This Week’s Topic: AB ROMEO DUUR NAHI!!
My loooooong wait is about to get over! Roadside Romeo, India’s first animated film with the most superior 3D animation, will finally release tomorrow! The movie has generated a lot of buzz in the industry circles as well as with the moviegoers due to various reasons:
1. This is the first time that Yash Raj Films (YRF) has come up with an animated product
2. Walt Disney, the biggest animation studio of the world, is also involved in it as a co-producer.
3. The quality of animation used is highly superior and much better than the shoody animation used in films like Krishna, Bal Ganesh, Ghatotkatch etc.
4. Popular actors like Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Jaaved Jaaferi are roped-in for voicing the animated characters.
5. Unlike other Indian animated films, Roadside Romeo is not a mythological film but a present-day saga of the lives of stray dogs in a city like Mumbai.
Post the success of India’s full feature animated film Hanuman (2005), a lot of production houses announced that they too will come up with an animated flick. However, most of these projects were mythological films-later, some of them got shelved while the others which were completed failed at the BO. But YRF were one of the very few who were keen on making non-mythological film, very much like Hollywood. Jugal Hansraj, who’s an avid lover of animation movies, came up with an idea of film on dogs and that’s where was born the idea of Roadside Romeo!
The first promotional video of Roadside Romeo was out last year with Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle. This single promo played a major role in creating hype for this film (see below). However, these promotional videos also created some sort of misunderstanding among the moviegoers. Many felt the film is live-action one and not animated since the promo and poster reads ‘Saif Ali Khan in and as Roadside Romeo’, ‘Kareena Kapoor as Laila’ etc.!
It has been YRF tradition not to aggressively promote their films. And that’s why Roadside Romeo’s promotion, like other YRF films, has been low. And this, I feel, can go against them since Roadside Romeo is a film which needs promotion so that it can create enough hype among the kids and teenagers. The songs of this film are below expectations, but nonetheless are cool and funky. However, the Chopras aren’t promoting these songs too. Its high time YRF revise their promotional strategy. They should understand that the film is releasing with a biggie, Heroes, and 5 days later, it will face two more biggies-Golmaal Returns and Fashion, which are releasing on October 29. Even if the film picks up by the word of mouth, its prospects of becoming a super-hit are dim.
The other film releasing tomorrow, Heroes, has a huge star cast. However, the film hasn’t managed to build enough hype. So, there are high chances that this multi-star cast film will not get even a 75% opening. The film has to be a well made product in order to survive at the BO.
It would be interesting to see which film works and picks up with the people. Roadside Romeo, naturally, is my first choice and I just hope the film meets all the expectations and works. And if the film turns out to be good, make sure you go for it with your entire family (esp. kids) and have a good time!
P.S.: The best film of the year so far, ‘A Wednesday!’, completes 50 days tomorrow! The film had a slow start but this masterpiece, picked up wonderfully by word of mouth and now is proudly completing glorious 50 days! Kudos to the entire team of ‘A Wednesday!
P.P.S.: NEXT BOLLYWOOD TALK WILL BE ON TUESDAY (OCTOBER 28).