When
Raavan
opened
to
below
average
houses
on
Friday,
it
was
mauled
by
the
audience
as
well
as
the
critics
and
showed
no
improvement
over
the
weekend,
it
was
certain
that
this
Mani
Ratnam
film
won't
even
become
a
respectable
disaster
like
Kites.
Respectable?
Because
Kites,
despite
all
its
negatives,
still
managed
a
good
first
weekend
for
itself
that
helped
it
come
closer
to
the
50
crore
mark
as
the
lifetime
total.
This
means
that
the
film
had
the
ignominy
of
being
the
biggest
disaster
ever
with
the
highest
total
for
a
disaster/flop
tag.
Before
Kites,
the
position
was
held
by
Chandni
Chowk
to
China,
Delhi
6
and
Tashan
which
were
the
'highest
grossing
flops'
ever
with
a
final
total
managing
to
cross
30
crores.
However,
for
Abhishek
Bachchan,
it
would
be
a
painful
experience
to
see
his
Raavan
not
reaching
even
the
30
crore
mark.
If
the
poor
start
to
the
film
wasn't
enough,
the
film
nosedived
over
the
week.
This
meant
that
the
first
week
stood
in
the
vicinity
of
25
crores.
However,
it
would
be
challenging
for
the
film
to
gain
even
the
5
crores
mark
if
the
trends
had
been
any
indication.
With
no
takers
for
the
film
in
the
second
week
as
well,
the
film
would
wrap
up
well
under
30
crores.
Does
that
mean
the
end
of
the
road
for
Abhishek
Bachchan?
Certainly
not.
Though
the
world
has
held
him
responsible
for
the
failure
of
the
film,
if
one
thinks
objectively
it's
the
character
which
has
failed
here,
not
the
actor.
This
is
the
reason
why
Abhishek
can
still
look
forward
to
the
future
is
because
he
has
some
prestigious
projects
like
Ashutosh
Gowariker's
Khelein
Hum
Jee
Jaan
Se,
Farhan
Akhtar-Ritesh
Sidhwani's
Game
and
Rohan
Sippy's
Dum
Maro
Dum
lined
up
in
next
nine
months.
Of
course
these
are
crucial
months
but
one
hit
should
change
the
equation
for
the
actor
who
has
survived
for
a
decade
now.
Next
nine
months
would
indeed
be
looked
at
quite
carefully
by
all
Abhishek
followers.
And
of
course
the
detractors!