Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'RBI should be transparent' that was published in Newsband

RBI should be transparent

The Supreme Court’s two-judge bench directed the RBI to furnish all information relating to inspection reports and other material sought by Right to Information (RTI) petitioners. The bench made it clear that “any further violation shall be viewed seriously”.  

There were multiple requests made to RBI seeking information ranging from the names of wilful defaulters on bank loans worth hundreds of crores of rupees. The central bank’s “defiance” of Supreme Court orders on disclosing the names of wilful loan defaulters can make the bank fall in trouble. It is inexcusable that the RBI continues to keep the largest lenders to banks, the depositors, and the public in the dark on the specific loan accounts that are endangering the banking system’s health and viability. The central bank’s intransigence and repeated failure to honour the court’s orders has provoked the judges.  

Potential exists that hasty disclosure of information (forced by courts etc) can lead to a run on the banks & melt the rupee. A mature process has to be designed for disclosure of default information (wilful & otherwise) to protect National interests. GOI must divest from Banking & other businesses & focus on Minimum Government Maximal Governance with a Supervisory Regulatory Legislative role & providing for independent tariff frameworks for monopoly services providers. Banks have processes now to handle wilful defaulters & such processes may be improved e.g. 3^rd party accounting , 4^th party auditing , stress tests , separation of ownership & management for large loan exposures, risk checks by a 5^th auditor, whistle blower protection etc. Courts & RBI must take Netajis & Babujis out of banking & leave it to professionals.

The Supreme Court has given the RBI a ‘last opportunity’ to provide details under the Right to Information Act of the top 100 defaulters. The Congress accused the government of influencing the RBI to withhold the defaulters’ list and audit reports on the co-operative institutions in Gujarat. Under this regime, non-performing assets (NPAs) of scheduled commercial banks rose from 2.5 lakh crore to 10.36 lakh crore from March 2014 to March 2018, that is five times in four years, says the Congress. “The RBI was working on the directions of the government. Mr. Modi wants to protect his capitalist friends,” adds Congress.

 “Why is the RBI not disclosing these details? Why is the government of India not giving a directive to the RBI to disclose the same. Is it because Modi has much to hide? Nobody is asking for the defaulters to be sent to jail but the applicant is only asking for names,” concluded the Congress spokesperson.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood Films that excelled in box-office in China – Part 3 (Bajrangi Bhaijaan)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Bollywood Films that excelled in box-office in China – Part 3

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

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China has become a big market for Bollywood films and almost every big film that hits the theatres in India is released there to gain more profits as the country has proved to be quite beneficial for the makers. Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan has impressed the audience in China to the extent that they have made some big bucks at the cash counters there. Here’s an account of the extent to which Bajrangi Bhaijaan pulled the audience to the theatres in huge numbers in China.

This Salman Khan starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan directed by Kabir Khan had an extremely emotional and endearing plot. A young mute girl finds herself lost in India after she misses her train after which a young spirited man took the task of taking her back to Pakistan on himself. The film definitely did great in India but it went on to break big records at the box-office in China. Its box-office collection in China was Rs 295.76 crore.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan (transl. Brother Bajrangi) is an Indian comedy-drama film written and directed by Kabir Khan, co-written by K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and Parveez Sheikh, and produced by Salman Khan and Rockline Venkatesh. It stars Salman Khan and Harshaali Malhotra in leading roles, with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Kareena Kapoor Khan in supporting roles. Salman Khan plays Bajrangi, an ardent devotee of Hindu deity Hanuman, who embarks on a journey to take a mute six-year-old Pakistani Muslim girl, separated in India from her parents, back to her hometown in Pakistan.

Made on a budget of ₹90 crore (US$13 million), the principal photography commenced in November 2014. The cinematography was done by Aseem Mishra and was edited by Rameshwar S. Bhagat. Julius Packiam composed the film score while the songs featured in the film were composed by Pritam.

The film received critical acclaim, holding a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film grossed ₹969 crore ($150 million) worldwide, and is currently the third highest-grossing Indian film and second highest-grossing Bollywood film. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 63rd National Film Awards, and was nominated for four awards at the 61st Filmfare Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Story. It was also nominated for Best Foreign Film in China's 2015 Douban Film Awards.

Release in China

Bajrangi Bhaijaan was released on 17 July 2015, one day before Eid, on 4,500 screens in India and 1,000 screens in overseas respectively. The film was also released in 50 countries outside India, on more than 700 screens. Bajrangi Bhaijaan premiered at the 20th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) on 6 October 2015.

In November 2017, it was announced that Bajrangi Bhaijaan was set to release in China, following the success of Aamir Khan's Dangal (2016) in the country. In December 2017, it was announced the film would release there in 2018. Prior to the announcement, Bajrangi Bhaijaan had a cult following in China, where it has an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 on the popular film site Douban, with over 70,000 votes. It placed fourth on Douban's list of top foreign movies of 2015. Bajrangi Bhaijaan will be released in China under the title 小萝莉的猴神大叔 which roughly translates as "Little Lolita's Monkey God Uncle"; "monkey god" is a rough translation of "Bajrangi" while "little lolita" and "uncle" reference the characters. The Chinese version will also be cut down in length to 140 minutes. The film released in China on 2 March 2018. In January 2018, it was announced that the film will be getting a wide release, on 8,000 screens in China, building on the Chinese box office success of Aamir Khan's Dangal and Secret Superstar (2017), and Bajrangi Bhaijaan's positive word-of-mouth. On 6 February 2018, the film had advance screenings in 29 Chinese cities, receiving a positive reception from audiences. It also had a limited preview on 25 February 2018. The film's China premiere on 27 February 2018 was attended by Kabir Khan and Harshali Malhotra. Its release date of 2 March 2018 marks the Lantern Festival, which celebrates families coming together.

It was released in Turkey on 17 August 2018 on 190 screens. In the first weekend it grossed approx $89,796 with a spectator count of 8,389. The film released in Japan on 18 January 2019, with the title "バジュランギおじさんと、小さな迷子" (Bajurangi ojisan to, chīsana maigo), which translates as "Uncle Bajrangi and a small lost child".

Box office in China

In China, on its opening day of 2 March 2018, the film grossed US$2.29 million, debuting at number seven on the daily China box office. This is the fourth-highest opening for an Indian film in China, after Secret Superstar ($6.97 million), Hindi Medium ($3.68 million) and Dangal ($2.55 million), while Bajrangi Bhaijaan also crossed the lifetime China gross of 3 Idiots (2009). On its second day, Bajrangi Bhaijaan grossed $3.11 million, entering the top five, with a two-day gross of $5.36 million. It grossed another $3.13 million in its third day, giving it an opening weekend gross of $9 million It is the third-highest opening weekend for an Indian film, behind only Secret Superstar and Dangal, and it has become the highest-grossing Indian film not starring Aamir Khan. The successful opening weekend of Bajrangi Bhaijaan has been attributed to strong word of mouth, generated by high audience ratings such as 8.6 on Douban and 9.7 on Maoyan.

On the 14th day of its release, the film grossed $1.13 million and became the first Indian movie not featuring Aamir Khan to gross more than ₹200 crore in the Chinese market, grossing $31.12 million up until then. In 31 days, the film had a cumulative gross of $48 million (₹313 crore). The film's audiences were about 60% female and 40% male, and the majority were in the 20–34 age group. It surpassed Star Wars: The Last Jedi to become the seventh highest-grossing film in China during the first quarter of 2018, behind only Hindi film Secret Superstar and several Hollywood films including Black Panther and Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Don’t violate accuser’s fundamental rights' that was published in Newsband

Don’t violate accuser’s fundamental rights

The complaint against CJI has rocked the Supreme Court. Justice (retired) A.K. Patnaik has made the right decision by choosing to wait for the end of the in-house inquiry into a former woman employee’s complaint of sexual harassment by the CJI and subsequent victimisation, before starting his work. An in-house committee headed by Justice S.A. Bobde will look into the complaint of the dismissed woman court assistant.

Mr. Bains has alleged he was offered up to ₹1.50 crore by someone to file a false complaint against the CJI. In fact, it is alleged that 1.5 crore was offered not by someone but the relative of the women.

Clearly, the complaint of sexual harassment should get priority. It is only if the complaint is found to be false that there will be a case to probe whether it was part of a plot to malign the CJI, or a conspiracy.

The conduct of the SC must be only according to the laws of the land, SC's own past rulings and guidelines on sexual harassment issues.

It doesn't matter that the employee is no longer in service. The utterances of the CJI himself, his hurry in forming a three-judge bench with himself at its head, the comments made against the accuser by this bench, the direction to the 'press' to be 'responsible' in carrying related news etc. have been violative of the fundamental rights of the accuser.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood Films that excelled in box-office in China – Part 2 (Secret Superstar)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Bollywood Films that excelled in box-office in China – Part 2

Secret Superstar

By Dinesh Kamath

China has become a big market for Bollywood films and almost every big film that hits the theatres in India is released there to gain more profits as the country has proved to be quite beneficial for the makers. Movie ‘Secret Superstar’ directed by Advait Chandan impressed the audience in China to the extent that they have made some big bucks at the cash counters there. In fact the Box-office collection in China is Rs 831.47 crore.

Secret Superstar was made on a low budget and the film went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2017. Though the film did well in the Indian market, it surpassed some big names at the box-office in China. The film starred Aamir Khan, Zahira Wasim and Meher Vij in crucial parts. A story about an ambitious young girl, Insia, who wants to become a singer struck a chord with millions of people. The young girl faces opposition from her father but undeterred, she strives to follow her passion by anonymously posting her songs on the Internet. Well, this one was definitely a surprise hit and came as a breath of fresh air.

Secret Superstar is a 2017 Indian musical drama film, written and directed by Advait Chandan, and produced by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao. The film stars Zaira Wasim, Meher Vij, Raj Arjun and Aamir Khan. The film tells the coming-of-age story of a teenage girl who aspires to be a singer, uploading videos on YouTube while disguising her identity with a niqab, and her relationships with her mother, father and mentor. The film deals with social issues including feminism, gender equality and domestic violence.

The film received positive reviews from critics. Wasim won the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement. Secret Superstar received ten nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Chandan, Best Actress for Wasim, and Best Supporting Actor for Khan. It won three Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress (Critics) for Wasim, Best Supporting Actress for Vij, and Best Playback Singer (Female) for Meghna Mishra.

Secret Superstar became one of the most profitable films of all time, grossing ₹965 crore ($154 million) worldwide on a limited budget of ₹15 crore (US$2.1 million), with over 6,000% return on investment (ROI). It is also the highest-grossing Indian film featuring a female protagonist, the highest-grossing 2017 Hindi film, the third highest-grossing Indian film worldwide, and the second highest-grossing Indian film overseas. In China, it is the fifth highest-grossing foreign film of 2018, and the second highest-grossing non-English foreign film ever (after Dangal). Its opening weekend in China had the highest single-territory weekend gross for a 2017 Hindi film, entering the worldwide weekend box office at number-two, with the highest single-territory gross that weekend.

Release in China

Aamir Khan announced in late October 2017 that he would be planning to release Secret Superstar in China over the next one or two months. The film released in China on 19 January 2018.[54][55] It is the first Indian film to have a revenue-sharing deal, which is usually reserved for big Hollywood films. Khan's share of Chinese box office revenue will be 25%, compared to his 12.5% share for Dangal. Secret Superstar was released on 11,000 screens in China.

Secret Superstar's China premiere was in Beijing on 16 January 2018, and was attended by director Advait Chandan, actress Zaira Wasim, and singer Meghna Mishra. Khan could not attend, but planned to visit China shortly after the film's release. The premiere was also attended by Chinese filmmakers such as Peter Chan, Tsai Yueh Hsun, Daming Chen, and Zhang Jiajia, and Chinese actors such as the Luu Brothers. The film's reception at the premiere was positive, which includes Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan calling it his second-favourite Indian film after 3 Idiots (2009), and writer-director Zhang Jiajia being impressed with the film's theme of empowering women to pursue their dreams. Upon release, the film was promoted with a manhua comic featuring Aamir Khan with the same title as the film.

Khan began his tour of China on 22 January 2018, and was greeted by film star Deng Chao upon arrival. He visited Shanghai, where he was welcomed by large crowds of fans. He then visited Beijing, where he attended the "Red Carpet for Aamir Khan and His Friends" event with Chandan and Wasim, then the Chinese-Indian Film Forum, and the film's press conference. The Chinese-Indian Film Forum, held by CCTV, was attended by a number of Chinese directors, stars, and film critics, including Chinese filmmaker Yu Baimei and Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Tong, as well as former Olympic champion Liu Guoliang with whom Khan played a competitive ping pong (table tennis) match. Khan was also greeted by actor-singer Huang Bo, as well as other film stars including Liu Yifei[70] and Jackie Chan in video messages.

Box office in China

In China, the film earned US$9.9 million (₹43 crore) in ticket presales by 15 January 2018. Upon release on 19 January 2018, Secret Superstar topped the Chinese box office with a 25.3% market share, followed by Zhang Ziyi starrer Forever Young with a 16% share. By the end of its opening day, Secret Suparstar had grossed US$7.03 million (₹46 crore), surpassing Dangal's US$2.35 million opening to become the biggest debut for an Indian film. The film grossed US$11 million on its second day, remaining at the top of the box office. Its initial two-day gross in China was US$18 million (₹117 crore) by 20 January 2018, surpassing the film's lifetime India gross, as well as surpassing Dangal's initial two-day China gross of ₹44.97 crore (US$6.3 million).

Secret Superstar's opening weekend gross was US$29.2 million (₹200 crore), after its show count rose from 56,000 screenings on Friday to 63,000 on Sunday. It topped the Chinese box office in its opening weekend, despite crowded competition, from Chinese films such as Forever Young and A Better Tomorrow 2018 as well as Hollywood films such as Ferdinand, Wonder, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Secret Superstar's opening weekend gross in China more than doubled its lifetime gross in India. It set the record for the highest opening weekend gross for an Indian film in China, surpassing Dangal, and is the second Indian film in less than a year to top the Chinese box office, after Dangal. Secret Superstar also became the second-highest-grossing Indian film in China, surpassing PK and behind only Dangal. Secret Superstar's weekend gross in China is also the highest single-territory weekend gross for a 2017 Hindi film, surpassing the opening-weekend India gross of Tiger Zinda Hai (₹175 crore) and the Hindi version of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (₹128 crore).

In four days, the film grossed $33 million (₹215 crore) in China. On its fifth day, its daily show count increased to over 64,000 screenings, and it gained a 33.7% market share of the Chinese box office. In six days, the film grossed $43 million, surpassing the lifetime China gross of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Secret Superstar's first-week gross in China was $47.1 million (₹307 crore), a record for an Indian film and surpassing the first-week gross of Avatar (2009) in China. On its second Friday, new Hollywood release Maze Runner: The Death Cure took the top spot, before Secret Superstar regained the top spot on Sunday, grossing $20 million in its second weekend. It crossed the ₹400 crore milestone within nine days, and beat Maze Runner to top the weekly box office with $41 million, giving a cume of $70 million grossed in ten days by 28 January 2018, compared to Dangal which grossed ₹417 crore (US$58 million) in two weeks. Secret Superstar grossed $77 million in 13 days, surpassing the lifetime China gross of Dwayne Johnson starrer Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle to become China's highest-grossing foreign film in the first quarter of 2018. In two weeks, Secret Superstar grossed $80 million.

It topped the box office again in its third weekend with $12 million, beating seven new releases, including Hugh Jackman starrer The Greatest Showman, Chinese films Till the End of The World and Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink, and Japanese film Miracles of the Namiya General Store. Secret Superstar also topped the weekly chart again with $26 million, giving a cume of $96 million grossed in 17 days by 4 February 2018. The film remained at the top of the box office in its fourth weekend with $8.7 million, and it topped the weekly box office again with $19 million. As of 18 February 2018, the film's China gross is $124.4 million (₹810 crore), from an audience of 25 million viewers. It was China's third-highest-grossing film in the first quarter of 2018, behind only two domestic productions, and one of the top 70 highest-grossing films ever in China. It also surpassed Japanese anime film Your Name to become the second-highest-grossing non-English foreign film ever in China, after Dangal, and the third-highest-grossing non-English foreign film in any market, after Dangal in China and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) in North America. Secret Superstar was also the highest-grossing foreign film in China during the first quarter of 2018, ahead of Hollywood films including Black Panther, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Tomb Raider, Maze Runner: The Death Cure and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'The country must know the truth' that was published in Newsband

The country must know the truth

The Supreme Court appointed its former judge, Justice A.K. Patnaik to probe whether a conspiracy is afoot against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi. He is tasked to unearth whether the CJI is the target of a larger intrigue hatched by a powerful lobby of fixers, disgruntled apex court employees and corporate figures to compromise the highest judiciary itself.

The enquiry would primarily focus on material and affidavits provided by lawyer Utsav Singh Bains. Justice Patnaik would test Mr. Bains' claim that He was offered up to Rs. 1.5 crore to file a false case against the CJI.

"This country must know the truth. The Supreme Court cannot be run by money power or political power. When somebody tries to clean up the system, he is killed or maligned. This will stop," Justice Mishra said. “What do the powerful of this country think? That they can run this court?” Justice Mishra's voice boomed at one stage across the thickly-packed but silent courtroom.

Focus should be on truth and solution not on debate or arguments. Magnifying the issue turns to be more complex. Fair and rational outcome is expected from the ex-judge. 1. The malaise is deep rooted and structural. Justices come and go, but the malaise remains. 2. Why did the court wake up only after CJI was named? Why Ambani judgement did not evoke such an interest? 3. This is true of entire judicial system. One man commission would not do. 4. Courts appear to be overawed by litigants' ingenuity. Didn't 'national security' force them to accept 'closed' information and 'redacted audit reports' as gospel truths? 5. One takeaway is that the Central investigative agencies and police are no more dependable.Time we wake up.

Many allegations are there in the public and it is like any one can make allegations. Stringent actions shall be taken against these people if the allegations are proved incorrect. Due to this huge number of cases, real criminals are hiding back. Why this is happening? It is because there are so many judges in judiciary who are in one way or other connected to politicians or big-wigs for their personal happiness.  So the public has lost faith to the max extent on the integrity of judges and their delayed judgments in many cases.  When such is the situation in Indian Judiciary, any foul cry will not be accepted by the public as honesty has already laid to rest and has become a past one in judiciary.   

In this case, what happened?  A complaint against the CJI. The CJI   sets up a bench in which he rubbishes the allegations and then recuses himself. Even more peculiar that a senior cabinet minister, the AG, the BCI and others promptly support one side without even any preliminary enquiry into the complaint against the CJI, nor hearing the complainant. Then Mr Bains suddenly appearing out of the woodwork with astounding allegations. Will the truth ever come out? The suspense is increasing. The nation wants to know. 

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood Films that excelled in box-office in China – Part 1 (Dangal)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Bollywood Films that excelled in box-office in China – Part 1 (Dangal)

By Dinesh Kamath

China has become a big market for Bollywood films. Aamir Khan’s Dangal has impressed the audience in China. Movie Dangal’s box-office collection in China – Rs 1400 crore approx. The film was directed by Nitesh Tiwari.

Based on a true story, Aamir Khan portrays the role of Mahavir Singh Phogat who fulfills his dream of winning a gold medal for his country through his daughters. Aamir played a former wrestler in the film who trains his daughters to grow up to become strong wrestlers. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra essayed the role of his daughters and gained a lot of love post the film’s release as their performances were spectacular. Not just in India, the film did extremely well globally. And in China it has become the highest earning Bollywood film of all time.

Dangal ('Wrestling competition') is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Aamir Khan, under his studio Aamir Khan Productions with UTV Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures India. The film is loosely based on the Phogat family, telling the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a pehlwani amateur wrestler, who trains his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to become India's first world-class female wrestlers. Aamir Khan stars as Mahavir Singh Phogat, while Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra portray the adult versions of the two Phogat sisters, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar their younger versions, Sakshi Tanwar their mother, and Aparshakti Khurana their cousin.

The development of the film began in early 2013 when Tiwari began writing the screenplay. In 2014, Khan had invited and interviewed the Phogat sisters on his talk show Satyamev Jayate, before Tiwari approached him with the script months later, after which Khan became the lead actor and producer. Set primarily in the Indian State of Haryana, principal photography commenced in September 2015 in the neighbouring Punjab. Satyajit Pande served as the cinematographer and Ballu Saluja as the editor. Pritam scored the film's background music and for its soundtrack, lyrics for which were written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, a coach with the Indian women's wrestling team, trained Khan and the cast for the wrestling sequences.

After a North American premiere on 21 December 2016, Dangal was released worldwide on 23 December and received positive reviews from critics; praise centered on the film's "honest" depiction of a real-life story and Khan's performance. It was also screened at the Beijing International Film Festival in April 2017 and second BRICS festival in June 2017. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, it won four awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Khan) and Best Action (Shyam). At the 64th National Film Awards, Wasim won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Geeta's younger self. Overseas, Dangal won the inaugural Best Asian Film award at Australia's 7th AACTA Awards, 2017's Best Foreign Film and Top Foreign Actor (for Aamir Khan) from China's Douban Film Awards, and two Jackie Chan Action Movie Awards, and was nominated in the Asian Brilliant Stars category at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.

The film was a record-breaking commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film ever, the fifth highest grossing non-English film ever, and the highest-grossing sports film worldwide. Produced on a budget of ₹70 crore (US$9.7 million), the film grossed ₹2,125.3 crore (US$330 million)[7] worldwide, including $216.2 million in China, becoming one of the country's top 20 highest-grossing films and the highest-grossing non-English foreign film in China. The film has also been watched more than 400 million times on Chinese streaming platforms.

China

In China, a nation where Indian films were rarely shown, it became the highest grossing Indian film. It was initially released in six Chinese cities and on Youku under the Chinese title 摔跤吧!爸爸 (pinyin: Shuāijiāo ba bàba, "Let's Wrestle, Father"). It grossed US$2.48 million on opening day, and grossed $14.5 million in just three days from theatrical release. The collections totaled to ₹300 crore at the end of day nine from release, taking the overall collections past ₹1,000 crore, becoming second Indian film to reach the mark.

In its second week, it emerged as the number one film in the country, outselling Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 by US$15 million according to China's film ticketing portal Maoyan, with collections totaling to over US$84 million (₹544 crore) by the end of 15 days. In the process, it beat the record held by the 2016 Japanese anime film Your Name for the highest grossing foreign-language non-Hollywood film in China. It held the number one position for the second consecutive week taking the overall collections past ₹1,500 crore. As the film neared its one-month run, it had a cumulative gross equal to 70 times its opening day figure, breaking the record set by Zootopia (2016), following which the Chinese government gave the film a "rare extension" beyond the typical 30-day window. As of 4 July 2017, Dangal had a cumulative China gross 87 times its opening day haul and 15 times its debut weekend, having been number one for 16 consecutive days and in the top three for 34 straight days, and out-lasting and out-grossing heavily marketed Hollywood movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Life, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Wonder Woman and Alien: Covenant. When its worldwide gross reached ₹1,930 crore on 11 June 2017, it became the fifth highest-grossing non-English film of all time. As of July 2017, Dangal has grossed about ¥1.3 billion ($192 million) in China. Its overseas gross in China more than doubled its domestic gross in India. In China, Dangal became one of the top 20 highest-grossing films of all time, the 8th highest-grossing foreign film, had the most consecutive days with a ¥10 million ($1 million) gross (surpassing the 30 days of Transformers: Age of Extinction) and $1 million gross (38 days), was the highest-grossing film in May 2017 (ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), and is the year's second highest-grossing foreign film (after The Fate of the Furious). In the month of May, Dangal drew 35 million viewers at the Chinese box office. In 52 days, the film had 44,897,623 admissions at the Chinese box office. Aamir Khan's earnings from Dangal is estimated to be ₹300 crore (US$42 million), one of the highest paydays for a non-Hollywood actor. By the end of its run in China, its final gross there was ¥1,299.12 million, equivalent to $216.2 million (₹1,400 crore). This was about 86 times its opening day gross, a record in China's box office history.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Unprecedented case involving CJI' that was published in Newsband

Unprecedented case involving CJI

Over 250 women lawyers and academics made an appeal to the apex court for a fair probe on the allegations of sexual harassment raised by a former employee against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. A three-member committee of Supreme Court judges, comprising Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice Indira Banerjee, was formed to look into the allegations. An affidavit was submitted by the aggrieved woman to the 22 judges of the Hon'ble Supreme Court detailing the sexual harassment faced by her from none less than the Chief Justice of India. The 29 pages-long affidavit

The administrative persecution both by way of termination of employment, and registration of criminal cases against her and her family members came upon her when she rejected the sexual advances made by the Chief Justice. Equally worrisome was the response of the Chief Justice: apart from denying the charges, he constituted a Special Bench along with two other Judges at 10.30 am to hear a matter of “great public importance touching upon the independence of judiciary”. In short, he constituted a Bench to hear his own case.

The Chief Justice of India as well as the Special Bench have responded as most men, in public office or in positions of authority and power do, when accused of sexual misconduct. Denial of the allegations, maligning the complainant, citing past histories, imputing ulterior motives to the complainant are familiar and regular devices deployed by accused men. Equally common is the undertaking of vindictive measures including administrative harassment and suits of defamation against complainants.

The Bar Council of India has rubbished the complaint as an attempt to malign the Judiciary and termed it politically motivated that too in the absence of a duly conducted investigation or enquiry.

The women lawyers have demanded the following: A Special Enquiry Committee consisting of credible individuals be constituted, the Special Enquiry Committee should follow the norms of the IC, the Chief Justice of India should refrain from transacting official duties and responsibilities until the completion of the enquiry, the Complainant should be allowed legal assistance from lawyer of her choice and the enquiry should be completed within 90 days as stated in the law.

It is heartening to see the list of 250 highly concerned women lawyers and academics of the country who are extremely worried about the alleged sexual harassment faced by a former SC employee. These are the bright stars of the judiciary who can really protect the women's rights and the constitution of India.

A committee of high powered women leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Mamta Banerjee, Brinda Karat, Mayawati and possibly a prominent member of a Media house should lead the team on behalf of the Citizens and investigate this charge thoroughly.  If needed a JPC should be set up and guilty be punished.

However, the unprecedented charge against the hon'ble Chief Justice of the apex court has really taken the whole of nation by shock and surprise. But ultimately, what is imperative is to ensure a free and fair probe to assess the veracity of the charges.

There should be a fair probe against CJI and if found guilty should be tried as ordinary citizen as no one is over and above law  but if CJI comes pure and seems that It was just to vindicate him by the power of money for some favorable Judgement  than all those involved in this big Game of undermining Judiciary should be mutilated or  hanged openly for teaching  a lesson for ever to all those spreading lies and Fake news for small political or economic gains .This sentence should also be on these ladies if it is  found that all those supporting probe including Judges are a part of this game

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (3 Dev and Tarpan) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

3 Dev

3 Dev is an Indian Hindi comedy film written and directed by Ankoosh Bhatt. The film stars Karan Singh Grover, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Ravi Dubey, Tisca Chopra and Raima Sen in the prominent roles while Arya, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Kay Kay Menon in the supportive roles. The film is bankrolled by Chitan Rana of R2 Phillum Productions and cinematography for the film is handled by Soni Singh. The Bollywood musical duo Sajid-Wajid have been roped into compose and score music for the film.

All Indians are generally superstition dominated, where people strongly rely on God to resolve the problems or issues that are beyond them. This is where beliefs and superstitions come into the picture. But what is really superstition or belief or God? The movie is a knock to the superstitious belief in our country. In a widely superstitious country like India, people rely on God to guide them out of problems that are beyond them. But, what exactly is God?

The film has Karan Singh Grover as Vishnu, Kunaal Roy Kapur as Mahesh/Shiva, Ravi Dubey as Brahma, Priya Banerjee as Vani, Poonam Kaur as Radha, Raima Sen as Bhairavi, Kay Kay Menon as Shanu, Tisca Chopra as Savitri, Prosenjit Chatterjee as Professor, Kay Kay Menon as Satyavan, Arya as Thenomozhi and Pooja Bose as an item number "Ban Dance Mein Kutta".

The film titled as 3 Dev depicts and implies the three main gods in Hinduism namely Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. The tagline of the film is Undercover Bhagwan. The role of Vishnu is played by Karan Singh Grover, the role of Brahma is played by Ravi Dubey and the role of Shiva is played by Kunaal Roy Kapur in the film.

All songs of the film were scored by duo Sajid-Wajid and lyrics are penned by Kausar Munir. The film has songs like "Nikkamma" and "Ban Dance Mein Kutta".

Tarpan

Tarpan is a film directed by Neelam R Singh, produced by Neelam Singh and written by Shivmurti.

The movie is about Social Unjustice. The word ‘TARPAN’ is derived from the root word ‘Trupt’ meaning to satisfying others. Tarpan literally means offering water to God.  Sages, souls of ancestors to satisfy them through it. The story of the film – Tarpan deals with this sensitive subject and treats it with a difference. A young girl Rajpatiya of lower caste is molested by a Brahmin, upper-caste boy Chander. The issue quickly gets political mileage and predictably, Chander gets bail and other benefits that accompany lack of witness in the case. The girl’s brother, in the process of saving the life of local politician, hits Chander. He is convinced by the local politician to slice off the nose of the boy accused… an ultimate insult… the perfect revenge. Girl’s brother gets provoked and slices off the nose of Chander...but the girl’s father claims responsibility and accepts the blame of slicing off the nose of the accused. It’s a significant event where a Dalit has taken classic revenge. Though the father pretends that he is saving his son. He actually chases the glory of getting his name mentioned in the newspapers and being the pioneer who engineered the plot to slice off the nose of the accused and successfully executed it. The father claims that it is his Tarpan… his offering to his previous generations who have suffered for no fault of theirs.

The film has Rahul Chahan, Arun Shekhar, Sanjay Kumar, Nand Kishore Pant, Padamja Rai, Nilam Kumari, Lalit Jogi, Vandana Asthana and Poonam Ingle.

Music is by Manoj Nayan.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'What is AAP trying?' that was published in Newsband

What is AAP trying?

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants to defeat the BJP and therefore wants to make an alliance with the Congress. But his AAP will have alliance with Congress if and only if it covers Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh. If the Congress does not concede seats in Haryana and Chandigarh, AAP’s second choice is to go for a triangular contest in Delhi, which will certainly benefit the BJP.

AAP’s position that a Congress-JJP-AAP alliance in Haryana will wipe out the BJP may well be true. The RJD and the Congress have an alliance in Bihar and Jharkhand. There is SP-BSP-RLD alliance in UP. All these alliances are to put up the best possible fight against the BJP. The very logic of alliance is that you make it where and when it is possible.

AAP cares more about the Assembly election than seven Lok Sabha seats. If Kejriwal wants a second term, he needs to consolidate all non-BJP votes. By making a lot of noise about forming a common front against the BJP he is building an argument that it is the Congress, and not AAP, that did not let the coalition form.

AAP voter base in Delhi was carved out of Congress support base. AAP has little support in BJP’s committed base. And AAP came into existence on anti-Congress plank. AAP’s support base remains anti-Congress. Arvind Kejriwal is unable to get his supporters to agree to Congress alliance in Delhi without showing gains elsewhere. In a sense, this is payback time for Arvind Kejriwal for his virulent anti-Congress postures in 2013.

India and its concerned voters are not the slaves of any political parties, so when question comes of safety of the  country and its constitution, without a word the political parties should join hands to defeat anti-humanity, anti-country and anti-constitution

AAP and Congress should arrive at an understanding in Delhi on the basis of their strength in different pockets of Delhi. Why is AAP trying to ride on the Congress’ shoulder in other states? It is obviously because Congress is a very old party and has a footprint all over India, and hence AAP wants readymade foothold all over India.

Lastly, if the objective of a party is "to weaken the BJP", instead of serving the people, contributing to their welfare and taking them on the road to progress, one wonders why anyone would vote for them, or the parties that are trying desperately to form alliances with them.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Manoj Joshi had to struggle a lot before achieving success in Bollywood' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Manoj Joshi had to struggle a lot before achieving success in Bollywood

By Dinesh Kamath

Manoj Joshi has enjoyed 20-year-long prolific acting career in theatre, television and films. He is a Padma Shri awardee. Some of the popular Bollywood films he has worked in include Sarfarosh, Devdas, Vivaah, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Judwaa 2. His struggle in Bollywood started in the 1990s when he wanted to branch out to films from theatre. He was not a star kid and hence it was impossible for him to start as a hero. He had to begin as a character actor at a young age.

He began by visiting studios with his photoshoot. This did not help. One director, in fact, ook the pictures and put them in the dustbin in front of him. This shocked him to such an extent that he stopped going with photoshoot and so he began to attend audition tests directly and impress the directors with his acting prowess in front of their eyes.

This way, Manoj Joshi started getting roles after roles. Today he has reached the level where this 53-year-old actor was seen as BJP leader Amit Shah in Omung Kumar’s controversial biopic PM Narendra Modi.

Manoj Joshi shot to fame with Sarfarosh. He has played a cop, done comic roles, portrayed historical characters and experimented with grey shades, too. While playing whichever role, Manoj managed to impress the audiences with his acting prowess and create a lasting impression. After working for almost two decades, Manoj was also honoured with Padma Shri last year.

Actually, Manoj Joshi was spotted by Sarfarosh (1999) director John Matthew Matthan, who gave him a break in Bollywood. John had come to watch one of his plays where he was playing Mahatma Gandhi’s son Harilal Gandhi. After seeing his performance, he offered him a cop’s role in the film. Initially, Manoj Joshi was sceptical, but he was impressed and decided to give it a shot. After that there was no looking back for him.

Manoj Joshi today is known to his fans as an Indian film and television actor of Gujarati origin. After graduating from Sir J.J. School of Arts, he began his career in Marathi theatre, also putting up performances in Gujarati and Hindi theatre. He has also acted in over 60 films since 1998, many of his roles being comedy.

He acted in TV series including Chanakya, Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, Rau (Marathi), Sangdil, Kabhi Souten Kabhi Saheli, Khichdi, Mura Raska Mai La (Marathi). He debuted in Sarfarosh (SI Bajju) alongside his brother who played Bala Thakur in the film. His other works include the film Hungama followed by Hulchul, Dhoom, Bhagam Bhag, Phir Hera Pheri, Chup Chup Ke, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, and Billo Barber. He has also portrayed Chanakya in Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat.

In 2018, Joshi was awarded with the Padma Shri.

His father is Navneet Joshi, and his younger brother Rajesh Joshi was an actor too. Rajesh died in 1998. Manoj Joshi's native place is Adpodara village near Himatnagar in north Gujarat, but he has spent most of his childhood in Goregaon, near Mahad Konkan in Maharashtra. His wife Charu Joshi, is also a producer, and they have two children named Rudra Joshi and Dharmaj Joshi, who are now working in the same industry.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'This time terror attack in Sri Lanka' that was published in Newsband

This time terror attack in Sri Lanka

The serial blasts on Easter Sunday rank as the worst bloodbath Sri Lanka has seen. Some say that it could be the handiwork of a local Islamist radical group. As many as 290 people are dead, and nearly 500 wounded in multiple blasts, a few of them involving suicide bombers. All these suggest that the bombings were aimed at gaining maximum global attention.

The most immediate impact will be on the economy. Reports that specific overseas intelligence inputs were not taken seriously has made President Maithripala Sirisena to order an enquiry. He tried to address the concern voiced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The administration has done a good job by preventing the spread of rumours and any backlash against sections of society. They have sought to deny the group any immediate ideological mileage and any claim to putative martyrdom by not identifying the group involved. Everyone is trying to guage the extent to which the shadow of the Islamic State is falling on the South Asian region.

India, especially TN has to be extremely careful, for, the latter is the closest neighbor of Sri Lanka. The State and Central Intelligence have to be extremely alert against the menace of rumour mongering through social media. Adequate and fool proof security must be provided round the clock to crowded places and places of worship of all faiths throughout the country. Every individual has a societal responsibility to maintain peace and harmony by remaining ever vigilant. The lack of open mind in the local investigations with intention to save the miscreants and target the groups they wish have committed the crime should be eschewed at least now with hinted involvement of another minority organisation. These are dangerous trends.

The free movement of the drug mafia is another curse the country is facing with reported active support from those with authority, political and otherwise, and it has not been brought under control. Emerging from the deadly war the country is yet to learn its lessons seen by discerning observers but not those who should.

The nation seems to have paid heavy price for not taking intelligence reports seriously. The incident might affect several sectors of the ecoñomy including the tourist arrivals. Immediate steps need to be taken to instill confidence among the foreign investors in particular. The neighboring nations such as India should help Sri Lanka for its further growth.

As per international media report, India has provided advance warnings to Sri Lanka about NTJ terror group as late as April 4th. However, President Sirisena's office failed to communicate the same to PM or take actions against the terrorists. It seems SL security services knew the terror members as they have arrested close to 30 NJT members soon after.

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 5 (Paltan)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 5

Paltan

Director JP Dutta’s movie ‘Paltan’ tried to prove that wars are exercises in futility. The viewers found it to be a tepid war drama. It spoke about a skirmish between India and China and how a battalion of Indian soldiers saved the day. The movie has Arjun Rampal, Sonu Sood, Harshvardhan Rane, Gurmeet Choudhry, Luv Sinha and Siddhant Kapoor. The film was dramatic and jingoistic.

Paltan (transl. Platoon) is a 2018 Indian war film written, directed and produced by J. P. Dutta, based on 1967 Nathu La and Cho La clashes along the Sikkim border after 1962 Sino-Indian War. It stars an ensemble cast with Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, Sonu Sood, Harshvardhan Rane, Esha Gupta, Sonal Chauhan and many more. The film was theatrically released on 7 September 2018.

Reception

The film received generally average to poor reviews. Audience and critics found the film's execution largely ineffective for a war film with caricature characters and extremely long runtime. Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India gave it 3/5 stars calling it a long-drawn war-drama that picks up only during the final moments.

What ails JP Dutta’s Paltan? The filmmaker depicted chest-thumping patriotism and genuine heartfelt emotion to prove that any war was futile.

The film is based on a 1967 skirmish between Indian and Chinese troops near the Sikkim border. The movie is a two-and-a-half hour slog.

The movie has comical Jackie Shroff, playing a Major General with the sort of English accent which is weird. Arjun Rampal plays Lieutenant Colonel with protecting the Nathu La Pass from possible Chinese penetration. Then there are bravehearts and hotheads like Sonu Sood, Harshvardhan Rane and Gurmeet Choudhary who speak exclusively in slogans. All these characters get emotional flashback scenes involving elderly parents, loving partners, or innocent children. The enemy is always sneaky and resorts to dishonorable actions. Paltan features the most comical villains.

In the end Paltan is too long and boring. The big war scene – all sound and fury – is saved for the film’s climax. The entire film is based on tried-and-tested formula. The film got a tired feel to it.

The finale is uninspiring on many counts. The characters seen across the large ensemble cast are predictable. You leave the theatre somewhat wondering what the fuss was all about. Some scenes are very blurry and unimpressive.

Dutta also fails to dish out anything special when highlighting how personal lives get affected after a soldier's death. In vPaltan, no one comes out determined to break their acting sterotype. All this makes the film length of 170 minutes turgid at times.

Sitting through JP Dutta's poorly enacted, overwritten war film is a battle in itself. The middle 100 minutes are repetitive, poorly enacted, overwritten and unimaginatively directed. In a terribly acted post-script, we see another set of wailing family members, which negates any props Dutta earned with the cross-border battle between Indian and Chinese troops.

Dutta gives some of these men very filmy back-stories, which allows him to take his camera and the viewer away from the stark landscape, where most of the action unfolds, into blander territory. These scenes are superfluous since they do not achieve what they should have. The characters are cardboard cutouts, and the actors are playing versions of toy soldiers. The actors playing the Chinese counterparts resort to glaring and grimacing, which would be fine in Kung Fu Hustle, but not in a serious war drama. Some smart war tactics consist of just finger-pointing and playground provocation. Finally Paltan is tentative even in its jingoism.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Judge and accused' that was published in Newsband

Judge and accused

The allegations of sexual harassment were made by a former employee against the Chief Justice of India. This was taken up by a special Bench constituted by CJI Ranjan Gogoi, comprising himself, Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. There is a separate ‘in-house procedure’ to deal with complaints against judges. Justice Gogoi was one of the four judges who spoke out against the manner in which his predecessor as CJI, Dipak Misra, managed the roster.

The complaint could be baseless and false. The complainant, a former junior court assistant, had made her charge in the form of an affidavit, supported by purported evidence, and sent it to 22 judges of the court. It referred to likely witnesses to the alleged sexual harassment and victimisation.

Reaction of CJI to the complaint may seem to be wrong. If she was the current employee the case could be referred to internal complaints committee. But, we should not care about ex-employee because all ex-s have grudges. If you go on witch-hunting, there would not be any left to do the work as we would be cycling in the vicious circle.

A disturbing trend has been witnessed over the last few years. Eminent judges like Justice AK Ganguly and Justice R Gogoi, who have passed orders on sensitive cases which went against the wishes/interests of a particular powerful political party, have been falsely accused of various charges. Justice Ganguly had presided over the sensational 2G scam case and his orders severely inconvenienced a particular political party. He was charged with a frivolous and baseless allegation of sexual misconduct. The court found no evidence to substantiate the allegations made by the complainant. Yet, the damage to his reputation was severe and he had to resign from the Chairmanship of the WBHRC.

Justice Gogoi's case seems to be headed the same way. Of course, the secular media houses play along as long as their political masters benefit from such controversies and baseless accusations. So this is the writing on the wall. Independence of autonomous institutions are once again at stake to such a level that CJI opted not to form an 'independent' committee. The present threat to the Constitution of India is so serious that he even deviated from one of the tenets of Principle of Natural Justice which mandates that 'no one can be a judge in his own cause.'

But the important thing is that it is baffling that the CJI thought it fit to be the 'judge, jury and executioner' in an alleged and serious sexual assault case in which he himself is the accused. How can the accused, howsoever mighty that person may be, be the lead Judge of the Court Bench and that too the highest court of the land? What sort of a message does that convey?

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 4 (Zero)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World         

Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 4

Zero

The film Zero directed by Aanand L Rai has superstar Shah Rukh Khan playing a dwarf for the first time in his career. The movie also has Katrina Kaif as a troubled Bollywood star Babita Kumari and Anushka Sharma’s cerebral palsy act. But they too could not salvage this film

Zero is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Aanand L. Rai. It was jointly produced by Colour Yellow Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment's Gauri Khan, and stars Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif. It follows Bauua Singh, a short man from Meerut who, after having difficulty finding a marriage partner, finds a companion in Aafia Bhinder, a NSAR (a fictional space research facility) scientist with cerebral palsy. However, film superstar Babita also gets close with him, testing his first relationship. This love triangle takes them to far-off cities, and thrusts Bauua into an adventure to discover both his true love and completeness in a life lived to the fullest.

Produced on a budget of ₹200 crore (US$28 million), Zero is Khan's most expensive film. The film was conceived by Rai in 2012, before pre-production began in 2016. Initially having a working title of Katrina Meri Jaan, Zero went through numerous title changes before arriving at the final title in early 2018. Principal photography of the film began in Mumbai on May 2017. It marked the last film appearance of Sridevi, who died shortly after completing the film. Filming concluded in 2018 in Orlando. The film's soundtrack is composed by Ajay-Atul with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, under the label T-Series.

Zero was released on 21 December 2018, to mixed reviews from critics. Critics particularly praised the film's visual effects and the performances of Khan and Kaif, but the screenplay was criticised for its inconsistency. It earned ₹90.39 crore in India in the first seven days after its release, but was unable to recoup its budget in its theatrical run. Zero earned seven nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards, including Best Music Direction for Ajay-Atul, Best Actor for Khan and Best Supporting Actress for Kaif. Red Chillies VFX won the award for Best Special Effects.

Reception

Critical response

Zero released to mixed reviews from critics. Most agreed that while it aimed high in its intentions, and had a "stellar" cast that gave above-average performances (with praise particularly given to Khan and Kaif), it was "cut short by the resources at hand," and that the second half in particular was "aimless" and "scattered."

Raja Sen of the Hindustan Times gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling the first half of the film "flat-out fantastic, an unabashed charm-offensive," and noting that the writing and dialogues "crackle with spontaneity and inventiveness." Yet he says that when the film outgrows the small town of Meerut, it finds it hard to keep its witty nature along with the ambitious second half; where the film should have "gone bonkers," it takes a melodramatic approach that doesn't work. Sen commends the actors, particularly Sharma's commitment to the role and Khan's tremendous energy. He implies that Khan saves the film with his trademark acting, regardless of the film's writing issues. Swetha Ramakrishnan of Firstpost praised the "ambitious" nature of the film and called it "extremely self-aware," particularly in its first half, crediting it for grounding the plot in warmth. She praised Sharma's "impassioned" role and Kaif's performance as a strong yet vulnerable actress, and commended both actresses for digging into their roles. She also praised Khan's charm and wrote, "You may or may not like the film, but you will most certainly fall in love with Bauua Singh." However, she noted that the second half felt "surreal" and that it was hard to keep up with, saying that it "falls prey to the second-half curse".

Rachit Gupta of The Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying the film had an "inspiring concept" yet was poorly executed. He said that while the film puts forth many ideas, few of them stick and the romantic moments and visuals, while striking, only stay for a little while. The film felt too long and the second half, when Bauua travels out of his hometown, feels more audacious than the first. Yet the positive is that the characters stay upbeat despite their challenges, and the lead actors (particularly Kaif in a striking role) give good performances. Gupta concludes in saying that while the film builds up an exciting story well, it doesn't quite finish it in the way the viewer would anticipate. Ankur Pathak of Huffington Post India praised the performances of the leads, yet says that the film was "weighed down by its own excesses." While the film was ambitious, it was mostly "heightened and exaggerated and hyper-glamorised." He called the main characters excellent, and praised Khan's performance, with Katrina Kaif being "a huge revelation" and acting in ways hitherto unseen. Yet the "starkly different, bizarre visual language of the second half hampers the overall experience of the movie." Despite this, Pathak believes that Khan's performance saves the film and that "although this ride has a few breakdowns, overall, one comes out smiling..." Baradwaj Rangan gave the film 3.5 stars out of five.

Kunal Guha of the Mumbai Mirror gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a "half-baked love story," with an "over-the-top plot" that misses the special touch of Director Rai. He notes that actress Sharma tries too hard to make Aafia believable and often mumbles dialogue, while Kaif is given a meatier emotional role and Khan's energy and attitude comes off as "consistently annoying." He concludes by saying that "the one who signed off on this one was being short-sighted." Shibaji Roychoudhury of Times Now News gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that the film's direction has "strong imprints of Rai's direction," and commended the humor and the "earthy" performances of the main and supporting cast. He noted that Director Rai excelled at creating a 'small-town feel' in the first half, and that initially the film was "fairly well-written and on occasion also relatable." However he noted that the second half attempts fantastic elements which falter; the story takes a while to unwind and "logic goes out of the window." He praised the "convincing" performances of Khan and Sharma, yet called Kaif "wasted" in the film and that Zeeshan Ayyub was "rather underwhelming." He concluded that the writing was the film's weak point - while the plot was established well in the beginning, there was little consistency in the second half. Rajeev Masand of CNN-News18 gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that while the first half was impressive, the ambitious screenplay and ideas were plagued by an "overwrought screenplay" and that the second half that "feels like an entirely different film." He commended the effort of the actors and producers, particularly the acting of Khan; yet noted that the second half becomes undone. He said it seemed as if the writers "threw everything at the wall and decided to see what sticks. Unfortunately, very little does."

Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that it was so "bizarre and implausible and incoherent" despite having "ferociously talented people both in front of the camera and behind it." She says in the second half the "promising premise derails;" while the individual characters are interesting, the "connective tissue between...is so thin that the narrative starts to wobble." She praised the VFX, scope and imaginative feel, but was "sad" that the artistic ambition of the creators wasn't achieved. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, noting that while the impressive acting of the leads and stellar visual effects aided the film, ultimately the screenplay was its undoing and left it a "monumental mess." The plot was undermined by a "slew of whimsicalities that defy logic and an uneven tone that borders on the gratuitously facetious." He notes that while Khan's electric performance powers the film, it never gives the film enough to make sense, noting that the second half "flies too high and too helter-skelter." He commended the physical efforts of Sharma's acting and Kaif's vulnerability, yet felt that the film aimed too high without sensitively portraying the struggles of disabled people.

Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, saying that Shah Rukh Khan is the best part about it, and that without him the film would have little to show; the first half lets the actor have fun to the hilt, while the second tries to take a serious message but fails to deliver properly. She noted that while Zero does not have the misogyny of Rai's previous films, it also "does not know what to do with" its female characters - while commending Bauua's sharp wit and strong character in facing the odds of life. Writer Sharma doesn't know how to write about relatable women - and thus Aafia and Babita come off as "bores." Overall, the film was a "a spluttering, tottering affair." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, giving it a one-word review of "Fiasco." He noted that while he expected much from the collaboration of Rai and Khan, the convoluted writing in the second half took the film downhill, turning it into an "Epic Disappointment." Shubra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it "Preposterous Drivel." She says that this iteration of Khan is one people had already seen, despite his short-height, and that once the film establishes its characters, it doesn't know what to do with them. It abandons its "rootedness, and flees towards preposterousness." She says that the set-up doesn't come quickly enough, and that the characters are stuck "trying to do everything," and thus little is achieved.

Box office

Zero collected ₹20.14 crore at the box office on its first day; the following day it earned ₹18.22 crore and on third day ₹20.71 bringing its first weekend domestic earning total to ₹59.07 crore. It earned on Monday ₹9.50 crore and on Tuesday (Christmas holiday) ₹12.75 crore in domestic circuit. The USA Box office collection of Zero on Day 2 (22 December) was $283,808 (₹1.99 crore) from 262 screens.

The total domestic gross collection of the film is ₹115.74 crore in India, and the overseas gross collection is $10 million (₹70.26 crore), according to Bollywood Hungama. The film's total gross collection stands at ₹186 crore ($29 million) worldwide.