Abhimanyu Mathur (BOMBAY TIMES; June 28, 2019)

Spider-Man: Far From Home releases next week. One might assume that the studios’ biggest worries would be the opening night, the box office performance or even critical response. But executives are in overdrive to ensure one thing in particular – that their lead star does not inadvertently reveal some spoilers. After all, Tom Holland is a pro at that. Ever since he was introduced as the latest web-slinger in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, the British actor has gained a reputation for being a little too liberal with spoilers during interviews and press meets. He even ruined the ending of Avengers: Infinity War to an entire theatre, told his co-stars Zendaya and Jacob Batalan the ending of Endgame, and even accidentally revealed the title of Spider-Man: Far From Home on social media before its official announcement. Surely, the makers have every right to be concerned.

And it’s not as if the studios haven’t tried to stop Holland from his spoiling ways. In the past, they have resorted to having other ‘senior’ actors babysit Holland on press tours. Doctor Strange star, Benedict Cumberbatch, had that responsibility during the press tour for Avengers: Infinity War. “Benedict is a great partner for him on the press tour because he is very good at dancing around spoilers and monitoring Tom Holland,” the film’s co-director Anthony Russo had said in an interview.

For the sequel, the makers went one step ahead and did not even give the 22-year-old a script. The thought behind this? If he himself doesn’t know the details, he can’t spoil it for others. Earlier this year, Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo famously said, “Tom Holland does not get the script. He gets his lines and that’s it. He doesn’t even know who he’s acting opposite. We use vague terms with him to describe what is happening in the scene, because he has a hard time keeping his mouth shut.” In fact, they told him that a certain pivotal funeral scene in Avengers: Endgame was actually a wedding, when it was actually a funeral. “This is how bad it is for me. I was told it was a wedding,” the actor said at a press meet after the film’s release. No word of it a lie. “Yeah, sad times! I thought it was a wedding! I was so excited,” Holland said at a late-night show last month.

Yet still, there is no stopping Tom from revealing spoilers. At a press meet for Far From Home in Bali last month, Holland casually let it slip that him and Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhall) team up to fight “these creatures from other dimensions” (he said the whole thing right?) who come to Earth after Thanos’ snap in Endgame”. It was only after the audience’s cheers grew louder that he stopped and muttered a shocked “Oh!” Just how legendary are Holland’s spoiling skills is evident from the fact that he spoiled a movie when he wasn’t even a part of it. Holland learned the key plot points of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom from its director, who happens to be his friend. An excited Holland discussed all the points with the film’s lead actor, Chris Pratt, who was shooting for Infinity War with him at the time. The complication was that Pratt didn’t even know the plot to the film by that time. Imagine having your own movie being spoiled to you!

It’s not as if Holland isn’t aware of his ‘bad habit’. As he made his way to the stage for the press meet in Bali, he opened with, “So what can I say about this without spoiling it?” (before proceeding to spoil it regardless). Tom Holland’s credit, while other actors are reprimanded for breaking the no-spoiler code, Tom’s charm lets him get away with it. “What are you gonna do? He’s the nicest guy in the world, so you can never be punitive towards Tom Holland,” laments Avengers: Endgame co-director Anthony Russo.

SOME OF THE BIGGEST SPOILERS TOM HOLLAND LET SLIP

Told a theatre-full of people the ending to Avengers: Infinity War before the screening of the movie

Revealed that the Spider-Man series he is a part of is a trilogy even before the first film had released

Let it slip that the quantum realm played a role in the resolution of the Infinity Saga in Avengers: Endgame

Revealed the title of Spider-Man: Far From Home on his social media while posting a picture of the script

Revealed that Elementals enter Earth in Far From Home because of Thanos’ snap from Infinity War

Revealed the entire plot of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to Chris Pratt

The advance of AVENGERS: ENDGAME has topped all the Hindi releases till date in terms of NETT collections and there are still two days left. The film had only AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION (Hindi) ahead of it at end of business on Tuesday. The advance of TIGER ZINDA HAI was 24 crore nett apprx and THUGS OF HINDOSTAN was 26 crore nett apprx and the latter figure was crossed by AVENGERS: ENDGAME on Tuesday night.

It will beat AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR sometime today and then maybe get to BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION (Hindi). The BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION advance of 37 crore nett figure is Hindi only and AVENGERS: ENDGAME is released in regional languages also like BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION.

If we take South out of the equation then this Hollywood film is the biggest rage outside BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION in recent history and could challenge the circuit figures of all the big Hindi releases. The all India total is on course to be higher than all the Hindi releases due to the huge contribution down South. So it will be the circuit figures that will tell actually that this film is even the biggest in the Hindi markets.

At an all India level including South and all languages it will probably be the biggest ever after BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION and 2.0. If the film was allowed to release outside 2K theaters then it would have had a chance to beat 2.0 also.

There are two days left for the advance and if we take the biggest Hindi films they normally double up in the last two days and if that was to happen here it would be in an insane advance of 50 crore nett. But it wont happen due to a huge number of tickets have been sold already and its best day of advance will be the first day when for Hindi films in the recent past it is the Thursday.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME opened to a phenomenal advance on Saturday with a huge craze for tickets. The advance counters were opened on Saturday with tickets only available at certain places and it was mayhem. The film sold around 5 lakh tickets in a matter of a few hours which is historic.

Last year the biggest Hindi opener THUGS OF HINDOSTAN also opened advance on Saturday and had sold around 2 lakh tickets with more availability and that advance itself was big but this is a different level. The to two advances in history in terms of collections are BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS: ENDGAME is sure to beats its predecessor and maybe even BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION (Hindi).

The real comparison is AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR as BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION was a multiplex language release like AVENGERS: ENDGAME. So technically all languages have to be compared. The advance of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR was around 28 crore nett and AVENGERS: ENDGAME will reach that level with days to spare.

The release of the film will be around 1600 locations and 2600 screens as Hollywood does not allow release on the 2K screens. If they did this film could be going to 7000 plus screens across India. But its never about the screens but is there an audience out there and this film will prove that.

There is an increment in ticket prices from last time which will insure higher opening collections from the last film with the same occupancy but to beat the previous number by 50 or 60% its about the footfalls and getting a bigger audience in the first day.

Records are going to fall from advance to opening day to the weekend and its going to be interesting to see how far our Hindi circuits go as compared to a BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION and THUGS OF HINDOSTAN. It also remains to be seen whether it can actually get circuit records in our markets. The all India number is going to be huge but there is a huge contribution from the South circuits which don't collect much for Hindi films.

SANJU IS A BLOCKBUSTER; FIRST HALF OF 2018 ENDS ON A ROCKING NOTE!

Over the last few years, the mood of the Bollywood Talk posted in June-end or beginning of July is usually quite somber. After all, the first 6 months have more or less have been dull over the years. Last year, the first half ended on a disastrous note after the biggie Tubelight, starring Salman Khan, crashed in a few days and led to massive losses for its distributors. With such instances happening repeatedly in the first six months, the mood wasn’t that upbeat when 2018 commenced.

However, 2018’s first half has gone beyond expectations! Each month has been full of surprises and super hit films. Bollywood got it’s first blockbuster in January itself when Padmaavat released despite a slew of controversies. It didn’t release in almost 4 major states and yet, became a blockbuster, earning more than Rs 280 crore, a figure unheard for a January release before! February saw the surprise success of the comic caper Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. A film having a not-so-popular cast raked in almost Rs 100 crore and it led to cheer in the industry. March saw three back-to-back successes: Raid, Hichki and the monstrous blockbuster Baaghi 2. In April, the offbeat flick October, starring Varun Dhawan, could have easily flopped considering its niche appeal. But even this film did decent business! April ended with a high with the super-success of Avengers: Infinity War. The fun continued in May when 102 Not Out got the cash registers ringing. The excitement was there for Raazi but nobody imagined in their wildest dreams that it would do almost Rs 120 crore! This is a first for a women-centric film! Parmanu released all of a sudden sans any promotions and yet managed to cross the Rs 60 crore mark! The first day of June saw the release of Veere Di Wedding. Not many were sure if this flick would work considering its all-female cast and adult theme! But it worked and how! Race 3 got thumbs down and many expected it to go the Tubelight way. It fell after a point but not as badly as one expected and it’s lifetime is expected to be in the Rs 160 crore. And that’s not bad for a film that had negative buzz and terrible word of mouth.

And finally, Sanju released on June 29 and it proved to be an icing on the cake. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, it is the biopic of Sanjay Dutt and starring Ranbir Kapoor. The excitement for the film was significant. But who could have told that Sanju would be able to cross the coveted Rs 200 crore mark in just one week?! And this is terrific considering the somewhat dark theme and that Ranbir hasn’t had given a huge hit in a while. Some trade analysts even feel that it can cross the Rs 374.53 crore mark of Dangal and thus emerge as the biggest grosser ever of Bollywood! Even if that doesn’t happen, Rs 250 crore is at least on for Sanju and that’s tremendous!

Now all eyes are set on the second half which should be equally exciting. Films like Dhadak, Gold, Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se, Sui Dhaaga, Namaste England, Thugs Of Hindostan, Student Of The Year 2, Kedarnath, Total Dhamaal, Zero and Simmba should work big time and rake in a lot of moolah and impress audiences. The feeling is unimaginable and this is truly deserving and much needed, especially after a spate of dry years!

WILL THE AVENGERS IMPACT AFFECT DEADPOOL 2?

There was a time when Hollywood films weren’t a big threat to Hindi films. But sadly, times have changed. With Bollywood films becoming more and more urban and multiplex-friendly, there was a section of moviegoers who started staying away from Hindi films. Meanwhile, Hollywood films got better in terms of scale and grandeur. Films like 2012, Avatar, The Jungle Book, Jurassic World, Fast & Furious series and of course the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe started doing huge business. These films demanded a big-screen experience and most of them also were in 3D. And you can’t replicate a 3D experience at home or on your smartphones. This also led to aam junta coming out in hordes to see these Hollywood films, in dubbed versions if not in original English version.

The Jungle Book was the first Hollywood film to cross the 100-crore-mark and earned nearly Rs. 180 crore. It was expected that no other film would be able to break this record. But shockingly, Avengers: Infinity War which released last month managed to firmly overthrow this 2-year-record in just 10 days. Its lifetime collections are all set to be around Rs 225 crore mark. The opening was humongous and the biggest of the year, beating Baaghi 2 and Padmaavat.

Tomorrow, another superhero film is all set to arrive in cinemas – Deadpool 2. It is also a Marvel creation but is hatke – it’s an ‘R’ rated superhero flick. The first part was loved for its quirky humour and novel treatment. In India however, it was not huge and did around Rs 30 crore business. Yet, a section of trade and industry believes that Deadpool 2 can do huge business. They also cite that the word of mouth of the sequel in the west is outstanding.

However, it still might not give Deadpool 2 the edge. That’s because firstly it’s an adult film. As a result, a huge chunk of audiences are definitely going to stay away – the family crowd and children. Secondly, the success of the dubbed version is important to become a super hit or a blockbuster. Deadpool 2's Hindi version is voiced by Ranveer Singh and its trailer has been interesting. But the excitement is not tremendous. Also, Deadpool as a franchise is not big among the Indian masses, like Avengers or Fast & Furious. And lastly and most importantly, Avengers: Infinity War impact has still not waned. Audiences have just seen the biggest superhero film ever and Deadpool 2 can’t match that as it’s in a different league. As a result, many would prefer staying away from the Ryan Reynolds-starrer.

The opening can however be decent. The last Deadpool opened at 3.75 crore and this one can have around 6-7.50 crore opening. Deadpool’s lifetime collections were in the 30 crore range and if masses like the sequel, it can go to around 45-50 crore. Of course, this would be a great but those expecting blockbuster business would surely be disappointed!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DEADPOOL 2 AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Avengers Assemble, the first instalment of the franchise, was cherrypicked by Zakk Penn to script when Marvel offered him a platter of then upcoming superhero ventures to pick from
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; May 13, 2018)

At the time of doing this interview, we're closing in on a week since Avengers: Infinity War hit screens, and Zak Penn, for the second time during this conversation, reminds me that he's only going to watch it this evening. "Don't let any spoilers slip," he says, soon after we lament over the fact that Bruce Banner doesn't transform into the Hulk in the third instalment of the coveted franchise, the first part of which he co-wrote. We tell the celebrated screenwriter, with Marvel marvels like The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers and X Men: The Last Stand to his credit, that the news is common knowledge. He, in turn, says that he tries hard, "especially in this day and age", to stay away from facts made available on the Internet ahead of a film's release.

Penn makes it evident that he refrains from letting the hustle on social media blotch his vision before heading for a screening. It's probably what helps him follow his instincts when drafting storylines. Following your intuition can be worthy of the risk, he says, when he recalls how he was wrong to assume that the character of Thor wouldn't find acceptance in Marvel's Cinematic Universe. "The worry was that Thor is from an entirely mythical, non-science space, unlike [the one that] Iron Man and Captain America [come from]. [I thought] maybe, he wouldn't fit in with the rest of the characters. But Marvel was confident he would work. My instincts were wrong. He certainly looked like he belonged to the same universe. It was a risk they wanted to take, and it worked," he says, quick to add that the incredibly good looking muscle-man Chris Hemsworth as the demigod was also to be credited for making Thor believable. "Once they saw Chris, they were like, 'Whoop! There's Thor. He looks like Thor, so they said it will work."

Avengers Assemble, the first instalment of the franchise, was cherrypicked by Penn to script when Marvel offered him a platter of then upcoming superhero ventures to pick from. "I knew it would be challenging to make audience believe in this one big universe [where all the superheroes could come together]. It worked so well that it allowed them [Marvel] to explore greater depths of each character. And once these main characters worked, they started branching out into other characters, with entirely different tones and styles. Guardians Of The Galaxy is the perfect example of how they branched out. So, I knew [penning this film would be] the most exciting part."

While unquestionably subjective, we know we wouldn't be alone in confessing that Assemble does indeed harbour a special place in the hearts of Marvel fans. The successive instalments have been admirable, but not quite the spectacle that part one was. Penn reminds me that it is indeed subjective before adding that first interactions are always special. "All the work that led up to it was [magical]. This was the first time that you were seeing all the characters from the different movies come together, their stories interlinked. That was thrilling. We all knew it would be.

You can't underestimate the thrill of the first meeting. It was like the entire universe had finally come alive on the big screen. Also, first interactions between characters is always more interesting than the second or third one. In some cases, it's hard to juggle the characters. You can say you've never seen 70 characters together, but then, the story becomes even more important," he says, reminding us again that he's still not seen part three, which does in fact gather an array of superheroes — reportedly set at 23 — on screen. "With X men, it's easier [to bring characters together] because it's science fiction and has a thematic thread, like a persecuted minority, [that can be played with]. So, it's not hard to come up with a multiple-character plotline that resonates [with people]. With films like Avengers and Justice League, you have to keep generating larger threats to keep moving. And that doesn't always lead to better movies."

He doesn't deny that the characters have significantly evolved since the MCU first began to take shape. In fact, it's been a decade since one of Penn's early Marvel work, The Incredible Hulk, hit screens, and will air on Sony Pix on June 8 to mark its anniversary. Even as reports suggest Penn is lending his skills to yet another offering of the production, cinephiles are waiting for his other venture, the untitled Matrix film, with bated breath. "I'm not doing a sequel. The first trilogy has ended, and had its own conclusion," he says as soon as we breach the topic. It's been 15 years since the third part hit screens, and Penn admits it's been a long wait. While he alludes that directors The Wachowskis went on to "make an awesome bunch of other interesting movies and didn't come back to the Matrix", fans' departure from the series could have had something to do with part three.

"I'm not going to deny it. I think, some people were disappointed with the way it [franchise] ended. That probably dissuaded people [from wanting more of it]. But, I never felt that way. They [directors] felt like they were done, and then there were fans like me who felt like they weren't. So, I kept pushing for it [next instalment]." If indeed fans were dissuaded after the third offering, Penn knows he has a crucial task at hand as writer of the next part. "[If I want to garner fans' attention again] the pressure is on me to tell a great story." But, he leads us back to where we began from, when he talks about his approach to cinema. "I'm not writing the script thinking that I want those who loved the Matrix to come back and watch it. I'm writing it to get anyone who likes movie to see it. That's all you can strive for."

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR has become the seventh historic blockbuster from Hollywood in India as listed below. It could even become the biggest of them all in terms of adjusted gross but that will depend where the film finishes. At the moment THE JUNGLE BOOK is the biggest closely followed by TITANIC in terms of adjusted figures.

It all really started for Hollywood in 1994 with JURASSIC PARK which grossed around 7.50 crore nett which equates to 125 crore nett in value today. JURASSIC PARK and TITANIC are the only big hits in the single screen era as at that time it was difficult for Hollywood films to fill up 1000 seaters even if dubbed. The multiplexes changed the game and in the last three years the huge grossers from Hollywood have become more frequent.

The seven historic blockbusters from Hollywood in India is as follows.
1. Jurassic Park (1994)
2. Titanic (1998)
3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
4. 2012 (2009)
5. Fast & Furious 7 (2015)
6. The Jungle Book (2016)
7. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War is a legendary piece of cinema that would be remembered for years as it brings together so many superheroes seamlessly. There is no build up as such – the madness begins from the first scene itself and continues right till the end. The 149 minute entertainer is filled with some brilliant funny, emotional and dramatic moments that keep the interest going. At a few places, it did become predictable and the pace did drop towards the finale. But these are minor goofs and those waiting for this film desperately will be in for a treat! It will be difficult to talk about the performances as there are so many actors and all of them perform brilliantly. And each and every one of them has got sufficient screen space – that’s really commendable. Honestly, I haven’t seen all the parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hence a few things did go over my head. I sincerely hope to watch all the 19-20 parts of this series (including the current one) before the next Avengers releases in 2019. This series is really getting better and if Avengers: Infinity War is so awesome, one can’t help but expect Avengers 4 to be even better! Bring it on!

My rating - **** ½ out of 5!

DAAS DEV TO GET CRUSHED THANKS TO THE AVENGERS TSUNAMI!

It’s going to be one of the most significant Fridays of the year. Avengers: Infinity War, the world’s most awaited film, has generated tremendous excitement in India as well. It’s a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the series has become big in India after The Avengers released in 2012. Moreover, Iron Man 3 [2013] was also a big success, despite not being a film of a group of superheroes, a factor that had increased the excitement for The Avengers. The new Avengers film is very exciting since it has more than a dozen superheroes, including Spider-Man, Guardians Of The Galaxy characters, Doctor Strange, Black Panther etc. To witness all of them team up against a common enemy would be something to watch out for.

The advance of this film started on Sunday in India and the response was huge. It’s all set to take the biggest openings for a Hollywood film and there’s a possibility that it might cross the 25 crore figure of Baaghi 2’s opening day. Baaghi 2 is the biggest opener of the year so far and if Avengers: Infinity War will cross this figure, it would shock and awe the trade and industry. Once the historic weekend and first week is over, it depends on the response. That would ultimately decide if Avengers: Infinity War would be able to cross the lifetime figures of 187.98 crore of The Jungle Book, which is the biggest Hollywood blockbuster of India.

It’s also important to note that the dubbed versions play a big role in ensuring that Hollywood films become a success. Otherwise, the English version and fans of Marvel can’t help in taking the film cross 100 crore, even though their number is sizeable. Thankfully, Avengers is a successful Hollywood franchise, even among the masses. And looking at the advance sales of the dubbed versions of Avengers: Infinity War, it seems like that the masses are also going to lap up this new film happily.

Interestingly, Avengers: Infinity War is not the only film release of the week. Sudhir Mishra’s Daas Dev also releases on Friday and it stars Rahul Bhat, Richa Chadha and Aditi Rao Hydari. It is a modern contemporary take on Devdas in a political backdrop. The buzz for this film is negligible. Even if it had not come with Avengers: Infinity War, it would have still had a tough time. But now with Avengers: Infinity War releasing, it’ll find it tough to even get decent number of screens.

WHICH FILM WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; April 11, 2018)

Considering it’s one of the biggest releases of the year, the makers of Salman Khan’s Race 3 are drawing up an elaborate marketing strategy to promote the film. While most movies find their trailers attached to Bollywood’s big releases, the team felt that the superstar’s thriller deserves a bigger platform. In an interesting move, we hear, the trailer of the Anil Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez- starrer will be attached to Hollywood’s superhero release, Avengers: Infinity War that is scheduled to open on April 27.

A source reveals, “Avengers is expected to hit more than 2000 theatres in India. Attaching the Race 3 trailer stems from its expected viewership across the country. Salman enjoys a huge fan-following among the youth who are bound to watch the Hollywood film too.”

In the run- up to its June 15 release, the stars will be going all out with multi-city tours to promote the Eid offering. “With Salman joining the cast, the team wants the third outing to be bigger and better.”

Rana Daggubatti lent his voice for Thanos (inset) in the Telugu version of Avengers Infinity War; Amitabh Bachchan dubbed for The BFG and Varun Dhawan was the voice of the protagonist in Captain America: Civil War

Melissa D'Costa D'Silva (DNA; April 4, 2018)

Rana Daggubati — the antagonist Bhallaladeva in Baahubali — is the voice of Thanos in the Telugu version of the Avengers: Infinity War. Rana is one of the many actors who have dubbed for Hollywood characters for a regional audience. However, does a famous name guarantee box-office success? Why do studios continue to get popular actors to give voiceover to such films? These were some of the questions that we posed to industry experts. Here’s what they had to say.

TALENT V/S CONTENT
Critics of popular actors dubbing for regional versions of Hollywood flicks often have the misconception that talent and content are not on the same side. And, that’s not the case according to trade analyst Komal Nahta. He says, “When a studio approaches a popular actor to dub for a film, people are excited to see it because it has their favourite actor’s voice. At the same time, content is primary. If the film is bad, even if you get Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan to dub, it won’t work. The actor’s voice is like an embellishment that only enhances the content.”

TALENT HAS TO BE THE RIGHT FIT
Sources from studios echo Komal’s views. Vivek Krishnani, MD, Sony Pictures Entertainment, India, explains, “Getting Indian stars to dub for Hollywood films helps in building awareness and connect with audiences.” However, he adds that the decision of rendering a known star’s voice must be well-thought through and it should, along with their persona, suit the character.

He says, “Tiger Shroff, who dubbed for Spider-Man: Homecoming Hindi is a huge fan of Spider-Man and is one of the most popular youth icons in the country. His association worked really well for us in bringing the young audience.” The studio also had Rana dub for Inferno in Telugu and Ravi Kishan for the Bhojpuri version of Spider-Man 3, with similar success. “These associations create huge marketing buzz and PR around the film. But, it’s also important to get the script right as well — make a film more relevant with localised elements and humour, which regional audiences would enjoy,” Vivek explains.

MATCHING THE MANNERISMS
From an actor’s perspective, the voice has to match the mannerisms of the character. Actor Rajesh Khattar, who dubbed for Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Tony Stark (Avengers series), talks about how not having the right voice for a character can actually become a liability. He reasons, “Studios tend to approach popular actors because they want to grab eyeballs. When it comes to the south actors, this may work because they cater to a different kind of audience, and it might make a difference there. However, in the Hindi film space, having a famous name only works in specific cases.” He cites the example of Big B lending his voice to Steven Spielberg’s The Big Friendly Giant (BFG), which suited the character. “Getting a random star whose voice is not the right fit for the character but simply adds star value is avoidable as that can actually irk the audience,” Rajesh says.

Priyanka Chopra lent her voice for Kaa in Jungle Book; Shah Rukh Khan dubbed for Mr Incredible in The Incredibles; and Arjun Kapoor dubbed for Buck the Weasel in Ice Age: Collision Course.

ANIMATED FLICKS V/S LIVE ACTION MOVIES
While voicing for animated flicks is easier as it’s accepted readily, live-action movies can be a challenge for voiceover artistes and popular actors. Rajesh elaborates, “As voiceover artistes, we don’t transcribe; we translate. One has to communicate what the character is feeling, and introduce humour where needed with a regional flavour that the audience can relate to.” But there are times when things are not well-received by all. For instance, the reference to ‘infinity stones’ as ‘anant mani’ in the forthcoming Avengers flick’s Hindi trailer, which did not go down well with certain fans. Rajesh says, “The criticism has come from audiences who have seen the English trailer and are comparing it with the Hindi version. They are not really the target audience. The Hindi trailer is aimed at an audience that is eagerly awaiting this version as that’s the language they are more comfortable with.”

Then, there are fans of film franchises, who are obsessive about every minute detail associated with their favourite film franchise. So, getting a popular actor will not shield you from the brickbats. It will arouse curiosity and even set expectations. And while some assume that an actor’s fan base can bring in the audiences, there’s no way to actually measure whether the audience who came to watch a film did so because a particular star dubbed for it.

POPULAR STARS WHO HAVE DUBBED FOR HOLLYWOOD CHARACTERS

RANA DAGGUBATI
Thanos, Avengers Infinity War (Telugu, 2018)

ARSHAD WARSI
Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (2017)

TIGER SHROFF
Spider-Man, Spider-Man Homecoming (2017)

AMITABH BACHCHAN
The BFG (2016)

VARUN DHAWAN
Captain America, Captain America: Civil War (2016)

ARJUN KAPOOR
Buck the Weasel, Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

NANA PATEKAR, PRIYANKA CHOPRA, OM PURI, IRRFAN KHAN
Sher Khan, Kaa, Bagheera, Baloo respectively in Jungle Book (2016)

SONAKSHI SINHA AND IMRAN KHAN
Jewel and Blu, Rio 2 (2014)

VIVEK OBEROI
Electro, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

SHAH RUKH KHAN
Mr Incredible, The Incredibles (2004)

Arshad Warsi dubbed for Jack Sparrow in POC; Rajesh Khattar has dubbed for Iron Man in the Avengers series; and Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha voiced Blu and Jewel for Rio2.

One of the biggest box-office clashes of the year — between Padmanand Padmaavat— has been safely averted,but more films are set to lock horns at theatres in the year ahead. In such a scenario, let’s look at how Bollywood is planning to battle it out...
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 25, 2018)

If 2017 belonged to content-heavy, small-budget entertainers, the current year seems to be led by films heavy on star power and big budgets. With as many as 40 prominent films anticipating release in the remaining 11 months of 2018, Bollywood will witness a musical chair of sorts between various projects vying to find a suitable release window.

After Padmaavat announced its release date, Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary, which was initially scheduled for a Republic Day release, pushed its opening to February 9. Akshay Kumar’s Pad Man also deferred its release to February 9, allowing Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s visual extravaganza a clear two-week run.

Vivek Krishnani from Sony Pictures Entertainment, India, which backed Pad Man, says, “With 52 weeks and over 200 Hindi films lined up, it’s not possible to get a clear window. While Hollywood cannot be compared with Bollywood because of the difference in the overall share in revenue, content is the king across industries. Last year proved that formula films won’t work; we must also remember that the audience has diversified in terms of taste.”

MORE BIG CLASHES IN STORE
Luv Ranjan’s Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, which now releases on February 23, will clash with Welcome To New York and Hichki. March 2 is likely to see a face-off between Anushka Sharma’s Pari and John Abraham’s Parmanu. Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika — The Queen of Jhansi and Tiger Shroff ’s Baaghi 2 were initially slated for April 27 release. While the latter will now release on March 30, there’s no date announced for the period drama yet. April 27 also seems to be another Friday where fates will clash, with the release of Nikkhil Advani’s Baazaar, Rajinikanth’s 2.0 and Avengers: Infinity War. Over the years, popular Hollywood franchises have begun to threaten Hindi releases. No wonder then that Ekta Kapoor, who had marked May 18 for Veere Di Wedding, moved it to June 1 to make way for Deadpool. Another anticipated film of the year, Ranbir Kapoor’s yet-untitled Dutt biopic, will take Diljit Dosanjh’s Soorma head on on June 29. Like every year, Salman Khan will have his big Eid release with Race 3. This year, he will compete with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Fanne Khan and the next installment in the Incredibles series, unless one of them pushes their release date. On October 19, Ajay Devgn’s next with Luv Ranjan is expected to clash with Vidyut Jammwal’s Junglee, produced by Junglee Pictures.

Another biggie of the year will be Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero. There’s already a lot of buzz around the film, which, along with Sara Ali Khan’s debut film, Kedarnath, is aiming for a December 21 release. Buzz is, Shah Rukh and Rohit Shetty’s teams ensured that Zero doesn’t coincide with the Ranveer Singh-starrer, Simmba.

There’s an array of promising Hollywood content scheduled to open in India throughout the year, with or without a festive/holiday release window. Back home, for years, stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan Salman Khan have captured festive release windows like Diwali, Christmas and Eid, 12 to 18 months before release. Akshay Kumar is known to opt for national holidays like the Republic Day and Independence Day. Ajay Devgn and Hrithik Roshan also prefer avoiding clashes, but don’t usually back off in the face of competition.


SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Kamal Gianchandani of a leading cinema chain believes that while clashes in certain periods of the year are inevitable, there’s always room for two-three films to release on the same date. He explains, “Weekends are limited, and some are more important than the others. Clashes have become common because in a lot of cases, films feed off each other, which is a win-win situation for both. In other cases, the better content survives. As for the Hollywood fare, studios understand the dynamics of our business and are flexible now. If there’s a big Bollywood release on some weekend, they either release a week early or a week late in India.”

Stressing on the importance of selecting a release date way in advance, filmmaker Nikkhil Advani says, “When you make a film with a big star, freezing a release date in advance is important. There are many big films with big set-ups and so, clashes are inevitable. The only thing you can do is to ensure that your content is good, marketed well and enjoys great word-of-mouth publicity. Whether we have in-house competition or not, Hollywood has fast become a potential threat.”

Producer-director Aanand L Rai agrees. “If two films are from different genres, they won’t eat into each other’s business. On the contrary, they will feed off each other. The rest is a project’s destiny.”

FINDING TRUCE
Given the importance attached to an extended weekend, every filmmaker eyes a prized Friday for his film’s opening. Industry insiders point out that if multiple films decide to open simultaneously, it’s the single screens that face a dilemma. Multiplexes split shows in a mutually acceptable ratio, but bagging the better shows is usually a fight.

Independent distributor Amod Mehra believes that the division of screens tilts towards more commercial projects. “During most clashes, businesses individually get affected to the tune of 30 per cent. Besides, there’s always a promising Hollywood film around the corner; their box office presence has increasingly become powerful.”

Distributor Sunil Bansal, who operates from Rajasthan, believes that a clash is unfortunate for everyone. “A clash usually impacts 20-25 per cent of the ticket sales of films across the country, which is big,” he says.

Nitin Datar, the head of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, agrees, adding, “For the betterment of exhibitors, producers must find a way to co-exist because these days, every producer wants the lion’s share of the prime shows.”


WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S HOPE
In recent history, films like Raja Hindustani and Ghatak, Dil and Ghayal, Lagaan and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Veer-Zaara and Aitraaz, Taare Zameen Par and Welcome, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son of Sardaar, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay, Raees and Kaabil, Baadshaho and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Golmaal Again and Secret Superstar have released together, with both the films raking in the moolah.

Manoj Desai, who runs single screen cinemas in Mumbai, says, “I wish the big films would come on separate weekends. It will benefit us and them. It’s a tight-ropewalk for businesses like ours to provide room to all the players, without foul play and unnecessary hikes in ticket prices.”

P V Sunil, the managing director of a leading cinema chain, points out that while clashes create options for cine lovers, cinema chains have to tackle advertisers, who are selective about the films they want to advertise with. “We have seen a situation like that with Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale. Cannibalisation is inevitable with so many films but with great content, we hope the audience will turn up across the next 48 weekends.”

* The release dates mentioned in this article have not been finalised and are subject to change.

POSSIBLE BOX-OFFICE CLASHES THIS YEAR

FEBRUARY 9:
Padman and Aiyaary

FEBRUARY 23:
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Welcome To New York and Hichki

MARCH 2:
Pariand Parmanu

APRIL 27:
Bazaar, 2.0 and Avengers: Infinity War

JUNE 15:
Race 3, Fanne Khan and The Incredibles 2

JUNE 29:
Sanjay Dutt biopic and Soorma

OCTOBER 19:
Ajay Devgn’s next and Junglee

DECEMBER 21:
Zero and Kedarnath

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 17, 2018)

While Pad Man and Padmaavat gear up for a clash at the box-office this Republic Day weekend, there has been a massive reshuffling of release dates for the summer with two Hollywood superhero franchises hitting Indian screens. Not too keen on a faceoff with them, Bollywood filmmakers have pushed their releases around.

Ekta Kapoor, when told that Fox Star Studios had zeroed in on May 18 for Deadpool 2, quickly shifted her all-girl drama, Veere Di Wedding, to June 1. “The first Deadpool was a worldwide success and Ekta did not want to divide her audience. Also, June 1 is her nephew Laksshya’s second birthday and she believes it’s a lucky date,” a spokesperson from Balaji Motion Pictures told Mirror. The film features Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania.

While it was only two films at loggerheads in Ekta’s case, there was a lot of action scheduled for April 27 since it’s a lucrative period aided by summer holidays. The Rajinikath-Akshay Kumar-starrer 2.0, Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi sequel and Kangana Ranaut’s period-drama Manikarnika were all gearing up for a BO clash. But with Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War now releasing on April 27 (a highlight of sorts since the Indian release is an entire week ahead of the superhero film’s release on May 4) B-townies have decided not to risk it. “Baaghi 2 was moved a month ahead to March 30, while 2.0 was shifted to April 14. Manikarnika’s release date remains unannounced,” an Indian spokesperson for the Hollywood film informed Mirror.

Only Nikkhil Advani is ready to brave Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. His Saif Ali Khan-starrer Baazaar, directed by Gauravv Chawla, is on schedule. “We’re on for April 27,” Nikkhil confirmed.