Priyanka Chopra on a roll

She has played a supergirl, a supermodel, a superstar and is now back on the silver screen tickling the funny bone as a sassy desi girl.

Priyanka Chopra or Piggy Chops as she is fondly called may be seven years old in the Hindi film industry, but this year has been particularly busy and diverse for her. She is perhaps the only leading star who has had as many as six releases in one year. And most importantly she has played a central role in nearly all of them.

Beginning the year with a special appearance in a medium-budget "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves", she was then seen as uber stylish superstar in "Love Story 2050". Touted as India's first film set in the future, Priyanka looked the part as a red-head.

The film, marking the launch of Harman Baweja, had some serious money riding on it, but bombed for no fault of the actors.

Then came Salman Khan-starrer "God Tussi Great Ho", which also did not make a dent at the box-office. She was then seen in off-beat filmmaker Kabeer Koushik's "Chamku", co-starring Bobby Deol.

She got the rare feast of being called a supergirl with "Drona", yet another very high-budget film. Some of her action sequences were as hard as that of Abhishek's itself and built on her previous action-packed experience in Farhan Akhtar's "Don".

Priyanka's central role in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Fashion", that has done exceedingly well, has brought in both critical acclaim and proved her clout to pull in crowds. It is perhaps the only recent female-centric film that has done good business.

It seems there is no looking back for her now with the hype generated around latest-release "Dostana" ensuring bumper opening of the film. And Priyanka's toned and shapely appearance in a golden bikini has established her as a top contender for the most hottie title.

The rise to the top has been fast but not completely smooth for the former Miss World. Last year saw Priyanka's popularity slipping after the multi-starrer of the year - "Salaam-E-Ishq" - had critics questioning her acting. But she took it as a challenge and worked on her acting as well as sweated it out in the gym.

Diversity within the fold of commercial film format has been the guiding force of Priyanka's career from the very start. She caught people's attention with her unconventional role of a seductress indulging in male harassment in "Aitraaz". She also got nominated for the best supporting female actor for "The Hero: Love Story of a Spy".

She followed it up by excelling in a comic role in "Mujhse Shaadi Karoge". In fact, she bagged three Filmfare Awards in just two years. And with no god father in the industry propping her up, Priyanka has surely come a long way.

"Priyanka has done what few would dare to, in 'Fashion' and 'Dostana'," author and critic Bhawana Somaaya said in an interview.

With heroine-oriented films tasting success today, the road ahead seems to be full of opportunities for these leading ladies.

"In every era, one heroine has always dominated the scene in the film industry. Things are more fluid now. Today, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are all sharing this space," said Siddharth Anand, director of the hit "Bachna Ae Haseeno".

Bhawana said: "They are all confident women of this generation who all have their own distinct personalities."

Perhaps that would explain why "Fashion" released with more than 700 prints around the country, and Kareena Kapoor dominated publicity material of "Golmaal Returns" though she has a small role in it.

As product placement and corporate funding of films increases, female characters are bond to be in the forefront today. After all, women make most purchasing decisions and corporates want them to see and relate to the films that feature their products.

"I couldn't have entered the industry at a better time," Katrina Kaif is quoted as saying in an interview. "Today, perceptions have changed. How else would you explain the audience accepting me in different roles so wholeheartedly? I don't think that was possible, say, 10 years ago," said Katrina, who will be seen in "Yuvvraaj" in a different avatar.

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Premiere of Drona

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Big disappointments!

The two major releases this Eid, KIDNAP and DRONA, have proved disappointments, although KIDNAP is better in U.K. On face-value, the 5-day weekend figure of KIDNAP [£ 2,43,309] may seem impressive, but the fact remains that given the festival period and a long 5-day weekend, everyone was expecting the film to touch approx. £ 3,50,000, but the negative reports have hit the film hard. On the other hand, DRONA is a debacle of epic proportions in U.K.

In the U.S. too, DRONA hasn't lived up to the humungous hype. Even KIDNAP has been slow here.

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Indore Barometer: Monday witnesses 70% - 80% fall

Monday is one crucial day for movies. Will the collections remain steady? Or will the business sink? The answers are crystal clear on Monday. The two major releases, KIDNAP and DRONA, sank on Monday completely. The business fell by almost 70% - 80% on Monday, which says it all. Let's check out the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday [highlighted in bold] figures at Indore, one of the key barometers of the industry:-

Inox
Kidnap: 99,100; 30,500; 28,000; 51,100; 11,800.
Drona: 73,300; 21,800; 19,400; 48,000; 6,700.

PVR
Kidnap: 1,52,600; 71,000; 67,500; 1,05,500; 26,400.
Drona: 1,38,400; 33,000; 63,500; 59,000; 18,300.

Velocity
Kidnap: 85,600; 28,800; 31,500; 41,000; 11,000.
Drona: 62,600; 16,000; 15,200; 23,500; 6,200.

Adlabs
Kidnap: 1,34,300; 41,000; 47,500; 68,200; 17,300.
Drona: 1,00,000; 26,000; 25,200; 44,700; 9,300.

By: Taran Adarsh

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Salman was not invited

The battle lines are clearly drawn. When it comes to the Bachchans, Shah Rukh Khan clearly has an edge, Salman Khan and his family were not invited to the Drona premiere at all.

You could argue that it was deliberate that Salman is away in London and wouldn't have made it anyway. But the snub isn't missed. The invite was not even extended to his family.

Says a source, "That's true. Salman was not invited. As far as the film's makers (the Behls) were concerned no one who insults their family, gets invited to a big day in their life. The Bachchans are more than family to Goldie and Shrishti Behl."

During the Khan Vs Khan squabble, the Sallu camp went out of their way to spread stories that SRK had made an inappropriate comment about the Bachchan bahu. But when Amitabh personally called SRK to invite him to the premiere, he made it apparent that the family didn't buy the rumours. The source continues, "Also, he isn't exactly a chum of Drona heroine, Priyanka Chopra either," says a source close to the Bachchans.

Everyone from the gregarious Karan Johar to the ultra-reclusive Sanjay Leela Bhansali showed up for this release. The Bachchans personally invited all their guests. Aishwarya, who's just back in town after shooting in Peru and France, rang up her friends from the industry and asked them to come. Sadly, her parents couldn't come because of her father's frail condition.

Goldie Behl and his wife Sonali were seen with their little son, Ranvir. "This is his first public appearance. I wouldn't let him miss this for the world," said Goldie emotionally.

Taking a break from her sari-clad avatar, Aishwarya stood next to a tuxedo-sporting husband in a chic blue-green gown. "Good to be unpredictable, no?" she laughed and played hostess to the hilt. Laughed Abhishek, "I thought I was dressed to kill. But my wife beat me to it hollow."

While the cast, crew and family members associated with the film proceeded to the Marriott for dinner after the premiere, Shah Rukh threw an impromptu Eid party and was heard inviting all his friends at the premiere for a get-together in his home. Fatigued and tired and suffering from a bad cold on the morning after the premiere Priyanka said, "Shah Rukh did ask me to come home after the premiere. But the Drona team headed for gupshup and dinner. So naturally, I was with them."

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NO patch-up between the bachchans and kapoors

Things between the Kapoors and Bachchans soured after the Karisma and Abhishek wedding was called off. Buddies Kareena and Abhi-shek, too, fell apart following this unfortunate split. So much so that the pair who hit the screen together in Refugee stopped speaking to each other.

Kareena believes that time would've healed the hostilities but things soured further when Bachchan junior got her nixed out of a few films.

Last week, there were reports that the Kapoor sisters were invited to the Drona premiere but a source close to the Kapoors reveals otherwise. Says Kareena's family friend, "Neither Abhishek nor Goldie or Shrishti (Behl) invited Bebo or Lolo." It is believed the Kapoor siblings are upset with Goldie and Abhishek for using their names to promote Drona. "There's no question of a patch-up between Bebo and Abhishek. She lost out on Dostana and Dilli 6 because he didn't want her."

The source continues, "Today, it's easy for Abhishek to say he would love to work with her again as she was his first heroine and hence, special. But he had her replaced when he was in a better position. Today Kareena's career is soaring and she doesn't feel the need to patch up. She can pick and choose who she wants to work with."

The Behls and the Kapoors are cousins and if Karisma had been invited to the Drona premiere she might have gone but she was in Delhi. She flew down for a day to Mumbai to attend Farah Khan's Eid party and flew back again to Delhi."

When asked if the Behls had invited the Kapoor sisters, Shrishti says, "I have nothing to say on this matter."

However Goldie Behl says candidly, "They (Kareena and Karisma) were out of town so there was no point inviting them."

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B.O. update: 'Kidnap' & 'Drona' - good & bad news

There's good news and bad news! First, the good news…

Both KIDNAP and DRONA, the two major releases of the week, benefitted due to October 2 holiday [Gandhi Jayanti and Eid]. The collections of KIDNAP were strong across all multiplexes on Thursday, but not as strong at mini-metros and smaller towns. The first day [Thursday] all-India nett, according to Studio 18, is approx. Rs. 5 crores. However, the business had a 25% decline on Friday due to it being a working day, although the collections should've been strong due to the Eid festivities.

DRONA, on the other hand, was leading in U.P., where it opened to an excellent response. The film was running to packed houses at several key stations here. At other places, the opening ranged from good to average to ordinary. A decline was noticed on Friday.

Now the bad news…

Both KIDNAP and DRONA are enjoying negative reports and the high occupancy could be due to the holiday period. While the opinion on KIDNAP ranges from below average to bad, DRONA is carrying negative reports. It remains to be seen how the two films fare on Saturday and Sunday, but given the fact that the reports are far from positive, a fall [at several places] is expected on Saturday and more from Monday onwards.

In Overseas, DRONA collected 4,00,000 Dirhams in the Middle East on its opening day [source: Eros]… KIDNAP also collected 4,00,000 Dirhams on Wednesday and 3,50,000 Dirhams on Thursday [source: Studio 18]… KIDNAP collected £ 65,000 on Thursday and £ 44,000 on Friday in U.K… KIDNAP also opened in Pakistan on Eid [on Wednesday]. The Pakistan distributor has informed this writer that the collections are bigger than SINGH IS KINNG.

Now the economics…

Both KIDNAP and DRONA carry the burden of a heavy price tag. Industry talk is that Ashtavinayak has sold KIDNAP for Rs. 36 crores to Indian Films. Add to it another Rs. 4 crores for prints and promotions [TV promotions were done separately by Ashtavinayak], which means that the costing is around Rs. 40 crores. Since Studio 18 hasn't sold the film and are distributing it across the country, it would be interesting to see what the outcome is after Week 1.

On the other hand, DRONA is an expensive film [industry pegs it at Rs. 45 cores to Rs. 50 crores] and add to it prints + promotion expenses. Eros too is distributing the film. Let's await the outcome!

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Drona - Movie Review

DRONA is a big film in all respects -- big stars, big canvas, big expenditure on SFX, big ad spend, big expectations. Sadly, it's a big, big, big letdown as well.

Fantasy/adventure films are a rarity in Bollywood. Actually, you want to laud Goldie Behl for being courageous, for venturing into a lane that's rarely visited by dream merchants here. But the screenplay is a complete mess. In fact, if at all there would be Razzies in Bollywood, the three writers of DRONA -- Jaydeep Sarkar, Rohini Killough and Goldie Behl -- should be nominated proto for coming up with a sloppy and slipshod screenplay.

What saddens your heart is the fact that the Lullas of Eros and Shrishti Arya, the producers of DRONA, have spared no efforts in giving DRONA a spectacular look. The vision is perfect, but how about narrating an absorbing and attention-grabbing story? You remember DRONA for its striking visuals, not storyline. It's like embellishing priceless and precious jewels on a mannequin.

What's wrong? Goldie Behl and his writers can't decide if DRONA is a superhero film or fantasy. Although the makers have been maintaining all along that it's not about a superhero, the fact is, it is. In DRONA, the protagonist does everything that a superhero does. However, the lead character would only look more powerful if the anti-hero is equally authoritative. Surprisingly, the negative force here [Kay Kay Menon] is more of a buffoon than a villain.

More minusses! Dhruv Ghanekar's music is a big yawn. The tunes are listless and the placement of songs is equally jarring. Also, the length is a problem. You wouldn't mind a 3-hour film even today, provided it has the power to keep you glued to the screen. In this case, the 2 + hours seem never-ending. The film goes on and on and after a point, you actually want to scream, 'Enough!'.

In a nutshell, DRONA disappoints and how!

Little Aditya has never known love. Brought up by a foster family, all he knows is taunts and humiliations. Aditya [Abhishek Bachchan] grows up. Enter an evil sorcerer Riz Raizada [Kay Kay Menon], a descendant of the Asuras. He is desperate for a precious secret -- the amrit. But to lay his hands on the amrit, he will have to defeat Drona. Problem is he doesn't know who Drona is.

One fateful day, Aditya and Riz come face to face. Riz notices the kada that Aditya is wearing and recognizes him as Drona. Riz's men chase him, but he's saved by Sonia [Priyanka Chopra], who makes Aditya realize his true identity.

Sonia takes Aditya to his birthplace, to his mother, Queen Jayati Devi [Jaya Bachchan]. Aditya gets to know his roots, but Riz and his army catch up with him. Thus begins Drona's journey…

Given the fact that DRONA rests on a thin plot, there's not much that director Goldie Behl can do to salvage the show. Yet, Goldie has executed two sequences with style. In fact, these two sequences stand out like an oasis in a desert. The first, when Kay Kay turns Jaya Bachchan into a statue. The second, the train sequence. Awe-inspiring sequences!

DRONA is also high on VFX and a couple of sequences are well implemented. Note the petal storm towards the latter part and also the one when Kay Kay drags Priyanka into his yacht. Sameer Arya's cinematography is, quite surprisingly, inconsistent this time. The lighting is too dark at places. The production design [Tania R. Behl] is innovative.

Jaya Bachchan is grace personified. The only regret is, she gets less footage. Abhishek does very well. He plays his part most convincingly. Priyanka's introduction is fantastic, but her 'Babuji kehte hain' dialogue gets on your nerves after a point. Kay Kay fails to impress. Navneet Nishan hams.

On the whole, DRONA lacks soul. At the box-office, the publicity blitzkrieg might ensure good returns in its opening 4-day weekend, but the cracks should start appearing sooner than expected, since the film fails to keep you hooked. Its fall is imminent!

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Bollywood badshah Shah Rukh at Aby-baby’s ‘Drona’ premiere

So, it was not only Abhishek’s lady love Aishwarya who hurried her way to ‘Drona’s premiere, Bollywood’s ‘Baadshah’ Shah Rukh Khan along with wife Gauri also graced the red carpet at the sparkling venue.

World’s most beautiful woman Aishwarya Rai Bachchan dazzled in black, sporting her ever so contagious smile and clinging on to hubby and the star of the flick, Abhishek.

‘Drona’ features Abhishek Bachchan in a super-hero character and the movie could be his second solo hit after the 2007 release ‘Guru’. Alongside Abhishek, the movie features Priyanka Chopra as Drona’s love bird and bodyguard, Sonia; Kay Kay Menon in a devilish role of Riz Raizada and Jaya Bachchan as Queen Jayati, the mother of ‘Drona’.

Talking to Spicezee Abhishek said, “ ‘Drona’ is no super hero movie, you have to watch it to like it. And yes I am very happy my entire family is here, Ash is here, and a lot of my friends are here too. So, just wishing that ‘Drona’ does well with the audiences.”

Here’s what wifey Aishwarya had to say about ‘Drona’, “ I saw it loved it and like Abhishek said it’s no super hero flick. It’s a fantasy movie, children are going to love it, it’s like childhood revisited. Honestly, I cannot recall a movie like this in a long time.” It’s no super I am excited and waiting to watch him in his super hero avatar.”

However, Daddy amitabh had nothing much to add, “ The movie was certainly enjoyable, the visual effects were good.” About the success of the movie, “I really cannot predict anything right now. You will have to watch it and find out for yourself.”

The charming Shah Rukh wished for the movie’s success and hoped it to be as exciting as it promised to be.

In an exclusive chit-chat with Spicezee Shah Rukh spoke of his association with the Bachchans, “Abhishek and I are good friends, I am certainly looking forward for ‘Drona’, that’s what brings me here.”

In a quick quizzical about Salman, Shah Rukh snapped saying that there was nothing in particular he wanted to talk about and adhered to answering questions about the Bachchans and ‘Drona’.

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Abhishek and Priyanka at a promotional event of Drona at Big Bazaar

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