Domestic B.O.: Mixed bag!

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Thursday, May 17, 2007
It happens with the best in the business. Giants like Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra faced challenges in their illustrious careers. When you come up with a spectacular hit, the expectations from your immediate film multiply ten-fold. One competes with oneself with every film. You set a benchmark yourself.

That's one major obstacle Anurag Basu faces. First Murder. Then Gangster. Metro had to go beyond those films. Or be at par at least. As a film, it doesn't rise to that level. As a business proposition, it didn't measure up to that level either.

Let's talk business...

No one expected Metro to start with a bang. Even UTV, the producers and global distributors of this film, knew all along that the film would gather steam with word of mouth. The business did show a rise on Friday itself, but at multiplexes of Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and South. The response to the film at mass-dominated centres was not up to the mark.

Business on Saturday and Sunday was upbeat at the same centres, but it didn't pick up at centres where it started slow. Let's get one thing straight: While Murder and Gangster had tremendous mass appeal, Metro caters to the elite more than the aam junta. As things stand today, big city multiplexes are good, while certain circuits are not of standard.

Meanwhile, UTV is increasing approx. 40 prints in the second week. They're optimistic that the film would emerge a success story in days to come, holding well at the multiplexes everywhere.

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The feedback was more than evident at the premiere screening of Good Boy Bad Boy at Cinemax Versova on Thursday night. Frankly, this comedy is an absolute tragedy. Instead of walking out of the auditorium with a smile, you actually have a frown on your face. Really, what was the writer thinking when he penned this apology of a script? Also, how did Subhash-ji [Ghai] and Ashwini [Choudhary; the director] okay it in the first place? And what did the actors see in this script?

Good Boy Bad Boy started on a positive note [40%] at single screens in mass-dominated areas, but the film stands on a weak foundation [script]. Resultantly, the business only went downhill from Saturday onwards.

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