AskIndicine: Live Now

Weekly AskIndicine Live Question and Answer session begins at 4:15PM today.

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Q. If you compare the word-of-mouth of Bajrangi Bhaijaan which released last year and 3 Idiots, which one would you say had better trend? Is Sultan word-of-mouth exceptional for such a big film?

A. 3 Idiots was in a different league, especially at urban centres. When 3 Idiots released, no other film had even crossed the 120 crore mark.  It collected 75% more than the previous highest grosser (Ghajini) and more than two times the business of the 2nd highest grosser at that time (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi). So 3 Idiots was in a different league as far as setting records is concerned. The trend in Week 4 – 5 – 6 was exceptional too. Yesterday, a trade veteran messaged to say, he’s never liked any film as much as Sultan – after 3 Idiots. So going forward, anything could happen. Weekdays will give us the exact picture.

Q. Will Mohenjo Daro be able to collect more than 200 crore in India?

A. Look, anything can happen at the box office and such predictions can’t be made before the release of the film. We didn’t expect the Hindi version of Baahubali to do 20 crore, it did 120. No one gave Bajirao Mastani a chance either, but it did almost 200.  So if the film turns out to be well made and carries good word-of-mouth, it could go on to be a huge grosser.

Q. Why Mohenjo Daro Trailer suffered unexpected negativity? Even though the trailer is good.

A. A section of the audience has liked the trailer, majority haven’t. So the overall response to the trailer is mixed to negative. The makers will be releasing a second trailer closer to the release of the film.

Q. Deepika Padukone was allegedly offered Anushka’s role in Sultan. However, she rejected the film stating that her part wasn’t meatier. Do you think she lost out on a huge opportunity? Clearly, Aarfa go hand in hand with Sultan in the entire movie.

A. Anushka Sharma was outstanding in Sultan and she was perfect for the role.  It really doesn’t matter which actress was offered the role before. Deepika was busy with her Hollywood film.

Q. Do you think Sultan collection will be affect if Great Grand Masti release on 15 July?

A. No. The damage has already been done to Great Grand Masti. Piracy and now the decision to release it a week after Sultan will affect its business big time. It was expected to open at 13-14 crore, but now it’ll even be a struggle to get half of that. In fact, Great Grand Masti might not even get a proper release because Sultan will continue playing at majority of single-screens.

Q. Can Shah Rukh Khan make a strong come back? It’s hard to believe that someone who has dominated the industry for 2 long decades is not able to get solo release. Is there any politics in the industry behind SRK to bring him down?

A. He has quite a few interesting films lined up for release, especially the film with Aanand L Rai, it has the potential to be a huge grosser. So it’ll be about one of his upcoming films that’ll have to hold universal appeal and sustain well enough to do well in the long run. Most of his films in recent times have been top heavy. A huge opening followed by a free fall. None have sustained after the first weekend, let alone run for 3-4 weeks. No politics, Excel is responsible for the mess that Raees is in.

Q. What’s the collection of Sultan in Pakistan?

A. About 11.5 crore PKR (Rs 7.35 crore) in 4 days. Record breaking.

Q. Anushka Sharma and Salman Khan might both have two 300 crore movie to their credit. What will be the standing of Anuskha and Salman in the Bollywood?

A. Anushka is the top star now. Deepika is cutting down on Hindi films, she doesn’t have a release this year. Anushka is also signing big films, she’ll be featuring opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the Imtiaz Ali film. There is a shortage of leading ladies in the industry.

Q. Don’t you think that Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan both have consistently faced clashes since 2012 and they deserve solo release because they were Top 2 stars once upon a time?

A. Whether we like it or not, in business there is no value for what happened “once upon a time”. What matters is the current standing. Every producer is free to release his film whenever he wants to. Ideally, films like Mohenjo Daro should get a solo release, because there is way too much money at the stake. But unfortunately, there is no unity in the industry. Even Shivaay and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil shouldn’t be releasing on the same day. With the Hollywood threat looming, our industry is busy fighting with our own films.

Q. Where is Imran Khan? What about his next films?

A. He has stopped doing films for now. Remains to be seen if it’ll be a short break or if he has completely quit acting.

Q. What is the budget of Shivaay and Mohenjo Daro? How much do both need to collect in order to achieve hit verdict?

A. Both films will have to do 140-150 crore plus at the domestic box office to recover costs.

Q. What is your prediction of Great Grand Masti?

A. Opening day is expected to be around 5-6 crore.

Q. Is Jagga Jasoos releasing this year? If not then when exactly is it releasing? Will affect Ranbir Kapoor’s career further?

A. Jagga Jasoos has been pushed to March-end 2017. Ranbir is too good an actor for a couple of failures to affect him. He’ll make a strong comeback.

Q. How many people are involved in making a movie in Bollywood counting everyone from spotboys to technical team to producers to the lead actors? The number varies from movie to movie but still a rough figure. Also comparatively how many people are involved in a Hollywood movie?

A. Hundreds of people are involved in making a film, sometimes thousands. You could as well count the number of people that are mention in the closing credits to get an approximate figure of the film crew. As for Hollywood films – the Top 5 are Iron Man 3 (3,310 people), Avatar (2,984), The Avengers (2,718), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2,709), Chronicles of Narnia (2,622).

Q. How is Salman Khan getting so much unconditional love from the audience in spite of so much negativity around about him regarding different controversial Issues and running court cases?

A. He’s the most loved star in the country today and the reason for such a crazy fan-following cannot be explained. About controversies and court cases, as long as his films entertain, how does his personal life matter? It might for a few, but if his films are good (like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan) even those who dislike his off-screen persona will go to the theatre to watch.

Q. Sultan has been doing excellent business overseas, and salman Khan has again delivered the second biggest overseas weekend of all time after Bajrangi bhaijaan last year and now with Sultan so has he raced ahead of Shahrukh Khan in overseas too?

A. Shah Rukh Khan is still the most popular and widely known actor overseas. He’s been consistent for way too long and even Dilwale did very well inspite of all the competition (Star Wars and Bajirao Mastani). But both Aamir and Salman have closed the gap and are right up there with him on currently standing.

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Q. Salman Khan’s career-total movies collection before Sultan?

A. He’s currently at Rs 2,648 crore (inflation not adjusted). Sultan needs to collect Rs 352 crore for Salman to become the first actor to cross Rs 3,000 crore. For the first time in his career, he’ll go past Akshay Kumar to become the highest grossing actor. Akshay’s 107 films have collected Rs 2,893 crore. So Sultan has to collect Rs 245 crore for Salman to go past Akshay. Also Read: Bollywood Actors Career Collections and Analysis (published before the release of Housefull 3)

Q. What is the Latest update on Hera Pheri 3 and Jolly LLB2?

A. Hera Pheri 3 is shelved for now. Jolly LLB 2 is happening. Huma Qureshi has been cast opposite Akshay. Goes on floors in August.

Q. What would have been the impact of Raees on Sultan if they would have clashed on this EID?

A. You can’t take on Salman Khan during Eid. It’s best to let him have the weekend that he created, for as long as he dominates it. From now onwards, Salman will have one film every Eid, he won’t let go of that weekend.

Q. In the CBFC there is an “S” certification, what does this stand for and are there any films which have been certified “S”?

A. From June 1983, two new certifications were introduced. One was U/A and the other was S i.e restricted to ‘specialized’ audiences such as doctors or scientists. We don’t really know of any film that has certified as ‘S’ and why films will be produced and screened only for ‘specialised’ audience. With growing reach of the internet, that certification is pretty much obsolete now.

Q. If Monday collection Holds above 20 crore + then will sultan be able to beat PK to become ATHG?

A. Definitely a possibility if it holds strongly Monday onwards.

Q. Do you think this July could turn out to be the best ever month for Bollywood considering that there are two more movies lined up?

A. Only three major films this month – Sultan, Great Grand Masti and Dishoom. GGM is affected because of piracy and the decision to release on 15th will backfire. Dishoom isn’t very hot in the trade, music has worked to a certain extent, but it’s unlikely to get a big initial. December has the potential to be huge if both Befikre and Dangal work.

Q. Best album of 2016 so far according to you?

A. Kapoor & Sons.

Q. What are the upcoming films of Akshay Kumar besides Rustom?

A. He has plenty of films. Namastey England. Jolly LLB 2, Robot 2.o, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.

Q. I did not understand how you gave blockbuster status to Sultan after 4 days only. Don’t you think its so earlier?

A. Some calls are make early because of the trend. When a film holds up so well over the extended weekend, it means the word-of-mouth is good and the film is highly unlikely to crash Monday onwards. By the end of 5 days the film would’ve already collected 185 crore. Even if it collects just 60-70 crore from Monday onwards, the film is a blockbuster. Should be easy.

That’s how we make our LBO predictions too.. by judging trends.

Q. Any details YRF’s next projects after Befikre?

A. Shoot has been wrapped up. We think the makers will have something new to show on the 9th of every month.

Q. What’s the issue, as many of the films censor board copies are leaked before their release date?

A. No clue about this. Two things – one, both the films that have been leaked after from Balaji Motion Picture (Udta Punjab and Great Grand Masti). Two, if the CBFC or Tribunal is leaking the film, why not take them to court? Difficult to understand what the problem is.

Q. I would just like to say that this is the best Bollywood site right now and I visit this site like 3 to 4 times a day. But can you please keep a logo for your website for the mobile browsers.

A. Thanks. We do have a mobile logo, right at the top when you scroll down.

Q. Is there any Website similar to Indicine for Hollywood Box Office and Reviews?

A. You can check out BoxofficeMojo.com

Q. What are the total collections and verdicts of H3, Te3n, Do Lafzon Ki Kahaani, Udta Punjab, Junnoniyat and Raman Raghav 2.0. I have been asking this question for a long long time and I hope today you will pay attention to my request.

A. Sorry. Here you go – Housefull 3 – 109 crore (Hit), Te3n – 17 crore (Flop), Do Lafzon Ki Kahaani – 3 crore (Flop), Udta Punjab – 59 crore (Above Average), Junooniyat (only did reasonably well in UP, finished with 3.2 crore – Flop), Raman Raghav 2.0 – 5 crore (Flop).

Q. Why have we not seen any movies in the zombie genre? They are a good blend of action and horror. Done the right way, they could accommodate every element to make up a blockbuster.

A. That genre was explored in Saif Ali Khan’s Go Goa Gone. It was a pretty good film too, but didn’t work. Such genres have little or no appeal outside metro cities. It’s difficult for major actors to feature in zombie films, but the younger actors could give it a try.

Q. Are you amazed by collections of Sultan?

A. Absolutely. The kind of craze and level of business over the first 4 days has been unbelievable. Amitabh Bachchan will be proud! The industry has not seen such craze for an actor for a very long time.

Q. Tell the top 3 non-khan Actors currently and potential youngsters who can give them competition in 2016?

A. Hrithik, Akshay and Ajay. Quite a few young actors have started well and some of them have excellent success ratios and growing fan following. Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor – could all make it big if they stick around for long enough and do the right films. Shahid too, maybe.

Q. Who has the best starts to the career? Varun Dhawan (SOTY, Main Tera Hero), Sidharth (SOTY, Hasee to phasee), Tiger (Heropanti, Baaghi), Ranveer Singh (Band Baajaa, Ladies vs Ricky), Arjun (Ishaqzaade, Auranzeb). Best upcoming movie between them? Baar Baar Dekho, Dishoom, Flying jaat, Befikre, Half Girlfriend. Also tell the current rankings of them in bollywood

A. Varun and Sidharth got dream debuts, but more importantly they’ve followed it up with quite a few successful films. Arjun was terrific in Ishaqzaade and Ranveer was raw but appealing in Band Baaja Baarat. Start to Tiger’s career has been unbelievable too, but it’ll be interesting to see how he fares when he moves out of his comfort zone (action). Among their upcoming film – the biggest would be in this order – Befikre, Half Girlfriend, Dishoom, Flying Jatt and Baar Baar Dekho. Ranking-wise, Ranveer leads because of Bajirao Mastani, but Befikre will be a test for both him and Aditya Chopra. Followed by Varun.

Q. Mohenjo Daro doesn’t look very huge on screen. Especially the visuals, costumes and also the impact dialogues, which are kind of must for a movies these days to make audience excited. Music sounds good but still missing a chart buster. On the other side, a lot of appreciation to Rustom. How do you think Mahenjo Daro will open, given the facts that it is one of the costliest movies in bollywood and Hrithik coming after two years when the benchmark has been set further up by Sultan? Is there any possibility for it to grab a 30cr + opening? Or even 25cr+, at this stage?

A. “The scale is missing” is something that we’ve been hearing from a lot of people.  It’s definitely a concern, because Mohenjo Daro was expected to be a magnum opus made on a huge scale. A lot of money has been spent, but that’s not coming across in the visuals that we’ve seen so far. No chance of 30. Best case would be 20, even that would be surprising – unless the next trailer that they’ve promised to release is outstanding. It’s a word-of-mouth dependent film.

Q. On what basis have you placed Ae Dil Hai Mushkil above Shivaay in your lifetime prediction?

A. On the basis of the film opening very well at multiplexes. Anushka is one of the Top 2 female stars in the country, bigger after the success of Sultan. Ranbir is loved by the youth, when he does the right film, his audience will return. Karan Johar is one of the top directors in the industry, with an excellent success ratio too. On the other hand, Shivaay only has scale and Ajay’s acting ability in its favour. It’s a risky film that could go either way. Stay tuned though, the prediction will change after the trailer of both films are out.

That ends our QnA session for today. More than 35 questions were answered today. Thank you for joining us.