It’s a big weekend for Bollywood fans in Chicagoland. In addition to the annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival and four Hindi titles carrying over in theaters, three new Bollywood movies make their local debuts on September 20, 2019. The Sonam Kapoor Ahuja-Dulquer Salmaan romantic comedy The Zoya Factor gets the widest release of the three newcomers.
The Zoya Factor opens Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera in Warrenville, and AMC Naperville 16 in Naperville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 14 min. The Zoya Factor is headed to Hotstar after its theatrical run, likely in November.
Another new romance opening this weekend is Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, directed by Sunny Deol and starring his son Karan in his big screen debut.
Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas opens Friday at MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 34 min. It’s produced and distributed by Zee Studios, so expect it to head to Zee5 for streaming.
The final new release is the political drama Prassthanam, starring Sanjay Dutt and an impressive supporting cast that includes Ali Fazal, Manisha Koirala, Chunky Pandey, and Jackie Shroff.
Prassthanam opens Friday at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.
After a great opening weekend, Dream Girl gets a second week at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, and Cantera.
Section 375 also holds over for a second week at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.
Chhichhore is still going strong heading into a third week at the River East 21, MovieMax, South Barrington 24, Cantera, and Naperville 16.
Finally, Mission Mangal gets a sixth week at the AMC Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.
Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend (all films have English subtitles):
- Valmiki (Telugu) at MovieMax, Century 16 Deer Park in Deer Park, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge
- Gang Leader (Telugu) at Century 16 Deer Park, MovieMax, Stratford Square, Seven Bridges, and Century 12 Evanston in Evanston
- Kaapaan (Tamil) at MovieMax and Seven Bridges
- Bandobast (Telugu) at Seven Bridges
- Nikka Zaildar 3 (Punjabi) at the South Barrington 24
- Porinju Mariam Jose (Malayalam), Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (Tamil), Love Action Drama (Malayalam), and Ittymaani: Made in China (Malayalam) at MovieMax
Do you know which streaming is getting Prassthanam?
I can’t find any information on it.
We’re getting that Prassthanam but not Zoya Factor or Pal Pal Dil Ki Paas. I just wanted to know if I should see it in the theater or not.
Have you considered changing careers and becoming your theater’s movie booker, Jill? 😉 I’ve asked around, and I’ll reply here if I find out.
Prassthanam is coming to Amazon Prime.
I watched Prassthanam finally. Most of the characters get developed so it’s a rather thought-provoking movie.
Baldev, Sanjay Dutt, marries a friend’s wife once he dies and takes care of the two kids. The couple then has a third. The oldest, Palak, is a girl who hates the new dad. The middle, played by Ali Fazal, turns out to be the favorite child. The youngest, Vivan, just has fun. Baldev and Ayushmann (Ali Fazal) are politically strong. Vivan wants his dad’s love and power but he lacks the brains for politics. Baldev tries to get Vivan to go study abroad and explain that he isn’t cut out for politics. It doesn’t work. Then it’s trying to win the election against political foes and foes from your own family.
There’s a fair amount of violence in the film. Ayush tries to live responsibly but he uses violence as a means to accomplish the ends. The love story of Ayush fizzles out quickly. The girl is still around but loses any meaning after the falling in love song. Ali plays the character very well with all the angst of the family dynamics. He wants unity in the family but it doesn’t happen even with all his efforts.
Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff do a good job. In English the Shiv guy isn’t explained well enough with subtitles, in my opinion. I know he was the dad of the two kids but in the political realm, I never got his role with their characters roles. Sanjay and Jackie act like old buddies with deep loyalty, to a point. They played their dad parts well. You can see their protection and love.
Maybe in India the politics part was more evident (with the colors of the flags they carry or something) but using subtitles, the politics seem to just be a reason for the story to happen. The strategy and deal parts are interesting though. Prassthanam is a movie worth watching.
Thanks for the review, Jill! The cast always looked intriguing, and I do love it when Sanjay Dutt plays dad roles. (I mean, someone has to when none of the Khans are willing to, even though they’re only about 5 years younger than Sanjay!) Political thrillers seem to be the most prone to having subtitles that don’t quite give enough information for international audiences to really get the full experience. That doesn’t bother me as much for the subs used for theatrical release, but since streaming services often remake or tweak the original subs — why not take the opportunity to improve on them?