DNA (October 30, 2015)


Meanwhile...
After having worked with a goat called Shah Rukh in his last release, Yeh Hai Bakrapur, Anshuman Jha got to work with the real SRK in a commercial for an e-commerce site. The Love Sex Dhokha actor was all praise for SRK and even gifted him DVDs of his films LSD and Yeh Hai Bakrapur with a note saying ‘Thank you for inspiring me, SRK’. Khan promised him he’d see the movies at the earliest. Anshuman says, “Shah Rukh is such a sport and an absolute gem. He told me he had heard a lot about my films, but hadn’t had the time to see them. My character Rahul in LSD was a tribute to his legendary Rahul, so I gifted him the DVDs. I hope he likes what he sees.”

The other three releases had very low collections with all three not managing to cross 50 lakh nett for the weekend. The collections of YEH HAI BAKRAPUR were better than MANJUNATH and KHWAABB.

The other three releases had very low collections with all three less than 25 lakhs nett. The order of the three was YEH HAI BAKRAPUR, then MANJUNATH and finally KHWAABB which was the lowest collecting of all the new releases..

DISASTROUS FRIDAY AS 6 FILMS UP FOR RELEASE!

Believe it or not, tomorrow as many as 6 Hindi films are up for release. It’ll be disastrous as these half a dozen films would jostle for space in theatres and also for audience attention. What’s more, none of these films don’t seem exciting enough or have created sufficient buzz. My views:

HAWAA HAWAAI: It is directed by Amole Gupte and like his previous film Stanley Ka Dabba, it also stars his son Partho in leading role. Saqib Saleem plays his coach in this film that is supposedly the first movie ever to be based on skating. Trailer has been impressive but as it’s not a typical entertainer of sorts, the buzz hasn’t been huge. Also, due to low costs, the marketing has been low-key. There’s no chance that it’ll take a bumper opening. But if response is very positive, the film can significantly pick up and turn out to be the surprise of the season.

MASTRAM: An erotic drama, it attempts to depict the life of the anonymous writer who wrote sex stories in 80s and 90s that sold like hot cakes. The trailer is hilarious and very sizzling. But for obvious reasons, the makers have not been able to show it on television. However, what’s surprising is that they haven’t even promoted ‘Achko Machko’ song that’s sung by the very popular Yo Yo Honey Singh. Hence, even though the material is attention-grabbing, the faulty promotion has prevented it from making huge impact. And this can dent it’s collections as well. Yet, it can score and grow due to its adult content.

YEH HAI BAKRAPUR: This is a small-budget satire that has wonderfully caught viewers’ attention due to two aspects – one, because of the goat and it’s hilarious and stylish depiction in the posters and two, because of the manner in which the makers have used Shah Rukh Khan’s name to sell the film (the goat is named Shah Rukh). However, these are marketing gimmicks and although it has helped the film to stay in news, it won’t really help attract viewers to theatres. Also, there’s too much competition in the week for the film to excel.

KOYELAANCHAL: Starring Suniel Shetty and Vinod Khanna, Koyelaanchal shows how politics and mafia have ruined the lives of people living coal mine areas. Surprisingly, the manner in which the coal areas are shot and presented is much better than in Gangs Of Wasseypur and Gunday. Also, from the promos, the film looks like a no-nonsense sensible flick with sufficient doses of entertainment. Sadly, the buzz is negligible. Also, Suniel Shetty doesn’t have the same pull anymore, sadly. The film can work slightly, only in mass belts.

MANJUNATH: The theatrical trailer of this film has been really hard-hitting. It’s also praiseworthy to see the actor playing Manjunath, who very well resembles the real person on whose life the film is based. This looks like an honest and sincere effort and needs time and space to grow. Sadly, Manjunath is going to suffer very badly in this flood of releases. But somewhere, the makers too are to be blamed for designing such a not-so-impressive marketing for the film.

KHWAABB: The film that has been least promoted of all has been Khawaabb. It’s shot well, despite being digitally picturised and having a low-budget feel. But sadly, it’s going to sink without a trace. CHECK THE TRAILER HERE

WHICH FILM WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE OUT OF THESE FILMS AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; May 5, 2014)

It’s already known that a goat, one of the main characters in upcoming social satire Yeh Hai Bakrapur, is named Shah Rukh, after the superstar Shah Rukh Khan. And now, it seems that the promotional song of the film has been inspired by Om Shanti Om, one of SRK’s blockbusters. Composed by music band Agnee, the number has been written by Panchhi Jalonvi and sung by K. Mohan and Keerthi Sagathia.

Writer-director Janaki Vishwanathan, who has won National award for her Tamil film Kutty, says, “The song symbolises all the glorious things that Bollywood represents; it’s our tribute to the industry.”

The film, featuring Anshuman Jha, Yaushika Verma, Asif Basra, Amit Sial, Utkarsh Mazumdar, Suruchi Aulakh, Faiz Khan and Shameem Khan, revolves around the family of the Qureshis and their pet goat, Shah Rukh. Circumstances lead to the animal acquiring star status in his village and beyond. Soon enough, people start fighting for a piece of the live goat. 

Yeh Hai Bakrapur, produced by Ramesh Sriivatsava Aruunachalam, releases May 9.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 1, 2014)

Even before their satirical comedy Yeh Hai Bakrapur hits theatres, plans are afoot for a sequel. Mirror has learnt that the film’s director, Janaki Vishwanathan, will adapt R Chandrasekhar’s 2010 novel, The Goat, the Sofa and Mr. Swami in the second instalment.

The filmmaker has already bought the film rights of the book which is a fictional account of a Pakistan Prime Minister’s uninvited visit to India to watch a cricket series and the pandemonium it creates. Anshuman Jha, who leads the cast of Yeh Hai Bakhrapur has already been signed for the sequel.

Confirming the story, the actor said: “I have signed a three-film deal with the producer Ramesh Aruunachalam. Yeh Hai Bakrapur is already wrapped up and we will be starting work on the book adaptation on May 9th. The third film that I have signed is called Mona Darling, which will see him paired with Nushrat Bharucha, my co-star in Dibakar Banerjee’s Love, Sex aur Dhoka.”

Janaki, who will be directing the sequel, said: “I read the book while making Yeh Hai Bakrapur. During the filming, it struck me that it would make for a great second film. I met the author, he saw my film and we were on board!”

Superstars are finally taking notice and action against people who use and misuse their names to promote films
Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; March 31, 2014)

With Rajinikanth’s film Kochadaiiyaan releasing round the corner, a film titled Main Hoon Rajinikanth has just been announced by filmmaker Faisal Saif. He is not the only one — nor the first one — to be cashing on or using an actor’s name in a film. There have been instances in the past too.

Faisal defends himself saying that his film will only be a tribute to the legendary actor. “It is about Rajnikanth and you will get to see those things which you have only read it as SMS jokes. The comedy is on the lines of The Dictator and Borat,” he says. When asked if he sought permission from the superstar, he says, “We are not making a film on Mahatma Gandhi or any historic figure. My film is also not a biopic. It is a tribute and for that we only need his blessings. We want our film to be a pleasant surprise for him.’’ Trade analyst Komal Nahta rubbishes the claims that it is just a tribute. “The filmmakers are obviously cashing on the actors or at times even characters’ popularity. The idea is to get instant recognition and attention. We easily remember movies titled Basanti Ki Shaadi Honeymoon Gabbar Ka, because of the popularity of those iconic characters. It is a ploy to get publicity,” he says.

Filmmaker Janki Vishwanathan’s film Yeh Hai Bakrapur which is slated to release in May too has a ‘Shahrukh’ in it. The filmmaker has been seeking audience with the Shah Rukh Khan because a goat in her film is named after him. She justified it by saying, “Since the goat is the protagonist of the film, we went hunting for the right goat. We ‘auditioned’ at least 400 goats before we found the right one. Call it a divine coincidence but the goat that was approved was called Shah Rukh. I was told the goat responds to that name since he was one year old. I thought best not to change the name.’’ She adds, if you go to the goat market in Bidar which falls on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra, most goats there are either called Shah Rukh or Salman. “I wanted that trend to be reflected in my film. Not so long back there was this goat called Saifeena, which was sold for Rs 4 lakh. I won’t be surprised if there is a goat named Sachin in the market too. The reason is to show how things in rural India works.” she says. She is keen on showing the film to SRK because she wants the actor to know that “there is no malice intended” and that she utmost respect for him.

We don’t know how Shah Rukh is taking this piece of news, but Salman Khan was evidently not too happy when a filmmaker, Muazzam Beg, launched his film, Munna Bhai Sallu Bhai on Salman Khan’s birthday on December 27 last year. Salman Khan’s office is said to have promptly sent mails to Beg warning him against misusing the star’s name. Beg had to shelve the film. He says, “ Our story was about two fans of these actors. We had shot 30 per cent of the film, but decided to shelve it after the warnings came,” he says. In hindsight, he says he should have sought Sallubhai’s permission before even starting the film.

Some time back, Madhuri Dixit, who was then living in the USA, got anxious when Ram Gopal Verma announced a project called Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, without speaking to her about it. Her then business manager Rikku Rakesh Nath explains, “We took an objection to the title and only after we understood what the script is, and gave him a No Objection Certificate did he begin shooting.” Whatever the intention of the filmmaker, do these dramatic naming result in more business? No, says Nahta. “It just becomes a point of discussion for a while and then some front benchers get taken in, but that’s about it.”

BOMBAY TIMES (March 24, 2014)

Ramesh S Arunachalam, who has produced Yeh Hai Bakrapur, says that he will have a special screening of the film for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s manager and a couple of others. The goat, that is protagonist in his film, is called Shah Rukh. And reports say that SRK’s core team wishes to see the film before its release to ensure that there is nothing derogatory. Fair enough.