Toilet : Ek Prem Katha Review&BO (Reviews Page 1) - Page 4

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' is the big release this week and it comes at a time when the industry is yet to recover from the biggest shock of the year in Jab Harry Met Sejal'.

In the last 3-4 months, barring small non-star films like Hindi Medium' and Lipstick Under My Burkha', the only commercial film with a starcast that has sustained well is Mubarakan'. All other films have been rejected, most haven't even opened well.

Will Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' be the film that gives the industry something to smile about?

Factors in favour of Toilet Ek Prem Katha:

• Trailer: Right from the time the trailer was first released, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' looked promising. Movies with desi' look and feel are working at the box office and Toilet: EPK' USP was going to be its simple light-hearted story with a social message.
• Akshay Kumar: He's been in top form in the last 2 years. The audience except good films out of him, the multiplex audience is back in theatres to watch his films too and he's delivered back-to-back successful films in the form of Airlift', Housefull 3', Rustom' and Jolly LLB 2' earlier this year. All films were 100 crore grossers.
• Swacch Bharat Abhiyan: Toilet Ek Prem Katha' hopes to raise awareness around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. The story is about the importance of toilets inside households. If the film does indeed turn out to be well made and gets tax exemption, it could do well in the interiors of India.
• Lack of competition: SRK's Jab Harry Met Sejal was expected to dent the business of Toilet:EPK', but the film has faced outright rejection in its first week itself. Mubarakan' is performing well, but at lower levels. So the Akshay Kumar starrer has two open weeks at the box office, enough time to become a big grosser.

Factors against Toilet Ek Prem Katha:

• Akshay's Day 1 struggle: Back in the mid-2000s, Akshay films used to get those big initials at the box office, but that hasn't been the case this decade. Housefull 3' didn't get a strong initial, but Rustom' did. Post Rustom', there was hope that Jolly LLB 2' would open above the 15 crore mark, but it fell well short. The advance booking for Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' is significantly lower than the SRK film last week.
• The Director: Shree Narayan Singh last directed the 2012 film Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai' which noone watched. His directorial skills will decide the fate of a very important film for the industry.

IndicineFBO: We are going with 13 crore as the opening day prediction for Akshay Kumar's Toilet Ek Prem Katha. The film is unlikely to get a big initial on Friday morning, but should grow as the day progresses.

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha deals with a socially relevant and not widely discussed topic in our living rooms - open defecation.

As the trailer showcased, the film is about a newly married couple, played by Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar, living in rural-ish India. The wife walks out of her husband's home within days of her marriage as they don't have a toilet at home and she is against the idea of defecating in the open, with the 'Lota Party' of the village.

Enter the age-old traditions of the village, disagreeing with the newer generation on the need to have toilets for safety and better hygiene of the women. How the couple spearheads a revolution and finally makes the village and the government at large agree to build toilets in their community, forms the crux of the film.

Talking about the lead cast, Akshay Kumar has always delivered his A-game in Neeraj Pandey films - be it Special 26, Baby or even the not-so-successful Rustom and this role comes naturally to him. He is playing his age, of a not-married bachelor in his late 30s and dons the role of a helpless crusader, fighting for his wife's cause. Bhumi is a refreshing face in Hindi cinema and made an impressive debut in 2015's Dum Laga Ke Haisha. She plays her role of a traditional wife as convincingly as the strong-willed lady who challenges male stereotypes like covering her head in the house, riding a male bicycle to open defecation.

A special mention should be made of Divyendu Sharma, the excellent actor from Pyaar ka Panchnama, who plays the role of Akshay Kumar's brother. He is the perfect wingman and stands with Akshay through thick and thin and probably has equal, if not more screen time than the leading lady. We would have loved to see more of Anupam Kher too. All we know is his is a man with progressive thoughts and is fixated with Sunny Leone!

The first half of the film is crisp and tightly packed but the same can't be said about the other half. After interval, the film tends to get a bit preachy but that is expected if you have a much-debatable topic like open defecation to be addressed. It might feel a bit predictable but it is not something you can't sit through. Neeraj Pandey, after his last film, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story doesn't disappoint with this one.

Overall, it is a good entertainer which leaves you with a food for thought after you exit the movie hall. Yes, you might hear the word ' toilet' multiple times throughout the film but you will soon get comfortable with it. Go for the film, if you are looking for a well-scripted film backed by power-packed performances by the actors.

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Divyendu Sharma, Anupam Kher.

Directed by Shree Narayan Singh

Now playing at theatres in the UAE

Rating: 3/5

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/citytimes/bollywood/toilet-ek-prem-katha-review-a-film-not-to-be-ignored