May 10, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): At the box office, ‘Badmaash Company’ has managed to take an opening which is better than what one would have expected. While one was looking at a 50%-60% start, there was a pleasant surprise in store as collections were a little more than 60% all over.
.JPG "Shahid Kapoor promotes his movie Kismat Konnection in Fame on June 23rd 2008(18)")
Considering the fact that there was a perception being built around Shahid Kapoor, courtesy his crop of films after ‘Kaminey’, several in the industry believed that ‘Badmaash Company’ would take a hit because of that. However, such perceptions were completely misplaced because except for ‘Chance Pe Dance’ which was a genuine flop for Shahid, the low performance of ‘Paathshaala’ or ‘Dil Bade Hadippa’ couldn’t be attribuited to him.
This was obvious in the way ‘Badmaash Company’ opened as youngsters were more than glad to give this Parmeet Sethi directed caper a dekko. In multiplexes, the film saw quite some impressive footfalls, hence ensuring second best opening ever for Shahid Kapoor after ‘Kaminey’. Though the film remained stable throughout the weekend, the fact remains that the reviews have been mixed. While they have stayed on to be average at most quarters, there are also a few scathing comments that have come from critics. However, the good news is that though the word of mouth from audience may not have been fantabulous, it is not out rightly bad either.
If the first half of the film is an absolute riot with several thrilling and rib tickling moments, the second half is an absolute predictable affair with dramatic moments turning out to be mundane and real drag. This is why one feels that ‘Badmaash Company’ would have been a much enjoyable experience had Parmeet Sethi set out to make an out and out unpretentious con movie which stuck to one single theme.
As of now, the film is on pretty safe grounds and is en route to be a definite earner. With this week seeing no opposition whatsoever, ‘Badmaash Company’ should manage a good run overall and boast of the kind of collections (in the range of 30 crores) that ‘Vivah’ and ‘Jab We Met’ had enjoyed.
On the other hand ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ (as well as it’s Hindi version ‘Hai Marjawan’) opened terribly all over and as things stand today, it would hardly be playing in the second week. Let aside being rejected by the audience, this Gurindher Chadha film was hated by a large section of media due to the ‘yuck’ element it came with. What else can explain the relevance of four ghosts hanging out with you in the living room, garden, investigation office, date nights and practically everywhere else? And whoever thought that it was funny to have intestines hanging out from a body, a rolling pin stuck in head, a naan stuffed on to someone’s face and a bunch of kebabs stuck to neck pronto needs to make a visit to the psychiatrist!
No wonder, the writing was clear on the wall as after a miserable 10%-20% opening, the film never recovered enough. The reviews too were outright negative, hence proving to be a final nail on the coffin. One wishes that this is the last one has seen from film makers who are trying to project India as what it really isn’t.
-Rudhir Burman / Sampurn Wire
