SRK AND SIDDHARTH ANAND PROVE TO BE SAVIOURS FOR CHOPRAS FOR 2ND CONSECUTIVE TIME!
Last year, Yash Raj Films (YRF) released five films out of which only two of them were hits-Siddharth Anand’s Ta Ra Rum Pum and Chak De! India, starring Shahrukh Khan. Rest of the films (Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle) bombed at the BO. This year, again YRF churned out five films, out of which three flopped (Tashan, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Roadside Romeo). And the two films to hit the bullseye were Siddharth Anand’s Bachna Ae Haseeno and SRK’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi! Huge coincidence isn’t it?! After Shahrukh Khan, it’s Siddharth Anand who has become the new lucky mascot of the Chopras!
------------------------------------
The Verdict is out-Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (RNBDJ) is a big hit! The film was expected to get a 90% opening on its first day. But it opened to around 75-80%. However, the film’s collections on Saturday and Sunday were just amazing! Normally a film falls on Monday. But RNBDJ has remained rock steady on Monday and even Tuesday! And according to reports, the film has done very well in Punjab (where most of the film is shot) and is all set to become an all time blockbuster there!
The film may not set new records but at the end of the day, it’ll rake in huge moolah for YRF! The first week collections are not out yet since the first week is still going on. But I predict that the domestic collection must be close to 40 crores! And with no film releasing this Friday, the film has a great chance to score in the upcoming weekend too!
----------------------------------
IS GHAJINI WORTH 90 CRORES?
Now all focus is on the last biggie of the year, Ghajini, which is all set to hit the theatres next Thursday, December 25. This Aamir Khan flick has generated curiosity since a year and therefore, the opening of the film is expected to be fantastic. However, what worries me is the cost of the film which is somewhere around 90 crores. The domestic theatrical rights have been sold for 40 crores, the overseas rights has fetched 10 crores. The Satellite Rights has attained 20 Crores while the remaining 20 Crores is from Home Video Rights and Music Rights. Which makes the figure come to 90 Crores! Now, in order to be termed as ‘Hit’, Ghajini has to recover its cost and make a collection of 90 Crores+ which is possible to achieve but still quite difficult. Since the film is releasing on a Thursday, the film has a 4-day weekend and has great chance to do great business in these 4 days. Since the next big film after Ghajini is Chandni Chowk To China (CCTC) which releases 4 weeks later, Ghajini has great chance to do a great job at the BO and recover how much amount is possible before CC2C’s release.
However, this is possible only if the film is liked by people. What is Ghajini turns out to be disappointing? Bollywood is unpredictable and anything can happen here! If Ghajini fails to entertain and thrill the audiences, then the film will be rejected outright from its 5th day (Monday) itself. And then recovering 90 Crores will be impossible!
In my opinion, selling a film’s distribution rights for as high as 50 Crores is foolhardy. A film, no matter, which star is associated with it, should be sold at reasonable rates and not for such high amounts, which maybe difficult to recover. Let’s hope Ghajini hits the bullseye and becomes the ultimate hit!
(Please read my post titled 'RIP Hemant Karkare' which I posted yesterday:
https://mouthshut.com/diary/fggcroprm/RIP-Hemant-Karkare)
