If 2003 was a dream year, the year 2004 has started on a nightmarish note...
The months of January and February 2004 saw a number of films releasing in rapid succession, but not one film could qualify into the hit category. The first week of March, which witnessed three releases -- INSAAF - THE JUSTICE, LOVE IN NEPAL and MISSION MUMBAI -- have only added to the tally of non-successful fares.
Looking at the number of flops we've had this year, it wouldn't be wrong to state that 2004 has seen the worst start. 100-day functions or even 50-day celebrations are a thing of the past. In today's times, if a film manages to complete even a one-week run with face-saving collections, it would be akin to an achievement of sorts.
The future looks bright, no doubt, but the next four weeks are going to be the worst period for the film industry. Reason: The Indo-Pak cricket matches are undoubtedly a bigger opposition than the World Cup cricket matches. Or, let me be more specific, watching Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar on the big field is far more challenging and exciting than watching a Shah Rukh Khan fare on the big screen.
Coming back to the last week's three releases, the pre-Holi week is always considered dull within the film industry and the openings of the three films only proved the notion right yet again. In any case, one wasn't expecting much from any of the films.
Both INSAAF - THE JUSTICE and LOVE IN NEPAL weren't released with much fanfare. In fact, in the case of LOVE IN NEPAL, the promos had been on air for months now, but the release date kept getting postponed because the producer wasn't ready to risk his film with two/three biggies in a week. He kept waiting for an opportune period to release the film.
That's the tragedy! The line-up of films from mid-April onwards is very, very heavy and each week is going to witness at least two and in some cases, four films clashing with each other. Instead of sitting down and averting the clash, the producers are least bothered about the probable clash that can lead to a big crash.
As for INSAAF - THE JUSTICE, despite the fact that the film stars known names [Dino Morea, Sanjay Suri, Namrata Shirodkar], it's promotion was least thrilling. The promo is an indicator of things to follow, they say. Neither was the promotion of INSAAF - THE JUSTICE aggressive enough, nor were the promos tempting enough to lure the audiences.
But let's not lose hope. Let's pray that the tide changes for the better from mid-April onwards. Or else, we are doomed!
