The unstoppable Sanjaya Malakar is back -- with a book.
UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya made international headlines last Thursday when he bought Mahatma Gandhi's memorabilia for a whopping $1.8 million from an auction in New York. Mallya, who has announced that he plans to hand over the items to the Indian government, might have a long wait ahead of him. The US Justice Department has decided to probe the legality of the sale of the Gandhi memorabilia.
The comic book movie, which has seen various efforts to bring it to the screen over the last two decades, grossed over the weekend a decent but unspectacular $83 million, nearly 55 percent of it in North America. Slumdog, which was number one film for just one week in its dream run worldwide, made about $18 million. It lost about 35 percent of its box-office clout after having soared to the top amidst post Oscar celebrations.
"Vijay wanted to know if I was going to bid and I said I would," Chatwal said. "As I chatted with him it was clear to me that he too wanted to donate the items to the Navjivan Trust. I then decided I would not bid.
Mahatma Gandhi's items, including his pocket watch, a pair of sandals, a plate, a bowl and his rimmed glasses, were sold at an auction by New York-based Antiquorum Auctioneers on Thursday. UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya reportedly bought the items for $1.8 million.Preliminary reports suggested that Mallya may hand over the items to the Indian government.
James Otis, a tall, curly man with a bewildered look, stood outside a building on New York's Madison Avenue Thursday afternoon around 2 pm announcing, with his pro-bono lawyer Ravi Batra by his side, that he had asked the Antiquorum auctioning house not to go ahead with the sale of the seven items belonging to Mahatma.
This is the second time in Oscar history that a film shot in India has become number one film worldwide; the previous record setter was Gandhi released in 1982. But Slumdog is selling far more tickets than Gandhi.
As the film crossed $200 million barrier worldwide this week following a terrific bump after its eight Oscar win, booksellers worldwide, especially in the UK, Australia and New Zealand are reporting big demand for the novel.
Released two weeks ago, it has grossed over $1.2 million, according to trade publications. And now with the eight Oscars it has garnered, the film could become a bigger success not only across Russia but also worldwide.
Sooni Taraporevala's humourous, fast-paced and life-affirming story of underdogs Little Zizou is scheduled to open on March 13 in India.
The weekend results for the film range from being promising to disappointing. It took in India $5.02 million on 945 screens, a decent but unspectacular performance while in the United Kingdom, it grossed a disappointing $160,887 on 43 screens. It fared far better in the Middle East grossing an encouraging $350,000 at 29 locations in its first four days. In the crucial North American market, it took in $600,000 on 90 screens.
Long before the Oscars and many other awards Slumdog Millionaire received in the last six weeks, director Danny Boyle was emphasizing the importance of smaller distributors and moaning their decline.
As much as the Oscar voters loved Slumdog Millionaire, the film could not have won eight Oscars including the best picture and best director nods had it not been a consistent box-office performer, Hollywood insiders say.
With two of the three Oscar-nominated songs being in Hindi and performed with colourful and vigorous Bollywood dances, and with Rahman invoking in Tamil a saying about divine greatness, the proceedings at times looked like a Bollywood event held in Los Angeles.
There is speculation that Sri Lanka-born rapper Tamilian M.I.A., who gave birth to her first child, a boy, last week soon after she performed at the Grammy Awards, will sing or watch someone else perform her part of the O Saya number.
After Jamal's triumph at the world box-office, isn't it time to finally greenlight the movie about the coming-of-age saga of Pi Patel?
Delhi-6 was greeted well by the audience. Word-of-mouth is crucial in letting the word spread when the film opens on February 20, that it rewards those who are not seeking instant gratification.
Based on the international bestseller memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, which has been translated into at least 31 languages and sold over 7.5 million copies, the film will explore a divorced woman's journey in search of restoration of her body and soul --- and her quest for love.
The director said that she will turn the post-9/11 novel, set in America and Pakistan, into a thriller, with the writer Moshin Hamid guiding her.
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