When is Jersey likely to release now? Will it be premiered on OTT?

– The new date of release hasn’t been finalised as nobody knows when the situation will improve and when cinemas in Delhi will reopen. Besides, there’s also the additional point that cinemas in other states should not be ordered to shut down! As for an OTT premiere, it doesn’t seem like the producers of JERSEY are thinking in those terms.

Which has been the most successful feature film premiered on OTT during the lockdown?

– Undoubtedly, SHERSHAAH.

With the release of Jersey this week cancelled, which films will stand to gain the most?

– The two reigning super-hits will stand to gain from the cancellation of JERSEY release. They are PUSHPA (dubbed) and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME. 83 will benefit in the big cities and the national multiplex chains because it is doing very well there.

Why do you think, the trailer of Major, made in Hindi and Telugu, has been liked so much by the public? Is it because the current public sentiments are in favour of South films? After all, it stars a Telugu film star and what’s more, the story of the film (about army officer Sandeep Unnikrishnan) is well-known in view of the media coverage he got after he was martyred in the November 2008 terror attacks in Bombay.

– If the fondness for a trailer had anything to do with the public sentiments being in favour of South films, the trailer of RAW (dubbed version of Tamil BEAST) would also have been loved by the audience, but we know, that’s not true. The trailer is receiving the love of the paying public because it’s a good trailer, period. After that, it doesn’t even make a difference that the story of the film’s subject is in the public domain.

Will Jayeshbhai Jordaar take a flying start today, befitting the stardom of its hero, Ranveer Singh?

– Definitely not, because the trailers of the film, after the first trailer, have not been liked too much by the public. Generally, each trailer adds to the film’s likeability. That didn’t happen in the case of JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR. The initial euphoria for the film was not maintained by the latter promotion of the film.

Will Liger be the next big South blockbuster in the Hindi-speaking belt?

– You never know! Incidentally, like MAJOR, LIGER is also not dubbed in Hindi. It has been shot in Telugu and Hindi, just like MAJOR.

Will any corporate production house be willing to launch Aryan Khan, now that he has been to jail?

– Of course, there will be a queue of corporate production houses waiting to sign Aryan Khan. For one, he is superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son. Secondly, he has the sympathy of the majority of Bollywood buffs because they feel, he did not deserve to be behind bars for so many days.

Although cinemas reopened last week, why was there no major film that released last week or this week?

– Pre-Diwali days are considered dull for the box-office. Also, with the permissible occupancy in many of the states being 50%, no producer wanted to take a chance in these dull (for the box-office) days.

Can Sooryavanshi even now net Rs. 200 crore?

– Yes, it can. It’s just that because of the restrictions on cinema capacities in various states, it may take a couple of extra weeks to touch that figure.

How much will the Hindi dubbed version of Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1 do? Can its net collections touch the Rs. 200-crore mark?

 – It should quite easily cross the Rs. 200-crore mark. It has netted Rs. 110 crore in the first week itself!  

Why is the heat for the Diwali releases not building up?

– There are several reasons for the heat not building up for the Diwali releases. For one, there is no big-ticket film scheduled for release this Diwali. Secondly, the magic of the promotion for both the major Diwali releases, THAMMA and DEEWANIYAT, has not yet worked in a big way. With 11 days still to go, let us hope that the heat for both builds up.       

After Diwali, which are the films to be excited about?

– As of now, the excitement is building up for the following four films: Aditya Dhar’s DHURANDHAR, Luv Ranjan’s DE DE PYAAR DE 2, Aanand L. Rai’s TERE ISHK MEIN and Hollywood’s AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH.  

Why are almost all films failing at the box-office? Is it true that people have stopped coming to the cinemas?

– It’s not true that the public has stopped frequenting cinemas. Had they stopped, how did BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2 do so well at the box-office? But what is true is that people are not coming to cinemas unless a film is worth watching. For lesser films, people don’t mind waiting for a month so that they can watch those films on an OTT platform. The exclusive theatrical window for films, as you know, has been reduced to four weeks, after the lockdown.

Films of big production houses fetch fantastic revenues from sale of digital and satellite rights even if they fail at the ticket windows. Therefore, such producers don’t make losses. Is that true?

– That’s true quite often. But what about the loss of reputation that follows a flop? Besides, OTT platforms and satellite television channels pay them humongous prices because they have been delivering successful and hit films in a row. If they deliver flops in a row, they will not be entitled to the benefit of high prices from the platforms and channels.

Will Thor: Love And Thunder, due next week, open well?

– You bet, it will open very well. Its advance booking, started days earlier, has been good.