AskIndicine: Live Now

Q. Mohenjodaro announced their release date first.. but now Akshay’s Rustom is releasing on same date and they are trying to scare away competition. Is this ethical? (Neeraj) A. There are two ways to look at this. One, since there are just 52 weeks in a year and more than 200 film releases, there is no way to escape clashes. Every producer is free to pick the date he believes is right for his film. On the other hand, there seems to be no unity in the industry. When a big budget film like Mohenjo Daro was announced almost a year ago and Hrithik was returning after nearly two years, the makers of Rustom not only announce the date of their film, but also try to create perception that their film is hot in the trade by releasing posters. Akshay even went to the extent of promoting his film on Zee Cine Awards and ensured that he highlighted the ’12 August 2016′ date in every tweet. For some reason, the intention doesn’t seem to be right. The film has just gone on floors about a month ago, Akshay has Housefull 3 before Rustom (promotional campaign for which hasn’t even started). The message seems to be – not only do we want the Independence Day week, but we will go all out to try to push Mohenjo Daro (since the stakes for the film are way too high) and give Rustom a solo release. Not too sure about the ‘ethical’ part of it, but the tactics that team Rustom is using, isn’t the nicest. Q. To how much extent will there be an affect of IPL over FAN? A. It depends on how the film is received. If the word-of-mouth is good, people might skip IPL to watch FAN. The impact on business could be more if the film receives mixed to negative response. IPL matches aren’t the same as international cricket matches featuring India. Games featuring the home team are usually the most watched in that particular state and the schedule is spread out, so the impact is minimal. Q. What is the recent update on Raees vs Sultan clash? Is the clash still on or will there be a week gap between the two releases? A. The clash is still on. There is no point in giving a gap of a week between the two films, it’s the holiday weekend of Eid that both films want. If that advantage isn’t there, it’s better to release one film a couple of weeks later. Discuss: Sultan vs Raees: Which film has the edge? Q. How much FAN needs to do for HIT , Super HIT and Blockbuster Verdict ? A. Too early to comment. FAN isn’t a big budget film, but these days for big stars it isn’t about recovery but meeting trade expectations. A Shah Rukh Khan film would be a massive disappointment if it recovers costs, but finishes with business of less than 100 crore in India. It was the same with Dilwale too, SRK the producer made profits, he compensated domestic distributors.. but 148 crore was way below what was expected out of the film. FAN will be considered a solid success for SRK if it does 150 crore plus in India. Q. How many screen will be shared by both sultan and raaees on eid clash – who is having edge now and what is reason of edge? A. Again, too early to talk about screen share. Screens can get finalised as late as two days before release. Bajirao Mastani shows were finalised at select multiplexes, just a day before release which also affected the advance booking of the film. As far as the ‘edge’ is concerned, Sultan is the hotter film in the trade at the moment.  Salman has dominated Eid, Eid has become synonymous with Salman. People wait for his films during this time of the year. It’s a no brainer, really.It remains to be seen how it goes after the theatrical trailer of both films are out. But eventually though, it’s all about the content. The better film will win and the weaker might underperform. If both films are extraordinary, they’ll still lose out on 25-30% of business. Q. If Dangal prepones and releases on Independence Day, don’t you think Sultan or Raees, one of them should move to Christmas? A. News of Dangal releasing during Independence Day seems to be baseless. We haven’t heard from any reliable source about Dangal getting preponed. It doesn’t make sense either. Why would Aamir Khan want to let go of his most successful release period, which also happens to be the best time of the year to release films? So far, it looks like he will get a solo release too. No logical reason to shift to any other date. The only reason for the confusion is, the director of the film refused to comment when asked if Dangal will be shifted to Independence Day. Discuss: How much does FAN need to collect for HIT / Super Hit? Q. How big is south industry? All india pan appealing films with superstars and a big holiday are struggling to cross 300cr. While only tamil or telugu films which dont have appeal in entire south also because of different languages are crossing 250crs. How is it possible? A. Very few films in the South are collecting as much as Bollywood film. The worldwide average per film would be way lower. There is one big advantage for regional films, which is exemption from entertainment tax. Hindi films don’t get that benefit. In fact, the core markets like Mumbai / Delhi UP are heavily taxed. A film like ‘Baahubali’ which was the highest grossing South film of all time, cannot be compared to other regional films, because it was by far the highest grossing dubbed film too. It did 6 times the business of the previous Hindi dubbed south film. Yet, inspite of all the success for Baahubali, it still failed to surpass the worldwide gross of both Bajrangi Bhaijaan and PK. Q. Do you think egos and rivalry is going to increase in industry as there are so many clashes. For example, Hera Pheri 3, Rustom and Mohenjo Daro have locked the same date.. when budgets are high, it’s risky. Is it not better to release solo on a non holiday? A. For good or for bad, the result of Bajirao Mastani vs Dilwale clash has given plenty of filmmakers the confidence to take on big films. For films featuring big stars, ego does play a part, because they aren’t in a position to avert the clash. It’s the smaller film that has to. Also, every producer wants a solo release, at the same time they also want a good date to give their film the best chance to perform well. Extended weekends, national holidays is the target and since there are so few holidays in a year, every big films wants those few dates. About solo release on non-holiday vs clash during a festive weekend, it’s a debatable topic. Would Bajirao Mastani collect 190 crore if it got a solo release during a normal weekend? Possible, but unlikely. Q. Biggest non-holiday grosser? A. It’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, which is the 11th highest grosser of all time. The other Top 10 films either released during Eid, Diwali or Christmas Q. How many screens does India have in comparison to USA, UK or China etc? Why can’t we release big, is it because we lack universal appeal ? A. Along with content, language is probably the biggest barrier for Hindi film. English is much more widely spoken and understood the world over, as compared to Hindi which is restricted to resident and non-resident Indians. Markets like China are opening up, but only 3 films have done well there so far. As for screens, India has more than 10000 screens, but majority of them are either regional screens or single-screens. US has more than 38,000 screens and China has about half that number and growing fast. India, in comparison, has about 2200 multiplex screens. A vast country like ours, has huge potential for growth in the number of screens. The good performance of Hollywood movies like Fast and Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic Park and Telugu dubbed film like Baahubali, is good news for multiplexes, as they are no longer entirely dependent on Hindi films to sustain footfalls. The average increase in multiplex screens every year is around 175-200. Q. What do the makers do when they watch the rough/final print of the film and realise that the film has been terribly made or the film is bad? A. There is not much that they can do, except go all out to promote it and try to recover as much as possible in the first weekend itself. They could also try and include an item number or buy the rights to a popular song and include it in the film.  Having said that, it’s really difficult to figure out what works and what doesn’t. A film like Tamasha was acclaimed by a section of the audience, but was completely rejected at B and C centres. The makers were confident it would do well, but it didn’t. Even S.S. Rajamouli was uncertain if Baahubali would be accepted, he was hopeful that it would perform well in the long run.. but the opening itself was earth shattering. Aashiqui 2 wasn’t a great film and even though it had a chartbuster song, it wasn’t expected to collect half of what it did. What clicks and what doesn’t can never be predicted in the film industry. Some bad films perform well and a few good film might tank too. Q. How will Deepika and Priyanka’s Bollywood career graph play out now due to them signing big Hollywood films? For example, is there a chance that they’ll miss potentially important smaller films, like Piku, to other actors due to the producers thinking they might be too pricey? Would love to hear your thoughts on this (Hari) A. Priyanka’s international success couldn’t have come at a better time for her. She’s 33 and it’s at this age, unfortunately, that careers in Bollywood tend to take a downward trend for female stars. Katrina is going through that phase now and older generation actors like Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta also did. In Hollywood, female stars have longer careers and there is also scope to play a variety of roles. Deepika is at the peak of her career here and she would probably continue to remain in the mainstream, featuring in films with top actors in the country. She would probably find it harder to balance between the two films industries and working out dates could be big problem. Q. What’s your rating on the Fan trailer? (Mitesh) A. 7 on 10. Q. Which film has more chance to succeed,  single screen oriented or multiplex oriented? I’m not consider universally acceptance A. Any ‘A-grade’ film will struggle to recover costs just from single-screen business. Whereas quite a few multiplex-targeted films are very successful - Airlift, Neerja, Queen just to name a few. Even for universally successful films, the ratio is more than 70 : 30 in favour of multiplexes – the ticket prices are higher, so one ticket sold in Noida could be equivalent to 10 tickets sold in Bihar. Q. How much potential you see in Ranveer Singh to stand tall in Bollywood after Bajirao Mastani? I personally think that he doesn’t have some extra charm above acting to woo audience as SRK, Salman, Aamir have. A. Ranveer Singh has immense potential to be a top star in the industry. We would even give him an edge over Ranbir Kapoor, because Ranveer also has the potential to be a massy star. Ranbir’s appeal at smaller centres is currently limited, even though YJHD did well. And it doesn’t make any sense to compare him with SRK, Salman or Aamir. He doesn’t even need to be as big as them. He has his own USP, he has plenty of energy and now the ‘acceptance’ factor will give a huge boost to his career. In all his previous films before ‘Bajirao Mastani’, he was liked, but he wasn’t universally praised and appreciated. His performance wasn’t hailed as incredible or flawless. When the audience ‘accepts’ an actor, it increases his confidence and this translates into improved performances on screen. Q. How does T-series Generate Revenue by launching online video songs? (Sanchit Sachdev) A. Youtube (owned by Google) shares revenue from ads that are played before videos or when the viewer clicks on ads displayed at the bottom part of the video. Since T-Series generates millions of views, it’s good money. Q. Chances of Baahubali: The Conclusion and Robot 2 beating PK worldwide? (Amish) A. Not sure about Robot 2, but since we know what to expect from Baahubali 2, it has every chance of surpassing PK worldwide. In fact, there are expectations that the Hindi version of the second film could do 200 crore or more! It’s the biggest release of 2017, easily the most anticipated. Q. You never answered my questions. But I cannot deny that everyone has better ones than me. Any tips? A. Try asking questions not related to SRK, we get a lot of questions on him every week. But now since we answered, why would you need a tip? Q. Who do you think will last longer in Bollywood. An actor that chooses quality over quantity or someone that churns out as many films as he can? A. It’s going to be all about good films in the future. Even for top stars, if they need big 300 crore plus grosser, it has to be a good film. Bajrangi did 320, PRDP did 210. Salman was the common factor in both, the difference was one film was universally liked, the other found acceptance only at select centres. Q. Which is the highest ever March grosser? Can rocky handsome break it? A. Highest is Race 1 (63 crore).  Both Kapoor & Sons and Rocky Handsome have a chance, but it’ll be difficult. Kapoor & Sons will be competing with World Cup cricket matches and on Saturday of its release, there is India vs Pakistan. Q. What could be the opening day figures of Housefull 3 since Akshay kumar is returning after big success of Airlift? A. Should be 20 crore plus, because even Welcome Back without a top star, did 15 crore on opening day. Q. Are you in contact with Taran Adarsh because every time I see the box office collections or any type of news posted by you and him are exactly same? (Mian G) A. We publish producer figures and he does the same. The difference is, we have to write articles, he has to tweet, which is always faster. Collections of released by production houses like Eros, Red Chillies, T-Series etc. We don’t publish the same news as him. Q. Why Vidyut Jamwal is being ignored by Bollywood and on the other hand Tiger Shroff is being supported? A. It’s always easier for star kids in the industry. But Vidyut Jamwal is doing Commando 2. Q. How has been the response of the first look posters of Rustom? Do the makers looks very confident that they had started promoting the movie well in advance. A. The response to Rustom has been terrific so far. Early promotion is not about confidence, but to try and build pressure on makers of Mohenjo Daro to push their film ahead (our opinion, could be wrong). Q. What might be the verdict of Ra.One if it starred any other star other than SRK? A. Flop, because it wouldn’t have collected as much as it did. Q. Arrange the acting skills of the actors like Shahrukh, Salman , Aamir, Ranveer Singh, Ranveer Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Hritik Roshan, Akshay Kumar? A. Impossible to rate them because all are good. We would instead pick our favourite performances in order of preference: Aamir (PK, thought he was simply extraordinary), Sanjay Dutt (Vaastav), Shah Rukh (Chak De India), Ajay Devgn (The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, OUATIM), Ranbir (Barfi), Hrithik (Koi Mil Gaya), Ranveer (Bajirao Mastani), Salman (Tere Naam), Akshay Kumar (Airlift). Q. What is the trade verdict of Ghayal Once Again? A. Below average grosser. Q. Who will win today’s match? (Yuvraj) A. Since we have a 80% success ratio with FBO prediction, trying out luck with cricket – India will win both the Asia Cup final and upcoming T20 world cup. We wouldn’t mind getting a couple of FBO / LBO predictions wrong, if the cricket predictions go right. And on that note, it’s time to end the QnA and watch the match. Thank you for joining us for QnA. Remaining questions will be answered through the week.

How much does FAN need to collect for HIT / Super Hit?

Q. How much FAN needs to do for HIT , Super HIT and Blockbuster Verdict ? A. Too early to comment. FAN isn’t a big budget film, but these days for big stars it isn’t about recovery but meeting trade expectations. When a Shah Rukh Khan film releases, it comes with certain expectations. Exhibitors expect his films to significantly increase footfalls at theatres. And his films would be a massive disappointment if it recovers costs, but finishes with business of less than 100 crore in India. It was the same with Dilwale too, SRK the producer made profits, he compensated domestic distributors.. but 148 crore was way below what was expected out of the film. FAN will be considered a solid success for SRK if it does 150 crore plus in India.

Sultan vs Raees: Which film has the edge?

We will be creating separate page with 3 questions on each page. This is to allow discussion in the comments section as QnA pages get 500 plus comments. Please don’t ask questions on this page, it won’t be answered. Q. Mohenjodaro announced their release date first.. but now Akshay’s Rustom is releasing on same date and they are trying to scare away competition. Is this ethical? (Neeraj) A. There are two ways to look at this. One, since there are just 52 weeks in a year and more than 200 film releases, there is no way to escape clashes. Every producer is free to pick the date he believes is right for his film. On the other hand, there seems to be no unity in the industry. When a big budget film like Mohenjo Daro was announced almost a year ago and Hrithik was returning after nearly two years, the makers of Rustom not only announce the date of their film, but also try to create perception that their film is hot in the trade by releasing posters. Akshay even went to the extent of promoting his film on Zee Cine Awards and ensured that he highlighted the ’12 August 2016′ date in every tweet. For some reason, the intention doesn’t seem to be right. The film has just gone on floors about a month ago, Akshay has Housefull 3 before Rustom (promotional campaign for which hasn’t even started). The message seems to be – not only do we want the Independence Day week, but we will go all out to try to push Mohenjo Daro (since the stakes for the film are way too high) and give Rustom a solo release. Not too sure about the ‘ethical’ part of it, but the tactics that team Rustom is using, isn’t the nicest. Q. What is the recent update on Raees vs Sultan clash? Is the clash still on or will there be a week gap between the two releases? A. The clash is still on. There is no point in giving a gap of a week between the two films, it’s the holiday weekend of Eid that both films want. If that advantage isn’t there, it’s better to release one film a couple of weeks later. Q. How many screen will be shared by both sultan and raaees on eid clash – who is having edge now and what is reason of edge? A. Again, too early to talk about screen share. Screens can get finalised as late as two days before release. Bajirao Mastani shows were finalised at select multiplexes, just a day before release which also affected the advance booking of the film. As far as the ‘edge’ is concerned, Sultan is the hotter film in the trade at the moment.  Salman has dominated Eid, Eid has become synonymous with Salman. People wait for his films during this time of the year. It’s a no brainer, really. It remains to be seen how it goes after the theatrical trailer of both films are out. But eventually though, it’s all about the content. The better film will win and the weaker might underperform. If both films are extraordinary, they’ll still lose out on 25-30% of business.

Sultan Teaser with Shah Rukh Khan’s FAN

Yash Raj Films’ has announced that the theatrical teaser of Salman Khan’s Sultan will be attached to the prints of Shah Rukh Khan’s FAN, which hits theatres on April 15. The teaser is expected to be out on the internet on April 14.

Rustom Motion Poster

The makers of Rustom seem to be in a hurry to begin the promotional campaign of the film and Akshay Kumar, in almost...

Fan New Poster: Double role for Shah Rukh Khan

Yet another poster of FAN has been released and this time around we have two Shah Rukh Khan’s on the poster. The two characters he plays in the film are Aryan Khanna (a character heavily inspired from SRK’s life) and Gaurav Chanana, who plays his biggest fan and eventually his biggest nemesis. The trailer, which was released earlier this week, has already crossed the 7 million mark and is currently trending at the top spot on Youtube India.

Rustom New Poster

A new poster of Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film ‘Rustom’ is out. The actor is seen wearing a naval officer’s uniform and sporting a thin moustache. Esha Gupta, Arjan Bajwa and Ileana D’Cruz are also seen in the poster.

Jai Gangaajal Critic Reviews

[mks_button size=”medium” title=”Average Rating of All ‘Jai Gangaajal’ Review – 2.3 stars” style=”rounded” bg_color=”#1e73be” txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=””] Jai Gangaajal Review by Indicine Rating: Jai Gangaajal is a film that has its heart in the right place but falters due to the uneven narrative. The story elements and cases of torture shown in the film have all been seen before. Coming down to it, Jai Gangaajal doesn’t offer anything new. The screenplay is a test on the nerves especially in the second half. The dialogues, however, are ingrained in the Hindi speaking milieu of the setting. Technically, Jai Gangaajal is well aligned with the nature of the film. The cinematography captures the rough terrain of the land, the editing is decent. The action scenes seem a bit unrealistic which takes the audiences farther away from the film. The background music also blares too loudly and sometimes it becomes difficult to even hear the dialogues. Jai Gangaajal Review by Bollywood Hungama Rating: When it comes to directing of films belonging to the ‘political thriller’ genre, Prakash Jha has been very good at it. JAI GANGAAJAL only acts as yet another testimony to the same. While the story establishes itself in the engaging first half, the second half revolves around the confrontation between Priyanka Chopra and corrupt villains. In the second half, the camera is not on Priyanka Chopra, but on Prakash Jha, which totally takes focus away from the central character. Despite all the odds, Prakash Jha manages somehow to keep the viewers on the hooks with his engaging narrative. Jai Gangaajal Review by Manjusha Radhakrishnan on Gulfnews Rating: Director Prakash Jha, who makes an attempt to act with his rogue cop role, should stick to what he does best: direct his actors. He’s endearingly earnest, but he lacks charisma — that intangible quality that makes actors magnetic on the big screen. Also, he sounds a lot like veteran actor Nana Patekar. Jai Gangaajal is crammed with issues such as corporate greed, debt-ridden farms, lawless cities and frustrated civilians, but there’s no particular direction to all that chaos. Jai Gangaajal Review by Sreeju Sudhakaran on Bollywood Life Rating: The film’s biggest failure is that it doesn’t offer anything new in terms of plot. In fact, it uses the same narrative as the original Gangaajal – a honest cop wanting to cleanse the system, a malicious villain, a rogue cop turned good and public becoming lynchers. Though the film is promoted in Priyanka’s name, she is saddled with bad characterisation and scenes that don’t make much of an impact. The film looks more like Prakash Jha’s acting vanity project, as his character is the only rounded one here, and he walks away with the best scenes and dialogues. After the aforementioned lynching scene, the film just meanders on and on, testing our patience and also turning unintentionally funny at times. The climax, for lack of better words, is horrible, especially when Prakash Jha suddenly turns Superman! Unlike the original film, there is a lack of sense of realism here even when topical subjects are discussed. The film also has glaring loopholes like Prakash Jha’s car having an MP registration though the film is set in Bihar, a child killing a hefty man etc. Actors like Kiran Karmarkar and Rahul Bhatt are wasted in miniscule roles. Jai Gangaajal Review by Mehul S Thakkar on Deccan Chronicle Rating: Director Prakash Jha puts himself in front of the camera as a corrupt officer who wakes up to moral values too late in the day. He gives himself a last chance after a shocking incident turns into an eye opener for him. However, there are few concerns about the film. Prakash is dealing with too many issues at the same time and that leads to the film losing its steam. Also, during the film one expects to see more of Priyanka and her cop role. However it takes you to a personal self discovery route of Prakash’s character which felt far stretched. Jai Gangaajal Review by Martin D’Souza on Glamsham Rating: Prakash Jha gives himself a chance to play a cop, a crooked one who has a change of heart towards the end. There’s Manav Kaul as the local thug turned politician with scores of his goons and then there is Priyanka Chopra, the Dabaang police officer, Abha Mathur, who does a Bajirao Singham on screen. There’s much maara-mari, draamebazi before the film culminates the way you expected it to. Jai Gangaajal Review by Zeenews Rating: ‘Jai Gangaaja’ triumphs, but sadly, only at places – at other times you are inevitably reminded of ‘Gangaajal’, only wishing if the movie had the same flesh and rawness as the one before. That said, watch ‘Jai Gangaajal’ merely for its performance by Jha and Chopra and some of the other supporting cast. As far as the story is concerned – it’s the same old wine in new bottle. Review by Ananya Bhattacharya on India Today Rating: It is Prakash Jha’s omnipresence in his acting debut that doesn’t quite fall in place. Out of the 2 hour 38 minutes that Jai Gangaajal runs for, Jha is ubiquitous in a way that gets unbearable after a point of time. Get the man out of the frame for some minutes, and Jai Gangaajal is a decent watch. The one person you want to see more of on screen is Priyanka Chopra. And that is where the film fails to satisfy its viewer. On his part, Manav Kaul impresses as the diabolical Babloo Pandey. Ninad Kamat, on the other hand, never quite manages to strike fear even when he’s at his menacing best. Rahul Bhat’s social worker-ish avatar is believable, but seems out of tune at times. Jai Gangaajal falters in getting its point across, if there is one, that is. The film works in parts, largely because of the fabulous performances of Chopra and Kaul. But then, the problem that seems to have found a place in Prakash Jha films of late – that of losing way thanks to a convoluted plot – plagues Jai Gangaajal as well. Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies Rating: Priyanka Chopra, who is nearly always in neatly starched police attire and appears far too glossed-up for the role, does her very best to lend the character the requisite gravitas. But even when she is at her most admirable, for her action-star persona is unable to propel the film out of its inertia. Prakash Jha has a perpetual all-knowing smirk on his face in the early portions of the film – well, he is the director and he should know – but his performance gets infinitely better after Bhola Nath Singh is assailed by a wave of qualms in the second half. Jai Gangaajal is likely to be a letdown for those who expect it to be a worthy follow-up to Gangaajal. But if you go in without too many expectations, you might find parts of its fairly palatable. Review by Rohit Vats on Hindustan Times Rating: Prakash Jha is the hero of Jai Gangaajal if screen time is our consideration. In any case, you need to spread wings to make a 158-minute film engaging. But, it has to be said that Jha has done justice to his role. He is restrained in dialogue delivery and really effective in emotional scenes. The narrative keeps dragging with strange terms such as ‘Madam Sir’ and ‘Suicide Murder’. It seems the idea is to create an isolated world which is uncertain about its future and the usage of words. The constant urge to back these terms up with scenes also hampers the flow of the narrative. As a result, a powerful scene comes up and then vanishes into oblivion without providing a build-up to the next one. In the process, we get individual sequences that work on their own, but couldn’t gel as a whole. Review by Shubhra Gupta on Indian Express Rating: Priyanka Chopra’s too-sophisticated unmade-up-make-up is very distracting, even in her few convincing moments. And the film goes on for far too long, even when we know how all of it will end, and even when we are thoroughly enjoying Jha’s authentic’ leheja’ : ‘aap ko koi galat misguide kiye hain’, he says, and we smile. Review by Shubha Shetty-Saha on Mid-Day India Rating: The story (by Jha) tackles an extremely disturbing trend of mob lynching, but what is also disturbing is that the story teller himself seems to be sympathetic with the mob and appeared to have no clear ethical stand on it. Manav Kaul is very good as ever, but it is Ninad Kamat who steals the show as he brilliantly plays the role of ruthless Dabloo Pandey, who wouldn’t stop at anything to achieve what he wants. One must admit here that Jha surprises with his ease in front of the camera and decent acting abilities, but quite often the camera focuses a little too indulgently on him. Jha yet again successfully revisits the world he’s so familiar with, the rampant hooliganism, the fascinating and colourful lingo that we are all familiar with, largely thanks to Jha’s earlier films. At two hours forty minutes, the film is a bit too long and tends to get predictable at many parts. Jai Gangaajal Review by Indiaglitz Rating: ‘Jai Gangajaal’ is not a bad film and has some enjoyable scenes to cherish. Sadly, the repetitive screenplay, half-baked characters and dragging length makes the movie look like a never ending stale drama. Review by Sukanya Verma on Rediff Rating: Once Jai GangaaJal loses sight of all else to become only about his half-baked atonement it drags and dodders from the weight of its stocky dialogues, tediously cosmetic revolt and a leading man of very limited screen presence hogging all the limelight. Review by Bryan Durham on DNA India Rating: Prakash Jha debuts as an actor with this film. And one has to say, he’s a natural at it. But enough about him. This is Priyanka Chopra’s film. And while she does justice to her role as Abha, it is her doggedness that shines through. As the director, Jha builds the framework in which to let Abha grow and develop her character, even though the graph is a tried-and-tested one. Strong female cops are no novelty in Bollywood, but they are rare, and Jha’s attempt to bring PC in to be the lynchpin of his good-vs-bad drama deserves applause. That and of course, his social commentary through the film. Review by Srijana Mitra Das on The Times Of India Rating: In contrast, Manav Kaul, usually a sure-shot scene stealer, appears distracted, briefly coming into his own, licking his lips as he savagely beats BN, but lacking consistent power. However, the dynamics between BN and Dablu convey crackling tension, their face-off electric. While Ninad nails wicked, waddling Dablu, fattened on the gory good life, Prakash comfortably portrays a character happy with shades of grey – until he discovers khaki. Review by Rajeev Masand on IBNLive Rating: Jai Gangaajal doesn’t offer anything you haven’t seen before, especially in the director’s own previous films. It’s also interminably long at nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes. Priyanka Chopra and Prakash Jha’s performances keep you engaged and invested despite the familiar narrative, but by the end you’re overcome by the unmistakable feeling of exhaustion. Review by Saumil Gandhi on Mumbai Mirror Rating: The film is technically average and the dubbing is noticeably off on several occasions. Mr Jha’s “supporting role” probably gets equal, if not more screen time than the actual lead, and could have done with a sharper edit. The shots, in general, lack inspiration. If there’s only one way to show Priyanka’s jeep leaving the police station, or reveal a hanging body, why show the scene so many times? Small things like varying the physical setting of certain scenes could have lifted the film, and it’s detailing like this that is missed the most. Prakash Jha before the camera has an undoubtedly better run in Jai Gangaajal than Prakash Jha behind the camera. It may be by design or by default, but it leaves the film on middling ground. Review by Sonia Chopra on Sify Rating: Prakash Jha is superb as the cop who is content being corrupt till Abha Mathur inspires him to do better. Manav Kaul is delightfully menacing and makes for a formidable villain. Ninad Kamat plays power-hung W Pandey wonderfully, and Murli Sharma is fabulous as Munna Mardaani, who ruthlessly beats up people, but weeps when he sees his boss defeated. The rest of the supporting cast does well. The film is a comment on honest officials vs. ruffian politics in mofussil India, but then we’ve seen this so many times before. What sets the film apart is Jha’s sure-footed storytelling (though he sticks to his tried-and-tested formula) and Priyanka Chopra’s dazzling performance. This one straddles the two worlds of being a reasonably accomplished film as well as a crowd-pleaser. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning Rating: He takes almost two and a half hours of film footage even though Priyanka Chopra is propped up as the hero of the film. And no matter what the scene is, no matter how cool Priyanka Chopra is trying to be, the multi tasking director-savior steps into the scene. It’s such a self-indulgent, self promotional film for Prakash Jha, it’s a tragic waste of the supposed INR 100 crore budget. After a while, you start checking out if the baddies change clothes through the movie. They don’t. And you don’t care. Review by Subhash K Jha on Bollyspice Rating: There is nothing seriously wrong with Jai Gangaajal. Prakash Jha’s heart bleeds for the downtrodden. The problem is, so do the characters. Everyone is shown running with or away from lathis and hockey sticks. Jha gets battered and thrown into a drain. Jai Gangaajal begs for ruminative moments. These are never granted in a film that pelts down brutality mercilessly. Review by Meeta on Wogma Rating: There is another character in the film that is vying for your attention. All. The. Time. The background score. It is relentless. It is loud. It doesn’t go with the film. There were a few scenes in the second half when it takes a break and they are beautiful. Those scenes made me want to see the film once again with the background track turned off. It wouldn’t be a surprise, if the film becomes better manifold. As it stands though Jai Gangaajal engages you while you are in the theater – maybe making you a little fidgety towards the end because it is over 2.5 hours. But once you are out and think about it, if at all, you realise it is not too out of the ordinary. Except that you want to watch more of Prakash Jha as an actor. Review by Lokesh Dharmani on Movietalkies Rating: Prakash Jha, who makes his acting debut with this film, has done a decent job and is sure to impress. Notwithstanding the fact that his character more or less resembles that of Mukesh Tiwari’s Bacha Yadav, we truly liked Jha for his underplayed intensity and his realistic portrayal of a cop from North India. Unfortunately, Manav Kaul lacks the gravitas required of a Bollywood baddie and is not an effective villain at all, though Ninad Kamath as the debauched Dabloo Pandey gave us a pleasant surprise with his performance. Average critic ratings of other movies released in 2016 Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive – 2.3 stars Aligarh – 3.6 stars Bollywood Diaries – 2.5 stars Neerja – 4 stars LoveShhuda – 2 stars Ishq Forever – 1.4 stars Fitoor – 2.3 stars Sanam Re – 1.6 stars Ghayal Once Again – 2.4 stars Sanam Teri Kasam – 1.6 stars Saala Khadoos – 2.6 stars Mastizaade – 1 stars Airlift – 3.7 stars Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 – 1 stars Wazir – 2.5 stars

Buddhu Sa Mann Song Video – Kapoor & Sons

You’ve met the two Kapoor Sons and the Ladki beautiful, now it’s time to introduce you to the entire Kapoor family! Here’s Buddhu Sa Mann from Karan Johar’s upcoming film, Kapoor and Sons starring Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan and Rishi Kapoor.

Zubaan Reviews by Critics

[mks_button size=”medium” title=”Average Rating of All ‘Zubaan’ Review – 2.6 stars” style=”rounded” bg_color=”#1e73be” txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=””] Zubaan Review by Bollywood Hungama Rating: The film has an extremely tight and engaging screenplay (Sumit Roy, Mozez Singh). Mozez Singh, who makes his directorial debut with ZUBAAN is definitely a name to watch out for. The ease with which he packages and delivers a sensitive film like ZUBAAN is simply exceptional. The hard work that he has put in as a director in ZUBAAN yields him rich dividends in the film. The film just does not look like being directed by a debutant director. The best part about his direction is that, places wherein any director could have either gone astray or over-the-top, Mozez Singh maintains his pace. All of this contributes in making the film a memorable affair to watch. The second half is not as watertight as the flawless first half, because, the film dips in second half… only to pick up pace again towards climax. The film also has many noteworthy scenes. For example, the conflict between protagonist and family (wife and son) has been shot really well. As for the performances, the film rests majorly on the shoulders of its lead cast Vicky Kaushal and Sarah Jane Dias. ZUBAAN, which happens to be Vicky Kaushal’s second film (his debut being MASAAN), also sees him grow superlatively as an actor and also leaps and bounds to become the scene stealer of the film. On the other hand, Sarah Jane Dias, besides looking good, has also contributed immensely towards the film. Her performance in this film will definitely go down as one of her most memorable performances. The other actors too bring in top notch performances in the film, which helps the film’s progress in a smooth manner minus any guffaws. Zubaan Review by Mohar Basu on The Times Of India Rating: Zubaan has a feeble story which doesn’t do justice to its technical finesse. It is hardly appealing in the first hour but with solid performers like Vicky Kaushal and Manish Chaudhari, the film soars over its runtime. Zubaan Review by Jaidev Hemmady on Movietalkies Rating: Vicky Kaushal has done a commendable job and so has the rest of the cast comprising Chaudhary, Malik, Chanana and Dias. But despite this, the story lacks conviction and a soul, as a result of which, Zubaan doesn’t really touch you. Had the makers focused on a single plot point, the movie would have been at least acceptable, if not likeable. Zubaan Review by Saibal Chatterjee on NDTVMovies Rating: Zubaan stretches itself too thin at times in trying to raise its narrative tempo. In its quieter moments, however, it does manage to get its voice heard. Watch it for the latter bits – and for Vicky Kaushal. Zubaan Review by Saumil Gandhi on Mumbai Mirror Rating: Zubaan is a film that does a lot of posing and posturing, but lacks focus to be taken as a serious narrative. It has a voice somewhere in the deeply spiritual roots it lays claim to. Sadly, it is drowned in too much noise for us to make any sense of it. Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning Rating: The music that intrudes in the story is so amazing, that you tend to coast with the tunes, forgetting your beef with the story. Some shots are breathtaking, others make you wonder if it was the same team that made you sigh in pleasure not moments before. I like films made about urban unease, and that sense of loss and disconnect, but here it just seems shallow. And that’s why the film seems to be pretty but unbelievable. Also the subtitles disappear after the first few minutes, so all that Punjabi (even though Bollywood songs have taught the common folk much) may escape comprehension. You come away with mixed feelings even though you really loved the idea of ‘tumhari zubaan kuch keh rahi hai…’. Review by Rohit Vats on Hindustan Times Rating: There’s no denying that Zubaan fits the frame of most of the rags to riches stories, but these frames have been shot with a lot of thought. The camera work of the song ‘Music is my art’ demonstrates the faultless use of a confined space. At the same time, the magical surrealism of open, vibrant spaces fire your imagination, and you start dreaming of a similar space. The song Dhruvtara is a perfect example of that. Review by Tushar P Joshi on Bollywood Life Rating: Zubaan is a film made with a lot of love and it shows in every frame. Swapnil Sonawne’s camera work is stunning and lights up every scene as if it was a part of our lives. Mozez uses human emotions like suffering, loss, love, jealousy to make his characters interesting. You get drawn into Dilsher’s world because of Vicky Kaushal’s award worthy performance. He’s already shown promise with Masaan and now Zubaan only reinforces our faith in him as an actor to watch out for. The supporting cast too is exceptional. Sarah Jane Dias keeps it subtle not going over the top or getting screechy in the difficult scenes. Both Raaghav Chanana and Manish Chaudhry are able to make us cringe watching their difficult father-son relationship. The music of course is eclectic and different. There are beats from a 80?s Madonna song to a traditional Gurbani that become part of the films soundtrack. In fact the music is a pivotal aspect of Zubaan lending its characters a language when words fall short. Review by Sarita A Tanwar on DNA India Rating: First time director Mozez Singh has chosen a simple story, which may not be a crowd pleaser but it’s a moving story that will connect with your soul. There’s a beautiful sentiment at its heart that you will discover for yourself. It a delicate and brilliantly told story of overcoming your insecurities and embracing your true path. What it lacks in terms of star power it makes up with a unique story by Mozez and Sumit Roy and great acting by Vicky Kaushal. His performance dominates the film whether he is cowering or being cocky. Manish Chaudhari provides brilliant support. The most touching part of the film is the father-son relationship, which is also the crux of the film, as you later realise. Zubaan is a visual treat thanks to Swapnil Sonawane. Review by Shubhra Gupta on Indian Express Rating: The core of it is in the way Kaushal and Chaudhari manouever around each other, testing each other, and when the director keeps it grounded, it comes off real and strong. But then everything gets filmi and wispy. The writing is patchy, with Kaushal not coming off as striking as he was in ‘Masaan’ : he’s good yes, he makes us watch, yes, but is already familiar. And the climactic passage is too stretched. Singh clearly has a voice, though, and a talent for creating twisty drama. Pity the plot dips and the tone shifts, which results in the film speaking in parts, and being muzzled in the rest. But the music is lovely: in many places, I listened more than I looked. Review by Raja Sen on Rediff Rating: The whole film emerges, sadly, like one of those ads where you can half-hum the song but you forget what it was for. Look, Zubaan isn’t a bad film. It is decently made and reasonably well acted, especially by Manish Chaudhari who conquers the screen in his swaggering role of a boorish businessman. Kaushal is immensely earnest, and Raaghav Chanana brings some nuance to his part of the insecure son — whenever the script allows him. Perhaps we ought to take a cue from the strikingly-haired French hip-hop dancers who pat the hero and heroine on their shoulders when they finally do kiss, and treat this boring little film with what it demands most: indulgence. Review by Asira Tarannum on Deccan Chronicle Rating: The first half is crisp and the story moves smoothly, but during the second half the story moves a bit too fast leaving the audience confused. The direction is good but the editing is not up to the mark. Hats off to producer Guneet Monga for backing another unconventional subject where the boy makes a mistake and realises his true calling and reiterating the fact that we all have to move out of our comfort zones to find our true calling. Review by Suhani Singh on India Today Rating: Even if you are to buy into the opposites attract theory, Singh fails to convince as to what makes Amira and Dilsher click. Far more engaging are Kaushal and Chaudhary who combine well together to present the fascinating protégé-mentor relationship. Here, we see Dilsher’s hunger to succeed such as when he beats up his rival just so that he can get to work with Sikan, tries to impress the construction magnate by stealing a music CD and belittles Sikan’s son Surya (Raghav Chanana). These scenes tell more about Dilsher than his introspective but dull conversations with Amira. It doesn’t help that Singh is eager to focus on Dilsher’s redemption. And just like that Zubaan, like its hero, stumbles. Review by Shomini Sen on IBNLive Rating: The film manages to engage you most of the time particularly because of its actors. Vicky Kaushal, who made a remarkable debut in ‘Masaan’, gives a strong performance yet again. It is on his shoulder that the film lies. And he delivers. From being the under confident young boy from Punjab to becoming self assured confident right-hand man of a real-estate baron- Kaushal’s transition on screen is remarkably smooth and natural. Supporting cast Manish Chaudhary, Raghav Chanana also play their part well and do justice to their characters. Wish Sarah Jane-Dias’s character was more defined. She plays Amira, a popular singer, who has her own conflicts to fight. But she is also the person who encourages Dilsher to pursue music. While we know her character’s importance to the Dilsher’s story – it somehow doesn’t come out that clearly in the film. Why do they fall in love? How does she inspire him to take up music again? Those things remain sketchy. Review by Shubha Shetty Saha on Mid-Day India Rating: The film holds a lot of promise but doesn’t really live up to it. A more clear-minded script as well as a steadier hand at direction would have done wonders to this film. However, Singh scores as he makes soul stirring music (composed by Ashutosh Phatak) an intrinsic part of the film. However, standing above the film and the script is Kaushal’s absolutely brilliant performance. The young actor, who impressed us with his debut performance in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan (2015), is at admirable ease in front of the camera and while slipping into the role of the traumatised, stammering Dilsher. Review by Martin D’Souza on Glamsham Rating: Mozez had the script, brilliant music and super, way beyond performances, but he spoils the broth by trying to add too many ingredients all in one go. All through the first half, even though the plot is going all over, I try to stay interested mainly because the two characters of Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal) and Gurcharan Sikand (Manish Chaudhary) have me invested with their intensity and portrayal of their characters. Both are a study in brilliance. If only the clarity in the plot was taken care of, Mozez would have had a scorcher on his hand. Review by Sonia Chopra on Sify Rating: Debut director Mozez Singh displays potential and gives us a film that has its moments, despite the weak areas. Zubaan, then, remains a film akin to a great story build-up, only to reveal a rather tepid finale. Zubaan Review by Indiaglitz Rating: The screenplay related to the family drama has been presented in an interesting and intriguing manner. The politics, treachery, secrets related to the family of Manish Choudhary, is one of the key elements of this movie. You will enjoy this part of the film and would love to see more of it. There are many good scenes which manages to keep you glued to the silver screen. The cinematography is good and goes with the flow of the film. Music is very essential part of this film and music director Ashutosh Pathak manages to give us some decent songs. ‘Tu Hain Tera Khuda’, ‘Druvtara’. ‘Kori Pukaar’ have been brilliantly choreographed followed by ‘Music is My Art’ which is the most popular song from the film. Director Mozez Singh’s last film ‘White Noise’ (2004), ended up as a disaster and in contrast to that ‘Zubaan’, is a great film to watch. One will love the whole intense family drama but might not connect to the musical and romantic part of the film. Vicky Kaushal gives one more good performance after ‘Masaan’. Sarah-Jane Dias looks glamorous. Manish Choudhary is powerful. Raaghav Chanana is superb in his role. Meghna Malik and others lend good support. Review by Subhash K Jha on Bollyspice Rating: Besides an outstandingly contemplative performance by Vickey Kaushal, Zubaan gives us a brand new directorial talent Mozez Singh (again, is this really his first film?!). Mozez has a rare ability to create a drama of dissent in his plot without resorting to excessive melodrama. There are passages in Zubaan where we see the director’s vision of an individual held ransom by his ambitions. And we are shaken in a rejuvenating way. Zubaan is an exhilarating journey of self-discovery, and far far more accomplished work than this week’s other release Prakash Jha’s Jai Gangaajal. Review by meeta on Wogma Rating: The only saving grace then are the performances. Vicky Kaushal performs as if he is carrying a very huge burden on his shoulders – that of carrying the film. It gets an eager and sincere act out of him, but the load is unnecessary. Each time I watch Manish Chaudhuri, he instills and reinforces in me a fear – this character can do just about anything. Raaghav Chanana too does well as the insecure son who wears a mask of strength. However, performances and gray characters aren’t enough to make Zubaan enticing. The story tries to do a little of everything. Therefore, every thing comes across as half-baked. Average critic ratings of other movies released in 2016 Tere Bin Laden Dead Or Alive – 2.3 stars Aligarh – 3.6 stars Bollywood Diaries – 2.5 stars Neerja – 4 stars LoveShhuda – 2 stars Ishq Forever – 1.4 stars Fitoor – 2.3 stars Sanam Re – 1.6 stars Ghayal Once Again – 2.4 stars Sanam Teri Kasam – 1.6 stars Saala Khadoos – 2.6 stars Mastizaade – 1 stars Airlift – 3.7 stars Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 – 1 stars Wazir – 2.5 stars

Jai Gangaajal Review

Priyanka Chopra has been on a roll recently what with the success of Bajirao Mastani, then her TV show Quantico...

Rocky Handsome Trailer

The theatrical trailer of Rocky Handsome, starring John Abraham and Shruthi Haasan in the lead, is out. The action thriller, which John said is made on Hollywood standards, has the actor taking on the goons to save a little girl. The film has been directed by Nishikant Kamat, who has previously directed films like Force and Drishyam. Watch the trailer below

Urmila Matondkar Marriage Photos

Actress Urmila Matondkar, popular for her role in films like Rangeela and Bhoot, has tied the knot with Kashmiri businessman Mohsin Akhtar Mir on Thursday evening. The ceremony was simple and private with only friends and family of the couple invited for the wedding. Sources say, only Manish Malhotra, who is known to be close to the actress, was present at the wedding ceremony.

Fan Indicine FBO and LBO Update

The response to the theatrical trailer and the ‘Jabra’ song from Shah Rukh Khan’s FAN has increased the excitement around the film, both in the trade and the audience. We start FBO (First day box office) with Rs 20.5 crore, which would be a terrific start for a non-festive release. The makers have to now sustain the buzz leading upto the release of the film on April 15. Note: The final prediction will be made on April 14 (i.e one day before the release of the film)