Monday, October 10, 2011

Ra.One - Critic's Choice??

By Anant Mathur (October 10, 2011) 

I always find it interesting how the top critics in the country vary in their opinion about a certain film. Over the years I've realized many Bollywood critics are paid for their reviews and some develope a genuine dislike or love for a star which effect their reviews. Taking all this into account, I will predict how I believe these top critics will rate Ra.One, arguably the biggest film of the year, when it's released this Diwali (Oct. 26, 2011).

After Ra.One is released I will post the actual rating given by these critic so you can compare how close I came to understanding how these critics think. So be sure to come back to this post after the film is released. Here we go...


Taran Adarsh (Bollywood Hungama)


Taran Adarsh has reviewed many Shahrukh Khan films in the past. Below is a list of films he has reviewed. He is also one of those critics who get paid for their reviews - It's pretty obvious when you note that all the films produced by Karan Johar's (Dharma Productions) or Shahrukh Khan's (Red Chillies Entertainment) have averaged over 4/5 stars while all other producers fare much worst. Karan Johar recently admitted to paying for reviews (see this article for more on that) so it's not all that surprising Karan's films get such high ratings from Mr. Adarsh and others.

My Prediction is Taran Adarsh (if paid in time) will give Ra.One 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Taran's Rating (as predicted): 4.5/5 stars. 

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed by Taran Adarsh:
 
My Name is Khan (Red Chillies Entertainment/Dharma Productions) - 4.5/5
Billu (Red Chillies Entertainment) - 3.5/5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Yashraj Films) - 2/5
Om Shanti Om (Red Chillies Entertainment) - 4/5
Chak De India (Yashraj Films) - 2/5
Don - The Chase Begins Again (Excel Entertainment) - 3/5
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (Dharma Productions) - 4.5/5
Paheli (Red Chillies Entertainment) - 4/5
Kaal (Red Chillies Entertainment/Dharma Productions) - 4/5
Swades (Ashutosh Gowariker Productions) - 1.5/5
Veer-Zaara (Yash Raj Films) - 4.5/5
Main Hoon Na (Red Chillies Entertainment) - 4/5
Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke (R G Nayyar Films) - 1/5
Kal Ho Naa Ho (Dharma Productions) - 4/5
Chalte Chalte (Dreamz Unlimited) - 3.5/5
Shakti - The Power (Sridevi Productions) - 2.5/5
Devdas (Mega Bollywood) - 1.5/5
Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (K C Bokadia) - 1/5
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Dharma Productions) - 4.5/5
Asoka (Arclightz & Films) 2.5/5
One 2 Ka 4 (Glamour Films) 1/5
Mohabbatein (Yash Raj Films) - 3/5


Nikhat Kazmi (Times of India) 

Nikhat Kazmi is the most difficult critic to predict - while he gave Hrithik Roshan's Kites a 2.5/5, he also gave Guzaarish a 4/5 and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara a 3.5/5 rating. 

My Prediction is Nikhat Kazmi will give Ra.One 3 or 4 out of 5 stars. 
Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed by Nikhat Kazmi:
 
My Name Is Khan - 5/5
Billu - 3/5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - 3/5
Om Shanti Om - 3.5/5
Chak De India - 4/5
Don - The Chase Begins Again - 3.5/5
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - No Rating (Verdict: Too long. Too tedious. And strangely plastic.)


Khalid Mohamed (HindustanTimes)

Before turning film critic Khalid Mohamed was a filmmaker. So one would think if there's one critic who know about how to rate a film honestly, it's him.

My Prediction is Khalid Mohamed will give Ra.One 3.5 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Khalid Mohamed's Rating: 4/5 stars. 

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Khalid Mohamed:
 
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - 3.5/5
Om Shanti Om - 4/5
Chak De India - 3.5/5
Don - The Chase Begins Again (Reviewed for Daily News and Analysis) - 2/5


Mayank Shekhar (HindustanTimes/(Mumbai Mirror)

Mayank Shekhar has been pretty consistant with his reviews of Shahrukh Khan films in the past, one would think he has built up a certain opinion of SRK.

My Prediction is Mayank Shekhar will give Ra.One 3 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Mayank Shekhar's Rating: 2/5 stars.

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Mayank Shekhar:

My Name Is Khan (HindustanTimes) - 3/5
Billu (Mumbai Mirror) - 3/5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Mumbai Mirror) - 3/5
Don - The Chase Begins Again (Mumbai Mirror) - 4/5
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
(Mumbai Mirror) - 3/5


Komal Nahata (Koimoi)

Komal Nahata is probably the most hated critic in Bollywood for he low ratings to film. But I feel he judges a film in totality and will probably give a more honest review and rating than all the others. 

My Prediction is Komal Nahata will give Ra.One 2 or 2.5 of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Komal Nahata's Rating: 3.5/5 stars (He calls it a Business Rating).

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Komal Nahata:

My Name is Khan - No Rating (Verdict: Far from entertaining and also too boring.)
Billu - No Rating (Verdict: Dull.)
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - No Rating (Verdict: a hit film, hit music and SRK’s superlative performance.)


Sarita Tanwar (Mid-day)

I'm not too familiar with
Sarita Tanwar, but I find her reviews to be too uncritical for a critic. I mean someone who gives My Name Is Khan 4.5 out of 5 can't really be relied upon considering she works for what has been described by many as a tabloid and Karan Johar admitting that he pays for reviews.

My Prediction is Sarita Tanwar will give Ra.One 4.5 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Did Not Review. 

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Sarita Tanwar:

My Name Is Khan - 4.5/5
Billu - 3/5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - 3/5


Rajeev Masand (CNN/IBN)

Rajeev Masand is synonymous with film reviews at IBN. Each Friday he's ready with his next review telling us whether the film is worth watching or not.

My Prediction is Rajeev Masand will give Ra.One 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Rajeev Masand:

My Name Is Khan - 3.5/5
Billu - 2/5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - 2/5    
Om Shanti Om - 3/5
Chak De India - 4/5
Don - The Chase Begins Again - 1/5
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - 4/5


Raja Sen (Rediff)

Raja Sen has been with Rediff for a great many years. He may not be the best critic out there, but he sure tries hard.

My Prediction is Raja Sen will give Ra.One 3.5 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Raja Sen's Rating: 1.5/5 stars (He must've read this post... I'm kidding of course). 

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Raja Sen:

My Name Is Khan
- 3.5/5
Billu - 2.5/5
Om Shanti Om - 3.5/5
Chak De India - 3.5/5
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - 2/5
Paheli - No Rating (Verdict: A breathtaking dream)


Subhash K. Jha (Now Running)

Subhash K. Jha has been around for a very long time. Hopefully this time around he will give an honest review of Ra.One - one can always hope.

My Prediction is Subhash K. Jha will give Ra.One 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Did Not Review. 

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Subhash K. Jha:

My Name is Khan - 5/5
Billu - 3/5
Om Shanti Om - 1/5
Chak De India - 3.5/5
Don - The Chase Begins Again - 2/5
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - 4/5
Paheli - 4/5
Kaal - 3/5
Swades - 4/5
Veer-Zaara - 2/5


Aniruddha Guha (DNA)
 
Anirrudha Guha is slowly becoming quite popular amongst the critics in Bollywood. Anirrudha's reviews are pretty honest and can be usually relied upon.

My Prediction is Anirrudha Guha will give Ra.One 2.5 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Anirrudha Guha's Rating: 3/5 stars.

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Anirrudha Guha:

My Name is Khan - 3/5
Billu - 2/5



Martin D'Souza (Glamsham)

Martin D'Souza has been around for many years and although it's sometime difficult to say how he will rate a film you can be sure if it's a Shahrukh Khan film it will likely get a rating which is around 3/5.

My Prediction is Martin D'Souza will give Ra.One 3 out of 5 stars. 

ACTUAL: Martin D'Souza's Rating: 3/5 stars.

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Martin D'Souza:

My Name is Khan - 3.5/5
Billu - 4/5
Om Shanti Om - 2.5/5
Chak De India - 4/5


Anupama Chopra (NDTV)

Anupama Chopra has been with NDTV's entertainment division for quite a long while and is one of the few honest critics out there. 

My Prediction is Anupama Chopra will give Ra.One 2.5 or 3 out of 5 stars. 

ACTUAL: Did Not Review.

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Anupama Chopra:

My Name Is Khan - 3/5
Billu - No Rating (Verdict: strictly average)
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - No Rating (Verdict: Disappointing)


Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes)

Every Friday Gaurav Malani passes judgement on the latest releases. Here's hoping he will do justice to the review of Ra.One and not be pulled into all the hype surrounding it.

My Prediction is Gaurav Malani will give Ra.One 2.5 out of 5 stars.

ACTUAL: Gaurav Malani's Rating: 3/5 stars.

Previous Shahrukh Khan Films Reviewed By Gaurav Malani:

My Name Is Khan - 3.5/5
Billu - 2/5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - 2/5 



IF YOU ENJOYED THIS, PLEASE VISIT MY POSTS ON: 
Deflating Ra.One...
Ra.One Going The Enthiran Way?
Calm Before The Storm!
Ra.One Won't Be No.1, Here's Why...

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very good post. Most of your predictions closely matched with the actual reviews. But you made these predictions (apparently) before release of the movie, i.e. without watching the movie.Does this mean that the reviews are not dependent only on content, but are influenced by factors not associated directly with the movie (such as actor's impression in critic's mind, money paid, hype associated with movie etc)?

Rahul Sharma said...

I doubt if he recovers the production cost of 150 crores (if it is true). To get "Hit" talk it should get at least twice the amount he spent on the movie i.e, 300 crores. Any way, that's just impossible.

Anant Mathur said...

In reply to Anonymous who said...

Very good post. Most of your predictions closely matched with the actual reviews. But you made these predictions (apparently) before release of the movie, i.e. without watching the movie.Does this mean that the reviews are not dependent only on content, but are influenced by factors not associated directly with the movie (such as actor's impression in critic's mind, money paid, hype associated with movie etc)? (October 27, 2011 7:38 PM)


Most critics will deny it, but the fact is, yes reviews are influenced by external factors such as the ones you mentioned. I made these predictions based simply on how these critics rated the previous films of SRK and in most cases I took an average. I posted the previous reviews of SRK films by each critic so that readers could see the consistency as well. Oh and if you read the reviews right after the premiere/preview night you may have noticed that all the reviews that were released prior to Oct. 26th were positive - the negative reviews came only after the film released worldwide on the 26th - this is because all the positive reviews were paid for. Critics who are consistant in their reviews over the years (giving a similar 3.5 or more star rating to all of a star's films), obviously get paid. Karan Johar and others from the film industry admitted last year that they pay for reviews. Thanks for your comments.

Anant Mathur said...

In reply to Rahul Sharma who said...

I doubt if he recovers the production cost of 150 crores (if it is true). To get "Hit" talk it should get at least twice the amount he spent on the movie i.e, 300 crores. Any way, that's just impossible. (October 27, 2011 10:43 PM)


Rahul, we will have a clearer picture after the first 5 days, but a film with such a large budget can't recover it's cost from theatrical revenue. You have to also remember that it was released in 3500 screens, so like Bodyguard (which released in 2700 screens), after the first 3-4 days everyone will have seen it and then the fall will be drastic. Sometimes filmmakers make films just to get the genre popularized hopefully Ra.One will do that and that in itself will be reward enough. Thanks for your comments.