Why did the producers of Sam Bahadur release it this week in opposition of Animal? Don’t you think, the clash could have been avoided?

– The clash between ANIMAL and SAM BAHADUR could have been avoided and, more importantly, should have been avoided. SAM BAHADUR is the kind of film which needed to be released without any strong opposition. ANIMAL was too formidable an opposition for SAM BAHADUR. And the result of releasing SAM BAHADUR in direct opposition of ANIMAL is there for all to see today. While ANIMAL has opened to bumper houses, the initial of SAM BAHADUR is dull.

How important is Sam Bahadur for Vicky Kaushal’s career?

– Every film is important for the actor who stars in it. Otherwise, why would he sign the film in the first place?

When will The Kerala Story come on OTT? On which OTT platform will it stream?

– No OTT platform has acquired the streaming rights of THE KERALA STORY. All the platforms find it too hot to handle. Therefore, you may not get to watch it on any digital platform. 

How do you expect 2023 to pan out for the Hindi film industry?

– Very good. Year 2022 has taught the Hindi film industry people a lot of lessons, one of them being that there is no shortcut to success. The industry people are very smart, they must’ve already taken corrective steps, and the results will show in 2023.

Why did Cirkus not take an impressive opening?

– Because the first trailer did not have any scene which could evoke loud laughter or guffaws! Since the film is designed as a comedy, there ought to have been a couple of scenes which would’ve prompted people to laugh out loud.

After such a raging controversy around Pathaan, will it open well?

– You bet, it will take a bumper opening. Shah Rukh Khan will be coming to the big screen after such a long gap that there are all the chances of PATHAAN opening huge. Although those talking negative about the film and asking for a ban on its release would hate this, the fact is that they are all adding to the craze for the film and only building more and more curiosity around it.

Can the changing of climax, as has been done from today (March 7; start of the second week) in the case of Crazxy, become a trend? Are there any advantages?

– The makers of CRAZXY haven’t changed the climax. They have only tweaked it. One has to wait for the effects and watch if there are advantages in terms of increased box-office collections. According to me, it is unlikely that this will become a trend. This is because more than ninety-nine percent of the producers and directors don’t really deliberate on such things after a film’s release. Forget deliberating on these things, most of them don’t even want to analyse why their film isn’t working at the ticket windows. So where’s the question of taking proactive steps to try and improve box-office collections by making changes in the content?

There was a time when star kids used be launched with a lot of fanfare, but today, it is usual to release their debut films on OTT. Why this change?

– You are right! Saif Ali Khan’s son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, is being launched with NADAANIYAN which has released today (March 8) on Netflix. Similarly, Khushi Kapoor, daughter of producer Boney Kapoor, was launched in Netflix’s THE ARCHIES. So also Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, who debuted in Netflix’s MAHARAJ. OTT platforms offer sackfuls of money and hence launching star kids in films premiered on such platforms has come to be accepted as normal. But it must be said that the fanfare and excitement for an OTT launch is not even 10% of that reserved for the big-screen launch. 

What kind of a start will Sikandar take?

– Since the film will be released during Ramzan and before the Eid festival, it may not take a bumper initial.

Did you expect this kind of initial for Gadar 2?

– What do you mean by asking whether we expected this kind of initial for GADAR 2. In our article dated August 5, we had predicted that the GADAR EK PREM KATHA sequel would take a flying start. Here’s the link to that article.

‘GADAR 2’ SET FOR A FLYING START! | 5 August, 2023

Have the producers of OMG 2 made a mistake by releasing the film on the same day as Gadar 2?

– The producers of OMG 2 must’ve been eyeing the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday in the first week. As far as the first day’s (today, 11th August) collections are concerned, OMG 2 seems to have been badly hit by the opposition (GADAR 2). Let’s wait and watch for what happens on Independence Day. If the collections of OMG 2 on 15th August are extraordinary, its producers may have reason to not call their release strategy a mistake.

Why do producers not make more action films like Gadar 2? I am asking this question because I own a single-screen cinema, and the initial of Gadar 2 at my cinema is historic. It is after a long time that I have seen such huge crowds at my cinema.

– What you are saying about GADAR 2 is true. And yes, it is indeed a tragedy that most of the producers are not catering to the masses which frequent single-screen cinemas. Perhaps, that will change soon. After all, RRR, K.G.F. CHAPTER 2, PATHAAN and now GADAR 2 do tell a story — that masses cannot and should not be ignored!

How does it help to inflate box-office collections by doing block bookings of tickets of a film, as is being done these days?

– Block booking serves to massage the egos of the persons associated with the film because it gives the impression to the trade that the film has done well — at least, that’s what the persons associated with the film would like to believe. Of course, in reality, the trade people are not easy to fool or mislead because they know the facts on ground level. There’s another angle too. Since most of the film media people are generally irresponsible in disseminating information about film business figures and hence happily report the fake collections (sometimes for favours in return, and sometimes because they don’t have the wherewithal to verify the collections before reporting them), the public is also misled into believing that the film has performed the way the producers want people to feel. Occasionally, this misconception among people might prompt them to watch the ‘hit’ or ‘successful’ film, leading to more footfalls.

Producers used to ‘buy’ tickets of their own films in the 1980s and 1990s too. Then why is such a hue and cry being made about block bookings now?

– In the good old days, producers used to resort to ‘feeding’ in a couple of cinemas only. Block bookings today are on an altogether different level. For a recent film, the producers block-booked tickets worth Rs. 40 crore (net collections). In those days, producers used to ‘tear tickets’ worth, say, a few thousand rupees only.

What kind of opening will next week’s Chhaava take?

– Bumper!

How do producers decide what content is meant for the big screen and what’s appropriate for OTT?

– There are several parameters to decide whether content is meant for the big or the small screen. The story and drama of the content, the target audience of the content, the dialogues (whether four-letter words are necessary), the budget, the star cast… these and a host of other factors help a producer to decide whether he should adapt a particular content for the cinemas or OTT platforms. This apart, producers are also adept at thinking backwards. If they’ve made content for the small screen, they can justify why it was conceived for the OTT platform rather than for the big screen. Likewise, if they’ve made a film for the cinemas, they can give you many reasons why it was meant for the big screen only.

Why do South producers not promote their films in regions other than South India when they dub them in Hindi and release them all over India?

– Generally speaking, the fault lies more with the stars of the South films. They are happy in their space down South and, therefore, don’t allot dates for promotion in the other parts of the country.        

To whom would you give more credit to for the stupendous success of Stree 2?

– To director Amar Kaushik for the fabulous making of the film with all the conviction at his command, to Niren Bhatt for writing such an outstanding commercial drama, and to producers Dinesh Vijan and Jio Studios for sparing no efforts and money to make the film the way they did.    

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.

Of the forthcoming films, which film’s teaser/trailer has been liked by the public the most? On that basis, can we assume that that film will get a good opening when it is released?

– The public seems to be giving its love to the teaser of DEVA. Going by the buzz for the film, it should get a good opening, but for that to happen, it is also necessary that the producers maintain the tempo of the promotion till 30th January, the day when DEVA will hit the screens.

Where do you think, the Hindi dubbed version of Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 will stop?

– Around Rs. 775 crore! Needless to add, this is the highest net collections ever for a Hindi film. Paradoxically, the record for the biggest Hindi film will be held by the dubbed Hindi version of a Telugu film. Exactly, like it was held for several years by the Hindi dubbed version of BAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION till the record was broken last year by PATHAAN. The record of PATHAAN was then broken by GADAR 2, which record was broken by JAWAN. STREE 2 this year outshone JAWAN. But PUSHPA: THE RULE PART 2 (Hindi dubbed) has already overtaken STREE 2 by a huge margin — and the film is still running in the cinemas!

Was it the right strategy to let Marco (Hindi dubbed) grow by word of mouth? The producers hardly spent anything on the promotion of the Hindi dubbed version!

– The producers should’ve released the film after at least creating awareness about it and its release. Had they done that, the collections would’ve picked up faster than they did! The Hindi dubbed version was released with almost no publicity. Hence it took a week for the positive word of mouth to spread. Another dubbed version of a South film, which had positive word of mouth and which was also released with dull promotion, was MAHARAJ. But that Tamil film was not as lucky as MARCO because the collections of its Hindi dubbed version did not jump as much as they should’ve.