Thugs of Hindostan reviews + box office! - Page 21

Billed as the year's biggest blockbuster, Thugs of Hindostan proves to be about as reliable as its most memorable character. Aamir Khan's Firangi Mallah, the only good thing about Vijay Krishna Acharya's pre-Independence drama, is a confidence trickster who double-deals his way through life with roguish charm and sweet talk. The twinkle in Firangi's kohl-laden eyes is replaced by a thoughtful gleam when the ruling British give him the task of infiltrating a group of rebels led by the venerable Khudabaksh (Amitabh Bachchan). Why not, reasons Firangi there is money to be made, even if it means selling out his fellow Indians.

Seventy-one years after freedom, the British are still the enemy, murdering the Hindi language and conjuring up dastardly strategies to enslave Indians. Although British officer Clive (Lloyd Owen) succeeds in taking over the kingdom of Raunakpur by force, heiress Zafira (Fatima Sana Shaikh) survives. Zafira becomes the main archer in Khudabaksh's rebel force, which gives Shaikh something to do in the absence of acting skills. Firangi worms his way into Khudabaksh's group and comes under the spell of the grizzled warrior. Firangi's loyalties are torn between the freedom fighters and the colonial masters. We have to wait 164 minutes till the predictable climax to figure out which way Firangi falls.

Despite its title, the movie says nothing about the thuggee cult, apart from weakly suggesting that the bandits were proto-rebels and that Firangi is their true inheritor. Rather, Acharya's third film after Tashan (2008) and Dhoom: 3 (2013) sails under the flag of the Hollywood Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Firangi's costume is a collection of trinkets and accessories borrowed from his victims, just as his character itself is modelled on the untrustworthy pirate Jack Sparrow, played indelibly by Johnny Depp.

However, Thugs of Hindostan cannot match the level of stunts and visual effects of the Pirates films. The sequences set on the sea, where large boats that try to pass off as ships do battle, are sluggishly directed; the ones on land fare no better. The production design and costumes are impressive enough, but the action scenes are as flat and uninvolving as most of the characters despite being laid out to Ajay-Atul's insistently ponderous background score.

Amitabh Bachchan lumbers through the movie and looks exhausted from the burden of carrying so much armour and baritone-induced gravitas. Katrina Kaif, playing the dancer Suraiya, has exactly three short scenes and two songs. Fatima Sana Shaikh gets the meatier role. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is wasted as Firangi's partner in crime, Sanichar.

Only Aamir Khan seems to be paying any attention to the proceedings, and he ensures that the movie springs to life when he is around. Director Acharya, who has also written the screenplay, reserves the best lines for Firangi, and invests the most in his appealing crookedness. Aamir Khan's eye-rolling is in line with his previous comic turns in Rangeela and Andaz Apna Apna. But Firangi cannot save this Mangal Pandey-on the-sea saga from being scuttled by its ineptitude and palpable disinterest in approaching the freedom struggle with fresh eyes.

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Thugs Of Hindostan took a bumper opening as expected of around 65-70% which is the top opening of the year beating Baaghi 3 which had the best morning occupancy till date this year. Its the biggest day of the year for box office collections so this was always on the cards. The trailer recieved mixed response but at the ground level there was always going to huge interest to watch this film.

The film is the most expensive film in the history of Hindi cinema costing around 260 crore without the remuneration of Aamir Khan but despite this huge cost its not much of an issue as its the first real winner in China as far as money back to the makers is concerned. The film does not even look for China but Aamir Khan seems to bigger there than it actually looks. The film has got a $20 million (145 crore) minimum guarantee from China and then there is Overflow to share if it gets any. Films like Dangal, Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Hindi Medium have done huge there especially the first two but this sort of money has not come back home. On top there is the 150 crore from satellite and digital which takes it to 300 crore with just these three revenue sources.

These insane recoveries are all good and well but that real fight is theatrical as this is where the audience comes to play and the expectations are huge for the film. The start is huge but its about the holds especially post the weekend in the case where the film goes theatrically.

The expectations will be of 300 crore nett plus and if its liked universally then it will cruise past that mark. The bare minimum necessity on a worst case is the Diwali record which is held by Golmaal Again at around 205 crore nett last year. The last real big one on Diwali was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998 which went past 300 crore entt (adjusted rates) and since then nothing has gone to 300 crore nett plus.

There is not much to say about the initial as its huge all over. Its a bit slower in Gujarat and parts of South but eventually the audience come. The collections in UP and Bihar are insane especially for an Aamir Khan starrer which tend to be bit weaker in these areas. The real tests for the film begin after day one and remains to be see what are the levels. Gujarat has a prolonged holiday period over Diwali but the higher services taxes are killing that market as there has been another increase this week and this has been the case since GST came into force. The total taxes in the state are now nearly double of what it used to be at the time of Entertainment Tax.