@Fan:You criticize Anurag Kashyap for being self indulgent and you actually end up being a fan of the most self obsessed,over the top and drama queen director of them all? P.S : Bhansali films have made bigger losses than Kashyap films thus far.
@Fan:I preferred Vivek a lot more while he bound to a wheelchair than in the metallic suit which made him look more of a wannabe supervillain! I wish the Kaal vs Krrish duel had taken place with Kaal on his wheelchair emoting through his face and his eyes than his voice.
@Anup:Imdb ratings for bollywood films are not worth discussing and are not an indication of acceptance. Firstly,the internet is used by only about 20% of the Indian population. Secondly,even within that 20% there would be under 1% of the viewers' who would bother going on imdb and rating a movie. Thirdly,there are plenty of trolls and fanboys on imdb who keep boosting or downgrading a movie through fake profiles and multiple votes(esp in case of big ticket actors viz the Khans,Roshan,Akshay etc). Box office trending and the films' performance post the initial weekend is the only way of judging how much a movie has been liked and accepted by its "target audience". And anyway,imdb ratings are null and void for mass entertainers' since the single screen audiences who live in smaller towns and villages hardly have any access to the internet. Hence movies like Dabangg and Rowdy Rathore which are spefically aimed at the B & C centre audiences would never get a high rating by the urban audiences. Their low imdb ratings in no way signifies their acceptance among the masses!
@Adam:I did start blogging very recently but that's more of a movie box office blog to give information on the most successful movies since the 1940's(courtesy trade magazines i'v been preserving for the last 20 odd years & Film Information articles of my granddad's era).I do not watch that many number of movies to actually become a full time reviewer at present.Maybe in the future if possible! You can refer the following blog if u want box office details of Bollywood movies since the era of independence!
@Adam:Although one thing u need to understand is that a Lunchbox & a Paan Singh..etc caters to only 10% of the total audience but within that 10%,these films are liked by 8 out of 10 people watching them. While a Dabangg,Ghajini,CE etc cater to 80% of the total audience but within that 80%,they have been liked by 6 out of 10 people. So although the Ghajini's and Dabangg's are a lot more popular(based on viewership),they might not be as patronized as a PST or Lunchbox within the sphere of their respective target audience! Its like comparing Kahaani with Ek Tha Tiger. ETT is a lot more popular since its a lot more watched but Kahaani is a lot more liked within the realm of its limited target audience!
"Your last good review for a Blockbuster was Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani."~and that's only and only because of its lead actor(a dumbed down C grade version of Raj Kapoor) whom she considers to be brilliant (laughably so). Had that movie been starring any other actor from the rest of b town,i'm sure she'd have given it a thumbs down. Imagine giving a bigger blockbuster like Dhoom 2 a negative rating while giving YJHD a thumbs up! Her personal bias is more than evident.
"The Titanic and Avatar have been liked by millions of people all across the world and earned more than $3 Billion (combined) and to say that they are garbage just contradicts yourself what you have said earlier about critics."~I said they're garbage IMO! Of course if i give a business rating to these films it would be nothing short of 4/5. But the movie rating for both these films Imo is nothing more than a 2/5.
Anyway ROI can never be estimated from the exhibitor point of view since almost every movie,including the big hits and huge grossers do end up losing in some circuit or the other(except a handful like Dhoom-2,Ghajini,Dabangg,3I).Salman's 2009 hit Wanted was a loser in the multiplexes of the Mysore and Punjab circuits but was branded a Hit 'coz it was a plus equation on a pan India basis. Similarly ZNMD,JTHJ & Talaash were disasters in the single screen dominated circuits of Rajasthan,UP/CP Berar etc but made huge profits in the multiplex circuits of Delhi/Punjab,Mysore,Nizam & Mumbai. Hence they ended up being a plus equation in the final tally & were deemed as box office successes.
@fan:Lunchbox was always promoted as a film for the niche audiences who are more into artistic cinema than commercial entertainers.Same goes for last year's Paan Singh Tomar which was liked by over 90% of the "target audience" who paid to watch it.As for the exhibitors,The Lunchbox was released in just 400 screens across India which is 1/10th the number of a major commercial venture like CE/Krrish-3.The exhibitors had bought the film at minimal rates and since it was just a multiplex release,it had an average ticket price ranging from 120-140 rs.Hence it turned out to be a plus equation even for the exhibitors,much unlike Boss which released in 2800 screens and ended up burning a hole in the pockets of most exhibitors too.
And for the benefit of all concerned,let me briefly elaborate how box office works!The 100 cr club is not a criteria for a film's success.The "Total Gross" is what a film collects at the ticket window across all theaters in every territory.Case in point Ra.1 has a total all India gross of 153 cr. Total gross-Entertainment tax=Nett Gross. Entertainment tax right now is around 26%.Ra.1 has a nett collection of approx 115 cr(100 cr club is wrt nett gross). Around 50-60%(depending on whether the film's performed better at multiplexes or single screens) of the nett collection goes to the distributors across India.On a nett collection of 115 cr,Ra.1 generated a DS of 60 cr!This distributor share is tallied with the all India distribution price(sum of the prices at which the film has been sold to individual distribution houses across each territory).Ra.1 had an all India distribution price of 70 cr approx and hence it was a -10 in terms of nett loss for the distributors pan India.Some distributors in metros did make profits on the film but majority(esp in the B & C class centers) ended up making losses.Hence the movie was a "Losing to coverage" equation for the distributors and ended up with a final verdict of Above Average-Average(courtesy producer profit and decent theatrical collections).Same goes for SOS which had a share of 57 cr(nett collection 95 cr) as against a price of 60 cr.
So the next time an unreliable media source calls a film a "Hit" based on the fact that it netted over 100 cr,kindly take it with a pinch of salt and verify the facts (ie only if you're interested in knowing trade and boxoffice facts)
I ain't anyone's fanatic mate! My comments are usually made to counter popular media perception based on half baked truth and extreme manipulations! Yes indeed i am a big fan of HR and have the highest regard for him but that's not nothing to do with fanatism. The only aspect of me that's to being a fanatic is my loathing for Ranbir Kapoor,the most manipulative and unpopular so-called "star" in the history of Independent India :P
I;m sure your lines and paragraphs have already been prepared. The minute modifications regarding the technical aspects of the movie will hardly be an issue,especially considering that this potential blockbuster does not star the Besharam Media manipulated (flop)star :P
You see dear lady,I do not need anyone to tell me how to watch a movie and how not to watch one!As for critics,i do not rate them any higher than a regular movie goer except for the fact that they've probably watched more number of films and of course the fact that they get paid for the language and vocabulary skills while writing mostly bogus reviews on media forums and thereby influencing the viewers' to watch or skip a movie. Let film makers make films for their target audience and let the target audiences decide what's good for them and what's not. Critics have no place in this cycle. That's what most commercially successfully movies from across the globe have proved!
@Fan:You criticize Anurag Kashyap for being self indulgent and you actually end up being a fan of the most self obsessed,over the top and drama queen director of them all?
P.S : Bhansali films have made bigger losses than Kashyap films thus far.
I'd love this to flop badly so as to benefit Krrish-3 in its 3rd week at the box office :P Bhansali is a synonym for disaster anyway :P
@Fan:I preferred Vivek a lot more while he bound to a wheelchair than in the metallic suit which made him look more of a wannabe supervillain! I wish the Kaal vs Krrish duel had taken place with Kaal on his wheelchair emoting through his face and his eyes than his voice.
@Anup:Imdb ratings for bollywood films are not worth discussing and are not an indication of acceptance. Firstly,the internet is used by only about 20% of the Indian population. Secondly,even within that 20% there would be under 1% of the viewers' who would bother going on imdb and rating a movie. Thirdly,there are plenty of trolls and fanboys on imdb who keep boosting or downgrading a movie through fake profiles and multiple votes(esp in case of big ticket actors viz the Khans,Roshan,Akshay etc). Box office trending and the films' performance post the initial weekend is the only way of judging how much a movie has been liked and accepted by its "target audience". And anyway,imdb ratings are null and void for mass entertainers' since the single screen audiences who live in smaller towns and villages hardly have any access to the internet. Hence movies like Dabangg and Rowdy Rathore which are spefically aimed at the B & C centre audiences would never get a high rating by the urban audiences. Their low imdb ratings in no way signifies their acceptance among the masses!
@Adam:I did start blogging very recently but that's more of a movie box office blog to give information on the most successful movies since the 1940's(courtesy trade magazines i'v been preserving for the last 20 odd years & Film Information articles of my granddad's era).I do not watch that many number of movies to actually become a full time reviewer at present.Maybe in the future if possible! You can refer the following blog if u want box office details of Bollywood movies since the era of independence!
http://bollyindiaboxoffice.blogspot.in/
@Adam:Although one thing u need to understand is that a Lunchbox & a Paan Singh..etc caters to only 10% of the total audience but within that 10%,these films are liked by 8 out of 10 people watching them. While a Dabangg,Ghajini,CE etc cater to 80% of the total audience but within that 80%,they have been liked by 6 out of 10 people. So although the Ghajini's and Dabangg's are a lot more popular(based on viewership),they might not be as patronized as a PST or Lunchbox within the sphere of their respective target audience! Its like comparing Kahaani with Ek Tha Tiger. ETT is a lot more popular since its a lot more watched but Kahaani is a lot more liked within the realm of its limited target audience!
"Your last good review for a Blockbuster was Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani."~and that's only and only because of its lead actor(a dumbed down C grade version of Raj Kapoor) whom she considers to be brilliant (laughably so). Had that movie been starring any other actor from the rest of b town,i'm sure she'd have given it a thumbs down. Imagine giving a bigger blockbuster like Dhoom 2 a negative rating while giving YJHD a thumbs up! Her personal bias is more than evident.
"The Titanic and Avatar have been liked by millions of people all across the world and earned more than $3 Billion (combined) and to say that they are garbage just contradicts yourself what you have said earlier about critics."~I said they're garbage IMO! Of course if i give a business rating to these films it would be nothing short of 4/5. But the movie rating for both these films Imo is nothing more than a 2/5.
An interesting fact is that even the All Time Blockbuster DDLJ was actually a losing to coverage equation in the UP/Central India and Bihar circuits!
Anyway ROI can never be estimated from the exhibitor point of view since almost every movie,including the big hits and huge grossers do end up losing in some circuit or the other(except a handful like Dhoom-2,Ghajini,Dabangg,3I).Salman's 2009 hit Wanted was a loser in the multiplexes of the Mysore and Punjab circuits but was branded a Hit 'coz it was a plus equation on a pan India basis. Similarly ZNMD,JTHJ & Talaash were disasters in the single screen dominated circuits of Rajasthan,UP/CP Berar etc but made huge profits in the multiplex circuits of Delhi/Punjab,Mysore,Nizam & Mumbai. Hence they ended up being a plus equation in the final tally & were deemed as box office successes.
@fan:Lunchbox was always promoted as a film for the niche audiences who are more into artistic cinema than commercial entertainers.Same goes for last year's Paan Singh Tomar which was liked by over 90% of the "target audience" who paid to watch it.As for the exhibitors,The Lunchbox was released in just 400 screens across India which is 1/10th the number of a major commercial venture like CE/Krrish-3.The exhibitors had bought the film at minimal rates and since it was just a multiplex release,it had an average ticket price ranging from 120-140 rs.Hence it turned out to be a plus equation even for the exhibitors,much unlike Boss which released in 2800 screens and ended up burning a hole in the pockets of most exhibitors too.
And for the benefit of all concerned,let me briefly elaborate how box office works!The 100 cr club is not a criteria for a film's success.The "Total Gross" is what a film collects at the ticket window across all theaters in every territory.Case in point Ra.1 has a total all India gross of 153 cr. Total gross-Entertainment tax=Nett Gross. Entertainment tax right now is around 26%.Ra.1 has a nett collection of approx 115 cr(100 cr club is wrt nett gross). Around 50-60%(depending on whether the film's performed better at multiplexes or single screens) of the nett collection goes to the distributors across India.On a nett collection of 115 cr,Ra.1 generated a DS of 60 cr!This distributor share is tallied with the all India distribution price(sum of the prices at which the film has been sold to individual distribution houses across each territory).Ra.1 had an all India distribution price of 70 cr approx and hence it was a -10 in terms of nett loss for the distributors pan India.Some distributors in metros did make profits on the film but majority(esp in the B & C class centers) ended up making losses.Hence the movie was a "Losing to coverage" equation for the distributors and ended up with a final verdict of Above Average-Average(courtesy producer profit and decent theatrical collections).Same goes for SOS which had a share of 57 cr(nett collection 95 cr) as against a price of 60 cr.
So the next time an unreliable media source calls a film a "Hit" based on the fact that it netted over 100 cr,kindly take it with a pinch of salt and verify the facts (ie only if you're interested in knowing trade and boxoffice facts)
@Meeta:Considering i'v changed my id,shouldn't i be having a new profile on this forum?
I ain't anyone's fanatic mate! My comments are usually made to counter popular media perception based on half baked truth and extreme manipulations! Yes indeed i am a big fan of HR and have the highest regard for him but that's not nothing to do with fanatism. The only aspect of me that's to being a fanatic is my loathing for Ranbir Kapoor,the most manipulative and unpopular so-called "star" in the history of Independent India :P
I;m sure your lines and paragraphs have already been prepared. The minute modifications regarding the technical aspects of the movie will hardly be an issue,especially considering that this potential blockbuster does not star the Besharam Media manipulated (flop)star :P
You see dear lady,I do not need anyone to tell me how to watch a movie and how not to watch one!As for critics,i do not rate them any higher than a regular movie goer except for the fact that they've probably watched more number of films and of course the fact that they get paid for the language and vocabulary skills while writing mostly bogus reviews on media forums and thereby influencing the viewers' to watch or skip a movie. Let film makers make films for their target audience and let the target audiences decide what's good for them and what's not. Critics have no place in this cycle. That's what most commercially successfully movies from across the globe have proved!