Milkha's success casts a long shadow on the Box office

The phenomenal boxoffice success of the Milkha Singh bio-pic has thrown the movie business into a tizzy.

While in the first week Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's bio-pic raked in approximately Rs 55 crores, in the second week it maintained a lead over the new releases, raking in Rs 3.58 crores in Mumbai, as opposed to the Rs 3.42 crores opening for Prabhudheva's new release Ramaiyya Vastavaiya and Rs2.45 crores for Nikhil Advani's D Day.

Says the film's jubilant director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, `Our film's reach has exceeded all our expectations. We knew Milkhaji's story would have a resonant emotional impact. But we couldn't have guessed it would reach so far and wide.`



The immediate impact of the ace-runner's saga is a heightened interest in films related to sports and sports persons. Debutant director Omang Kumar is shooting a bio-pic on boxer Mary Kom. Ekta Kapoor has bought the movie rights of the life of cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin.And a biopic on the life of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand is in the pipeline.

Says Farhan Akhtar, `I am just so happy. Acceptance and recognition of one's effort is such a wonderful feeling.`

Bollywood's Half yearly report card: Biggest hits and misses of 2013

The first half of 2013 is over. It's monsoon time. And it's raining hits in Bollywood with film after film crossing the success barrier.

And Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's astounding biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag already seems to have the potential of being the first certifiable blockbuster during the second-half of 2013. Here's looking at the films of 2013 so far that made it, and the ones that didn't.

The Hits



Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani: Ayan Mukerjee's second film was charming warm and sometimes tender. But it didn't have much to say about the man-woman thing, except that guys who are popular in college can get away with murder in future life.

And yes, girls who are repressed just need to throw off their spectacles and make a spectacle of themselves to prove they have reached that nirvanic stage of liberation that Waheeda Rehman so memorably expessed in Aaj phir jeene ki tamannah hai.

These characters lived and died only for themselves. Thanks to Ranbir Kapoor's growing popularity, the film escalated to beyond the 100-crore profit mark leaving everyone including producer Karan Johar stumped. Ayan Mukerjee Couldn't handle it. He ran away to Spain to hide.


Aashiqui 2: Stars sell, right? Then how do we explain the phenomenal success of this Mohit Suri weepy-sing drama about a girl who wants to be Lata Mangeshkar, a guy who wants to be drunk all the time and a relationship that hits a deadend just when the hero hits the bottle with enhanced vengeance?

Audiences loved the story of a girl who is willing to give up her fame for love. This film turned Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shradha Kapoor into saleable stars. Aditya who played drunk in both Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Aashiqui 2 could very well become the new Keshto Mukherjee. Hic hic hurray!


Race 2: Well-toned girls and guys dancing, drinking, gambling and conning one another is all I remember of this year's first blockbuster. Deepika and John competed to show us who could wear their pants more distant from the navel.

John won by a slim margin. Saif Ali Khan scowled as though the last shot of the bourbon turned out to be not so neat. As for the plot, would someone please explain it to me?


Raanjhanaa: By far the most deserving success of the year so far. Aanand Rai's Varanasi-based love story gave us an unlikely couple in Sonam Kapoor and Dhanush. It also gave us a love story which made obsessive passion more a crime of the heart than a libelous offence.

The film's exuberant celebration of love took filmy romance away from the metropolis into the heartland. We could say, this film was the romantic antithesis of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Other USPs: A R Rahman's best music in Bollywood since Dil Se and Taal and a new awakening for Sonam.


Jolly LLB: Subhash Kapoor's astonishingly well-written film on the loopholes of the legal system was a delight. There were no stars in the film. There were Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani who are far more gifted than some of our A-listers who do the same thing over and over again. A true triumph of a relatively small socially relevant film worthy of a standing ovation.


Special Chabbis: Here was superstar Akshay Kumar doing what he seldom does, playing a real-life con-man, and that too in an ensemble cast where at least 15-18 other chracters got equal prominence. Director Neeraj Pandey broke all the rules of mainstream cinema. The heist story was unadorned by half-naked girls swimming in a sea of champagne. He still got audiences hooked.


The other successes of the first-half of the year: Remo d'Souza's ABCD (India's first dance-reality show as a feature film), Abhishek Kapoor's Kai Po Che (boys will be boys saga with an outstanding performance by Raj Kumar Yadav), Tigmanshu Dhulia's Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (took the tale of an unfaithful wife into the realm of the rugged and the ruthless where guns and the sound of Lataji's Lag ja gale se mingled miraculously), Chashme Buddoor (critics frowned at what they saw as a desecration of Sai Paranjpye's classic comedy, but the audience laughed uproariously, and the director David Dhawan laughed all the way to the bank), Shootout At Wadala (Sanjay Gupta's comeback film was a mean violent saga of gangwars done at a sound-defying octave), Mrigdeep Lamba's Fukrey (funnier than any other comedy this year so far), Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK's Go Goa Gone (Bollywood's first official zombie tale where Saif Ali Khan went blonde with better results than Kareena Kapoor blonde act in Tashan).

The Flops


David: Bejoy Nambiar's brilliantly-crafted tale of three unpredictable men who share the same name, Tamil star Vikram, Neil Nitin Mukesh and newcomer Vinay Virmani were brilliant in each of the three-layered stories. Finally though the failure of David proved episodic films just don't work in any part of the world.


Himmatwala: Film historians are still trying to figure out why Sajid Khan decided to remake an awful 1983 film which even Sridevi who starred in the original, would like to forget. To cut a long and tedious story short, the audience decided to give the film what one of its songs famously and picturesquely describes as 'Bum pe laat'.


Rangrezz: This one definitely deserved better. Far far better. A rugged expertly-executed film about love and elopement in a small dusty towns where guns speaks louder than words, Rangrezz was Priyadarshan's finest film in years.

Just why it didn't work remains a mystery. It couldn't be due to Jackky Bhagnani's minimal star-power. Aditya Roy Kapoor was no star when Aashiqui 2 was released. Maybe Jackky should have gone into the film after a few strong pegs of the hard beverage.


Bombay Talkies: A divine flawless journey into the heart of love, alas felled by its episodic format, Bombay Talkies told four different stories by four filmmakers of diverse filmmaking styles. Karan Johar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap took Hindi cinema to another level. This one deserved a lot more footfalls.


Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola: We were warned by the eccentric title to expect something entirely unconventional. Vishal Bharadwaj took us into a la-la-land where Pankaj Kapoor turned into two different personalities before and after drinking. Moral Of The Story: not every film with a tipsy hero is capable of becoming an Ashiqui 2 or a Yeh Jawaani Hai Deeewani.


Aurangzeb: A superbly crafted variation on Yash Chopra's Trishul about cut-throat competitiveness in corporate sectors, fuelled and sur-charged by the brilliant performances of Rishi Kapoor, Amrita Singh and Jackie Shroff, Aurangzeb suffered a setback at the boxoffice because director Atul Sabharwal took up a massy subject and executed it in Shyam Benegal's style. Nahin chalega, boss.


Other notable thuds of the year so far: Ram Gopal Varma's The Attacks Of 26/11 (yet another flop from RGV's factory), Rohan Sippy's Nautanki Saala (a pretentious trite and smug remake of French film deserved a kick in the pants), Kanan Iyer's Ek Thi Daayan (a judiciously brewed witches' tale with a glorious performance by Konkana Sen-Sharma, that lost its way in the second act), Prem Raj's Ishkq In Paris (Preity Zinta's comeback film fell flat on its polished face), Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (tch tch, the legendary Dhamendra had to suffer this humiliation for his sons' sake!) and finally Rajkumar Gupta's Ghanchakkar. . . . need we say anything more? !

Box Office: Slow start for 'Lootera', rakes in Rs 15 crore

Ranveer-Sonakshi starrer and 'Policegiri' had average openings with both films picking up marginally on Sunday

With Rajkumar Gupta's Ghanchakkar not faring well at the box office, all eyes were on Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha's Lootera and Sanjay Dutt's Policegiri. While both films had high stakes riding on them, Lootera has managed to rake in around Rs 15 crore over the weekend. Dutt's cop caper that he wrapped up just before surrendering to the court pulled in Rs 10 crore.

Distributor Sunny Khanna says, `Lootera started with a poor opening and first day numbers were not impressive. The film marginally picked up over the weekend. The first day net collection was around Rs 4.15 crore and Saturday stood at Rs 5.20 crore while on Sunday, the film collected around Rs 6 crore bringing the total to Rs 15.35 crore.



According to the trade, Policegiri did reasonably well in single screens but did not fare well in multiplexes. The film apparently suffered due to lesser shows in multiplexes. The Sanjay Dutt-starrer collected Rs 3.30 crore on Friday, Rs 3 crore on Saturday and Rs 4 crore on Sunday. The total now stands at Rs 10.30 crore.

Exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi says, `Policegiri is a hardcore mass entertainer with all the elements that go into a commercial potboiler. But the lack of a lead star whose current standing can allow a huge draw at the box office has kept it from making a strong impact. On the brighter side, Sanjay Dutt fans in B and C-centres got to enjoy watching him.`

Rathi adds that while Lootera's collections may not seem like it's hit the box office like a hurricane, but considering the fact that it's not a hardcore commercial entertainer, the numbers are more or less fair.

`The collections have grown steadily by the day over the weekend and the word of mouth seems to be positive in general. Here's hoping that it sustains well through the week ahead and takes a steady run over time,` he adds.


Exhibitor Girish Wankhede says, `Lootera's average occupancy was 55 per cent over the weekend, which is good but it was below expectations for us. Whoever saw the film loved it, but there weren't many people inside the theatre. Policegiri had an average occupancy of 45 per cent over the weekend.`

'Ghanchakkar' collects Rs.7.2 crore on opening day

UTV Motion Pictures' domestic comedy "Ghanchakkar", that released Friday, has collected Rs. 7.2 crores in India on its opening day.

Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan play the lead role in the Rajkumar Gupta-directed film that was made under the budget of Rs. 20 crores.

"INDIA:#Ghanchakkar Fri Rs 7.2 cr (sic)," tweeted trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Prior to the film's release, Emraan and Vidya were seen heavily promoting the film on TV shows like "Indian Idol Junior" and "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6", among others.

‘Ghanchakkar’ garners 22.30 cr in the first weekend

Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan starrer ‘Ghanchakkar’ has made a tepid business of Rs 22.30 crore in the opening weekend. Rajkumar Gupta’s latest offering failed to receive good reviews from the critics as well as the audience. The film opened with a slow pace and could not speed up even during the weekends.
Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, "#Ghanchakkar collected approx Rs 22.30 cr nett in its opening weekend. Breakup:- Fri 7.20 cr, Sat 7.30 cr, Sun 7.80 cr."
The overseas collection was decent.  The film earned Rs.3.60 lacs in Newzealand, Rs.15.23 lacs in Australia, Rs.52.90 lacs in the UK, and Rs.31.43 lacs in Canada.
The film is expected to make a good number on Sunday but still it could not drag audience to the theatre. The film did a lukewarm business in the opening weekend. Despite the hit jodi of ‘The Dirty Picture’, Emraan and Vidya, the film could not impress the audience.
Directed by Rajkumar Gupta, Vidya Balan plays the role of a energetic Punjabi housewife in 'Ghanchakkar' and Emraan Hashmi a thief. The film also stars Rajesh Sharma and Namit Das in an important role.
Prior to the film's release, Emraan and Vidya promoted the film heavily on TV shows like ‘Indian Idol Junior’ and ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6’.

‘Ghanchakkar’ mints Rs.7.2 crores on the first day

‘Ghanchakkar’ is a Bollywood comedy cum thriller movie directed by Raj Kumar Gupta who has earlier directed ‘Aamir’ and ‘No One Killed Jessica’. The film is jointly produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under the banner of UTV Motion Pictures. The movie was released on 28^th June 2013.
The movie has got mixed response from the audiences and the critics have marked the movie as ‘one time watch’. The movie stars Emraan Hashmi

Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan in the prominent roles.

The movie did an average business on the first day of its opening. At single screens the movie did not get a welcome response at the ticket counter. Both the morning and the afternoon shows experienced lackluster response. However the movie faired a bit at the multiplexes. The evening and the night shows on the first day did show some hope.
On the first day of its release, ‘Ghanchakkar’ collected Rs.7.2 crores net at the Indian Box Office.
Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan last appeared together in ‘Dirty Picture’ which did a far better business than this comedy flick. ‘Dirty Picture’ collected Rs.9.25 crores net on the first day of its release.
According to trade analysts, it is expected that ‘Ghanchakkar’ will do a better business on the subsequent days of the weekend viz. Saturday and Sunday. The movie was the only big release for this week with no major competitors. But it seemed the movies released in the earlier weeks like ‘Fukrey’ and ‘Raanjhnaa’ are still drawing crowds towards ticket counter.
It is expected that the second day collection for this comedy thriller might go up to Rs.9 crores net. Trade analysts are still optimistic about the movie as the movie stars two brilliant and popular actors. Also the movie is a light hearted comedy with Vidya stealing the show with her loud Punjabi acting.
The movie story starts with Emraan who is an expert safe breaker and Vidya is his Punjabi wife. They keep throwing house hold humor throughout the movie. Emraan with two other men plans for his retirement by plotting a big robbery. Robbery takes place successfully and the other 2 leaves the safe custody of money with Emraan to get back after 3 months. When they come back they realize that Emraan has a short term memory loss and he has forgotten about the money. The two people stay with Emraan and Vidya in the hope that his memory will come back. What follows is a heady cocktail of comedy and thrill.

'Raanjhanaa' collects Rs. 31.5 cr worldwide on opening weekend

"Raanjhanaa", the movie that celebrates love, is enjoying a positive response at the box office as the love saga has grossed Rs.31.5 crore worldwide on its opening weekend.

Anand L. Rai directed film, said to be made at a budget of Rs.35 crore, released Friday across 14,00 screens in the country and 220-plus screens abroad and on its opening weekend, it has grossed Rs.26.5 crore at the Indian box office and Rs.5 crore in the overseas market.

The film's high points are its Varanasi flavour, mind-boggling music by A.R. Rahman, Dhanush's convincing portrayal of a worshipping lover and the earthy side of Sonam Kapoor, who also shows her acting skill.

The Dhanush-Sonam starrer is wooing the audience in India and offshore alike.

Praising the film, trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted: "A film that touches the core of your heart. Not to be missed!"

If the film has garnered positive reviews, the word of mouth publicity through social networking sites has helped the film in a big way.

The film is so good that celebrities are also talking about it on the social networking sites with megastar Amitabh Bachchan tweeting: "In celebration (of India's victory at the Champions Trophy) saw 'Raanjhanaa'... loved the premise, the execution the performance, and the UP (Uttar Pradesh) atmosphere. Wishing it all success!"

Written by Himanshu Sharma, the film is produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner Eros International and the star cast also includes actors like Abhay Deol, Swara Bhaskar and Mohammed Zeeshan.

If Sonam gave her style diva tag a miss to play Zoya, she also made her character believable and the actress is getting praises from all quarters for her acting skills.

Renowned novelist and columnist Shobhaa De tweeted: "Sonam can act, saala!"

"Vicky Donor" fame actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who will be seen with Sonam in the Yash Raj Films' untitled project, said: "She has got a great sense of fashion and style and that had eclipsed her acting talent in the past, but I think by doing films like 'Raanjhanaa' and 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', you will discover her earthy side and an actor in her."

Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan said: "Mostly youngsters are coming to watch the film. They are appreciating Dhanush's acting and are really pleased with his performance."

"Sonam, represents the youth of the country, so people are coming to watch her as well. There is a buzz about her performance in the film and the audience are coming to see it," he added.

With critics calling the film "heady wine and its effect will only grow", "Raanjhanaa" is expected to go strong at the ticket window.

‘Raanjhanaa’ earns 31.5 crore in the opening weekend

Released on June 22^nd, ‘Raanjhanaa’ makes 31.5 crore in the opening weekend.  Made on a budget of Rs 35 crore, the love saga made 26.5 crore in the Indian box-office and Rs 5 crore in the overseas market. The film released on Friday across 1400 screens in India and in more than 220 screens abroad.
This musical love saga by Anand Rai garnered mixed response from film critics but both Dahnush and Sonak Kapoor’s acting was highly applauded.
Praising the film, trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted: "A film that touches the core of your heart. Not to be missed!"
The positive words worked in favor of the movie. The film also hugely liked by celebrities and showered praise on Dhanush, Sonam and the movie. Amitabh Bachchan tweeting: "In celebration (of India's victory at the Champions Trophy) saw Raanjhanaa... loved the premise, the execution the performance, and the UP (Uttar Pradesh) atmosphere. Wishing it all success!"
Written by Himanshu Sharma and produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner Eros International and movie includes actors like Abhay Deol, Swara Bhaskar and Mohammed Zeeshan.
Sonam sheds her glam image and gets into the character of a simple girl and received applause from every corner. Renowned novelist and columnist Shobhaa De tweeted: "Sonam can act, saala!"
Ayushmann Khurrana, who will be seen with Sonam in the Yash Raj Films' untitled project said, "She has got a great sense of fashion and style and that had eclipsed her acting talent in the past, but I think by doing films like Raanjhanaa and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, you will discover her earthy side and an actor in her."
Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan said: "Mostly youngsters are coming to watch the film. They are appreciating Dhanush's acting and are really pleased with his performance."
"Sonam, represents the youth of the country, so people are coming to watch her as well. There is a buzz about her performance in the film and the audience are coming to see it," he added.
In the coming days, the numbers are expected to go higher and higher.

Box office: 'Raanjhanaa' makes 20 crores, Amisha's Shortcut Romeo tanks

Despite a tepid start, Sonam Kapoor and Dhanush's new film rakes in some impressive moolah at the box office

It seems to be the season of love. Close on the heels of the most recent romantic films, Aashiqui 2 and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani garnering impressive moolah at the box office, the Sonam Kapoor-Dhanush starrer Raanjhanaa too seems to have joined the bandwagon.

Aanand L Rai's film, that had a slow start, picked up over the weekend and brought in approximately Rs 20 crore.

Last week's release Fukrey collected another Rs 7 crore, bringing its total collection to Rs 25 crore.

Exhibitor Akshay Rathi says, `Raanjhanaa proves that the conventional hero-looks, fluency in language, six pack-abs, star power, etc don't matter as much as conviction in filmmaking and performance.

The film rests on the able shoulders of Aanand and Dhanush, who seem to have impressed the audience in India and overseas, at multiplexes and single screens, men and women, classes and the masses, youngsters as well as the elders fall in love with their film.

With the collections growing by the day, through the weekend and sustaining well on Monday, the film is well on its way to becoming another big underdog victory.`



According to Rathi, Ameesha Patel's Shortcut Romeo has failed to create any impact at the ticket windows across the country. `Despite having decent music and a lot of action, the film had not been able to create the buzz, ` he adds.

Distributor Sunny Khanna states, `Shortcut Romeo had a dull opening and is a huge disaster at the box office with collections below Rs 1 crore net. Fukrey saw just a 30 per cent drop from the first weekend collections. The film is already a hit with superb second weekend performance.`

According to Khanna, the Sonam-Dhanush film had a tepid response on Friday morning but the film grew with good word-of-mouth publicity from every show there on. `The film had a fantastic first weekend. It proves once again that great content and a good director can draw in the crowds.`


Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, `The general reaction to the first half is amazing but second half seems not so great. The makers have released the film in Hindi as well as Tamil, so they will benefit from both the markets. The film is doing very well in the North circuit. Shortcut Romeo and Enemmy have been a disastrous.`

The Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer YJHD could be inching closer to a double century figure, in terms of its total collections. The film has raked in Rs 4.25 crore in its fourth weekend, taking the total to Rs 175 crore.

‘Raanjhanaa’ earns 21 crore in the first weekend

Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor and Dhanush starrer ‘Raanjhanaa’ which opened with a mixed review on Friday has been able to garner a promising first week collection. The film made Rs 21 crore in the opening weekend. It starts off well making 5 crore in the first day and gradually the numbers are rising.

The film’s leading actor Dhanush posted the collection in his twitter account. "RAANJHANAA weekend collections Fri 5.75cr,Sat 6.40cr,Sun 9.10cr.Total:21.25 cr.des numbers prove dat people like d film n dat makes us happy. Earlier film trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted about the film’s collection. #Raanjhanaa witnesses super jump in India. Fri Rs 5.15 cr, Sat Rs 6.25 cr+. Excellent!
The film which was made in bilingual-Hindi and Tamil was released across Tamil Nadu and was highly watched.
“Enthused by the super start of #Raanjhanaa Eros to release its Tamil version #Ambikapatty in 200 screens across Tamil Nadu next Friday”, tweeted Taran Adarsh.
The overseas collection of ‘Raanjhanaa’ was also marvelous, “UK#Raanjhanaa Fri £ 18,890, Sat £ 30,569. Total: £ 49,459 [Rs 45.22 lacs], Taran Adarsh tweeted.
Abhishek Bachchan congratulated both Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor for their performance. Congratulations @dhanushkraja @sonamkapoor@aanandlrai@actorzee what a beautiful film #Raanjhanaa#HarHarMahadev.
Dhanush’s performance was highly applauded by the audience as well as the critics and so is Sonam Kapoor's. Sonam is very happy because her father Anil Kapoor who has been her biggest critic praised her performance. She enacted a teenage girl and Sonam said that she took inspiration from Jaya Bachchan’s ‘Guddi’ to enact the role.
Directed by Anand Rai of ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ fame, the film also stars Abhay Deol in a pivotal role. Dhanush played a UP Brahmin boy and Sonam his ladylove.