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Can we stop giving unreal reasons for 83 box office failure?

January 8, 2022 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Kabir Khan’s 83 is one of the rare films to get such high number of glowing reviews from critics. Not just that, the Ranveer Singh-starrer cricket drama has also received equal praise from the audience. The film transformed a cinema hall into a stadium through its overwhelming recreation of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph.

However, this hasn’t been enough to translate into box office success for the film. In fact, to put it simply, 83 has been a box office failure. The film is made at a budget around Rs 200 crore (one senior journalist even claimed it to be Rs 270 crore) and right now it’s struggling to even reach Rs 100 crore.

So, talking purely in terms of business, 83 is nothing but a failure. I know a lot of people who loved the film are hurt by this. I can completely understand because I too am such a big fan of the film that I have seen it twice already in theatres and I am willing to watch it again. But, as said before, this is purely in terms of business.

With so many people left disappointed and disheartened by 83’s result at the box office, it is obvious that this has become a hot topic of discussion and debates online. I have been constantly reading some silly reasons being dished out on social media for the film not working out. And, unfortunately, such reasons are also being heard from few people who are from film journalism itself.

Here’s what has been attributed to 83’s downfall at the box office on social media:

People are staying away from theatres because of the rise in COVID-19 cases and the new threat of its Omicron variant

While there is no doubt that the fear of COVID-19 has resurfaced, this cannot be the reason why 83 didn’t get as much audience. The biggest proof of this is the stupendous box office performance of the Hindi version of the Telugu film Pushpa. The movie released on 17 December 2021, a week before 83, and is still doing well even as I am writing this on 8 January 2022.

83 Ranveer Singh — Photo courtesy: Cinestaan.com

The same is the case for Spider-Man: No Way Home which released in the same week as Pushpa. If people are not visiting theatres to watch 83, how are these two films still getting audience? In fact, a lot of shows given to 83 earlier are now given to Pushpa since the film is continuing to attract moviegoers.

People are now used to watching content on OTT platforms and hence don’t feel like visiting theatres

The answer to this point can be found in the previous one. OTT has definitely found a great booster in the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean people are not willing to go to theatres. Again, if that was the reason, Pushpa and Spider-Man wouldn’t have done such enormous business. Not to forget, Sooryavanshi too did very well in theatres when it was released during Diwali.

The film didn’t do well because of the #BoycottBollywood gang

The silliest of all reasons by a mile! There has been a rise of a #BoycottBollywood gang on social media in recent times and they are of two types. One are the members of the audience that are die-hard fans of the late Sushant Singh Rajput. They claim to boycott all big Hindi films until ‘justice’ is done to SSR. But if they are really the reason for the film’s failure, the same film wouldn’t have done do well in metros like Mumbai and Delhi. And as pointed before, Sooryavanshi too wouldn’t have become a hit.

These ‘warriors’ are also specifically against films starring star kids. But then, Tadap (2021), the launch of Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan Shetty, did decent business despite of him not being a star.

There’s another bunch of this gang which has vowed to boycott all films starring Deepika Padukone because she stood with the JNU protestors in 2019. The fact that the film did well in the metros, as stated before, nullifies this claim too.

Reason for 83’s box office failure

There is a wide gap in the content preferences between the urban and non-urban sections of India. The box office result of 83 has just exposed this wide gap. The content of 83 has more appeal for the urban audience than the one based in small towns and villages. This might sound weird to many but masses of these regions won’t get excited to know the journey of a team winning a World Cup.

(Article continued after the video)

This was also confirmed recently when I had a chat with the most experienced exhibitor in Gujarat, Rashmikant Bhalodia. When the film was going house full in advance in Mumbai, the theatres in Gujarat, especially the interiors, were going empty.

Also the film’s promotions didn’t reach the interiors of India. The promotions mainly consisted of the team travelling in big cities. There was an article mentioning how people in a village-like area didn’t even know that a film called 83 had released!

The wide gap between the both section of the audiences is also visible in the consumption of OTT shows. While we may love edgy or dark shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, such content is hardly seen in the semi-urban areas or villages. They still prefer south Indian action films dubbed in Hindi.

And they had that choice this time in the form of Pushpa. The film had every masala that the masses of these regions prefer. So it’s obvious that they would prefer this over 83. In fact, Pushpa earned more in its recently concluded third week than the previous one. This has also ensured that its shows have increased.

The fate of 83 is very similar to that of Swades (2004). The Ashutosh Gowariker film failed at the box office but it continues to be hailed as a great film. The same will happen with 83.

Also read:

Zimbabwe’s iconic record in the 1983 World Cup is forgotten

83 review – Near-flawless recreation of India’s cricketing triumph

December 25, 2021 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

The last time cinema halls turned into cricket stadiums was in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001). The scenes are repeated 20 years later through Kabir Khan’s 83, a film based on India’s cricket World Cup victory in 1983.

As Lagaan was fictional, the makers were able to script the match as per their wishes; it finally went down to the last ball. In other words, the audience didn’t know how the match would play out. But 83 is based on a real cricket tournament and India’s numerous cricket fans know the team’s cricketing journey in the series by-heart, even if they were born after 1983. This is more for those who actually witnessed that World Cup victory and the celebrations that followed.

But despite knowing the whole story before the start of the film, 83 makes us go through various states of minds and emotions as if we don’t know the story. Hence, one feels sad for the team when its losing and erupt with joy when they defeat their opponents.

This is nothing but the triumph of Khan’s direction and the writers – Khan himself along with Vasan Bala, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and Sumit Arora.

There is a danger in a film featuring a series of matches to become repetitive. This is also taken care of smartly in 83. Each match brings about different situations. Plus, they have also used Pritam’s music smartly in between to ensure that you are glued to your seats.

83 is also high in humour. In fact, the film is full of funny moments. The team members of 83 have narrated several such incidents over the years. It’s good to see them recreated here, especially the one where Kapil gets shocked to see a woman in Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s room.

Quality of cricket

I have seen the highlights of India’s 1983 World Cup semi-final and final numerous times. While watching the quality of cricket in 83, I didn’t feel I was watching a movie. The recreation of the matches is done that well, including the fall of some wickets that are too hard to recreate. For example, Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s dismissal of Gordon Greenidge in the final and Jeff Dujon hitting the ground in dismay after being dismissed in the same match.

The camera angles, colour grading and the font of the scores also match exactly to the real matches. The recreated shots in the film are intercut by visuals of the real matches and it matches [pun intended]. Such is the confidence of the makers. Cinematographer Aseem Mishra, Khan’s long-time associate, also deserves major credit for achieving this.

Creative liberties

At the end of the day, 83 is a feature film. So it’s obvious that the makers have taken creative liberties. But it’s done here at a lower level as compared to other sports films from Hindi cinema.

Patriotism

83 is one of the rare Hindi films of today’s era, as far as mainstream Hindi cinema is concerned, that naturally brings about a feeling of patriotism. It never goes over-the-top and remains subtle despite it being based on cricket. The interval point deserves special mention.

Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev during the recreation of India’s match against Zimbabwe where he scored 175*

The unrecorded match against Zimbabwe

A major attraction of 83 is the recreation of India’s second match against Zimbabwe played at the Turnbridge Wells because it was never telecast or recorded as the broadcasters BBC went on strike. 83 becomes a memorable recreation of the match and Kapil Dev’s unbeaten and record-breaking knock of 175 not out.

Apart from the match, what went around in the dressing room and outside also adds to the excitement.

The all-important final

The final of the 1983 World Cup final wasn’t a close nail-biting match that went down to the wire. But the makers have made it look that way and that too without taking any major creative liberties. The film achieves this through smart and intelligent story-telling, especially at the very end [won’t say further to avoid spoilers]. The makers are also blessed with few real incidents related to the match that are naturally dramatic.

Performances

Performances play a major role in 83 scoring high marks. Ranveer Singh not only brings Kapil Dev’s mannerisms alive but also gets his extremely difficult bowling action and batting style near-perfect. He makes an impact during emotional parts as well. This will go down as one of his best performances. Pankaj Tripathi plays the team manager PR Man Singh but gets as much importance as any main player. He completely justifies his casting and shines on various occasions.

From all the players, Jiiva, who plays Krishnamachari Srikkanth, gets the maximum scope and he comes up with a brilliant act. He performs the best during the monologue. Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna and Ammy Virk get the characters of Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma and Balwinder Singh Sandhu right.

The film also has believable performances from a list of actors – Hardy Sandhu (Madan Lal), Chirag Patil, (father Sandeep Patil), Dhairya Karwa, (Ravi Shastri), Addinath Kothare, (Dilip Vengsarkar), Sahil Khattar (Syed Kirmani), Dinkar Sharma (Kirti Azad) and Nishant Dahiya (Roger Binny). Deepika Padukone is appealing as Romi Dev.

Much more than a mere cricket film

83 isn’t just about India winning its first world cup against various odds. It shows the game’s potential to unite Indians even when hatred is spread by the vested interests [I won’t say much to avoid spoilers].

Negative points:

The 1983 WC has an interesting story about the 12^th man Sunil Valson who couldn’t play a single match. He does come close to playing one but that’s about it. The movie gives only a fleeting reference to this despite signing R Badree to play Valson. In fact, even his full name isn’t taken. Those who don’t know Valson’s story won’t realize the importance of that scene. When your film is already two hours 42-minute-long, adding half a minute more wouldn’t have hurt. [Read Sunil Valson’s story HERE]

But this is just a minor issue. 83, as such, doesn’t have any negative point, although few moments are debatable.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Director: Kabir Khan

Producers: Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films

Writers: Kabir Khan, Vasan Bala, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and Sumit Arora

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Jiiva, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Ammy Virk, Hardy Sandhu, Chirag Patil, Dhairya Karwa, Addinath Kothare, Sahil Khattar, Dinkar Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, R Badree, Deepika Padukone

Also read:

Zimbabwe’s iconic feat in 1983 World Cup is forgotten

He was selected in 1983 WC, but could play for India only in 1999

When Ravi Kishan played Ravi & Kisan in Ravi Kisan. This is not a joke…

October 30, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Ravi Kishan, as we all know, is one of the most popular actors from India. After starting off in Hindi cinema, he shifted base to Bhojpuri and the rest is history. He became the biggest Bhojpuri star in a matter of few years.

Following this, he returned to Hindi cinema and left his mark playing mostly serious characters; the opposite of what he did in Bhojpuri films. In last few years, he has given fine performances in Hindi films like Mukkabaaz (2017), Batla House (2019) and Marjaavaan (2019).

But Ravi Kishan has another rare achievement which also doubles up as an interesting trivia. He once did a movie titled Ravi Kisan [another way to pronounce his name]. Yes, you read it right. It was a Bhojpuri movie released in 2008.

I am unable to find any other example of an actor acting in a film titled after his own full name. At the most, I can recall Sunny Deol doing a film called Sunny in 1984 and playing the titular character in it. But the title only had his first name.

But there’s something more interesting about Ravi Kishan acting in Ravi Kisan. Contrary to what some of you might feel, the film is not a biopic on him. It’s actually a story of twins named Ravi and Kisan. And both are played by Ravi Kishan in a double role.

I tried searching about the film’s story or synopsis on the internet but I couldn’t find any. I then realized the film is available on YouTube officially on T-Series’s Bhojpuri channel. After watching few parts of it, I realized it has a story similar to plenty of Hindi films of the yesteryears.

So, there’s an ailing old man who wants to name all his assets and properties to his son. But their evil relative, who wants to capture all his wealth, conspires with the lawyer. The old man can’t read English. So the lawyer prepares the will in English saying that the evil relative will be the receiver of the property and assets. The old man signs it as he trusts the lawyer blindly.

Watch the full movie Ravi Kisan

The relative happily captures the wealth and kills the old man’s son. The man has twins named Ravi and Kisan. While Kisan turns out to be a rogue youngster, Ravi grows up to be a sanskari and religious guy. The rest of the film is about how the brothers teach their relative a lesson.

I came to know about this movie years ago when Ravi Kishan spoke about it inside the Bigg Boss house during the very first season of the show in 2006-07. He said he is the only actor in the world to have a film titled on his full name.

In case you know any more such examples, feel free to mention them in the comments.

Also read:

Rann keeps getting more relevant and that’s not a good sign

SRK & Ashok SARAF’s pair in Yes Boss deserves more appreciation

Udit Narayan & K Krishnamurti’s underrated gem in an underrated film

October 10, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Veteran singers Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishmamurti have provided Hindi film lovers with a list of gems, both together and individually. In fact, they were the undisputed singing stars of the 1990s, along with Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.

As we are aware, Hindi cinema produces movies in hundreds every year. And as was the case in the 90s, every film ought to have a good number of songs. With such high number of tracks coming out each year, there is always a possibility of some gems getting unnoticed, more so if the film doesn’t do well at the box office.

Such has been the fate of a soulful and soothing romantic number ‘Yeh Shaamein’ sung by Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishnamurti in Shyam Benegal’s Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (1992). The lyrics are penned by Vasant Dev while Vanraj Bhatia, the go-to man for music in parallel cinema, is the composer. It’s picturized on Rajit Kapur and Pallavi Joshi.

There are certain songs that created an impact after repeated listening while there are others that touch you instantly. ‘Yeh Shaamein’ easily falls into the latter category. As far as my personal experience is concerned, I became its admirer as soon as I heard it for the first time more than a decade ago while watching Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda.

It is one of those songs where all the three components – lyrics, music and singing – achieved brilliance and its result is there for you to see [rather, hear].

Kapur and Joshi’s performances are also undeniable as they have added plenty of life to the visuals. They broke the myth that you need conventionally good looking ‘hero’ and ‘heroine’ to display chemistry in a romantic number. If you have dedicated artistes who know their craft and can emote effortlessly, that’s all you need.

Here’s the song

Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda is based on the classic Hindi novel of the same name by Dharmveer Bharti. It’s about a storyteller Manek Mulla (Kapur) and it features one storytelling session he has with his friends where he narrates the stories of three girls (Rajeshwari Sachdev, Pallavi Joshi and Neena Gupta) that entered his life at different points.

Also read: When Premchand wrote on CRICKET and its malpractices

The ensemble cast also includes Amrish Puri, Riju Bajaj, Raghuvir Yadav, KK Raina, Anang Desai, Lalit Mohan Tiwari, Ila Arun and Himani Shivpuri.

The film challenged conventional storytelling with some intelligent use of flashback. The personal story of Manik Mulla indirectly makes a statement on the society and its rigid norms, especially in rural areas back then. Although Manek is the storyteller, at the end of the day he is still just a character in the entire scheme of things.

Having read the book before watching the film, I feel this is one of the rare movies that lives up to the literature it is based on.

Also read: Why Byomkesh Bakshi continues to win hearts in the OTT era

‘Yeh Shaamein’, however, never got its due as the film just didn’t click at the box office. As clichéd as it may sound, it was way ahead of its times. It deserved to have been made in today’s era of OTT.

But it has started finding an audience in the era of social media. This is evident from the numerous conversations I have had both online and offline related to this movie. Hopefully, one day it will be appreciated among the lovers of unconventional cinema… along with the song.

Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda is on Amazon Prime Video but, unfortunately, not for those staying in India.

But the film is available on YouTube. Watch it below:

Actor Asif Basra’s suicide in 2020 never triggered an uproar

September 5, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

It has been three days since the unfortunate passing away of actor Sidharth Shukla due to sudden heart attack. The last three days have witnessed countless posts on social media bidding emotional goodbyes to him.

But along with that, the internet is also full of conspiracy theories regarding Shukla’s death. Despite the actor’s family members admitting that there is no foul play, thousands of his fans are thinking otherwise.

From someone giving him false medicines at night before he passed away to the actor doing drugs, everything is being attributed to his passing away except heart attack. But the one that takes the cake are claims of the actor being murdered.

In fact, a group has been formed on Facebook with the name ‘Justice for Sidharth Shukla’ where some members are asking for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) intervention in the matter.

These theories aren’t new. Ever since Sushant Singh Rajput passed away due to suicide in June 2020 till today, conspiracy theories regarding his alleged murder are still doing rounds despite the CBI not finding any murder angle in his death ever since they took up the case since a year.

Looking at all this, it might seem that majority of people get too affected emotionally if an actor dies unexpectedly. It becomes like a personal loss for them. However, this is not the case for every actor.

Let’s go back to that fateful evening in November last year, five months after SSR passed away, when news of actor Asif Basra ending his life by hanging was broken. I was shocked and it affected me as much as SSR’s death did.

However, there was no uproar on social media. Basra ended his life in the same way as Sushant did. But nobody found anything suspicious in his death. Nobody cried murder and brought up those unthinkable theories. Like SSR, Basra too was an ‘outsider’ but nobody slammed the so-called nepotism gang of Bollywood.

News channels never felt like making an issue out of it and they never trended #JusticeForAsifBasra.

But come September 2021 and the social media erupts with countless posts on suspicious death and murder when Shukla’s own family has confirmed that it’s a natural death.

This easily gives an idea that people get affected on social media in large numbers only if the actor is young, conventionally good-looking and, most importantly, someone who fits in the image of a ‘hero.’ Supporting actors or character artistes aren’t precious enough to get such reactions.

Basra has appeared in a list of prominent projects including, Black Friday, Parzania, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Kai Po Che, Krrish 3, The Tashkent Files, Paatal Lok, Hostages (both seasons), The Family Man (season 2), etc. They might not have known him by his name but his face is sure to make you feel you have seen him at least few times on screen.

One might still argue that people might not know who Basra was since he wasn’t that famous. But after reading or watching news about his death, people did know about him.

And they also came to know the cause of his death.

Also read:

#JusticeForSSR now has NO place on news channels. Who gained? Who lost?

Rann keeps getting more relevant and that’s not a good sign

What will happen to Sooryavanshi and 83?

September 1, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Circa March 2020. The trailer of Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi promised an out-and-out cop entertainer. The film was set to release later that month. In the following month, Kabir Khan’s keenly-awaited 83 was due for release. The makers were getting ready with its teaser and trailer. Hindi film fans felt they are in for a treat.

However, a villain in the form of COVID-19 attacked India and theatres were shut for an indefinite period. Both Sooryavanshi and 83 were forced to abandon their releases and wait for the menace to end in India.

Today, after one and a half years, there is still no clarity on the release of both films.

Theatres did re-open at the end of last year which saw the release of few new Hindi films like Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, Indoo Ki Jawani, Madam Chief Minister, etc. Although only 50% occupancy was allowed, it was still good news to see cinemas back. There was hope for the occupancy to increase in the coming months.

In January and February this year, few other films released and it felt the occupancy would increase soon. However, the second COVID-19 wave hit the nation and it turned out to be deadlier than the first one. Needless to say, theatres were shut again from April onwards and there was lockdown once again in the country.

Just when it felt Sooryavanshi and 83 would finally see the light of day, things became worse again. For those not in the know, both the films are produced by Reliance Entertainment. The former stars Akshay Kumar in the lead while the latter has Ranveer Singh.

Theatres have been re-opened in various major states in India recently. But Maharashtra, the biggest hub of Hindi cinema, still has its cinemas shut. So, you can’t expect too many big films to release in such situation. Of course, mainstream movies like Bell Bottom and Chehre did release recently. But their business hasn’t been encouraging.

In fact, even if they had released in Maharashtra, it still wouldn’t have made any difference to their box office performance. Somehow, not many people from the Hindi film audience are turning up for these films. Right now, only 50% occupancy is allowed in theatres. But both new films have not attracted even that much audience per show.

It won’t be right to say that people are scared to visit theatres due to the COVID-19 due to various reasons. The biggest being that new Punjabi movies Puaada and Chal Mera Putt 2 have been doing impressive business. The same happened with the Tamil movie Master earlier this year, not just in south but also in places like Mumbai. Plus, people are happy to gather in large numbers at markets and devotional places.

Hence, going by the current Hindi film performance at the box office, it doesn’t look the producers of Sooryavanshi and 83 would be willing to release their films now, even if theatres open up in Mumbai.

One important point here is that both the films are big budgeted and would need to earn huge at the box office in order to become successful. And to achieve that, they would need shows to go full even at 100% capacity.

We should also realize that both films have been in the waiting since a year and a half. This also increases the film’s cost because it increases the interest rate they would need to repay the banks. Naturally, in one and a half years, the rates would have gone significantly high.

Unfortunately, the threat of the third COVID-19 wave is also looming large as various experts have predicted its arrival later this year. So this raises a question whether it would be right for both films to wait for few months from now on.

In other words, neither they can wait nor they can release the films right now.

Serious CENSORSHIP rule has got proposed & here’s how you can stop it

July 1, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

The central government has proposed the draft Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2021 through which they get the power to recertify a film passed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or Censor Board, as it’s popularly known.

If we take away the technical jargons, if the new bill comes into action, it would mean that even if a film is cleared by the CBFC for release, the Central Government will have the power to recertify it. In other words, it will also have the power to take away the certificate, which would mean that a particular film would be stopped from releasing.

In more simple terms, as filmmaker Pratik Kothari said in an interview with the publication Cinestaan.com, we know how students have a right to re-evaluate their paper if they are not happy with the marks. But the new bill would mean that the examiner himself would re-evaluate a student’s paper just because he thinks the student deserves these many marks.

The reason why such an amendment would be more dangerous is because it has come in the wake of different ‘religious’ or social groups demanding bans on certain films they feel hurt their sentiments.

So, in case a film is certified by the CBFC for release but some group believes it should be banned or refused certification, the central government would get the power to re-examine the film to determine if it should release. Hence, it would make the CBFC or Censor Board appear irrelevant because the government would have power to revoke their decision.

Proposing such an act brings to our mind the menace created by the Rajput Karni Sena during the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (2018). The group had demanded the forming of a ‘pre-censor board,’ that would examine a film before it reaches the censor board [or CBFC]. As per their demand, if the ‘pre-censor board’ believes the film has no right to release, it won’t even be sent for certification to the censor board.

This new proposed bill is similar to this, except that the ‘pre-censor board’ is asked to look at a film before it goes to the Censor Board.

The new amendment bill has actually come as a double blow that has hardly been noticed by the general population. Earlier this year, the government dissolved the FCAT [Film Certification Appellate Tribunal].

To put it simply, FCAT was the committee to which a filmmaker went if he is not happy with the decision of the CBFC or the Censor Board. But now, the very option of FCAT for aggrieved filmmaker has been chopped off.

Of course, there is an option for filmmakers to approach the High Court if they are unhappy with the CBFC’s certification. But how can one expect independent filmmakers to file a case and pay for the lawyer when they have somehow managed to generate funds to make the film in the first place?

By dissolving the FCAT, the government took away the right of a filmmaker to get his film re-examined if he is unhappy with the verdict of the Censor Board. And now they are proposing an act through which the government itself has the right to withdraw certification of a film already certified for release.

What can we do?

The government has called for comments and opinions on the matter. One can share his or her views by writing an e-mail on – dhanpreet.kaur@ips.gov.in

Read the whole act HERE.

When Ashok Saraf & Jatin Kanakia had us in splits

May 30, 2021 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Writer-director Sanjay Chhel’s Khoobsurat (1999) is a light-hearted saga that keeps you entertained. It was about a conman Sanju (Sanjay Dutt), who owes Rs 50 lakh to gangster Jogia Seth (Paresh Rawal), entering the Chaudhary household by faking to be their NRI (non-resident Indian) relative Sanjay Shastri in order to swindle money.

Sanju succeeds in gaining the confidence of the family members, including Shivani (Urmila Matondkar), the daughter of the head of the family Dilip (Om Puri). He solves a lot of their problems, thereby winning the family’s hearts.

Like all mainstream Hindi movies, Khoobsurat also ends on a happy note with Sanju getting rid of Jogia and the family members forgiving him. He also finds love in Shivani.

You might have a different opinion on the film. But I am sure a lot of you would agree that the presence of Jatin Kanakia and Ashok Saraf together was a treat. It’s the only movie where they acted together, playing Dilip’s younger brothers.

Kanakia and Saraf — Ashok Saraf and Jatin Kanakia

Known the most for his character Keshav Kulkarni in the serial Shrimaan Shrimati, Kanakia has made appearances in Saraf’s TV shows Hum Paanch and Don’t Worry Ho Jayega. But it’s difficult to remember any memorable scene between them from these shows. The scenes where they would have acted together aren’t available on YouTube or any other platform.

Plus, their characters weren’t related to each other in both the shows like they are in Khoobsurat. Hence, they had a number of scenes together in which their respective comic timing was more than noticeable.

The one scene that takes the cake is when Dinesh Hingu’s character visits the family. He expresses his displeasure at Saraf and Kanakia for delaying in coming up with the idea of an advertisement for his underwear product.

As soon as Dutt, Saraf and Kanakia start making out an idea out of thin air, what follows is one epic moment that can be savored repeatedly. Saraf and Kanakia’s co-ordination is visible throughout. The humor is born out of Kanakia’s habit of forgetting certain words [an idea later used on Suniel Shetty’s character in Awara Paagal Deewana, 2002] and Saraf helping him remember while displaying his brand of comic timing.

Hingu’s crazy character and its habits also adds to the humour in a large way, especially his performance on ‘Thumba Thumba.’ It is only recently that I realized that almost the entire scene is taken in a single take.

Also read: SRK & Ashok SARAF’s pair in Yes Boss deserves more appreciation

The scene is on the lines of Neeraj Vohra’s memorable Chako scene in Ram Gopal Varma’s Daud (1997), which, interestingly, was also written by Chhel and it also featured Dutt [that film also saw Matondkar play Dutt’s love interest].

Khoobsurat is also known for bringing a long list of ensemble supporting cast together. Apart from Saraf and Kanakia, it included the likes of Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Aanjjan Srivastav, Johnny Lever, Farida Jalal, Himani Shivpuri and Supriya Pilgaonkar.

Sadly, Kanakia passed away months before the release of Khoobsurat.

Watch the scene below:

Also read: Rann keeps getting more relevant and that’s not a good sign

Rann keeps getting more relevant and that’s not a good sign

April 13, 2021 by Keyur Seta 7 Comments

Rann (2010) was one of the better films created by Ram Gopal Varma. It came at a time when the filmmaker was being written off, especially after the debacle of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (2007), the remake of Ramesh Sippy’s classic Sholay (1975).

Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Paresh Rawal, Sudeep, Mohnish Bahl, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and Gul Panaag, Rann gave more than a glimpse of the RGV of his prime.

Unfortunately, the film just didn’t work at the box office and couldn’t reach a large number of the audience.

But since the last few years, Rann has been appearing more relevant than it did more than a decade ago when it had released. In fact, it continues to get more relevant with each passing year and that isn’t a good sign.

Rann was basically about Vijay Harshwardhan Malik (Bachchan), the righteous and honest owner of a news channel called India 24/7. His channel is struggling with TV ratings since he is not willing to carry out any unethical and dishonest means to up the ratings, like other rival channels, including the one headed by the corrupt Amrish Kakkar (Bahl).

Vijay’s son Jai (Sudeep) has the opposite ideology but is unable to do anything since it is his father who controls the channel, much to his frustration. Meanwhile, Purab Shastri (Deshmukh), a die-hard fan of Vijay and a budding journalist, is delighted to have got the opportunity to work for India 24/7.

Apart from being a film on the media, Rann was also a political drama. Mohan Pandey (Rawal) from the opposition is desperate to become the Prime Minister. He forms a deal with Jai to frame the existing PM Digvijay Hooda (KK Raina) in a terror plot. Jai convinces Vijay about Hooda’s involvement in the scandal and the latter airs the ‘news’ on his channel.

This results in an uproar in the nation and Hooda is forced to step down as the PM. The general elections are held mid-term in which Pandey triumphs and is all set to become the next PM. However, Purab gets to know about Jai’s evil plan to frame the innocent Hooda. But is it too late?

Although the term ‘fake news’ isn’t spelt out in Rann, that is the crux of the film’s basic plot. However, fake news as a concept was hardly there in 2010, so, obviously, it wasn’t known by the masses. Hence, the seriousness of the subject wasn’t felt by the audience back then.

But today, we are living in an era where fake news is not just a reality but a regularity. Political parties use it on a daily basis to score brownie points over their rivals. Their leaders are painted as saints while the opposing party leaders are made to look like evil through posts and memes that appear like real news.

Rann had a long and powerful tagline that can be seen above

And our gullible citizens believe them without bothering to do any kind of verification. The controversy of the death of Sushant Singh Rajput received more fuel because of fake news. It went to such an extent that ‘news’ like how some top Hindi film stars saw the live telecast of Rajput’s ‘murder’ were spread and they were believed even by well-educated individuals.

Rann also went way ahead of its time and showed a news channel airing fake news. This might have appeared difficult to believe 10 years back but today this is also a reality. There have been instances where channels have aired ‘news’ that can be sourced only to What’s App forwards.

Rann ends in a powerful way when Vijay addresses the nation and begs forgiveness for airing fake news about Hooda. The dialogues and Bachchan’s performance provides goose bumps as we are told the responsibility of the media from scratch.

Big B’s climax monologue in Rann

A line spoken by Vijay’s character sums up the relevance of the film today – Jab sarkar aur media satta ki duad mein aapsi sauda kar leti hain, toh khabarein banti nahin, banai jaati hain [When the government and the media make a deal in the race to power, news doesn’t happen; it is created]

Superstar’s Silence: Why Halla Bol is more relevant today

March 11, 2021 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

To say that a film was ahead of its times has become a cliché. But there is no better way to describe Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ajay Devgn-starrer Halla Bol (2008). The film would have surely made more heads turn had it released in the current era.

Halla Bol traces the journey of Ashfaque Khan (Devgn). Hailing from a small town in India, he was named after the revolutionary Ashfaqulla Khan. Ashfaque dreams of becoming a film star. He joins a theatre group run by a reformed dacoit Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur) as a first step towards fulfilling his dream.

Sidhu specializes in using the medium of theatre to expose social evils and raise issues that are plaguing the society. Ashfaque wholeheartedly takes part in all such plays that aim to make a difference in the society, staying true to his name.

Meanwhile, Ashfaque’s efforts to get a break in movies pay off and he soon acquires the status of a star. He changes his name from Ashfaque Khan to Sameer Khan. But along with his name, he also changes as a person. Unlike Ashfaque, Sameer plainly refuses to take part in a play organized by Sidhu once for a social cause because this could hamper his star status, much to the shock and disappointment of the latter.

Not just that, the simple and innocent Ashfaque now becomes a womanizer and cheats his childhood love and wife (Vidya Balan) on numerous occasions.

Sameer’s biggest turning point arrives when he witnesses a murder at a party. He doesn’t testify against the culprits out of fear. But when his conscience doesn’t allow him to be at peace, he decides to carry out his duty as a responsible citizen by naming the killers to the police.

However, he receives serious threats since the perpetrators belong to the camp of the powerful and corrupt politician Ganpatrao Gaekwad (Darshan Jariwala). Raising voice against him would mean an end not only for his career but also his life.

Hence, the man known for raising his voice when he was a nobody becomes silent to all wrongdoings after becoming a superstar.

I was quite impressed with Hall Bol when it had released more than a decade ago. But when I look at it today, it excites me even more. It seems the film was tailor-made for the era we are currently living in.

The idea of a superstar not willing to raise his voice against an offence provided an interesting conflict back then. But today, it seems like straight out of reality. A lot has changed since last 6-7 years. Big stars are now super scared to share their opinion on any serious issue, leave alone raising their voice against a wrongdoing, like they used to before.

In fact, some stars are not even willing to speak up on the enormous rising prices of petrol. Interestingly, the same people were happy to share jokes on the same issue when the previous government was in power and when the price of fuel was much lower than what it is today.

Funnily, one star even deleted his tweets from 2012 when he had shared jokes on rising petrol prices. So that people stop questioning him as to why he is silent now.

Hall Bola shows Sameer go through a change of heart later on. He fights the evil forces all by himself [with timely help from Sidhu] to bring justice to the deceased. Of course, it would be laughable to even think of expecting this in reality. Halla Bol, after all, was a mainstream Hindi movie, so it had to end this way.

The extent of the fear of the authorities in today’s times was seen the most last month when famous celebrities shared scripted tweets in favour of the government after Rihanna spoke up on the issue of farmers’ protest.

Funnily, among the famous names who tweeted included the main lead of Halla Bol.

P.S: Halla Bol is available on Amazon Prime Video, Shemaroo Me and Voot.

Also read:

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JusticeForSSR now has NO place on news channels. Who gained, who lost?