I’ve often said that the Friday business is very unpredictable. The best of actors, the most renowned movie makers, the most conducive release period -- nothing can guarantee success. Forget success, no one can guarantee a cent per cent response on Day 1 across the nation.
Let’s talk of HALLA BOL. Raj Santoshi is a reputed film-maker, having helmed several interesting films over the years. Ajay Devgan is an A-lister as well; the actor is synonymous with qualitative performances and interesting projects. But their new outing together, HALLA BOL, didn’t create any halla at the box-office.
Pointing the finger at any one reason for its tepid start would be erroneous. A large number of people feel that HALLA BOL came at a time when comedies are calling the shots and this genre [hard-hitting, issue-based themes] has already passed the ‘expiry date’ mark.
Another opinion is that why would the common man pay-n-watch a solo Ajay Devgan starrer, when, two weeks later, you can watch the same actor with a bigger combo [SUNDAY] for the same money? Debatable issue indeed!
Of course, other reasons are being cited as well. From the school exams to the cold wave to the cricket match [India versus Australia], we never run out of excuses. The blame-game starts on Day 1 itself.
Despite a positive word of mouth, HALLA BOL hasn’t found many takers and the business clearly reflects this fact. Of course, no one expected HALLA BOL to embark on a 90% + start, but the 30% start [at places, 10% - 15%] made people break into a cold sweat. The business remained static, in the same range, during the weekend, while the weekdays had a sorry story to tell.
As things stand today, HALLA BOL has failed to cut ice with the moviegoers.
The second release, MY NAME IS ANTHONY GONSALVES, cut a pathetic picture from Day 1 itself. Again, none of us ever expected a flying start for this film, but a 5% - 10% start did send shock waves. With the word of mouth being negative, expecting the film to gather steam was out of question. This one’s a total loss!
