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Response: Dhobi Ghat, Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao’s debut film as director, has managed above average response with the movie earning almost Rs 9 crore during the opening weekend. While the film earned almost Rs 3 crore on Day One (Friday), it grossed Rs 3.2 crore and Rs 2.7 crore during Saturday and Sunday.

Aamir said, “Dhobi Ghat has evoked varied responses and I had expected this. Kiran and I tried to say that the film was not for everyone. But those of you who have liked it, I would like to say thank you for your overwhelming response. It was rewarding. We’re happy that the film deeply connected with some of you.”

Film type: Drama

Cast: Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Kriti Malhotra, Monica Dogra, Kitu Gidwani, Danish Hussain, Jehan Manekshaw, Ashok Varma, Sanjivani Oagle and Aasha Pawar

Director: Kiran Rao

Time of movie: 1 hour 40 minutes

Story: Dhobi Ghat is about four different people with varied backgrounds. Aamir Khan plays Arun, who is a talented painter who comes in contact with a non-resident Indian investment banker Shai (played by Monica Dogra) at his exhibition.

They spend a night together but part ways with a feeling they will never meet again. Shai turns friendly with Munna (played by Prateik Babbar), a dhobi who desires to become an actor.

Munna discovers Shai’s photography skills and wants her to shoot his portfolio and vows to show her the city in return. They develop an unusual bonhomie and Munna falls in love with her.

Meanwhile, Arun is busy with the video-taped story of Yasmin (played Kriti Malhotra), the former occupant of his house. The story of Dhobi Ghat revolves around whether the four can find what they are looking for in a strange and diverse city.

Review: Based on the lives of four different people, Dhobi Ghat is an average movie with an above-average response. Although an offbeat movie, the conclusion is unnecessarily dramatic. One of the high points of the film is its Aamir connection.

But Kiran Rao builds on her characters splendidly. The film throws light on the life of the ambitious urban youth, who in order to pursue his dream finds little time to catch up with neighbours or friends in an always-on-the-move city.

While Aamir as usual can get a perfect 10 for his reticent role, Prateik, Kriti and Monica perform commendably. Not a typical Hindi film though, it is a movie where the plot isn’t pivotal but the characters are.

Rating: 3.5/5

Response: Reema Kagti’s Talaash, although not a great film, has ridden on the Aamir Khan wave but saw revenues drop in the third week, raking in just Rs 7.76 crore in the week. But the total earnings have been impressive at a whopping Rs 93.4 crore.

Talaash, also starring Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee in mega roles, had done good business in its first and second weekend, but the earnings declined considerably in the third week.

Talaash had raked in Rs 47 crore at the box office (in the Indian market) during the first weekend and grossed Rs 15 crore on the opening day.

Film type: Thriller.

Cast: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Director: Reema Kagti.

Time of movie: Two hours and 20 minutes.

Story: In Taalash, Aamir Khan is an investigating officer, inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat, who is probing the bizarre car crash of Armaan Kapoor, a film director.

While digging deep during his probe, the case becomes a maze and Surjan realises something is amiss in the story.

Then surfaces a tragedy in the personal life of Surjan, where he loses his son in a motorboat accident. To overcome the loss, Roshni undergoes therapy while Surjan spends sleepless nights, thinking about his son and in trying to resolve the mystery.

Surjan investigates the mystery behind Armaan’s death and during his probe he meets various shady people, including a pimp, his aide Tehnur (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and a sex worker Rosie (Kareena Kapoor). With Rosie into the picture, the mystery in Talaash on who Rosie is and how she is linked to the car crash deepens.

Review: Talaash does have the Aamir Khan aura but the superstar’s acting in the film is a big dampener. Tears in his eyes and his face swollen – these are the two expressions we get to see on the actor’s face.

Perfectionist Aamir tries to get things right by wearing a grim face but gets it all wrong. The versatile Aamir Khan is simply missing in Taalash.

However, Nawazuddin and Kareena have been really impressive but Rani puts up a grim show.

The storyline of Taalash is somewhat unrealistic and tends to get slow (and boring) towards the end. But there is a thriller waiting. Go watch Taalash if you’re game for some ghostly thriller and Aamir Khan’s aura.

Rating: 3/5.

Response: The much-hyped Aamir Khan Production’s Delhi Belly has been doing well, opening to an average occupancy of 50-70 per cent in multiplexes in cities, and in some high-end cinemas, it even touched 80-85 per cent, piping Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Buddha Hoga Tera Baap substantially even though it is not for the 40 plus man. In single-screen theatres, the occupancy of adult comedy Delhi Belly was a poor 40 per cent.

Delhi Belly has bucked the recent trend with a box office earning of Rs 15.65 crore on its first two days.

Made at a budget of about Rs 25 crore, which includes print and publicity, the Imran Khan-starrer earned about Rs 7 crore on Friday and Rs 8.5 crore on Saturday.

Film type: Comedy

Cast: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Shehnaz Treasurywala, Poorna Jagannathan and Vijay Raaz

Director: Abhinay Deo

Time of movie: 1 hour 35 minutes

Story: Tashi (played by Imran Khan), Arun (Vir Das) and Nitin (Kunaal Roy Kapur) are friends in Delhi Belly who share the same flat and later become stakeholders in a crime unwittingly. Tashi is set to get married in a month but is still unsure whether he is in love with his fiancée or not.

Arun is sandwiched between his girlfriend (who ultimately leaves him) and his pesky boss, who always tells him to alter his sketches in order to make them perfect. Meanwhile, Nitin discovers that eating delicious tandoori chicken from the street gives him a severe Delhi belly (stomach ache).

The trio finds it is on the hit list of a dreaded gang after a packet of diamonds given to Tashi’s fiancée and delivered by Arun reaches the wrong hands.

The diamonds have to be delivered to a gangster, played by Vijay Raaz, but after he fails to receive the diamonds, he targets the trio, who has no experience to tackle Delhi’s little-known underworld. So, can Tashi and his buddies escape from the clutches of the gangster?

Review: A sensational film by Aamir Khan Productions. Delhi Belly has become immensely popular, at least on the first two days, owing to the ingenious screenplay even though the story is mediocre.

Delhi Belly probably has been one of the few films with a litany of foul language to have been cleared by the film censor board.

While some may argue that the foul language and some nasty scenes such as the gangster dropping feces on a red handkerchief, thinking it to be diamonds, was in bad taste, Delhi Belly has definitely caught on with today’s youth, mainly those from an elite school background.

Basically, to judge how good or bad Delhi Belly is, will depend on which side of the line you’re on. If you can’t digest some crude and dirty humour, you’re probably going to come out disgusted but if you’re typically among the happy-go-lucky types, you will surely be enamoured by the humour.

Delhi Belly is typically not a film for the 40 plus.

Rating: 3/5