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Time of India
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Aamir Khan-starrer 'Sitaare Zameen Par' earns Rs 11.7 crore at box office on day one
" Sitaare Zameen Par ", headlined by Bollywood star Aamir Khan , has collected Rs 11. 7 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day, the makers announced on Saturday. Directed by R S Prasanna, the film is produced by Aamir alongside Aparna Purohit and Ravi Bhagchandka. Written by Divy Nidhi Sharma, it released in theatres on Friday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 참 분리형으로 팔찌&목걸이 2way 활용 유니세프 지금 기부하기 Undo "Sitaare Zameen Par" is billed as a spiritual sequel to the critically acclaimed movie " Taare Zameen Par ", focused on themes of inclusivity and empowerment. Aamir takes on the role of a basketball coach who mentors ten differently-abled individuals in the film. Live Events Alongside Aamir, the film also stars Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar. The film also marks Aamir's return to the screen after his performance in " Laal Singh Chaddha ".Also featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan, the film released in 2022. It was a remake of "Forrest Gump", which released in 1994.
The Wire
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- 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
Mint
12 hours ago
- Mint
Hemamalini Maiya of MTR Restaurants sees herself as a custodian of stories
You can't imagine it ever being quiet or empty, but on a weekday afternoon, the 100-year-old MTR Restaurant near Bengaluru's Lalbagh is especially loud and lively. Outside the steps leading into the restaurant, an ecosystem of small businesses has sprung up over the years—flower sellers, newspaper vendors, a fruit seller or two—all targeting customers streaming in for their evening vada and coffee. 'They are part of the MTR family," says Hemamalini Maiya, 52, managing partner, MTR Restaurants, as she leads me inside. I have been to MTR before, of course—you can't call yourself a Bengalurean unless you have stepped in here, bleary eyed after a morning walk in Lalbagh or exhausted from an appointment at the nearby Regional Passport Office, and wolfed down some tiffin with filter coffee so strong you can wrestle it—but this time, Maiya leads me to parts unseen. We walk through the small ground floor rooms, all filled with patrons, past a section of the kitchen where huge vats of sambar are boiling away, up a narrow flight of stairs and on to the first floor, where Maiya leads me through a warren of small rooms, all being put to full use during the rush hour, to her office. 'You would never have been able to find it on your own," says Maiya, laughing, as she places an order for khara bhath (aka upma) and coffee for us. One of Maiya's earliest memories is of walking down to the restaurant with her siblings after catching a movie at the nearby Urvashi Theatre, sitting in one of these small, semi-secret rooms behind the kitchen, and having her favourite rava idli. 'When I eat rava idli even today, I go back in time. It was my favourite dish, followed by 'Fruit Mixture'," she recalls, referring to an MTR innovation—fruit salad topped with almond milk-flavoured ice cream and toppings like paan-flavoured jelly, pomegranate and grapes. Stories about Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR), the iconic Bengaluru-based restaurant chain, are the stuff of legend; intricately woven with the history of the city and—in an almost Forrest Gump way—the world. Maiya is the third-generation custodian of the company, along with siblings Vikram and Arvind, founded by her great uncle Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya and his brothers in the year 1924, when they migrated to Bengaluru from coastal Karnataka to fill a growing need for clean, home-like food in the city. There's the one about how MTR invented the rava idli—it was during World War II, when there was a shortage of rice because of the Japanese invasion of Burma (now Myanmar), and Yagnanarayana Maiya, one of the founders, asked the kitchen staff to try making idlis with semolina instead, mixing it with curd and baking soda for faster fermentation. It became a hit, and eventually made its way to the menus of Udupi cafes and restaurants around the world, of which you could say MTR is the OG. Then there's the Chandrahara, a flaky, layered pastry fried in ghee, that was inspired by Yagnanarayana's travels in Europe. 'My grand-uncle travelled to London and Paris in 1951, and he went around looking at restaurants, absorbing a lot of their processes, their food. He was really taken with French pastry-making techniques and decided to try out a sweetmeat inspired by that… he called it 'French Sweet'," recalls Maiya. 'Sadly, it didn't take off. Yagnappa, as he was fondly called by everyone, was disappointed. Then he had a brainwave. There was a hit Kannada film in theatres called Chandrahara, and he decided to name the sweet after that. Overnight, it was a hit," says Maiya. Most south Indian eateries stick to a limited, tried and tested menu: there are a variety of idlis and dosas, a bunch of upmas, like khara bhath and the slightly fancier vermicelli upma (shavige bhath), pongal, crispy vadas and a halwa for dessert. The ones that do lunch and dinner—and not just 'tiffin"—offer a standard thali. While MTR does all this and more, the legacy of the company has been built on innovation, be it the unusual desserts on its menu or creating packaged, ready-to-eat foods, which was the speciality of MTR Foods, a subsidiary of the company created in 1975 during the Emergency, when state control over restaurants made the business less profitable. Managed by a different part of the Maiya family, MTR Foods eventually broke away to become an independent business entity and was sold to the Orkla Group, a Norwegian business conglomerate, in 2007. Yet, even today, people confuse the two, says Maiya. 'It is part of our complicated legacy. Recently, when there were rumours that Orkla was selling MTR Foods to an Indian FMCG company, media reports carried photos of MTR restaurants," she says, wryly. 'Actually, what bothers me more is when our old-timers, people who have been coming to the restaurant twice a day every day for 40 years, walk up to me and say 'amma, why are you selling the business?' I realise that this place is like a second home to them, and they don't want any changes." Maiya started managing the business in her late 20s after studying engineering at the BMS College of Engineering in Bengaluru. She was planning to go abroad for a masters' degree when life took an unexpected turn. Her father, Harishchandra, who was in charge, was not well, and her brother, who was supposed to take charge of MTR, changed his mind almost overnight about stepping into the role. 'He got cold feet—you could say literally, because our father's shoes were too big to fill. So dad told me 'hey do the best you can' and I stepped in, just like that. There was no planning, no preparation—I just walked into MTR, and that's how my journey began," recalls Maiya. Today, all three of her siblings are involved in the business in various capacities, though she has been calling the shots for over 25 years—a tough act for a woman in a heavily male-dominated industry where most employees, from line cooks to the servers, are men. 'Initially, I think, people were too bemused to react. They thought this was a temporary situation and I'd get married and go away. I earned their trust day by day," says Maiya, who is single. Maiya has added many landmarks to the business. It was a single, stand-alone restaurant when she joined the company, which she helped expand to 17 locations, most in Karnataka and several outside India, in cities like Singapore, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and London. Most of the new restaurants are called MTR 1924 and feature modern interiors and posher seating, though the menus remain largely the same. In the immediate future, the brand has plans to expand internationally and is looking at the US, Australia and a few locations in South-East Asia. Work on expanding to at least two international locations this year is going on behind the scenes, Maiya says. When asked why they are not looking to expand within India, she says a bit evasively: 'The logistics of it are we don't want to franchise. We want to run the restaurants ourselves and we are stretched as it is. Abroad, having a huge Indian diaspora helps." Along with expansions, another decision that reaped benefits for the restaurant was joining food delivery platforms early in their trajectory—in a meeting for this column with a Swiggy co-founder, he had mentioned that MTR joining the platform as it was expanding was a big morale boost for the then-fledgling startup. Maiya says it was a conscious decision to move with the times—back then, most traditional eateries serving south Indian food were reluctant to join the delivery game. 'So, we were not convinced initially, especially because we didn't want the hassle in the main restaurant, which is already very busy. But then we realised that delivery was going to be a big factor in sales, so we said we won't touch the main restaurant but we will partner through the other branches," says Maiya. 'And I am glad we did because delivery has changed the game. We see that on the business side also. There is a good percentage (of revenue) that delivery brings in. I think it's to do with how the world has evolved. There's more ordering in, and for youngsters especially, going to a restaurant is a special occasion. For functional meals, they would rather order in," she adds, providing a sharp insight into the way different generations approach eating out—for the core, older generation of patrons at MTR, it is the sense of community that brings them in, while for younger folks, eating out is worth it only if you can talk about it on Instagram. She did stick to her guns about not going the multi-cuisine way, even when a lot of older eateries were doing so, introducing Indo-Chinese and north-Indian dishes into their menus. 'It's easy to succumb to that because the margins are higher. I mean, a bowl of north Indian curry—probably the cost price would be less than making a dosa," she says. 'You make the same base curry and add different things to it—sure, I can see the economics of it. But that would dilute our brand. No, we would never do that," she says firmly. A couple of months ago, Maiya and her siblings decided to look back at MTR's journey in a more meaningful way, even as they are in the process of figuring out the company's succession while being very clear that it will stay with the family. 'As we were nearing the 100-year mark, I realised how much we were losing along the way… how many stories were untold as employees, customers, well-wishers passed away," says Maiya. To commemorate the anniversary, she commissioned a coffee-table book called The MTR Story: A Labour of Love. Written by Pratima Chabbi, a former restaurant industry executive turned writer, the book is based on interviews with the Maiya family, restaurant staff, vendors, patrons and even those employed in the informal economy that thrives outside the restaurant. 'I feel like my job is to hold on to this story, you know, but also take it forward. That's always on my mind," says Maiya.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sitaare Zameen Par box office prediction day 1: Aamir Khan's film may earn Rs 12 crore in India
Sitaare Zameen Par box office prediction day 1: Sitaare Zameen Par, one of the most eagerly-awaited films of the month, hit the screens today (June 20) much to the delight of movie buffs. The film has created a fair deal of buzz among Aamir Khan's ardent fans as it is his first release after Laal Singh Chaddha, which hit the screens in 2022. This is expected to help it take a fair start at the domestic box office. Sitaare Zameen Par to open to a decent response Aamir Khan is in the limelight because of his latest film Sitaare Zameen Par, which arrived in theatres today. According to Ramesh Bala, a trade analyst, the sports comedy drama is likely to collect around Rs 12 crore (nett) in India on the first day. 'I think it can do around Rs 12 crore today. He has a good following in the south too, especially in the metros. The Southern states will add to the collection, especially on the weekends. The word-of-mouth will be important,' he told Indiatimes. If this estimate holds, Sitaare Zameen Par will open in the same range as Laal Singh Chaddha. The Advait Chandan-helmed drama earned Rs 11.6 crore on its first day. The Forrest Gump remake, however, was not able to sustain as it received negative reviews and ended up being a flop. Sitaare Zameen Par is releasing alongside Dhanush's Kuberaa and Danny Boyle's 28 years later. About Sitaare Zameen Par Sitaare Zameen Par is a Hindi-language sports comedy-drama directed by R. S. Prasanna. It is a sequel in essence to Taare Zameen Par (2007) and a remake of the 2018 Spanish film Champions . It centres on the events that unfold when a basketball coach is asked to train a team of differently-abled adults. Sitaare Zameen Par also features Genelia in a key role.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Farah Khan critiques Aamir Khan's performance in Laal Singh Chaddha: 'I am sorry but Mona Singh was the best thing in...'
Farah Khan ignited a fresh debate by claiming Mona Singh outperformed Aamir Khan in 'Laal Singh Chaddha,' despite its box office struggles. Aamir acknowledged the film's failure as a learning experience, while Farah praised Mona's acting during a vlog visit to her home. Aamir is now concentrating on 'Sitaare Zameen Par' and producing 'Lahore 1947' with Sunny Deol. Farah Khan recently stirred up buzz by declaring that Mona Singh , not Aamir Khan , was the real star of Laal Singh Chaddha. While Aamir continues to reflect on the film's box office failure, Farah's praise has reignited conversation around the performances in the 2022 remake of Forrest Gump. During a recent vlog visit to Mona's home, Farah praised the actress for her standout performance in Laal Singh Chaddha. She even joked that Mona outshone Aamir in the film, calling her the most impressive part of the movie and lauding her acting skills. Aamir had ralier openly reflected on Laal Singh Chaddha's underwhelming box office performance, calling it a film close to his heart. Speaking to ABP News, he shared how friends and family checked in on him post-release, and humorously noted that he received more affection after a flop than usual. The superstar admitted that the failure of Laal Singh Chaddha offered valuable lessons. He said it pushed him to reflect deeply on his missteps, especially in how the story was communicated. While emotionally affected by the film's poor response, he saw it as a major learning experience, albeit a painful one. Laal Singh Chaddha, released in 2022, was the official Hindi adaptation of the 1994 classic Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. Despite the original's iconic status, the remake didn't fare well at the box office. Directed by Advait Chandan, it featured Kareena Kapoor Khan as the female lead and Mona Singh in a key role. Meanwhile, Aamir Khan is currently focused on two upcoming projects—Sitaare Zameen Par, in which he stars alongside Genelia D'Souza, and Lahore 1947, his first collaboration with Sunny Deol , which he is producing.
