Live Question and Answer session

We have received tons of emails requesting for the now popular ‘Question and Answer’ session. Let’s start. Post your questions in the comments section below. We will answer 10 questions, right here, right now!

Meanwhile, you can read our previous ‘Live QnA’ sessions in the links posted below.

• First QnA Session
• Second QnA Session

Q. What is Baahubalis All India All Language colections after 10 days and its WW collections please…? – Navin

A. Baahubali has crossed Rs 300 crore mark worldwide. The global box office collections of the film stands at Rs 318 crore (gross). The film is an All Time Blockbuster both in India and overseas. It has also more than doubled the previous highest Worldwide Telugu grosser, which was Magadheera, also directed by S. S. Rajamouli.

Q. Is Singh is bling expected to get solo release? - bipin

A. Currently, Rocky Handsome is also scheduled to release on the same day. But there are reports that there could be a delay. Nothing official yet.

Q. Can Bajrangi Bhaijaan collect 300cr? – Sanjay

A. It’s carrying incredible word-of-mouth, but it doesn’t have the same number of holidays as ‘PK’, ‘Dhoom 3’ or even ‘Kick’. Mid-week there are no more holidays, so a lot will depend on how it holds today. A 20 crore plus total on Monday will be huge and will give the film a chance to do 300. A lot will also depend on how well Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam is received. It’s a remake of a Malayalam classic. It that strikes a chord with the audience, collections of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ will be affected third week onwards.

Q. With the release dates of both Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale officially been announced, is there any way that the clash can still be averted? – Preet

A. Industry insiders say, Eros weren’t too keen on releasing ‘Bajirao Mastani’ with ‘Dilwale’, but Sanjay Leela Bhansali wants that date. To be fair to him, he announced the release date first. The clash can still be averted, it’s not too late, but unlikely now. Both films will release on 18th December.

Q. Shaandaar is releasing on a national holiday (Dushera), what can be its opening? with 3 open weeks before Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. What are its chances of collecting 100 crore? - Abhisek

A. There is definitely quite a bit of buzz around ‘Shandaar’. After all, the film has been directed by Vikas Bahl of ‘Queen’ fame. Shahid’s first film after marriage and his pairing with Alia will generate curiosity amongst the audience. However, the release date is not the greatest. The 2-3 week period before Diwali, is not considered to be ideal for film business. Both ‘Bang Bang’ and ‘Haider’ were affected in Week 2 by Pre-Diwali and Akshay’s ‘Boss’ in 2013. ‘Shandaar’ would need a 10 crore plus opening, along with good word of mouth to do 100 crore.

Q. Is Sunny Deol still a giant movie star and is anyone really excited about another Ghayal? – Ajay Rocks

A. Unfortunately, Sunny Deol is no longer a bankable star. Not many are even aware of the fact that Ghayal is releasing during Diwali. He needs a good trailer and a couple of popular songs, to even think of making a dent on the collections of ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’.

Q. Why Akshay Kumar movies are struggling to enter 100 crore club? After Rowdy Rathore, no Akshay Kumar movies could break record. Is it because of four films in year or his fan following is reduced? – KP

A. It’s a combination of different factors. He does four films a year, so the audience can skip a couple of films. He doesn’t go all out to promote his films. For example, Baby trailer was released way too early and since the film didn’t have songs, the film couldn’t sustain the buzz when it released. Also, his choice of films, directors, banners and even heroines has let him down time and again. At the peak of his career after ‘Singh Is King’, he did films like ‘Kambakht Ishq’ and ‘Chandni Chowk To China’. This affected his following among the multiplex audience. He has also been repeating his heroines (Priyanka, Katrina, Sonakshi) and the genre of successful films, when a couple of comedy films worked, he signed 5 or 6. That’s exactly what Salman Khan has done differently and climbed to the top of the ladder in Bollywood. He doesn’t do more than 2 films a year. When couple of films like ‘Dabangg 2’ and ‘Jai Ho’ didn’t work as well as they should have, he stopped working with his brothers, signed films with better directors and has also started experimenting with his films. More importantly, he knows his audience and the kind of films they want him to do.

Q. Is it not better for Bajirao Mastani to release on 25th instead of 18th? Screens may be a problem but atleast the maddening buzz of Dilwale would have subsided after one week. Whats your take? – Lisa

A. Single-screen release might be a problem, but 25th December is certainly a better date than 18th December for ‘Bajirao Mastani’. If ‘Dilwale’ doesn’t get a great response, it could give ‘Bajirao Mastani’ an advantage of 2 holidays in its first week. It will also open at higher number of shows at multiplexes if it releases on 25th. But it looks like Sanjay Leela Bhansali is confident of his product and wants to release his film on 18th. It’s a move that is risker than releasing ‘Saawariya’ with ‘Om Shanti Om’, because ‘Bajirao Mastani’ is a costly film and if ‘Dilwale’ is received well by the audience, the business of ‘Bajirao’ will be severely affected.

Q. Bahubali is made with an investment of Rs 250 crores. How can you consider it a blockbuster as it needs minimum Rs.500 crores to breakeven. Can you explain this as I am confused with budget and returns. – Vidya Rao

A. ‘Baahubali’ will be released in two parts. The Beginning has already released, next part will release in 2016. The combined budget of the two films is Rs 225 – 230 crore (approx). Even though the budget of the first film can’t exactly be put into numbers, it’s assumed to be half i.e Rs 115 crore (approx). The distributors share of the first film itself should be around Rs 225 – 250 crore, which means the entire budget of the film will be recovered from the first film itself. Whatever the second part earns in 2016 will be a profit! All time blockbuster!

Q. Is it not risky for SRK to release three movies – Dilwale (18th December), Fan (15th April) and Raees (1st week of July) - in just 8 months? – Javed

A. All three Shah Rukh Khan films are not getting the best of release dates. ‘Dilwale’ will clash with ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Fan’ releases during exams and IPL season. ‘Raees’ is set to clash with Salman’s ‘Sultan’. To add to it, he gets into ‘Akshay Kumar mode’ with 3 releases in 7 months! There will be an overdose of Shahrukh Khan in the media. It’ll be interesting to see if Yash Raj Films’ opt for a ‘Chak De India’ like promotion strategy for ‘FAN’. They might keep it low-key and let the content do the talking. Having said that, not ideal release circumstances for all three films. It’ll be a huge test for sure. But then, it’s SRK we are talking about here. He’s passed most tests with flying colours in his career, he should get through this one too.

With that answer, we end the ‘Live QnA’ session.