Mumbai: Anyone who grew up in the late '90s and early '2000 would know the pleasure of dancing on Bole Chudiyan and Saajanji Ghar Aaye at a family function. They would know the fun of buying the cheaper version of Manish Malhotra lehengas and saris. The glamorised and romantic introduction to Karwa Chauth and dreams of dancing on the streets of London is surely credited to Dharma Productions' head honcho Karan Johar through his romantic and family sagas.
Whether you like him or not, Karan Johar has delivered some of the best films to Indian cinema and made the actors stars, sans star kids. While the ace director battles with the accusations of being the flag bearer of nepotism, Johar has successfully delivered content that's for family and still questions taboos around society. He doesn't need to delve into abusive content or anything that one is cautious watching with kids, he successfully delivers a film which makes for a perfect family outing. Johar's latest offering Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, a family drama that stands against the cancel culture of our society, is another testimony to the fact that Karan Johar is one of the finest directors that the Indian film industry has produced in the 20th century.
Rocky Aur Rani
Featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh as the protagonist, the special highlight of this film is Shabana Azmi and the reunion of Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan on screen after 48 years after Sholay. There's also Karan's 'neppo' kids Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor, and Varun Dhawan in cameos. The movie shows the flaws of our society which doesn't believe in unity in diversity, misogyny, casual racism, and fat shaming and how we learn to live with all the imperfections. While the central plot of the story, a love story, may not leave you with a beating heart, the quintessential KJo-style family saga that's high on drama, and values, all amplified with great music surely keeps you entertained. It is no surprise that Karan has made a solid directorial comeback after the 2012 release of Student of the Year and the Netflix film Lust Stories in 2018, which explored modern relationships and sexual desire.
Rocky Aur Rani opens to warm reviews
“Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani is one of the most entertaining Hindi films I have seen in recent years. If you love wit humour and strong emotions Here is a must-watch,” veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar wrote on his Twitter account. Shraddha Soni who watched the movie on the first day says, “This is the kind of movie that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Can't miss it. After a long time there's a good movie,” says a digital marketing professional.
If market ratings are to be believed, Karan's comeback RARKPK passes with flying colours with an opening day collection eying over ₹12 crore as it registered about 12 % occupancy in the Hindi market for the morning show. The response so far has been good with the movie selling over 18,000 tickets at the three national chains - PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis making it for about ₹12 Crore debut. With the weekend, the number is expected to soar, thus ensuring a good start for RARKPK at the box office. According to the latest report the rights of the film have been sold to Prime Video for a whopping ₹80 Crore.
Rocky Aur Rani's budget
Made on a budget of ₹160 Crore with a further ₹18 Crore on print and publicity the total Cost of Production of the film is pegged at ₹178 Crore. Before even the release, the makers have already recovered nearly 90% of their initial investment. With Rs 80 Crore coming from the same of the digital rights, ₹50 Crore from the sale of satellite rights to Colors, and another ₹30 Crore from the sale of music rights to Saregama, making it overall ₹160 Crore recovery.
In the last few years, KJo has certainly been at the receiving end of enormous hate for being active in lobby politics, promoting star kids, and killing many actors' careers. Despite the claims and opinions, one can not ignore the fact that Karan Johar has delivered some wonderful movies to Hindi cinema. In addition, It is Dharma Production that buys the rights of some of the biggest hits including Bahubali. We hope Kjo's latest offering may turn the table for good.
