Box Office India - 14th September 2019

14 September 2019

Vol. 11

Issue 02

India’s Premier Film Trade Magazine

Dreams, Girl In Your

Here’s what happened when Dream Girl lead pair Ayushmann Khurrana and Nushrat Bharucha met our version of Pooja to talk about their film, gender fluidity and the unique flavour of small town India PAge 10

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Volume 11 • Issue 02 • 14 September 2019 EDITOR Vajir Singh

I am glad that I could take baby steps towards success.

It was not a phenomenal rise for me. With every film, the acceptance grew. And not only me, the audience also started accepting the novel concepts more too.

– Ayushmann Khurrana

vajir@boxofficeindia.co.in ASSOCIATE EDITOR Shikha Saroj Gupta shikha@boxofficeindia.co.in Sub-Editor and Senior Correspondent Padma Iyer padma@boxofficeindia.co.in Senior CORRESPONDENT

I am happy where I am and I am happy that I am still starting off in a place where there is not too much pressure on me. I like being in a space where I can experiment, do things that I like doing. I like that I am still new.

– Nushrat Bharucha

Bhakti Mehta bhakti@boxofficeindia.co.in Editorial Assistants Titas Chowdhury titas@boxofficeindia.co.in Bhavi Gathani bhavi@boxofficeindia.co.in

As an actor, you cannot judge your characters. If you do, nobody will be able to play a gangster or a commercial sex worker. These are all parts that exist and we cannot deny them, whether it is the role of a drug addict or a cop. The fun is always in the greyness of characters.

– Richa Chadha

Video Content Head Anita Britto anita@boxofficeindia.co.in SENIOR DESIGNER Rohit Patil rohit@boxofficeindia.co.in PHOTOGRAPHERS Yogen Shah Rohit Patil Mahendra Kumar Gajbhare

Sanjay Dutt is such a giving actor. He is very sweet and he takes care of everybody on set. It was easy. We were actually afraid because we have been hearing stories but he is the total opposite.

– Ali Fazal

Ad Sales & SUBSCRIPTIONS Alekhika Tripathy Tel: 91-99 67589847 alekhika@selectmedia.in subscriptions@boxofficeindia.co.in Vaibhav Adivarekar vaibhav@boxofficeindia.co.in Mob: 91-9769396866

We have respected The Zoya Factor - the book, we have respected the author, we have her consent and support, and when you have that… it’s like when you are making a biopic and if the entire family says the biopic is amazing, you know that you have done the best you can with the material you have.

– Pooja Shetty

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICE 303, Morya Classic, Off New Link Road, Andheri West, Mumbai 400 053 Tel.: +91 22 42129129 Fax: + 91 22 26730111 Email: info@boxofficeindia.co.in All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any matter published in this magazine, in part or whole, in any language or format, without the express written permission of the Publisher is strictly prohibited and will be liable for legal action.

We didn’t have the problem of making Dulquer Salmaan’s character look like he is from the South because he is the captain of Indian Cricket team and he can be from any part of India. The story didn’t have any geographical limitations so we didn’t need to limit ourselves either.

– Aarrti Shetty REG: MAHENG/2009/56446

14 September 2019 Box Office India

03

QUOTE UNQUOTE

India’s Premier Film Trade Magazine

GOLD REVIEWS

Dream Girl Banner: Balaji Telefilms Producers: Shobha Kapoor,

Ekta Kapoor Director: Raaj Shaandilyaa Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Nushrat

Bharucha, Annu Kapoor, Abhishek Bannerjee, Manjot Singh, Nidhi Bisht, Raj Bhansali, Vijay Raaz, Rajesh Sharma, Neela Mulherkar Writer: Raaj Shaandilyaa Music: Meet Bros

T

oday, a good risk in cinema takes you places. That is exactly what paid off for Raaj Shaandilyaa in his debut directorial Dream Girl when he decided to break a few societal norms and promote the idea of gender fluidity, that too in the most hilarious way possible. And when he has an actor like Ayushmann Khurrana to bring forth a crazy plot on the big screen, giving some method to the madness, things are bound to go in the right direction.

Dream Girl begins with a middleclass boy from Gokul, Karam being roped into the local Ram-Leela and Mahabharata plays as Sita or Draupadi or Radha because he can convincingly pull-off a woman’s voice. Karam is actively looking for a job to pay off the many loans his dad has taken and lands himself a lucrative offer where he has to impersonate Pooja at a ‘friendship’ call centre. He is so good at his job that he becomes famous among many in no time. So much so, that a few of Pooja’s regular callers fall in love with her, one of them being Karam’s father. As he tries to get out of these complicated situations to make sure that he can marry the love of his life, Maahi, the story goes through some ridiculous ups and downs that lead to a predictable but riotously fun ending.

Being a writer himself, Shaandilyaa knows the strength of a good script and he has made sure that this one is air-tight especially where the entertainment and laughs are concerned. Right from the first frame to the last, the jokes are timed to the ‘T’ and the punches land straight in the gut to make the audience crack-up throughout the course of the film.

The concept of the film is so unique that it immediately catches the interest

of the viewer thus making them part of the narrative. The trailer of the film had showed the gist till the first-half of the film. The second half takes you on a different ride altogether. You keep wondering how this character of Pooja aka Karam is going to slide out of the mess that he has made and even when the viability of the script sinks a little at times, you let it go because the entertainment value is extremely high.

Dialogue is the second biggest asset of this film after Ayushmann Khurrana. Puns are squeezed out in every other scene, each one of them even funnier than the last. Lines like, ‘Har Kapoor Ranbir nahi hota’ or the actor just randomly giving aashirwaad saying ‘Ayushmann bhava’ or the character of Karam’s father, essayed

by Annu Kapoor, trying to recreate Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Polo Sport’ and ‘COOL’ look from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, make sure that the laughter does not stop.

The film also touches upon subjects of religious biases, the not-so-subtle embracement of Islam at one point by a prominent character, sexism in scenes where Pooja is shamed for doing what she does and of course, gender definition.

The film does have a few unnecessary parts to it. Like the emotional speech about fathers that Karam doles out without any basis or need. The climax seems a little stretched and that might only be because of the finale speech extending itself to become slightly preachy, making it a complete contrast to the flavour of the whole storyline.

The production value of the film is simple and does have a few big moments but only in a couple of songs. The streets of Mathura and the beauty of small town India are captured well by Aseem Mishra.

The music of the film is already quite

popular. The anthem, Dil ka telephone is a hit and goes well with the ongoing storyline. Radhe radhe is a catchy and visually appealing song but is forced into the narrative. As for the love track, Ik mulaqaat is the tried-and-tested version of any other romantic number in a massy entertainer with similar visuals.

To sum it up, Dream Girl is a film where one needs to embrace its quirks and give logic a pass at times because the humour is so strong that it somehow makes up for all the transgressions in the end.

What a gem Ayushmann Khurrana is when he appears on the big screen!

The actor has shown his versatility especially in the last couple of years and as he attempts to break gender barriers with this role, he takes his talent a notch higher proving that there is nothing he cannot do. With impeccable comic timing, he shoulders the film with strong support from his co-stars. The nuances in his effeminate voice and body language come across effortlessly without an iota of artifice to it. The actor is animated in the right way and there are times where you feel that every inch of him is invested in nailing the part. Nushrat Bharucha has decent presence but does not have much screen time to explore her part. Annu Kapoor is brilliant as the doting father and a middle-aged man in love. Abhishek Bannerjee is fabulous and so is Vijay Raaz. Nidhi Bisht and Raj Bhansali are good. Manjot Singh is decent. Rajesh Sharma is okay. A special shoutout to Neela Mulherkar who gets the award for this year’s Best Savage Dadi.

Verdict: Super hit!

Rating: ****

Karo Dil Ki

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Box Office India

14 September 2019

Section 375 Banners: SCIPL, Panorama Studios Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak, SCIPL Director: Ajay Bahl Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Rahul Bhat, Meera Chopra, Krutika Desai Khan, Kishore Kadam Writers: Manish Gupta (Story, Screenplay and Dialogue), Ajay Bahl (Additional Screenplay and Dialogue) Music: Clinton Cerejo (Background Score)

R

ape is the most heinous crime in society. It is also an extremely sensitive word which is why it has to be used very carefully on the cinematic canvas. Over the years, we have seen films which have this subject as a subplot but when a film and its very title are based on the act, it has to tread very carefully, and Section 375 has done this commendably well.

Director Ajay Bahl maintains his balance as he walks the tight rope in showcasing to the audience the two sides of this heinous act.

The story is simple on the outside.

A lower-middle class girl, Anjali Dangle works as a costume designer’s assistant for a film which is being directed

by Rohan Khurana. After a physical altercation between them, Anjali files a rape complaint against Rohan. With the new guidelines of treating this crime and the #MeToo movement hot and heavy in society, the case, especially since it’s from the entertainment world, attracts the attention of the media and enrages the masses. It goes to court where Anjali’s case is being fought by Hiral Gandhi, a young, idealistic lawyer while Rohan is being defended by high-profile lawyer Tarun Saluja who believes that one should follow the law because justice is subjective. The two argue the case in this intense courtroom drama which takes your mind through various twists and turns.

Every director has a different definition of entertainment. It is not always the gloss, glam and the laughs that depict the entertainment factor of a film but how a story, even with the most hard-hitting of plots, manages to completely mesmerize you.

Also, courtroom dramas are a tricky thing to get right for a director as the aesthetic value of a film is diminished and the audience has only the interaction between the actors on screen to rely on for the entertainment factor that they came in for in the first place. In Section 375, Manish Gupta and Bahl try to make sure that the writing is so intact that the viewers do not get any chance to deviate their attention.

Hindi films based on sexual misconduct or even the very critical factor of consent have been presented quite intelligently- Pink, Insaaf Ka Tarazu, Damini, MOM being a few. In all these films the audience already knew who is guilty and who the victim is. Without giving out spoilers, let’s just say that the writers of this film have made sure that they keep everyone’s minds engaged even after the actual verdict in the film is passed. The two sides of the same incident have been presented with the help of strong and smart visual imagery.

And then the addition of the right dialogue delivered with the right kind of force, cements the thrill of the screenplay even further.

The makers have kept personal thoughts and biases aside to show a neutral court argument which compels the audience to change tracks and shed their own clouded judgment on this matter.

Several relevant points such as the #MeToo movement have been used along with how the public protests and their outrage on social media platforms, the hashtags that are formed in such cases become an even bigger jury for the accused than the actual court verdict. The elements of victim-shaming, exploitation of the situation, government bureaucracy and workplace sexual harassment all become pixels that eventually form the bigger picture.

And not only does the film show two sides of the crime but also the two sides of how lawyers deal with their cases.

The balance is maintained here too as in no scene can the viewer massacre the person who is defending the accused.

There are no unnecessary frills added to this crisp and concise film. No songs, no romance track, no unwanted

emotional drama, nothing hampers the clean-cut storyline. And herein lies the core strength of this film.

With Section 375, Ajay Bahl has made a film which does not rely on publicity or promotions much but has what it takes to excel in the industry today, a relevant topic and the precision to show it in an engaging way.

Performance-wise, a major chunk of making the storyline gripping rode on the shoulders of its lead actors. The backand-forth courtroom arguments and their brief encounters outside the walls of the court play a huge role in the audience investing their attention to the film.

Richa Chadha gets the pulse of her idealistic character right. Her dialogue delivery is quite good for the most part but she does falter to get the right sentiment out at times. Akshaye Khanna once again proves his brilliance and his impeccable performance answers why exactly should he be part of many more films. The actor takes his character of the rich and successful criminal defense lawyer to the next level with the right mix of seriousness and savagery. His lines catch the perfect tonality of the situation, which make the ongoing situations even more interesting to watch. Meera Chopra has some strong moments, which she delivers well. Rahul Bhat is good. Actors Krutika Desai Khan and Kishore Kadam playing judges in the film are great.

Sandhya Mridul in a special appearance is good.

Verdict: A must watch!

Rating: ****

Karo Dil Ki

14 September 2019

Box Office India

05

GOLD REVIEWS

Pehlwaan Banners: RRR Motion Pictures, Zee Studios Producer: Swapna Krishna Director: Krishna Cast: Kichcha Sudeepa, Suniel Shetty, Aakanksha Singh, Sushant Singh, Appanna Writer: Krishna Music: Arjun Janya

L

et us take you back to a lazy Sunday, one of those when your family after a happy lunch curls up on a cozy sofa set before the television and settles for some dubbed version of a South Indian film. You are nudged into a make-believe world where villains are tossed up in the air and the hero, the messiah, is literally a larger-thanlife figure because of all the low angle camera shots. You are made to forget about the daily rut of life. Pehlwaan is one of those films. It is a guilty pleasure, one that you might enjoy momentarily but will soon forget.

Set in Gajendragadh, Pehlwaan is the story of Krishna, also known as Kichcha, a wrestler under the tutelage of Sarkar.

When he was a young orphan, Sarkar had adopted him and raised him like his own son. He trained him to become a capable wrestler. Extremely protective of him, Sarkar made sure that Krishna does not deviate from his ambition of winning the National Wrestling Championship by indulging in frivolities. But as destiny would have it, Krishna falls in love with and gets married to Rukmini, the daughter of a rich businessman. All hell breaks loose when Sarkar finds out about them and asks him to leave his house and give up on wrestling. There is a parallel track that goes on where an angry and reckless boxer, King Tony kills his opponent in a match and a ban of five years is placed on him. Thrown into the mix is a cunning king, Raja Rana Pratap Singh. How these tracks come together forms the rest of the story.

Slapstick humour that mostly do not land, melodramatic but whistle-worthy dialogue-baazi, Sudeepa’s magnanimity, slow motion walks and action sequences and sudden burst of song-and-dance sequences like the pre-monsoon showers is Pehlwaan for you in a nutshell.

Cinematographer Karunakar A deserves a special mention for all the low angle camera shots.

The film is peppered with too many of them and though they bring out the lead actors’ larger-than-life flamboyance, they do get repetitive. Almost every scene featuring Sudeepa and Shetty and even the antagonists begin with these shots.

While all the songs are shot in a rather opulent way, they randomly and suddenly pop up and hinder the flow of the narrative. Doing away with the songs might have resulted in a crispier film. The background score, which is supposed to amplify the drama, the romance, the action and the comic quotient, is deafening in more places than one.

Considering the genre of the film and the need to keep it loud, vibrant and colourful, there is still no explanation as to why the score sounds so cantankerous.

At 2 hours and 46 minutes, the film is too long. The filmmaker has taken his own sweet time to dive into the focus of the narrative. He has incorporated several sub plots and they unfold at an extremely languorous pace. Krishna has touched upon social issues plaguing the society such as child labour and the lack of opportunities faced by poor children who aspire to become sportspersons.

Because of this, the film goes astray and takes a long time to return to square one. It is only towards the last quarter of the second half that Pehlwaan starts focusing on what it had originally set out to achieve.

The writing by Krishna keeps meandering and it will keep you wondering about the goal that the film and its characters want to accomplish.

However you do not have to wrack your brain which is both a good and a bad thing - you can sit and spend your time predicting what awaits you and give yourself points but there is really nothing to look forward to. Most of the comic lines belong to Appanna but they mostly fall flat and ironically, this is something that you will crack you up time and again.

In one scene, Raja Rana Pratap Singh says, ‘Shaadi ke ghar mein dulha bhi main, maatam ke ghar mein murda bhi main’. And you know that you are in for a fatal rollercoaster ride. There is also a chasm between both tracks in the film, further failing to keep one engaged.

Krishna also resorts to mythical allusions and draws a rather uninspiring analogy between Lord Krishna and the character essayed by Sudeepa. Mythical references about the how fire, wind and water are instrumental in bringing two soul mates together might make you burst into peals of laughter but they take the narrative nowhere.

Do not even attempt to intellectualise Pehlwaan. Watch it with a judgementfree mind and you might just end up enjoying and rooting for it. If you have an idle weekend and have nothing to do, you might as well give it a shot.

Performance-wise, Kichcha Sudeepa as Krishna is in top form. With Pehlwaan, he is sure to send his fans into a tizzy yet again. His dialogue delivery, body language and power-packed wrestling and combat scenes are sure to make you hoot, whistle and clap. Suniel Shetty as Sarkar is charming. He brings an unflinching dignity to the table and a fine balance to the otherwise gregarious Sudeepa. Aakanksha Singh as Rukmini is good but she does not have a strong role. Even in the emotionally heavier and few important scenes, she has nothing much to offer. Sushant Singh as Raja Rana Pratap Singh is decent. Appanna as Hamla Pappu has nothing much to do in the second half of the film.

Verdict: Average Rating: **

Karo Dil Ki

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Box Office India

14 September 2019

Next ATTRACTION

september 2019 - December 2020 Sep 20, 2019

Prassthanam

The Zoya Factor

Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas

Little Baby

Sep 27, 2019

Main Zaroor Aaunga

Jhalki Oct 02, 2019

WAR

Oct 11, 2019 The Sky Is Pink

Koi Jaane Naa

Laal Kaptaan

Loot Case Oct 18, 2019 Jacqueline I am Coming

Pa Se Pyaar Fa Se Faraar Diwali 2019

Housefull 4

Saand Ki Aankh

Made In China

Nov 01, 2019

Bypass Road

Nov 08, 2019

Marjaavaan

Shikara Nov 15, 2019

Bhoot: Part 1 -

The Haunted Ship

Nov 22, 2019

Pagalpanti

The Zoya Factor

WAR

Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas

The Sky Is Pink

Saand Ki Aankh

Bhoot: Part 1 - The Haunted Ship

Bala Nov 29, 2019

Dil Bechara

Jawaani Jaaneman

Dec 06, 2019

Pati Patni Aur Woh

Panipat Aadhaar Dec 20, 2019

Dabangg 3

Dec 27, 2019

Good Newwz

Jan 10, 2020

Tanhaji - The Unsung

Warrior

Mar 06, 2020

Baaghi 3

Chhapaak

Mar 20, 2020

RoohiAfza

Jan 17, 2020

Jai Mummy Di

Mar 27, 2020

Sooryavanshi

Jan 24, 2020

Street Dancer 3D

Panga Jan 31, 2020

Turram Khan

Feb 14, 2020

Malang

Aaj Kal Feb 21, 2020 Chehre

Anurag Basu’s yet untitled Mar 06, 2020 Thappad Mar 13, 2020 Gunjan Saxena: Kargil Girl

Shubh Mangal Zyada

Saavdhan Summer 2020 Brahmastra

Anurag Kashyap-

Taapsee Pannu’s next

Shakuntala Devi

biopic Shiddat Nikamma

14 September 2019

Box Office India

April 10, 2020 ‘83 April 24, 2020 Gulabo Sitabo May 01, 2020 Coolie No. 1 May 22, 2020 Laxmmi Bomb Mid 2020 1911 June 12, 2020 Khaali Peeli June 19, 2020 Mumbai Saga July 10, 2020 Sadak 2 July 31, 2020 Shamshera

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 Aug 14, 2020 Bhuj: The Pride Of India Oct 02, 2020 Sardar Udham Singh

Tiger Shroff’s Rambo remake Diwali 2020 Dhaakad Prithviraj Dec 25, 2020 Ranbir Kapoor-Ajay

Devgn’s yet untitled Christmas 2020 Krrish 4

Laal Singh Chadha

Bachchan Pandey

prassthanam

07

Desi ATTRACTION

september 2019 - july 2020 Sept 20, 2019

Goyenda Junior (Ben)

Kaappaan (Tam)

Khari Biscuit (Mar)

Khichik (Mar)

Valmiki (Tel)

Sept 27, 2019

Geetha (Kan)

Sept 2019

Namma Veetu Pillai (Tam)

PetroMax (Tam)

Oct 2, 2019

Gumnaami (Ben)

Mitin Mashi (Ben)

Password (Ben)

Satyanweshi

Byomkesh (Ben)

Sye Raa Narasimha

Reddy (Tel)

Pujo, 2019

Kakababur

Protyaborton (Ben)

Shororipu 2: Jotugrihu

goyenda junior (ben)

kaappaan (tam)

khari biscuit (MAR)

khichik (mar)

valmiki (tel)

adithya varma (tam)

(Ben) Oct 4, 2019

100 Percent Kadhal

(Tam)

Asuran (Tam)

Romcom (Mar)

SangaThamizhan

(Tam) Oct 11, 2019

Aappa Ani Bappa

(Mar)

Dandam (Mar)

Man Udhaan Vara

(Mar)

Sataracha Salman

(Mar) Oct 24, 2019

Hirkani (Mar)

Triple Seat (Mar)

Diwali 2019

Sanjhbati (Ben)

Bigil (Tam)

Trance (Mal)

Kaithi (Tam)

Dec 2019

Khaki (Tam)

Oct 2019

Belashuru (Ben)

Monsoon Football

Jyotika-Karthi’s

(Mar)

untitled film (Tam)

Professor Shonku O El

Seeru (Tam)

Dorado (Ben)

Nov 1, 2019

Dhurala (Mar)

Jan 3, 2020

De Dhakka 2 (Mar)

Ghye Double (Mar)

Sankranti 2020 Darbar (Tam)

Phangrun (Mar)

Nov 8, 2019

Adithya Varma (Tam)

Vikun Tak (Mar)

(Tel)

Nov 15, 2019 Fatteshikast (Mar)

Girlz (Mar)

Nov 29, 2019 Aatpadi Nights (Mar)

Basta (Mar)

Dec 6, 2019

Aruna (Mar)

Mee Maratha (Mar)

Sarileru Neekevvaru

Jan 23, 2020

Dwitiyo Purush (Ben)

Jan 24, 2020

Vijeta (Mar)

Jan 2020

Ala Vaikuntapuramlo

(Tel)

Sreekaram (Tel)

Feb 14, 2020 TimePass 3 (Mar)

Dec 13, 2019 Kesari (Mar)

April 2020

Dec 20, 2019 Hero (Tam)

Summer 2020 Rang De (Tel)

Christmas 2019 Hobu Chandra Raja

May 1, 2020

(Mar)

Gobu Chandra Mantri

(Ben)

Jul 30, 2020

Vikram 58 Jaago Mohan Pyare RRR (Tel, Tam, Mal)

darbar (tam)

Mar: Marathi, Mal: Malayalam, Ben: Bengali, Tam: Tamil, Tel: Telugu, Kan: Kannada

08

Box Office India

14 September 2019

The Case Of The Missing Leading Lady...

A

few days back we gave you some details about the shooting schedule of Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 going on floors in January 2020. While this does stand true, we have heard that there is some new development. The mahurat shot and a few days of shoot of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 will take place by the end of September itself. The crew will shoot just for a few days as the director will then get busy with his next release, Pagalpanti in November.

We hear that the Kartik Aaryan starrer will be again revived in January 2020 for a full-fledged shoot schedule.

Sources reveal that the makers were keen on starting the film at a particular time and since Aaryan could schedule it in, the first portion will be shot soon.

Guess Who?

I

n today’s day, some filmmakers are doing everything that they can to make announcements one after the other but then there are others who still like to take things slow. And by slow we mean, very slow. We heard about this one production house, a huge one, that insisted on buying the book rights from the author. Now this writer has had much success with the stories being consumed through a different medium but having a cult following nonetheless. While the production house managed to convince the writer, they negotiated a deal and just disappeared. The talks went on for months but the production house suddenly then decided to take a break from further discussion, leaving the writer hanging. We wonder now whether the writer will wait for the slow process to run its course or will have it speed up. Only time will tell.

Guess Who?

W

hen big films go through obstacles, the entire world comes to know about it.

The same happened with a big-budget film that was announced some time back but then at the last minute, things did not work out the way they were supposed to. One of the lead actors stepped away from the project and it was believed that the project might be entirely over. From what we hear, the makers are still keen on the film and are looking for ways to revive it. The glitch here is that now other actors are shying away from the prospect of stepping into shoes that are undoubtedly big. And while the makers struggle to re-cast the lead hero, the other lead, who had cleared the dates for the same time, is getting antsy. We hear that the casting process is being speeded up to match the dates of the other actor but in vain. Looks like the makers are going to have to face the truth and revisit the idea later, when things are more settled.

N

ames of several actresses have been associated with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.

Sara Ali Khan and Ananya Panday’s names have cropped up but the most prominent and recent one was that of Shraddha Kapoor. The actress had even heard the narration and liked the script but from what we hear, she has given it a pass.

Word is that the dates required for the shooting of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 are the ones that Kapoor has already allotted to another film. The actress has many films in her kitty and we hear that she might be finishing up Baaghi 3 at that point. We also hear that the makers are still on the lookout for a leading lady but a lot of actresses are not giving the green signal because the scope of the role is not much.

Well, rumour is that there will be a name announced soon but we wonder who will finally be locked in to star opposite Kartik Aaryan in the film.

For more trade news please log on to www.boxofficeindia.co.in

14 September 2019

Box Office India

09

TRADE GUP

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 In Advance Mode

INTERVIEW

In Your

Dreams, Girl!

Here’s what happened when Dream Girl lead pair Ayushmann Khurrana and Nushrat Bharucha met Box Office India’s Rohit Patil aka our version of Pooja

10

Box Office India

14 September 2019

Films are increasingly breaking barriers every Friday and actor Ayushmann Khurrana is at the forefront of this new wave of Hindi cinema. He is all set to surprise his fans once again with his alter ego Pooja in the film Dream Girl that just released this Friday. Since Khurrana so readily broke gender barriers with this film, we at Box Office India also decided to attempt this brave step with our team member Rohit Patil deciding to interview Khurrana and lead actress Nushrat Bharucha, by opting for a rather interesting wardrobe choice, a saree.

Here’s what transpired: Rohit Patil (RP): Ayushmann and Nushrat, welcome to Box Office India.

Nushrat Bharucha (NB): But today, the Dream Girl is Rohit himself!

Ayushmann Khurrana (AK): Rohit, I am very happy that you have worn this saree. And this daadhi with saree is looking even better.

(Everybody Laughs).

AK: I am so proud of you.

RP: Thank you so much. You were the inspiration behind it. And speaking of inspirations, Ayushmann what was your inspiration for your alter-ego in the film, Pooja?

AK: Pooja’s inspiration were all those actors, male actors, who participate in the Ram-Leela in small towns across our nation. They do it in the big cities too. These things mostly have male actors who portray female characters on stage. That is where Pooja’s inspiration stemmed from. And yes, my character has got a unique talent of taking up two voices, male and female. He utilises these voices and befriends men. On the other hand, they fall in love with Pooja not knowing that he is a man. Our film revolves around how my character then gets out these complicated situations.

RP: But Nushrat, when you heard the title Dream Girl when you were approached, did you think that it might be about you?

NB: Firstly, with the fun way you are dressed today, you should seem like you are chilling with us and not ask these serious questions, yaar.

(Everybody Laughs).

NB: But jokes apart, coming back to your question, yes of course, I thought that. By any film industry standard or normal English language standard the meaning of Dream Girl will be that it is about the girl in the film. But when they said that there is this twist in the film that the hero is actually the ‘dream girl’ of many, my initial reaction was, ‘Wait, tell me more about it.’ Because, when you listen to a storyline like this, it will catch anyone’s interest. Your first reaction will

14 September 2019

Box Office India

be - How can this happen? How will it happen? And when I finally heard the full narration, I just could not stop laughing.

I went on laughing for an hour. I felt like this is such a quirky take on the story that there was one Dream Girl so long ago whom no one can replace. If this was a girl’s story, there would have been a direct comparison, which would never ever be justified. In fact, I think that in 2019, we are making such quirky cinema with such great stories and it is such a great idea to take a boy and make him the Dream Girl.

RP: Ayushmann, when you heard that you were essentially playing a woman, was there a transition part that you most looked forward to?

AK: My character’s name in the film is Karm. So the story is that Karm hi Pooja hai aur Pooja hi Karm hai. (Laughs).

NB: But he is asking what part of Pooja you most looked forward to.

AK: How can I answer that? What ‘part’ of Pooja, I have no idea what you are talking about! (Laughs). But in all seriousness, it was the character change, the voice change, the voice modulation, there was a lot to do in the film. And thanks to that, there is a lot of scope for showing my versatility or playing a part that is so different. This is the first time I am playing such a character, which gives me lots of scope for being in-your-face. I am also being slapstick at times and this is my first masala, commercial film. So I actually got really excited with all the elements.

RP: But we have to say that your body language and nuances are just perfect.

How much did you work to get that right?

AK: (Laughs). No, there were no workshops as such.

NB: It seems like Rohit is doing R & D on how Ayushmann became a woman so that he can also get there. He is trying to understand ki kya kya kiya tha so that he can also do it.

(Everybody Laughs).

RP: But I am almost there with this get-

up.

(Everybody Laughs).

AK: I have done stints in theatre and as a radio jockey, I have made many prank calls. I pretended to be a girl, made calls to my first girlfriend’s house also.

(Laughs). I have done all of that. It seems like I have been preparing for this role in Dream Girl since 15-16 years now.

(Laughs).

But that was about it. Our director, Raaj Shaandilyaa had a lot of videos of actors mimicking women so I was just going through that. And I dubbed my voice in the studio because it was difficult to get the perfect pitch.

RP: Did you find any part extremely challenging?

AK: Make-up was one of the most difficult things for sure. I took almost three hours to get ready.

RP: I only took 10 minutes.

AK: Lekin make-up nahi kiya na tumne!

NB: You took only 10 minutes to wear the saree?!

AK: Arre lekin make-up bhi hota hai na?

Beard kaun saaf karega?!

NB: Yes, I agree. And Rohit, nobody will think you are a girl! Ayushmann had to be convincing as a girl. Believability takes time.

(Everybody Laughs).

AK: Yes, it does take time. As I said, it took me three hours. And in fact, Nushrat did not recognise me at first when she saw me in make-up.

NB: Oh yes! I had no idea. We were on the sets of the song Radhe radhe and there were a lot of people there, men and women, who are dancing as couples. And I thought he is just one of the other Radhas on the set. But when I did come to know about it, I was like, ‘Umm…WHAT?!’.

RP: Nushrat, did you give any tips to Ayushmann on how women carry themselves or even other nuances?

NB: Of course, I did!

AK: Like?

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INTERVIEW

like doing. I like that I am still new.

RP: But you also have experimented with new concepts in cinema. What elements do you choose your films on?

NB: Just the story. I hear a narration and then I read the script, I think about it from the audience’s point of view.

But every kind of audience, I feel, has their own sensibilities. One group may like something and the other may like something else. So, if I like something then it doesn’t mean that it has to match with what the masses are thinking. It will not be a call where the opinion is unanimous. But since I like it, I enjoy it, I instantly want to essay that part or be part of that film and be in that world.

Then I just say yes.

NB: Like I taught him how to walk.

Generally, men walk in a different way but we have been taught to walk with legs going right over left and then left over right and so on.

AK: I had worn a ghagra for the song and the can-can in it made it extremely heavy. And then I went and asked Nushrat that how does one pee in this? I mean really, kaise yaar?

RP: That really seems like the most difficult part.

AK: Of course! When I had to pee, my assistant went with me. Abhi kya kar sakte hain, he had to be there! You know, now that I think about it, that’s why girls go together to the washroom, Nushrat.

NB: (Laughs). Yes! If you ever wondered why girls go together to the washroom, now you know. There is someone to hold this and that always. It is like bhai chalo kuch pakad lo, utha lo, carry karlo ya phir darwaaza hi pakad lo agar bathroom mein can-can ke saath fit nahi ho rahe ho.

AK: But then doesn’t it go inside the….

NB: No! It’s just…(Hesitates).

AK: Mujhe kya pata kya hota hai!

NB: Yes, because you have a different system of sitting and getting up and we have a different one.

AK: Oh yes! Now I understand.

(Everybody Laughs).

RP: Nushrat, there is a grey image attached to you with the success of your films like the Pyaar Ka Punchnama series and of course, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. Do you think that with Dream Girl you will be able to break it?

NB: I didn’t plan to break that, generally speaking. But with Dream Girl, I guess that it has been broken. In this film, for the first time, I am not playing anything grey. I am pure white. I am an ati sundar pure soul, white from within. And I love this man from within and eventually marry him. But yes, this is the first film where you will see me

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actually getting married on screen. My first successful on-screen wedding. (Laughs).

AK: Yes, interval se pehle hi shaadi ho jaati hai aur woh bhi pehli baar.

Otherwise she does films where till the end you are wondering whether the marriage will happen or not. Whether Titu will go with her or choose Sonu.

That suspense was there before but not this time. And she is very happy ki iss baar shaadi ho gayi.

NB: Yes, I am very happy that I finally got a guy!

RP: Both of you’ll have had a steady rise to success. What learnings do you have when you look back now?

AK: I can say that the journey was very fruitful and beautiful. I am actually glad that I could take baby steps towards success. It was not a phenomenal rise for me. With every film, the acceptance grew. And not only me, the audience also started accepting the novel concepts more too. Then suddenly there was more audience for concept-driven films. This year was absolutely beautiful with the National Award and everything. But now, I guess I want to push the envelope and Dream Girl is that film which will give me a wider audience. It will get in the single screen audience as well as the multiplex audience. We are all just hoping for that.

NB: Yaar, I have learnt a lot. All of that learning has helped me become who I am right now. And everything that has happened in this course, I am thankful for it. Whatever, be it the good, bad or the ugly, I am genuinely thankful for it.

To everybody who rejected me, I would like to say that thank you very much because if they hadn’t rejected me, I would have done those films and they would not have worked. Stuff like that also happens. I am happy where I am and I am happy that I am still starting off in a place where there is not too much pressure on me. I like being in a space where I can experiment, do things that I

RP: Ayushmann, what is that one thing you learnt or realised about the opposite gender with this film?

AK: I think it is just the physicality. The rest, of course, you know, you live in a world where you attract a lot of women and it is just that…well, I don’t know what to say. I believe in gender fluidity and believe that knowing a man is no different from knowing a woman. They are just people. There is nothing specific that I can pin-point but just the body language and the physicality, the voice modulation, that’s about it.

RP: What do you think the audience will take back from the film?

AK: From the film, the audience should take away a lot of laugh-outloud moments and entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. Apna dimaag ghar par rakho aur yeh film dekho. This is the first time I am saying this for a film of mine. It is in-your-face, it is a lot of fun and it is very entertaining.

Box Office India

14 September 2019

Viveck Vaswani

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4

Akshay Kumar has acted opposite Chitrangda Singh in a film. True or false? If true, name the film.

5

Akshay Kumar and Rekha have shot for a sexy song where they seduce one another. True or false? If true, name the film.

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2

Madhuri Dixit and Akshay Kumar have acted in one film together. True or false?

6

Poster lagva do bazaar mein was in a film starring Akshay Kumar and Sonali Bendre. True or false?

If false, who was Akshay’s costar?

Akshay Kumar and Kajol acted in a Hindi film version of Sabrina directed by Naresh Malhotra.

True or false? If true, name the film.

Answers

Hum do premi, chhat ke upar, this superhit song was picturised on Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon. True or false? If false, name the heroine.

Akshay Kumar has won a Filmfare award for Best Villian. True or false?

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8 Madhoo was the heroine of Elaan starring Akshay Kumar.

True or false? If true, name the director.

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Akshay Kumar has costarred with Lara Dutta and Esha Deol in a film. True or false? If true, name the film.

Raakhee played Akshay Kumar’s mother in his official debut Hindi film.

True or false? If true, name the film.

10. True. The film was Saugandh 9. True. The film was Insaan 8. True. The film was directed by Guddu Dhanoa 7. True. The film was called Yeh Dillagi 6. False. It was Urmila Matondkar and the film was Aflatoon 5. True. The film was Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi 4. True. The film was Ajnabee 3. True. The film was Desi Boyzz 2. False. His costar was Tabu. The film was Tu Chor Main Sipahi 1. False. They have acted in atleast two films including Aarzoo and Dil To Pagal Hai

14 September 2019

Box Office India

13

TRADE QUIZ

Happy Birthday Akshay Kumar

@boi

Wooing Lady Luck Producers of The Zoya Factor, Pooja Shetty and Aarrti Shetty of Ad-Labs Films Limited and director Abhishek Sharma talk to Team Box Office India about their professional association, acquiring the book rights from Shah Rukh Khan, working with best-selling writer Anuja Chauhan, casting South star Dulquer Salmaan opposite Sonam Kapoor and much more Box Office India (BOI): Pooja and Aarrti, the rights of The Zoya Factor was with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment before you acquired it.

What potential did you see in the book that you decided a screen adaptation of it?

Pooja Shetty (Pooja): We loved the book when we read it. We realised that it would make for a good film because it was a combination of several big ideas.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the rights; they were sitting with Red Chillies. At some point, we were negotiating with Anuja Chauhan for her next book. At that stage, she had The Zoya Factor out and three-four years later, her next book would be published.

Aarrti Shetty (Aarrti): Battle For Bittora!

Pooja: Yes, even before that released, we had gotten in touch with her to say that we wanted to acquire the rights for a screen adaptation. While we were in conversation, she called us and said

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that her term with Red Chillies is getting over and they might not make the film on The Zoya Factor. She told us that if we want, we could discuss both the books. We went to Red Chillies, spoke to Shah Rukh and told him, ‘We love the book. If you’re making the film, then it’s fine but if you aren’t, then please let us get involved in it. We are in touch with Anuja and we’re in love with the book more than anything else that we discussed with her.’ That’s how it came about. He and his team were very gracious. They sent us all the paper work with which we could go ahead and sign up with Anuja. Till today, he’s very supportive of this film. We’re very grateful to him.

BOI: Isn’t he the narrator in the film?

Abhishek Sharma (Abhishek): We don’t want to give out his contribution in the film but there’s a touch of SRK in it for sure.

BOI: Abhishek, your association with Pooja and Aarrti dates back to 2010 with the release of Tere Bin Laden.

How would you describe your working relationship with them over the years?

Abhishek: Our association actually dates back to 2004. When I first came to Mumbai, I started working with Mr (Manmohan) Shetty’s company called Adlabs Films Ltd. Luckily we’ve now got the name back. There’s no other company that I’ve been associated with in this way. From a film perspective, we’ve been associated for 12 years.

From 2007, we all moved out of the Reliance Adlabs structure and we created a company called Walkwater (Media Ltd) and our first film under that banner was Tere Bin Laden. Before this film, they made a brilliant Marathi film titled Rita. But Tere Bin Laden was their first Hindi film. We’ve worked on three films together. But more than a professional association, it has been like

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a family bond. We’ve also collaborated on projects that they have been working on and I’ve individually been working on and other things beyond films, concerning day-to-day business.

Aarrti: When the company started, it was the three of us in one office. We don’t share a typical director-producers equation.

Abhishek: It’s difficult for me to encapsulate our relationship into any particular bracket. This is the only association that I know of. It’s like when you’re born in a family, you only know of that family. It is going to be 16 years for me in Mumbai next year…

Pooja: (Cuts in) Just to add to that, in course of that, he has made five films.

The Zoya Factor is our third film together.

He has done good comedies. We’ve done two comedies together. He has experimented with genres. With each project, we’re also growing as a unit and figuring out how to look at different kinds of subjects and genres that we like and we think we can do justice to. If you look up a list of directors who could’ve made this film, Abhishek wouldn’t have featured in it.

Aarrti: This is a romantic film!

Pooja: Yes! Abhishek has been associated comedies. When I called him for this, he had just started working on Parmanu. For Aarrti and me, it’s about working with somebody we can trust, so that we know that it will go in the hands of somebody who can do the best that he can with the material. The Zoya Factor is an important film for us. We just wanted to make sure that we were anchoring into with the right person.

Aarrti: This is not a regular romantic film. It talks about luck and superstitions.

It’s quirky. Abhishek was constantly worried about the romance part of it.

But because there were so many other elements, he did a good job.

Pooja: He can now pull off rom-coms too!

Abhishek: I like dealing with different genres but I don’t think anybody else would’ve given me a rom-com. Romcoms are an off-centre thing for me.

I’m from the National School Of Drama.

I’ve done a lot of theatre, I’ve done period dramas, I’ve done Julius Caesar and I’ve done comedies. But even in theatre, romance was one genre that I hadn’t attempted. So I was shocked when Pooja called me. I told her that I would try. (Laughs) Like Aarrti said, it had a lot of other elements, which gave me comfort. I knew that romance is one angle where Pooja and Aarrti would help me. The film needed a softer lens and a feminine voice. So Anuja, Pooja and Aarrti helped me understand Zoya and her perspective. Pooja and

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Box Office India

Aarrti’s aesthetics are really good. They understand rom-coms, the pop and the quintessential look of a commercial film.

My strength is in understanding satire, quirks, comedies and the cricket part of the film. As a team, we played on each other’s strengths. If I was doing this film with some other production house, I think I would have struggled hard.

Pooja: You would’ve made it a comedy! It would have come naturally to you.

(Everyone laughs) Abhishek: Yeah, I would’ve taken out the romance.

Pooja: This film would then become something else! On a serious note, it’s very important for the three of us to make sure that from here onwards – and we’ve done some experimental work, some of which have worked and some haven’t - we’re all staying float and staying above board individually and also together. Aarrti and I, as a unit, have to be make sure that we’re supporting Abhishek even on stuff that he’s not doing with Ad-Labs per say. And we want him to support us on stuff that Ad-Labs is doing. I think this is important for our own personal growth and journey. For the next 10 years, the three of us have to support each other for the work that we’ll be doing. If we feel that something isn’t working out, then we’re there to support, warn and tell each other so that there’s some protective element around us.

Abhishek: More than collaborators, we’re well-wishers. We’ve been very strongly supporting each other even on personal issues and other professional issues where we aren’t working together.

Maybe that’s why when we collaborate, it becomes even more intense. You can see it. I think Tere Bin Laden has been my best work till now. Hopefully The Zoya Factor will change that.

(Smiles) When we work together, it’s more like a music band rather than solo performances. In terms of vision, usually what happens is when you are making a film, it is called the director’s vision.

But in The Zoya Factor, it is more like a collaborative effort, like a musical band where everybody’s voices are there, like a shared vision. It is their passion project. They literally asked the universe to get this concept. It was with SRK, it came to them and they were big fans of the book. It is a chick-lit bestseller, it’s a cult. I did not know that much about the book and had not even read it. They just asked me to read it and give their opinion just as a well-wisher. I really liked it. Then they started developing the script and I was part of the feedback process. We were kind of struggling as a unit to get a director on board. We did get somebody but that did not work out and then one day Pooja asked me if I

would like to direct the film. By that time I had read enough to get excited about it. Of course, it was out of my comfort zone but I loved that it was a challenge because if I can pull this off, then maybe I can pull off any other genre. This was a genre that I was most scared about because I never thought that I would be able to do a rom-com. If you see any of my previous films, they have been very dry in terms of romance whether it was Tere Bin Laden or Parmanu. But here, that’s the central theme.

BOI: So are you now more confident about directing a romantic film?

Abhishek: Yes, now I am. There are a couple of scripts that I am developing outside of Ad-Labs which I am making with other people and I am more confident in writing a romance track in the script too. Thanks to Pooja and Aarrti, I now believe that I can try this and it can work. I am more confident about it now.

Pooja: We actually had a romantic track in Tere Bin Laden. We had a female reporter in the scene and in six months of writing, Abhishek said that he was going to kill that character. (Laughs) Abhishek: I was the one who was writing that script. Luckily, in The Zoya Factor, what has happened is that there was a lot of collaboration. I have not written this film. It has been written by Neha Rakesh, Pradhuman Singh (Mall) and Anuja herself because she came on board for the last two drafts. Somewhere, they know better about romance than I do. Tere Bin Laden was a script that I was writing and I was struggling with the love track and then I decided that lets just kill that character. Bhool jao isko.

But now I have learnt writing from Anuja because she handles it very well. She has written some kick-ass romantic lines in the film. In terms of the aesthetics, the look, creating that chemistry, I learnt it all from Pooja and Aarrti. They are very good with the romantic angle of how it can look beautiful. I, because of my humour, can go completely off. You will be laughing but will not be feeling the beauty of it. That’s where I learnt this time. So, hopefully, I can carry it forward in some other film.

BOI: Was Anuja Chauhan on the set with you? Was it more helpful to have the original writer onboard the film?

Abhishek: I have a problem and I am trying to deal with it. I don’t call writers on set and the reason is that the writers have created something which then is my job to translate it with the actors.

Otherwise, sometimes, actors become over-dependent on writers like they ask them about how they should say

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@boi

a particular line. But I want actors to feel that they are interpreting it their own way. If the actors also say the lines like the writers have written it, there is no growth, no spark, no creation in terms of the characters and no input from their side. That is the reason that I usually don’t entertain writers on set.

Writers are not actors. The actor is the main person who has to create that character that the writer has given.

They need to work on it and create a character. I wouldn’t say a line in the same way that a Pradhuman or an Anuja would. That’s the key reason.

Like in Tere Bin Laden, I was the writer and director and I remember actors asking me how they should say a line.

But being the director, I could tell them that I do not want to tell them how to say a line. I think that’s the worst way of directing. If the actor is terrible, that should be the last resort but we have great actors so I did not want that. Having said that, Anuja saw the edit recently and she has given her feedback.

BOI: Has she watched the whole film?

Abhishek: Yes, of course.

BOI: What was her reaction?

Aarrti: She said that she got a very good feeling in her gut, which she gets only when films are good.

Abhishek: She thought that the soul of the film was intact because we did make a few changes. It is an adaptation and at the end of the day, you cannot tell all the 500 pages in the film. But many of the changes were the ones that Anuja suggested during the writing and the edit stage. In fact, after the first cut, she completely rewrote another scene.

It is a conflict scene between Zoya and Nikhil, which was written initially from a very different point of view. Then when she saw the edit, she got another idea.

She rewrote it and we shot it that way.

This was much better. You cannot do it without her because she is not just a screenplay writer on this film, she is the mother ship, she is the author, she is the creator of this world and one has to take her along.

BOI: Coming to the casting of the film, was it a strategic decision to cast Dulquer Salmaan because he has a huge fan-following down South?

Aarrti: Dulquer has been a very close friend of mine for many years, even before he wanted to become an actor.

He had come to Bombay to study acting and that’s when I met him first. And he did that as an experiment. At some point, he needed a place to stay and was put up at our nani’s house. He is

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a very simple guy. For many years, we have stayed in touch and I was happy when his first film came out. I have seen him grow, he is an excellent actor and he speaks Hindi very well, which not many people know. He is very good with languages. That is why suddenly in the last year or so, you have seen him doing films in Tamil, Telugu and other languages. He is able to pick up languages very fast. He spoke Hindi well even before he wanted to become an actor in Hindi movies. The conversation of Karwaan and The Zoya Factor started at similar times. But since Karwaan was a smaller film, it happened much quicker. We took our time before we started shooting. The conversation was up for Abhishek to see his work and say that he was the Nikhil we need. Pooja and I always felt that he could play this role.

Pooja: Also, he was a pleasure to work with. The discipline that Malayalam or the South industry has, the way they support their directors and producers, is great.

Aarrti: Yeah. I never felt like he was a non-Hindi actor on set. He was always prepped with his lines and he was always in sync with the sound and even accent-wise, Abhishek never had to correct him. He was pretty prepared. On the first day Sonam was surprised that he speaks Hindi. She has worked with other actors from South. It takes time for them to get used to the language. Also, we didn’t have the problem of making his character look like he is from the South because he is the captain of Indian Cricket team and he can be from any part of India. The story didn’t have any geographical limitations and we didn’t need to limit ourselves because at some point, he was like there is no need to mention it at all.

Abhishek: In a way, he is a Goan boy in the film.

BOI: That’s why he fits the bill.

Abhishek: He would have fit the bill anyway. Even if I said that he is from UP, he would have worked because he would have gotten that accent. He is like that.

He is very hard working but we wanted a neutral accent and Goa seemed okay because we have that track in the film.

There is something to do with Goa. I thought that should be his home state.

BOI: The flip side of making a film from a book is that there is always a set of naysayers who believe that a film is not as good as a book. Is that a pressure for you as makers?

Pooja: If those were to come, we will have to take it in our stride. We have respected the material, we have

respected the author, we have her consent and support, and when you have that… it’s like when you are making a biopic and if the entire family says the biopic is amazing, that’s when you know that you have done the best you could with the material you had. It’s the same thing with the book adaptation.

We have taken Anuja’s support because we loved her work. We brought her back for the additional screenplay; she has seen the work and given us feedback.

We have taken every single feedback, as much as we possibly could. From that perspective, I think we have a clear sanction from the mother source of the material.

Aarrti: In the past there were lots of books that I had read and seen movies based on them. People really love the movie if they have no idea about the book but I was like, ‘Oh it’s not as good as the book’ because there are some characters that slip away because it is very difficult to keep every character.

Anuja’s book is of 450 pages and it’s very hard to keep every perspective and tell a story because thematically our story is slightly different. When you see the film, it kind of tells you what to take back, which the book doesn’t. The book doesn’t say that okay this is my point.

Pooja: Which Anuja also admits that it’s a book so she didn’t really round it off.

Aarrti: The way Abhishek saw the film, there is an audience take-back angle to it.

Abhishek: I have a stand on this film, which we discussed earlier, which is not there in the book because the book has a different take. It’s a book and it is from one person’s perspective, which is Zoya’s.

Aarrti: In the book she is talking to herself through the audience which we can’t do in the movie. You need to change certain things to make the material more relevant for a film.

Abhishek: The idea is that after people watching the film, new readers will in a way get excited about the book.

Because in India the problem is that our readership is very low. It’s a small group of people who have read it but we still want to respect them. That’s why we wanted Anuja to be happy with it and make sure that the cult following of the book is not disappointed. But also inversely we want the book to have a wider readership simply because it deserves to be even more popular.

It’s a great material. People can go back to the book and see what Anuja had created as a source material that inspired the film. This is so that the book helps the film and the film can give back in some way to the book.

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14 September 2019

INTERVIEW

“My life has become very filmy lately” Writer Anuja Chauhan is all pumped up for the release of big screen adaptation of her first book, The Zoya Factor. Here she is in conversation with Titas Chowdhury on sketching slightly different protagonists for the film, lead actors Sonam K Ahuja and Dulquer Salmaan and her upcoming book-to-screen adaptations You wrote the final few drafts of the film The Zoya Factor and there were also a few changes made in the film. How receptive were you to them and how did you keep your biases aside considering the book is your baby?

Oh, it was a little hard! Luckily I wrote the book long ago and that helped me stay a little detached. If I had to do it right after writing the book, then it would’ve been difficult. The gap of some 10 years helped me achieve some distance with the material and I could be more dispassionate about it. Most of the ruthless stuff was done by the makers like throwing out some favourite characters and scenes. In fact, I get so nervous when I see readers talking about their favourite things. I say to the makers, ‘This is not fair, guys!’ It’s quite sad and horrible.

(Chuckles). But I think that Abhishek (Sharma) has really kept the soul of the book in the film. The premise is pretty much in place and the story is pretty much the same. But we’ve kept a few things different so that even for the readers, it feels fresh. The book consists of about 500 pages and this is a film of about two hours and I think we’ve picked the right bits.

The characters of Zoya and Nikhil were originally sketched by you. How, according to you, did Sonam K Ahuja and Dulquer Salmaan fit the bill?

They fit the bill very well. I know that there are a lot of questions on Sonam’s physicality. She did put on a few kilos for the movie and she got her hair curled. I always believed that she understood the character very well.

That Zoya-ness has come through very well. Dulquer worked really hard on the cricket bit. He has the correct voice

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and he has that nice, brawn and broody intensity which we needed. Nikhil’s character was written in a certain way in the book and we made a fair amount of changes to that. In the book, I made him too flirty, which might now feel wrong. That’s something we worked on.

When I first got the draft, I went, ‘No no no! What is this? Why is he flirting with a journalist? Nikhil Khoda is not supposed to flirt with a journalist!’ These are the things about Nikhil that made me sit up and think.

With Zoya, nothing of that sort happened mostly. They got her personality very well. In the beginning, however, I was troubled by certain things that made her look really stupid.

She is not a stupid girl, she knows her job and is really good at it. There were things like that which needed to be tweaked because they were integral to the film.

How did you cement your trust on the people who had the rights to a world that you had created?

This was my first book and I didn’t really understand anything about these things. Now I am smart enough. After writing more books now, I am more informed on the contract, the rights that I give away and for how long I give them away. I trust Shah Rukh (Khan). I was working with them all the time. He was the only person I knew properly in Bombay. There were many people who wanted the rights of The Zoya Factor but I wanted to sell the rights to him out of the sheer trust that I had in him. As far as Pooja (Shetty) and Aarrti (Shetty) are concerned, I was charmed by how much they researched on it. They really, really liked the book. That is why the book went to them.

In an interview, you had said that had the digital boom taken place in India 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have written books. Why did you say so?

Some of the things that we are seeing on OTTs have layered and nuanced writing with well fleshed out characters.

I’ve very often in my life woken up in the morning and sneakily read a book before brushing my teeth and going out for work. That’s my ultimate guilty pleasure. Now I find myself doing that with OTT platforms. There is so much of intelligent and layered writing, it literally feels like reading literature.

There’s much more English in the writing right now. I don’t know what laws they will change in future but as of now, you can get away with pretty much everything. All of that really makes OTT quite a tempting space.

Any update on the screen adaptation of your books, Those Pricey Thakur Girls, Battle For Bittora and Baaz ?

Those Pricey Thakur Girls is with Hotstar. They are currently developing it and I’m helping them do that. Then there is Baaz with Yash Raj Films.

Battle For Bittora is with Anil Kapoor Films Company. They are developing it.

A few years ago, they had it all set up with Sonam and Fawad and Shashanka Ghosh. Everyone was really excited about the casting. And then there was some problem across the border aur humaara Fawad (Khan) chala gaya.

Are you writing a book currently?

I’m writing but life has become very filmy lately, which is why writing books has taken a backseat. But I’ve a big birthday coming up next year and I definitely would want to crack out a book before that.

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INTERVIEW

Law In Translation Lead actor of Section 375 Richa Chadha and director Ajay Bahl talk to Titas Chowdhury about the dark subject that the film deals with, the importance of an open-ended but balanced narrative and what they set out to achieve with this film

Section 375 is an important film in light of the current situation that we are in.

Richa, what importance does it hold in your filmography?

Richa Chadha (RC): I didn’t think of it like that. Like any actor, I’m greedy to do good parts and be part of solid subjects and nice films. I’m grateful that I got a chance to collaborate with Ajay whose first film I really loved. If he ever makes MA Pass, I would love to be in it.

(Chuckles). I really enjoyed working on this project with Akshaye (Khanna), Ajay, Rahul (Bhat) and Meera (Chopra). If you see the film, you’ll know how balanced and engaging it is. I’m thrilled that I’m part of it.

Ajay, how did you achieve balance and objectivity in portraying the two sides of a criminal offence like rape?

Ajay Bahl (AB): This film is about a balanced presentation of perspectives and it empathises with every character rather than taking a stand in favour of one party. There are a couple of other stories in the film and it does justice

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to everybody’s side of the story. As a writer, when you are appointed to show a character within a scene, it becomes your focus of attention and you see the universe through their eyes. If a scene is between two characters, you keep shifting your perspective as you write dialogues for each character. That’s the only way to write; you can’t write as a third person. You have to be person ‘A’ and person ‘B’ and then write for them so that they have a well-defined and organic conflict within the scene. That is how I directed Section 375. Every time I was directing Richa, my whole focus was her universe. When I was directing Akshaye, I did it from his perspective.

Same goes for Rahul and Meera. While I had these perspectives, I had one super perspective to figure out where the film is going and kept that in check.

Richa, you’ve played grey characters in many of your films. How do you keep your personal biases aside while essaying those parts?

RC: The characters that are fun to play

are the grey characters. If I play a nun who gets up early in the morning, prays, goes to bed at seven o’clock, eats her meals on time and she doesn’t indulge in any sacrilege or blasphemy, that’s no fun because cinematically, it’s a boring character to play. As an actor, you cannot judge your characters. If you do, nobody will be able to play a gangster or a commercial sex worker. These are all parts that exist and we cannot deny them, whether it is the role of a drug addict or a cop. The fun is always in the greyness of characters. I don’t judge my characters ever; I just cannot. It is like being dishonest to your child.

AB: It’s like playing a villain like a villain.

How interesting is that! Remember how it used to be in our films in the ‘70s and the ‘80s! (Laughs) RC: Like the evil laugh. That doesn’t work anymore.

As artistes, do you think it is your responsibility to be part of films that make a social commentary?

RC: No, I don’t think so because films

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are not moral science books. If you want to give a message, it should be what the audience makes of it. We put a lot of responsibility on art and artistes. I’ve said it before also that we need better role models than actors. We’re not normal people, we do all kinds of crazy things and our lives are in the public domain. Why should there not be better role models than actors and filmmakers?

AB: We are not at all obliged to make a social commentary through our films.

For people who’re in the field of drama, they want to tell engaging and interesting stories. That’s our prime responsibility.

If that entails a message, so be it. But that’s not why I would want to make a film. I didn’t make Section 375 to give out a message or a byproduct. I liked the dichotomy that the story represents.

RC: As a journalist, if you’ve to give a message, you will write a long-format article. Ajay, as a filmmaker, will make a documentary. These are the things that can be done to put out a message. We don’t do fiction films to achieve that. I believe that any message is inadvertent.

AB: Films are primarily made to entertain. They can be intelligent entertainment or be mindless entertainment, but they are still a source of entertainment.

body, the voice and the face. Here, I was wearing black and white clothes throughout he film. There’s nothing else that can distract you from the work that’s being done. Below the neck were the collar, the cape and the jacket.

There was no fancy costume, no jewelry and no extravagant makeup. There was nothing to lull people into some kind of fantasy. There was no histrionics, screaming or shouting.

AB: It’s about conveying your emotions in an environment of formality. As a lawyer, you cannot convey each and every emotion that is in your mind and you still have to convey what you’re feeling to the audience and that is the challenge.

RC: You cannot break down, you cannot cry and you cannot shout to make an argument. Judges really hate people who get emotional or are unpredictable.

You’re in a fixed parameter of performance and you’ve to bring utmost sincerity to the table. Section 375 is not one of those courtroom dramas from the ‘90s…

AB: (Cuts in) Where you scream, ‘My Lord!’

RC: Or say, ‘Saare gawaahon aur sabooton ko madde-nazar rakhte huye...’

Ajay, can you take us through the process of the research that you undertook to make this film?

AB: That’s the boring part. (Laughs) But if you really want to hear about it, let me tell you that I read up a lot about the existing laws and the history of how certain instances came to be landmark cases and judgments as far as the rape verdicts are concerned. I also read the autobiographies of a few judges, lawyers and a couple of prosecutors up so that I know how they think. Then I read up some technical books on how to cross examine. These days you just have to look up Amazon and Kindle and there are books on everything, which is amazing. Research has never been easier. I read the court craft of a prosecutor, how a defense lawyer cross examines and how a prosecutor builds a case for sympathy for a client and how the defense attorney wants to negate the advantage that a prosecutor has.

It’s like a chess game. I need to know these things because my characters are lawyers and also to understand and write the screenplay convincingly in a manner which would befit an argument in a court.

In an interview, you had said that you broke down during one of the scenes. How do you detach yourself from characters that have such a deep impact on you?

RC: In that scene, I didn’t have to detach myself but I had to be in it. The lines were such that it would have reduced any woman into tears. If you keep repeating those lines, your brain starts to hear it and your body begins to feel it. I did several retakes for that particular shot. The dialogue was something on the lines of why we blur the image of the victim, why her identity needs protection and why we say that iski izzat aur naak kat gayi when the aggressor is somebody else. I got every emotional. I went to Ajay to tell him something and he assured me that the shot is going well. It was at that moment that I started crying. Then he gave us an early lunch break. The scene eventually worked out.

AB: It worked out beautifully.

As an actor, what do you think are the challenges of being part of a courtroom drama?

RC: As an actor, we rely a lot on the

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Rape cases are subjected to trial and tribulations by social media and mainstream media. Does the film deal with it? What are your opinions on it?

RC: I really feel like this is not something you can tweet about or put a Facebook post about so that it goes viral. You can’t get to the truth on social media.

You need a thorough investigation; you need to go deep into a subject. We have

to understand that whether it is social media or media, these are businesses. If it’s a subscription model, a newspaper or a news portal, where you are paying for your news, that’s more independent and they have an obligation only to the truth.

But when you are running a channel, or you are running a newspaper which is widely circulated, it’s a business. When you have to rely on click bait, TRPs, circulations and subscriptions, you have to get eyeballs. That way, how will you get to the truth? Your perception of the truth will be so skewed.

AB: She’s absolutely right.

What do you really want the audience to take back from the film?

AB: The thing is this film doesn’t take any sides, which make it a balanced film. But if the film would have taken a side, and manipulated or nudged the audience to think a certain way, then they would have agreed or they would have disagreed but there would have been no conversation. When you have your climactic moment and the film gets over, you should leave it up to them to finish the film that started. The idea is to start a conversation. This is a big issue. One cannot thrust it down the audience’s throat. Let them just be open to have a conversation. If that happens then I think the film will have achieved what it set out to do.

Films like Pink, Article 15 and now Section 375 are proof that popular faces help films with darker subjects reach out to a wider audience. What do you have to say on that?

AB: You have to make it well to have an impact. Pink was a well-made film.

If it was not well made, Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan or anybody in the film would not have made any difference. It has to be a well-made film and it is the most important thing. See, even the best of films stay with you for about half an hour or an hour and then it gets pushed back due to the daily rut of life. But as filmmakers, we have to manage to do that for that half an hour and the film should subconsciously lodge itself in our brains. We’ve to be a bit more open and not judgmental about things. We can only hope that it happens (with this film).

RC: I also don’t think that we are that powerful but I really feel like as long as it even forces people to think, it is fine.

AB: Definitely it’s scary for somebody who is accused because the laws are very strict. There is a difference between will and consent. Rape is against will and without consent. A lot of people think that will and consent are the same thing.

They are not. That’s one thing that the film touches upon.

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INTERVIEW

Politically Correct With Prassthanam releasing next week, actors Ali Fazal and Satyajeet Dubey talk to Bhavi Gathani about their experience of working with Sanjay Dutt, the rustic and intense flavour of the film and their upcoming projects on digital platforms Prassthanam is an out and out action and political drama. What draws you, as an audience, to such an intense film?

Ali Fazal (AF): I think the USP of the film is such. There is everything.

There is politics, drama, action and we have also put songs. It has interesting flavours that will bring back old memories of the cinematic legacy which we have grown up watching.

All this is clubbed with modern-day politics.

Satyajeet Dubey (SD): But I genuinely believe that it’s not just another potboiler. It’s not a typical masala Hindi film. I think the writing and the characterisation is layered and

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nuanced and I think I can say that every character is an author-backed role and then as an actor you have to find out your meat in it and flesh it out. But there is a lot to do with every character and everyone has given their 100 per cent.

In such a dialogue heavy film, how difficult is it as an actor to match to the intensity of these dialogues?

AF: We are part of the film. The film is us in so many ways, so it’s not like we have to buy ourselves into it. Those dialogues become heavy because humne usko sehaj ke ek moment banaya hai uska.

SD: When you are feeling from

deep within and when you project it between action and cut, then you are performing. You are living that moment and you want to live the truth of that moment. For every scene, first I need to convince myself to convince my director and to convince the audience.

Am I right, Ali? AF: Why are you asking me? Are you mad?

SD: (Laughs) AF: It’s too late now. Now audience will only answer this.

SD: No, but genuinely you need to be convinced about it. And I can’t talk about anyone else but I was completely into it as much as I could.

AF: (To SD) I wasn’t, right?

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SD: (Laughs) Speak for yourself!

AF: Matlab, what is this? Only you were involved in the character kya?

SD: These are the effects of sibling rivalry. (Laughs) So how much of these improvisations happened while you shot Prassthanam?

AF: Sometimes, we almost choreographed improvisations. We had to improvise it, fix it and play it.

I have done that for the first time, so it is scary that the dialogue is being written impromptu but it also is a very interesting process.

SD: I remember a scene when I was at the edge of the 12th floor and saying some dialogue… Deva (Katta) was like ‘Satya, I don’t feel it when you are saying it. Say something else.’ You are at such a height and you can see the pool at the bottom. Obviously you are harnessed and everything but you are still scared as hell. At that time, a lot of lines come from inside. So many times it happened to me that I have said things which I didn’t even think but it just came out because of the situation I was in. In this situation, your director is pushing you and you keep improvising your lines and then finally he says, ‘Now this is sounding good’. Such improvisations kept happening on set.

I remember, there was this preclimax thing where there is hand-tohand combat happening between Ali and me and he really helped me out.

AF: What was that?

SD: Aree yaar… I don’t want to reveal the plot.

AF: No, but give me some hints because I don’t remember.

SD: The railway track scene where we were fighting and you were beating the hell out of me. I was not getting that one line. We all were looking for that one small line which will become the final nail in the coffin. At that time, Ali said why don’t you say this and when I said it and it made absolute sense.

It worked and we immediately went ahead and got the take.

AF: Toh agli dafa apni scripts likhwani ho, mere paas aaeyega zaroor…

(Both laugh) Ali, you just said that the film has the feel of old masala films. But at that time, the heroes were expected to do the right thing. Now films have grey characters.

AF: Which is where the film is merged with the modern time. Our trailer shows you that Chunky Panday comes out looking like he is the villain of the film. Actually he is just the opposition leader and not the villain. The villains

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are all inside the family.

So as an actor, what attracts you towards such characters?

AF: Nobody should be attracted to a grey character. (Laughs) Look, I got this film at a time when I had just finished up Mirzapur and I had just worked with Tigmanshu (Dhulia) sir.

This film was perfectly placed. There was only two months gap after I got done with the previous work. I was just lucky. I got a call from Sanjay Dutt and he asked me to come on board. Satya was already part of the film. I was really excited.

SD: We both are hardcore Sanjay Dutt

fans.

Was it intimidating at first to work with him?

AF: He is such a giving actor. He is very sweet and he takes care of everybody on set. It was easy. We were actually afraid because we have been hearing stories but he is the total opposite.

How did you groom yourself for your characters in terms of attitude and looks?

AF: My character is straightforward guy from an upper middle class, privileged family. Khandaani log hain. All the pieces that I needed were already there in the script. I have this thing my movie gets made when I know my costumes. That’s me. I have a thing for that. I sit with my costume department before I start a film.

SD: When I heard the script for the first time, I found it really exciting.

The kind of character it is and to get

into the psyche of the character was a traumatic experience for me to play that part. I couldn’t empathise with him and I couldn’t relate to his decisions.

AF: (To SD) I want to ask you something… this is a really tough thing for an actor to play a role that he can’t relate to. How do you justify the character you are playing? How do you remove your whole persona and just get into the character?

SD: For me, if you are narrating a story and if I am sucked into it, then it’s like a virtual reality game. If I can see those characters coming alive and if I can see that they are talking to me and I can be that character, somehow it just happens. A lot of it is there on paper and you start believing in it. By the time you are on set, it just happens. I don’t know how it happens but it just does. It’s a very personal thing. And if you don’t believe in the character, you just can’t act it out. For this role, I used to keep a distance from the people who are close to me.

AF: And you were grumpy.

SD: Yes I was grumpy. I was trying to maintain the anger in me throughout the film. I couldn’t switch off. I hope it comes off well on the screen and I hope people see it.

Ali, any update on Mirzapur 2 ?

AF: We finished shooting it. Mostly it will stream early next year.

SD: (Suddenly shouts) Guddu bhaiya…

Guddu bhaiya…

AF: Aree what are you doing?

SD: Sorry yaar, I am really excited about it. So we were promoting the film in Lucknow, Jaipur, Delhi… Sanju baba, Ali, Jackie (Shroff) dada, me, everyone. Sanju baba enters and we understand the excitement. He is the man of the masses. But when Ali enters… Oh my God! It was like he has given a 200-crore film. The kind of euphoria I saw was really magnanimous. It was beautiful. It was heartening to see that. The kind of stardom these OTT platforms enable, it’s just amazing.

Satyajeet, you saw the stardom of Guddu bhaiya. Any plan of foraying into the digital space?

SD: Well, I am working with an A-list director. It’s a big series, it’s a great character. I am playing one of the leads in the series and I am really excited about it. It’s a human drama.

The backdrop is this big event that happened a few years ago and then how these people are dealing with it.

It’s a great opportunity for me. And there is another film, a horror-comedy, which will start in March next year.

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INTERVIEW

“Improvisations are very important especially in a comical situation” As Dream Girl has released this week, actor Abhishek Banerjee talks to Bhavi Gathani about his experience on the film sets, his journey from casting director to actor and his expectations from the film The trailer of Dream Girl is so hilarious.

You must have had a blast on set.

When the director called me for the narration of the film for the first time, five to seven minutes into the narration I was like, this is just hilarious. Not only because this film’s story is such but also because Raaj (Shaandilyaa) sir himself was so hilarious. He constantly gives his own punches. I was sure that this is going to be a project with great energy. When I heard that Ayushmann Khurrana is playing the female in the film, he is Pooja, I was so confused that how is this going to happen? Obviously, that man surprises us every time but at that time I was a little unsure because he is this Punjabi macho guy and not feminine at all. On the sets I had that feeling of being the audience, where I am watching them perform, enjoying it as well as acting in the film. So I was completely having fun watching and working on the film.

You have worked with two National Award winners, Rajkummar Rao and Ayushmann Khurrana. Is their approach similar or different towards their characters?

They both have different methods.

Ayushmann sir is more spontaneous.

He keeps the idea of the character in his head and he thinks of lines and movements while doing it. Raj has definitely done his homework and you can see that. He is also spontaneous to

especially in a comical situation because no matter however much you read the script, however much you rehearse the lines, the timings, everything, the minute we both are not in this room and we are at a coffee shop doing the same scene, the dynamics change, everything changes.

a level but he has this different way of approaching his scene. Both of them approach their scenes in a very different manner. Best part about both these actors is their collaborative effort where you are involving everybody and doing the scene.

In a comedy film, how much is it necessary to improvise? How do you make the character your own?

Improvisations are very important

Being a casting director who works behind the camera too, does it help you as an actor?

I was not a complete actor when I came to Mumbai. Even though I did theatre in Delhi, after I came here, I kept getting rejected and one very senior casting director, Gautam Kishanchandani, who is also my mentor, used to tell me that there are some things wrong with my performance. When I started taking auditions, when I auditioned with actors like Jaideep Ahlawat, I learnt a lot. These actors come and perform in front of you and you see the ease in their performance. It is very difficult to get that ease because you are always nervous and you are always thinking that somebody is judging you. When I saw these performances it helped me turn on a switch in my head.

What’s next for you?

Made In China and then Bala. There is another film, in the comedy genre, by Umesh Shukla, who had also directed Oh My God! and 102 Not Out.

“I have never read scripts of my films” Manjot Singh talks to Manisha Karki about his recent film, Dream Girl, his character Smiley, his bond with Ayushmann Khurrana, playing the hero’s friend and more How did you come on board Dream Girl?

I think to be very honest it’s not the actors who choose scripts but it’s the scripts that choose an actor. I got a call from the casting team and they said the role is very good. I went there for a look test. They just gave me a one-liner which

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says that there is a guy in the story who can talk in a girl’s voice. I found it very interesting and it was very impressive. For me it was like I should get this role. Also, before the look test, I was like I should get this role and if I would get it, I would definitely do it. So after the look test, I

got selected and then I came to know that Ayushmann Khurrana is doing the film and I got so excited that I didn’t even want the narration because of his choice of films, the concepts that he chooses, the quality of work that he does it’s quite amazing. Finally, I was on board and I

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was very excited as I was happy to work with Ayushmann, Annu Kapoorji, Nushrat Barucha and also Raaj Shaandilyaa, the director of the film. He has a good sense of humour.

I have this quality in me that I never read scripts. I feel I am no one to judge anyone. To make a film it takes years, only to write a script alone it takes a lot of time, then there is the process of writing each scene and dialogue. So I feel I am no one to judge anybody’s hard work.

It’s like I am telling a mom that your son

How does your character Smiley Singh fit into the role of the quintessential best friend of the hero in the film?

My character is a very smart guy whose name is Smiley. He always has a smile on his face and is witty. Smiley and Karam (Ayushmann) have been together since childhood. They have played together, the journey that started from childhood to them being young and practically inseparable is shown. The kind of special talent that Ayushmann’s character has, that he can talk in a female voice as well, lands him in many problems and at that point Smiley is basically that friend who stays with him till the end smiling.

You are working with Ayushmann Khurrana for the first time. How was your

experience?

I felt very good. I was very excited and as I said before, I was very happy that finally I am doing a film with him because of his quality of work and choice of characters. I was thinking that after Badhaai Ho and AndhaDhun, I don’t know if we would share a good bond because with him being a star, it is a big thing to enter his space. So I was doing my takes with him and he was so humble and I thought that he is not a star but a normal person. I like that thing very much, he is very down to earth and very caring. We used to chill together during the shoot or have our food together in the vanity van. While we were together he told me many things about his life. He has had a great journey and has now reached that level.

I feel a person will only achieve and get success when he is down to earth. It is a very good thing. I hope he does well in life not only because he is making the film industry proud but also because he is making the country proud as he has won the National Award now so it’s a big thing. So working with honesty is very important and then no one can stop you.

Series Review

M.O.M - Mission Over Mars Banners: ALTBalaji and ZEE5 Producer: Endemol Shine India Director: Vinay Waikul Cast: Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh,

Palomi Ghosh, Nidhi Singh and Ashish Vidyarthi Concept: Ekta Kapoor

M

-O-M: Mission Over Mars is an incredible journey of four women who go against societal beliefs to accomplish the country’s biggest space mission, Mangalyaan. The series is based on the real-life heroes who were part of India’s first Mars mission. The show revolves around the life of these women and how they manage to strike a balance between their personal lives as well as their passion towards their profession. It shows the constant efforts of the team of Mission Over Mars and how they go through several ups and downs to prove themselves with this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The show is a perfect blend of these women’s personal as well as professional lives. It clearly shows that even the best of the scientists, who are on the country’s biggest mission, face all those big and small issues that a female next door goes

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through. Even though at some places you feel the situations are a tad too dramatic, the overall screenplay with perfect timeframes given to every scene makes up for it.

The dialogues are full of emotions and are equally inspiring. The writer has made sure that the story encompasses every emotion be it laughter, joy, anger, hurt, love and more. The personal relations of every woman are beautifully presented on screen. M-O-M makes sure that every person from youngsters to elders can connect easily with the story.

The show is not without its flaws, especially when it comes to the core subject as it sometimes focuses more on personal banters than the actual mission. Although it is about the biggest scientific mission of India, the focus on technicalities is found lacking in places.

But these instances are few and far between and the storytelling again picks pace as we go along.

Performance-wise, Sakshi Tanwar as Nandita, a strict mission coordinator as well as a strict mom, is quite convincing and she immediately grabs your attention. Mona Singh as Moushumi Ghosh is a team leader who cannot control her anger and her subordinates

find it difficult to work with her. She is able to get you anxious when she is suffering the anxiety in difficult situations and she is quite funny when she is trying hard (and failing) to control her anger.

Palomi Ghosh as Meghan Reddy is one of the best in her department who has many quirks and whacky habits and she completely aces her role. Nidhi Singh as Neetu Sinha is a strong believer in astrology and her beliefs and dialogue delivery are sure to make you laugh.

Ashish Vidyarthi as head of Indian Space Association is a perfect fit for the role.

Verdict: Interesting watch!

Rating: ***1/2

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WEB SIDE STORY

is of no use. The way that a mom will get hurt is the same way a writer or a director gets hurt because it’s their hard work. I always work on the basis of vibes.

If I get a call and I get good vibes, I just say yes to those films. I have never read the scripts of my films. Touchwood by the grace of God I think I am lucky that whatever films I did have performed well.

WEB SIDE STORY

Courting Controversy Actors of upcoming web show The Verdict - State Vs Nanavati, Sumeet Vyas, Angad Bedi, Manav Kaul, Kubbra Sait, Elli AvrRam and Viraf Patel talk to Bhavi Gathani about similarities between their web show and the controversial incident that rocked the nation in 1959, their respective roles and the mood on set as they filmed this intense courtroom drama The Verdict - State Vs Nanavati has such a huge cast. How was the energy on set?

Kubbra Sait (KS): Amazing, intense.

Elli AvrRam (EA): Intense but I would also say quite positive. Everyone was really serious about their characters and their performance. They all were very professional.

KS: But we were also serious about being good people to each other.

Angad Bedi (AB): Well, we tried.

(Everyone laughs) KS: Don’t be like that.

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How did each of you approach your character?

Sumeet Vyas (SV): I generally don’t prepare for my characters because I didn’t get such a character so far for which I had to prepare as such. But for this I did my own research as I didn’t want to imitate Ram Jethmalani whom I play in the show. I wanted to interpret it my way.

AB: For me, I had to be really thorough with my lines because when you play a lawyer, there is a lot to say and explore. I had a lot of reading to do for

my own scenes as far as performance was concerned and for me that was a very big challenge. I had five to six pages of monologue and it is very difficult to put it all in your memory at one go. For me that was a very tough thing to do.

Manav Kaul (MK): I am playing the role of Kawas Nanavati and for me the most challenging part in this show was when the court room drama starts, and actually when people are talking about your personal life in detail, what all happened and everything, it is very

Box Office India

14 September 2019

embarrassing. Just sitting there for days and days and just listen to all of it which is happening in front of you, showing that embarrassment and that emotion was very difficult for me. It is actually very easy to say that you just have to sit and listen but when there is a camera constantly pointing at you, you have to show expressions and react with your face for every sentence that is being said. I had to decide how to and what to react to.

It was an important decision. The whole idea that, will Kawas give this reaction in this situation, deciding that was a little tricky. Kawas was from a very respected family and was a very honorable guy. And when your whole life is getting destroyed in front of you, then will you react? How much will you react? And how much hurt will that cause you? Showing that was very difficult for me. Overall it was a new experience altogether for me and I enjoyed it a lot.

KS: For me, the magic was in the silences as well. When the courtroom drama starts, I am not saying much as Mamie Ahuja. I am just listening to the arguments put across to the honourable judge by Chandu Trivedi, who is a public prosecutor or even Ram Jethmalani. As a character you want to say so much when a lot of things that are happening in front of your eyes feel wrong. The arguments are not what you want to listen to.

My brother has been murdered. As much you are soaking up the silence things are getting more difficult within you. Giving out these expressions was challenging for me.

EA: I was so engrossed in my character and I was so serious on set at least on the days when I had to perform very emotional scenes that I would literally ignore everyone.

When Kubbra used to come to me to say something I would ask her to not disturb me. This was the first meaty role that I had gotten to play and I am really grateful for it. I had to prove myself as an actress so I was too serious about the role I had to play. I have read as much as I could find about Sylvia and about the case on the internet. I prepared myself by creating a playlist with songs from the 50s, I used a special perfume and these tools helped me to step into the shoes of Sylvia. The journey was very beautiful and I learnt a lot from this character.

Viraf Patel (VP): Comparatively my part was easier. I didn’t have to work so hard for it. I just had to be true to the script. Most of my scenes were with Elli. First of all we both tried to

14 September 2019

Box Office India

understand to each other and tried to know what each of us wants to do with our character. Only then we could show a relationship or chemistry between us on screen. Generally an illegitimate relationship is shown in a very cheap manner but the makers have tried not to do that with our relation. The society is looking at Prem Ahuja in a very demeaning manner as he was in relationship with a married woman. But I hope with Verdict we are able to show the helplessness of this person. So I had fun doing all these things.

A film has been made on this incident.

Did you take any inspiration from that?

VF: In fact when the director asked me to audition for Prem Ahuja, I asked why we are doing this show when already there is a film made on this. He told me that Rustom is very different from what had actually happened so first you test and if we will like it then we will go ahead with the script. I read the script and then I watched Rustom. At that time I decided that whatever is shown in Rustom, we have to do exactly opposite in Verdict for it to work.

KS: Rustom showed what had actually happened but with Verdict we are showing the journey of each and every character. In that sense, it was very interesting for all of us. Every single character has a layer, a story and a journey throughout the show, which wasn’t the case in the film.

VP: I am just waiting to see how many men relate to Prem Ahuja. (Laughs).

But on a serious note, there was this time when during a reading as most of the episodes were read out to us, I quietly went to the makers and asked how much of this is fiction and they said that almost 75-80 per cent is true. I was surprised. They said that it’s all in public domain. You will get it all on the Internet.

EA: Even I was very shocked when I heard that Sylvia had to read out the love letters that she had written to Prem. I was shocked that it actually happened in court. That is really embarrassing. It is very difficult to share your feelings with the entire world.

You all have been part of the digital platform earlier too. How important a role does the platform play for an actor or is it the same across all mediums?

AB: For me, I can say if I am targeting a certain audience, in today’s time the age group from 14-28 years is not going to theatres or cinemas to

watch a film. They wait for the film to release on the digital platform. If you give them an Avengers, they will go.

For a regular good story they would rather wait for it to come on a digital platform. My experience tells me that if I want to be an actor who wants a millennial audience then digital is the medium for me. A lot of people think that digital is the future and the kind of content that is getting released on the digital right now is only on its way to getting better. There is a huge fan base for actors who are part of any popular web show.

MK: I just go and do my work whether it is working in theatre or working in a web show or a film. But yes as a writer and as a director, you get to explore a lot on the digital platform. As actors, our only job is to perform between action and cut.

In this show, apart from your own character, if you had to choose some other role, which would it be?

VP: If I was a female, then I would want Kubbra or Sylvia’s part. I am very jealous of Sumeet. I think Ram Jethmalani has a very interesting part.

EA: Russi Karanjia played by Saurabh Shukla.

KS: I would like to play the role of Chandu Trivedi, played by Makarand Deshpande. It’s outstanding. Every single performance of his, every line of his was a sixer. Just the joy of seeing him perform was so intense, was so beautiful, it was like watching a theatrical performance every single time. He is that aspirational actor whose shoes you want to be in even for just a day.

MK: For me, the most challenging part to play was of the typist who sits in the courtroom and types whatever is being said. Whatever whoever says from any side he just listens and is constantly typing. I would like to play that part.

KS: Ohhh yes… Wow! EA: You should be a typist too.

MK: Well, I can type in Hindi and English both.

AB: I would like to play the judge.

Swanand Kirkire’s part. I thought it was interesting.

MK: It’s just because uske paas hathoda hai.

KS: (In a loud voice) Order, order, order!

AB: He actually had good humour in the parts he played and he played it exceptionally well. Also, to be a judge to hear both the sides and then to form your opinion, it’s interesting.

SV: I really liked Makrand’s part. I also liked Karl Khandalvala’s part played by Angad.

25

Royal Occasion MICHAEL ENGLER ORCHESTRATES THE BIG-SCREEN RETURN OF DOWNTON ABBEY

BY KEVIN LALLY

I

t’s rare for a television series to transfer to the big screen with its original cast and creative team aboard, but “Downton Abbey” is an exceptional phenomenon. Spanning the years 1912 to 1926, the British saga of the patrician Crawley family and their retinue of devoted servants has earned three Golden Globes and 15 Emmy Awards and has found an avid fan base in more than 200 countries.

Now, less than four years after the series finale, the denizens of Downton are ready for their multiplex close-up. Series creator Julian Fellowes (who wrote all 52 episodes of the TV show) has devised a momentous occasion for the Crawleys

and their household staff: a visit from the king and queen of England. Nearly the entire cast is back, including Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Penelope Wilton, Laura Carmichael, Matthew Goode, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, and the incomparably wry Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess. And directing the feature is a relative latecomer to the series, American Michael Engler, a veteran of such series as “30 Rock,” “Sex in the City,” and “Six Feet Under,” who helmed four episodes including the finale. We spoke to Engler by phone about Downton Abbey’s September 20 return via Focus Features.

So that’s one thing, shifting the time and storytelling narrative frame so that it feels satisfying in a two-hour format. And then the other thing is to make it feel like more of a cinematic experience. ‘Downton’ even on television always felt pretty cinematic— that was an adjective that was often applied to it. But we wanted to make sure that if we were going to put it on the big screen and ask people to come out for it and pay their money to see it in the cinema, we gave them something of a scale and beauty and technical complexity that we couldn’t have given them in the TV series. And I think we’ve done that well.

And to do that, Julian hit on this idea of the royal visit, obviously.

SHALL WE DANCE? Michelle Dockery stars as Lady Mary Talbot and Matthew Goode as Henry Talbot.

How do you turn a long-running TV series into an event for the big screen?

Very carefully. One, I think you have to acknowledge what it is that people always loved about it. And make sure that you deliver that, which is a great, broad canvas of characters, upstairs and downstairs, young and old, that people love and recognize. And all of those people have to be accounted for in an individual way, as well as having a story that in some way engages the whole group. The tricky thing about that, I think, is that normally on the series every week you can adjust who’s in the foreground and who’s in the background and whose story is heating up and whose is at a simmer on the

26

back burner. And the overall effect is one of a big world and a lot of different people you care about. And just like with your own family and friends, sometimes you see more or less of certain people, or maybe they become more important at certain times in your life or in their lives. I think what was important for Julian and what he did so well in the screenplay—brilliantly, actually—was to create a story that is one complete arc, beginning, middle and end, that encompasses the whole world of Downton and yet allows each of the people that we love and that we missed from the series to have their own little story line, their own separate one where we understand something about where they are in their lives.

It’s always been important for everybody to work together to keep Downton alive and running and thriving, as individuals and collectively. The idea that the King and Queen are coming somehow raises the stakes even more for everybody. The servants have to go beyond where they’ve ever gone, the family themselves, on every level they have to do what they’ve always done and what we’ve always come to love about that world, and they have to do it better than ever.

I’m always amazed to hear how big the show is in places like Asia. It really is universal.

Right. I think they appreciate it too because there’s so much in their history, in their culture that has to do with the idea that wherever you fit, even in a very hierarchical system, there is always the possibility of honor, of behaving and performing honorably, of going above and beyond your

September 14, 2019 BOXOFFICE

NEWS, ANALYSIS AND RESULTS FROM NORTH AMERICA www.boxoffice.com

personal position in the system. And that character somehow transcends all of those things. And I think that is very much the Asian social hierarchical ethos as well.

Gilded Age” [an upcoming Engler-Fellowes TV series for HBO]?

Even though the mediums are kind of merging, I assume you still want as many people as possible to see this film on a big screen.

I don’t want to talk about it too much. We are just in the early prep phase. We’ve been scouting locations in New York—we’re going to be shooting parts of it all over New York and also in Newport. We’re just beginning to cast it. It begins in New York in 1882, and it’s about the introduction of a whole new world of money, especially in America, and what that does to the shifts of power and the social structure and how that sets the stage for everything that’s to come in America. It’s similar to what we’re dealing with today, the super-rich, the top 0.1 percent, and then everybody else. We start shooting it in the

Oh yeah, absolutely. I feel very happy, I feel like it is worthy of it. There’s a certain fan base that I think will go anywhere to see Downton Abbey and would be happy to pay the money, but we wanted them to feel that they were getting something that they couldn’t get at home, that they couldn’t get from the series, that we were able to do things that we couldn’t do during the series. That it would feel like a different kind of experience in the storytelling, but also in the visual scale of it, the sound, the music—every aspect of it has been scaled up to suit the story, but also to fill the cinematic experience.

Can you give us an update on “The

Top Grossing Films in North America WIDE (1000+ screens)

AT THE HELM Director Michael Engler on the set of Downton Abbey

spring, and we’ll be finishing it at the end of next year to air in early 2021.

I hope the Downton movie is a big success for you.

Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy it. I feel like we’ve delivered what everybody was hoping for, and then enough surprises and new things to make it fun and to make it feel like it was worth doing for more than nostalgic reasons.

Weekend of Sept 6–8, 2019 AVG.

(U.S. Dollars)

WEEKEND

CHNG.

LOCATIONS

CHNG.

TOTAL WKS DISTRIBUTOR

$91,062,152

—

4,570

—

$19,926

$91,062,152

1

Warner Bros.

1

IT CHAPTER TWO

2

ANGEL HAS FALLEN

$5,990,157

-49%

3,229

-107

$1,855

$53,450,658

3

Lionsgate

3

GOOD BOYS

$5,479,460

-42%

3,193

-265

$1,716

$66,939,160

4

Universal Pictures

4

THE LION KING

$4,324,341

-38%

2,610

-580

$1,657

$529,237,780

8

Walt Disney Pictures

5

FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW

$3,807,905

-41%

2,299

-673

$1,656

$164,340,050

6

Universal Pictures

6

OVERCOMER

$3,712,762

-34%

2,153

326

$1,724

$24,668,925

3

Sony Pictures

7

DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD

$2,345,305

-43%

1,788

-689

$1,312

$54,334,455

5

Paramount Pictures

8

READY OR NOT

$2,310,792

-61%

2,350

-607

$983

$25,712,480

3

Fox Searchlight

9

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

$2,297,928

-54%

2,101

-646

$1,094

$62,123,662

5

CBS Films / Lionsgate

10

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

$2,166,110

-47%

1,402

-591

$1,545

$134,368,392

7

Sony Pictures

11

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON

$2,129,875

-29%

1,310

61

$1,626

$12,104,532

5

Roadside Attractions

12

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2

$1,710,459

-60%

1,854

-1457

$923

$38,088,353

4

Sony Pictures

13

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

$1,238,052

-71%

1,433

-1729

$864

$388,120,898

10

Sony / Columbia

LIMITED (100—999 screens)

WEEKEND

CHNG.

LOCATIONS

CHNG.

AVG.

1

BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON

$1,036,186

149%

230

182

$4,505

$1,902,218

3

Amazon Studios

2

ANNABELLE COMES HOME

$807,482

1219%

214

113

$3,773

$73,608,458

11

Warner Bros.

3

47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED

$743,738

-69%

975

-1249

$763

$20,905,477

4

Entertainment Studios

4

CHHICHHORE

$614,335

—

195

—

$3,150

$614,335

1

FIP

5

TOY STORY 4

$547,483

-77%

640

-2075

$855

$431,810,752

12

Disney

6

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

$506,143

-62%

740

-735

$684

$25,256,221

5

20th Century Fox

7

TOD@S CAEN

$471,947

-57%

371

0

$1,272

$2,072,988

2

Lionsgate / Pantelion

8

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

$417,383

-66%

468

-1205

$892

$11,317,597

4

Warner Bros.

9

THE FAREWELL

$401,220

-52%

368

-523

$1,090

$16,690,059

9

A24

10

ALADDIN

$260,323

-42%

198

-32

$1,315

$354,801,322

16

Disney

September 14, 2019 BOXOFFICE

TOTAL WKS DISTRIBUTOR

27

DESI TADKA Three Cheers To Teamwork!

Bengali filmmakers Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy have had a phenomenal 2019 with three of their films hitting the bull’s-eye at theatres.

The duo talk to Titas Chowdhury about this recent dream run, their journey so far and their future projects Shibuda, Nanditadi this year 2019, has been a very special year for you. You usually release just one film annually, but this year you had three releases; Mukherjee Dar Bou, Konttho and Gotro.

Nandita Roy (NR): It has been a unique year for us. It has been just once before that we had two films in the same year.

This is the second time we are doing that, our own film besides our production, which if you count are three films. So yes, it has been an exciting year and it has reaped rewards for us. Mukherjee Dar Bou has done very well at the box office as have Konttho and Gotro.

28

Shiboprosad Mukherjee (SM): I think this is a hat trick here for us. We are very happy.

They are three different films on three different themes. First of all, you can say that we have achieved a couple of very important things this year. With Mukherjee Dar Bou, we have created a new date for the box office. Not many people release films on Women’s Day. March 8 is usually exam time. People wait for the Bengali New Year in April to release a film. But Mukherjee Dar Bou was the one of the biggest hits of the year. Then we released Konttho in summer as we did our last five films. Konttho released on May 10. At

that time elections were going on. West Bengal, at that time, was not very peaceful.

After that, we tried to create another date in Janmashtami. We wanted Gotro to be released during the festival because of the content. We are really grateful to our audience that they loved these films.

Your latest film Gotro raises questions on religion, caste and human identity. What was the inspiration behind the film?

NR: We felt that as directors and filmmakers, we have to send out a message to society. I always believe films are not just vehicles of entertainment.

Box Office India

14 September 2019

They reach out to such a wide audience who easily lap up what is shown on the big screen. And it was important to give out a message during these troubled times not only in our home state but also across the country. Communal harmony is at stake. We believe that as directors if we can contribute to society in a small way with the message of communal harmony, we would have achieved something. That is why we thought that it was important to come out with Gotro at this time, when the country is in turmoil.

Looking at your career so far, what would you say has been the turning point?

NR: The day Icche got released, because before that we were doing television. And then suddenly we decided to stop doing television and start making films on our own terms. We wanted to tell our own stories and in the way we want to. And once Icche became a success, we knew our stories are being heard, seen and appreciated. So we knew we could go on making the films that we wanted to.

Do you agree, Shibuda?

SM: Yes and I think also to some extent, BelaSeshe. What BelaSeshe did was it opened the doors to the non-Bengali audience. At the same time it joined us pan-India. Before this film, none of our films reached out so widely.

Today you two together are considered a brand and your names are major crowd pullers. What do you have to say about that?

NR: It is very fortunate that we are a brand and our names are enough to pull the audience to the theatres. We never thought that we could achieve this at any point of our lives. Now that we have done it, we are amazed. I think it is simple storytelling with a lot of entertainment and made honestly which resonates with the audience.

Does this add pressure on you as filmmakers considering you have tasted commercial and critical success with almost all your films?

SM: Definitely! There is that pressure of meeting the expectations of the audience. When (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni is playing or Virat (Kohli) is playing, there is expectation that they have to score.

It is like that. We produce our own films and films of other directors as well. Since we invite other directors to make films for us, it is important that our films work.

How then do you keep the pressure aside and focus on the creative aspect of filmmaking?

NR: In this partnership, he takes the pressure. I am the most chilled person.

14 September 2019

Box Office India

We produce our own films and films of other directors as well.

Since we invite other directors to make films for us, it is important that our films work.

And I am allowed to be chilled because he is the person in the front and he takes all the pressure. So I am able to do all the thinking and creative work. It is a very beautiful partnership.

Konttho saw a national release because the subject was a universal one. And now the film’s rights have been bought by a Malayalam filmmaker, Rajesh Nair. Do feel validated?

NR: Of course. We are very proud. There was a time when filmmakers from Bengal used to search for subjects in the South, pick up subjects from there and remake it scene-to-scene because there was a dearth of subjects in Bengali cinema or so they believed. But now the tables have turned. South filmmakers are taking our subjects because they think that our subjects are stronger than what they are portraying in their films.

There is no way we cannot not talk about Praktan. With this film, you brought together Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta after a really long time. Tell us about it.

NR: It is your favourite film!

– Shiboprosad Mukherjee It is very fortunate that we are a brand and our names are enough to pull the audience to the theatres. We never thought that we could achieve this at any point of our lives. Now that we have done it, we are amazed.

– Nandita Roy

And almost everyone else’s!

NR: Praktan was a story that I had written a very long time ago. It is one of my favourite stories, so I was looking for the ideal cast. He suggested why not bring them back. They had stopped acting with each other for a really long period. They couldn’t even see each other’s face; there were so against each other. But the subject appealed to them so much that they both agreed to do it!

(Everyone laughs).

NR: But then they actually fell in love with the script and were in the same tune as us. They were very enthusiastic and then they put in their best. The past was forgotten and forgiven. They were together doing what they do passionately. And that reflected on screen as well.

Do you have any plans of remaking your films in Hindi or making films in Hindi?

SM: We are planning, but since it is in the planning stages we cannot reveal much at this point of time.

Your next film is Bela Shuru, the sequel to BelaSeshe. Didn’t you plan to release it before Gotro?

NR: No. But Gotro wasn’t supposed to happen at all. We usually release only one film a year and Konttho was already out. But Gotro just happened because we felt that it had to happen. A feeling of compulsion was there. Coming back to Belashuru, we are awaiting release next year in May.

29

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION

Marjaavaan T

Khaali Peeli T

he shooting of director Maqbool Khan’s upcoming film Khaali Peeli started this week in Mumbai. The film stars Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday in lead roles with Jaideep Ahlawat playing the antagonist. The Offside Entertainment, AAZ Films and Zee Studios’ venture is produced by Zee Studios, Ali Abbas Zafar and Himanshu Kishan Mehra. It will be releasing on June 12, 2020.

Prithviraj

he dubbing of Milap Milan Zaveri’s Marjaavaan is currently underway at Sunny Super Sound. The film stars Sidharth Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh, Tara Sutaria and Rakul Preet Singh. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Nikkhil Advani under the banners of T-Series and Emmay Entertainment. It is scheduled to release on November 8.

Mogul

A

A

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

Housefull 4

kshay Kumar will star in the period film Prithviraj, playing the role of the fearless and mighty king Prithviraj Chauhan. The film will be directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi and produced under the Yash Raj Films banner. It is slated to release during Diwali 2020.

T

he shoot for Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan began this week. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead with Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta playing pivotal parts. Directed by Hitesh Kewalya, the film is made under the banners of Colour Yellow Productions and T-Series and produced by Aanand L Rai, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. The film is slated to release on March 13, 2020.

‘83 T

he Mumbai schedule of Kabir Khan’s ’83 commenced this week. The Ranveer Singh starrer also features Saqib Saleem, Ammy Virk and Pankaj Tripathi among others with Deepika Padukone making a special appearance. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala’s Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, along with Reliance Entertainment in association with Vibri Media and Kabir Khan Films, the film will release on April 10, 2020.

Death On The Nile Adaptation A

li Fazal has been roped in for Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming directorial which will based on Agatha Christie’s book Death On The Nile. Fazal will be seen sharing screen space with Hollywood actress Gal Gadot. The film is made under the banner of 20th Century Fox.

30

amir Khan has confirmed that he will be essaying the role of the late Gulshan Kumar in the upcoming film, Mogul. The film will be directed by Subhash Kapoor and produced under the banners of Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series and Aamir Khan Productions.

T

he dubbing for horror-comedy Housefull 4 is presently taking place at Sunny Super Sound. The ensemble film stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Kriti Sanon, Bobby Deol, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rana Daggubati, Kriti Kharbanda and Pooja Hegde among others. It is produced under the banners of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Fox Star India. It will release during Diwali 2019.

Pagalpanti D

irector Anees Bazmee is shooting for the songs from his upcoming film, Pagalpanti, in Mumbai. The film stars John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Ileana D’Cruz, Pulkit Samrat, Kriti Kharbanda, Urvashi Rautela and Saurabh Shukla.

The T-Series and Panorama Studios film is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Kumar Mangat and Abhishek Pathak and will hit cinema screens on November 22.

Box Office India

14 September 2019

Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

17,50,00,000

439

total collections 17,50,00,000

2

6,74,00,000

390

40,34,00,000

4

1,85,00,000

176

62,45,00,000

East punjab Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

CI

Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

Nizam-AP Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

7,16,00,000

154

total collections 7,16,00,000

2

2,34,00,000

125

14,66,00,000

4

52,50,000

62

16,86,50,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

2,77,00,000

61

total collections 2,77,00,000

2

86,00,000

75

5,90,00,000

4

24,75,000

25

7,14,25,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

4,30,00,000

103

total collections 4,30,00,000

2

43,00,000

40

2,98,00,000

4

35,75,000

42

10,05,75,000

WEST BENGAL Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

assam

Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

2,90,00,000

86

total collections 2,90,00,000

2

1,39,00,000

107

8,07,00,000

4

33,50,000

35

10,04,50,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

70,00,000

57

total collections 70,00,000

2

30,00,000

30

2,43,00,000

4

5,25,000

7

2,74,75,000

Delhi - UP Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

CP

Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

Rajasthan Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

mysore

Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

16,45,00,000

176

total collections 16,45,00,000

2

5,32,00,000

148

30,85,00,000

4

1,27,50,000

126

37,48,50,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

3,10,00,000

126

total collections 3,10,00,000

2

1,41,00,000

138

9,18,00,000

4

32,75,000

50

9,37,25,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

3,48,00,000

67

total collections 3,48,00,000

2

1,16,00,000

64

8,51,00,000

4

29,00,000

27

8,74,00,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

4,10,00,000

74

total collections 4,10,00,000

2

61,00,000

30

2,56,00,000

4

44,00,000

30

12,87,00,000

bihar & jharkhand Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

orissa

Film (Distributor) Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios) Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films) Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

1,78,00,000

45

total collections 1,78,00,000

2

68,00,000

72

4,76,00,000

4

16,75,000

18

5,46,75,000

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres 1

1,18,00,000

40

total collections 1,18,00,000

2

38,00,000

76

3,00,00,000

4

4,25,000

6

3,13,75,000

TNK Film (Distributor)

WEEKs COLLECTIONs Theatres

total collections

Chhichhore (Fox Star Studios)

1

1,04,00,000

39

1,04,00,000

Saaho (Hindi) (AA Films)

2

12,00,000

10

84,00,000

Mission Mangal (Fox Star Studios)

4

6,00,000

6

3,25,00,000

14 September 2019

Box Office India

at your fingertips.

Log on to www.boxofficeindia.co.in

31

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION

MUMBAI

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION

Week

Nett last Week

Sajid Nadiadwala

1

66,46,00,000

1467

66,46,00,000

Fairr In Love

Ashutosh Mishra

1

2,838

1

2,838

IT Chapter Two*

Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin, Roy Lee

1

10,87,00,000

950

10,87,00,000

Saaho (Hindi)

Vamsi-Pramod

2

21,74,00,000

1305

1,34,08,00,000

The Angry Birds Movie 2*

John Cohen

3

5,00,000

20

6,65,00,000

Mission Mangal

Cape of Good Films, R Balki, Fox Star Studios

4

5,97,00,000

610

1,89,65,00,000

Batla House

Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, John Abraham, Monisha Advani, Nikkhil Advani, Madhu Bhojwani, Sandeep Leyzell

4

92,35,873

182

87,05,35,873

Jabariya Jodi

Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Shaailesh R Singh

5

5,406

1

16,23,09,266

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw*

Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Chris Morgan, Hiram Garcia

6

5,00,000

15

69,87,00,000

JudgeMentall Hai Kya

Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Shaailesh R Singh

7

5,338

1

33,18,92,571

Arjun Patiala

Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Dinesh Vijan, Sandeep Leyzell

7

5,079

1

5,97,31,025

The Lion King*

Don Hahn

8

5,00,000

5

1,50,07,00,000

Super 30

Reliance Entertainment, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Phantom Films

8

59,097

4

1,46,84,20,242

Article 15

Anubhav Sinha, Zee Studios

11

6,483

1

59,56,75,147

Kabir Singh

Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Murad Khetani, Ashwin Varde

12

9,387

1

2,67,60,48,676

Film

Producer

Chhichhore

Theatres

Total Nett

*Including all formats and dubbed versions

PVR CINEMAX

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

444 693 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

7863 4109 1737 560

1009024 260930 120075 21907

17,14,15,270 3,84,28,953 1,83,04,468 41,32,090

20,24,43,881 4,51,60,699 2,22,72,907 48,68,643

20,24,43,881 25,93,86,827 51,59,48,392 23,40,33,487

1 2 4 4

INOX

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

574 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

6787 3906 1642 261

779677 239559 91361 7081

12,21,03,963 3,24,78,089 1,35,46,375 14,50,484

14,87,00,105 4,01,67,638 1,70,39,441 17,57,692

14,87,00,105 24,15,10,465 43,60,39,359 17,34,61,072

1 2 4 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

405 screens

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

32

(Collection from 139 stations)

SHOWS

CARNIVAL CINEMAS NO

(Collection from 149 stations)

SHOWS

(Collection from 154 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

5005 2938 677 136

469349 154094 39679 5302

6,57,23,826 1,87,12,549 47,77,527 6,92,296

8,03,61,769 2,31,44,698 56,74,798 8,66,101

8,03,61,769 14,79,77,483 20,93,17,165 9,67,74,957

1 2 4 4

Box Office India

14 September 2019

Cinepolis

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

311 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

(Collection from 56 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

3608 1636 833 191

442591 107340 54855 8822

7,44,94,133 1,74,28,766 84,69,307 13,05,343

8,77,02,229 2,04,84,124 97,55,124 15,34,789

8,77,02,229 12,28,19,912 20,26,65,655 8,57,83,188

1 2 4 4

SRS CINEMAS

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

62 screens

(Collection from 22 stations)

NO

fILMS

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

1

CHHICHHORE

941

91074

1,17,88,908

1,42,57,857

2

SAAHO (HINDI)

599

27576

33,29,999

40,34,409

2,83,47,169

2

3

MISSION MANGAL

91

3846

5,16,766

6,19,506

3,10,24,939

4

WAVE INC. fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

560 446 85 42

79618 31712 5525 2211

1,28,58,332 45,59,020 7,63,420 3,40,862

1,57,44,845 56,02,510 9,39,200 4,22,125

1,57,44,845 3,25,01,335 3,70,41,510 2,04,48,035

1 2 4 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

747 435 40

63268 20787 3034

77,86,802 21,99,334 4,21,572

-

77,86,802 1,38,19,402 1,86,50,076

1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

30 screens

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

420 342 162 22

52051 19372 14035 934

71,93,611 23,04,318 17,98,155 1,09,983

89,12,423 28,68,406 20,74,982 1,38,480

89,12,423 1,49,06,367 1,78,65,804 62,51,816

1 2 4 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

57 screens

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

14 September 2019

Box Office India

(Collection from 10 stations)

SHOWS

MOVIE TIME NO

(Collection from 17 stations)

SHOWS

City pride NO

(Collection from 10 stations)

AUDIENCE

44 screens

fILMS

1

SHOWS

Mukta a2 NO

WEEK

1,42,57,857

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

35 screens

NO

GROSS TOTAL

(Collectionfrom from189 stations) (Collection

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

1040 631 106 19

78837 24766 4197 394

1,06,56,124 30,39,548 5,31,376 56,610

1,29,34,733 36,88,847 6,30,062 69,361

1,29,34,733 2,26,26,102 2,99,68,284 1,42,19,459

1 2 4 4

33

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION

miraj

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

99 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

1695 955 116 14

164623 48529 5114 166

1,91,55,265 52,51,423 5,38,937 19,223

2,34,17,978 65,01,126 6,94,446 26,630

2,34,17,978 4,49,26,390 5,81,00,381 2,31,91,012

1 2 4 4

RAJHANS

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

28 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

486 354 38

44497 24250 2172

47,82,454 24,92,631 2,35,577

65,64,379 34,95,583 3,09,250

65,64,379 2,23,96,296 2,32,58,950

1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

18 screens

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

56 28

1032 586

1,21,082 61,966

1,41,450 71,900

1,41,450 -

1

WEEK 1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

56 screens

fILMS

(Collection from 5 stations)

SHOWS

gold Cinema NO

(Collection from 9 stations)

SHOWS

Q Cinema NO

(Collection from 36 stations)

(Collection from 31 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

CHHICHHORE

763

51119

66,83,599

82,33,852

82,33,852

1

2

SAAHO (HINDI)

456

20787

25,09,253

30,44,212

2,13,67,272

2

3

MISSION MANGAL

25

1132

1,28,930

1,70,380

2,08,20,350

4

priya entertainments

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

11 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

152 91 14

11320 3755 779

12,65,535 3,88,353 88,879

15,47,450 4,76,624 1,08,820

15,47,450 30,84,888 38,38,588

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

Cinemas

NO

fILMS

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

34

WEEK 1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

47 screens

fILMS

(Collection from 9 stations)

SHOWS

E-square NO

WEEK

(Collection from 16 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

457 308 89

33452 17140 4886

36,02,507 16,83,405 4,69,210

44,80,503 20,68,122 5,66,870

44,80,503 1,33,64,550 82,23,216

1 2 4

maxus cinema

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

19 screens

(Collection from 4 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

196 77 84 12

20780 4855 4719 209

30,60,646 6,94,802 6,05,319 46,009

38,24,482 8,68,795 7,04,889 56,511

38,24,482 78,38,009 1,46,36,372 47,42,538

1 2 4 4

Box Office India

14 September 2019

suncity

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

14 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

129 95

12040 6140

14,64,894 7,59,023

17,28,573 7,91,644

17,28,573 58,78,094

IP CINEMAS fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

112 105 14

14916 11132 974

23,62,615 17,03,408 1,66,197

27,83,485 20,03,965 1,96,120

fILMS CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

181 98 25

5632 1865 896

8,00,997 2,15,696 93,789

8,41,912 2,66,736 1,19,350

8,41,912 21,36,536 38,92,949

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

273 201 91 7

15863 8894 4672 307

19,68,998 10,07,321 5,50,726 35,124

26,65,472 11,94,924 7,53,405 49,120

26,65,472 76,10,898 1,02,08,087 34,32,796

1 2 4 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

35 35

2691 2618

3,41,058 3,52,618

4,02,715 4,16,600

4,02,715 19,60,041

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

14 September 2019

Box Office India

1 2

(Collection from 5 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

13131 6327 433

17,23,380 8,77,533 58,244

-

17,23,380 60,95,268 50,11,093

WEEK 1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

5 screens

fILMS

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

M2K CINEMAS NO

(Collection from 2 stations)

SHOWS

16 screens

fILMS

(Collection from 5 stations)

NETT

star world NO

1 2 4

AUDIENCE

9 screens

fILMS

WEEK

SHOWS

wide angle NO

1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

19 screens

fILMS

WEEK

(Collection from 11 stations)

SHOWS

CITY GOLD NO

GROSS TOTAL 27,83,485 79,23,035 34,36,180

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

26 screens

NO

1 2

(Collection from 3 stations)

SHOWS

k sera sera 1 2 3

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

6 screens

NO

(Collection from 6 stations)

(Collection from 2 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

88 70 14

17627 4718 1209

30,20,029 8,44,995 2,14,315

35,60,560 9,97,164 2,52,904

35,60,560 -

WEEK 1 2 4

35

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION

FORTUNE CINEPLEX

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

3 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

35 28 15

3029 1354 562

2,99,995 1,42,056 46,793

3,88,380 1,83,800 56,153

3,88,380 9,84,810 11,98,461

7 screens fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

193 104 57

9561 4382 1550

7,15,648 1,37,43,217 1,14,982

9,89,931 4,33,911 1,60,758

9,89,931 23,57,147 38,96,468

1

SAAHO (HINDI)

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

42

3299

4,19,374

4,94,030

26,52,885

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

49 28 7 7

3437 1682 439 145

5,32,196 2,60,932 52,761 17,203

6,62,420 3,24,750 66,650 21,750

6,62,420 20,32,970 14,37,400 8,96,020

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

76 119

2647 2535

3,31,698 3,00,137

3,90,200 3,53,050

3,90,200 24,69,170

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

35 41

1528 1636

1,55,303 1,57,944

1,87,386 1,90,404

1,87,386 12,85,698

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

36

WEEK 1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

fILMS

1 2

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

London Paris NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

3 screens

fILMS

1 2 4 4

(Collection from 6 stations)

SHOWS

Vinay NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

14 screens fILMS

2

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

REDROCKS NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

7 screens

fILMS

1 2 4

(Collection from 2 stations)

SHOWS

SSR RUPASI NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

4 screens

fILMS

1 2 4

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

piccadily square NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

cinemarc NO

(Collection from 1 stations)

(Collection from 1 station)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

35 14 7

1782 182 342

3,44,938 28,838 62,880

4,15,900 34,940 75,964

4,15,900 2,16,946 9,81,354

Box Office India

WEEK 1 2 4

14 September 2019

Raj Mandir

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

1 screens

NO

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

14 14

6108 6218

8,09,250 8,14,458

9,43,380 9,49,285

9,43,380 43,16,735

sarv fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

18,66,918 3,67,359 75,582

-

18,66,918 29,65,644 33,67,977

1 2 3 4

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL BATLA HOUSE

Rolling OMReels NO

fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

8,38,573 5,38,735 81,523 30,644

-

8,38,573 26,43,274 20,81,076 18,28,817

Rolling Reels

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

M4U OM NO

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

5,89,314 2,40,584 9,863

-

5,89,314 15,45,221 14,04,441

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

14 September 2019

Box Office India

WEEK 1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

-

-

3,16,314 93,688

-

M4U

(Collection from 1 stations)

GROSS TOTAL 3,16,314 4,92,081

WEEK 1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

1,94,213 3,48,647

-

1,94,213 -

WEEK 1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

5 screens fILMS

1 2 4 4

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

MAXX NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

3 screens

2 screens

fILMS

1 2 4

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

mOVIE lOUNGE NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

fILMS

1 2

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

bmg Cinema NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

3 screens

NO

(Collection from 1 stations)

(Collection from 2 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

5,95,337 74,025

-

5,95,337 9,89,601

WEEK 1 2

37

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION

ELITE

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

3 screens

(Collection from 1 stations)

NO

fILMS

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

1

CHHICHHORE

-

-

7,96,489

-

7,96,489

2

SAAHO (HINDI)

-

-

1,07,149

-

9,61,265

2

3

MISSION MANGAL

-

-

33,337

-

13,99,195

4

movie world fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

1,86,235 1,11,804

-

1,86,235 -

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

TOP 3 NO

fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

38 34

1029 1137

1,10,881 1,10,610

1,55,390 157230

1,55,390 -

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

38

1 2

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

70 49 14

1755 5250 633

2,86,367 8,18,720 80,063

3,81,790 1097350 110300

3,81,790 -

TOP 3

WEEK 1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

1,25,950 2,43,260 4,297

-

-

WEEK 1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

4 screens fILMS

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

Seven Sky Multiplex NO

(Collection from 1 stations)

AUDIENCE

5 screens

fILMS

1 2

SHOWS

cosmoplex NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

3 screens

fILMS

(Collection from 3 stations)

SHOWS

cine park NO

1

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

8 screens

NO

WEEK

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

35 42 7

1705 2842 62

2,76,857 4,88,065 12,752

3,69,214 646906 16600

3,69,214 -

Box Office India

WEEK 1 2 4

14 September 2019

om NO

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

OM Ragini NO

fILMS

1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

24 31

694 726

97,767 90,372

-

97,767 5,67,148

Ragini

WEEK 1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

CHHICHHORE

28

1592

1,54,216

2,21,780

2,21,780

1

SAAHO (HINDI)

28

1451

1,42,025

203870

-

2

OM NO

om

Maharaja

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

fILMS

WEEK

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

(Collection from 1 stations)

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

WEEK

1

CHHICHHORE

28

-

27,654

-

27,654

1

2

SAAHO (HINDI)

28

-

33,941

-

7,49,685

2

VELVET OM NO

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

OM NO

fILMS

1 2

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI)

ENTERTAINMENT PARK NO

fILMS

1 2 3

CHHICHHORE SAAHO (HINDI) MISSION MANGAL

VELVET

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

23 21

592 853

46,275 65,335

-

46,275 -

svf

fILMS CHHICHHORE

14 September 2019

Box Office India

1 2

(Collection from 8 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

228 154

9595 6474

9,40,177 5,94,031

11,37,662 7,17,303

11,37,662 49,49,108

ENTERTAINMENT PARK

WEEK 1 2

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

2 screens

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

-

-

4,80,041 2,82,681 34,064

-

4,80,041 -

WEEK 1 2 4

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

4 screens

NO

WEEK

From September 6 To September 12, 2019

13 screens

OPERA 1

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

(Collection from 1 stations)

SHOWS

AUDIENCE

NETT

GROSS

GROSS TOTAL

28

1286

21,502

24,434

24,434

WEEK 1

39

BOX OFFICE COLLECTION

Chhichhore - daywise collection Chhichhore

1st Day

2nd Day

3rd Day

4th Day

5th Day

6th Day

7th Day

1st Week

Mumbai

2,04,00,000

3,25,00,000

4,56,00,000

1,90,00,000

2,25,00,000

1,65,00,000

1,85,00,000

17,50,00,000

Delhi-UP

1,70,00,000

2,75,00,000

3,70,00,000

2,10,00,000

2,70,00,000

1,75,00,000

1,75,00,000

16,45,00,000

East Punjab

85,00,000

1,35,00,000

1,80,00,000

85,00,000

95,00,000

61,00,000

75,00,000

7,16,00,000

CP

33,00,000

52,00,000

70,00,000

37,00,000

50,00,000

35,00,000

33,00,000

3,10,00,000

CI

29,00,000

45,00,000

64,00,000

35,00,000

47,00,000

30,00,000

27,00,000

2,77,00,000

Rajasthan

37,00,000

58,00,000

85,00,000

41,00,000

55,00,000

37,00,000

35,00,000

3,48,00,000

Nizam

49,00,000

80,00,000

90,00,000

46,00,000

60,00,000

41,00,000

64,00,000

4,30,00,000

Mysore

45,00,000

80,00,000

1,00,00,000

45,00,000

60,00,000

40,00,000

40,00,000

4,10,00,000

West Bengal

31,00,000

50,00,000

75,00,000

31,00,000

40,00,000

34,00,000

29,00,000

2,90,00,000

Bihar-Jharkhand

20,00,000

32,00,000

40,00,000

20,00,000

26,00,000

20,00,000

20,00,000

1,78,00,000

Assam

8,00,000

11,00,000

16,00,000

8,00,000

10,00,000

8,00,000

9,00,000

70,00,000

Orissa

11,00,000

15,00,000

22,00,000

20,00,000

20,00,000

17,00,000

13,00,000

1,18,00,000

TNK

10,00,000

16,00,000

20,00,000

10,00,000

20,00,000

14,00,000

14,00,000

1,04,00,000

Total

7,32,00,000

11,74,00,000

15,88,00,000

7,78,00,000

9,78,00,000

6,77,00,000

7,19,00,000

66,46,00,000

IT Chapter 2* - daywise collection IT Chapter 2

1st Day

2nd Day

3rd Day

4th Day

5th Day

6th Day

7th Day

1st Week

Mumbai

42,00,000

65,00,000

65,00,000

30,00,000

33,00,000

27,00,000

24,00,000

2,86,00,000

Delhi-UP

24,00,000

32,00,000

40,00,000

18,00,000

19,00,000

16,00,000

14,00,000

1,63,00,000

East Punjab

13,00,000

20,00,000

22,00,000

8,00,000

9,00,000

8,00,000

6,00,000

86,00,000

CP

3,00,000

11,00,000

12,00,000

1,00,000

2,00,000

1,00,000

1,00,000

31,00,000

CI

2,50,000

8,00,000

8,00,000

1,00,000

1,50,000

1,00,000

1,00,000

23,00,000

Rajasthan

3,50,000

9,00,000

9,00,000

1,50,000

2,50,000

1,00,000

1,00,000

27,50,000

Nizam

16,00,000

25,00,000

25,00,000

11,00,000

13,00,000

10,00,000

8,00,000

1,08,00,000

Mysore

20,00,000

30,00,000

30,00,000

13,00,000

14,00,000

12,00,000

10,00,000

1,29,00,000

West Bengal

7,00,000

20,00,000

22,00,000

5,00,000

6,00,000

2,50,000

2,50,000

65,00,000

Bihar-Jharkhand

1,50,000

4,00,000

4,00,000

50,000

1,00,000

50,000

50,000

12,00,000

Assam

1,00,000

5,00,000

5,00,000

50,000

1,00,000

50,000

50,000

13,50,000

Orissa

1,50,000

3,00,000

3,00,000

50,000

1,00,000

50,000

50,000

10,00,000

TNK

17,00,000

35,00,000

40,00,000

10,00,000

12,00,000

10,00,000

9,00,000

1,33,00,000

Total

1,52,00,000

2,67,00,000

2,85,00,000

1,00,00,000

1,15,00,000

90,00,000

78,00,000

10,87,00,000

*Including all formats and dubbed versions

40

Box Office India

14 September 2019

Saaho (Hindi)

1st Week

8th Day

9th Day

10th Day

11th Day

12th Day

13th Day

14th Day

2nd Week

Grand Total

Mumbai

33,60,00,000

95,00,000

1,35,00,000

1,85,00,000

68,00,000

80,00,000

56,00,000

55,00,000

6,74,00,000

40,34,00,000

Delhi-UP

25,53,00,000

74,00,000

1,02,00,000

1,48,00,000

52,00,000

65,00,000

46,00,000

45,00,000

5,32,00,000

30,85,00,000

East Punjab

12,32,00,000

25,00,000

50,00,000

70,00,000

23,00,000

28,00,000

20,00,000

18,00,000

2,34,00,000

14,66,00,000

CP

7,77,00,000

18,00,000

30,00,000

38,00,000

15,00,000

17,00,000

12,00,000

11,00,000

1,41,00,000

9,18,00,000

CI

5,04,00,000

12,00,000

17,00,000

25,00,000

8,00,000

10,00,000

7,00,000

7,00,000

86,00,000

5,90,00,000

Rajasthan

7,35,00,000

17,00,000

20,00,000

35,00,000

10,00,000

15,00,000

10,00,000

9,00,000

1,16,00,000

8,51,00,000

Nizam

2,55,00,000

3,00,000

8,00,000

15,00,000

4,00,000

5,00,000

4,00,000

4,00,000

43,00,000

2,98,00,000

Mysore

1,95,00,000

5,00,000

10,00,000

20,00,000

5,00,000

8,00,000

7,00,000

6,00,000

61,00,000

2,56,00,000

West Bengal

6,68,00,000

20,00,000

25,00,000

40,00,000

12,00,000

18,00,000

13,00,000

11,00,000

1,39,00,000

8,07,00,000

Bihar-Jharkhand

4,08,00,000

9,00,000

15,00,000

18,00,000

7,00,000

9,00,000

5,50,000

4,50,000

68,00,000

4,76,00,000

Assam

2,13,00,000

3,00,000

7,00,000

10,00,000

3,00,000

3,00,000

2,00,000

2,00,000

30,00,000

2,43,00,000

Orissa

2,62,00,000

3,00,000

10,00,000

15,00,000

3,00,000

3,00,000

2,00,000

2,00,000

38,00,000

3,00,00,000

TNK

72,00,000

2,00,000

2,00,000

4,00,000

1,00,000

2,00,000

50,000

50,000

12,00,000

84,00,000

4,31,00,000

6,23,00,000

2,11,00,000

2,63,00,000

1,85,00,000

1,75,00,000

21,74,00,000

1,34,08,00,000

Total

1,12,34,00,000 2,86,00,000

Mission Mangal - daywise collection Mission Mangal

1st Week

2nd Week

3rd Week

23rd Day

24th Day

25th Day

26th Day

27th Day

28th Day

29th Day

4th Week

Grand Total

Mumbai

41,05,00,000

15,78,00,000

3,77,00,000

15,00,000

39,00,000

50,00,000

19,00,000

30,00,000

15,00,000

17,00,000

1,85,00,000

62,45,00,000

Delhi-UP

24,10,00,000

9,50,00,000

2,61,00,000

11,00,000

28,00,000

30,00,000

14,00,000

22,00,000

10,00,000

12,50,000

1,27,50,000

37,48,50,000

East Punjab

11,21,00,000

4,00,00,000

1,13,00,000

4,00,000

11,00,000

15,00,000

5,00,000

9,00,000

4,00,000

4,50,000

52,50,000

16,86,50,000

CP

6,28,00,000

2,13,00,000

63,50,000

3,00,000

6,75,000

9,00,000

3,00,000

5,00,000

3,00,000

3,00,000

32,75,000

9,37,25,000

CI

4,63,00,000

1,76,00,000

50,50,000

2,25,000

5,25,000

7,00,000

2,00,000

4,00,000

2,25,000

2,00,000

24,75,000

7,14,25,000

Rajasthan

5,69,00,000

2,19,00,000

57,00,000

2,75,000

6,00,000

8,00,000

3,00,000

4,00,000

2,75,000

2,50,000

29,00,000

8,74,00,000

Nizam

6,44,00,000

2,55,00,000

71,00,000

3,50,000

7,50,000

10,00,000

3,00,000

5,00,000

3,50,000

3,25,000

35,75,000

10,05,75,000

Mysore

7,23,00,000

4,32,00,000

88,00,000

4,00,000

9,00,000

13,00,000

4,00,000

7,00,000

3,00,000

4,00,000

44,00,000

12,87,00,000

West Bengal

6,56,00,000

2,41,00,000

74,00,000

3,00,000

7,50,000

10,00,000

3,00,000

5,00,000

2,00,000

3,00,000

33,50,000

10,04,50,000

BiharJharkhand

3,64,00,000

1,31,00,000

35,00,000

1,50,000

3,50,000

6,00,000

1,00,000

2,00,000

1,50,000

1,25,000

16,75,000

5,46,75,000

Assam

1,88,00,000

70,00,000

11,50,000

25,000

75,000

3,00,000

25,000

50,000

25,000

25,000

5,25,000

2,74,75,000

Orissa

2,34,00,000

67,00,000

8,50,000

25,000

75,000

2,00,000

25,000

50,000

25,000

25,000

4,25,000

3,13,75,000

TNK

2,40,00,000

68,00,000

11,00,000

50,000

1,00,000

2,00,000

50,000

1,00,000

50,000

50,000

6,00,000

3,25,00,000

58,00,000

95,00,000

48,00,000

54,00,000

5,97,00,000

1,89,65,00,000

Total

1,23,45,00,000 48,00,00,000 12,23,00,000

51,00,000

1,26,00,000 1,65,00,000

DISCLAIMER: Box Office Information/Figures/Collections contained in this magazine are compiled from a number of sources, including our own research. While every effort is made to ensure completeness and authenticity of data/figures/information, Box Office India makes no Representation about the accuracy and reliability of the data. Box Office India, Select Publishing Company, Select Media LLP. or their affiliates shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising from use of the information contained in the magazine or the website.

14 September 2019

Box Office India

41

PUBLIC NOTICE

Saaho (Hindi) - daywise collection

COMSCORE Box office Charts

WEEKEND TOP 20 India - PROVISIONAL REPORT Rank Title

Language

Dist

Wk

Polled Locs

Polled Screens

Weekend Gross Rs

Weekend Net Rs

Avg/Loc Gross Rs

Avg/Loc Net Rs

Flash Cume Gross Rs

Flash Cume Net Rs

1

Chhichhore

Hindi

FOXSTAR

1

435

930

43,60,25,360

37,02,17,543

9,45,825

8,03,075

43,66,25,229

37,07,31,476

2

Saaho

Telugu

UVC

2

246

406

8,86,89,986

7,62,23,518

3,12,289

2,68,393

58,54,90,399

50,60,94,746

3

It: Chapter Two

English

WBI

1

372

507

7,39,43,893

6,50,02,517

1,77,323

1,55,881

7,40,87,183

6,51,23,950

4

Mission Mangal

Hindi

FOXSTAR

4

298

423

4,61,68,860

3,85,47,112

1,37,817

1,15,066

1,21,83,50,111

1,02,96,73,773

5

Ittymaani: Made in China

Malayalam

ASHVD

1

42

46

80,51,863

68,07,436

1,27,807

1,08,055

80,51,863

68,07,436

6

Love Action Drama

Malayalam

INDP

1

41

48

72,41,216

60,64,274

1,44,824

1,21,285

78,62,674

65,75,331

7

Pehlwaan

Kannada

ZMP

P

64

130

68,81,720

58,33,632

1,07,527

91,150

69,15,635

58,62,373

8

Surkhi Bindi

Punjabi

ZMP

2

23

35

55,95,210

47,90,590

2,23,808

1,91,624

2,05,63,100

1,76,80,371

9

Maga Muni

Tamil

STDGRN

1

16

17

47,37,438

38,52,410

1,35,355

1,10,069

47,37,438

38,52,410

10

Batla House

Hindi

PNMST

4

58

63

46,70,015

40,54,301

60,650

52,653

35,00,97,353

30,46,69,578

11

Kanchanjangha

Assamese

INDP

1

13

20

43,32,630

36,78,038

3,33,279

2,82,926

43,32,630

36,78,038

12

The Angry Birds Movie 2

English

SPE

3

44

46

37,83,167

32,28,327

71,380

60,912

6,72,26,358

5,52,73,776

13

Sivappu Manjal Pachai

Tamil

ABSHKF

1

9

9

32,88,425

26,31,990

1,26,478

1,01,230

32,88,425

26,31,990

14

Jaddi Sardar

Punjabi

INDP

1

19

30

31,23,570

26,90,500

1,56,178

1,34,525

31,23,570

26,90,500

15

Comali

Tamil

VELS

4

13

13

29,26,198

23,46,750

1,95,080

1,56,450

3,63,32,754

2,97,07,640

16

Brother's Day

Malayalam

INDP

1

15

20

28,02,698

23,20,017

80,077

66,286

28,02,698

23,20,017

17

Kurukshetra

Kannada

VSBP

5

15

15

21,01,907

18,38,947

1,05,095

91,947

6,98,87,897

6,48,08,330

18

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

English

SPE

4

17

18

19,65,419

16,49,540

85,453

71,719

6,63,01,233

5,51,05,512

19

Evaru

Telugu

PVP

4

10

15

15,56,004

13,22,406

1,41,455

1,20,219

3,83,98,423

3,28,08,068

20

Zombie

Tamil

INDP

1

6

9

14,37,227

11,36,860

1,19,769

94,738

14,37,227

11,36,860

1756

2800

70,93,22,806

60,42,36,706

3,00,59,12,200

2,56,72,32,174

Date : 06 - 12 September Note: INOX data is partial.

Data from 28 reporting Cinema Chains & Select Independent Cinemas only.

42

Box Office India

14 September 2019

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