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Friday, April 16, 2004 |
 After a three-month drought when the film industry had to rely on Kal Ho Naa Ho’s drama, Munnabhai MBBS’s comic capers, Maqbool and Ab Tak Chappan’s niche appeal to prop up the box-office, it’s boom time again. Last week, Mukesh Bhatt’s Murder opened to full houses all over the country and not even the closure of single-screen theatres in Maharashtra could dampen the trade’s excitement. There was a marginal drop in collections subsequently, but the Mallika Sherawat propelled sizzling murder mystery has been declared a “hit”.
“Made on a shoe-string budget of Rs 2-3 crore, the film will easily be a money earner for the producer,” prophesies trade analyst and distributor Amod Mehra. To the advantage of its distributors, this Indianised take on The Unfaithful that got lead actress Diane Lane an Oscar nomination, was sold cheap. “The ratio was Rs 50 lakh per territory that would have settled at Rs 80-90 lakh with print and publicity. Going by the way the film has been faring, distributors can expect to do business of a crore-and a-a-half at the least,” Mehra informs.
Close on the heels of Murder came Masti. The trade had been upbeat about Indra Kumar’s fun-filled entertainer for months. It was expected to turn the tide for the down-in-the-dumps exhibition sector. And speculation was rife that that while single-screen theatres had continued with their agitation and snowballed Murder’s release in the state, they were determined to arrive at a settlement with the government before Masti opened on April 9 because they were confident they had a winner on their hands. They were not disappointed. The story of three unhappily-married-bachelors-at-heart got off to a bumper start with cinemas across the country recording full houses. “A medium-budget film reported to have been made on a budget of Rs 8-9 crore, it made a table profit even before its release, raking in Rs 5 crore on delivery. Sold for a ratio of Rs 2.50 crores, with the Bombay territory fetching Rs 3.50 crore with print publicity, it should easily cover costs for the distributors,” Mehra asserts.
 Mehra attributes the success of both films to excellent promotion. “The promos of both were very exciting. Murder titillated with a lot of skin show, its popular music score adding to its appeal, while Masti’s publicity created the feel of a naughty comic caper and endeared itself to the masses,” Mehra points out. However, he warns that unlike Munnabhai MBBS that found favour with the family audience, both Murder and Masti are targeted at the front benchers. The ‘A’ certificate, he accedes, may not deter families from coming in to see the films in places like Jodhpur, Jaipur and Nashik. The censor certification is strictly adhered to only in Mumbai city and upscale theatres in the suburbs, and to an extent Delhi city. In the interiors, the ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres, the ‘A’ certificate is hardly a deterrent to keep people below the age of 18 out. “However, while the ‘A’ certificate isn’t likely to affect initial collections, it could affect the film’s takings in the long run because Murder’s steamy sex scenes and Masti dirty jokes could put off the ladies and families, even though Masti doesn’t have an overt display of sex,” Mehra avers.
However, why speculate on the morrow when today both films have the cash counters jingling again. They’ve set the ball rolling and with new films lined up for almost every week for the next six months, till the shraadh period sets in in September, the mood is upbeat. On April 16, Balaji Films’ chiller-thriller Krishna Cottage hits the screen followed by the Bobby-Lara starrer Bardasht. The real biggie arrives on April 30, Shah Rukh Khan’s home production, Main Hoon Na whose music is already on the top of the charts and whose attractive promos have caught the eye. Even though Ritesh G. Nayyar’s long-in-the-making Yeh Lamhe Hai Judaai Ke starring Shah Rukh and Raveena Tandon that released alongside Masti sank without a trace, Farah Khan directorial debut, Main Hoon Naa is fetching record prices.
May takes off with Boney Kapoor’s Abhishek-Bhoomika starrer Run that has done extremely well in all the four South Indian languages and this and its tuneful music makes it a promising proposition. It may have competition from Vicky Arora’s start-studded actioner Lakeer. Like Masti, Mani Ratnam’s Yuva scheduled for May 21, has also whipped up a lot of curiosity thanks to AR Rahman’s peppy score and once again, attractive promotion. The month will wind up with Gaurang Doshi’s Deewar—Let’s Bring Home The Heroes, a prison escape with an Indo-Pak backdrop, whose publicity campaign has made it “hot”. Yashraj Films’ Hum Tum, also scheduled for June 28, is also drawing a lot of comment for its cute cartoons.
June swings into action with Feroz Nadiadwala’s star-spangled cop drama Aan—Men At Work. It could clash with Ram Gopal Varma’s SFX special Gayab. Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Lakshya that is timed for June 11 is another film that’s raising a lot of expectations after the path-breaking Dil Chahta Hai.
“All in all, there’s a lot to look forward to, both for the industry and the audience. And now that the exams are over and the Indo-Pak cricket series is in its last leg, film-watching is once again becoming a favourite past-time,” says Mehra. The holiday season, according to him, has traditionally been a very good period for the industry. “Films released during the summer vacations have been doing well over the last 6-7 years and both Murder and Masti are only carrying forward the trend,” he maintains.
One can only hope that the masti continues, unabated, for an industry that’s reeling under high taxes and low profits.
Source: screenindia.com |
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