MxMIndia

Tag: Bollywood

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers

    Time to rethink on Katju?

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    So which was bigger – the slap that Bollywood mega star apparently gave small-time director Shirish Kunder or the attack on The Times of India Mumbai offices by supporters of a Shiv Sena politician?

     

    This is from Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju’s letter to the chief minister of Maharashtra: “Please, therefore, let me know at the earliest what action have you taken against the hooligans who committed this outrage. In particular, please inform me whether the delinquents have been arrested and any criminal proceedings launched against them.

     

    I may mention that this is not the first time that such an incident has happened in Maharashtra. I had written to you earlier also about such assaults and harrassment (sic) of journalists. I, therefore, must tell you now that the Press Council may now have to take a serious view of the matter and take suitable action if such incidents are not curbed in your state.”

     

    It is heartening indeed for the press to get such support and perhaps we need to rethink our views on the honourable judge, his views on journalists notwithstanding? By the way, the misspelling of harassment is not mine; I have cut and pasted the extract from the letter. I make no comment here.

     

    At any rate, with the famous Khan-Kunder slap, Katju’s deepest fears about the media were fully realised. This made headline and front page news. But I think there is room for debate here. After all, Shah Rukh Khan is one of India’s biggest stars. If he gets caught in a late night fisticuffs at a fancy night club, then it is certainly news. The problem for me is that enough juice about this fight was not provided. I must confess I had no idea who this Kunder chap was when I first read about the fight on Twitter. It was later I realised that he is husband of Farah Khan, choreographer-turned-director. Most of the stories which appeared were written by insiders for insiders so outsiders like me, who had no idea of the stories within the stories, were left confused. I would say that this is a problem which journalists have to address – make everything clear to your readers. Do not assume that they know as much as you do about a particular subject which you have specialised in.

     

    As far as the attack on The Times of India is concerned, this is one more in a long list of intimidation tactics used on the media by political parties. And as long as nothing is done to those who instigate or participate in such attacks, they will continue. Hooliganism has almost become an accepted way of life and neither our government nor the police seem to be bothered.

     

    * * *

     

    What does one make of the excitement over baby Falak, the infant abandoned at AIIMS, Delhi on Republic Day? Instead of minute by minute updates on the condition of this unfortunate child, one would have expected newspapers at least to delve further into the status of abandoned and abused children in India. We expended much outrage over the actions of the Norwegian child services over the Bhattacharyas’ children but perhaps we need to examine whether we need such agencies ourselves. Right now what is happening with this baby is not concern; it is outright sensationalism.

     

  • The ranking of the top 10 favourite Bollywood films of 2011 was derived basis the 'Word of Mouth' (WOM) score of the film, using data collected through consumer research throughout the year

    Singham voted as the Best Film of 2011: Ormax Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    According to Ormax Media’s consumer based year-end report – Front Page 2011, Singham is the most favourite film of Bollywood audiences in 2011. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Rockstar complete the top three favourites.

     

    The ranking of the top 10 favourite Bollywood films of 2011 was derived basis the ‘Word of Mouth’ (WOM) score of the film, using data collected through consumer research throughout the year.

     

    The WOM score represents the percentage of audiences who liked the film enough to recommend it strongly to their friends.

     

    While box office business is heavily influenced by the opening weekend of a film, the WOM score reflects the audience feedback on the content alone, irrespective of the marketing or the distribution of the film. The table below lists the Top 10 favourite films of 2011, as decided on the basis of WOM score.

     

     

    Rohit Shetty’s Singham, starring Ajay Devgn in the title role, had a significant lead over the more multiplex-skewed Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Rockstar. The next three positions were also occupied by the big grossers of the year, with Salman Khan’s Ready and Bodyguard just a notch ahead of Don 2.

     

    The latter half of the chart consists of more experimental films that lacked a big star. In particular, No One Killed Jessica performed creditably at no. 7. It is the only film in the list that had an opening weekend of less than Rs15 crore, yet found appreciation on the strength of its content.

     

    Commenting on the results, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO – Ormax Media said: “There are various award shows that give away Best Film awards. However, this ranking is based on structured consumer data from more than 32,000 cine-goers acrossIndia. There can’t be a bigger award than this!”

     

    Ormax Media isIndia’s first and only research and consulting firm specializing in the Media & Entertainment industry. It works withIndia’s leading broadcasters, film producers, radio networks, print publications, media agencies, DTH service providers, in the areas of qualitative research, quantitative research and consulting.

     

    Ormax Media is also the owner of 19 proprietary research products that are being used widely across the media industry.

     

  • Bollywood and media pay tribute to film reviewer Nikhat Kazmi who succumbed to cancer on January 20, the day her last review appeared in print.

    Filmwallahs, scribes mourn film critic Nikhat Kazmi’s death

    By A Correspondent

     

    “After people die, they become stars. Nikhat Kazmi just became four and a half”, a tweet by @NumbYaar as a tribute to Nikhat Kazmi aptly summed up feelings at her untimely death at the age of 53 on January 20, 2011. She was suffering from cancer.

     

    “Was truly shocked to hear about the untimely death of nikhatkazmi…the TOI critic of several years…prayers and thoughts with her family,” tweeted Karan Johar  (@kjohar25).

     

    “Tragic news. Extremely sad to know about the demise of Nikhat Kazmi, one of the most persistent film critics. Am sure wherever you are, it’ll be a 5 star rating, RIP. May God give strength to your loved ones,” tweeted Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar).

     

    Ms Kazmi was the film critic at Times of India where she had been working for almost 25 years. According to media reports, she continued working till the very end. The last films she reviewed were Sadda Adda, Chaalis Chaurasi, Ghost and Blitz  (a Hollywood film). Ms Kazmi was always generous with her ratings, making no distinction between mainstream Bollywood and smaller independent cinema. And her generosity and grace were greatly appreciated by Bollywood.

     

    “Nikhat Kazmi was generous! Having come to terms with mortality she looked for something good in every film she viewed,” tweeted director Mahesh Bhatt  (@MaheshNBhatt).

     

    “Nikhat Kazmi was a great support for alternate cinema. Her reviews of Red Alert and Mee Sindhutai Sapkal, reaffirmed my faith in going global,” tweeted director Ananth Mahadevan (@ananthmahadevan19h).

     

    Many youngsters also gave her credit for always encouraging them in her reviews.

     

    “RIP Nikhat Kazmi. You enjoyed cinema and therefore encouraged us more than criticized us. We will miss you,” tweeted writer and director Milap Zaveri (@zmilap).

     

    “The 1st ever review I read of Refugee, my 1st film, was by NikhatKazmi. She always pointed out the road to improvement to me. RIP ma’am,” tweeted Abhishek Bachchan, (@juniorbachchan), mere hours after her demise.

     

    “Nikhat Kazmi ji the one person who has always encouraged me. Wrote so beautifully and one film critic I respected a lot! May her soul RIP 🙁 ,” tweeted Neil Nitin Mukesh  (@neilnmukesh).

     

    Not only Bollywood, Ms Kazmi’s death shocked many of her colleagues in the media fraternity too.

     

    Khalid Mohammed, film critic and filmmaker, said he wished he had known her better. “She was based in Delhi, while I worked in Mumbai. We would meet mostly at film festivals which required a group to cover the functions. I can’t say I knew her well, but I wished I had. I admire her perseverance, for she would review Indian as well as foreign language films,” he told MxM.

     

    Trade analyst and fellow film critic Taran Adarsh too expressed his condolences via Twitter: “Deeply saddened by the news of Times of India movie critic NikhatKazmi’s demise. RIP.”

     

    Parsa Venkateshwara Rao Jr, a senior journalist with DNA, had met Ms Kazmi once but she left quite an impression on him. Though he did not agree with her, he said liked her because: “Her heart was in the right place. She understood the importance of Hindi cinema and how it mirrored changing political and social winds of change. She was an anguished liberal,” he told MxM.

     

    Apart from being a film critic, Ms Kazmi was also an author who had written three books, Ire in the Soul: Bollywood’s Angry Years, The Dream Merchants of Bollywood and Times Guide to Hollywood Blockbusters. She had also written two plays.

     

    Whether people agreed with her critiques or not, there is no denying that her reviews in TOI will be missed. “RIP Nikhat Kazmi. A beautiful large theatre, with the coziest seat n all your favourite movies await you:) #respect” – Dia Mirza (@deespeak).

     

  • Shahrukh Khan wins The Most Profitable Actor (Overseas), Kareena Kapoor is The Most Profitable Actress

    Salman Khan is ETC Most Profitable Actor (India)

    By A Correspondent

     

    The second ETC Bollywood Business Awards commemorated the dream merchants who minted highest amount of monies for Bollywood in 2011. The awards will be telecast on ETC76 on January 9, 2012 at 8:30pm.

     

    Of the approximate 120 films released in 2011, five films (Ready, Bodyguard, Singham, RA.One and Don2) saw domestic box office collections of more than Rs100 crore each; while some more, most notably The Dirty Picture (Rs80 cr), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Rs92 cr) and Rockstar (Rs67 cr) came close.

     

    Last year also included quite a few hits and successes that raked in the moolah. Bollywood collected a total of Rs1740 crore from the Indian box office (BO). If one adds the revenue garnered from overseas and satellite rights and the revenue goes up to Rs2590 crore.

     

    With movies which earned Rs200 crore plus at the domestic BO under her belt, Kareena Kapoor emerged as the unquestionable money spinner female actor in 2011. On being presented the ETC Most Profitable Actress Award, Kareena Kapoor said that a commercially successful movie is evidence to the fact that viewers loved watching your movie. “Receiving an award wherein you are being judged considering the economic quotient as a cornerstone for mapping the success gives you a sense of pride. I’ve always maintained that commercial success is as important as the critical success of a movie. I appreciate the initiative, ETC Bollywood Business Awards, which recognizes the awardees by evaluating BO performance. I thank my viewers, people who I have worked with and ETC for appreciating my work,” she added.

     

    While Salman Khan won the ETC Most Profitable Actor (India) Award, the King of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan won the ETC Most Profitable Actor (Overseas) Award.

     

    “Now I can safely say ‘har mulk ki public mujhe dhoondti hai’”, quipped the ‘Don’, on receiving the ETC Most Profitable Actor (Overseas) Award. On receiving the ETC Best Marketed Movie of the year Award and ETC Highest Single Day Collection Award, both for RA.One, Mr Khan said: “RA.One, Bollywood’s most expensive movie, was my dream project. It feels great that my long cherished dream has been applauded by the viewers and moreover acknowledged by ETC Bollywood Business Awards; which gives its verdict only on the basis of BO collections. These two awards are a reply to all the naysayers who tried to discredit my film. Allah has been very kind to me and helped me to entertain my audiences and it is quite literally my audience’s love that has fetched me these awards.”

     

    Speaking about this unique initiative, Anurag Bedi, Business Head, ETC, said: “We started ETC Bollywood Business Awards last year, after having identified the need to evaluate Bollywood on the basis of commerce. From the first look of a film to interacting with actors, directors, producers, marketers, musicians to bringing out BO reports -with every film we undertake a journey as intense as the filmmakers. This initiative is our way recognizing the various people and entities, associated with a film, which are equally as important as people visible on-screen.”

     

    And it is precisely for this reason that ETC Bollywood Business Awards have increased the number of categories from 13 in 2010 to 18 in 2011. Innovative categories include Most Popular Trailer, BO Surprise Hit of the Year, and Excellence in International Distribution.

     

    The success of 2011 augured well for Bollywood and the biggest winner was the Indian viewer. “This has been a fine year for Bollywood with five films earning upwards of Rs100 cr each and quite a number of hits and successes. This initiative is a recognition of Bollywood’s achievements and I hope our industry enjoys continued success in 2012,” summed up Komal Nahta, host, ETC Bollywood Business.

     

  • Every week, Deepa Gahlot casts a critical eye over media reviews of Bollywood releases… in Reviewing the Reviews

    Reviewing the reviews: Don 2 is poor man’s Mission Impossible

    By Deepa Gahlot

     

    Don 2

    Key Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta,Om Puri, Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani

    Directed by: Farhan Akhtar

    Produced by: Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Shahrukh Khan

    Written by: Farhan Akhtar, Ameet Mehta, Amrish Shah

     

     

    To confuse moviegoers again, Don 2 got madly mixed reviews with the highest rating being 4.5 and the lowest 1.5.  On an average, however, most reviewers gave it 2.5 and everyone agreed that Shahrukh Khan looked cool, the film was slick, the music was mediocre and it was a poor man’s Mission Impossible. Strictly for SRK devotees who, like good fans, don’t necessarily look for logic in his films. The way this film was promoted, logic is the last thing to look for in any case.

     

    The big gush came from koimoi.com’s Komal Nahata and his 4.5 stars. “Don 2 may not give the discerning audience a great high but it will be loved by those who like style, intrigue, suspense and attitude. It will score at the box-office and yield good profits to Reliance Entertainment (worldwide distributors). The producers, of course, have already made a huge profit by selling the worldwide rights and also by getting heavy subsidy from the German government. Business in big cities and multiplexes will be far better than in smaller towns and single-screen cinemas. The film will work wonders in the overseas circuit.”  Let’s see if his prophecies come out to be true.

     

    Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India, expectedly gave it 4 stars and raved, “Don 2 is a classic action/crime thriller that doesn’t let go, even for a moment. More importantly, the plot has been finely crafted, with every twist and turn falling into place like a complicated albeit neat little jigsaw.” But then, she usually raves.

     

    Slightly lower in the ratings game was Bollywood Hungama’s Taran Adarsh with 3.5. “Don 2 rides on star power and brand value. The film has a bland first hour, but the second half takes the film to another level. There’s no denying that a cohesive script would’ve made a world of a difference to the film, but the tremendous hype, star power and the lucrative period (Christmas and New Year celebrations) will make its investors reap a harvest.”

     

    DNA’s Aniruddha Guha goes with 3 stars and writes, “Characters say boring, random things to each other, there’s a pointlessly long dance sequence and the attempt at dialoguebaazi is laughable. What keeps Don 2 alive, then, is its pulsating action.”

     

    Surprisingly, India Today’s Kaveree Bamzai also gives it a generous 3 and writes, “The movie seems to have been made only to allow the actor to say and do all the things he ever wanted, be it a James Bond and Ethan Hunt rolled into one. What it does come across as finally is a Mission Impossible meets Abbas Mustan.”

     

    IBN Live’s Rajeev Masand gives it the more-or-less standard 2.5. “Don 2 is nicely shot, and there are moments where Shahrukh Khan is riveting. But that’s not enough to hold your interest for well over two hours…even the actor’s most loyal fans will find themselves yawning. I’m going with a generous two out of five for director Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2. Although packed with fast cars and bikes, this is one slow ride.”

     

    Aseem Chhabra writing in rediff.com: “For an action film with the central plot setting us up for a robbery inside a major bank, Don 2’s pacing is very slow. Coupled with that, the script explains everything to us step-by-step. And if anyone was paying attention, following the convoluted plot where Don always manages to sweet charm the morons at Interpol, in the last five minutes Akhtar sums up the film with a quick recap, revealing many more details that were never shown to us before.  It is an old fashioned gimmick to make the audience say “Wow, we were fooled!”

     

    Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express: “Don 2 needed an energized, crackling plot. What it has, in almost too much abundance, is SRK dripping dimpled coolth. But cool can only take you so far.”

     

    Piyali Dasgupta of NDTV.com writes: “There’s an easy way to describe Don2 without any spoilers. Think of great action flicks from the Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and MI4 series. Shake them up. Replace Nakatomi Plaza with Berlin’s leading bank and there it is – Don 2, a Bollywood take on great action flicks where Shahrukh wants to show that being a bad-ass is fun.”

     

    Shubha Shetty Saha of Mid-day was not impressed either. “There’s one thing that irks me the most in Bollywood action thrillers, and Don 2 carries the tradition. The smart moves by the characters is tediously explained again and again to show how the move was engineered, thereby diluting the whole effect. The audience is treated like a four-year-old brat, who doesn’t concentrate and forgets what has been told to him five minutes back. Subtlety is an art and moreover, we are not as dumb as you think. Wish the filmmakers instead concentrated on filling those gaping loopholes.”

     

    Finally, nailing it, Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times gives it 1.5 and says, “It (the first Don) was Vijay’s story. Salim-Javed’s tight script had a striking plot. The writers here have sub-plots. They continue to stretch and add thought to thought. The picture promises to never end. It gets hard to carry on with inane inventiveness, when you just couldn’t care less.”

     

  • Ranbir Kapoor and Nissan to feature in the world’s first Bollywood movie auditioned on Facebook.

    Nissan launches film audition on Facebook

    By A Correspondent

    Nissan India and actor Mr Ranbir Kapoor are searching for 20 passionate members of the public to star in the world’s first Bollywood movie auditioned entirely on Facebook.

    From October 19, movie-fans will be able to join in one of the world’s largest on-line talent hunts by uploading a short clip of themselves dancing for a chance to appear alongside Mr Kapoor in the three-minute Bollywood blockbuster – New Star of India.

    Members of the public will vote to decide who the 20 lucky co-stars will be, and will also help produce the movie by shaping the plot, choosing the music, picking the wardrobe and naming the characters.

    As well as being screened to millions on Facebook, New Star of India will be premiered at exclusive red carpet events in cities across India in January 2012, where there will also be a chance to win one of six all-new Nissan Micras.

    Mr Kapoor said, “I’m incredibly excited to be involved in this ground-breaking movie with Nissan – no-one’s attempted anything like it before. Speaking to all Bollywood fans out there, this is your once in a lifetime opportunity to join me in the magic of the movies. I’m looking forward to seeing your auditions and can’t wait to meet my co-stars, so get dancing, get voting and get involved!”

    Taking part couldn’t be easier. All would-be stars have to do is record a 45-second audition of themselves via their webcam, smartphone or video camera showing off their best Bollywood moves and upload it to the dedicated New Star of India page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/nissanindia.

    There are just three steps to stardom…

    1: Choose your favourite soundtrack on the Facebook page

    2: Get dancing – either solo or with up to nine friends

    3: Upload the clip to the site

    Nissan will also be taking New Star of India on the road and will be touring shopping malls across the country to film live auditions in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Aurangabad from October 22 – check the Facebook page for details.

    Even non-dancers can get involved. Everyone who votes, shares or takes a test drive from Nissan’s model range will be entered into a competition to win one of the hottest tickets in town – a chance to attend one of the movie premieres and win a Nissan Micra.

    Mr Kiminobu Tokuyama, Managing Director of Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd said, “Nissan is all about innovation. It’s in the cars we build, the way we do business, and now we are offering members of the public a genuine world’s first – an opportunity to become a Bollywood star”.

    Mr Kapoor added, “I love that this movie is going to take 20 people from their living room or bedroom and onto the movie set in three simple steps. If you’ve ever wondered if you have what it takes to make it in Bollywood, now’s your chance to find out!”

  • Every week, Deepa Gahlot casts a critical eye over media reviews of Bollywood releases… in Reviewing the Reviews

    Reviewing the Reviews: Mausam

    By Deepa Gahlot

    Mausam

    Key cast: Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor

    Written and directed by: Pankaj Kapur

    Produced by: Sunil Lulla and Sheetal Vinod Talwar

     

    Pankaj Kapur’s debut film as director seems to have done the near-impossible—united critics across the board, with harsh-to-gentle panning and ratings from one and a half to two stars. All except the Times of India, of course, that rarely drops below three, and NDTV. Everyone agreed that the film fell fall short of its epic pretensions, and went on and on till the audiences were bored to tears.

     

    The film, with the pompous tagline: A Love Story Beyond Romance (means what?), has its Punjabi hero and Kashmiri heroine meet and separate over several countries and calamities, till the pathos is wrung inside out to become farcical. All that fuss about the Air Force was needless, the bloke need not even need to be a pilot. Shahid gets to wear a uniform, a moustache, a still expression and pretend for a few minutes that he is Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Sonam Kapoor looks pretty, giggles, screams, weeps and dances in Scotland!

     

    Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu titled it “Epic Disaster”. “Think of all the possible clichés that have kept star-crossed lovers away in Hindi cinema over the years and put them all in one movie — jilted lover, jealous rival, death of father, change of address, call of duty, misunderstandings, unread letters and those riots every few years,” he writes.

     

    Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times gives it one and a half stars and writes, “There’s an old, popular Shailendra ditty in this movie that goes, of course, Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh, Kahaan Shuru, Kahan Khatam (It’s a weird legend. Not sure where it begins. Not sure where it ends). The second time they play that Shankar Jaikishen song on this screen, you’re convinced this is some kind of an inside joke between the film’s director and his drooping audience. He’s ushered you into the theatre all right, seated you comfortably with popcorn, Coke and other supplies for the day, it’s been over three hours (has felt like multiple mausams, seasons, of a television series), you’re still not certain when this epic tragedy will end, or if it will at all.”

     

    According to India Today’s Kaveree Bamzai, “Every scene is beautifully shot, the romance is meant to grow on you with its artful glances and coy exchanges. But instead of a slow burn, it’s just plain exhaustion.”

     

    Raja Sen on rediff.com echoed the sentiments of many, “This is a love story gone awry purely because of under-communication, and while that seems fine enough on paper, it’s rather hard to swallow two lovers cleaved for well over a decade simply because they don’t have each other’s forwarding address.”

     

    IBN Live’s Rajeev Masand calls it an unfortunate mess and says, “Plodding along for close to three hours, Mausam loses steam early on. By the time the film hobbles to its end at a riot-stricken Ahmedabad fair, all you can do is gasp. Gasp in complete shock at the inconceivably embarrassing climax that involves a Ferris wheel, a crying child, and a horse. This one scene alone hints at just how desperately this script was begging for a rewrite!”

     

     

    Aniruddha Guha of DNA quips that the only thing epic about Mausam is its length. “Two lovers separated by circumstances repeatedly would be acceptable if the situations were at least believable. But the story demands you to suspend belief repeatedly, and gets convoluted beyond repair eventually.”

     

    The Reuter’s Review headline says “Mausam is several seasons too long,” and then, “If director Pankaj Kapur hadn’t gone to pains to establish that Mausam plays out between the mid-’90s and the early years of this century, you’d be forgiven for thinking this film takes place in the ’20s — when there was no internet, no phones and no technology. Why else would two, reasonably well-off, intelligent people who obviously have access to technology be unable to trace each other? It makes no sense, and instead of feeling sad for them, you feel frustrated.

     

    The usually kind Taran Adarsh of bollywoodhungama.com surprisingly dubs it a “colossal disappointment,” and comments, “The screenplay, to put it bluntly, is unengaging and what makes it worse is the fact that it seems like a never-ending saga. The film just goes on and on and on, moving from one city/country to another, till the viewer gets jetlagged and exhausted by watching this saga unfold on screen. With a running time of close to 3 hours, Mausam has a few sequences that do stand out, but the weak script blows the efforts away.”

     

    And the usually sensible Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gives it an uncharacteristic two and a half stars, saying, however, that “Mausam starts like a dewy-fresh spring morning, where everything is familiar yet new. It then wilts, autumnal overtones taking over. And then never quite recovers, falling into a dreary never-ending winter.

     

    One of the few who recommends the film is NDTV.com’s Saibal Chatterjee. “To conclude, Mausam could quite easily have ended up being a stodgy, strenuous and self-conscious drama. Writer-director Kapur, the accomplished actor that he is, orchestrates the emotional ups and downs of his tale with a commendable degree of moderation for the most part. Mausam is certainly worth a viewing.”

  • Delhi Mid-Day takes Bollywood to offices

    By A Correspondent

    Mid-Day gave its Delhi readers an opportunity to come face-to-face with the star cast of the movie Soundtrack through the  Mid-Day Bollywood Lunch Contest. Rajeev Khandelwal visited the office of Vivaki Exchange, Gurgaon to meet and have lunch with Nitin Dhingra, winner of Mid Day Bollywood Lunch Contest. Rajeev Khandelwal was accompanied by actress Mrinali Sharma and director Neerav Ghosh of the movie Soundtrack.

     

    Speaking on the occasion,Anirban Bagchi, Publisher, Delhi Mid-Day, said, “Mid-Day Bollywood Lunch Contest is an international award winning property with Mid-Day since the last four years, wherein we take the stars of the movie to corporate offices and give its employees an opportunity to interact with the stars. It is one of our many successful properties in Mumbai since the last 4 years and we have started executing this property in Delhi too, with the first one being BLC for Jhootha Hi Sahi with John Abraham.”

     

    The Bollywood lunch contest is an activity wherein Mid-Day runs a contest for the readers to win a lunch date with the stars of the movie. And because of the winner; all the office colleagues get to meet their favourite stars at their office.

     

    Mid-Day had earlier done Bollywood lunch contests with stars like Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Emran Hashmi and Anil Kapoor.