By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Monday,
November
05,
2007
The
industry
is
already
facing
the
heat.
Year
after
year,
film
business
touches
rock-bottom
during
the
pre-Diwali
weeks.
The
common
man
indulges
in
shopping,
renovates
his
home
and
buys
crackers,
mithai
and
new
clothes
to
welcome
the
festive
Diwali
season.
Entertainment,
therefore,
doesn't
fit
into
his
agenda
during
these
days.
That
explains
why
three
out
of
four
films
that
opened
last
Friday
were
badly
thrashed
at
the
ticket
window.
Barring
Jab
We
Met,
the
business
of
No
Smoking
and
Mumbai
Salsa
was
so
pathetic
that
it
must've
made
their
investors
break
into
a
cold
sweat.
Let's
talk
business…
Jab
We
Met
had
a
60%-70%
start,
with
the
multiplexes
faring
well
as
the
day
progressed.
The
collections
in
North
[Delhi,
Punjab]
were
better,
while
the
single
screens
were
in
the
range
of
40%
[at
places,
lower].
The
Shahid-Kareena
prem
kahani
won
the
hearts
of
multiplex
viewers
mainly.
The
collections
were
fantastic
on
Saturday
and
Sunday,
while
Monday
and
Tuesday
witnessed
the
usual
drop.
As
things
stand
today,
Jab
We
Met,
sold
to
Studio
18
for
a
handsome
price
[22],
should
recover
the
investment
from
theatrical
business
[plus],
Overseas
[excellent
in
U.K.,
Middle
East],
Home
Video
[sold
to
Moser
Baer
for
a
good
price]
and
Satellite
[unsold;
should
fetch
a
fantastic
price
thanks
to
the
merits
of
the
film].
No
Smoking
opened
to
dismal
houses
all
over.
The
collections
were
in
the
range
of
15%-20%;
even
lower
at
places.
The
audience
that
went
to
watch
the
film
couldn't
decipher
what
was
unfolding
on
screen.
In
fact,
the
response
to
the
film
was
pretty
evident
at
the
private
screening
at
Fun
Republic
on
Thursday
night
[a
day
before
its
release],
when
a
lot
of
seats
got
vacant
soon
after
the
interval.
With
outright
negative
reports
on
hand,
its
business
only
went
downhill
as
days
progressed.
This
film
is
a
much
bigger
disaster
than
Ramgopal
Varma
Ki
Aag,
which
is
considered
the
baap
of
all
disasters.
Anurag
Kashyap's
outburst
against
me
and
two
more
critics
amused
me
no
end.
I
feel
sad
for
Anurag.
My
only
retort
would
be
to
advice
him
to
visit
the
distributors
pronto
or
any
cineplex
screening
his
movie
for
a
reality
check.
Wake
up
and
smell
coffee.
No
Smoking
is
a
monumental
disaster
not
just
in
India,
but
also
in
Overseas.
Even
Ramgopal
Varma
Ki
Aag
fetched
better
collections
than
No
Smoking.
Two
weeks
before
the
release
of
Mumbai
Salsa,
Vikram
Bhatt
called
me
to
seek
my
opinion
on
whether
he
should
release
his
first
production
venture
on
26th
October,
along
side
Jab
We
Met
and
No
Smoking.
I
advised
him
against
it.
My
only
concern
was,
the
two
films
would
walk
away
with
a
better
chain
of
theatres
and
better
show
timings.
But,
I
presume,
Vikram
had
his
reasons.
The
response
was
disturbing
from
Day
1
itself.
A
Mumbai-centric
film,
Mumbai
Salsa
was
expected
to
fare
better
in
Mumbai,
but
it
didn't.
Nor
did
it
work
anywhere
else!