By Kamal Sharma
Drishyam-1st-First-Day-Box-Office-Collection-Ajay-Devgan-2015Ajay Devgun is one of India’s most bankable stars, however, ever since he did Sajid Khan’s atrocious Himmatwala (2013), his box-office appeal is waning gradually. Himmatwala was followed by Prakash Jha’s political SATYAGRAHA (2013), which inspite of a huge star cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal & Manoj Bajpayee, failed to replicate the magic of RAAJNEETI and bombed miserably . Rohit Shetty & Ajay Devgun’s home production of SINGHAM RETURNS, inspite of crossing Rs. 100 Crores at the box-office, failed to match the intensity of SINGHAM and then Prabhu Deva’s ACTION JACKSON (2014), which was ridiculed by critics & audiences alike and became the biggest box-office debacle of Ajay Devgun’s film career.
And it’s against this backdrop that Ajay Devgun is trying to reinvent himself and recreate the era of ZAKHM, HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM, OMKARA & RAAJNEETI with Nishikant Kamat’s DRISHYAM (2015), which is releasing on July 31st and stars TABU & SHRIYA SHARAN in lead roles. Remake of Mohan Lal’s Malyalam film, DRISHYAM has also been made in Telugu with VENKATESH, in Kannada with R.Vijyendra & in Tamil with Kamalhaasan and surely Ajay Devgun has quite a few comparisons & competitions. Ajay Devgun & Tabu were first seen in romantic roles in VIJAYAPATH but DRISHYAM will showcase them in confronting roles and as per Kamat, the audiences are in for treat because both have showcased their best histrionics. As per Ajay Devgun, DRISHYAM is not expected to cross 100-150 crores but it can certainly change the fortunes of AJAY DEVGUN, who certainly wants the lady luck to smile and take him back to the glorious heights of admirable acting!
Bajrangi Bhaijaan is rocking!!!
Not only Kabir Khan’s BAJRANGI BHAIJJAN has become Salman Khan’s highest grossing film but it’s also marching towards the coveted Rs.300 Crore landmark and with over Rs.450 Crores worldwide, it could surpass the ‘ untouchable ‘ PK record and create a new record in Bollywood. After initial hiccups, the film is roaring at the box-office in Pakistan and business in UAE, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK & the rest of Europe is extraordinary and certainly the highest for any Salman Khan film. Salman’s tweets for pardoning Yaqub Menom may’ve caused some jitters amongst his family & friends but it didn’t affect the collections as BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN has been declared a Blockbuster!
Punjabi films are huge in Vancouver!
angrezTraditionally Vancouver has been a happy ground for Punjabi film makers with most performing better than the rest of North America and some even doing better than their Hindi film rivals MUNDE UK DE, AA GAYE MUNDE U.K.DE, PUNJAB 1984 and SARDAR JI have not only made headlines here but scored heavily at the box-office to be declared blockbusters and now this week Amrinder Gill’s ANGREJ is releasing amidst great reviews and it seems that Vancouver and especially Surrey will see huge line ups and we could have another Punjabi blockbuster courtesy the huge ‘Surreypur’ Punjabi crowd which not only wields enormous power but surely can dictate the outcome favourably as well !  Last week’s MASSAN, though loved by critics, failed to perform at the box-office and surely Nishikant Kamat’s DRISHYAM with AJAY DEVGUN, TABU & SHRIYA SARAN, though loved by critics, and Punjabi film ANGREJ will open brightly but it’s to be seen if they’ll stop the rampaging BAHUBALI & BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN, which are still the favourites of cinegoers in India and abroad ! With that it’s time to say good bye on this long weekend when many will flock PNE to watch KAPIL SHARMA & gang, MELA GADRI BABEYA DAA at Surrey’s BEAR CREEK PARK, first ever GULLI DANDA Tournament at BELL CENTRE and much more, don’t forget to watch this week’s YAADEIN on Late MUKESH JI on Sunday, August 2nd at 1 PM on SMC #116 as his son Nitin Mukesh will pay a tribute to his golden voice on Sunday, August 9nth at Surrey’s Bell Centre for a memorable evening !
Nitin MukeshNitin Mukesh is coming to Vancouver after sold out concerts in USA!!!
After SOLD OUT concerts in St.Louis, Chicago, Houston, Dallas & Tulsa, Oklahoma, Nitin Mukesh is bringing his talented Mumbai musicians to Vancouver on Sunday, August 9, 2015 at Surrey’s Bell Centre, for their only Canadian performance during their month long North American tour. It’s been 40 years since Mukesh Chand Mathur, the most loved playback singer, passed away in Detroit, Michigan and Nitin Mukesh is commemorating the event with a soulful tribute to his father by singing his evergreen songs. Nitin Mukesh will be performing to Sold Out audiences in New York & New Jersey this weekend and then to Port of Spain, Trinidad and from there he’ll fly to Vancouver for his only Canadian stop and the way the tickets are selling, it could be another Sold Out concert as well. Tickets at $ 35,45,55,65 & VIP are still available at KAMAL’S VIDEO PALACE ( 604-592-9777 ), SHAAZ VIDEO, BURNABY (604-439-0463) & www.vtixonline.com or call KAMAL SHARMA at (604)833-1977
Kamal Sharma, president of Kamal’s Video Palace, the biggest Indian video store in North America and concert promoter since 1994, is a popular TV host on Shaw Multicultural Channel of “Kamal’s Top 5 Hits” and “YAADEIN,” the longest running South Asian TV shows for more than 31 years.