Heart-Breaking!
By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Wednesday,
September
13,
2006
How
times
change!
A few years ago, prominent distributor Tolu Bajaj decided to launch his son Sachin as a director. Obviously, he wanted nothing but the best for Sachin, who was taking his first big step in life. Keeping in mind the script of the film, the Bajajs signed Sunny Deol and Vivek Oberoi to head the cast of Naksha. It was a casting coup as the two actors were sharing the screen space for the first time.
Film industry mein har Shukravar kundli badalti hai [fortunes change every Friday]. Boney Kapoor's Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... opened to a dismal response, followed by Subhash Ghai's Kisna [disaster] and Sahara-Percept's Home Delivery [washout] and Vivek's career came crashing down. In between, Rahul Rawail's keenly-anticipated Jo Bole So Nihaal, starring Sunny, proved a damp squib at the box-office.
The Sunny-Vivek combo, considered a hot proposition at a point of time, turned ice-cold overnight. Naksha released at a time when both Sunny and Vivek are going through the worst phase in their career and that made a dent in the opening of the film.
The results of Naksha were crystal clear on Day 1 [Friday] itself. While the single screens in North India [Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab] as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh [Indore], gave its mandate [80% +], the multiplexes everywhere were extremely poor [10%]. Naksha is a desi film that's targeted at the masses and the film was expected to behave accordingly. Also, Sunny's popularity is huge in North, not as much in Mumbai, so if the North circuits open better than West, it comes as no surprise.
Naksha slipped at single screens on Friday evening itself, but that was because of Shab-e-Barat, the auspicious day for Muslims. On Saturday and Sunday, the single screens performed well, but multiplexes continued to be poor. Monday and Tuesday were no different.
A
section
of
the
industry
feels
the
shraddh
period
affected
the
business,
while
some
feel
that
the
promotion
wasn't
too
solid.
A
few
also
feel
that
the
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
wave
was
a
major
deterrent
for
Naksha,
while
some
opine
that
the
actors'
[Sunny,
Vivek]
bad
luck
rubbed
on
this
film.
All
said
and
done,
Naksha
might
recover
its
cost
in
North,
but
will
lose
money
in
some
circuits,
mainly
Mumbai.
The
second
release,
Dil
Diya
Hai,
was
looked
forward
to
by
the
industry
for
several
reasons...
- One, the Aashiq Banaya Aapne combo of producer Bala Bhai, director Aaditya Datt and actor Emraan Hashmi had joined hands again. With Aashiq Banaya Aapne doing decent business, Dil Diya Hai was expected to tread a similar path.
- Two, Himesh Reshammiya's musical score, in the past, had contributed to the opening of the film. In fact, films like Aashiq Banaya Aapne as well as Aksar and Tom Dick And Harry [this year] benefited enormously due to Himesh's music.
But
audience
ne
dil
nahin
diya.
Dil
Diya
Hai
was
a
non-starter
from
the
word
'Go'.
Aimed
at
the
youth/multiplex
crowd,
there
were
no
takers
for
this
film
even
at
multiplexes.
In
fact,
the
business
at
most
multiplexes
was
so
low
[less
than
10%
in
some
shows]
that
the
multiplex
managements
were
alarmed
by
two
'calamities'
[Naksha,
Dil
Diya
Hai]
in
one
week.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2005
[Weekend:
September
9-11,
2005]
One production house that has been having a dream run at the turnstiles is Yash Raj Films. Salaam Namaste had an excellent start [85% to 90% +] at multiplexes of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, South, but at several centres, the opening day collections ranged between 30% and 60%.
The business of Salaam Namaste was clearly divided in its opening weekend. While the multiplexes performed 8 to 10 to 12 shows every day with 95% + occupancy, the business at single screens at some centres wasn't too strong. However, the first week billing was excellent, the ordinary business at some centres notwithstanding.
For
Yash
Raj,
the
strategy
of
releasing
the
film
with
multiple
prints
in
multiple
shows
worldwide
and
extracting
the
maximum
in
the
first
week
itself
had
paid
off
yet
again.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2004
[Weekend:
September
10-12,
2004]
After two successes in rapid succession, GARV [semi-hit] and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi [hit], Salman Khan delivered two box-office duds one after the other -- Phir Milenge and Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa.
The uninterrupted run of a great show at the box-office [Tere Naam, Baghban, Garv, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi] had unfortunately been cut short with the failure of first Phir Milenge earlier and Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa this weekend. Goes to prove [yet again] that it's not the star alone, but the project in totality that works!