Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab – Not Much Cheer at Box Office
Folks, if you are planning on watching Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani this weekend we strongly urge you to think twice.
Hey, think thrice too because who knows if you’ll have a job soon.
A chorus of Indian movie critics is none too pleased with this Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.
Indian film critics are describing the movie as an ‘agonizing bore,’ ‘frustratingly uneven,’ ‘annoyingly tedious’ and a ‘mediocrity.’
Here are excerpts from the unflattering reviews of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani:
IBNLive:
Director Rajkumar Santoshi’s latest comedy tries too hard to maintain an even tempo, but….the film is an agonizing bore.
…..The film itself is too long by twenty minutes, and suffers considerably on account of its loose script. The second half, in particular, is an endurance test for its silliness.
NDTV:
Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, a comedy set in a comic book universe, is a frustratingly uneven film. Some of it is genuinely funny and delightful and some of it is repetitive, and annoyingly tedious.
….The trouble is that the film cannot maintain this tone and energy. So, the humour dips and the gags become forced.
At times, the film strains so hard for laughs that it almost feels like the director is beating you with a stick and ordering you to enjoy it.
Rediff:
Santoshi’s latest….oscillates between silent movie slapstick and moronic farce, between memorable witticisms and melodrama so extreme it can only be for laughs.
….The film is let down by running time, frustrating excursions into melodrama and a very weak soundtrack. The songs here just stop the gags from flowing, and while the melodrama is intentionally over the top and stagey, it frequently jars and there’s a bit too much of it.
IndiaFM:
[T]he film could’ve done with a fresh plotline. When you talk of ‘Ghazab Kahani’, it has to be ghazab by all means. It shouldn’t fall prey to predictability, but the second hour succumbs to mediocrity occasionally
….But the second hour makes you a little grumpy. The third angle of the triangle [Upen Patel] isn’t convincing, while his father’s [Govind Namdeo] track is beaten to death. Even the villain [Zakir Hussain] is a sore point.
Watching the second hour makes you feel that the film may’ve had a longer running time and in order to bring down the length, a number of scenes must’ve been chopped off, which, in turn, must’ve resulted in continuity lapses. For instance, Katrina’s kidnap by the villains looks too sudden. When and how did it occur?
Of course, some of the above critics may have also found a few nice things to say about Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani but overall they don’t seem very pleased with the movie.
Stay at home, folks. Don’t waste your time and money.
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Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab – Not Much Cheer at Box Office
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is Junk, Say Indian Critics added by SearchIndia.com on
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That is not right now.
You take the bad things from each critic and say the movie is bad.
There is something bad about each movie and you cannot just state few bad lines they wrote in his review and say the entire movie is bad.
This is also something what Taran Adarsh Wrote
“On the whole, AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI entertains majorly. At the box-office, the fantastic pre-release campaign coupled with the terrific chemistry between Ranbir and Katrina, excellent music by Pritam and tremendous appeal for youth should ensure a big start for the film at the ticket window. The business prospects seem excellent, thus ensuring handsome returns for its investors.
”
Rediff
“Honestly, it’s just good to watch a film with memorable comedy again. Heaven knows its been a while. And one that takes us back to a different, more wholesome kind of cinema. Even as the climax drags into predictability, Santoshi ensures that even divine intervention — to pull it all back on track again — comes with laughs. Gotta love that.”
NDTV
“In its best moments, Ajab Prem is crackling comedy.”
Please stop misleading loyal readers of your blog…..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: You take the bad things from each critic
Good, so you concede that the critics are saying bad things about Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.
2. You write: Please stop misleading loyal readers of your blog…..
Most SI readers are far too smart to be bamboozled by anyone, least of all us.
If you have a low opinion of your intellect, that’s fine and dandy with us. 😉
But let’s be clear that all of our readers are not endowed with your pea-sized brain.
Before splurging money on the mostly crappy Bollywood movies, they read carefully, think hard and then decide whether to spend money, particularly in these hard times.
Based on our reading of the various Indian critics, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is junk and we feel obligated to inform SI readers of our analysis.
Now, it’s up to SI readers whether they want to heed our sage counsel or squander their hard-earned money on junk. No one’s holding a gun to their head.
3. You write: you cannot just state few bad lines they wrote in his review and say the entire movie is bad
Let’s dissect the reviews now.
a) Masand called this movie an agonizing bore.
Mon dieu, is that not shameful enough?
What more do you want? Guess you’d be convinced only if Masand had called the movie a Fuc*ing, Pathetic, Pitiful, Disgusting Agonizing Bore. Right?
Hey, if we were director Rajkumar Santoshi we’d be looking for a long rope and a strong rafter to support our bulk after reading Masand’s review.
b) Here are some of the phrases Anupama Chopra of NDTV used to describe this movie – frustratingly uneven, repetitive, annoyingly tedious.
Boy, it sure sounded like she was mad as hell.
Come clean now, do those expressions frustratingly uneven, repetitive, annoyingly tedious sound like music to your ears?
Hey, if we were director Rajkumar Santoshi we’d be looking for a cyanide vial after reading the NDTV review.
c) Now to the Rediff review.
Happy with the following: [L]et down by running time, frustrating excursions into melodrama and a very weak soundtrack. Those three negative expressions speak volumes. Admit it, don’t they?
Hey, if we were director Rajkumar Santoshi we’d be looking for a deep pool to drown ourselves after reading the Rediff review.
d) Let’s move to your IndiaFM review now, shall we.
* Taran says the movie does not have a fresh plotline.
* Taran says the movie is predictable.
* Taran says the movie succumbs to mediocrity (albeit occasionally).
* Taran says the movie suffers from choppy editing causing continuity lapses.
What more do you want Taran to say?
Guess, you’ll be happy only if Taran pukes all over Rajkumar Santoshi’s suit.
Hey, if we were director Rajkumar Santoshi we’d be looking for a sharp knife to slash our wrist after reading Taran’s review.
4. We said it clearly in our post that while the reviewers may have a few good things to say about the movie, they are none too pleased with the movie based on the strong language they’ve used (agonizing bore, frustratingly uneven, frustrating excursions, lack of fresh plotline et al).
5. Some centuries back, the wise Earl of Chesterfield wrote to his not-so-wise son (a dolt like you):
If you had any sense, you’d have thought over the post more than once and done nothing. Instead, you impetuously chose to jump off the cliff with your hasty comment.
“but overall they don’t seem very pleased with the movie.”
Sorry but WTF???
3.5/5 – Raja sen (The guy gets seldom pleased with such chic flicks)
4/5 Taran adarsh (He’s a joke anyway)
4/5 Times of india
So it’s obvious that critics r praising the movie. The movie may or may not be good, but critics r pleased with it (except masand, and he’s the most reliable guy)
Your article above is misleading, and whatever reason you name it it’s not quite fair.
PS: My friend saw this film yesterday and he said it’s absolute trash.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
This concept of giving relatively high stars/numerical rating by reviewers after using fairly strong words in the body of the review to criticize the movie is absolute nonsense.
Take for instance, Masand. He slams the movie as an agonizing bore and then goes on to give it a rating of 2.5 / 5. Clearly, there’s lack of sync between the content of the movie review and the stars/rating.
If the film is indeed an agonizing bore, then it’d merit no more than 0.5/ 5. Right?
Ditto with Raja Sen of Rediff. This is what he writes:
‘The film is let down by running time, frustrating excursions into melodrama and a very weak soundtrack. The songs here just stop the gags from flowing, and while the melodrama is intentionally over the top and stagey, it frequently jars and there’s a bit too much of it.’
And then 3.5/ 5.
There has to be sync between the body text and the stars. We prefer to base our analysis on the text of the movie review rather than just looking at the stars or ratings.
Dear Search India, What is your opinion than blowing your own trumpet based on the celebrated critics’ verdict?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Our opinion based on the movie receiving such strong criticism at the hands of Indian reviewers is that people ought to skip this junk.
Crap SI, Crap. You are simply carried away. First watch the movie, then as you described the poor person, it is you guys who have a well, a thought provoking brain!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We may or may not watch the movie.
The fact of the matter is that Indian reviewers have already passed an unflattering verdict (isn’t ‘agonizing bore‘ strong enough for you)?
Offtopic: Watched this today,
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_Cafe?wasRedirected=true
The wiki piece reads more like an ad than anything else but that doesn’t change the fact that some(7 of the 10) of the stories were very good. My pick is ‘Happy Journey’. I know it won’t release there, netflix won’t have it, you wouldn’t understand Malayalam and there are no subtitles. My intention is to let you know that there are still people making new, entertaining stuff in this part of the world. And lastly, made at 1/10 th the cost of Pazhassiraja, its as touching and moving, if not more.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We saw a Hindi movie about two years back – Das Kahaniyaan, a collection of 10 short films featuring different directors and actors.
Kerala Cafe seems to be a similar concept.
@SI
Yes, it is. However, the producer says he was inspired by some foreign film.
PS: Got scared s*it after watching Paranormal Activity yesterday night. Slept very little. I even had an impulse to delete the movie/move my lap out my bedroom believing it was haunted. Every little breeze ruffling my blanket made me tense up and freeze. I thought I could hear whispering. Finally, I fell asleep. I suppose I was too tired. By morning, I had an intense desire to get out. I did, and ended up having a good time thanks to Kerala Cafe.
Moral: NEVER watch that movie alone at night.
I am still scared but much less than yesterday and luckily Kerala Cafe is a movie which you won’t forget easily.
BTW, I don’t have a high regard for PA. I like to keep my sanity, thank you. Its too scary (much past the ‘entertaining’ scary).
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Personally, we think all this paranormal activity is hooey, man’s deeply ingrained fear of the unknown/unknowable etched into his DNA.
@dr
Got scared s*it after watching Paranormal Activity yesterday night
I didn’t know you were a chick!
I like to think of myself as a skeptic too. Its just that the movie cleverly leaves it to your imagination to decide what is causing all the PA. It doesn’t indulge in over-explanation.
You don’t know what you are scared of and that makes it scarier ten-fold. Add to that the documentary style and you have something that can potentially lose you days of sleep.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The last scary movie we watched was Halloween – Decent flick. We might buy its theme music later today.
@Vetti
No judging me until you see the movie first!
And preferably, the way I saw it. I got a lot of the chick/chicken bit from my friends too (who also haven’t watched it).
Did you see Subramaniapuram and did u like it? On similar lines is Nadodigal (starring Sasikumar, the director of Subramaniapuram).
Although the movie is a bit slow moving and that tests patience at times, I still liked the movie for its story.
Check it out sometime and let me know if u liked it.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Did you see Subramaniapuram and did u like it?
Not yet. Doubt it released in theaters here.
Will watch it soon as it lands on Netflix.
I would love a Haf-Daktar review of Kerala Cafe on SI.com.
I have DVD of Subramaniyapuram. I can post it to you if you want. You need not pay 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks for the offer but No. 🙂
We’re traveling now. In a few hours, we’ll check at the Indian stores and see if they have it.
Last time we checked, the stores had it only for rental. But sometimes the stores also sell the rental DVDs as the demand diminishes. We’ll know in a few hours.
@medytrance
If you happen to be somewhere near I live, I’ll buy you lunch. I live in the cattle-class district.
@ (1/2)D
🙂 Thanks for the offer. But if you are in Kerala, we live in separate states.
So, is the Kerala Cafe review happening?
@medytrance
http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6976/malayalam/kerala-cafe/review.htm
This neatly sums up my feelings.
The only disagreement is with ‘Mrithyunjaya’. It worked for me, I was scared. (Ok let the chick jokes begin)
Did you see this?
http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/nov/05/slide-show-1-take-on-folks-in-bangalore-says-obama.htm
SearchIndia.com Responds:
No, we hadn’t seen this piece. But Obama has made similar speeches earlier too.
As a nation, the U.S. is falling behind on many fronts. Education is only one of those fronts.
Heard that even spielberg got scared of ‘Paranormal Avtivity’….the director of one of the scariest movies,poltergeist got so much scared that he never wanted that dvd to be present in his office anymore…
btw it seems this movie has got 4,64,000 % profit…made on $15,000 and grossed $86,944,269….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: btw it seems this movie has got 4,64,000 % profit…made on $15,000 and grossed $86,944,269….
Very impressive.
Wonder what was the profit margin for Blue, London Dreams, Aadhavan et al. 😉
@(1/2)Dr.
A very well-written review that, of what seems like a very interesting movie.
Wonder what the length of the movie is.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Neither Wiki nor IMDB mention it.
@medytrance, SI
Mhmm… my memory(which sucks as established here before) tells me its b/w 2:15-2:30. But you hardly realise the passing of time.
Part of the charm with this format is that. More movies should be made like this. I terribly want to see Dus Kahaniyaan.
@gk I know. I blame him for setting my thoughts in that direction. He was locked in for hours in his room by that thing(shiver). I don’t want to offend him/it. I am going to stop now. 😐
SearchIndia.com Responds:
(Off-topic via iPhone)
Out shopping – looking for Subramaniapuram DVD.
Hot in NJ today.
Have you got around to watching Maniratnam’s Iruvar?
I have to wait for one of the local video store to get hold of Iruvar!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Since we have the Iruvar DVD with us, we’ve been postponing it.
Offtopic:
Having a lousy Indian lunch at Mysore Woodlands vegetarian restaurant in NJ. 🙁
Ajab Prem isn’t it. But the film is engaging enough, as we say in Mumbai, time-pass. Go for it.
This is what NDTV says.
Story: Inconsistencies in the story do bring down the tempo of the film. Parts of the second half — the Upen Patel track — puts the brakes on the merriment and the climax is a shoddy bunch of gags.
This is from TOI. But they have given it 4 stars on 5.
Just one thing, every review I read on the major press portals talked of a great chemistry between Ranbir and Katrina. I wonder why someone who went into detail and picked out all the flaws from so many reviews and posted it, wouldn’t mention something which was specified in all the reviews he/she read, unanimously. The other things you have mentioned here vary from review to review.
AFAI noticed, critics have had more good things than bad things to say about APKGK. Being a regular out here, I can notice that any movie which gets you to tell/mention “a few” (mind it, its not few, but “a few”) good things about it- should be a pretty good one to watch.
I am going for it. 🙂 Thanks, SI.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: I am going for it.
Different people get off in different ways.
Some by watching good movies and others by watching ‘an agonizing bore.’ 😉
Movies where critics give 3 or 4 or 5 stars but still have some negative comments in their review, just doesn’t make a difference. There are excellent movies such as a wednesday, kaminey etc that have 4 stars but critics still have a paragraph of negative comments about the movie. Indian critics are joke, bottomline. Watch movie and than judge for yourself. By the way, watched blue today on DVD. Just plain pathetic.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Indian critics are joke, bottomline. Watch movie and than judge for yourself.
Ha ha ha.
If people followed your advice vis-a-vis Bollywood movies, they’d lose their sanity and go bankrupt. Most folks rely on someone, whether critics or word of mouth before plunking down $ on Hindi/Tamil/wateva Indian movies.
these are balanced reviews highlighting both the good and bad in the movie ….its futile to argue … if they meant that the movie was Good OR Bad ……the viewer after reading these reviews will get a fair idea of the basic plot in movie …and how the plot has been presented ….
for those who are ok with no plot OR the beaten to death plot …and a few laughs here and there ….can watch this movie …..rest should stay away …
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: for those who are ok with no plot OR the beaten to death plot …and a few laughs here and there ….can watch this movie …..rest should stay away …
The above line sounds like a summary of every Tamil and most Hindi movies to us. 😉
something simillar to Das Kahaniyaa, watch Paris, je t’aime, caught it on TV, nice stories different directors.
Now am trying to get the DVD to own.
Can really postpone the other movies to watch one. Netflix has it.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Added Paris, Je T’aime to Netflix queue.
Will watch it in a few hours since it’s available on Instant Play.
For those not familiar with Paris, Je T’aime, here’s the Netflix summary:
The posters for Ajab Prem looked promising though…guess the lesson learnt here is never a judge a movie by its posters 🙂
I didnt watch Subramanipuram although i so love that famous song; think its called kanggal irundal. The storyline was a bit too morbid for my liking, looking forward to your thoughts on it. I did watch Saroja and I’d like to give it my thumbs up. Did you guys catch that one?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. We’ve heard/watched the Kanggal Irundal song on YouTube. Nice one.
2. You write: I did watch Saroja and I’d like to give it my thumbs up. Did you guys catch that one?
Saroja director Venkat Prabhu is a merdivorous (shit-eating), thieving scumbag.
Guess, you’ve not read the SI post – Saroja – Outright Theft of Judgment Night.
‘Kangal Irundal’… paarka mudiyaathu!
(irundu has to do with darkness)
It’s kangal irandaal.
(with your two eyes)
SearchIndia.com Responds:
True, that’s Malaysian (Deepa) Tamil for you 😉
Huh Paranormal activity was spooky.
I didn’t close the laptop when I slept last night after watching the movie but morning it was closed. Should I delete the movie or sell off my laptop??
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Funny. 🙂
I watched Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani on Saturday.
The lesson I learned from it is don’t ever trust TOI, Taran Adarsh ratings.
Total Junk. It’s a remake of Telugu film “Soggadu”. It was a flop in Telugu.
The story of APKGK as in credits is penned by K.Rajeshwar but in Telugu his name was not mentioned (http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-soggadu.html).
Rajeshwar told the press that he will remake APKGK in Tamil without any screenplay changes. So get ready for one more Tamil junk.
I watched Paranormal Activity yesterday.
It’s very good. The horror scenes are portrayed excellently in a systematic manner and in a gradual way. If you watch it alone it will definitely scare you. One more thing works in its favor is the entire film is shown as shot on a personal camera by the actors themselves. So whatever horror scenes shown you believe that they actually happen without any camera editing. If anyone lives alone then it will surely scare him/her.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: I watched Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani on Saturday….. Total Junk. It’s a remake of Telugu film “Soggadu”. It was a flop in Telugu.
Very Interesting.
None of the Indian reviews of Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani that we’ve read mention the Telugu film Soggadu.
Are you sure about the remake part? Have you seen Soggadu?
2. Maybe, we’ll see Paranormal Activity. It’s still running in theatres here.
One more thing, I watched Nadodigal yesterday. It has got a very good storyline with excellent cinematography and music. If made well it will be a hit in both Hindi and Telugu.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We saw the Nadodigal DVD ($15) at a store yesterday.
But we were unsure of the quality and since we live too far from the store to return the defective DVD we passed.
I have not seen it but in my company there were discussions about it.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Since you have not seen both movies, you can’t say categorically (the way you did earlier) that Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani is a remake of the Telugu film Soggadu.
I read story of soggadu in many sites. Entire story is similar to APKGK. May not be scene to scene copy.
Coming to Paranormal Activity, I am not sure whether you will like it or not. It will be boring to some people and silly to some. There are some screenplay faults also like why can’t they just turn on the lights scenes. I saw “Let the right one in” alone and it did not scare me though it got a good storyline. But I thank God that I did not see Paranormal Activity alone at my previous room in Pune. I stayed alone in my room for 3 months without roomie.
Checked out paranormal activity, with friends. Every one had a view it should have been renamed to “Normal Activity”.
You would do without seeing it.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Every one had a view it should have been renamed to “Normal Activity”.
2. You write: You would do without seeing it.
Well, they have $1 popcorn on Tuesdays at the theaters here. 😉
LOL!!! Saroja was not original?? Oh well, i kinda found the humour good though 😛
Sorry for the wrong spelling, my tamil not so good
As for Paranormal Activity, heard there could be a second installment
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Saroja was not original??
Why do you think Saroja director Venkat Prabhu is fondly referred to as Thiruttu Nai (thieving cur).
2. You write above: my tamil not so good
Well, they (you know who, right? No? We mean our nasty readers but that’s just between us) say the same thing about our Tamil too. 🙁
Nice to know I have friends in common then :;
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Tormented Tamils of the world unite!
NB: Confirmed, the movie is pathetic trash, except tolerable perfo. from Ranbir.
BTW – if you did like All the best, this one’s a lot better, I can say this one’s better. ATB was a piece of half baked shit.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Among the younger lot, Ranbir Kapoor is easily one of the better actors.
2. We watched All The Best a few hours after watching that piece of trash Blue. That might have influenced our positive perception a bit.