NH10 - Reviews and Box-Office Updates - Page 17

^^good to hear it is picking up! india has a match today(fri) so saturday n sun should be better.

It will pick up on weekends and has a long open run too. It will do well.

NH10 review: Anushka Sharma film is so horrifying that you can't blink
Written by Shubhra Gupta

When you are faced with mortal danger, you can either fight or flee. NH 10 takes us on a journey in which both fleeing and fighting struggle for space, till the time comes to stop running.
When young, attractive, urban professional Meera (Anushka Sharma) urges her husband (Neil Bhoopalam) to run away from the men who are terrorising them, she is doing what instinctively comes to most of us. When she turns around to face the enemy, we want to cheer. Because this is a lone woman in a man's world, the kind of world where women are killed before they are born, or dumped, after they draw their first breath, in rubbish bins. It is the land of the Khaps, where caste and gender determine whether you will live or die. Or, worse, how you will live and die.
The build-up in Navdeep Singh's second feature is so tight, so tense, so horrifying that you can't blink. NH 10 goes through Haryana, which is about as far as it can get from the upscale Gurgaon highrises people like Meera and Arjun occupy: as a character tells Meera, "jahaan aapke Gurgaon ka border khatam hota hai, wahan law khatam, maddam".
A run-in with a bunch of violent men who are seen abducting a young couple begins a spiral in which Meera and Arjun sink deeper and deeper, with no reprieve in sight. Gunplay results in an accidental death, and the bunch, led by Satbir (Darshan Kumaar), turns upon the two with murderous intelife

When the chase is under way, the two urbanistas running for their life, wounded and bleeding, you sit there with your heart racing and your hands clenched. Till this point the film is wholly believable, especially for those of us who have traversed the badlands of Haryana: these are roads where women are not safe, whether it is broad daylight or in the dark watches of the night.

Which is why Meera's decision to turn upon the men with no other weapon than burning rage is too much of a stretch. Singh is clearly someone who knows his Jatland. His villages which dot the Haryana countryside are full of just-right sketches of grizzled taus sitting on khaats and being sardonic: that their jokes are misogynistic will never have occurred to them. The men are drawn with insider knowledge, and they are all scarily good, especially the always excellent Jhankaal, and Kumaar.

Some of Singh's skills which he used to make Manorama Six Feet Under such a terrific film are in evidence here, in the recreation of the place where his lethal drama is playing out. The female sarpanch (Naval) who is the kind of woman who is the worst enemy of other women, rings true. So do the other women: both the one who survives and the other who doesn't, paint an accurate portrait of a part of today's India which lives, flagrantly flouting all rules, in medieval times.

But the suspension of disbelief is difficult when it comes to the leading lady, who, in her zeal to become a Killi Billi, throws the credibility switch. It's not that Sharma, who has also produced the film, is not trying hard. She is, and up to a point, she is in fine fettle. But at the point when she turns from flee to fight, I stopped believing.
Leading ladies green-lighting films that can have them on top is wonderful, but to what end? Meera, dragging on her stolen-but-earned cigarette, deciding on a career path, being an equal partner, is a great sight; Meera, dragging a sharp bhala on the ground, with the soundtrack helpfully amplifying the sound, does not leave me cheering.
Star Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Darshan Kumaar, Ravi Jhankal, Deepti Naval
Director : Navdeep Singh

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/nh-10-review-anushka-sharma/

NH10: Out of the cocoon
Mar 13, 2015 08:00 PM , By Anuj Kumar (The Hindu)

A gut wrenching thriller that makes a strong case for how we look at 50 per cent of our population.
An unflinching attempt to take on the deep-seated patriarchy and the caste cauldron simmering behind shining India, director Navdeep Singh gives Anushka Sharma a chance to drive solo on the Bollywood highway. And she drives her way through obstacles with amazing commitment.

Navdeep proved that he knows more than a thing or two about the mofussil India in his debut feature "Manorama Six Feet Under". Here he uses the slasher format and puts it in a social milieu where the dangers are real and violence is absolutely relatable.

Made with the spirit of an indie, the film looks at the brutality of honour killing and asks whether it is a private matter of a community or should we intervene. With the focus on grit and pace, Navdeep doesn't cut deep into the socio-economic realities of the hinterland but drops enough hints along the way to make sense of the ugly male psyche that looks at women as either a devi or a s**t. In the opening montage he affectingly captures the stark divide between the affluence and indigence in the bustling metropolis.

Arjun (Neil) and Meera (Anushka) represent the liberal and upmarket side of the country, unaware of what is brewing just round the corner of the skyscrapers they are ensconced in Gurgaon. The police officer describes the city as a growing child bound to make its mistakes.

As the couple hits the highway for a break, they come across a gory incident. Like many around them they could also have turned a blind eye to it but Arjun decides to intervene and it spirals into a series of events that brings them face-to-face with a brutal reality.

On the surface Arjun's attempt to get involved into what Satbir (Darshan Kumar) and his gang call their private matter' appears impulsive if not downright foolhardy. But then it is Navdeep's way to remark on the cocoons urban youth live their lives in. It is also a comment on the hollow sense of security that an SUV and a gun provide.

As the chase begins, the couple discovers there is a different moral code that operates in this belt. Singh captures the skewed mindset towards women in a telling sequence where a little boy laughs when his mother is hit by his grandmother. He captures the disdain for the urban women, described as English types' by a head constable, with the cuss words etched on the doors of the latrines. He keeps the violence realistic so that nobody could enjoy' it. It remains engaging and disconcerting at the same time. The invectives are central to the narrative and the CBFC's decision to mute some of them shows its inability to look at a reality in the eye.

Meera is not a case of Phool Bane Angaarey. She is feisty from the word go. When she takes a swim Navdeep focuses on her spirit and not her swim suit. So when she takes over from Arjun there is no jerk. Navdeep alludes to the mythical presence of strong-willed women in our society when at the village there is a cultural programme going on a where a presentation of Savitri-Satyavan legend is on. Similarly, Meera's yellow jacket is perhaps Navdeep's tribute to Kill Bill.

Gradually, the situation forces her to do everything that is expected of a male hero in a revenge drama. It might be unpalatable for a section of the audience and the way Meera's smokes in the climax it can spur a debate on how far a woman should go to change perceptions but in the context of the film it fits well.

As the angry young woman Anushka carries the film on her lithe shoulders. She shouts, she cries and she runs but nowhere does she cross into melodramatic territory. Neil makes the most of a half-baked character and Darshans lend solid support as the face of the brute. Ravi Jhankal chips in with rustic idiosyncrasies and Deepti Naval comes as a surprise package.

Sudeep Sharma has come up with an edgy screenplay but at times he takes the audience as unawares of the caste dynamics as the lead players. At time Navdeep makes it a little too apparent that Anushka is also the co-producer of the film. The rousing background track that plays when she hits the road after Arjun gets decapitated establishes her invincibility even before she takes the challenge head on. It may be dictated by the need to insert intermission but this approach curbs the surprise element of the storytelling. Still a road to hell you can't resist.



http://m.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/nh10/article6991010.ece/

Director: Navdeep Singh
Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Darshan Kumar
Censor: A
Rating:

NH10, Navdeep Singh's second film afterManorama Six Feet Under (2007), isn't entirely original. Not long ago, on a bright and happy Sunday, I unwittingly came across the Michael Fassbender starrer 'Eden Lake'. I barely made it through the sheer depravity of it all"a holidaying British couple clutching at straws to escape from a crazed gang in a doomed forest"and marveled at how I managed to keep the bile down my throat.

Unofficial adaptations are usually called 'rip-offs', but this term would be a bit extreme to use for Mr. Singh's brutal thriller. The location provides for valid social commentary; it makes the tension a regionally relevant one, and pretty much defines this clever desi re-imagination. The tone isn't literally dark for the heck of it. Most of it is shot at night, when deranged rapists and wolves hunt in packs.

The infamous NH10 highway plays the murky Lake, and dull English skies are replaced by dusty, moonlit Haryana nights. The triggers aren't dissimilar"an accidentally murdered wild dog is replaced by an accidentally killed mentally-handicapped brother, a roadside dhaba plays a cafe, and the horrid reality of an honour-killing-infested environment is used as motivation"something that was missing, and perhaps not needed in rural England. Despite the more unique setup, the plot contrivances are identical, especially the tragic coincidences"nature of the beast as far as the slasher genre goes"when the girl encounters unfortunate characters who snitch her out.
I'm not fully convinced about Neil Bhoopalam's Arjun though; and the place from where his simmering ego explodes, leading to their messy involvement. He looks like that one brave guy out of twenty mute non-interfering onlookers, but doesn't seem like a foolhardy man who'd put his wife in harm's way just to prove a point. However, this is remote Gurgaon, the darkest underbelly of Haryana to be precise, where lawlessness is second only to godlessness. Unpredictable male behavior is par for the course.

Anushka Sharma's Meera is given more leeway than Kelly Reilly's Jenny; she goes from being terrorized to becoming the embodiment of terror itself. Her physical journey isn't pleasant to watch, and can't have been easy to enact. Little things, like knowing exactly what condition she is in on what page of the script"the continuity of her emotional downswings, moods, bloodstained clothes and deteriorating limp"are signs of an actress at the top of her game.

Towards a perversely uplifting climax, she seems to channel the murderous rage of a million tweeters, and succeeds in making us bay for blood, cigarette puffs and other unmentionable gory fantasies. Karan Gour's eerie background score messes with the mind, and the casting in particular is (originally) inspired"especially Deepti Naval's outrageous role, where the makers use her real-life persona to fool us into not expecting her reel turn. Darshan Kumar (Mary Kom) does well to look uncivilized, while his LED-fitted-SUV does a fine job of looking consistently ominous.

On its own, NH10 is atmospheric, well acted, moody and crafted with a definite vision. A little more writing and less 'inspiration' would have made this its own distinct film.

Perhaps if the filmmakers didn't assume that not more than fifty Indians have watched Eden Lake, I'd recommend this in a heartbeat. Of a strong, thumping heart.

anu is getting high praises from all.

NH10' Opens Better Than 'Queen', 'Kahaani', 'Tanu Weds Manu'; Equals 'Mardaani'
By MovieTalkies.com, 14 March 2015 03:00 PM IST
Anushka Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, Vidya Balan

NH10 has spelt good news for Anushka Sharma. With her first female centric film, she had a challenge in store. Not just that as she had a lot more on stake commercially too by turning into a producer along with Eros and Phantom. Well, with over 3.35 crore coming on the first day of the release itself, NH10 has now done almost double of what Queen did on its opening day. This isn't all as Anushka now is enjoying a better opening than Vidya Balan's Kahaani, Kangana's Tanu Weds Manu while also (almost) equaling Mardaani.

On its release, while Queen had accumulated 1.75 crore, Kahaani had brought home 3 crore, Tanu Weds Manu enjoyed 3.2 crore, while Mardaani grew from strength to strength after clocking 3.46 crore. Whole early estimates of NH10 are 3.35 crore (it could prove to be better than Mardaani eventually), all eyes are now on how the weekend performs.

An early start like this has given impetus to NH10 as not many believed this Navdeep Singh directed affair would enjoy such good collections on the first day itself.

"There were many reasons for that. The film is violent, it is dark & disturbing, and more than anything else, it has an Adults Only certificate that contributes to reduced footfalls," informs our source, "Due to this, NH10 was always meant to be a word of mouth film. However, more than 3 crore on Day One has given a good head-start to the film. Since the word of mouth is very good too while reviews are all around positive, it is game on for NH10. While it is a given that the weekend would be in excess of 10 crore now, it would be interesting to see how far does it go from this point on."

Each of the aforementioned female centric films, be it Queen, Kahaani, Tanu Weds Manu or Mardaani, had eventually turned out to be good box office successes. Given the kind of reception that NH10 is enjoying, it is apparent that Bollywood would now have a hat-trick of commercial successes in quick succession with Badlapur and Dum Laga Ke Haisha still playing in theaters.

When contacted, Krishika Lulla said, "It is gratifying to see such kind of response from the audience. I just knew I had a winner in hands when I saw reactions of audience in trials and screenings that happened prior to the release. Then when I visited theaters, I was positive that we would have constant escalation on footfalls."

The film has been made at a tight budget of 8 crore with 5 crore spent on Print & Advertising, hence making it a 13 crore affair.

"Well, you have to keep the budget right," says Kishika, "When you do it that way, it works. You need to enjoy the profits and enjoy the success."

This couldn't have been better stated!
- See more at: http://www.movietalkies.com/news/28587/%27nh10%27-opens-better-than-%27queen%27-%27kahaani%27-%27tanu-weds-manu%27;-equals-%27mardaani#sthash.sCHExrjV.dpuf

Anushka Sharma's maiden co-production NH10 has opened to a slow start at the box office. But on the upside, the word of mouth about the film is very positive.

In the case of content-driven films, we've seen box office numbers rallying after a few days. The last YRF film Dum Laga Ke Haisha' being a case in point. The film did better during its second weekend than the first.

Likewise, Anushka Sharma's latest film 'NH10' opened dull on Friday morning. The footfalls were better in the evening, but the film managed to mint only Rs. 3.35 crore on its first day, which is below par.

Movie Review: 'NH10' is a taut thriller with superb performance by Anushka Sharma

Trade pundits feel the film has the merit to pick up strongly in the coming days.

'NH10' is set in NCR region and is understandably doing well there. It's got a good response in Gurgaon. The Mumbai collections were also good. It's the mass belt sectors where the film has fared poorly.

Expect the film's collection to pick up substantially in the coming days.

We'll keep you updated.

PHOTOS: 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' promotion going on even two weeks after film's release