Frequently Made Mistakes Episode 4

Watch | Why Crying Isn't Always Connection | Pathos Overload | Frequently Made Mistakes Episode 4
Everyone loves a good cry—but when does emotion stop feeling honest and start feeling manipulative? In this episode of Frequently Made Mistakes, filmmaker Sudhish Kamath breaks down the problem of pathos overload — when movies drown in melodrama instead of building meaningful emotional arcs.
Case Study: Laal Singh Chaddha — A film with the potential of Forrest Gump, but caught in a loop of trauma without triumph.
We explore:
• What pathos really means in film
• How to evoke emotion without emotional blackmail
• Why characters need dignity, not just tragedy
• Fixes that could've saved Laal Singh Chaddha
Plus: A screenwriting exercise to flip sad scenes with levity
Examples of movies that got the balance right: Anand, Iqbal, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Life is Beautiful, and more.

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• NDTV

Sitaare Zameen Par Box Office Collection Day 1: Aamir Khan's Film Fails To Surpass Laal Singh Chaddha 's Opening Day Earnings

New Delhi: Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par, the spiritual sequel to his 2007 film Taare Zameen Par, released in theatres on June 20. What Sitaare Zameen Par opened to a modest start at the box office. According to Sacnilk, the film collected an estimated Rs 11.5 crore on its first day. Sitaare Zameen Par recorded an occupancy rate of 21.43 per cent across the Hindi-speaking regions, with the highest turnout during night shows. Background The first-day collections are slightly lower than the opening day collection of Aamir's last release, Laal Singh Chaddha, which earned Rs 11.7 crore in 2022. However, Laal Singh Chaddha went on to earn only around Rs 60 crore in total. In comparison, Taare Zameen Par had earned Rs 2 crore on its opening day in 2007. While the first-day figures are not exceptional, the film is expected to pick up momentum over the weekend due to strong word-of-mouth and positive audience feedback. Sitaare Zameen Par is directed by RS Prasanna. The film also stars Genelia D'Souza. Aamir Khan and Aparna Purohit, with B Shrinivas Rao and Ravi Bhagchandka, have backed the film. In A Nusthell

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4 hours ago

• The Wire

Sitaare Zameen Par Has Aamir Khan in a Role Where he is Needy for the Audience's Love

In R.S. Prasanna's Sitaare Zameen Par, pegged as a spiritual sequel to Taare Zameen Par (2008), Aamir Khan doesn't want to leave anything to chance. So, in a slapstick scene, Khan's character Gulshan Arora – a perpetually irate, foul-tempered, confrontational basketball coach – is barking instructions to his player. It's the final few seconds of the game, and the scorecard shows the teams neck and neck, this one penalty shot might seal the game for Arora's team. He screams – Be mindful! This is our only chance! You ' re our Arjun, so keep your eyes on the prize! This whole game rests on you making the shot! After a point even the player, Satbir (Aroush Datta), gets tired and tells Khan's character to shut up. As the gag ends with people giggling around him, Khan in his own exaggerated manner gulps down the humiliation – without the slightest hint that his latest film is similarly verbose and patronising towards its audience. How sincere is Aamir Khan's humility and introspection? Coming out of Sitaare Zameen Par, I was left wondering: how sincere is Aamir Khan's humility and introspection? After his last film, Laal Singh Chaddha (a remake of Forrest Gump, 1994) didn't make money, Khan was vocal about how his performance let the film down. I couldn't help but wonder if he would have responded similarly to the wide criticism against his performance (which was frankly unwatchable throughout that first half) if the film did well. And nothing proves the hollow humility quite like his performance as Gulshan Arora here. So safe is the packaging around Khan's deplorable protagonist, it defeats the very purpose of the film. Every single event in this film exists to rehabilitate Khan's character, or to offer him an opportunity to become the patron saint of another cause. After being a self-anointed preacher for dyslexia, India's education system, religious dogmatism, patriarchy in Haryana – Khan has turned his gaze towards specially-abled people. However, it's unfortunate that Khan takes this issue up while battling his growing insecurity as a star. His larger-than-life presence was irksome even before, but the way he bleeds a film's crew to shine a spotlight on his acting ability has become the centre-piece of his films in the last decade. If Aamir Khan is the biggest liability of Sitaare Zameen Par, then what does it say about all that talk about his objectivity? An official adaptation of Spanish sports-drama, Campeones (2018), Prasanna's film talks about the journey of a basketball team of specially-abled players under their foul-tempered coach. What begins as a dysfunctional relationship, goes on to become a feel-good sports film. Making a sincere, straight-shooting, feel-good sports film, where a volatile character learns empathy – it shouldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. And that's because Aamir Khan can't help but get in the way of his own film. It's a strangely narcissistic tendency, where even the jokes at his expense (lots of references to his height for a basketball coach), feel like he is patting his own back. Prasanna – whose last film Shubh Mangal Savadhaan (2017) thoughtfully dealt with the precarious issue of erectile dysfunction in a middle-class household – looks like a significantly lesser filmmaker here. Unable to stage the easiest scenes, without turning them saccharine, we get a film that belts out cliches and inspirational platitudes one would expect in a terrible sports film. By the end, Khan's Gulshan can't resist and even spells the moral of the film out loud – 'I wasn't their coach, they were coaching me'; such little faith in an audience that is probably scrolling through reels in the movie theatre. The problem with making a film for an audience that isn't interested in your film is that there's still only a 50/50 chance such exposition will make them sit up and take note. But, you'll alienate the audience that is paying attention. The specially-abled actors get a montage over Shankar Mahadevan singing 'Good for nothing', while the NGO's caretaker (Gurpal Singh) tells everyone's life story in bullet points to Gulshan, one after the other. Humanising the specially-abled characters seems to be the last thing on the film's mind Only seen as 'cute' characters, humanising the specially-abled characters seems to be the last thing on the film's mind. Till the very end, they remain a cause, a cause meant to enlighten Gulshan's character. Written by Divy Nidhi Sharma, it's a surprise how both Prasanna and Khan remain committed to keeping the commentary as broad-stroked as possible. Another major problem I had with the film is the characterisation of Suneeta (Genelia Deshmukh), who is supposed to be the 'saner' spouse of the entitled, born-and-bred-in-Delhi Gulshan. However, in the handful of the scenes she's given, Deshmukh makes Suneeta sound like a nagging wife, eager to play mother. I found myself cringing each time she talks about how badly she wants to birth a 'mini Gulshan', completely unmoved by his pleas of not feeling ready to become a father. There's a late scene where Suneeta – who, we're told, is a failed actor – is supposed to play a Haryanvi cop. The tough dialect, barely hidden by her pronounced English manner of speaking, I thought the film was hinting why Suneeta's acting career didn't take off. But that's giving too much credit to a film that cares little for its audiences' intellect. Another very strange thing about Sitaare Zameen Par, is the incredulous 'suggestion' made by the censor board directing the makers to include a quote by PM Modi that reads along the lines of – In 2047, when India celebrates its 100th anniversary of independence, our specially-abled friends will be seen as an inspiration to the whole world. It's strange because it's such a vague quote, and nothing explains why it needs to be added to this film. Underneath all the hodge-podge of how coming runner-up is better than winning – a stupid philosophy for a sports film (completely different from no bad blood, we ' ll try to win it another day) — Khan signs off with a nice scene. It's his last day at the NGO, and being the lifelong escapist, Gulshan leaves without saying goodbye to his team. On his way out, he bumps into the new coach, and while filling him up on the dynamics of the team-members, he gradually starts to cry. It's the one scene in the film that felt honest to me – but it's under a rubble of questionable taste and needy filmmaking. At 158 mins, this is the longest Aamir Khan has grovelled for our love and validation. A superstar who can't read a room so he turns to all sorts of manipulation; a prime minister who likes to attach his name to anything his trusted people perceive as potentially successful; and an audience that can only sit around in the dark in bewildered silence – we all deserve each other. *Sitaare Zameen Par is playing in theatres

Pink Villa

4 hours ago

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Sitaare Zameen Par Opening Day Box Office: Aamir Khan starrer has a soft start overseas

Aamir Khan starrer Sitaare Zameen Par earned USD 800K (Rs. 6.75 crore) approx on its opening day overseas. While the numbers are on the lower side, they are still better than what early pre-sales had indicated a couple of days ago. Breaking down its performance, the collections were muted all across the board. The Middle East was the top market with an estimated USD 300K first-day. This isn't a bad start for the genre, also being better than Laal Singh Chaddha, while in most other markets it's lower. The United States ended up with less than USD 200K first day, while the United Kingdom barely crossed GBP 50K. The film also has a limited showing on release, with several key locations for Hindi films having very few shows, but they recorded healthy occupancies. This may have been a deliberate choice by the distributors, following a similar release strategy as seen in the domestic market. In the coming days, if the film should have improvement in that regard, it will need to be seen if the collections jump accordingly as well. The film will be aiming for a weekend of USD 2.50 million or so, which is something films starring A-listers are supposed to do on their first day, but then no one was expecting that from Sitaare Zameen Par, in the context of the film having a low initial value and how the genre has struggled in general post-COVID. That said, what matters more is where the film ends up and not where it opened. On that front, there are some encouraging signs, with the initial word of mouth appearing to be positive. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani had a soft start two years back, opening to just USD 4 million weekend. It also had showcasing issues at release, which got better in time, and the film legged to over USD 20 million final. Sitare Zameen Par will be hoping for a similar trajectory and gross over the USD 10 million mark, which will be a good outcome for this film.