By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
October
11,
2007
Box-office
can
be
extremely
volatile.
Let
me
come
to
the
point
right
away.
The
business
of
the
four
medium/low
budget
films
--
Go,
Chhodon
Naa
Yaar,
It's
Breaking
News
and
50
Lakh
--
was
so
low
[less
than
15%;
at
places,
2%-5%]
that
it
sent
shivers
down
the
spine
of
the
film
fraternity
across
the
country.
Let's
talk
of
Go
first.
The
cracks
were
visible
at
the
premiere
screening
on
Thursday
night
itself
[a
day
before
the
film
hit
the
screens],
when
several
guests
walked
out
of
the
screening
midway
through
the
film.
In
my
individualistic
opinion,
Go
is
RGV's
weakest
film
to
date.
Worse
than
James
and
Shiva.
Even
Aag.
I
still
cannot
believe
it's
a
Factory
product.
Despite
eye-catching
promos
being
aired
round
the
clock,
Go
failed
to
create
any
ripples
at
the
ticket
window.
In
this
case,
I
wouldn't
blame
the
holy
month
of
Ramzan
or
the
India-Australia
cricket
matches
for
its
non-performance
at
the
box-office.
A
film
like
Go
would've
sunk
even
during
Idd,
Diwali
or
Christmas
vacations.
Chhodon
Naa
Yaar
had
no
pre-release
buzz
and
the
almost
empty
halls
that
greeted
the
film
didn't
come
as
a
shock
either.
Also,
Chhodon
Naa
Yaar
had
a
faulty
script,
so
that
made
things
worse
when
theatres
commenced
public
viewing
of
the
film.
It's
Breaking
News
was
targeted
at
multiplexes,
but
even
the
multiplex
junta
didn't
endorse
the
film.
I
genuinely
feel
that
the
film
would've
met
with
a
better
fate
had
the
makers
timed
its
release
after
Idd.
Last-minute
promotions
[the
music
launch
took
place
on
Wednesday,
two
days
before
it
hit
the
screens]
didn't
help
either.
50
Lakh
lacked
in
face-value
and
also
promotion
to
attract
footfalls.
I
genuinely
found
the
film
engrossing
in
parts
[especially
the
first
hour],
but
the
writing
went
haywire
in
the
post-interval
portions.
Besides,
why
this
last-minute
promotion?
The
audience
wasn't
even
aware
a
film
called
50
Lakh
had
opened.
All
said,
the
tally
of
flops
only
grew
bigger
this
week!
THIS
WEEK
IN
2006
[Weekend:
October
6-8,
2006]
Its
common
knowledge
that
the
pre-Diwali
weeks
coupled
with
the
holy
month
of
Ramzan
make
a
big
dent
in
film
business.
With
all
eyes
on
the
Diwali/Idd
releases
[Don,
Jaan-E-Mann],
every
other
film
in
the
orbit
is
bound
to
get
eclipsed.
But
that
didn't
deter
six
producers
to
release
their
films
this
Friday:
Zindaggi
Rocks,
Mera
Dil
Leke
Dekkho,
Jaana,
Iqraar,
Bhoot
Unkle
and
Gafla.
Not
surprisingly,
the
six
new
releases
met
with
a
similar
fate:
Rejection!
But
what
did
come
as
a
rude
shock
were
the
opening
day
numbers,
which
were
horrifyingly
poor.
The
collections
were
not
in
lacs
or
thousands,
but
hundreds
in
some
shows.
In
fact,
when
I
called
a
leading
multiplex
on
Friday
evening
to
crosscheck
the
occupancy,
I
was
told
that
the
shows
of
two
new
films
had
to
be
called
off
due
to
lack
of
audience,
while
the
remaining
films
were
being
screened
with
5%-8%
occupancy.
A
similar
trend
was
being
witnessed
at
other
centres
where
those
films
opened.
What
does
one
attribute
the
disastrous
start
to?
One
of
the
prime
reasons
for
the
slump
is
the
low-key
pre-release
promotion.
In
certain
cases,
the
films
came
virtually
unannounced.
In
such
a
scenario,
how
do
you
expect
the
movieGoers
to
throng
the
movieplexes?
Another
reason
--
a
vital
reason
in
this
case
--
was
the
lack
of
solid
content.
Zindaggi
Rocks
lacked
soul,
Mera
Dil
Leke
Dekkho
tried
too
hard
to
be
funny,
Jaana
was
outdated
cinema,
Iqraar
was
archaic
as
well,
Bhoot
Unkle
was
Good
intentions
Gone
awry
and
Gafla
wasn't
everyone's
idea
of
entertainment.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2005
[Weekend:
October
7-9,
2005]
I
wasn't
surprised
at
the
cold
response
meted
out
to
Main,
Meri
Patni
Aur
Woh.
The
film
was
barely
promoted
prior
to
its
release
and
came
literally
unannounced.
If
that
wasn't
enough,
its
release
was
timed
during
Ramzan
and
Navratri.
Main,
Meri
Patni
Aur
Woh
is
targeted
at
multiplexes
and
its
release
should've
been
backed
by
a
two-month
promotion
at
least.
Ideally,
UTV
should've
timed
its
release
during
the
Diwali
week
--
its
promotion
would've
been
optimum
by
then
and
also,
with
the
paying
public
thronging
movieplexes
in
large
numbers,
the
collections
would've
been
much
better.
A
film
like
Main,
Meri
Patni
Aur
Woh
would've
co-existed
with
any
of
the
Diwali
biggies,
since
it
wasn't
the
type
that
would
cut
into
any
film's
business.
On
the
contrary,
there
would've
been
a
strong
possibility
of
Main,
Meri
Patni
Aur
Woh
getting
the
surplus
crowds
if
the
tickets
for
a
biggie
were
unavailable.
THIS
WEEK
IN
2004
[Weekend:
October
8-10,
2004]
Although
Bride
And
Prejudice
met
with
mixed
reactions
from
the
British
press,
that
didn't
deter
movieGoers
from
thronging
the
cinema
halls
in
large
numbers.
Going
by
the
opening
weekend
collections
of
Gurinder
Chadha's
latest
film,
the
U.K.
audiences
embraced
and
welcomed
the
'Bride'
with
love
and
affection.
In
India,
as
expected,
the
English
version
of
the
film
fared
better
than
the
Hindi
version.
Although
the
Hindi
version
did
fetch
a
better
opening
than
the
two
Hindi
openers,
Shukriya
and
Wajahh,
one
definitely
expected
BALLE
BALLE
[the
dubbed
version
of
Bride
And
Prejudice]
to
open
much
better.
The
weekend
was
less
kind
to
the
other
two
Hindi
films,
Shukriya
and
Wajahh;
both
having
met
with
a
cold
response
from
moviegoers.