Amidst the already depressing state of several big films taking a beating at the box-office, the poor opening response to last week's two releases – NA TUM JAANO NA HUM and AB KE BARAS – further dampened the spirits of the film trade.
In the case of NA TUM JAANO NA HUM, the film boasts of an excellent cast, was released in a good chain of theatres and was backed by an aggressive promotional strategy, enough to draw a fabulous opening.
As for AB KE BARAS, it was the launch of a star-son – Raj Babbar's son Arya. The promos of the film also held a lot of promise and the film was hot in the trade before its release.
But contrary to the expectations, both the films did not register a decent opening when released. While NA TUM JAANO NA HUM opened to a 98.85% response in Mumbai, it hardly drew the same curiosity elsewhere. In the case of AB KE BARAS, it opened to a 57.54% response in Mumbai, while the opening at other centres was much more lower.
What could be the reason for the poor opening of these two films? Says Raj Babbar, Arya's father, "Let's be clear on this account that AB KE BARAS was a film with a new cast. Everyone knows that films starring new names take time to pick up, unless it's produced by a big banner or directed by a star-director.
"In my opinion, Raj Kanwar presented Arya in the best possible way. He had the right scenes that qualify for a promising launch. On his part, Arya has lived up to the expectations and delivered a great performance. His hard work is obvious in every frame. But I did get the feedback from certain quarters that the music should've been a little more tuneful."
On the other hand, Arjun Sablok, director of NA TUM JAANO NA HUM, feels that the non-response to AAP MUJHE ACHCHE LAGNE LAGE did make a dent in the business of N.T.J.N.H. Says he, "To a certain extent, it did, in the sense that the audience that would've walked in the theatres are now keen on knowing more about the film before they walk into the theatre.
"Though the younger generation hasn't been too receptive, the feedback we have received indicates that the elder generation have liked the film immensely. I personally feel that writing a note of thanks to someone is a far more effective way to reach out than sending an e-mail or an SMS on the cell phone."
However, both Raj Babbar and Arjun Sablok feel that their films are picking up gradually.
The mid-week report of the two films. Exclusively on IndiaFM.
NA TUM JAANO NA HUM:
The film is maintaining very well at some theatres of Mumbai, but is not too strong at a few cinema halls… In Ahmedabad, the collections have been affected due to the disturbances… The opening in Delhi city was not up to the mark. A further fall was noticed from the second day itself… The collections at several centres of Uttar Pradesh aren't strong either… The film is maintaining well at some theatres of Kolkata, but is not too strong in the suburbs… The opening was good in Nagpur, but the collections have dropped subsequently… At Indore, the film opened to a not-as-expected response and the collections haven't picked up subsequently… The collections in Jaipur are weak as well.
AB KE BARAS:
The film started on a dull note in Mumbai city-suburbs and the collections haven't picked up subsequently… The collections in Ahmedabad are not encouraging… Delhi city is not strong either… A few stations of U.P. are quite nice, but at some places, it's average… The collections in Kolkata are not up to the mark… The film opened to a dull response in Nagpur and the collections haven't picked up subsequently… In Indore and Jaipur, the opening was poor. The heat wave has affected the business to an extent.
