Bollywood Bird Bites: Shah Rukh Khan 'Jawan’; Hitler questions dog ‘Bawaal’ launch; Sports film ‘Ghoomer’ set for Australia

A quick round-up of film stories making headlines…

SRK’s ‘Jawan’ ‘prevue’ rocks the web today!

CLOCKING up millions of views in just a few hours – today – is King Khan himself. Yes, that’s right, Shah Rukh Khan or SRK, as he is called. The much anticipated preview of ‘Jawan’ was out this morning in India and its already creating a storm online with around 16 million views at the time of going to press. The so called ‘prevue’ – not a trailer, as such, was launched by Khan’s own production house, Red Chillies Entertainment and the video appeared o n other SRK handlestoo; the ‘prevue’ features a Hindi voiceover by the actor. The 2.13-minute promo is action packed with guns, explosions and spectacular events – and features mostly Khan, as a baby, in the army, and then in a bandaged look synonymous with the film’s posters. The clip begins with SRK in hero mode and then goes on to show him in a bald pate as a possible villain. It ends inside a metro train with the track ‘Bekarar karke hamen’ from the 1962 film ‘Bees Saal Baad’ playing in the backdrop. Intriguing.
The prevue also features glimpses of co-star Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi and Deepika Padukone, also in action mode, in a special appearance and sporting a red sari.
Some are already predicting a big ticket opening – and the largest in India to date – ‘Jawan’ is set to release on September 7 2023.

Jawan – https://youtu.be/k8YiqM0Y-78

Hitler questions continue to plague ‘Bawaal’ after trailer launch

Ajay Dixit (Varun Dhawan) and Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) in ‘*Bawaal*‘

ROMANCE and the leader of the Third Reich don’t really go together – and why a Bollywood film should reference the Holocaust and other horrors of the second World War proved something of a sticky question as the cast and director of ‘Bawaal’ Nitish Tiwari (‘Dangal’), and well-established producer Sajid Nadiadwala (‘Baaghi’) met the global press at both a physical and virtual launch of their trailer in the UAE yesterday (Sunday, July 9).
Starring two huge potential box office draws, Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, the trailer featured fighting from World War II and referenced Hitler as wanting “what others wanted” and his greed. A teaser released on Wednesday (July 5) focused on the budding romance between Dhawan’s and Kapoor’s characters, and also contained Second World War scenes and references.
The trailer begins in Lucknow, where Dhawan is a history schoolteacher. He is then seen wooing Kapoor. After getting married, the duo is then seen in Europe. Their frequent arguments are interspersed with scenes of war and mayhem. To an average viewer the trailer looks confusing.
Tiwari didn’t give out much about the movie’s storyline despite being asked frequently by reporters at the event. It was revealed that the love saga has been shot in Germany, Netherlands, France and Poland, along with India. The movie is releasing directly on Amazon Prime on July 21 and Nadiadwala said the reason behind this decision was a simultaneous release in 200 countries. www.asianculturevulture.com was present virtually at the press conference but wasn’t able to ask a question or have our question about, popular film tastes in India changing substantially, asked.

Cricket film ‘Ghoomer’ to hit Australia first

First Look: Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher in ‘Ghoomer’

SPORTS’ films are much in vogue these days in India – and now comes along details of ‘Ghoomer’ – which will premiere in Melbourne, Australia on August 11.
Starring Shabana Azmi, Abhishek Bachchan, Saiyami Kher and Angad Bedi, this film centres around Kher’s character. She’s a paraplegic with cricketing dreams – and Bachchan plays her coach. There’s added interest, in that Kher herself reached state standard at the sport. Azmi will play her cricket-obsessed grandmother, who helps her pursue her dream despite obstacles from within the family. Directed by R Balki, who had the hit, ‘Pad Man’ in 2018, the film will open the Indian International Film of Melbourne (IFFM) with Azmi expected to travel there. Bollywood star Ajay Devgn’s ‘Maidaan’ about the legendary Indian football coach, Syed Abdul Rahim, was meant to launch on June 23 – but has been postponed again. The reasons aren’t clear.