One year ago OTT made its presence felt in our living rooms and mobile phones, promising a plethora of content and a boom of entertainment. With quick subscription options, movies played at our fingertips, keeping everyone engaged at a time when the world was battling a pandemic. In this week’s #BigStory, let’s take stock of how the digital medium has changed the hero, negated star power, created unexpected success stories and yet, scared a few producers.<doc-sep>'Veere Di Wedding' which stars Kareena Kapoor Khan Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania in leading roles has been the talk of the town ever since the film's announcement. And now that the film has released it is luring the audience to the theatres.According to latest reports on BoxofficeIndia.com, the Shashanka Ghosh directorial has raked in another Rs 5.25 crore which has taken the total collection of the film to Rs 40.25 in just four days.Although the storyline and the bond between the female leads in the film have been the high point of the film, actress Swara hit headlines for her masturbation scene in the movie. The scene did not go down well with the Twitterati and she was brutally trolled for the post. However, the actress shot back with a reply which read, "Looks like a certain IT cell sponsored the tickets- or definitely the tweets !!!! ".Today her friend Sonam too came out in her support and taking a dig at the trollers, the 'Neerja' actress said "I think people just like to troll her because she has an opinion and a point of view and I guess that shows how much they love her because the other side of hate is always love, so Swara you have a lot of lovers."<doc-sep>The idea was to watch a movie on women bonding with my women friends. Because, you know… nostalgia. And this gang constituted of women who were young(ish), independent, sassy and people like us. Here is what happened when I watched Veere Di Wedding. It made me angry. Because this movie does not celebrate independent women in the real sense at all. It portrays independent women as they would possibly exist in the imagination of most men. That is, they are either smoking, drinking or talking about men/sex. Now, women do all of these things. The problem with this film is that in it — this is all they do. None of them, barring Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, have jobs. Is it any wonder then that their main preoccupation is with who is sleeping with whom, and how will they find a man to marry. Sonam is a practising lawyer. Her mother is frantically trying to get her married off. Because (hold your breath) she is almost 30!!! As Sonam whines about it to her friends, there is not a peep about how this may impact her career. In fact, barring a fleeting mention of how dirty the toilets and court rooms are, I can't recall even one example of what Sonam's workplace concerns/challenges are. In fact, such is Sonam's portrayed desperation for marriage that after one failed attempt at a fixed relationship she promptly goes to bed with a man she herself derisively calls a "dukaandaar". And eventually seems willing to even "adjust" and date him. Kyunki, you know, shaadi ke maamle mein, kuchh nahi se kuchh bhala. By the way, this lack of a job doesn't stop these ladies from living it up. They party, dress rather well and even jet off on an impromptu "bonding" vacation: all of it, one assumes, on their parents' hard-earned money. I am sorry, but this is the sort of entitlement that most modern women today can't dream of. In fact, they work at both the home and office. Most have to work doubly hard at office too, in order to be taken seriously. The one I found most problematic is the character Swara Bhasker plays. Is it only a coincidence that the one character with a bad marriage is shown permanently smoking, drinking or cussing. I could muster zero empathy for her, despite the occasional scene that introduces us to her cold, distant parents. Maybe she gets no emotional support from them, and they torment (figuratively) her so she could consider moving out of their house and stop being a freeloader? And finally, let us talk about that masturbation scene. It's great that the existence of a woman's sexuality, and her need to masturbate, has been recognised and depicted on screen. But let me tell you what happens next. Swara's character is "caught" masturbating by her husband. For which, he first divorces her! And then proceeds to blackmail her for Rs 5 crore. And Swara Bhasker agrees to pay it!! ! So let me get this straight. Swara's character allows the act of masturbation, which is a completely natural, non criminal, nothing to be ashamed of activity, to be used against her for divorce and blackmail. And most importantly, she is ashamed enough of being "caught" masturbating to give in to that blackmail demand. Now that doesn't sound like a modern, young woman to me. So why are we supposed to love Veere Di Wedding? Just because it shows a girl gang? If I want to see a film on where women share a meaningful friendship, I would rather watch Lipstick Under My Burkha again. As for Veere Di Wedding… Women smoke, drink, cuss and masturbate, but they do much much much more. Sorry, this is not my idea of feminism or of what young, modern women are like, or aspire to be. Also read: Munna Bhai to Sanju: How Rajkumar Hirani 'legitimised' Bollywood's No 1 enfant terrible<doc-sep>
Veere Di Wedding box office collection day 4: The film earned Rs 6.04 crore on Monday. Veere Di Wedding box office collection day 4: The film earned Rs 6.04 crore on Monday. The ‘not a chick flick’ Veere Di Wedding surprised everyone when it opened at a whopping Rs 10.70 crore and the film has continued to maintain its momentum at the box office. On Monday, the film earned Rs 6.04 crore, taking it total collection to Rs 42.56 crore. Without much competition at the ticket counters, one can expect that the film will earn big bucks in the coming week as well. Starring Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania, the Shashanka Ghosh directorial is a story of four friends who reunite when Kalindi (Kareena) decides to get married. The makers have promoted this film as the story of friends who just happen to be women and not a tale that deals with women’s issues. Set primarily in Delhi, the film’s backdrop of a wedding gives the audience a celebratory ride that’s high on emotions. #VeereDiWedding passes crucial ‘Monday Test’… North India continues to contribute strongly… Decline on Mon [vis-à-vis Fri] is a normal 43.55% – GOOD TRENDING… Eyeing ₹ 54 cr [+/-] biz in Week 1… Fri 10.70 cr, Sat 12.25 cr, Sun 13.57 cr, Mon 6.04 cr. Total: ₹ 42.56 cr. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 5, 2018 Film trade analyst Girish Johar had earlier told indianexpress.com, “We have seen how Bollywood fans are now receptive to female-centric films like Raazi, Queen or Padmaavat for that matter. As long as good content is involved, the film is bound to do good.” Veere Di Wedding has already added itself to the list of top 5 openers at the box office where it is in company with films like Baaghi 2 and Padmaavat. Veere Di Wedding released alongside Bhavesh Joshi Superhero and as per Bollywood Hungama, the Harshvardhan Kapoor starrer opened at Rs 30 lakh. With only these two new Hindi releases at the theatres, it can be expected that Veere Di Wedding will have a gala time at the box office through the week as well. Indian Express critic Shubhra Gupta in her review of Veere Di Wedding wrote, “Veere Di Wedding is a fun ride, which squeezes past its creaky tropes and partial squelchiness by some smart casting choices, and perky performances. And lines which connect. ‘Shaadi toh foundation hai “jhagde ki’, says a character, and I found myself chuckling. As did many people around me.”