Star or no star, big screen or the computer screen — it was film and digital content backed by good and compelling story-lines that drew the audience’s attention in 2016, when formulaic sequels and even some ambitious dramas failed to make it big.

While some small-budget films generated unexpected results, some star-driven movies didn’t excite the audience and, instead, growing takers of online viewing added a new dimension to film watching.

This is the year when sequels of hit films, earlier considered as money spinners, failed at the box office. “Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive”, “Tum Bin II”, “Rock On 2” and “Kahaani 2” didn’t do as well as their first instalments.

“Rock On 2” was the first movie to release after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the central government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. And that had a direct effect on the box office earnings of the movie, which had an approximate budget of Rs 45 crore, and reportedly earned Rs 15.67 crore.

Real-life inspired stories were brought to screen with films like “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”, “Airlift”, “Rustom” and “Dangal” — all of which did well.

“The stories of ‘Neerja’ and ‘Airlift’ are truly inspirational and celebrate heroism. I think the mass audience still loves to watch a hero who wins the battle facing all odds. So there is an instant audience connect,” Apurva Asrani, writer and editor of “Aligarh”.

Some highly ambitious films like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Mirzya” and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Fan” failed to impress critics and the masses alike.

At a time when success is coming to films like “Neerja” and “Pink”, which send out relevant messages in a style that is as commercially viable but yet worthy of critical acclaim, there is also a film like “Aligarh”, which gets lauded by critics but does not set the cash registers ringing.

Explaining this, Asrani said: “Two very important things should be taken under consideration while judging the success of a sensitive film like ‘Aligarh’. First, the intention of making the film was not box office success.

“Secondly, the audience of this kind of experimental, sensitive film is also outside the theatres. They are watching them on the digital platforms like Netflix and at special screenings during film festivals. Those are some of the ways to reach out to people.”

Saiwyn Quadras, co-writer of the Sonam Kapoor starrer “Neerja”, feels the audience prefers to watch films on topics like homosexuality, online rather than in theatres.

“That might affect the box office, but not the reach of the film, he said, adding: “Online viewership extends the life of a film after its release in theaters. That is one of the reasons why so many avenues are opening for digital release of a film and the numbers are growing fast.”

The digital route is finding many takers.

Production banner Eros International releases films on its online channel Eros Now before their TV premiere. Even Amazon is opening its platform for digital release of films and, most recently, Shah Rukh’s home banner Red Chillies Entertainment has collaborated with Netflix for the exclusive viewing of the superstar’s movies.

So, is the progressive audience shifting medium from theater to online?

“Whether a movie is a hit or a flop is always decided based on box office collection as that is the faster way to recover all the invested money of the film for a producer. The online views do not count as revenue for box office or the immediate business of the film.

“Satellite and online viewers are not investing (much) money to watch a film,” said film trade expert Komal Nahta.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny that the audience is changing and they are receptive to good stories.

Nahta said: “The audience is evolving, and ‘Pink’ is an example of that. It has done good business at the box office. It is a good thing that stars like Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor are doing different roles.

“But you see, without Akshay, ‘Airlift’ could have been made and considered as a good film, but it would not have become such a big film… Stars make that happen,” Asrani said of Bollywood’s ever-prevalent ‘star’ system.

Rightfully so.

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IANS

The fourth edition of the North East Festival – Connecting People, Celebrating Life – will be organised from November 4-6 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts here.

The North East Festival aims to showcase for the people of Delhi the rich cultural heritage of the country’s northeast region.

Before the festival, a rock competition titled North East Festival Rock Battle will be held on October 28 and 29 at Dilli Haat amongst the colleges and bands of Delhi, wherein 60 bands will perform. The winning band will stand a chance of winning a trip to Dubai, read a statement.

The three-day festivities will showcase the entire northeast India in all its glory and colourful hues via art, crafts and culture, songs, dance and movies, food, sports and fashion.

There will also be performances by Papon, Zubeen Garg, rapper Borkung Hrangkhal, DJ Zaeden, rock bands Traffic Jam, Fourth Element, Mo & The Shooting Stars, and Reverse Tragedy.

Fashion shows comprising northeast handlooms will be showcased by around 20 young designers and models from the region. For food lovers, an exotic collection of delectable cuisines from the northeast with around 30 food stalls will be on offer.

The Make in North East Exhibition will also feature handlooms and handicraft, agro and food products, with around 100 entrepreneurs participating from all across the northeast region.

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Shyamkanu Mahanta, Chief Organiser, North East Festival said: “This year we will be holding a seminar dedicated to flood and erosion that affects the region, which would see experts from IITs across the country who would congregate and discuss about the Brahmaputra to find a permanent solution to flood and erosion issues along with stakeholders of NER.”

“The seminar would be presented by Water Resources Department, Government of Assam and would see participation from various multilaterals and the Central Government. Assam Tourism would be presenting a seminar on ‘Awesome Assam’ with tour operators across the country. There would be discussions on sports, B2B Meets on tourism and many more,” he added.

(With IANS Inputs)

India fought off a tough challenge from Iran to win their third successive Kabaddi World Cup at the TransStadia Arena here on Saturday.

In perhaps the most exciting match of this World Cup, the Indians overturned a first-half deficit with a superb second-half performance to win 38-29.

India beat Iran 38-29 to win 2016 Kabaddi World Cup

India have thus won all the three Kabaddi World Cups held so far. They have beaten Iran in the finals of all the three editions.

India had earlier clinched the 2004 and 2007 editions of the Kabaddi World Cup.

The experienced Ajay Thakur played a crucial role in India’s win with his raiding prowess. Thakur turned out be one of the most influential players in the match with a total of 12 points.

Thakur was adjudged the top raider of the World Cup with 64 points. He has notched up four Super 10s through out the tournament. A Super 10 is when a player scores 10 or more points in a match.

South Korea’s Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) star Jang Kun Lee was adjudged the most valuable player of the World Cup.

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Iran enjoyed a stronger start and dominated the first half. But the Indians showed superb fighting spirit and aggression to pull off the win.

Thakur had started the revival early in the second session by claiming four consecutive raid points. His team-mates also showed excellent raiding and defending technique to edge out their opponents.

The near capacity crowd kept up a deafening wall of noise even before the match started and egged on the Indian players throughout the game.

“This is the best moment of my life,” Thakur said after the win as his teammates broke out into an energetic bout of bhangra all around the court.

“Kabaddi is India’s sport and we have managed to continue our domination. We will dance in the hotel all night.”

The Indians had faced a tough challenge from the Iranians in the Asian Games final a couple of years ago as well.

Indian captain Anup Kumar asserted his teammates had learned their lessons from that contest and were confident of victory despite trailing throughout the opening half.

“Iran had played very well in the Asian Games final as well. We had defeated them in the final stages of that match. We had learned our lesson from that game and we knew what we had to do today,” Anup said.

Surjeet took India’s first point of the match with his team’s second raid.

But with four PKL stars in their ranks, the Iranians soon showed that they have improved a lot as they started to dominate proceedings.

Iran fought back to take a 3-2 lead before Thakur restored parity with a superb raid, staving off an attempted tackle by wrestling his opponent over the line.

The visitors outwitted Pardeep Narwal during his raid to regain the lead but the Indian defence thwarted the next Iranian raid to level the scores.

A botched attempt by the Indian defenders saw both Pardeep and Manjeet Chillar sitting out, which handed Iran a 9-7 lead.

Anup Kumar fell during the next Indian raid as the Iranians built up a crucial three-point lead.

With India reduced to just two men, Mohit Chhillar and Surendar Nada earned two points, pulling off a super tackle.

But the Iranians continued their impressive form to inflict the first all out of the match on the hosts and take a 16-12 lead.

The teams went into the half-time break with Iran leading 18-13.

Thakur produced a superb raid early in the second half to dismiss two Iranian defenders and reduce the deficit to 16-19.

A couple of excellent raids by Thakur and a superb piece of defending saw the hosts draw level at 20-20.

Thakur scored his third successive a point in another raid before the Indians inflicted an all out on their opponents to take the lead for the first time in the contest at 24-21.

Thakur continued his exploits in raiding as the Indians gradually bolstered their lead.

They started to become a tad too rough with their tackles which earned them a mild reprimand from the referee.

Pardeep fetched a couple of points with his raid to give India a comfortable seven-point cushion.

The Indians soon inflicted the second all out on the Iranians to further increase their lead and virtually assure themselves of victory.

Art director Omung Kumar has boosted every nook and corner of the “Bigg Boss” house this year with elements of mystique that invoke sentiments like vigour and positivity. Omung, also a filmmaker, says the house has an ethereal look.

The house of the reality TV show has been designed by Omung along with his wife Vanita. A few journalists were locked in the “Bigg Boss” house as contestants to experience it.

Omung said in a statement: “The ‘Bigg Boss’ house, this year, has an ethereal look. The design of the ‘Bigg Boss’ house has been themed around a modern Indian palace. There is an element of Indian mystique to the decor with a lot of lanterns and earthy tones to bring a homely appeal to the set.”

Swimming Pool in the Garden Area	Jail
Kitchen Area	Living Room
Dining Table	Confession Room
Bathroom Area	Jacuzzi in Bathroom Area

“The house is more colourful and vibrant this time with lots of paintings. There are many conspicuous changes in the ‘Bigg Boss’ house.”

The addition to the bathroom area, this season, is a luxurious Jacuzzi placed in a corner which allows every relaxing contestant a full view of the entire room.

He said: “We are also adding a touch of luxury to the ‘Bigg Boss’ house with the introduction of a Jacuzzi corner in the bathroom. The design elements have been incorporated to create a balanced experience for both celebrities and commoners who are participating as contestants.”

This year the house also has a jail.

“The most prominent addition to the ‘Bigg Boss’ house, however, is the jail. Painted to depict a filthy appearance, the jail will be a dungeon of sorts for contestants who break the rules,” according to Omung.

“There is a special Indian-style bathroom installed for the qaidis (prisoners), and an earthen pot along with aluminium plates and mugs to make the entire experience more real,” the “Sarbjit” director said.

The bedroom area features more than seven single beds. While seven contestants will take single beds, the remaining will have to share a massive one which has been placed against a wall.

A first-time addition is a walk-in closet adorned with full-length mirrors to ensure that the contestants look their best at all times.

This year on one hand we will see ‘common man’, and on the other hand, the heady ‘celebrity’ brigade all set to experience 100 plus days under the same roof.

The tenth season of the show, hosted by superstar Salman Khan, begins on Sunday on Colors.

Checkout  the videos….

Enter the world of #BB10! A sneak peak into the house where celebs & aam aadmi will live together. @BeingSalmanKhan https://t.co/KiPxo23NXg

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

If you want to sleep in peace you got to forget cameras exist! That’s the only way to get a good night sleep. #BB10 https://t.co/3BLWQBIQ2C

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

Yahin par hota hai sach ka samna! Kya hoga jab Bigg Boss bulayenge contestants ko andar. #BB10 @BeingSalmanKhan https://t.co/KTSivxaBxf

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

A place where the school is in session and the teacher is none other than @BeingSalmanKhan! #BB10 https://t.co/O5qZQlocFx

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

Khaana, peena, roothna, manaana – sab hota hai yahaan! Take a look at the #BB10 kitchen! https://t.co/Iuh8Qe0Ska

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

If you do the crime, you do the time. Nobody gets away with breaking the rules in the #BB10 house. @BeingSalmanKhan https://t.co/cRbRLKtfNz

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

The only place where you can actually relax because you know the cameras aren’t watching you. #BB10 @BeingSalmanKhan https://t.co/ONoqUTTexb

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 16, 2016

The sixth edition of the Pune Fashion week (PFW), presented by BVLGARI, started on saturday with the launch of their luxury exhibition, the “Luxe Expo”, in the afternoon followed by the plethora of Bollywood celebrities walking the runway for many designers.

Designers Shikha Kothari, Purva Pardeshi, Hina Madhumal, Sangeeta Sharma, Kanchan Kulkarni, Nitya Bajaj, Sharad Raghav and Ashok Maanay showcased their new collections with designer Pria Kataria puri closing the evening, showcasing her new line in support of Girl Child Education, for NGO Smile Foundation.

Kick-starting the evening were designers Shikha Kothari, Purva Pardeshi and Hina Madumal presented their capsule collections as a part of opening show of day one. A 1997 Design by Shikha Kothari premiered their Fall 2016 collection “Siddha” that had hand embroidery, hand Painting, origami, applique and patchwork, texturing as the highlight of her collection. Marathi actress Rujuta Shinde walked the ramp for Kothari.

Designer Purva Pardeshi’s label RED unveiled her collection “The Urban Warrior”. Symbolised by the strong warrior-like armour adorned by Ravana, the collection made use of opulent fabrics like raw silk, organza and banarasi brocade which encompass the myriad aspects of India’s colossal heritage depicted in the epic and its rich culture.

Accentuated by metallic embellishments and antique embroidery, the clothes created were a bold statement adding a distinct uniqueness to the overall visual appeal. Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon strutted the ramp graciously as the showstopper for Pardeshi.

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Designer Hina Madumal’s collection celebrated the grace and elegance of a woman. The strength of the Brand Hinas Atelier, was constructed looks. Silhouettes included gown and cocktail collection also showing the wedding dresses. The embroidery enhanced and not intrude and distract from the woman’s beauty. Mrs. India Globe Elakshi Morey Gupta was the showstopper for the designer.

The next in line was the show put together by designer Sangeeta Sharma and designer Kanachan Kulkarni. Each of them showcased their capsule collection on the upcoming Bridal and festive season respectively.

Sharma presented her Bridal collection “Forget me not” inspired from illium commonly known as flower Lily. Attractive colours of Lily like yellow, oranges, pink, reds and purples ruled the colour palette. The motifs were inspired by the “the lily and the leafs” and were made of thread work along with a pinch of dabka and chain stitched mostly in golden colour. The collection was simple and elegant to attribute the royalty to the bride. Actress Adah Sharma looked a perfect bride while walking the ramp for Sharma.

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“All that Glitters”, the 2016 festive collection by Kara by designer Kanchan Kulkarni was a tribute to its Indian roots while still staying true to its western silhouettes. A step away from its previous all Silk collections, All That Glitters, was a blend of silks mixed with tulle and lace and fused with shimmer and beads to stay true to its name. Actress Sarah Jane Dias looked gorgeous as a showstopper in designer’s creation.

The next show was a glittering affair, where designer Nitya Bajaj showcased her capsule collection “Ritz” and designer Sharad Raghav showcased his collection “The Pink Mosque”.

Ostentatious, luxurious, regal and truly elegant, Ritz By Nitya Bajaj portrayed the workmanship of Indian craftsmen combined with western silhouettes illuminating glamour and sheer brilliance. Showcasing the rich pearls, elegant Swarovski crystals, the delicate lace and beadwork on rich Indian silks, the collection has it all. The glamorous Brazialian Bruna Abdullah looked resplendent as Bajaj’s showstopper.

Raghav’s collection “The Pink mosque” was inspired by the pink mosque situated in Iran and showcased Islamic prints with riots of colour.

Another show was put together by the veteran designer Ashok Maanay, who unveiled his collection “Serenity”. Drapes of six yards of pure fabrics like silk, crepes, georgettes and chiffon embellished with Zari borders woven by the few heritage weavers of Varanasi, who even to this day weave zari borders and saris to the royal houses and the elite using zari made of pure silver thread polished in gold in pastel and bright colours beautifully blended with exotic hand crafted techniques of weaving, all unique and impactful. Aachkans and Aangharakhaas. Actress Pooja Chopra walked the ramp for designer Ashok Maanay as the showstopper.

Lastly, being organised for a very noble cause of supporting girl child education, designer Priya Kataria Puri had put together this amazing collection called “Pura Vida” for NGO Smile Foundation for the glittering evening. Keeping true to its name, the “Pura Vida” collection was all about effortless style, elegance and a true epitome of femininity. It incorporated new styles of kaftan silhouettes like a maxi kaftan, off shoulder and cold shoulder cuts, jumpsuits, palazzos, dresses, tops, blouses and rompers in pure Italian silk which were all given a chic glamorous avatar.

(With IANS inputs)

Ritwik, an Arsenal loyalist meets Pulkit, a Chelsea lover. Quite expectedly hard core football discussion ensues but is it possible for them to remain cordial for long? Ofcourse not! The topic of their favourite team inevitably comes up & what follows next is what you simply cannot miss!