It could be called the curious case of Dilwale. Because here is a movie that according to trade analysts has worldwide made over Rs 300 crore, which is a decent number. And yet there was Shah Rukh Khan the other day saying that the movie had done not as well as expected. In effect, he was saying, Dilwale had failed by his standards. 
Then more recently, a report in a gossip website, said that Kajol was regretting that she had done the movie and, what is more, feels slightly miffed that it was Shah Rukh who had convinced her to do it and now he himself was running down the movie. 
So what exactly were the fortunes of the movie? Actually, not spectacular if you consider what it did in India where the movie made around Rs 150 crore. It is a decent number for any other actor but when it comes to the three superstar Khans then it pales in comparison to what Salman and Aamir have been delivering. 
Also, what is especially rankling for the Dilwale team is that Bajirao Mastani which released on the same day made almost Rs 40 crore more in India when everyone had thought the reverse would happen. 
The movie’s performance takes the sheen off its director Rohit Shetty to some extent. He was the man who could never not deliver a superhit, someone who didn’t rank very high with critics but knew the pulse of the audience. But, if he couldn’t deliver at least the biggest hit of the year with a combination that had Shah Rukh and Kajol in it, then it does put a question mark on him. What is said to have made Kajol especially upset is that to be in Dilwale she dropped doing another movie called Durga Rani Singh, which would have had a main female protagonist, a movie that would revolve around her character. 
Sujoy Ghosh, its director, was the same man who made Kahaani that brought Vidya Balan so many accolades. As it turned out, Vidya is going to be in Durga Rani Singh. Kajol, who played a side role to Shah Rukh in Dilwale, finds that neither was the movie appreciated nor did it become a blockbuster which might have made it all worthwhile.

Babus in a huff over Airlift taking liberty with facts 

Akshay Kumar maintains his status as the evergreen star of Bollywood constantly on the heels of the Khans, but never quite reaching that level. While other contenders have all had their day in the sun, they drop out sooner or later. There was a time when stars like Govinda and Saif Ali Khan seemed to be doing great but no longer. Only Akshay goes on, reinventing himself, from action to comedy, from commercial to middle brow. His latest movie Airlift, which has the unusual story of Indians being evacuated from Kuwait after the Iraq invasion of 1990, said to be the largest such operation of transporting 70,000 people. The movie has garnered great collections and has crossed that of other recent Akshay hits like Baby and Rowdy Rathore. It has however, also run into a controversy. Airlift’s plot shows the Indian government agencies lax in airlifting the stranded people until Akshay, who plays a local businessman, steps in. 
But according to present and former diplomats, that is far from the truth and the External Affairs Ministry was, in fact, behind the operation. One former foreign secretary said the movie, while entertaining, was badly researched and ludicrous when it came to facts. There were such annoyed comments from other bureaucrats as well. 
On the other hand, they seem not to comprehend that a movie’s primary purpose is entertainment and that every such feature film which is based on real life takes huge liberties with the truth and that is why they usually also have a disclaimer.

Deepika, up next for Hollywood

Fresh after the success of the next big blockbuster of her life in Bajirao Mastani, which once again reaffirmed her status at the top of Bollywood’s leading ladies, what is Deepika Padukone up to? Not cooling her heels certainly. She has set her sights on foreign shores now that the country is captured. Sometime back there were rumours that she would be seen in the seventh edition of The Fast And The Furious with Hollywood star Vin Diesel, but that didn’t work out. It however doesn’t mean that Hollywood plans are cancelled because Deepika is acting opposite Diesel in another movie, XXX: The Return of Xander Cage and confirmation comes from a variety of places. There is Deepika’s trainer, who has put out images and videos in Instagram of her working out to get into shape for the action flick. There was also a video put out by Diesel himself with Deepika in which he said he had wanted to work with her for a long time. Looks like after Priyanka we might soon have one more successful export to Hollywood.

Game of Throes: Hrithik debunks Kangana ‘affair’ 

This is a somewhat candid controversy in an industry where everyone shoots over someone else’s shoulders and never comes on record. Last year, as Hrithik Roshan’s marriage ended with wife Susanne, there were rumours that he had entered into a relationship with Kangana Ranaut. Of course, no-one confirmed the news and it just remained in the realm of gossip. Kangana recently made a rather astonishing statement that was confirmation. 
It followed after reports that Kangana, who was being considered for Aashiqui 3, was dropped from consideration allegedly at the behest of Hrithik. She was asked about this in an interview and her reply was that exes would go to great lengths to get attention, implying, of course, that Hrithik was an ex-lover. Everyone then waited for Hrithik’s reaction and he put out a very sarcastic tweet that said, ‘Ther r more chances of me having had an affair with d Pope dan any of d (Im sure wonderful) women d media hs ben naming. Thanks but no thanks.’ There the matter rests hopefully unless Kangana says something to rake it up again. 

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