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When <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> has a mission, you don’t expect it to break the traditional mould and deliver something spectacular. That’s why we were not feeling wildly enthusiastic when two <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword>-centric movies hit the screen just a day before the much-coveted International Women’s Day. One is, of course, <keyword id="1523830" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gulaab-Gang">Gulaab Gang</keyword>, the intensely hyped drama flick starring <keyword id="289" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="madhuri-dixit-nene">Madhuri Dixit Nene</keyword> and <keyword id="6371319" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Juhi-Chawla">Juhi Chawla</keyword> as leads. It is <keyword id="132056" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Soumik-Sen">Soumik Sen</keyword>’s directorial debut and going by the storyline – a group of pink-clad women hell-bent on social reform and getting justice for women – loads of fire and spice were expected from this movie. 
 But that was not the case. To begin with, <keyword id="1408081" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sampat-Pal-Devi">Sampat Pal Devi</keyword>, the <keyword id="19496" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="leader">leader</keyword> of the original Gulabi Gang, filed a case against the makers of Gulaab Gang and the <keyword id="6355014" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Delhi-High-Court">Delhi High Court</keyword> passed a stay order against the pan-India release of the movie. However, Delhi HC lifted the ban after another hearing and Gulaab Gang hit around 1,600 screens on March 7 as scheduled. 
 
The pre-launch controversy has, however, taken its toll and in spite of the positive buzz, Gulaab Gang has bombed the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>. It managed to nett around Rs 2.41 crore at home on the opening Friday, followed by Rs 2.97 crore nett on Saturday and another Rs 3.46 crore nett on Sunday, taking the total weekend collection to Rs 8.84 crore nett. Collections tanked again on the crucial Day 4 (Monday, March 10) and were pegged at a little over Rs 1 crore nett. It means the film is literally struggling to get past the Rs 10 crore nett mark in spite of a huge release. 
 
Just like Gulaab Gang, Kangna Ranaut-starrer <keyword id="6377522" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="queen">Queen</keyword> started on a slow note on the opening day (Rs 1.75 crore nett at the domestic box office, which was lower than Gulaab Gang). But business picked up soon, thanks to excellent reviews and positive word of mouth. The coming-of-age comedy drama hit 800 screens, against Gulaab Gang’s 1,600, but collected around Rs 10 crore nett in the first weekend at home. Surprisingly, Day 4 collections were better than the opening Friday and stood at around Rs 2 crore nett, taking the total to Rs 12 crore nett in four days. 
 
In contrast, <keyword id="1952335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Total-Siyapaa">Total Siyapaa</keyword>, the third flick released on March 7, tanked at the domestic box office and only managed Rs 4.09 crore nett in the opening weekend. The rom-com, directed by Eeshwar Niwas and starring <keyword id="6451231" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ali-Zafar">Ali Zafar</keyword> and <keyword id="6356250" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yami-Gautam">Yami Gautam</keyword> (along with veterans <keyword id="6533" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anupam-Kher">Anupam Kher</keyword> and <keyword id="6738" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kirron-Kher">Kirron Kher</keyword>), has hit around 850 screens. But the lacklustre response at the box office is quite a dampener. The Monday numbers are not out yet but according to industry insiders, the movie has made a little over Rs 1 crore. 
 
What makes or breaks these movies 
Going by the box office response, Total Siyapaa is a washout and Gulaab Gang has failed to draw the audience while Queen is slowly building a solid base. Now let us take a close look at what has or hasn’t work for these <keyword id="569603" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-flicks">Bollywood flicks</keyword>. 
 
Gulaab Gang – Old wine in new bottle: It’s not difficult to understand why Gulaab Gang has apparently failed. In spite of some good points, writer-director Soumik Sen has essentially portrayed the age-old Bollywood theme – the good versus the bad. Be it Rajjo the revolutionary (<keyword id="6355846" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Madhuri-Dixit">Madhuri Dixit</keyword>) valiantly fighting against gender discrimination, violence, abuse and poverty, or the <keyword id="2122747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="all-black-politician">all-black politician</keyword> <keyword id="339288" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sumitra-Devi">Sumitra Devi</keyword> (Juhi Chawla) controlling and manipulating every life – they do it all in the archetypal Bollywood style. So you get some high-sounding dialogues and stick-wielding action sans the inner growth of the protagonist. 
 
Most of Madhuri’s socially committed actions are rituously punctuated by dance numbers as if we are in a kind of dream sequence. And the epic grandeur is essentially missing from this make-believe corrupt world, controlled by a failed system and ruled by larger-than-life women. Nothing is too oppressing or overwhelming in this supposedly sombre world; every issue can be dealt with, however trite the solution, and Women’s Lib has been made easy for the masses, without being given the required depth. The original Gulabi Gang founder has not been acknowledged anywhere in the movie as the makers claim that Gulaab Gang is a work of fiction. And that’s exactly what it is. This flick never rises to the classic height of real life but remains dwarfed in a scripted ambience. 
 
 
 
Queen – A <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> worth taking: Recently, <keyword id="6355923" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Aamir-Khan">Aamir Khan</keyword> has taken to <keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> to praise the film, director-writer <keyword id="143066" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vikas-Bahl">Vikas Bahl</keyword> and <keyword id="203866" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="lead-actor">lead actor</keyword> <keyword id="2202" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kangana">Kangana</keyword>. “What a film!!! Guys you have to watch QUEEN!!! Anyone who hasn’t seen it, please go now and see it. Such an important film for every girl, every woman to watch... and in fact every male to watch too! Thank you to Vikas Bahl and his team which made the film. And Kangana... you rock,” he tweeted. 
 Well, that speaks volumes about quality and the flick is worth every word of it. The plot seems pretty familiar, at least in the beginning. Rani (<keyword id="2201" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kangana-Ranaut">Kangana Ranaut</keyword>) is a simple Punjabi girl hailing from Delhi and she gets turned down by the UK-returned fiancé Vijay (Rajkummar Rao) a couple of days before their wedding just because she is not his sort any more. But instead of breaking down, Rani goes on her honeymoon trip alone through <keyword id="106" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Paris">Paris</keyword> and <keyword id="22442" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</keyword> – trying to cope, having fun and finally breaking free &amp; living life on her own terms. Of course, you will find stereotypes and clichés here but Kangana sparkles in this coming-of-age movie – making <keyword id="343" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Friends">friends</keyword> and growing inwardly as the journey of discovery continues. A must-watch and we must say that the BO verdict has been quite right this time. 
 
 
 
Total Siyapaa – Not totally doomed: We say that in spite of the poor box office response. Inspired by a Spanish film, Seres Queridos (Only Human), this rom-com features an Indo-Pak pair – Asha (Yami Gautam) and Aman (Ali Zafar) – and their many attempts to iron out the clashing cultures and countries. The backdrop of <keyword id="6354968" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="London">London</keyword> looks both beautiful and homey, but the characters, at times, look lost and confused, as if trying to find their way back to the centre stage. Anupam and Kirron Kher (Aisha’s parents) do their best while <keyword id="16657" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="sara-khan">Sara Khan</keyword>, as Asha’s sister, proves to be tantalising, vivacious and gutsy. You get large dollops of humour as well even as the eccentric and whimsical characters try to make their mark. Overall, an average movie but offers some fun moments. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: Queen Outshines
Gulaab Gang; Total Siyapaa Tanks

Here’s the New Year’s first <keyword id="1636016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="rom-com">rom-com</keyword> that should have hit the theatre on the Valentine’s Day. But the Farhan Akhtar-Vidya Balan starrer has arrived exactly two weeks late and you can’t even call it a hit, in spite of a decent opening. The lead duo rocks, of course, and <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword> <keyword id="27707" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saket-Chaudhary">Saket Chaudhary</keyword> does his best to bring back the impish charm of his directorial debut, <keyword id="27579" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pyaar-Ke-Side-Effects">Pyaar Ke Side Effects</keyword>. Nonetheless, the (pseudo) sequel, <keyword id="853887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shaadi-Ke-Side-Effects">Shaadi Ke Side Effects</keyword> (<keyword id="1575401" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="SKSE">SKSE</keyword>), lacks the earlier spice and spunk, at least during the second half. The new movie has a new star cast as well – Farhan &amp; Vidya as <keyword id="66282" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sid">Sid</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="13161" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Trisha">Trisha</keyword> instead of <keyword id="2097200" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="PKSE">PKSE</keyword>’s <keyword id="3194" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Bose">Rahul Bose</keyword> and <keyword id="6363209" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mallika-Sherawat">Mallika Sherawat</keyword>. And it could be one big reason that makes the difference here. <keyword id="5015" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Farhan-Akhtar">Farhan Akhtar</keyword> is quite brilliant as Sid and Vidya remains irresistible, but not in the same way the ‘other’ Trisha pulled it off. 
 
Predictably, Shaadi Ke Side Effects saw a somewhat slow start at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>, netting a little over Rs 5 crore on the opening day (February 28). But collections went up dramatically during the first weekend and the movie netted around Rs 21.5 crore at home after Day 3 as most of the circuits saw 40% or more growth. Overall occupancy was 60-65% but some of the major multiplex chains saw even 70-80% occupancy in the evening shows over the weekend However, earnings slumped on the crucial Day 4 (Monday, March 3) to Rs 4 crore, according to industry estimates. 
 That’s definitely a roller-coaster ride at the <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword>, but not without reasons. For once, the inconsistency in <keyword id="182563" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="BO">BO</keyword> collections seems to replicate the movie’s roller-coaster performance – a mature <keyword id="6359193" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Comedy">comedy</keyword> in the beginning that gradually loses its ‘cool’ and gets totally clichéd and utterly predictable at the end. 
 
To begin with, you have Farhan Akhtar (Sid), a married man caught in the baby trap after a lot of scotch and a passionate night. As usual, it is wife Trisha (Vidya) who dotes on the baby and leaves her job to raise it, but hubby is not ready yet to accept the catastrophe. Interestingly, if Sid was commitment-phobic in PKSE, here we find a man who is literally struggling to keep his happiness, self-confidence and sanity intact – a much tougher task than before. So he starts leading a dual life – reliving (not very convincingly) his carefree days and weaving a string of white lies (as sagaciously advised by brother-in-law and the ‘perfect dad’ <keyword id="17416" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ram-Kapoor">Ram Kapoor</keyword>) to appease a nagging wife. 
 
The situation gets pretty taut emotionally and also tougher, thanks to the demands of baby care (remember those scenes from Heyy Babyy?). But every incident turns out to be incredibly funny and Farhan keeps the comedy sparkling till the end. His perfect comic timings, hilarious jokes, sardonic voiceovers and the interplay between family and freewheeling cause some laughter riot and give us a rocking time. More so, because they are so everyday kind of humour and happenings, so relatable yet so quirky. Even in terms of comic scores, Vidya complements Farhan while their poignant on-screen chemistry holds together a near-absent storyline and a weak script. 
 But beneath these layers of breezy fun, there are glimpses of a disturbing reality that Chaudhary decides to keep out of the frame. The growing lack of communication between Sid &amp; Trisha, the <keyword id="23666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="stress">stress</keyword> of motherhood or the painful efforts the two make/don’t make to come to terms with reality could have thrown open a plethora of possibilities and held the centre stage at the end. 
 Instead, we get some <keyword id="2097209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-histrionics">Bollywood histrionics</keyword> – stereotype characters that look like caricatures, some gross gender politics (why should Farhan have all the attention, one wonders), superficial confrontations and rapid reconciliations. It almost looks like Chaudhary has a rulebook for ‘turning happy marriages into happy parenting’ up his sleeves and scripted the later part of the movie accordingly. And that makes Shaadi Ke Side Effects an average, humdrum rom-com that could have been a brilliant black comedy with uneasy questions disrupting the free flow of laughter. 
 
<keyword id="6362021" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anuradha">Anuradha</keyword>: A tear-jerker without impact Here is one <keyword id="2097210" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-drama">Bollywood drama</keyword> that should be left severely alone unless you want to watch a paragon of virtue suffering for nothing and enduring it all. Directed by <keyword id="1092477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Raju-Mavani">Raju Mavani</keyword>, the movie features two debut actors in the lead roles – <keyword id="2973" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rahul-Jain">Rahul Jain</keyword> and <keyword id="2036044" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Disha-Choudhary">Disha Choudhary</keyword>. But that’s where the novelty ends. Disha, an ideal daughter, wife and sister, is the good old weeping bahu oppressed by mom-in-law as she demands dowry and snubbed by sis-in-law (<keyword id="4469" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Hrishita-Bhatt">Hrishita Bhatt</keyword>) who displays loads of filmy depravity. But unlike other ‘woman-centric’ movies of the 80s and 90s, there’s no unique storyline here or strong characters who can be a role model of sorts. So the output is, once again, too clichéd to be palatable. We have not got the box office numbers yet but some industry insiders peg it at Rs 25 lakh on the opening day (February 28) and further updates are awaited. Meanwhile, get ready for the upcoming Friday that will usher in loads of thrill, excitement and fun in the form of <keyword id="1523830" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gulaab-Gang">Gulaab Gang</keyword>, <keyword id="1952335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Total-Siyapaa">Total Siyapaa</keyword> and <keyword id="6377522" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="queen">Queen</keyword>. 
 
Image: Indiatimes

Box Office: Shaadi Ke Side Effects Fails To
Hit A High Note; Anuradha Just A Shoddy Tear-jerker

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Box Office: Queen Outshines Gulaab Gang; Total Siyapaa Tanks

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Box Office: Shaadi Ke Side Effects Fails To Hit A High Note; Anuradha Just A Shoddy Tear-jerker

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