How is it that the opening of Rajkumar Rao’s Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video today wasn’t extraordinary after the stupendous business which his Stree 2 has done?

– The extraordinary business of STREE 2 cannot be attributed to Rajkumar Rao alone because the film had an ensemble cast. Besides, it was the sequel of a very successful film (STREE).

What did you think of the trailers of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3?

– The trailer of SINGHAM AGAIN lives up to the film’s teaser. Looking to the excitement generated by the trailer, SINGHAM AGAIN can be expected to open to bumper houses this Diwali. The trailer of BHOOL BHULAIYAA 3is also excellent. The entry of Madhuri Dixit in the trailer is truly mind-blowing. There’s a superb mix of horror and comedy in the trailer. Looking to the response of the public to the two trailers, it is evident that both the films will take bumper initials on Diwali.

When the day of Laxmi Pooja is said to be not very good for the box-office, why are the producers of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 releasing their films on Laxmi Pooja day (1st November)?

– The Laxmi Pooja day may not be bountiful for the box-office because of the Diwali festivities and celebrations in Hindu households due to which they don’t go to the cinemas that day, but people of other communities make the most of the Diwali holiday by frequenting cinemas. Besides, there are many Hindus too, who utilise the holiday for visiting a cinema after the festivities etc. are done with. 

Every filmmaker sets out to make a hit film, but hardly 4-5% succeed. Why is it so?

– Your question itself has the answer. Most filmmakers set out to make a hit, but only those filmmakers succeed who set out to make a film, not a hit. One has to try and make a good film in which he believes, not a commercially hit film in which he may not believe but in which he can see tons of money.

What about the South remake which Sunny Deol was acting in and was being produced by Kamal Mukut?

– After the stupendous success of his GADAR 2, Sunny Deol reportedly wants his character in the remake of Malayalam film JOSEPH to have some great action scenes. However, the original film does not have any action for that character. The film is, therefore, stuck midway because of the disagreement between the producer and the director (M. Padmakumar) on the one hand and the hero on the other.

What kind of opening do you expect Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video to take next week?

– It should open around Rs. 7-8 crore on Friday, and there will be a big jump the following day because of Dassera holiday. In fact, the increase could be almost 100% on the second day.

Will Jigra take a respectable opening? I’m asking this question as it is a woman-centric film.

– You bet, it will take a very good start. The teaser first and now the trailer have been loved by the public and so there is a lot of curiosity for the film. Please don’t forget that Alia Bhatt has earlier delivered hits in women-oriented films such as RAAZI and GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI.

With a naughty title like Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, how are the producers calling it a family film?

– They know the best because they have made the film. You and I can only hazard guesses, so it is best to wait for the film to hit the screens. Then, you shall have the answer to your question. Meanwhile, let me add here that the film’s promotion is working big time with the public which should, therefore, make a beeline for the cinemas on 11th October when the film releases.           

In Hollywood films, there is no separate credit for dialogue writer. But Indian films always have a dialogue writer. Why this difference?

– In Hollywood films, the screenplay writer also writes the dialogues, which is not the case as far as Indian films are concerned. The screenplay writer may or may not be the dialogue writer in the case of Indian films. Even if the screenplay and dialogue writer/s is/are the same, credit is always given for story, screenplay and dialogues.      

Why did Tumbbad do so well in its revived run?

– It was destined to do well. The very fact that its tickets sold in advance was an indication that there were people waiting for it. Generally, the advance booking of old films is not worth discussing when they are revived, but the case of TUMBBAD was different. If you remember, the film did not do great business when it was first released in 2018. However, the talk about the film even then was very encouraging. The classes, especially, had found the film very intriguing and entertaining. The positive word of mouth of so many years ago is standing the film in good stead now. Besides, the number of people in the category of class audience has grown over the years because the tastes of people evolve as time flies.

Which of the two films — Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 — will open better this Diwali?

– SINGHAM AGAIN has stars galore, besides brand SINGHAM, to attract the public. BHOOL BHULAIYAA 3 has the brand value and the fun element to match the festive occasion. Let’s hope that both the third parts open extraordinarily well. After all, Diwali can accommodate two big films! Having said that, let us add that there are rumours that one of the two films has been postponed. Of course, the rumours are baseless.          

Who has done the humming sound in the O nigahein mastana / Dekh sama hai suhana song in Paying Guest? Kishore Kumar is the male voice but whose is the female voice which hums in the song and doesn’t have a single word to mouth?

– The female voice is that of Asha Bhosle. The song was offered by music composer S.D. Burman to Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. The latter wondered what there was for her in the song which did not have a single line or even word in the female voice, but S.D. Burman is said to have told her that the song was extraordinary and that only she could bring out its essence with her humming.      

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 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.