By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Wednesday,
November
01,
2006
Week
1
of
the
two
Diwali
releases,
Don
and
Jaan-E-Mann,
has
ended
and
I'd
like
to
share
a
few
observations
with
the
readers...
The
Week
1
figures
are
a
clear
indicator
that
the
thriller
genre
[Don]
has
scored
over
romance
[Jaan-E-Mann].
With
a
bountiful
Week
1,
the
distributors
of
Don
are
in
the
comfort
zone.
But
will
it
go
higher
or
lower
is
too
early
to
predict,
since
it
all
depends
on
its
performance
in
Week
2.
The
collections
of
the
film
fell
on
Thursday
[at
places,
the
drop
was
drastic],
the
last
day
of
Week
1.
A
section
of
the
industry
attributes
it
to
the
cricket
match,
while
a
majority
of
traders
attribute
the
decline
in
collections
to
its
content.
Let's
see
what's
in
store
in
Week
2.
As
for
Jaan-E-Mann,
it's
standing
on
a
shaky
stool
right
now.
Spoke
at
length
to
one
of
the
main
distributors
of
Jaan-E-Mann
[name
withheld],
who
admitted
that
the
film
hasn't
performed
to
their
expectations.
He
sounded
low.
Will
its
business
pick
up
in
Week
2?
The
owner
of
a
leading
multiplex
chain
in
Mumbai
is
keeping
his
fingers
crossed.
A
few
people
have
written
off
the
film.
A
few
are
optimistic.
Let's
see
where
the
tide
turns!
This
is
a
general
feedback
of
several
traders
this
Diwali
and
Idd.
The
business
has
not
been
optimum
this
festive
season.
During
the
festive
season,
the
size
of
the
wallet
grows
fatter
and
the
spending
capacity
increases
multi-fold.
People
are
in
a
mood
to
celebrate,
go
out
with
their
families
and
friends
and
indulge
in
revelry.
But
film
business
this
year
was
far
from
stupendous!
I
maintain,
Don
is
a
weak
film
and
sometimes
weak
films
weave
magic
at
the
box-office
[repeating
the
last
line
from
my
review].
But
the
magic
of
Don
should
be
attributed
to
the
Diwali
and
Idd
festivities
of
course,
and
also
to
SRK's
passionate
drive
to
promote
the
film.
He
went
all
out
to
promote
his
film.
Why,
even
today,
SRK
is
giving
his
best
to
Don,
making
it
a
point
to
attend
Hungama
head
honcho
Neeraj
Roy's
'Don
Games'
launch
at
a
suburban
hotel.
Wish
other
actors
in
the
industry
were
as
passionate
about
promotion.
P.S.:
This
sentiment
is
also
echoed
by
one
of
the
prominent
distributors
of
Jaan-E-Mann,
besides
a
number
of
producers
I
spoke
to
during
the
course
of
the
week.
Till
a
few
days
ago,
the
Khan
versus
Khan
clash
kept
the
media
busy.
Now,
Hrithik
Roshan
and
his
Rs.
35
crore
deal
for
three
films
has
hit
headlines.
Every
television
or
print
journo
I
meet
these
days
is
only
discussing
Adlabs'
strategy
of
giving
Hrithik
a
lucrative
deal.
So,
what's
new
about
it?
Star
fees
have
always
constituted
approx.
55%
to
65%
of
a
film's
budget.
The
arithmetic
of
film-making
has
undergone
a
sea-change
and
what
was
charged
in
lacs
in
the
1970s
and
1980s
has
changed
to
crores
today.
Also,
the
volume
of
business
has
shown
a
meteoric
rise
since
Hum
Aapke
Hain
Koun
and
2006
has
been
a
landmark
year,
with
films
crossing
magical
figures
in
the
initial
weeks
itself.
As
for
the
Adlabs-Hrithik
deal,
why
this
hullabaloo?
If
Hrithik
has
quoted
an
'x'
amount,
isn't
Adlabs
willing
to
pay
it?
And
Adlabs
is
no
fly
by
night
operator.
Manmohan
Shetty
of
Adlabs,
one
of
the
most
respected
names
in
film
business,
has
been
an
integral
part
of
the
industry
for
over
three
decades.
Adlabs
must've
surely
done
their
homework
before
agreeing
to
this
figure.
They
must
be
supremely
confident
of
recovering
their
investment,
otherwise
why
would
they
pay
an
'x'
amount?
No
one
does
charity
here,
after
all!
Himeshbhai,
what's
going
on?
Himesh
Reshammiya
is
planning
to
make
a
big
announcement
on
Saturday
afternoon
[U.K.
time]
at
a
press
meet
in
London.
Is
he
turning
to
acting?
Is
he
turning
to
film
production
[he
has
produced
several
successful
serials
in
the
past]?
Why
this
suspense?
We'll
find
out
when
he
announces
his
ambitious
plans
in
London.
Watch
this
space!
THIS
WEEK
IN
2005
[Weekend:
October
21-23,
2005]
This
Friday
witnessed
the
release
of
Hanuman
[animation]
and
U,
Bomsi
N
Me.
While
Hanuman
was
aggressively
promoted
prior
to
its
release,
U,
Bomsi
N
Me
came
literally
unannounced.
The
pre-release
promotion
was
as
good
as
zilch
and
most
moviegoers
weren't
even
aware
that
the
film
had
released.
Hence,
its
fate
was
crystal
clear
on
Day
1
itself.
Hanuman,
on
the
other
hand,
had
a
35%
+
start
at
several
screens.
The
opening
was
better
than
most
recent
releases
and
the
collections
stabilized
with
the
commencement
of
Diwali
vacations.
Hanuman
had
been
appreciated
by
kids
and
the
appreciation
only
translated
into
stronger
collections
subsequently.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2004
[Weekend:
October
22-24,
2004]
Low
on
hype
and
much
lower
on
substance,
Kis
Kis
Ki
Kismat
came
without
a
bang
and
left
without
a
whimper.
The
verdict
was
loud
and
clear
on
Day
1
itself:
Kis
Kis
Ki
Kismat
had
flopped
big
time.
The
dismal
opening
of
Kis
Kis
Ki
Kismat
came
as
a
jolt
to
many
an
industry
person
who
expected
the
film
to
take
a
flying
start,
also
because
of
the
festive
season
[Dashehra]
and
the
subsequent
holidays.
The
week
also
witnessed
the
release
of
RGV's
Vaastu
Shastra.
But
the
Sushmita
Sen
starrer
also
opened
to
an
ordinary
response
almost
all
over
[the
opening
should've
been
in
the
range
of
90%
+,
due
to
aggressive
promotion
and
the
holiday
period]
and
did
reasonably
well
on
Saturday
and
Sunday.
Monday
onwards,
Vaastu
Shastra
showed
a
decline
in
b.o.
collections,
even
at
metros.