Hindi
Players makes for dull viewing
MUMBAI: The search for subjects for films seems to be getting more and more desperate as producers and directors take recourse to sequels and remakes of old movies, regional movies as well as foreign movies. Players, in this event, is inspired by a Hollywood caper movie, The Italian Job (made twice; 1969 and 2003) where a bunch of specialists form a team to steal a cache of World War I-era gold worth billions.
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Producer: Burmawala Partners, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. |
But Players is what happens when a star is expected to make up for everybody and everything else, including the script!
Abhishek Bachchan is a master criminal specialising in high value heists. He next wants to rob a train carrying gold from under the nose of the Russian army, which is escorting this special train. As in all such films, he needs a team of experts in various skills. Vinod Khanna, a past master at heists, helps him put the team together. On board come Bobby Deol, a magician; Sikander Kher, an explosives expert; Bipasha Basu, an automobile wizard who can attach turbo rocket jets to an age old train engine and make it fly on tracks (!); Neil Nitin Mukesh, a computer hacker; and Omi Vaidya, a gifted make-up and get-up ace. Also on standby are Sonam Kapoor, also a computer hacker and Johny Lever, who can devise and put together any kind of vehicle on four wheels.
The team embarks on the job by hiring a train which runs parallel to the gold-laden train and the heist is successful. Going by heist movie guidebook, it is time for twists and turns and breakups as well as betrayals. One of the team members has greed greater than his due share in the loot and he attempts to finish the rest of the team and vanish. The latter part is all about one-upmanship and getting the gold back.
Both Hollywood versions of The Italian Job had a running time of between 100 and 110 minutes, Players is stretched to 2 hours 30 minutes and this is its first drawback. Secondly, the extensive planning stages and computer mumbo-jumbo, which not many cine-goers care for, also makes for dull viewing. The ultimate major problem is the star cast, which comprises those lacking draw at the box office, are not quite capable of carrying off two and a half hours of drama, and lack of excitement or enthusiasm they show carrying out the job.
Yes, the film has great visuals and finesse as well as well-executed action and stunt sequences but the credit for these goes neither to the writers nor the director duo. Whatever is left to them is nothing much to write home about. Songs in the film are not only bad; they could easily have been dispensed with. Editing is so slack as to be non-existent. Of the technical aspects, cinematography deserves mention. In the cast, the one who does best and helps hold the film together in parts is Johny Lever, a fact which says a lot about the others. Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Bipasha Basu and Sonam go about their parts routinely. Neil Nitin Mukesh tries but lacks in varying his expressions. Omi Vaidya is okay. Sikander Kher looks sincere in his efforts. Vinod Khanna has little to do.
Players is a case of just about everything going wrong with a film, from script and execution to casting and public response.
There is an age old belief in the industry that films released on the first Friday of a new year always flop and Players may continue that myth.
Hindi
UFO Cine Media Network unveils ‘India’s biggest cinema moment ever’
Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic tipped to deliver rare pan-India scale for brands
MUMBAI: UFO Cine Media Network is pitching an upcoming dual-film release weekend as what it calls the largest advertising opportunity cinema has offered in India, banking on an estimated 100 million cumulative footfalls nationwide.
The initiative, branded “India’s Biggest Cinema Moment Ever”, is anchored around the simultaneous release of Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic, two high-profile action films expected to dominate screens across regions and languages. Trade projections, supported by cinema measurement tool Procat, suggest the combined lifetime theatrical run could deliver one of the widest audience concentrations seen in recent years.
Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge, an India–Pakistan spy thriller, is set to release in five languages, broadening its appeal across northern and southern markets. The franchise has already built a sizable multilingual following through theatrical runs and streaming platforms. Toxic, fronted by pan-India star Yash, is expected to draw heavy footfalls across southern circuits and beyond, buoyed by the actor’s proven box-office pull.
UFO, which operates an in-cinema advertising network spanning more than 4,100 theatres, is positioning the release window as a rare moment of synchronised national attention. Its footprint covers multiplexes and single screens across over 1,500 towns and cities, allowing advertisers to deploy campaigns at scale during a single weekend.
Executives at the company argue that cinema’s value lies not just in reach but in attention. Unlike digital or television, audiences are captive, emotionally engaged and free from distraction, they say, translating into stronger recall and measurable returns for brands. With advertisers increasingly focused on performance-led media planning, UFO is framing the dual release as comparable in scale to India’s largest broadcast and sporting properties.
Industry observers note that as theatrical exhibition expands deeper into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, such tentpole weekends are becoming anchor moments for annual media strategies. If Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic deliver as expected, the weekend could set new benchmarks not only for box office numbers, but also for cinema’s evolving role as a high-attention advertising medium.
