Firsts are always special, but they mean even more when they come as National Awards. Yami Gautam and Kartik Aaryan bagged their first National Awards in the Best Actress and Best Actor categories for Article 370 and Chandu Champion, respectively, at the 72nd National Film Awards, announced on Sunday. Aaryan shared the honour with Malayalam superstar Mammootty for Bramayugam.

Article 370 emerged as one of the biggest winners, also taking home Best Feature Film and Best Music (Songs) for composer Shashwat Sachdev.

Sachdev said, “I came into cinema with no inheritance, only a deep love for music, so this National Award feels like a beautiful pause to look back at every uncertain day, quiet sacrifice, and every person who stood by me.” Tamil film Amaran won three awards — Best Director, Best Music Direction, and Best Editing.

Rajkummar Rao-starrer Srikanth won Best Hindi Film. Director Tushar Hiranandani told mid-day, “Actually, for Srikanth, the only award that I won before was in Moscow. I was not even nominated in any other category, in any other awards. At last, I feel happy. I dedicate this to my mom and father-in-law, who passed away before the release.”

For Randeep Hooda the win for Best Debut Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar came as a surprise.  Reacting to the big honour, he said, “This film asked more of me than anything I’ve ever done. The journey was filled with challenges at every juncture, but I’m glad we saw it through and overcame each of those.”

Best Feature Film: ‘Article 370’

Best Actor: Kartik Aaryan (‘Chandu Champion’) and Mammootty (‘Bramayugam’)  

Best Actress: Yami Gautam (‘Article 370’)  

Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy (‘Amaran’)  

Best Supporting Actor: Sanjay Mishra (‘Bhakshak’)

Best Supporting Actress: Ropashree Varkady (‘Mithya’) and Sachana Namidass (‘Maharaja’)  

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: ‘Kalki 2898 AD’  

Best Debut Director: Randeep Hooda (‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’)

Best Film Promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values: ‘Captain Miller’

Best Hindi Film: ‘Srikanth’

MR & MRS MAHI IS IMPRESSIVE; WILL MUNJYA MANAGE TO SCORE AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The box office came back to life last week with the release of Mr & Mrs Mahi, starring Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor. The first day was aided by Cinema Lovers Day, when most theatres sold tickets for just Rs. 99. The industry expected the film to open at Rs. 5 crores but we had predicted that the figure could go higher. And that’s what happened. A day before release, the advance booking picked up big time.

Mr & Mrs Mahi ended up opening at a huge Rs. 6.75 crores. Since so many people saw the film on the first day, there was a small drop in the next two days. The Saturday and Sunday collections were Rs. 4.50 crores and Rs. 5.50 crores respectively. The film held well on Monday, collecting Rs. 2 crores and Rs. 1.65 crores on Tuesday. The first week's collections are expected to be around Rs. 23 crores.

If Mr & Mrs Mahi holds strongly on the second Friday, then it can cross Srikanth’s collections. That film’s lifetime earnings are expected to be around Rs. 47-48 crores. Srikanth got three open weeks, which Mr & Mrs Mahi sadly won’t get.

Meanwhile, the big release this week is Munjya. It is a part of the horror comedy universe that also comprises Stree and Bhediya. It stars Sharvari and Abhay Verma along with Mona Singh in a supporting role. The film’s release happened suddenly. Around two weeks ago, the makers announced that the film would be released on June 7. The teaser and trailer were dropped digitally and no event took place of the film at all. Sharvari, however, extensively promoted the film. Her gorgeous avatar during promotions and her sensuous avatar in the song ‘Taras’ from Munjya have been noticed. Munjya is also special as the lead character is completely done through CGI.

However, the awareness of the film is very limited. The trailer hasn’t clicked well and the reason why people are somewhat excited is because of the horror genre and also as it's connected with Stree and Bhediya. The opening is expected to be around Rs. 1 crore.

The Hollywood release of the week is Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. The previous film of the series, Bad Boys For Life, collected around Rs. 10 crores in its lifetime in India, which is a healthy total. But the buzz for this film seems limited. It might grow if word of mouth is positive. It’s a mass film and hence, its Hindi version also has a chance.

WILL BHAIYYA JI AND FURIOSA BRING SOME RESPITE?

Srikanth completes two weeks today and is doing quite well at the box office. As predicted last week, it’ll cross the Rs. 40 crore mark in June, which is a huge result for this film. Meanwhile, this week’s release might also surprise as they have mass appeal.

Bhaiyya Ji stars Manoj Bajpayee in the lead and it’s his 100th film. The actor is seen in an action avatar this time and it looks quite impressive. The film is directed by Apoorv Singh Karki and his last film, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, became a surprise hit on OTT last year. Hence, there’s hope that the actor-director duo will once again create magic.

Bhaiyya Ji’s teaser caught attention but the subsequent promo and trailer haven’t lived up to it. Also, some feel that it looks like a B-grade film. However, this very factor can go in its favour, especially in the mass centres. Bhaiyya Ji is expected to open around Rs. 1 crore and might go a bit higher to Rs. 1.50 crore.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, meanwhile, was released today and is a prequel to the cult action film, Mad Max: Fury Road. The earlier part has a following in India. Also, this series is known for stunning action scenes and this will pull in a section of the audience. However, the buzz is limited and also, it’s A-rated. Hence, the business will be there but not significant. It is expected to open around Rs. 1 crore and can grow in the weekend if the target audience accepts it. A Rs. 15-20 crore lifetime will be great for this film.

NEW RELEASES BRING SOME RESPITE AT THE BOX OFFICE

After the major debacles of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan, the expectations for last week’s releases, Srikanth and Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, were not much. But both these films have surprised and would collectively collect around Rs. 30 crores by the end of their first week.

Srikanth, starring Rajkummar Rao, had some buzz due to a good trailer and the song ‘Papa Kehte Hai’. Yet, the industry and trade expectation was that it would open at around Rs. 1 crore. However, it opened at Rs. 2.25 crores, which brought cheer in the trade. The opening is not huge but we need to consider that last month, a big-budget film like Maidaan opened at just Rs. 4 crores. Keeping that in mind, Srikanth’s opening was impressive.

Srikanth jumped to Rs. 4 crores on Saturday and Rs. 5 crores on Sunday. On Monday, it dropped to Rs. 1.65 crores which is not bad. The first week’s collections will be around Rs. 17 crores. There’s no major competition this Friday and if it manages to collect more than Rs. 10 crores in Week 2, it’ll have a healthy lifetime of around Rs. 35 crores or even Rs. 40 crores.

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, meanwhile, opened better than Srikanth. It started with collections of Rs. 3 crores. But the collections on Saturday and Sunday were flat – Rs. 4 crores. It has however held well on the weekdays and its first-week collections might be around Rs. 18-19 crores. This film, too, can cross the Rs. 30 crores mark if it holds as strongly in Week 2.

The major Hindi release this week is Kartam Bhugtam, starring Shreyas Talpade and Vijay Raaz. It’s directed by Soham Shah of Kaal fame. The buzz, sadly, is negligible and will face a tough time at the box office. The Garfield Movie, meanwhile, can surprise. The other Hollywood release, If, might work in certain pockets on the weekend.

Srikanth tells the story of a very successful man; what goes in the favour of the film is that people hardly know about Srikanth Bolla. Hence, every step of his life, depicted in the film, makes for a great watch. Director Tushar Hiranandani treats the film in an entertaining manner. He doesn't make it depressing and hence, it's a film with a widespread appeal. The courtroom and airport scenes are too good. On the flipside, the narrative takes a sharp turn in the second half and it might make viewers a bit unsettled. No back story is given of Jyotika; Alaya F is introduced all of a sudden and we never know about her roots. The film is too fast-paced at times and the climax speech should have packed a punch like it happened, for instance, in Pad Man. Rajkummar Rao, however, is outstanding. He gets into the skin of the character and how. Jyotika is adorable and does full justice to her wonderful part. Sharad Kelkar, as expected, is dependable. Alaya F is much better here than she was in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Srivinas Beesetty (Srikanth's father) and Anusha Nuthula (Srikanth's mother) do well but are hardly there. Jameel Khan (APJ Abdul Kalam) is apt for the role. Bharat Jadhav (Judge) leaves a mark. 'Papa Kehte Hai' and the theme song stand out. All in all, Srikanth is worth watching for the plot, treatment and Rajkummar Rao's award-worthy performance.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

 

WILL SRIKANTH BRING RESPITE AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The last one month has been dismal at the box office. There was no significant release the previous Friday. This week, however, will see the release of an important film – Srikanth. It stars Rajkummar Rao in the role of Srikanth Bolla, a visually impaired industrialist. It is directed by Tushar Hiranandani of Saand Ki Aankh fame and he has not made the film depressing. Instead, it tells the story in an entertaining manner. The film also stars Jyotika, who was recently seen in the very successful film, Shaitaan. Sharad Kelkar and Alaya F also feature in Srikanth.

The makers tried their best to enhance the buzz. They even incorporated the recreated version of the song ‘Papa Kehte Hai’. Though the awareness of the film is there, the excitement is very limited. Many have opted for a wait-and-watch strategy and would throng the cinemas once the initial reports are out. The lack of any release can also pull more people.

Srikanth is expected to open at around Rs. 1 crore. If all goes well, there should be a 100% jump on Saturday and Monday collections hopefully would be more than the first day. If that happens, the film will have a long, clean run.

The other major release is Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes. It is the fourth part of a globally successful franchise. But in India, none of the earlier instalments have worked. Nevertheless, due to lack of release and big scale, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes might open in the same range as Srikanth or it might also go beyond the latter.

Lastly, Deepak Tijori’s Tippppsy releases tomorrow but because of negligible noise and very limited shows, its box office collections won’t be much.