By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
September
28,
2006
Four
releases
last
week
[Shiva,
Pyaar
Ke
Side/Effects,
Bas
Ek
Pal
and
Kachchi
Sadak].
Four
this
week
[Rocky,
Khosla
Ka
Ghosla,
Dor
and
Manoranjan
-
The
Entertainment].
Let
me
throw
a
question
at
you:
Does
the
common
man
have
the
time,
money
or
inclination
to
watch
two/three/four
films
in
a
week?
Eight
films
in
two
weeks?
It's
professional
hara-kiri.
But
I
wouldn't
blame
the
producers
for
it.
What
choice
do
they
have?
Once
the
promotions
have
begun,
it's
difficult
to
hold
back
your
film.
And
an
'open
week'
is
a
rarity
considering
the
number
of
films
being
produced
these
days.
The
four
new
releases
--
Rocky,
Khosla
Ka
Ghosla,
Dor
and
Manoranjan
-
The
Entertainment
-
faced
opposition
in
the
form
of...
-
With
the
commencement
of
Navratri,
the
evening
and
night
shows
are
largely
affected
in
several
parts
of
the
country.
A
sizable
chunk
of
population
heads
for
the
dandiya
venues,
not
movieplexes.
-
Also,
Monday
onwards,
the
commencement
of
the
holy
month
of
Ramadan
took
a
toll
on
film
business.
Again,
a
sizable
chunk
abstains
from
watching
films
for
an
entire
month,
so
that
makes
a
further
dent
in
film
business.
-
Add
to
it,
the
school
and
college
examinations
that
are
currently
going
on.
Sure,
these
external
forces
are
difficult
to
combat.
Of
the
four
releases,
Khosla
Ka
Ghosla
had
the
best
start
at
places.
Its
opening
ranged
from
30%
to
45%
at
multiplexes,
but
the
evening
shows
showed
a
rise
at
several
places
[75%
+].
Saturday
was
better
than
Friday,
while
Sunday
was
better
than
Saturday.
Monday
and
Tuesday
were
steady
too.
Do
I
hear
UTV,
its
distributors,
jumping
with
joy
and
crooning
'Chak
De
Phattey'?
In
fact,
Khosla
Ka
Ghosla
is
the
second
multiplex
film,
after
Pyaar
Ke
Side/Effects,
to
be
accorded
a
jaddoo
ki
jhappi
by
the
multiplex
audience.
Dor
had
to
be
content
with
a
20%
start
and
despite
glowing
reviews
by
almost
the
entire
media,
the
collections
did
show
an
increase,
albeit
marginally
[45%
+].
The
weekend
was
better
at
places,
but
poor
at
several
centres.
Overall,
the
business
is
not
in
sync
with
the
merits
of
the
film.
I
repeat
what
I
had
penned
in
one
my
'Biz
Talk'
columns
a
few
months
ago:
Winning
acclaim
and
awards
are
important,
but
the
fact
remains
that
it's
the
paisa
that
does
the
talking
at
the
end
of
the
day.
Like
movie
moghul
[late]
Manmohan
Desai
once
told
me
while
discussing
his
movies,
"Kewal
taarif
se
peth
nahin
bharta,
you
need
to
see
how
rosy
your
balance
sheet
looks
at
the
end
of
the
day." I
endorse
the
views
of
one
of
the
greatest
masters
completely.
The
third
new
release,
Rocky,
performed
lower
than
Khosla
Ka
Ghosla
and
Dor.
Now
that's
surprising
since
the
film
was
extensively
promoted
prior
to
its
release
and
a
couple
of
Himesh
Reshammiya
tracks
had
caught
the
fancy
of
moviegoers.
But
the
film
is
a
supreme
disaster
--
in
terms
of
content
and
also
business.
Its
failure
is
sure
to
hit
Zayed
hard
since
it's
a
solo-hero
project.
As
for
Manoranjan
-
The
Entertainment,
it's
one
of
the
shoddiest
takes
on
the
film
industry.
This
movie
didn't
make
sense
to
me
when
I
saw
its
private
screening
almost
a
week
before
its
release.
And
its
outcome
at
the
ticket
window
doesn't
come
as
a
shock
either.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2005
[Weekend:
September
23-25,
2005]
On
the
surface,
Dil
Jo
Bhi
Kahey...
was
a
perfect
launch
for
a
star-kid.
By
joining
hands
with
heavyweight
Manmohan
Shetty's
Entertainment
One
to
co-produce
the
film,
casting
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Revathy
as
Karan's
on-screen
parents,
hiring
the
best
of
names
in
the
business
[Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,
Javed
Akhtar,
Binod
Pradhan],
shooting
the
film
in
Stockholm
and
Mauritius
and
inviting
hand-picked
journos
to
Mauritius
to
introduce
his
son,
Romesh
Sharma
left
no
stone
unturned
to
give
his
son
an
ideal
launch.
But
Romesh
Sharma
went
wrong
in
his
decision
of
choosing
a
script
that
seemed
completely
outdated
in
today's
times.
Also,
the
promotion
of
Dil
Jo
Bhi
Kahey...
was
quite
low-key.
The
lead
pair
should've
been
all
over
--
on
billboards,
in
newspapers
and
periodicals,
on
television,
on
radio
stations
and
the
Internet
media.
Dil
Jo
Bhi
Kahey...
had
a
shockingly
dull
start
at
the
ticket
window.
It
opened
to
a
20%
+
start
at
some
places,
while
at
some
movieplexes,
the
turnout
in
some
shows
was
as
low
as
5%-10%.
No
one
was
expecting
miracles
on
Saturday
or
Sunday
and
the
business
on
these
two
days,
even
at
multiplexes,
was
below
par.
Call
it
a
coincidence,
but
Amitabh's
seventh
release
in
2004,
Hum
Kaun
Hai?,
recorded
lowest
collections
when
compared
to
his
other
releases
that
year.
Dil
Jo
Bhi
Kahey...
is
his
seventh
release
in
2005
and
as
luck
would
have
it,
the
collections
of
the
film
are
the
weakest
when
compared
to
his
other
openers
in
2005.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2004
[Weekend:
September
24-26,
2004]
As
many
as
four
films
hit
the
marquee
this
weekend
in
India
[five
films,
if
you
add
Chokher
Bali
in
Overseas].
And
the
business
of
the
four
films
[Tumsa
Nahin
Dekha,
Madhoshi,
Dobara
and
King
of
Bollywood]
only
added
to
the
woes
of
a
crestfallen
industry.
Multiple
releases
in
one
week...
Will
we
ever
learn
from
our
mistakes?
I
doubt!