Tug of (films) war: Salman Khan and Yasir Nawaz invited PM Nawaz to watch their films

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July 21, 2015

This Eid was an unconventional one for the cinema goers and film buffs as two big Pakistani films Wrong Number and Bin Roye were being released with a Salman Khan starer Bollywood film Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The competition to grab more shows and receive bigger public response was inevitable and it happened as per speculations and expectations (read fears).

Initially, the fate of Bajrangi Bhaijaan to get released on Eid in Pakistan was undecided but later the film was not only censored unanimously by central and regional boards but also got number of shows more than Wrong Number and Bin Roye. All of these films are doing good, according to initial unofficial box office reports, with Bajrangi Bhaijaan leading the race and earning more than combined earning of both Pakistani films. This outcome, which will get clearer as official box office reports arrive in coming days, is also as per speculations and expectations (read fears again).

The competition, in a positive sense, got more interesting when Yasir Nawaz, the director of Wrong Number, invited Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, who was not even celebrating the Eid in Pakistan, to come and watch his film “instead of” accepting the similar invitation by Bollywood’s superstar Salman Khan, which he made few days ago on twitter suggesting premieres of both countries to watch his film, Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Read the tweet by Salman Khan below.

Wld lv n respect if the leaders of Indo-Pak see Bajrangi Bhaijaan bcoz lv for children is above all boundaries @narendramodi #nawazsharif

— Chulbul Pandey (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 16, 2015

Now watch the video message by Yasir Nawaz, which he shared on his facebook page and we uploaded on Galaxy Lollywood’s page (in case it ever gets deleted by the director), below.

https://www.facebook.com/galaxylollywood810/videos/1018272784884807/

In the video message Yasir Nawaz not only invited the PM Nawaz to watch and support his film, Wrong Number, but he also forbid him to support Indian film Bajrangi Bhaijaan. He further reminded (or informed) the Prime Minister about the lack of government’s support for Pakistani filmmakers and people associated with the film industry.

The nature of invitations by both celebrities is different but the trepidation of Pakistani director, of having a cut-throat competition with a much bigger Bollywood film, is obvious in his message. Bajrangi Bhaijaan has a strong Pakistani element in it and it can be considered, only cynically, a publicity stunt made by Salman Khan to promote his film, because in terms of numbers the revenue it will generate from Pakistan will just be a fraction of worldwide collections. A goodwill message was only going to make a good impression about the film and it did it successfully.

More: Read Galaxy Lollywood exclusive review of Wrong Number here.

It should also be noted that Bajrangi Bhaijaan is not the first Bollywood film which is being released along with other Pakistani films. Last year, the similar situation happened with two big Pakistani films, Operation O21 and Na Maloom Afraad, vying with Bollywood blockbuster Bang Bang.

The panic-stricken message of Yasir Nawaz is not giving a good impression majorly for the reason that, and as I said above, this is not the unprecedented situation and people have been watching and supporting Indian films since 2006, when the ban on Indian films was lifted by then government, so, the choice of watching and supporting a film should be left with the public and also the PM Nawaz, if he likes to watch a film in cinema. After all, the film is a product which you are selling and you cannot sale it by earning sympathies. Public is the best judge of your product’s quality.

The second part of Yasir’s message for the PM Nawaz is more important one. Pakistani filmmakers are making films without any kind of government support and this is an incredible achievement. The government’s support to construct film studios and state of the art infrastructure for film making is much needed and it is the high time government thought about their priorities. Films can bring positive change in the society.

Both Pakistani films are doing well despite having less number of shows and tough competition. All shows are going almost houseful and people are making advance bookings to watch any of these films after Eid holidays. This is a positive sign and it shows people need more cinemas and more good Pakistani films.

It would be really interesting to know which film Prime Minister decides to watch finally, if he makes any such decision. Its probable that he might go for Minions.

Day 2 Box Office : Both Wrong Number and Bin Roye show solid growth, but Wrong Number is surely the winner.

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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July 20, 2015

We cannot vouch for the authenticity of these ‘Bin Roye’ box office numbers given by independent box office tracking sites. While we have the official numbers from ARY Films for ‘Wrong Number’ we do not have the numbers for ‘Bin Roye’. So until the official numbers come from the makers themselves or until we have some official box-office tracking system in Pakistan this is all we have got.

It was surely a clash of the titans as two big budget films were releasing on the very same day. Both the films had stars attached to them and the promotion/marketing for the films was a success as the buzz around them both was worth seeing. But what happens at the box-office window, well nobody can really predict. People thought that the Mahira Khan starrer would emerge as the clear winner given her recent escapades in Bollywood, but well the box office has a different story to tell.

Here is the day to day breakdown for both the films:-

Official numbers from ARY for ‘Wrong Number’ and numbers from independent box-office tracking sites for ‘Bin Roye’

Wrong Number

Saturday(Eid Day One): 75lacs
Sunday (Eid Day Two) :90lacs
Total 1.65cr

Bin Roye

Saturday(Eid Day One): 42.55lacs
Sunday (Eid Day Two): 60lacs
Total 1.03cr

And those who wanted to know Bajrangi Bhaijaan numbers

Saturday(Eid Day One):1.30cr
Sunday (Eid Day Two) :1.5cr
Total 2.8cr

We did ask some cinema people for their opinion and they maintained the same stance from yesterday that both the films are doing equally well. Well lets wait and see what box-office numbers HUM Films will be giving out. Stay tuned to Galaxy Lollywood.

Day 1 Box Office: Wrong Number emerges as the winner while Bin Roye is a close second.

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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July 19, 2015

It was surely a clash of the titans as two big budget films were releasing on the very same day. Both the films had stars attached to them and the promotion/marketing for the films was a success as the buzz around them both was worth seeing. But what happens at the box-office window, well nobody can really predict. People thought that the Mahira Khan starrer would emerge as the clear winner given her recent escapades in Bollywood, but well the box office has a different story to tell.

According to independent box-office reporting sites, Wrong Number has collected approximately .75 crore while Bin Roye has collected .50 crore at the box-office. We cannot vouch for the authenticity of the numbers, but this is all we have until the official numbers come from the makers themselves ( which though are not accurate either), but until we have some official box-office tracking system in Pakistan this is all we have got.

Moreover Bajrangi Bhaijaan made 1.4 crore while Terminator made .31 crore.

We decided to talk to some cinema people and ask how the films fared at their cinemas

Mohsin Yaseen, General Manger Marketing and Operations at Cinepax said “Well both the films ( Wrong Number and Bin Roye) are doing equally well at Cinepax. The shows for both the films are equal and almost all of them are sold out.”

He also added “However since the film Wrong Number has been playing in cinemas for two-three days now so it is very likely that it has a bigger aggregate but the first day of Eid was equal for both the films”

We also talked to Khurram Gultasab, General Manager of Super Cinemas, and he mentioned something similar at Super Cinemas “Well both the films are doing equally well at Super Cinemas.Also, most shows are housefull in our different centers which include Lahore, Sialkot and Gujrat”

So looks like both the films are doing equally well at cinemas. Lets wait for the official numbers to arrive now.

Songs Deluge: Dekh Magar Pyaar Say, Karachi Se Lahore and Moor released video songs

By

Galaxy Lollywood

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July 18, 2015

The monsoon has set in in most of the country and it seems it inspired the makers of upcoming films to shower the videos of the songs just a day before Eid making it memorable for all.

On Chand Raat songs from three big upcoming movies were released, including a teaser of “Kaala Dooriyan” from Dekh Magar Pyaar Say and videos of “Aaja Re Aja” from Karachi Se Lahore and “Talabgaar” from Moor.

All of these songs carry an aura of their own and add flavors to the emerging film music in Pakistan. Music has always been an integral part of the sub-continent films and it a good sign that the new filmmakers are fully cognizant of it and they are trying to redefine and reshape it instead of being at odds with the idea of having “songs” in a film.

Watch and read about all the three songs below.

“Kaala Dooriyaan” from Dekh Magar Pyaar Say

The trailer of Dekh Magar Pyaar Say, released earlier this week, gave a sneak peek of the dance number “Kaala Dooriyan” leaving us yearning for more and now, God bless them for it, an exclusive video teaser of the number is released and it has made us gaga over it. The song teaser is the hottest part of the film released so far and it has taken the hype of the film to a new high.

The dance number features supermodel-turned-actress Amna Ilyas and Waleed Khaled along with the adorable couple of the film Humaima Malik and Sikander Rizvi. All of them are looking stunning and snazzy and the dance moves are so well synched with the beats of this famous Punjabi tapa that it makes you groove and croon and raise an urge for more and more unstoppable extravaganza. The song will be a perfect addition in the wedding songs’ playlist.

Watch the song teaser below.

https://www.facebook.com/galaxylollywood810/videos/1017347884977297/

More: Watch theatrical trailer of Dekh Magar Pyaar Say here.

“Aaja Re Aja” from Karachi Se Lahore

The road trip movie Karachi Se Lahore had a lot of things to look forward and the song “Aaja Re Aja” was one of them which has just been released, revealing Aysha Omer in “jaw-dropping” avatar and featuring Shahzad Sheikh, Yasir Hussain, Ahmed Ali and the child star Aashir Wajahat setting out on their trip.

The song is fresh and melodious with very good lyrics and the voice of Sur Dervish sounds perfect for the song. The video of the song reveals some part of the road trip from Karachi, the colorful roof top of one of the restaurants in new food street of Lahore and also some of the already seen clips from the trailer of the movie. One thing where the video falls short of is in making a distinction between a video song and an “ad” of a frozen dessert. It happens, we can understand!

Overall, it is a very good song and perfect to have added in your long drive playlist, perhaps, for that you need to wait for the release of the complete audio.

Watch the song below.

https://www.facebook.com/galaxylollywood810/videos/1017405198304899/

More: Watch theatrical trailer of Karachi Se Lahore here.

“Talabgaar” from Moor

Moor, a film by Jami Mahmood, has been at the top of the list of most awaited movies since its first teaser was released and now the video of official soundtrack “Talabgaar” from the film is released featuring Samya Mumtaz, Hameed Sheikh, Shaz Khan and other stars of the film.

“Talabgaar”, sung by Javed Bashir, composed by Strings and penned by Anwar Maqsood, needs no more introduction as there is no other example of the excellence like this gathered for a film song in recent times. Its a top-notch treat.

The song is as soulful and mesmerizing as the beautiful landscape of Bostan, Baluchistan where the story is based and most part of the film is shot. The video of the song will strengthen your belief in the film and increase your expectations.

Watch the song below.

https://www.facebook.com/galaxylollywood810/videos/1017343301644422/

Which song did you love the most? Share your feedback in the comments box.

An Insightful Conversation with Humayun Saeed; Tracing his film career from ‘Inteha’ to ‘Bin Roye’ and discussing what’s next for the superstar.

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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July 18, 2015

There are not many names in Pakistan who can be can be called superstars in the truest sense. For being a superstar means to have a certain charisma, to have that power, that influence to make people go crazy for just one look. They might be rare in Pakistan but they surely do exist and today Galaxy Lollywood Editor Momin Ali Munshi will be reintroducing one such superstar who is without doubt one of the biggest names in the Film/TV business these days. With his next film , the eagerly awaited ‘Bin Roye’ releasing today, he is surely the man of the hour. Yes we are talking about the supremely talented and good looking actor Humayun Saaed.

In this interview we trace out his journey from when he debuted in ‘Lollywood’, move to what he is doing today and then lastly discuss what the future holds for this promising actor. Here we present Humayun Saeed like never before…

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(Poll Results) ‘Bin Roye’ is the film to see this Eid-ul-Fitr say Galaxy Lollywood readers.

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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July 18, 2015

We at Galaxy Lollywood conducted a poll where we asked our readers to vote for the film they would want to check out first this Eid-ul-Fitr. The question was:-

Its Eid Day, you have some free time on your hands,which film would you want to go checkout first . In reality however the preferences might not play out due to many factors like ticket unavailability, showtimes and all but assuming there is no such hurdle which film’s ticket would you first buy?

All you readers voted like crazy and here are the results:-

Bin Roye	107	50%
Wrong Number	70	32.7%
Bajrangi Bhaijaan	28	13.1%
Minions	7	3.3%
Terminator Genisys	2	0.9%

(Note: Although Ant Man is releasing this Eid but since it was not on the schedule when we made the poll its not on the list.)

Looks like Bin Roye it is! But we do urge our readers to also go see Wrong Number.

Be Pakistani. Support Pakistani.

Five Reasons why the film Saya E Khuda E Zuljalal should be on your watch list!

By

Guest Author

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July 18, 2015

(Note: This is a guest post written by a twelve year old who is extremely passionate for Pakistani Cinema)

By: Ahmed Sarym
Final Editing: Momin Ali Munshi

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/galaxylollywood810/videos/1017314991647253/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]

I am sure you have seen the first look teaser that was shared online a few hours back and are already wondering when is this film coming and want to know more about it. Well do not worry for I am here to tell you all about it. Let me start by telling you that the film is all set to release this September and is sure to take the box-office by storm! Here are five reasons why this film should be on your watch list:-

5. It marks the debuts and comebacks of many:The brilliant TV actress Nimra Khan, the theatre and TV actor Essa Choudhry, son of the legendary Saba Faisal, Salmaan Faisal, supermodel Rachel Gill, dancer and model Aamina Malik, singer and composerAhsan Najam, designer and actor,Waleed Zaidi are just a few names who have been given a chance to act in a film as grand as SKZ! Not only is the film giving an opportunity to these new emergents but it is also bringing back the old age Lollywood stars like Arbaaz Khan, Afzal Khan, Tanvir Malik, Jia Ali, Noor Bukhari and the ultimate superstar, Mommar Rana!

4. For the first time in the history of Pakistani cinema Shafqat Cheema will play a positive role: From Chooriyan to Main Hoon Shahid Afridi! There is no positive role that the legend Shafqat Cheema has ever portrayed and this movie is all set to mark history in the cinema of Pakistan! He will be seen in a supporting character, as a side kick to the incredibly handsome model and actor who also happens to be one of the leads of the film, Sohail Sameer!

3. Aamina Malik: Though this beauty still has to make a name for herself, SKZ will do wonders for her! This model turned actress is doing a sizzling club sequence in the movie with Jaleel Mirza. She looks red hot (her dress too is dark red) in the pictures and lets hope that she leaves all the Billi’s and the Jawani’s behind …

2. Scarlet Johsan comes home: For the first time in the history of Pakistani cinema, a female actor will be seen kicking butts just like the super hot, Scarlet Johansan did as Black Widow! And guess who’s that super woman? It’s none other than our diva, Jia Ali. According to reports she will be seen playing a negative character and that too as a spy! She will be seen in more action sequences than most of the male actors.

1. It’s an era based movie: A full on patriotic film, SKZ will have its twists and turns in the form of eras. It will consist of four eras dealing with the partition time period, the 1965 war and two of the others are unknown yet. This is surely a first in Pakistan!

We hope that these five reaons get you all excited and that you are as excited about the film as I am.

Film industry upset with LSA nominations, controversies brewing up

By

Aayan Mirza

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July 17, 2015

The nominations for the 14th season of Pakistan’s grandest and much awaited award show, Lux Style Awards (LSA), are finally here. And like every year, this year too, Lux would be celebrating the accomplishments of Pakistan’s entrainment arena for last one year.

But like every time in past, Lux, this year too has managed to surround itself with some controversies. Most serious of which are related to its nominations for Pakistani films.

While an enough space has been given to the big names of last year, including Na Maloom Afraad, O21, and Dukhtar, the nominations have missed it on some other significant names to hit cinemas last year.

But the space or no space isn’t really the main issue. At least for the very first controversy that is surrounding it.

Jamshed Mahmood (Jami), the director of one of last year’s biggest releases, O21, seems not happy at all with the awards for nominating his film in its film related categories. He is of the view that Lux had no right at all to nominate his film when it wasn’t even submitted to them.

Jami - Director O21 — Jami – Director ‘O21’

When contacted by Galaxy Lollywood for his comment on the matter, the director whose upcoming film Moor is releasing on 14th August this year said, “The proper way for an award submission is submissions first. Director or producers are contacted or Directors and Producers contact the awards. But here without proper contact or any contact for that matter, our film is nominated. We have no issues with LUX but there has to be a proper way for these kind of nominations.”

It is relevant to mention here that Lux had asked for the portfolio submissions with a deadline of 8th February 2015 for its different categories. A prospective nominee, as per this criteria, has to first submit the portfolio of his/her work, and only then it is considered for the awards.

But portfolio submission or not, as per the released nominations, it seems like the award jury didn’t care much for the portfolios and kept the selection process entirely at its discretion. Thus, a major snub for films like Tamanna and The System.

Since we couldn’t manage a comment by the team of The System regarding its film submission, we won’t further comment on it. But people at Tamanna’s camp seem seriously upset with LSA’s ignorance towards their film, even after a formal submission by ARY Films (Tamanna’s distributing partner) to the awards.

Talking exclusively to Galaxy Lollywood, this is what the producer of Tamanna, Sarah Tareen, had to comment on the issue, “In a country which has a handful of films that hardly make up an industry, it is criminal to ignore films and filmmakers who are contributing to the ‘revival’ of cinema. Tamanna has been appreciated internationally and locally for its music which won the best music for Rahat Fateh Ali’s track ‘Koi Dil Mein at the London Asian Film Festival Awards held at BAFTA and Salman Shahid and Omair Rana’s performances were appreciated by critics and the audience along with the cinematography. It is disappointing that our local awards chose to ignore a local film which has won accolades and appreciated internationally. It’s actually shameful on LSA part.”

It is definitely a valid point from her side since the film’s song, Koi Dil Mein, in the voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, gathered numerous praises both locally and internationally. And despite the film as whole not getting much positive reviews, the acting of its two lead stars, Salman Shahid and Omair Rana, was equally applauded wherever the film toured.

Sarah furthermore added, “We have a long way to go in ‘reviving’ cinema and making films is just a part of it. It is about educating a mindset. I am certain that the jury members in these awards hardly comprise of people with a cinematic background, our film journalists don’t know how to critique films and there is absolutely no meritocracy to monitor and measure success or quality of films. There has to be a system in place to judge the films and monitor cinema as an industry. Only then we can hope for a ‘revival.'”

So submission or no submission, selection or no selection, the film industry doesn’t seem to be too happy with Lux Style Awards. A remedy on part of LSA perhaps? Or at least an official clarification.

Addition: It is worth mentioning here that even after much try, no one at LSA could be reached to speak on behalf of the award management on the subject in focus.

Breaking News: Pakistan’s most expensive film ‘Yalghaar’ all set to release this Christmas i.e 25 December 2015

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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July 17, 2015

Now this is surely a big day for all Yalghaar fans.

The extended first look was released online a few minutes ago and we were just gushing over how sexy it looks when our sources confirmed that the film will be releasing on 25 December 2015.

Yes, it’s official people. The most eagerly awaited film of the year and the most expensive film to have come out of Pakistan Cinema is all set to release this Christmas.

The film is directed by Hassan Waqas Rana who also produced and wrote the blockbuster film Waar.Moreover what makes this film more exciting is the fact that it has an all star cast which includes Shaan Shahid, Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Asher Azeem Gill, Umair Jaswal, Naeem Haque, Gohar Rasheed, Bilal Ashraf, Owais Shiekh, Ahmad Taha Ghani, Wali Yousuf, Atiya Khan, Sana Bucha, Ayesha Omar, Aleeze Nasser, Armeena Rana Khan, Uzma Khan among many others

Are you all excited? Well we sure are. Here is the first extended look in case you missed it.

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/galaxylollywood810/videos/1017252264986859/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]

Na Maloom Afraad to get its TV Premiere this Eid

By

Aayan Mirza

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July 17, 2015

This Eid is going to be super huge for all of you out there. As if the treat of the year’s two big films hitting the cinemas wasn’t enough, it has now been announced that another film; a super-hit of the very recent past, the much praised comedy-thriller, Na Maloom Afraad, is also finally going to have its much awaited ‘TV Premiere’ this Eid.

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