Favourite all-time female star? Most accomplished actor of all time? The best funny man? Outlook readers vote for their favourites. Namrata Joshi checks out the results.
Outlook’s Bollywood Special this year looks at the very core of commercial cinema—the Hindi film star, the one who makes or breaks a film, box-office records, and people’s hearts, whose appeal is of the moment, and enduring, time-tested and timeless, give or take a bomb or two.
And who better to tell us about it than the Hindi film audience—that unknown, amorphous mass of people who vote with their feet every Friday, first day, first show. We sought them out in Delhi and Mumbai, Lucknow and Jaipur, Bhopal and Chandigarh, and asked them to cast their vote for their favourite star of all time. We had no dearth of names, old or new, starting from post-Independence India. Towering over them all was, of course, the Big B. With 32 per cent of the votes, he won this round of the Big B-srk rivalry; Khan was a distant second with just 14 per cent votes. Big B daughter-in-law Aishwarya pipped yesterday’s diva (though some would dispute that) Madhuri Dixit to the post with 21 per cent votes to the latter’s 18 per cent. Sadly, the great stars of yore seem to have faded from the memories of our moviegoers—Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor figured behind the bland lookalikes of Gen Now.
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Love sells — and how — in Bollywood. Real life couples are positioning themselves as on-screen package deals, reports Prashant Singh in Mail Today
Bollywood is discovering the power of two. Real- life star couples are manipulating relationships to strike gold at a professional level. Whether it is AbhiAsh, Ajay Devgan- Kajol, Saif Ali Khan- Kareena Kapoor or John Abraham- Bipasha Basu, they are all striking multi- million contracts by way of film deals and advertising campaigns. The trend is also being tapped to rake it in by way of joint public appearances. Together, these couples have indeed also become a measure of marketability. ‘ Two together’ seems to be the latest winning mantra, with celebrity couples hogging the spotlight. Casting directors of films as well as brand managers are waking up to the trend.
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As protests against Jodhaa Akbar spread across the country, Rajeev Masand interviews Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Ashutosh Gowariker on CNN-IBN:
Rajeev Masand: Let me begin with Ashutosh. The idea of this film has been with you for four years, from the time you wanted to tell the story to the release of the film. How has it been?
Ashutosh Gowarikar: The story first came to me way back in 2002 but when I heard it I realised it needs a lot of preparation. So, I thought let me finish Swades and then Haider Ali (the writer of the Jodhaa Akbar) and I worked on the movie.
Rajeev Masand: What was it about the story that made you say yes to it?
Hrithik Roshan: That is an interesting story by itself. The drama was told to me as if it was a contemporary corporate world empire and alliance kind of film. So, that was the way he (Ashutosh) sold it to me. And he did that to make sure that I react to the drama and content of the film. He didn’t want me to get enticed by the decorative aspects of a period film.
Aishwarya Rai: It wasn’t about what the film was going to be set against – not about costume, jewellery and palaces.
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Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Jodhaa Akbar opens to favourable reviews after weeks of controversy surrounding its historical authenticity and a boycott in theatres across Rajasthan. Sundeep Mann in Passion for Cinema comes away believing he has just watched a classic
It’s been a long time since I have walked out of the cinema hall with a feeling of equanimity and the asseveration of having just witnessed a film that will go down in history as a classic. The last time I was overcome by such a feeling was with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s poetic Saawariya, a film that many people rejected for its folklore style.
Jodha Akbar rekindled my faith in why Hindi cinema is the greatest entertainer in the glimmering world of movie lights, for it could only be the Hindi film industry that could conceive such a monopolizing oeuvre.
Set in the 16th century, Jodha Akbar is a sumptuous saga of romance which blossoms under the schismatic setting of political astriction during the Mughal era.
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Trade circles, however, have been less than enthused as the film opens well below expectation in India, reports Ibos Network
If controversies are expected to boost a film’s initial, that hasn’t happened in regards to the advance booking of Jodha Akbar. Though the film is expected to open better overseas, the Friday advance opening of ‘biggest film of the year’ in India is well below expectations. Chennai is at 85% which is good but not record-breaking. Delhi is hovering around 65%. Bombay is trailing at 60% and Calcutta follows even tad below. Indore is around the 60% mark. Centers across Rajasthan are of course 0% because they aren’t even letting the movie open there. The figures are mostly off single screen theatres as most multiplex chains nationally have bypassed the film till now.
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Controversy and Bollywood’s versions of history seem to go hand in hand, writes Tehelka’s Himanshu Bhagat. The latest casuality seems to be Ashutosh Gowarkikar’s about-to-be-released film, Jodhaa Akbar.
WHEN K ASIF made Mughal-e- Azam in 1960, he adhered to popular folklore and showed Jodha Bai as the Rajput queen of the Mughal emperor Akbar. There was no controversy. Asif’s tale of forbidden love between Akbar’s son Prince Salim and the courtesan Anarkali became a huge hit. Perhaps people were too busy humming “Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya” to notice any historical inaccuracies. Or they just didn’t care. Almost fifty years later, as Ashutosh Gowariker is set to release Jodhaa Akbar, a tale of love between Akbar and Jodha Bai, played by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, a section of Rajputs in Rajasthan has protested that the film is historically inaccurate and threatened to block its screening in the state.
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