By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
October
19,
2006
Enough
of
the
Khan
versus
Khan
clash
this
week.
Newspapers,
tabloids,
television
channels,
internet
sites...
it's
the
same
topic
everywhere:
Will
SRK
outsmart
Salman?
Or
will
Salman
outdo
SRK?
Which
of
the
two
films,
Don
and
Jaan-E-Mann,
will
reach
the
winning
post
first?
Will
thriller
crush
romance?
Or
will
romance
trounce
thriller?
Why
do
we
pit
two
actors
or
two
films
all
the
while?
Is
it
some
kind
of
a
battle?
A
war,
where
one
has
to
win
and
the
other,
lose?
Why
can't
two
films
co-exist?
The
best
thing
about
this
so-called
'clash
of
the
titans'
is
that
both
belong
to
different
genres.
There's
a
thriller
on
one
hand
and
romance
on
the
other.
Isn't
that
great?
I
can
understand
the
excitement
for
the
Diwali
releases.
With
approx.
Rs.
85
crores
riding
on
these
two
films,
the
industry
is
going
to
monitor
their
outcome
with
a
magnifying
glass.
But
haven't
two
or
more
films
worked
during
the
festive
week?
So
why
can't
two
films
co-exist
now?
We
don't
need
to
pull
one
down
to
make
the
other
a
hero.
Definitely
not!
DIWALI:
LUCRATIVE
INDEED
Has
Diwali
always
proved
to
be
a
lucky
period?
Well,
most
of
the
times!
That
explains
why
a
majority
of
producers
don't
think
twice
before
scheduling
their
films
in
Diwali.
Let's
go
down
memory
lane
and
find
out
the
audience
reception
to
the
Diwali
releases...
-
2005:
Garam
Masala
[hit],
Kyon
Ki...
[flop],
Shaadi
No.
1
[flop].
-
2004:
Veer-Zaara
[hit],
Aitraaz
[hit],
Naach
[flop],
Mughal-E-Azam
[hit].
-
2003:
Pinjar
[flop],
SSSSHHH...
[flop],
Inteha
[flop],
Raja
Bhaiya
[flop].
-
2002:
Jeena
Sirf
Merre
Liye
[flop],
Waah...!
Tera
Kya
Kehna
[flop],
Annarth
[flop],
Leela
[flop].
-
2001:
Tera
Mera
Saath
Rahen
[flop],
Deewaanapan
[flop],
Yeh
Zindagi
Ka
Safar
[flop],
Abhay
[flop].
-
2000:
Mohabbatein
[hit],
Mission
Kashmir
[above
average].
-
1999:
Hum
Saath-Saath
Hain
[hit],
Shool
[flop],
Maa
Kasam
[flop],
Rockford
[average].
-
1998:
Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai
[hit],
Bade
Miyan
Chote
Miyan
[hit].
-
1997:
Dil
To
Pagal
Hai
[hit],
Ghulam-E-Musthafa
[average],
Bhai
[above
average].
-
1996:
Ghatak
[hit],
Sapoot
[average].
-
1995:
D.D.L.J.
[hit],
Yaraana
[flop],
Gangster
[flop].
OVER-EXCITEMENT
Sequels
and
remakes
are
'in'.
Every
second
producer
is
either
planning
a
remake
of
a
yesteryear
hit
or
attempting
a
sequel.
The
super-success
of
Krrish,
Phir
Hera
Pheri
and
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
has
infused
new
hope
in
the
production
sector
and
several
producers
feel
that
the
way
to
a
moviegoer's
heart
is
via
sequels
or
remakes.
But
let's
not
get
over-enthusiastic...
Year
ago,
soon
after
Maine
Pyar
Kiya
hit
the
bull's
eye,
as
many
as
20
+
love
stories
were
launched
in
the
following
month.
Similarly,
after
Hum
Aapke
Hain
Koun,
it
became
mandatory
to
include
dada-dadi,
nana-nani,
chacha-chachi,
bhaiya-bhabhi,
didi-jeejaji
in
films.
Following
a
trend
is
not
new.
But
there's
a
saturation
point
for
everything...
for
remakes
and
sequels
too!
BOX-OFFICE
OR
HOAX-OFFICE?
I
find
this
extremely
amusing.
And
I
am
sure
a
lot
of
people
within
the
industry
do
so.
Week
after
week,
a
section
of
the
media
throws
figures
such
as
Rs.
25
crores
first
week
business,
Rs.
50
crores
in
four
weeks
and
Rs.
75
crores
in
six
weeks.
My
only
question
to
these
geniuses
/
whizkids
/
maharathis
/
box-office
gurus
/
trade
pandits
/
know-alls
is,
can
we
have
a
breakdown
of
those
Rs.
25
crores,
Rs.
50
crores
and
Rs.
75
crores?
Chalo,
let's
accept
that
these
figures
are
accurate,
precise,
perfect,
faultless,
flawless.
But
can
we
please,
please,
please,
please
have
a
breakdown
of
those
25,
50,
75,
100,
125,
150
crores,
theatre-wise,
city-wise
or
circuit-wise?
Please
oblige
us.
You'd
really
be
doing
a
big
favor
to
the
film
industry
by
giving
a
breakdown.
If
we're
talking
of
facts
and
figures,
why
not
support
it
with
proof?
Everyone
knows
that
several
traders
don't
even
disclose
the
actual
box-office
receipts
and
many
producers
have
knocked
on
the
doors
of
their
associations
to
get
the
business
statements.
So
if
the
copyright
holders
don't
have
an
access
to
the
actual
business,
how
do
these
upstarts
come
up
with
figures?
Come
to
think
of
it,
do
these
'whizkids'
even
know
how
many
circuits
exist
in
India
in
the
first
place?
Or
is
it
just
a
strategy
to
pull
the
wool
over
the
reader's
eyes?
Let's
not
bluff,
let's
get
real!
I
can
understand
if
you're
a
rank
newcomer
and
not
well
versed
with
the
functioning
of
the
film
industry.
But
why
did
established
singer
Kumar
Sanu
release
his
maiden
production
Utthaan
half-heartedly?
The
film
was
released
with
minimal
publicity
at
a
handful
of
single
screens
and
expectedly,
went
completely
unnoticed.
Why
Sanu-da,
why?
THIS
WEEK
IN
2005
[Weekend:
October
14-16,
2005]
Much
was
expected
from
Ekta
Kapoor's
Koi
Aap
Sa,
partly
because
it
happened
to
be
the
next
release
after
the
immensely
successful
Kyaa
Kool
Hai
Hum.
But
the
dismal
opening
response
to
Koi
Aap
Sa
proved
yet
again
that
no
one
knows
what's
playing
in
the
viewer's
mind.
No
one
knows
what
he'd
watch
or
skip.
Koi
Aap
Sa
was
released
on
Wednesday
[Dashehra],
instead
of
Friday,
at
several
screens,
but
despite
the
festive
mood,
the
occupancy
at
movieplexes
was
shockingly
low
[10%
to
15%
in
some
shows].
Koi
Aap
Sa
was
a
complete
non-starter
and
the
word
of
mouth
was
so
negative,
it
fell
even
before
it
could
rise
on
Friday.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2004
[Weekend:
October
15-17,
2004]
With
several
inconsequential
films
hitting
the
marquee
and
none
of
the
earlier
releases
having
the
capacity
to
sustain,
the
slack
phase
continued
its
uninterrupted
sprint
at
the
box-office.
And
with
the
holy
month
of
Ramadan
having
begun,
a
sizeable
section
of
moviegoers
were
staying
away
from
cinema
halls.
The
three
new
releases
--
Dil
Bechara
Pyaar
Ka
Maara,
Bhola
in
Bollywood
and
Hatya
The
Murder
[a
much-delayed
film
starring
Akshay
Kumar
and
Varsha
Usgaonker]
--
didn't
do
much
to
uplift
the
sagging
morale
of
the
film
industry.
Not
much
was
expected
anyways!
At
the
rate
films
were
flopping,
it
was
more
of
film
industry
bechari
hit
ki
maari.