An exciting phase is about to begin and I am more than confident that there will be a number of film additions to the 'Rs 100 Club', before 2011 comes to a close. It should begin with BODYGUARD, which opens globally on Wednesday. Right now, Salman is competing with no one but himself. DABANGG and READY have been Blockbusters and the question on everyone's lips is, will BODYGUARD have a bigger weekend [it's a 5-day weekend this time] and a much bigger Week 1? I am sure, BODYGUARD will set new records due to the tremendous hype surrounding the film.
Post BODYGUARD, a number of mega-budget biggies are expected to make the industry richer and spread cheer. Films like MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN, MAUSAM, FORCE, RASCALS, RA.ONE, ROCKSTAR, TEZZ, DESI BOYZ, AGENT VINOD, PLAYERS and DON 2 are expected to start with a bang. At the same time, let's not under-estimate films like SAHEB BIWI AUR GANGSTER, HUM TUM SHABANA, SOUNDTRACK, LOVE BREAKUPS ZINDAGI, AZAAN, MY FRIEND PINTO, MUJHSE FRAAANDSHIP KAROGE, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR, THE DIRTY PICTURE and LADIES VS RIKKI BAHL either. These films may not boast of Khans or Roshans, but they do seem interesting and should attract a good share of audience. Let the good times begin!
Everyone seems to be in a hurry to block the 'right' dates in 2012. If you look at the Releases chart in Bollywood Hungama, which is updated every week, you will realize that a number of films have already staked a claim on Eid, Diwali, Christmas and other crucial dates next year. The low cost and medium-budget films will find it difficult to get the right dates, the right theatres and the right show timings. That's what I foresee now.
That brings me to the four films that opened last week -- CHITKABREY - SHADES OF GREY, SHABRI, STANDBY and YEH DOORIYAN. The films had a disastrous start at the ticket window, but what must have come as a rude shock to the producers of some of these films was that the shows at cineplexes were called off due to lack of audience. Sad indeed!
