AskIndicine: Live Now

Q. How much should Half Girlfriend collect for HIT status?

A. Around 75 crore.

Q. On what basis jury decide the best actor for National Award ? And what is the criteria for that?

A. The jury is appointed by the ‘Directorate of Film Festivals in India’ and the appointed jury has complete control over who will win the awards. This year there was a 11 member jury which was headed by Priyadarshan. These 11 jury members pick the winners of the National Awards.

Q. How have Tubelight and SRK’s untitled next shaped up? Any internal information regarding the response to the music album of both the films within the trade?

A. There are reports that the makers of Tubelight are happy with the way the film has shaped up. There isn’t much info on the SRK film, the shoot is yet to be wrapped up. Obviously, music is expected to be the strong point of the Imtiaz Ali film.

Q. Your views about Secret Superstar new release date on Diwali. Isn’t it another masterstroke from genius Aamir?

A. As soon as Toilet was moved to Independence Day weekend, we wrote in last week’s QnA that Aamir would push ‘Secret Superstar’ to a different date. It did not make business sense to give the film just one open week. Diwali is a good date for the film. It has low costs and with Aamir’s presence, it’ll get enough shows during the Diwali weekend inspite of competition from a much more commercial film like Robot 2.0. It’s a Welcome vs Taare Zameen Par like scenario. There’s space for both films and both won’t majorly cut into each others business. Overall, it’s a good decision which should give plenty of time for the film to perform even after the first week – assuming the word-of-mouth is good.

Q. I want to ask whether there is any chance of shifting of any of the film from 11th to 4th Aug? If so who should move according to you?

A. No, there won’t be any preponement. One film could move ahead if averting the clash is important, but it’s unlikely to be ‘Toilet:EPK’ because they wouldn’t announce the clash in the first place if they wanted to avoid it.

Q. Top 10 hottest pre release films in the trade for the remainder of the year?

A. It’s difficult to give a Top 10 list.. buzz or interest is generated after the launch of the trailer. Until then, it’s more about the star cast. Baahubali 2 is by far the biggest film so far this year. It could even get close to becoming the first film ever to ‘gross’ 100 crore on a single day – because it truly is one of the first pan-India films. A culmination of the biggest film – both in the south and Hindi markets. Then there’s Robot 2, another Pan-India film, it could even beat Baahubali 2 in the south because of Rajnikanth’s star power. Among Hindi films Tubelight, Tiger Zinda Hai and The Ring are the biggest – in that order. Judwaa 2 is going to be huge, there’s Sanjay Dutt biopic, Padmavati too.

Q. Which films are expected to take a bumper/record breaking, excellent, very good, good and descent opening for the remainder of 2017?

A. As far as initial is concerned, it will be Tiger Zinda Hai. The combination of Salman and action is lethal. It’ll get a record-breaking opening. Tubelight will fall in the same category of ‘bumper’ too. The Ring and Judwaa 2 will be Excellent / Very Good. That’s Hindi films only. Baahubali 2 is certain to be record-breaking all over. Robot 2.0’s question mark will be the level at which it opens in Hindi markets. In the south, the craze will be at insane levels.

Q. A big fan of your website keepup d gud work.Leading men like Salman,SRK and Aamir pull off even ridiculous scripts and make them huge hits while apart from a few women centeric movie’s with exceptional content leading women such as Anushka,Kangana & Priyanka are not able to carry a movie on their shoulders bit demeaning women here but your take on what impact a leading lady has on a movie.

A. Unfortunately, even the top leading ladies in the industry do not command a initial. Not only are they nowhere close to the box office pull of a Salman or a Shah Rukh Khan, most of their movies are content dependent. Piku, Phillauri, Rangoon – none got a initial. Dear Zindagi was the only female centric film in recent times to get a good initial, but it had SRK. Otherwise, it would probably be 30-40% lower.

Q. What is current screen count of India, is it 6500 because Baahubali 2 releasing on these No. of screens

A. Yes, it’ll be a 6500 plus screen release. Widest ever release for any Indian film.

Q. Have u shelved the article of Top Bollywood actors in India if not then when are you publishing it?

A. The update is almost ready, it’ll be published in the next couple of days.

Q. When will Tubelight trailer release? Will it be 10th of May as all Salman starrer trailer release 40-42 days prior to its release or there will be different strategy for this movie

A. A 6-week promotional campaign is the plan. It should begin from the 1st week of May.

Q. Final verdict and collection of Phillauri and Shabana?

A. Phillauri is below average grosser. Naam Shabana is theatrical failure, flop.

Q. Why some people are questioning about the winning of Akshay Kumar’s national award as he is very talented and versatile actor. Priyadarsan also clarified that he has been chosen for both of the performances of the movies Airlift and Rustom respectively. So what is your view about it? 

A. There will be questions raised irrespective of who wins the national award. Everyone has their own favourite film / performance and there will be disappointment when they don’t win. There’s no one answer to who ‘truly’ deserves an award. Sure, there were better performances last year than Akshay in Rustom, in fact Airlift was probably his better performance of the two. So if he’d won for Airlift, the decision wouldn’t have raised so many eyebrows. But having said all that, the number of times Akshay Kumar has been royally ignored by award ceremonies over the years and the fact that he is one of the most versatile actors in our country today, he deserves the National Award recognition. Certainly much more deserving than Saif Ali Khan. Even Amitabh Bachchan’s role in Piku wasn’t the most challenging or best performance of 2015, he won and not many questioned.

Q. Asked this many times before and asking it again today…. what’s went wrong with Tamasha? Love it every time I watch!!!

A. It isn’t the kind of movie that appeals to a large section of the audience. It was a 4-5 metro city film made on big budget.

Q. Do you think that the combined collection of SRK untitled and Akshay Toilet will be around 235cr when the highest on Independence weekend is 180cr when Rustom and Mohenjo Daro clashed. Furthermore both movies are mostly multiplex target which are unlike from Raees and Kaabil. Your reasons behind the 235cr please.

A. ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’ could do well at the smaller centres. It has a very good story and promotes cleanliness – which should help the film get a push from the government too. SRK untitled film is commercial too and will appeal to much larger section of the audience as compared to Imtiaz’s last film Tamasha. So business could be more than Raees and Kaabil combined.

Q. What’s your ‘our take’ about clash b/w Aamir and Akshay kumar?

A. Maybe we should do an ‘our take’ article on this. It’ll be published with positives and negatives of the film – we don’t think there are too many negatives here. It should be a ‘harmless’ clash.

Q. Will TEPK be preponed to 4th Aug to get 1 week free run(7th Aug Raksha Bandhan) and enjoy 2nd week holidays due to good WOM?

A. We’ll be surprised if they prepone ‘Toilet EPK’. The reason for pushing the film to Independence Day was probably because they wanted the social film to take advantage of the ‘freedom’ weekend. Else, they could’ve stuck to their previous date or released during any other open week in July / August. It’s a well thought out decision.

Q. Your prediction for Baahubali opening did not change after trailer release. What would you prediction opening of robot 2 before the trailer seeing the posters

A. We did not make any prediction for Baahubali before the trailer release. Robot 2 could do 25 crore plus on the Diwali holiday. These are just value numbers, a lot will depend on how the makers promote it in the Hindi market.

Q. Which is bigger clash: Raees vs Kaabil, Secret Superstar vs 2.0, ADHM vs Shivaay, Rustom vs MD, Toilet Ek Prem Katha vs The Ring?

A. There’s no big or small clash. What’s important is the trailer and genre. Kaabil and Mohenjo Daro failed to get a good initial, because the trailer and even the music generated no interest. Raees had probably the most loved teaser and trailer in recent times, Rustom trailer got a very good response too. Shivaay had a good trailer, but interest dropped quite significantly in the last 2-3 weeks before release. So in a clash, the trailer becomes crucial followed by music and eventually the content. Clashes can no longer be won on star-power alone, films need to have a good trailer to generate pre-release interest and then the content has to be good. To answer your question as to which was the biggest clash, we think it was Dilwale vs Bajirao Mastani.

Q. Why don’t our Bollywood filmmakers give gross box office collection like south industry and Hollywood instead of that complicated nett collection? In that case there will be no manipulation problem atleast, your take?

A. Your question actually makes no sense. Why will producers refrain from giving out ‘manipulated’ collections just because they have to declare gross collections?

Q. Asking this for 11th time in a row.. rate according to stardom in India and overseas Ranbir, Ranveer, Varun, Sidharth, Sushanth, Tiger, Arjun, Shahid.

A. Ranbir is the biggest star in India. He and Varun are probably equal as far as domestic fan-following is concerned. Domestic order would be Ranbir / Varun, Ranveer, Arjun, Tiger, Shahid. Sushant got one big initial, but that was because of Dhoni, so depending on how Raabta opens, we could judge his following compared to other actors.

Q. To what extent will Secret Superstar affect the chances of Robot 2 becoming a major grosser? Can Robot 2 still manage to cross 150 cr in Hindi? And what will be the affect of 2.0 on Secret Superstar in the south?

A. The impact on both films should be minimal. There are no major releases for a month after Diwali. Plenty of time for both films to perform.

Q. Re-releasing of Bahubali The Beginning , it is a good idea or not ?

A. Theatres are empty, a lot of people have seen the film in theatres and repeat on television – so not many were willing to spend when the second film is scheduled to release in less than 20 days. But whether the re-release worked or not, makes absolutely no difference to ‘Baahubali 2’. It’ll be record breaking.

Q. Why only Akshay Kumar’s National Award is being questioned? Priyadarshan did have a valid point. Paa and Piku were not the most outstanding performances of Big B. He did have many better performances that I didn’t get a much credit (Khakee for example). There serving nominees at that time in our hindi industry only and we aren’t even talking about regional films. Then why weren’t they met with such reactions even though a lot of ppl knew Ramesh Sippy was present at the Jury. Is it because, with respect to Amitabh Bachchan sir,due to the fact that he is a legendary star and and he has a lot of extraordinary work to his credit, sometimes even his normal achievement/work is overhyped.

A. There are these preconceived notions in the media (including social media) that Salman, Akshay aren’t great actors, while the likes of Aamir, Amitabh, Ajay, SRK, Ranbir etc are outstanding actors. But when a Salman delivers a brilliant performance in Tere Naam or even a Dabangg, they aren’t considering worthy enough to win even the popular awards. Same with Akshay Kumar. He was last ‘nominated’ in 2008 for Singh Is King. Since then, none of his performances have even been considered worthy of a nomination in the popular category, when much weaker performances were nominated for Best Actor. We can all endlessly continue the debate, but at the end of the day, Akshay Kumar is now a National Award winning actor. That won’t change and it recognises his immense talent and achievements over the course of his long and successful career too.

Q. Do you think Neeraj Pandey and Sidharth Malhotra’s upcoming film get a solo release on Republic Day 2018?

A. Too early to say whether the film will get a solo release.

Q. Is Badrinath Ki Dulhania even close to films like DDLJ, HAHK, Raja Hindustani, Maine Pyaar Kiya as even Badrinath.. is a pan India film which is a quite rare thing these days.

A. It’s nowhere close. Those were mega grossers, some of them all-time grossers. No comparison whatsoever. Badrinath Ki Dulhania was watched by around 1.35 crore people. Some of those films that you mentioned were watched by 5 times more audience.

Q. How much Varun Dhawan charges for one movie? Last time I heard it was 5 crores? Do u think he should start asking for more than 10 crores now?

A. He deserves 10 crore plus.

Q. Will Judwaa 2 be produced and distributed by same banner?

A. Fox Star Studios and Sajid Nadiadwala have a tie-up for Judwaa 2.

Q. What will be the budget of Judwaa 2 considering the fact that Sajid spends money like water, for ex if 1 helicopter is required in a scene he will give you 5 helicopters just for the sake of the fact that scene will look good on screen.

A. The cost-of-production will be around 55-60 crore, plus Print and marketing costs.

Q. You had problems with Filmfare award as they gave award to Aamir for Dangal over SRK for Fan.. But you didn’t speak a single word against the award winning by Akshay Kumar for Rustom over Aamir(Dangal), Srk(Fan), Manoj (Aligarh) , SSR (MS Dhoni), BigB (pink), Randeep (Sarabjit) and even Akki (Airlift) and Salman (Sultan). Why such hypocrisy from you? Do you think Akshay deserved this award for his mediocre performance in a poor movie?

A. Who exactly decides that Rustom was a poor movie? The film did very well at the box office, inspite of a clash with a bigger film. Negative word-of-mouth can kill a film in no time these days and Rustom collected as much as Airlift. There certainly were better performances in 2016, our pick would still be Shah Rukh Khan for Fan in 2016. But it’s the jury that decides, not us. Everyone can’t win and the best performance of the year is always going to be debatable.

Q. Do you think a film like robot 2.0 or baahubali2 with 2 of the top 5 hindi stars in lead roles can open at 60 crore net from Hindi version alone ? And how much difference 3d rates makes in total net or gross . In other words jungle book collected around 185crores.. what would have been the numbers if ticket sold in normal rates ?

Consider this scenario
1. Robot 2.0 teaser generates huge craze nation wide and internationally .. as it meets Hollywood standards with high entertainment quotient
2. Akshay and Rajinikanth in equal roles with akki having 2 songs
3. All songs are chartbusters
4.wom is on par with baahubali 1
5. 3d effects attracts children and families

Can it do a Gadar in North India and K3G in overseas ? It’s a sure shot Sholay in South India . So what would be the maximum possible gross collection ? I think with all these factors and 3d rates it can go over 3000crores.. do you agree ? If not why ?

A. Too many questions and a lot of assumptions. One, two movies from a different era cannot be compared. There can be no Sholay and there will never be another Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. There are way too many entertainment options, piracy etc. Two, Baahubali 2 is going to be the most hyped pan-India movie of the year. Addition of star power to it, may not really make a massive difference to it because the movie is already huge and almost every movie-goer wants to watch it. Three, 3000 crore is not possible. Even 1000 crore worldwide gross has not been achieved by any Indian film.

Q. Rate in order of SRK’s performance in decreasing order : Chak De India , Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kal Ho Na Ho , Veer Zaara , My Name Is Khan , Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

A. Chak De India, My Name Is Khan, Veer Zaara, Kal Ho Na Ho, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and KANK. In that order, best first.

Q. What were the three biggest hits in each decade of Bollywood?

A. Since 90s, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Gadar Ek Prem Katha and Dangal (until now).

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Q. What according to you is the best date to release Jagga Jasoos and what kind of business it can do can you predict?

A. They are looking at a July release, the shoot isn’t complete yet. It should get a good initial, but business cannot be predicted at the moment.

Q. Don’t you think Dutt biopic can be the turning point in Ranbir Kapoor’s career?

A. It will certainly be the biggest and most important film of his career. Ranbir has already found acceptance as an actor and star, so a few failures won’t affect him. But if Dutt biopic becomes anywhere close to as big a success as Hirani’s last couple of films, then it’ll give a massive boost to Ranbir’s career.

Q. What is the next movie of SRK after Imtiaz Ali movie.. Its the ALR movie or he is doing another one between Imtiaz Ali and ALR ?

A. SRK begins the dwarf film with Aanand L Rai immediately after the Imtiaz Ali film.

Q. How much does a movie need to earn in overseas to become blockbuster? Was Raees a blockbuster in overseas?

A. Depends on the costs or how much the overseas rights are sold for. Raees was Super Hit overseas.

Q. How many Dharma Production movies Siddharth has done in his career till now as I have heard he mostly done dharma movies?

A. 5 out of his 6 films (already released) have been with Dharma Productions. The only film that wasn’t a Dharma Production was ‘Ek Villain’. Two out of his three upcoming films aren’t with Dharma.

Q. The curious case of no one willing to clash with Salman Khan despite smaller films benefitting from a big clash?

A. It’s not possible to take on a commercial Salman Khan film at the moment. A small film can try its luck, but who will watch it? A film like Secret Superstar with incredible word-of-mouth probably has a better chance because of lower costs – but at a much lower level. One on one, Salman will beat anyone at the moment – as far as initial and release is concerned. It would need something bigger than star power to challenge him, maybe something as big as a Baahubali 2 or a major franchise like Dhoom.

Q. Why Varun Dhawan not doing big budget like Ranbir(Dutt Biopic) and Ranveer(Bajirao Mastani and Padmavati)?

A. His approach is different and it has worked for him so far, because producers of his films haven’t lost money. Until he establishes his fan-base, he prefers to make medium budget film, giving his films the best possible chance to recover costs. Once the fan-base is built, he’ll move on to bigger films. He’s still very young – 29 years, 5 years old in the industry. He doesn’t even need to take big-budget risks at the moment. The trade is happy, the investors are happy.. he manages to give his audience something different with each new movie. So far so good for him.

Q. Lots of Emphasis ,socio media guess and disapprovals even within the Filmi(Tinsel Town) sectors about Akshay Kumar winning a National Award. 1. My question is are 2 movies being considered as a criteria for winning National award amongst the rules norms and ethics of the most Prestigious award any actor will dream of? 2. What’s the limitation power of a Jury head? Thanks.

A. Answer to question one, two movies cannot be considered. The award should be given to only one film or performance. Two, jury head alone does not decide the winner. There is a 11-member jury, Priyadarshan was just the main man, the head of the jury.

Q. Is SRK-Anushka’s movie over hyped because of star cast? bcoz I heard that Imtiaz Ali’s track record is not so very good.

A. Any SRK film will generate hype and star cast is usually the main factor in creating pre-release buzz. Imtiaz Ali’s track record is good, but his films do not perform well at the smaller centres. That’s the concern in the trade. Also, the quality of his films have probably degraded with each new film, Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met were probably his best films, it’s been downhill since then. If he is anywhere close to his commercial best – then the film will work big.

Q. Why is Rajinikant’s latest movies failing to collect in long run – opening collections are good but life time collections are below mark or average + What will be it’s impact on 2.0 ?

A. That’s because the content of his film hasn’t been upto expectations. His fans will come in big numbers in the first weekend – but after the initial hype and excitement, his films are crashing. Same problem with Shah Rukh Khan films in recent times. Top heavy because of star power, but doesn’t sustain in long run. The neutral audience and repeat audience are very important for films to become a major success. 2.0 will open big, but after that it depends on how well Shankar as directed the film.

It has to be one of our longest QnA sessions. 43 questions were answered and we got a record number of visitors too. Thank you for joining us.