Most producers are of the opinion that love stories are a safe bet at the box-office. By casting newcomers, all that the producer needs to focus on is executing the subject with flourish. The money that would've been spent on stars can easily be spent on marketing the new pair and the film to the optimum.
A love story is cost-effective as well. An action film costs more than a love story primarily because the stunts, the stuntmen, the explosives that are to be used while filming action sequences… come at a price. These expenses can easily be curtailed/avoided when dream merchants opt for romantic flicks.
From the business point of view, a section of the industry feels that action films fetch a better start at the ticket window than love sagas. But, let's not forget, the biggest of hits the world over -- including the biggest grosser ever [TITANIC] -- have been love stories. Even in India, this genre [romance] has an edge over action entertainers. When telecast on television as well, a love story enjoys better ratings than any other genre, besides fetching a better price from the satellite channel.
But not all love stories catch the fancy of moviegoers. Take the case of DIL JO BHI KAHEY… that opened last Friday.
On the surface, DIL JO BHI KAHEY… seems like a perfect launch for a star-kid. Romesh Sharma may not have had a dream launch when he started out as an actor, but he ensured that his son Karan deserved nothing but the best. By joining hands with heavyweight Manmohan Shetty's Entertainment One to co-produce the film, casting Amitabh Bachchan and Revathy as Karan's on-screen parents, hiring the best of names in the business [Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Javed Akhtar, Binod Pradhan], shooting the film in Stockholm and Mauritius and inviting hand-picked journos to Mauritius to introduce his son, Romesh Sharma left no stone unturned to give his son an ideal launch. The soft-spoken producer-father deserves a 10 on 10 for that!
But Romesh Sharma went wrong in his decision of choosing a script that seems completely outdated in today's times. Also, I strongly feel that the promotion of DIL JO BHI KAHEY… was quite low-key. The lead pair should've been all over, on billboards, in newspapers and periodicals, on television, on radio stations and the Internet media… Whether or not their debut film worked is a different issue, but Mohit Ahlawat [JAMES], Abhay Deol [SOCHA NA THA], Shahid Kapoor [ISHQ VISHK], Zayed Khan [CHURA LIYAA HAI TUMNE], John Abraham [JISM] and Vivek Oberoi [COMPANY] created a strong impression before their debut film hit the screen.
DIL JO BHI KAHEY… had a shockingly dull start at the ticket window. It opened to a 20% + start at some places, while at some movieplexes, the turnout in some shows was as low as 5%-10%. No one was expecting miracles on Saturday or Sunday and the business on these two days, even at multiplexes, was below par.
Call it a coincidence, but Amitabh's seventh release in 2004, HUM KAUN HAI?, recorded lowest collections when compared to his other releases that year. DIL JO BHI KAHEY… is his seventh release in 2005 and as luck would have it, the collections of the film are the weakest when compared to his other openers in 2005.
As for debutante Karan Sharma, the youngster will have to start all over again. He's a decent actor no doubt, but the film industry believes in just one mantra: Hit hain to fit hain!
THIS WEEK, LAST YEAR
Weekend: September 24-26, 2004.
As many as four films hit the marquee this weekend in India [five films, if you add CHOKHER BALI in Overseas]. And the business of the four films [TUMSA NAHIN DEKHA, MADHOSHI, DOBARA, KING OF BOLLYWOOD] only added to the woes of a crestfallen industry.
Multiple releases in one week… Will we ever learn from our mistakes? I doubt!
