For more, subscribe to GALATTA PLUS: https://tinyurl.com/ysbkyrht
Copyright ©2022 GALATTA.
Interview: Aamir Khan (Laal Singh Chaddha)
Posted on August 8, 2022
Subscribe:
RSS feed
117 Responses “Interview: Aamir Khan (Laal Singh Chaddha)” →
2 Trackbacks For This Post
-
Interview: Aamir Khan (Laal Singh Chaddha) - बॉलीवुड हंगामा →
August 9th, 2022 → 08:20[…] Source link […]
LikeLike
-
'Sikh Community Went Through A Lot Of Difficulties': Aamir Khan Explains Why 'Laal Singh Chaddha' Is A Sikh - Entertainment →
August 9th, 2022 → 16:05[…] as the film chronicles the socio-political events of the country. In an interview with journalist Baradwaj Rangan, the veteran actor expounded on the idea of reimagining Tom Hanks' character as a Sikh. Atul […]
LikeLike
Leave a comment
Recent Comments
 | Venky Ramachandran on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
 | abishekspeare on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
 | Jay Krishnan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
 | Enigma on Election talk… for those… |
 | brangan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
 | Faroo on Prabhu Ram Vyas’s terrific ‘Lo… |
| brangan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
| brangan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
| Jay Krishnan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
| Jay Krishnan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
 | Chandrasekar R on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
| Interview: Fahadh Fa… on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… | |
 | Rocky on Election talk… for those… |
| Jay Krishnan on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
 | karthik_somasundaram on Interview: Fahadh Faasil (… |
Baradwaj Rangan 
brangan
August 8, 2022
LikeLike
vijay
August 8, 2022
Not quite interested in this Gump ripoff, strange choice for Aamir at this stage. It may still make money at the BO for him, but ..
Aamir gives the impression that he is an out and out masala fanboy at heart and that may explain his success..way he is able to have his finger on the pulse of what the larger audiences want..Like me, he may wont be such a big fan of 2001 Space Odyssey 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
ivan
August 8, 2022
Your question about his gut feeling – Not sure if that was necessary. During movie promotions, have you had anyone saying the movie didn’t pan out as they expected?
LikeLike
Karthik
August 8, 2022
Good interview as always. Just a minor gripe – when you keep saying ‘yeah yeah’ as he is speaking, it’s quite distracting. Could be avoided. Thanks again for all the great content!
LikeLike
Vikram s
August 8, 2022
BR, thoroughly enjoyed this.
one point that he glossed over is the fact that big projects have become unviable. the costs of the big stars fees are passed on to viewers in the form of very high ticket prices. when a product is not an RRR or a KGF, the audience sniffs this out and prefers to wait to watch it on OTT.
also, the audience cannot support the relentless glut of films all through year. the audience decides which one they want to venture out for andv which one to wait it out for OTT or tv screen.
his solve of every film waiting 6 months before it hits OTT is just not workable for every film maker/ actor.
on a side note, Telugu industry has stopped shooting due to the lopsided economics of film making today. will be interesting to see how that pans out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
MANK
August 8, 2022
So, he talked to Spielberg to convince Zemeckis to give him the rights. phew!. I wish you had talked a little bit more about his equation with Spielberg, and whether he was offered some international projects owing to his massive success in China.
Despite his conviction, I still feel that this was not a worthy project for him. he is coming to the screen after 4 long years after a bog flop; and he chose to make a remake of a 28 year old Hollywood film, which itself has not dated well . Gump is so closely locked with a certain turbulent period in American history that i don’t know how he is going to replicate that in the Indian context.
LikeLiked by 1 person
madhusudhan194
August 8, 2022
@MANK – When i watched the Lal Singh Chaddha trailer on Youtube when it released, it seemed rather bland. A scene to scene remake of Forrest Gump which I didn’t particularly enjoy. I went to watch Sita Ramam in theatre yesterday and Lal Singh Chaddha trailer was shown. When the trailer ended, I had become emotional and had even dropped a tear. The crowd seemed to be intrigued as well. I think there is something about the big screen experience that people like Aamir and Rajamouli seem to understand so well. And that’s why they hit big.
When Aamir gets it right, which is more often than not, he knocks them out of the park. We may or may not like some of those films but there’s no doubt that they are huge commercial successes. Since 2000 – Dil Chahta Hai, Lagaan, Rang de basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Dangal – these films were huge successes and he gives the other two Khans a run for their money. Dangal is still the highest grossing Indian film and it’s budget was less than half of Bahubali. Secret Superstar was another mega success in China after Dangal. The only two major flops have been Thugs of Hindostan and Mangal Pandey.
LikeLike
brangan
August 8, 2022
<>madhusudhan194: DIL CHAHTA HAI was not a huge successs — it did average business. LAGAAN did much better. But the real box office storof of 2001 was GADAR, which is often sadly overlooked. Whatever the merits of the film, it was an all-time blockbuster.
LikeLiked by 1 person
madhusudhan194
August 8, 2022
I missed PK. @BR Thanks for the correction. Wikipedia says it was a big success so I went by that. Talking about hitting it big, if I remember correctly, Ghajini was first 100 crore film before Wanted released. 3 Idiots and PK remained highest grossing films for quite some time and since 2016, Dangal has been at the top and looks like it would be stay there for a few years at least say before the next Rajamouli film.
LikeLike
Voldemort
August 8, 2022
Have you recently switched to typing on a mobile/iPad, BR? There are so many typos on comments off late.
LikeLike
MANK
August 8, 2022
Telugu industry has stopped shooting due to the lopsided economics of film making
Ha! and the perception is that Telugu film industry is the most successful industry in the country. So, if this is the situation with Tollywood how bad the situation in Hindi and Tamil industries would be
LikeLiked by 2 people
vijay
August 8, 2022
This interview couldn’t contrast more with that of the previous one…Aamir has this perennial amiable disposition, he always comes across as this old college mate of yours whom you recently bumped into again, after a long time, and with whom you can have a casual banter… You can probably pick anybody off the street to interview him and they’ll probably feel right at home..He seems to be a good listener as well.
LikeLike
karzzexped
August 8, 2022
I equate the sudden penetration of OTTs similar to the penetration of e-Commerce websites some years ago. As engagement increased, so did the regulations and the clarity.
I feel regulations are the right way to go to curb the largely predatory practices of OTT platforms which are affecting small and mid-sized films – a point raised by BR too in this interview. The freedom large films and production houses enjoy is simply not a luxury that others can offer at the moment.
And it is easy to say “do what is good for the industry” or “avoid short term thinking”, but the reality is starkly different for much smaller films. Producers and financiers are going to look for a way to recoup their budgets + interest rates by selling the movie to OTT pre-release.
Instead of a one size fits all approach, scale should be a key decider when it comes to deciding OTT release windows.
Small and Mid-sized films tend to stay in theatres for a very short time frame (unless the word of mouth is outstanding) and hence need to come to OTT faster. If these get released much later, then people waiting to watch it in OTT platforms may simply move to other options. It’s a war for attention out there!
Larger films usually pick longer release windows and can afford to release late in OTT platforms since OTT platforms tend to spend their own sweet time marketing and promoting the releases themselves. The days leading up to OTT ‘premiers’ and ‘watch parties’ of movies like Vikram, RRR, KGF2 were nothing short of a spectacle.
I do agree with Aamir when he says everyone should come together to decide something. There are unions in each industry which should draw the line somewhere – similar to what the Tamil Industry did after Master got a quicker release in Prime Video than stated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 8, 2022
DCH did well in pockets in the cities, overall was an average grosser. Though it had a much larger impact on Bollywood in terms of ushering in the multiplex era, than Gadar or Lagaan. And yes, Gadar beat out Lagaan back then. Gadar was actually quite good up to the first half with strong performances from both Sunny and Amisha (who seemed to never recover from being ignored in favour of Kajol in K3G at the Filmfares). But the second half ofc went full Paaji overdrive. But it was actually a rare film that boldly explored Partition. The scene where Sunny nearly kills Amisha followed by their reflection later on the incident was really well done. Uttam Singh’s album started off well only for the Ghar Aaya Pardesi motif to get irritating by the end.
LikeLike
abishekspeare
August 8, 2022
Is it just me or have the questions about ‘OTT-theatre dynamic’, ‘South movies succeeding’, ‘What makes a Pan india movie’ been very repetitive? I’m seeing these in every interview(of BRs and otherwise) for the last one year
I understand each person might have a different answer but is that really true? Most of them are on the lines of “there should be emotional connect” , “audience will watch a good story no matter” and so on, it’s becoming very generic, like a token “tell me about yourself” question in a job interview
But happy that BR is living the life, one day interviewing kamal and another day interviewing aamir khan. Java sundaresan max
LikeLike
MANK
August 8, 2022
madhusudhan194, i wont be surprised if Aamir pulls this off. He has great commercial instincts so he must have seen something in the script to wait for 14 years to grab the remake rights.
BTW Even Lagaan wasn’t that big a commercial success. It’s cultural impact was immense, but it hardly recouped about 25 crs at the BO with a budget of around 20 cr. Gadar was an industry hit , costing less than 20 cr and collecting close to 100 cr. But the film industry which was already under the grip of chopra\Johar camp tried and succeeded in downplaying its success. Also, its politics is not that appealing to the mainstream media, which is why it’s constantly overlooked. Even at the time of its release, people like Shabana Azmi publicly came out against the film.
LikeLiked by 2 people
madhusudhan194
August 8, 2022
“i wont be surprised if Aamir pulls this off. He has great commercial instincts so he must have seen something in the script to wait for 14 years to grab the remake rights.” – Perhaps the last surviving Hindi film actor with such strong instincts.
LikeLike
Madan
August 8, 2022
Well, Sergio Leone took a long, long time to make Once Upon A Time In America and while it is regarded as a classic today, it flopped today. So OTOH I am a little suspicious of these long gestation projects. They tend to be more about passion than commerce. I think we have kind of come out on the other side of the Forrest Gump moment to the extent that it existed, both here and in the US. It might still succeed but I smell trouble here.
LikeLike
Madan
August 8, 2022
*it flopped back then
LikeLike
karzzexped
August 8, 2022
@madhusudhan194 – “Perhaps the last surviving Hindi film actor with such strong instincts.”
Two larger than life pictures releasing in the space of 2 months – LSC and Brahmastra. Arguably two starkly different personalities, approach, and strategy, with an enviable track record for being right more times than wrong. And arguably both of them facing a lull of sorts, since their last big release.
It’s gonna be interesting to see who emerges victorious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 8, 2022
FWIW I AM going to give it a shot unless the reviews are absolutely disastrous. This sounds like the kind of film I want to see in theater as opposed as athiradi thingal-chevvai-budhan-vyazhan-velli (for context, Sun TV used to have a themed afternoon movie slot and vyazhan aka guruvaar was for action/dishoom dishoom).
LikeLike
Prasad
August 8, 2022
I think Aamir will be very nervous about the success of this film more than his previous films.. One is on the subject …remake of very famous film seen by many. 2nd is the trolling of BoycottLSC might be playing in his mind. Everyday something or other is trending and clearly a coordinated efforts has been launched to hurt the movie.
LikeLike
KS
August 8, 2022
@abhishekspeare:
Exactly what I (and @Moi @shavishwa) spoke about in the comments section of Kamal’s interview too. These actor interviews are getting insufferable. Its always the same mix of “script is most important”, “I owe my success to the audience”, “I’m looking for roles that challenge me”, “audience will always support good content”, “learning is a lifelong process”, “watching a movie in the theatre is an experience” and such sickening cliches. You see one interview, you’ve seen them all, and a chatbot can easily predict or autocomplete their stock answers. The questions too are often the “how does it feel to <succeed/act with X/get an award/etc.>?” kind.
On the one hand its nice to see @brangan reaching the adutha level by interviewing megastars from different industries. But clearly this forces many compromises on the quality and topics discussed, and results in generic interviews solely for movie promotion targeted at a general audience, as opposed to insightful free-flowing discussions the kind he used to have with directors. Hope he doesnt devolve further and reach the “how was it working with thala/thalapathy” level.
LikeLiked by 2 people
MANK
August 8, 2022
Madan , i too am dubious about long gestating passion projects. Apart from OUTIA , there’s also Oliver Stone’s Alexander (15 years in the making) or Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York” (25 years in the making). Now Coppola is going to make Megalopolis – a film more than 30 years in the making- i wonder how that will turn out. Yes Aamir will be nervous as hell. The audience has completely changed in the last 4 years or so, and there are very strong anti-Bollywood feelings among the audience, especially in the Northern belt. If Aamir can hit the Mumbai circuit big time he will have a winner. Also his track recors says that he always bounces back strong after a flop- Lagaan after Mela, Rang De Basanti after Mangal Pandey and so on. So, we’ll see if Aamir still has it in him to pull the crowds. If LSC flops big time, then Bollywood is in big trouble.
LikeLiked by 1 person
MANK
August 8, 2022
KS, Your last comment made me LOL. Brangan has to keep a balance between commerce and keeping his integrity. The thing is that an interview with Aamir or Kamal get maximum views. it doesn’t matter what they say, they will get a large share of views irrespective of the content- just like their movies. I can see the interviews getting repetitive. Except for the novelty of Brangan talking to Aamir there was hardly anything in this interview- except for that Spielberg thing which Brangan didn’t even bother to explore further.
LikeLiked by 1 person
karzzexped
August 8, 2022
@MANK – Why is there a surge in anti-Bollywood sentiment? Is it post the SSR fiasco or is it simply because as Aamir himself put it, the connect is simply lost?
LikeLike
sanjana
August 8, 2022
anti bollywood sentiment is partly manufactured and it is used to explain away the sub par bollywood films’ miserable performance.
It is like finding some scapegoat.
There are many reasons.
Ott.
Audience profile changed.
Uncertainty about future and anxities about health issues, economy. Covid is also responsible and we cant wish away 2 years of terror unleashed by it. Life and lifesyles changed drastically for many of us.
LikeLike
sanjana
August 8, 2022
By the way, the songs of LSC are soothing. That is one plus point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rahul
August 9, 2022
On one hand, he is saying cinema-going is a different experience and it cannot compare with OTT. On the other hand, he is saying cinema cannot compete with OTT if they release at the same time. I am quite confused by these two statements of Laal Singh Chaddha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
KayKay
August 9, 2022
Brother MANK, while I will concede that parts of Forrest Gump has dated (no way a character like Jenny would play in today’s climate!) it possesses a charming whimsy that makes it compulsively rewatchable for me. I own the blu-ray and take it out every year for a spin. And I still love listening to it’s Double-CD soundtrack of classic 70s folk/pop/rock ‘n’ roll hits. For that reason my interest in an Aamir film is at an all time low. A head scratcher why he chooses to remake such a well known not to mention a huge American box-office hit which most have seen. Plus, the Wide-Eyed Simpleton Savant act is something Aamir’s done twice (Dhoom 3, PK) and it’s not his best side.
LikeLike
KayKay
August 9, 2022
“The thing is that an interview with Aamir or Kamal get maximum views. it doesn’t matter what they say, they will get a large share of views irrespective of the content- just like their movies”
Agree. You want one of those spontaneous, off kilter star chats, you need to get someone like Mickey Rourke who still talks like he just snorted 2 lines of cocaine before the interview and can gleefully piss on Tom Cruise. But Rourke’s at the tail end of a failing career and largely makes direct-to-video/streaming C Grade fare these days, not a Super Star still able to command a large audience, hence a Tom Cruise interview is traditionally Vanilla Bland.
LikeLike
Madan
August 9, 2022
karzzexped: Anti Bollywood sentiment started with JusticeforSSR and has morphed into all sorts of reasons to attack any release featuring one of the big stars. If not nepotism, it is hinduphobia, if not that, then something else. The pretext to ‘boycott’ 83 was that Deepika had appeared in one, precisely one, candlelight vigil of students protesting against CAA-NRC. With Aamir, it is do with PK… which was directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by VVC. That his home productions don’t evidence such alleged Hinduphobia is beside the point. More like “humein boycott karna hai”. Among the 90s stars, only Devgun and Akki are safe from this boycott phenomenon.
Another matter that Akki going as far as to give his expert comments on how to write history still didn’t save Prithivraj. And Runout’s film tanked miserably too. As sanjana says, it’s also that the content has generally been dire.
Methinks those South films that have actually done brilliant business this year aren’t exactly beacons of excellence either but just the fact that many in the North didn’t engage deeply with those films pre-pandemic (except to mock them for their stunts) is playing in favour of these South films.
Even if you take my example, part of the reason I liked RRR more than Vikram is also that I haven’t watched their lead pair (darned if I could remember their names tho that’s more to do with my long covid woes) in a million films the way I have Kamal. There was no ennui factor there and I think there is now with Bollywood stars.
There just aren’t enough new stars breaking out in Bollywood and the reason is largely that you can’t get anywhere there without nepotism or network. That is more or less equally true if not more so in the case of South industries too, but as I said, they have a medium term advantage of appearing fresh to an audience that hasn’t engaged with them.
It’s the reverse of Padosan -Aradhana and the subsequent Rajesh Khanna hits invading the South. Which incidentally was also a time when Tamil at least was stuck in stagnation and while the films were still good, the faces had become too constant. It took a new wave of directors and actors to push back Bollywood and that’s what Bollly is going to need now to fight off the South.
LikeLiked by 2 people
therag
August 9, 2022
@KayKay, It’ll be interesting to see which events from the past 50 years LSC has chosen to portray (and I’m sure there will be naysayers and poster-burners because so-and-so event was not shown).
When watching Forrest Gump, I always get the sense that the movie is not just flutter and charm. At every stage, there is a dark undercurrent playing alongside. But the film smartly uses the protagonist (a low-IQ person who is unable to see this dark side) to keep the proceedings happy-go-lucky.
Having said that, I wonder if this sort of vibe (a person’s innocence overpowering the tragedy of circumstances) would really work today. The fact that the script was originally written 15 years ago is also a little concerning. The audience has changed a lot, the world has changed a lot. Feelings of optimism are seen with suspicion.
Still, I have faith in Aamir to put on a good show.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 9, 2022
therag: I remember noticing the dark side only on the second watch years later as a young adult. That was like wow. We felt a little ‘cheated’ by it but then that was probably Zemeckis’ point. He was asking if America had indeed solved all its problems as it seemed to believe in the 90s and Forrest was the stand in for the mainstream ‘American dream’ voice. Will be interesting indeed to see how LSC builds the fifty year journey arc in this case. If it’s pure nostalgia/road movie, it might get boring. If it’s loaded, it will polarize today. You CAN still show LSC as a simple but persevering guy who makes it through to a modestly successful life against the odds (which is the core message of Gump) and maybe that is the direction LSC will go in.
LikeLike
sak
August 9, 2022
Hope this movie is a success for him. Mahabharatha project sounds wonderful. He is pushing 60. I hope it gets started soon. Knowing him , it might take another decade to get the prep work done before it even takes off.
I have a memory associated with an Amir Khan movie around all the major events and happenings in my life. Its so weird.. this odd sense of familiarity one feels with some of these actors because of watching all their movies since childhood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Akhilan
August 9, 2022
OMG Kay Kay, I was thinking the exact same thing, but you beat me to it. Honestly, I was not impressed with LSC’s trailer in the slightest and like you, I also felt like Aamir’s character had an eery similarity to that in PK (which I might add I was absolutely not a fan of). On the other hand however, I really want Brahmastra do to well. Have loved Ranbir right from Saawariya and admired his career choices including his work in movies like Bombay Velvet and Jagga Jasoos. When it comes to mainstream lead actors in Hindi cinema today, him and Alia Bhatt are far and away my favorite. Though, I do feel like Brahmastra is a movie that could, I don’t want to say make or break his career (he is way too talented), but potentially be a turning point/have a significant impact on the future direction of his career; especially after Shamshera and also considering that it is supposed to be Part I of a planned trilogy in the making. If Brahmastra bombs, then much like Jagga Jasoos, which was supposed to have a sequel, it is highly likely that Part II and III could also be shelved unless they have already started filming, and this in turn could also prove disastrous for Karan Johar as well. For me, the trailer does look promising, and really love the two songs that have been released so far, so I guess we’ll find out on September 9th.
LikeLike
brangan
August 9, 2022
MANK: Let me explain to you how interviews work (and I am not writing this in anger or annoyance or anything, but just to explain the system I am in).
The most ideal interview set-up is like the one I had with Manoj Bajpayee or Guru Somasundram or Rajisha Vijayan or Pasupathy, where the actor says there is no time limit AND is also in a mood to talk about their craft in general (i.e. without it being attached to a particular film’s promotion).
So you have the artist’s undivided attention, the liberty to stray, etc.
The rest — like this one with Aamir — are called “slot interviews”, where an actor or director gives 20-30-minute “slots” to various channels. So the minute Aamir says Spielberg, I have to FORCE myself not to go there, because if he narrates a very long story, then that will keep cutting into my allotted time. So I have keep the questions pointed and varied without giving scope for too much rambling.
As a result, these interviews sometimes (depending on the person) end up feeling a tad generic. That said, I still try to keep things interesting (hopefully) by — in this case — counter-arguing with Aamir about what he said about the OTT window. A lot of people (inside and outside the industry) told me they really liked that bit of argument.
Anyway, the point is that a cinephile like you is not the target audience for this interview (or indeed, any “slot” interview). But for my channel and a bulk of my subscribers, I cannot say “I will not do these limited-time interviews. I will wait till Aamir gives me one hour like Manoj Bajpayee.”
The numbers for this interview are fantastic (not just views but also the YouTube money), so I have to concentrate on this kind of “slight more mass-y” stuff as well. Same with Alia. Same with Russo brothers, with whom I got all of ten minutes.
I mean, what can you really dig out in ten minutes? Nothing. But a “BR did a Russo brothers interview” tag sticks with you, and could open doors for hopefully longer interviews with such people when their PRs see this one.
Do I consider these interviews the crowning achievements of my career? Absolutely not. But do I think they were bad interviews? Again, absolutely not.
Do I think these interviews are “compromises”? Hmmm…
This part of the comment is for everyone. I know “BR has sold out” has been a long-running narrative ever since I moved from print to digital, and now from FC South to Galatta. 🙂 The reactions of some people have been so extreme as to make me think I snuck into their house and strangled their kittens 🙂
But I want a long, mainstream career — neither becoming someone only cinephiles (or people who still read long prose) watch nor becoming one whose every question begins and ends with Ajith/Vijay.
So I have to keep reinventing myself for newer audiences, and hopefully that is happening. Whether for good or bad, that is for each viewer to decide — but I am certain this is the only way forward in a career (any career) that plays out in public.
Yes, I agree that ten years ago, I would have said an emphatic no to a slot interview, but times have changed and audiences have changed. I cannot afford to be the “older version of BR” anymore, nor do I want to be. Been there, done that. Looking back is not how you get ahead.
LikeLiked by 14 people
MANK
August 9, 2022
I get it Boss. Also, am in the camp who believes that your move from FC to Galatta is a good one
BTW, have you seen this?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 9, 2022
BR, today the name of the game is eyeballs so I agree with every word of what you said. Either it is made possible to have a cinephile producing machine to multiply the view count for let’s say indie interviews 10x or one has to play in the mainstream.
Maybe because I don’t keep track of what Aamir said in each and every interview since QSQT, I did like the part where he said he usually forgets the name of his character in movies that didn’t do well. It’s not gold or revelatory but it’s better than banal, so I am not complaining.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 9, 2022
By the by, wasn’t your Rahman interview (not the FC Front Row show or the one with Shekar Kapur) even shorter than Russo Bros? So it isn’t even like these sort of super abbreviated interviews are totally new.
LikeLike
karzzexped
August 9, 2022
@BR – Looking at how passionately you’ve made your case, I can’t help but compare this with how an enthusiast smartphone brand called – OnePlus went mainstream and the subsequent cries of anguish from its ardent followers and consumers.
But the brand knew it couldn’t survive by being just an enthusiast brand. It had to sacrifice it’s very small, yet niche set of consumers to go mainstream and compete with the big sharks out there – to stay relevant and grow.
As difficult as it is for the brand to move mainstream, it’s no mean feat to wrestle in the big league, stay relevant and still WIN.
Unlike OnePlus, I don’t think there has been any sacrifice of your niche followers – I for one was enamoured by your writing first, like many in here – but I do feel there is no other way to survive the battle for content that is going on out there.
It is not even Galatta Plus vs X-Channel. It is between Insta, YouTube and OTT these days. My brother, a Gen Z and a self-confessed Aandavar fan couldn’t even bring himself to watch 10 minutes of the 50 day celeb of Vikram.
It goes on to say how much content has gravitated to short form and why even Galatta Plus is littered with Short form videos of their long-form interviews 🥲
LikeLiked by 3 people
madhusudhan194
August 9, 2022
“Two larger than life pictures releasing in the space of 2 months – LSC and Brahmastra. Arguably two starkly different personalities, approach, and strategy, with an enviable track record for being right more times than wrong. And arguably both of them facing a lull of sorts, since their last big release.” – I am a big fan of Ranbir Kapoor too and Brahmastra seems interesting at least on paper. I was slightly underwhelmed by the trailer with star plus level visual effects and all (for eg. symbol of evil – eyes with bright red light) but i am hoping the film manages to entertain. Ranbir is yet to prove himself in the mass masala space and hopefully this is that film for him. And Bollywood desperately needs an actor who can hold his fort in the mass masala space.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Madan
August 9, 2022
karzzexped : Apart from shrinking attention spans, the algos too are geared towards shorter videos and, well, what I would call an unkempt aesthetic. I post song covers for fun on FB and when I switched from fill songs to 60 sec reel, the view count jumped from 100-ish to 400 plus. For context, the full songs are recorded to semi professional standard on ableton and the videos edited on a video editor while the reel is just me singing into the phone with no backing track. I have no idea why people should prefer the former but that’s just how it is.
LikeLiked by 2 people
MANK
August 9, 2022
Bollywood already has Ranveer Singh who’s a terrific masala hero. why the hell he wasn’t cast in Prithviraj or Shamshera, i don’t know- he is after all Aditya Chopra’s discovery. Ranbir is too much of a pure actor to be a masala hero. He doesn’t have the right attitude and feel for the masala the way Ranveer does. He was not very convincing in Shamshera. And i don’t think Brahmastra is mass masala, i think it’s more superhero genre and inspired by Hollywood films like the X-Men. The Hindu mythology angle looks added later , after the success of Bahubali films and so on. I remember the original title of the film was “Dragon.” The “Astra verse” and all that stuff came later. It does not look like a honest effort to me. Ayan Mukherjee specializes in making very modern stuff like Wake up Zid. I am very skeptical as to how well he can handle all this mythological stuff.
LikeLiked by 6 people
karzzexped
August 9, 2022
madhusudhan194: I am a sucker for mythology and anything that involves Shiva in particular. I’ve been salivating at the prospect of a magnum opus exploring the above.
But as you said, I got a little disappointed with a) The visual effects since I really liked their pre-viz storyboards and b) The Marvel-esque choice of storytelling.
Not that it is bad since the template is universal, but I hope the story is told with proper conviction and seriousness instead of becoming a wannabe Doctor Strange or an Avengers movie. And I wouldn’t mind the visual effects being sub-par if the storytelling is great!
Madan: All hail the Algo! It’s a sad state of affairs out there. LinkedIn has become a content creation platform, Instagram is becoming TikTok, TikTok is virtually a search engine, Spotify is poaching YouTube podcasts and YouTube has to basically fight 3 out of the 4 platforms above.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Voldemort
August 9, 2022
Abishekspeare : Java sundaresan max
Hahaha. Literally laughed out loud at that.
Loving all the varied comments on this thread. My 0.02
1. Aamir’s films are a must watch in my circles (both friends and family) We have a hope that there will be something interesting enough to make it worth your 2.45 hours.
2. Astraverse is kind of a really weird name. I don’t really know if Ayan Mukherjee can pull off a mythical masala. It’s not really his usual brand of film.
And BR, I think most of us are very very happy with your move to Galatta. It’s just that sometimes we feel that your written reviews aren’t long enough or often enough. Given that written reviews are naturally less seen by a lot of people, we would be happier if they were longer like before. But of course, it’s too much work for you to do reviews plus analyses videos plus interviews, that too for so many language films – Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada. But, whatever content you create, this blog audience will always follow you. In fact, we take pride in telling people that we know and follow BR even before he moved to FC and YouTube.
LikeLiked by 6 people
sanjana
August 9, 2022
LikeLike
blah
August 9, 2022
@MANK – that’s exactly how I felt watching the Brahmastra trailer as well. I’ve seen both Wake up sid and YJHD. Ayan’s sensibilities are very westernized. YJHD in particular was so wannabe – if not for all the pretty people and the hit songs, not really worth watching. He does not come across as a rooted person in the least. If what you say about the early version on this trilogy is true, makes complete sense…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 9, 2022
Based on Wake Up Sid, Ayan Mukherji is like an ABCD except he is resident Indian and comes from film family! On the one hand, WUS has a Western tone and then comes up with that incident where Konkona basically politely calls the stuff Rahul Khanna listens to as soulless. Like what, if you don’t ‘get’ it, doesn’t make it soulless, lol. No Hollywood filmmaker would be caught dead calling jazz soulless. Apunko banna hai Amriki lekin Hindi gaane ke alava kuch bhaata hi nahi yaar.
LikeLike
Aman Basha
August 9, 2022
https://www.slashfilm.com/957530/laal-singh-chaddha-review-forrest-gump-minus-the-mawkishness/
In other news, Aamir Khan pulls it off. If he’s handled the Jenny character and Lt Dan arc this way, kudos to him. After Nitish Kumar pulling out in Bihar and this film becoming a massive blockbuster, Boycott gang ki jalne wali hai.
Modi delivered what he promised: Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Madan
August 9, 2022
Aman Basha: Wow, that’s a very encouraging review alright. Looking forward to this one now, though I will wait for a couple of Indian takes too. Hope BR Saar will be reviewing it too, looks very much on the cards given this interview.
LikeLike
Anu Warrier
August 9, 2022
Forest Gump was basically a white man’s wet dream. I dearly hope that Lal Singh Chaddha isn’t that one-sided. I like Aamir’s choices and I want this to succeed.
I doubt, however, that his passion project Mahabharat will ever see the light of day in today’s India.
LikeLiked by 1 person
karzzexped
August 9, 2022
I doubt, however, that his passion project Mahabharat will ever see the light of day in today’s India. –
That’s exactly what I thought too. I thought when he said something in the lines of ‘One shouldn’t do disservice to Mahabharata’, he really meant that he didn’t want to piss off the people who act as the gatekeepers of religion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
RK
August 9, 2022
Regarding maha bharath, it’s Rajamouli’s dream project too.. He has better resources and technical expertise to achieve that
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vignesh
August 10, 2022
Madhusudan194, just to be clear Dangal holds the title of highest grossing Indian film worldwide purely due to its astronomical Chinese figures, where it released 1 year after its original release in India. Total collections of Dangal without China was only around 700 Cr, which nevertheless was the highest from India till then. Out of this, domestic collections, that is all India collections was something above 450 Cr.
Bahubali 2 collections was like a tsunami shattering everything and collected more than 1800 Cr worldwide with all India collection alone being well more than 1400 Cr.
Later when Dangal released in China, astounding collections of more than 1300 Cr was reported from China. In comparison, when Bahubali2 later released in China it did only 80Cr (good figure though).
So without including China (which is a new exotic market for Indian films with Amir having decisive ‘X’ factor and great support there) Bahubali2 has a mighty massive lead of well over 1000 Cr or 2.5 times over the collection of Dangal.
In China, he seems clearly to be a superstar, with even his small film Secret Superstar which collected only 90 Cr in India and a total of only about 110 Cr worldwide (except China), collecting more than 800 Cr from China alone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
KS
August 10, 2022
@RK: I hope thats true, and Rajamowli does it. Telugu cinema can be trusted with our mythology, which they have always treated with fondness and respect. Bollywood, with its urdu moorings and gulf funders can’t be trusted in this. Certainly not Aamir, after the pk fiasco. Somehow they take liberties they dare wouldn’t take against any other religion.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dora
August 10, 2022
Jenny’s character arc was very important to the success of Forrest Gump. The unconditional love that Tom Hanks shows towards her makes us root that much more for his character. I have a feeling (and hope that I am proved wrong) that Kareena’s character will be diluted to fit with Indian sensibilities and this could significantly lessen the impact of LSC.
LikeLike
Anu Warrier
August 10, 2022
Dora, but Jenny in Forset Gump was the Christian version of a morality lesson. It was like the vamp in Hindi films. She doesn’t deserve a happy ending. I hope they have made LSC more palatable and 21st century in that regard.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vijay
August 10, 2022
To think that Forrest Gump won over Shawshank, Pulp Fiction and Quiz show in 1994..and who knows how many other noteworthy films? That was the beginning of the end of me taking the Oscars seriously..Creatively its a disappointing choice from Aamir, a guy pushing 60, spending these many years on this remake. But then he has a vision for a blockbuster and at the end of the day thats all that matters..how much it rakes in at the BO
LikeLike
Rahul
August 10, 2022
Considering the box office prospects of LSC , The budget of the movie is listed as 1.8 billion INR. Dangal earned 11.7 billion INR in China alone. Lets assume that LSC earns half of that , then also it will more than recover its cost just from its China collections. Also, the overseas collections will be higher in rupee terms because of depreciating rupee and there will be an international interest in the movie because of it being a remake of Forrest Gump. Easy to see why Aamir is not much worried about the boycott gang.
LikeLiked by 1 person
karzzexped
August 10, 2022
@Vignesh/Rahul – Though Dangal did huge numbers in China, foreign studios are given only around 20-25% of the share when a non-China movie is screened. His huge popularity and fan following notwithstanding, the film’s rumoured budget is in the upwards of 180 crores. With big budgeted films, the marketing budget can some times go close to the budget itself.
So assuming that the total cost of production + marketing/promotion costs are at 250-300 crores, to break even and make a profit, the movie needs to cross the 350 crore mark. Looking at Dangal or any other AK movies like Dhoom 3, etc, it may not look like a huge number.
The film needs to have a terrific word of mouth to survive drop rates post the 3rd day. Thugs of Hindostan held the record for the highest first day collection for a while, but the drop rate was unheard of in India. We also know how it did in China.
I so want ToH to be a blip since I am huge AK fan. Hoping the team doesn’t disappoint 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 10, 2022
I think the post colonial moment is so intense abroad that it could work in LSC’s favour and the review AB posted above is an indication of that. RRR had some of the same suspension of disbelief/physics defying stunts that our films have long had and yet international critics were a lot, lot kinder to it than they would have been in the past. To an extent, I am amused by this phenomenon but at a macro level, I will take it. After all, they never gave our good filmmakers their due and painted all Indian cinema with one broad brush (and Spielberg allegedly even stole Rat’s script to make ET) and tried to tell us Titanic was some impossible masterpiece leagues above what we make. So fair dinkum, I say. I just hope the film is, well, good.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Madan
August 10, 2022
*Ray, not Rat
LikeLike
sanjana
August 10, 2022
There was Tubelight by Salman and also Bharat by him, have shades of FG.
LikeLike
KayKay
August 10, 2022
” RRR had some of the same suspension of disbelief/physics defying stunts that our films have long had and yet international critics were a lot, lot kinder to it than they would have been in the past”
Madan, I believe that’s largely down to those scenes being at least FIVE times better shot, edited and staged than what passes for an “action” scene in your average Indian Cinema. And there was genuine inventiveness in the choreography not to mention an absolute “go for broke” bat shit craziness that even many Hollywood movies are incapable of doing these days Actually, outside of the JOHN WICK movies, I find the staging of action scenes in most current Hollywood fare to be horrendously bland, the recent GRAY MAN being a classic example.
This is what has captivated so many Western audiences about RRR. The sheer bravura behind the set pieces. Ram taking on an army of rioters is a scene out of golden era Jet Li or Donnie Yen, Ram and Bheem wordlessly executing a plan to rescue a young boy trapped in the river is something peak Jacky Chan would have done. Bheem unleashing a zoo’s worth of animals on the British is the type of “holy shit I didn’t see THAT coming” scene that a Tarzan movie should have had. Saw the last Tarzan movie they gave us like 4 or 5 years ago? Total snooze fest.
It’s the sheer imagination coupled with the budget and effects to pull it off that’s wowing Western Audiences where RRR is concerned. Shankar pulled it off years ago with ENTHIRAN as well. Suddenly you were seeing Rajini do ACTUAL Cool Shit (yes, the generous CGI assist is acknowledged) as opposed to just SAYING cool shit and standing in a corner while opponents do him the courtesy of taking turns walking up to him for the honor of being knocked down.
LikeLike
Madan
August 10, 2022
KayKay: But the Endhiran example is case in point. The AV Club review is definitely not too favourable at all and even concludes you are better off watching the 10 minute YouTube compilation of it than the full thing. With RRR, I have found much more unqualified appreciation from the West which is quite stunning. My thesis is this is partly the post colonial guilt among Western libs and partly the cynical calculation among social media influencers that praising Indian products gets you hundreds of millions of eyeballs aka good biz. And yes, Hollywood itself is in a soporific phase. I mean I wouldn’t have thought they would look at a Top Gun remake as their white knight in shining armour. Frankly if that’s the best they can do today, then I am disappointed as an ardent Holly buff. It’s precisely why I also don’t subscribe to the grumbles about Aamir remaking Forrest Gump. I mean so what? Just about every tentpole Holly movie is either a franchise or a remake.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 10, 2022
As per Bollywood Hungama, the advance bookings for Day 1 are at par or somewhat better than Jug Jug Jeeyo, which is a smaller film, and about half of Bhool Bhulaiya 2. Not an outright disaster like Shamsher but still spells trouble.
I am actually quite critical of the tendency of moderate Muslims to give themselves the right to criticise or mock Hindu customs if they clearly don’t have the guts to do likewise for rituals of their own religion (or are in fact sensitive about such criticism). Even so, the number of FB comments I have seen addressing Aamir as a jihadi is shocking. And all sans an iota of evidence.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Intolerant india
August 10, 2022
Great, now all of India can be blamed if they dare to not make LSC a super hit. So what if pk and dangal were mega hits after his wife professed that India is intolerant? So what if he hangs out with Erdogan who is a literal dictator? That type of dictatorship is okay for liberals . If lsc tanks, it will be because of Aamir’s atrocious acting in the trailer. I couldn’t watch 10 seconds of it.
LikeLike
KayKay
August 10, 2022
” I mean I wouldn’t have thought they would look at a Top Gun remake as their white knight in shining armour. Frankly if that’s the best they can do today, then I am disappointed as an ardent Holly buff”
Madan, see… I suspect Top Gun maverick appeals to people of a certain age, and I’ve had this conversation post-movie with friends who fit that demographic, and how nice it is to see a big budget tentpole that bucks the current trend of trotting out Aging Legacy Characters only to sideline them while a Younger Cast take center stage (something BOTH the recent Star Wars and Star Trek universe have been guilty of and which the MCU, especially their TV shows seem to be heading towards). Because obviously people are pretty fucking useless past 50.(I realize there’s the JOHN WICK films and NOBODY, but they’re the exception rather than the rule) So to see a movie where a Lead, pushing 60, is still shown to be in full possession of his drive, energy, vitality and skill sets, showing the young whippersnappers that he still has a trick or 2 up his sleeve is pretty damn rewarding. And a meta commentary on Cruise himself, clocking in nearly 4 decades as a Major A-Lister, who still commits to a performance with the zeal of a hungry up-and-comer. Just what the hell does he have to prove at this stage in a stellar career? Not a damn thing, but there he is, pushing himself in every film. I gotta respect that.
Plus there’s a demographic that probably feels they’ve been under served, whose cinematic G-Spots MAVERICK is touching. Which would be older white males in the States, who maybe skew conservative and have been treated to a slew of movies these past 5 years that cast them as either walking embodiments of Toxic Masculinity, Old and Bitter Curmudgeons or comedic buffoons.
But even if you don’t give a toss about any of that shit, there’s the exhilarating aerial combat sequences (the raison d’être of a Top Gun film after all) which are a 9 course sumptuous banquet for the eyeballs to hook you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 10, 2022
I am not saying it’s devoid completely of appeal. I am saying that when I stack it up against something like Nolan’s Batman franchise, it’s quite a steep fall off if the be all end all of Hollywood in 2022 is a remake of a 1980s hit film. And that’s coming from someone who does prefer Batman Returns to any of the Nolan Batman films. I am not even talking about the films I really, really love from the 90s and 00s like Shawshank Redemption which vijay mentioned or Syrianna or Zodiac. Even from within the tentpole universe, it’s sad to see that all that money only appears to have robbed Hollywood of the confidence to greenlight an expensive original bet. There is no ‘risk’ anymore, basically. You knew a Top Gun remake would be a big hit if made competently because of its sheer bankability. But that’s not the same as making a film that makes you go, “Wow, I didn’t know you could make a film like that and strike gold at the BO.” Without having seen it yet and going off the reviews, it seems that that sort of thing can only happen in the sub 50mn $ budget space like Everything Everywhere All At Once and not with a real big animal. Godfather, like what was that?
LikeLiked by 1 person
KS
August 10, 2022
Is it possible that the filmmakers themselves seed or nurture #boycott campaigns? After all, negative news travels faster, just like how negative reviews get more views. Unlikely that online campaigns based on motives external to the movie affect the viewership significantly anyway, but they certainly generate buzz. Individual haters may stay from certain movies, but such organized and coordinated campaigns take effort that is not worth the reward (so after all that time and group work (and possible expense), you make one movie flop, but so what?).
If I was a film producer/marketer, I’d find some group who would already be opposed to me, light a few fires on their behalf, which they’d then pick up and take from there. Now and then add some more fuel to keep it ablaze until the release.
On the one hand, free whatsapp publicity. On the other hand, free positive publicity too among their opponents and blue-tick reactionaries. Of course, this works only when targeting certain soft groups who are all about more noise than action (I’d want to keep my head intact after all).
And if all fails and the movie ends up a flop, use a readily available scapegoat “intolerance”. They can go around acting like brave victims whose hard work was unfairly scuttled, and cry about idea of india, freedom of expression or whatever word salad is in fashion.
LikeLike
Akhilan
August 11, 2022
So Madan, just out of curiosity, what was the last Hollywood movie you watched that made you go “wow”? For me it was Arrival, and that was a pretty big hit. According to Wikipedia, it made over $200 million at the box office at a budget of $47 million. Though your point about a sub $50 million budget certainly holds true in this case.
LikeLiked by 1 person
sanjana
August 11, 2022
There is a dedicated anti aamir lobby working relentlessly spreading lies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 11, 2022
Akhilan: I haven’t seen Arrival and I will probably like it when I do, given that it’s Villeneuve. I really liked a bunch of films from around or after the time of Arrival – Star is Born, Lady Bird, Joker, among others. But for a film around the time of Joker that did deliver the wow factor for me, I would go with Parasite. Which isn’t Hollywood but won Best Picture.
Oh, speaking of, one film that I really loved and can’t fathom why it simply tanked at the BO was Motherless Brooklyn. Leads me to think that part of the problem is the audience. They will complain that nobody makes movies like LA Confidential anymore. Well, when somebody does, they go pedantically picking holes in it and convincing themselves that it’s terrible. Social media has unfortunately made the pursuit of schadenfreude highly attractive. But it’s not actually fun watching well made films crumble. Apart from the money, the love and labour of the team involved in it basically goes down the drain.
LikeLiked by 2 people
MANK
August 11, 2022
I don’t think these calls for Boycotts will affect the BO prospects of a movie. I do agree that there is a strong lobby working against Aamir, both in the trade and outside. It started during the 2000s itself when Aamir started overtaking SRK at the BO , and there were lot of SRK cronies in the industry and trade that started gunning for Aamir. Just look at the BO reporting of a site like Box Office India, Their stories are so prejudiced against Aamir and some other stars, and so much in favor of SRK and his gang that they could well be called SRK\KJo gazette. Of course then it took a political turn after Aamir’s remarks on the Narmada issue and later intolerance. But even then, his films have been consistently successful. I don’t think all these people who call for Boycotts on Twitter even go to theatres to watch movies. there was a call to boycott Dangal that came immediately after Aamir’s intolerance remark, but that became an industry hit, and that too in the middle of demonetization. There was no boycott calls for Thugs, but that went down after a record opening. LSC will rise and full purely on its merits, and Aamir Khan’s performance in the lead role will be a big factor in making the film a success or failure.
LikeLiked by 2 people
kel
August 11, 2022
I think Americans were happy to watch an RRR because it wasn’t covered in layers of political correctness and woke cushioning. The villains were painted as black as one could. No grey shades. The bad guy is white and British.In order to avoid all sorts of hassle from woke community, Americans have to be careful about the bad guys they choose to cast. They can get in trouble if the villain is black / brown/ minority population or if he is from Middle East etc..
I think the unapologetic,open celebration of masculinity in RRR was also welcomed , especially at a time when American movies are trying to be diverse with inclusion of women and/or members of minority populations among the cast and crew.
I think Americans were missing the good old simple stories of good, strong men kicking bad guys’ ass kind of movies without trying to paint the villain grey or giving him backstory to justify his villainy etc.
LikeLike
Madan
August 11, 2022
MANK: I would have agreed with you pre-Justice for SSR. Since then, boycotts have become much more potent. Nobody is holding placards or staging protests. It’s just mass vitriol on social media. I think there is a large middle that doesn’t pay attention to these boycott campaigns but these viewers are also, as in elections, not easily persuaded to visit the cinema hall. They will wait for the opening and if it is bad, will stay away. That we are seeing several films open to dismal footfalls (as opposed to having a good opening and then fizzling out) suggests people are simply staying away. I am sure many in the lower income group are simply too battered by covid to afford to watch films and are selective in which ones they will go to the cinema for. But the creamy layer, which multiplexes depend on, does subscribe to the JusticeforSSR campaign.
LikeLiked by 1 person
sanjana
August 11, 2022
The boycott gang need not have worked so hard.
The film seems to be not great.
Aamir’s acting is criticised.
LikeLike
vijay
August 11, 2022
Akshay Kumar’s dhaavani kanavugaL 2.0 is even more abysmal looks like..
LikeLiked by 2 people
hari
August 11, 2022
Boycotts in a democracy is to be expected. Same thing happened with TKF from the leftist cabal and that did not impact the movie. Of all people the greatest showman of all and marketing whiz Aamir (current times) will know more about it. Aamir had said if you don’t like don’t watch, Kareena said the same, now the same folks are pleading for people to watch. Most people in the “middle” will watch if the movie is good, they don’t care what the people in the right and left say. And as KS any publicity is good publicity and this AK knows pretty well. So if the movie is good, he will rake in the moolah.
But one look at the trailer I feel that AK bringing the same ashtakonal face that he sported in PK and Dhoom 3 into this movie is going to be a torturous watch.
Apart from this, recently 6 (and counting) heads were rolled (sir tan se judaaed) just for standing up with NS and about this, AK supposedly an outspoken activist last I checked, has not uttered a single word unequivocally condemning the acts. We all know why, isn’t it.
So, I as a very normal aam Hindu aadmi, my feeling is, if this dude who mocked Mahadeva in his PK gets away scot free, nothing nada; but a Hindu aam aadmi who just supported NS gets his head cut off, won’t I feel anger? So what I can do? Least I can do is not watch his movies and egg my fellow folks to not watch his movie. So WTF is wrong with that? The supposedly leftist liberals can mock all they want these feelings, but they who haven’t condemned the killings have absoeffinglutely no moral standards in my books.
Before anyone equates all this with BJP, please don’t. BJP threw NS to the wolves. They can’t keep their own karyakartas safe, and so they are no better to a aam aadmi Hindu.
LikeLike
MANK
August 11, 2022
Madan, i am not fully sure about that. Aamir’s films caters more to the classes. So if he can triumph in the Mumbai circuit and in the big cities where the SSR issue has not made much impact he should be home free. But i agree with the other point regarding post-covid audience change. I mentioned in other threads also, the multiplex audiences who used to make Aamir’s films into blockbusters and Ayushman Khurana films into hits and superhits are staying home now. If Aamir cannot get them to the theatres – and looks like he hasn’t yet, the advance and the predictions for the first days collections look terrible – then this will flop, even if it’s a good film.
Vijay – dhaavani kanavugaL 2.0 , i ROFLd on that one :).
Sanjana, Aamir’s performance was always going to be critical here. He somehow got away with it in Dhoom3, because of the double role and Dhoom brand and him being at the height of his BO pull and so on. But here it has the ability to sink the film. This is the kind of role that exposes his limitations as an actor. Maybe, he should have tried a different interpretation of the character.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
August 11, 2022
A faithful interpretation of FG would be a role that the likes of the late Irrfan, Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai or Pankaj Tripathi could play. None of the stars and certainly not any of the Khans have the chops to play this deceptively difficult role. I think our initial theory about this was correct – this is the wrong moment for a film like this. This kind of talky ‘road’ film can do well on a multiplex budget but cannot succeed as a tentpole. Rakshabandhan is a holiday for govt offices and some private offices plus lots of people are going home early. So you would expect families to fill up the cinema halls if they are watching, but that isn’t happening at least here in New Bombay. Even for the 5 PM it is still possible to get plenty, plenty of tickets. That’s a bad sign on Day 1.
LikeLiked by 1 person
KayKay
August 11, 2022
Madan, agree with you on the Nolan Batman Trilogy. It is “Vera Level”. But this should be contextualized against the fact that Nolan and someone like QT are outliers, about the only 2 working directors still playing in the Blockbuster Sandbox without the need to be attached to any franchise and who can put bums on seats. Nolan’s clout allowed him to make a superhero trilogy on his own, where most directors would need to adhere to the MCU or DCEU playbook (in fact the MCU has a track record for firing directors [Jon Favreau, Patty Jenkins, Edgar Wright etc] cause they had a unique vision). Night Shyamalan comes close with his “Unbreakable Trilogy” but he’s nowhere near the force he was in the 90s and has to mostly finance his own movies these days. The commercial powerhouse film-makers of the 90s are struggling. Of their recent releases, Michael Bay’s Ambulance didn’t do well, Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall was an outright flop, Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley also failed, Spielberg’s West Side Story got critical, but not commercial acclaim and Ridley Scott had TWO movies out in 2021 and both flopped hard. So we’re left with wannabes like the Russos (GRAY MAN effectively proving that outside of established franchises, these guys don’t have it) and likes of Taika Waititi who’s cosmically overrated. So something like EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is such a revelation as it succeeded on word of mouth. But this could yet be another outlier. Little wonder I tend to go back to the 80s and 90s for my Hollywood fix these days:-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Akhilan
August 11, 2022
Madan, then you have to see Arrival!! I think it’s Villeneuve’s best work, with Sicario coming in a very close second, which is why Dune was such a disappointment for me. A snooze fest really. Though have to admit that I didn’t care too much for A Star is Born, Joker or Lady Bird. All were pretty meh. And with regards to Parasite, I really enjoyed the first half, but I think it kind of fell-off the rails for me in the second half. The first and second half felt like two completely different movies; felt disjointed. Oh and have to agree with your last comment, but unfortunately, the star-system dictates otherwise and brings in the moolah so highly unlikely they were ever going to cast any of the actors you mentioned…
LikeLiked by 2 people
KayKay
August 11, 2022
“You knew a Top Gun remake would be a big hit if made competently because of its sheer bankability”
Actually, Maverick was no where near the sure thing people were thinking it was. It was a risk for Cruise to make it. The Box Office is littered with sequels that came way too late after the original (300 RISE OF EMPIRE, DUMB AND DUMBER TOO, SIN CITY 2, COMING 2 AMERICA etc etc).
And in the current climate, the original TOP GUN is frequently held up as a cob-webbed relic of the 80s, with it’s excessive macho posturing and valorization of the military not to mention being frequently accused of being a 2 hour glossy recruitment ad for the Navy. Cruise, still a bankable star, however has only been having hits with the MI movies these past few years, with efforts like JACK REACHER only doing average business and OBLIVION, EDGE OF TOMORROW, AMERICAN MADE and especially THE MUMMY being outright flops.
Plus, MAVERICK was delayed by 2 years owing to the pandemic (it’s Cruise’ still formidable clout which prevented it from going direct to streaming), so for all these reasons, it’s success is nothing short of perfect alchemy.
LikeLike
Yajiv
August 11, 2022
It is interesting hearing commenters in this thread characterise movies that did average business in the BO as “outright flops”.
Glass half full half empty, I guess
LikeLike
KayKay
August 11, 2022
“It’s precisely why I also don’t subscribe to the grumbles about Aamir remaking Forrest Gump. I mean so what? Just about every tentpole Holly movie is either a franchise or a remake.”
My apathy towards LSC is because it’s a remake of a very popular movie that’s still embedded in the public consciousness. Once again, Aamir an industry veteran should know this. Even Hollywood is littered with the duds of remakes to popular movies (do people even know they actually remade HELLBOY and it bombed so hard?) So why not take a lesser known movie to remake if that’s your jam now? Take an example of 2 Paul Verhoeven movies that got remakes, ROBOCOP & TOTAL RECALL. BOTH monstrous flops! Because not only were the originals terrific but they were hugely popular hits and had massive DVD sales. It’s a different case if someone took one of Verhoeven’s early work like the grimy medieval thriller FLESH+BLOOD to re-do, as outside of Verhoeven Groupies (such as yours truly) hardly anyone knows about it. Hell, if you’re into remaking Zemeckis movies, why not choose DEATH BECOMES HER, a stinging black comedy that isn’t as well known and update it to reflect the current obsession with not only looks but social media? Lest it be forgotten, FORREST GUMP was the highest grossing movie of 1994, upwards to 300m in domestic gross which if adjusted for inflation puts it in the 700m+ range today. It beat out James Cameron’s TRUE LIES and Disney’s LION KING, which is no mean feat!
And this is a personal thing, I LIKE Aamir, but am nowhere near the fanboy to lap up everything he does. I can watch 3 Idiots and Dangal anytime, but parts of ToH really bored me shitless. And as hari’s Comment Of The Day so hilariously put it, have no interest in seeing AK’s “ashtakonal face” for the 3rd time:-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Akhilan
August 11, 2022
In other news, seems like Anupama Chopra has given a thumbs down to LSC. Not surprised in the slightest and like Kay Kay and myself, even she pointed out the similar nature/tone/expression/body language of Aamir’s character in LSC with his character in PK. Some words she used to describe his performance in her review were “artificial” and “strained”, which I got a sense of just from the trailer alone. So again, not surprised at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
KayKay
August 11, 2022
“It is interesting hearing commenters in this thread characterise movies that did average business in the BO as “outright flops”.”
Yajiv, yup my bad as I should have been more specific. EDGE OF TOMORROW was a decent hit. But OBLIVION, AMERICAN MADE AND THE MUMMY were outright flops in the US. OBLIVION and THE MUMMY barely crossed US80m, and AMERICAN MADE did about US50M, this is all peanuts for a Tom Cruise tentpole. Yes they all made money in foreign markets, but multiple countries/territories was required to bring in numbers a Cruise MI movie could have made in the US alone. Example, THE MUMMY cleared about US300M internationally, but the Brendan Fraser starring MUMMY crossed that in the US ALONE.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Doba
August 12, 2022
I am bored of the hindi film heroes now. I got bored of Salman Khan in the late nineties, of Shah Rukh Khan after the awful Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (thats a monstrously bad movie for me) and now with Aamir. Same with Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and so on. The heroines who started with them were packed away but they are still hanging on. The same bag of tricks, same expressions, same body language – feels like I have seen it all.
LikeLiked by 2 people
krishikari
August 12, 2022
Forest Gump was a terrible film, I hated it back in the day and any remake by Aamir Khan could only be more cringe. I respect Tom Hanks and Aamir Khan as actors but they have both acted in horrible films IMO.
@Doba, they have really had their day but I will always love Shah Rukh. I have a lot of patience for him. But Ranveer and Ranbir should only feature in item songs, i’m old so maybe my opinion is irelevent but unless the director and writer and story is Amazing I would not watch a movie based on their presence alone. Hang it up and just take a back seat now as the women are producing more profitable films. (according to this very interesting panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwD3bupm6fY)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Anu Warrier
August 13, 2022
I must disagree about Ranveer Singh – I find him the most interesting of today’s heroes. He has a chameleon like quality that makes him ‘not Ranveer’. I also like his choices – there’s a wide variety there that shows he’s not afraid of being asked to do stuff that’s not ‘hero’ like. Of today’s star-actors, it’s Ranveer and Alia that I most look forward to watching. I want to see what they will come up with next.
LikeLike
krishikari
August 13, 2022
I’m sure you are right Anu but I never see ‘not Ranveer’, what I’ve seen of his work has been all full on Ranveer — Lootera – fine, loved it. Gunday, Rasleela (the energy there is where i get my item song thought from, I don’t mean it as a bad thing at all), Dil Dahakne Do, Gully Boy, the historical costume dramas are all fine, good thing these guys are not listening to me.
LikeLike
MANK
August 13, 2022
I agree with Anu. Ranveer, Alia and even Ranbir are very exciting performers. Dismissing all of them outright is too cynical and unfair. I fully agree that the Khan triumvirate and their contemporaries like Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar have become stale. But look at this way, Ranveer could have made countless Simba copies and became the next Salman Khan, he has a real feel for the mass masala stuff and is hundred times batter at it than Salman, but he is looking for different and risky parts like Gully Boy and Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Ok, The last one was not successful, but he’s trying to do something different. Ranbir is not as talented or versatile as Ranveer, but If he is given characters like Barfi, Rockstar and Tamasha that suits his talents he’s also great. Alia was the only bright spot in an all round failure like Kalank. These kids are great and they need be encouraged by directors, writers and the audiences.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aman Basha
August 13, 2022
If anyone can get Bollywood out of its mess, it’s Shah Rukh Khan. What fun 2023 will be if SRK gets back to being King Khan again. Pathaan and Jawan are the films that audiences want to watch. Dunki is just cherry on top. Even in LSC, the most audience pleasing scene was the SRK cameo 🙂
LikeLike
Doba
August 14, 2022
I don’t know MANK. My family and I are not avid movie watchers. Mostly a weekend night thing. And I don’t consume movies/stars through interviews and shows and what not. But still the volume of news on these stars is so much that they have become stale to me. I cant buy them in any role because there are there front and center literally all the time with their visits to Maldives and open letters to each other!
We have started preferring the smaller movies and web series with faces that we don’t instantly recognise. To my layman eyes, they seem better enacted and I am able to suspend disbelief and enter the world more easily.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Doba
August 14, 2022
To add – the almost ad nauseum coverage of Koffee with Karan. Even those of us who don’t watch it can’t get away from being given a blow by blow account. Not tucked away somewhere that you have to hunt. But right up in the front! I guess that’s the price I am paying for switching to online news from paper.
LikeLike
vijay
August 14, 2022
Doba agree, overexposure of Ranveer/Ranbir/Alia/DP/Kareena on all media could a problem..Thats one big difference you will find with South(especially Tamil) stars..Much like their elder counterparts Kamal/Rajni the younger lot of stars are careful not to feature in too many ads(or in the case of Ajith or Vijay, none) or interviews and keep an air of mystery around them. That also probably helps sell their mediocre stuff better when they appear after a gap I guess..makes their idiot fans go “where is my update on this film”?…will these Hindi star fans ever stand on roads holding placards asking for an update ? .. they keep getting them every now and then whether they want it or not..:-)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Madan
August 14, 2022
“To my layman eyes, they seem better enacted and I am able to suspend disbelief and enter the world more easily.” – At least Rajkumar Rao is a better actor than Ranvir or Ranbir imo. And would have been a much better choice for LSC. At least back when content WASN’T king, the stars didn’t bite off more than they could chew. Now it seems like they want to do the roles that once used to be left well alone for the likes of NS, Om Puri or (later) Bajpai to tackle.
And yes, the sheer overexposure of Hindi stars has started to hurt. I do appreciate Ranvir’s acting a lot but I find his off-screen presence cringe to the core. Even BR couldn’t get him to stop hyper ventilating and unleashing word salad in his answers. This started with the Page 3 culture popularized by Bombay Times but the Khans knew better than to overindulge in it. But today’s stars seem to be perpetually in your face.
LikeLike
MANK
August 14, 2022
Doba, i get what you are saying. I too find the off-screen behavior of many of them cringe worthy, especially Ranveer, who’s trying to create this outrageous off-screen persona similar to American Rockstars of yore. I also detest the fact that the new-age Hindi film stars have turned their lives into 24×7 Reality TV. This overexposure is making it very difficult to accept them as actors playing a certain character. But i find that if a movie manages to hook me, i am still able to switch off all their off-screen shenanigans and accept them playing characters in that particular narrative contest. I do understand that not everyone can do that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
madhusudhan194
August 14, 2022
“Much like their elder counterparts Kamal/Rajni the younger lot of stars are careful not to feature in too many ads(or in the case of Ajith or Vijay, none) or interviews and keep an air of mystery around them. That also probably helps sell their mediocre stuff better when they appear after a gap I guess..”
I remember a few years back Suriya used to be everywhere – ads, reality shows, interviews and what not. He’s stopped that now. I think it has more to do with the actors’ personality and how they want to appeal to people. At the risk of generalizing, I’ve noticed that most North Indians crave attention and limelight while South Indians are happy to go home after their job is done. Even the likes of Dhanush, Adivi Sesh, Karthi, and almost all Telegu film stars don’t appear in the media except for their film promotions. And as someone rightly mentioned, that makes people want more of them which translates into better BO openings. Most bollywood actors think their Instagram followers count shows their stardom while their films open to peanuts. Plus except Ranbir, Alia, Ranveer and to an extent Deepika, most of them aren’t even real actors and are artificial products manufactured in the factories of film families.
LikeLike
Vignesh
August 15, 2022
BR, it seems my comment has been deleted. But why?????
LikeLike
brangan
August 15, 2022
Vignesh: I don’t moderate anymore, so there is no question of “deleting”. Maybe it went to spam. Will try to retrieve it.
KayKay: Well, slot me in the Minority Box then. I can watch Forrest Gump anytime. Just like I can watch Dances With Wolves anytime. Both are powered by a charming whimsy and an aching romanticism tinged with heavy nostalgia. I can understand this not being everyone’s cup of tea, but I can take a swig out of this tasty beverage anytime.
Same here. “charming whimsy” “aching romanticism” – plus, in the latter, a gorgeous, gorgeous John Barry score.
LikeLike
krishikari
August 15, 2022
@MANK Ranveer, Alia and even Ranbir are very exciting performers. Dismissing all of them outright is too cynical and unfair.
I’m for one dismissing them ‘outright’ in case this was a response to what I said. I do enjoy their performances and agree Ranveer gets masala like not one else of his generation. I even went to see Gangubai in the theatre dragging along a Dutch friend and loved it. I’m also quite fine and entertained by Ranveer’s nudes and fashion choices. Just as you find this offscreen behavior cringe worthy I find film like Forest Gump and Barfi and PK unbearable. Is personal taste in viewing wrong now? Any comment here seems to be immediately polarizing.
LikeLike
krishikari
August 15, 2022
EDIT NOT dismissing in above comment. Sorry.
LikeLike
hari
August 16, 2022
Thanks Kay Kay ji 🙂
LikeLike
sanjana
August 16, 2022
Ranveer is more versatile. And Ranbir has looks. Both work for me. Alia is a surprise packet. She is slowly falling into Shabana, Smita Patil category. She will do silly films and serious films too for the time being and then only serious and semi serious roles.
Too much media exposure wont harm if they deliver as actors. I dont have problem with karan Johar or ranveer. South stars cant handle the silliness the way a ranveer or srk or even an aamir can.
Ayushman Khurrana is another actor who should get more chances.
LikeLike
sanjana
August 16, 2022
If people think that what they show on KWK exhibits the true persona, god help them. For all we know, they maybe hiding their insecurities and problems. They are showmen and showwomen. Excessive talking, excessive reactions, the urge to play to the gallery constantly are the symptoms of something else in some cases. It takes its toll on their health both mental and physical.
LikeLike
Moi
September 3, 2022
Off screen personality of Ranveer is much more appealing than Ranbirs’. Ranveers’ “try-hardedness” endears him more because he makes more of an effort and looks like he cares about the audience.
Ranbir puts me off because he gives me such entitled vibes in everything he does.The way he didn’t have to struggle or make an effort in his career because the red carpet was laid for him from the beginning bcoz he is the Kapoor male heir . I don’t like his movie choices because they are all about young men who is special and better than everyone else , but no one knows or appreciates it and his pain is always special and greater than everyone else’s’ pain. I think most men like Ranbir and his movies because of this reason and they relate to that “I am special feeling”. I don’t like that he dated too many famous women, publicizing it , and ending it suddenly without any statement of support for them,making them all look like desperate women all trying to become the next Kapoor .
I have seen too many posts of “Ranbir Kapoor being an incel” on twitter and videos of him being one to all the women in his promotion interviews….too long to list here. So don’t like his off screen persona and don’t like his movies either.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Madan
September 3, 2022
Moi: Particularly the interviews with Kat for Jagga Jasoos. They were gold. Ranbir was full on passive aggressive and Kat kept killing him softly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Moi
September 3, 2022
@ Madan.. Also the one where he embarrasses Anushka by saying the name of her anti- anxiety tablets in an interview. The one where he calls his wife fat while being pregnant. The one where he is mansplaining to Katrina, asking her to shut up and lots more. Then one with Ileana..I don’t even know for what.
Everyone seems to be taking offense with his old videos and talking about cancelling him (lol). A bit too much.
Even without all the old videos surfacing, I don’t like the vibes he gives.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Voldemort
September 3, 2022
Moi – LOL, great comment.
LikeLike
Aman Basha
September 3, 2022
As me and my friend joked, Ranbir Kapoor’s marriage is the death knell of Bollywood gossip. Who even wants to know what happens in the lives of Ananya Panday and her friends?
Favorite moments from Jagga Jasoos promotions are one where Katrina is asked about one good quality in Ranbir (she’s just quiet) and Ranbir making a Hrithik-Kangana joke.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Madan
September 3, 2022
“Favorite moments from Jagga Jasoos promotions are one where Katrina is asked about one good quality in Ranbir (she’s just quiet) ” – Lolololol
LikeLike
brangan
December 31, 2022
Aamir Khan to join hands with RRR star Junior NTR and KGF director Prashanth Neel for his next
https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bollywood/aamir-khan-join-hands-rrr-star-junior-ntr-kgf-director-prashanth-neel-next-report/
LikeLike