The Hindustani: Love Aaj Kal

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Love Aaj Kal Promo

Love Aaj Kal Promo with Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone

Four recent hits heal Bollywood’s wounds

Profits finally catching up with the losses

Energetic openings to Bollywood's four recent releases - "New York", "Kambakkht Ishq", "Love Aaj Kal" and "Kaminey" - have succeeded in getting the business perk up. Wounded by a long strike earlier this year, the film industry is perhaps on a self-healing path now, say trade pundits.

The two-month-long stand-off between the producers-distributors and multiplex owners over revenue sharing, which was resolved on June 5, led to a whopping Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion) loss to the Hindi film industry.

The dry spell was broken by Kabir Khan's "New York" that released on June 26 followed by the other three films - "Kambakkht Ishq" that came on July 3, "Love Aaj Kal" on July 31 and "Kaminey" on Aug 14 - raking in a net profit close to almost half the losses so far this year.

"These four films will do a net business of Rs.150 crore (Rs.1.5 billion) put together," revealed an industry insider.

Said trade analyst Taran Adarsh: "The industry is definitely on a recovery path... it is getting better now, but we do need a big number of hits to follow as even an A-list movie like 'Luck' bombed.

"Every movie has a luck of its own. For example, a small-budget film like 'A Wednesday' had a moderate release last year but proved to be a dark horse. At the end of the day it's the content that will win."

Film critic Omar Qureshi had something similar to say.

"The industry is healing. Everyone was deprived of movies. There was a desperation to watch films and the audiences couldn't handle it. So they took multiplexes by storm once good movies hit the screens and the result is worth watching," said Qureshi.

"But that doesn't mean mediocre movies will win the race too... it'll only take big-budget and big-banner movies with a good story to make up for the losses and bring in footfalls," he added.

The stand-off between producers-distributors and multiplex owners started in February over revenue-sharing. While the producers demanded a flat 50 percent share of all film revenues irrespective of the stars, budget and box-office collection, the exhibitors stressed on sharing profits based on the movie's earnings.

As a result the producers declared a strike from April 4 onwards, which saw no big Bollywood releases in multiplexes across the country.

Now all eyes are set on an array of big releases after the lull.

The line-up includes Shahid Kapur-Rani Mukerji starrer "Dil Bole Hadippa", three movies of Salman Khan - "Wanted", "Main Aur Mrs Khanna" and "London Dreams" - two Ranbir Kapoor-starrers "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" and "Rocket Singh - Salesman of The Year", and Aamir Khan's "3 Idiots".

Apart from these, there are also Hrithik Roshan's much-talked-about action thriller "Kites", Priyanka Chopra's "What's Your Raashee?", two movies starring Amitabh Bachchan - "Aladdin" and "Pa" - Akshay Kumar's "De Dana Dan", Govinda's "Hook Ya Crook" and Neil Nitin Mukesh's "Jail".

'Love Aaj Kal' is third big hit of the year

Its occupancy has been between 90-100 percent

Love is immortal. Ask Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone whose recently released "Love Aaj Kal" has sent the cash registers ringing, raking in Rs.8 crore (Rs.80 million) on its opening day. And experts say the movie has tremendous box office potential.

"The response to the film has been amazing and we have had jam-packed houses over the weekend. While we had an occupancy of 98 percent on the first day (Friday), the weekend has been house full with 100 percent occupancy. It's an entertaining movie and worth watching once," Amit Awasthi, manager programming and operations of Spice Cinemas, Noida told IANS.

"We are running 25 shows for the movie in a day and have already collected Rs.16,56,000 over the first weekend. In fact, we've already sold 2500 tickets even today. The movie is going strong and is expected to get more business with Rakshabandhan (August 5) coming and is going to stay on until 'Kaminey' releases on August 14," he added.

A source from PVR Cinemas echoed the same sentiment and said: "The reaction to the movie is very good and people have really liked the movie. We are expecting more footfall coming in the way it has been over the weekend."

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the movie has been co-produced by Saif and his friend Dinesh Vijan along with Sunil A. Lulla under their banners Illuminati Films and Eros International respectively.

Spanning across two different eras - the film is about the essence of love that never changes despite time and space differences.

Made at a budget of around Rs.48 crore (Rs.480 million), it released across 1800 screens worldwide. It is the third A-lister hit of 2009 after "New York" and "Kambakkht Ishq" though the latter was panned by critics in terms of content.

Also starring Rishi Kapoor, Shweta Gulati and Rahul Khanna, the film is the launch vehicle of Brazilian model Giselle Monteiro.

"'Love Aaj Kal' is a super hit movie. The occupancy has been somewhere between 90-100 percent bringing in good collections, which is very impressive. It's a simple and romantic movie and a must watch for a family," said Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas), Wave cinemas.

"We are running 11-15 shows across different properties and the movie is going to stay anywhere close to two-three weeks. Moreover with the Rakhi holiday coming in, families are surely going to bring in footfalls considering the storyline appeal of the film," he added.

In terms of A-listers, "Love Aaj Kal" has no contender until Shahid Kapur-Priyanka Chopra starrer "Kaminey" hits the screen.

Love Aaj Kaal Promo at PVR Phoniex Mills Mumbai

Love Aaj Kaal Promo at PVR Phoniex Mills Mumbai saw Deepika Padukone and Saif ALi Khan in the multiplex movie theatre !! She looks great - Its really nice to see actors not posing for a photo and just natural photos !! the movie got a 4 of 5 rating in TOI

Saif has no Dostana with Abhi, Ash!

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan could have been a part of Karan Johar's hit film "Dostana" but refused as industry heavyweights Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan were expected to be a part of the movie when it was offered to him.

Contrary to popular belief that Saif declined the offer because its theme was homosexuality, the 38-year-old actor says he "didn't really chicken out" of the role.

"I didn't really chicken out -- I mean I just thought, I think there was Abhishek and Aishwarya in the movie at the time I was being offered it and I was just wondering if I needed to do that and how I would fit in really and I told Karan that," Saif told CNN-IBN's entertainment editor Rajeev Masand on his talk show "To Catch A Star".

The film, which finally starred Abhishek, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra in key roles, required dollops of gay attitude from the men. But that didn't make Saif averse to the role.

"The gay thing didn't scare me off. In fact I don't think they (Abhishek and John) actually kiss. I would have," he said.

According to Masand, even Shah Rukh Khan says he would have actually kissed if he was in the film. To which, Saif said: "Yeah and I would have kissed him".

"...because I think that would have given everyone something to talk about," added Saif, who says he "enjoyed" the film and that "it was nice".

Saif's latest movie "Love Aaj Kal", which also stars Deepika Padukone, hit the screens Friday and is picking up momentum at the box office. The movie, based on love in different eras, is his first venture as a producer.

Junta Talking: Love Aaj Kal

It is not very often that a Hindi movie gets mostly four-star reviews but with Imtiaz Ali and Saif Ali Khan at the helm of affairs, people expected Love Aaj Kal to be a good movie. And that it is. So what the does the aam junta or could I say mango people have to say about it?

Nikhil Lunkad: I enjoyed the movie. It was nice and something different. A good Hindi movie after ages

Anshul Sinha: I liked the movie. The way Imtiaz Ali has narrated the film is totally new and refreshing. Even what happens between the couple (Jai and Meera) is mostly correct and relatable. It was a nice change after the onslaught of dumb Hindi movies

Alka Shah: The movie was fun and the acting was good. The dialogues were funny and unsual. I will use them in my day-to-day life. Love Aaj Kal is a very contemporary love story. Imtiaz Ali has scored a hat-trick of good movies with Love Aaj Kal.

Anjali Shah: It’s a nice movie though it’s nothing like Jab We Met. I really liked the ‘aam junta mango people’ and the ‘mera hi faayda ho jaye’ dialogues. It was very funny and sweet.

Aditya Singh Rajput: The most disappointing film of 2009. So many loop holes; it is not detailed properly. The parallel Punjabi story is not convincing. Saif looks uncomfortable dancing and cannot be Geet from Jab We Met. The movie moves too fast to grab. Attention: Art Director, please put grilles in between the windows of the Punjabi train. It looks really funny. I am still depressed.

B.O. update: 'Love Aaj Kal' has superb start in India, Pakistan, UAE

The much-hyped LOVE AAJ KAL opened to a stupendous start across all multiplexes. The film is being screened in 20, 23, 25, even 28 shows everyday at prominent multiplexes, which is a record of starts. The first day business was huge across multiplexes, although the single screens weren't as strong [expectedly]. But there's no reason to press the panic button, since 70% to 80% business is generated from multiplexes alone these days.

The reports of LOVE AAJ KAL are good, the audience feedback is positive and the opening weekend is expected to be humungous. In fact, the first weekend numbers of the film should easily find a place amongst the biggest openers ever. Another advantage is the Raksha Bandhan holiday on Wednesday [5th August], which will add that extra revenue to the booty.

LOVE AAJ KAL has cost Rs. 42 crores to its producers [Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan] and with P & A costs included, the final cost works out to approx. Rs. 48 crores [for Eros]. A major chunk of business is expected to be recovered from the domestic market, while Overseas is expected to be huge as well. In fact, the Thursday night shows in Pakistan were bigger than that of KAMBAKKHT ISHQ. Even UAE was higher than KAMBAKKHT ISHQ, where LOVE AAJ KAL collected approx. 6,50,000 Dirhams on its first day.

One awaits with bated breath for its response in U.K. and U.S.A. 'Bollywood Hungama' will keep you updated with the developments, with official figures.

Multiplexes update: 'Love Aaj Kal' attracts more footfalls than 'Ghajini'

LOVE AAJ KAL is on a record-smashing spree. The Cinemax chain of multiplexes recorded a record turnout for this Saif-Deepika starrer on Friday. Cinemax, one of the leading multiplex chains of India [74 screens in 24 multiplexes], saw approx. 49,700 footfalls in their properties on Friday.

LOVE AAJ KAL has clearly overtaken the other big openers at this chain:- NEW YORK [34,500 footfalls on Friday], KAMBAKKHT ISHQ [39,800 footfalls] and GHAJINI [39,500 footfalls]. "The response is amazing. Even the 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. shows in Gujarat are running to packed houses," Devang Sampat of Cinemax informs me.

U.K. update: 'Love Aaj Kal' has a record-breaking start

As predicted by this writer in the review of the film ["internationally, it has the potential to emerge one of the biggest grossers in recent times"], LOVE AAJ KAL has fetched a mind-boggling start in U.K. In fact, it's one of the biggest starts ever. Let's have a comparative study to judge how big the film has opened...

Film / Friday [approx. numbers]
DOSTANA - £ 72,000
JODHAA AKBAR - £ 77,000
KAMBAKKHT ISHQ - £ 83,000
GHAJINI - £ 95,000
RAB NE BANA DI JODI - £ 1,01,000
RACE - £ 1,02,000
SINGH IS KINNG - £ 1,08,000
LOVE AAJ KAL - £ 1,25,000

Note:- This chart doesn't include Thursday numbers, since several films hadn't opened on a Thursday, including LOVE AAJ KAL.

Saif lends personal Nawabi touch to LAK

Imtiaz Ali, Deepika Padukone, producers Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan personally greeted members of the press at the screening of Love Aaj Kal, held at PVR Cinemas at Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel yesterday.

Saif walked in at around 12.30, surrounded by security. Dressed in casuals, he looked cool and handsome. All eyes were on him. Imtiaz Ali was already present, talking to the media. A few cameramen were present. Some time after Saif’s arrival, Deepika also arrived. She looked very pretty and absolutely fine in her short dress which she paired with gladiator flats. All three of them interacted with media persons, especially the senior ones.

Saif said, “It has been 18 years since I have been in the industry. Some of you have known since my first day here. I was a silly 20 year old and even you’ll were young journalists then. Now, you all have become feared heads of your departments now. We want to thank you for coming here. We present to you Love Aaj Kal. We hope you like it. I won’t be lurking around after the show like many people do, asking you what you thought of the film. I would rather read it all while I am chilling and relaxing in Delhi.”

Very Nawabi of you Saif, we say. Your first production is set to be a super-hit and we are sure you are very happy with all the good things people have to say about Love Aaj Kal.