Box office report: New releases fall flat; Singham continues to roar!

The three new releases of this Friday fell flat at box office. Rather, it’s Singham and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara that continue to draw crowds.

Gandhi To Hitler, Khap and Bubble Gum -- this Friday’s three new releases -- saw a lukewarm response at box office on the very opening day. Gandhi To Hitler and Khap were expected to attract a few footfalls but failed to do so. Even the critics have panned all the three films. In comparison, the Hollywood releases Cowboys & Angels, The Smurfs and The Tree of Life saw a better response.

On the other hand, Singham completed its first week run at box office with a collection of a little over Rs. 50 crore nett, making the film a superhit. What’s more heartening is that the film continued to hold steady on Friday.

Likewise, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is still attracting movie buffs to theatres. The film rounded off its two-week run at theatres with a collection of Rs. 63.25 crore nett. It is expected to touch the Rs. 80 crore mark by the end of the coming week.

The coming Friday would again see the multiple release of small budget films. The next big release from Bollywood would be Aarakshan on August 12, which will be followed by a long four-day weekend because of two gazetted holidays. The movie is expected to open well.

Zindagi Na Milegi...: Box Office Collections Cross Rs 110 Crore

Mumbai, Jul 28: ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobbara’ (ZNMD), the movie directed by Zoya Akthar and released by Eros International, starring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, and Katrina Kaif, has so far grossed over Rs 110 crore (Rs 1100 million) in just 11 days since its release.

Jubilant with the figures, an Eros International official says, “ZNMD has seen excellent earnings nationwide as well as abroad, especially in multiplexes. An estimated Rs 800 million rupees gross collection is from the domestic market and the rest from across the globe. This is beyond our expectations, and we are jubilant about it.”

Earlier, it was reported that the movie was released on 1,800 screens worldwide. The initial response (during the first weekend) was indeed superb with both single screens and multiplexes running houseful. 

According to analysts, the movie is going to dominate the metro multiplexes for the next couple of weeks.

Zindagi Na Milege Dobara | Movie Review

Actors: Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akthar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Rating: ***1/2

First the good news. "Zindagi…" is one of the most nuanced, evenly paced and well executed films in commercial Indian cinema.

This cross between "Dil Chahta Hai" and "Sideways" is funny and honest, but it is marred by one fundamental flaw - it has nothing important to say.

Yes, to a select few, neo-rich one percent of its audience who find nirvana swimming under Spanish seas or for whom freedom is feeling the wind in your hand from a high speed car, the message is loud and clear - you only live once so live it full.

But one has to wonder, should a commercial film be made keeping just one percent of the audience in mind?

Yes, it is a message that everyone else needs as well, but should that message ride on a pleasure trip through Spanish landscape where there is beauty but no 'zindagi' or should it have been closer home, in the squalor and madness and 'life' of this nation.

Three old friends - Arjun (Hritik Roshan), Imran (Farhan Akthar) and Kabir (Abhay Deol) - go on a three-week bachelor's road trip through Spain before Kabir's marriage, only to come face to face with their own fears and insecurities.

Globally there are too many road-trip films for Zoya Akhtar to bring anything new to the cinematic table.

What she could have done was to have enough emotional pull for the viewer to empathise with the characters.

But would you empathise with the fatherly, marriage-related and heartbreak problems of three rich men who really have everything going for them? Besides its one percent audience, the rest would find the existential angst of these three men, a creation of their own vanity.

Yet, besides its many flaws, dishonesty is not one of them. It's an honest film about the type of people the filmmaker interacts with daily. Sadly, that is perhaps the only cross section of society that Zoya Akhtar has known in her urban living.

The problem with the film is thus the problem in the worldview of its maker, which is extremely limited in scope.

And that is a shame because Zoya is a nuanced and refined filmmaker. She could do wonders with a story that is real and about real men and women.

"Zindagi…" thus actually ends up being like a big-budget film with the heart and audience of a small-budget indie. And that mismatch will perhaps do the film in at the box office.

Cinematically though, Zoya does try desperately to transcend the obvious, to mean the message rather than say it, like say a "Sideways" or "Lost in Translation" does. And though she knocks on the door of this transcendence, she is unable to pass through.

Commercial filmmakers in the past, either came from the grassroots like a Mehboob or Guru Dutt, or were concerned about it like Raj Kapoor.

Their films hence reflected - sometimes directly - and often in the films written by Zoya's father Javed Akthar, allegorically, the angst, pain and the struggle for survival of the nation's teeming masses.

Sadly, as their world ended up becoming cocooned from life around, the connection their kids had with reality, became limited. The result are some really well made films, but ones with 'zindagi' only in their titles, not in their guts.

ZNMD with 3 girls would have been difficult: Katrina

It is a pleasant coincidence that Katrina Kaif's film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is releasing on the eve of her birthday. In an exclusive and extensive conversation with Gaurav Malani, Katrina Kaif speaks about her films, birthday plans and more.

Your last birthday was celebrated while shooting for this film in Spain
Yea! I was away from home with just the film's cast and crew. We went out for a dinner to a Spanish restaurant. And coincidentally the film is now releasing on the eve of my birthday.

Any special birthday plans this year?
It all depends on what happens to the film. I am really hoping and praying it does well.

What is your idea of living zindagi to the fullest?
Balancing what is the right thing to do and what you really want to do! Balancing what you want and what is expected out of you! I think a lot of us make decisions of what is expected from us and not from what we want. There is no point in working so hard and not being happy.

But you seem to have worked real hard on this film and mastered outdoor sports like dirt-biking and scuba diving.
I have ridden bikes before. But the bike in this film was much heavier and bigger. So I had to train in between the shooting days in Spain. For scuba- diving, I trained in the pool for 4-5 days but when we went on location, we were shooting in the sea which was very rough, choppy and a different experience. That's when I realized I hadn't trained enough.

Any moment of adventure that scared you?
On one of the diving days I went completely out of control, because you get pushed around under the water. You can't come up quickly to the top. That was probably the scariest moment for me.

Did you miss trying your hands at sky-diving that the boys do in the film?
I am very lucky and privileged that I was not required for sky-diving. I am not sure if I would have done that.

What happens to your plans of riding a bike across Mumbai streets?
I do want to ride a bike but riding in and around Mumbai would not be much fun because you don't want people to keep following you on the roads. But maybe I can find another place to ride and that would be fun.

How was the experience of getting dirty with tomatoes?
Oh, the Tomatina festival is exactly like what Holi is for us. It happens in Spain every year where everyone plays music on streets, there's water, there's dancing and there's this whole playing with the tomatoes thing. It took us three days to shoot the song and it felt kind of gross after a while. But it was fun.

What is the craziest thing that you would want to do in life?
Crazy doesn't have to mean jump out of an airplane. It doesn't mean Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara toh jump out of an airplane or go scuba-diving or do something crazy. It's also about the decisions you make in life. If you are under pressure to get married just because you are not going to live your life again, you shouldn't be doing that. If you are in a job you hate, you shouldn't be doing that. If you only think about money, you need to re-look at that a bit. It's not just about the adventure it's kind of a paradox.

Would you call ZNMD a road film?
I don't know what a road film means. Every film needs to have a setting the road trip is just incidental to the film. This film is shot in Spain where they are on a road journey.

With ZNMD primarily being a film about male-bonding, how much scope do you have in the film?
Well, the story is primarily about these three boys, their journey in their life and the decisions they make. It's like a coming-of-age film. What worked for me is that I absolutely loved the film and wanted to be a part of it. It doesn't matter if I am there in every scene or not.

And really hats off to Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay to do this film together. They are all stars in their own right and do different kinds of cinema. But they still came together and put aside things like who has more lines and who has more scenes. It would have been very difficult to get three girls to do a film like this.

So did you and Kalki have problems with each other?
It is so unfair on Kalki. She is such a sweet little girl and new in the industry. It's not right to picture her like that and throw her into the deep end.

Who, do you think, is the hottest amongst Hrithik, Abhay, Farhan?
Two of them are happily married and the third is happily taken, so I will save my opinion.

Is your screen-chemistry with Hrithik, the best you ever shared with an actor?
That is not for me to say. The audience's decision is always right in that context.

Finally which is the weirdest rumour you have heard about yourself?
I have lost count. And it doesn't matter anymore.

I was delighted to work with Katrina: Hrithik Roshan

Farhan Akhtar complained that he was only being asked questions that had one-word answers. "Please, guys, ask me other things – I want to talk!" he said.

Did you all have any bad experiences on the trip, or feel that this was a bad idea?
Farhan: No.

Some people say this film looks like it takes off from "Dil Chahta Hai". Is it like that?
Farhan: No.

Do you really believe life should be lived to the fullest, since we have only one life?
Farhan: Haan.
Katrina: Farhan's taught me a song that has only three chords, so now I can actually play a whole song on guitar.
Hrithik (on being asked about Katrina as a co-star): I hadn't seen any of her films before this, but I was delighted to work with her. What I've seen her do is not even 10% of what she's capable of.
Katrina: Thank you, Hrithik, for not seeing any of my films. I've seen all of his, by the way.
Hrithik (on the toll booth experience on the highway between Ahmedabad and Jaipur): I had to call out to people to make them look up at me, otherwise most of them were like, 'chal jaldi kar na'. But once they did, they were very happy, I'm sure, because our producer paid for all their cars!

On being asked what they want to do in this one life:
Ritesh: I want to do a film course next year.
Zoya: I want to do something for my city, Mumbai – the roads, cleanliness.
Farhan: Katrina will tell you what I want to do.
Kat: He wants to be part of a band, part of a skydiving competition club, and he wants to write a book. See how well I know my friends!
Abhay: I want to build houses for the poor.
Kat: And I want to help Abhay build houses for the poor.
Abhay: Promise? Seriously, let's shake on it. I'm going to call you up on that, you know!
Kat: OMG, everyone's answers are so emotional!
Kalki: Just to beat Abhay, I want to educate the poor, because education lasts a lifetime, but houses can be destroyed in a minute. Ha ha! And I wanna learn how to dance. I can't at all, and Hrithik is such a fabulous dancer.
Hrithik: Apart from teaching Kalki how to dance, I want the answer to this question!
Hrithik (on whether there were any funny moments): Yes, our mental boy, Abhay, usne kuch zyada kha liya aur uske pait mein visphot ho gaya. So while we went out to dinner that night, Abhay slept in the loo.
Aap Salman Khan aur Rahul Gandhi ko kya kahengi ki woh shaadi ke liye maan jayein, kyunki zindagi na milegi dobara?
Katrina: That's so mean – Abhay's not married either!

The Greek God and Barbie together for this film – how was the chemistry?
Abhay: Who? Ritesh-Zoya?

Farhan, do you believe zindagi milegi na dobara?
Farhan (after a second of surprised silence): Kya aap punarjanam ki baat kar rahe hain?

Rain washed away the dream to see Katrina, the stars left Udaipur

All hopes and anticipation to get a short glimpse of their favorite stars got washed away as the entire crew of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD) unpredictably left Udaipur city without making any public appearance.

ZNMD star casts comprising of Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar checked-out from Hotel Shikarbadi after staying there overnight. The crew arrived last night at 11:30 from Ahmadabad and today they left for their next destination Jaipur at 12:00 p.m. They are  travelling by-road from Mumbai for promoting their upcoming movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

 Nothing was clear about the next plan and preparation of star casts but some unofficial sources assumed that the group might visit PVR Udaipur after a road show to some city areas. But it is also highly believed that the plan has suddenly changed due to rain and the entire team left without attending any meeting. Though there is no official announcement from the crew about why they didn’t stayed for long in the city.

The local media was on-its-toes since the news of Hrithik and Katrina’s arrival reached Udaipur on July 8, many reporters were seen waiting at night and early this morning outside Hotel Shikarbadi. Teams of tv news channels were accompanying the crew of ZNMD, however the crew has not entertained local Udaipur media who was waiting outside the Hotel since morning today.

Many fans also gathered outside Hotel Shikarbadi to take a look of Kat and Hrithik, some fortunate ones also got autograph from stars.

Katrina Kaif’s kiss-and-tell tale!

Mumbai: In Bollywood, on-screen kisses have always created huge ripples. And when the two stars are Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan, then it is bond to generate quite a curiosity.

Katrina and Hrithik’s liplock in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ reportedly is the longest ever smooches in the history of Bollywood. However, the actress is completely unperturbed.

Talking to a daily about her on-screen kiss, Kat said, “Why give it so much importance? I don’t feel the sequence is even worth talking about. People won’t watch the film only for the kiss, I can promise you that. Personally too, I don’t give it any attention. People will come only if they are interested in the film, like the promos, or if they like the vibe of the film. It’s part of an actor’s job.”

Apparently, this is not the first time the actress has locked lips in a flick. Katrina’s steamy kiss with Gulshan Grover in ‘Boom’ (2003) was deleted from its DVDs.

However, Katrina Kaif is excited to share screen space with Greek god Hrithik for the first time in her career. “He is an amazingly talented person. I always wanted to work with him and I’m happy to have got the opportunity now. You can really learn a lot about focus, concentration and dedication from him,” she said.

Hmm….we couldn’t agree more with Katrina!

Zoya Akhtar: I didn't know Katrina at all

While filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's debut flick LUCK BY CHANCE gained her enough critical acclaim and recognition, commercially it couldn't do well. Now, it seems her second outing ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA is eagerly awaited. Reason? ZNMD boasts of big stars and actors like Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin.

Zoya says, 'Hrithik Roshan is my favourite actor and he was a part of my first film LUCK BY CHANCE as well. Even if I was making a 1 crore film I would have approached Hrithik. Kalki is a very interesting actress and edgy. Farhan and Abhay are really intelligent actors and who wouldn't love to work with such talented lot?'

Quite surprisingly Katrina came in much later while rest of the cast was already finalised. In fact, Zoya even auditioned a lot of women before roping in the beautiful actress - Katrina Kaif. Reveals Zoya, 'Yes that's true we auditioned a lot of women before finalising Katrina. Actually we needed a half Indian and half Caucatian girl, who would be willing to ride a bike, scuba dive and one who is physically fit. I tested a lot of people from New york and London but nothing really interested me. Also, I didn't know Katrina at all, till I met her at a party. It was only at that time I realised 'Sh*t man. What am I doing. She is the one I was looking for'.'

Leaving aside the commercial aspect, ZNMD star cast is made up of actors, who come from different worlds. But Zoya considers it to be ideal combination of cast and quite elated to bring them together.

'Isn't it interesting to cast people that make a heady mix? When you put actors together who don't usually come together or who come from different school of acting there's new dynamic and a new energy formed. Though they come from different worlds and have a different sense and styles of working, they do look like they belong together on a poster. And I think it's quite fun and exciting to have them together. Someone should take initiative to attempt something new. So why not me?' says the excited Zoya.

Zoya Akhtar's ZNMD, which is touted as guys' flick, does have scope for women as well. She says, 'Of course they do. You take any example RANG DE BASANTI or DIL CHAHTA HAI or ROCK ON or any boys film the women have very pertinent parts. I mean I don't write bad characters for women.'

Zoya is quite fond of films on raod trips and from long time she was looking forward to do something on similar lines and then ZINDAGI happened. 'I love roadtrips. And I have always wanted to do a film on road trips. My first film LUCK BY CHANCE was very interior movie set in Mumbai. So this time around I wanted go outdoors. I wanted to do something visually completely different. Reema Kagti, my co-writer, and me started talking discussing about it and the idea just came in. It is the fastest script written - just 3 months,' concludes the filmmaker.