Recall the floods in Mumbai on 26th July, 2005. Three producers had the courage to release their films then. It was a miscalculated move. The films, expectedly, sank without a trace, leaving the producers/distributors of those films high and dry.
The terror attacks last week are still fresh. The wounds are still raw. The dastardly attacks by terrorists has shaken and saddened not just India, but the rest of the world. It will take time for things to return to normalcy. But the scars will always remain.
Everyone feels UTV should've postponed OYE LUCKY! LUCKY OYE! by one week. On Wednesday night, when the terrorists attacked Mumbai, UTV should've taken a stand of positioning the film to a latter date, on Thursday morning itself. But it was impossible. I'll tell you why.
To capitalize on the Thanksgiving Weekend in the U.S., UTV had already released OYE LUCKY! LUCKY OYE! on Wednesday in America, exactly two days before its release in India. Plus, the film had also opened on Thursday in Middle East. Even if UTV would've decided to stop its release in India, the fear of its pirated prints infiltrating the market was immense. UTV had no choice but to release the film.
Expectedly, the Friday numbers of both OYE LUCKY! LUCKY OYE! and SORRY BHAI! were pathetic. Saturday too was dull [albeit it increased marginally] and it was almost like Saturday on Sunday. The weekend numbers of OYE LUCKY! LUCKY OYE! are thanda, while those of SORRY BHAI! are horrific. In fact, at several places, the management of multiplexes/theatres were forced to cancel the shows due to lack of audiences.
Had it not been for its U.S. and Middle East release, I'm sure, UTV would've taken a stand of re-positioning OYE LUCKY! LUCKY OYE!. The cost of production is approx. Rs. 6 crores. Add to it the [terrific] promotion + print cost and the cost works out to approx. Rs. 9.25 crores. The Indian business in poor [Monday onwards, the numbers have hit rock-bottom], while the Overseas business is disastrous, which means that UTV will find it tough to recover the costs.
As for SORRY BHAI!, the film is a supreme disaster!
Meanwhile, multiple films are ready to try their luck this Friday - MAHARATHI, DIL KABADDI, OH, MY GOD!!, MEERABAI NOT OUT, the long delayed GUMNAM and an English film TRANSPORTER 3. Will things improve? Will the common man return to plexes this weekend? It's a wait-n-watch situation right now!
