Kaabil Trailer Review: Trade and Audience Response

The theatrical trailer of Kaabil was released on the 25th of last month and before we get down to analysing the trailer in more detail, let’s make one thing very clear – the response to Kaabil, in general, is way better than the response that Hrithik Roshan’s last release ‘Mohenjo Daro’ got.

A good response to the trailer was important because Kaabil will be up against Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees. Both films are scheduled to release in theatres on 26 January 2017. It’s a clash that many believe is suicidal because the target audience of both films could be the same – while the films are massy, both the lead stars command a following at urban centres. It’s better to get a solo release than fight over one holiday.

Positives of the Kaabil Trailer:

• Revenge: It’s Rakesh Roshan’s mind at work here. It’s a genre that his banner specialises in, and they get it right more often than not. The trailer takes you into the happy world of blind, innocent and much-in-love characters, filled with songs and feel good moments. That’s when the villain enters and pretty much destroys all the good. From here on, the audience begin to root for the underdog (Hrithik’s character). Classic good vs evil, David vs Goliath tale, one man against the entire system. Winning formula, huge at smaller centres.. if the execution is right.
• Fresh pairing: Hrithik’s on-screen pairing with Yami Gautam has received a positive response. The chemistry is there too.
• Koi Mil Gaya hangover: Hrithik’s performance, especially his dialogue delivery and the innocence that he brings to the character of Rohan reminds you of one of his best performances as Rohit Mehra in Koi Mil Gaya. If his character is likeable in the film, it’s a big win.
• The villains: It’s important for the villains to look menacing on-screen (something that Ashutosh got horribly wrong in Mohenjo Daro). Ronit and Rohit Roy do. Ronit’s performance will be something to watch out for as he has always been a terrific actor.

Some concerns that Kaabil Trailer raises:

• Sanjay Gupta: His direction seems to be the biggest concern here. His track record is poor, most films that Gupta has directed have failed at the box office. He excels at action, but emotion is not his forte. Also, films that Rakesh Roshan has produced but not directed (Krazy 4 and Kites), have failed.
• Small film: The makers have highlighted that Kaabil is a ‘small film with a big heart’, but small film is not something that Hrithik does very often. Most of his films are high on budget and scale, both missing in Kaabil.

To sum it up, while the Kaabil trailer doesn’t really blow you away, there is nothing in there to dislike either. It’s a simple film with all the potential to be a big success at the box office.

The economics are perfect too. Trade sources say, the cost of producing the film was less than 40 crore (without including Hrithik’s fee). There are also reports that Rakesh Roshan has sold the domestic rights to distributors for a reasonable price too, so recovery should not be difficult inspite of competition from a big film.

The numbers:

We asked 26 people in the trade (including theatre owners, distributors, trade veterans etc) for their feedback on the trailer. The response was positive – 21 of them said the trailer was ‘good’, 5 said it was ‘average’, none said it was ‘poor’. None of these people were in any which way associated with Filmkraft Productions, Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, Sanjay Gupta or anyone related to the film. Opinions were from known and unbiased sources.

The audience response falls in the ‘fairly positive’ category too. In our poll on Twitter, when we asked if our followers liked the trailer, 62% people voted for ‘yes’ and 38% voted for ‘no’.

Did you like the #KaabilTrailer ?

— Indicine.com (@indicine) October 25, 2016

We have tied up with three exhibitors to get genuine opinion on the trailer. At one theatre from the Mysore circuit, we got 62 responses, 35 people said they’ll watch the film, 16 said they’ll wait for feedback / reviews, 11 said they’ll skip it. At another theatre in Mumbai circuit we asked 96 people, 53 said they’ll watch the film, 22 said they’ll wait for the reviews and 21 said they’ll skip it. In Delhi, out of 43 people that we asked, 26 said they’ll watch the film, 12 said they’ll wait for reviews and 5 said they’ll skip it.

We believe the response that we get from real people at theatres is far more accurate and unbiased as compared to Twitter and other online polls.

Here’s what some of them said (some comments have been translated from Hindi to English, as accurately as we possibly could):

• “Will watch it for Hrithik”
• “It was okay.. Certainly looks better than Mohenjo Daro” (Thik laga, Mohenjo Daro se toh acha hi hai)
• “Yami and Hrithik are looking good together”
• “Sanjay Gupta films are always crap (bekar)”
• “Would watch it, if Raees was not releasing on the same day”
• “Average trailer.. expected better”
• “Excellent background music”
• “Khatam mein karoonga” (a dialogue that’s been liked)

Movie	Trade Response	Audience Response	Our Rating
Wazir	Average	Average	6
Airlift	Winner	Outstanding	8
Kya Kool Hai Hum 3	Average	Poor	3
Mastizaade	Average	Poor	2
Saala Khadoos	Average	Good	7
Ghayal Once Again	Average	Average	4
Sanam Teri Kasam	Average	Average	4
Fitoor	Poor	Average	4
Neerja	Average	Good	8
Love Shhuda	Poor	Poor	4
Tere Bin Laden 2	Poor	Average	5
Jai Gangaajal	Average	Average	5
Teraa Suroor 2	Average	Poor	1
Kapoor & Sons	Winner	Good	7
Rocky Handsome	Average	Average	5
Ki And Ka	Winner	Good	7
Fan	Winner	Good	8
Baaghi	Winner	Good	6
1920 London	Average	Average	3
Azhar	Average	Average	4
Sarabjit	Average	Good	6
Housefull 3	Average	Average	5
TE3N	Negative	Average	7
Udta Punjab	Average	Average	6
Sultan	Unanimous Winner	Oustanding	8
Great Grand Masti	Winner	Average	6
Dishoom	Average	Average	5
Mohenjo Daro	Average	Average	7
Rustom	Winner	Good	8
Happy Bhaag Jayegi	Average	Average	6
A Flying Jatt	Winner	Average	7
Akira	Average	Average	5
Baar Baar Dekho	Average	Good	7
Shivaay	Winner	Oustanding	8
Raaz Reboot	Poor	Poor	3
Pink	Average	Good	7
MS Dhoni	Winner	Good	8
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil	Poor	Average	5
Force 2	Winner	Average	6
Befikre	Poor	Average	6
Rock On 2	Poor	Poor	4
Tum Bin 2	Poor	Poor	3
Kahaani 2	Good	Good	7
Dangal	Winner	Outstanding	8
Kaabil	Good	Good	7
Raees	Winner	Good	8