What if Salman Khan’s Mental clashes with Krrish 3 or Dhoom 3?

A few box-office related questions, answered by Indicine Critic and Trade Analyst Joginder Tuteja.

Q. It is a hypothetical question. If Salman’s next ‘Mental’ (or any other film) clashes with ‘Krrish 3’, who will win the first day, first weekend and first week? And if it clashes with ‘Dhoom 3’, the same question? – Arjun Singh

A. Whether it is ‘Krrish 3’ or ‘Dhoom 3’, both would have taken a better opening had Salman’s next clashed with them. Reason being that the Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan starrers are franchises which benefit from the recall value. Moreover, not just are they much loved set ups, they are much awaited as well for years, hence making one long for them to arrive. On the other hand Salman’s next has only one major credential – Salman! Now if Salman was to come with a ‘Wanted 2’, it would have been an altogether different story.

Q. Recently we saw ‘Barfi!’ was out of Oscar race for the Best Foreign Language film. Which Hindi movie of 2012 do you think would’ve made a better contender for the same? Because I think, from critical acclaim perspective, 2012 was perhaps the best year for Bollywood in the 21st century. – Sekhar Barpanda

A. Yes, 2012 was superb as far as some critically acclaimed films enjoying good commercial success is concerned. Best contender last year for an entry into Oscars was undoubtedly ‘Kahaani’. The film had everything which goes with the territory as far as art meeting commerce is concerned. It is sad that the film didn’t make the cut. The other film that could have been a possible contender is ‘Paan Singh Tomar’. Though a few tend to believe that ‘Vicky Donor’ could have been an ideal candidate, it wouldn’t have covered much distance since Hollywood comes up with such fun stuff in dozens and it was a novelty only in India.

Q. Is John Abraham better placed than Shahid Kapoor in the list of top actors today? Asking this because Shahid hasn’t delivered a hit for long and John hasn’t delivered a flop for long. – Mohit Singh

A. As of today, yes. John has been playing quite consistent at the box office and success of ‘Race 2’ and ‘Housefull 2’ has consolidated his position further. On the other hand Shahid has been suffering from major flops like ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’ and ‘Mausam’. The fight is close though since John needs to now deliver a major solo success after his multiple multistarrer hits. While his ‘Shootout at Wadala’ is all set to enhance his stardom, even Shahid could catch up soon with interesting films like ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’ and ‘Rambo Rajkumar’. End of 2013 would pretty much put things in the right perspective.

Q. Has the controversy helped the prospects of Vishwaroop at the box office? – Venkatraman

A. Yes, it has helped for the Hindi version at the least. The film is doing better than ‘Robot’ which had Rajnikanth, a much more popular superstar across the country, as the chief attraction. Also, ‘Robot’ was much more massy and commercial with Aishwarya Rai adding to the glamour quotient. Still if ‘Vishwaroop’ is finding an audience, it has a lot to thank the controversy. Let’s not forget that when the film was slated for release early this year along with ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’, it was hardly creating any buzz. For a film that was seen as just one of the releases, it suddenly found itself to be in news after it’s many delays.

Q. Has Ameesha Patel managed to make a comeback with ‘Race 2’? This is first big hit in a very long time now. – Mauli Sharma

A. Yes, ‘Race 2’ is a success but even Ameesha Patel would agree that she cannot take major credit for it. The film helped her to be visible in the B-town but a true comeback would count if her ‘Shortcut Romeo’ does well at the box office. This is the film where she is actually a lead antagonist and since indications are that the Neil Nitin Mukesh starrer take her back in the ‘Humraaz’ days, it would be interesting to see how she plays it out. She would require ‘Shortcut Romeo’ and a couple of more successes to be back in Bollywood in a major way.

Q. Will Ram Gopal Varma make a comeback with ‘The Attacks Of 26/11’? The promo looks fantastic.

A. Well, promos of most Ram Gopal Varma films are good and hence ‘The Attacks Of 26/11’ is no exception. However this is one film which holds a lot of significance due to the recall value of the subject. His last few films like ‘Bhoot Returns’, ‘Department’, ‘Not A Love Story’ or ‘Rakh Charitra’ were the kind where audience couldn’t relate to at the face value itself, and hence there was neither much of an opening nor critical acclaim. Since ‘The Attacks Of 26/11’ would be much in news around the release, good content would only help it further strong. Moreover low costs would help its cause too since Eros has played it smart by keeping it all under check to safeguard everyone’s interest. So yes, Ram Gopal Varma should make a comeback with ‘The Attacks Of 26/11’

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder

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