The cold wave continues... In the country... At the box-office... Diverse genres are making it to cineplexes, but the moody and unpredictable audience is in no mood to give its mandate. Barring TABLE NO. 21, which did reasonably well, the remaining films that opened this year have failed to leave a mark at the ticket window. Last Friday's INKAAR and MUMBAI MIRROR have also failed to do the trick.
INKAAR is about sexual harassment at the workplace, while MUMBAI MIRROR is a typical masala fare on the lines of DABANGG and SINGHAM. The former caters to an evolved audience, the latter aims at grabbing the attention of the hoi polloi. But the business hit a new low this weekend, with plexes and single screens registering lacklustre collections. Even last week's MATRU KI BIJLEE KA MANDOLA fell sharply in Weekend 2. So what is it that the audience wants to watch? Not serious stuff, not masala, not humor… Is the moviegoer waiting to spend his/her hard-earned cash on RACE 2, the first biggie of 2013, thus giving a royal ignore to the films in the intervening period?
What worries me is the release schedule in the forthcoming weeks, with multiple films eyeing the viewer's attention every single week. Agree, the genres are different, but 3/4/5 films every Friday will only add to the woes of an industry that's desperately looking for the magic formula to stay afloat. Hopefully, better sense will prevail and a few producers may change the release date of their films.
In the meanwhile, RACE 2 is expected to set the BO on fire. This much-awaited biggie should provide garmi in this cold scenario. Will it hit a ton? Fingers crossed!
