AskIndicine: Live Now

It’ll be a shorter QnA Session today. We’ll be starting at 4PM (Indian Standard Time) and end the session by around 5:30PM. Post your questions in the comments section below.

Q. How will Kabali perform in hindi markets? And will its performance be a future sign for Robot 2?

A. Kabali will be getting the widest ever release for Tamil film across India. Fox Star Studios is releasing the film on 900 – 1000 screens of the Hindi dubbed version, so it’ll be interesting to see how the film performs outside Tamilnadu, Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala (these South states will be record breaking).

However, it’ll be unfair to compare Kabali to Robot 2. Akshay Kumar’s presence will give the business of Robot 2 a major boost, especially in the north. It’s also a much more expensive film with a more commercial director. Robot 2 should open better than most Hindi films!

Q. How much does Sultan need to collect to attain All Time Blockbuster verdict?

A. About 285-290 crore, since it has performed very well in the overseas markets too. Overall, Sultan will be a more profitable film than Dhoom 3.

Q. Do Shivaay has any chance to cross 200 crores? What is current box office ranking of Ajay Devgan?

A. It’s going to be very difficult. Shivaay will have to be a extraordinary film to even get to a total of 150 crore, let alone 200. The highest grossing film during a clash is ‘Bajirao Mastani’, but that film released during Christmas – which is a much bigger holiday period (more holidays, open weeks) as compared to Diwali. A total of 250-270 crore will probably be the best case for both films combined.

Q. How has the music of Mohenjo Daro and Rustom performing? And is music really such a big factor for Mohenja Daro? Baahubali was a huge hit without great music.

A. Popularity of music of both films is satisfactory. No song has gone on to be a chartbuster. Songs, especially those from the ‘Mohenjo Daro’ album takes time to grow. It’s not going to be a huge factor at the box office, the trailer was always more important.

Q. Considering the rise in the collections of Sultan on Saturday, is it a safe bet for it to be 300 crore grosser now? When will Dhoom 4 will go on the floor, do you have any idea about its entire cast?

A. Even with the big growth on Saturday, 300 crore is going to be touch and go. Looking at the trend, it’s more likely to finish at the 290 crore mark. Having said that, anything can happen at the box office. No announcement on Dhoom 4 so far.

Q. Is there any increase in buzz of Mohenjo Daro as music and new posters are looking promising?

A. After the trailer, the promotional campaign that has followed has been good. The response to the music and posters has been positive too.

Q. If Raees releases solo on 26 January, then it has best chances of creating new opening day record. Isn’t it? Like Agneepath did with huge buzz?

A. It’s a possibility, but let’s talk when the film gets a solo release. For now, from what we’ve heard, the makers of Kaabil are not going to let of the Republic Day weekend.

Q. Which is most viewed teaser & trailer on Indicine. & Most number visited (view) article & most commented article?

A. Mohenjo Daro trailer is the most viewed and Dilwale trailer page is the most commented.

Q. As of now, do you think Mohenjo Daro can still do above 20 crores on day 1? And will Rustom do 12 crores on day 1?

A. 20 crore plus won’t happen for Mohenjo Daro. The first target would be 14-15 crore. Yes, it’s looking like Rustom will achieve 11-12 crore, which would be a good opening day for the film.

Q. Everything kept aside, which movie do you think will do more on Day 1 Raees or Kaabil if they both clash?

A. Raees should open better, it has a solid teaser out already. But we’ll have to wait and see how Kaabil shapes up. A good trailer will even out the clash, but SRK’s presence should ensure a better opening on Day 1.

Q. Who are the Top 5 actresses as of today based on box office, talent and future line-up of movies?

A. Deepika, Anushka, Alia, Katrina, Kangana.

Q. There are films like Welcome and Dhamaal that are repeatedly telecasted on the prime time on televisions at prime time to garner high TRPs and the audience too love them a lot even today. So does this mean that they are achieving the kind of cult status films like Andaaz Apna Apna and Hera Pheri have achieved? I’ve asked this in the last 2 QnA sessions too, hope you answer it this time.

A. It’s difficult to answer such questions. What is the parameter to compare classics like Andaaz Apna Apna / Hera Pheri to Welcome / No Entry / Dhamaal? Even a Singham has fantastic repeat value on television. Salman’s Chal Mera Bhai was a theatrical flop, but was hugely popular on television. Family entertainers will always be loved on TV. But it’s difficult to decide if a film is a cult or classic based on TV ratings.

Q. Any news about trailer release of Dear Zindagi?

A. No official update so far. Could be attached to ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’.

Q. Which are the top 5 biggest circuits for Hindi movies in India ?

A. Mumbai, Delhi/UP and East Punjab are the three major circuits. Followed by Rajasthan, CP Berar, Mysore, West Bengal, Nizam/Andhra, C.I, Bihar and the rest. Mumbai can be three times bigger than East Punjab and 5-6 times bigger than Mysore. It all varies from film to film, depending on appeal. For a film like Ram Leela, which was extraordinary in Mumbai, Gujarat, Saurashtra.. Mumbai circuit was more than 7 times bigger than East Punjab.

Q. I want you to answer me about the curious case of Akshaye Khanna? He has always been a good actor with 5-6 memorable hits under his belt & even in 2nd lead (Dil Chatha Hai,Race) he was very impressive. Till 2004 he was surely ahead of saif. But why his career never took off and nowadays he is hardly seen in movies or anywhere for that matter! Please solve the mystery

A. Akshaye Khanna was always reluctant, uncomfortable in playing a quintessential Hindi film hero on-screen. He had more success playing negative / comedy roles in films like Humraaz, Race, Hungama, Hulchul etc. Also, he’s media shy, doesn’t like giving interviews or promoting his films. And at the end of the day, an actor needs to be very ambitious and make a lot of sacrifices as far as his / her personal life is concerned. Akshaye likes to maintain a low profile and lead a very private life. Not sure if it solves the mystery, but that’s some of the reasons why he hasn’t been successful as far as his acting career is concerned.

Q. Any Govinda movies coming out? He is the best in comedies… What’s your favourite Govinda movie?

A. No he doesn’t have any major film lined up for release. Favourite Govinda film is Haseena Maan Jayegi, we have a article on Govinda  - David Dhawan films, do read

Q.Wrestling background, Haryanvi dialect, Girls also wrestling. Do you think Dangal has lost out its novelty to Sultan? Alternatively, there is a thought that Sultan has laid a solid platform for Dangal and that Dangal would start where Sultan ends. Maybe wrestling sports genre has gained popularity just like historic periodic drama genre had gained momentum after the release of Bahubali which helped Bajirao Mastani. You thoughts please..

A. It probably won’t be as exciting or as novel as it would be if ‘Dangal’ released before ‘Sultan’. But both Aamir and Salman have said the scripts are very different from each other. There is a gap of 5-6 months too, so if ‘Dangal’ gets a positive response, people should still come out in big numbers to watch the film. It’s Aamir’s first release after 2 years too and he doesn’t appear in too many films, so ‘Dangal’ will be huge, atleast at multiplexes.

Q. Reason of failure of Great Grand Masti?

A. Piracy and decision to release the film a week after Sultan.

Q. Can Dishoom take the kind of start ABCD 2 took? The movie lacks chartbuster songs, the USP of all Varun films so far and not to forget ABCD 2 had a sequel factor and the ticket prices were hiked at a couple of multiplexes due to 3D shows.

A. It’s going to be difficult for Dishoom to open like ABCD 2. Currently, the film is looking at a 10-11 crore opening. The response to the trailer was mixed, one song has worked, the other two haven’t. ‘Jaaneman Aah’ looked promising from the teaser, but the full song has been a huge disappointment.

Q. Akshaye Khanna, Bobby Deol, Zayed Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Aftab Shivdasani. Can you arrange them in the order of their popularity in the last decade?

A. Bobby Deol, Vivek Oberoi, Akshaye Khanna, Tusshar Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan. In that order.

Q. SULTAN’s censor copy was leaked on Internet day before its theatrical release. Don’t you it affected SULTAN big time?

A. Pirated copies of almost every film is out after release, it was no different for Sultan. We are not too sure if it was the censor copy, need to verify this, but no copy was out before theatrical release.

Q. What is releasing on Christmas next year? I know SLB’s Padmavati is confirmed for December 15th. Are there other movies clashing? Would it be a good idea for any other movie to clash with SLB after Bajirao Mastani’s success?

A. Three films are targeting Christmas 2017 - Bhansali’s next, Aanand L Rai’s next and Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic. There are reports that Aamir wants his Christmas weekend too. So we’ll have to wait and see which films come during Christmas next year. More clarity in 3-4 months from now.

Q. Please do an article on how much the rise in ticket price adds to movie collections. What would be the collection of few big movies with normal ticket price. (eg. Pk, Sultan)?

A. These arguments over ticket prices is as stupid as talk over screen count.  Higher ticket price is actually a negative factor that could seriously impact the business of films that don’t deserve to be priced higher. People are spending their hard-earned money, if a ticket costs more, they will be much more reluctant to spend. Would you buy a phone from a Chinese manufacturer if it costs as much as a Samsung / Apple smartphone?

Only big budget films featuring major superstars can justify price hike (which are high even during normal weekend). So there is no question of making an article on how much PK / Bajrangi Bhaijaan would collect if tickets were priced at normal level. People spent on the film, because they thought it was worth the money spent on the ticket.

Ditto for the argument over higher screens. Only major superstars in universally appealing films can release a film on 4000 plus screens. An ‘Airlift’ releasing on 4000 screens will actually be a loss, as it won’t collect at smaller centres and the release cost (especially at fixed rentals) would be more than recovery. A film like ‘Housefull 3’ can go for a wider release, as it holds appeal towards the masses.

That ends our QnA session for today. Thank you for joining us.