The Asian Age

Dark Diwali

- AGE CORRESPOND­ENT UMA RAMASUBRAM­ANIAN

The Diwali week has proven for fans Akshay Kumar and Vijay. Akshay’s Housefull has opened to scathing reviews, while Vijay’s Bigil has got relatively better reviews, the superstar’s fans are disappoint­ed with what he had to offer this time.

Going by these developmen­ts, it might just be dark Diwali at the box office this year. Reliable sources from the trade say Housefull 4 will dip sharply at the box office in the coming days. “The reviews wouldn’t have mattered if the film was good. The first three Housefull films were hits despite bad reviews. But Housefull 4 is a comedy that isn’t funny, and that’s inexcusabl­e,” says a trade pundit. to be disappoint­ing of

By the for

Friday evening, word had spread about film’s unpalatabl­e flavour, and collection­s Housefull 4 had already begun to drop. As for Bigil, it is too early to say which way the collection­s will go. Excited Vijay fans in Krishnagir­i (Tamil Nadu) went on a rampage at midnight on Friday when theatres failed to screen 1 pm shows of Bigil as promised. However post-release, going by the initial reactions of fans and critics, Vijay’s new rival Karthi is poised for a bigger Diwali success with his gripping onenight thriller Kaithi.

The problem with the Tamil–Telugu superstars is that they are unwilling to experiment with roles. A new generation of superstars, with their fresh approach to cinema and characteri­sation is creeping up on the iconic brigade of superstars in the South.

Vaani Kapoor’s last outing War has been a super hit, and she will soon be seen opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Shamshera. While her film career is taking off, the actress reveals that she isn’t ready for the digital space yet.

“My first love is Hindi cinema and I don’t want that tradition to go away. I know the digital platform is way bigger today and everybody is on it. As far as I am concerned, even I dig shows and I love watching them, but I am traditiona­l that way. I love going to a theatre and watching films, that’s my first love,” Vaani shares.

The actress also got candid about her fears when it comes to her work. She says, “I fear that because of all the other problems that we have in our heads, what if I stop trying? What if I don’t try and do something new? I want to do justice to whatever I am doing because I need to be satisfied with whatever I am doing. But so far, I am proud of all my projects. I was written off after Befikre but I tried to move on from that phase,” she concludes.

 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India