Over the years, the Bhatts -- Mahesh and Mukesh -- have made movies that have delved into reality as well as fantasy. Additionally, the Bhatts have always kept their budgets in check. For, it's a known fact that the inflated budgets, very often, have been the cause for downfall of various production houses.
The Bhatts' newest offering CITYLIGHTS, a remake of the acclaimed British-Filipino crime drama METRO MANILA, has an attention-grabbing premise. Also, like always, the makers made sure they kept the budget of the film in check, so that, even if it doesn't fare as expected, the distributors do not bleed due to wrong economics. The second release of the week, Balaji/ALT/Bejoy Nambiar's KUKU MATHUR KI JHAND HO GAYI, also has a cost-effective budget.
Unfortunately, neither did CITYLIGHTS, riding high on critical acclaim and exceptional word of mouth, registered a decent start, nor did KUKU MATHUR KI JHAND HO GAYI start on a robust note. KUKU MATHUR KI JHAND HO GAYI is set in North India and generally, films with Northern flavour do embark on an encouraging start in those circuits, but the tepid opening response proved the traders wrong.
While the buzz for KUKU MATHUR KI JHAND HO GAYI was clearly missing prior to its release, the Bhatts and Fox Star Studios went out of their way to ensure strong visibility for CITYLIGHTS. The makers screened substantial footage of the film for select media persons much before the release, which not only spoke of their confidence in the product, but also created ample awareness for the film.
While CITYLIGHTS witnessed marginal growth over the weekend, but not enough to create a splash, KUKU MATHUR KI JHAND HO GAYI has found very few takers coming its way. Also, the business on Sunday was affected due to the IPL 2014 finale. As highlighted in the 'B.O. Update' last Friday, it was HEROPANTI that continued to dominate the ticket counters. The film is a Smash Hit and despite scathing criticism coming its way, the paying public has given its mandate to this entertainer.
