ALL IS WELL VS MANJHI – THE MOUNTAIN MAN!

Two moderately-budgeted films are all set to release tomorrow. Both films face challenges and it’ll be difficult to predict which film will perform better. My analysis:

ALL IS WELL: It is directed by Umesh Shukla, who made the much loved OMG Oh My God. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Rishi Kapoor and Supriya Pathak in leading roles. It’s a fun family entertainer and also a road movie. It is produced by T-Series and they have gone all out in marketing the flick. The film was to be a quickie and the shoot was to be completed in 45 days. And initially Smriti Irani was in place of Supriya Pathak and she even shot for many days for the film. But after she became the minister in the Union government, she found it difficult to allot dates for the film. At the end, she bowed out of the film amicably and Supriya took over. All this delayed the film, naturally. Being a T-Series film, the songs were expected to be chartbusters but that hasn’t happened at all. Even the trailer got a mixed response. Hence, the excitement for the film is very limited and this will surely impact the film’s collections on Day 1. If the film is good, only then it can pick up. Otherwise, it can prove disastrous.

MANJHI – THE MOUNTAIN MAN: It is the biopic of Dashrath Manjhi, who spent 22 long years in breaking a mountain and shortened distance between two places from 55 kms to 15 kms. Manjhi is essayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte plays the wife whose unfortunate demise motivates Manjhi to break the mountain. The film’s shoot began 2012 and it took a while for the film to release as there was a court case going on. The film is directed by Ketan Mehta. The subject is interesting but not very massy. But the trailer has been very impactful and has caught everyone’s eye. Nawazuddin looks outstanding and the dialogues of the film have already caught on. What goes against the film is whether it has a pan-India appeal. Also, shockingly 10 days before, the print of the film got leaked. A section of viewers hence have already seen the film. This can affect the collections. But in the past, a film like Slumdog Millionaire also worked despite it’s good quality print being available online since many months before the India release. Hence, Manjhi – The Mountain Man can still work. It looks like a sincere and genuine effort and here’s hoping it works, especially if it’s made well!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ALL IS WELL OR MANJHI – THE MOUNTAIN MAN AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!