Out
of
the
frying
pan,
it's
straight
into
the
fire.
That's
the
state
of
the
industry
currently.
The
dry
run
at
the
box-office
continues
non-stop,
the
latest
'casualty'
being
Sunday.
Why
are
people
shying
away
from
theatres?
Is
it
due
to
the
cold
wave?
Or
is
it
because
they
aren't
excited
about
films?
Whatever
the
reasons,
the
business
has
suddenly
turned
ice-cold.
Post
Welcome
and
Taare
Zameen
Par,
the
graph
continues
to
slide
downwards.
What
wrong
with
Sunday?
It's
a
well-made,
entertaining
joyride.
But
the
30%
-
40%
opening
was
simply
unexpected.
A
very
prominent
distributor/exhibitor
feels
[and
rightly
so!]
that
the
movie-going
segment
that
favorsWill
things
improve?
Let's
wait-n-watch!
movieplexes
today
is
the
youth
and
Ajay
Devgan's
popularity
has
declined
over
the
years
in
this
segment.
Partly
because
Ajay
has
been
seen
in
similar
kind
of
movies/roles
[serious].
Ajay
needs
to
experiment
with
romance
and
comedy
--
something
that
Akshay
realized
a
few
years
ago
and
changed
lanes
quickly.
Often
labeled
a
'stunt
hero'
not
too
long
back,
Akshay
is
now
considered
a
romantic
hero
who
works
big
time
in
comedies.
That,
in
turn,
has
resulted
in
his
ratings
soaring
upwards,
nationally
and
internationally.
This
is
what
I
also
conveyed
to
Rohit
Shetty,
director
of
Sunday,
who
also
happens
to
be
a
close
friend
of
Ajay's.
Sunday
picked
up
on
Friday
evening,
shot
upwards
on
Saturday
[26th
January
was
a
National
holiday],
was
on
the
plus
side
on
Sunday,
but
Monday
onwards,
has
registered
a
steep
fall.
Frankly,
Sunday
deserved
a
better
fate
and
a
better
run.
The
only
hope
is
that
the
coming
days
aren't
really
crowded
with
biggies.
There's
Jodhaa
Akbar
on
15th
February.
Till
then,
Sunday
can
catch
up
if
the
audience
gets
into
the
mood
of
visiting
theatres.
Story first published: Friday, February 1, 2008, 18:31 [IST]