Dinesh Kamath's Movie Column 'Best Bollywood Films of recent times – Part 4' that was published in Newsband

Movie Column

Best Bollywood Films of recent times – Part 4

By Dinesh Kamath

Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) directed by Kabir Khan proved to be another one of the best films of recent times.

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 Rs. 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 Rs. 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.

The film has a simple story. An Indian man with a magnanimous heart takes a young mute Pakistani girl back to her homeland to reunite her with her family.

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 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 that means Bajurangi ojisan to, chīsana maigo, which translates as "Uncle Bajrangi and a small lost child".

The film holds a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from twelve English-language critics, as of March 2018. The film received similarly positive reviews from Chinese critics. Several critics in China, where it was released as Little Lolita's Monkey Uncle, noted narrative parallels to the Chinese epic Journey to the West and its monkey-king hero Sun Wukong (which in turn have similarities to the Indian epic Ramayana and its monkey-god hero Hanuman), making the film relatable to Chinese audiences. In January 2019, upon release in Japan, it was the week's highest-rated film on the Filmarks audience satisfaction survey.

Box office

Bajrangi Bhaijaan grossed Rs. 333 crore (US$46 million) worldwide in its first week, beating the previous record of Rs. 332 crore (US$46 million) worldwide by PK. The film went on to net Rs, 3.15 billion (US$44 million) and Rs. 4.26 billion (US$59 million) gross in India and grossed Rs. 1.792 billion (US$25 million) overseas for a worldwide gross of Rs, 6.03 billion (US$84 million) in 31 days. Bajrangi Bhaijaan became the quickest film to collect Rs. 1 billion (US$14 million) and Rs. 2 billion (US$28 million) net domestically beating PK and Dhoom 3. The distributor share of the film had crossed Rs. 150 crore (US$21 million) crore which is a record in India being the second film to do so after PK.[49][53] In August 2015, Eros International said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange that Bajrangi Bhaijaan has become the fastest Bollywood film to gross Rs 500 crore (US$70 million) worldwide, while it crossed Rs. 300 crore (US$42 million) at the domestic box office.

The film is the highest nett grosser ever in Delhi / UP, CP Berar, CI, Bihar, Assam and Orissa, East Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal beating the lifetime collections of PK and Dhoom 3. The footfalls of the film crossed 35.2 million after five weeks, making it the most watched film in India since Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and beating PK, 3 Idiots, Dhoom 3, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Bajrangi Bhaijaan grossed Rs. 626 crore (US$87 million) worldwide at the end of its 7th week. The domestic Indian gross for the film was Rs. 433 crore (US$60 million) as of August 2015, while its overseas gross was US$30.9million[60] (Rs. 211.05crore) as of 2017. It was one of the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, behind PK. Prior to its China release, Bajrangi Bhaijaan's worldwide gross was Rs. 626 crore (US$10 million) as of 27 February 2018. After 22 days at the Chinese box office, it became the fourth Indian film to gross Rs, 900 crore (US$140 million) worldwide, after Dangal, Baahubali 2, and Secret Superstar. As of today, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is the third highest-grossing Indian film ever worldwide. The film was marketed by a Mumbai based company named Spice PR owned by Prabhat Choudhary.

Gross revenue in following countries: India - Rs. 444.92 crore ($69.35 million), Overseas (2015–2016)    - $30.9 million (Rs. 211.05 crore), Arab Gulf States - US$9.45 million (Rs. 65 crore), United States and Canada - US$8.187 million, (Rs, 56 crore), United Kingdom - £2,662,115, (US$4.07 million), Australia - A$1,701,000 (US$1.28 million), New Zealand -          NZ$579,447 (US$404,084), Hong Kong - HK$1,364,088 (US$175,734), Overseas (2018–2019) - $45,775,066–47,840,702 (Rs. 313.09 crore+), China - $45,534,364–47,600,000 (Rs. 311.45 crore+), Japan - $196,062 (Rs.1.34 crore),

Turkey $44,640 (Rs. 30.5 lakh), Overseas total - $76,675,066 (Rs. 524.14 crore), Worldwide total – Rs. 969.06 crore ($150 million).

The film had a tenth week and became the third Indian film of the 2010s to ever have one. The other films were Vicky Donor and Band Baaja Baaraat. The film's final domestic gross was Rs, 444.92 crore (US$69.35 million).