24 Bollywood related questions answered

QnA will continue at 8:30PM IST today. Question from yesterday will be answered. Comments will be closed for now and will be opened only after the QnA session begins.

Q. Is Robot 2.0 considered as a Bollywood movie? Or can we just say Akshay is doing a Tamil movie for the first time that will be dubbed just like robot first part? – Yousif

A. The makers have said Robot 2.0 will be a bilingual film, shot in both Tamil and Hindi. So we could just call it an Indian film - directed by a Tamil director, featuring a top star from both Tamil (Kollywood) and Hindi (Bollywood).

Q. Considering the genre of the movie and pre release buzz, did Ghayal Once Again turn out to be better than expectations? – Udit Sharma

A. Yes, the film was better than trade expectations. More importantly, the film did not show any drop in business on Day 2 and managed to pick up on Sunday. The first weekend was probably a little above expectations, but that doesn’t mean the film will recover costs. It has a long way to go and the weekdays will be crucial.

Q. According to you who are Top 5 actors in single screens and multiplex in today’s time? – Devesh

A. The list wouldn’t be too different because Khans and Hrithik are still the top stars both at single-screens and multiplexes. Ranbir was in the Top 5 at plexes, but has now dropped down. It would be Salman, SRK, Aamir, Hrithik, Akshay at single screens. Aamir, Salman, SRK, Hrithik, Akshay at multiplexes. The younger actors have raised their game, Varun could make it to the Top 5 at multiplexes if Dishoom opens 15 crore plus.

Q. Can Ghayal Once Again become a hit?

A. There is a possibility, but it has to do well for two weeks. It needs to cross the 60 crore mark.

Q. Can Fitoor become the biggest February grosser ever because it is directed by Abhisek Kapoor whose last 2 films were both critically & commercially successful plus it is based on Charles Dickens’ one of the most loved novels

A. Very few films that critic love go on to do well at the box office. Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane are classic examples of directors who get critical acclaim, but only a small section of the audience actually pay to watch their films in theatres. Business is usually restricted to 10-15 cities at best. Abhishek Kapoor’s films are more commercial, so as long as Fitoor finds a balance between art and entertainment, it should do well at the box office. The target for February isn’t too high - Gunday (78 cr), My Name Is Khan (73 cr), Special 26 (69 cr) – Akshay Kumar are the Top 3 grossers of the month.

Q. Which movies has the potential to break PK domestic and Worldwide collections? – Harjot Gill

A. PK’s overseas record will be tough to beat because of the way the film performed in China. So basically, a film has to do 400 crore plus in India for it to negate the China factor and have a realistic chance of beating PK worldwide. Domestic would be very difficult too. 300 crore is a HUGE figure, the combined business of Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani was Rs 335 crore. So it a film would first have to attain universal acclaim like PK and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Even then it would need one Eid or Christmas and lots of holidays. If Raees clashes with Sultan, no chance. Mohenjo Daro would have to do a Baahubali. Dangal is probably the best bet, but it doesn’t seem to be commercial enough to do 300 plus.

Q. Who do you think is the major reason for bajirao mastanis success ? Is it rising stardom of Ranveer, Deepika reaching heights like Sridevi/Hema Malini/Madhuri etc and capable of pulling films on her own or Sanjay Leela Bhansali ?

A. Bajirao Mastani did not work because of star power, it worked because of positive word-of-mouth. Ranveer is big after Bajirao Mastani, but was down and out after Kill Dil. Deepika is huge, but not when on her own (both Finding Fanny and Piku opened at around 5-6 crore). A big share of the credit for the success of Bajirao Mastani should go to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for making a good film. And also to Eros Entertainment. It isn’t easy in the industry to take on someone like Shah Rukh Khan and win, when most have failed.

Q. What’s the next project of Rohit Shetty? – Arun

A. Rohit Shetty is currently working on the script of Ram Lakhan.

Q. Is this for the first time that we can officially say that SRK is 3rd Khan ? Last few years Aamir is the one to open 100 200 300 clubs. On the other hand Salmania is beyond understanding – how can someone who was ruled out suddenly take over industry by storm. Can we officially admit that SRK is behind both Aamir and Salman?

A. Fortunes in our industry change every Friday and the unpredictable game is about perception and expectation. If Sultan and Dangal fall below-expectations and Raees and Fan do well, SRK will once again be hailed as the biggest. At the same time, if the trend of Aamir and Salman surpassing expectations continue, and if the two SRK films don’t perform well.. it would add fuel to people who are talking about SRK no longer being the big star that he once was.

However, it’s only expectations of maintaining a very high level that is hurting SRK. Because even with clash and a film that was supposedly rejected, the worldwide gross of Dilwale was nearly 400 crore. Dilwale is one of the Top 10 highest worldwide grossers of all time, how is that a failure? Even in the domestic market, 150 crore is huge for a film that is perceived to be a under-performer.

Q. Which are the circuits where Sultan and Raees will lead (on 1st day) respectively? – Aban

A. We have already analysed circuits in this article – Raees vs Sultan: The Mother of All Clashes.

Q. Where was Salman position in last decade was he in Top 10?

A. He wasn’t in the Top 5 for a long period of time in the last decade and his films weren’t even taking a face-saving opening at the box office. From there to becoming the top star in the industry and delivering so many back-to-back blockbusters, it has most certainly been one of the biggest and most surprising comebacks in the industry. The surprising part is the level of stardom that is being witnessed, it’s insane at the moment. At smaller towns, Salman is incomparable when it comes to craze today.

Q. Will Mohenjo Daro get solo release this year Republic days weekend? Any confirmations of Rustam & Hera Pheri 3’s release date? I want to know your analysis. – Kushee Radhakrishnan

A. No updates on Hera Pheri 3, it’s been announced for the same weekend, but three big films can’t release in the same week. Rustom shooting has begun and the film is on course to release during the Independence Day weekend. Mohenjo Daro will be the film that will be affected the most by the clash, the budget is huge and the genre needs time to grow. If it doesn’t get enough shows at multiplexes in Week 1, it wouldn’t be the best time to release such a big film.

Q. Nowadays we get to hear about upcoming Bollywood films of our favorite stars way before in advance from *SOURCES close to project* via TV media/online media/newspapers/magazines. Some of them end up being just a rumour. So my question is, are these Sources a part of PR Machinery of respective stars??? & they do it on purpose to generate curiosity? – Tanumoy

A. It’s a combination of actual sources close to the star / film, PR-machinery and also media creating stories to fill space. Any rumour that last for long or isn’t rubbished by the actors / official sources is true. If a false rumour is doing the rounds, a clarification is released almost immediately. Not always the case with private matters / relationships though.

Q. What would have been the collections of PK, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Dhoom 3 and other big movies if there was no piracy? – Bollyboy

A. Difficult to put a number to the impact of piracy. Because a film could also lose out on repeat viewers. For example, if someone loved watching Bajirao Mastani on the big screen and wants to watch it again, he / she might download it instead of spending money on a movie ticket. So the overall loss of business could be huge. We could have probably had films grossing 400 crore in India, if not for piracy.

Q. Which actor is loved by Indians more than anyone else?

A. Amitabh Bachchan.

Q. What is the ratio of single screen and Multiplex business for a film? Can you give us a few examples of how much did the biggest hits of last few years(Bajrangi Bhaijaan, PK, kick, Chennai express) made at single screen and how much at a multiplex.? and how does the multiplex business of a appreciated “multiplex movie” or a “niche movie” compare to the biggest hits?

A. Contribution from multiplexes is huge, in the mid-80s for most films and more for multiplex targeted films. Even for a film like PK, it was somewhere in the mid 70s at multiplexes, compared to about 20-25% of business coming from single-screens.  Higher ticket prices is one of the biggest reasons. Some tickets were selling for as high as 1000 rupees for Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale. This has had a negative impact too, as some filmmakers are making movies for a very limited section of the audience. The positive side of things should have been quality films for the multiplex audience, but there have been very few extraordinary films for the thinking audience in the last few years. The rise of multiplexes should also have helped the industry to no longer be dependent on stars, but that hasn’t happened either.

Q. Where should a actor create his fan base? 1) single screen 2)multiplex?

A. Ideally, both. But it isn’t easy, as it take a long time and a few mass films to establish a fan base at smaller centres. But even after establishing a pan-India fanbase, it isn’t easy, because actors need to balance the content of their films too. Salman can’t do a film like Talaash, because his core fan base won’t come to watch it. The industry is a difficult place to make a mark and once you do, even more difficult to sustain it for a long period of time.

Q. Has Shahrukh Khan’s delivered 15 hits in a row like Rajesh Khanna?

A. SRK now has 12 consecutive successful films. 3 short of Rajesh Khanna. And before someone asks, Khanna also delivered quite a few semi-hit films in between. Rajesh Khanna’s 15 hits Full List

Q. How popular are our hindi movies in Pakistan? – Shashank

A. Hugely popular. Bollywood stars are loved in Pakistan.

Q. Has UAE became biggest overseas circuit for Bollywood movies(apart from China which isn’t traditional market)?And is Pakistan 4th biggest market for Bollywood movies surpassing Australia?

A. Yes, UAE and US are the biggest overseas circuits for Indian movies. Very few Indian movies release in China.

Q. Saif Ali Khan made his debut in 1992 and has completed 24 years in this industry but why he still has not been able to make an impact like Khans, Ajay, Akshay and Hrithik ?

A. Saif Ali Khan never made it big as a solo hero. His two solo films worked when Yash Raj Films was at the peak of their popularity. Salaam Namaste and Hum Tum also had top heroines like Rani and Preity who were at the peak of their popularity back then. He delivered two more solo hits – Love Aaj Kal directed by Imtiaz Ali and Cocktail. None of those films opened well because Saif Ali Khan was the lead, it was a combination of factors that worked. He could never connect with the masses, most films were washouts.

Q. Who is the biggest overseas star today.. Aamir or SRK..?

A. We should let this question rest for a while. SRK has been leagues ahead in the overseas markets for a very long time and his latest release Dilwale was one of the biggest grossers. It’s only now that the competition is getting closer and Salman’s turning point only came with Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Even then, it would take anyone 5-10 extraordinary years to beat SRK. Currently in Top 20, SRK has 9 films, Salman has 4 and Aamir has 3.

Q. Do you think Kapoor and Sons can open in 10 crore range?

A. Highly unlikely. Let’s wait for the trailer, can give a better answer then.

Q. Who is more popular – Katrina or Deepika?

A. Right now, it’s Deepika. Katrina isn’t too far behind, but she isn’t doing films with big stars. Katrina’s value when it comes to opening, increases big time when she does a commercial film with a big star.

That’s the end of Indicine QnA. Hope you liked today’s session!