WILL HIMESH SUCCEED AS AN ACTOR WITH THE XPOSE?

The Xpose never made any noise while it’s being made. But it caught everyone’s attention the moment its theatrical trailer was out. Most of them ridiculed the promo and lead actor Himesh Reshammiya’s appearance (he has lost oodles of weight and indeed looks a bit odd) and his dialogue delivery. Also, the design of the poster and Himesh’s ‘cheers’ moment immediately was dubbed a copy of Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Great Gatsby. But Yo Yo Honey Singh, who is seen as the villain, was appreciated and few songs of the film too picked up fast enough.

The Xpose is set in the 60s and revolves around a murder of an actress. The film industry serves as a backdrop and the makers have attempted to incorporate several real life instances and character inspirations in the film. The film’s leading heroines, Zoya Afroz and Sonali Raut, are shown to be rivals and reportedly, they have taken their rivalry off-screen as well and fought with each other during promotions. It seems like a bad publicity stunt and thankfully didn’t have the ‘breaking news’ honour. Sonali also does a Zeenat Aman’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram stint by wearing a white saree in the film. Sadly, the scene has been shortened by the Censors.

The buzz for the film is moderate and hence, a moderate opening can be expected. That it releases tomorrow (May 16) which is a counting day won’t affect the film much. After all, not everyone will be glued to their TV screens to check the election results and they can always do so on their smartphones and tablets. Moreover, majority of people watching the film in the morning shows especially are youth who might not be very inclined with the election results. However, a section of moviegoers are going to stay miles away from the film and this can affect the film, especially if reports are bad. On the positive side, the budget is reasonable (Rs 15 crore) and hence, recovery won’t be a big issue.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE XPOSE AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 12, 2014)

While most producers steered clear from the general election results day ( May 16) as their film’s release date, Himesh Reshammiya has decided to release his film, The Xpose, on this very day. The film was initially slated to release on May 23, but its release has been pulled ahead by a week.

The music composer-turned-actor is willing to take the risk of having his film hit the big screen on a day when the country will be glued to news channels to know the outcome — whether the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi attains the magic number. News channels are expecting maximum viewership not only on that day, but over the weekend as well.

Rakesh Upadhyay, creative producer of The Xpose, says, “We are aware that May 16 is counting day, but by afternoon, the results will be known and people will step out after that. Also, the election staff that has been tied up for the last several months will be looking forward to some relief after all these months. I am sure our film will provide them the much-needed entertainment quotient.” Another factor that dictated the change was the Indian Premiere League (IPL) schedule.

Upadhyay adds, “We had initially announced May 23 as we were unaware of the detailed schedule of IPL’s cricket matches at that time. Later, we realised that from May 23 to 25, there are qualifying matches for the semi-finals and there are two matches on a day, so we decided to pull forward the release.” Apart from Himesh, the film stars Honey Singh, Irrfan and newcomers, Zoya Afroz and Sonali Raut.

Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; April 24, 2014)

Encouraged by the response the film’s soundtrack has garnered, The Xpose will now be released a week ahead of its original schedule. We hear the suggestion was made by Anil Thadani, who has acquired the movie’s distribution rights.

A source said, “Seeing the success of the music of Aashiqui 2, Anil, who had distributed that movie as well, had recommended preponing its release. And the result was a boxoffice hit. Now that the music of The Xpose has become successful, he has made a similar suggestion. Also, there are six crucial cricket matches between May 23 and 25.”

Creative producer Rakesh Upadhyay confirms the development saying, “May 16 is a better date because there is only one cricket match that weekend.”

Directed by Anant Mahadevan and produced by Vipin Reshammiya, this HR Musik production was originally set to release on May 23. Featuring Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Zoya Afroz, Sonali Raut and Irrfan (special appearance), the musical thriller is set in Bollywood of the 1960s.

Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; January 20, 2014)

Himesh Reshammiya will play an ex-copturned-superstar in his next, The Xpose, which is a thriller set in 1960s’ Bollywood. The composersinger-actor has shed 20 kilos to fit into the role of Ravi Kumar, which is inspired by the late actor Raaj Kumar.

Himesh, who weighed 77 kilos when he started preparing for the film five months ago, adopted an organic diet to go with his training regimen. And now, he weighs 57 kilos. Along with shunning carbohydrates, he also stopped eating between 9 pm and 9 am. Himesh is pleased with the results and is working towards getting six-pack abs in a month. Says he, “I have some superb music coming this year with Humshakals, Action Jackson, All Is Well and Kick. And there’s The Xpose, whose director Ananth Mahadevan is doing a wonderful job.”

The negative character played by Yo Yo Honey Singh apparently is inspired by Pran. Irrfan Khan also makes a special appearance in the film, which introduces Zoya Afroz (Miss India 2013 second runner-up) and Sonali Raut, who are playing characters inspired by Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman, respectively.

The Xpose, produced by HR Musik, releases May 16.