AskIndicine QnA: Live Now

Q. Hello Indicine, I am a regular user of this site from last year. I don’t reside in India but get all the latest update about Bollywood through your site. Thanks for that. My question is related to SRK and his competition with other actors. I feel that media created a war between SRK and other actors. I never heard competition between other actors like Salman vs Akshay / Hrithik vs Ajay, Aamir vs Akshay or others. It always around SRK due to that a lot of negativity has been filled by fans of all actors. Can you please tell why always top position actors are compared with SRK? (Silent Viewer)

A. First of all, thank you for visiting. About Shah Rukh Khan, right from the beginning of his career, he’s been a divisive personality. Whether it is through his interviews, statements made at other public appearances or even during film clashes – what he says used to generate extreme reactions. People either loved him or hated him. The media alone cannot be blamed for the rivalries and fan wars, because some of the statements that the stars have given have also helped create fanwars on the internet. Salman and SRK were not on talking terms for more than 5 years. Aamir has made controversial statements against Shah Rukh. SRK himself had once added fuel to media made comparisons between him and Amitabh Bachchan (when he replaced Bachchan on KBC).

Between actors too there is competition. Not just box office, but also to get to work with the big directors in the industry and to maintain their standing. This isn’t just with the likes of Khans, but also with younger generation actors like Ranveer, Varun, Arjun, Sidharth. Sometimes the competition is healthy, sometimes it isn’t.

The other angle to it are the die hard fans, who like to see their star winning at the box office, getting awards, signing films with big directors etc. All this combined, creates fan wars and controversies. The outsider who has played the game the best has been Shah Rukh, without doubt. It’s a difficult industry to survive in, for an outsider.. but Shah Rukh hasn’t just played the game smartly, he’s outsmarted many over the years. Currently though, it’s not helping him beat Salman and Aamir. He’s tried with films like Dilwale (it was made and released to break records) but it hasn’t worked.

Q. Why in present time most comedy movies don’t work at box office?

A. Well made comedy films that entertain the audience, will work at the box office. When a couple of bad comedy films release and fail, the genre is not considered to be ‘in trend’ or liked by the audience. Masala films were considered to be to risky, but ‘Baaghi’ has done very well. The key for producers / directors / actors is to time their films well. When there is an overdose of any genre, there is a higher risk of films failing. At the same time, releasing a film belonging to a particular genre after a good break (like the youth-masala-film Baaghi released more than a year after Tevar), gives the film an advantage. If ‘Housefull 3’ works, the comedy genre will be back with a bang!

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Q. How distributor’s share is being decided? N then how much share goes to producers and cinema owners? Its bit confusing so want a detailed analysis please.

A. Detailed analysis will require a separate article. But to answer your question in brief, distributor’s share varies from film to film and place to place. At multiplexes, the distributor’s get the highest share in Week 1, it goes lower in Week 2 and further down in Week 3. At fixed rentals, theatres are rented out, so the share is usually much higher – provided the occupancy is good / high. Otherwise, releasing the film can actually be loss-making, because distributor’s won’t even recover the rent that they paid. This is exactly why a lot of films don’t get released at single-screens. A lot of people think films will collect more if they get more screens – this is not true. The lead actor has to have an audience at smaller centres and the genre should be universal enough – for films to get 4000 plus screens.

We have a very old article on this – it needs to be updated but worth reading nonetheless (Read: Indian Box Office Model)

Q. After the mind blowing run of “The Jungle Book”, which movie in 2016 might have the power to create the same magical run?

A. Purely in terms of numbers, Sultan should easily beat ‘The Jungle Book’. But to get the kind of trend that the Hollywood film got, it would require a truly special film. Won’t be easy. We’ll keep a close eye on the 3rd – 4th – 5th – 6th week collections of the most liked film of the year and then compare it to ‘The Jungle Book’. Should be interesting. Mohenjo Daro and Dangal are our picks of the two films with the best chance, Shivaay will be a film to watch out too.

Q. Any news on Deepika’s future projects in Bollywood? I heard she might be doing Padmavati or Shoojit Sircar’s next?

A. Lot of rumours, but officially Deepika hasn’t yet signed a Hindi film. She’ll be making a special appearance in ‘Raabta’ starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon.

Q. What are the reasons for FAN’s failure?

A. FAN flopped because the audience rejected it’s content. The word-of-mouth was negative from Day 2 / 3 itself.

Q. How is the buzz of Housefull 3 and will it be able to cross FAN going by the current trend?

A. Housefull 3 should easily beat FAN, unless the film turns out to be a major disappointment. Sajid – Farhad have replaced Sajid Khan as directors – remains to be seen if it was for good or bad.

Q. Why Ek Tha Tiger isn’t ‘All Time Blockbuster’ at 199 crore – less than 3 crore of previous 3 idiots. But Bajrangi Bhaijaan is ATBB inspite of collecting 19 crore less than previous highest grosser PK?

A. The ‘All Time Blockbuster’ verdict is always debatable, but it’s not a verdict that is given to the highest grosser of all time. It’s about return-on-investment. ‘The Jungle Book’ is an all time blockbuster even though it isn’t even close to the highest grosser of all time. ROI-wise even Tanu Weds Manu Returns got pretty close to ’All Time Blockbuster’. Ek Tha Tiger was an expensive film.

Q. With upcoming movies, do you see any actor breaking into the the coveted 30 + crores rupees opening day from now to end of 2017? Or you still think it will only be reserved for the usual superstars -suspects : Salman Srk Aamir Ajay Hrithik? and why?

A. When it comes to opening, it would be Salman, SRK and Aamir – in that order. These guys are cut above the rest. Salman has been phenomenal over the years, in a league of his own. SRK has been excellent too, because even the opening of Dilwale – inspite of clash with a major film and release on a working day – it managed 21 crore Day 1 (equivalent to 30 crore plus). Aamir is right up there too, but he’s had backing of top franchise and director, so Dangal opening should give us a better picture of how he compares to Salman and Shahrukh – purely in terms of a earth-shattering initial.

After that it’s Hrithik and then there is a huge gap. So the actors capable enough to deliver 30 plus, would be these four.

Akshay has been consistent with opening, but most of his films average around 12 – 15 crore. Ajay has been highly inconsistent, the credit for the Singham opening doesn’t entirely go to him. That’ll change if Shivaay manages 20 plus opening. Ranveer is the next best bet, but has a long way to go before he can even think of joining the ’30 crore opening’ club.

One other point – an actor has to have strong audience-pull both at multiplexes and single-screens. Plus the genre has to be supportive to get a 30 crore plus opening. Otherwise it’s not possible.

Q. The Craze Of Sultan Is Unparalleled. Can Sultan Open More Than 50 Crores ?

A. No. But we’d have said the same if you asked if 30 crore is a possibility before Ek Tha Tiger’s release. Salman is capable of box office miracles. Let’s see, box office is unpredictable, which is why it’s always exciting.

Q. What is the verdict for Baaghi? And what would be Azhar and Sarbjit’s verdicts?

A. Baaghi is ‘Super Hit’. Azhar is Flop. Too early to talk about Sarbjit, but even in the best case from here.. it looks like a ‘Average’ grosser.

Q. Don’t you think Mohenjo Daro should release solo? Am really looking at massive bankruptcy for Rustom if they clash? What does Hrithik has to do from now to earn a Megastar title?

A. Clash is won with content. Mohenjo Daro will get better opening, but Rustom can surprise if it turns out to be a well-made film. Even the mighty can fall, like we saw last Christmas. These days there are clear trend clues on Friday itself.

Q. Is Salman’s next with Rajkumar Santoshi is confirmed or not ? And if it is confirmed then any idea about its story,lead actress,genre etc ?

A. Salman hasn’t signed the film.

Q. Do you feel market of hindi films is shrinking as regional and Hollywood movies are making some serious dent of late.

A. The next few years will be testing times for the Hindi film industry. There are quite a few problems. The corporatisation of the industry has meant Hollywood films are eating into the business of Hindi films at big centres. At smaller centres, especially in South and West, regional films are growing both because of creativity resulting in good content and entertainment tax exemption in home states.

Hollywood films don’t need massive promotions, the lead stars aren’t even coming down to India because it’s a small market. Yet, 5 months into the year, the combined collections of the two biggest films – Airlift and FAN – is almost as much as ‘The Jungle Book’. The threat from Hollywood is real, because the audience is getting more value-for-money from Hollywood films as compared to films that we produce.

The Hindi film industry also has the looming threat of our major superstars ageing. How long will they remain at the top of their game, is a question that we’ve been asking for almost half a decade now.. Luckily, they continue to do well and we also have a bunch of younger stars who have quickly established their fanbase.

But currently, there is no doubt that the business of Hollywood films is growing at a much faster rate. The Hindi market is not shrinking, but stagnating. The rest are growing.

Q. Is the Biopic trend is becoming unpopular given the fact that Azhar almost failed and Sarabjit started poor ?

A. The genre is not getting less popular, but people are smart in today’s times. Ticket prices are high and unless a film is really worth a movie outing, the audience is more than willing to skip mediocre films. There has been an overdose of biopics, which is never good, because people become more choosy. M.S Dhoni biopic should do well, it has good director and an immensely popular cricketer. Not many were interested in knowing more about Mohammad Azharuddin. But Dhoni, ticket collector to India’s most successful captain.. a man who has given happiness to so many through World Cup wins.. who wouldn’t be interested?

Q. Why is it that the Hindi film industry doesn’t invest in producing well made magnum opus projects like Bahubali and Robot inspite of earning 200-300 crores per big movie? Regional cinema is redefining cinematic boundaries with every coming year.

A. We lack visionary directors and those who are successful are happy exploring their own genre. Even Rajkumar Hirani has stuck to his tried-and-tested formula for the four films that he has directed so far. Rakesh Roshan has taken risks, but he still falls short somewhere in the writing department. Having said that, films like Mohenjo Daro and Shivaay are risky and big-budget. If these films turn out to be well-made, it could be our industry’s ‘Baahubali’.

Q. Will Raees be releasing this year?

A. No, postponed to 2017.

Q. Is Ticket price the main reason why people are not giving a chance to 2.5/3* movie?

A. Most certainly. A movie outing is expensive for the city audience. If one film is not worth it, they’ll wait for the next.

Q. Don’t you think in Bollywood, there is no unity? Doesn’t a brave, risky and ambitious experiment like Mohenjo Daro deserve a solo release?

A. There is a lot at stake for a film like ‘Mohenjo Daro’. Even for an established lead star like Hrithik, it’s a lot of risk when you release one big film after 2 years of absence. It could mean two years of work going down the drain and the losses can be huge if your film doesn’t find acceptance. But at the end of the day, if your film is well-made, it’ll work. If your film is excellent, it can destroy not just the week’s competition, but films that release 1 or 2 week later. The stakes were equally high for a film like Bajirao Mastani and it was up against a massive film like ‘Dilwale’. It not only did well, but decimated the Shah Rukh Khan starrer from Christmas holiday onwards. If Ashutosh Gowariker is confident of the film that he’s made, clash wouldn’t be a big concern to him – although it would still mean the film would collect a little less than it would with a solo release.

Q. Please provide update on the movie ‘BankChor’ by Y Films of Yash Raj Films starring Ritesh Deshmukh n Vivek Oberoi

A. We have been asking them, but YRF isn’t talking about the film.

Q. What are the total collections and verdicts of Nil Battey Sannatta, Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. , Laal Rang, Baaghi, Traffic, One Night Stand and 1920 London ?

A. Nil Battey Sannatta finished with lifetime business of less than 2.5 crore, Lal Rang was around the 2 crore mark, Santa Banta Pvt Ltd was very poor with collections of 75 lakhs. One Night Stand finished with 3 crore. All disasters. 1920 is at 14.5 crore Average grosser. Baaghi is the only film that has done well. Super Hit.

That ends the QnA session for today. We have received many more questions, we will try and answer most of them through the week and next weekend. Thank you for joining us.