What did you think of the teaser of Alia Bhatt starrer Jigra?

– It’s a very impactful trailer. It arrests your attention and makes you want to watch the film. In other words, it serves its purpose.

Why do most of the South banners not promote their pan-India films in circuits other than the Southern ones?

– Those who are serious about the business from the rest of India, other than the Southern circuits, will invariably promote their films all over India. The others release their films pan-India but I don’t think, they expect much from the rest of India. Their attitude is: if it does business and gets money from the rest of India, great; if not, no problem. When the producers/stars of the films in question don’t take the business seriously, the people who contribute to that business cannot be expected to take them or their films seriously.         

Will Akshay Kumar strike back?

– Do you have any doubt? Of course, he will strike back. Please don’t underestimate the power of a super-successful actor-star even if time has not been favouring him for now.     

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.  

Will the Hindi dubbed version of Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 turn out to be the biggest blockbuster of Hindi cinema?

– From the looks of it, there seems to be not even an iota of doubt that the Hindi dubbed version of PUSHPA: THE RULE PART 2 will turn out to be the biggest Hindi blockbuster.

Why did the 3D version of Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 (Hindi dubbed) not release this week?

– The certification of the 3D version of the Hindi dubbed film was delayed. Therefore, the producers and distributors decided to release it next week instead of mid-week.      

How would you sum up year 2024 for Bollywood?

– It was good but definitely not great. PUSHPA: THE RULE PART 2 (dubbed), STREE 2, KALKI 2898 AD (dubbed) and BHOOL BHULAIYAA 3 were the big grossers which saved the day for Bollywood. There were some small- and medium-budget films which also scored very well. However, films like BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN, MAIDAAN, AURON MEIN KAHAN DUM THA, SARFIRA and FIGHTER were dampeners.  

What has been the public response to the prevue of Jawan, released earlier this week?

– Phenomenal! The opening of the film should be outstanding, going by the craze witnessed for the prevue. People are discussing the prevue, Shah Rukh Khan’s bald pate in it, and what not! After the tremendous response to The Kerala Story, I had expected 72 Hoorain to do well. But it neither took a good opening nor picked up later. Why?

– And just why did you think that 72 HOORAIN would do well? Just because it was about Muslim characters, like THE KERALA STORY was? Well, you probably love to jump to conclusions, that’s the problem. Film business is not mathematics that you can say 2 + 2 = 4.   

You mentioned in your review of Marathi film Baipan Bhari Deva two weeks back that it should be remade in Hindi to reach a larger audience. Will such a film work for the Hindi film-going audience?

– What do you mean by “such a film”? Every film which touches the heart, works for the audience. BAIPAN BHARI DEVA is doing wonders at the Marathi box-office for this very reason. It netted Rs. 12.50 crore in the first week while the second week’s total was Rs. 24.85 crore!! 

What’s going wrong with Yash Raj Films? Why are its films flopping?

– When films flop, there can’t be a standard reason for all the flops. In the case of JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR, the film should never have been made with a hero who is lying all the time. And when he’s not lying, he’s running and hiding. None of the qualities are those which we like to see our heroes possess. As for SAMRAT PRITHVIRAJ, the intention for making it comes across as encashing on the Hindutva climate in the country and wanting to appeal to that philosophy rather than making an entertainer. The intent is wrong. Besides, historicals are always risky propositions because many among today’s audiences don’t like them unless they are outstanding. SAMRAT PRITHVIRAJ was not outstanding by any stretch of imagination.

I have a budget of Rs. 12-13 crore to make a film. I can make it with ‘B’ list actors. I have utmost faith in the script. Should I go ahead and make the film?

– Think over and over again. Everyone feels, he has a fantastic script. Assuming, you actually have a good commercial script, you need at least Rs. 6-7 crore to promote the film. One has seen many small films with good content going unnoticed only because there was no money available to make the public aware about the content-driven film. After making a good film, what is the sense if people don’t come to the cinemas simply because of lack of awareness?

Which seems to be the next big film, commercially speaking?

– Karan Johar and Viacom18’s JUGJUGG JEEYO. From its trailers, it looks like Raj Mehta has made another fantastic entertainer after GOOD NEWWZ.

Can Munjya be termed a hit?

– Of course, it’s a major hit. For the first week’s share to be almost the same as the cost of the film is no mean achievement. What’s more, the second week’s collections have also been outstanding.

It is so easy for anyone to file a petition against a film’s release. Does the film industry have no remedy against this menace?

– None, till the government decides to come down heavily on such litigation which, more often than not, is frivolous.

It is believed that controversies invariably help a film’s box-office because the more talked about a film, the more number of people would want to watch it. Right or wrong?

– Wrong! A film which lacks merits cannot hope to benefit due to controversies surrounding it. The latest example is this week’s HAMARE BAARAH. Despite being in the news since the last more than a fortnight, it opened to dismal houses today.

Why are your reviews of films not highlighted in half- and full-page advertisements issued by producers for their films on the day of release of the films or on the following day or following Sunday?

– Only those reviews which talk in glowing terms about the film are highlighted in the advertisements, for obvious reasons. Strangely and quite often, the one-liners and stars mentioned against the names of the reviewers are given before some of those reviewers have even watched the film in question! That is why you may generally be seeing the same names being highlighted. Do you think, I would fall prey to such gimmicks? I don’t believe in pleasing producers. I am happy that my readers/viewers trust my reviews. That’s far, far more important than one’s name being flashed in dubious newspaper ads.

How were you so confident about the bumper opening of K.G.F. Chapter 2? In your ‘You Asked It’ column of 1st April (two weeks before the film’s release), you had said that the craze for the film was growing by the day and that the film’s opening would be bumper.

– You have my answer in your observation. I could say what I said because the craze for the film was growing by the day. If you want to understand how I gauged that, well, one has to have his ear to the ground all the time in this industry.

Was the decision of the producers of Jersey to postpone their film, right?

– Of course, it was cent per cent right. Looking to the bumper-and-beyond initial of K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 yesterday (Thursday, April 14), one can well say that releasing JERSEY alongside K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 would have been suicidal for the producers and distributors of JERSEY.

After the bombing of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan, what are your thoughts on star prices?

– Star prices are not high, they are very very high. And this has been the case since time immemorial. The bombing of the two Eid releases — BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN and MAIDAAN — only underlines this harsh reality. Having said that, let me add that in spite of stars charging exorbitantly, producers are queueing up to sign them. So you can’t expect stars to reduce their remunerations. Nobody is so conscientious that he would of his own volition announce a cut in his fees. They will continue to demand sky-high prices along as producers are willing to pay them. And this is happening because saleable stars are in short supply.

Why did Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 not open to even average houses today? After all, Love Sex Aur Dhokha had done well at the box-office.

– LOVE SEX AUR DHOKHA was released 14 years ago — in 2010. Fourteen years is too long a gap for benefits to accrue from the first film. Besides, the promotion of LSD 2 is not half as good as it ought to have been.

Distributors of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan fought tooth and nail with exhibitors and chain holders for showcasing of their films last week. But ultimately, both the films fared so miserably that their shows had to be reduced and re-distributed among the already running films. What would you call this situation?

– A joke… a BIG JOKE. Just goes to underline how far removed from reality the distributors of both the films were. Frankly, showcasing becomes an ego issue when two big-budget films are pitted against each other. Each distributor thinks, the public will patronise his film if he has more number of shows. But the fact is that from the Friday on which the films are released, the public doesn’t care who gets how many shows. What they look out for is entertainment. They will patronise the film which offers them more entertainment. Nothing else matters. N-O-T-H-I-N-G E-L-S-E!   

Would the initial of Bholaa have been better had many people not seen Kaithi, the Tamil film of which Bholaa is a remake?

– Yes, the fact that many people had already seen KAITHI definitely affected the opening of BHOLAA adversely to an extent. But there are other factors too, responsible for the below-the-mark initial: its trailer was not liked by the public as much as its teaser; its release on an odd day (Thursday) even though it was Ram Navmi (point to be noted is that Ram Navmi is a partial holiday, not a complete holiday); and the ongoing Ramzan period.

Is delaying the OTT release of films an answer to the dwindling box-office collections?

– Yes, producers should pass a resolution to not release films on OTT till at least six months from the date of their theatrical release. This might help to boost the box-office. Also, admission rates and prices of concessionaires need to be reduced, to bring the audience back to the cinemas. There are lakhs of people who have stopped going to the cinemas (except for a film that is carrying extraordinary reports) because of the huge expenditure involved in watching films in cinemas and also because OTT content now occupies the place (in people’s minds) which cinemas once occupied. Drastic measures need to be taken to return to the good old days when cinema was king.

Is there a golden rule to ensure a good opening to a star-cast film?

– I don’t know whether it’s a golden rule or not but it is tried and tested and has been working since years. A fantastic trailer and hit/superhit music can ensure a good opening to a star-cast film.

Your thoughts on the Jaat trailer?

– It is a very mass-appealing trailer which has the power to draw the public to the cinemas.

What is the running time of Sikandar? 150.08 minutes or 135.47 minutes? While the applied running time is 150 minutes and 8 seconds, the film’s duration is said to be 135 minutes and 47 seconds although there are only two alterations — one in sound and the other relating to the blurring of a political party’s hoarding. Both the abovementioned alterations haven’t affected the running time of the film. Then how do you explain the anomaly?

– The running time is 135 minutes and 47 seconds. The film, which was applied for certification, had a running time of 150 minutes and 8 seconds, but the producer then opted for voluntary cuts of 14 minutes and 21 seconds.  

Is the success ratio of Gujarati films higher than that of Hindi films?

– No, the success ratio of Gujarati films (around 12-15%) is pretty much the same as the success ratio of Hindi films.