B.O. update: 'Ajab' takes ghazab start; 'Jail' gets sidelined

AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI took the nation by storm by fetching one of the biggest starts at the box-office. The start was at par with LOVE AAJ KAL at several screens, although LAK had more shows than APKGK, since LONDON DREAMS has retained some screens, while JAIL, the other new release, has also opened quite wide.

The trends were evident on Thursday night itself, when the paid previews of AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI were held. The response was fantastic. The early morning shows opened to an overwhelming response and the film was maintaining the tempo during the subsequent shows. The opening is at par with any superstar's film, the various distributors/exhibitors this writer spoke to, echoed in unison.

The youth has taken to AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI in a big way and the first weekend numbers of the film should be incredible. It's easily Ranbir Kapoor's biggest opener to date and catapults him to the 'Prime Club'. Besides, the Ranbir - Katrina jodi seems to be the new flavour of the season. Rajkumar Santoshi too has bounced back with renewed vigour, while Ramesh Taurani, its producer, has yet another Hit to his credit.

On the other hand, JAIL has been sidelined due to the AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI wave. The film carries favourable reports, so let's hope its numbers show a jump on Saturday and Sunday.

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Jail - Movie Review

Madhur Bhandarkar is synonymous with thought-provoking, hard-hitting films. Right from CHANDNI BAR to FASHION, the expert storyteller has made movies that hold tremendous shock-value. In turn, Madhur has cultivated a rich fan-base for his films.

With JAIL, Madhur not only makes you visit a prison, but also makes you peep into the psyche of a prisoner. In the recent past, Sriram Raghavan's EK HASINA THI [2004; Saif Ali Khan, Urmila Matondkar] and Nazim Rizvi's UNDERTRIAL [2007; Rajpal Yadav] narrated the travails and anguish of innocents who were falsely implicated in a case. Besides, Nagesh Kukunoor's TEEN DEEWAREIN [2003; Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff, Nagesh Kukunoor] too narrated the story of three convicts. But JAIL is different from the above-named films.
Besides watching a thought-provoking story on celluloid, one has also come to expect incredible performances in a Madhur Bhandarkar movie. And JAIL too is embellished with superb performances from its key actors.

JAIL transports you to a hitherto unknown world that most of us haven't seen and if this is its USP, it's also something that might go against it. Irrespective of how strong its merits are, a section of moviegoers [read families/kids], who generally tilt towards feel-good/sunshine/entertainment-filled cinema, might skip this film due to its dry [and at times depressing] theme.

In a nutshell, JAIL mirrors a reality in true Madhur Bhandarkar style. It's hard-hitting, it's compelling, it's thought-provoking. The efficient storyteller has the courage to speak a new language in every film and for that very reason, JAIL should be on your agenda.

Parag Dixit [Neil Nitin Mukesh] is living a dream life -- a great job and a loving girlfriend [Mugdha Godse]. However, things take an ugly turn when, after a series of unfortunate events, he suddenly wakes up in jail. Parag is perplexed. The only salvation he finds is in Nawab [Manoj Bajpayee], a convict, who believes that Parag is innocent.

Soon, Parag is left with a choice, to either live a life with hordes of broken hearts and shattered souls amidst the prison walls or hope to see freedom some day.

JAIL involves you from the very start. The inmates, their crimes, their individual stories... you get drawn into a world that's very real. So real that you feel it's happening right in front of your eyes.

Madhur has a knack of narrating stories and he narrates the story of Parag Dixit with razor-edge sharpness. Besides, JAIL also enlightens you of the legal process, which also acts as an eye-opener.

At the same time, the legal procedures and also the behavioural pattern of the inmates tend to get repetitive after a point and that's when you start feeling restless. Nonetheless, the post-interval has some interesting twists-n-turns, like the convicts' escape from the police van; prior to that Neil and Manoj exchanging stares before Neil perches himself in the van; Neil getting thrown in a dark cell, spending the next few days in solitary confinement; a convict using the garbage van as the means to escape; another convict realising that his wife is now a cop's mistress. Also, the climax is touching and moves you.

Madhur hits the right note yet again. Madhur, Manoj Tyagi and Anuradha Tiwari's script involves you in most parts. Raghuvir Shekhawat's dialogues are true to life. There's no scope for music in a film like JAIL, but the three songs are smartly integrated in the storyline. Kalpesh Bhandarkar's cinematography is top notch. Special mention must be made of Nitin Chandrakant Desai's prison set, where the film is entirely shot.

Not only does Neil Nitin Mukesh deliver his finest performance to date, but the performance would easily rank amongst the finest this year. He conveys the pathos and helplessness that this character demands with amazing understanding. He deserves all praise for his extra-ordinary portrayal.

Manoj Bajpayee pitches in a memorable performance. In fact, the supremely talented actor is in form after a long, long time. He's subdued all through, which only goes to prove that he knows the craft so well. Mugdha Godse underplays her part beautifully. Also, she carries the non-glam look well.

Aarya Babbar is fantastic. This film should make people sit and notice this young actor. Chetan Pandit is first-rate. Rahul Singh is excellent, especially in the sequence when he confronts his wife. The actor who plays the part of Joe D'Souza is effective.

On the whole, JAIL is a well-made film from an expert storyteller. At the box-office, the film will appeal to those with an appetite for hard-hitting, realistic fares, but its clash with AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI will affect its business to an extent.

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In Pics: Jail team at Wills India Fashion Week 2010

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In Pics: Jail music launch

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Neil Nitin Mukesh for National Award

Madhur Bhandarkar thinks Neil deserves the National Award for his performance in Jail

The first cut is always the deepest. And so has the impact of Neil Nitin Mukesh been on his mentor-filmmaker, Madhur Bhandarkar, who on recently showed the actor the first cut of Jail, his forthcoming film, and a first for Madhur- a story of a man’s struggle. Madhur has earlier indulged in a woman’s perspective- Fashion, Corporate, Satta, Chandni Bar.

A source close to the film revealed, “Neil has worked very hard to deliver to Madhur’s demands; be it with his range of emotions or even to physically give in to the director when the director asked him to drop his pants for a nude shot.”

While it is learnt that the nude shots will be blurred to dodge an A certificate, it is quite clear what plans Madhur has for his film and his actor. He intends to enter the film for the National Awards competition since he thinks Neil has given a National Award winning performance.

Madhur had been toying with the idea of making Jail for a long time but could not decide on an actor till Neil arrived on the scene with Johnny Gaddar. That was the first step. Madhur spoke in print that Parag Dixit (played by Neil) in Jail is a winner, and there is no doubt that the film could fetch Neil his acting trophy, as Madhur also considers that if the film wins in any other category, it will only be a bonus.

Neil is riding high on the success of New York, and Jail is next big release focused only on his star power. While his nude shots have already become a rage on the internet, it is to be seen if that or his acting abilities will be sufficient to draw audiences into Jail.

Neil isn’t particularly known for his acting skills. We hope Jail breaks the shackles around him.

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Arya Babbar smokes 14 packets of beedis for shoot

Doctor had to be called on sets

Arya Babbar (pictured right), who does not smoke in real life, took ill after consuming 14 packets of beedis over two days while shooting for Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Jail”.

For the climax of the film, Arya was required to smoke beedis. Initially Arya was quite apprehensive about the idea as he had never ever smoked a cigarette leave aside beedi.

But he had to give in to Madhur’s demand who asked him to practice smoking at least a day prior to the shoot.

Arya started with smoking cigarettes first and then moved on to beedi. For two days, he continuously smoked beedis and by the end of the shoot he had consumed 14 packets.

The entire exercise made him sick and a doctor was called on the sets who advised Arya complete bed rest. The actor landed up with severe bronchial cough.

Arya, who is Raj Babbar’s son, has now completely sworn off smoking.

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It was amazing working with Madhur: Neil

When actor Neil Nitin Mukesh arrived in the city recently, the girls pushed and shoved to catch a glimpse of the oh-so-cute star! And well, Neil quite enjoyed the attention!

Said he, “The craziness and warmth of Delhiites gives me a kick.” And stressing on the point further, he said, “They are totally crazy.”

Lekin, despite the Delhi’s crazy quotient, he really likes the city. “Delhi roads and traffic management takes the trophy away from Mumbai,” he said, adding, “Mumbai roads are always congested, unlike Delhi roads which are so spacious.”

With talks that he would be seen playing a pole dancer in a forthcoming flick doing the rounds, we quizzed him to know more, but he simply brushed it away as rumours! Instead, he got talking about his forthcoming flick, Jail. “I am quite thrilled about it. Madhur (Madhur Bhandarkar) is an institution in himself and it was amazing working with him. I am eager to see the final product.”

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Madhur Bhandarkar's next revolves around the truth behind award shows

After Jail, which releases year-end, director Madhur Bhandarkar is ready with yet another subject. This one is inspired by award functions in Bollywood.

The movie titled Awards will be produced by Percept Picture Company at a budget of Rs 40 crores.

Buzz is that Priyanka Chopra will play the lead role. An insider reveals, "The movie will reveal the behind-the-scenes drama and the inner workings of award functions.

The movie will also show aspects of how certain award functions bear allegiance to certain camps and also how certain actors manipulate awards.

Madhur won't need to research this one. Being an industry insider, he is aware of the games beyond awards.

After director Ashutosh Gowariker's statement against Priyanka Chopra at an international award function, Bhandarkar realised there was enough drama in the subject, to explore it as an idea for a full-fledged film.

The source continues, "Madhur had a word with Percept honchos, who liked the subject and gave the film the green signal.

The movie will involve incidents from the recent award functions. That might also include Ashutosh's verbal argument with host Sajid Khan. "

The pre-production work will only start after the release of Jail in October. If everything goes well, the movie will go on floors in November.

Navin Shah, CEO of Percept Picture Company confirms, "The movie is based on award shows in our Bollywood.

It is the typical genre of Madhur where he translates reality into fiction. The star-cast hasn't been finalised as yet."

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Release of ‘Jail’ postponed

Bhandarkar unable to clash with Gowariker

It’s well known that Madhur Bhandarkar (pictured left) and Ashutosh Gowariker’s friendship soured after Ashu spoke ill about Priyanka Chopra winning the best actress award for Madhur’s “Fashion” at this year’s IIFA awards, which miffed Bhandarkar no end.

In a rage, Madhur decided to get even by clashing with Ashu at the box-office, announcing September 25 as the release date for his film “Jail”, which is also the date for the release of Gowariker’s next film, “What’s Your Rashee?”.

This no doubt upset Ashu, as he wants as wide an exposure for his film as possible.

However, now, it’s once again Bhandarkar who’s fuming.

The Association of Motion Pictures & TV Programme Producers (AMPTPP) has called Madhur and UTV, co-producers of “Jail”, telling them to postpone the release of their film to October 23 as David Dhawan’s “Do Knot Disturb” is also releasing on September 25.

Madhur had made full plans to release the film on September 25 so this one month delay has upset him a great deal.

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Mugdha Godse gets a taste of horror

Mugdha Godse is in Mauritius shooting for a yet untitled horror film, directed by debutant Rajiv Virani, who earlier made ad films. The movie's cast includes Bobby Deol and Shreyas Talpade.

After Fashion, she shot for Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail and Rohit Shetty's All The Best. "Each of my films had a distinct genre. Jail is hardcore slice of life while All The Best is a comedy. This project deals with something else the supernatural. The horror element is interwoven into the story."

The actress adds, "Now I am ready to scare the living daylights of people. I have several get-ups in the film with several variations. Moreover, I am trying to be as twisted as possible for my character!"

Mugdha digs horror flicks and among the Hindi films she loves are yesteryear flicks like Vikas Desai and Aruna Raje's Gehrayee ("Padmini Kolhapure was brilliant in it") and Ramgopal Varma's Raat. Among the Hollywood flicks, her pick includes The Ring 2, Psycho and 1408.

"When I would be with friends and order for DVDs it would all be horror flicks. There is something unique about supernatural films and now I am part of it!

The actress will be in the island country for a month and will fly down to Mumbai for a few days for the dubbing of Jail.

The horror film is produced by Vinay Choksi and Sanjay Ahluwalia. It is slated to have a start-to-finish schedule in Mauritius.

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Inmates misbehave with Neil

While shooting at the Matunga Remand Home for Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail, inmates misbehaved with the actor and the crew members.

Boys in the remand home between the age of 11 and 15 behaved rowdily when they heard that a film unit was present on the premises. The situation got quite ugly with girls from the unit threatening to leave the shoot mid-way. One boy even took off with some shoot equipment nonchalantly.

Neil Nitin Mukesh said to the press, 'I was shocked. The boys at the remand home misbehaved with the unit girls. They were aggressive and rude, almost lewd. My brother is 17-years-old and I consider him a bachcha. But these 14-year-olds spoke in a tone and language that went way beyond their age.'

Things got worse when they realised that Neil was on the sets, they wanted to meet him and when they were denied, they hurled abuses at the crowd. Neil told StarBoxOffice, “Yes, its true, things did get out of hand but when your locked up for days on end and don’t know the right from the wrong, you expect such a thing.”

Neil just got a taste of the real life in Jail. Hope that translates well on screen.

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Jail is a copy

Multiple National Award winning director Madhur Bhandarkar is known for his original scripts and real-life exposés. So to know that his upcoming film Jail is a rip off of a Brazilian film was a shocker indeed.

Jail is the hard-hitting, yet sensitive tale of an ordinary man Parag Dixit (played by Neil Mukesh) who finds himself inside the four walls of a prison due to a series of unfortunate events around him. The film is from his point of view and tells the stories of several other inmates.

But inside sources insist that Madhur’s film is not at all original and bears many similarities to Brazlian film Carandiru, which was based on the real-life experiences of Dr Drauzio Varella inside the dreadful state penitentiary in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while he was doing social work for AIDS prevention. There, he finds hundreds of convicts living under degrading conditions. The story culminates with the 1992 massacre, where 111 prisoners died, 102 killed by police.

Madhur however dismissed the rumours outright, saying, ‘Mine is an original film. All my films right from Chandni Bar to Fashion have been the fact realities and fiction. Jail is an original script.’

A spokesperson for the film also denied the allegations, and according to StarBoxOffice, the film pretty much runs on the lines of Edward Norton-starrer 25th Hour meets The Shawshank Redemption. A basic expose of violent prison systems, let's hope Jail is the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

What Indian audiences are waiting for is to see Neil Nitin Mukesh in the buff. That should be original; no body double will do. Madhur has a habit of snipping out the explicit stuff to suit censor scissors. He chopped out a kissing scene between two men in Fashion to keep the film clean, since the censors fussed.

Jail should break new ground with the footage of Neil doing the stuff that is so common in prisons. It is likely that the film will have shades of previous Hollywood hits (where else can Bollywood source inspiration from?), but if the rumour of the Brazilian film copy is true, then all the well, Madhur sure likes the publicity to keep the show running.

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Lata Mangeshkar sings yet another 'prison anthem'

Madhur Bhandarkar thrilled she sung for his ‘Jail’

Lata Mangeshkar sang "Ae malik tere bande hum", a song that inspired prisoners in V. Shantaram's film "Do Aankhen Barah Haath" in 1957. Now Madhur Bhandarkar has the singing legend render a new-age 'prison anthem' in his latest movie "Jail".

"We want Lata-ji's 'Daata sun maula sun' to be the new-age 'Ae maalik tere bande hum'. We want youngsters to embrace it and get to know the endless magic of Lata-ji's art. It has the potential to be hummed and sung in schools and colleges for all times to come," Bhandarkar told IANS.

Lata's "Ae malik tere bande hum" went on to inspire generations of Indians imprisoned in their prejudices and daily despondencies. Now 52 years later when Bhandarkar conceived the song, he wanted only Lata to sing it.

"I'm not just a Lata fan. I am her fanatic. When she agreed to sing 'Kitne ajeeb rishte hain yahan par' for my 'Page 3', I felt I had achieved one of my biggest dreams. And now to have her sing for me again, and that too for a film that stars Neil Nitin Mukesh, whose grandfather Mukesh was very close to Lata-ji," the director said.

The prison anthem in "Jail" entitled "Daata sun maula sun" is written by a first-time lyricist Ajay Garg.

"When he recited the lines for me, it was there and then decided that no other singer but Lata-ji has the right to touch these words," said Bhandarkar, known for his creative excellence in films like "Chandni Bar", "Page 3" and "Fashion".

The director says it didn't take him much to convince the singer to go behind the mike for the song.

"I've kept in touch with Lata-ji since 'Page 3'. When I told her it was a song for my film composed by Shamir Tandon, who had done 'Kitne ajeeb' for her, she was immediately interested and asked us to send the tune," he said.

Lata was also enamoured by the idea that the film starred her Mukesh-bhaiyya's grandson Neil. She is very close to the whole family.

Interestingly, in the last decade Lata-ji has sung two bhajans "Oh paalan haare" ("Lagaan") and "Ek tu hi bharosa" ("Pukar") - both for A.R. Rahman.

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Jail - Movie Wallpapers

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Jail - Movie Trailer

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Lata Mangeshkar records a track for Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail

On Friday, Lata Mangeshkar records a track for Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail at a studio in Andheri. The melody queen had given her nod to sing for the film starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, a while back. And now she is honouring her commitment. Moreover she is singing for a Hindi film after a hiatus.

The track Daata Sun, Maula Sun is being sung for the movie which takes a look at the life of prisoners. Buzz is that the makers want Mangeshkar's number to be akin to the Ae Malik Tere Bande Hum song in V Shaantaram's Do Aankhen Barah Haath which also dealt with prisoners.

Says Latadidi, ''Yes, I am recording for the song. I was approached by Madhur. But it is not that I am singing for a film after a while. I have been rendering tracks for regional films as well as devotional tracks. Even after my knee operation earlier this year, I have been up and about at the recording studios.''

Mangeshkar had also agreed to render the track because of her old association with Neil's family. She considered his grandfather (celebrated singer Mukesh) her brother, I used to call him Mukesh bhaiya (brother Mukesh) and I had suggested that he name his grandson Neil.'' She was was also with Mukesh during his last moments.

''Yes, the other reason why I am singing for the Jail track is because of Neil,'' she adds.

In January this year, the melody queen underwent knee surgery at at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital at Pune. As she was suffering from chronic arthritis and was unable to walk properly, she got her knee caps replaced. But that is hardly something that can deter her from hitting the high notes. Incidentally, her sister Asha Bhosle had sung in Bhandarkar's earlier film, Page 3.

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Jail ka khel khatam

Madhur Bhandarkar is almost done shooting for Jail. A source from the unit reveals, "Yesterday was the last day of principal shooting.

It was a marathon shoot and this is the quickest film Madhur has ever shot. It was an emotional moment for everyone on sets (40 actors and 300 junior artistes).

Says Madhur, "I am elated and at the same time, sad that this schedule got over so quickly. This shoot was one of the most memorable."

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Jail is Bhandarkar's quickest movie ever

Madhur Bhandarkar has made eight films so far, but "Jail", he says, is his "quickest shoot ever". The movie, which stars Neil Nitin Mukesh, is 60 percent complete and would be ready to hit screens by September-October.

"Not one of the quickest shoots but the quickest shoot ever," asserted Bhandarkar.

"Never before have I aimed at completing a film so fast. We had embarked on a start to finish schedule on March 12 and are already more than 60 percent through. By the end of May, we would have our entire shooting wrapped up," Bhandarkar told IANS in an interview.

Around three to four months of post-production is now being reserved for "Jail", but the director said the actual release date would depend on when the row between producers and multiplex owners over revenue sharing ends.

"Even if it takes us three or four months to work on post-production, the film would be ready for release in September/October. I have to keep the ongoing strike in mind though, because that would result in quite a few other films in the pipeline to arrive first. Once the backlog is cleared, I will bring on 'Jail'," Bhandarkar said.

Apart from Neil, "Jail" also stars Manoj Bajpai and Mugdha Godse in key roles. It is a co-production of Percept Picture Company and Bhandarkar Entertainment.

Bhandarkar's last film "Fashion" was a multi-crore extravaganza with a huge cast to boast, but "Jail" is more realistic and is expected to be a medium budget gritty affair.

"See, 'Fashion' had its own grandeur and scale due to which it required a spread out shooting schedule. On the other hand 'Jail' was always designed as a quickie. Also, it was good fun to move back from the world of glitz and glamour to far more realistic locales," said the filmmaker, who has earlier made critically acclaimed movies like "Chandni Bar" and "Page-3".

"Jail" is a hard-hitting yet sensitive tale of an ordinary man, Parag Dixit (Neil), who finds himself inside prison due to a series of unfortunate events around him.

"The film is from Parag's point of view and also tells the stories of several other inmates. Some of them are undertrials, convicts and also the cops who are in charge of maintaining order in the prison," Bhandarkar explained.

The director said his jail set looked just like a real prison.

"We have designed a huge jail set at Karjat... Believe me, it's so real that you won't realise it's a set. The film was designed as the kind which would give a ringside view of what happens in Indian jails," he said.

So how much research went into making "Jail"?

"A lot of it in fact," the director said. "For a sensitive subject like this, there was a lot of emphasis on research and that too with the right stakeholders. Whether it is locations to mannerisms of inmates to happenings inside the walls to the costumes ... all has been worked upon with great precision to ensure that every frame boasts of perfection."

What kind of people is he referring to when he says stakeholders?

"Everyone from a jail inmate to lawyers to convicts to bureaucrats. We collected as much information as we could to lend authenticity to the film," he explained.

So will "Jail" expose the underbelly of the prison world unknown to viewers?

"The word 'expose' seems to be following me in every film," he laughed. "Yes, it will be a new side of the prison world that audiences would see in 'Jail'. Now whether it's an expose per se is something that you'll have to wait and watch," Bhandarkar said.

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Mugdha collapses while shooting for Jail

The extreme temperature seems to have taken a toll on the cast and crew of Madhur Bhandarkar’s upcoming film “Jail”, which is being shot in Karjat, a town in Maharashtra.

The film’s leading lady Mugdha Godge (pictured left) fainted on the sets while a couple of crew members suffered extreme dehydration.

Madhur was very concerned about their condition but could not shift the location nor stall the shoot as a huge set has already been constructed. Instead he has decided to have a doctor and an ambulance on location so that any such case can be attended to immediately.

Madhur has also constructed a tent with coolers inside for the crew to stay in during the breaks.

Mugdha confirmed the news about fainting on the sets of “Jail”. She said the conditions on the sets are actually like that of a jail. And with outside temperature boiling too, it is very difficult to shoot. “But it’s a challenge and we will definitely give our best,” she said.

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