Karan Johar moved to tears by Billu

February 15th, 2009

If there is something which is being hailed most about ‘Billu’, it is the penultimate 20 minutes of the film. A heartwarming emotional turn of events in the concluding reels of the film have been pointed out by one and all and the effective writing that made the scenes possible has been termed as the highlight of the film. No wonder, Mushtaq Sheikh, the co-writer of the film (along with Priyadarshan) is happy that his good work has been noticed and appreciated.

Another interesting factoid about ‘Billu’ is that after watching the film in a special screening, even Karan Johar commented that it moved him to tears.

“‘Billu’ is not a slapstick comedy, instead it is a comedy of life”, says Mushtaq who has authored quite a few books on his close friend and super star Shah Rukh Khan, “Moreover, life is always a heartfelt tale. So yes, it is expected that that tear effect would be the same on audiences across the globe. I am in fact confident about it because if the warmth of the story touches you then nothing can go wrong with this movie.”

Which means that instead of ‘Billu’ being termed as a comedy, it would rather be considered as a ‘let’s make you cry’ kind of emotional drama.

“It’s not a comedy as in like a farce or spoof, but the situations and the mess we human beings create is often quite funny and sad and could make you laugh when you cry and cry when you laugh”, philosophizes Mushtaq Sheikh, “”Billu’ is a film with a golden heart’ - Now that’s my favorite phrase to describe ‘Billu’.

For a movie like ‘Billu’ where Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan were there from the very beginning, was he required to write the film in a manner that would suit their images?

“Actors such as Irrfan Khan and Shah Rukh today play characters as per the writer’s creation and the director’s vision. Sure they have their own interpretations and take on how to play the character but the writer does not need to tailor-make a character to suit the actor’s image. Those days are long gone”, asserts Mushtaq Sheikh.

“Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan are passionate about their work not their ‘image’. And luckily for me Shah Rukh, who has the more formidable image, plays himself but with a name Sahir Khan. So yes, in a way, at least that bit has changed”, he laughs. -Joginder Tuteja / Sampurn Media

Billu opens to an average collections at box office

February 15th, 2009

Shah Rukh Khan’s home production Billu directed by Priyadarshan has taken an average opening in major metros cities on its opening day Friday the 13th. But reports suggest that it is doing slightly better business in the smaller centers than big cities.

The film opened on Friday to 30-40% occupancy. There was a slight improvement with evening shows but not so significant that one can call it a good opening. It has been released with in over 1000 cinema halls including 600 digital screens. If the opening weekend collections don’t touch the 75-80% mark then the film is bound to be declared a FLOP. It will face mighty opposition from next Friday’s release, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi-6.

The other release of the week, The Stoneman Murders has taken a slow opening but since its carrying very good reports, the positive word of mouth about it is spreading slowly. The weekend may see a big rise in its collections claim trade pundits.

If Billu flops it won’t affect SRK the producer as he has made a clean profit by selling all its rights to Eros but as an actor it will definitely be a blot in his career record. -Sampurn Media

Take your kids to Billu

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Trust the man who came from Fauji to give us a film reminiscent of the good old Doordarshan days.

Shah Rukh Khan's latest production is a simplistic, well-meaning take on a familiar story, and Billu -- perhaps inadvertently -- ends up being a naive little children's film, the kind of entertainment DD used to hurl at us kids during its Afternoon Transmission.

It takes a while to get used to it. The setting is that of the imaginary village of Budbuda, which like most cinematic villages behaves like no other place on earth. Its residents speak as if constantly on stage in a school play, and director Priyadarshan's attempt at restrained realism -- his Swades , so to speak -- takes place in a stagey, theatrical, unreal zone. His village is populated mostly by cutouts, yet, by the time the film's end rolls around, they end up rather likeable.

Such is also the case with the film's leading man, Billu. Irrfan Khan plays the barber with the sort of plodding sincerity that initially grates on our nerves, nerves nowadays used to slangy edginess in character, but such is the charm of the everyman performer that it becomes increasingly difficult to not like him.

details here: http://www.rediff.com/movies/2009/feb/13review-billu.htm