Why did this week’s Param Sundari record dull advance booking?

 – There was not much reason for the advance booking of PARAM SUNDARI to be impressive because neither was the film very hot before release nor are the main actors of the kind which would warrant the plans to open big. 

The producers of Gujarati Vash Level 2 released the Gujarati Vash sequel this week after dubbing it in Hindi even though the first part was not dubbed in Hindi? Is this an advisable move?

– Strictly speaking, it’s not an advisable move because the second part may not be completely comprehensible to the Hindi film-going audience as they haven’t watched the first part in Hindi. The producers may have taken the liberty of doing what they did because VASH (the first part) was remade in Hindi by Ajay Devgan as SHAITAAN. However, the ending of SHAITAAN was very different from that of VASH. By the way, the title of the Hindi dubbed version of VASH LEVEL 2 is VASH VIVASH LEVEL 2.

There’s suddenly a rush of new releases on 5th and 12th September. Why is it so?

– Sometimes, there are too many releases for no apparent reason. The film release schedules are often like the Bombay traffic — unpredictable!        

If I were to ask you just one reason for the failure of War 2, what would that be?

 – The main reason for the non-success of Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR’s WAR 2 is its extremely weak script. The drama was so poor that the visuals looked like they were screaming, “Look, we are so beautiful, so much money has been spent on the film to make it a visual treat, look, it is so extravagant!” The huge budget irritated the audience even more because of the below-average content. 

How have the producers of Gujarati Vash made a sequel? Vash did not work at the box-office.

– VASH may not have done well at the Gujarati box-office, but the producers made profits on the project because they sold its remaking rights for other languages for a hefty price to Ajay Devgan. And Ajay remade the film in Hindi as SHAITAAN which did very well at the Hindi box-office. The producers of VASH also sold the OTT rights for a very good price. VASH LEVEL 2 (Gujarati) is slated for release next week — in Gujarati and Hindi (dubbed) too. The Hindi dubbed version is titled VASH VIVASH LEVEL 2.    

Since there’s no new Hindi film release today (22nd August), will War 2 reap the benefit of lack of new opposition?

– WAR 2 will not reap the benefit of lack of new opposition because collections dropped down markedly in the first week itself. The major part of the benefit will go to MAHAVATAR NARSIMHA.        

It is the South industry once again which has made a blockbuster animation film, Mahavatar Narsimha. Why is it that only the South filmmakers come up with winning ideas?

 – They do so because they think out of the box. Bollywood filmmakers often focus their energies on repeating a successful formula instead of tackling novel ideas.

How much business will Saiyaara do in the Overseas circuit?

– Its gross collections Overseas may probably cross $20 million! That would be a record for a love story starring new faces. In the UK, it is the fourth biggest Bollywood film!!     

Can Mahavatar Narsimha be called the modern-day Jai Santoshi Maa?

– Yes, you may call it the modern-day JAI SANTOSHI MAA because it has the same kind of following.        

What kind of an initial do you expect War 2 to take on Thursday, August 14?

 – Bumper! The trade is not quite confident about an earth-shattering start to the film but that’s because most of them are unable to understand and assess the magic of the Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR jodi. The thrill of watching them together on screen is something they cannot fathom today but will realise when the film hits the screens.         

With YRF’s Saiyaara still running in the cinemas, won’t the same production house’s War 2 eat into its collections from 14th August onwards? Couldn’t YRF have postponed the release of War 2?

– What you say is not easy, practically speaking. Yash Raj Films kept a gap of four weeks between the release of the two films, and that must’ve seemed good enough by any stretch of imagination at the time when SAIYAARA had not been released. To change the release plan of WAR 2 now or even one or two weeks earlier would’ve been an almost impossible task.    

Why did Dhadak 2 fare so poorly at the box-office?

– DHADAK 2 may have done far better if it had been made as a love story set against the backdrop of a casteist society. But what it turned out to be was a film about casteism set against the backdrop of a love story.        

How did Mahavatar Narsimha do so well in its first week when Saiyaara was still going strong in the second week?

 – One film ruling the box-office doesn’t mean that another film cannot do well. MAHAVATAR NARSIMHA released a week after SAIYAARA. But we have had two films releasing on the same day and both scoring at the ticket counters. Remember GADAR EK PREM KATHA and LAGAAN? They hit the screens on the same day, and both were box-office winners.         

Is it true that Son Of Sardaar 2 and Dhadak 2 did not get adequate number of shows in cinemas because of Saiyaara and Mahavatar Narsimha?

– Yes, very true. The showcasing for the two new releases of this week, viz. SON OF SARDAAR 2 and DHADAK 2 was adversely affected because of the running films viz. SAIYAARA and MAHAVATAR NARSIMHA.    

Why did one of the two films of this week — Son Of Sardaar 2 and Dhadak 2 — not release next week? They could’ve avoided the clash.

– The producers of both the films did not want to get their films next week because WAR 2 will be hitting the screens on 14th August (Thursday). That means, the film which would have opted to release next Friday, would have only six days (not even a full week) of ‘no competition’. After six days, there would be a huge film like WAR 2 to contend with. On the other hand, in the current scenario, SON OF SARDAAR 2 and DHADAK 2 have 13 days before WAR 2 hits the screens.        

What is the business potential of Saiyaara?

 – As of today (July 25, after the completion of its first week), the lower limit is Rs. 450 crore. But that doesn’t mean that the final all-India business will be around this figure only. It could actually go up to Rs. 500 crore too, maybe more! What I mean to say is that the film is doing such tremendous business that it is difficult to predict a figure.         

Saiyaara managed a flying start without much promotion in the form of interviews and city tours and the like. Will this become a trend? Should this become a trend?

– It shouldn’t become a trend because every film is different. A producer can probably do without promotion in the form of interviews and city tours but for that, he has to have songs and song picturisations like SAIYAARA, a lead pair like Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, which becomes a rage no sooner than the first teaser is released, and the tempo to keep the excitement alive, like the producers of SAIYAARA had. Unfortunatley, several producers will emulate the strategy of SAIYAARA due to the herd mentality prevalent in the industry, and, perhaps, fall flat on their face as the aforementioned conditions would not have been fulfilled.   

Why did Tanvi The Great not work at the box-office in spite of the subject being so heart-touching and the film having been made with noble intentions?

– Simply because a film does not work due to the intentions behind making it. It works if it offers entertainment to the paying public. The entertainment can be of various kinds but it must offer entertainment. In the case of TANVI THE GREAT, the story idea may have been heart-touching but the film wasn’t. It didn’t touch the hearts of too many people and it didn’t offer them entertainment of the kind they were looking for in a film of this kind.       

What could have made Metro… In Dino take a better start?

 – More saleable names in the cast. Neither Aditya Roy Kapur nor Sara Ali Khan nor Fatima Sana Shaikh nor Pankaj Tripathi can lure the first-day audience to the cinemas. Besides them, the other four actors in the lead cast, viz. Ali Fazal, Anupam Kher, Konkona Sen Sharma and Neena Gupta are character actors. So, in the present form, it couldn’t have taken a flying start, if that’s what you mean.       

Why are films opening slow nowadays and then picking up on Saturday?

– Perhaps, because people want to venture to the cinemas only after hearing the public reports. If the reports are good, collections pick up in the evening and night shows on Friday itself. 

One had never heard of shows of new films being cancelled on the opening day, but we get to hear of this quite often now. Any reason why?

– Because of films being released in too many cinemas and too many shows. Since it is the age of initial business mainly, producers and distributors want to encash on the initial craze for their films rather than wait for the collections to grow because of positive word of mouth. The fear is, what if the reports are not good? That is why, producers adopt over-saturated release strategies for their films. Obviously then, show cancellations on the opening day are common.     

Is the craze for War 2 building up?

 – Yes, the craze for Yash Raj Films’ WAR 2 is definitely building up. WAR is a big brand. And so is the excitement for YRF’s SAIYAARA. Talking about WAR 2, you must understand that besides the presence of Hrithik Roshan in the film (from the first part), there is the casting of NTR Jr. in the sequel to raise the public expectations.    

Which has taken a better start today — Metro… In Dino or Jurassic World: Rebirth?

– JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH has taken a better start because of various reasons: for one, it is a much older and more popular (mass-appealing) franchise than the METRO franchise. Secondly, METRO… IN DINO doesn’t have any great star names to talk about. 

Why can’t the art-house award-winning films from Hollywood be released theatrically in India?

– There is not much of a market for such films in India. Their slow pace is the biggest problem in many cases. Therefore, nobody has tried to experiment on a regular basis.  

With Sitaare Zameen Par having clicked, the trade must be euphoric, isn’t it? Will this start off a trend of such films?

 – I don’t know whether the trade is euphoric or not. As far as I understand, there are a lot of negative people in the trade, who are actually unhappy with the success of the film. Why? General frustration about anybody else’s success, I suppose. As for SITAARE ZAMEEN PAR starting off a trend of such films, well, that may happen because the herd mentality is prevalent in the industry.   

What kind of an initial do you expect Metro… In Dino to take on 4th July?

– METRO… IN DINO should take a very good start because of the METRO brand value and also due to the popularity of its music. Not to forget the exciting ensemble cast. 

Although Gujarati film Vash did not do well at the box-office, its sequel, Vash Level 2, is being made. Is there a logic to this?

– Sometimes, a film may not have done well at the ticket windows, but it may have had inherent merits which may have gotten overshadowed at the box-office. Such films sometimes do very well on satellite and/or OTT. So it is not wrong or illogical to make a sequel to such a film. Incidentally, VASH LEVEL 2 is carrying good under-production reports. It is slated for release on 27th August. 

Why has Sitaare Zameen Par had a limited release today?

– That’s the strategy which the producers have adopted. Since SITAARE ZAMEEN PAR is not the usual masala entertainer, they want the film to first generate positive talk on social media and otherwise too. That can happen if it is released in a controlled manner in the major centres and when the city audience give the film the thumbs up. The release in the next round will be in cinemas in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres.  

When will Sitaare Zameen Par release on an OTT platform — after how many weeks of its theatrical release, if not after eight weeks?

– The plan is to never release SITAARE ZAMEEN PAR on a digital platform. 

Will Housefull 5 turn out to be a profitable venture?

– It would’ve broken even if its total net collections would’ve been Rs. 200 crore. That seems an unachievable target.