yes theon, the woodside print features Eng subs (even during the songs). I saw it last night and even at the 9 pm screening, it was 2/3 full!!

btw, I liked it alot even though Uday Chopra got really annoying and Jimmy Shergill hammed it up WAY TOO MUCH!!! Still, if you like Yashraj commercial films, then you'll love it. I actually found it more entertaining than Shaheed.

An epitaph to one more wasted film.... JUST WAIT FOR THE KING AMONGST them ALL DEVDAS..... ( The promos make it sizzling )...

Now to answer your points.... theon :-

I can empathise with the Non-Hindi speaking populace (e.f Trinidadians, Guyanese etc.). However if they really have to watch Hindi films then they should LERAN to be a lil bit discrete abt which films they watch... Not that I am asking them to change their movie going habits, but I am surely expecting them to encourage the good films.

I dunno if anyone is here from Calgary, but when I was there, there was a theatre called PLAZA which screened Hollywood films but during the release of a Bollywood film, that theatre was packed with all sorts of DESIS ( you could see all kinds of Plump aunties ). Now most of them, IMO, understood Hindi and hence subtitles wasnt deemed necessary. However I distinctly remember for a film like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ( which I saw in a Famous Player theatre... not the 1st class ones but the ones where the second run movies play !), there were indeed subtitles for some shows (the night shows).

You need to have good quality films to attract non-desi's to the theatre and i stand by my original statement that subtitles are not necessary for films like MYKSH and SHAHEED when the population you are catering to is DESI's only. However with films like LAGAAN and now DEVDAS I am sure there will be subtitles, as the rights of DEVDAS has been bagged by a distribution arm of Vivendi International !...

Arsh Ji :- BRITish DESI's are hopeless in the sense they cannot imagine a movie beyond the FAKE Yashraj Films which promise you just Dreams and dont dwelve in reality.. So you can ignore those stats The Desis in North America are the ones to be counted They know how to accept of reject a film !

Which begs the question..why cant for heavens sake Yash Chopra make a different kind of film, like Lamhe or Darr ?

There is one problem with your proposed "solution", who gets to pick which "good quality" films get subtitles and which shouldnt? According to you, a film like Lagaan and Devdas should get subtitles, but MYKSH, shouldnt? This isnt meant as a personal attack, and of course is, IMHO, but if a movie is a hit in the UK, topping the UK charts, opened with a 94% collection, against supposely two other good movies, then I am sure this is a movie that deserves subtitles, and some credit. Do film makers make movies for the 5 or 6 people who complain that they want to see a "Lagaan" every Friday, or for the people who want to see love stories and romance, in essence, the definition of an Indian Movie.



I see your point, but when you break down the paragraph, what I interpret is that Non-Hindi speakers ARENT encouraging good films. Discrete about which films they watch? That is kinda saying, the movies they are watching now arent good films, because I refuse to watch them, but when Devdas comes out, they better rush to see it?! Again, not a personal attack, my opinion, if I am wrong, please let me know. But this is meant at all who feel this way. MYKSH is going to be a hit, people like the movie, so they will see it. ???

Naven, beg to differ there. There is nothing original abt MYKSH (as i stated in a previous post of mine). I can understand why the so called Other good films didnt get a good opening .... (Those movies were bever meant for DESIs in the west anyways..who are ignorant of Indian History and her Great martyrs..The films in question were just an attempt to glorify some well known Bollywood actors..Sunny-Bobby Deol the notable ones).

Which brings me to the FACT that desi's here (non-hindi speaking one's) should be discerning abt the film choices they make in watching. If Only LAGAAN had received the pre-release hype like DEVDAS is receiving it could well have won an OSCAR..(who knows..) But LAGAAN did open the gates for GOOD ( and I mean really GOOD) Indian Films to be showcased in the west.

Think abt this hypothetical scenario :- Whereas I, as a DESI, can sing peans abt LAGAAN & DEVDAS (for hrs) if I was to be watching the film with say a Non-Hindi speaking DESI or even a non-Desi, can I do the same abt MYKSH ?... All they have to do is press their rewind button in their memory and they will pop up saying " Hey isnt this quite similar to My best Friend's wedding !! " And those words will just make u feel like you are a (as FADDY would say Wanker )

So My hunch is Folks @ Yashraj are sensible enuff not to put subtitles, so as to save them from the Blushes....cos they dont lack Originality in their idea...

You might argue that DEVDAS itself isnt an original plot...but again i will retort back that it is an IN-HOUSE story ( from an Indian Novel....)...which makes it special and hence worthy of subtitles and eventual showcasing !
I hardly go to all these stupid Bollywood films being released these days, unless something out of the ordinary like say COMPANY, AANKHEN ( or even the flop FILHAAL) is released. These films are mature subjects and they are dealt aesthetically...

Now for my comments abt Desis in UK patronizing these stupid YRF stuff, well you cant blame them, cos thats what they have been getting all this while since DDLJ was released and believe me Yash raj has forgotten his roots which is why he wasnt able to replicate the success of DDLJ with any other of his subsequent releases ( DTPH was an exception as again that story was more of dreams than anything else)....

MYKSH will flop where it matters most and that is INDIA, the foreign audience pales out in comparison to the 1 Billion+ audience back home in India ..

sknath, no offense man, but I think that Yashraj and co. should continue on releasing what they do best - granted they're not thought provoking as Chandni Bar or as ground breaking as Aks or even Dil Chahta Hai, but they do provide good value entertainment and a glossy (if unrealistic) romanticization of a life that even us mid class NRIs wouldn't even achieve.

I came back from this film yesterday, and you know what, I'm still thinking about it... I liked the songs, some scenes were funny enough, the sets were fabulous and the story was entertaining. Does this make it *technically* better than Dil Chahta Hai or Chandni Bar - maybe not, but it'll still make it worthy of our hard-earned money....

The final choice is up to us as consumers - as long as people keep lapping these faux lifestyles up, Yashraj will continue to milk the stories as much as possible. And as a film lover I'll continue to appreciate the great qualities of both first-class filmmaking (Company) and first-class entertainment (MRKSH).

Darius precisely the reason why Yashraj will keep on dishing out such films, as DESI's (largely in da UK) cant accept anything coming out of the YRF stables other than theese Mushy stuff.... You have made a mention of Chandni Bar and stuff and yup.... consumers (read Desis here) cannot digest hard realities of life and those films (Astitva even) forced us to look at the darker aspects of life and all is not rosy there.

I find it pretty surprising but wasnt DCH supposed to be a film catered towards a Vi-DESHI audience ?

Darius your HEM is your M afterall, but think abt this; a filmmare like Subhash Ghai sidetracked from his usual style and tried to ape Yashraj and look what happened to Yaadein.... Mark my words he is going to bounce back with his next film ( i hope its not these mushy-trashy stuff like YRF..and something that depicts the SG we all know ..with powerful dialogues etc...)

Take even Yashraj films.... Is he the same guy that gave us films like Deewar or Mashaal or even Lamhe ?...come on dont say that MYKSH is worth watching if I can "atleast" expect a film comparable to the above mentioned films from their own creator ! :gob:

no man, of course Yashraj of today is not even remotely comparable to Yashraj of yesteryear..... You talk of all the AB classics, and Lamhe.... Mr. Chopra did make sappy love stories, but atleast tried to differentiate them and tried infusing other genres aswell (like Kala Patthar, Darr, Vijay, even a gangster flick Deewar)... I think all this changed when DDLJ (my favourite film ever) hit it big time and now yash is just copying the same stuff over and over again. It's not very creative at all, but the NRIs (not just UK peepz, but us NA people aswell) get all nostalgic and stuff, and make these mushy, sappy, overloaded films a big success.

But you have to give them one credit though - they are good at what they do - the sets are lavish, the plot is atleast not very cheezy (unlike all the B-movies) and the songs are half-decent. I would even go to say that the acting is good (but MYKSH didn't feature anyone good at all!!).

Yashraj and Rajshri are builiding a genre of their own - the lavish melodramatic family films, which is fine. We already have new innovative directors who are attempting to push the boundaries of our cinemas, so we shouldn't complain. Frankly speaking, while I do give these new directors where credit is due, I'll admit that these popcorn entertainers will have a higher replay value than your daring films such as Astitva, Chandni Bar, Satya, even Company. people in Bombay may Love Company, but they'll go watch Aankhen many times more.... And now, while people will love Legend of Bhagat Singh, they'll go watch MYKSH repeatedly.


Oh and one more thing, you're comparing the films of 70s vs. the films of today.... the 70's era was the best time of film EVER... We had Godfather, Taxi Driver, Star Wars, Silsila, Sholay, Don, Deewar, Chupke Chupke, Great Gambler, and countless other classics.... Look at the films of today, which seem very pale in comparison - aside from a few notable films (Company, DDLJ, HAHK) we don't have any GREAT MASTERPIECES anymore..... But the new directors (not the yashraj assistants but people like Farhan Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowariker, Mani Shankar) are on the rise, and we should see some great cinema very soon.

This article supplments nath and darius point and meaning ful discussion, but i must say"shame on YRF coming out with these recycled, unoriginal cndies"

BTW! Aaina(jackie /juhi) film was done by YRF by one of his PROTEGEE? I must say was very good film?

"Today, there are no creative directors. Just DVD hacks.
Things spiralled downwards to the point where filmmakers did not care where an idea came from or how the film turned out, as long as it made money. Only when audiences start rejecting every film the Bollywood bazaar throws at them, do producers, directors and stars even condescend to acknowledge the contribution of a writer to the appreciation/ success of a film.If by chance the plagiarised film becomes a hit, the writer will be considered a lucky mascot and be offered more films and finally be paid for work he has not done. If the Gods are really kind, he might even get an award for it.There are enough good writers and enough good scripts around. The point is, is the filmmaker willing to put his money where his mouth is? "

http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/jun/13deepa.htm :vangry:



Edited By arsh on June 13 2002 at 12:22

Darius thats why I suspect what kinda mentality Desis (here in da west ....I think vjmajic is also in da west ) have !!!


If you get enamoured by glitzy sets and the same old stuff ( and i mean it literally) repackaged and presented to you without even an iota of originality, then I dont see any improvement in the standards of filmmaking.

Again is this the same Barjatiya family that once upon a time gave us such classics (liek ChitChor - my all time fav Barjatiya family ?).... HSSH was never even close to that classic film called ChitChor !

Your know darius, it doesnt take long before the sponge gets saturated and once that happens leaks start happening and that is what is gonna happen to Yashraj once da Desis here become a lil bit more intelligent (which they are) as more creative and meangingful work has started arriving in da scene...namely Lagaan and now the soon to be released DEVDAS...

what makes u think myksh will flop in india???????? the film opened to 94% in India compared to 77% for the 2 bhagat singh films..... and the film is expected to recover all its money and be a average hit....... a film that managed to get a better opening than the bhagat singh films and rejected by indian audeinces??? somehoe this doesnt make sense...
i am not for or angainst myksh and agree it is not an original film but the figures certainly do not call it a flop in india....

here is mr adarsh's midweek box office report....... myksh -FLOP in india.... hmmmmmm.........

http://www.indiafm.com/boxoffice/summary.shtml

Filmibuff

And As usual? SUPER HIT in UK???

ofcourse.......... any yrf film will be a superhit in the uk.. i recall they had a office in this building in wembley is it still there???

Who honestly thinks thats MYKSH is going to flop ESPECIALLY since nothing but good news has come out from the movie, in terms of numbers (i.e. money, audience.....)!?!?!? Is it because this movie got a better collection than those other two movies that the common man could care less about? That is funny.... :doze: On the subject of YashRaj changing or making the same movies over and over, if its working for him, keep doing it. For example, 94% collection, there was obvious interest in this movie, despite having realtively new actors (couple movies old or less) so someone is doing something right. Comparing movies from today and yesterday is a waste of time, who honestly cares? Yesterday is gone, today is here. The point, YashRaj is doing the right thing, he has a formula, he is making money, and people are being entertained, when the formula fails, then its time to do something, for now, its fine, leave it to the other directors to make a Lagaan and a Devdas....