Disaster in the Making

By Anant Mathur (August 31, 2010)
 

Last week saw the release of 5 Hindi films (Hello Darling, Aashayein, Madholal Keep Walking, Antardwand and Soch Lo) at the Box Office. A majority of the industrywalas will agree, all these films released last week to avoid a clash with this weeks biggie We Are Family (produced by Karan Johar) and next weeks Dabangg (Salman Khan).
 

Needless to say all 5 of the films are super flops. Many small time producers think that it would hurt their film if they released it with a big star cast/big budget movie like We Are Family or Dabangg, I disagree with this scenario.
 

As a filmgoer, when I go to a cinema hall and I find that the big film I came to see is sold out, I don’t return home, I’ve already committed myself to an outing and it would’ve been a waste of time and money to return home without being entertained. 

So, if the big film is sold out and a smaller one looks interesting chances are I would probably watch it just so the night is not a complete loss.
 

But when 5 small budget films release in the same week chances are I wouldn’t make the trip to the cinema hall to see any of them. So regardless of whether they’re good or not, I just wouldn’t make the effort to go. Where as, if they release with a big film, I’m already at the theatre with my family and instead of returning home without popcorn or a soft drink. The family might be more appreciative if we saw another feature instead and spent the night out.
 

There are other things more important than worrying about the release dates. When 5 films release and the stories of all those films is no good, you really can’t expect the box office to have a rocking start. First make good stories then worry about who you’re up against. As long as your content is good, people will come and watch. Whether the exhibitors give your film a chance is another story, but people will come if there’s good word-of-mouth.
 

Take the film A Wednesday for example, it was made for a modest budget of 3-4 crores but it yielded profits of three times its cost. The film struck a chord with the critics and the masses and ran for 8 weeks. As long as a story is told well, the audience will come regardless of who the competition is. The problem is, most Indian filmmakers can’t find a good story even if it comes and sits down beside them.

© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.