WILL ANURAG’S DREAM PROJECT HIT THE BULLSEYE?

The much awaited and anticipated film Bombay Velvet is finally hitting theatres tomorrow. Interestingly, the trade experts are divided over the film’s fate. While some feel it will bomb, a section of them believe that the film can work and grow by word of mouth.

Bombay Velvet is directed by Anurag Kashyap and is inspired from Gyan Prakash’s book ‘Mumbai Fables’. Anurag had the script with him for almost 10 years and the book and the movie was supposed to come out together. But since the film got delayed, the book came out first. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in leading roles. Karan Johar plays the villain and looks quite dashing. The film also stars Kay Kay Menon, Manish Chaudhari, Satyadeep Mishra and Raveena Tandon. The music is by Amit Trivedi and the jazz inspired songs are outstanding. Amit reportedly has worked on the music for almost 4-5 years. The other brilliant aspects of the film are its sets. The makers erected the Bombay of 50s/60s in Sri Lanka. And it looks so bloody authentic! The VFX by Prana Studios make it seem even more real.

However, the challenges faced by Bombay Velvet are immense. The film got delayed after PK ‘grabbed’ away its release date (Xmas 2014). Then, the VFX took time. Meanwhile, reports started pouring in that there’s a rift between Team Anurag and co-producers Fox Star Studios over the budget and the duration. Such reports became so frequent that Anurag began losing cool every now and then on Twitter and even at public events. Moreover, the trailer didn’t get unanimous praise. Many began to wonder how the film will be able to recover its huge costs (officially, it’s Rs 80 crore but it’s believed to be around Rs 110-120 crore). The film needs to make at least Rs 175 crore in order to be qualified as a hit. And seeing the response to the promos, it doesn’t look like it’ll happen. The word of mouth might help the film but till what extent it’ll help remains to be seen. After all, Bombay Velvet is not a massy film that will be a hit even in the interiors.

Nevertheless, Bombay Velvet looks like a genuine sincere product and it’s evident that the makers have tried giving the audience something different, sensible and entertaining. Here’s hoping it works, especially if it’s a well-made film!

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