For
me,
this
weekend
gone
by
was
akin
to
good
old
days
when
election
poll
results
hooked
one
to
television
sets.
There
were
hourly
bulletins
giving
updates
on
vote
count
for
candidates.
To
keep
the
country
entertained
while
being
engaged,
Doordarshan
showed
films.
A
three
hour
long
film
would
run
for
as
long
as
six
hours
with
intermittent
poll
flashes
displaying
all
the
ups
and
downs,
those
who
were
racing
ahead
or
were
left
behind
and
then
the
eventual
losers
and
winners.
Over
the
weekend,
Tees
Maar
Khan
did
just
that
as
the
numbers
obsessed
industry
was
monitoring
the
film's
collections
on
an
hourly
basis.
It
just
set
me
thinking:
Three
decades
back
it
was
the
silver
jubilee
v/s
golden
jubilee
run
of
a
film
that
decided
its
fate
Two
decades
back
it
was
the
100
days
run
that
came
with
its
own
prestige
A
decade
back
it
was
the
collections
more
than
the
days
or
weeks
that
were
looked
at
closely
Five
years
back
it
was
the
first
week
that
decided
if
the
film
was
a
hit
or
flop
A
year
back
it
came
down
to
the
weekend
collections
Today,
with
the
arrival
of
Tees
Maar
Khan,
it
is
the
first
day
number
which
appears
to
be
an
all
important
decision
point
for
the
industry
What
would
be
the
deciding
factor
tomorrow?
The
first
show?
Let's
explore
in
this
week's
'Reflections'
The
pressure
is
on
While
for
'junta'
in
general,
it
is
just
an
'opening
number'
which
is
interesting
enough
to
be
followed
and
debated
upon,
it
is
the
maker
who
is
under
immense
pressure.
Really,
one
can't
state
for
sure
that
every
maker
would
indeed
be
much
considered
about
whether
his
film
takes
the
biggest
opening
ever
or
not.
Of
course
expectations
are
directly
proportional
to
the
hype
that
has
been
created
which
means
audience
expects
nothing
but
a
record
to
be
broken.
The
maker
too
is
required
to
give
in
eventually
to
the
entire
expectations
since
there
are
voices
all
around:
'Arrey
aap
ki
picture
toh
pichli
waali
ka
record
definitely
todegi'
'Are
you
conscious
about
the
fact
that
your
film
is
expected
to
created
records?'
'What
kind
of
print
count
are
you
releasing
the
film
at?
Do
you
think
it
would
be
good
enough
to
combat
last
blockbuster's
record?
'
Did
someone
ask
the
maker?
A
filmmaker
who
basically
just
wanted
to
look
at
a
good
ROI
after
spending
X
amount
of
money
on
a
film
is
now
only
pushed
further
ahead
to
gather
not
just
X+10
crores
but
X+20
crores
due
to
voices
all
around
him.
He
may
be
content
with
X+15
crores
though.
The
actors
too
would
be
happy
with
that.
All
investors
concerned
would
be
delighted
with
this
number
as
well.
But
those
obsessed
with
numbers,
who
were
not
ready
to
settle
for
anything
less
than
X+20
are
now
ready
with
declarations:
'In
my
book,
this
film
is
a
flop.
It
should
have
done
X+20.
It
has
done
only
X+18.'
'This
is
why
I
always
believed
that
this
film
was
over
rated.
You
can
see
that
it
couldn't
break
the
record
of
last
biggie'.
'That's
indeed
a
poor
opening
indeed.
What
were
the
makers
thinking
when
they
got
this
film
on
floors.
If
an
actor
can't
break
records,
he
doesn't
deserve
to
be
a
superstar.
'
Look
who
is
joining
the
party
To
think
of
it,
it
is
an
all
around
effort
that
goes
into
making
the
entire
nation
look
at
these
numbers
closely.
Revelation
of
box
office
numbers
coupled
with
dozens
of
forums,
blogs
as
well
as
countless
tweets
mean
that
every
hardcore
film
buff
now
has
keen
interest
in
collections.
So
when
a
film
(rightly)
boasts
of
the
best
box
office
collections
ever,
the
world
is
aware
about
the
facts
and
figures.
The
moment
a
new
biggie
is
announced
(whether
of
the
same
star
or
another),
there
are
declarations
made
about
how
it
could
well
break
the
existing
record.
Now
such
declaration
may
come
either
from
the
filmmaker
himself
(quite
rare),
the
PR
machinery
(very
possible)
or
the
'aam
junta'
(happens
all
the
time)
but
the
fact
remains
that
even
before
a
film
comes
on
floors,
there
is
a
target
allocated
to
achieve
an
X
number.
'100
crore
toh
bante
hai
kum
se
kum'
'Theek
hai
3
Idiots
ke
200
crore
naa
sahi
but
apna
khud
ka
80
crore
waala
record
toh
todna
hi
padega'
Arrey
bhai,
is
it
just
that
simple?
Is
there
any
formula
that
can
make
that
happen?
Is
it
like
a
candy
that
can
be
picked
up
from
a
store
next
door?
The
maker's
voice
is
hardly
heard
though.
Of
course
when
someone
like
Sajid
Khan
says
that
his
film
will
definitely
do
100
crores,
one
can
still
track
that
since
the
declaration
has
come
from
the
maker
himself
who
has
seen
the
progress
of
his
own
film
up,
close
and
personal.
But
how
about
others
who
just
want
their
films
to
do
great
business
against
the
budget
spent
and
leave
it
just
at
that?
Why
impose
a
number
on
them?
However,
it
is
easier
said
and
done
as
100
entertainment
channels,
50
newspapers,
10
websites
and
a
million
active
bloggers
and
social
network
residents
have
already
made
up
their
mind.
For
some,
this
number
is
a
hero
worship.
For
some,
this
number
is
a
weapon
-
'Ab
dekhte
hain
yeh
record
toda
paata
hai
ya
nahin'!
Who
cares?
One
wonders
though
if
the
makers
eventually
care.
Well
there
are
two
ways
to
look
at
it.
In
the
short
term
they
are
expected
to
due
to
the
pressure
cooker
situation
being
created.
After
all
an
X+15
could
be
good
for
them
but
those
in
hunt
of
a
X+20
may
well
start
adverse
comments,
hence
leading
to
negative
energy
around
a
film
soon
after
it's
release.
However,
in
the
long
term,
such
things
hardly
matter
for
someone
who
has
put
X
in
a
project
and
is
expecting
a
return
of
X+10,
the
eventual
total
of
X+15
is
anytime
better.
Yes,
there
are
perception
issues
but
then
they
could
well
be
fought
on
the
other
day.
Till
then,
it
is
time
to
relax
and
breathe
easy.
And
then
of
course
there
is
tomorrow
when
it
would
be
a
first
day
battle
all
over
again,
perhaps
being
fought
for
the
all-India
first
show
collections.
Who
knows?