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Tag: Kangana Ranaut

  • Box Office: Kapil Sharma’s debut film rakes in Rs 23.85 crore in opening weekend

    Box Office: Kapil Sharma’s debut film rakes in Rs 23.85 crore in opening weekend

    MUMBAI: TV stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma’s film debut and veteran director duo, Abbas Mustan’s gamble to cast him in a film, has paid off more than expected. Kis Kisko Pyaar Karu opened to an excellent response even as the two other films in contention,Calendar Girls and Bhaag Johnny helped its cause.

     

    Sharma’s debut movie opened to a fantastic Rs 8 crore range on Friday and sustained at the same level on Saturday. The movie managed to peak on Sunday. The film collected Rs 23.85 crore in its opening weekend and has already come into profit soon after its opening weekend considering its cost.

     

    On the other hand, Madhur Bhandarkar’s rehashed idea of Page 3 film, Calendar Girls, has majorly backfired. The film has poor script if there is one, no direction and lacks a purpose. Also, the film cost almost five times to the producer as compared to what the look of the film makes you believe. There is nothing for the investor to look forward to as far as returns are concerned. The film opened to a very poor response and closed its opening weekend with a measly Rs 3.8 crore.

     

    Time Out, a decent film with a youthful appeal, as expected, has gone mostly unnoticed. There was no promotion and awareness created around the film.

     

    Meeruthiya Gangsters fails miserably and collects just Rs 75 lakh in its first week.

     

    Bhaag Johnny, a poorly directed film, has failed badly with lack of face value.

     

    The Kangana Ranaut – Imran Khan starrer Katti Batti has flopped miserably. This was indeed a senseless film with no appeal. Even Ranaut’s popularity could not salvage it. The film, which collected Rs 15.5 crore in its opening weekend, could barely add another Rs 6 crore for the rest of the week, taking its first week total to Rs 21.5 crore.

     

    Hero could add little to its collections with a major drop in its second week earnings. The film collected Rs 2.5 crore in the second week to take its two week total to Rs 31.7 crore, which is poor.

     

    Welcome Back continues to struggle to make it to the Rs 100 crore mark as the film collects Rs 3.3 crore in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 93.9 crore. So close yet so far; it won’t make the mark.

  • ‘Katti Batti:’ Dead loss!

    ‘Katti Batti:’ Dead loss!

    Katti Batti is an attempt to make a contemporary film about love at first sight and the couple deciding to get in to a live-in relationship. If a movie on a live-in relationship is new generation, the germ of the story and the treatment meted out to the film are so old-fashioned, it desensitises your mind and feelings.

    Imran Khan is a student of architecture in Ahmedabad. He is supposed to be a scholar type and to that end the makers add thick-rimmed black spectacles to his look. While walking through the college common passages, he spots some colourful paper birds landing around him. He looks around to see Kangana Ranaut as the maker of the flight of birds. She gestures to say that she is doing it out of boredom in her classroom. While Imran has his name inscribed on his school kit, Kangana has a tattoo printed near her ankle pointing to the anklets she wears to convey that her name is Payal! That establishes she is a trendy girl of today, while he is old school.

    However, Imran is not all that old school for he readily opts for a live-in relationship with Kangana. Imran becomes instantly possessive of her and has a fight with Vivaan Bhatena, a college toughie because he teased his girlfriend aka Kangana. To his chagrin, Kangana informs that the fight was because he happened to be her ex-boyfriend whom she dropped like a hot potato two days after meeting Imran. Imran has a friend who seems to have been pasted on him with Fevicol! At home, at college, at work, so much so that their sexual preferences are questioned. Well, this is the trivia that dominates the contents of this film. 

    Imran and his friends are the star architects of their office with a boss who is a caricature of a South Indian loudmouth, with decibel levels that breaks the sound barrier. In this office, you never see anybody working, let alone looking like architects. Either they are flirting, sleeping around or fighting around office fixtures.

    After spending five years as partners, Imran and Kangana part ways, which Imran celebrates by guzzling down four bottles of phenyl. Constant fights were the reason for them parting. The couple decides to smoke a peace pipe with a break in Goa but end up having a fight just before boarding the flight. Imran turns back leaving Kangana alone and that is the last he sees of her. She has vanished, is incommunicado and none of her friends are willing to help Imran find her. So you spend an hour-long yawn trip with Imran trying to find her, sobbing all the way in regret of losing her. 

    That is about two hours into the film when the filmmakers decide to tell you what this film was all about! Which, in today’s media and social network era, just about everybody seems to know already. 

    The scripting, direction, music – songs as well as background score and editing are not worth discussing. While Kangana is burdened with an ill-conceived characterisation that can’t salvage an inch of the film, Imran proves to be a liability. Rest are inconsequential. 

    Katti Batti has disaster written all over it. The period from Ganesh festival to Diwali was never considered the right period to release a film, except for those which carried no hope.

    Producer: Siddharth Roy Kapur

    Director: Nikhil Advani

    Cast: Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Vivaan Bhatena

    ‘Meeruthiya Gangsters:’ What a waste!

    The movies on UP and Bihar gangs are forced down the audiences’ throat despite regular rejections. The problem is that the audience does not care for a local small-town loser who unwittingly tastes success in a crime and becomes a regular gangster when the real-life one comes from the metros of India!

    Some people may even need to Google where Meeruth (now Meerut) is! One of the best films ever made on these local gangs wasSaher (2005) starring Arshad Warsi but that also failed. What we have here is a film with an utterly senseless story to tell.

    There are six college buddies of irrelevant pedigree as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. They look anything but college-going youth. However, anything goes when you are spinning a story about such a state as UP. The boys seek a job in a big private company for which they are needed to pay Rs 75,000 per head. There is some company in Meerut, which agrees to hire them en masse and promises all of them big posts along with big pay packages! But, they have no means of raising such a huge sum so they take to looting. The first victim is the very bar where this broke gang keeps guzzling beer. 

    Besides the bribe per head, they are also expected to entertain the boss of the company with a party, which means imported booze and a girl to go with it. After meeting the demands of the boss to be, the guys soon realise that the boss and the middleman have both conned them. They take the middleman as a hostage and demand ransom from his family. When they succeed, they decide to make this their regular business.

    The guys may all look unkempt and thug-like but the girls they court would give the South Delhi disco crowd a complex! The gang now looks for bigger targets for ransom. They choose a company’s CA where the girlfriend of one of the gangsters works. Here starts the old belief that when a woman enters a scene, a bunch of friends will soon be divided. 

    The next big heist is planned. The target this time is the crorepati boss of the girl in the gang. His kidnap is too big for the UP cops to ignore. Enter Rahul Dev, a Dirty Harry kind of cop who believes neither in wearing a uniform nor discipline. The rest is utter bull, which one wonders if even UPites would identify with!

    The film is poor in all respects. It has no script worth its name, poor direction with jerks and unexplained scenes aplenty. Musical score sounds like a picnic medley. Performances are stagy. Editing is non-existent. Production values are poor and a lot of liberty is taken with location as you don’t know whether the action is taking place in Meerut, Noida, Dehradun or Mumbai.

    Meeruthiya Gangster is a total waste of time. 

    Producers: Prashant Tiwari, Prateek Tiwari, Shoeb Ahmed

    Director: Zeishan Quadri

    Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Rahul Dev, Brijendra Kala and others

    ‘MSG2: The Messenger:’ A selfie

    Late last evening while returning from PVR Juhu, I met three lads and two girls sporting the Gurmet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan (GRRSJI) T-shirts. They wanted to know how to get to CST (VT) to be able to catch a train to Kaylan, which is another town on the outskirts of Mumbai! I told them to take some transport to Sion, which is closer to Kalyan by miles and more approachable than the CST.  But, while they waited for a bus or something, they discussed fare comparison between a bus and a rickshaw. 

    This group was ‘imported’ from Karnal in Punjab and carried the smell of sarson ka tel (mustard oil), applied to body after bath as a routine where they came from. I got used to the smell after a while. They had come to PVR, Juhu all the way from Kalyan to find out if their net booking tickets could be collected a day before. Well, all they had to do was just show the reference of the booking on their cell phone and they could get in. 

    This lot was the typical GRRSJI devotees, who volunteered to ‘throng’ the 75 screens booked by the Guru in Mumbai (though the thronging crowd had to be transported to Mumbai from Karnal, in fact a village nearby Karnal.)

    There you have the story of GRRJI’s foray into filmmaking.

    This time, in the sequel, GRRSJI plays the Superman once again. This time, he recounts his year spent with an Adivasi lot (tribal) who used to roam naked and had no touch with the modern world. GRRJI has a job on his hand. He needs to bring them in touch with the realities. He teaches them to dress, build schools for them, also hospitals and other amnesties albeit, after destroying the traditional evil adivasi leaders who control their lives.

    GRRSJI has superpowers, he overcomes all villains; changes the lot of tribals and comes back happily to his base preparing for his next sequel.

    As I was enlightened by his five followers, MSG1 was completed in 67 days while this one took just 47 days! In the first instalment GRRSJI handled 17 technical departments like story, action and music. His followers are waiting to count how many more he has mastered this time. 

    GRRSJI has his own funds, own marketing (last time PVR did it for him; this time he stayed back in Mumbai at a suburban seven star to find some ‘reputed’ corporate house to do the needful). But, one thing is sure, he also transports in his own audience with a Mumbai sightseeing as a bonus for another 10 days, which he promises, Mumbai like nobody else ever seen before!

    Producer and everything else: GRRSJI.

  • ‘Baahubali’ win hearts at the box office

    ‘Baahubali’ win hearts at the box office

    MUMBAI: Special effects and quality of sound design have worked for Baahubali (dubbed) in the Hindi belt too where normally South actors and dubbed versions are not readily accepted. The audience seems to notice little else as the many glitches in the movie have not mattered to the viewers. The film collected a decent Rs 4 crore plus on the opening day and improving it over the next two days to end its opening weekend with a reasonable Rs 20.15 crore.

     

    On the other hand, I Love NY, a dated film starring Sunny Deol and Kangana Ranaut, was an effort to cash in on Ranaut’s recent popularity following a few hits. The film, which was almost written off by the investors themselves, was not accepted by moviegoers either.

     

    I Love NY was released without much fanfare or promotion but only proved that not releasing it at all would have been more economical. The film’s collections on all three day in its first weekend remained poor failing to cross the Rs 1 crore mark on any day. It ended its weekend with figures of Rs 1.55 crore.

     

    Guddu Rangeela has proved to be a loser. Having collected a little over Rs 5 crore for its first weekend, the film has barely managed to add another Rs 2 crore plus to account for its first week figure of Rs 7.75 crore.

     

    Second Hand Husband proves to be loser with a poor weekend and a poorer follow up through rest of its first week to collect a just Rs 2.6 crore.

     

    Bezubaan Ishq is a total loss plus experiment as the film manages to collect barely Rs 2.55 crore against an investment of Rs 18 crore.

     

    Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho adds Rs 7 lakh in its second week to take its two week total to Rs 1.47 crore.

     

    ABCD2 holds well in its third week to collect Rs 7.2 crore and taking its three week total to Rs 103.25 crore.

     

    Hamari Adhuri Kahani collects Rs 25 lakh in its fourth week to take its four week total to Rs 32.55 crore.

     

    Tanu Weds Manu Returns collects Rs 75 lakh in its seventh week to take its seven week tally to Rs 152.71 crore.

  • ‘Bahubali’: Visual appeal overrides script

    ‘Bahubali’: Visual appeal overrides script

    MUMBAI: Telugu filmmaker, SS Rajamouli is known for his numerous hit films. He is also known for his penchant for special effects. Indeed, two of his films, Magadheera and Eaga, have won National Awards for Best Special Effects. Rajamouli’s latest film, Bahubali, is a very ambitious venture shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil and dubbed in Malayalam and Hindi. 

    The film is a fantasy that reminds one of Hollywood classics like Ben Hur, Spartacus, Ten Commandments and such. Closer home, it has its roots in epics like Mahabharat: it is about family politics, intrigues, betrayals and revenge. 

    Bahubali is a two part film. As the first installment releases today, the ‘saga’ will continue and conclude in its second part in April 2016.

    The story is a bit confusing as it unfolds. First you try to figure out who is playing who since the cast is all South based. Then you join the dots on relations and later the plot. However, you are kept occupied with wonderland kind of locations created with some imaginative special effects. But, the expertise does not prevent the film from giving it an artificial look, pleasant as it may look.

    There is a kingdom, which was ruled by Prabhas. After his death, Nasser wants infant son Rana Daggubati be the heir to the throne, but Ramya Krishnan, Nasser’s wife, wants to play it fair and puts Prabhas’ infant too in the succession race (also played by Prabhas). She decrees that of both the infants, the one who excels in all aspects of bravery and warfare, will be the next king. 

    Prabhas has been brought up by the childless Rohini. He was found by her people on the river bank. What worries Rohini is that Prabhas is always curious about what exists beyond the grand waterfalls around his abode. He makes attempts to breach them on a regular basis. One day, he finds a mask that has fallen from the mountains from where the waterfalls emerge. This convinces him that there are people across the waterfalls and upon the hills. This inspires Prabhas to reach there and soon he does everything that a film hero is supposed to do: fall in love, kill hundreds of people single handed, go into flashback, identify his enemies, and decide to wait till part two of this ambitious ‘saga’ to get even! 

    South makers are known to extensively try to work on technical wizardry while not forgetting Indian emotions of which maa- beta emotions are the most prevalent. A la Karan Arjun, where Rakhee keeps averring, ‘Mere Karan Arjun aayenge’, here Prabhas’ screen mother, Anushka  Shetty, is convinced, ‘Mera baahubali aayega’ for over 25 years! She is also made up to look like Rakhee of Karan Arjun. 

    The nostalgia value in Baahubali is that it takes you back to many past films worth watching again! 

    The script takes a backseat in this visual enterprise. The director is so obsessed with technique that he lets numerous glitches pass where a sleeveless wear turns to full sleeves and vice versa and forehead tikkas keep changing colours and so on. 

    Musically, for the Hindi audience, the film has one melodious song. What stands out in the film is music composer MM Kreem’s orchestration and the sound design. Production values are of high order. Dialogue is routine while in such a film verbal battles mean a lot to the viewers. Editing needed to be crisper. Background score in good. 

    Not much to say about the performances as the film is more about visuals, effects and ambition. However, Tamannah is impressive.

    Dubbed films with South actors find little favour with Hindi film audience and the response to Bahubali will taper down as it moves northwards.

    Producers: Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad, Devineni.
    Direction: SS Rajamouli.

    Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Nasser.     

    ‘I Love NY’: Forced comedy

    The title is a bit confusing as you don’t quite know if it means “I Love New Year” or “I Love New York” as it is set in the American city on New Year’s Eve. The film was shot in the US in the days when shooting there was the in thing. What’s more, though the movie has been in the cans for about five years, it sports the look of a film that was made fifty years ago. 

    The romance is between Sunny Deol and Kangana Ranaut and the age difference between the two is about 35 years! At the time when it was shot, neither was Kangana the star she is today nor was Sunny the star he was two decades back! So, Kangana’s recent success is the reason the producers, T-Series, finally decided to venture into releasing the film to public. It is a written off investment being presented for encashment in any case!

    The directors, Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru are known for their success with directing videos for TV and have also choreographed some film songs. However, they have not been lucky or so proficient in directing movies. Their last film, Lucky: No Time For Love, released a decade back, failed despite having Salman Khan in the lead. 

    Sunny Deol and Kangana Ranaut end up together though they are from different cities – Chicago and New York. It is new year’s eve and this is a one night story. Though both have their own priorities when it comes to relationships, they eventually end up falling in love.

    This is a romantic comedy, the kind Sunny is not quite cut out for. Kangana does okay but here the emphasis seems to be more on Sunny. The director duo is not in their element here. With little known supporting cast, the film has no distractions. 

    It has opened to a very poor response with shows being cancelled due to lack of minimum mandatory number of audience needed to screen a film.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar.
    Directors: Vinay Sapru, Radhika Rao.
    Cast: Sunny Deol, Kangana Ranaut. 

  • Times Network goes full throttle with launches & revamps

    Times Network goes full throttle with launches & revamps

    MUMBAI: There has been a lot of action going on at the broadcast arm of Vineet Jain helmed Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL).

     

    Ever since its revamp in April this year, the Times Television Network (TTN) has gone full throttle with major revamps of its existing channels as well as new channel launches. 

     

    TTN revamped its Bollywood and lifestyle channel Zoom, which was followed by the launch of a new movie channel MN+. What’s more, a new niche channel called Property Now is also slated to launch soon.

     

    With digital being the future, the network is notably also stressing on strengthening its digital presence.

     

    Revamp of Times Television Network

     

    With an aim to become more inclusive, the network decided to drop the ‘television’ from its name and rechristened as Times Network with a new tagline—‘Now or Nothing.’

     

    At the time of the revamp, Times Network CEO and managing director M K Anand had said, “We have strong branches but the trunk needs to be strengthened and the revamp is to ensure that. Moreover, we don’t want to restrict ourselves as a television network only. Hence we decided to break a few boundaries and expand.”

     

    Realising the growing importance of digital, Times Network is now targeting the medium. Be it with launching the Times Now app or with the increasing focus on digital with the recent revamp of Zoom.  

     

    “There is a serious attempt from our side to establish ourselves on the digital platform,” Anand had said on the sidelines of the network’s plans to launch an app for Times Now. The app which is now live, has close to 10,000 downloads on Android.  

     

    Zoom’s programming ‘Turn On’

     

    On 26 June this year, Times Network revamped its 10 year old Bollywood and lifestyle brand Zoom with a new tagline ‘Turn On.’

     

    The channel now plans to change itself drastically. “The customers are evolving and so we too had to,” said Zoom as VP and product head Sunder Venkatraman.

     

    According to Venkatraman, the research by the team shows that consumers today want fast, short and quick content, especially for a channel like Zoom. “We already have a digital platform to support us and so with the revamp, we have decided to stress on TV, digital and short programming, which is smarter,” he added.  

     

    As part of the revamp, five new properties have been added to the channel. These include Kangana Ranaut’s My Life and Style, On the Road with Farhan Akhtar, Man Up with Randeep Hooda, Funtanatan with Sugandha and Ishqwala Love with Miss Malini. “All these are five to 10 minute short shows,” informed Venkatraman. 

     

    The channel currently has only one long form (half an hour) show called Planet Bollywood. This will go up to two, with the launch of a food and lifestyle show Thank God It’s Fryday, this August. “These shows will be used for appointment viewing,” he said.   

     

    In order to market the revamped channel, Zoom has readied a four week long marketing plan, which kickstarted on 26 June. “The whole of BCCL is behind us and we have a strong asset supporting us,” Venkatraman informed. The channel has taken 200 hoardings in about 15 cities to promote the new look. That apart, a lot of promotion will be done across digital platforms. 

     

    Additionally Zoom has set up an entire branded content team, which is looking at a large number of brand association shows. The first of this will go on air in August with Philips Air Fryer Thank God It’s Fryday.

     

    Post the revamp, the channel is investing heavily on content packaging. “A lot of brands in the lifestyle space are already showing a keen interest in joining hands with us to create properties for the channel. All conversations are ongoing,” he informed adding that a lot of shows will be launched by the end of this year.   

     

    MN+ for the English movie enthusiasts

     

    The English movie channel from the Times Network stable went live on 1 July. The new channel MN+ is for niche English movie fans.

     

    “MN+ is an all new English channel experience that will showcase must-watch movies in HD – movies that are universally celebrated and debated. It will offer an experience that will make every moment valuable for the viewer, and thereby give them the Gold Class Experience of Hollywood,” said Times Network senior vice president and head English entertainment cluster Vivek Srivastava.

     

    The MN+ library, which comprises over 1500 movies across genres, will sell ad slots at a premium rate, with just six minutes of advertisement.

    The network, which is currently emphasising on digital, has decided to spend 25 per cent of its marketing budget on digital media.

     

    Launch of Property Now

     

    The network is also gearing up to launch a real estate channel in Property Now. According to sources the channel will launch in September, this year.

    With all the high octane activity up its sleeves, the Times Network will be the one to watch out for in the coming months.

  • Zoom undergoes packaging, programming revamp

    Zoom undergoes packaging, programming revamp

    MUMBAI:Bollywood entertainment channel from Times Network stable, Zoom is all set to unveil a brand new look with Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut as its brand ambassador.

     

    The channel known for its Bollywood shows will be unveiling a whole new packaging and a slate of new Bollywood focused content under its new logo and tagline, ‘Turn On’. 

     

    Post the revamp the channel will go beyond just dishing out Bollywood news and improve consumers’ social quotient, by connecting them to the latest trends, which are curated straight out of Bollywood. 

     

    Times Network MD & CEO MK Anand said, “We are delighted to reveal Zoom’s fresh programming and unique and exciting style of presentation today. The Times Network is a unique bouquet of channels which cater to the top two per cent of Indian television viewers – the discerning, top-end, premium audience. Zoom’s Innovative new media inspired format and its revamped and truly world-class on-air packaging will reflect this. We have always been close to Bollywood and will continue to do so with content that reflects the latest and trendiest that Bollywood has to offer with our own twist.” 

     

    Anand added, “Zoom has been the pioneering Bollywood channel and we are delighted to work with Kangana as the face of our new avatar. She has made a mark in Bollywood as the first real female superstar purely on her own grit and confidence. The choice of the brand ambassador reflects our new brand philosophy. We promise to inspire and lead our consumers to ‘Turn On’ the next best version of themselves – to live more and better.”

     

    The revamped Zoom has all the aspects of Bollywood showcased in a way that will suit the new palette of consumers: short, crisp and unpredictable.

     

    Zoom vice president & product head Sunder Venkatraman said, “Content strategy on Zoom centres around ‘trends’ and ‘youth’, which are the hottest genres on social media today. 

     

    The new offerings on Zoom will be shorter format – more like the T-20 of entertainment. They will vary in duration from a minute-and-a-half to seven or eight minutes to longer formats of 20 minutes; there is no fixed duration. But what is certain is that the content will really be Bollywood through fashion, gossip, style, humor, news, music, relationships and more.”

     

    He described the revamped channel on-air look as “a fresh look and feel young packaging. Small innovations with great impact. For instance a progress bar has been used for the first time ever on television.”

     

    The new look of the channel has been designed by Mayur Tekchandaney of Briefcase with the internal team at Zoom. 

     

    In an industry where marketing content is the norm, the channel has decided to leverage its superior content to drive a marketing blitzkrieg. 

     

    The first step is the exclusive music video shot by global expert Harvey Brown. The song composed by Sachin-Jigar has been sung by Anuskha Manchanda. The video, titled Hotel Zoom will be unveiled on the launch day across platforms and will also drive engagement on social media.

  • ‘Queen’ & ‘Haider’ dominate IIFA Awards; Subhash Ghai gets special award

    ‘Queen’ & ‘Haider’ dominate IIFA Awards; Subhash Ghai gets special award

    NEW DELHI: The Kangana Ranaut-starrer Queen and Shahid Kapoor-starrer Haider, both of which had won National Awards for 2014, dominated the awards at the glittering finale of the 16th India International Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Malaysia. Videocon

     

    Queen bagged awards for best film, best performance by Ranaut, and best story by Vikas Bahl, Chaitally Parmar & Parvez Shaikh.Haider was a winner for best performance by Kapoor, best performance for a negative role for Kay Kay Menon, and best supporting actress Tabu.

     

    Heropanti, which introduced Jackie Shroff’s son Tiger Shroff won two awards: one for best male debut by the junior Shroff and the best debut female for Kirti Sanon.

     

    Another film, which won two awards was Ek Villain: for the song ‘Galliyan’ by Ankit Tiwari and for male supporting actor Riteish Deshmukh.

     

    Umang Kumar won the best direction for Mary Kom though many had hoped lead Priyanka Chopra may win the best actress award.

     

    Contrary to expectations, Aamir Khan’s PK won just one award: for its director Rajkumar Hirani.

     

    The other winners were: Best debut direction: Sajid Nadiadwsla for Kick; Best music direction: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for 2 States; Best playback singer- female: Kanika Kapoor for Baby Doll (Ragini MMS2); Best performance in a comic role: Varun Dhavan forMain Tera Hero; and Best regional film: Lai Bhaari.

     

    Eminent film-maker Subhash Ghai was awarded for his Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema. “So many emotions I am going through, so many memories. That is why you fall, then rise, then rise again. Thank you, IIFA,” he said.

     

    Deepika Padukone won an award for IIFA Woman of the Year and Ranveer Singh recited a poem for her.

     

    The S Cross IIFA Awards was held at the Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the first time ever, Bollywood’s hilarious duo- the talented actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor played host to the awards ceremony. The twosome won over audiences and industry members alike, leaving those present in splits with their witty quips, perfect comic timing and laudable on-stage camaraderie.

     

    Their opening performance was a medley of iconic Jodi songs – Mein Khiladi Tu Anaari, Dola Re Dola, Mere Do Anmol Ratan where the two donned outlandish costumes keeping the audience in tears of laughter. They were joined on stage by Rakhi Sawant, who took the entertainment quotient to another level.

     

    Bollywood’s ace dancers Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor stunned audiences with their performances and dance moves. More highlights of the night were Sonakshi Sinha, who who stole the show with her singing act, Parineeti Chopra’s mesmerising performance on Pareshaan, Baby Doll, Lovely and Drama Queen and Shraddha Kapoor’s act on Khalnayak Hu Mein, Choli Ke Piche Kya Hai and Om Shanti Om – a tribute to Subhash Ghai. Anushka Sharma gave a spell-binding performance on songs from her film Bombay Velvet.

     

    For the first time, S Cross IIFA Awards will be broadcast globally on Colors.

  • ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ on a barrier-breaking spree; collects Rs 69.85 crore

    ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ on a barrier-breaking spree; collects Rs 69.85 crore

    MUMBAI: Tanu Weds Manu Returns is on a barrier-breaking spree. Riding solely on Kangana Ranaut’s petite shoulders playing her double roles, the film is slated to set new benchmarks at the box office.

     

    This is Ranaut’s hat trick after Tanu Weds Manu and Queen, all three being her personal triumphs and rewards of her outstanding talent. The film had a sort of tepid opening day but went on to consolidating over the weekend as well as taking a solid grip on the box office to end its first week with Rs 69.85 crore.

     

    Welcome To Karachi, yet another attempt to launch Jackky Bhagnani in a home production, comes as a cropper. A poorly selected, mundane subject, unimaginative treatment and patchy making take their toll. Rather overconfidence of opening the film on Thursday evening for paid previews marred the film’s Friday prospects as the bad reports spread instantly. Resultantly, the film failed to attract viewers on Friday ending it with poor collections even as the following Saturday and Sunday could not lend any respectable figures to the opening weekend tally of Rs 5.55 crore.

     

    P Se PM Tak, a script Kundan Shah had been working and reworking on for eons, released post undergoing a slaughter at the Censors and lack of promotion, fails miserably.

     

    Ishqedarriyaan, a comeback vehicle for Mahakshay Chakraborty, son of Mithun Chakraborty, fails to find audience to avail of screenings. An also ran.

     

    Bombay Velvet drops to about Rs 1 crore in its second week after a miserably devastating first week of Rs 21.65 crore. The film rates as the biggest disaster in last few decades and will lose almost all of its investment and some.

     

    Piku managed to hold its own during its third week despite the Tanu Weds Manu Returns onslaught to put together a decent Rs 9.65 crore to take its three-week total to Rs 74.87 crore.

     

    Gabbar Is Back collects Rs 1.45 crore in its fourth week taking its four-week total to Rs 79.25 crore and marginalizing its deficits.

  • HomeShop18 launches ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ jewellery collection by Gitanjali

    HomeShop18 launches ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ jewellery collection by Gitanjali

    NEW DELHI: HomeShop18 is launching the exclusive ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ jewellery collection by ‘Kashvi’ from Gitanjali. The jewellery worn by the protagonist, Tanu played by Kangana Ranaut in the forthcoming movie features Austrian diamond studded designer wear that is both elegant and trendy and a must-have for every jewellery collector’s treasure box.  The jewellery is available at a special launch price, i.e. 50 per cent off for a limited period only.

     

    Running successfully in cinemas now, ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’,  produced by Eros International and Colour Yellow Productions is the sequel of the super hit movie, Tanu Weds Manu that released in 2011. Tanu will adorn her ethnic chic look with the trendsetting jewellery from Kashvi by Gitanjali as she walks around the streets of London and Kanpur. The jewellery is gold plated and available in Kundan and Pearl stones.

     

    Remarking on the special range of jewellery, Vikrant Khanna, Chief Operating Officer – TV & Online Business, HomeShop18 said, “India is one of the largest movie going nations and thereby, hugely inspired by Bollywood for fashion and jewellery. HomeShop18 is delighted to launch the ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ jewellery by the Kashvi from Gitanjali for the Tanu, Kangana Ranaut admirers.This exquisite jewellery is available at a special launch price to make it available to everyone across the country.”

     

    Commenting on this special range, Pankaj Shah,CEO Kashvi at Gitanjali Gems Ltd said, “We at Gitanjali are committed to provide our customers with the latest designer jewellery for every occasion. For this special ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ range by Kashvi, we have partnered with HomeShop18 as we wish to leverage their strong customer base to reach the maximum number of women who follow Kangana Ranaut as a fashion diva.”

     

    So be ready to sport the ‘swag’ on the dance floor and sweep onlookers off their feet with some gorgeous glitter from ‘Kashvi’ by Gitanjali, through HomeShop18.

  • ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’: Fair entertainer

    ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’: Fair entertainer

    MUMBAI: Most sequels are not even sequels; they are just another story taking advantage of the same title used by an earlier successful film. To that extent, Tanu Weds Manu Returns justifies its name, being a proper sequel to Tanu Weds Manu (2011).

     

    In the first film, Kangana Ranaut and R Madhavan were married after a long drama. Tanu (Ranaut) had two suitors, Madhavan and Jimmy Shergill, both of whom brought a baraat to her house. Shergill was the violent kind and even ready to shoot down Madhavan but later had a change of heart looking at Kangana’s preference.

     

    Of course, the writer and director have bent many rules, taken a lot of liberties wanting to live up to the original — but they have come up with a fairly entertaining fare.

     

    The first film ended on a happy note with Tanu marrying Manu. The sequel starts with realities of married life. It is four years since they married and the marriage has gone sour. The couple is in London. Madhavan, who is now a doctor(!), keeps busy while Kangana tries her hand at various activities including to run a cr?che but to no avail. Compared to her tomboyish life in her native Kanpur, she feels clamped and bored.

     

    The film opens with the couple landing up at a madhouse. And one thought visiting marriage counselors solved marital problems! Since they are at an asylum, a panel of experts sits with them as both exchange accusation. Finally, Madhavan becomes violent and the expert doctor admits him in the asylum.

     

    Kangana is on her way back to Kanpur, relieved she has got rid of Madhavan and can now be free again to get back to her old bold lifestyle. But, with a pang of guilt, she calls up Madhavan’s cousin, Deepak Dobriyal, to get Madhavan back from the asylum. Madhavan decides to return to India instead of staying back in London and carrying on with his practice. But he is morose. He still loves Kangana and expects that she will change her mind and come back to him.

     

    But, soon, Madhavan finds someone who can fill his void; Kangana 2, a Tanu lookalike in Kusum, a Haryanvi Kangana in dual role. Kangana 2 is an athlete who not only represents the University but the state too. Initially, he just thinks that she is Tanu and starts chasing her till he is almost beaten and lynched by a mob when Kangana 2 shouts foul. He saves himself in the nick of time showing her the picture of his wife and how both look alike.

     

    Soon a romance starts budding between the two. While Madhavan cultivates Kangana 2, Kangana 1 is busy catching up with her old flame, Shergill, and also uses a tricky paying guest law student in her house, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. Ayyub starts his friendship with Kangana 1 by addressing her as a sister but soon gets emotional about her. He even sends divorce papers to Madhavan on behalf of Kangana 1 without her knowledge. In due time, the divorce comes through.

     

    After crossing a lot of hurdles, Madhavan gets the approval of Kangana 2 and her family to agree to their marriage. That is when jealousy sets in and Kangana 1 reacts. After that, she sets out to win over Madhavan again.

     

    The comedy ends here and melodrama begins. While Kangana 1 tries to belittle everyone, when it comes to running down Kangana 2, she gets it back because the latter is much more qualified and endowed despite being from a village background. Their first encounter cuts Kangana 1 to size. The melodrama ends opting to re-establish the “so called” Indian values as love is rediscovered.

     

    Despite liberties taken, the script makes sure its entertainment quotient does not drop much. However, the end drama seems a little stretched. The director tries to stick to the basic idea of living up to being a worthy successor to the original; making Indian wedding films gives you a lot of stock content which is common to all films. The film manages to do so by about 75 per cent for after all, originals are always the best while in a sequel the surprise element is lost. Thankfully, the film does not go overboard by including songs and offers a couple of peppy numbers. The film is a few seconds over 120 minutes but can still do with a bit of trimming, especially towards the end. Photography is okay. Background score is effective at points.

     

    As for performances, it is a Kangana vehicle all along and offers her a rare opportunity to pit her against herself in two varied characters. While Kangana 1 is good as usual, Kangana 2 steals a definite march over her: she adapts to being a native Haryanvi villager totally in command of her situations. Madhavan, despite having limited scope, manages to hold his own. Shergill’s character of a perceived threat remains just that. He is a paper tiger with a soft heart. Dobriyal impresses. Swara Bhaskar, Eijaz Khan and Dipti Mishra are okay. Ayyub is good and so is Rajesh Sharma, as usual. The supporting cast contains of celebrated character artistes like Rajendra Gupta, K K Raina, Navni Parihar and Rajesh Sharma who all justify their roles.

     

    Tanu Weds Manu Returns is a fair entertainer. However, the opening response being weak, it faces further hurdles of IPL match today and the finals on Sunday, which will affect it. Also, the film caters mainly to the multiplex audience, factors, which may limit its prospects.

     

    Producers: Krishika Lulla, Anand L Rai

     

    Director: Anand L Rai

     

    Cast: R Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill, Ejaz Khan, Swara Bhaskar, Deepak Dobriyal, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Rajendra Gupta, Navni Parihar, K K Raina, Dipti Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Akash Dahiya