Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji : Movie Review, strongly recommended!

Hindi cinema has never been short of movies which abound in humor. In fact, there's a barrage of funny films these days. Whether it's the gentle humor that keeps us smiling constantly [on the lines of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee's films] or the incisive and sharp wit of TERE BIN LADEN, DO DOONI CHAAR and PHAS GAYE RE OBAMA or the boisterous laughathons attempted by David Dhawan, Anees Bazmee and Priyadarshan, we've enjoyed our share of laughs. But I genuinely feel that the comedy scene in Bollywood is slowly, but perceptibly changing, veering more towards realism and this is exactly what we get to watch in Madhur Bhandarkar's new outing DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI.

Okay, okay, so we associate Madhur with somber/serious cinema, tackling issues that concern us, right from CHANDNI BAR to JAIL. By now famous for his socially relevant, hard-hitting films that take potshots at the upper crust, Madhur changes tracks with this one. DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI is a light entertainer at heart, but there's something about the landed gentry in this one as well. It exposes the dual lives they lead.

 

Without beating around the bush, let me pronounce that I was skeptical about Madhur's abilities when it came to handling light films. Oh yes, he has a terrific sense of humor in real life. On reel, he's synonymous with hard-hitting movies, isn't it? So what prompted this National Award winning film-maker to enter a new terrain - humor? I am sure, it has something to do with discovering newer horizons and taking on unexplored territories. So does the gamble work? Are Madhur's claims - of following Hrishi-da's footsteps with this one - mere hollow words or does he deliver?

Much like Madhur's earlier films, DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI is about real people, situations and problems. Except that the emotion isn't sorrow and the theme isn't dark this time. Irrespective of how his films are received, the one thing Madhur is known for is the unconventional story he wants the viewers to absorb. DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI isn't about three couples and how they discover love, it's about how these three guys who find love, but… let's leave it at that! Else, the twist in the tale will be in public domain.

The camaraderie between Ajay, Emraan and Omi and the unpredictable storyline post intermission is the driving point of this motion picture. In fact, if the first half is laced with light moments, the second half is where the twists-n-turns crop up and each of those stories get nurtured in the process. But there's a flipside too and that's the choice of actors in the finale. Ideally, the makers could've done with known faces in the end. It would've only been an icing on the cake. Also, there are a few rough edges in the narrative, but not the type that would make a big dent.

Also, I'd like to state, it left me wondering as to what prompted the censors to pass the motion picture with an 'Adults Only' certification? I would say that some of the recent films have had far more objectionable and explosive content than this one. Besides, Indian television is full of repugnant and obnoxious material which everyone has free access to. I guess, our censor board needs to be a little more liberal in view of the fact that times have changed and it's about time their attitudes towards cinema also changes.

Final word? This one is amongst Madhur's most accomplished works!

Read More >>

First Look - Force

First Look - Check out John Abraham in ‘Force’

Read More >>

Bollywood Box Office 2010: Annual Report

So, finally 2010 comes to an end. It also ended with disappointing note. Most anticipated movie of the year, Tees maar khan, which was expected to bring smile on investors face and bollywood industry, bombed badly at box-office and will be able to recover its cost only. In fact entire December remained dismal with one after another box-office duds and created history with worst December month in last ten years with losses over 50+ Crore from Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, No Problem, Toonpur Ka Super Hero. Band Baja Baraat remain steady in lower side to earn a decent profit. TMK started quite well, but huge negativity around it crashed it quite very soon. Still around 65 Crore final nett will not be a losing proposition.

Year definately belong to Dabangg Salman Khan. All made profits, be it producers, distributers, financers. Dabangg was made on a decent controlled budget, in return its profit were humungous. It was a runaway all India hit. Also, Golmaal 3 & Raajneeti & OUATIM made huge profit and distributers laughed away to bank.

Much was expected from Housefull & MNIK also, but they were just trade hits and in many places of various circuits, distributers entitled losses.

Pleasently surprising was the bumper earnings of small budget films, in which Peepli Live and LSD made huge profits.

Year was hugely bad for Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan as they provided 4 biggest disasters of all time (Guzaarish, Kites, KHHJS, Raavan).

Year was strictly average for Shahrukh Khan and Akshay Kumar as much expected from them. Former's MNIK was touted to be a humungous hit, but failed, whereas later's TMK was most anticipating film of the year, and was expected runaway hit. Akshay had a hit in Housefull, whereas he gave averages in TMK, Khatta Meetha. His Action Replay was a huge flop.

1. List of Movies that made profit or recovered its cost (Theatrical data only).

Rank	Movies	Budget (Approx in INR)	Nett Gross (Approx in INR)	Return of Profit in INR	Verdict
1	Dabangg	35 cr	145 cr	110 cr	All time Block buster
2	Golmaal 3	40 cr	108 cr	68 cr	Blockbuster
3	Raajneeti	40 cr	94 cr	54 cr	Super Hit
4	OUATIM	32 cr	61 cr	29 cr	Super Hit
5	Housefull	45 cr	73 cr	28 cr	Hit
6	My Name is Khan	45 cr	73 cr	28 cr	Hit
7	Peepli Live	10 cr	30 cr	20 cr	Super Hit
8	I hate love stories	25 cr	43 cr	18 cr	Hit
9	Band Baaja Baaraat	10 cr	18 cr* (25 cr estimated)	15 cr estimated	Hit
10	Tees Maar Khan	50 cr	57 cr* (65 cr estimated)	15 cr estimated	Semi Hit
11	Atithi tum kab jaoge	20 cr	30 cr	10 cr	Semi Hit
12	Love Sex aur Dhoka	2 cr	9 cr	7 cr	Super Hit
13	Khatta Meetha	35 cr	41 cr	6 cr	Average
14	Badmaash Company	27 cr	32 cr	5 cr	Average
15	Lafangey Parindey	18 cr	23 cr	5 cr	Average
16	Ishqiya	19 cr	22 cr	3 cr	Average
17	Anjana Anjaani	43 cr	42 cr	-	Strictly Average

2. List of Movies that entitled losses to heavy losses (Theatrical data only).

Rank	Movies	Budget (Approx in INR)	Nett Gross (Approx in INR)	Loss in INR	Verdict
1	Khelein hum jee jaan sey	45 cr	5.5 cr	39.5 cr	Colossal disaster
2	Guzaarish	60 cr	29 cr	31 cr	Colossal disaster
3	Action Replay	45 cr	22.5 cr	22.5 cr	Disaster
4	Raavan	45 cr	31 cr	14 cr	Disaster
5	Kites	60 cr	47 cr	13 cr	Disaster
6	Veer	50 cr	41 cr	9 cr	Flop
7	No Problem	35 cr	29 cr	6 cr	Flop

Read More >>