AskIndicine: Has Ended

Q. Will Prabhas’ Saaho do a good business in Hindi belts?

A. It certainly isn’t going to be anywhere close to ‘Bahubali 2’. But depending on the content of the film and the way they market it pan-India, it has the potential to surprise. Things could get really interesting if a film like ‘Saaho’ manages to get a 8-10 crore opening in the Hindi markets. We do not really have stars who can pull the audience – both in the core south markets as well as the Hindi markets. Prabhas films will have pan-India face value now, but it would all come down to the content of the film.

Q. Do you think SRK – Aanand L Rai movie will appeal to a larger section of audience? Is it universally appealing?

A. It’s meant to be an universal film. Almost all Aanand L Rai films have been mostly shot in India and told Indian stories. The concept of the film is different too. It’s going to be a film that will celebrate the life of differently-abled people. Shah Rukh in an interview recently has spoken about them not needing our sympathy and also that the film will have humour and romance. Going to be an interesting film for sure, let’s wait and see how it shapes up.

Q. At the start of 2016, with Sultan and Dangal to release, you said “Salman Khan is in his best phase”. Come 2017, Dangal has beaten Sultan Worldwide by a mimimum 1500 crores. Your take on this ‘best run’. Please?

A. Aamir still does too few films to really challenge Salman. Between now and the release of Thugs of Hindostan, Salman will have three releases and even if two out of those three films go on to be huge blockbusters, it’ll be bigger than one Aamir film becoming an all-time grosser. Salman is almost working at Akshay Kumar’s pace – just that his films are made on a larger scale, hence requiring a lot more time to make. But inspite of him having 2-3 releases over a 1-year period, each of his films are easily crossing the 200 crore mark. Aamir’s style of working is completely different, quality is much more important for him than quantity – which is what his audience expect out of him too.

Q. How is the buzz of Tubelight. Is the buzz anywhere closer to Sultan or Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

A. It isn’t. We did a survey on Saturday (3 Jun) in theatres, results will be published in an article. But the overall response to the trailer is mixed, better than the teaser. Not close to as positive as Sultan or Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Q. Does Secret Superstar have the potential to open and earn on the same level as Golmaal Again just like Taare Zameen Par did with Welcome. On paper it looks very difficult, but Aamir Khan can never be underestimated.

A. Not going to happen. Golmaal 4 will collect atleast 2-3 times more in its first weekend. It’s a huge film. More commercial, bigger release, massive franchise.

Q. In the last QnA secession you said that Salman Khan can be called bigger than the film if Tubelight opens to record breaking numbers. Do you expect Tubelight to open to record breaking on pre-eid or you want to say Salman Khan is not big star because Tubelight will not open to record breaking.?Can you give more details on this??

A. The reason for that is, there’s very little face-value or even commercial value apart from Salman’s presence. An action film will still get an audience in mass centres, but this is more emotional. The opening is unlikely to be earth-shattering. But with Salman in the film, you never quite know. We’ll have to wait and see what sort of initial it takes.

Q. Whats your honest take on 2.0 shifting its date. Do you really think the vfx is the main reason? Do you really think Ajays Golmaal Again is the main reason? Looking at performance of Bahubaali 2, I don’t see any reason for Shankar shifting the date because definitely it should have easily beaten Golmaal again at the box office.

A. It was only after Shankar and his team internally decided to move the film, did Golmaal makers announce their film for Diwali. Golmaal was re-announced for Diwali, before the news of Robot 2.0 postponement.. this was mutual and planned because they didn’t want any other film to take Diwali and then get into a controversy. This is what we’ve heard internally, through reliable sources.

Q. SRK’s next with Imtiaz Ali can hit the cord with the masses, specially in the Punjab zone….what are your views about it?

A. Punjab should be one of the better performing circuits for the film. The makers are also planning on finalising a Punjabi title.

Q. What are the public response of songs Tubelight ?

A. The Radio song is a hit.

Q. Has Hrithik signed any film and which are they?

A. He hasn’t signed any film. Krrish 4 is in its scripting stage.

Q. Why Tubelight’s trailer and song videos are not creating much buzz? How much will low youtube viewership affects the business of the film?

A. Youtube views don’t make any difference. Begum Jaan has 31 million views, but Tubelight will beat its lifetime collections hours after its release on 23rd June. The ‘Radio’ song has worked, the response to the trailer isn’t unanimous like Sultan or Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Q. Your expectation for Toilet-EPK at the box office and whether it can beat the lifetime collection of SRK film?

A. Such questions can never be answered with certainty because of how unpredictable and surprising the box office can be. Hindi Medium wasn’t even expected to be competition for Half Girlfriend, but the film will end up with a bigger lifetime total. Compared to that, the SRK film and Toilet Ek Prem Katha are more evenly matched. If Toilet finds acceptance and audience can relate to the story, then anything is possible. We can only talk about the initial at the moment. SRK film should have a good lead over the first weekend.. but the test always comes during the working weekdays. Lifetime totals are always more important than opening day collections.

Q. Why nobody was interested in Baywatch except the media. And why Priyanka was showing that she is having a major role but in actual it was pathetic?

A. On the ground, there was hardly any interest to watch Baywatch. The PR machinery driven media over-hyped it, but its only the box office that exposes the reality. If the trailer isn’t interesting enough, the audience is unwilling to pay. Simple as that. Even in the multiplex chains, Hindi Medium sold more tickets and collected more in its 3rd weekend as compared to Baywatch in the first weekend.

Q. Deepika Padukone’s XXX is a huge hit compared to Baywatch, am I right? Please do tell me.

A. It looks much bigger now with Baywatch becoming a global disaster, but Deepika’s ‘XXX: Return Of The Xander Cage’ also underperformed even though it got a decent initial.

Q. Avatar collection in rupees?

A. Approximately Rs 17,900 crore – which is about 9-10 times more than the highest grosser from India, Dangal.

Q. How is Ittefaq shaping up ? Will it be bigger than Ek Villain at the box-office?

A. Not expected to be anywhere close to Ek Villain. It doesn’t need to be, because the budget is very low.

Q. Salman said he will work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali but noone is sure if he was serious. Do you have any information?

A. Bhansali has apparently approached Salman for a film. But Salman hasn’t signed the film. Even if it happens, it’s not going to release before 2019-20.

Q. What is the total number of footfalls for Bahubali-2 for all languages ?

A. It’s difficult to put a number for films like Bahubali 2, even the producers wouldn’t know the exact number of footfalls / tickets sold. It will certainly be over the 10 crore mark all India, all versions. It’s by far the most watched film in the last 20 years.

Q. Sanjay Dutt or Sunny Deol? Who was a bigger star and who has a more successful career?

A. Undoubtedly, Sunny Deol. Some of his films have taken earth-shattering openings.

Q. What is Sajid Khan doing nowadays?

A. Working on the script of his next film and approaching actors.

Q. Would you put bet on Tiger Zinda Hai breaking opening weekend record of Hindi films(Not including Bahubali 2)?

A. It should. Even Bahubali 2 could be challenged.

Q. It is 5th time in recent time that Salman is doing 2 films in a year. But there is difference this time. Earlier his both films were similar and had same target audience. Ready and Bodyguard were both masala entertainers targeted to masses. Same for ETT-Dabang 2 and Kick- Jay ho. BB and PRDP were both drama films with emotions both targeted to family audience. But this time both Salman films are completely different and targeted to completely different audience. One to families and other to youth and masses. Don’t you think that not just Salman should do this often but also other superstars should do more films of different genres? It will help industry in big way. Otherwise footfalls will continue to go down.

A. There’s not much to add to what you have already said. Except that, variety is what the audience seek in today’s time. If an actor gets repetitive with his films, roles or even mannerisms.. he risks boring the audience and eventually losing them. Salman’s career is not just about pure stardom, but even though he’s generally perceived to be one of the less intelligent actors.. he’s been smarter than most other actors in the industry. He was quick to realise that the audience were losing interest in the typical South masala entertainers. So he began mixing it up. Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Sultan, Tubelight, Tiger Zinda Hai and the dance film with Remo.. are all very different from each other. What’s most important for an actor to be successful is to know the pulse of the audience and not get carried away by the critics or what people say on social media.

Q. How do you see Sushant and Ranveer’s future in Bollywood? Since 2000, only Hrithik, Ranbir and to some extent Varun have developed a great fan following and are in the superstar league. Do you see Ranveer and Sushant getting into that league?

A. Superstar league is too big a word for Varun or even Ranbir. They simply haven’t had those record openers. Ranveer has potential, he’s found acceptance.. but all of the younger actors have a long way to go before we can even begin to call them superstars.