Tashan Review

There’s a direct co-relation between the incoming calls that I receive on a Friday, with the status of a film. If it happens to be a low-budget fare with no curiosity attached to it, my phone remains silent most of the times, except for a few regulars who, anyways, will never stop calling.

But if the movie happens to be a big-budget extravaganza starring the high and mighty or is helmed by a top notch story teller, the cell phone rings incessantly. Last Friday onwards, right till the time of writing this piece, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Expectedly, the discussions were limited to TASHAN, just TASHAN, only TASHAN.

Everyone I spoke to is in a state of shock. What went wrong? Let’s analyze…

• Akshay Kumar – in top form after a string of hits.


• Saif Ali Khan – riding high after RACE.


• Kareena Kapoor – stronger than ever after JAB WE MET.


• Anil Kapoor – back with a bang, post WELCOME and RACE.


• Add to it the name that once guaranteed house full boards from Day 1 itself – Yash Raj. Yet, TASHAN failed to drive into the viewer’s heart.

I wouldn’t like to get into the plusses and minuses of the film [already highlighted in the review], so let’s talk business. That’s what everyone’s keen to know.

A leading North India distributor/exhibitor and I got into a discussion over the financial implications of its no-show at multiplexes. “Do you think Yash Raj would be affected by a Rs. 8-10 crore loss? It won’t pinch them one bit,” he opined.

Agreed, Yash Raj has made a fortune with a string of hits, but in this business [or any business for that matter], every penny counts. TASHAN has cost ‘x’ amount to make and whether you accept it or not, the no-show at multiplexes means that they’ve lost out on a good chunk of revenue. Had the film opened at the plexes, the losses would’ve been controlled/minimal.

But more than anything else, TASHAN has hit the credibility of Yash Raj hard. Last year, RGV faced a major crisis when RGV KI AAG was mauled, ridiculed and written off. I saw and heard similar negative talk doing the rounds of the industry for TASHAN.

Yash Raj’s last three films [JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM, LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG and AAJA NACHLE] were forgettable ventures. But TASHAN will not be erased from our memory. Its non-performance will haunt us all through this year!

'Jannat' premiere in Pakistan

Click above for more stills

The Bhatts -- Mahesh and Mukesh -- have always encouraged talents from across the border. In fact, in almost every film produced by them, a Pakistani composer or singer has always been associated with it. Besides, their last few films have had a theatrical release in Pakistan too. The latest is that JANNAT, their new film, will be premiered in Pakistan.

“Yes, there should be two premieres, in Mumbai and Pakistan, respectively. The Pakistani premiere is scheduled exactly a day before its release since we are planning a simultaneous release there,” Emraan Hashmi confirms, adding in the same breath, “It's a love story primarily, with cricket and match fixing being the wallpaper -- a subject both Indian and Pakistani audiences haven't witnessed on the big screen yet.”

Although the Bhatts have released a couple of films in Pakistan in the past [reportedly, AWARAPAN was a huge success] and Emraan enjoys tremendous fan-following there, the actor hasn't visited the country yet. “I am looking forward to visiting Pakistan this time,” he sounds excited.

U Me Aur Hum Weekly Business

U Me Aur Hum - Week 1

Mumbai - 2,91,85,671 (Incl Thane)

Gandhinagar - 2,58,240

Himmatnagar - 1,08,136

Baroda - 5,61,180

Bharuch - 2,25,686

Jamnagar - 1,76,878

Ahmedabad - 60,60,831

Pune - 10,64,691

Goa - 5,95,783

Nasik - 71,203

Delhi - 1,10,73,681

Noida - 16,67,301

Kaushambi - 3,14,675

Gurgaon - 23,43,991

Raipur - 5,83,171

Nagpur - 6,04,007

Faridabad - 8,10,083

Indore - 12,14,908

Lucknow - 1,63,969

Ujjain - 36,000

Sehore - 69,450

Guwahati - 1,97,720

Jaipur - 9,37,321

Kota - 3,56,437

Kolkatta - 31,26,490

Darjeeling - 65,338

Bangalore - 11,04,873

Chennai - 2,77,526

(Average per print: 4,40,330)
Total collections for Week 1: 6,32,55,240
Total Collections (Till Date): 6,32,55,240

Krazzy 4 weekly business

Krazzy 4 - Week 1

Mumbai - 3,18,83,938 (Incl Thane. 6 F.H)

Gandhinagar - 3,56,442

Himmatnagar - 1,27,512

Jamnagar - 3,15,960

Ahmedabad - 65,30,040

Baroda - 6,11,895

Bharuch - 2,47,444

Pune - 6,525

Goa - 8,29,211

Nasik - 1,31,811

Delhi - 1,26,28,817

Noida - 18,56,279

Kaushambi - 3,86,583

Gurgaon - 27,66,890

Bareilly - 1,54,970

Faridabad - 11,95,265

Indore - 20,26,586

Raipur - 9,01,446

Nagpur - 7,75,840

Lucknow - 1,62,059

Aurangabad - 2,96,757

Ujjain - 67,800

Sehore - 1,12,735

Guwahati - 1,61,918

Kolkatta - 29,22,316

Darjeeling - 83,786

Jaipur - 10,72,544

Kota - 4,11,690

Bangalore - 10,07,508

Chennai - 2,28,995

(Average per print: 4,48,966)
Total collections for Week 1: 7,02,61,562
Total Collections (Till Date): 7,02,61,562

A look at Tusshar Kapoor's next comedy, C Kkompany

Have you heard of 'a' company that wanted to 'b' company to 'C' company? If you find this funny, then, wait till you hear this. Sachin Yardi (the writer of Traffic Signal and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum) is all set to take the Balaji Telefilms' latest venture 'C' Company ….oooops …sorry sorry… C Kkompany to dizzying heights with his directorial debut!

The film star cast is as funny and interesting as the title itself. It stars Bollywood's very own 'Brand Ambassadors' of comedy: Anupam Kher and Rajpal Yadav with the 'in-house hen' we mean…'ghar ki murgi' oooops... 'ghar ka murga' Tusshar Kapoor!

C Kkompany is a story about three best friends, underdogs of different age groups, staying in a middle class society and are striving to achieve their respective dreams.

As luck would have it, one harmless prank takes a 360 degrees U-turn in the lives of the three characters, a situation that they never ever had imagined in their lives!

Bhoothnath Movie Preview

Character Sketch:

Amitabh Bachchan as Bhoothnath (Kailash Nath)

His 'imaginary' friend, Bhoothnath is his partner in crime. Bhoothnath, who initially is reserved and irritable in the film, transforms when he finds a grandson in Banku. He shares a very special relationship with Bhoothnath. The two are inseparable. They play a lot of pranks at school and home. The bond between them personifies love and innocence.

Aman Siddiqui as Banku (Aman Sharma)

Perfect Dennis the Menace…he loves to play pranks, make up stories and trouble his mom. His innocence is deceiving. Since he has moved to Nath Villa, he's made a special friend. Bhoothnath!

Juhi Chawla as Mom (Anjali Sharma)

She is an easy going, fun and a really lazy person. Doing chores at home isn't her cup of tea…She and her son have a lot of fun at home. They play and laugh all the time.

Satish Shah as Principal Irani

Principal at Banku's new school. He is extremely fond of students' lunch boxes. He is in for a ride when Banku and Bhoothnath pull a prank on him where whatever he speaks comes out as Gibberish.

Rajpal Yadav as Drunkard (Anthony)

He's a dare devil drunkard, who has the courage to stay at the haunted Nath, Villa, where no one even dares to come close. He sincerely wants to be of some help to Anjali, but ends up messing it all the more.

Synopsis:

It's believed that children have the strongest connection to god. They have the ability to perceive goodness in everything and everyone. This is a story about a seven-year-old naughty yet innocent boy, who unknowingly turns a foe into a friend. This is a story about Banku and his friend, Bhoothnath…about innocence, honesty and the pure love of a child. It is believed a mother's love is selfless. But a child's love can transform relationships; it comes with no expectations and no boundaries. Their love can make you believe in miracles. A story about a little innocence, a little playfulness, and a lot of emotions that will touch hearts. This is a story that will show adults to see the world through the eyes of a child… an angel, a creation of god. It's then that one will realize what a beautiful world they live in after all.

SHAURYA Movie Preview

Let's clear a misconception before we get down to reviewing SHAURYA. It's not a war film. It's not jingoistic. It doesn't spew venom on the neighboring country. It doesn't show mutilated bodies or blood-soaked faces and limbs.

Sure, SHAURYA has the backdrop of the armed forces. But it's about a court martial. It's about two friends, who're pitched against each other in a courtroom. The 'culprit', in turn, doesn't want to defend himself and remains a mute spectator for reasons best known to him.

SHAURYA is a serious film and raises a serious issue in the penultimate 20 minutes. And that's where it scores. Director Samar Khan gradually builds up the tension and when it explodes in the finale, it leaves you stunned and speechless. Most importantly, it makes you uncomfortable… perhaps, that's one of the reasons why it succeeds.

SHAURYA is about the common man, but as a cinematic experience, it's more for the discerning viewer looking for a hatke theme, thirsting for a story in those 2 hours. Most importantly, it does justice to the tagline - 'It takes courage to make right… right'.

Captain Javed Khan [Deepak Dobriyal] is charged with mutiny, treason and killing a fellow officer. Even when he is held for court martial, he refuses to speak in his defense as the secret he holds is too powerful for the establishment to handle. Assigned for this task are Sid [Rahul Bose] and Akash [Jaaved Jaaferi], two best friends, lawyers and very ambitious individuals who have contrasting views on life.

Nevertheless, this one case changes their lives forever. The case takes them to Srinagar. While Akash, for whom winning the case matters the most, follows the blueprint, Sid discovers a new meaning in life, Kavya, Javed and of course, the man in question, Brigadier Pratap [Kay Kay Menon].

Why is Javed silent? What is the truth of that night? Why is Brigadier Pratap hell-bent on getting Javed convicted? Will Sid have the courage to save Javed's life?

SHAURYA isn't a flawless script. But it has been treated with utmost realism and sensitivity by Samar Khan. Talking of the narrative, the film could've done without the item song at the very start [and what was Pawan Malhotra doing in this song?]. Besides, one fails to understand why Deepak Dobriyal doesn't confide to his mother, since the family has always taken pride in the fact that they've adhered to principles all their lives. Besides, the film could've been shorter by at least 15/20 minutes. The second hour drags at places!

Despite the hiccups, SHAURYA delivers what it promises. At the end of the screening, you actually pinch yourself. Did the same guy who helmed this riveting fare called SHAURYA, direct KUCH MEETHA HO JAYE, a bitter cinematic experience? The execution of SHAURYA is impressive and Samar also succeeds in extracting stellar performances from the ensemble cast.

Despite the shortcomings, the screenplay is tight, not deviating from the core issue. The reason that compels Deepak Dobriyal to shoot a fellow officer and also the powerful climax prove that the writers [Jaydeep Sarkar, Aparnaa Malhotra and Samar Khan] know their job well. There's not much scope for music in a film like this, therefore the two songs don't make much of an impression. However, in terms of melody [Adnan Sami], 'Dheere Dheere' has a soothing effect on the listener. Carlos Catalan's cinematography is topnotch.

The story rests on five actors - Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Jaaved Jafferi, Deepak Dobriyal and Minissha Lamba. Rahul excels in a role that fits him like a glove. In fact, this performance easily ranks as one of his finest works. Kay Kay is dynamic. Watch him explode in the climax and you realize the potential this actor possesses.

Jaaved does a decent job. However, his character is relegated to the backseat after a point. Deepak conveys a lot even when silent - that's the sign of a fine actor. Minissha is effective. Besides, she looks the character. Amrita Rao handles her part with maturity. She's first-rate. Seema Biswas, as always, is a complete natural.

On the whole, SHAURYA is a well-made film that will have to rely on a strong word of mouth to sustain in the coming days. However, the film deserves to be tax-exempted since it's a genuinely deserving case.

Tashan Moview Preview

Character Sketches:

Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar)

NAME: Bachchan Pande

AGE: 30 as per police records, 25 as per Chachi, 26 as per Omprakash, I think 28

MARITAL STATUS: Don’t understand question

QUALIFICATIONS: Can steal electricity anywhere, Can break all bones of body with guarantee

WORK EXPERIENCE: Fully experienced

ACHIEVEMENTS: Recovered everything from a cow to a bungalow

AIM: Become killer

Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan)

NAME: Jimmy Cliff (Jeetender Kumar Makhwana P.S. Keep it confidential)

AGE: Depends on the age of the girl across the table

MARITAL STATUS: Not interested but always available

QUALIFICATIONS: Qualified enough to fix any girl in record time and ya of course, graduate

WORK EXPERIENCE: In the past two years working in a call center and coaching English

ACHIEVEMENTS: Highest number of girlfriends from class 5 to graduation

HOBBIES: Can’t you guess

AIM: To stay alive

Pooja (Kareena Kapoor)

NAME: Pooja Singh

AGE: What is it got to do with you

MARITAL STATUS: Hot and single

QUALIFICATIONS: 34-22-34

WORK EXPERIENCE: More than you think

ACHIEVEMENTS: Still to achieve my main goal

AIM: To fool everyone

Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor)

NAME: Lakhan Singh urf Bhaiyyaji

AGE: Remember not but young at heart

MARITAL STATUS: Bachelor since baby, will marriage soon

QUALIFICATIONS: MMS from King Kong University, JKL in Botany from Bing Bong University, BBMS from Kaun Sa Desh, Currently getting made English Honours marksheet, also Three more degrees getting made in progress

WORK EXPERIENCE: Bhaiyyaji self made man, Pulled rickshaw and now pulling Money from all over India

ACHIEVEMENTS: Gunning and Robbing

HOBBIES: Wearing foreign costume, English speaking 24 hours

AIM: To speak English like George Bush.

Synopsis:

What happens when you throw two guys who hate each other together…

A cool call center executive Jimmy Cliff (Saif Ali Khan), a desi wannabe gangster Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) add for good measure a beautiful girl Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) who can’t be trusted… on a journey across spectacular India… a journey which will alter the course of their lives in more ways than one… a journey where even enemies need to trust each other if they want to be alive…

Trouble is, in this world no one can be trusted ever!

And to top it all there is the evil eye of Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor)… a maverick gangster who enjoys killing people as much as he enjoys speaking English…

What you get is… TASHAN

Krazzy 4 Starcast

Starring

Arshad Warsi	.... Raja
Irrfan Khan	.... Dr Mukherjee
Rajpal Yadav	.... Gangadhar
Suresh Menon	.... Dabboo
Juhi Chawla	.... Dr Sonali
Shah Rukh Khan	.... an item number
Rakhi Sawant	.... an item number
Hrithik Roshan	.... promotional video

Director : Jaideep Sen
Producer : Rakesh Roshan
Musician : Rajesh Roshan

Krazzy 4 Movie Preview

Krazzy kya?

Set to release on the 11th of April 2008, Krazzy 4 is ready and waiting to trigger off some laughing gas to the audience. After Dhol and Dhamaal, the next foursome Krazzy 4 is also waiting to make some big bucks in the box office. A theme inspired from the Malayalam movie Mukilla Rajyathu, director Jaideep Sen and producer Rakesh Roshan are positive about creating waves with this major flick. The movie revolves around the ‘krazzy 4’ Arshad Warsi, Irfan Khan, Suresh Menon and Rajpal Yadav, all of them suffering from various mental imbalances, along with Juhi Chawla as the psychiatrist. The movie has also pitched in Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Rakhi Sawant for star attraction with an item number each to their credit. Dia Mirza, Rajat Kapoor and Zaakir Hussain are other prominent casts in the movie. Younger brother Rajesh Roshan holds the key to music.

While Krazzy 4 marks the first production-only venture of Rakesh Rosha, it is also after 4 years gap that Irfan Khan and Juhi Chawla are acting in the same film. Juhi has returned to the role of a psychiatrist after a gap of 10 years since Deewana Mastana. While the movie promos are doing their impressive rounds, the soundtrack of Krazzy 4 is questionable. Hopefully, the movie will give everyone some reason to smile.

Krazzy 4 Synopsis

It’s a mad, mad, mad world out there
Someone’s nutty about money …
Someone’s deranged by power…
Someone’s cracked with stress…
Someone’s unhinged by overwork…
Someone’s insanely in love….
It’s a mad, mad, mad world out there
And everybody’s worried they’re going bananas….
Except the Krazzy 4
Because they know they’re already Krazzy!

Raja’s anger knows no bounds, he’ll hit out at the slightest provocation or even without.
Intermittent explosive disorder is what the doctors call it. ‘Sarphira’, is what everybody else does!
Dr Mukherjee is your perfect doc – clean and orderly, not a pin out of place. So what’s wrong with that? Obsessive compulsive personality disorder, that’s what.

Schizophrenic Gangadhar lives in the past…his mates are Nehru and Gandhi, Tilak and Patel! He’s so busy fighting for swaraj and freedom, he’s lost his sanity!Cute Dabboo is everybody’s pet. So what if he hasn’t spoken for years? So what if he’s frightened all the time?

Dr Sonali treats them all. She has faith that all it needs is a little time and lots of patience to make them normal…to make them part of the mad, mad, mad world out there…

But are the Krazzy 4 ready for the world?
And is the world ready for them?
Watch out! The Krazzy 4 are coming your way!!And yes...
If you think they r crazy, think again!