Category: Cinenomics

Avatar – The Way Of Water: Breathtakingly Immersive Experience Of A Disappointing Movie

Avatar is one of the greatest cinematic experience. A game-changing visionary movie. Apart from pathbreaking technology, it introduced us to the blue bodied Na’vi of Pandora moon, raised our environmental consciousness way before Greta Thunberg and made us feel ‘I see you’. It reigned as the highest grossing movie for a decade since its release in 2009.

Avatar 2 is called Avatar – The Way Of Water. It is second of the five instalments that will continue to be released every 2 years till 2028.

Jake Sully and his family flee the forest to take refuge with amphibian tribe Metkayina. The green canvas turns to turquoise Maldives like pristine waters. After the initial tense proceedings, things settle down and they together fight the common enemy – sky people – the humans.

The aquatic flora and fauna is the best part of the movie. Dazzling and enchanting! The whale like tulkun is the showstopper – gentle giant that is bigger than Mumbai flats. The climax is a return to Titanic world for James Cameron – even Kate Winslet joins the reunion!

Avatar 2 is a beautiful spectacle but too long and has no gripping plot to speak of. New owner Disney add family dynamics to the environment and imperialism themes. One can give James Cameron the credit to be singularly focused on the simple narrative.

Avatar – The Way Of Water is a one time big screen watch. It is debuting in more 50,000 screens at the same time across all major countries. If you do not watch it, our hearts will still go on….

December 18, 2022
Titli – Dark & Daring

Titli has been one of the most amazing films of 2015. It was a part of my top movies of 2015. Here is the detailed review.

Titli Review:
Happy times sow the seeds of darkness.

Dark times sow the seeds of hope.

Titli is a film about these seeds of hope after a lifetime of darkness.

The setting of the movie Titli is black…very black
– A family that takes you down.
– A life that is only dismal darkness
– A life that has no hope
– All the family members live in their own hells. And the way of dealing is with this hell is to make the life hell for the others.

Titli introduces us to the under-belly of the national capital region. It is about those areas that we know that exist but we choose to ignore them. We refuse to see them.

The movie revolves around the father and his three sons. It is a very patriarch driven and crime-driven family. The youngest son is the protagonist and is named Titli. He dreams of leaving the family and setup his parking business – to upgrade his life. But the family gets Titli married to Neelu and add the innocent woman to the crime gang and leverage her to dupe people. Neelu is their passport to additional revenues. But Neelu has her own demons and her own version of hell.

Everyone acts out of selfish interest and use each other. The family of Rajshri and Karan Johar does not exist – here everyone is out to make life miserable for each other.

But Titli and Neelu want to escape the life of violence and poverty. They yearn for a better life.

Ranvir Shorey as the elder son has given his best performance till date. A superb screenplay, excellent direction and great acting. A must-watch. It is a different world. Bollywood’s growth continues in the shadow of blockbusters.

January 20, 2016
The Forces Behind The Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars – The Force Awakens is breaking records like a pack of cards. It is the fastest movie to reach USD 1 Billion mark and will be the top movie of all time. The movie is a box-office blockbuster that dwarfs every other movie franchise.

How did it happen?

1. Disney’s Smart Acquisition: Disney is an entertainment giant with a sharp strategy of picking a cool movie franchise and rejuvenating it. Disney paid $4 Billion for the acquisition of LucasFilm and started its redevelopment. Disney’s method is to acquire companies with franchise potential, set its strategic talent to make the acquisition work and power it with its marketing and distribution weight. Disney knows how to exploit the IP from the acquisitions – the magic has worked with its acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel. Disney will milk this further with “Star Wars” area at Disneyland.

2. Go Beyond The Creator/Founder: George Lucas is a visionary in every sense of the word. Creating Star Wars when limited technology and meagre resources existed is nothing but a stroke of genius. But Star Wars was stagnating in recent times. It required a passionate J J Abrahams to reinterpret and bring new glory to Star Wars. He understood the masterpiece of George Lucas and what made it work in the first place – maybe even bettering Lucas in some instances. Creator/Founder can sometimes be too close to her work and may not help the cause. Also, the creator needs to switch gears as required – every stage of organisation and movie franchise needs different skills. Hence J J Abraham nurtured the franchise in a professional manner and delivered a mass entertainment product.

3. Product Development: Star Wars – The Force Awakens has succeeded primarily due to the good content. No marketing can help a bad movie – especially in these days of social media and word of mouth power. Even Nostalgia can take you so far – else all other Star Wars movie would have been equally big hits. The chief victory of J J Abrahams and team was to stick to the core USP of Star Wars. They knew what the fans wanted, they knew what made sense, they avoided distraction and stayed loyal to the identified market segment. They stuck to the formula of the original in all aspects. Though some fans expressed disappointment with the movie lack of imagination and innovation and dull length, the overall product play worked.

4. Innovative Marketing: Trust Disney to ensure marketing genius. They leveraged Nostalgia to maximum effect – ensuring that all adults re-live their childhood stories. Disney is expanding its base beyond the children and this was a master-stroke. They also released Star Wars merchandise ahead of time – to create more ambassadors. They carefully planted stories of return from misguided prequels thereby raising expectations of the new movie. The usual marketing template of promotional tie-ups, clothing, games etc. was effectively leveraged as well.

5. Distribution: The distribution strength of Disney ensured a global release on a large scale. Christmas timing ensured that no one could not escape Star Wars. It brought lot of new audience to cinema. So when you have a great product, go all aggressive.

The Force Is On….

December 28, 2015
The Best Of Bollywood – 2015

Its that time of the year again! The year 2015 delivered unexpected gems, pleasant surprises, formula films and big letdowns. As an optimist, I am happy that real gems were discovered and Indian Cinema is going beyond select camps and limited talent pool. This is the only way for Indian Entertainment to reach its global potential.

The movie connoisseurs lapped up Masaan, Titli and Dum Lagaa Ke Haishaa. It was heart-warming to see Bajrangi Bhaijaan becoming a Universal Hit like 3 Idiots. Bahubali was literally the giant epic of box office and showed the scales we can achieve.

Formula movie stuck to their brand promise: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Dilwale, Bajirao Mastani, Dil Dhadakne Do, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, ABCD2, Welcome Back

Bombay Velvet, Tamasha, Byomkesh Bakshi were a disappointment to many. Hollywood’s Jurassic World touched the 100 crore mark in Bollywood.

Here is my take on Bollywood’s Top Movies for 2015.

Best of 2015:

1. Masaan: Poetry, pain and beauty against the multicoloured Varanasi. Neeraj brings heart and art into cinema and showcases four lives stuck in Varanasi. Tu Kisi Rail Si Guzaarti Hai – Just Wow ! Subhash Jha rightly mentioned that see Sanjay Mishra in Masaan and then in Dilwale to see how Bollywood kills talent!

2. Titli: A dark cinema about about Delhi’s under-belly and about the dark lanes that we see and we miss. Story of the a father and this three sons who act of self-interest alone. A superb screenplay, excellent direction and great acting. Ranvir’s best performance of the date.

3. Bajranji Bhaijaan: The power of Salman meets meaningful cinema. Clean and Universal hit like 3 Idiots scores on all areas – story, performances, entertainment. Had a prop called Kareena – the laziest actor of late! The movie did more for Indo-Pak relations than official government diplomats.

4. Piku: Deepika-Bachchan rule with great support from Irfan. Beautiful Bhadra-lok and nuances of relationships. Heart-warming. Motion Se Emotion Se Box-Office Collection! Shoojit Sircar brings biology to Bollywood – like Vicky Donor!

5. Baahubali: Lord Of Rings meets Indian Cinema Heroes. Best advertisement for Indian talent. Almost touched 500 crores. The whole India is waiting to find out why Katappa killed Bahubali? Epic in every sense.

6. Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha: Love in times of patriarchy and arranged marriages. Discovering love. Kumar Sanu and Anu Malik relive the magic of times and add the right flavour to Ayushman-Bhumi acting.

7. Tanu Weds Manu Returns: Kangana’s Haryani accent and swagger was a hit across the board. Anand Rai re-created the magic with Madhavan and Kangana.

8. Bajiao Mastani: The grandeur of Bhansali movie with Ranveer’s powerful acting. Only Bhansali can do this!

9. Drishyam: Ajay Devgan and Tabu shine in the Thriller Drama. The remake of Mohanlal starrer created the right impact.

10. Margarita With A Straw: Kalki and Revathy bring the life of a teenager with cerebral palsy. Talk’s struggle with achieving her physical and emotional aspirations with dignity. Emotional experience.

Honorable Mention:
Shamitabh: Homage to Amitabh’s baritone. Dhanush shines in this egoistic battle movie. Piddi Si Baatein…trust Balki to be different!

The Blockbusters List:
1. Bahubali – 470 Crore (All Versions)
2. Bajrangi Bhaijaan – 320 Crores
3. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – 190 Crores
4. Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 150 Crores
5. Dilwale – Still Collecting…
6. Bajirao Mastani – Still Collecting..
7. ABCD2 – 106 Crores
8. Welcome Back – 97 Crores
9. Tamasha – Still Collecting…
10. Gabber Is Back – 86 Crores

The Forgetful 2015:
MSG: Messenger of God – No Comments!
Roy: First – It is more Ranbir movie than Arjun Rampal movie! Nothing memorable except Chitiyan Kalaaiyan:
Bombay Velvet: Anurag tries to create larger than life Bollywood movie. Perfect paper movie. Forgiven.
Hamaari Adhuri Kahaani: Adhuri ? There was zero Kahaani. Once upon a time Emraan and Vidya used to be…
Ek Paheli Leela: Leveraging the asset called Sunny Leone.

Related Lists:

The Bollywood Watchlist – 2015 Version

The Best Of Bollywood – 2014

The Best Of Bollywood – 2013

The Best Of Bollywood – 2012

December 24, 2015
How Taylor Swift Is Shaking Off The Music Entertainment Business?

Is Taylor Swift The New Challenger For Indra Nooyi, Sheryl Sandberg, Mary Barra, Marissa Mayer? Taylor Swift Is A Clever Businesswoman For Sure!

Her website defines her position and ambition very clearly: “She is, quite simply, a global superstar.” And rightfully so !

Taylor Swift is everywhere. She is on a roll. She is checking all the boxes:
1. Sweeping Music Awards
2. Record Fan Base – 50 Million Plus Followers on Instagram, 1 Billion Plus Views for “Shake It Off”
3. On Covers of Time, Forbes & Fortune. On All The Lists (Including Fortune’s Most Powerful Women List – Youngest Woman @ 25)
4. Rising Brand Equity – Earning A Million Dollar A Day

So how did Taylor Swift “Shake It Off”? No Rocket Science, I guess.

1. Clear Goals: She always wanted to be a Music Diva. She executed her childhood dream and worked her way up.
2. Focus: She is a very focused professional. She takes her job seriously. She wrote her lyrics, sang and earned fans by performing at events, festivals, shows. She promoted her each album with religious sincerity. She has made albums every two years and is focused on her main line of business.
3. Image Management: She has created a distinct image for herself. She is a REAL star. She is Genuine and has made the right choices. She is in the media for usually all the right reasons. She has gone beyond the stereotype image of a music star as just a Glam Girl, Bad Girl etc. The way she handled Kanye West controversy in 2009 showed her maturity and her intent for staying for the long run. She has leveraged Social Media successfully and created a strong following. She directly engages with her fans in her unique style and this has created a genuine fan connect and loyalty.
4. Savvy Businesswoman: She means business. And she is willing to take a stand. Ask Apple ! She took on Apple Music for the way it compensated the musicians during the Apple Music Trial period. She took on Spotify as well and refused to put her music on Spotify claiming that they did not compensate artists properly. She has made strong product endorsement deals and handle various negotiations smartly. (She has strong economics DNA for sure. Her father is a VP at Merrill Lynch and her mother was in Mutual Fund marketing).
5. Perfect Philanthropist: No doubt, Taylor Swift is phenomenal as an artist. “Shake It Off” did not get more than 1 Billion plus views or 1984 tour was not a success without any reason. But she is not content with her main day job. She has leveraged the “Taylor Swift” power for pushing philanthropic initiatives that matter. Whether is children education, children health, LGBT or natural disasters, she supports the right organisations. Michelle Obama presented Swift with The Big Help Award for her “dedication to helping others” and “inspiring others through action”. And today’s consumer loves a humane artist, not a wild brat!

Her success has lessons for individuals and businesses – clear goals, focus, execution, perception management, social media best practices, brand values.

So far so good. But Taylor Swift is no regular music diva. She is not going to be sitting on her laurels. As an artist who speaks passionately about being reborn daily, she is pushing the envelope for the music entertainment industry. And she never says never. Keep watching Taylor Swift!

Image Courtesy: Taylor Swift Official Website

Meanwhile, Enjoy my favorite Taylor Swift song:

October 24, 2015
Get Ready For The ‘Happy New Year’ Marketing Juggernaut !

Get Ready For The Happy New Year Marketing Juggernaut !

The Marketing for SRK’s ‘Happy New Year’ has already started. If ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘RaOne’ and ‘Chennai Express’ experience is considered, expect a mega publicity drive.

It started with the full page advertisements at the start of the year. The latest one is the ‘Happy New Year’ auditions for acting with SRK on Groupon. It is designed to create lot of ‘user engagement’. By being part of the movie, the user will be more connected to the movie. The people who applied for the auditions will have an emotional stake in the movie. People are being gifted certificates etc.

Expect more innovations and more visibility campaigns from SRK. Expect to read more and hear more about SRK and its cast. There will be overt and covert approaches.

Smart move !

April 21, 2014
National Film Awards – Ship Of Theseus Wins Top Honor

The 61st National Film Awards were announced. It shows a worthy list of well-deserved winners.

Ship Of Theseus indeed is a great choice of the best feature film. I had written about it earlier in the two blogs as well:
Ship Of Theseus – The Finest Indian Movie !
Bollywood’s Top Movies 2013

Shahid got the well deserved awards for Rajkumar Rao and Hansal Mehta. So happy for Hansal !

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was indeed a popular entertainer across the stream.

Another highlight was the sheer number of awards for Marathi films. The golden days of Marathi cinema continue !

Please find the complete list of award winners:

Best Feature Film: Ship of Theseus

Best Direction: Hansal Mehta for Shahid (Hindi)

Best Film (Hindi): Jolly LLB
Best Popular Film providing wholesome Entertainment: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Hindi)

Best Actor: Raj Kumar (Shahid, Hindi) & Suraj Venjaramoodu (Terariyathavar, Malyalam)
Best Actress: Geetanjali Thapa (Liar’s Dice, Hindi)

Supporting Actor (Female) – Aida Elkashef, Ship of Theseus and Amruta Subash, Astu
Supporting Actor (Male) – Saurabh Shukla, Jolly LLB

Special Jury Award: Yellow (Marathi) & Miss Lovely (Hindi)

Special Mention Gauri Gadgil and Sanjana Rai for ‘Yellow’ (Marathi)
Direction (Non Feature): Chidiya Udh
Special Effects: Jal
Short Fiction (Non Feature): Mandrake! Mandrake! (Hindi)
Non Feature Film on Social Issues: Gulabi Gang (Hindi, Bundelkhandi)
Environmental Film including Agriculture: Foresting Life (Hindi,Assamese)

Non Feature Film: Rangbhoomi (Hindi)

Best Book on Cinema: Cinema Ga Cinema (Telgu) by Nandagopal
Sound Design: Bishwadeep Chatterjee, Madras Cafe
Choreography: Ganesh Aacharya, Havan Karenge (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)

Best Children’s Film: Kaphal (Hindi)
Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Perariyathavar (Malyalam)
Best Film on Social Issues: Tuhya Dharma Koncha (Marathi)

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: Thalaimuraigal (Tamil)
Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Fandry (Marathi)

Playback Singer: Bela Shinde Khura Khura

April 16, 2014
500 Crores – Not An Impossible Task For Bollywood !

In the last 2-3 years, the Indian Film Industry had got a new aspirational goal – 100 Crores. Suddenly 100 crores was the new benchmark of success. With each passing year, the number of films in the 100 crore club grew. And it will continue to grow. The rationale is simple.

India’s population is more than 100 crores. Even if 2% of Indian population watches a movie, it is 2 crore people watching a movie. Multiply it by the average lowest price of Rs 50, and we have 100 crores !

Movies were always popular in India and hit movies made good money. A few important changes have happened in the Indian Film Industry and that has contributed to the 100 crore movies:

1. The revenue leakages are getting reduced due to multiplexes and digital technologies.
2. Multiplexes have increased the number of screens. They have also increased the ticket prices and hence the yield.
3. Strong marketing strategies ensure carpet bombing of the movie. Maximum people watch movie within 2 weeks.
4. Modern management has ensured a good template for the success of a big size movie.

Inspite of the above facts, India has less number of per capita screens. The movie watching audience will continue to swell and we will soon move to new benchmarks. In fact, 200 crore is the new 100 crore with three movies already clocking more than 200 crores in 2013. The day is not far when 500 crore will not be an impossible feat in Bollywood.

Indian Film Industry is bullish in outlook. The only challenge is to ensure high quality content with global best practices. It can then make a bigger dent in the global entertainment order !

December 31, 2013
Bollywood’s Top Movies 2013

The End Of The Year – Time To Review. Time To Reflect. Time To Relive.

2013 Was A Mixed Year For Bollywood – India’s Film Industry.

The 100 Crore Club continued to welcome new members and three movies rocked even into 200 Crore club – Dhoom 3, Krrish 3 and Chennai Express.

At Half Year mark, I had commented: “The content and treatment continues to win. The new talent is getting better results and traditional stars are being challenged. Good times for Bollywood continue!”. It still holds true at the end of the year. (See Bollywood 2013 Half Year Mark Review)

Ranbir tasted first failure when he let money to precede our his cinematic choices. Though Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani was no great cinema, it balanced commercial and contemporary cinema. The same treatment was dished out to Himmatwala, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai 2. Ranbir’s Rocket Singh is yet to be bettered, Barfi not withstanding.

Ranbir got a challenger in form of Ranveer with Ram Leela and Lootera showcasing his talent. Sushant Singh Rajput is the new talent where banks are betting their money on ! Parineeti and Alia Bhatt are the new ladies to watch for ! Nimrat Kaur seems promising !

Deepika was the actor of the year with 4 hits – Race 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express and Ram Leela. Behind the beautiful face and awesome acting is an intelligent mind – who redefined herself. Sonakshi and Shahid Kapoor need reinvention for sure – they can learn from Deepika.

I still feel the best film of the year was Ship Of Theseus. It was seconded by The Lunchbox. Ship Of Theseus showcases the best of Indian Cinema and so does The Lunchbox. A R Rahman still rules in the music department. Though Aashiqui 2 brought new challengers.

Top 5 Films:

1. Ship Of Theseus
2. Lunchbox
3. Kai Po Che
4. Raanjhaana
5. Shahid
6. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
7. Shuddh Desi Romance
8. Special 26
9. Aashiqui 2
10. D-Day

Other Honorable Mentions:
1. Madras Cafe
2. Ram Leela

Top 5 Movies That Did Not Work !:
1. Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobara
2. Himmatwala
3. Besharam
4. Zanjeer
5. Phata Poster

Top Grossers Of The Year:
1. Dhoom 3 – 250 Cr +
2. Krrish 3 – 250 Cr
3. Chennai Express – 225 Cr
4. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani – 190 Crore
5. Ram Leela – 110 Cr

I am pleased to note that Bhaag Milkha Bhaag crossed 100 Crores – 100 Crores is not an elusive number anymore with even Grand Masti touching the magical figure.

December 29, 2013