Box office banged: Hrithik beats Shaan on home soil

[guru1]

Box office banged: Hrithik beats Shaan on home soil – The Express Tribune

KARACHI: If pre-eid predictions were to be believed, the Pakistani box office was supposedly heading towards a box office photo finish with not two but three films going neck-t0-neck against each other in the form of the Indian release Bang Bang and the concurrent Pakistani releases in Operation 021 and Na Maloom Afraad.

But sadly that was not the case as for all the hype and expectation surrounding the release of the Shaan-starrer Operation 021, the film has not received the opening that it was expected to.

The Bollywood release Bang Bang, starring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, seems to be ruling the roost after raking in an estimated Rs7.5 million on day one of Eidul Azha. These figures take the total collections of Hrithik starrer to Rs35 million in Pakistan as it has been screening in cinemas since last Thursday.

Not far behind are Nabeel Qureshi’s Na Maloom Afraad and Jami’s spy thriller Operation 021,which grossed Rs5.6 million each on their opening day. Though these figures can be considered respectable, they come as a major surprise considering that Waar, another Shaan-starrer, had earned an estimated Rs11 million on it’s opening day on Eidul Azha last year despite facing stiff competition from a major Bollywood release in the form of the Akshay Kumar’s Boss.

However, Na Maloom Afraad is the real game-changer here as the film has literally shaken up the box office by coming neck-to-neck with Operation 021. It started off as being a film heavily dependent upon the footfall in multiplexes but the housefulls at multiplexes suggest that it is slowly starting to get its specific audience.

The comedy film released under the banner of Filmwala Pictures has exceeded expectations and collected Rs4.5 million; thus, making this triple threat at the Pakistani box office more interesting.

Though what the producers of Na Maloom Afraad should be really excited about is the fact that single-screen cinema owners are opting to screen the comedy in place of Operation 021. A major reason for this change can be attributed to the comic content of the film compared to the action-thriller which is predominantly in English, causing a language barrier for the average cinema going audience.

According to sources, multiplex owners are also showing more interest in giving preference to the comedy film but are unable to do so due to advance bookings for Operation 021.

Last but not the least is Fawad Khan’s Khoobsurat that was released on a very limited number of screens and yet managed to generate Rs1.2 million on the first day of Eid.

Having said that, the second day of Eid is expected to be stronger in numbers as most of the people were busy sacrificing animals on the first day.

 

[Dubious]

People now adays prefer not using their brain and want to be spoon fed but sadly such crowds make up large masses of those who go to the cinemas and give such responses


Review: Operation 021 – not perfect, but beautiful in ambition
By Hala Syed
Updated a day ago

The biggest problem with Operation 021 is the disconnect between the marketing of the film and the actual product. It was a wonderful movie, but not the one we were prepared for. Ignore all of the Waar comparisons you’re going to hear; this film is on a different spectrum entirely.

Sold as an action-thriller, the trailer hinted at a gun toting Shaan defeating evil enemies with the power of one liners. Instead O21 is a surreal meditation on conflicting loyalties.

Contemplative, deliberately paced and often disconcerting, it is a far better film than it appeared to be in its promotion, and therefore requires an audience that is willing to be challenged.

If you don't know what you are in for it's easy to be overwhelmed.

Rather than a prologue and exposition we are dropped right into the action which is hard to follow at first as four different points of view are juxtaposed with each other.

The separate stories of an Afghani government official Dost (Hameed Sheikh), radical revolutionary Abdullah (Ayub Khoso), CIA operative Nathan (Joe Town) and former asset Kashif Siddique (Shaan) eventually converge.

Getting to see what's happening from every angle allows for more context and perspective than if we followed a single protagonist. The daring choice of a fragmented structure as opposed to the usual chronological linear narrative means there is no escalating tension and no real climax. The unfolding of events do not matter as much as the pattern that emerges.

Essentially, O21 is about people who find themselves caught between the twin corruptions of corporate agendas and devious politics centered round Afghan mineral deposits that are accessed through Pakistani routes.

In lesser hands this movie would have been reduced to its plot: Afghan nationalists seek to expose forces that seek to exploit the country’s resources. A microchip with potentially scandalous information becomes the focus of both groups.

But plot is only peripheral here.

The filmmakers have their sights set much higher and add subtlety and nuance to the proceedings. An unending cycle of double crosses makes us question the veracity and motivations of the very characters we want to identify with.

This is not a story about heroics or defeating villains.

It's about the willingness to give up a part of yourself for something bigger.

Kash's self sacrifice cannot be reversed. His patriotism, heroism and compassion all require a lack of ego which turns him into more of a spy and less of a person. As much as he wants to connect to his wife Natasha (Aamina Sheikh) he will always be married to his country first. It is a part of the damage heroes take on to save the world.

Abdullah understands this better than anyone and stopped being a person long ago to become indestructible. You cannot break someone who has turned himself into his mission. Charming in his wildness, he is as untameable as Afghanistan itself.

The CIA operatives are somewhat under written. Nathan's personal motivations seem murky at best.

A well rounded story has villains who are as three dimensional as the protagonists. In contrast Dost slowly transforms from just another cog in the machine to one of the most conflicted and interesting characters whose choices may determine the fate of the country.

The movie is not perfect, but it is beautiful in its ambition.

Grand ideas expressed clumsily will always be better than having nothing to say.

There were some obvious flaws. Some characters and plot lines were not set up, and introducing them in the second half of the film felt contrived.

Choppy editing and several tonal shifts leave evidence of the change in directors from Summer Nicks to Jami. Dialogue was stilted, awkward and distracted from the movie. The one liners seemed forced and designed to be catch phrases.

Luckily the powerful visuals more than compensated for everything else.

Rarely can an impressionistic blast of sound and vision so clearly convey an emotional state of being. The production value is the best I’ve seen in a Pakistani movie to date, and yet O21 isn't a mere technical achievement: it's a heartrending, gorgeously realized story of allegiances and loyalty that wrestles with questions of integrity, justice, and patriotism.

It does not glorify war but depicts it in a gritty realistic, thought provoking way. It's engaging, unflinching and unique in that it dares to tell the dark and intense stories in the shadows.

Overall score: 4/5




Review: Operation 021 – not perfect, but beautiful in ambition - Pakistan - DAWN.COM



The story is partly based on real life events including the bombing of Nato tanks in Afghanistan a few years back. It will feature Shaan as the main protagony Australian director Summer Nicks and it was produced in collaboration with music director Jamshed Mahmood Ansari aka Jamis company Azad Film. The whole team though has remained tight-lipped about the release of the film which is expected to be sometime around the end of this year.

Working with a veteran like his mother has been quite an interesting adventure for Khan a unique combination of the well-experienced and the relatively new. When they get down to business, there is little space for slacking and both work rigorously on a shared vision. My mother knows that when we enter the office, she is not my mother and I am not her son. We know each other and have a clear understanding of what we are trying do, and she believes its time the younger generation takes the industry forward, says Khan.

Finally comparing a US$ 23 Million (Bang Bang) vs a US$ 0.975 million budget movie (021) and comparing is really licking one's own wounds....why not compare a movie of the same budget?

 

[Psycho Pakistani]

I will never ever watch any bollywood movie in a pakistani cinema. Bollywood movies can be watched using pirated DVDs and their screening should be banned in pakistani cinemas unless indians also screen pakistani movies in indian cinemas. This one-way traffic started by Mushi should be stopped now.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?
trade and social interaction is good but it shouldnt be one way only.
they dont even allow our ciment and our rice import and want Nawaz' help to flood the Pakistani market with their goods.

Lanat on the bastards that allow this one side show where Indians are laughing away with Pakistani cinema money .
forgive me for my rants and show me if there is one single cinema where Pakistani movie is aired. ?? we are not good enough? they dont mind getting the pirated copies of Shoab mansoor's mvie then why not legitamize it? erm ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE

 

[Psycho Pakistani]

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?
trade and social interaction is good but it shouldnt be one way only.
they dont even allow our ciment and our rice import and want Nawaz' help to flood the Pakistani market with their goods.

Lanat on the bastards that allow this one side show where Indians are laughing away with Pakistani cinema money .
forgive me for my rants and show me if there is one single cinema where Pakistani movie is aired. ?? we are not good enough? they dont mind getting the pirated copies of Shoab mansoor's mvie then why not legitamize it? erm ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE

This one-sided screening of indian movies in pakistani cinemas was started by Mushi chor of delhi nehar wali haveli in his evil delhi raaj.

 

[khujliwal]

People now adays prefer not using their brain and want to be spoon fed but sadly such crowds make up large masses of those who go to the cinemas and give such responses


Review: Operation 021 – not perfect, but beautiful in ambition
By Hala Syed
Updated a day ago

The biggest problem with Operation 021 is the disconnect between the marketing of the film and the actual product. It was a wonderful movie, but not the one we were prepared for. Ignore all of the Waar comparisons you’re going to hear; this film is on a different spectrum entirely.

Sold as an action-thriller, the trailer hinted at a gun toting Shaan defeating evil enemies with the power of one liners. Instead O21 is a surreal meditation on conflicting loyalties.

Contemplative, deliberately paced and often disconcerting, it is a far better film than it appeared to be in its promotion, and therefore requires an audience that is willing to be challenged.

If you don't know what you are in for it's easy to be overwhelmed.

View attachment 116705

Rather than a prologue and exposition we are dropped right into the action which is hard to follow at first as four different points of view are juxtaposed with each other.

The separate stories of an Afghani government official Dost (Hameed Sheikh), radical revolutionary Abdullah (Ayub Khoso), CIA operative Nathan (Joe Town) and former asset Kashif Siddique (Shaan) eventually converge.

Getting to see what's happening from every angle allows for more context and perspective than if we followed a single protagonist. The daring choice of a fragmented structure as opposed to the usual chronological linear narrative means there is no escalating tension and no real climax. The unfolding of events do not matter as much as the pattern that emerges.

Essentially, O21 is about people who find themselves caught between the twin corruptions of corporate agendas and devious politics centered round Afghan mineral deposits that are accessed through Pakistani routes.

In lesser hands this movie would have been reduced to its plot: Afghan nationalists seek to expose forces that seek to exploit the country’s resources. A microchip with potentially scandalous information becomes the focus of both groups.

But plot is only peripheral here.

The filmmakers have their sights set much higher and add subtlety and nuance to the proceedings. An unending cycle of double crosses makes us question the veracity and motivations of the very characters we want to identify with.

This is not a story about heroics or defeating villains.

View attachment 116706

It's about the willingness to give up a part of yourself for something bigger.

Kash's self sacrifice cannot be reversed. His patriotism, heroism and compassion all require a lack of ego which turns him into more of a spy and less of a person. As much as he wants to connect to his wife Natasha (Aamina Sheikh) he will always be married to his country first. It is a part of the damage heroes take on to save the world.

Abdullah understands this better than anyone and stopped being a person long ago to become indestructible. You cannot break someone who has turned himself into his mission. Charming in his wildness, he is as untameable as Afghanistan itself.

The CIA operatives are somewhat under written. Nathan's personal motivations seem murky at best.

A well rounded story has villains who are as three dimensional as the protagonists. In contrast Dost slowly transforms from just another cog in the machine to one of the most conflicted and interesting characters whose choices may determine the fate of the country.

View attachment 116707

The movie is not perfect, but it is beautiful in its ambition.

Grand ideas expressed clumsily will always be better than having nothing to say.

There were some obvious flaws. Some characters and plot lines were not set up, and introducing them in the second half of the film felt contrived.

Choppy editing and several tonal shifts leave evidence of the change in directors from Summer Nicks to Jami. Dialogue was stilted, awkward and distracted from the movie. The one liners seemed forced and designed to be catch phrases.

View attachment 116708

Luckily the powerful visuals more than compensated for everything else.

Rarely can an impressionistic blast of sound and vision so clearly convey an emotional state of being. The production value is the best I’ve seen in a Pakistani movie to date, and yet O21 isn't a mere technical achievement: it's a heartrending, gorgeously realized story of allegiances and loyalty that wrestles with questions of integrity, justice, and patriotism.

It does not glorify war but depicts it in a gritty realistic, thought provoking way. It's engaging, unflinching and unique in that it dares to tell the dark and intense stories in the shadows.

Overall score: 4/5



Review: Operation 021 – not perfect, but beautiful in ambition - Pakistan - DAWN.COM



The story is partly based on real life events including the bombing of Nato tanks in Afghanistan a few years back. It will feature Shaan as the main protagony Australian director Summer Nicks and it was produced in collaboration with music director Jamshed Mahmood Ansari aka Jamis company Azad Film. The whole team though has remained tight-lipped about the release of the film which is expected to be sometime around the end of this year.

Working with a veteran like his mother has been quite an interesting adventure for Khan a unique combination of the well-experienced and the relatively new. When they get down to business, there is little space for slacking and both work rigorously on a shared vision. My mother knows that when we enter the office, she is not my mother and I am not her son. We know each other and have a clear understanding of what we are trying do, and she believes its time the younger generation takes the industry forward, says Khan.

Finally comparing a US$ 23 Million (Bang Bang) vs a US$ 0.975 million budget movie (021) and comparing is really licking one's own wounds....why not compare a movie of the same budget?

Budget apart, was 021 made for Pakistanis? I saw Waar and it was surprising wrt the accent and English usage in the movie. Never seen a mainstream Bollywood movie going that way as they ought to keep diverse audience in mind. Apologies if it's irrelevant observation as I haven't seen 021 as yet.

 

[raja hindustani]

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?

Isint BOL a Pakistani movie? I remember it being shown in PVR and other multiplexes in Delhi.

 

[Jaanbaz]

I don't enjoy Pakistani or Indian movies but I think Shaan is a better actor then Rithik or whatever his name his.

 

[Dubious]

Budget apart, was 021 made for Pakistanis? I saw Waar and it was surprising wrt the accent and English usage in the movie. Never seen a mainstream Bollywood movie going that way as they ought to keep diverse audience in mind. Apologies if it's irrelevant observation as I haven't seen 021 as yet.

My guess is its going for international audience....many a times it has sub titles...

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?
trade and social interaction is good but it shouldnt be one way only.
they dont even allow our ciment and our rice import and want Nawaz' help to flood the Pakistani market with their goods.

Lanat on the bastards that allow this one side show where Indians are laughing away with Pakistani cinema money .
forgive me for my rants and show me if there is one single cinema where Pakistani movie is aired. ?? we are not good enough? they dont mind getting the pirated copies of Shoab mansoor's mvie then why not legitamize it? erm ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE

This happens when the top lot sell their land for few pennies ...

 

[VCheng]

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?
trade and social interaction is good but it shouldnt be one way only.
they dont even allow our ciment and our rice import and want Nawaz' help to flood the Pakistani market with their goods.

Lanat on the bastards that allow this one side show where Indians are laughing away with Pakistani cinema money .
forgive me for my rants and show me if there is one single cinema where Pakistani movie is aired. ?? we are not good enough? they dont mind getting the pirated copies of Shoab mansoor's mvie then why not legitamize it? erm ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE

Trade is influenced by the age old principles of demand and supply, Sir.

 

[IPL5]

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?
trade and social interaction is good but it shouldnt be one way only.
they dont even allow our ciment and our rice import and want Nawaz' help to flood the Pakistani market with their goods.

Lanat on the bastards that allow this one side show where Indians are laughing away with Pakistani cinema money .
forgive me for my rants and show me if there is one single cinema where Pakistani movie is aired. ?? we are not good enough? they dont mind getting the pirated copies of Shoab mansoor's mvie then why not legitamize it? erm ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE

do you know about Zindagi Channel in india, which shows only pakistani serials ? you don't make enough movies and whatever you make it sucks.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

This one-sided screening of indian movies in pakistani cinemas was started by Mushi chor of delhi nehar wali haveli in his evil delhi raaj.

And the trend continues in the era of corrupt Kashmiri lohar... Your hate for immigrants is pathetic to say the least.

 

[OrionHunter]

why Indian movies are allowed in our cinemas? where as ours are not?
trade and social interaction is good but it shouldnt be one way only.
they dont even allow our ciment and our rice import and want Nawaz' help to flood the Pakistani market with their goods.

Lanat on the bastards that allow this one side show where Indians are laughing away with Pakistani cinema money .
forgive me for my rants and show me if there is one single cinema where Pakistani movie is aired. ?? we are not good enough? they dont mind getting the pirated copies of Shoab mansoor's mvie then why not legitamize it? erm ALL IN THE NAME OF TRADE

But the question is: Why do Pakistanis love Bollywood trash?

 

[Dubious]

But the question is: Why do Pakistanis love Bollywood trash?

time pass...

 

[INDIC]

do you know about Zindagi Channel in india, which shows only pakistani serials ? you don't make enough movies and whatever you make it sucks.

Pakistani movies are even worse than b and c grade movies of India.