The two were released simultaneously around Eid. With the pullout of the Afridi flick, probably in fear of competition from the Indian movie in Pakistani theatres, Josh stood strong and released on Eid. No idea how Josh has done financially and I’m not sure if there are any estimates out yet on how it did.
But aren’t Pakistani cinemas OBLIGATED morally to help a small independent Pakistani flick out? The original deal was that Chennai Express would NOT release right away and the film owners would wait about a week, and then I guess their greed kicked in, and fearing that people may not line up if they could download the movie illegally on release day, wanting profits, they released it on Eid, KNOWING, this might be a death signal to Josh.
Chennai express was a pure rubbish film....i have not seen josh yet but even with the trailer it looks far far far far better than chennai express and i am sure the film is too.
Saw it (Josh) today. Low budget, low-key artsy production however the story simply lacks the punch. Amina Sheikh can emote well on screen and is one of the few good things about this movie. The actors playing the parts of the village-honcho and the honcho's goonda also did well. This is probably true to life cinema, and however that great may be, if the film can't engage you, the film doesn't work. However, I'm glad I paid my 500 bucks to support such work. I'm certain the film did not cost more than PKR 4-5 million to produce and will end up with similar theatrical revenues and incur decent profits with its satellite/DVD release.
One line verdict: If you thought Ramchand Pakistani was dull, well that movie comparatively seems like a John-Woo adrenaline driven caper.
