The 100 Crore Lemons

The janta review of Kites and Raavan was swift and cruel. F-L-O-P. Flop. That’s real bad news for the common producer of both films – Reliance Big Pictures. Sources say the company has lost upwards of Rs 100 crore on these films. By its current scale of performance, Raavan looks to sink lower than the other mega-budget dud – Kites.

Both films had extensive pre-launch promotions. Alas – promotions ensure that a film has a good opening over the weekend. That’s it. After that, it is the content of the film itself which will make it swim or sink.  Beating poor reviews and word-of-mouth ratings, Kites managed a good opening weekend, netting in Rs 30 crore.

Raavan has collected less than Rs 20 crore at the close of its opening weekend. This week onwards, Raavan has a clear run with no competing releases. Yet, analysts predict it will sink further.  Nothing can salvage Raavan with its below average opening of 50% across the country.

Kites and Raavan were expected to follow Raajneeti’s rocking show at the box office.  Instead, the films have become Bollywood ki Aag. That’s something, even by Bollywood standards of expecting the most unexpected.

Was it the actors?  Raavan is Abhishek Bacchan’s third film with Mani Ratnam. After Yuva and Guru, expectations were sky-high from Abhishek Bachchan. (We tend to dismiss Delhi 6). What the janta saw was largely dismissed as hamming and posturing, amateurish and naive.  Questions raised on faking the much-vaunted dive didn’t help.

Hrithik was appreciated in Kites for his good looks (which the camera made love to, framing him in tight close-ups and bare torso scenes). Jai faltered, Hrithik didn’t.

Scintillating Barbara Mori looked pretty in Kites. So does Aishwarya in Raavan. Luminous, floating around in the forest, long curly drenched hairpiece and carefully crafted no make up look.  So we’ve heard of the chemistry between the stand-in Sita and the shrieking baddie. We think back to the mock fight when the same pair landed on a bed in Guru and phuuuuuus- zilch. Aishwarya, I suspect, still looks hottest with Hrithik.  Hrithik and Barbara’s crackling chemistry and smouldering looks kept Kites ticking.

Both films are richly crafted and produced – sweeping shots, stunning locales, jungles, waterfalls, but where is the story? So Kites was painful and downright silly in the second half. With Raavan and its confusing plot (Beera is Raavan, Robin Hood or Veerappan), why does Vikram wear aviator glasses in the jungle (he’s a cop, they cost a lot, no?) and run slo-mo, etc, etc. The plot rests mostly in Mani Ratnam’s head.

To sum up, here’s what I am saying other filmmakers should avoid like the plague:

• Avoid bumbling actors who ham for the camera
• If your film is titled Raavan, don’t hope that Sita will see it through
• Get a lead pair who look hot together
• Let the story out of the director’s head and out there for the audience
• Acknowledge the use of stuntmen/women
• Don’t get Ma and Pa to defend your film
• Think of a strategy to counter word-of-mouth ratings and reviews
• Don’t let others in Bollywood poke fun at your expense and ask RGV and KJo to take their tweet battles offline

Read my colleague Rummana’s review of Raavan here. ‘Abhi-Ash are insufferable’, she says. And here’s the trailer.

Now vote here and tell me what you think is the reason for Raavan’s no-show:

Vikram Clicks as Raavanan

Even as Mani Ratnam’s bilingual continues to get a mixed response among Hindi audiences, Vikram comes up trumps in the Tamil version. His role as Veera in Raavanan can be compared to some of his best-essayed characters in films like Sethu & Pithamagan. Vikram plays Veera, a Robin Hood of sorts to tribes in the jungles. He is feared by the cops, loved by the tribes and well protected by his family & friends.

The 44-yr-old actor has worked his way up to be noticed by Mani Ratnam and his preparation to etch out the character of Veera is there for all to see.

As I watched the entry of Vikram in Raavanan, the Tamil audiences yelled, screamed and whistled deliriously in the hall, as if to say “We knew this was worth our monies”. Here we were, at the very first frame of a film when the protagonist utters not a single word yet, and the audience is going berserk. Such is the effect he has down south.

All is known about how Mani Ratnam, along with Santosh Sivan and Manikandan, can weave magic into every frame with top-of-the-line cinematography. However, Vikram brings alive the method in the madness of Veera.

Raavan in Ramayana is an entirely different person if one were to understand his story in isolation. There was indeed a method to that madness if one were to spare a moment. I loved every bit of this Raavanan, thanks to all the parallels drawn from Raavan’s life. Malayalam actor Prithviraj plays Inspector Dev Prakash. Prithviraj’s character too is fleshed out brilliantly. You know he is the good guy, but the madness (at times evil) prevails here too. There are some interesting scenes in the film that make you wonder who really is the good guy after all.

Prabhu (son of Late Sivaji Ganesh) makes a good impression as Vikram’s brother, while Karthik too gets a decent comeback of sorts. Priya Mani’s role as Veera’s sister makes a huge impact and sets the pace for the entire chase that unfolds between Veera and Dev.

Aishwarya is too delicate for a highly demanding role as this. She is definitely better suited to the Pink Panther and Dhoom2 genre of movies. A R Rehman weaves his special magic that he always reserves for Mani Ratnam.

Raavanan – Thumbs up from me!

Raavan – Y! Meta Review

So, this year’s most awaited bilingual film has opened to mixed reviews leaning heavily towards the negative. Coming from a director who broke away from the fetters of commercial cinema to making “telling it as it is” an art from, this one comes as a bit of a shocker.

Mani Ratnam, arguably Indian cinema’s original maverick filmmaker, got people to sit up and take notice with his directorial debut Pallavi Anu Pallavi in 1983, which was in Kannada. The story might be credited with setting off a  “younger man loves older woman” formula in all the woods we inhabit – Sandalwood, Tollywood, Kollywood, Bollywood, what have you. This also was the debut of Anil Kapoor and is remembered more for its soundtrack by the incomparable Ilaiyaraaja, who to me is the one and only Mozart of Madras, if such an epithet can be allowed. But more on that later. (On an aside, S Janaki’s Nagu Endhidhe is the lesser-celebrated but far more superior song from this soundtrack, when compared to the eminently hummable and more remembered Naguva Nayana.)

His next hugely hailed (correct me if I’m wrong) film was in Tamil, Mouna Raagam, which Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is loosely adapted from. The critically acclaimed and hugely successful Nayagan came next, a cinematic homage to Mumbai underworld don, Varadaraja Mudaliar, earning Kamal Haasan, who plays the protagonist, an award and overnight stardom for its maker. This set off another trend in the woods that I mention – gangster movies. Till date, not one has come close to the original, and let’s be honest, no movie, made or imagined, can aspire to. (Our desi so-called Clint Eastwood *shudder* Feroz Khan remade it in Hindi, called Dayavan – with disastrous results.)

The world sat up and took notice. Here was a man who did not mince words or sugarcoat certain home truths in his movies. Here was a man who toed the line that separated commercial cinema from its artsy sibling – and by jove, did he own it. Next came Agni Natchatiram, another hard-hitting movie about rebellious half-brothers (Kane and Abel?), followed by a romance, Geetanjali, in Telugu. (I strongly suspect Nicholas Sparks was inspired by this to write ‘A Walk to Remember‘.)

Then came Anjali, the story of a mentally disabled child, and the performance he’d managed to elicit from young Baby Shamili became the talk of tinsel town. (Another parallel: Kim Edwards’ The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – just saying.) Thalapathi, his next offering, the retelling of the story of Karna and Duryodhana in a current day rural scenario, followed by Roja, his most successful so far, sealed his fate in Indian cinema and earned him recognition in film-making circles all over the world. (This is also A R Rahman’s highest-selling film score of all time, but performance, music and locales aside, this movie has to be seen for Pankaj Kapur. Enough said.)

All the way from Thalapathi to now, his ventures have been epic in terms of budget, star power, storytelling, locales, music and don’t really need much hype pre-release other than the announcement of their release dates. However, of late, he’s been criticised for relying heavily on star power and formulaic storytelling to propel his movies at the box office. Where is the auteur who took chances? Where is the mad streak that was the trademark of his earlier films? Where is the filmmaker who threw caution to the winds to tell his stories HIS way? Where is the Mani Ratnam of afore-mentioned movies’ fame?

This seems to be the collective sentiment among the Indian critics about Raavan; so much so that even Vikram, whose performance was touted to be the one to look out for, has received very lukewarm accolades. This “demonised” version of the Ramayan, with role reversals of Ram and Raavan, has so far not managed to impress those who review movies for a living, for the pleasure of it or both.

Raja Sen of Rediff (who in my opinion usually hits bulls-eye in his reviews, i.e., whose ‘views’ usually mirror mine after the movie has been viewed) has this to say about the lead performances:

There is one scene when Bachchan, speaking of burning with envy, transcends this poor picture and shines on his own, but outside of that this is a squandered vanity project for the actor. Aishwarya Rai — her alabaster skin muddied and bruised, her eye makeup crucially immaculate — screeches her way through the proceedings, contorting her face as if to convince us it has something to do with histrionics. As for Vikram, the National Award-winning actor we all expected great things from, he gets the rawest deal of the lot, a cardboard cop who scowls, runs in slow-mo, and models Aviator sunglasses.

Sanjukta Sharma of LiveMint weighs in on the script/screenplay:

The screenplay and performances, the two pillars of a good film, are poor and confused. The scenes have none of the gravitas and magic that define the best of director Mani Ratnam’s work. Here, he is too caught up in the spectacle. The idea, that of the myriad, contradictory qualities of the archetypal villain of Hindu mythology, Raavan, never really takes off in the film. Ratnam was concerned with who Raavan is and why he is what he is. In execution, the villain is a caricature.

Rajeev Masand of IBN is not pleased with the romance angle between Beera (playing Raavan) and Ragini:

But what might have truly turned this film into a brave, daring effort is a less ‘darpok’ handling of Ragini’s change-of-heart towards Beera. While she does soften considerably when she understands his provocation for revenge, Ratnam never quite turns it into a Stockholm-syndrome situation that might have made for a far stronger central conflict. As it currently stands, “Raavan” is a predictable revenge drama that stays too safe to ever surprise you.

So much for the coming together of the three most ‘bankable’ factors in Indian films – the stars, the director and the music composer. In fact, A R Rahman’s score for Raavan is said to be a rehash of Guru‘s score – almost like a twin that was an afterthought. It’s been described to be lacklustre at best. I haven’t heard it – A R Rahman, in my opinion, needs to get out of this ‘Jai Ho’ phase.

Have you seen the movie – either the Hindi or the Tamil version? What is your take on it? Will this start another spate of “Stop tarnishing Lord Ram’s character” debates online? Share your thoughts with me in the comments.

In related links, here are Abhi-Ash’s top 5 songs (one of them has only Ash in it, and maybe, the green monster that sits on Abhishek’s shoulders). Here’s also a look at the Bachchans’ boycott of the IIFA.

Read our meta review of Raajneeti here.

Will Better Sense Prevail?

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai

The non-presence of the entire Bachchan khandaan at the recently concluded IIFA awards has raised a few eyebrows and murmurs among both the organizers and other Bollywood stars.

Some say the reason behind the decision is over Rs. 100 cr riding on the ‘Bachchan bahu’ this year in the industry with big ticket releases like Raavan and Endhiran.

But Nikhil Dwivedi refuted reports that “Raavan” director Mani Ratnam and actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai skipped the IIFA event here because of the Tamil protests back home and said this was just not true.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the leading lady in two of the much awaited releases this year – Mani Ratnam’s bi-lingual ‘Raavan’ and Shankar’s ‘Endhiran’ in which she is paired opposite superstar Rajnikanth.

Despite Raavan’s leading lady/reigning Bollywood queen and her hubby giving the festival a miss, the film’s producer/director Mani Ratnam is keeping his fingers crossed as Govinda, who plays a crucial part in the Hindi version, attended the event in Sri Lanka, even though a section of the protestors have said that they will not allow the movie to be screened in Tamil Nadu.

Film stars of Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood, Sandalwood and Mollywood are often the soft targets of political opportunists, and the latest target of this has been ironically an actor from Bollywood – Hrithik Roshan and his latest release ‘Kites’ was taken off from all the screens in Tamil Nadu.

The reason – Hrithik attended the IIFA awards in Sri Lanka last week, despite the fact that the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) decided to boycott all the actors who attend the IIFA awards at Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Earlier, a joint statement was issued by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) not to release films of those Indian actors and technicians who attended the India International Film Academy 2010 event.

Given the backdrop, Kollywood is not new to the inherent ties between the political parties and top film personalities. Former chief minister’s MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalitha were stars in their own rights and became successful politicians, while actor Sivaji Ganesan was close to the Congress party.

The present chief minister Dr M Karunanidhi, known for his oratory skills, has penned dialogues in many movies which went to become a rage among the masses.

Tamil actors Vijaykanth, Sarath Kumar and Karthik run their own parties while actress Khusboo recently joined the ruling DMK, which clearly establishes the fact that politics and Tamil cinema are like two peas in a pod. Almost every actor and actress have has shown their allegiance to one political party or the other.

Though a handful of stars still remain neutral, over the years one has seen that they also move in the direction where the wind blows primarily because they don’t want their movies to suffer.

In 2002, Superstar Rajnikanth’s ‘Baba’ bombed at the box office following PMK’s open call to boycott the movie and there were instances of the movie reel being snatched from the theatres.

Two years later, PMK cadres again crossed swords with another star – Vijaykanth during the release of ‘Gajendra’, which subsequently resulted in the actor making a foray into politics.

Actor Kamal Hassan, who is also the FICCI Media Entertainment Business Conclave Chairman, said the office-bearers of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will not attend the event. His statement came in the backdrop of a demonstration by a group demanding his resignation as the Chairman and that he return his Padma Shri award.

While the entire South Indian film fraternity including Rajnikanth gave a miss to the mega event, Bollywood mega stars led by IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, to name a few, apparently decided to keep away from the event citing personal reasons.

IIFA’s decision to host the awards event in Sri Lanka angered many Tamil supporters in India, who allege the Sri Lankan government of killing Tamils civilians at the height of the conflict between army and LTTE last year. A group of Tamils had marched from superstar Amitabh Bachchan‘s Pratiksha bungalow to his Jalsa residence in Mumbai last month urging him to boycott the Colombo awards ceremony.

Earlier, the General Secretary of the Chamber, L Suresh, and the President of the Chamber C Kalyan and G Siva, General Secretary of the Film Employees Federation of South India, were in Mumbai to persuade their counterparts in the city against visiting Sri Lanka for the IIFA awards and were partly successful in convincing producer Yash Chopra and Ramesh Sippy to stay away from the event.

He said the SIFCC put forth its view before the Bollywood producers, saying that they were not against the event. “Innocent Tamils have been killed and Sri Lankan government is creating an atmosphere that everything is normal. The reality must be shown to the world and this was not the time to do a show like this,” Suresh said.

Whatever the reason, the question one would like to pose to the protestors is why target only the film industry? When politicians, the Indian cricket team currently in the Emerald Island to play the Asia Cup or business houses can go freely to participate in events in the neighboring nation, why stop film personalities alone?