Bollywood Blog and Changing Times

 

 

This is a personal reflection on my past experiences with blogging about Bollywood. At one point, our posts were well-indexed by Google, but we didn't capitalize on that potential. I now regret not investing in a dedicated domain and focusing on building a prominent Bollywood blog.

It would have been relatively easy. We had a team of five, capable of generating a substantial amount of Bollywood-related content. Furthermore, we operated other blogs on various topics, allowing for beneficial interlinking.

I began writing about Bollywood in 2006. With the team we had, we could have achieved significant success. The fact that we didn't is something I deeply regret. Now, I no longer have that team.

I don't intend to rebuild one, but I'm writing here as a form of practice. Today, I'm aiming to write several blog articles as part of this exercise. I started this blog in late 2006, driven by the desire to establish a blog network. We had multiple blogs covering diverse subjects.

We had blogs focused on technology, laptops, Asian business, Bollywood, sports, and more – nearly ten in total. Our Bollywood blog was part of this network, primarily hosted on Blogspot or Google Blogger.

Writing about Bollywood came naturally. I've been watching Bollywood films since 1984. By 2006, I had 22 years of accumulated knowledge. My team members were even more passionate and knowledgeable than I was.

They could produce excellent content. We had no shortage of information, as Indian newspapers extensively covered Bollywood, and dedicated websites provided in-depth news.

This continues today. Back then, YouTube wasn't as accessible in Bangladesh due to slow internet speeds. YouTube video streaming became more feasible around 2009.

From that point, we could watch YouTube videos more freely as internet speeds improved. Those early days, before reliable streaming, seem like a distant dream. I'm referring to the years around 2007 and 2008.

Bollywood was immensely popular throughout South Asia. In 2006 and 2007, its popularity surpassed cricket, as the Indian Premier League (IPL) had not yet started. Entertainment was predominantly Bollywood-centric.

Cricket's popularity was limited to India's international matches. There was no IPL to capture widespread interest.

Bollywood music was also highly prevalent. As mentioned, YouTube was slow, not just in Bangladesh but also in India. Many lacked access to high-speed internet.

MP3 audio files were popular. I believe millions of audio cassettes were still being sold in 2006.

Bollywood music was at its peak. The cassette, CD, and DVD industries generated significant revenue. Today, physical sales are negligible, replaced by online streaming.

This shift has made it challenging for films to earn as much from music sales as they once did. Movie budgets have increased.

Ticket sales remain strong. Movies now generate substantial revenue from television and OTT platform deals. Bollywood films are also released globally, in countries like the USA, Europe, and the Middle East.

China is an emerging market. Sometimes, overseas revenue surpasses domestic earnings.

However, compared to Hollywood, Bollywood still lags behind. The Southern Indian film industry, particularly Tamil cinema, is performing well, sometimes rivaling Bollywood in revenue and popularity.

This wasn't the case in the early 2000s. The leading actors, like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan, remain prominent today.

However, the actresses of 2006 have largely faded from the scene. What I miss most are the older Bollywood songs.

The music and lyrics were exceptional. While there are talented singers today, the overall quality of music composition and lyrics has declined. Returning to the blog, I regret not seizing the opportunity to create a leading Bollywood blog.

If we had tried, we could have succeeded.

However, my life lacked stability, hindering my efforts. I sometimes wish I had taken the risk to establish a blog network from Bangladesh.

It could have been very successful. But life presented challenges. Nevertheless, I am content.

I don't plan to return to this blog. But, ideally, I'd love to create a blog network and encourage others to write about Bollywood and related entertainment topics. I recognize this is wishful thinking.

I'm simply writing for practice, to expand my vocabulary and sentence structure. This is my sixth blog post today. Thank you for reading.

Why Shah Rukh Khan is the best?

 Shah Rukh Khan, though born in New Delhi, is known worldwide as "King Khan." He is widely respected as the "Baadshah of Bollywood." Starting from nothing, he built his career through hard work, acting skills, personality, sense of humor, intelligence, and a combination of various qualities that made him the number one figure in the media industry. Although he began his acting career with television serials, he has acted in more than 100 movies to date.

Beyond being an actor, Shah Rukh Khan has also earned significant recognition as a film producer and television host. Along with his family members, he is actively involved in various social activities. Nurturing his childhood dream of becoming an athlete, he became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Not only has he received numerous awards in the film industry, but he has also been honored with the Padma Shri by the Indian government, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Legion of Honour by the French government.

Additionally, he has been recognized by UNESCO and several universities. It is often said that, at the age of 59, Shah Rukh Khan has maintained his fame for such a long time—something no other actor has managed to do before. Whether such a legacy will be created again in the future remains uncertain.

Chhorii, Director Vishal Furia’s horror film turning into a 'message movie' in its final moment

 

Directed by Vishal Furia ‘Chhorii’ is a Hindi remake of an award winning and critically acclaimed 2017 Marathi language film ‘Lapachhipi’. The film cast Nushrratt Bharuccha as a lead actor, alongside Mita Vashisht, Rajesh Jais and Saurabh Goyal. This horror film produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishna Kumar, Vikram Malhotra, Jack Davis, Shikhaa Sharma and Shiv Chanana. The film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 26^th November 2021.

After released on OTT platform, it had been successfully catching audience eyes as well as critical review. Mostly audiences talked about its strong storyline and wonderful narratives which bringing up the social issues of female feticide in a subtle way. Despite a horror film ‘Chhorii’ leaves a message towards the end for audiences that, “What if those Chhorii’s weren’t given a chance?” which will force them ponder.    

On Friday, actor AkshayKumar shout out of the whole team of ‘Chhorii’ and sharing a video on social media and wrote, “As father to a girl who is my lifeline, I was deeply moved, and equally concerned about this, Kudos for taking up this sensitive topic.”

In the video, the lead actor of the film Nushrratt Bharuccha talked about the women achievers of India in several field and broken out all challenges and How they converted every challenges as their right opportunity? They did a wonderful job and showcase their talent in several field such as sports, medicine, acting, politics and so on. Those daughter proved our society that they can fit in any box and be an inspiration of one and all.           

Rohan Naahar of The Indian Express wrote about the ‘Chhorii’ that, "the film is a surprisingly well-made horror picture that actually respects the genre, but loses its way so tragically in its final moments" and turn it "into a message movie". Concluding the review, Naahar asks a question from director, "Does Furia (director) think that potential baby-killers are watching his film? Does he expect ‘Chhorii’ to change their mind about killing babies?

 

Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush starrer Atrangi Re to premiere on Disney+ and Hotstar

 

‘Atrangi re’ is the director Aanand L. Rai upcoming musical romantic film, starring with Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and south superstar Dhanush who previously worked with director Aanand L. Rai, his bollywood debut film ‘Raanjhanaa’.

As well as Dhanush is also rendering a song for the film. This is the first time he is singing for AR Rahman music composition. To confirming the news Dhanush posted a picture with AR Rahman on social media and wrote, “Had a blast singing and chatting with our very own Isai puyal AR Rahman sir.” 

‘Atrangi re’ is presented by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series, Colour Yellow Productions and Cape of Good Films. The film is also writing by Himanshu Sharma and the music has composed by Oscar winning maestro AR Rahman. This film is all set to premiere on Disney+ and Hotstar on 24 December 2021 in Hindi and Tamil languages. Its Tamil dubbed version of the film is titled as ‘Galatta Kalyanam’.

On 30 January 2020, the film was officially announced and started shooting in Varanasi earlier this year. But due to the coronavirus lockdown the shooting had postponed. After several months, ‘Atrangi Re’ team had begun work on the project and finally wrap up on 27 March 2021.   

In an interview with Mid-Day, director Aanand L Rai opened up on the age-gap between the cast. Since the time the film’s cast was announced, it has been criticised from all quarters due to the age difference between Sara (26), and the two male actors Akshay (54) and Dhanush (38).

Aanand Rai also added that the audience just needs to be patient. “Atrangi means funnily weird. If a filmmaker shows patience in making a film, it’s his small expectation that people wait and understand the reason behind such a cast. We have a habit of judging people. I want people to watch the film for two hours, and react to it thereafter,”

In a statement, Sara spoken about the film to indianexpress.com about working with Akshay and Dhanush in ‘Atrangi Re’, “Akshay sir is one of the biggest stars in our country today, even then he is such a humble and fun loving person who gets such joyful energy on set. I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with him. Dhanush is an institution, a National Award-winning actor. There was a running joke on set where I used to call Dhanush ‘thalaiva’ and I used to call Akshay sir ‘thalaiva of the north’. It was just between these two thalaivas that I have tried to do some work and I hope all of our combined effort is appreciated.”

Bunty Aur Babli 2 released, Audiences miss the spark of the original

 

On 19^th November 2021, ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’ released for which audience will excite to go to watch on big screens. This film is the sequel to the 2005 Yash Raj Films ‘Bunty Aur Babli’, the original film starred Abhishek Bachchan opposite Rani.   

Directed by Varun Sharma ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’, starring Saif Ali Khan opposite Rani Mukerji. As well as Siddhant Chaturvedi, Pankaj Tripathi and newcomer Sharvari Wagh also seen in pivotal roles. The film was produced by Aditya Chopra with Yash Raj Films banner. The soundtrack is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and the background music is given by Julius Packiam.

This film was initially announced release date on 26 June 2020. But, due to Covid -19 pandemic issue, the released date was postponed. Finally, it was released theatrically on 19 November 2021.   

On Friday, the first day of Box Office India, the film has earned ₹2.60 crore at domestically. And according to Box Office of India data till 21 November 2021 this film has earned ₹8.30 crore at domestic market.

However, before released YRF predict that ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’ represent a great combo of the actor Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji. For which it could bring in more than their last releases and find themselves in 4-5 crores range.

But, after theatrical released the film has got mixed reviews from audiences and critics. Netizens didn’t seem impressed by the film and Some of them are also missing Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan’s presence. But all are hailing Pankaj Tripathi for his performance in the film.

Shalini Langer from The Indian Express wrote, ‘‘Director Varun V Sharma doesn’t think Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukerji are enough to repeat the success of the original, so he keeps falling back on Sharvari and Siddhant, who are not bad but nothing we haven’t seen before. However, his bigger crime is reducing the original Bunty and Babli to colourful, atrocious parodies of their selves’’.

Ronak Kotecha from The Times of India wrote, ‘‘Bunty aur Babli 2 had an exciting premise to revive the two iconic characters, but this sequel feels like quite a con-job in comparison with its original’’.

However, actress Rani Mukerji is more excited about the film. Because Adira, her daughter who had never watch Rani’s film before this, has thoroughly love this comedy film.

In a statement Rani Mukerji shearing her excitement and said, “BAB 2 is a special film for me for several reasons. Not only am I getting to play a character like Vimmy who I have loved and related to always and am working with Saif after years, but what’s giving me abundant joy is that BAB2 is the first film of mine that Adira has seen and thoroughly loved.”

Shabaash Mithu: Taapsee Pannu Wraps up another Biopic

 

On Thursday, actress Taapsee Pannu shared an Instagram post, where she wrote that she had wrapped up the shooting of ‘Shabaash Mithu’ which is the biopic of Indian star cricketer Mithali Raj.

In the film Taapsee is playing the role of the Indian women's cricket captain Mithali Raj. With this exciting news, she was also shearing a still from the upcoming film and a lovely note.

In the image, Taapsee is seen to sharing a fun moment with her teammates and background looks she standing in the gallery of a stadium, where they all are dressed in Indian jerseys.   

Along with the image, Taapsee Pannu wrote,“8 ki thi jab kisi ne ek sapna dikhaya tha, ki ek din ayega jab cricket sirf gentleman's game nahi hoga. Humaari bhi ek team hogi, ek pehchaan hogi… “Women in Blue”. Aa rahe hai hum… Jald hi…  

‘Shabaash Mithu’ is directed by Srijit Mukherji and produced by Ajit Andhare. We can see actor Taapsee Pannu and Asad Ali Palijo in the lead role. According to media report this film was before directed by Rahul Dholakia. But due to scheduling issues he had step aside.

Recent year, the star has passed a busy life with several new released and tide shooting schedules. Now, she finished the shooting of ‘Shabaash Mithu’. Then she will also be cast in ‘Looop Lapeta’ and ‘Dobaaraa and Blurr’. Taapsee was last seen in ‘Rashmi Rocket’ which was basically influenced by the Indian professional sprinter Dutee Chand life.

 

Yodha first look: Director Karan Johar’s first action franchise film

 

Director Karan Jahor announced his upcoming project which will be his first franchise film 'Yodha'. Actor Sidharth Malhotra and Disha Patani will be seen in the lead role. Recently, a news has published that one of the most talented South Indian actress Raashii Khaana will also make Bollywood debut with the film.

According to media news actress Raashii is reportedly talks with filmmaker Karan Johar’s production house and productions for a lead role in their action franchise. But, news hasn’t been confirmed from any sides of now.

'Yodha' will mark the film action franchise project for Karan Johar under the Dharma Productions banner. The film will directed by Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha. The film will hit the theatres on November 11, 2022.

On Wednesday, filmmaker Karan Johar shared a post with his fans and announced the upcoming project. With sharing Sidharth Malhotra’s first looks on Instagram

Karan Johar’s wrote, “After conquering the peaks, I am proud to present Sidharth Malhotra back with power in the first of the action franchise by Dharma Productions – #Yodha. Directed by the dynamic duo – Sagar Ambre & Pushkar Ojha. Landing in cinemas near you on 11th November, 2022.”

On the other hand, actor Sidharth Malhotra also shared his excitement with his fans and followers. In a social media post he shared 'Yudha' first look and wrote, “Presenting #Yodha, the first film of the action franchise by Dharma Productions. Excited to be boarding this plane led by two very talented men - Sagar Ambre & Pushkar Ojha. Releasing in cinemas 11th November, 2022 (sic).”

Actor Sidharth Malhota was last seen onscreen in 'Shershaah' opposite Kiara Advani, where he played the role of Captain Vikram Batra. For this role he managed to impress the audiences and films critics alike. Now, he is ready to feature in another action project 'Yodha'. In this first look of 'Yodha', we can be seen a fighter with a gun stand in the passenger plane where other passenger in the background are scared for their lives. It seems that the hero is going to rescue others with his heroism.

So, after seen the first look of 'Yodha', we are surely waiting for the film theater release.