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More news →If not filmmaker, Prakash Jha would've been an IAS officer
Filmmaker Prakash Jha says that if he hadn't come to Mumbai to become a filmmaker, he would have been forced to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. "Honestly speaking, I quit studying in college because I thought if I become a graduate, they'll definitely put me into UPSC exams and definitely make an IAS out of me, which is what the family expected," Jha said here. He spoke at the launch of lyricist Anand Bakshi's son, Rakesh's book "Director's Diaries: The Road to Their First film", sharing his initial journey in the Hindi film industry. Jha, known for films like "Apaharan" and "Raajneeti", said he realised that "there was no way" he could have become a civil servant while he was still in college. "I was in Ramjas College (Delhi) studying Physics and after a year of studying, I realised that there was no way I could've become a civil servant. Since I come from Bihar; a Brahmin family and Bihar regularly manufactures these IAS and IPS (Indian Police Service) officers. So that's why I ran off from there (Delhi) in a year and came to Mumbai," he added. However, Jha feels the risk of coming to Mumbai has been "exciting and enjoyable." "Every single day in Mumbai till today has been exciting, enjoyable, sometimes to do things which are appreciated, sometimes to do things which you'll not get appreciated, but it's okay. For me, it's like it all just happened yesterday and if I relive that story, I'd love to do that. This is a beautiful city, Mumbai." Jha's next film is the Priyanka Chopra-starrer "Gangaajal 2".
'Rustom' new poster out! Akshay Kumar looks dapper as naval officer
Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has unveiled a new poster of his upcoming Bollywood film 'Rustom'! Check it out... For those excited to watch the film's promo, 'Rustom' trailer will be out on June 30 at 9 am. Hrithik Roshan-Akshay Kumar set for box office clash in August While sharing the poster of the film, Akshay Kumar wrote, "Rustom's patriotism & integrity were questioned. Did he fight back? #3DaysToRustomTrailer @Rustom_Film" Inspired by real life incidents, 'Rustom' is touted to be a romantic-thriller set in the late 1950s. Buzz is that the film is based on the 1959 Nanavati case where naval officer Kavas Maneckshaw Nanavati was tried for the murder of his wife’s lover. The film marks Akshay's third collaboration with Neeraj Pandey. Akshay and Neeraj have earlier worked as actor-director in 'Baby' and 'Special 26', both of which found appreciation. 'Rustom', however, is not being directed by Pandey, and instead marks the directorial debut of Tinu Suresh Desai. Pandey will pen the dialogues of the film himself; will co-write the screenplay along with Vipul Rawal; and also contribute towards the film's edit. Also read: Here's why Sharad Kelkar rejected role of villain in Akshay Kumar's 'Rustom' Apart from Akshay Kumar, 'Rustom' also stars Ileana D'Cruz and Esha Gupta. 'Rustom' is slated to release on August 12.
Box Office Analysis-March 02 , 2006
First weekend performance of latest release Extreme styles of film making came to fore last Friday with the release of Taxi No. 9211, Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai and Sun Zarra. While Taxi No. 9211 was an original script which could qualify as new age cinema due to the subject and overall treatment, both Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai and Sun Zarra were stuck in a time wrap when it came to storyline and treatment. Not surprisingly the audience enjoyed the ride of Taxi No. 9211 rather than munching popcorn along with the mushy drama of HTPH and Sun Zarra. Taxi No. 9211 opened decently and has been showing improvement as days progress through positive word of mouth. This medium budget movie should be able to sail through comfortably in the end. In contrast neither HTPH nor Sun Zarra have showed any promise whatsoever since the release and should end their run in a fortnight from now. Last week's movies Out of the 5 movies released last week, only two survived to gain entry into the second week. Remaining three, Rafta Rafta - The Speed, Faltu and Aisa Kyon Hota Hai? were complete washouts with near to nil collections. Neither were they publicized well nor were the audiences excited about the starcast, subject, treatment or the music to venture into the theatres. 'Fight Club' had an average first week with collections reaching close to 5 crore mark. One would have expected that the movie may be able to sail through in the end if the film could sustain in the second week but looking at absence of any word of mouth and tha target audience (teenagers) busy with their board exams, it would be a tough run for the movie to reach the coverage mark. Mumbai and Delhi were again the two cities that got the maximum moolah for the movie that was near 80 lakhs and 70 lakhs respectively. Chingari's fuse was gone before it could be ignited and was a disaster all over after the end of week one. With collections failing to touch even a 1 crore mark, the picture is pretty clear for this Kalpana Lajmi film. One of the poorest ever opening for a Sushmita Sen film, it couldn't garner decent collections at any of the centers across country. Audience proved once again that they would venture into a 'different' cinema provided it shows some promise at the least! From the past 'Holiday' had the biggest ever crash for a film coming from the house of Bhatts as it fell as much as 95% in its second week, which means that there were practically no takers after a one week run. Since the first week too was hardly anything but exciting, the movie has more or less ended its run with a sub 1-crore figure. One of the biggest flops of Dino Morea ever, his only consolation comes from 'Aksar' that has enjoyed a decent outing. In contrast 'Mixed Doubles' surprisingly did reasonably better than number of other movies running during last week and added in another 40 lakhs to its kitty. Though the film is still a trifle away from the 1 crore mark, it is at least giving a decent fight at the box office. Since it comes with a 'typical multiplex film' tag with it, it has an outside chance of recovery if it survives for a couple of weeks more. 'Aksar' fell further in its 3rd week but still a total of approximately 70 lakhs in the 3rd week were good enough to bring the movie near 8 crores. The movie should make its exit around 8.5 crore but its DVD release in a week's time should further bring in some money as people may check it out just for the songs. 'Mere Jeevan Saathi' continued to crash in its 3rd week and is now almost out of the theatres with 2.5 crore collections. 'Rang De Basanti' continues its victory march as it continues to register good collections. For the first time in its 4 week run have the movie's collections been less than 1 crore in both Mumbai and Delhi though overall RDB has still been performing way better than the competition that has come since its release. Approximately 4.5 crores were added on to its total that now stands at 39 crores. In the future Harry Baweja's 'Teesri Aankh - The Hidden Camera' is the sole release of coming Friday but that too doesn't show much promise for this Sunny-Amisha-Neha starrer that seems to have lost more than having gained from the controversy about Sunny'a appearance in the film. Overall too the film bears a jaded look while action seems repetitive. The music has been a non-starter too while the subject doesn't promise much for the family audiences. It would require some real good heroics from Sunny [in case he is 'really' the 'hero'] to bail this movie out as at the face level it doesn't seem to be an exciting preposition at the box office.
Box Office Analysis-March 11 , 2006
First weekend performance of latest release This Friday audiences proved once again that in most of the cases it is fairly simple to differentiate a bad product from the good one. Otherwise how could one explain the shockingly low opening weekend for 'Teesri Aankh - The Hidden Camera' that boasted of A-starcast [Sunny Deol, Amisha Patel]. There was nothing in the promos the movie that could have excited a viewer to venture into a theatre and once the movie was released, the word was out about this Harry Baweja film being a sub-standard product. A downer in all senses, it is particularly surprising to be coming from the same man who gave a high voltage slick product 'Qayamat' a few years back. Last week's movies There were some murmurs in few sections of media that were hell bent on trying to pull down 'Taxi No. 9211' as a flop. Inspite of such headlines and an obvious attempt to call it a qualified loser, the final figures at the end of week one had a different tale to tell. The fact is that the movie has taken the second biggest opening after 'Rang De Basanti' this year and already has more than 9 crores in its kitty. For a movie budgeted at 6 crores, it is already a comfortable semi-hit and with not many notable releases till the beginning of April, it has got a open house to enjoy a long stint. The movie has done tremendous business in Mumbai (as expected) with first week crossing 2 crores whereas in other metros and cities too it has done decent business. The movie should comfortably reach 20 crores which is quite good considering the unusual pairing John Abraham and Nana Patekar and no real romantic angle per se. Its celebration time for Sippys as they get another consecutive success after 'Bluffmaster'. Both 'Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai' and 'Sun Zarra' had a disastrous opening everywhere and it is difficult to choose which one is the bigger box office failure of the two. Audiences just weren't interested in the old fashioned romance cum drama that resulted in empty houses across nation. Whether it was HTPH that was a multistarrer with Bobby Deol, Amisha Patel and Arjun Rampal or 'Sun Zarra' that had newcomers Samir Aftab and Anjana Sukhani, the result was just the same. While HTPH collected a mere 50 lakhs odd at the end of first week (something that a small movie like 'Mixed Doubles' too managed to do), Sun Zarra was not even released properly and had an embarrassing all-India figure of 5 lakhs! From the past 'Fight Club' saw one of the biggest falls ever in the last few months for a multistarrer as it recorded just about 20% collections of what it did in its first week. At the end of second week, its total reads as 6 crores and with the graph completely nose-diving as the days progressed, there are no hopes left at all for the film to break through. The movie has almost vanished in the third week, which is quite surprising for a film that promised to be coverage at least when it was released. In its second week, the collections of 'Chingari' read in thousands at all centers (A, B, C) and not even lakhs that tells the tale. With a heavy fall in the second week, just about 20 lakhs collection and everyone associated with the movie admitting the movie's failure, the movie is bound to end its run in no time with just 1 crore total. Extremely poor! 'Mixed Doubles' is still surviving in the Top-10 list and has now crossed 1 crores at the end of 3 weeks. The movie may just about manage to reach coverage but that's about it. 'Aksar' has now crossed the 8 crore mark but is falling rapidly as the weeks progress. Still, it has managed to give itself a above average status and a first all-India success for director Ananth Mahadevan. 'Rang De Basanti' doesn't really stray much from its enviable position at the box office and continues to mint money for its producers. With its fifth week collections reading 3 crores, it has now crossed the 40 crore landmark. In the future With exams seasons looming large in India, only small movies are filling up the theatres. This week sees 'Malamaal Weekly' and 'Jigyaasa' releasing and while the former if indeed a multistarrer with Priyadarshan at the helm, the movie has been practically under-promoted all over. Never in the history of a Priyadarshan movie has the publicity been such a low key affair but for the reasons best known the producers, there hasn't been much awareness created around the film. Still, going by the past record, this movie made in a reasonable budget should manage to do an above average business at the least. The other film 'Jigyaasa' has Hrishita Bhatt as the central protagonist and has a non-starter written all over it. There is absolutely no 'jigyaasa' in anyone around watching this flick about the 'inside operations' of Bollywood!
Box Office Analysis-March 24 , 2006
First weekend performance of latest release If there was anything consistent about Friday's release 'Umar', it was the utterly negative reviews it received. It was hard to find any good word about this movie about senior citizens and constant comparison with 'Baghban' further resulted in a difficult outing for this Karan Razdan flick. There was no opening at all to talk about and the movie is on its way to die down in a week's time. Jimmy Shergill again finds himself in a situation where he gets appreciation for his work but box office success continues to play hide and seek with him. Still, he has 'Tom Dick and Harry' to look forward to that is carrying highly positive reports. 'Banana Brothers'? Well, there wasn't any release worth calling out in the first place; hence there is no question of any box office outcome! Released with minimal prints in few territories with zero publicity, it is one of the films that get released and done away with in a matter of days and not even weeks! It would be a miracle of sorts if the all India collections read even 10 lakhs at the end of first week! Last week's movies One look at the box office results of 'Malamaal Weekly' and one can't help but exclaim - "That's Bollywood for you!" The movie boasted of limited publicity while the setting was in a village [hence seemingly unfit for multiplex audiences, as claimed by some industry experts!] But this Priyadarshan, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri combo did wonders throughout its first week from Friday till next Thursday with consistent collections across the country and not just any particular territory or centers. The film's title has proved to be true for its producers as this low budget movie crossed its investment by a big margin in the first week itself after totaling a staggering 10 crores. After a multi crore 'Rang De Basanti', this small film now boasts of the second biggest first week grosser of the year 2006! 'Malamaal Weekly' has crossed the 1 crore barrier in both Mumbai [1.6 crores] and Delhi [1.1 crores] while in Ahemdabad it has been phenomenal with 75 lakhs collections. 'Jigyaasa' saw a limited release and even limited collections as it merely managed to cross 10 lakhs total. The movie is a complete washout and now out of theatres at most places after one week itself. From the past 'Teesri Aankh - The Hidden Camera' had a miserable show towards the end of second week as the collections were near to negligible at all centers across the country. With just around 70 lakhs added to its first week's total of 4 crores, the writing is clear on the wall for the film. A 'masala' flick that was completely outdated in today's times, the audience gave it a cold shoulder even before its release and the negative vibes coupled with lackluster product made it a forgettable venture for Harry Baweja. A big loser for everyone involved, as the movie would at maximum be able to sustain at some centers for a couple of weeks! Arrival of 'Malamaal Weekly was the only reason for 'Taxi No. 9211' to slid to the second position as the film is still going strong at number of centers, especially Mumbai where it has managed to total 70 lakhs + even in its third week. Even at other centers, big or small, it is doing decent business inspite of an urban setting and is now one of the biggest grossers for John Abraham and Nana Patekar. The movie has now reached around 16.5 crore and should come quite close to 20 crore mark, hence making it a comfortable hit! 'Fight Club' is virtually out of the rings now with negligible collections coming in 4 weeks after the film's release. This multistarrer that promised a decent outing has ended its run with around 6.5 crore in its kitty while a relatively unknown 'Mixed Doubles' too breathes its last at 1.25 crore mark! Emraan Hashmi's magic continues to get some money for the producers in an extended run of 'Aksar' as the total inches towards the 9 crore mark. At one point of time it seemed that the movie would just about stretch towards 8-8.5 crores, but its performance over last couple of weeks [though in small amounts] has helped the collections to be consolidated. 'Rang De Basanti' takes an extremely marginal fall in its seventh week [just around 15%] that is simply phenomenal. Collections continue to read in crores as the film continues to do superbly all over. Further 2 crores came in from cities like Delhi [35 lakhs] and Mumbai [26 lakhs], which means that now the film has crossed the 46 crore mark. Now it has dislodged last year's biggest success 'No Entry' from the Top 5 biggest grossers of the year while being just a few lakhs away from 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai' that holds the 4th position! In the future Though three movies are slated for release this Friday, Being Cyrus, Eight Shani and Souten - The Other Woman, ironically it is the English film 'Being Cyrus' that is being most sought after, though in relative terms. Earlier titled 'Akoori', 'Being Cyrus' has been ready for quite some time but is now being released. An urban multiplex film, its special due to Saif Ali Khan, who is being said to be highly menacing and unpredictable in the film. The curiosity factor should get it a decent initial [in the range of 50%] but lack of any other notable release for one more week to come should help 'Being Cyrus' recover its costs. After 'Umar', Karan Razdan has two more releases this Friday - 'Eight Shani' and 'Souten - The Other Woman'. While the former is about supernatural and has seen patchy publicity, the latter is a social drama that looks a little dated. None of the two movies really give out much positive vibes w.r.t. their box office outing, though 'Souten' should read better collections.
Box Office Analysis-March 31 , 2006
First weekend performance of latest release It was an interesting Friday for Bollywood as two movies belonging to completely different schools of film making released simultaneously. While Karan Razdan's 'Souten' was a social affair with little dose of sleazy element, 'Being Cyrus' by debutant Homi Adjania was the first ever of its kinds by an Indian film maker [yes, first ever] and heralded the arrival of a new era that boasts of an alternative screenplay and narration. No brownie points for guessing which movie was better acclaimed critically! While 'Being Cyrus' was the second movie after 'Rang De Basanti' that opened to consistently positive reviews across all major publications and websites, 'Souten' was at maximum a time pass affair that failed to impress many. Box office wise, 'Being Cyrus' had a better response though not phenomenal, as it is trying to create a space for itself in the multiplexes. Positive word of mouth and some better post-release publicity may help the movie sail it through the safety mark. Nevertheless Saif Ali Khan enjoys his good run as a critically acclaimed actor who seems to be doing nothing wrong whether as a criminal [Ek Haseena Tha], a cool dude [Salaam Namaste] or a period urban man [Parineeta]. 'Souten' has opened to a below average to poor response and its only chances of survival are at the small cities and towns in the long run. Last week's movies 'Umar' is now the biggest flop ever for the otherwise highly talented Jimmy Shergill as it opened to a disastrous response all over. Released with limited prints at select cities, the collections were simply poor as the final tally after the first week merely read around 15 lakhs. Simply not acceptable by any standards. Audience just didn't venture into the theatres to see the flick while scathing reviews didn't help the cause either. Ironically the 'umar' of 'Umar' at the box office would be quite short and it should be a week's time before it completely fades away from the scene. 'Banana Brothers' registered never-heard-before collections in last few years as it collected just a few thousands at a few screens where it was released. In the last week's column we had mentioned that it would be miracle if all India collections read even 10 lakhs at the end of first week! Well, the miracle didn't really happened as the film didn't even garner 10% of what the miraculous collections would have been! From the past At the end of second week, the verdict for 'Malamaal Weekly' is loud and clear. It can easily enjoy the super hit status now after continuing to be stable across the country. There were further 6 crores added to the 10 crore first week total, hence bringing its fortune close to 16 crores. With the way movie is gaining patronage all around and no competition in sight for 2 more weeks, the movie should easily turn into a 23-25 crore success. No wonder the makers are publicizing the 5 star rating from the audience, clearly targeting the critics who failed to read the movie's potential, both at an individual and the group level and gave it a thumbs down on the day of the release. 'Jigyaasa' is an experience Hrishita Bhatt may want to forget in a hurry as it has turned out to be a supreme disaster. The film has breathed its last with 2 week collections worth 13 lakhs odd. 'Teesri Aankh' has barely managed to touch the 5 crore mark but that must be it for this Sunny Deol flick that doesn't have much chance even in the satellite/DVD circuits. Milan Luthria's 'Taxi No. 9211' is still going along well on road as it maintains good collections even in the 4th week. City of Mumbai in particular is having a great time for movie buffs with as many as three movies doing exceptionally well there - Malamaal Weekly, Taxi No. 9211 and Rang De Basanti! The collections of 'Taxi No. 9211' now stand pretty close to the 18 crore mark. 'Aksar' has completed 50 days at the theatres and while Emraan Hashmi looks forward to 'Gangster', Dino Morea's stocks too are also high as he moves on to 'Tom Dick and Harry' with approximately 9 crore 'Aksar' behind him! 'Rang De Basanti' hardly budges from the stable position it has been enjoying for last few weeks and adds on another 1.5 crore in its 8th week. With a 47.5 crore total to boast and 2 clear weeks sans any new release ahead, a 50 crore total does look like a good possibility. The film has dislodged Kaho Na Pyaar Hai from the 4th position in the list of biggest grossers of the current decade and is all set to come to the 3rd place by going ahead of Koi Mil Gaya's total of 49 crores! In the future This Friday should be an uneventful outing for Bollywood with films like 'Chand Ke Paar Chalo', 'Madhubaala' and 'Naughty Boy' [probable] arriving together. Incidentally all the three films have a woman as a prime protagonist. While 'Chand Ke Paar Chalo' appears to be a 60s-70s love story cum drama starring Preeti Jhangiani in the lead, both 'Naughty Boy' and 'Madhubaala' give an impression of sleaze films in the garb of a comedy and social respectively. It won't come as a surprise if the three films fail to do much at the box office, though 'Naughty Boy' may just hold a slight edge by garnering better collections amongst the three.