Opening July 7: Mom and Guest Iin London

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Two new Hindi films hit Chicago area theaters on July 7, 2017. Sridevi plays the title character in the thriller Mom, which gets the wider release of the two movies.

Mom opens Friday at AMC River East 21 in Chicago, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

This weekend’s other new release is the comedy Guest Iin London, the followup to 2010’s Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?. Paresh Rawal returns as the problematic guest, but Ajay Devgn and Konkona Sen Sharma aren’t back for the sequel, sadly. Guest Iin London opens Friday at the South Barrington 24 and has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 13 min.

Following a stellar holiday weekend, The Big Sick expands across the Chicago area on Friday. Tubelight carries over at MovieMax and the South Barrington 24.

Tickets are already on sale for the 15th anniversary presentation of Devdas, taking place in theaters across the United States on Sunday, July 23. Visit Fathom Events for more information and a list of theaters carrying the special showing.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

Streaming Video News: July 5, 2017

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Heera with two exciting new additions to the catalog. The problematic 2017 romantic comedy Badrinath Ki Dulhania is now available for streaming. If you’ve been waiting to see it before listening the episode of the Split Screen Podcast in which Shah Shahid and I compare Badrinath to Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, now’s your chance. Also new on Heera is actress Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial debut A Death in the Gunj, which opened in Indian theaters just last month. Thanks to Gaurav Arora for alerting me to the new addition!

Bollywood Box Office: June 30-July 2, 2017

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Things didn’t get any better for Salman Khan’s Tubelight in its second weekend in North America. From June 30-July 2, 2017, Tubelight earned $157,499 from 169 theaters ($932 average), bringing its total to $1,448,473. Tubelight‘s earned 83% less in its second weekend than its first — a much larger first-to-second-weekend drop than experienced by the other 2017 releases that earned more than $1 million here (which experienced drops ranging from 52%-71%). On the year’s list of overall highest earners in North America, you have to go down to OK Jaanu in 13th place to find a worse week-to-week holdover. The only caveat is that attendance in the United States was likely spread out over five days instead of three because of Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4. The daily earnings report by 143 Cinema provides some supporting evidence of that possibility. Still, this is a really disappointing performance.

Other Hindi movies still in US theaters:

  • Hindi Medium: Week 7; $6,186 from one theater; $784,609 total
  • Baahubali 2: Week 10; $890 from two theaters; $445 average; $20787,324 total

Sources: 143 Cinema and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Streaming Video News: July 1, 2017

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Heera with two exciting new additions to the catalog. The 2017 movies Begum Jaan and Hindi Medium (which I loved) are now available for streaming. Both films got small theatrical releases in the United States, so this is a great opportunity to catch up on movies that were easy to miss. Better yet, watch them for free with Heera’s free 7-day trial.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with more than twenty additions to the catalog, a mix of previously available titles and stuff brand new to the service. I’ve reviewed many of the films, including (click on the star-rating for my review):

Along with the Malayalam film Toymaker, the other Hindi movies added to Netflix today are Aankhen, Amrapali, Bheja Fry 2, Big Brother, Dashavatar: Every Era Has a Hero, Ishq Viskh, Lal Patthar, Liar’s Dice, Masti, Professor, Sarkar, and Yaar Gaddar. In the last month, Netflix has added almost fifty new Indian titles to its streaming catalog! For everything else new on Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

Movie Review: The Big Sick (2017)

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3.5 Stars (out of 4)

Buy the movie at Amazon or iTunes
Buy the soundtrack at Amazon or iTunes

Our true natures are hard to hide. They find a way of bubbling to the surface, even during trying times. Such is the lesson learned by Kumail Nanjiani in The Big Sick, a movie about his real-life love story with his wife, Emily Gordon.

Nanjiani plays a version of himself in the movie, which was co-written by Gordon. “Emily” is played onscreen by Zoe Kazan. The film isn’t a strict biopic, as the action takes place in the modern day, and not when the couple met in the mid-2000s.

Kumail and Emily meet at a Chicago comedy club following one of his standup sets. As a busy grad student, she’s only looking for a one-night-stand, but love blossoms anyway. They make an adorable couple who genuinely like one another.

Yet Kumail’s family presents a huge obstacle to their future together, his parents having brought their traditional concepts of marriage with them from Pakistan when they moved to the United States more than a decade earlier. When Kumail’s dad, Azmat (Anupam Kher) refers to a cousin and “that white woman he lives with,” Kumail corrects him: “They’re married.”

Kumail’s mom Sharmeen (Zenobia Shroff) is so determined to find her son a Pakistani-American bride, she arranges a series of eligible young women to “drop by” when Kumail happens to be home for dinner. Emily’s discovery of the ongoing matchmaking attempts — and Kumail’s refusal to mention their relationship to his parents — crushes her.

Kumail’s unwillingness to be honest with his parents about his future plans doesn’t only weigh on him and hurt Emily. It keeps his parents from being able to accept their son for who he is: a  product of two national cultures.

All the women that Kumail’s mother parades in front of him are victimized by his indecision, as well. He dismisses the idea of arranged marriage, but these women don’t. Meeting them wastes their time and unfairly raises expectations. One woman, Khadija (Vella Lovell) — who herself is quite a catch — calls Kumail out for his self-centeredness. (If there are to be any other movies set in The Big Sick universe, I’d love to see a romantic comedy with Khadija as the main character.)

Kumail’s true nature can’t hide forever, especially not when he’s faced with a crisis. Days after an explosive break-up fight with Emily, she’s hospitalized with a an illness. It falls on Kumail to contact her parents — Beth (Holly Hunter) and Terry (Ray Romano) — who aren’t pleased to meet the man who broke their daughter’s heart. Kumail’s awkward small talk results in an off-color 9/11 joke, because that’s who he is: a comedian.

The affection Nanjiani and Gordon have for each other and their families is evident in the script, delivered lovingly by a dream cast. Updating their story for cinematic purposes allows director Michael Showalter to set a pace that provides room to breathe but never feels slow. Best of all, The Big Sick, is very, very funny.

Links

In Theaters: June 30, 2017

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After a slow start at the US box office (especially for a Salman Khan movie), Tubelight gets a second week at the following Chicagoland theaters as of Friday, June 30, 2017: AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, and AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge.

While no new Hindi films open locally this weekend, Bollywood fans will want to check out Anupam Kher and Shenaz Treasurywala in The Big Sick, a wonderful romantic comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani about his real-life love story with his wife, Emily Gordon (who co-wrote the film with him). Following its debut in New York and Los Angeles last weekend, The Big Sick opens in select Chicago area theaters on Friday, before expanding regionally and nationwide next weekend. Click the following link to find out when and where The Big Sick is showing near you: http://tickets.thebigsickmovie.com/

The Pakistani movie Yalghaar (Urdu w/English subtitles) opens Friday at the Niles 12, South Barrington 24, and Cantera 17.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend:

Streaming Video News: June 27, 2017

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with one new addition to the catalog. The animated children’s movie Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan is now available for streaming. Half-a-dozen titles are set to expire from Netflix on July 1, including: Bajatey Raho, Darr @ the Mall, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Greater Elephant, and Kshay.

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with the addition of the 2016 Malayalam movie Shyam to the streaming service. For everything else new on Amazon Prime or Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

And I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Heera because Action Replayy is now available for streaming. The only reason to watch the 2010 time travel comedy is to see just how far Aditya Roy Kapur has come as an actor, because he’s super annoying in Action Replayy.

Bollywood Box Office: June 23-25, 2017

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Salman Khan’s Tubelight debuted in second place in the United States among new Indian movies, behind Allu Arjun’s Telugu film DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham! Salman squeaked out victory in North America overall thanks to the contributions of theaters in Canada — where DJ didn’t even release. From June 23-25, 2017, Bollywood Hungama reports that Tubelight earned $926,816 from 372 North American theaters ($2,491 average; adjusted average of $2,710 from 342 theaters*). Of that total, $169,344 came from 30 Canadian theaters, amounting to 18% of the total earnings from just 8% of the total theaters (342). Gitesh Pandya of Box Office Guru reports North American earnings of $930,058 from 338 theaters ($2,752 average) for Tubelight. That total was good enough to rank in 14th place at the overall North American box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

It’s easy to forget that the notion of Salman as a box office gold mine is a recent development in North America. Until the blockbuster performance of Bajrangi Bhaijaan in the summer of 2015, none of Salman’s films managed to earn more than $2.5 million here. Tubelight should earn around $2 million over the course of its run, putting it in line with the earnings of his releases from 2011-2014 — movies like Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, and Kick. We’ll have to wait until Tiger Zinda Hai releases this Christmas to see if Salman’s superb (if short) string of hits is really over.

DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham took in $873,249 from 190 US theaters ($4,596 average), 15th place overall at the North American box office.

Other Hindi movies still showing in the US:

  • Hindi Medium: Week 6; $9,228 from five theaters; $1,846 average; $773,477 total
  • Baahubali 2: Week 9; $726 from three theaters; $242 average; $20,786,308 total

*Bollywood Hungama frequently counts Canadian theaters twice in when they report figures for a film’s first few weeks of release. When possible, I verify theater counts at Box Office Mojo, but I use Bollywood Hungama as my primary source because they provide a comprehensive and consistent — if flawed — data set.

Sources: Box Office Guru, Box Office Mojo, and Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Streaming Video News: June 25, 2017

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with two new additions to the catalog. The reprehensible 2017 thriller Kaabil is now available for streaming, though I’d discourage anyone from actually watching it. Instead, watch the classic Mughal-E-Azam, which also just joined the streaming service (thanks for the heads up, Gaurav!). For everything else new on Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

Opening June 23: Tubelight

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Salman Khan’s annual Eid release hits theaters on June 23, 2017. Tubelight is an official remake of the 2015 faith-based film Little Boy, with Salman essaying a role played by an 8-year-old in the original. Chinese actress Zhu Zhu costars in the movie.

Tubelight opens Friday in 342 theaters across North America, including the following Chicagoland theaters: AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Century 12 Evanston in Evanston, Regal Round Lake Beach Stadium 18 in Round Lake Beach, AMC Showplace Niles 12 in Niles, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC Dine-In Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, AMC South Barrington 24 in South Barrington, Marcus Addison Cinema in Addison, Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville, AMC Showplace Naperville 16 in Naperville, Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, AMC Loews Woodridge 18 in Woodridge, and AMC Loews Crestwood 18 in Crestwood. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs 15 min.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend: