Costliest movies of Bollywood, mega distribution deals

Huge distribution companies which undertake packaging, promoting, marketing and distribution of films with a profit motive, consider the track record and "hit quotient" of a prospective Bollywood movie before quoting a price. The price turns to be quite flattering if the track record of the producer or director is very good.
Here are the mega distribution deals, or in other words the costliest movies ever in Bollywood:

1. London Dreams: A Vipul Shah project, sold for Rs. 120 crore.
2. Ghajini: An Aamir Khan starrer, sold for Rs.95 crore
3. Om Shanti Om: Sold for Rs. 73 crore, one of the biggest hits of Bollywood history, made profits worth $45 million
4. Singh is Kinng: Sold for Rs.65 crore, has reportedly grossed Rs.50 crore in the first week itself.

Big Money for Bollywood-Big Banner movies do not flop!

It is true…sad but true. A movie like Tashan inspite of being a huge flop still made money.

The quality of movies are dipping by every passing month in Bollywood, but Bollywood producers still make money. How does it do so?

After a succesful producer makes a movie, he sells it off to a prized distributor for a huge profit. Add to it, money that is earned from satellite rights, theatrical rights, music rights, internet downloads, ringtones and the producer has already pocketed a lot of money. The movie is not his headache anymore. Of course, his credibility in the market can suffer if the movie flops and the television production company or distributing house will think twice before taking the producer’s next release. However till that time, the producer can laugh his way to the bank, irrespective of box office status. For instance, though Ugly aur Pagli was a flop, the producer in this case, Pritish Nandy sold his movie to Percept Picture Company for a profit, even before the movie released.

Believe it or not, an unshot movie,(even the first shot has not been canned), London Dreams of Vipul Shah has been sold to a distribution company for a whopping Rs.120 crore. It is mega distribution deal for a Bollywood movie at its best. The story of London Dreams is NRI friendly and is conceptualized on underground music scenario in Asia. Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan star in this money spinner.

The distribution company which has reportedly paid Rs.120 crore to Vipul Shah has done it on the basis of Vipul Shah’s excellent track records which has nothing but hits. The producer director Vipul Shah’s past few blockbusters inlcude Waqt-Race Against Time, Namaste London, Aankhein and the recent Singh is Kinng. All of them had his trump card, Akshay Kumar. In the next post, we will read about the biggest mega distribution deals of Bollywood

Paresh Rawal: an actor par excellence

Paresh Rawal is one of the most outstanding talents of Bollywood. He debuted in the year 1984 with Holi(the same movie where Aamir Khan had his debut). Since then Paresh Rawal had been doing small villainous roles and character roles especially in the 80s and 90s. But Paresh Rawal's versatility and popularity really showed by the turn of the millennium. Here are some of Paresh Rawal's best performances in terms of popularity and appreciation:

1. Baburao Ganpatrao Apte: Hera Pheri
2. Radeysham Tiwari: Hungama
3. Vedji bhai: Sir(1993)
4. Manilal: Awaara Paagal Deewana
5. Commissioner Amod Shukla: Satya

Everyone knows Paresh Rawal has a penchant for languages. This is the reason why Paresh has excelled in Hera Pheri, Hungama and Awaara Paagal Deewana where he played people from different communities. He is an actor who works on every nuance of a performance, right from body language to intonation. Most of the times, the performance is close to perfection. Paresh Rawal has also been criticized for some of his films, but usually they are for the roles that he has chosen rather than his own performances. One of the films that Paresh Rawal was panned for, was One, Two, Three, one of the turkeys of 2008. Paresh Rawal acted as a person who sold female undies for a living, certainly something which didn't go well with people who adore Paresh.
Now Paresh Rawal is supposedly coming, with what looks like his career best, or at least one of his better performances in the upcoming movie: Mumbai Meri Jaan In Mumbai Meri Jaan, Paresh Rawal essays the role of Tukaram Patil, a constable. According to pre-release reports and Aamir Khan , Paresh Rawal has given a mind-blowing performance. Must say Hungama to that

Rock On (2008)

Farhan Akhtar who has helmed the director’s seat in Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya and Don - The Chase Begins is debuting as an actor and singer in Rock On along with Prachi Desai. Others major casts of Rock On include Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny and Purab Kohli. It’s directed by Abhishek Kapoor. The film is about four friends who put together a rock band called Magik, but never make it big. Many years later, they’re back together and start things where they left off.

Music of Rock On!! is composed by Shankar Ehsan Loy who are I think the best to do a film like this. I love the songs. And Farhan Akhtar is a surprisingly good singer too. I think you are gonna love this one, so ENJOY!!

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1. Socha Hai / Farhan Akhtar
2. Pichle Saat Dinon Mein / Farhan Akhtar
3. Rock On !! / Farhan Akhtar
4. Ye Tumhari Meri Baatein / Dominique
5. Zehreelay / Suraj Jagan
6. Tum Ho Toh / Farhan Akhtar
7. Sinbad The Sailor / Farhan Akhtar
8. Pichle Saat Dinon Mein (Live Version) / Farhan Akhtar, Raman Mahadevan
9. Phir Dekhiye / Caralisa Monteiro

Zindagi Tere Naam (2008)

Zindagi Tere Naam is director Ashu Trikha’s fourth film. It stars Mithun Chakrabarty, Ranjitha, Diya Mirza, Priyanka Mehta and Aseem Ali Khan. I think it was released some time this month. Music of ZTN is composed by Sajid Wajid. I feel like I’ve heard that first song, Tu Mujhe Soch Kabhi, before but can’t quite remember. It’s a nice song, probably nice song of the lot.

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1. Tu Mujhe Soch Kabhi / K K
2. Milne Ko Nahi Aaye (Duet) / Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan
3. Trishna Trishna Dil / Shafqat Amanat Ali
4. Milne Ko Nahi Aaye (Male) / Shaan
5. Ajnabee Sa Lagta Hai / Sunidhi Chauhan, Wajid Khan
6. Kya Khata Ho Gayee / Richa Sharma, Aftab Sabri
7. Milne Ko Nahi Aaye (Female) / Sunidhi Chauhan
8. Tauba Tauba / Sunidhi Chauhan, Wajid Khan

Saagar (1985)

Saagar is directed by Ramesh Sippy and stars Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Hassan and Dimple Kapadia. Raja (Kamal) is a fisherman and he’s secretly in love with Mona (Dimple). But when Ravi (Rishi), a wealthy man, comes to live with his grandmother, Mona falls in love with him and that devastates Raja. That’s the the setting in a nutshell. I haven’t presonally seen the film, so my extent of knowledge ends there.

Music of Saagar is composed by the legendary R.D. Burman. There’s also a little something for Kishore fans. Yun Hi Gaate Rahoo is a nice song, I don’t think it’s one of his best though.
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1. Paas Ao Na
2. O Maria O Maria / Asha Bhosle, S. P. Balasubramaniam
3. Chehra Hai Ya Chaand / Kishore Kumar
4. Saagar Kinare / Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
5. Sach Mere Yaar Hai / S. P. Balasubramaniam
6. Yun Hi Gaate Rahoo / S. P. Balasubramaniam, Kishore Kumar

Video - Paas Ao Na (Saagar)

An nice song from an old film, Saagar, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. I was looking for info about this film, and I came across this video.

Go (2007)

Go is directed by Manish Srivastav and stars Gautam Gupta, Nisha Kothari, Kay Kay Menon and Rajpal Yadav in leading roles. It’s about two rich kids who run away from home for some reason but then they get in all sorts of trouble and get chased by the ‘bad guys’. That’s what I’ve read about it on the net. It’s music is composed by Sneha Khanwalka. The songs are surprisingly better that I expected. Since it’s a low budget film, I had very low expectations too. I guess you can’t read a book by it’s cover after all.

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1. Kaash / Farhad Bhiwandiwala , Priyadarshini
2. Oooh / Sunidhi Chauhan, Vinod Rathod
3. Go / Kunal Ganjawala, Suzanne, Meenal Jain
4. So Cool / Kunal Ganjawala, Suzanne
5. Dhan Tan Tan / Kunal Ganjawala, Sneha Khanwalka
6. Kaash (Remix) / Farhad Bhiwandiwala , Priyadarshini
7. Oooh (Remix) / Sunidhi Chauhan, Vinod Rathod
8. Dhan Tan Tan (Remix) / Kunal Ganjawala, Sneha Khanwalka

Aap Kaa Surroor (2007)

Remember Himesh Reshammiya debuting acting last year in a film supposedly telling his real love story? That movie was Aap Ka Surroor. I didn’t get to post the songs back then, so here they are. Aap Ka Surroor is directed by Prashant Chadha who also started his directing career with this film. Other major casts of AKS include Mallika Sherawat, Hansika Motwani and Raj Babbar. Btw, there’s going to be sequel to this film also directed by Prashant Chadha called “Aap Ka Surroor 2: Ae Himesh Bhai” set to release sometimes this year, so keep an eye out for that if you are a Himesh fan.

Music of AKS is of course composed by Himesh himself. There are some nice tracks there. I hope you like this album, even though it is kinda dated.

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CD 1:

1. Assalaam Vaalekum / Himesh Reshamiya
2. Tera Mera Milna / Shreya Ghoshal, Himesh Reshamiya
3. Jhoot Nahin Bolna / Shreya Ghoshal, Himesh Reshamiya
4. Tanhaiyaan / Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshamiya
5. Ya Ali / Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshamiya
6. Tere Bina / Himesh Reshamiya
7. Kya Jeena / Himesh Reshamiya
8. Mehbooba (A Tribute to Panchamda) / Asha Bhonsle, Himesh Reshamiya
9. Tanhaiyaan (unplugged) / Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshamiya

CD 2:

1. Assalaam Vaalekum (Remix) / Himesh Reshamiya
2. Tera Mera Milna (Remix) / Shreya Ghoshal, Himesh Reshamiya
3. Jhoot Nahin Bolna (Remix) / Shreya Ghoshal, Himesh Reshamiya
4. Tanhaiyaan (Remix) / Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshamiya
5. Ya Ali (Remix) / Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshamiya
6. Tere Bina (Remix) / Himesh Reshamiya
7. Kya Jeena (Remix) / Himesh Reshamiya
8. Assalaam Vaalekum (Dark Mix) / Himesh Reshamiya
9. Tera Mera Milna (House Mix) / Shreya Ghoshal, Himesh Reshamiya
10. Ya Ali (Electro Mix) / Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshamiya
11. Mehbooba (A Tribute To Panchamda) / Asha Bhonsle, Himesh Reshamiya

Ugly Aur Pagli - Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Ranvir Shorey
Director: Sachin Khot
Rating: **

A romantic comedy that starts with a fart and a puke joke can only get better as it progresses. Sure enough, “Ugly Aur Pagli” brings us a kind of detoxicated sex comedy where the gender war is telescoped into a vivacious tongue-in-shriek war of words between an outwardly mismatched pair.

Suparn Verma’s dialogues have a lived-in quality. Yup, two young people who are in love but don’t know it would speak this language and probably feel some of the emotions too.

If “Ugly Aur Pagli” looks so believably all-there, it’s because of Ranvir Shorey’s ability to remain normal and wimpish even when the world around him is exploding into little amusing atoms of undefined chemistry between the lead pair.

But lead pair is more like the ‘misled’ pair. Often you wish Ranvir and Mallika wouldn’t get into those sweaty pubs and dance floors, which have become a staple diet of all ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ films in recent times.

Why must even a deviant comedy like this one seek a comfort zone by travelling the sing-sing-swing-swing route?

“Ugly Aur Pagli” has the guts to take its lead pair into avenues that are infrequent in Hindi cinema. The poor hangdog man is a bit of a timid docile lamb constantly being bullied by the sassy forever-inebriated girl who’s so zonked she re-defines brassy burlesque on celluloid.

Mallika is a very limited actress and an even more limited dancer. She swings from loud boorish bullying to pseudo-snivelling in a rapid-fire of uneven emotions. She wobbles, but never falls.

A lot of the scenes - some clever, others not quite - are held in place by Ranvir’s amazing ability to make the mundane look super-interesting.

Here’s the ideal effortless working-class hero. An Amol Palekar with a lot of chutzpah and world weary charm. Ranvir steps back to watch Mallika cavort at the highest shrillest pitch and makes sure she doesn’t stumble over and fall.

And we aren’t just talking about the character’s constant state of inebriation. Ranvir holds up a lot more than his co-star’s drunken ceaselessly slumping figure.

The film is a series of well-crafted chance encounters between two Mumbaiites who are in search of companionship. The sequences are shot with a kind of unobtrusive flamboyance(if that isn’t a contradiction in terms). Mumbai doesn’t look different but it sure looks indifferent to the feelings of the sensitive. That’s the whole idea of a familiar metropolitan backdrop, right?

Ideally a romantic comedy should converge only on the two love birds. This one takes the rule too its extreme limit. Ranvir and Mallika are so much at the centre of it all, you wonder if the rest of the world is on a sabbatical. But watch out for Ranvir’s encounter with Mallika’s parents - played by Tinu Anand and Sushmita Mukherjee.

Though this sequence belongs to the two character actors, again, it’s Ranvir who gives character to the ambience. Would this sometimes sassy, sometimes sensitive, constantly searching romantic comedy have worked without Ranvir’s penchant for producing pyrotechnics out of pedestrian working-class impulses? Hard to say.

But then who can say what “Ugly Aur Pagli” has in mind? By the end of it all we don’t even know who is ugly and who is mad. ‘Ugly’ Ranvir even wears a petticoat for one sequence and cycles all the way to pagli’s home.

Care to solve the mystery of the man-woman equation? This film has a go at it. Albeit in swipes of talkative satire that make the film resemble an American sitcom.