AGNEEPATH - Super Hit !

Agneepath (Hindi: अग्निपथ; English: Path of Fire) is a 2012 Indian Hindi action thriller film produced by Karan Johar. It is a remake of the 1990 film of the same name and is directed by Johar's former assistant Karan Malhotra. Though publicized as a remake; the film borrows only the basic plot of the original, while making the characters and incidents completely different. The title of the film is taken from a poem of the same name called 'Agneepath' which was penned by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Amitabh's father, and is recited at the beginning of the movie and creates a thematic link that continues through the movie, particularly in the climax, both literally and metaphorically.

While Hrithik Roshan plays the lead role of  Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, Sanjay Dutt plays the role of the main antagonist Kancha Cheena, originally played by Amitabh Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa respectively. The film stars Priyanka Chopra as the female lead. Other members of the cast include Rishi Kapoor playing a newly introduced negative character, Om Puri and Zarina Wahab among others. The award winning character of Krishnan Iyer M.A played by Mithun Chakraborty in the original has been totally done away with. Shooting of the film mostly took place in Diu and Mumbai's film city. Originally slated for release on 20 January, Agneepath was postponed by a week to 26 January 2012, making it a Republic Day release. Upon release, the film broke the highest opening day collections record and became a critical and commercial success.

Critical reception:

The movie opened to highly positive reviews from critics. According to review aggregator Review Gang, professional critics have given the film a rating of 6.5 out of 10
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film a score of 4.5 out of 5, and said "Agneepath is an uncomplicated story of revenge, is hard-hitting yet entertaining, dwells on strong emotions and aggressive and forceful action, yet is dissimilar from the original. ... It is a fitting tribute to the masterwork." Subhash K.Jha of IANS gave it 4 out of 5 stars, pointing "Every component of the film falls into place, with a resounding thump. Agneepath is brilliant in its brutality. It's a riveting and hectic homage to the spirit of the cinema when revenge reigned supreme. And content was King. This new Agneepath takes us back to the era when there was no computer or cellphones. And communication with the audience was immediate and electrifying." Kaveree Bamzai of India Today rated the movie 4 out of 5, noting "Melodramatic, choir-inducing sentiment, ecstatic.Agneepath is that rare mainstream movie written well." Aniruddha Guha of DNA India gave the film 3.5 out of 5, reviewing "An adaptation rather than a remake, the film assumes a life of its own once the central plot has been established... the film then charts a journey of his own." Piyali Dasgupta of NDTV gave it 3.5 out of 5, stating "Watch this film because this one is unadulterated Bollywood entertainment.Daily Bhaskar gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, adding "On the whole, Agneepath totally rests on star power which will lure the cine-goers to halls but how far will it impress them remains to be seen."The Times of India too gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, and said, "Try to wipe out the movie's earlier version from your mind. You might find it more enjoyable."
Sukanya Varma of Rediff gave it 3 out of 5, commenting "Agneepath, less of a remake, more of a tribute. The makers of Agneepath should have just called it Dharmapath."Kunal Guha of Yahoo.com gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, saying that " The biggest dilemma of remaking a movie is how much to retain and what to retain. If the new story takes violent shifts, you lose the audience who came to revisit the original. If you photocopy scene-by-scene, you risk failing to connect with the audience who is accustomed to present sensibilities. The only safe bet: a ‘khichdi’ of the past and the present, like this one."Mansha Rastogi of Nowrunning gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "Much against some flaws, Agneepath deserves to be lauded for performances and should be encouraged for a very convincing remake to a cult classic.Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars remarking "This is the kind of genuine theatre experience, now getting rare, which remains most precious in the life of a film-goer. Reason can take over later. I had a ball!" Sonia Chopra of Sify gave it 3 out of 5, mentioning "Debut director Karan Malhotra shows great promise in making the film visually arresting and maintaining the consistency of performances. But remaking a cult film means you have big shoes to fill. If you’re a loyalist of the Late Mukul Anand’s Agneepath, you’re likely to have reservations with this one. But if you leave the comparisons aside and are willing to forgive the faults, Agneepath is worth a watch essentially to savor Hrithik’s performance."^[28] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the Agneepath 3 out of 5, said "It is in the end, an old-fashioned revenge drama treated in that melodramatic, over-the-top style. You're not likely to be bored by the intense action and the solid performances, but prepare to be exhausted by just how long this film plays on."

Box Office:

 India-

Agneepath collected 21.75 crore (US$4.79 million) on the opening day, breaking the record of the first day collections of Bodyguard. The film also set new circuit records in Mumbai, CP Berar, Nizam, and Mysore. Agneepath grossed 62.11 crore (US$13.66 million) nett over its extended four-day weekend.
The film's collections held very well on Monday and it netted around 7.50 crore (US$1.65 million), taking its five-day total to 69.50 crore (US$15.29 million) nett.^[32] It further did well and grossed 6.50 crore (US$1.43 million) nett on Tuesday and another 5.00 crore (US$1.1 million) nett on Wednesday. In doing so, Agneepath brought its first week total to 85.88 crore (US$18.89 million) nett. The film collected 23.12 crore (US$5.09 million) on its second week thus taking its 2 weeks total to 109 crore (US$23.98 million) nett. The film collected 7.59 Crore nett in its third week, taking it's three week nett colletions to 116.59 crore (US$25.65 million). Agneepath collected 2.61 crore (US$574,200) in it's fourth week, taking it's four week nett collections to 119.20 crore (US$26.22 million). It was declared a "Super Hit" by Box Office India

Overseas-

After a successful opening in the domestic market, Agneepath made 16.5 crore (US$3.63 million) in its four day weekend overseas. The film recorded the 12th largest opening overseas and was marginally behind the other Hrithik Roshan starrer, Dhoom 2.By the end of its second weekend the film managed to collect 26 crore (US$5.72 million).