Last year, we had stopped smiling. This year, the smiles are back!
May onwards, the string of hits [ISHQ VISHK, ANDAAZ, BHOOT, CHALTE CHALTE, QAYAMAT] and the fantabulous opening of several new films have made us forget the miseries of the past.
If the stupendous opening of KOI... MIL GAYA two weeks ago brought cheer to the industry, the earth-shattering opening of TERE NAAM took everyone by surprise.
The opening of this Salman starrer at every centre of India was simply amazing, despite the fact that Salman had grown unpopular with the media and masses due to some unfortunate incidents that occurred in his personal life. In fact, the episodes only attracted negative publicity for the star.
Therefore, the humongous opening that TERE NAAM generated, made everyone sit up and stare in sheer amazement.
The fabulous opening of TERE NAAM proves one thing for sure, that when the lights are switched off in a theatre and the drama unfolds on the silver screen, what matters is the story of the film, not the star's scandalous personal life.
The kind of opening TERE NAAM has had, besides the price it was sold at, the film should prove an earner for its distributors. The collections of the film did drop on Monday and Tuesday, but were steady again on Wednesday due to Janmashtami holiday.
On the other hand, FOOTPATH started on a dull note despite the fact that Friday, August 15 was a national holiday. However, the collections continued to slide downwards as days progressed.
LET'S SPACE OUT NEW RELEASES
The rock-steady collections of KOI... MIL GAYA and the extra-ordinary opening of TERE NAAM have generated tremendous excitement in the trade. Now all eyes are on BOOM and GANGAAJAL, scheduled for release in the immediate future. The flow of new films is expected to continue till the year-end.
However, there is also an underlying anxiety about the films cutting into each other's business, a trend that has been experienced several times in the past.
According to leading distributor Balkrishna Shroff, the clash of two or more films in a week will only add to chaos. "It is sad that producers refuse to learn from mistakes of the past," he observes.
Shroff recalls the time when GADAR and LAGAAN had released on the same day. "The response to LAGAAN was affected at small stations due to the clash. This isn't a solitary case, it is a recurring situation every year, but producers are in no mood to listen," he says.
On the other hand, MUMBAI SE AAYA MERA DOST has been lucky to have a solo release, with the producers of BOOM deciding to re-schedule the release of the film.
The Mumbai distributor of MUMBAI SE AAYA MERA DOST, Anchal, is more than thrilled with the prospects of having a solo release at a time when distributors are fighting to get a chain of good theatres due to two or more films clashing in the same week. "We've been lucky in that respect," he smiles.
There was tremendous speculation about which of the two Abhishek starrers [MUMBAI SE AAYA MERA DOST, KUCH NAA KAHO] would hit the theatres first. "I wouldn't know whether there has been any arrangement between the two producers. I am confident of M.S.A.M.D. because it is coming soon after MAIN PREM KI DIWANI HOON, which won immense praise for Abhishek," he says.
Besides two Abhishek Bachchan starrers releasing in close range, three Ajay Devgan starrers, GANGAAJAL, PARWANA and ZAMEEN, are releasing after a 2-week gap from each other.
But Kumar Mangat [of Devgan Entertainments] feels that the release of the three films in close range is unlikely to affect their business prospects because they fall into entirely different genres. Only time will tell!
