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With‘Tiger’ just behind us, we follow SRK’s ‘Dunki’, which is staring at us in late December and four stars are vying for national attention, as one month ends and another begins, our cineaste in Mumbai is tickled and taking cover in our regular lowdown…
By Rodrigues C
ALONG all the roads, byways and lanes Mother Nature has kept people on their toes – in more ways than one.
The unexpected rains in late November took everyone by surprise, cooling down a boiling city and probably even affecting footfalls in theatres on an important weekend day just gone…
The main casualty was Salman Khan’s ‘Tiger 3’.
It saw a massive £4 million opening on Diwali on November 12.
The film did well for a couple of days before sliding down. Its first week collection was a phenomenal £36m. The falling box office numbers forced the film’s production house to drastically reduce ticket rates from the initial £4.7-9.5/ticket to just about £1.40 for weekdays until November 30.
The Maneesh Sharma directorial, which is the third installment in the Tiger franchise, is now officially the highest grossing Diwali blockbuster of all time amassing a fortune of £44 million worldwide.
It is also the fourth highest grossing film of 2023 behind ‘Jawan’, ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Gadar 2’.
We all know (in India) Khan has been provided enhanced security by the Maharashtra government due to death threats.
Throughout the promotions of ‘Tiger 3’ the actor was photographed all over Mumbai as well as in other parts of the country moving in a convoy of police vehicles along with ambulances. Khan is always seated inside a bullet proof car. These videos drew a huge audience online and you will find them on most social media websites.
Interestingly, another star, the evergreen Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) was also provided similar security by the Maharashtra government recently.
As for ‘Tiger’, the movie is unlikely to increase its box office standing as next week will see the release of Ranbir Kapoor’s much publicised thriller ‘Animal’. This is about how a business magnate’s son exacts revenge and leads to a gang war. The Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial, which will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu is already looking at big money at the box office.
It has sold tickets to the tune of almost £1m even before its release. And as things stand the movie could get one of the highest openings of 2023.
Vanga has also written the script for the film, which took him more than a year to complete.
The film will be competing against Vicky Kaushal’s ‘Sam Bahadur’ for release tomorrow (December 1).
Salman Khan is also in the news for something else as well, and it’s called ‘Bigg Boss’. In its 17th season, the reality show premiered on TV last month. For the fourteenth time in a row, Khan has been the host of the show and appears on it during weekends. The show’s popularity is primarily due to Khan and not its contestants, say many.
People in India eagerly wait for the weekends to watch Khan talk to the contestants. This year the actor has been appearing on the show in semi-formal attire, which is a hit among viewers. Khan’s brothers Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan are also part of the show this year.
Finally, the last big Bollywood movie of the year is supposed to be SRK’s ‘Dunki’, which will hit theatres on December 22. Produced by Gauri Khan, the Rajkumar Hirani directorial will clash with Prashanth Neel’s ‘Salaar’ staring Prabhas.
While the former is budgeted around £11m, it is believed £24m has been spent on Prabhas’ (who shot to prominence with ‘Baahubhali’) film.
In Mumbai, just before a movie’s release its actors are often photographed all over town – be it airports, gyms, recording studios or special screenings. No one knows for sure if these appearances are part of the film’s publicity blitz.
Well, SRK along with Hirani, was spotted outside a dubbing studio in the city’s suburb of Bandra earlier this week (November 27) and the media went gaga over the actor’s appearance. Within minutes the pictures were all over the web. Surely, more such appearances are bound to follow.
With the kind of craze, we are seeing for SRK, ‘Dunki’ is surely bound to bring in good numbers at the box office. Watch out for the big day, December 22.
Catch you all after Christmas, then and wishing you all a most happy and fulfilling festive holiday time with friends and family! Will the Bollywood tinsel be shining with an extra glow?
