The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| String of hits brings smile back to Bollywood Posted: 31 Jul 2011 01:21 AM PDT  Bollywood's upward trend started after the end of the back-to-back World Cup and IPL cricket tournaments with the Salman Khan action comedy "Ready". — AFP/Relaxnews pic Long queues and "house full" signs have returned to cinemas in India's entertainment capital Mumbai and across the country since the start of June for a string of films that have proved a hit with audiences. The upward trend started after the end of the back-to-back World Cup and Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournaments with the Salman Khan action comedy "Ready". Since then, Sanjay Dutt's slapstick "Double Dhamaal", Aamir Khan's comedy "Delhi Belly", the thriller "Murder 2" and the Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif road movie "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" (You Only Live Once) have all done well. The boxofficeindia.com website, which tracks industry takings, on Wednesday said that "Zindagi" had taken 443.2 million rupees (RM29.7 million) since it opened on July 15, calling it a "hit". "Murder 2" had taken 444.7 million rupees in under two weeks, deeming it a "blockbuster", while "Delhi Belly" had returns of 540.3 million rupees in three weeks, classing it as a "super hit". "Double Dhamaal" was assessed as "above average" with takings of 452.1 million rupees in four weeks, according to the site. "Singham", a crime drama starring Ajay Devgn, has had rave reviews since it came out last week and is also expected to do well. "We've never had it so good. We've never had four successes back to back," said trade analyst Komal Nahta, referring to "Ready", "Double Dhamaal", "Murder 2" and "Zindagi". "They were good films. There weren't too many releases in March or April but thereafter 'Ready' worked and the other films worked," Nahta, who writes for India's biggest film trade journal, Film Information, told AFP. "When the World Cup and IPL were on there wasn't much filmed entertainment, so there was a hunger for films and people rushed to the cinemas." The Indian releases had been expected to suffer as they hit screens around the same time as the last instalment of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" and the latest "Transformers" movie. The boxofficeindia.com site said that first-week takings for the English version of the final Potter movie were 102.6 million rupees and 61.4 million in Hindi, as of Wednesday. The English version of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" had taken 125.3 million rupees and 49.6 million rupees in Hindi in three weeks, it added. The results were more positive news for the Indian film industry, which has seen overall revenues fall 20 per cent in the past three years from US$2.3 billion in 2008 to US$1.85 billion in 2010. Domestic box office revenues still contribute 75 per cent of an Indian film's earnings, according to research by KPMG. Poor quality content, rising overheads, the global economic crisis and an increase in other ways for people to spend their spare time have all been blamed for the downturn. Vinod Mirani, another industry analyst, said the recent successes proved that good films would work no matter what. "It's as simple as that," he added. All eyes are now turned to the next big release, "Aarakshan" (Reservation), starring Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, on August 12. The film has already proved controversial as it tackles the sensitive issue of reserving posts in the government and education sector based on caste. Nahta said concerns expressed by political groups representing low-caste Hindus were unlikely to harm the movie. "In fact, controversy more often than not helps a film," he added. — AFP/Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Beyoncé to create new video using fans’ wedding and prom photos Posted: 30 Jul 2011 09:46 PM PDT  Screenshot from Beyoncé's video for "Best Thing I Never Had" — Courtesy of YouTube The singer has asked fans to send in video footage or photos from their own weddings or prom experiences, which she will include in a new version of the video. To take part, upload your clips to YouTube or photos to Flickr and tag them with #BeyonceBestThing before August 12. Beyoncé will select her top picks to be included in the new video, which is scheduled to be unveiled in September. Her fourth solo album, 4, released on June 27, has reached number one on album charts in nine countries, including the US and UK. Beyoncé has won 13 Grammy Awards as a solo artist and three as a member of her former girl group Destiny's Child. She has sold a reported 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling musicians of all time. — afprelaxnews.com Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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