Bollywood Business Talk With Taran Adarsh - Wanted: Entertainment!

By Taran Adarsh Bollywood Hungama News Network

Every time I speak to a prominent distributor or personnel associated with a multiplex, I get the same point of view. Movies need to be rich in entertainment, else the paying public won't be interested in shelling out their hard-earned money. That set me thinking… Are moviegoers not interested in watching realistic films? Or slice of life movies?

"Look what happened to JAIL and KURBAAN," a prominent North India distributor opined early this week. "They were well-made films. Even ROCKET SINGH found its share of advocates, but those appreciating these movies are in a minority. The X-factor [read entertainment] was missing, hence the poor response at the ticket window," he remarked.

Another viewpoint is that the youth contributes largely to the box-office booty. No wonder films like LOVE AAJ KAL, AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI and 3 IDIOTS, youth-centric films all, start on a thunderous note at the ticket window. The family audience steps out to watch movies once the reports are super and most importantly, if those movies have tremendous emotional quotient. PAA is a shining example of this statement. It started slow, but picked up dramatically on Day 1 itself.

That brings me to RANN. Most critics loved the film, even the audience feedback was extremely positive, but the film never took off. Not on Friday evening, not on Saturday, not on Sunday either. The film had an extremely poor start and remained in the same range [10% to 20%] across the weekend. Even the metros numbers are disturbing.

RANN has an interesting cast, is a well-made film, was aggressively promoted prior to its release, but the audience was just not interested. As things stand today, RANN is a major disappointment in terms of numbers.

On the other hand, ISHQIYA found its business increasing with each passing day. Saturday was better than Friday and Sunday was better than Saturday. The youth took to the film and the opening weekend numbers were encouraging. The songs and eye-catching promos have done the trick. With no major movie slated for release till February 12, ISHQIYA should remain the first choice of moviegoers in India.

The third release, ROAD TO SANGAM, a well-intentioned film, didn't find many takers. In fact, the film arrived without a major buzz and didn't create any impact at the ticket window whatsoever.

• Movie News