soon regains consciousness only to reveal that in the old filmy style, he has bequeathed all his wealth to the ‘wafaadar’ servant of the house. However, the servant is not selfish and asks his boss to leave his all for the children on the condition that they spend time with him every year!

    Even in this 90 minute farce, the makers needed a narrator who interrupts at regular intervals to explain to the viewer what is happening: either they think the viewer is dumb or they know their inability to let the script and the visuals do their job.  It is a passé theme further marred by bad scripting. Resultantly, the debutant director, Ritesh Menon, is totally at sea. The film boasts of an item number, Sexywala pakoda, in an otherwise mundane music score. Swanand Kirkire emerges the best while Shilpa Shukla is fair. The rest pass muster. Crazy Cukkad Family is a lost cause.

  • Emami ropes in Kangana Ranaut as brand ambassador

    Emami ropes in Kangana Ranaut as brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: The FMCG major, Emami, has taken a relook at the competitive body lotion category, with the launch of the all-new BoroPlus Total Results Moisturising Lotion. The body lotion is expected to drive the winter sales and bolster the growth momentum of Rs 400 crore BoroPlus portfolio which contributes significantly to the company’s overall turnover.

     
    The company has signed actor Kangana Ranaut for the new product. The company believes that the actor with the rare combination of mass and niche appeal epitomises an independent-minded modern woman and essentially a beauty with brains—a trait which resonates with the TG of the brand.   

    Talking about her association with the brand, Ranaut said, “I am thrilled to be associated with BoroPlus, an iconic brand that is synonymous with protection. Hailing from a small-town in Himachal Pradesh, I am well aware  of the havoc which winters can create to one’s skin. After all these years, I have finally got a body lotion which combats 8 signs of dryness effectively making the skin look luminous and glowing. BoroPlus Total Results Moisturising Lotion is now my answer to all my winter woes.”

    Emami director Priti A Sureka said, “Winter Lotion is a category on a high growth path, both in urban and rural centres, with more than 800 crore in value sales in 2013-14. The category being populated with many players, competition is cut-throat. We have reworked on the overall capability by infusing new advanced product formulations, packaging etc which will deliver heightened customer satisfaction. The all-new BoroPlus Total Results Moisturizing Lotion differentiates itself through its efficacy of treating 8 signs of dryness, thus offering total results.  Kangana, with her rare combination of mass and niche appeal across urban and semi urban cities gels well with our brand persona and is a perfect choice as one of our brand ambassadors…”

    The brand endorsers’ list of brand BoroPlus has a legacy of star power of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonakshi SInha and Bipasha Basu.

    The launch of BoroPlus Total Results Moisturising Lotion would be supported by a 360 degree integrated communication, including digital media.  Directed by White Light Moving Pictures,   a TVC featuring Kangana Ranaut will go on air soon this month.  The campaign would be supplemented by a formidable modern trade and point of sales approach to connect with customers nationally along with print, outdoor and digital promotions.

     

  • ‘Finding Fanny’ wins at the BO

    ‘Finding Fanny’ wins at the BO

    MUMBAI: Creature 3-D has not been appreciated. At 135 minutes, the film is found to be rather too long and taxing for a horror film with repetitive sequences. The makers have got carried away with their newfound creature.

     

    The film opened to poor response and failed to improve on Saturday and Sunday. While its main face, Bipasha Basu, is out of favour with the audience, the Pakistani actor, Imran Abbas Naqvi, failed to make an impression. Also, 3-D is no more a novelty. It ended its opening weekend with Rs 10.7 crore. Not very encouraging.

     

    Finding Fanny (English with dubbed Hindi version) did well at select multiplexes at major metros. In fact, it has done better than the other releases of the week, Creature 3-D. Deepika Padukone has proved to be the main attraction as well as the sustaining star in this film. The film has collected Rs 16.8 crore for its first weekend.

     

    Mary Kom has remained below par despite much hype and gone the way most sports biopics do: mostly ignored. The film managed to collect Rs 42.2 crore in its first week, the drop having started after the opening weekend.

     

    Raja Natwarlal proves to be a nonperformer at the box office with the audience rejecting the routine, run of the mill Emraan Hashmi fare dished out on regular basis. The film, which opened to poor response continued to be so through first week and, then, adding a mere Rs 2.75 crore in its second week to take its two week total to Rs 23.75 crore.

  • ‘Humshakals’…Dumbshakals

    ‘Humshakals’…Dumbshakals

    MUMBAI: In Humshakals, Sajid Khan tries to do one better on the Royal bard, William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s one of the earliest plays was Comedy Of Errors, a play about two sets of identical twins. That was a short play about mistaken identity. On a mistaken notion that he can do better than Shakespeare, Sajid makes a film about a set of three identical sets of people who are not related. They are not separated at birth twins or triplets; they are just identical. Having taken this suicidal step, Sajid goes on to create a comedy.

     Sajid has had a successful debut and follow-up in his rise as a director of films from a standup comedian of a kind who regaled in running down film folks on TV. He had a great start with Heyy Babyy! Followed by Housefull and Housefull2. Disaster caught up with him soon after when he delivered a dud in the remake of 1983 Jeetendra hit, Himmatwala; he made the mistake of trying to better it.

    This time he makes the mistake of trying to improve on Shakespeare and that is quite a task. Gulzar presented a fairly decent version of the Shakespeare story in Angoor in 1982 where he had the advantage of two among the best artistes playing lead roles in Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma.

    Saif Ali Khan is Ashok and Riteish Deshmukh is Kumar, both childhood friends. Like Ashok is the ward of a Tata or Birla kind of family whose father is in coma and the business empire is left to him to handle. His hobby is to gather people over free drinks and tell them PJs. It does not matter that he is an heir to an empire, he still wants to be known as a standup comedian. Actually, if that has nothing to do with the film’s script thereafter, nothing or no sequence has relevance. Sajid Khan just tries to put together a feature film of 159 minutes together with whatever content he comes across, relevance being immaterial.

    Producer: Vashu Bhagnani.

    Director: Sajid Khan.

    Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Tamannaah Bhatia, Esha Gupta, Satish Shah.111

    So, Humshakals goes on to being one marathon jamboree of poor jokes, sick jokes, dated jokes and no jokes at all. And, the film is shot in UK where even the whites speak Hindi dutifully, an asylum has Indian attendants and doctors and it is India Raj in UK, a sort of payback for the British Raj in India.

    If Angoor had great talents in Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma handling two roles each, here we have two limited actors in Saif and Riteish trying to better them with three each. Yes, not to forget Ram Kapoor. I mean, how many nails can you add to a coffin?

    Till most of the first half, the film has one Saif and one Riteish after which another pair is added, both with same names and the third comes in the form of a villainous doctor’s handiwork who gives a face change to two of his assistants. Mercifully, the writer director are a easy with three Ram Kapoors, introducing them gradually.

    What do these three humshakals do? They do buffoonery in the absence of scope for showing any histrionics. But, even in buffoonery, Satish Kaushik takes the cake as he excesses by all accounts as even Akash Khurana joins in at the end. The three girls, Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta and Tamannaah Bhatia remain at the director’s back and call to make an appearance when he can’t think of anything else.

    There is nothing such a script here but just an attempt to put together gags which, sadly, are dated and PJs. Direction is juvenile. Music is poor with no song carrying appeal. The use of foreign locations is not justified.

    There is nothing that works for Humshakals and, this rather costly film, will be a big jolt for its investors.

  • Saif Ali Khan to speak in Gujarati in ‘Humshakals’

    Saif Ali Khan to speak in Gujarati in ‘Humshakals’

    NEW DELHI: Sajid Khan’s films are always known for their out and out comic content and his spur full wit. His upcoming film Humshakals is just an addition to his list of this condominium films. Based on the concept of comedy tripled, audiences are going gung ho to see the glimpse of this comedy flick.

     

    Humshakals has an elaborate star cast comprising Saif Ali Khan, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta and Tamannah.

     

    What we hear is that, Saif Ali Khan will be seen speaking in Gujarati in the film fluently and some glimpse of it will be seen in the trailer as well. In fact, it was Saif himself who decided to experiment with his accent for his role to add the comic twist in the film.

     

    This is for the second time he will be seen playing a Gujarati in a film. He had played a Gujju boy in Kal Ho Na ho.

     

    “Saif had to learn Gujarati little more fluently, and since it is not that difficult a task he started to talk to everyone on the sets in Gujarati,” said a source close to the production team. 

     

    Produced by Fox Star Studios and Pooja Entertainment, Humshakals is directed by Sajid Khan and is all set to release on 20 June.

  • BoroPlus ropes in Bollywood diva Bipasha Basu

    BoroPlus ropes in Bollywood diva Bipasha Basu

    MUMBAI: One of India’s leading FMCG major, Emami has roped in Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu for BoroPlus. The sultry diva will be endorsing a new face wash range of BoroPlus which is going to be launched soon.

    The glam quotient of the brand BoroPlus has got a major shot-in-the arm with the joining of Bipasha Basu to its brand wagon of celebrities. The brand endorsers’ list already boasts of star power of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

    On the occasion of this announcement, Emami director Priti A. Sureka said, “Emami has been associated with Bipasha Basu for its Vasocare brand. Now, it is our privilege to get associated with her for another – the power brand BoroPlus. Bipasha is synonymous with beauty, glamour and talent and we feel that her personality will complement the brand image of BoroPlus.  It is also a big boost for the brand to have on board two Bollywood divas Kareena and Bipasha along with the star power of the legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan.”

    BoroPlus Antiseptic Cream is backed by the combined star power of Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, while Kareena also endorses BoroPlus Advanced Moisturising Lotion.

    The Rs 400 crore Boroplus portfolio currently comprises brands-for-all-seasons:  BoroPlus Antiseptic Cream, Boroplus Advanced Moisturizing Lotion and BoroPlus Prickly Heat Powder.  

    BoroPlus is India’s largest selling antiseptic cream with 74 per cent market share and is also the highest selling antiseptic cream in Ukraine, Russia and Nepal. BoroPlus Antiseptic Cream has grown at a healthy CAGR of 12 per cent in last three years.

  • Bipasha Basu in Sajid Khan’s Humshakals

    Bipasha Basu in Sajid Khan’s Humshakals

    MUMBAI: Sajid Khan is now gearing up for his upcoming comic caper Humshakals. The latest addition to this film is Bipasha Basu, who was last seen in Aatma. Besides Basu, Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Ram Kapoor will be playing triple roles in the movie.

     

    While Tamannaah Bhatia has been paired opposite Saif, Bipasha will play Riteish’s love interest. Other details about the characters in the film have still been kept under wraps.

     

    Humshakals is produced by Vashu Bhagnani and Fox Star Studios and is expected to go on floor from September.

     

    Sajid Khan started his directing career with Heyy Babyy and followed it up Housefull and Housefull 2. His recent Ajay Devgn starrer Himmatwala remake bombed at the Box-Office.

  • Box Office: Jolly LLB benefits from weak releases

    Box Office: Jolly LLB benefits from weak releases

    MUMBAI: Bipasha Basu and Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer horror movie Aatma collected Rs 51 million over its opening weekend. There is expected to be a massive drop in collections from today as the Hindi belt is immersed in the Holi mood already.

    Jackky Bhagnani’s south Indian remake Rangrezz has been rejected as the first weekend collections show. The film has managed to collect just Rs 34 million.

    Makrand Deshpande’s directorial venture starring Naseeruddin Shah Sona Spa found no takers.

    Jolly LLB made the most of its open run and its stars whose presence usually promises fun. It benefitted in its second weekend due to poor oppositions and collected Rs 52 million over the week. The film netted Rs 187.5 million from its 10-day run.

    Mere Dad Ki Maruti sustained in some parts, doing better in the North. It collected Rs 81.2 million in its first week.

    3G collected Rs 55 million in its first week.

    Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster dropped drastically in its second week to collect Rs 29 million. It has netted Rs 207 million in 17 days.

    Ram Gopal Verma’s The Attacks of 26/11 collected Rs seven million in its third week taking its total to Rs 139 million.

    Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che collected Rs 18 million in its fourth week to take its tally to Rs 475 million.

    Special 26 collected Rs five million in its sixth week to take its total to Rs 703.5 million.