Diwali update 4: Week 2 holds the key

Business Talk With Taran Adarsh

Source: IndiaFM

Week 1 of the two Diwali releases, DON and JAAN-E-MANN, has ended and I'd like to share a few observations with the readers…

The Week 1 figures are a clear indicator that the thriller genre [DON] has scored over romance [JAAN-E-MANN]. With a bountiful Week 1, the distributors of DON are in the comfort zone. But will it go higher or lower is too early to predict, since it all depends on its performance in Week 2. The collections of the film fell on Thursday [at places, the drop was drastic], the last day of Week 1. A section of the industry attributes it to the cricket match, while a majority of traders attribute the decline in collections to its content. Let's see what's in store in Week 2.

As for JAAN-E-MANN, it's standing on a shaky stool right now. Spoke at length to one of the main distributors of JAAN-E-MANN [name withheld], who admitted that the film hasn't performed to their expectations. He sounded low. Will its business pick up in Week 2? The owner of a leading multiplex chain in Mumbai is keeping his fingers crossed. A few people have written off the film. A few are optimistic. Let's see where the tide turns!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a general feedback of several traders this Diwali and Idd. The business has not been optimum this festive season. During the festive season, the size of the wallet grows fatter and the spending capacity increases multi-fold. People are in a mood to celebrate, go out with their families and friends and indulge in revelry. But film business this year was far from stupendous!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I maintain, DON is a weak film and sometimes weak films weave magic at the box-office [repeating the last line from my review]. But the magic of DON should be attributed to the Diwali and Idd festivities of course, and also to SRK's passionate drive to promote the film. He went all out to promote his film. Why, even today, SRK is giving his best to DON, making it a point to attend Hungama head honcho Neeraj Roy's 'DON Games' launch at a suburban hotel. Wish other actors in the industry were as passionate about promotion.

P.S.: This sentiment is also echoed by one of the prominent distributors of JAAN-E-MANN, besides a number of producers I spoke to during the course of the week.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Till a few days ago, the Khan versus Khan clash kept the media busy. Now, Hrithik Roshan and his Rs. 35 crore deal for three films has hit headlines. Every television or print journo I meet these days is only discussing Adlabs' strategy of giving Hrithik a lucrative deal. So, what's new about it?

Star fees have always constituted approx. 55% to 65% of a film's budget. The arithmetic of film-making has undergone a sea-change and what was charged in lacs in the 1970s and 1980s has changed to crores today. Also, the volume of business has shown a meteoric rise since HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN and 2006 has been a landmark year, with films crossing magical figures in the initial weeks itself.

As for the Adlabs-Hrithik deal, why this hullabaloo? If Hrithik has quoted an 'x' amount, isn't Adlabs willing to pay it? And Adlabs is no fly by night operator. Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs, one of the most respected names in film business, has been an integral part of the industry for over three decades. Adlabs must've surely done their homework before agreeing to this figure. They must be supremely confident of recovering their investment, otherwise why would they pay an 'x' amount?

No one does charity here, after all!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Himeshbhai, what's going on? Himesh Reshammiya is planning to make a big announcement on Saturday afternoon [U.K. time] at a press meet in London. Is he turning to acting? Is he turning to film production [he has produced several successful serials in the past]? Why this suspense? We'll find out when he announces his ambitious plans in London. Watch this space!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS WEEK IN 2005
[Weekend: October 21-23, 2005]

This Friday witnessed the release of HANUMAN [animation] and U, BOMSI N ME. While HANUMAN was aggressively promoted prior to its release, U, BOMSI N ME came literally unannounced. The pre-release promotion was as good as zilch and most moviegoers weren't even aware that the film had released. Hence, its fate was crystal clear on Day 1 itself. HANUMAN, on the other hand, had a 35% + start at several screens. The opening was better than most recent releases and the collections stabilized with the commencement of Diwali vacations. HANUMAN had been appreciated by kids and the appreciation only translated into stronger collections subsequently.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS WEEK IN 2004
[Weekend: October 22-24, 2004]

Low on hype and much lower on substance, KIS KIS KI KISMAT came without a bang and left without a whimper. The verdict was loud and clear on Day 1 itself: KIS KIS KI KISMAT had flopped big time. The dismal opening of KIS KIS KI KISMAT came as a jolt to many an industry person who expected the film to take a flying start, also because of the festive season [Dashehra] and the subsequent holidays.

The week also witnessed the release of RGV's VAASTU SHASTRA. But the Sushmita Sen starrer also opened to an ordinary response almost all over [the opening should've been in the range of 90% +, due to aggressive promotion and the holiday period] and did reasonably well on Saturday and Sunday. Monday onwards, VAASTU SHASTRA showed a decline in b.o. collections, even at metros.

MORE HERE >>>

Baabul - Movie Preview

Amitabh Bachchan as Balraj Kapoor
He towers over everybody – in his thoughts, in his wisdom, in his sheer presence! A loving husband, an adoring father and an extraordinary father-in-law, he always puts right before wrong, never mind if he has to stand tradition on its head.

Salman Khan as Avinash Kapoor
He may lie to win his love, but would die if so much as a tear escapes her eye. He’s charming, loving and good looking. No wonder, knowing him is to love him.

Rani Mukherjee as Malvika Talwar
She loves to paint. Loves to fight. Loves to love. Knows the difference between friendship and love and is convinced that love and marriage happen once in lifetime.

John Abraham as Rajat
His love is silent, he expresses all his pent up emotions through his songs. He loses the girl he loves, but is more concerned about her happiness than his own heartbreak.

Hema Malini as Shobhana Kapoor
She loves and is loved by both the men in her life – husband and son. She may laughingly admit that both of them are “a total loss”; but her world revolves around them.

Om Puri as Balwant Kapoor
He is the big brother, the head of the family. Tradition and convention are the pillars that support his family honour and reputation and he will go to any length to uphold that.

Storyline

Balraj Kapoor (Amitabh Bachchan) is a rich businessman with progressive modern outlook towards life. For him, family, culture and values are of utmost importance. Shobhna (Hema Malini), his wife is more than just his better half. Together, they dote their only child Avinash (Salman Khan). For Balraj, Avinash is more of a friend than just his son. After spending many years abroad for studies, Avinash returns home to his parents. Their lives light up and there is happiness everywhere.

Avinash then meets the pretty Millie (Rani Mukherjee) who is a painter. They fall in love and get married. They are blessed with a lovely child named Ansh. Rajat (John Abraham) a young musician and the best friend of Millie, had his feelings for Millie but had never revealed it to her. He is now happy for Millie and Avi. He decides to settle in Europe, pursuing his musical career.

Fate plays a cruel game and one day Avinash meets with a fatal accident. Life without Avinash is unbearable for Millie. Meanwhile Balraj and Shobhna try to find the love of Avinash in Ansh.

Balraj cannot bear to see Millie’s colourless life. He decides to find Rajat and asks him to marry Millie and help him bring back the colours back into her life. But Balwant (Om Puri), Balraj’s elder brother settled in rural Punjab with his family and his widowed sister-in-law objects to Balraj’s plans. Even Shobhna may not be with him this time.

Will Balraj be able to fulfill his plan?
Will he be successful in this test of love?
Will he prove to be a father (Baabul) rather than being a father-in-law?
What questions will be raised by his actions and how the society will react to it forms the story that Baabul is all about.

MORE HERE >>>

Bhagam Bhag - Movie Preview

Bhagam Bhag is produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd and Popkorn Motion Pictures Private Limited, and is directed by Humor king Priyadarshan. The story goes as follows.

Paresh Rawal has a theatre group in India and he performs shows all over the country. Akshay and Govinda along with others are actors in the group. Both are very naughty natured guys who never miss any chance to flirt with girls, even the girls in the group. At the completion of one show, an organizer offers Paresh's group to perform 30 shows in England. They all get very excited but as per the contract they need to leave for England on the same day. Unfortunately the heroine of the play opts out due to Akshay's misbehavior.

They reach London and through Rajpal, a taxi driver, Govinda and Akshay try to find out a girl for their play but it leads to many misunderstandings and a series of funny sequences. In this process, Govinda and Akshay fall into trouble involving a drug baron and other mishaps.

Thereafter, the trio discovers a girl (Lara Dutta), who suffers from amnesia to act in their drama and just as Akshay and Lara fall in love, her memory returns and it brings chaos into their lives, including a murdered husband!

From here the story leads to its climax in which a major conspiracy gets exposed.

MORE HERE >>>

The music launch of BAABUL

As a journalist, one has attended innumerable parties over the decades. You have sweet memories of some. Most of them are as forgettable as the potholes during monsoons.

The music launch of BAABUL on Thursday, 26th October, which coincided with the 50 years of B.R. Films, can easily rank amongst the Top 10 parties of all times. Surely, the event, chock-a-block with celebrities and the crème de la crème of the entertainment industry, was not one of those routine parties. In fact, it was the mother of all events! The music launch witnessed Dilip Kumar releasing the music, but before the honors, the principal cast of BAABUL [Big B, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji and John Abraham] walked the ramp, displaying the BAABUL look by designers such as Akbar of Gabbana, Neeta Lulla, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Narendra Kumar.

That’s not all, the promos of the songs were screened to the elite gathering and must say, the music [Adesh Shrivastava] is indeed tuneful. The formal announcement of G.I.F.A. Awards, to be held in Malaysia in December [BAABUL will be premiered here], was also made on the occasion.

MORE HERE >>>

This is the first time I'm playing a courtesan, says Aish

Although the media is having a field day with the conspicuous absence of Abhishek Bachchan for the promotional appearances for Umrao Jaan, Aishwarya Rai is quick to jump to his defence. "He doesn't have free dates. He's busy shooting for his films, but director J P Dutta has already spoken with the producers of his films to give him dates to promote the film with us."

However Ash is in no mood to discuss pertinent issues involving the younger Bachchan and steers the conversation towards the film instead. "This is the first time I'm playing a courtesan and it has been an incredible journey for me," she says.

The film has been a learning experience for the actress. "It was very educational. I was revisiting a certain era of history and learning the nuances of mujras, shayaris and ghazals from those who are much so well-versed in the culture like J P saab, Shabanaji and Javedsaab. I came away enriched," says Aishwarya.

Does she feel a film depicting an unknown faded era will appeal to today's generation? "I myself belong to today's generation," says Aishwarya, "And I feel it's a wonderful way for us to remain culturally connected to our roots. It's through movies like these that we can appreciate and discover what we have."

How much did she draw from the old Umrao Jaan? "I have seen it several years ago as one of those Sunday movies we used to see on television. I remember it in terms of visuals because they were so strong and the songs and dances that were performed so beautifully by Rekhaji, but not in terms of content. I wanted to essay this character with a clean slate, so I didn't watch it again. I was totally fresh for J P Dutta's narrative and I made it very clear that I was here to deliver to his satisfaction as an actor. So there's no question of me having seen the old Umrao Jaan and making references to it."

Is she afraid of comparisons that will be drawn between Rekha and her? "I know that comparisons are already being made, especially by the media. I have played a character from the book as envisioned by J P saab. It's not the first time something has been remade. References to art or literature which are interpreted cinematographically are a creative geniuses' prerogative not a single person's perspective. But Rekhaji and I share a warm bond that goes beyond comparisons. I definitely want her to see the movie and as she has been an audience to most of my films before, I hope she watches my Umrao Jaan too," she says.

MORE HERE >>>

Bips to beat Aishwarya

As the release date of upcoming ‘Dhoom 2' is coming closer, the curiosity for the film is increasing and so the buzzes about the film. The latest buzz is that sultry Bipasha Basu is playing double role in ‘Dhoom 2'; the rumour also has it that with her double role Bipasha is all to beat Aishwarya Rai as she's getting more footage than Aishwarya in the film. Aishwarya playing a con woman in the film, Hrithik Roshan, who also plays a role with negative shades, accompanies her, whereas Bipasha, as per rumour, will play a cop's role as well as a con woman's role. The film also has Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra playing cops.

MORE HERE >>>

Diwali update 3: ‘Don’ holds, ‘Jaan-e-Mann’ steady

Business Talk With Taran Adarsh

Source: IndiaFM

With DON taking a head start from Day 1 and JAAN-E-MANN opening with dismal numbers, the opening weekend tilted in DON’s favor completely. With a solid Friday and Sunday [Saturday was weak due to Laxmi pooja], the distributors of DON were assured of reaching the safety zone. But JAAN-E-MANN was struggling to breathe due to a poor Friday, disastrous Saturday and fairly good Sunday.

Monday brought good news for JAAN-E-MANN. While DON reaped the maximum benefit of the Diwali holidays, JAAN-E-MANN also showed a gradual rise. However, the business hasn’t shown a big jump, but the collections are steady on the lower side. At Indore, for instance, the collections of JAAN-E-MANN on Monday were almost at par with Sunday. Even Tuesday was better than Friday and Saturday, which clearly indicates that the film is catching on slowly.

In Mumbai and Delhi-U.P. too, JAAN-E-MANN showed a steady rise on Monday and Tuesday, mainly at multiplexes. But that still doesn’t make it a safe proposition, since it has been sold for an astronomical prices. The collections got a boost on Wednesday [Idd], thanks to Salman’s popularity. Again, the much-needed jump was missing!

JAAN-E-MANN picked up dramatically in U.K. If the love triangle grossed a measly £ 18,000 on Friday, it showed an upswing on Monday [£ 40,000] as well as on Tuesday [£ 60,000]. Pranab Kapadia, the Business Head of Adlabs [U.K. distributor of JAAN-E-MANN], is confident that the all-round positive reports will help it consolidate its status in days to come.

However, JAAN-E-MANN isn’t as strong at comparatively smaller centres of India, while DON continued its smooth ride on Monday [slight drop], Tuesday [good] and Wednesday [steady].

Since a lot of money is riding on these two films, it remains to be seen how they perform in their second weekend. In terms of public feedback, JAAN-E-MANN enjoys better reports, but will it translate into rock-steady collections in its second week? As for DON, with a bountiful first week, one will be curious to watch its b.o. performance in its second week, since the general feedback isn’t favorable.

Yet, in all fairness, while DON looks like a safe proposition due to a strong initial [SRK’s star power coupled with Diwali and Idd holidays], JAAN-E-MANN will have to come up with magical figures to make its investors smile.

WRONG RELEASE PERIOD?

While everyone has a point of view vis-à-vis the dull opening of JAAN-E-MANN, a number of people are unanimous that had JAAN-E-MAAN released on Wednesday, 25th October [Idd], not before, the results would’ve been much, much better. A prominent Bengal distributor told this writer that Salman’s popularity with the masses and an Idd release would’ve ensured a better start for JAAN-E-MANN.

A similar opinion was echoed by Pranab Kapadia of Adlabs, U.K. as well as a well-known Delhi-U.P. exhibitor, when this writer spoke to them.

MORE HERE >>>

“Sanju is the real Munnabhai", Shahrukh

‘Munnabhai MBBS' director Rajkumar Hirani, at the beginning, selected Shah Rukh Khan for Munnabhai's role. However it couldn't work out as Shah Rukh was then in abroad for his back surgery. In a recent interview Shah Rukh said he loved the script very much but he had to give up the film because he could not have asked them to wait for him till his recovery.
Expressing his deep satisfaction on Sanjay Dutta's portrayal as Munnabhai, Shah Rukh said, “Sanju is the real Munnabhai. I genuinely think that Sanju is outstanding. There's this amazing and enduring big brotherly love in Sanju's Munnabhai, which I don't think I would have been able to bring to the table.”
Like ‘Munnabhai MBBS', its sequel ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai' also floored the Bollywood king.

MORE HERE >>>

Rani agreed to walk ramp for the first time

For the first time actress Rani Mukherji will be seen on ramp. Rani always seen in the frontline in the fashion show however agreed to walk ramp for the first time on the occasion of music release of Ravi Chopra's forthcoming film ‘Baabul' on Thursday night. Rani plays lead role in the film. As per reports, not only Rani, the film's almost all the leading stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan and John Abraham will be doing rampwalk on the evening.
The actors will walk on the ramp with their screen looks in the film. “This will give a feel of their characters,” explained director Ravi Chopra in a recent press meet.
Besides ramp-walk, the unusual music release will also witness Big B singing rap songs and a classical number ‘Baawri Piya', which will be presented by Sonu Nigam.

MORE HERE >>>

John and Bipasha to hit a Goal?

The real life couple John-Bipasha have shared great onscreen chemistry in films like Jism and Madhoshi. But surprisingly ever since then they never appeared together in any film. Finally after a gap of two years audiences might get to see them together in Vivek Agnihotri's Goal.

The duo was offered some films before but they refused to do for their own reasons. Though she hasn’t read the entire script of Goal, Bipasha has had a narration of her part from the script. She is yet to sign on the dotted line but her response towards the film seems to be quite positive. She feels that Goal is a perfect film for her to come together with John. Being selective about her roles, Bipasha feels that she will work with John only if the project is special. In Goal she plays a Pakistani girl.

It may be recalled that Bipasha had refused some films starring John Abraham in lead role including Anurag Kashyup’s No Smoking.

MORE HERE >>>

Sanjay dutt in Beehad ?

Some months back we had informed you that Sanjay Dutt is planning to revive his father Sunil Dutt’s production banner Ajanta Arts with his brother-in-law Kumar Gaurav. Milan Luthria was to direct the banner’s first film and Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan were to star in the film. Now there is more news on the project.

The film is titled Beehad and will star Vidya Balan as the female lead. Interestingly, Milan will be doing a complete makeover of Vidya Balan in this film. She will be seen in a glamorous and sensual role which will change her girl-next-door image. Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi was the last film produced by Ajanta Arts.

Beehad is a thriller set in the ravines of North India and is said to be based on a true story. The idea of the film came up when Sanjay Dutt heard of the concept while traveling in North India and asked Milan if they could make a film on it. This film will also revive Rajendra Kumar’s film banner called Aryan Films. The film will be co-produced by GS Entertainment.

MORE HERE >>>

Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan again on screen

The ‘Parineeta' duo – Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan to be seen together again on screen, however not for a feature film, as per reports director Mira Nair of ‘Monsoon Wedding' fame will direct Saif-Vidya for an ad film on AIDS, titled ‘AIDS Jagao'. Besides Saif and Vidya the ad film will also star actor Shiny Ahuja. Based on Zoya Akhtar's script, the short film will be shot in Mumbai next month. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is making the film. Besides Mira Nair, there are Kamal Hassan, Vishal Bhardwaj and Santosh Sivan will be making their films on AIDS under same banner. The four ad films will be screened in theatres all over the country before the main feature is screened.

MORE HERE >>>