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!   

Will any film this year take a great opening?

– Perhaps, Rohit Shetty’s CIRKUS will, besides a couple of Hollywood films. Today’s Hollywood release, BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, has opened quite well. The trade has pinned a lot of hopes on CIRKUS, as far as Bollywood films are concerned.

Have people stopped coming to the theatres? If so, why?

– There are several reasons why many people have stopped frequenting cinemas. For one, they feel, it is not worth their while to go to the cinemas because they can watch the films in the comfort of their homes after three months. Secondly, having been exposed to world cinema and web series on OTT platforms during the lockdowns, their tastes have changed, they have started realising the worth of good content over good face value. In other words, star names don’t attract them as much as arresting content. Thirdly, the bad name which Bollywood got in the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise, thanks to a handful of industry people who openly criticised Bollywood as a whole when actually, they had an axe to grind with only some persons in Bollywood, is also taking its toll on the box-office collections. Why would the general public analyse whether it was personal vendetta of those handful of industry people or Bollywood was actually full of bad people? It suited the public to think of Bollywood as a place full of sinners, which is not true. Every industry has its share of good and bad people. But because they were industry insiders badmouthing Bollywood, their word was taken seriously by the gullible public. As it is, there is a tendency among laymen to believe negative stories more than positive ones about the rich and famous. It will take some time for the public to return to the cinemas. Our content has to improve too!

Has corporatisation helped the industry more or harmed it more?

– Let’s put it this way: corporatisation has helped the industry grow manifold but it has had to pay a price for the growth.

Some people on social media were claiming that like they had ensured that Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha would flop, they would also make sure that Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan would fail at the box-office. Will they succeed?

– Succeed? Do you really think that the failure of LAAL SINGH CHADDHA was because of the call to boycott the film at the time of its release? The phenomenal response at the advance booking counters of PATHAAN is enough proof that the boycott gang is nothing but a lot of gas.

Why is Shah Rukh Khan not promoting Pathaan? Don’t you think, it’s wrong on his part, especially because he is coming after such a long time and also because his past few films have not worked at the box-office?

– Shah Rukh Khan doesn’t need to promote PATHAAN because the film has already got free publicity worth crores of rupees, thanks to the unnecessary controversy around the saffron-coloured swimming costume of Deepika Padukone in the Besharam rang song, as shown in the trailer. The boycott gang should hate itself for giving the film so much free publicity. In fact, there are thousands of people who may not have been keen to see the film because they aren’t fans of Shah Rukh, but who will now watch the film in solidarity with the star because he has got people’s sympathy after the ridiculous controversy.

What kind of a figure do you now predict for the opening day’s collection of Pathaan?

– It could be Rs. 40 crore on the first day. And mind you, it is an odd day (Wednesday) release BUT not a holiday.

Isn’t Sunny Deol’s Jaat coming too close after Salman Khan’s Sikandar? There should’ve been a gap of at least a month between the two releases, isn’t it?

– Now that SIKANDAR has bombed, the gap of 11 days is good enough. Had SIKANDAR been a hit, it would’ve been a problem as SIKANDAR would have still been competing for shows with JAAT. But now, that scenario is ruled out as SIKANDAR would be out of many cinemas by the time JAAT makes the scene.

What did you think of the trailer of Kesari Chapter 2?

– A very engaging trailer which should definitely bring the public into the cinemas.  

How would you summarise the first quarter of 2025?

– Fairly good, thanks to the huge success of CHHAAVA. Could’ve been far better if films like SIKANDAR, SKY FORCE and DEVA had also worked, but they all bombed, prompting me to say that the first quarter wasn’t great.

How did you predict, in your article, ‘New Spidey Film All Set For Phenomenal Start’ on 12th December, that the opening day’s collections of Hollywood film Spider-Man: No Way Home could be better than the first day’s collections of Sooryavanshi?

– It wasn’t difficult to see the craze for the film all around. The SPIDER-MAN franchise is huge, very huge.

What explains the wonderful opening of Pushpa: The Rise Part 1 (dubbed) today?

– The public had loved the film’s trailers and the songs. Besides, Allu Arjun is a hot favourite of the Hindi cinema-going audience too, thanks to his films on various satellite channels.

After the phenomenal start of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Pushpa: The Rise Part 1 this week, will 83 open well next week?

– You bet. Not well, 83 will open to extraordinary houses next week!

Why don’t the producers of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan come on different dates instead of clashing on Eid?

– This is easier said than done. No producer would like to forgo the Eid week because it definitely translates into enhanced collections. Since both, BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN and MAIDAAN, are hugely budgeted films, every such benefit (like a potentially bountiful week) is an additional factor to maximise revenues.

Last week, Yodha took a dull start. This week, it is Madgaon Express and Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, which have opened to weak houses. Do these dull initials tell a story?

– Yes, these are alarming initials. This means that unless the audience find something super-exciting in the trailers, they are not in a mood to rush to the cinemas. This has happened post-COVID because one section of the public is spending its money on films very judiciously. They will go to the cinemas only when they are convinced that it will be worth the ticket prices. Admission rates must be brought down for films starring heroes who aren’t hot. The sooner the industry realises this, the better it would be.

What did you think of the trailer of Crew? Will the film open well?

– The trailer has made a place for itself in people’s hearts. There is a certain amount of craze that has developed for the film after the trailer was released.

Why is the quality of films made nowadays so poor?

– It is mainly because the prices being offered by OTT platforms and TV channels for the digital and satellite rights of films are so high that producers aren’t too bothered about quality. Since even low-quality films are making profits because of the revenues generated from the aforementioned two sources, producers, directors, writers and music directors are in a hurry to churn out more number of films. Working hard on quality entails more time. They don’t want to waste time because irrespective of quality, they are able to make money. So they are concentrating on quantity rather than on quality. Time lost is money lost.

On what basis do OTT platforms fix the price for the digital rights of a film?

– They usually pay around 55-60% of the cost, for acquiring its digital rights. This is generally true in the case of big-budget, star cast films.

What did you think of the teaser of Pathaan?

– The teaser is fantastic. It has served the purpose of getting the public interested in the film as well as waiting with bated breath for the trailer now.

Did the postponement of Emergency release from last September adversely affect its opening today?

– It definitely must’ve adversely affected the release because the postponement was of about four months. If a film is postponed by some months, the audience sometimes get the feeling that it has become stale.

Why hasn’t Azaad taken even a decent initial today? After all, it stars newcomers from film families. Rasha Thadani is the daughter of Raveena Tandon while Aaman Devgan is the nephew of Ajay Devgan.

– Films with newcomers are a challenge today. Given the high ticket prices in cinemas, films made with new faces have to actually struggle for footfalls. When films with big stars are often unsuccessful in luring the public to the cinemas, you can well imagine how difficult it has become for films introducing new actors to do the same.

Will Deva take a nice start on 31st January? And before that, is Sky Force likely to open well?

– The excitement for DEVA is growing rapidly because of the catchy teaser. Another film which is attracting attention is LOVEYAPA, starring Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor.  

With some fringe outfits threatening that they won’t allow Pathaan to release, what action can Yash Raj Films take?

– Your guess is as good as ours! The industry people are like orphans for whom nobody cares. But looking to the craze for PATHAAN, everything seems to be loaded in its favour. So, something good will happen. There are still 11 days to go before the film hits the screens.

For which actor was year 2022 the best?

– Among actors, year 2022 was undoubtedly the best for Ajay Devgan. He delivered quantity as well as quality. His DRISHYAM 2 crossed Rs. 235 crore at the Indian box-office. The box-office performance of RRR, a film in which he made an important special appearance, was phenomenal. GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI, in which also he appeared in a key role but in special appearance, was a success story. THANK GOD, the third film last year, in which he made a special appearance (lengthy), and his RUNWAY 34 didn’t do well at the ticket windows. Overall, it proved to be an extremely satisfying year for the star. This year may also turn out to be memorable for Ajay. He has his own BHOLAA and Amit Sharma’s MAIDAAN for release in 2023. He will soon be starting SINGHAM AGAIN with Rohit Shetty, a romantic thriller with Neeraj Pandey, and a film with Abhishek Kapoor, in which he will play a role he has never been cast in earlier.

What does Ranveer Singh need to do to revive his career?

– He needs to go easy with his clothes. His attire off screen is now coming in for heavy criticism because the uniqueness of his loud clothes has given way to monotony. Also, he can’t be seen doing absolutely bizarre things as posing nude for magazine covers. In other words, he needs a change of image. Above all, he needs to sign the right kind of films.