Three cheers for 3 Idiots:

Aal izz well with 3 Idiots- Ready to be the BIGGEST BOX-OFFICE HIT

Rajkumar Hirani has his hat-trick of feel-good entertainers and Aamir Khan has his hat-trick of Christmas successes. 3 Idiots is on course to become the biggest Bollywood blockbuster of all time and the Calcutta box office is eyeing a record run.

“Ghajini was the biggest starter in Bengal with Rs 2.85 crore in the year-end week of 2008. 3 Idiots has netted Rs 4.15 crore in week one exactly one year later,” says Arun Mehra of Aum Moviez, the distributor of 3 Idiots in this region.

“We released the film on more than 100 screens across the state and even in its second weekend, it’s doing business of Rs 60 lakh-plus daily. It should easily go on to become Bengal’s biggest box office earner, ever,” adds Mehra.

Loosely adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone — how loose is now the subject of an ugly scrap — Hirani’s three-hour film slams the education system while raising a laugh and shedding a tear. The mix of fun and funda, gyan and gags, powered by Aamir’s star power (after Taare Zameen Par in ’07 and Ghajini in ’08) has hit box office bullseye.

“Like the two Munnabhai films, 3 Idiots too belongs to the feel-good genre where you laugh and cry when you watch the film,” Hirani said during his Calcutta trip last Thursday. “We expected the film to do well but we had no idea that it would become so big.”

Make that huge. Fame (South City), the six-screen multiplex on Prince Anwar Shah Road, had 20 daily shows of 3 Idiots in Week One and despite a couple of new releases, the number of shows hasn’t gone down in the second week. “Every 30-45 minutes there is a show, yet we are going house-full every evening,” is the word from the plex.

That has something to do with the Idiots fans going back to watch the film at least one more time. Says 26-year-old Karan Agarwal: “It was really, really funny and all my friends decided to go a second time. Also, an Aamir movie releases after such long gaps and he is so good in the film as Rancho.”

Bollywood buff Pinki Bhaia, 34, goes further. “3 Idiots is the best film I have ever seen. It’s a movie of one-liners that makes learning fun,” she says before her third watch.

No wonder Aamir Khan thanked Calcutta when he spent New Year’s Eve with his fans here. “The response from the audience here has been wonderful and I had to come here to share my happiness,” said the little big man from B-town. “The people in Calcutta are very emotional and maybe that’s why they are enjoying the film even more.”

Distributors and exhibitors expect the Idiots craze to continue. “3 Idiots looks like a lambirace ka ghoda,” says Captain Virendra Marya of INOX. “In the coming Fridays, till (Salman Khan’s) Veer releases on January 22, 3 Idiots will be the priority for us.”

Will Salman be brave enough to stop Aamir the Idiot or will it take Shah Rukh to stand up and roar My Name Is Khan on February 12?

Bollywood promises a blast in 2010

After losing close to Rs.700 crores (Rs.7 billion) in 2009, Bollywood has pinned many a hope on the coming year with a slew of films - Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's comeback as a pair, Salman Khan's magnum opus, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in a political drama and Shahid Kapoor's next where he shows off his eight-pack abs.

The year will start with actor Uday Chopra's debut production venture 'Pyaar Impossible', which stars him and actress Priyanka Chopra. The film will hit theatres Jan 8.

While Uday plays a geek, Priyanka will be seen as the beauty every guy has his eyes on. Directed by Jugal Hansraj, 'Pyaar Impossible' is a romantic comedy that shows how Uday and Priyanka come together by a twist of fate and love blooms amidst all odds.

'It was good so far. Now I am really waiting to see how public takes the film,' Uday had said.

A week after 'Pyaar Impossible', Shahid Kapoor will enthral fans with his dance moves in 'Chance Pe Dance' Jan 15, where he teams up with Genelia D'Souza.

In the film helmed by Ken Ghosh, Shahid plays a struggling actor and had to really work on his body. He will sport an eight-pack abs in the film.

Next in line is Salman Khan's magnum opus 'Veer', which releases Jan 22. Directed by Anil Sharma, it is a patriotic period film set in colonial India.

'Veer', written by Salman himself, is about bravery, treachery and love and revolves around the much-maligned Pindaris, who preferred death to dishonour and fought to their last breath to save their land.

The much-talked about film features Salman in a never-seen-before avatar along with newcomer Zarine Khan. Former Miss UK Lisa Lazarus also plays a pivotal role in the movie that also stars Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Sohail Khan and Bharat Dabholkar.

February will see one of the most awaited films - Karan Johar's 'My Name Is Khan'. The movie, which is set to hit screens Feb 12, brings Shah Rukh and Kajol back together as an onscreen pair after eight years.

The story revolves around Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh) who suffers from Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. Rizwan falls in love with single mother Mandira (Kajol), who lives in San Francisco. Rizwan is detained by authorities at Los Angeles airport, mistaking his disability for 'suspicious' behaviour.

Feb 12 will see another big release in the form of 'Teen Patti'. The film, a crime thriller, stars Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Hollywood veteran Ben Kingsley. Directed by Leena Yadav, 'Teen Patti' also features R. Madhavan.

Next in line is Farhan Akhtar's 'Karthik Calling Karthik' that hits screens Feb 26. The film is a romantic thriller about the protagonist Karthik (Farhan Akhtar), whose life changes with the help of someone who also claims to be Karthik.

The film is directed and written by Vijay Lalwani and also stars Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor and Shefali Shah.

While April 9 will see Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar in Vipul Shah's 'Action Replay', come May 28 and Prakash Jha's 'Rajneeti' will present Katrina Kaif in a completely different avatar along with Ranbir Kapoor.

Apart from these, the other films that will see a 2010 release include 'Delhi Belly', 'Hook Ya Crook', 'Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai', 'Bum Bum Bole', 'Housefull', 'Anjana Anjani' and 'Dulha Mil Jaayega'.

Source: sify.com

Celina environs the New Year with B-Stars

Mumbai: Bollywood actors Bipasha Basu and Celina Jaitley performed at various venues in Mumbai to entertain the crowd celebrating the New Year.

At Sahara Star in Mumbai, Bipasha Basu danced the night away to some chartbusters from her films while the crowd cheered on.

Going by the reactions, the Rs 2 crore that the organisers had to pay Bipasha for her performance might have been well worth it.

"I love Bipasha," the revellers shouted in unison.

My husband loves Bipasha. We came here only because of her," said a young woman.

"Bipasha was amazing," shouted a young man.

Joining Bipasha was starlet Anjana Sukhani, who performed in Mumbai for the first time.

Also ushering in 2010 with a dance performance was actress Celina Jetley who drew crowds to the Country Club.

Celina who reportedly charged over Rs 60 lakh to shake a leg on New Year's eve also danced to popular numbers including Bipasha's Beedi Jalayleand got the crowds to dance along with her.

"Celina was amazing. She got us all to dance," said a group of youngsters.

Though it's been unusually lull with not many stars performing on December 31 night, hotels still bank on Bollywood to make a song and dance about the New Year.

Source: ibn.in.com

3 Idiots one of the best from Bollywood: Malaysian critic

Spatting the cast and crew of recently released hit film 3 Idiots, a Malaysian film critic described directorRajkumar Hirani's directorial venture as "one of the best from Bollywood".

If you want to find fault with 3 Idiots, it should be the title - for its wrong connotation. It has an intelligent storyline with acting par excellence, critic KN Vijiyanwrote in his review in New Straits Times.

Don't get the wrong idea from the film title. This is not an idiotic movie and is, in fact, one of the best from Bollywood. It makes you laugh, it makes you think. In some scenes, you may even shed tears.

Aamir Khan proves yet again why he is such a prized possession in Bollywood. TheMr Perfectionist always puts in a lot into his movies and that's why Lagaan, Taare ZameenPar, Rang de basanti, Fanaaand Ghajini have been praised and did well at the box-office.

Boman is impressive with his lisp, style of dressing and mannerisms, remindful of his similar role in MunnabhaiMBBS, but he is thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

Many scenes in the story will have the audience rolling with laughter, especially where a boy gets his words mixed up while giving a welcoming address to a VIP. There is a message about the futility of suicide, the increasing cost of living and the mindless cramming to pass exams.

The songs composed byShantanu Moitra are a good listen and the movie has been imaginatively filmed byMuraleedharan CK.

Kareena Kapoor doesn't have much screen time but makes her presence felt. Her lip-lock with Aamir has been snipped.

This is a feel-good movie, which will make you want to watch it a second time. In Munnabhai, the director propagated the "hugging" philosophy for emotional wellbeing. Here, the "mantra" is "All is well" even when something goes wrong.

Don't miss this offering, which shows all the signs of a newBollywood box-office record.

Source: ndtvmovies.com