The flow of new films has begun... finally. And to start with, we had not one or two, but three last week: MARUTI MERA DOSST, TEAM THE FORCE and ANUBHAV. The general perception is that people are starved for entertainment and the moment the new movies start unveiling at the plexes, there would be a scramble for their tickets. Nope, that's a fallacy, a delusion. One shouldn't expect the viewer to patronize every film that hits the marquee.
Actually, KAL KISSNE DEKHA would be a litmus test. Not these three films.
Let's focus on MARUTI MERA DOSST, TEAM THE FORCE and ANUBHAV, which came virtually unannounced. Most of us don't welcome guests who arrive unannounced. Similarly, the audiences weren't gung ho about the arrival of these three films, which opened with barely any pre-release promotion.
Not that a heavy promotional blitzkrieg would've made them showstoppers. But the films would've at least generated some heat.
ANUBHAV came so suddenly that forget moviegoers, even film critics were caught unaware. Ditto for TEAM THE FORCE, which was completed quite a while ago. I remember meeting Amrita Arora and Sohail Khan in Mauritius [we were sharing the same hotel], while I was invited for the shoot of Romesh Sharma's DIL JO BHI KAHEY [2004]. The stale look was very evident while watching TEAM THE FORCE.
MARUTI MERA DOSST was supposedly the best bet, but I was taken aback by the film. This isn't the kind of film that kids would befriend. Business-wise too, this film got a thumbs down.
Now all eyes are now on KAL KISSNE DEKHA. Vashu Bhagnani has been through turbulent times thanks to the strike [the release date kept shifting ahead] and now, the fracas with director Vivek Sharma. Let's hope that the audience brings some relief to Vashu and let's also hope that his son Jackky emerges a star. He's red-hot before the release, at least in film trade circles.
