Monthly Archives: May 2013

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Box Office Prediction

Mr Srinivasan, even retards won’t endorse your ‘enthusiast’ theory!

With the BCCI chief trying to fool people in the most shocking manner, it is high time the legends of the game listen to their conscience and speak on behalf of those who made them what they are: their fans!

By: Keyur Seta

Politicians and big-shots trying to fool the aam junta is nothing new in our country. For them, the common public is either unintelligent to fall in the trap or too busy in their own life to pay heed to the issue. But the way N Srinivasan, the President of the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI), is lying through his teeth has set a new benchmark in trying to take the country for a ride!

Picture Source – Indianexpress.com

Let’s have a look at the background of the issue first. As we all are aware, Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, owner of Chennai Super Kings, is arrested for his alleged role in betting and match-fixing (or spot-fixing as they are calling it) in the so-called cricket series Indian Premier League (IPL). So according to the IPL rules, the team can be banned due to their owner’s malpractice.

But to make sure his son-in-law doesn’t get into trouble and his team isn’t banned, Srinivasan has come up with a shocking theory. According to him, Gurunath is neither the owner of CSK nor he is associated with the team in any way. In fact, he also says, Gurunath is just a cricket enthusiast who travels with the team!!! Well, even mentally retarded individuals won’t believe such a theory.

The President has clearly gone way too ahead in trying to fool the people of India due to the following reasons:-

Gurunath’s ID card, which is splashed across all TV channels, mentions him as the owner of CSK.
We have seen him giving numerous interviews on TV as the owner of CSK.
His visiting cards mention him as the owner of CSK. This was also shown across various news channels.
(Best point of all) He was seen bidding for his team at IPL team auctioning.

Before this incident, nobody knew that a mere cricket enthusiast gets all these privileges! I can assure to Srinivasan that I am a much bigger cricket enthusiast than Gurunath. So will I be given the opportunity to speak as a team owner and bid for the team during auctions?

More than Srinivas’s shocking claims, it is the audacity at which he is making them and, in turn, blaming the media for ‘hounding’ him that speaks volumes about his adamancy for fooling the people of India!

On the contrary, we should thank the media, especially Times Now, for not giving up on the issue and asking what billions of cricket fans across the country are desperate to ask. In fact, we can only rely on the media because the big names of the game aren’t going to utter a word on the issue. This is so evident from yesterday’s press conference where Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just behaved like a puppet on the hands of his CSK owner and the BCCI President!

It was highly sad to see someone so confident and brave transforming into a scary bone! If this continues, be rest assured, the whole issue will soon be swept under the carpet. It is high time the big names of Indian cricket, including the Tendulkars, Dravids and Dhonis, raise their voice on behalf of those who have made them what they are: their billions of fans! It is up to them to choose between their bosses and their conscience!

“Forgive him, he’s a superstar!”

Kokanastha (Marathi Movie) Review

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By: Keyur Seta

Director: Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar

Producers: Aniruddha Deshpande and Medha Manjrekar

Writers: Mahesh Manjrekar and Sanjay Pawar

Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Rohan Talwalkar, Vaidehi Parshurami, Upendra Limaye, Jitendra Joshi, Vidyadhar Joshi

Music: Akshay Hariharan

Genre: Drama

Rating: * * ½

Story Outline: Kokanastha is the remake of Mahesh Manjrekar’s own Hindi film Viruddh (2005). The story focuses on Ramchandra Gokhale (Sachin Khedekar) and his wife’s (Sonali Kulkarni) fight for justice for their deceased son Rohan (Rohan Talwalkar), who was killed by the son of the Home Minister.

Review: Amitabh Bachchan starrer Viruddh is considered one of Mahesh Manjrekar’s better Hindi films. Since Kokanastha is a complete remake of the Bachchan starrer, it also turns out to be a moving saga of an aged couple who have lost their young son. However, the Marathi version falls short of the original due to few reasons, which includes the forced casteism and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) angles.

In fact, both angels turn out to be smart PR and marketing strategies. Firstly, the title has nothing to do with the plot and is just used to please a particular community. And to make sure people from lower castes don’t feel alienated, the character of Gokhale’s well-wisher (Upendra Limaye) is shown to be a Dalit who constantly utters “Jai Bheem” throughout the film. How forgivable is such promotion of casteism, especially when it has no relevance with the film’s plot?

Coming to the controversial RSS scene splashed on the film’s posters, (even if you assume the group to be truly commendable) it simply doesn’t go with the character of the protagonist and appears unintentionally funny. It is just a small sequence forced into the narrative so that it can be used to generate some pre-release hype.

Like the original film, Kokanastha does make you feel and root for the aged couple in their difficult fight. Their relationship is smartly developed by some wittily humorous and emotional moments. But the film’s overall effect would have been higher if the editor had used his scissors more. An unwanted song and a flashback scene in the first half and few dragging moments in the second half unnecessarily add up to the length.

It also needs to be noted that since Viruddh did fairly well in Maharashtra and is also shown on TV many times, a large section of the Marathi film audience must have seen it. Due to this, not only does the whole film become predictable but you also can’t deny the fact that the presentation of few scenes, mostly the all-important climax, was more effective in the original version.

Although music (Akshay Hariharan) doesn’t have much scope, ‘Aga Pawna’ and the theme song are impressive. Other technical aspects like the background score and cinematography suit the subject.

The performances of Sachin Khedekar and Sonali Kulkarni are the biggest plus points. With this act, Khedekar once again proves his super acting prowess as he gets into the skin of the protagonist and portrays every emotion with ease. Kulkarni doesn’t lag behind too. She is remarkable in the strong character of a retired school principal.

Rohan Talwalkar makes a confident debut while Vaidehi Parshurami too suits the character. In a supporting role, Upendra Limaye is terrific! The rest of the actors including Jitendra Joshi and Vidyadhar Joshi provide perfect support.

Overall, Kokanastha is just a one-time watch, mostly due to the performances. The film has a chance of earning at the box office due to the big names attached with it.

Dialogues: Shootout At Wadala

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By: Keyur Seta

Although Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala fails to impress much, the movie can boast some of its creatively witty dialogues by Milap Zaveri. Of course, there are loads of cringe-worthy cheap lines and gaalis but in between, there is some praiseworthy stuff as well which is worth sharing.

Gunehgar maa ke pet mein nahin, police station mein bante hain.

Aadmi ko insaan ban ne se pehle, jaanwar ban na padta hai.

Police se zyada morale hijadon ka hai. Woh toh phir bhi kudrat ke mare hain, aapka kya bahana hai?

Jail se aane ke baad tu sudhar sakta tha, lekin jo maza bigadne mein hai woh sudharne mein kahan?

Sabko hero ban na hai. Amitabh Bachchan ne sabki ma t*** di hai.

Yahan suhagraat manane ke liye shaadi nahin karni padti.

Jo maut dost ki umar badhaye, woh maut sar aankhon par.

(BEST of all) Baadshah ki gali mein aake uska pata nahin poochhte. Ghulamo ke jhuke hue sar khud ba khud raasta bata dete hain.

Shootout At Wadala Review

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By: Keyur Seta

Director: Sanjay Gupta

Producers: White Feather Films and Balaji Motion Pictures

Writers: S Hussain Zaidi, Sanjay Gupta and Milap Zaveri

Cast: John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Kangna Ranaut

Music: Anu Malik

Genre: Action/ Drama

Rating: * *

Story Outline: Based on a chapter from S Hussain Zaidi’s book Dongri To Dubai, the film is about an honest, lower-middle class man from Mumbai called Manohar Surve (John Abraham). After being wrongly framed for a murder, an innocent Manohar transforms as the dangerous gangster Manya Surve.

Review: Distorting facts from real accounts while making a commercial caper is alright if the end product turns out to be a convincing as well as gripping affair. Sadly, that doesn’t happen with Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala due to its age old gangster story, weak narration and some unforgivable vulgarity in various forms. The film can best be enjoyed if you are a part of a rowdy crowd.

First, the positives. The film has some extra-ordinarily written witty lines by Milap Zaveri. There are a number of praiseworthy and seeti-bajao moments for hardcore masses. The action scenes are also a treat on some occasions as they are smartly captured and presented.

These positives are certainly not enough to overshadow the various negatives. The film has the tiresome, tried and tested gangster story with the same kinds of gang wars that have done the rounds of Hindi cinema innumerable times ever since Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya released. On top of that, the screenplay just lacks proper focus and its long length just makes things worse.

Anybody who has read Manya’s chapter in Dongri To Dubai will realize the too much distortion of facts. As mentioned earlier, it is completely fine in a mass oriented feature film but over here, it looks unconvincing and at times, silly. For instance, the Pathan Gang is called Haji Mastan’s gang while the character of Haji Mastan is called Haji Maqsood. Even the fiction added in the climax appears questionable. (Purposely not mentioning various other points to avoid spoilers.)

But what hurts the most is the level of cheapness that the film crosses. The regular flow of cuss words and vulgar references get onto your nerves. Although violence is necessary in such films but over here, there is just an overdose of gore that make you cringe regularly. They have even gone onto show a rape scene in a disturbing manner.

There is more vulgarity in store in the form of two item numbers (out of three). This film will trigger more amount of wrath against Hindi cinema for portraying women as sexual objects and it definitely should! The industry surely needs a reality check when it comes to portrayal of women!

The technical areas (cinematography, background score, editing and action) can hold their heads high. From Anu Malik’s music, only ‘Aala Re Aala’ turns out to be decent. The rest of the songs just add up to the length. Having as many as three item numbers is a terrible idea!

John Abraham has the perfect physique and attitude needed to play Manya Surve but he certainly lags behind when it comes to acting. At the most, he is just average. An actor with more acting talent was the need of the hour. Anil Kapoor’s act is the saving grace. The veteran actor still doesn’t appear as a veteran.

Tusshar Kapoor doesn’t suit as Munir Sheikh at all! He even turns out to be a laughing stock on few occasions. Kangna Ranaut falters with her dialogue delivery yet again. The supporting cast – Mahesh Manjrekar, Ronit Roy, Siddhant Kapoor and Karan Patel – give decent performances.

Overall, Shootout At Wadala turns out to be unimpressive due to various reasons. It is sad that such a film released on the day when Indian Cinema completed 100 years! The initial hype and the fact that it is a hardcore commercial product will help the film at the box office in the first week.

Shootout At Wadala Box Office Prediction

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By: Keyur Seta

Director: Sanjay Gupta

Producers: White Feather Films and Balaji Motion Pictures

Writers: S Hussain Zaidi, Sanjay Gupta and Milap Zaveri

Cast: John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Kangna Ranaut

Music: Anu Malik

Genre: Action/ Drama

Release Date: May 3, 2013

Analysis:

Star Value: With an ensemble star cast of John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpayee and Kangna Ranaut, it is needless to say that Shootout At Wadala is high on star value.

Hype: There has been a very good amount of hype for the movie ever since its first promo was released. It is the character of Manya Surve that created ripples among the masses. Later on, some smart promotional strategy and including Sunny Leone for a song has only helped increase the excitement.

Music: The song ‘Aala Re Aala, Manya Aala’ has helped in popularizing the movie and creating further excitement. The track ‘Laila’ has also managed to make heads turn due to Leone.

Prediction:

Shootout At Wadala will surely get a very good opening at the box office. Being a hardcore commercial product, it will set the cash registers ringing at the single screen theatres. But it also has a chance of opening well at multiplexes.

If the initial response turns out to be positive, there is no doubt that the film’s name will be included in the blockbusters of 2013 and it might also earn Rs 100 crore. If it doesn’t impress initially, Shootout At Wadala will still garner average returns due to the genre and the hype.