Tag Archives: Agneepath

Streaming Video News: February 21, 2023

It’s last call for a bunch of Dharma Productions titles on Amazon Prime and Netflix, which will also lose a ton of Balaji Motion Pictures films this week as well. Here’s what’s leaving when, and why this may not be cause for panic.

First of all, thanks to CinemaRare on Twitter for listing the movies on the way out. One thing to notice immediately is that some of the titles on CinemaRare’s list are currently available in India but not the United States. This is because streaming rights are negotiated on a regional — and sometimes country-specific — basis between the company that owns the film’s rights and the streaming service interested in licensing them. These contracts cover a specified time period, after which the rights holder can renegotiate a new contract or shop their content elsewhere.

That’s likely what’s happening with Dharma and Balaji now. There’s every chance that they will simply sign a new contract with the same streaming companies for another few years. Balaji did that in late 2020 with Netflix. If that’s the case, then the titles may only be unavailable for a short window. I’m going to wait a week or two before removing the links to the expiring titles from my Netflix list and my Amazon Prime list just in case the films are renewed.

However, there is a chance that the Dharma Productions titles may not return to Netflix. Karan Johar and Dharma have a deal with Amazon Prime to bring their newest theatrical releases to Prime and to create new streaming content for the service. I won’t be shocked if they want to make the back catalog exclusive to Prime as well. If you subscribe to Netflix but not Prime, you may want to prioritize watching the expiring Dharma titles listed below this week.

Here are all of the Dharma Productions and Balaji Motion Pictures titles expiring from Netflix and Amazon Prime in the next week (note that the last day to watch is the day before the expiration date):

Expiring from Netflix February 27 (Balaji Motion Pictures titles)

Expiring from Netflix February 28 (Dharma Productions titles)

Expiring from Netflix March 1

Expiring from Amazon Prime February 27 (Dharma Productions titles)*

*The Amazon Prime Dharma list looks small by comparison to the Netflix list because some of the films are available on Eros Now instead of Prime, while others have already expired from Prime. Keeping track of all this stuff is no joke!

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Streaming Video News: April 1, 2020

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with loads of newly added Indian content. In addition to the Hindi film Paharganj, the 2020 Tamil releases Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal and Sethum Aayiram Pon are now available for streaming. A bunch of animated kids movies and series in Hindi were also added: Akbar Birbal, Bal Ganesh, Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan, Mighty Raju Rio Calling, and Punyakoti (Sanskrit). But the big news is the new batch of movies from the Dharma Productions catalog that are now available for streaming:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with lots of newly added Indian titles, including the following 2020 releases:

[Disclaimer: all of my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Opening February 17: Ekk Deewana Tha

The poster for this week’s big Bollywood release, Ekk Deewana Tha, shrewdly bills the movie as “An A.R. Rahman & Javed Akhtar Musical,” highlighting its Oscar-winning composer and acclaimed lyricist rather than the movie’s relatively unknown stars.

Ekk Deewana Tha opens in the Chicago are on Friday, February 17, 2012 at three theaters: Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. EDT‘s official website has a national theater list. The movie is rated PG and has a runtime of 2 hrs. 20 min.

After posting respectable U.S. theater earnings of $637,100 in its first week, the romantic comedy Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu gets a second week at all of the above theaters. The revenge thriller Agneepath carries over for a fourth week at the South Barrington 30, having earned $1,912,870 from three weeks in the United States.

Other Indian movies showing at the Golf Glen 5 this weekend include the Telugu films Nippu and Poola Rangadu, as well as the Tamil movie Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi and its Telugu version, Love Failure.

Opening February 10: Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Bollywood sends a new romantic comedy to Chicago area theaters. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu — a loose remake of What Happens in Vegas — stars Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan as a mismatched pair who get married after a drunken night out.

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu opens on Friday, February 10, 2012, at the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. The movie has a runtime of 1 hr. 50 min.

All three of the above theaters are also carrying over the thriller Agneepath, which has earned $1,750,843 in its first two weeks in U.S. theaters.

Other Indian movies showing at the Golf Glen 5 this weekend include SMS (Telugu) and Spanish Masala (Malayalam).

In Theaters February 3, 2012

Chicago area theaters are taking a break from programming any new Hindi films in anticipation of next weekend’s big release, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. As a result, the only Bollywood movies in theaters the weekend beginning Friday, February 3, is Agneepath.

Agneepath — which earned $1,213,096 in its first weekend in U.S. theaters — carries over at the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville.

Other Indian movies showing at the Golf Glen 5 this weekend include Bodyguard (Telugu), Business Man (Telugu) and Casanovva (Malayalam).

Movie Review: Agneepath (2012)

2 Stars (out of 4)

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

Revenge thrillers seem easy to make because of the assumption that everyone can relate to the desire to avenge a loved one’s wrongful death. But being able to relate is not the same as caring, and writer-director Karan Malhotra doesn’t give the audience a reason to care whether the protagonist gets his revenge.

The story in Agneepath (“Path of Fire,” a remake of a 1990 film by the same name) centers on Vijay (Hrithik Roshan), who, as a 12-year-old boy, witnessed the murder of his pacifist father at the hands of Kancha (Sanjay Dutt), a drug lord intent on turning their quiet island of Mandwa into a hub of cocaine production.

Fifteen years later, Vijay is the right-hand man of Mumbai drug lord Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor). The unusual career move is part of Vijay’s convoluted long-term plan to acquire enough power to challenge Kancha and kill him, though it estranges him from his mother and young sister.

Agneepath is wonderfully atmospheric and beautiful to look at. Kancha lives in a dilapidated, evil-looking mansion decorated in deep blues and greys. Vijay’s sweetheart, Kaali (Priyanka Chopra), is depicted surrounded by vivid reds and cheerful colors. But the stunning visuals can’t distract from a story and characters that feel underdeveloped.

I’m willing to accept that Vijay chooses a method of revenge more complicated than 1) return to Mandwa, 2) shoot Kancha, in order to relay a parable about not abandoning one’s principles. But, for the parable to be effective, Vijay has to be a good guy at his core. I’m not convinced that he is.

Sure, he donates money to the impoverished residents of his neighborhood, but so does Rauf Lala. It’s an easy way for mafia dons to ensure that folks ignore their nefarious activities, and Lala is worse than most.

In addition to peddling drugs, Lala runs a sex-trafficking operation, selling young girls to the highest bidder. Not until Lala is hospitalized — and after Vijay has made himself Lala’s heir-apparent — does Vijay set the captive girls free. So, for fifteen years, Vijay turned a blind eye, as girls younger than his own sister were sold into prostitution. Not exactly the actions of a hero.

A bigger problem than whether Vijay really is Robin Hood at heart is that there’s not much character development to speak of. We just don’t know much about him. What does a sweet girl like Kaali see in Vijay? Why does righteous police inspector Gaitonde (Om Puri) have a soft spot for him?

Despite the movie being nearly three hours long, it feels as though the characters — especially Kaali and Kancha — have little to do. It’s an unfortunate waste of a talented cast. All of the emotional scenes are reserved for the final hour of the movie, well after the window for character development has closed.

The movie on the whole is terribly violent, particularly a machete killing spree performed by transvestite prostitutes. There are a couple of vibrant and entertaining dance numbers, including a cameo by Katrina Kaif, but they aren’t worth enduring the rest of Agneepath‘s overly-long story.

Links

Opening January 26: Agneepath

Bucking tradition, Agneepath (“Path of Fire”) storms into Chicago area theaters on Thursday, January 26, 2012. The Bollywood revenge thriller stars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra opposite Sanjay Dutt as a villainous (and eyebrow-less) drug lord.

Agneepath opens on Thursday at the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. Given that most other new movies open on Friday, expect showtimes for Agneepath to change from Thursday to Friday. The film has a runtime of 2 hrs. 48 min.

Other Indian movies showing at the Golf Glen 5 as of Friday, January 27, include Bodyguard (Telugu), Business Man (Telugu) and Nanban (Tamil).

In Theaters January 20, 2012

For a second weekend, there are no new Hindi films opening in Chicago area theaters. That should change next week with the release of Agneepath, which stars Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt.

The AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington is carrying over Players and the 2D-version of Don 2,which has earned $3,651,705 during four weeks in U.S. theaters.

This weekend, the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles is showing Arabeem Ottakom P. Madhavan Nayarum in Oru Marubhoomikkadha (Malayalam), Bodyguard (Telugu), Nanban (Tamil), Vettai (Tamil) and Business Man (Telugu), which also carries over at the Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge.