What kind of an initial will Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan take?

– A bumper initial is what Shah Rukh Khan’s JAWAN will take.

Will Utkarsh Sharma benefit due to the runaway success of Gadar 2?

– You bet, he will. Not just because the film is doing extraordinary business but also because he has performed well in the film and is being liked by people. There are already producers contemplating signing him. And they will sign him. Utkarsh’s leading lady, Simrat Kaur, is also similarly popular because she is beautiful and a good actress.

What has struck such a chord in people’s hearts that Gadar 2 is unstoppable?

– The sentiments — both, about the country as well as the family sentiments!

What is the kind of feeling you have been getting about Dunki? I ask this question because although I am a fan of Rajkumar Hirani’s films, the trailer of Dunki did not excite me enough.

– Yes, I agree, there are people who haven’t taken much of a fancy for the trailer of DUNKI, but that’s because they’ve probably missed a very important emotion in it. The point which Shah Rukh Khan makes about the Britishers staying in India for a hundred years — without visas — and ruling over us, but now insisting on visas for Indians to enter their country will be met with applause in the film. That’s because the scene will instil in the viewers a sense of avenging the British Raj when the film unfolds on the screen. And that, in all probability, will be a very big emotion which will endear Shah Rukh and the film to the audience.

What is the biggest takeaway from the runaway success of Animal for the trade and for Ranbir Kapoor?

– For the trade, the biggest takeaway is that if the content is good, length is strength. You may recall, the trade was not at all happy about the film’s running time of 3 hours and 23 minutes. Before the film’s release, exhibitors were unhappy as they would have had to start the first show very early and also because there would have to be a restriction on the number of shows due to its unusual length. But the public didn’t complain about the film’s length. For Ranbir Kapoor, the biggest takeaway is that he has become a hero of the masses after this film. Collections of ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres for the film are of the kind never before seen for a Ranbir Kapoor starrer.

It was assumed for a long time that action films don’t go down well with the multiplex audience. What happened to that theory?

– The theory has been debunked! Sometimes, false theories are propounded, and they do the rounds for so long that they are assumed to be the gospel truth. However, in reality, they become theories only because nobody questioned them. That action films don’t work in multiplexes was one such theory which gained ground because people blindly accepted it. It is only after the stupendous success of films like RRR (dubbed) and K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 (dubbed) that the trade people started questioning the two-decades-long theory. The runaway success of films like PATHAAN, GADAR 2, JAWAN and ANIMAL this year has reiterated the fact that the theory was baseless.     

Which between Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan will take a bigger opening on 11th August?

– Since 11th August is the day of the Raksha Bandhan festival, it will be a holiday. So let us pray that both, LAAL SINGH CHADDHA and RAKSHA BANDHAN, open to bumper houses.

Why does the trade always say that it is better for two big films to not clash on the same day?

– Big films need more number of shows per day. If two big films hit the screens on the same day, shows get divided. In other words, none of the two films gets the optimum number of shows it deserves. Also, there are already running films too which need to be accommodated along with the two big releases.

Does Bollywood need to worry about the rate at which films are flopping?

– Definitely, Bollywood needs to worry. And not just about the rate at which films are flopping but also at how terribly they are bombing. Shows being cancelled at cinemas owing to absence of audience is becoming routine, and that’s not a good sign.

It’s very rare for a film in its second week to fare better than a star cast film in its first week. And yet, that’s what happened with K.G.F. Chapter 2 (dubbed) in its second week, and Jersey in its first week. Why do you think, this happened?

– The shelf life of K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 (dubbed) was far more than just a week. Hence it continued to do roaring business in its second week. Simultaneously, the public reports of the new release, JERSEY, were fairly good but not great, and definitely not half as good as those of K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 (dubbed). Just one more point here: the shelf life of K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 (dubbed) is not yet over. In other words, even in its third week, it will prove to be an extremely strong opposition for this week’s releases.

What is the lesson to learn from the box-office failure of Jersey? That cricket films are not in fashion?

– The only lesson to learn is that one should not be in a hurry to release his film if there’s a tornado already sweeping the nation. The tornado in this case was K.G.F. CHAPTER 2 (dubbed). Its opposition proved monstrous for JERSEY.

Are Bollywood producers shaken with the recent stupendous success of South dubbed films and the simultaneous failure of original Hindi content?

– You bet! Not just Bollywood producers but also Hindi film stars, writers and directors are shaken out of their wits.

Isn’t the situation at the Bollywood box-office alarming?

– It is not as alarming as is being made out to be. The panic button would have been needed to be pressed if good films were flopping, but that isn’t happening. All the films, which are failing at the box-office, deserved to fail. Hence there is hope. It isn’t as if filmmakers have forgotten to make films, or that writers have forgotten to write well. The fact is that almost everybody was taking the easy way out — dishing out substandard fare and hoping that the public would accept it. They must’ve realised that there is no shortcut to success. They will now work harder. So the new crop of films will be far superior. Rejoice!

Is it alright for an Akshay Kumar starrer to have a running time of just 110 minutes? Raksha Bandhan has a running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes only.

– One can’t comment without watching the film. But let me add here that exhibitors are unhappy with its unusually small length. Such running times are alright for offbeat films with less popular actors, they feel, but an A-list actor’s film ought to be of more than two hours! Let me add here that sometimes, the audience also feels cheated when the film is unduly short.

After Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera having bombed at the box-office, will Brahmastra take a good opening?

– You bet, BRAHMASTRA will take a fantastic opening. And not just because its ‘Kesariya’ song is a super-hit number.

With films performing well at the turnstiles, does it mean that the crowds are back to the cinemas?

– Yes, the crowds are back to the cinemas and how! All those negative motormouths, who hoped that Bollywood would never revive, are in such a state of shock that the question now is: how will they revive themselves?

The record of Bahubali 2: The Conclusion took almost six years to be broken by Pathaan. The record of Pathaan may be broken by Gadar 2 in a couple of weeks, and if that happens, it will mean that the record of Pathaan will have been broken in a matter of six months. What does this mean?

– It means, happy times for the film trade. Whenever a formidable record is smashed within months, it can only imply that business is booming! The record of GADAR 2 (if it breaks the record of PATHAAN) may well be broken by JAWAN in six weeks!

With the kind of phenomenal initial which Jawan took yesterday (Thursday, September 7), Tiger 3 now has big shoes to fill in. Am I right?

– You are absolutely right! The start of JAWAN yesterday (September 7) was so outstanding that any film will find it difficult to break that record anytime soon.

Why did Fighter take such a terrible start yesterday?

– The start was below the mark due to several reasons: the odd-day (Thursday) release, the lack of pre-release heat generated for the film, and people’s boredom with the India-Pakistan drama. Having said that, let us add that collections did pick up as the day progressed, but they continued to be pathetic in pockets.

Is it true that Ajay Devgan is unwell and hence not shooting nowadays?

– He was unwell as the retina of his left eye was affected due to an eye injury sustained on the set of SINGHAM AGAIN more than a fortnight back. His treatment is in progress. He resumed shooting for non-action scenes earlier this week.

Is Bade Miyan Chote Miyan complete?

– Three songs of the film are being currently picturised in Jordan, following which BMCM will be complete as far as shooting is concerned.