The sparkling point: Word on next Diwali, Id movie attractions

Word is already out on next year’s Diwali and Id movie attractions, reports R V Jha

Already, the dream factory’s wheels are spinning for the next festive season’s big, bright and bouncy movie attractions — geared towards enticing family audiences to rush to the Inoxes, Galaxies and the Eroses.

Word is already out that next year around October 2, the Ramzan Id movie bonanza will be Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar. And on November 17, for Diwali dhamaka, there will be Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya — entertainment guaranteed to sparkle during the seasons of sheer khorma and then phuljadis.

This year, as is the frequent occurrence, Id and Diwali have come on dates close to each other. Next year, it will be different, but trade soothsayers are insistent that the festivals will prove to be great boosters for the commercial stakes of both Jodha Akbar and Saawariya, each helmed by directors known for lavishing attention on detail and marketing their products with a certain savoir faire.

According to trade pin Vikas Mohan, “Every filmmaker in India would like to cash in on the spending capactity of the audience during the festival days. During Diwali, wallets are fatter because of the Diwali bonus. On Id, the devout like to relax after a month-long regimen of rozas. On a modest estimate, the ticket sales during these festivals goes up by 200 per cent.”

Few filmmakers differ from this line of thinking. But Ram Gopal Varma argues, “Look, I have never believed in lucky or unlucky days for my film’s release. I also don’t believe that Diwali and Id time ensure hits. If that was so, then all of us would wait for the festival day. If your film clicks with the audience — whatever the month, week or day it may be — that’s what counts.”

On the other hand, Rakesh Roshan goes with the traditional trade belief though, “I have often released my films, like say Karan Arjun (1995) and Kaho Naa…Pyar Hai ( 2000) at the beginning of the year, when the audience is anticipating something totally fresh and entertaining. Yet, there’s no denying that the Diwali and Id periods are the most auspicious time for movie releases. Before that, there is a calm before the box office storm literally.”

After Diwali-Ramzan Id, the most audience-friendly days happen to be the summer school vacations, from April-end to early June. Taran Adarsh, trade pundit, agrees and points out that the holiday upsurge is similar to that of Hollywood’s, which actually has a glut of movies during the summer campus breaks.

The stakes during the Diwali-Id week releases are extremely high. This year with Don and Jaan-e-mann in the fray, the stakes are said to be in the vicinity of Rs 85 crore. The immediate word is that Don has fetched terrific initial box office receipts.

Last year it was Garam Masala that had benefited from the Diwali-Id rush. Inevitably, there are exceptions to the “festive mood” rule. For instance, producer Vashu Bhagnani has invariably scored flops with his Diwali releases: Deewanapan (2001), Jeena Sirf Mere Liye (2002) and Shaadi No. 1 (2005). Other recent festival time no- nos have been Pinjar, Inteha, Naach, Raja Bhaiyya ( 2004) and Kyun Ki (2005).

Never mind. Because the kind of record smashing collections recorded for other films, released during the Diwali-Id week, have kept the trade ticking with hope. The biggest festival week winners have been Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Dil To Paagal Hai (1997), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), Mohabbatein (2000) and Veer-Zaara (2004).

Of late, to further tap the overseas market further, film makers have been looking at the Easter week-end and the summer holidays. But since the largest slice of the cake continues to be the domestic market, the mantra remains — there’s no business like show business… at home.

Big Ones 2007

There will be the surprise packets and super hits which no crystal ball gazer can predict. At the same time, there are films which the movie industry will monitor intently. Besides Jodha Akbar and Saawariya the sights will be on:

Tara Rum Pum: director Siddharth Anand (*ing Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherji)
Chak de India: director Shimit Amin(*ing Shah Rukh Khan)
Eklavya: director Vidhu Vinod Chopra (*ing Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan)
Om Shanti Om: director Farah Khan (*ing Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone)
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom: director Shaad Ali (*ing Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Preity Zinta)
Apne: director Anil Sharma (*ing Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol, Shilpa Shetty).
Sitare Zameen Pe: director Amol Shetge (*ing Aamir Khan)
Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay: (*ing Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgun, Mohit Ahlawat, Sushmita Sen, Urmila Matondkar)
Delhi 6: director Rakeysh Mehra (*ing Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai)
Title not announced: director Pradeep Sarkar (*ing Jaya Bachchan, Rani Mukherji, Konkona Sen Sharma, Abhishek Bachchan)
Namaste London: director Vipul Shah (*ing Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor)
Salaam -e- Ishq: director Nikhil Advani (*ing Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Vidya Balan)

Source: DNAIndia