3 Idiots Box Office – Even Dung Finds Eager Takers

Hey, no one ever accused our desis of overpopulating the Mensa cadre.

So, is it a big surprise that the desi schmucks in the U.S., many of whom wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between class and crass if their lives depended on it, decided that Christmas is the season to feast, alas, not on fruit-cake but on dung.

In large numbers did desis turn out at the Bollywood trough to gorge on this dung called 3 Idiots sending its opening weekend gross into the stratosphere and surely forcing the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and that Paa-thetic Bachchan to gnash their teeth and turn green with envy.

As for us, we turned to Monkey Bay 2008 Sauvignon Blanc to drown our dismay.

Aamir Khan’s latest crap show 3 Idiots has grossed $2.1 million for the five-day Christmas weekend at the U.S. box office (caveat: the numbers for 3 Idiots are estimates).

If that’s not a record for a Bollywood film in the U.S. (albeit for garbage of the worst kind), pray tell us what is.

Here’s how the piece of trash fared compared to other Bollywood movies:

3 Idiots Box Office Report
Related Stories:
SRK, Akshay, Hrithik, Salman Peeing in Their Undies
3 Idiots Review – Total Garbage
Five Point Someone Review – Mediocre Shit

38 Responses to "3 Idiots Box Office – Even Dung Finds Eager Takers"

  1. raymaynotsay   December 28, 2009 at 6:55 pm

    Thanks for putting this up Mr. Sour Grapes. May you drink to your misery while we feed ourselves this “Dung”

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Brainless twits like you who don’t know the meaning of ‘sour grapes’ should not be on an English language blog.

    The Dainik Gandu or some such blog is more up your street. πŸ™

  2. Vetti Jijaji   December 28, 2009 at 7:09 pm

    very impressive.. considering that it was competing against Avatar, Holmes and Chipmunks..

    Ghajini had very weak competition..
    http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?view=&yr=2008&wknd=52&p=.htm

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write: very impressive.. considering….

    Do you think a lot of desis slipped on the ice (remember the December 19 snow-storm) and hurt their heads?

    The crappy movie released on December 23, by which time the damage to the head must have been severe.

    2. You write: Ghajini had very weak competition..

    Not true. Look at your link again.

    There was Brad Pitts’ Benjamin Button and Tom Cruise’s Valkyrie, both in week one.

  3. Vetti Jijaji   December 28, 2009 at 10:20 pm

    ok, it can be revised from very weak to comparatively weak.. the #1 movie of 2008 made less than the #3 movie of this year.. Chipmunks has made (75) almost as much as the entire Valkyrie (83) collection in just 5 days..

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Who can fathom how the desi mind works. Really.

    $2.1m for this junk!

  4. Aswin_Kini   December 28, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    SI Wrote:
    So, is it a big surprise that the desi schmucks in the U.S., many of whom wouldnÒ€ℒt be able to tell the difference between class and crass if their lives depended on it, decided that Christmas is the season to feast, alas, not on fruit-cake but on dung.

    Aswin’s Reply: Why so angry SI? Do we ever get angry on people who eat junkfood inspite of knowing that most of it is carciginous and unhealthy? People eat it just because they want a change. Similarly, people watch films just for entertainment.Chill!!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    People reveling in junk like 3 Idiots have no hope. None at all. πŸ™

  5. Aswin_Kini   December 29, 2009 at 5:20 am

    SI Wrote: People reveling in junk like 3 Idiots have no hope. None at all.

    Aswin says: Well, one man’s food is another man’s poison.

    I guess since you always thrive on watching only classic movies, normal movies meant for mindless entertainment don’t appeal to you. While a nonsense movie like Scary Movie 3 may be of great interest to me, it may appear as only shit to you. While Paranormal Activity appears to be a very good film to millions of Americans, you did consider it to be a silly movie.

    The result is simple, no matter what you, I, or even the greatest movie critic thinks, only movies which appeal to the masses will survive. Let’s face it, the audience is the greatest critic of all, it decides whether a film is a hit or flop.

    To put it shortly, what is shit for you may be a hit for others πŸ™‚

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Now that the Buddha (hint, his name starts with ‘Asw’) has spoken, it’s clear. Crystal, as Tom Cruise says in A Few Good Men.;)

  6. Twig   December 29, 2009 at 6:05 am

    Hello dear!
    Apparently, only Raja Sen of Rediff.com is the only Indian critic who has rated the movie poorly. He gave 2/5. And you see, there were over 2100+ comments against his review. So rediff had to do a second review which gave 4/5. Also, Raja Sen was forced to explain why he gave a 2 stars in a live chat. I’m wonder what Indian junta would have done to you? πŸ˜‰

    Raja Sen review : http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/24/review-three-idiots.htm

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    What is the form of government you live under?

    Mobocracy, right? πŸ˜‰

  7. nisha.gupta27   December 29, 2009 at 9:58 am

    Guys, I think SI editors have an ego problem.

    They cannot digest the fact that if something is good, you have to accept it is good. In this case there are numbers proving it.

    The figures of 3 Idiots are almost double than Ghajini which was huge in itself. The only thing I admire (sarcastically) about SI editor is that they have a good English vocabulary which they use it in a negative way.

    SI thinks that they the only intelligent monkeys(Avatar blue monkeys) left on the planet earth and all those people who went to watch 3 Idiots and many other movies criticized by them are stupid…

    Time to wake up SI.. You can acknowledge that you were wrong this time, we wont mind… we will still keep on coming on your blog to f*** you and your thoughts (hope u wont censor this word as you like to write these words urself, last time I read you wrote BJ $ HJ which were far bigger than this)

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write: In this case there are numbers proving it.

    If numbers alone were to be our credo, then we’d have to accept the Nazis were good, Abhishek Bachchan is an actor, Prabhakaran was the savior of Tamils, Osama is not behind 9/11, Muslims do not believe in Jihad, Hindus in Gujarat are victims, Jesus was born of a virgin and Nisha Gupta is a smart person. πŸ˜‰

    2. You write: hope u wont censor this word…

    Sweetie, you will have to admit that in all these months we haven’t deleted even one letter in your comments. Right na?

  8. guruji   December 29, 2009 at 10:21 am

    Going by the “unbiased” nature of your comments, I thought this topic would be titled “Movie goers piss on SearchIndia Blog”.

    You never fail to disappoint me πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. Your cojones feeling very itchy this morning. πŸ™

    A daily shower works wonders. You should try it, at least occasionally.

    2. Thanks for the compliment on our unbiasedness. πŸ˜‰

  9. TrulySiva   December 29, 2009 at 11:34 am

    @SI – I like the way you review movies critically.

    However, can you reason out why for some movies you take box office numbers as criteria to get classified as bad one (such as Paa) and when some movies (which you folks don’t like such as Singh is King or 3 Idiots) which fares well in halls – you abuse common public?

    I don’t like Karunanidhi but did that prevent him becoming CM? People are god end of day and that’s a truth in public life! you and me can cry but honestly tell us – how does it matter in front of mass verdict.

    p.s: I seldom watch hindi movies and I want a good logical reason from you than bashing me up with your BA English Lit vocabulary:)

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: you abuse common public….than bashing me up with your….

    Kiddo, you keep repeating this lie. And it’s getting tiresome. πŸ™

    Let’s take a look at your example. You’ve posted 22 comments (including this one) in the last 10 months.

    Can you point to even one comment where we’ve abused you or used harsh words against you? Show us one of your comments where we’ve not taken the time to politely respond to your points?

    A lie repeated a thousand times does not become the truth. πŸ™

  10. nisha.gupta27   December 29, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    You are diverting the talk by giving examples of Nazis or Abhishek or Tamils, etc.. I just wanted u to understand that it is a good movie and this time even the numbers are supporting it. Numbers are not always true.. Singh is King was also a hit but the movie sucked, so I wont say that it was a good movie just because it had good numbers..

    I am just saying that in this case the movie is also good and the numbers are also good… Numbers are good in US and UK too.. coz there have been times when movies work in India very nicley but dont work in US(ex: Wanted)…

    People are liking 3 Idiots and infact they want to watch the movie again.. I am not telling this based on talking with some people. Go to any website which has reviews the movie and see the thousands of comments.. People are definitely liking it..

    Hope you understand and acknowledge it.. You wont become small if you agree to this.. coz the movie is on the way to become a blockbuster and you have been proved wrong anyways..

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: coz the movie is on the way to become a blockbuster and you have been proved wrong anyways..

    We don’t dispute that this crappy movie has resonated with desis here and our above table is evidence of that.

    But we just don’t get your point that because a few hundred thousand people liked this trash we’ve to fall in line too.

    Sometimes our views converge with those of the hoi polloi (as with Kaminey) and sometimes they run on parallel tracks, never finding common ground.

  11. TrulySiva   December 29, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Nothing to lie and I like your honest fight against mass verdict.

    However, please give me logical reason for my query. Why do you rate few movies based on US / UK box office and few movies on your personal verdict

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: Why do you rate few movies based on US / UK box office and few movies on your personal verdict

    We pick the yardstick best suited to the movie and the circumstances (quality of the movie, have we seen the movie, U.S./Indian critics’ comments, previous track record of the star/director, instincts, originality et al).

    Which yardstick we pick is like the Google search algorithm, a secret sauce that we cannot disclose because it’s our valuable intellectual property. πŸ˜‰ Try asking Larry Page or Sergey Brin for their algorithm.

    And BTW like the Google algorithm the SI algorithm too constantly evolves. πŸ˜‰

    But whichever yardstick we adopt, we usually provide supporting grounds (sometimes serious, on other occasions not-so-serious) for our opinions.

    idhu eppadi irruku (Howzaat)? πŸ˜‰

  12. TrulySiva   December 29, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    Thala (boss).. Ithu konjam over (this is too much) – Let’s measure everything using same scale and UOM – that’s consistency and we all like to see that in this website.

    Let’s not measure once on Sq Ft and next time on Gallons. One Litre is a Litre and we cannot say it is less than Killo Gram.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. Thambi (kiddo), we have explained all we possibly can publicly about our algorithm.

    2. You write: Let’s measure everything using same scale and UOM – that’s consistency

    We don’t know about Killo (sic) Grams but consistency, as Oscar Wilde once said, is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

    And no one ever accused us of being unimaginative. πŸ˜‰

  13. raymaynotsay   December 29, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    At first I thought, I would reason with you why your reviews don’t make sense but then again your brains(if any) have not been fed on rationality. Besides what you’ll read below was admittedly much more fun to type. So here goes

    After a long day at work, your blog is almost a relief, you know that feeling naa, after-pee respite. Time to kick you pansies in your family jewels unless you are a chick with a d***.
    You write ‘Brainless twits like you who don’t know the meaning of sour grapes’
    So sour grapes didn’t exactly whet your appetite, perhaps because, sarcasm can be lost on you gits. Direct words like Ò€œthe success of 3 idiots(for that matter any entertaining movie) was akin to sprinkling red chilli powder up SI’s a*** Ò€œ sound more appropriate for people who fanny about. Oh I smell something burning, is that my dal or is that your goose being cooked? Yummm.. I love it crispy.
    You write Ò€œÒ€¦Ò€¦should not be on an English language blogÒ€
    Maybe you should have a disclaimer sign Ò€œblog readers will be insulted. Please stay away, Schmucks and Schlongs right ahead.Ò€. Anyway just as I shouldn’t be on your blog, it is time you stopped writing movie reviews. Thodi si advice lelo yaar, certain things can be beyond certain people, you have some admirable qualities but logical reasoning is not one of them. To translate an old Hindi & Gujarati proverb(sadly not very good at English), giving you advice would be equivalent of playing the flute in front of a buffalo. Mind you, I am doing grave injustice to the poor animal by equating it with you. Besides you wouldn’t know logic(or music) even if the flute in question were to be shoved up your red-peppered a***. Take a break smeghead.
    You write ‘The Dainik Gandu or some such blog is more up your street’
    Dainik gandu sounds like a synonym for your blog mate because Searchindia has India bashing all over it. If you can’t improve the situation atleast don’t criticize it. Over all though you chaps are an entertaining loutÒ€¦.or was that lot. Damn, maybe you are right really this one time(pinnacle of your existence)Ò€¦ I do need to brush up my English.
    P.S I could get a job on your blog. This is easy. “Jai ho” guru Wanker Slandercrass ki (neologism is it). Wow I am already learning !!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You really ought to stick to pithy comments.

    At least, you’d be less boring.

    Interesting writing is obviously not your metier.

  14. rajesh jagetia   December 30, 2009 at 2:04 am

    I would like to appreciate one thing about you that inspite of U.S. box office going against your review, you publish it.

    I have not seen the movie but I am unable to understand mass hysteria behind this movie. This movie is all set to become highest bollywood grosser till date.

    Perhaps, we have to accept mass verdict.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write: I would like to appreciate one thing about you that inspite of us box office going against your review, you publish it.

    If we have said it once, we’ve said it a million times – SearchIndia.com blog is the most unbiased blog around.

    2. You write: I have not seen the movie but I am unable to understand mass hysteria behind this movie. This movie is all set to become highest bollywood grosser till date.

    In Incredible India, even shit can become a hit.

  15. Asha Tampa   December 30, 2009 at 7:54 am

    You seem to be really patient with all the comments; very unlike you! πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    As our good lord, the ‘virgin’ Mary’s son Jesus hath said:

    But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. πŸ˜‰

    Source: Bible.

  16. ravihyd84   December 30, 2009 at 9:36 am

    http://greatbong.net/2009/12/24/three-idiots-the-review/
    This might explain mass hysteria behind this movie.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Read the review from your link.

    Not in the least convinced that the answer is people found some of themselves in the film.

    We’d be more inclined to believe it’s the star-power, mindless hero-worship of Indian masses, aggressive marketing, media hype, herd mentality, inability to distinguish class from crass et al that are driving the film at the box office.

  17. MadAtBollywood   December 30, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Hi SearchIndia, I am a new user…What’s up??

    Yes, I echo the same feelings as yours for this movie. In fact, I am so mad at Bollywood in general. I feel miserable when they copy a Hollywood movie. The last one I saw was Acid Factory, taken exactly from the hollywood movie Unknown, starring Jim Caviezel.. I was SO MAD!!

    When I had seen Karan Johar’s movie Dostana, I believe in the end of 2008, I made a New Yr resolution for 2009 (and onwards) NOT TO WATCH ANY MOVIES OF THIS BUFFOON (and another buffoon named Suraj Barjatia)..

    Thnx for putting this blog and website. I love it…

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: Thnx for putting this blog and website. I love it…

    Folks, is this guy/gal for real? πŸ˜‰

    No offense, MadAtBollywood. It’s just that we are more accustomed to brickbats coming our way.

  18. MadAtBollywood   December 30, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    Posting 2nd time…I don’t know what happend to my first comment..

    [deleted because of repetition]

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We’ve processed your first comment.

    Please wait for a little while after posting your comment. All comments are processed by a live human being (disputable according to some of our readers)…so your comments may take some time to appear.

  19. MadAtBollywood   December 30, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    lol, Happy New Year SI!!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We wish you the same, sweetie-pie. πŸ˜‰

  20. MadAtBollywood   December 30, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    Wow, you guys are awesome. I like this ‘live human being” thing.

    BTW, had you seen the Indian movie ‘Dor’ by Nagesh Kukkunoor? I loved it man! I also liked Johnny Gaddar (which didn’t fare well with our Indian masses). What’s ur take on these two?

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Haven’t seen Dor. Here’s the Johnny Gaddar review .

  21. MadAtBollywood   December 30, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    To put in in simplest terms; Bollywood lacks creativity. Only 3-4 out of 300-400 movies per year are worth watching..

    Please watch Dor by Nagesh Kukkunoor. A must watch!!

    PS: I am done for today. See ya later..

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Will see Dor one of these days.

  22. yourmate   December 30, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    Guys/Gals, before you do a comment about SI, pls. remember this is SI’s personal blog. SI is not a professional and paid movie critic. Watching movies and reveiwing it, is now her full time hobby which she is trying to do in a more professional way!! (That too after she was fired from her job, which incidentally was outsourced to India). Many in India (I even Personally so) consider Slumdog millionaire a okay movie but SI drooled over it, similarly many consider 3 idiots a good movie which according to SI is Garbage. Understand, Like/Dislike is one’s own choice and SI here is expressing that.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: her full time hobby

    Ha ha ha.

    BTW, this ain’t our ‘personal blog.’ Wish it were….then we’d write boldly. πŸ˜‰

  23. tiramisu   December 30, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    Instead of ‘Dor’ watch the original in malayalam which is better – Perumazhakkalam.
    Dor is an ok remake.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425350/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perumazhakkalam

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Hard to get hold of Perumazhakkalam in the U.S.

  24. guruprasad.s   December 31, 2009 at 10:17 am

    I watched 3 Idiots and the movie worked for me only in parts.

    (A) The problem (to me) is: The movie demands suspension of disbelief in a SELECTIVE manner.
    On the one hand, the movie is made of (mostly) caricatures and cliches, and on the other hand, the movie wants us to take itself seriously when raising issues like higher education etc.
    The two did not fit together for me.

    (B) Also, the movie paints a rather bleak picture of engineering education in India, and while some of it may be true, what is utterly false is that (1) engineers are expected to start making things work almost the day they land up in college, or (2) engineering means invention, etc.
    The movie seems to say: formal education is a waste of time: Plunge into doing things.
    One has to accept that most of us have to go through a bit of (or quite a bit of) formal education before we actually start doing things that Rancho did in the movie. Many of us may never be able to do those things.
    In that sense, the movie seems to say that every engineer has to be an inventor.

    Many of the emotional moments didnt work for me.
    Somehow, I didnt find the sincerity that I saw in the two Munnabhai movies, esply the first.

    (C) While Rancho and Farhan are supposedly talented in some sense, what of Raju ?
    I dont think that the sort of sincerity displayed by Raju in the interview will fetch you any job.
    So, while the movie advocates a more practical approach to engineering, it comes across as totally naive in the practical matter of getting a job.

    (D) While a lot of characters in the movie were caricaturish, the professors/faculty were esply bad.
    Viru Sahasrabudhe looks to have escaped from an asylum, and adds to the misconception that geniuses become directors and geniuses have overgrown curly hair.
    Sad, because, just to give you an example, the director of IIT Madras (Prof.M.S.Ananth) is a dynamic, articulate and decisive man, and people of similar caliber are chosen as directors of top institutes in India.
    And most faculty are more considerate that depicted in the movie.

    Incidentally, Prof.S.C.Sahasrabudhe was the former deputy-director of IIT Bombay and is the present director of Dhiribai Ambani Inst. of Information and Communication Technology, Ahmedabad, and the makers of 3 Idiots have unknowingly/knowingly done a disservice to him/his name.

    In fact, the movie seems to shift all the blame squarely on the system (faculty and administration, that is), rather than examining what the students are doing.
    It is well known that a lot of students are just not sincere,and their motives behind joining an engg. course are not always honest.

    (E) It is some funny incidents in the movie, that occur just frequently enough, which kept me engaged.
    These gags were in isolation and didnt seem to connect, although they were funny and some were original.
    I feel that it is these funny moments which are responsible for the movie becoming a big hit, apart from the anticipation of Aamir Khan-Raju Hirani combo.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Besides the other inadequacies (highlighted by you above and by us in our review), the humorous incidents too were few and far between.

    BTW, if you happen to run into Aamir Khan would you please tell him we’re waiting for our $10 refund.

  25. sugat123   January 1, 2010 at 3:12 am

    hi SI,

    I read this blog for more reliable reviews on Hindi Movies.

    I rarely watch Hindi movies as most of them are crass.

    I read the 3 idiots reviews here and decided not to watch it.

    But I decided to check the mass hysteria around it and decided to watch it.

    Hence, I beg to differ this time, I agree that 3 idiots is not a classy movie by any standards but I feel this movie is very entertaining.

    Albeit its flaws and a storyline that was sometimes quite hard to digest,I found it entertaining (along with audiences in the theater).

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Different people, different tastes. πŸ™

  26. guruprasad.s   January 1, 2010 at 4:27 am

    Well, getting your refund is very difficult.
    Firstly, me running into Aamir Khan is highly unlikely although I have shook hands with Anil Kapoor once (in 2007, pre-Slumdog days) at Brussels airport when he (and me) were travelling to Bombay.
    He was very courteous, but one guy (a Sikh gentleman) tried to get a bit too chatty with him and asked Anil:
    O Paaji kithe jaa rahe ho ?
    Anil responded: Bhatinde !!

    Secondly, when Chetan Bhagat couldnt get these folks to give him credit for the original story, then you have rather slim chances of getting back your $$.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: I have shook hands with Anil Kapoor once

    Naavu punyaatmaru (we are blessed souls). The hand that shook hands with Sonamji’s creator Anil Kapoor also typed the above comment. πŸ˜‰

  27. boopalanj   January 1, 2010 at 7:40 am

    “Thnx for putting this blog and website. I love itÒ€¦”

    We would like to know what MadAtBollywood has been smoking these days πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We like his/her/its name – MadAtBollywood.

    In a country where most people are MadAboutBollywood this person dares to be different.

  28. boopalanj   January 1, 2010 at 9:51 am

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    You are not in Kansas [Bollywood] anymore, you are on Pandora [SearchIndia]..

    πŸ˜‰

    Watched it this morning.. Visually stunning..! Liked it..!!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: Watched it this morning

    At home or the theatre? πŸ˜‰

    * Avatar’s reincarnations flood foothpaths

    * DVDs of 3 Idiots, Avatar and Paa seized in raid

  29. byarvin   January 1, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Hey Angry Critic!

    I braved the crowds last night and went to see 3 Idiots. Now while I didn’t get the appeal of the ads for medical schools running in the lobby – I’m not Desi after all – I thought that it was a pretty good movie.

    Since it’s so big, I warn you…two or three years from now Hollywood will remake it with Vin Diesel as Rancho and Leslie Nielson as the school director. I don’t know how you’ll keep your cool through that one.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write above: I thought that it was a pretty good movie

    Mon dieu.

    All these years, we’ve heard of curry only causing Delhi belly in foreigners

    Now, this is the first known instance of the damaging effects of eating too much curry on the Occidental mind. πŸ™

    Next you’ll be breaking up with your longtime girlfriend, hooking up with a desi girl in Edison, frequenting the Swaminarayan Temple in nearby Somerset and naming your son Babubhai Patel. πŸ˜‰

    2. You write: Now while I didn’t get the appeal of the ads for medical schools running in the lobby

    Most desi parents believe if your son doesn’t study to be a doctor, engineer (or lately a lawyer) your and by extension your boy’s existence is futile. Hence the ad for the medical school in the lobby.

    You might be surprised to know that a lot of desis send their brats to India to study in medical schools there (because it’s cheaper, because their stupid brat couldn’t get into an American med school et al).

  30. boopalanj   January 1, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    At Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai

    πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We plan to see it in a good Imax soon.

  31. kreacher   January 1, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    Guruprasad.s,

    Secondly, when Chetan Bhagat couldnt get these folks to give him credit for the original story …

    True, this is the story doing the rounds, but the facts as borne out by both CB (covertly) and VVC (openly) state otherwise. Firstly, see this from CB’s blog:

    I knew they had played with me, and that Γ’β‚¬Λœbased on a novel byÒ€ℒ credit, which they were legally bound to give would be hushed away at the end Γ’β‚¬β€œ with the clear intention of making sure people miss it. And indeed, it came after the junior artists and still photographer of the movie, and zoomed away fast.

    This text is indeed placed in such an unremarkable manner on the blog entry that it would seem the filmmakers gave CB no credit. Quite incorrect – there WAS a “Based on a novel by” credit in the movie, as CB himself cites.

    Exhibit B has copies of the agreement signed by both, the producers and CB: http://www.vinodchopra.com/agreement.pdf . See “Credit to the Author” on page 4. Seems like CB got exactly what he had signed up for. A mention in the rolling credits.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. Thank you for the two important links. πŸ™‚

    2. In our not so humble opinion and looking at the rolling credits issue, Chetan Bhagat is trying to milk the publicity from the movie.

    As you say in your comment, Chetan Bhagat got what he asked for. If it was that a big a deal to him, he should have specified where he wanted the credit to appear (first credit, before the movie proper starts, font size, after Aamir Khan’s name, after the director’s name et al) but he did not. His fault.

    What Chetan Bhagat is doing now is plain and simple trying to keep his name in the public eye.

    3. On the bigger issue of the basis of the movie’s story, if 3 Idiots’ makers claim the movie has little or nothing to do with the book, boy it sure must be some special weed they are smoking.

  32. byarvin   January 1, 2010 at 9:34 pm

    A.C.:

    I’ve lived in Edison long enough to be surprised by nothing. Indeed, you’re the one who’s going to be surprised. My prediction stands; the 3 Idiots formula is so compelling that it will be remade all over the world. When Chetan Bhagat gets his first option check from Hollywood, those guys in Mumbai are going to look like chopped liver to him.

    My current prediction; the Jonas Brothers play the idiots, Taylor Swift plays Pia, Eddie Murphy is Virus, and the idiots attend MIT with the pre-med girl at Harvard.

    If that movie makes it, the next release will be “Los Tres Idiotes” set in Mexico, and then the brooding Italian version; “I Tre Idioti.” In that one, the idiots will study at the University of Pisa and get drunk on top of the leaning tower.

    Ten minutes of any one of those and you’ll be running for your life. Scrambling back to Edison and our homey Bollywood eight-plex. You may even down a stale dosa afterwards for refreshment.

    BTW…about fifteen years ago, I was having a rough night in a small hotel in Pisa and decided to stroll down to the leaning tower at the crack of dawn. I thought I’d have the place to myself, but my luck didn’t hold. Instead, there was a big crew from Bollywood; dozens of dancers, a team of choreographers, maybe 200,000 watts of lighting, and several camera crews. I was gobsmacked and the locals didn’t even notice. The tower’s been a tourist magnet for six hundred years.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write: the 3 Idiots formula is so compelling that it will be remade all over the world

    If this 3 Idiots trash is remade by Hollywood, we’ll renounce our American citizenship and move back to the land of the semi-literate baboons a.k.a. India.

    2. You write: about fifteen years ago, I was having a rough night in a small hotel in Pisa and decided to stroll down to the leaning tower at the crack of dawn. I thought I’d have the place to myself, but my luck didn’t hold. Instead, there was a big crew from Bollywood;

    Italy is so passe now.

    Even the folks from Kollywood (a barbaric, less civilized South Indian version of Bollywood) have started exploring locales such as Iceland (Aadhavan) and Mexico (Kanthaswamy) for the song/dance nonsense.

    Tamil film Enthiran, supposedly the costliest (??) Indian movie, was recently filmed in the Machu Pichu area of Peru and features a real-life grandfather (Rajinikanth) romancing a real-life Miss World (Aishwarya Rai). No kidding.

    Enthiran is scheduled to debut in 2010.

  33. amitshetty   January 1, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    I am not surprised with performance of 3 Idiots.

    Among top 10 box-office openers only Kaminey is good rest all are crap with films like KI and De Dana Dan crappiest among craps.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Sad moment in the annals of Indian motion pictures.

  34. amitshetty   January 2, 2010 at 5:45 am

    I hope 2010 will be good year for Indian movies in terms of both quality and box-office.

    I hope we will see more of talented actors like Abhay Deol and filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Vishal Bharadwaj this year.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write above: I hope 2010 will be good year for Indian movies in terms of both quality and box-office.

    No, it will be 2009 redux. Annus horribilis, yet again.

    Talent and class don’t happen overnight or even in 12 months.

  35. boopalanj   January 2, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    this may interest you (and byarvin too πŸ˜‰ )

    http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_ar-rahman-launches-music-of-new-tamil-film-at-bafta-in-london_1328302

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Filmed in Malta, Italy….we’re impressed.

    But the movie features that abomination, the one whose name starts with T. πŸ™ What a hideous actress.

  36. boopalanj   January 2, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Also, try to read this piece by some suresh nair

    http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/column_lights-cameron-action_1326818

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Read the piece…not much in it.

  37. amitshetty   January 4, 2010 at 3:59 am

    SearchIndia reviewer is among the best when it comes to reviews Bollywood movies.
    Reason ?
    1.He is unbiased (He is not in any camp of Khans and Kumars).
    2.His reviews are bang on target (90 % of reviews are right).

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. Hey, we’re in the tabulicious camp. πŸ˜‰

    2. And what’s with the ‘his’ and ‘he’…..peeking at things you shouldn’t have? πŸ˜‰

  38. amitshetty   January 5, 2010 at 8:56 am

    @SI: Hey, weÒ€ℒre in the tabulicious camp.

    Have you watched Tabu’s Astitva and Chandni bar ?

    She was simply brilliant in these films.

    It is pity that actress of her calibre has done only 2 Bollywood films since 3 years (Cheeni Kum and sp app in Fanaa).

    Our Bollywood bozos sign up over-rated Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra for dozens of films.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write: Have you watched Tabu’s Astitva and Chandni bar ?

    No.

    We’ve only seen Tabu in Namesake, Cheeni Kum, Fanaa, Kandukondein Kandukondein and Main Hoon Na (she appears for a micro-second in this movie).

    2. You write: Our Bollywood bozos sign up over-rated Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra for dozens of films.

    Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor are leprous sores on the mottled face of Bollywood. πŸ™

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