The topic of discussion in the week gone by was the grand opening of KOI... MIL GAYA.
The phenomenal opening of the film throughout the country did not come as a surprise. It was expected, considering the fact that the Roshans [Rakesh, Rajesh, Hrithik] were coming together after KAHO NAA... PYAAR HAI.
While the opening weekend collections were fabulous everywhere, a slight fall in collections was noticed at some small centres on subsequent days. Yet, there's no denying that the first week billing would be awe-inspiring.
But what did come as a bolt from the blue was the not-too-encouraging response in the Overseas territory, especially in the U.S.
The national press, in the recent past, had literally grounded Hrithik after the non-success of his past few films and strangely, the same press was in a tearing hurry to pronounce KOI... MIL GAYA a blockbuster before the first show had ended.
So, is KOI... MIL GAYA a big hit? To be honest, it's too early to stamp it a hit or an average grosser. If the film sustains throughout the second week, only then would it qualify as a hit.
Let's not forget that KOI... MIL GAYA is an expensive film, sold at an exceptional price. This factor has to be taken into consideration while evaluating its prospects.
'TERE NAAM' OPENING CREATES AN EQUAL STIR
The KOI... MIL GAYA wave hasn't affected the opening response to TERE NAAM. At several theatres of Mumbai and Delhi, serpentine queues were witnessed when the advance booking windows opened.
According to Manoj Desai of Maratha Mandir, at both Gaiety [Bandra] and Maratha Mandir, there was an overwhelming demand for tickets of the film. "I guess, the rumours about it being a true story [of Salman] resulted in a scramble for tickets," Desai feels.
According to Sunil Manchanda, one of the producers of TERE NAAM, the heavy rush at the advance window can be attributed to two factors: One, the publicity campaign has caught on with the audiences and two, a Salman starrer was releasing after a gap of almost a year.
Whatever the reasons, there's no denying that TERE NAAM is off to a great start.
OVERSEAS IS HOT
The Overseas territory is getting hotter by the day. Despite a few setbacks in the form of a few recent releases, the market for Hindi films is growing with each passing week.
Not too long ago, a Hindi film was released with a limited number of prints in the territory. Even the prices weren't too high. But the scenario has changed and will continue to change in the future.
