AskIndicine: Live Now

Q. Is it true that Shah Rukh Khan is having a cameo in Sultan? Ally

A. Recently, Shah Rukh went to meet Salman on the sets of his film ‘Sultan’. One picture (below) from the sets made its way onto the internet. A tabloid picked this up and called it a scene from the film. If it’s indeed a special appearance, then it’s meant to surprise the audience. YRF neither confirmed this, nor denied it.

Q. Any news doing the rounds about Aamir’s next film after Dangal?

A. Just a couple of days ago, Aamir has said he hasn’t signed any film after ‘Dangal’. He’s said to be reading scripts, but hasn’t given his confirmation for any producer / filmmaker.

Q. Do u think FAN’s buzz is less due to World Cup. But now its over so do you think marketing should be done on high level?

A. Don’t think the World Cup has anything to do with the ‘buzz’ or ‘interest level’ around a film. It’s the lack of fresh units (promos, songs etc) that’s hurting the marketing campaign of the film. The promos are getting way too repetitive and boring too.

While YRF knows better, we think it would have been a better idea to release the theatrical trailer around the 15th of last month, then release Jabra song a week later (when SRK made an appearance on Star Sports) and then this week they could have pushed out the regional versions. It would have given enough time for the Jabra song to grow and the marketing campaign would have been short and effective. But then again, they know better and eventually it’s all about content these days.

Q. Among the top stars like Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Mithun & Big B who gave the maximum number of hits in the 80’s decade?

A. Amitabh Bachchan was way ahead of everyone else back in the 70s and 80s. It wasn’t like how it is now, when we have 2-3 stars dominating the industry. It was Amitabh at the very top and then there was a gap between him and everyone else. He was by far the highest paid actor and commanded the highest footfalls at theatres.

Q. What’s your favourite movie of Rajkumar Hirani?

A. Munnabhai M.B.B.S. Unique and unforgettable characters, flawless performances, fantastic direction, feel-good, socially relevant.. it delivered much more than what was expected out of it. 3 Idiots probably has the best repeat value, can be watched any number of times.

Q. When Mohen-jo-daro Trailer is coming? And Hrithik has signed an Yash Raj film, is it Dhoom 4 or just an another film? – Rakesh

A. Not it’s not Dhoom 4. It will be directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya. Hrithik, Kabir Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala had earlier said they are doing a film together, but it’s on hold for now.

Q. Who is more popular Akshay or Hrithik?

A. There is no clear way to measure popularity of actors except box office. Akshay’s films were suffering because the multiplex audience weren’t coming to watch his films, that ‘could’ have changed after Airlift. Hrithik does very few films, which again isn’t the greatest of ideas unless you’re an Aamir Khan. Same type of film and same gap between films, Akshay probably has a slight edge at this point in time. Having said that, Akshay doesn’t have too many big grossers to his credit. Also in the overseas markets, Hrithik leads.

Q. Budget of Mohenja Daro and minimum collections required to recover it?

A. The film has to do a minimum of 150 crore in the domestic market. Again, these are just vague figures. Expect more accurate numbers nearer to release. There is still quite sometime to go.

Q. Among the following superstars Aamir, Salman, SRK, Ajay, Akshay, Hrithik rank them in order of genres of movies they have done portraying different varieties of characters they have played be it lover boy action guy, comic roles, underworld, scientific patriotic, villain, socialists, super hero, etc etc 2. Do you think the more versatile an actor the more credit he deserves and justifies his market value? Trisha

A. It’s a difficult question to answer in a live QnA session. We cannot analyse their careers when it’s live. But to answer your question for the last 8-10 years. It would be in this order – Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Akshay has started experimenting in the last couple of years after overdoing comedy and action-masala. SRK has done a few varied roles, but not as much as he’d have himself liked in the last few years. That will change too. Salman has explored in his own space, because his fan-base is such, he can’t completely go off the track and do a film like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Talaash or My Name Is Khan. Ajay has always been experimenting, but the problem is, his experimentation hadn’t worked. Shivaay and Sons Of Sardaar will be different films and audience will get something new from him. Exciting times as even the biggest of stars have begun to realise that their star-power can only work if their films are good. Audience these days is smart enough to put trash to where it belongs. Hope that answers your question.

Q. What is the budget of Fan? Will it open better than Dilwale as its a holiday on 1st day (Ram Navami), No Competition & also that intolerance thing won’t be there this time?

A. FAN isn’t a very big budget film. Business economics next week. Yes, it has a chance of surpassing the opening day total of Dilwale, but it won’t be easy. As for intolerance, there are unlikely to be any disruptions.

Q. What do you think Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil has more chance at the box office or Ajay Devgn’s Baadshaho as both are releasing on same day?Which will be a bigger film?

A. Way too early to talk about both films. We are more excited about Baadshaho because it reunites Ajay with his ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’ director. You can pretty much visualise Ajay’s performance as Sultan Mirza. Kaabil, well, Sanjay Gupta’s track record is iffy and Rakesh Roshan’s track record as producer only is even worse (Krazzy 4 and Kites).

Click here to read PART 2 of QnA