Connect with us
Wednesday,05-February-2025
Breaking News

Entertainment

Lights, camera, little action: ‘Bell Bottom’, ‘Chehre’ yet to pull crowds

Published

on

Bell-Bottom-Chehre-business

Two back-to-back big releases — Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bell Bottom’ and the Amitabh Bachchan star vehicle, ‘Chehre’, both well-received by critics — may have buoyed the spirits of film exhibitors, but their box-office collections have been far from encouraging.

‘Bell Bottom’, which was released on August 19, according to trade analysts, has grossed Rs 18.55 crore till date. Compare this with the Rs 64.99 crore collected in its opening weekend by ‘Good Newzz’ (with Diljit Dosanjh), Akshay’s last film before the first nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. And that was far less than the extended opening weekend earnings — Rs 97.56 crore — of the other big 2019 film, ‘Mission Mangal’.

A number of factors have contributed to this significant drop in earnings: cinema theatres are still under lockdown in Mumbai and Pune, depriving Bollywood of 25 per cent of its revenues; the requirement in a number of malls for patrons to produce double vaccination certificates before being allowed in, which is affecting attendance in theatres located in malls; and, significantly, the closure of 1,500 single screens across India because of the pandemic-induced economic stress.

On ‘Chehre’, which opened on Friday, the analysts were not very bullish about box-office figures. Karan Taurani of Elara Capital predicted that it would make a “lifetime collection” of Rs 5-6 crore because of its “niche” storyline that only a “discerning audience” would appreciate.

Taurani also pointed out that collections have been low because of “very low occupancy in morning shows and night shows not being allowed”. He also blamed the low occupancies forced by social distancing norms being in force. Also, over the last eight days, barring this past Sunday, which did see a spike in Delhi as a result of Raksha Bandhan festivities, attendance in theatres was at an all-time low across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Exhibitors, however, are cautiously optimistic about their business coming back to life, even if partially, because of ‘Bell Bottom’ and ‘Chehre’.

Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Limited, said in a conversation with IANS: “Post the reopening of cinemas after the second wave, ‘Bell Bottom’ was the first big Bollywood movie to have hit the big screen. And it has done reasonably well within the restrictions in capacity, show limitations and weekend closures.”

He also emphasised the lockdown still in place for cinema theatres in “major markets such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”

The sentiment was share by Rajender Singh Jyala, Chief Programming Officer, INOX Leisure.

Speaking to IANS, he said: “We have always said that the industry needed a couple of mass entertainers to kick off the recovery process, and we are glad that these have arrive and are doing phenomenally well, despite the restrictions.”

“We positively hope that the momentum built by the fantastic response to ‘Bell Bottom’ in the week gone by, and the hype around ‘Chehre’, would mark the onset of our revival journey.”

For Dutta, more than the initial numbers, it is the momentum that matters. He said to IANS: “We are encouraged by the release of the long-awaited ‘Chehre’ today. Hope this will encourage producers from the Bollywood fraternity to announce their big films for theatrical release and get movie-goers back to cinemas.”

Entertainment

Makers of Sai Pallavi, Naga Chaitanya-starrer ‘Thandel’ thank AP government for permission to hike ticket price

Published

on

Chennai, Feb 5: The makers of director Chandoo Mondeti’s upcoming film, ‘Thandel’, featuring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi in the lead, have now thanked the Andhra Pradesh government for granting them permission to hike the prices of the film’s tickets during the first week of the film’s release.

The government has granted permission for single screens to hike the price of a ticket by Rs 50 and multiplexes to hike the price of a ticket by Rs 75.

Taking to its X timeline, Geetha Arts, the production house that has produced the film,wrote, “We would like to extend our gratitude to AP CM Shri @ncbn Garu, Hon’ble Dy CM Shri @PawanKalyan Garu, and Minister of Cinematography @kanduladurgesh Garu for approving the ticket hike for our prestigious film #Thandel. A special note of thanks to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for its vision and unwavering encouragement in empowering the film industry.“

The film, which is to hit screens on February 7, has been directed by Chandoo Mondeti, and is based on a true story in which 20 Indian fishermen from Andhra Pradesh were captured by Pakistan authorities and imprisoned for 22 years.

Allu Aravind, at an event, disclosed the details of the true story. He said, “This true story happened in (a place) nearby Vizag, in a small village. People had gone to Gujarat for fishing for 30 days. Unfortunately, due to some weather problem, they crossed the international borders and suddenly they realised that Pakistan people had caught them and taken them to jail. They were there for 22 years. Their families in the village — how they suffered, how they rose to bring them back, and what their struggle was — this is the story of the film.”

While ‘Thandel’ carries an impressive star cast, it also carries a spectacular crew. National Award-winning composer Devi Sri Prasad has scored the music for this film, which has cinematography by Shamdat.

National Award-winning Naveen Nooli is the editor, and Srinagendra Tangala leads the art department. Directed by Chandoo Mondeti, ‘Thandel’ is produced by Bunny Vasu under the banner of Geetha Arts, with Allu Aravind presenting it. The film is set to hit screens on February 7.

Continue Reading

Bollywood

Shatrughan Sinha TROLLED For Demanding Ban On Non-Veg Food In India While Praising UCC In Uttarakhand

Published

on

New Delhi: Veteran Bollywood actor and All India Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha demanded a ban on non-veg in India while interacting with media persons outside the Parliament on Tuesday (February 4). He lauded the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand while also pointing out the complexities of enforcing such a law across the country. However, he was trolled for his statement.

Sinha expressed his support for the UCC but opened up about the regional disparities that could pose challenges in its nationwide application.

“Beef has been banned in many parts of the country. I think that not only beef, but non-vegetarian food in general should be banned in the country. However, in some places, it is still legal to consume beef, including the northeast,” Sinha remarked.

He added a touch of humour to his statement, saying, “Waha khao toh yummy, par humare North India mein khao toh mummy (It is okay to eat it in the northeast, but not in North India).”

Netizens react to Shatrughan Sinha’s statement

Soon after a video of the actor’s statement surfaced, netizens trolled him, asking how is non-veg food related to UCC.

Reacting to his statement, a user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “UCC is not for food habits… its about marriage and property rights.”

“Non vegetarian food and uniform civil code, what’s he speaking? 😀” read another comment.

Another comment read, “Food has nothing to do with UCC. This is plight of MPs who only spread disinformation all the time.”

“It’s not govts right to tell what people should eat and not , try to fix other bigger issues like like pollution and people littering and shitting in open,” wrote a user.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Sinha won from Asansol (West Bengal) seat. He defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s Surendrajit Singh Ahluwalia by a margin of 59,564 votes.

On the film front, he was last seen on the big screens in the 2018 movie Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se. He played the role of a judge in the film.

Continue Reading

Bollywood

Rakesh Roshan Says He Doesn’t Have Budget For Krrish 4: ‘Marvel, DC Jaise Picture Bana Nahi Sakte, Itne Paise Nahi Hai’

Published

on

Mumbai: Rakesh Roshan discussed the delay in directing Krrish 4, which stars his son Hrithik Roshan, stating that he is unable to get the required budget for the film. He revealed that due to the grand scale of the movie, managing the finances has become a challenge.

In an interview with Gaana, Rakesh shared, “Kaafi saal se wait kar rahe hain lekin mera budgeting ho nahi raha hai. Picture ka scale bada hai. Scale chota karta hoon toh ek aam picture lagti hai. The world has become smaller. Aaj kal ke jo bacche hain, voh superheroes ki pictures itni dekh chuke hain ki unhe thoda sa bhi kuch fault nazar aayega toh criticise karenge.”

Further, Rakesh cited the examples of Marvel and DC, stating that they can’t create films like Krrish 4 in the same way, as they don’t have the same budget to spend. “We have to be very careful. Itne paise hote nahi hain humare paas. Hume kahani pe zyada concentrate karna padta hai. Halaki bade bade sequences honge picture main par agar 10 nahi honge toh 2 honge ya 3 honge,” he added.

Krrish 3 was released in 2013, starring Hrithik, Kangana Ranaut, Vivek Oberoi and Priyanka Chopra in the lead. The film became a massive hit, grossing Rs 393.37 crore at the box office, after being produced on a budget of Rs 95 crore.

The first movie in the Krrish superhero franchise was the 2003 film Koi… Mil Gaya, starring Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, and Rekha. This was followed by Krrish, which was released in theatres in 2006.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending