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.    

Now that two weeks are complete, do you think that Stree 2 will join the Rs. 500-crore club?

– Yes, it will. It has already almost touched Rs. 450 crore in domestic theatrical box-office takings, so another Rs. 60 crore in the following weeks is a given!

What is the difference between a sequel, franchise film and a film as part of a universe?

– Although the terms are used interchangeably, there is a difference between a sequel and a franchise film. Technically, a sequel must start where the first part ended. It is continuation of the same story with the same or almost the same characters. On the other hand, a franchise film is one which may or may not belong to the same world/era but would have at least one, two or more characters from the earlier part/s. However, the story is not necessarily in continuation of the earlier film/s in the franchise. A series film is also the same as a franchise film. A universe film is where characters of different films in the universe cross paths. To substantiate with examples, GADAR 2 was a sequel of GADAR EK PREM KATHA, RACE 2 was a sequel of RACE, and BAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION was a sequel of BAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING. On the other hand, DHOOM, HOUSEFULL and GOLMAAL films were franchise films whereas SINGHAM, SINGHAM 2, SIMBBA and SOORYAVANSHI were all films in Rohit Shetty’s Cop Universe as they had characters of one film crossing paths with characters of other films in that universe. Likewise, STREE 2 was a Horror Comedy Universe film as characters from horror comedy BHEDIYA crossed paths with characters from STREE and STREE 2. Actually, STREE 2 is also a sequel and a franchise film, besides being a film in Jio and Dinesh Vijan’s Horror Comedy Universe. Similarly, TIGER, WAR, PATHAAN and now ALPHA are part of Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe.      

Is there a difference between casting for films and casting for web series?

– Yes, there is a marked difference between the two. For a web series’ casting, talent of the actors is of paramount importance whereas in the case of casting for films, both, talent and marketability (popularity/fan following) of the actors, are important.    

Will Stree 2 cross the Rs. 400-crore mark in India alone?

– It most definitely will! It will join the Rs. 400-crore club in the second week itself. The question now is whether it will touch Rs. 500 crore or not! In all likelihood, it will!!

What did you think of the teaser of Chhava?

– I found it extremely promising. The teaser is literally inviting people to watch the film. It has served its purpose.

South’s Maharaja, starring Vijay Sethupathi, is being praised to the skies on OTT. Then why did its Hindi dubbed version not do well in the cinemas?

– Two major reasons why the Hindi dubbed version of MAHARAJA underperformed in the cinemas: it was released with almost nil promotion, and so, people weren’t even aware that it had released; Vijay Sethupathi is a fantastic actor but he does not have a fan following in the Hindi film belt, which is so necessary to ensure that his starrers open decently.    

Now that all the three star-cast Hindi films — Khel Khel Mein, Vedaa and Stree 2 — have released this week, do you think, the producers did the right thing by clashing?

– Clearly, the producers of KHEL KHEL MEIN and VEDAA erred in coming in opposition of STREE 2, going by the box-office collections of the first day. The all-India net collections of each of KKM and VEDAA are approximately one-eighth of the collections of STREE 2. Had the two films come without any opposition, they would’ve collected better than what they did yesterday (15th August, Independence Day). That is to say, the formidable opposition of STREE 2 more than offset the advantage of the national holiday which was to accrue to the two films. All the advantage went to STREE 2 and only STREE 2.

Three major releases this week and no big or star cast film next week. Is this sensible?

– It may not be sensible per se. But please think of it this way: this week has a 5-day weekend with one national holiday (Independence Day on 15th August), one partial festival holiday (Parsi New Year on 16th August) and one major festival holiday (Raksha Bandhan on 19th). Next week is nothing compared to this week, so who would like to forgo this week which could turn out to be bountiful at the box-office? But the postmortem reveals that the move of releasing three films to take advantage of the holiday week proved detrimental for the box-office of two out of the three films.

Is it true that Pushpa 2 won’t come in December?

– Seems so but there is no official announcement to that effect!    

One reason why Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha not take even a decent opening last week?

– The audience was simply not interested in seeing the love story of a middle-aged couple — Ajay Devgan and Tabu.

What is more important for an actor — talent or luck?

– Talent and luck are both important but probably the most important thing is to be be a part of commercially profitable films.

Why have stars stopped giving interviews to TV and online channels and making appearances at malls?

– Many stars feel — and wrongly so — that interviews and mall appearances don’t translate into footfalls in cinemas. They don’t realise that just like they don’t stop acting in films because one film of theirs flops, they should similarly not stop the traditional ways of promoting their films simply because the promotion did not work in the case of one or two films. Many of them also feel that since they are on social media, they don’t need anybody to reach out to their fans as they can do it themselves through social media. But this is also a fallacy because it is one thing to put out things yourself and quite another to answer queries put forth by the media persons.    

Of the three films due for release on 15th August, which will take the best opening?

– In my opinion, the initial of STREE 2 will be the best. That’s because not only is the trailer wonderful but brand STREE is also huge as the first part was a big hit.

How will Khel Khel Mein and Vedaa release on 15th August? The trailers of both the films were just released. Isn’t it too small a time frame between the date of release of the first trailer and the release date of the film?

– Agreed, it is too short a time frame, but there’s no sacrosanct rule. In the case of KHEL KHEL MEIN, trailers of two songs (Hauli hauli and Dur na karin) were released before the film’s trailer which is due to be released today (2nd August). As for VEDAA, the undue delay in the film’s censorship must’ve thrown the promotional plans into disarray. Its trailer was released yesterday (1st August).

With the kind of advance booking which Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha generated before its release, don’t you think, it would’ve been better had it released on 5th July, as originally scheduled?

– But nobody knew in July that AMKDT would take such a dull initial in August. The film had not generated heat in July, and not much changed thereafter. Incidentally, the postponement of the release AMKDT was not because the film had not become the first choice of the public but rather because of poor showcasing it was going to get, thanks to the runaway success of KALKI 2898 AD which had released a week earlier (on 27th June).  

Of the three films — Khel Khel Mein, Vedaa and Stree 2 — releasing on Independence Day, which, according to you, will open the best?

– It’s not possible to predict till one has seen the trailers of all the three films. The trailers of KHEL KHEL MEIN and VEDAA are yet to be released and, therefore, you will have to wait for our prediction about the initial. But after watching the trailer of STREE 2, we can safely predict that its opening will be phenomenal.

What corrective steps should Akshay Kumar take to get back into the league of successful stars?

– Sign better films with more commercial potential. Everything else will fall into place thereafter.

There’s so much of heartburn and tension almost every week when showcasing of films is being done. Exhibitors want to accommodate as many films as possible whereas each distributor wants all or the maximum number of shows for his film. Isn’t there a solution to this regular problem?

– It can start with the large multiplex chains outsourcing the task of showcasing to an independent agency. Smaller chains and single-screen cinemas can appoint the same agency once the multiplexes start reaping the benefits.

Films like Sarfira with Akshay Kumar, and Hindustani 2 (dubbed), which was a sequel to the successful Hindustani, took dismal starts last week. On the other hand, Bad Newz this week takes a good opening. Can you explain why?

– BAD NEWZ isn’t just a far better promoted film than SARFIRA and HINDUSTANI 2 (dubbed) but it also boasts of hit music which the two films of last week lacked. And we all know, the two most important factors responsible for a good initial are an impactful promotion (including, in particular, a good trailer) and hit music.

Your several interviews in recent times have mentioned that South and Hollywood films will save the day for the Hindi film industry this year. Then how is it that Hindustani 2, the Hindi dubbed version of South’s Indian II, bombed?

– I have been maintaining that South and Hollywood films will score more than Hindi films this year but that does not mean that South films will not flop this year. Likewise, that also does not imply that Bollywood films won’t work at all. What my comment means is that the Hindi dubbed versions of several South and Hollywood films will contribute to the Hindi film industry’s business this year while a number of Hindi films will fail to live up to the expectations.

If a film is premiered on an OTT platform and it clicks with the public, can’t it be released theatrically thereafter?

– Hardly any OTT platform has released a film in cinemas after its success on the platform. The logic is that nobody will spend money to watch a film in the cinemas if it is available for ‘free’ on OTT. SIRF EK BANDAA KAAFI HAI, starring Manoj Bajpayee, was an exception. It was released in cinemas after its premiere on Zee5 but that was a very limited release done with the intention of entering the film for awards which necessitated theatrical release.

Why was the advance booking earlier this week, and opening of Sarfira today, so dull?

– Due to several reasons: its promotion failed to have the desired impact; Akshay Kumar doesn’t seem to be the public’s exciting choice to go to the cinemas on the first day of the film; people are aware that it is the remake of Tamil film SOORARAI POTTRU which is available on Amazon Prime, not just in the original Tamil language but also in Hindi as UDAAN.

What should the ideal time to make a sequel of a film be?

– There cannot be an ideal time. A sequel should invoke memories of the earlier part among the public. If that happens, the sequel can be said to be well-timed.

What kind of opening had Hindustani (dubbed) taken when it was released in 1996?

– The initial of HINDUSTANI (Hindi dubbed) on August 16, 1996 in Bombay, C.P. Berar, C.I. and parts of Nizam (Marathwada) was earth-shattering. In the other circuits, it was very good. If you are trying to compare the opening of HINDUSTANI (Hindi dubbed) in 1996 with that of HINDUSTANI 2 (Hindi dubbed) today, perish the thought. For, the initial of HINDUSTANI 2 (Hindi dubbed) today is very poor.

Why are so many films nowadays not even taking decent starts? Not doing well because the content is rejected is one thing, but a star-cast film not even opening well is quite another thing.

– The main culprit is lack of quality and effective promotion. Producers are concentrating more on digital promotion of their films but the fact is that the target audience for films are not all digitally connected or savvy. A large section of the 35-plus audience is still dependent on television, newspaper and street publicity for their knowledge about films releasing in the cinemas. As these media are not being well exploited for promoting films because the emphasis is on social media, producers are unwittingly ignoring a chunk of the potential audience in their marketing campaigns. Also, trailers and music are still the two most important tools of promotion but, sadly, not many producers are working on their music and, therefore, they cannot use their (weak) songs to promote their films. There’s another point too. Stars are becoming more and more reluctant to appear before the public (through interviews, mall appearances, etc.) at the time of their release, as used to happen in the pre-COVID era. This is another reason for lack of awareness about the release of films and, therefore, dull openings.

Was it right on the part of the producers of Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha to postpone its release this week?

– It was definitely an intelligent move. Had they released their film on 5th July, they would’ve not got the optimum number of shows as KALKI 2898 AD (dubbed) is going so strong that exhibitors wouldn’t want to drastically reduce its shows to accommodate AURON MEIN KAHAN DUM THA. The new probable release date — 2nd August — is a good one because the other Fridays before that are all booked: SARFIRA and HINDUSTANI 2 (dubbed) on 12th July, BAD NEWZ on 19th July, and DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (dubbed and English) on 26th July. Further, there’s no major release slated for 9th August.

One word for the star power of Prabhas?

– Better than that of many Hindi film heroes!