AskIndicine: March 5 at 7PM

Q. Why is trade always negative about small budget films and those actors who don’t command a huge fan following? Most recently, Commando 2, it has a budget of 20 crores, its two days earning has reached 10 crores, but still trade has negativity about it, why?

A. That’s not true. Any film that does well at the box office will be appreciated. The problem with small budget films is, they do not get any sort of initial and the collections are always too low to talk about it. A film like Running Shaadi, backed by Shoojit Sircar, finished with lifetime of 1 crore. We cannot report when collections are too low, unless it’s a very big film like Rangoon that performs worse than a small / medium budget film. Commando has higher costs, the COP is 27 crore without including print and marketing. The satellite has fetched 8 crore. So the film is a failure, it has no chance after the drop on Saturday and business hasn’t picked up much today either.

Q. Thank you for this session.. hardly I see this kind of session.. I appreciate your predictions.. could you tell me what would Shahid do after Padmavati?

A. Shahid has promised to do fun and more entertaining films after the debacle of Rangoon. He’s also said he won’t be doing dark films for a film, hopefully he’s learnt his lesson and stays away from directors like Vishal Bhardwaj and Anurag Kashyap. He’s already proved to everyone that he can act, now is the time to entertains and grow his audience – which unfortunately, at this point in time, is almost non-existent.

Q. Please explain how Viacom lost 60 crores on Rangoon?

A. We’ve already explained in other articles. Viacom18 purchased the film from Sajid Nadiadwala for a little under 70 crore and spent around 13-14 crore on marketing and release. Landing cost was around 80 crore all combined. Satellite of such films don’t have any value, theatrical worldwide share will be around 12 crore. Recovery is 20-25 crore on an investment of 80 crore. Loss of 55-60 crore. It maybe a little lower than this, but upwards of 50 crore for sure.

Q. When the shooting of Tiger Zinda Hai is starting? By what time will it wrap up? Which will be next movie of Salman after TZH?

A. It’s starting this month in Morocco. It’s a tough overseas schedule. After Tiger Zinda Hai, Salman will be doing Remo D’Souza’s dance film.

Q. Hrithik Roshan’s next movie?

A. Hasn’t signed anything yet. No point speculating, it’s only official once he signs.

Q. Badrinath Ki Dulhania lifetime box office prediction ?

A. It has the potential to do 100 crore plus, but it’s a dull period. Exams etc. But it has open weeks at the box office to perform, the films that are releasing in the next couple of weeks are either too small or cater to a different audience.

Q. Why all the Heros in south are good in every thing. Dance, fight, comedy, action and emotion but in Hindi very few and new generation nobody except Varun can do everything. Plz answer. It’s my 10th question since last 10 week without reply

A. There are other actors too, who can do a bit of everything. Shahid is, but he hasn’t used his ‘entertaining’ potential or his charisma to win over the Indian audience. We (and many in the trade and industry) always saw a lot of potential in him, but he has always disappointed. The younger bunch of actors are mostly doing urban films, which is restricting their audience. There’s a huge audience outside metro cities. The older actors have made careers out to making universal films.

Q. Expectations from SRK’s Rehnuma?

A. Expectations are always high from a Shah Rukh Khan film. But it’s no longer about expectations anymore, the audience and his fans have been waiting for a wholesome entertainer from a very long time. Hopefully Imtiaz and Aanand L Rai’s next are those films.

Q. I would like to know update about Rani Mukerji starrer Hichki. When is it expected to release?

A. It might release late this year or early 2018.

There’s a slight delay due to excess traffic on the website, which is why the answers are appearing a little late. We apologise.

Q. Based on the upcoming films, who do you think has the best line up of films and has a chance to go to the top spot among the younger lot?

A. From the younger bunch of actors, our pick would be Varun Dhawan. Badrinath Ki Dulhania is carrying decent pre-release hype and if that matches or exceeds expectations – then Judwaa 2 will become one of the biggest films of the year. If both work, Varun could enter the Top 6.

Q. You previously said in QnA session that the clash between Tiger Zinda Hai and Dutt biopic isn’t happening but not elaborated on that. So will you please give more details on that? I mean how do you know that? Because its not official yet you guys are pretty confident that clash isn’t going to happen!

A. There’s always plenty of talk within the industry and if we hear something that we believe is from a reliable source, we put it up here. The clash is likely to be averted.

Q. Do you have to deal with being politically correct?

A. Sometimes, yes. Especially when it comes to reviewing the big films. But certainly not when it comes to box office reports. There’s no question about being lenient or politically correct there.

Q. How much income can really popular songs generate for producers on YouTube? I have in mind songs like Kala Chashma and Nashe Si Chadh Gayi. Can they help to recover costs for movies that were not so successful at the box office or are the benefits marginal?

A. Revenue can be in lakhs and crores, because there’s much more to music rights than just revenue from Youtube. Music rights are usually sold to companies like Sony, Zee, T-Series etc.. so even though it does help recover costs, in most cases the amount is fixed.

Q. How’s the buzz for Badrinath Ki Dulhania? As in actual buzz not just online.

A. It’s seems to be one of those few films that’s actually carrying real buzz. But we thought so about Jolly LLB 2 and it didn’t really reflect on the opening day. So it’s a dull period for film business. We are a little more cautious this time around, we are expecting around 11-12 crore. Considering the costs, it’s a good total as long as the film finds acceptance and grows from there.

Q. Hello Indicine,i heard that the GST tax structure has been finalised in the form of 5% 12% 18% & 28%,when it is going to be implemented and what changes it is gonna make to the Nett & share of a film ?

A. We’ll put a detailed article on this as soon as government releases more details. It also depends on whether the theatre owners decide to pass on the benefit to audience by lowering ticket prices or they retain the same level of ticket pricing and take a larger share of profits. It’s too early to talk about the exact impact on film business at the moment – but net box office collections of all films should improve.

Q. Who do you think top three directors of current time make good content movies with good commercial value?

A. Rajkumar Hirani is by far the best and most successful too. Kabir Khan comes second. After that it’s Rakesh Roshan and Rohit Shetty.

Q. Which movie this year can challenge Dangal Lifetime?

A. Tubelight is the best bet and it could achieve the all-time highest total if it turns out to be as good as Bajrangi Bhaijaan. We don’t think any other film can come close to challenging Dangal.

Q. Who was the superstar biggest Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan?

A. Amitabh Bachchan. Rajesh Khanna has short-lived craze that stretched for about 5 years.

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Q. Why filmmakers and new actors don’t understand making just multiplex oriented films is reducing their potential when they can make family films where they will have a universal audience.

A. The realisation is slowly but surely coming, with films like Rangoon tanking. Producers and actors too are realising that the audience comes to theatre for entertainment. Even if it’s a thriller or biopic, films have to offer entertainment value.

Q. When will SRK start shooting for Anand L Rai? Is Deepika and Katrina are also part of the movie?

A. We do not have info on the exact date when the film goes on floors. Deepika is confirmed for the film. It’s not official yet.

Q. Since EID 2018 Is Vacant , Which Film Do You Think Will Bag The Date?

A. Salman’s film with Remo D’Souza is likely to the big release during Eid. The weekend has been kept open, expecting a Salman Khan starrer to occupy it.

Q. Is Avatar 2 is clashing with SRK’s Dwarf film in Dec 2018 ?

A. For now, yes. Avatar 2 shoot begins in August this year.

Q. Do you think Hrithik Roshan will make a comeback in the big league as we all know how slow he works ? And Is HRITHIK’s next is Krrish 4 ? Big fan of your site

A. He’s already in the big league. But to top the industry, given the pace at which he works, he needs to deliver films like Aamir does. Which unfortunately isn’t the case. But he’s right up there in the Top 5. He has one film before Krrish 4.

Q. Some People say Shahid will be next Aamir Khan and also compare start of his career with Aamir’s Career. What do you think about it?

A. Not the greatest of questions to ask right after Rangoon. He isn’t even competing with the younger bunch of actors at the moment, so reaching Aamir’s position is like climbing the Everest and he’s at the bottom of it at the moment.

Q. Now you are giving your own figure….does it makes any difference on movies verdict?

A. Only for some films where the inflation is too high. We have already started working on the verdicts on the website. We are currently working with people within the industry and also a few trade analysts.

Q. How much does jolly llb 2 needs to be declared a superhit?

A. It isn’t possible now, as it’ll end its run at 116 crore. The film remains a ‘hit’.

Q. Aamir vs Salman, who is the genuinely winner among these two?

A. The industry will always pick actors that release more films. Two major blockbusters in a year or 18 months, is much bigger than one all-time grosser in 2 years.

Q. OMG Oh My God, Special 26, Holiday, Baby, Gabbar, Airlift, Rustom, Jolly llb 2…. arrange in terms of your favourite?

A. OMG Oh My God, Special 26, Airlift, Baby, Jolly LLB 2, Rustom, Holiday.

That’s it for today. Thank you for joining us. The traffic is too high today, due to which we are facing some technical issues.