Last week witnessed the release of three films -- DHOOP, PATTH and EK DIN 24 GHANTE. Though it didn't really come as a surprise, all three films opened to a dismal response and showed no signs of picking up as the week progressed.
The general feeling within the film industry was that the business of the films got affected due to the Ramzan period since a section of the audiences stays away from theatres. Three prominent Mumbai exhibitors comment on the response to the three films.
MANOJ DESAI
G-7, Bandra
"The box-office response to PATTH has been dismal. No doubt, the Ramzan period has made a dent on the overall business, so has the cricket matches, but in the case of PATTH I can say that the poor response has nothing to do with Ramzan.
"The film has elicited a poor interest among the audiences thanks to its pre-release publicity, which gave an impression that it abounds in vulgar and crude dialogues. Naturally, the audiences ignored it completely."
SANJAY DALIA
Cineline theatres, Kandivali
"DHOOP carried encouraging pre-release reports and most of the reviews were also favourable. But that did not transpire into a promising box-office response. This can be attributed to three reasons, the film is too classy for the general audiences, it lacked face-value and most importantly, it was released without much publicity.
"I don't think the poor response to the film has anything to do with the Ramzan period. If that was the case, BAGHBAN wouldn't have been running to packed houses even during Ramzan."
VIMAL DOSHI
Central Plaza, Girgaum
"EK DIN 24 GHANTE has met with a disappointing response all over, including Central Plaza. No doubt, the collections have been shockingly poor, but we didn't have too many expectations from the film either.
"To start with, it was an offbeat film with minimal commercial prospects. The content of the film wasn't exciting either, nor was the cast. The Ramzan period may have further affected its response, but a good film can still work at the box-office irrespective of the timing of its release."
