The film kicks off with a bomb blast planned to kill Pratap (Paritala Ravi). The revenge drama turns around for Pratap to be at the receiving end this time and Surya (played by Suriya) is the one seeking vengeance for the brutal killing of his family. The writing design is much similar to what we’ve seen a month back wherein a young individual is drawn into something he eschews to stay away from only to be emotionally pulled into it.
Surya (Maddelacheruvu Suri) is planning his own happy future and is about to get married when the murder of his entire family internally disturbs him into the blood seeking state. The failed attempt, the surrender and the later acquaintances (personal and political) are what keep the film moving at a gripping pace.
Vivek Oberoi has proved to be a costly proposition for Ram Gopal Varma in more ways than he'd ever imagined. Even as he's finishing putting the final touches to 'Rakta Charita', RGV's realised that his Vivvy Boy flick has stonewalled his prospects in a rather lucrative quarter. The Bachchans.
His earlier efforts 'Sarkar' and 'Sarkar Raj' with the Bachchans, notwithstanding, it has now come to light for Ramu, that he's almost persona non grata on Bachchan ground!
Clearly, anyone's whose on pally terms with VO, professionally or personally, stands to lose faith in the celeb eyes of Ash, Abhy Boy and Bachchan Senior. And it'll be a loooooonnnng time before he gets to greenlight another Bachchan film.
Arjun Rampal's aching back… fetched the backing of close pal Shah Rukh Khan. And a recovering Rampal strode right into the high tech 'Ra.One,' the home production of SRK. A mighty fuss about Vivek Oberoi, the supposed Rampal replacement, and his exit did generate media buzz.
But if close sources are to be believed, there is another aggrieved party: Riteish Deshmukh! Reportedly, Riteish was the premier choice for the role of a baddie in the gaming based flick.
Director Anubhav Sinha who'd earlier helmed 'Cash', had a kool equation with Deshmukh and was keen on casting the architect actor. His 'look' and remuneration were under finalisation… when RD was slammed with the rude jolt!
Unceremoniously dropped in favour of Rampal, the star apparently made his displeasure clear to pals and confidantes. And the super trio of SRK, Rampal and Deshmukh have now reportedly hit a sour note in their friendship. Call it the casting ouuuuuuccccchhhhh……
Vivek Oberoi starrer 'Prince' has proved to be a shot in the arm for the actor as the film has got above average response at the box office. The film has also elbowed out Ritesh Deshmukh-starrer 'Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai' that fell flat courtesy its weak content.
''Prince' has met our expectations with close to 35 percent occupancy across different properties over the weekend. While 'Jaane Kahan...' has proven to be a below average kind of movie with just around 12 percent occupancy,' Deepak Taluja, senior vice president (business and operations) Fun Cinemas, told IANS.
'People are appreciating the content of 'Prince'. 'The Japanese Wife' on the other hand has done lukewarm business,' he added.
Piyush Raizada, director, Delite Cinema, an upgraded two-screener in the capital, also shared similar sentiments.
''Prince' has done very good business and the occupancy has been more than 50 percent. However 'Jaane Kahan...' has been very very poor with less than 20 percent occupancy,' said Raizada.
Made at a budget of over Rs.40 crore (Rs.400 million) by producer Kumar Taurani, the two-hour-six-minute venture boasts of action sequences exceeding an hour. It released with over 1,000 prints worldwide.
Directed by debutant Kooki V. Gulati, 'Prince' also stars Nandana Sen, Aruna Shields and Neeru Singh in the female lead.
Meanwhile, 'Jaane Kahan...' is the directorial debut of Milap Zaveri. Made on a budget of about Rs.10 crore (Rs.100 million), the fantasy romantic comedy released worldwide with around 600 prints.
Distributed by Warner Bros Pictures India, it has been co-produced by Mukesh Talreja and Nikhil Advani. It teamed up Riteish with Jacqueline Fernandez again after 'Aladdin'.
'The Japanese Wife', on the other hand, released with only 32 prints in India. Directed by Aparna Sen, it stars Rahul Bose, Raima Sen, Moushumi Chatterjee and Japanese actress Chingusa Takaku.
Munish Sharma, general manager (marketing), Satyam Cineplex, had positive reports for 'Prince' and 'Jaane Kahan Se...'.
'Both 'Prince' and 'Jaane Kahan...' did fairly well with close to 30-40 percent occupancy. Both are average movies but because there is a dearth of content these days, people are hungry for movies. 'The Japanese Wife', on the other hand, was a little lukewarm because of a niche audience value,' said Sharma.
PVR cinemas, however, was disappointed with the commercial potboilers.
'Both the movies have been disappointing. The content of 'Prince' has no value and fetched no footfall. It had close to just 20 percent occupancy while 'Jaane Kahan...' didn't do any magic on the big screen with below 10 percent occupancy,' said a source from PVR.
'However, 'The Japanese Wife' that released with limited prints and limited shows has got good reports with almost 40 percent occupancy,' the source added.
According to a statement released by Saregama Films Monday, the producers of 'The Japanese Wife', the movie has got 'a very promising start off at 88 percent initial collection'.
The 'Prince' is hoping to hit the Big Time, this year. After being directed by South genius Mani Ratnam in 'Yuva', Vivek Oberoi is grinning moonbeams at being lassoed in for Ratnam's next project. Besides,'Rakta Charitra', helmed by Ram Gopal Varma is being touted as the proverbial ace up Oberoi's sleeve. And presently, VO is likely to be in fine form with his Ratnam venture.
Incidentally, both ventures have been "inspired" by real life individuals. Oberoi Boy will soon scoot off to London to meet up with the Indian Punjabi Lord settled in Britain, and spend a good ten days with him to get a first hand feel of the person behind the persona.
Initially, Ratnam was to have helmed the project, though owing to his failing health during the filming of 'Raavan,' the director has opted out and Siva, Ratnam's assistant of over 12 years will craft the flick, with Shaad Ali ('Saathiya') on board as executive director.
Besides, his musical play 'Kingdom Of Dreams' is likely to gladden the hearts of his abiding fans too. Guess, Vivek's on a starry roll….
Vivek Oberoi is a man on a mission - apart from doing quality work in films, he wants to help the needy and says that 'inner happiness is achieved by doing good for others'.
'I feel it's my duty to help the needy. I have been taught by my family that inner happiness is achieved by doing good for others and I totally believe in this. Everyone should take out time from their busy schedule to spread happiness in the world,' Vivek told IANS in an email interview.
The 33-year-old is associated with a couple of charitable organisations.
Apart from being a part of his mother's NGO The Yashodhara Oberoi Foundation (YOF), he is also the brand ambassador of Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA).
'Today people have a very short span of memory. When I talk about a certain NGO, it generates awareness and leads to more helping hands which they require,' he said.
'It is not possible for any NGO to support its cause without any helping hand. I try to be the middle man by creating a right association with NGOs and corporate houses,' added the actor, who recently joined hands with Panasonic's Eco Idea Campaign and gifted a refrigerator to NGO Snehasadan, which works for street children's welfare.
'A couple of months back I overheard a conversation of a staff about Snehasadan and what they do for the street kids. It caught my attention and I did my own research. I was really impressed with their work. When I met Father Placido Fonseca, he mentioned that in summer it gets tough for the children. I gave it a thought and got in touch with Panasonic to gift a refrigerator,' he said.
Going back to his movies, the actor is looking forward to the release of 'Prince - It's Showtime', his first solo film in five years.
Asked what took him so long to do a film as a solo actor, he said: 'I was reading a lot of scripts but nothing really interested me and I just didn't want to work in random projects. I believe in quality work and not quantity.'
Directed by debutant Kooki Gulati, the film is about a quick-witted thief who wakes up one morning to realise that he has a gunshot on his arm and has absolutely no clue about how he gets it because he has lost his memory.
Vivek will also be seen doing some daring stunts in the film.
'I was a bit nervous doing some daredevil stunts in my film which I had never done before. 'Prince - It's Showtime' is my first action film and will showcase me in a new avatar. It's a story that could be every man's fantasy and every man's nightmare,' he said.
'All the action scenes have been shot in Hollywood style which audiences will see for the first time,' Vivek added.
Releasing April 9, the film also stars Aruna Shields, Nandana Sen, Niroo Singh and Sanjay Kapoor.
Vivek shares an intimate kissing scene with Aruna in the film and says he had to do several retakes to get it right.
'It was our first ever intimate kissing scene and both of us were jittery, which led to too many retakes as it was not looking natural,' he said.
Vivek is currently working on Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rakta Charitra' and has two other films in the pipeline.
Asked about recent reports of him planning to settle down, he said: 'Correction, I am not looking at settling any time in the near future and what's my age...I am still a child.'
Vidya Balan's on a dizzy roll in Hindi cinebiz. And soon, another South star, who's close to Balan, will show up in a Ram Gopal Varma flick.
Priyamani, the national award winning (Tamil film: 'Paruthiveeran') actress and Balan's cousin has been handpicked by Varma for his forthcoming flick 'Rakta Charitra' starring Vivek Oberoi.
Reportedly, Varma finally zeroed in on casting Priyamani after watching her topline histrionics in 'Paruthiveeran'.
The music of Vivek Oberoi-starrer 'Prince' is set to release on Valentine's Day Sunday and the producers of the film have planned a big surprise to mark the event.
'Innovation has always been a key for Tips Industries and with this film too we hope to change some rules of the game,' says producer Kumar Taurani.
The music launch will be attended by Vivek in Oberoi Mall, Mumbai, and is open to public.
He's now turned mediator of sorts. Notch one more high for Shah Rukh Khan. After Hrithik Roshan's b'day bash , the party swerved late into the night at 'Mannat', as well.
SRK had personally invited Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan, Vivek and many others to his residence, when they met up at the Roshan celebration. But tension peaked with Vivek Oberoi sharing the same celeb space as Abhi Ash.
Sensing the squirmy discomfort that was soon to follow, King Khan, playing the suave host bought together the two warring factions, Abhishek and Vivek. And he managed this subtly, forging a polite bond without making his intentions expressly known.
Abhishek Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi were together...under one roof. And the occasion being the music launch of Apoorva Lakhia's film HIDE and SEEK recently held at a posh hotel of Mumbai.
But the duo perfectly timed their arrival to avoid bumping into each other.
Meanwhile, other celebs present at the event, including Sunil Shetty, Riteish Deshmukh, producer Vashu Bhagnani, Gulshan Grover, Zayad Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Kunal Kapoor, Pooja Bedi, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Dino Morea, Ashima Sawhney, Zoya Akhtar, Neetu Chandra, Ramesh Taurani of tips, Ramesh Jain of Venus films, Karan Oberoi, yoga guru Bikram Choudhary, Shweta Salve, Raj Zutshi, Deepak Tijori, Pravesh Rana of the Bigg Boss fame, were literally mobbed.
The entire star cast of the suspense thriller-Purab Kohli, Arjan Bajwa, Samir Kochchar, Ayaz Khan-were also present in their perfect suits. The lead actresses Mrinalini Sharma was dressed in a dazzling white gown and debutant Amruta Patki, former Miss India was wearing a sparkling navy blue gown.
Directed by Shawn Arranha, the film is about 6 childhood friends, who play a game of hide and seek on a cold Christmas night and as they grow up, they find themselves playing the same game unknowingly in a deadly way.
Hey, the cat is out of the 'Mannat' bag! As per insiders, Shah Rukh Khan and family got a celeb jolt themselves when they spotted Vivek Oberoi amid their party guests. SRK had not invited the publicity hungry Oberoi to his bash, but having spotted him, was too polite a host to ask him to leave pronto.
Huh, should have, considering the pain that the vile Vivek inflicted, showing off his new Dacuti motorcycle. Abhi Ash were incensed enough at having him trailing them with his eyes wherever they went. That apart, Oberoi Boy hastened to demonstrate his biking skills to SRK when the Bachchans were exiting.
Pity, the Dacuti refused to start in front of SRK!
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