While dissecting the collection pattern of the hits, superhits and blockbusters in the last few years, one very interesting observation can be made. Most films, even though successful, are not finding repeat audience. However, this particular scenario is applicable primarily to big-budgeted films. Limited budget/indie films, irrespective of quality, face many hurdles. Most of them are not promoted at all and released in very few theaters, with the hope that the film if good, will grow on word of mouth. In such cases, it becomes very difficult to club their collection pattern with big-budget films.

Now, how do we define repeat audience through box office collections? When any big-budget film releases, how much it sustains in its second, third and subsequent weeks is directly proportional to its repeat audience.

The collection of a film normally falls by 40-45% from Week 1 to Week 2 if it sustains well. In case there is another big-budget film releasing the next week, the collection falls 50-60%. By the end of its theatrical run, if a film has sustained well, it will atleast double its first week collection if not more.

Is that the case in the last few years? Let us take a look.

The most successful film in terms of revenue generated in Hindi cinema is 3 Idiots. The Nett collection for the film is 202.57 Cr. It collected 79.05 Cr in Week 1. So the film made 2.56 times the opening week collection. Now, let us take a look at the collection of different weeks. Week 1 collected 79.05 Cr, Week 2 collected 56.24 Cr and Week 3 was 30.30 Cr. So the collections dropped by only 28.8% from Week 1 to Week 2 and 46.1% from Week 2 to Week 3, which clearly indicates the repeat audience.

Let us take another example, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. First week collection for the film was 42.19 Cr. The Nett collection for the film after its theatrical run is 86.78 Cr, which is little over 2 times the first week collection. If we analyze the collection by weeks, Week 1 collected 42.19 Cr, Week 2 collected 24.56 Cr and Week 3 was 9.8 Cr. From Week 1 to Week 2, the collections dropped by 41.7% and for Week 2 to Week 3 the collections dropped by 60%. The reason for the larger drop in Week 3 was primarily due to the release of Ghajini.

The third and final example of a film sustaining well is Om Shanti Om. The Nett collection for the film is 79.42 Cr. It collected 36.97 Cr in Week 1. So the film made 2.15 times the opening week collection. Now, let us take a look at the collection of different weeks. Week 1 collected 36.97 Cr, Week 2 collected 22.18 Cr and Week 3 was 10.51 Cr. So the collections dropped by only 40% from Week 1 to Week 2 and 52.6% from Week 2 to Week 3.

Here onwards, the graph goes downward.

First on the list is Ghajini. First week collection for the film was 64.28 Cr. The Nett collection for the film after its theatrical run is 114.67 Cr, which is 1.78 times the first week collection. If we analyze the collection by weeks, Week 1 collected 64.28 Cr, Week 2 collected 26.50 Cr and Week 3 was 14.13 Cr. From Week 1 to Week 2, the collections dropped by 58.8% even though there were no releases in the next two weeks.

The same can be said for Rajneeti too. The Nett collection for the film is 92.93 Cr. It collected 53.91 Cr in Week 1. So the film made just 1.72 times the opening week collection. Now, let us take a look at the collection of different weeks. Week 1 collected 53.91 Cr, Week 2 collected 23.92 Cr and Week 3 was 7.89 Cr. So the collections dropped by 55.6% from Week 1 to Week 2 and 67% from Week 2 to Week 3.

Bodyguard suffered the worst fate. First week collection for the film was 109.47 Cr. The Nett collection for the film after its theatrical run is 140.95 Cr, which is shockingly only 1.28 times the first week collection, clearly indicating the picture.

At the time of this article, Ra.One, another supposedly successful film is going through the same crisis. The Week 1 collection for the movie is 97.47 Cr. The Week 2 collection stands at a shocking low of only 15.27 Cr, a plunge of 84.3%, probably the worst of the decade.

The same story goes on and on for every hit, superhit or blockbuster film in the last years. Dabangg, Golmaal 3, Singham, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, My Name Is Khan, Housefull, Love Aaj Kal… None of them managed to double their first week collection by the end of their theatrical run. In the last 5 years, only 3 successful big-budgeted films collected more than two times their first week total.

Gone are the days of Golden Jubilee and Silver Jubilee. Rarely does a film complete a theatrical run of 50 days. The audience is simply not connecting. A pan-India hit has almost become a myth. It is either a Multiplex success or a Single Screen success, but never both. The reason is simple. We are just not making enough good films.

Producers and distributors keep on shouting that the only business that is now left is the first weekend business. And so, irrespective of the product, good or bad, everyone is going for the kill by over promoting their films till it becomes nauseating. The bubble of the first week business will burst sooner or later. What will the producers do then? And that is one scary thought!

]]> http://myshortviews.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/successful-hindi-films-and-how-we-stopped-having-a-repeat-audience/feed/ 9 DaMovieManiac http://myshortviews.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/kweezzz-on-korean-cinema/ http://myshortviews.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/kweezzz-on-korean-cinema/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:36:05 +0000 DaMovieManiac http://myshortviews.wordpress.com/?p=309 ]]> [The following questions were in the set asked on Twitter by @kweezzz. ]

There are 15 screen-caps from 15 different films. Name them.

Being born in 1981, the late 80s are almost a blurred memory. The only thing I remember is we used have a monthly movie time when dad used to hire a VCR and we were let to watch movies. That was the good part. The bad part was that out of 10 movies shown, 8 were Bengali movies of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. Not that they weren’t great. They were and still are. But, we had seen them so many times that we got bored of them. Also, I don’t think anyone below 10 would really be interested watch those movies. What we (we being my cousin brother and I) waited eagerly was when were shown the non-Bengali stuff. It used to be mainly Chaplin/Laurel-Hardy/Tom and Jerry or the live action comic book movies like Superman/Batman etc… Once in while we were let to watch Hindi movies.

Even then I was too young to understand most Hindi movies. But, what I used to like about them is their soundtrack. Later in my late teens, I revisited most movies by getting their VHS tapes or VCDs. And most movies were indeed shocking.

Jeeva – 1986 – Raj Sippy – RD Burman – Sanjay Dutt/Mandakini

My most favorite song from the 1980s is ‘Roz Roz Aankhon Tale’.

I don’t remember anything about the movie from childhood other than loving the song. Later, when I watched it again, I almost felt like throwing up when that song played. Why? No offense, but when I saw Mandakini lip syncing it, it was way too much for me to digest. Add to that the horrible movie. Did all the movies made that time had to be ‘Gaon ka chora’ returning as a dacait to take revenge? Well, what more can we expect from the famous Raj Sippy – creator of such wonderful movies as Loha (1987), Shehzaade (1989), Saugandh (1991), Mr. Bond (1992), Ikke Pe Ikka (1994), Paandav (1995) among others. The only film I remember liking is ‘Satte Pe Satta’. But, to his credit most his films did pretty well at the box office.

Jaanbaaz – 1986 – Feroz Khan – Kalyanji Anandji – Anil Kapoor/Feroz Khan/Dimple/Rekha

A film which had songs like “Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo”…“Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta”…“Jaane Jana” among others.

I don’t even want to comment on the film as I had no idea what was going on. For me watching Rekha performing to ‘Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo’ with a group of dancers who seemed to be doing some kind of S&M on stage was painful enough.

I, however, loved watching Sridevi wearing chiffon sarees and dancing to ‘Har Kisi Ko’.

Vijay – 1988 – Yash Chopra – Shiv Hari – Rishi Kapoor/Anil Kapoor/Meenakshi/Kimi

One of the poorer works of Yash Chopra (but infinitely better than ‘Faasle’). But the movie had a pretty decent soundtrack. Songs like “Badal Pe Chalke Aa”…“Zindagi Har Janam”…“Meri Aankhen Hai” were moderate hits then.

The movie was like the song picturization itself. Watching Kimi Katkar in a Yash Chopra movie itself is a shock. Add to that Kimi’s dress and suddenly around 1:14 into the song Anil and Meenakshi pops out from nowhere. Damn scary!

Goonj – 1989 – Jalal Agha – Biddu – Kumar Gaurav/Juhi Chawla

I remember watching this movie when I was really young. The only thing I remember is the song “Saama Yeh Suhana”. It is one of my favorite songs. The movie however definitely isn’t.

Everytime I watch the song, I cringe at the expression of the actor from 0.40 – 0.42. It’s worth treasuring.

It is surprising whenever I talk about this song, most people think of the song ‘Saama Hai Suhana Suhana’ sung by Kishore Kumar from the movie ‘Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani’. The co-incidence is that Jalal Agha featured in the song ‘Saama Hai Suhana Suhana’ while he was the director of ‘Goonj’. I wonder if he paid tribute to the song by keeping the same lyrics in his own movie.

Yaara Dildara – 1991 – Mirza Brothers – Jatin Lalit – Aasif Sheikh/Ruchika Pandey

The horrible movie had couple of huge hits, “Bin Tere Sanam” and “Tum Hi Humari Manzil”.

“Bin Tere Sanam” was a big hit then, but even a bigger hit now thanks to the remix version. The other song that was really popular is “Tum Hi Humari Manzil”. I do not recall much of the movie other than that I couldn’t finish watching it as it was so bad.

I know Aasif Sheikh did lots of movies after that as a character actor. But I have no idea about the actress. Probably her first and last movie.

Drohi – 1992 – Ram Gopal Varma – RD Burman – Nagarjuna/Urmila

One of the most under-rated soundtracks of RD Burman and also of the 90s. The best song obviously is the beautiful “Tum Jo Mile To” sung by Suresh Wadkar.

Not only this song, “Dooba Dooba Nashe Mein” sung by Asha Bhonsle is also a very interesting composition. This movie forms the base for the now cult classic “Satya”. Drohi is almost frame to frame similar to Satya. Yet this doesn’t even come near to Satya.

Mashooq – 1992 – Mirza Brothers – Shyam Surender – Ayub Khan/Ayesha Julka

The Mirza Brothers were back after the disaster of Yaara Dildara to create another disaster, Mashooq. But like in Yaara Dildara, this movie also had a great soundtrack.

Couple of songs were huge hits. “Deewana Dil Dhoonde” and “Kaun Ho Tum”.

The other songs, “Yeh Dhadkan Mere Dil Ki”…“Tum Dil To” were also decent enough. Wish the movie was half as decent as the soundtrack.

Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi – 1993 – Mahesh Bhatt – Annu Malik – Rahul Roy/Pooja Bhatt

Probably Annu Malik’s best compositions ever! I don’t recall a single song that was even average – forget bad. From “Tere Dar Par Sanam”…“Baadlon Mein Chuup”… “Aane Wala Kal”…“Dil Deta Hai”…Dil Mein Sanam” to my personal favorite “Shairana Si Hai” – every single song is a gem.

Sadly, the movie didn’t even get a theatrical release. It was probably the first movie ever to premiere on TV (Zee TV if I recall correctly). Even then, the movie was horrible to say the least.

Imtihaan – 1994 – Harry Baweja – Annu Malik – Sunny Deol/Raveena/Saif

Two movies released around the same time. One was Deewana starring Rishi Kapoor and Shah Rukh, while the other was Imtihaan. Both had literally the same plot. One was a smash hit, the other flop. Imtihaan was the later and deservingly so. However, the soundtrack of the movie was actually great. It had some of the best songs of 1994.

The soundtrack consists of great songs such as “Is Tarah Aashiqui Ka”…“Chaha To Bahut”…“Do Baate Ho Sakti” among others.

The Gentleman – 1994 – Mahesh Bhatt – AR Rahman/Annu Malik – Chiranjeevi/Juhi Chawla

How can there be any list about soundtracks without the mention of Rahman. So here it is, Mahesh Bhatt’s disaster ‘The Gentleman’. The funny thing with this movie is although the music of three of the biggest hits of the soundtrack is given by AR Rahman, he only gets a ‘thank you’ note at the beginning and Annu Malik’s name is mentioned in the credits.

“Roop Suhana Lagta Hai” and “Chika Bika” were huge hits. The picturization of ‘Chika Bika’ wasn’t even close to that of the original by Prabhu Deva. The movie was again the same modern day Robin Hood story. I don’t recall a single good movie Mahesh Bhatt made from 1994 to 1999 with the exception of Zakhm.

Wish the directors worked half as hard on the screenplays as the music composers did towards their music.

All the films mentioned are selected on the basis that they did poorly at the Box Office.

Chronologically:

1. Haasil (2003)

2. Raincoat (2004)

• Simplicity. Simple can be lyrical and beautiful. This movie proves it.
• Career best performance of Aishwarya Rai. Superb performances by Ajay Devgan and Annu Kapoor.
• Debojyoti Mishra’s brilliant soundtrack and background score elevates the movie.
• Abhik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography and how he plays with the light and shadow.
• Lastly, the sensitivity and maturity with which Rituparno Ghosh directs the movie.

3. Naach (2004)

• Ram Gopal Varma.
• His most personal film till date. It is dark, moody and abstract.
• Add to that brilliant performances by Antara Mali and Abhishek Bachchan.
• Outstanding cinematography by Kiran Reddy.
• Enough said. Move on.

4. Matribhoomi (2005)

• Manish Jha. Just for the balls to make this film.
• Venu Gopal’s cinematography. The bleak and dark look shows how the society is loveless and depraved.
• The cast. Tulip Joshi, Sudhir Pandey, Sushant Singh and Piyush Mishra gives splendid performances.

5. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005)

• The sheer innovation of the story, script. The locales.
• Bavra Mann, one of the finest songs of the decade.
• A genius called Sudhir Mishra. To create one of the finest love stories of Hindi cinema.
• To bring the drop dead gorgeous Chitrangada Singh on celluloid. Add to that Kay Kay and Shiny’s performance.
• A special thanks to Pritish Nandy for giving me my favorite movie of the decade.

6. Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh (2005)

• For probably the best and most natural climax of the decade.
• To showcase the talent that Rajpal Yadav has.
• Add to that great performances by Rituparna Sengupta, Kay Kay, Varun Badola and Vinod Nagpal.
• Chandan Arora. For bringing back the Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterji style of romance and humor.

7. My Brother Nikhil (2005)

• The best and most sensitive Hindi film on gay relationships and HIV+ patients in India till date.
• Le Chale, one of the best songs I have heard.
• Sanjay Suri. For producing a movie like this and giving the best performance of his life.
• For Juhi Chawla, Victor Banerjee, Lilette Dubey and PurabKohli, each giving heartbreaking performances.
• Lastly, Onir for making this film with so much sensitivity.

8. Sehar (2005)

• Arshad Warsi’s best performance till date.
• For once, the characters speak with proper dialect (UP-ite Hindi here).
• The supporting cast comprising of Pankaj Kapoor, Suhashini Mulay and Sushant Singh.
• The train-borne climax and its treatment.
• Kabeer Kaushik’s superb direction.

9. Socha Na Tha (2005)

• For giving us Abhay Deol.
• The best film of Imtiyaz Ali (which he keeps on remaking).
• Great soundtrack.
• Original, energetic and vibrant Ayesha Takia, before she tried to be the next Pam Anderson.

10. Manorama Six Feet Under (2007)

• The best homage ever to Chinatown.
• For bringing back Noir to Hindi cinema.
• The dry humor throughout the film.
• Powerhouse performances from Abhay Deol, Gul Panag, Raima Sen and Vinay Pathak.
• For stunning cinematography which creates the claustrophobic atmosphere apt for the film.
• Lastly, Navdeep Singh’s deft direction.

There are lots of films for the number 11 spot, which I mention as an additional recommendation. Got confused! So am just listing the films which are all tied up for the 11th spot.

1. Yahaan
2. Phir Milenge
3. Chhal
4. Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon
5. Dhoop

Now I followed certain parameters (which is followed by Film.com) while selecting the movies.

1. The film can’t have surpassed $30 million, either domestically or worldwide.
2. The film can’t have been nominated for/won an Oscar.

Which basically means that the movie didn’t get acclaim either from revenue or awards.

So here they are, my Top 10 most under-rated English films of the decade, chronologically.

1. High Fidelity (2000)

2. Waking Life (2001)

Waking Life is a unique, cerebral experience.

3. 25th Hour (2002)

25th Hour lingers on your mind long after other movies have evaporated.

4. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

5. Shattered Glass (2003)

6. Garden State (2004)

7. Serenity (2005)

8. The Proposition (2005)

9. Inland Empire (2006)

10. Rescue Dawn (2006)

Werner Herzog is one crazy genius! Rescue Dawn proves that.

This movie has the career best performances of Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. Rescue Dawn is one of the finest POW movies ever made in the history of cinema.

Although I have finished naming the 10 most under-rated English movies of decade, I cannot help but add one more film as recommendation.

11. The Fall (2008)

So here is the list, alphabetically.

Abohomaan (Bengali)

• Rituparno Ghosh’s best work till date.
• Best editing of 2010.
• Best performance by a female actor in 2010.

Arekti Premer Golpo (Bengali)

• The sheer courage to make a film like this needs to be applauded.
• Brilliant performances from the cast.
• Rituparno Ghosh deserves special mention.
• I don’t think anyone else would have dared to play that role.

Do Dooni Chaar (Hindi)

• The sheer simplicity of the movie which makes it very identifiable.
• Two of the most heartfelt, natural performances in 2010.
• For giving us Habib Faisal, the discovery of 2010.

Gandu (Bengali)

• Best soundtrack of the year! It is going to be a CULT movie.
• With Gandu, Indian cinema is not the same anymore.
• The most important film of the year.

Good Night | Good Morning (English)

• Indie film at its best.
• Superb script! Proved that a telephonic conversation can also be a film, and an entertaining one.
• Bravura filmmaking!

Ishqiya (Hindi)

• Best Hindi soundtrack of 2010.
• A role of a lifetime for any female actor. Vidya Balan nails it.
• Add to that Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi at their very best.
• The most natural kissing scene in Bollywood history.

Love Sex Aur Dhokha (Hindi)

• Dibakar Banerjee never fails to amuse.
• But the real shocker was Ekta Kapoor producing it.
• That last scene with all the characters in the hospital still gives me goosebumps.

Natrang (Marathi)

• Although the story is completely different, it feels very similar to Arekti Premer Golpo.
• Theater as backdrop, cross-dressing protagonist, homosexuality…
• Atul Kulkarni and his transformation. Hats off!

Road, Movie (Hindi)

• Proved a good film can be made without a story.
• Phenomenal cinematography and background score.
• And how can I forget Satish Kaushik? What a performance!

Shukno Lanka (Bengali)

• Best performance by a male actor in 2010.
• Mithun…Mithun…Mithun. Enough said!

Udaan (Hindi)

Like they say, we keep the best for the end.

• Best film of the year!
• Coming of age has never been this good.
• The only film that made me cry. And that too not while watching the film, but after coming back. A rare film that made me revisit my school days once again.
• Oh! I almost forgot.Also for Sapna in Kanti Shah Ke Angoor

Love in India is a collage of realities and pragmatism adhered together to put forward a greater truth. The essence of love and the clauses stringed with it. However, as the title suggests, the veracity of love is different in different parts of the world. Specifically India, for its contradictory dimensions presenting a revered mythical background and a looked down upon contemporary westernization.

The film portrays a young live-in couple Q and Rii, their supposed ‘illicit’ love life and the societal pressure they are undergoing day in and day out. It is a battle of its own sort and with dense consequences. When Rii talks about the isolation from her family, the thereafter faced torture and finally eradication from her bloodline – the contempt and the lump in the throat is felt almost ethereally. A rampant and uniform connection is maintained with the viewer and the protagonist(s) – making one think about the voracity and the atrociousness of a society in a completely new light, rebuking the hierarchical image every nano second.

The film brings about the historical accounts and the mythological perceptions as beautifully as that of the current waves. When Kamasutra was being elaborated, the line which struck me most was that of a hypocritical take of a book shop owner. He said, “The customers tend to be shy to buy the Bible of Sex, especially if a female cashier is behind the desk. Nonetheless, it is ok if people ignore it. Who needs some more population to deal with?” The Krishna-Radha loveship is yet another façade which is a popular faith and a symbolist take on the illegitimate affair of the bygone era or perhaps, fabled if I may call it. It is celebrated in art forms, seasonal festivals et cetera, without the hitch of ‘conscience’ hitting the revelers even for the shortest of time span. People do not refrain to worship the sexual genitals, but despise any sort of public representation of it. The paradox is brought about almost at every instant. Hard hitting paradox, that is.

India’s pluralism is put forward in an abstract yet hued manner. Acceptance, loyalty, public impression, business sense – each and every aspect is influenced by the Indianness that has been featured, which isn’t rendered in a very bright light. A middle aged house wife is expected to remain shut and content as long as she is allowed the perks of partying, indulging on clothes and being drenched in gold. One of them recollected her days of affluence but just without that one liberty of choosing her life partner. Her discontent sentiments were a complete giveaway on the screen.

The primary credit for impact of the film goes to editing. The film is brilliantly edited. There are three parallel narratives moving at the same time and all of them are properly etched out. Not for once you feel the stories are cutting into each other’s space.

What also enhances the film is the music. In a film like this, one would never think of using so many songs. But the songs are wonderfully interwoven into the script.

But just like all love stories, the film has its share of flaws too. The film starts with Rii crying while reading a letter written to her by Q.  The letter was written to her sometime back and the reason for it is never explained. Hence the sequence does not quite gel with the entire graph of their story. Another sore thumb is the track with Neil. Although it is funny, somehow one feels it does not add anything to the film except length.

Love it for what it portrays or hate it for its extremism, Love in India is one of the important films of our times. For once the Indian middle class gets the tight slap it deserves. And just for that Q gets brownie points from me.

“Are you watching closely?”

In a year bereft of anything remotely original, packed with remakes and 3D upgrades, comes an idea which is as original as you can get. Inception welcomes you to a narrative labyrinth that, assuming you have the endurance to stick with it, offers up a wholly new imaginative universe.

“Wonders are many, but the most wonderful of all is human mind.”

Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is an extractor, one who enters the mind while a person is dreaming to steal their secrets. Saito (Ken Watanabe) hires Dom and his team for a different kind of crime: sneak into the subconscious of his main competitor Fischer (Cillian Murphy) and implant an idea that will ruin his empire. While Dom is the big-picture guy, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) handles the details. Eames (Tom Hardy) is the forger, someone who can assume another identity to control the dreamer. Yusuf (Dileep Rao) is the chemist whose concoction allows them all to turn on, tune in and drop out together. Ariadne (Ellen Page) is the architect, the one who builds the maze-like structure of the dream. Since she’s the newcomer, she also serves as our guide to the brave new world. Her dreams become our gateway to the world.

“You are the dreamer; you build the world.” Cobb tells her.

The movie is as carefully constructed as a Faberge egg. As we go deeper into the multiple layers of dreams, we dig deeper into Cobb’s character. The movie thus becomes a fascinating character study. In fact Ariadne sums it up perfectly in one sequence.

“The deeper we go into Fischer,” she explains to Cobb, “we also go deeper into you.”

This is what elevates the movie to a different level.

DiCaprio continues to subject himself to tougher and tougher acting challenges and astonishingly has nailed almost all the roles in the recent past. He has done a splendid job here too. However, Gordon-Levitt and Hardy are the standouts. It’s high time Gordon-Levitt is accepted as a star in his own right and this film might just do so. But Hardy takes the cake with his portrayal as the suave badass of the group. He is just mesmerizing!

Nolan’s films have always been technically perfect. But this film deserves special mention. Chris Corbould’s visual effects are all unparalleled and utilized beautifully. Hans Zimmer’s brilliant score is deep and thunderous, matching Wally Phister’s richly colored aerial-shot-heavy cinematography and a feeling of perpetual night. How can one forget Guy Hendrix Dyas whose prodution design acts as the backbone of the film? A special mention must be given to the editor Lee Smith who does the Herculean job of neatly blending the real and surreal.

But ultimately Inception is Nolan’s show; and he exerts control over every detail in the film effortlessly. Where Nolan breaks new ground is how deeply he probes the grey matter of both his characters and the audience. He makes no concessions to mainstream notions of plot and character development.

While I was walking out of the theater, I heard the following words to describe the movie. Mind-blowing, mind-bending, mind-fucking, mind-rattling….

For a change, we are associating the word ‘mind’ with a film. There lies the success of Inception.

So until you find your totem, dream on.

Raavan | Raajneeti | Kites | Badmaash Company | Housefull | Phoonk 2 | Prince

If taken a look at the movies released in the last decade, never did such lofty amount of  big budgeted movies release in one summer. And never did so many trash movies release in one summer. So officially this is our WORST SUMMER EVER.

Let’s summarize certain things:-

Bandwagon of honcho-directors – Mani Rathnam, Anurag Basu, Prakash Jha.

An entire warship of actors – Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapur, Vivek Oberoi, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgan… almost the entire industry is here.

Now let’s analyze the films which released this summer.

Raavan

It is a visually stunning film. But the plot is wafer thin and uni-dimensional. The director, famous for scripts with multilayered relationships, has painted all the characters either in black or white, without indulging in character shades and the multi-facades much needed. Where is the cinematic complexity, which Sir Ratnam holds high as his USP? Where is the inner turmoil in Ragini’s character? I am not being too harsh, but, it’s too mummified, simplistic, and a collage of a direction-lost script .

Raajneeti

The Mahabharata adaptation also suffers due to shoddy script. While the first half is completely decent, it is the second half in which Rajneeti fumbles. It makes a caricature out of all the characters. In the end it becomes a linear revenge drama between the two families. And… let’s just leave alone the Karna-Kunti part.

Kites

Where should I start, please? For one, the filmmaker was probably clueless about the film’s linguistics and has made a complete fool of himself by not putting in ample research on that front. Nothing more on this piece of trash, sorry. I just wish they released Hrithik Roshan’s show reel instead of that cinematic porridge. Atleast the public would have known what they are buying the tickets for.

Badmaash Company

It’s sad to see films like these releasing from a production house which gave us some of the finest films ever released on Indian screens. Seems Yash Raj Films is completely bankrupt of scripts. Since when did con jobs become so boring?

Housefull

Do I need to discuss about the film? It is hands down the worst film of the year. No further comments, thank you.

Phoonk 2

Although this movie is relatively a small budget film, I am mentioning it since the first part was a hit and it’s a RGV production.  But sadly, all the ticket money gave us, was the screeching sounds effects trying to scare the audience desperately. Sound effects don’t constitute the entire film, Sir.

Prince

What can I say about the film? It is special! A film where LCD TV displays the memory of a person and one can fast forward or rewind it, is beyond any mortal’s thinking capacity. They named the film wrongly. Should have been GOD instead.

But not one movie has managed to mesmerize me. This summer has been a disaster of epic proportions. If you count the total budget of all the films mentioned above it will probably reach 400 Crores. An amount large enough to completely revamp an entire state. Yet, yes yet, we did not get ONE good film.

Why? That’s the main question.

The answer is the SCRIPT. If only the producers spent less money on actors, their costumes and concentrated on the backbone of any film, script, we would have had an eventful summer.

Isn’t marriage a journey? Where two individuals, however similar or dissimilar they are, stick together through grooves and crests in search of happiness.

That exactly what The Great Indian Butterfly’s all about. A journey of an urban couple, currently dysfunctional, out on a vacation, to seek happiness.

As their road trip starts, the problem increases. Lisa (Koel Purie), Krish’s ex-girlfriend re-surfaces. Meera, still uncomfortable about Krish’s past-relationship with Lisa, vents out in frustration. Krish unable to take it, rants. And slowly, the skeletons start coming out from the closet. Suddenly, the trip to Goa becomes an even more a-desperate-attempt to save the marriage.

A movie when based on profound, personal relationships, lies solely on the script. Thankfully, that’s where The Great Indian Butterfly scores. It is a spot-on script. At last we have a movie where the couple converse with a natural and real-life tinge to it. They fight like most of us do, they react like most of us do and they try and patch up the way most of us would. Their problems, feelings are genuine and we connect to them.

Another highlight of the film is the outstanding cinematography from Shankar Raman. The entire first half is more or less shot on the road, under the open sky. You have to see it to believe how well it has been shot. I don’t recall any movie which made Goa look so stunning. There are some stunning silhouettes used.

And then the performances! Sandhya Mridul is the film. It should be a career defining performance for her. She makes Meera special. Flawless performance. Aamir Bashir is good too but overshadowed by Sandhya. Koel Purie and Barry John are apposite in their respective characters.

Sarthak Dasgupta in his debut film has created a gem. To bring out the exact emotions in a strained relationship is a tough job. And to write a balanced story without taking sides is tougher. His story makes us identify with the leads. And his direction feels so assured. Very few films based to man-woman relationship have tackled the subject so maturely. And for that The Great Indian Butterfly becomes a must watch.

Yes, there are flaws. The second half feels a little muddled. A couple of monologues about peace and happiness and all the joyous things could have been shortened as they are a tad too long. Also, the brownish tinge used to mellow down the bright blue sky looks a little shabby at some places as the blue sky underneath is partially visible. And was it very necessary to show the singers in the film as guest appearances?

But then again, flawed brilliance is still brilliant, right?