2009-TILL NOW!
Last year, till mid-March, Bollywood had already delivered a super hit-Jodhaa Akbar. In fact every year, by March, there have bee at least one film which have achieved the ‘Super Hit’ status. But 2009 is an exception! Till now around, 15 to 18 films have hit the screens, of diverse genres and some involving major stars. Yet, only 2 of them managed to be termed as ‘Hit’!
The year started with small-budget films-Kaash Mere Hote, Bad Luck Govind and The President Is Coming. The firsr biggie of the year, Chandni Chowk To China, hit the screens in the 3rd week of Jan and a lot of expectations were riding on it. However, the less than 50% opening sent shockwaves. Moreover, the film turned out to be very bad so the collections didn’t improve much later too. What really shocked me is how did an Akshay Kumar film fetch such a bad opening? The publicity of the film was excellent; there was already a heightened curiosity for the film. Then why such below the mark opening?
Then came Raaz and Slumdog Millionaire (Slumdog Crorepati, in Hindi), and both the film bought some respite. Raaz took a fantastic opening, due to its horror genre and Emraan Hashmi. Even though the film was panned by critics, it had an excellent 4-day weekend (film released on Fri Jan 23 and Mon, Jan 26 was a holiday). However, the film fell heavily on the 5th day itself. But still, the film succeeded in being the first Hit of 2009. Slumdog Millionaire didn’t took a similar opening like Raaz, mainly due to the fact that the film was already downloaded from the net by many moviegoers and had seen it before it’s official release in India. The Hindi version fared better in many places. The film’s collection jumped after it won 8 Oscars. Last Friday, the film completed 50 days.
Then came Luck By Chance (LBC) and Victory, both of which flopped. LBC’s dismal opening and collection was a surprise, since the film was great and had Farhan Akhtar as the lead and Hrithik Roshan, in supporting cast. Victory, on the other hand, had the worst collections!
A week later, Dev D hit the screens. Although the opening wasn’t great, the film was highly appreciated by almost all. Till now, the collections have been excellent. However, it failed to be an All-India Hit-at many centers, the film was a flop. Along with Dev D, Chal Chala Chal and Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye also released which were flops.
The following week witnessed the release of Billu Barber (BB). It had a similar fate like LBC and inspite of having Shahrukh Khan, the film flopped. The Stoneman Murders also released with BB and inspite of being a low budget film, the film was an unfortunate disaster.
Delhi-6 came next. It was one of the most awaited films of the year for many. But shockingly, the film took around 60-70% opening, which was below expectations. The film was disappointing for many and fell heavily from the 4th day.
After Delhi-6, a number of small films hit the screens such as Siddharth-The Prisioner, Dhoondte Reh Jaoge, 13B, Karma Aur Holi but all of them under-performed. Even last Friday’s releases-Jai Veeru and Gulaal had a bad weekend and are expected to be flops, even though Gulaal is a well-made film.
So till now, its only Raaz and Dev D that have been hits.
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NO BIGGIES TILL MAY 29TH!
Every year, the summer period, especially April and May, see the release of many biggies. But this year’s scenario will be different. With IPL Matches, Elections, and the Producers v/s Distributors battle beginning from April 3, there will be no biggie hitting the theatres. The biggies will arrive 29th May onwards, the first one being Kambakkth Ishq. So, Delhi-6 was probably the last biggie before Kambakkth Ishq.
But it would be wrong to say that this summer would be very boring. In the absence of big-budget films, a number of small films and medium-budget films are set to release-Tasveer 8*10, Kal Kissne Dekha, New York, Jashn, Paying Guest, Shortcut, Rang Rasiya etc. And by now, it’s a known fact that such small films provide more entertainment and satisfaction most of the times than the biggies. So, in April-May, we can expect some highly qualitative films.
(CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION)
