Live Bollywood Question and Answers session!

For the first time here on Indicine, we are introducing a new feature called ‘Live QnA’. Ask any movie related question in the comments section below and get it answered immediately.

We pick 10 questions and update this page with answers.

Let’s start. Readers can refresh the page once every 10 minutes or so for the latest answers! We already have 895 visitors viewing this page right now!

Q. Which trailer did you like more – Bajrangi Bhaijaan or Brothers? – Neeraj

A. Both. To pick one, it would be Bajrangi Bhaijaan, simply because it promises to be a sweet light-hearted entertainer with a message. The trailer of Brothers was a lot more intense and high on action.

Q. Will Dilwale have a solo release? And is releasing on 18th better or 25th? – Rock

A. That decision will be taken by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Eros International. Red Chillies Entertainment has announced the final release date of ‘Dilwale’ and they will stick to it come what may. More than the star cast, the big advantage that ‘Dilwale’ has is its genre. The film is much more commercial as compared to ‘Bajirao Mastani’. Even though quite a few single-screens are booked for 2 weeks, if Sanjay Leela Bhansali wants to release his film during Christmas, then it’s better to release ‘Bajirao Mastani’ on 25th December. If the response to ‘Dilwale’ isn’t positive, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ could benefit. Having said that, it’s just too risky to release a film costing more than Rs 100 crore against a Shah Rukh Khan starrer.

Q. How many movies did Govinda do in his career and what was the greatest grosser? – 1234

A. Govinda has acted in nearly 150 Hindi films in a career spanning 30 years! His biggest grosser is ‘Partner’ and his biggest blockbuster is ‘Aankhen’, directed by David Dhawan.

Q. Do u think boxing type movies like brothers will work in india? – Shaggy

A. Difficult to answer such questions. The family audience might not come in big numbers for a film like ‘Brothers’. But the film will have tremendous appeal towards the youth and lovers of action films.

Q. Who has been the most consistent star among the 3 Khans? – Adil

A. Shah Rukh Khan. By Far. If you analyse his entire career, he hasn’t had too many low phases. We have two articles on his incredible career at the movies: Shahrukh Khan Career Analysis 1992 – 2001 (Part 1) and Shahrukh Khan Box Office Recap: Part 2 (2002 – 2011)

Q. How much ABCD2 collection affect by heavy rain in Mumbai? – Arkam

A. Mumbai circuit is very important for the business of any film and a huge chunk of business comes from cities like Mumbai and Pune. It’s been raining cats and dogs in Mumbai, which will definitely affect the business of the film. Not many will want to go and watch a movie when even the Chief Minister of the state has asked people to stay indoors. Roads are closed, trains aren’t moving. We can’t put it in numbers, but the impact will be huge. Unlucky for the makers, because such heavy rains in Mumbai usually come in the second week of July.

Q. I have read that kangana has raised her fees to 10 crores post the success. Is a star who cannot even guarantee a 6-7 crore opening with average promos and no sequel factor worthy enough to demand such amount? - Sandy

A. If producers are willing to pay her a certain amount, it means that she’s worth the price that they pay. It’s not just about bringing in the audience through star power, but also about acting talent, which can ensure a good lifetime total even if the opening is not upto the mark. There are very few female actors in the industry, who can do justice to a good female-oriented script. So the demand for Kangana, after Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Queen, is huge.

Q. Does privacy also happens in hollywood and  how much of collection in percentage it affects on box office collection of movies? - Akash Milan Sinha

A. Most of the piracy in today’s times is through internet and torrent websites. Since the internet penetration is much more in developed countries, Hollywood too is affected by piracy. Again, it’s hard to put it in numbers, but it’s most certainly in billions. Big screen experiences like ‘Jurassic World’ and ‘Avengers’ are less affected as these films are best enjoyed on the silver screen, but producers still lose a lot of money due to piracy.

Q. Leaving Box Office collections, is there no other way to judge an actor’s stardom? If Aamir’s PK the highest grossing movie of India, does that mean Aamir is a bigger star than Salman & Shahrukh – Game

A. It’s probably safe to say, Aamir Khan is the only known Indian star in China. Even Dhoom 3, which was not directed by Rajkumar Hirani, did well. As for judging an actor’s stardom apart from box office collections, we can’t think of any.

Q. Which movie has the realistic chance of biggest grosser of the year out of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, PRDP and Dilwale? – Prashant Yadav.

A. We have already answered this a million times before. We are still not very confident about the box office prospects of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, an opinion that could change after the trailer is released. So our pick would be between Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dilwale. The better film will be the bigger grosser.

Q. How hard will it be for Ranbir Kapoor to regain the superstar tag now? And after Bombay Velvet can Tamasha turn out to be a blockbuster? - Anshuman Mhp

A. Shouldn’t be very difficult. Because unlike a lot of other actors, he has the acting talent to rise from a low phase. The better actors in the industry, always do. The best of directors in the industry still want to work with him. If films like Tamasha and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil fail, that’s when doubts will begin to creep in.

Q. The word CONTENT is thrown around a lot. But what does it exactly mean in the movie business? Does it refer to the entertainment value or layered storytelling? Very few films like 3 idiots have both entertainment and strong script. A film like Kick or Chennai Express will be highly entertaining to some but others will not like the lack of a strong storyline. On the other hand there will be films that are deep but will flop at the box office.

A. A well-directed film, with a good story to tell and excellent performances, is a film with strong content. At the same time, the two films you mention, Kick and Chennai Express, were hugely entertaining. A few pseudo critics may not like it, but the audience does and that’s what matters at the end of the day. Apart from a few art films that are made on shoe-string budgets, no filmmaker makes films for the critics. It’s all about the audience who pay to watch a film in theatre. In short, critical acclaim is NOT content. Universal appreciation from the audience IS good content!

Q. If Singh is bling will be as entertaining as Singh Is King, then can it collect 200 + crore ?

A. 200 crore is a HUGE number. Even if Singh Is Bling gets exactly the same number of footfalls as 2008 film Singh Is King, it will still struggle to cross 200 crore. Also, Singh Is King released when Akshay Kumar was at the peak of his career. Currently, his films are no longer taking a good initial at multiplexes and unless city multiplexes perform, it’s impossible to cross even the 150 crore mark.

Q. This is one question I am really willing to ask. Why is “masala” considered the most profitable genre? The most profitable genre should be “feel-good genre” TWMR, PK, Queen, OMG, Vicky Donor, English Vinglish… This genre has almost never failed. Even the less successful films like Bhoothnath returns and Dil Dhadakne DO have broken even. On the other hand, masalas like Himmatwala, AJ, Boss have failed. Why is masala considered universal when its success rate is no where never feel-good? – gj007

A. The definition of the word ‘masala’ is a variety of species used to cook spicy Indian food. So for Indian movies, ‘masala’ means a mixture of different genres. A bit of action, comedy, songs, dance, romance, villain… all thing combines to provide feel-good, time pass, light-hearted entertainment! It’s only in recent years, that masala is considered to be ‘mindless’. And again, a film that attains critic acclaim, is not considered a masala film. We’d like to believe 90% of Indian films are masala entertainers, which includes a film like Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

It was fun answering your questions. Tons of questions coming in, we will try and answer some of those in the next QnA. Thank you for taking part in the first ‘Live QnA’.