Box Office: 'Teri Meri Kahaani' scores over 'Gangs of Wasseypur'

 

Nothing much to cheer about at box office this weekend, as both the new releases, Kunal Kohli’s Teri Meri Kahaani and Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs Of Wasseypur opened to a dull response at ticket windows.

Gangs of Wasseypur may be doing terrific business on single screen theatres in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, but in metropolises the film hasn’t attracted footfalls. The opening day response, on average, ranged between 10 to 15 percent which is, put bluntly, very dull. The critical reviews have mostly been positive and the film is likely to pick up on Saturday and Sunday. But a miraculous turnaround is needed for it to emerge as a hit. Anurag Kashyap has already called Gangs Of Wasseypur his most expensive film to date.

Teri Meri Kahaani, starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in three love stories that span a century, hasn’t really taken off on a dream start. The film saw a response ranging between 35 percent to 40 percent on the opening day, which is below the mark. The reports about the film have been mixed, but the film is likely to pick up on Saturday and Sunday.

Another depressing fact is that Teri Meri Kahaani has opened to a poorer opening than Shahid Kapoor’s last big release Mausam which was a flop.

Meanwhile, last week’s release Ferrari Ki Sawaari rounded off its first week collection with just a little under Rs. 21 crore nett, a decent number.

Rowdy Rathore is turning out to be a super-duper hit with a 3-week collection of Rs. 130 crore.

The coming week would see multiple short-budget releases like Maximum, Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai, Superman Of Malegaon and The Amazing Spider-man.

Teri Meri Kahaani': Uninteresting story, flat jokes

Film: 'Teri Meri Kahaani'; Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra; Directed by: Kunal Kohli
There are many occasions in this three-tiered love story when the two protagonists simply run out of words as the dialogue slumps into an embarrassing silence.
This, you feel, is very much in character. On paper, I am sure 'Teri Meri Kahaani' must have seemed like a terrific 3-in-1. A sumptuous feast of role and accent transference for the charming pair. Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are among the best talent we have today. They are versatile,confident, good-looking and simply cool. Director Kunal Kohli gives them three different love stories to sink their decalcified teeth into.
The problem starts early. None of the three stories is inspired or even interesting. The high-points in each story are so weak we don't know when they arrive.Some of the material that has gone into telling the triple-tiered story frankly appears to be a secret joke whose punchline is known only to the writers.
For example in the segment in London 2011 Shahid and Priyanka are named Krish and Radha and the screechy girl who comes in-between them (Neha Sharma) is believe it or not, Meera.
This self-consciously mythologized modern day love triangle prompts a friend of the hero to quip, 'Yeh Radha aur Krishna ke beech mein Meera kahan se aa gayi?'
Well, LOL to that. Krish and Radha often resort to smileys and LOLs to express their growing fondness. The smileys remain singularly isolated in their amusement. There is not a moment when we empathise with the protagonists or feel the intended flow of their love for one another. What we see are two stars trying to breathe life into a mutual affection that never quite takes off.
It gets worse.The two others stories are even less engaging. The one set in the film industry resorts to painstaking periodicity to recreate Mumbai in 1960. A tram crosses Mumbai's heartland. To his credit the art designer tries hard to get the exteriors right. Though some of it is so shallow you feel Kunal Kohli is attempting the recreate the celluloid version of a high school play where the props are borrowed from the furniture-wali aunty's store.
And by the way the Lata Mangeshkar-Kishore Kumar duet 'Likha hai tere ankhon mein' from the Dev Anand starrer Teen Deviyaan which plays in the background in a street scene featuring Shahid and Prachi Desai, did not exist in 1960. It came five years later.
That brings us to the music and choreography, so essential to evoking periodicity specially when the lead pair dances so well. But getting Shahid to do Shammi Kapoor? Bad idea. Very bad idea. Shahid's measured steps would have made Shammi LOL.
The worst story of the three is the one set in pre-Partition Punjab. It almost seems to spoof Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '1942: A Love Story'. Like Anil Kapoor in Chopra's film, Shahid cares not a hoot about India's independence. He cares only about 'love-shove'. And please take the 'shove'seriously. The grinning rogue likes to put it in wherever he gets space.
And we aren't talking about his tractor.
The attempts in the pre-Partition segment to instil a sense of patriotic pride is shamefully baggy. The Gora Log are played by junior artistes whose only credential to represent British India is the colour of their skin. The patriotic Indians get to shout Vande Mataram in freshly-stitched kurtas and tops. Mercifully we are spared a re-mix.
The clothes suggest a close affinity between boutique wisdom and periodicity. And that seems to be the prevalent mood of the romance. The emotions seem to be obtained off the shelf. Priyanka and Shahid struggle hard to look deeply interested in the lines and in each other.
It's a losing battle. There's only so much you can do with conspicuously corny lines like, 'Are we like those couples who talk on the sms and online and have nothing to say when they come face to face?'
Even if they are, do we care?
Just why Kunal Kohli, a director who has shown some sensitivity in handling the man-woman relationship, chose to make this film is mystery solvable only by the actors who agreed to be part of the endeavour.
Suffice it to say 'Teri Meri Kahaani' makes Kunal Kohli's last production 'Break Ke Baad' look like a neglected work of pop-art.

Nokia, Apple, Funbook: tale of a tech triangle

 

Three big events last week in the technology world attracted my attention. And you probably have not heard of one. The ones that you have heard of probably are the launch of the latest mobile operating system by Apple, the iOS, which will power the world’s coolest smartphones and tablet PCs, an

Nokia laying off 10,000 employees as it struggles to turn profitable.


No doubt, these are momentous developments, but sitting in India, it is important to ask ourselves how it makes sense to us — or does not. And thereby hangs the tale of technological relevance.
Apple is no doubt cutting-edge, but its latest tablet costs upwards of Rs. 44,000, a price point even well-to-do middle class Indians think twice about before buying. So I am quite puzzled why the third event was happening without much fanfare. MicroMax launched its Android-based tablet, the Funbook, at R6,500. Right on the target audience, it also came up with a cool television ad that went with the Indian Idol show at the weekend.
Now, what Apple sells at Rs. 44,000 is no doubt loaded with features and services and amazing design. But, when an Indian company offers what to the masses below is a significant upgrade in their digital lives at 15% of that price, it is important to take note.
A noteworthy point is that the Funbook is based on the latest 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) version of Google’s Android handset platform.
Yes, we already have the government-backed Aakash tablet PCs from Datawind that is going through its bureaucratic paces. Yes, both Aakash and Funbook are yet to prove themselves as products its intended customers like.
While the jury is still out, I would still salute such innovations that are taking big steps to bridge the digital divide.
Nokia got into trouble because (in my opinion), it served neither the upscale cool slot that went to Apple and later, Samsung. Nor did it take to a logical extension the amazing thing it did when it launched the affordable Nokia 1100 for India’s hinterland. Before discontinuing it, Nokia had sold 250 million 1100 — making it the world’s best selling phone handset.
Apple innovates away at the high-end, and MicroMax serves away at the low-end. Where does that leave Nokia? Its Microsoft Windows alliance still remains its best bet, but that's another story.