Harshada Rege (DNA; October 17, 2017)

When Aamir Khan decided to release his supposedly small film Secret Superstar on Diwali, not much was expected from the film. It was dressed as a small-budget film with a small actor as the protagonist, a small release, and Aamir in a cameo.

But now, with the release day around the corner and Khan blatantly promoting the film, it is clear that this is not the chota picture everyone expected it to be. The makers of the big Diwali release, ­Golmaal Again, were not concerned about this film until recently when the buzz of both films having an equal number of screens began doing the rounds. According to sources, Aamir has personally called distributors and requested more screens for his film.

Though initially, Secret Superstar was seen as a niche film, that is no longer the case. It will have as wide a release as the Rohit Shetty film. While the division of theatres may make little difference to the big-budget bonanza, trade analysts believe that there won’t be any major hiccup at the box office as the movies are drastically different in their content and appeal.

MOOLAH MATTERS
When it comes to box-office numbers, trade analysts have no doubt that Secret Superstar won’t hinder Ajay Devgn-starrer Golmaal Again's chance. GA is expected to make Rs 28 crore on day one. With more theaters for SS, that number might drop a bit. Says Girish Johar, film business and trade analyst, “Secret Superstar will make no difference to Golmaal Again’s business. Everyone knows that Aamir Khan has a very special appearance in the film and Golmaal Again will open much bigger than Secret Superstar. It will be a high-content film, which will start slow.”

CAN THEY CO-EXIST?
Akshaye Rathi, film exhibitor, columnist, and entrepreneur, feels that this will be a case of co-existence and not a clash. “Contrary to perception, what I see is a great co-existence than a clash, for the simple reason that showcasing and the number of screens and shows is one thing, what’s more important to look at here is the kind of audience that both these films are aiming for. Clearly, 90 per cent of the people who will care about or be excited about Golmaal Again won’t care much for a Secret Superstar, similarly, 90 per cent of those watching Secret Superstar won’t be gung-ho about Golmaal Again. There will be a clear demarcation between the urban and the rural markets, and the single screen and the multiplexes. Secret Superstar is clearly an urban film, while Golmaal Again is more universal.”

NUMBER OF SCEENS CAN CHANGE
Post the release of a film, it’s eventually the footfalls that decide how many shows a film will get or how long it will run at a theatre. Girish says, “If the audience doesn’t like the film, then it won’t matter who has how many screens. For any film, the number of shows can be increased or reduced from Saturday itself. See what happened with Newton. It had one show on Friday, on Saturday there were two shows, on Sunday those went up to three, and on Monday it had four. If the content is good everything will go right, if not then things can change any time. Everyone wants to make money at the box office, even the exhibitors.”