Tag Archives: Shamitabh

Worst Bollywood Movies of 2015

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While the majority of the worst Bollywood films of 2015 are guilty of garden variety stupidity, a pair of movies were especially loathsome. Here are my picks for the worst Bollywood movies of 2015. (Click on the title of each movie to read my original review.)

The dual-narrative romantic drama Roy wound up on the list due to an excess of ennui and emotionally immature dialogue.

I wish that both Gabbar Is Back and Welcome Back had stayed away.

Jazbaa managed to make talented actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Irrfan Khan look ridiculous (and green-tinted).

Two awful examples of Bollywood nepotism made the list. Producer-offspring Jackky Bhagnani’s inevitable rise to super-stardom was deferred yet again by his awful performance in Welcome 2 Karachi. In her Bollywood debut, Govinda’s daughter Tina single-handedly ruins Second Hand Husband with her squinty delivery and nonexistent dance moves.

The most painful theater-going experience of the year was Shamitabh, a movie so annoying that I was literally begging out loud for it to end.

Dirty Politics is a textbook example of how not to make a movie.

The offensive Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 came in a close second place for suggesting that all women who report being raped are liars. That such a hateful movie purports to be a comedy makes it all the more disturbing.

My worst movie of 2015 struck a nerve, going beyond just offending and veering into moral recklessness. Director Umesh Shukla and writers Sumit Arora and Niren Bhatt should be ashamed for claiming that Alzheimer’s disease is a result of filial neglect that can easily be cured if children are nicer to their parents. Given that a lack of awareness about Alzheimer’s persists in India, using a film to offer bogus medical advice and assign undeserved blame is irresponsible. For those reasons — in addition to it being just a plain old sucky movie — my worst Bollywood film of 2015 is All Is Well.

Kathy’s Ten Worst Bollywood Movies of 2015

  1. All Is Well — Buy/rent at iTunes or Amazon
  2. Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 — Buy at Amazon
  3. Dirty Politics — Buy/rent at iTunes or Amazon
  4. Shamitabh — Buy at Amazon
  5. Second Hand Husband
  6. Welcome 2 Karachi
  7. Jazbaa — Buy/rent at Amazon
  8. Welcome Back — Buy at Amazon
  9. Gabbar Is Back — Buy/rent at iTunes or Amazon
  10. Roy — Buy/rent at iTunes or Amazon

Previous Worst Movies Lists

Bollywood Box Office: October 9-11

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Jazbaa turned in a disappointing opening weekend in North America. During the weekend of October 9-11, 2015, Jazbaa earned $233,186 from 132 theaters ($1,767 average).

Jazbaa‘s performance helps define a kind of Bollywood dead zone at the North American box office, in which movies opening in the 120-140 theater range consistently under-perform. In addition to Jazbaa, three other films have opened in this same range, and all have posted disappointing opening weekend per-theater averages: Tevar (125 theaters/$1,007 average), Shamitabh (137 theaters/$1,573 average), and Katti Batti (127 theaters/$1,507 average). Perhaps the lesson for distributors is that, if you aren’t confident that a given movie could carry 150 theaters, better to limit its release to around 100 theaters. All the better for avoiding the appearance of a flop.

Singh Is Bliing finished the weekend in second place among the four Hindi films playing in North America. It added another $173,329 from 108 theaters ($1,605 average) to bring its two-week total to $808,310.

Talvar held up very well, losing only 37% percent of its opening weekend business (compared to Singh Is Bliing‘s 64% drop). Talvar earned $83,211 from 47 theaters ($1,770 average), bringing its two-week total to $269,253.

Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon closed out its third weekend, adding $6,828 from seven theaters ($975 average) to its total haul of $347,289.

This weekend provided yet more fuel for my obsession with the differences in the American and Canadian markets for Bollywood films (the figures above are for the entire North American territory, but Rentrak breaks the figures down by country). Here’s a comparison of each film’s US and Canadian per-theater averages:

  • Jazbaa: USA — $1,569; CAN — $2,941
  • Singh Is Bliing: USA — $1,055; CAN — $4,026
  • Talvar: USA — $1,848; CAN — $1,445
  • Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon: USA — $438; CAN — $2,320

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Streaming Video News: August 13, 2015

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I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with one new addition to the catalog. 1999’s Taal — starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Akshaye Khanna — is now available for streaming. Another of Aishwarya’s movies — 2004’s Bride and Prejudice — was added to the catalog last week. These new additions almost balance out the recent departures of Besharam, Boss, and Jab We Met. For everything else new on Netflix, check out Instant Watcher.

Eros Now recently added several 2015 releases to its streaming lineup, some of which are available for free. (If you need English subtitles, however, you have to upgrade to the $7.99 monthly premium subscription.) Here’s the fare from the current year available on Eros Now:

Bollywood Box Office: March 13-15

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After enduring three weeks with no new Hindi films in North American theaters, fans turned out in large numbers for the thriller NH10. During the weekend of March 13-15, 2015, NH10 earned $143,209 from 46 theaters. Its per-screen average earnings of $3,113 are second highest for the year, behind Baby‘s $4,393 opening weekend average.

NH10‘s per-screen average is twice that of another actress-led film from 2015, January’s Dolly Ki Doli ($1,557 average). Dolly Ki Doli had the theoretical advantages of Rajkummar Rao in a supporting role and a cameo by Saif Ali Khan, but it overreached by opening in 72 theaters. Plus, NH10 is simply a better movie.

2014 featured two more direct comparisons by which to measure NH10‘s performance: Queen and Gulaab Gang. Both movies released on March 7, 2014, with Queen opening in 39 theaters in the United States and Canada and Gulaab Gang in 46. In their first weekend in theaters, Queen took in $161,998 ($4,154 average) and Gulaab Gang $60,718 ($1,320 average).

It’s hard to imagine any movie receiving the extraordinary uptick in business that propelled Queen to an eventual total in excess of $1.4 million, but NH10‘s opening weekend performance is closer to that of Queen than to other recent female-led films. With no new releases of note on the horizon for the rest of the month and a positive IMDb rating of 7.6 stars, NH10 should hold up well in the weeks to come.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Badlapur: Week 4; $6,495 from eight theaters; $812 average; 418,490 total
  • Roy: Week 5; $196 from one theater; $242,344 total
  • Shamitabh: Week 6; $52 from one theater; $299,352 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Bollywood Box Office: March 6-8

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It’s been three weeks since the last Bollywood movie of note released in the United States and Canada, and that fact is apparent in the North American box office numbers from the weekend of March 6-8, 2015 (not that the weekend was much better on the domestic release front):

  • Badlapur: Week 3; $20,368 from 24 theaters; $849 average; $406,380 total
  • Roy: Week 4; $362 from two theaters; $181 average; $242,148 total
  • Shamitabh: Week 5; $194 from one theater; $299,305 total

Let’s hope that the release of NH10 on March 13 gets things back on track.

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Bollywood Box Office: February 27-March 1

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With no new Hindi films in theaters to provide competition, Badlapur dominated the North American box office for a second weekend in a row. From February 27-March 1, 2015, Badlapur earned $86,959 from 58 theaters ($1,499 average). That brings its total earnings in the United States and Canada to $367,392.

In its third weekend in theaters, Roy took in $3,037 from seven theaters ($434 average), bringing its North American total to $240,765. Shamitabh closed out its four-week run with an additional $268 from two theaters ($138 average), bringing its total earnings to $299,071.

2013’s Siddharth is in the midst of a limited run in Canada. In two weeks, it has earned $5,331.

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Bollywood Box Office: February 20-22

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During the weekend of February 20-22, the thriller Badlapur posted one of the better opening weekends for a Bollywood movie in North America in 2015 so far. From 92 theaters, Badlapur earned $225,250, a per-screen average of $2,448. Its per-screen average is second highest for the year after the $4,393 average posted by Baby in its opening weekend.

Other Hindi movies in North American theaters:

  • Roy: Week 2; $19,009 from 33 theaters; $576 average; $230,599 total
  • Shamitabh: Week 3; $847 from four theaters; $212 average; $295,691 total
  • PK: Week 10; $121 from one theater; $10,550,569 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening February 20: Badlapur

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My most hotly anticipated Bollywood film of 2015 hits Chicago area theaters on February 20. Varun Dhawan anchors the revenge thriller Badlapur, whose fantastic supporting cast includes Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Divya Dutta, Yami Gautam, and my girl Huma Qureshi.

Badlapur opens on Friday at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, Regal Gardens Stadium 1-6 in Skokie, MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 15 min.

Roy carries over for a second week at the South Barrington 30, Cantera 17, and MovieMax, which also holds over Shamitabh for a third week.

Other Indian movies playing in the Chicago area this weekend include Temper (Telugu w/no subtitles) at Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge and MovieMax, which also carries Bandipotu (Telugu), Anegan (Tamil), Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Telugu), and Yennai Arindhaal (Tamil).

Bollywood Box Office: February 13-15

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Ranbir Kapoor’s return to the big screen (not counting his cameo in PK) wasn’t the resounding success one would’ve hoped for. During its debut weekend of February 13-15, 2015, Kapoor’s Roy earned $165,203 from 83 theaters ($1,990 average) in the United States and Canada.

Kapoor’s last major role was in 2013’s Besharam. That film was branded a total flop after earning just $504,000 from 217 theaters in North America. While Besharam‘s extravagant theater count magnified its degree of failure, it still averaged more per screen — $2,323 — than Roy.

Other Hindi movies still in North American theaters:

  • Shamitabh: Week 2; $23,936 from 36 theaters; $665 average; $289,133 total
  • Baby: Week 4; $5,491 from three theaters; $1,830 average; $730,288 total
  • PK: Week 9; $264 from one theater; $10,550,310 total
  • Dolly Ki Doli: Week 4; $90 from one theater; $173,887 total

Source: Rentrak, via Bollywood Hungama

Opening February 13: Roy and MSG

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The romantic thriller Roy — starring Ranbir Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Arjun Rampal — hits Chicago area theaters on February 13, 2015.

Roy opens on Friday at MovieMax Cinemas in Niles, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, and Regal Cantera Stadium 17 in Warrenville. It has a listed runtime of 2 hrs. 26 min.

Also opening at MovieMax on Friday is MSG: The Messenger of God, which has a runtime of 3 hrs. 17 min.

Shamitabh carries over for a second week at MovieMax, Cantera 17 and South Barrington 30, which also holds over Baby for a fourth week.

Other Indian movies showing in the Chicago area this weekend include Temper (Telugu w/no subtitles) at MovieMax, Muvico Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Century Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and Cinemark at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, and Yennai Arindhaal (Tamil w/English subtitles) at MovieMax and Seven Bridges. MovieMax also carries Anegan (Tamil) and Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (Telugu), as well as English-language coverage of the India vs. Pakistan Cricket World Cup match on Saturday night.