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November 23, 1999
BILLBOARD
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Who won? Who lost? How and why? Komal Nahta has the answers. Introducing a weekly Box Office column.
The dull response saw Sunny pressing the panic button and out came the editor's scissors once again. Unfortunately, the only difference is that, instead of a lengthy flop, Dillagi will now be a less lengthy one.
As to why the film did not have an impressive start, the answer is really very simple. Elementary, actually. Both the heroes of the film, Sunny and Bobby Deol, are popular as action heroes. And the film, as the title so strongly suggests, is a love story. One could argue that Ajay Devgan too had a similar image when did the ultra-romantic Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, which hit bullseye at the box office. But that was after Ishq (another love tale starring Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Ajay and Kajol). And his romantic interest in the film was Kajol, the hottest heroine of the time.
But let's come back to Dillagi, and the reasons for its downfall. One of which happens to be the music. A love story, that too one set on such a vast canvas, needs superlative music. Which Dillagi does not have.
Then there is the script and the direction -- both if which smack of childish amateurness. The former abounds in cliches while the latter looks like it is suffering from a strong hangover of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Bobby Deol's characterisation of a casanova will not go down well with the masses. The Indian audience does not accept a bed-hopper as a hero -- not as yet, at least, and not if the characterisation is so weak.
Urmila Matondkar's character, too, is rather bold. She flits from one brother to the other like a bee experimenting with flowers. Blooming love, anyone?
This was a sharp contrast to their earlier film, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, which was released with 30 prints in its first week. The number of prints were gradually increased and this massive blockbuster had, in the end, over 500 of its prints in circulation. HS-SH, on the other hand, released about 425 prints in the first week itself -- 300 prints in India and 125 prints in the overseas market.
The pre-Diwali days, when business is at its dullest, took their toll on HS-SH as well. The collections outside Bombay dipped to as low as 30 to 40 per cent of the overall capacity. Come Diwali, though, and the film glowed brighter than the fireworks that mark the festival.
Even now, the business in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and east Punjab isn't as heartening as it is in the rest of the country. Gujarat, Nizam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, on the other hand, have received the film very, very warmly.
One reason could be the fact that the Barjatyas made a couple of assumptions that have not panned out as expected! Besides, they made a couple of changes in their tried-and-tested strategy.
Like always, they spent minimally on publicity. But, unlike their patented behaviour, their release strategy this time warranted a publicity campaign at least 10 times bigger. Their assumption that, after HAHK..!, people would throng to the theatres to see the next Rajshri release proved wrong. The large number of theatres too does not seem to have worked to their advantage.
Satya did well -- it would do to remember that the film excelled in Bombay and Maharashtra only -- because it was the first of its kind. A film in the genre of Satya can now create box-office magic only if it betters the original.
Believe it or not, Shool's trade reports -- before it hit the theatres were fantastic. People touted it as Satya ka baap; some even said it beat Amitabh Bachchan's Zanjeer and would do for Manoj Bajpai what Zanjeer for Bachchan. Whatever the distributors expected from Shool, it has turned out to be one big bhool!
So what if Taal did not break box-office records in the capital city, Ghai has made so much maal under-production that he is pleased as punch. And then, there are the elite society crowds who go into raptures when they see or meet Ghai. It is this section of the audience that has loved his film.
Earlier in the week, Ghai was in Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat, which boasts of India's best cinema -- actually, it's a multiplex called City Pulse -- where Taal completed 100 days. Owner Ashok Purohit invited Subhash Ghai to join in the celebrations on November 21. He also announced a lucky draw on the 100th day.
Viewers have been asked to retain their counterfoils. On the day the film completes 25 weeks, Ghai and his artistes will pick out one ticket from all the tickets sold at City Pulse from 100th day till the film's silver jubilee. And the holder of the counterfoil will be eligible for a to-and-fro ticket to Dubai. So you can see parades on a lucky Taal ticket, wot?!
A look at the week |
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Sunny Deol's directorial debut, Dillagi, has bombed at the box-office, and how! The film not only took a poor start all over the country, it also failed to pick up. Sunny's dependence on oral publicity did the film more harm than good.
