Ra.One Monday Update. Not Encouraging.

As for Ra.One Monday update, Ra.One Monday Morning and Noon shows are poor and huge drop is registered. Evening and Night shows advance booking is average to poor, and if it doesn't improve rapidly, huge crash is awaiting for Ra.One. 

Nowadays as opening weekend indicates, how big the opening was of a particular movie, similarly Monday indicates, whether the movie will sustain or not in coming weeks. Since, today volume of screening is enormous, from Monday movies generally see a drop. But the drop showing for Ra.One in many places is huge and showing tremors already.

Already Ra.One has not collected as expected in its opening weekend and this early Monday update will cause further damage in the recovery of the huge investments. No doubt Ra.One broke all opening records and collected 91 crore nett all India in its opening extended weekend, but it was expected to collect much higher as per trade sources (Opening Weekend Expected - 100+ crore nett at least). 

We are still hopeful, evening and night shows will pick up and healthy Monday figure will be on the cards.

Sonakshi Sinha opposite Ajay Devgn in the romantic flick,

Sonakshi Sinha opposite Ajay Devgn in the romantic flick, 

 

Sonakshi Sinha and Ajay Devgn will be seen together for the first time, in the `SOS, son of Sardar. 'The film is a remake of Telugublockbuster maryada Ramanna and Punjab has as its context.

Ajay Devgn will co-produce the film. Dheera Ashwini, who shot to fame with `Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge 'is the film's director.

The speculation was that the star of the South was tryingTamanna role. The buzz also has it that Kareena Kapoor hasbeen approached to lead the lady. could do the role. But now,Sonakshi Sinha was then that he was playing the leading lady.

The shotgun of the child is definitely a lucky chick in the city of B.The actress has a list of films lined up for release. And what is more interesting is that a substitute will be seen in front of thebiggies in Bollywood.

In the first look, Tusshar Kapoor and Shah Nasseruddin haveseen Vidya Balan corteggiante, while Emraan Khan observes allseriously.

It must be said, a very very bold manifestoAjay Devgn

Friends at loggerheads

Ajay Devgn angry with Kumar Mangat for holding meetings with Fox Star Studios without the actor’s knowledge

Friendships in Bollywood seem to come with an expiry date. The latest B-town friends to have hit a rough patch being Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat. Rumour has it that Devgn and Mangat had a spat over Vishal Bhardwaj’s film Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola recently. Devgn was miffed with his friend Mangat when the latter held meetings with Fox Star Studios, the co-producers of the film in question without informing the actor. A source informed Mumbai Mirror, “It was a misunderstanding between friends. One person (Mangat) took his friend (Devgn) for granted. The friend, in turn, felt that his personal space has been invaded. Maybe, outsiders fuelled the fight.” According to sources, it started when Devgn agreed to do the film and Mangat got a bit carried away. A source close to Devgn and Mangat informed, “Mangat began discussing the project on an individual level with the co-producers. Devgn was not amused. He felt that Mangat should not have ventured into further talks with Fox Star Studios without keeping Devgn in the loop about each and every minute detail.”  While Devgn getting angry with his friend over space issues might have been justified, Mangat too had his reasons. “To be fair to Mangat, he did not imagine in his wildest dreams that Ajay will back out from the film. Also Mangat is after all, the co-producer for the project,” added the source. Devgn opted out of Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola since he was lured by the money Viacom 18 Motion Pictures offered him for Ashwini Dhir’s Son Of Sardar (Mumbai Mirror, October 15, 2011). Hoping that the misunderstanding between the two long standing friends in Bollywod gets sorted out, the source added, “Let’s hope it gets resolved. Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat go back a long way. They have always been there for each other.” Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat have known each other for the last 20 years. For the last 18 years Mangat has successfully managed Devgn’s career. In 1996, Devgn started a film distribution outfit, Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd. with Mangat as the CEO. Mangat soon went on to become an independent producer with Ajay playing the lead role in most of his ventures - Omkatra, Sunday, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Toonpur Ka Superrhero. Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola now stars Imran Khan in the lead (Mumbai Mirror, October 25, 2011 ). After Devgn walked out from the project, Bhardwaj had approached Shahid Kapoor who politely declined the offer, citing date issues (Mumbai Mirror, October 20, 2011). While Devgn and Mangat chose not to comment, Devgn's official spokesperson said, "The rumours of a tiff between Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat are baseless and untrue. Mangat has worked with Devgn as his business manager for more than 20 years; he has established his brilliance as a reputed producer as well. Their working partnership is based on trust and respect. They always ask each other advice and guidance for every project."

Akshay loves Prabhu Deva's southern 'tadka'

Move over Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty! There seems to be another actor-director combine or 'jodi' forming in the B-town.
After sticking to comedies for a long time, actor Akshay Kumar is enjoying a 'tadka' of a different kind, by working in a 'masala' action affair 'Rowdy Rathore'. What makes the experience special for him is the way director Prabhu Deva has brought together all commercial ingredients, making the film one of the most anticipated ones next year.
"Akshay has been simply bowled over with the manner in which Prabhu directs his scenes", said a senior unit member, "At the script level itself, Akshay was quite impressed with what Prabhu had promised around bringing on table. However, it is the sheer execution of the printed word which is impressing Akshay the most. All of a sudden he is seeing flashes of many an action film that he had done during the 90s. He is enjoying every moment of the making of 'Rowdy Rathore' since Prabhu is bringing back 'masala' in a very contemporary avatar."However after completing this project Prabhu Deva is planning to direct Ajay Devgn in his next.

Vindu in Ajay Devgn's next SON OF SARDAR

Vindu Dara Singh says that he is happy with the Diwali gift he has received from his childhood friend Ajay Devgn. Vindu has got a good role in Ajay's upcoming comic adventure movie SON OF SARDAR (SOS) and a chance to work with Ajay and Sanjay Dutt together. Ajay is going to pair up with Sonakshi Sinha and the movie is being directed by Ashwini Dheer. Vindu refused to tell the nature of his role.
An excited Vindu said, "This is a really exciting Diwali gift from Ajay Devgn and I am thankful to him."

The title of the movie SON OF SARDAR was in controversy as the title was owned by another of Vindu's friends Akshay Kumar. Vindu is already playing a role in Director Shirish Kunder's upcoming movie JOKER and the movie star cast includes Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha. The title row was settled when Ajay and Akshay talked it out. SON OF SARDAR, produced by Ajay Devgn.

Shaan's tryst with acting!

ShaanMore Pics

Singer Shaan showcased his acting skills when he donned different get-ups to represent some popular characters from Hindi movies at the 2nd Chevrolet Global Indian Music Awards (GIMA) recently.

The melodious crooner played characters like Hrithik Roshan in "Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai", Shah Rukh Khan in "Main Hoon Na", Aamir Khan in "3 Idiots" and Ajay Devgn in "Singham".

He sang too, and gave a Bengali twist to Shah Rukh?s "RA.One" hit number "Chammak challo".

The Chevrolet GIMA awards ceremony, which will be aired on Colors Sunday, will also see performances Priyanka Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan.

Bollywood’s next bad man : Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj seems to have taken the place left empty by Dr Dang, Mogambo and Gabbar Singh. The national award winning actor from Tollywood is fast becoming Hindi film industry's most sought after bad man.

After playing the villain in Salman Khan's 2009 hit Wanted and Ajay Devgn's 2011 blockbuster Singham, Raj has bagged the negative role in Sunny Deol's next Ghayal Returns. The film goes on floors next month.

A source informed Mumbai Mirror, "Sonu Sood was being considered for the role. Manoj Bajpai was also in the running. But the filmmakers, Metro Movies, finalised Prakash Raj. He signed on for the project last week. His performance in Singham won him the role."

"The film is based in Uttar Pradesh. A major portion of the film will be shot in northern India and Prakash has already given dates for the same next month. He plays a comic villain in the film," added the source.

Mahendra Dhariwal's son, Chirag, will be producing the film. When contacted, Mahendra confirmed that Prakash has been finalised for the film. "We had considered Sonu and Manoj for this role but with the kind of script we have, Prakash was a perfect fit."

The film will be directed by Right Yaaa Wrong director Neeraj Pathak and also stars Mithun Chakraborty, Arshad Warsi and Tushar Kapoor in pivotal roles. Sunny will be seen in a double role in the film.

Ra.One: Movie Review

Ra.One

Shah Rukh Khan's superhero character takes too long to boot in this science fiction flick. G.One arrives just five minutes before the interval point by when you have already restarted your system several times, which has been hanging into nothingness. And the film's title character Ra.One, a skeletal villain, gets a face (Arjun Rampal) even later in the second half. Is it worth the wait? Only intermittently and inconsistently!

So what happens before the advent of the superhero? You are introduced to a nerdy South Indian stereotype Shekhar (Shah Rukh Khan), his wife Sonia (Kareena Kapoor) and their apathetic son Prateek (Armaan Verma). The father hopelessly imitates Michael Jackson, the mother is doing a Phd on Indian abuses and you don't blame the son to be uninterested by their goofy gimmickry.

The son wishes to see his diffident daddy as 'Papa - The Great'. So the father designs a virtual reality game and after detailed tutorials on nomenclature and direction-to-use, the video game's protagonist and antagonist come to the fore. So much that they step out of the gaming console to battle it out in the real world as G.One and Ra.One. What follows is a 'Robot- meets-Terminator' plotline with Ra.One in hot pursuit of Prateek while G.One trying to save him.

It's certainly not a 'dream' start for the film with a tacky video game prologue merely to accommodate starry cameos of Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra. Not only does director Anubhav Sinha take too long to arrive, the initial proceedings don't contribute much to the film either. Too much of screen-time is expended on vulgar jokes and tomfoolery. The actual thrill initiates only after the superhero comes into picture and the graph of the narrative soars considerably in the second half.

Though the sci-fi concept seems too far-fetched, the director is able to pull it off with visual dazzlery and fast-paced storytelling that the genre demands. The action sequences are thrillingly and credibly choreographed and esp. outstanding is a freeway chase which leads to car-catapulting sequence in a junkyard at the interval point. The local train sequence in the pre-climax evidently brings back memories of Rajinikanth's Robot. However, the climactic mortal combat in a simulation setup isn't as much awe-inspiring and reminds of the climax of Ajay Devgn's Toonpur Ka Superhero.

Another factor that works against the film is that its title character Ra.One is not half as menacing as it claims to be. Not only is Arjun Rampal inducted pretty late in the plot, being an 'outcome' of virtual reality he is too shallow and ineffective as the main villain. And while G.One is delightful, it could have been a lot more endearing. While it's mechanized avatar and emotionless conduct is again reminiscent of Rajinikanth's Robot, the South sci-fi packed in much more punch thanks to an eventful screenplay as compared to the Bollywood counterpart which relies too much on SRK's stardom than the script. No doubt then that Rajinikanth's one-scene cameo as 'Chitti' garners more applause than Shah Rukh wins in the whole film.

The film has a very crude sense of humour and surprisingly the dialogues are more vulgar than witty for a film largely targeted at the family audience. With the theory that anything sells in the name of Shah Rukh, you are served with butt-spanking, crotch-grabbing, cleavage-popping, nose-picking, condom innuendoes, gayish and garish gags. While any other actor doing that would have been tagged as 'cheap', girls going gaga over SRK would still like to call it 'charming' over here. Kareena Kapoor takes her Golmaal gibberish-abusive legacy ahead. Moreover a SRK film seems incomplete without a karva chauth scene or a K2H2 track playing in the backdrop.

Surprisingly, the ever-dependable Vishal-Shekhar's musical score never rises above the Akon number Chammak Challo. V Manikanandan's cinematography is effective. The editing could have been better and the film could have been much crisper in length. Since the film was not actually shot using the 3D technology and is merely converted into the format, the effects aren't really great and one wouldn't miss much in the 2D format.

Shah Rukh Khan credibly pulls off the G.One part though irritates occasionally as the nerdy South Indian. Despite being a superhero film, Kareena Kapoor is never sidelined and does decent in her part. Child actor Armaan Verma is less cute and more of attitude. He carries an annoyed expression for a major part. It's a cakewalk for Arjun Rampal to remain expressionless (in his mechanical avatar) throughout the film. The base effect added to his voice makes his dialogue delivery less perceptible. Amitabh Bachchan's voiceover in the game's introduction doesn't register. The film offers an apt tribute to Rajinikanth though. Shahana Goswami gets no scope. Dalip Tahil makes a caricature of himself.

On the Indian superhero scale, G.One is certainly way ahead of its Krrish counterparts but still miles behind Robot. Nevertheless Ra.One qualifies for a 'one' time watch.  2 stars by Bollywood_Times.

Ra.One Opening Day Update. Taken 100% Opening in Morning Shows. Outstanding.

As early reports are coming Ra.One has taken 100% opening at many places, mainly multiplexes at Metros. Even at other places and circuits opening is on average 65-90%, which is just outstanding.
Reviews are great and expectations are sky high. 'King' Shahrukh Khan is back and back with bang. Advance booking for the evening is also good and a humongous First Day collection is expected at the Box Office.

'RA.One' fails to impress

RA.One ¦a super-duper star playing a robot, a mighty overwhelming budget, path breaking (apparently) visual effects, a gorgeous villain and stunner of a heroine, promotions that almost elevated the film to a national event ¦in such circumstances what are the chances of it not being a fantastic watch? Well, surely there are. RA.One manages to stumble and falter, IN SPITE of all the crutches that it has been provided with.

Shekhar Subramaniam (Shah Rukh) is a Tamilian who is a gaming expert and also prefers speaking in his native language even though he is working in London. And he's not even consistent at that -- his romba (means 'lots' in Tamil) becomes ramba and rumba as per convenience. But you are a dodo if you expect consistency from this movie. 

 
Shekhar's character himself is not sure if he is a bumbling idiot or a smart ass. His wife Sonia (Kareena Kapoor) is doing a random thesis on 'gaalis' for women, if you please. And he has a son Prateek, who day dreams about random superhero spoofs and his rotund classmate possesses their teacher's sex tape, randomly like that. Oops did I use too many randoms? Wait, Shekhar develops a game, which has a bad guy RA.One (Random Access Version one shortened) and a superhero G.One (the Good one).

The story gains pace as the team gets busy creating the game and Prateek insists on playing the first game. That's when the gaming villain decides to step out into the real world to seek revenge. A good enough germ of an idea, which is happily killed by interspersing it with below-the-belt humour and bollywoodisation. Some scenes are absolutely unbelievable, like a robot wanting to know what karwa chauth is, etc etc. A revolting khichdi of sorts, just like the spaghetti that Tam Bram Shekhar eats with dahi.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Armaan Verma, Shahana Goswami, Tom Wu, Rajnikanth (special appearance)
Rating: **1/2

Diwali is B town's money spinning season

Shah Rukh Khan

Diwali is that time of the year when the Hindi film industry expects a BO dhamaka from its big budget releases.

Filmmakers/exhibitors whip up a frenzy to grab the maximum number of screens for their Diwali releases and dates are booked months in advance for films to hit the screens to make the most of the festive spirit and wow audiences. Shah Rukh Khan has so far had the most dhamakedaar Diwali (with six hits), followed by Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn (two hits each) and Aamir Khan (one hit).

After a low-key Diwali in 2010 (with only a Golmaal 3 hitting the BO bull's eye), this year, three flicks - Dumadamm, Tell me O Kkhuda and RA.One (with Rs 190 crore riding on these films) will vie for eyeballs. Says trade analyst Komal Nahta, "Diwali is a time when all your efforts work in the films' favour. Even small budget films that do not carry a 'Khan' tag manage to recover their money."

Understandably, the stakes are high for distributors and producers who need to make the most of the festive spending. Nandu Ahuja, senior VP of the company that holds the distribution rights of RA.One feels "Diwali is a money spinning period because during holidays family entertainment takes priority with the Indian population."

Rohit Shetty, whose Golmaal 3 and Golmaal Returns were Diwali hits, says, "A festival release always works in the favour of the film because people go in huge numbers to watch a film. But you can't plan your film in such a way that it releases during a festival. Basically the treatment, the histrionics and the actor is important for a film to work."

The period between 2000-2003 had films like Kal Ho Na Ho (November 2003), Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (December 2001), Lagaan (June 2001), Gadar-Ek Prem Katha (June 2001), Dil Chahta Hai (July 2001), Munnabhai MBBS (December 2003), Koi Mil Gaya (August 2003), Vivah (November 2006) becoming huge grossers at a time when there were was no peak festival 'hit'.

Swapna Waghmare Joshi, the director of Dumadamm says, "Diwali always has one comic film release and after All the Best, there has not been a single good comic film releasing during the festival. After watching RA.One, I am sure the masses will have time to watch a Dumadamm." Hema Malini has mentioned in an earlier interview that "Once your film is complete, you need to push it. You can't sit back and relax."

With SRK banking heavily on his mammoth project Ra.One, Hema Malini pushing her daughter's career in Tell me O Kkhuda and Himesh Reshammiya trying his luck at the BO again, it seems that this Diwali the stakes are definitely high!

Salman-Aamir to be role models for Ajay-Hrithik?

Salman and Aamir have set an example and industry is now waiting with bated breath to see if Ajay Devgn and Hrithik Roshan follow the same route as well. Since Salman and Aamir have juggled release plans of four of their films, bigwigs in the industry feel that Ajay and Hrithik too should sit across the table and finalise on plans for 'Tezz' and 'Agneepath' once for and all.
“It's high time that they did that,” says an industry veteran.
“For how long can they continue to hold on to the suspense. I am 200% sure that these biggies won't clash with each other. However, the way the makers of both films are holding on to any subsequent announcement, it is unfortunate to say the least. Also it is unhealthy for all involved as just 3 months remain and any sudden change in plans would require massive rescheduling as well as change in overall strategy,” he said.
However, as of now Karan Johar as well as Priyadarshan are not budging from their stand and continue to stick to their 26th January plans. Since both films are multi-crore affairs and high stakes are involved, none of the two parties are willing to blink first.
“This is not sustainable though,” says a trade veteran.
“For both Hrithik and Ajay these are crucial films. Agneepath is a remake of a classic and comparisons with Amitabh Bachchan is anyways an impending challenge. Ditto for 'Tezz' which is apparently a remake of Japanese film 'The Bullet Train'. With so much at stake, the least that these two superstars would need at this hour is a heads-on clash,” he said.

How Film Distribution Works ? What is Distributor Share ?

It has been said that making a movie is not nearly as difficult as getting it distributed. Because of the enormous amount of cost in money and time involved in distributing a movie, a distributor must feel confident that they can make a sufficient return on their investment. Having the backing of a major studio or a well known director or star can greatly improve the chances of securing a good distribution deal. Independent filmmakers often use film festivals as an opportunity to get the attention of distributors. Once a distributor is interested in a film, the two parties arrive at a distribution agreement based on one of two financial models:

• Leasing
• Profit sharing

In the leasing model, the distributor agrees to pay a fixed amount for the rights to distribute the film. If the distributor and the studio have a profit-sharing relationship, on the other hand, the distributor gets a percentage (typically anywhere from 10 to 50 percent) of the net profits made from the movie. Both models can be good or bad, depending on how well a movie does at the box office. The goal of both the studio and the distribution company is to predict which model will benefit them the most.
Most of the major studios have their own distribution companies. For example, Yash Raj Studios owns Yash Raj Films. The obvious advantages of this are that it is very simple to set up a distribution deal and the parent company doesn’t have to share the profits with another company. The big problem is when an expensive movie is a flop — there’s no one else to share the costs. That’s the main reason several studios have partnered on major movies in recent years. For example, “Ra.One” is produced entirely by Red Chillies but distributed by Eros Entertainement Along With Red Chillies.
The next big step occurs once the distribution company has rights to the film. Most distributors not only provide the movie to theaters, but obtain ancillary rights to distribute the movie on VHS, DVD, cable and network TV. Other rights can include soundtrack CDs, posters, games, toys and other merchandising.
Distributor to Theatres
There are two ways for a theater to lease a movie:

• Bidding
• Percentage

Bidding requires that the theater agree to pay a fixed amount for the right to show the movie. For example, a theater might bid Rs. 50 Lakhs for a four-week engagement of a new movie. During that time, it could make 60 Lakhs for a profit of 10 Lakhs. Or it might take in only 40 Lakhs, which means the theater has a loss of 10 Lakhs. This Method is used by very less theatres nowadays. Most agreements are for a percentage of the box office (ticket sales).
In this sort of deal, the distributor and the theater agree to several terms:

• The theater negotiates the amount of the house allowance, or nut, with the distributor. This is a set figure to cover basic expenses each week.
• The percentage split for the net box office is set. This is the amount of box office left after the deduction of the house allowance.
• The percentage split for the gross box office is set.
• The length of engagement is set (typically four weeks & two Weeks for Minor Films).

The distributor will get the vast majority of the money made by the movie. The agreement gives the distributor the agreed-upon percentage of the net box office or gross box office, whichever is greater. The way this works is amazing!
Consider this example. PVR is negotiating with Eros Entertainment over Bodyguard. The theater has figured that expenses, the nut, are about 1.5 Lakhs per week. The net percentage to go to the distributor is set at 95 percent for the first two weeks, 90 percent for week three and 85 percent for the final week. The gross percentage to go to the distributor is set at 70 percent for the first two weeks, 60 percent for week three and 50 percent for the final week.

Gross Box Office = Total Money Which Comes From Ticket Sales
Nut = Running Costs
Net%  & Gross % Are Decided as Mentioned Above
Profit/Loss = Gross Box Office – Money Taken By Distributor – Nut

You can see that during weeks one, two and three, the gross percentage is higher. The net percentage is higher for week four. So the distributor would take gross percentage from week 1 to 3 three then net for week 4. The theater breaks even the first week, loses money the second and makes a profit on weeks three and four.

The movie itself is considered a loss leader by the theater owner: It is meant to get people into the theater. The theater makes its money selling refreshments to the movie audience. That’s why concessions are so expensive – without the profits generated by things like popcorn and pepsi, most theaters could not afford to stay in business.
At the end of the negotiated engagement, the theater pays the distributor its share of the box office earnings and returns the print. If a movie is very popular and can continue to draw a steady crowd, the theater may renegotiate to extend the lease agreement. Any time you see the phrase “Held over,” you know that the theater has extended the movie lease.
While first run movies that have just been released are loss leaders, movies that have been out for a while can be profitable for the theaters that show them. Second run theaters often get very attractive leasing terms from the distributor. These theaters are facing increasing competition though, as first run theaters continue to show more movies past the traditional four to six week time frame.

How much Ra.One will Earn?

Ra.one will earn anything between Rs 100 crore nett to 250 crore nett all India. Opening will be historic. So, opening weekend will be in the range of 70-110 crore nett all India. It all depends on word of mouth. Opening day figures will be historic no doubt about that, but after that a good word of mouth will sustain it big way in opening and preceding weeks. A good word of mouth will help Ra.One to collect Rs 100-130 crore nett all India in its opening week and a lifetime collection of Rs 200-250 crore nett all India. 

Even a negative word of mouth can't stop the opening day collection, but opening week and lifetime collections might be affected by it. Still, it will be a disappointment if it doesn't collect atleast Rs 100 crore nett all India as lifetime nett gross.

Realistically Ra.One should collect Rs 150+ crore nett all India

Asin and Ajay all set to get second time lucky with Bol Bachchan

Asin has enjoyed her status of being the only newcomer to have registered two centuries already when it comes to box office returns. With Ghajini as well as Ready doing over Rs. 100 crores each just in India, she has managed an enviable success rate. However, what pains her heart till date is the fact that her London Dreams with Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn didn't do well at the box office. So while with Salman she managed to make amends with Ready, she is now keeping her fingers crossed and is quite positive that her second time pairing with Ajay (in Bol Bachchan) would allow her another hit pairing.
"Asin still feels sad about London Dreams," says a friend of the actress, "Though Ghajini as well as Ready were remakes and she had acted in the former and pretty much knew what the latter was all about, London Dreams was an original and boasted of a new setup for Asin. She always felt that she and Ajay looked good together and it was a matter of time before they were paired again. She just waited for the right setup and it came her way with Bol Bachchan. She feels that the film has good enough potential to establish her 'jodi' with Ajay. After Salman, she now wants to strike gold with Ajay on this film."
Well, she can be pretty much assured that she and Ajay would indeed get second time lucky, what with the man at the helm of affairs, Rohit Shetty, enjoying an enviable box office outing. Boasting of the kind of success rate that no other filmmaker has enjoyed in last 20 years at the least, Rohit has now picked up the subject of Golmaal (Amol Palekar, Bindiya Goswami, Utpal Dutt) for Bol Bachchan.
"The subject is so fantabulous that Rohit can't go wrong here, especially with the kind of expertise he has shown when it comes to comedies," says a fellow filmmaker, "In fact he has completely re-written the characters here. Though Abhishek Bachchan and Prachi Desai are said to be reprising the roles of Amol Palekar and Bindiya Goswami, Ajay Devgn is apparently stepping into Utpal Dutt's shoes."
As for Asin, buzz is that there is an altogether new character being written. That by itself is heartening enough for the actress as she gets to share very good screen space with Rohit's favourite hero Ajay. Even though a major schedule of the film has already been wrapped up in Jaipur, the makers continue to be tight lipped about how far they have gone ahead while changing the original script of Golmaal and the kind of characterisation they have put together for Ajay, Abhishek, Asin and Prachi.

On contacting, Asin says, "Obviously I can't talk much about the film. However, I can definitely say that working with this gang was an eye opener. Ajay as well as Abhishek have very good roles and their comic timing is great. The kind of aptitude they have for comedy is fantastic; more so because Rohit is driving it all. It was great reuniting with Ajay after London Dreams. Of course there was a lot of 'masti' while doing the film with him. I am positive we will deliver a good success together with Bol Bachchan."

Sur, saaz and rockstar: When music is Bollywood's muse

Rockstar

Music is an almost inseparable part of Indian films. And over the years, Bollywood has taken the association further by making it an integral part of its scripts through films like " Abhimaan", " Sur", "Rock On!!" - and the upcoming, much-awaited " Rockstar".
The backdrop for each story may have been different, but the rise or the fall of the protagonist - often an aspiring, musically-inclined entity - has formed the core of most of these films.
"Rockstar", which features Ranbir Kapoor as an aspiring musician who walks the path of self-destruction to achieve his dreams, is set for release Nov 11.
IANS takes a lowdown on some Hindi films, which zoomed the lens on the emotions surrounding the success, failure, jealousy, love, competition and hardships in the life of singers, musicians and music bands, in the past:
"Abhimaan" (1973) - A professional singer, whose career is soaring, marries a village girl, who also sings. After marriage, the man continues singing, and fosters his wife's singing career too until she becomes more popular. Jealousy seeps in, tearing their marriage apart. The larger picture of "Abhimaan" may be professional jealousy between a man and his wife, but this Amitabh-Jaya Bachchan classic also depicted the ups and downs in the life of a Bollywood singer.
"Yaarana" (1981) - A village farmer ( Amitabh Bachchan) who has a melodious voice is taken to the city by his successful businessman friend ( Amjad Khan) to make him famous. The farmer gradually becomes a star, but his friend falls prey to a mental problem.
"Akele Hum Akele Tum" (1995) - An aspiring playback singer ( Aamir Khan) falls in love with a rich girl ( Manisha Koirala), who is still training in classical singing. They get married, but when the girl's career takes a backseat due to household responsibilities, she decides to walk out and carve her own niche. She goes on to become a star, while the man goes through a failed career and financial crisis.
"Khamoshi: The Musical" (1996) - Born to a deaf and mute couple, Annie (Manisha Koirala) grows up to love music. She gets her musical inspiration from her grandmother, but music fades from her life gradually, until she meets Raj ( Salman Khan). She starts singing again and even records an album.
"Taal" (1999) - This Subhash Ghai film is about an aspiring singer, played by Aishwarya Rai. She goes on to taste international success. In the background is her love story with a rich man, who loves her equally.
"Dil Vil Pyar Vyar" (2002) - The film takes a look at three love stories, one of which is about ego, pride and insecurity in the life of a married couple, played by R. Madhavan and Namrata Shirodkar. Both are aspiring singers and both want success. But when the wife becomes more popular, trouble ensues.
"Sur" (2002)- The film is about a music teacher ( Lucky Ali) in search of a special student who can make it big. But when he finds one such student (Gauri Karnik), who becomes extremely successful under his tutelage, he feels jealous of her fame. He starts dominating and humiliating her, but makes it up publicly.
"Jhankaar Beats" (2003) - A tribute to the legendary R.D. Burman, this film about love, friendship and music narrates the story of two dedicated musicians (Rahul Bose and Sanjay Suri), who wish to win an annual pop music contest called Jhankaar Beats. During the narrative, they are joined by another boy (Shayan Munshi).
"Rock On!!" (2008) - The 2008 film traced the journey of an aspiring band - Magik - from their college days, to the decline, to their reformation, and success.
"London Dreams" (2009) - With massive stage settings, rock concerts and music, this Ajay Devgn-Salman Khan-Asin-starrer is about the formation of a band, jealousy among band members, its decline and resurrection.
"Jashnn - The Music Within" (2009) - This movie features Adhyayan Suman as a young man who hopes to become a singing icon. But what takes him to the top are the bittersweet lessons of life, which ultimately help him achieve his musical dreams.
"Soundtrack" (2011) - A sensitive tale of a passionate music lover-turned-DJ-turned-music composer, this film features Rajeev Khandelwal. When situations make him deaf, he meets a hearing-impaired girl ( Soha Ali Khan), who knows the art of lip-reading. He attempts to sense the sound of music and study digital waveforms of tunes he knew, and creates new music and finally becomes a renowned composer.

Rascals Second Weekend Collection is 2.75 crore nett all India. Dropped Heavily.

Rascals has collected 2.75 crore nett all India in its second weekend. It has dropped heavily in its second weekend. Collections are just average. Rascals total collection now stands at 32 crore nett all India.

Collection Breakup - 

First Week - 29.65 crore nett.

Second Weekend - 2.75 crore nett.

Total - 32.4 crore nett.

Salman Khan & Shah Rukh Khan Matter; Not Directors: Ram Gopal Varma

Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma is of the opinion that “a star is truly the only captain of the ship” and not the director. Varma, who is known to have sporadic outbursts and fights on the micro-blogging platform, Twitter.com, sent out a string of tweets on Wednesday (October 19) morning explaining his position on the issue.
“Bollywood stars have completely shattered the myth of the director being the captain of a ship..a star is truly the only captain of the ship. Whether its Abhinav or Anees or Siddique or Sohail or Arbaaz no matter whoever the director is Salman’s films become superhits anyway,” he tweeted.
After targeting the directors of Salman Khan’s recent films, RGV trained his guns on Shah Rukh Khan’sRa.One, “The most awaited Ra.One’s director has only a negative record.. whether Ra.One is directed by Anubhav Sinha or Karan Johar people wil still see.” magnum opus,

Varma rounded it up by including Aamir Khan too! “The director of Tashan touted as yashraj ki aag is directing Dhoom 3 ..if Aamir makes even his dog a director I willl b 1st in queue for a ticket. If I myself as a director m not caring about who’s directing these films and m running 2 the theatre what do the audience care about directors?”
Varma summed up his diatribe by adding, “I always blvd that director’s importance has been always there only because stars had an illusion of their importance and so producers followed the same. But now that illusion has been broken the rest should wake up and kick the high flying directors out and make that money also for themselves.” Harsh words, especially coming from a person who is a director himself. Wonder what RGV’s stars will think the next time they work with him?

Sunny Deol Turns 55 Today!

Sunny Deol

The dhai kilo ka haath (and the rest of him too) turns 55 today! Sunny Deol, who made his mark in Bollywood with action films like Arjun, Ghayal, Narasimha & more, will celebrate his birthday today (19 October).
Sunny, who starred in the hit comedy film Yamla Pagla DeewanaGhayal Returns. He is also working on the film Mohalla Assi. Sunny is also gearing up for the sequel to YPD and a film titled earlier this year with his father Dharmendra and brother Bobby Deol, is gearing up for the sequel I Love New Year, which stars Kangana Ranaut as well.

Ajay Devgn at loggerheads with Vishal Bharadwaj!

Ajay Devgn

Ajay Devgn has walked out of Vishal Bharadwaj's Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola. The fallout has taken an interesting turn with both parties giving different versions.
Says a source close to Ajay, "He has decided not to do films for emotional reasons. Though he had initially liked Vishal's script and had even approved it, after Rascals, he's being extra careful about upcoming films."
Ajay is upset with reports that he opted out of MKBKM as he had been offered more money for Son Of Sardar. The source continues, "Fact is, Ajay walked out because of the script. Somewhere along the way, he began to feel that it was too niche a film. He had told Vishal to change the script repeatedly but the director didn't agree and finally they decided to part ways, after mutually deciding to make an announcement. When the story broke, the actor feels the director played dirty and is very angry."
In recent times, Ajay has emerged as a mass hero at multiplexes and single screen theatres with Singham and Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, he only wants to do entertaining films with universal appeal. Also Vishal's last film Saat Khoon Maaf didn't set the box office afire so Ajay is wary about doing a film with him at a time when he has a string of commercial successes behind him.
Ajay confirms, "Money had nothing to do with me opting out of Vishal's film. I want to cut down on my work commitments from next year and focus on one film at a time. I have stopped doing films for friends and for emotional reasons. This time it's friendship on one side and business on the other!"

Is Ajay's stardom impacted by 'Rascals' failure?

Bollywood News: Mumbai, There have been flops and there will be flops. However the way 'Rascals' slid with every passing day, it could well make for a case study. After all even the biggest of flops stay consistent over the weekend at the least.

Talking about flops like 'Mausam' and 'Aarakshan' or 'No Problem', 'Kites' and 'Raavan' last year, each of these films stayed stable or for that matter even showed some minor improvement over the weekend before crashing on Monday. However in case of 'Rascals', crash was visible right through it's extended four day weekend, something that pretty much painted the picture as 'red' for the film.

The film has been rejected, and how. In fact this is one of the rare films where the producer/actor (in this case Sanjay Dutt) has himself come out in open and acknowledged within a week of it's release that it isn't really a film he would be too happy about. With a mere 29 crores coming in and minimal chances of the film crossing the 35 crores mark, 'Rascals' has done better than David Dhawan's last 'Do Knot Disturb' but still, it is not much consolation since the cast and price tag was of much higher value here.

A few can be heard questioning Ajay Devgn's stardom here. Well, let the point be stated - It was mainly due to his stardom that the film still managed to get a decent opening. Of course the smart man that Ajay is, even he picks and chooses films when it comes to promoting them extensively and in case of 'Rascals', one can well see that he didn't go all out in the manner as a 'Singham' or a 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai'. 'Rascals' was a film done for fun and I am sure when his other biggies (Tezz, Bol Bachchan) would come calling, he would jump into the arena in a big way.

As for 'Love Breakups Zindagi' and 'Soundtrack', they failed to collect much and are bona fide flops. Combined collections of both the films couldn't cross the 5 crores mark which is a pity because between them, they young flicks did have some moments to cheer about at the least.

Dabangg 2 set to release on Christmas 2012. Dhoom 3 delayed for 3 months further.

Dabangg 2 is set to release on Christmas 2012. Shooting of 'Dabangg 2' starts March 2012 and releases on 21 Dec 2012!" Arbaaz, who turned producer with the first instalment last year, posted on micro-blogging site Twitter. 

Arbaaz had last month confirmed that the first draft of the script was ready. They were just waiting for actor Salman Khan's dates. Perhaps the schedule dates have been locked now for the film, which will once again see Sonakshi Sinha and Sonu Sood.

Hopes are high from the sequel to "Dabangg", which had earned Rs.145 crore. Arbaaz, whose wife Malaika had grooved to the chartbuster "Munni badnaam hui" in the film, had admitted earlier that he was nervous about the sequel. "There is a little nervousness for sure as the expectations are high but we would definitely be presenting something good and interesting," he had said.

Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger To Release On Eid

After Bodyguard, Dabangg and Wanted, Salman Khan is counting on Eid for his next film, Ek Tha Tiger, as well. Yash Raj Films romantic thriller, starring Salman and Katrina Kaif, which was scheduled to hit theatres on June 1, 2012, is now scheduled to release on Eid 2012.

More: Salman Khan’s Biggest Eid Release: Bodyguard, Dabangg Or Wanted?

Reportedly, Aamir Khan requested Salman and Aditya Chopra to reschedule their film to accommodate his film with director Reema Kagti. Aamir intends to release his film, also starring Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji, on June 1, 2012. Considering that Salman and Aamir are such close friends, its no surprise that Adi and Sallu obliged for the 3 Idiots star. It also gave Sallu an excuse to push Ek Tha Tiger for an Eid release!

More: Salman, Aamir & Ajay: Bollywood’s 100 Cr Box-Office Superstars

Directed by Kabir Khan and produced by Aditya Chopra, Ek Tha Tiger is based on a story by the latter. The stars are currently shooting in Dublin, after which they will move on to Turkey.

Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan’s Bol Bachchan For Rs. 55 Crore?

Rumours are rife that the all-India rights of Rohit Shetty’s Bol Bachchan (or is it Bol Bachan?) have been picked up by a Nagpur-based builder for a fancy price. The Ajay Devgan and Abhishek Bachchan starrer is making brisk progress in Jaipur. The price is said to be in the region of Rs. 55 crore!

Bol Bachchan stars: Ajay Devgan & Abhishek Bachchan

After the super success of Singham, director Rohit Shetty teamed up with Ajay Devgan again for Bol Bachchan, and also roped in Abhishek Bachchan. During their shoot in Jaipur, Abhishek met with a minor mishap which left him with six stitches near the eye. The film is set to release in 2012.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One & Don 2 Mania

If you thought that you had seen the height of Shah Rukh Khan’s stardom and his marketing tactics in these past few weeks, here are a couple of facts that might make you change your opinion.

Cinema Downs Shutters For Ra.One

Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Ra.One.

Rajhans group of cinemas in Gujarat has booked Ra.One in all its 22 screens from 26th October! It was the first chain to book the film in every single screen. All the screens of Rajhans will shut down from 21st October for five days to prepare for the Diwali bonanza. Lokendra cinema, Ratlam, which is owned by Rajhans group’s CEO, Harish Lakhani, has also booked Ra.One from Diwali.

Shah Rukh’s Don 2 Rent-A-Quote

Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Don 2.

Since the quotes of Don (Shah Rukh Khan) in Don had become very popular, producer Ritesh Sidhwani and producer- director Farhan Akhtar have decided to popularise the dialogues of its sequel, Don 2, by releasing a series of 11 witty tongue-in-cheek dialogues of the Don from the sequel, one every Friday starting from 14th October right till the release of the film on 23rd December. These quotes are being simultaneously released across all media including television, print, radio, Internet, mobile platform and mobile applications.

Anything for Ajay...

Prakash Jha postpones 'Satsang' to the end of 2012 to accommodate Devgn's dates
Prakash Jha wants Ajay Devgn in all his films. However, despite the director's resolve, the busy star may not actually be able to comply.

It looks like we will have to wait for more than a year to see Ajay Devgn and Katrina Kaif together.

Their film Satsang which explores the commercialisation of spiritualism, has been postponed to the end of  2012  because of  Devgn's dates.


Apparently Devgn will be shooting non-stop for back-to-back films for the rest of this year and through out  the next year.

Says a source, "Prakash wanted to start Satsang at the earliest. Even Katrina who is exceedingly busy was ready to accommodate the film into her schedule whenever Prakash wanted. But then, Ajay is shooting non-stop.

He finishes Rohit Shetty's Bol Bachchan, then starts Vishal Bharadwaj's film. Then, he goes into a film by Ashwini Dheer. In spite of Prakash's carte blanche to Ajay, the director has no option but to wait to start Satsang."

Now that the differences between Jha and Ajay have been sorted out, Jha apparently wants Ajay in every film he directs.

Says the director enthusiastically, "Ajay will have a place in every film of mine that I will make from now till the end of my career. It's up to him whether he wants to be a part of all my films or not.

Where does he have the time? His dates are blocked for the next year. So yes, I will have to shoot Satsang at the end 2012. There's no question of other actors doing the roles that Ajay and Katrina have been signed for."

While Ajay's dates for Satsang are awaited, Jha will now start his other project Satyagrah with Amitabh  Bachchan from January.

The film will be shot in Bhopal. Says Prakash, "Bhopal and Ajay Devgn will be the two constant factors in my cinema."

Aamir Khan coming back with 3 Idiots team!

Actor Aamir Khan's movie 3 Idiots has been the biggest hit ever at the Box Office. Two years after the huge success, the Bollywood perfectionist has reportedly planned to work with the team of 3 Idiots. The latest buzz is Aamir has agreed to do Rajkumar Hirani's next movie, which will be produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

According to source, Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani's next movie is basically a slice-of-life story told in a satirical manner with the kind of comedy. Interestingly, Sharman Joshi, who played 3rd idiot in the 3 Idiots, is also going to join them in the movie. The director is said to have planned to start this film in the latter half of 2012.

However, Aamir Khan is now working on Reema Kagti-directed suspense thriller and he will start working for Dhoom 3 in January 2012. Sharman Joshi is busy with Ferrari Ki Sawari, which is directed by Hirani's assistant Rajesh Mapuskar. Raju is also busy overseeing this project. A source says, “When all three are done with their prior commitments, they will start working on their next venture together."

Sharman Joshi thanks Sanjay Dutt for lending his Ferrari 599 GTB

Actor Sharman Joshi has thanked the Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt for lending his Ferrari 599 GTB. Sharman is starring in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's next production Ferrari Ki Sawari for which he needed driving lessons. Besides giving access to his Rs 5.5 crore car, Sanju Baba has also given him tips to drive the car.

Sharman Joshi knows how to drive the car, but he was bit worried about getting adjusted to new system. So producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has reportedly requested his friend Sanjay Dutt to lend his Ferrari and also give driving lessons to him. The Munnabhai star, who is known for his generous nature towards friends, gave his red Ferrari to Sharman and taught him how to drive the car.

Sharman Joshi was reportedly worried very much about the causing damage to the car while learning to drive the Ferrari. But Vinod and Sanju freed him from all worries. He is overwhelmed by Sanjay's generous nature. “He’s a senior actor and I’m grateful for his gesture to take time and lend his car to me whenever I need it,” the Hindustan Times quotes Sharman as saying.

However, Sharman Joshi is currently shooting for the movie Ferrari Ki Sawari, which is directed by Rajesh Mapuskar. This is his first film as a solo actor and Boman Irani is playing an important role alongside him in the movie, which is expected to release in April 2012.

Sanjay Dutt learns from Rascals debacle

Sanjay Dutt is apparently very disappointed that his first production venture Rascals bombed badly at the box office. Sanjay Dutt, who is a learner at heart accepts that the fault in Rascals lie in the weak script and has decided to take lessons from the debacle.

Sanjay Dutt has become very choosy of both his production and acting projects. Sanjay has put the idea of making Rascals sequel on back burner and is focussing on the remake of the 1982 hit Satte Pe Satta. While Hema Malini played the lead female role in the original, Karisma Kapoor is expected to play the lead in the remake.

Hope Sanju Baba gets it right this time!

Rascals Opening Weekend Collection is 22.65 crore nett. Average Opening.

Rascals collected around 5.5 crore nett all India on Sunday as per early reports. It showed jump on Sunday, but the jump was not that huge from Saturday. As per early estimate Rascals opening weekend collection is coming around 22.65 crore nett all India.

Film is affected by mixed word of mouth from audience. Rascals was expected to perform much better than this. It will now be very difficult to sustain on weekdays and fall will be huge from weekends.

Collection Breakup - 

Thursday - 7.15 crore nett.

Friday - 5.25 crore nett.

Saturday - 4.75 crore nett.

Sunday - 5.5 crore nett (Early Estimate).

Total - 23.65 crore nett

Ra.One, Desi Boyz, Rockstar, Don 2… : Rs. 400 Cr At Stake

The first nine months of 2011 has been quite good for the box-office. We are now in the last quarter and at least Rs. 400 crore of the industry is at stake in the three months before the year comes to an end. Of this, around 40% of the money is locked in one film – Ra.One – alone!

Among the other big-budget films scheduled for release in the remaining weeks of 2011 are Don 2, Desi Boyz, Rockstar and Azaan. Then, there are smaller films like The Dirty Picture, Ladies V/s Ricky Bahl, Tell Me O Kkhuda, Mod and My Friend Pinto.

Shah Rukh Khan Grateful To Rajinikanth, Bollywood Pays Steve Jobs Tribute: Tweet Diary

Divine Rajinikanth For Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One

Rajinikanth in Robot, Shah Rukh Khan in Ra.One

Shah Rukh Khan is leaving no stone unturned for Ra.One. On one hand he gets the best international technicians on board, and on the other hand, he gets south superstar Rajinikanth to make a guest appearance in his superhero film, which is Bollywood’s most expensive film till date. In a series of emotional tweets, SRK said, “Thanx Soundarya for making r dream com true. Ra.One completed today. Rajini sir blessed it. Have tears in my eyes of gratitude & only prayers & love for his whole family… Sitting with Soundarya & seeing the edit of Rajini sir’s shoot. He is like a celestial being.” If this doesn’t border on hero-worship, we don’t know what does!

More: How Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One Will Make Its Rs. 150 Cr Investment Back

Shahid Kapoor Follows Shah Rukh Khan, Again

Shahid Kapoor: Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge?

Tabloids and newspapers were flurried with reports of how Shahid Kapoor had “unfollowed” Shah Rukh Khan on Twitter. Too bad Shahid had to clear the air about all the hoopla around the matter. “What’s up people …. Read the weirdest story that I had stopped following srk … Only to realize that I actually had …… No clue how. Well he’s back on my follow list …. Was just some random thing people going loony over it !!! Haha ….” Just wondering, do people actually sit and notice who the stars are following and unfollowing!

Bollywood Says Goodbye To Steve Jobs

Apple and Pixar creator Steve Jobs

The demise of Apple founder Steve Jobs brought a flurry of condolences on Twitter.com. Akshay Kumar was eloquent with his tweet, “RIP Steve Jobs. The Man, The Visionary, The Creator & The Genius that gave the world the Apple Technology. May God be wiv u & ur family, for my family & I have enjoyed ur work for many years now.” But it was Gul Panag’s brief tweet that said it all, “RIP Steve Jobs :( ”.

Roshni Devi is one of the poets of ‘Kavi Kala’ and occasionally blogs. Will write for food, books and shiny objects.