FYI - "Chandni" To Have Widest U.S. Release Of Any Bollywood Movie
This just in...
Warner Bros. Pictures will be releasing the Bollywood film Chandni Chowk to China in North America on January 16th. The film will open on more than 125 screens in over 50 markets (I'm sure New York City, my home, will be one of them), making it the largest and widest ever release of any Bollywood film in the United States and Canada.
The film will also be released in 40 international markets.
The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
What's Chandni Chowk to China about? Here's the long version:
The first ever Bollywood Kung-fu comedy takes you on a madcap journey from the by-lanes of Chandni Chowk in Delhi, to Shanghai, marrying in its wake hilarious gags, breathtaking action, spectacular locations and heart stirring emotions.
Our protagonist Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) is the lowest on the totem pole, cutting vegetables at a road side food stall in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. He longs to escape his dreary existence and looks for shortcuts - with astrologers, tarot readers, & fake fakirs - basically believing anything except himself, despite his father figure's best efforts.
His redeeming moment arrives when two strangers from China claim him as a reincarnation of a war hero in the past and take him to China.
Sidhu now dreams of wine, women and a princely existence in foreign lands. Thanks to the devious translator, a conman by the name Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey), little does he know that he is being taken to the promised land to rid the Chinese village of the vicious smuggler Hojo (Gordon Liu)!
So Sidhu blissfully sets forth to China with Chopstick who instigates dreams of a delicious future and forgets to reveal the perils which await him. Along the way he meets Sakhi (Deepika Padukone), Ms. Tele Shoppers Media (Ms TSM) who has embarked on a journey to pay homage to the land of her birth and her dead father and twin.
Initially Sidhu through a series of lucky coincidences manages to sidestep being beaten by Hojos men but finally Hojo catches up with him and exposes him as the country buffoon that he really is.
Sidhu has the fire of revenge in his belly and finds the one man who will make him a Kung-fu expert and set the village free. Armed with his Sifu (master), faith in himself and the love of the fair Sakhi, Sidhu sets forth to conquer all!
Pheeewwwww! Got all that? :o)
I'll see it! From the looks of the trailer below, it looks like a 2-hour escapade! Plus, I don't know how often the Indians and the Chinese work together on film productions! The merging of cultures should be edutainment! It might provide some respite from the January doldrums.
The film's website, which is chock-full of goodies, can be found HERE.
Watch the fun trailer below:
via INDIEWIRE
I'm not a Bollywood fan, but it will be interesting to see how a usually quite staid Chinese filmic element will play into an all singing, all dancing Bollywood extravaganza.
Should be interesting.
I'll definitely be seeing this one. Some parts look a little cheesy but overall it could turn out to be a sweet blend between the two genres.