Koi release nahin hai
There may be many ways to beat that summer stupor over the next couple of months, but watching movies won’t be one of them. Reason? “March is usually lean because of board exams. Moreover, the IPL and the elections could keep people away from theatres.
With no big-budget movies in these months, we’re not expecting much to happen,” says Sakshi Mehra, an exhibitor and president of the Motion Pictures Association.
Though there were movies like 13B, Karma Aur Holi, Dhoondte Reh Jaoge and Gulaal, reports state that they haven’t received great BO responses. “It has been far below average. We didn’t sell more than 50 tickets for the initial shows of the movies,” says an official from a multiplex. “We’re not expecting any business because these are neither big-budget films nor do they have star power. The only movie with some hope is Aa Dekhen Zara,” he adds.
But makers of small-budget films like 13B and Gulaal say they couldn’t have released their films at a better time. “This is the only time we can grab the audience’s attention as there are no big projects to compete with,” says director Anurag Kashyap, adding, “The response for Gulaal wasn’t as good as Dev.D; it opened at 30 per cent.”
For Vikram Kumar, director of 13B, it made sense to release his film during exams because,
“The percentage of the audience not watching movies because of the exams is far less than those who’d avoid going to theatres during the IPL. It’s better than facing competition from big-budget flicks that are already lined up for post-IPL release.” However, “Tasveer should do well because exams would have ended by then and the IPL wouldn’t have started. Anyone who releases their movies then will do well,” explains Anurag.
And it seems this is why Robby Grewal, director and co-producer, Aloo Chaat, has been postponing the film’s release date. “The release was planned for March 13, but now it’s March 20. Otherwise, we’ll never find a good time to release small films,” explains Robby.
The worst hit during this period are exhibitors and distributors. “They’ll have a tough time because margins for small-budget flicks are very minimal,” says Anurag. “The collections this year have been pathetic so far in any case. Big-budget projects did average business and only Raaz 2 and Dev.D did well,” says a Mumbai-based distributor.
Industry reports suggest the box office incurred losses of around Rs 430 million only in February. But CEO of Big Motion Pictures Mahesh Ramanathan disagrees. “We released 13B and are going to release Sikander. Except during shradh, there’s no Bollywood lean period,” he explains. The other movies awaiting their fate at the BO this month are Jai Veeru, Firaaq, Ek, Khalbali and Barah Anna.
SHILPA BANSAL
source: indiatimes.com
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