MovieZen Bollywood Blog

The “Unforgettable tour” making huge waves

The “Unforgettable Tour” is in the news these days for the huge responses that it has received. They have been an instant hit wherever they performed. It is getting better each time.

The “Dhak Dhak” girl – Madhuri Dixit- has joined the tour in its US phase and is recreating her earlier magic. She made her entry on the evening of 26^th July as planned and had the crowd dancing to her tunes from there on. She has shown true dedication to her work and has been practicing with Shiamak Davar’s assistants for 8 hours a day at her home. No mean task for someone who has had such a long break from Bollywood, now wife and mother of two. Her dedicated efforts have borne fruit and the Madhuri magic has done it again.

The much anticipated event of the evening was the Madhuri-Ash duo number “Dola Re Dola” from “Devdas.” Madhuri and Ash matched steps perfectly. Big B as usual was the star of the evening and danced to his popular “Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai.” An evergreen number no doubt. In spite of being down with a bout of flu, Amitabh Bachchan had his fans completely mesmerized by his performance.

Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta , Riteish Deshmukh all performed their parts to perfection. Calling it a hugely successful show would be underestimating the magnitude of the show and the effect that it has had on the jubilant fans.

Vandana
**Read more articles by Vandana**

Unforgettable tour opens well... I die a little inside...

You know... I hate these Bollywood tours. Sure, at times they're interesting, even amusing. Yet for the most part it's just a bunch of below average dancers lip syncing to someone else's music. That's like paying money to watch K-Fed... Except K-Fed is a better dancer than Abhishek.

It becomes worse when you realize that the good tickets (i.e the ones where you can actually see that it's a Bollywood star on stage and not a stunt double) retail at close to a quarter of a thousand dollars (Yes. I could've said $250. But than it would've sounded less expensive.) I mean... you could easily hire a hooker stripper clown for a birthday party with that kind of money. He'll basically do the same thing.

Getting back to the topic, the Unforgettable tour opened on Friday at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada. 10000 people showed up at a venue which can hold up to 55000. Regardless, of the empty seats the opening show was considered to be a commercial success. The tour now moves on to America, as Canada breathes a sigh of relief... and awaits their comeback tour on the 17th of August.

You know what I hate most about this Unforgettable Tour? Their website. As soon as I get on the frickin' page I get an annoying error-message-thingamajig that says, "Christmas is here!". No jokes.

Really?! Christmas is here?!

Because I really can't see how watching Abhishek awkwardly shake his gangly body like a 6 foot Bambi or watching Amitabh try to dance with no movement whatsoever so as to avoid dislocating his hip is akin to the birth of Jesus. At all.

Still. At least the site is well maintained. And by maintained... I mean ignored. Except for apparently one man, who seems intent to post as much free internet porn on the forum as is humanly possible. God speed, good sir!

Samurai_Sellout
**Read more articles by Samurai_Sellout**

Yash Raj is going down!

Kya hoya Yash Raj ko? What has happened to Yash Raj? From being a production house that was known for it's brilliant fluffy flicks and masala movies, that entertained us and made money for them, now they cannot even sell a full house in a movie theatre.

Yash Raj have been struggling to bring crowds into the cinema's since Ta Ra Rum Pum and after the failure of Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, people are starting to wonder if Yash Raj has lost its touch.

Dhoom 2 was the last film that they got right and since then, they've had the dubious honour of producing cinematic travesties like Aaja Nachle, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Tashan. Even though it seemed that TPTM had the right combination of comedy, romance and family fun, it has become the lowest earning Yash Raj film in quite a few years. Compared to the $1.2 million that Dhoom 2 earned in it's opening weekend, TPTM has only managed to bring in a paltry $142 000 in US cinemas. On the other hand, Hancock and Kung Fu Panda have opened recently, so it's understandable that pickings have been small in US cinemas.

Yash Raj has too much history to lie down and die, and while hoping that TPTM will fare better in Indian cinemas which are more likely to accept fantasy storylines and cute characters, will now be relying on Bachna Ae Haseeno to drag in the NRI's.

Do you think that Yash Raj's reign is over on the industry or do they still have the ability to produce a few good movies?

Tigger
**Read more stories by Tigger**
 

History of Indian Cinema

Hi Folks,

In this era of globalization and the potential co-mingling of the two "woods," Hollywood and Bollywood, it is often assumed that knowledge transfer goes from the West to the East. A further analysis reveals that the history of the two most prolific film producing nations (US and India), is about as old as one another, as are the respective film industries.

India produced the first full length film in 1913, two years before DW Griffith’s ‘Birth of a nation.”

 

By the introduction of sound in 1931, India was already producing 200 hundred films per year, more than major Hollywood Studios produce today.

 

India produced over 30,000 films in 52 languages and dialects as an example in 2001, it produced 1,013 films, up 18% from 855 films in 2000.This growth rate continues today. The size of the segment in 2007, in terms of costs, is estimated at about US $900 MILLION, which represents a growth of 16% over the size in 2006.

India's first talkies (or sound based film) was Alam Ara and was released in 1931. This had amongst others, Prithviraj Kapoor in it's ensemble cast. Kisan Kanhaiya, made in 1937, was India's first color film. The title of the biggest ever (in popularity) can range, but the general consensus is between Sholay and Mother India, the latter also being nominated for the Oscars.

 

In terms of revenues, the size of the segment in 2007 was estimated at about US $3 Billion and for 2008 at about US $4.5 Billion. India films sell 6 billion tickets worldwide and gross US $400 million internationally.

 

Indian films have also been instrumental in swift development of the television segment, which has grown rapidly over the last decade and has expanded its reach to 200 million homes, including 168 million cable and satellite homes in 2007 . There are over 125 TV channels. The size of the segment in 2007, in terms of total revenues, was estimated at about US $4 Billion.

 

 

In 2003, India reached the 100 Million TV households mark, then surpassing the US in numbers. The Indian film industry provided excellent business opportunities. But then what should I know, I'm a mere CPA aspiring to write.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vivek "the way I look at it, knowledge transfer should be East to West here" Kumar

Passion for Cinema

Indian Cinema Goes Independent

So,

The time is here and now. First Bollywood tried to copy Hollywood and go with the studio system, with the introduction of the corporates. Adlabs, Studio 18, Eros, etc. What follows is, however, much more exciting. Mukta Searchlight, UTV Spotboy, etc, etc. The products include Dor, Iqbal, Black Friday, Mixed Doubles , and Mithya.

This indeed is trend setting, 'cause while you have the traditional (for want of a better word) movies with traditional actors coming out, it is now equally balanced by these independent (in spirit) products. Much like what we see in Hollywood, the big releases, the smaller independent ones and when it comes to the final award , i.e. audience acceptance, both do well and both have an equal chance. This drive to independence also seems to be affecting the big boys and girls.

Allegedly Karan Johar is doing away with movies starting with a K. Also rumors has it that Ram Gopal Varma is looking beyond the Bachchans and at the script. For anyone who follows Indian cinema, this is a watershed era that has come after a lot of give and take. Both the audience and the makers, are becoming truly global in their thought and mannerisms. Also being star struck comes out of a) media build up which makes people larger than life and b) a lack of objectivity and more emotional energy.

Now as the audience matures, both of these will change. People tend to think that the golden age of Indian cinema was the 80s-90s, I think that age is just about starting.

In fact the outright rejection of movies like Jimmy and Summer 2007 prove that no longer will the Indian audience view a film, which is more a sentimental appeal by an actor, to give his or her offspring a chance, as opposed to a film with a proper and reasonable script, coupled with some fine acting.

Sincerely,

Vivek "as India changes, so will it's audience and so will it's movies...wait the change is upon us" Kumar

Passion for Cinema

The LACK of Correlation - Big Stars & Big Hits

So,

One of the myths floating around town is, BIG STARS in Bollywood generate a sure shot hit. Evidence proves that nothing could be further from the truth.

Clearly hit is defined, in my accountancy mind, as "did it recover it's money," 'cause collections can be huge, but so can the cost to get these stars, so what I am talking about here is the NET GAIN, after the cost of paying these huge stars is settled.

Let's analyze by specific cases:

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, Tara Ram Pam, Bhoothnath, Aaja Nachale , Laaga Chunari Mein Daag , Kisna, Marigold, etc -- all of these are just a sampling of big star laden films and small box office results.

Clearly since the stars came at very high costs, this only compounded the losses suffered by the makers. This also breaks another myth that "banner is important." All of these came from big banners!!!

The point is, the audience has smartened up. They cannot be given a weak product laden with gloss and be expected to lap it up....'cause they won't.

And in fact the above is just a sampling. If we take the success ratio of "big star films" we get a ratio of 17% (for the last two years). That's abysmally bad I would think and would want to question how a 17% ratio can be a generally accepted norm.

Now let's take the other end of the spectrum. The movies that were NOT LADEN with big actors and yet did very well at the box office (again as recognized by the fact that they recovered their money by at least 2 X times),

Bheja Fry , Mithya , Black Friday, Honeymoon Travels, Khosla Ka Gholsa, Corporate, Page 3, etc.

The above films represent close to 60% of all the films made in this category, in the last couple of years. Hence this 60% success rate when compared with the 17% rate, goes to prove that Big Stars do not matter at all!!

Also most of the small films came from "classy, but largely start up or semi big banners."  Thus dispelling myth, after myth.

Are there exceptions to this NEW ROLE?

Of course, but by and large, audience take a bow. You have spoken, intelligent and witty movies are what it all is about, not seeing a face or set of faces that you see anyway 10 times a day, on some ad or the other.

Sincerely,

Vivek "it's not necessary that experience is about knowledge, sometime an outside perspective makes experience seem very amateur" Kumar

Bollywood to Blogging

The galaxy of stars have descended on the blogging world. Yes, that’s the new bug that has bitten Bollywood. Tired of the media making up stories and twisting facts, Bollywood stars have taken it upon themselves to establish direct communication lines with their fans. Blogging is their chosen platform.

Aamir Khan was the first to set foot on the blogging world and has his own blog. Aamir’s blog is very popular and has several hundred fans visiting and leaving comments each day. With the Aamir-Shahrukh dog controversy, Aamir has managed to drive lot more traffic to his blog. Guess the stars have mastered the art of publicity really well – by hook or by crook is the principle that they follow without fail.

Fascinated by the power of blogs, the next to make entry here is none other than the Big B himself. The Big B states that he is still getting familiar with the new medium and will get better in the coming days. He says that there are over 500 comments that he receives on his blog each day. I guess when you're a star you don’t need SEO and other techniques to drive traffic to your blog.

Next in line, actor Salman Khan has been so excited about his role as host of the game show “Dus Ka Dum” that he just can’t stop blogging about his experiences. Rumors say that even Darsheel Safary is getting ready with his very own blog site and that’s the way he plans to keep in touch with his fans. Guess what we regular bloggers would do with the stars turning bloggers one by one?

Vandana
Go Bollywood

Film Folks- Above it All!!!

Hi Folks,

Let me first add that to be fair to them, at least in Bollywood, film folks are subjected to intense media pressure. Having said that, it has its positives too, a) being in the news is good news and b) it helps in the publicity of their films and make no mistake about it, people are people, seeing themselves being written about pleases them too (negative and positive). Cause lets face it, everyone wants to be in the news.

The problem stems, when Film Folks start to think of themselves as "above it all." That is when you have to question this whole obsession with them, when the uncomfortable truth of the matter is, in the larger scheme of things, film making and acting, does not really make a difference to countries and humankind, as opposed to inventing things, saving lives, taking the country's economy further, alleviating poverty, etc. Although a rightful counter argument is that Bollywood, has been an export of India and hence earns it foreign currency...yes...but that still does not give the leeway to Film people to act like gods. Exporters of goods that earn foreign currency behave in the norms which are respectful to their parameters and their country and the country they are visiting.

Clearly, being in the news brings, whether they like it or not, a certain sense of responsibility.

On the one end of the spectrum, and you can call him boring, or politically correct, or whatever...the fact remains that Amitabh Bachchan has held himself together amidst the kind of media glare that would drive most regular people up the wall. But perhaps his "regularity in the face of constant onslaught" and his "this is a job that needs to be done" prevents him from going berserk.

Then we have the other end of the spectrum. The folks who go absolutely crazy and are not able to hold themselves with any sense of propriety and become the laughing stock of not only the Bollywood industry but an embarrassment to the profession. And two recent (as in the last couple of weeks incident) comes to mind. One is Rajeev Kapoor who showed up in Bangkok Airport, drunk enough that he did not even recall his name when asked for by the immigration authorities.

The other case was a double whammy for his brother Rishi Kapoor  who first started smoking in a non-smoking area of a hotel in London (a serious crime, forget the health hazard but it's a blatant fire risk) and then when asked to step outside (politely I am given to understand), started to get abusive and then when he did step outside, started to drink on the street, which banned the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

I mean c'mon!!!

This is not even a laughing matter. This is pure nonsense. I am pretty sure both these guys, having lived in a metropolitan area and global city like Mumbai and having traveled overseas prior to their respective TRIP's, are well aware of things like Immigration Counters/No Smoking Signs and Public Places which ban the use of alcoholic beverages.

To then behave the way they did, is clearly a mindset which seems to suggest "I am above all this." And why may I ask, are you?

I think the response will most probably be "because I am an actor and can get away with it."

Well given that one is a former actor and the other is closing in on retirement, this makes their respective behaviour all the more unacceptable.

The response to their future travels?

Do what the US government did (and rightly so), deny a travel Visa to actor Sanjay Dutt. In fact if you did a search on the number of time Bollywood types have broken the law and ended up "still ok," it might end up being as thick as a book.

So the next time you watch a film, watch it for the overall work done by all the folks behind it, as opposed to a couple of "law breakers" trying to get all the attention.

Sincerely,

Vivek "at the end of the day, movie making is like any other profession so it is time it's members behaved in a professional manner" Kumar

IIFA: Who can't miss it and who's giving it a miss?

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards came around again on the 6th-8th of June and while some of the big names of Bollywood get glammed up to attend the event, others have already sent their RSVP's back saying 'No thanks.'

Amitabh Bachchan is traditionally the brand sponsor of IIFA and had Sarkar Raj premiered there on the first day (and had son Abhishek nominated for a few awards), so the ceremony was dominated by the Bachchan's, but other famous faces who appeared and performed included Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja, who were all looking for a little publicity for their almost releases, Singh is Kinng and Love Story 2050 respectively.

But some of the biggest names in the industry refused to attend the show, namely, the Khan's. Each have made their relevant excuses, but it seems that they may have some ulterior motives to keep them out of the show.

Shah Rukh Khan didn't attend the awards because they coincided with his kids Summer vacations and like a good father, SRK doesn't want to spend a minute away from his spawn. Ulterior motive: Shah Rukh won't play second string to the Bachchan's, especially after the rumours about their supposed falling out.

Salman Khan was way to busy with the shooting of his new reality show and Main aur Mrs. Khanna. Um, except he forgot the little fact that co-star Kareena Kapoor is still making an appearance at the show and performing (since Jab We Met co-star Shahid Kapoor isn't there), so what's his real excuse?

Aamir Khan routinely ignores all award shows because he doesn't like the politics within Bollywood and since he never submitted Taare Zameen Par for nomination, he didn't really have a reason to be there. Ulterior motive: He doesn't really need one, he just never attends IIFA. It's an accepted fact, like the world being round, or Shah Rukh always winning best male actor category.

Wouldn't it be nice if they did something different this year?

Tigger
SoggyCornflakes - Bollywood

Cannes - What Value?

Hi Folks,

So another year goes by and another Cannes goes by. And we have people who attend it year after year, Bollywood makes it's flashing big announcements, aka , "we are becoming X in the global market,"  "we are launching xyz films," "the indian industry is becoming y" and the list goes on.....and then it is status quo.

To me, it is all ado about nothing. 'Cause the noisemakers disappear about as early as you finish spelling CANNES. The fashion and the films in Cannes, are also the fashion and the films in any page 3 of any magazine in the world. Generally, from a commercial Indian cinema or a Bollywood perspective, the bigger, to be released films, rarely showcase themselves in Cannes, and the ones that play in the CannesMarket, as opposed to the Cannes Festival, rarely go anywhere in the "real world," that is the world of commerical, audience interaction. So then that's all that Cannes is, is about which gown Ash is wearing or how the Indian corporates are increasing their stake in Bollywood, then the question I have is---do we need a Cannes for that? That information is very easily available in most magazines, internet and other sites.

It is also important to break a myth here. A lot of Bollywood films say "I played at Cannes..." Sorry, I have news for you...it did not play at Cannes...it played in the Cannes Market. The Cannes Market is a bazaar where films are bought and sold, trading is done,any film can take part in the Market. The Market is held simultaneously to the festival and for the films to be selected in the festival, is a big deal, well at least for some. I'm not about festivals. But assuming I was, it would be a big deal for me. But ANY FILM CAN TAKE PART IN THE MARKET and this leads to the BIGGEST LIE IN BOLLYWOOD FILMDOM- MY FILM PLAYED AT CANNES!!! NO IT DID NOT, IT TOOK PART IN THE CANNES MARKET THAT IS HELD SIMULTANEOUSLY TO THE FESTIVAL.

The film that was selected to play in the festival this year was GUIDE , which had become a commercial and a festival classic, long before Cannes gave it its "Stamp of Approval." The point then was Guide did not need Cannes and Cannes certainly needed Guide. The films that have and did play in the Cannes market in this and in prior years were not a list of (from the Bollywood and Indian American perspective) WHO's WHO? but more a WHAT''s THAT? They will have their one week of fame in Cannes and then disappear into oblivion.

And what of the attendees?

I can safely say that "making it to Cannes" is not synonamous with "making it in films" or "making a classic film." In fact, living in Silicon Valley and California, I know a whole bunch of "career Cannes attendees" who are just that "attendees," one never hears of a classic film from them, one never hears of them, other than from themselves.

So are all Cannes films and attendees useless?

Absolutely not, but there are a whole lot of useless films and attendees, who are floating around Cannes. These are the modern day "groupies." Let's take the current day Bollywood scenario. There are a whole lot of players who constitute Bollywood cinema, than the lot that attends Cannes. And every year, huge announcements are made, big money is talked about .....and then the dust settles....until the next Cannes....and then it starts all over again. And in all, the talk is about the gowns, who arrived with whom, how much money is being pumped into Bollywood, and the globalization of Bollywood....but the question that begs to be asked is--- BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FILMS?

The truth is that the Bollywood films seek an audience, that is their Cannes. Cannes, is not their Cannes!!

Sincerely,

Vivek "I'm not about Cannes, Versova, Burbank, Manhattan, London...that is my Cannes." Kumar

Passion for Cinema