Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; June 24, 2016)

The much-awaited sequel to the 1996 Hollywood blockbuster, Independence Day, which hits theatres today, seems to be the hot choice among exhibitors and distributors.

Multiplexes across big cities have shown preference for Independence Day: Resurgence over the six Bollywood films releasing today by allotting maximum screens to it.

According to trade sources, the sci-fi flick will release on 1800-2000 screens across the country while Hindi films like Raman Raghav 2.0 and Junooniyat have merely been allotted 500-700 screens each. The other smaller B’wood releases — Rough Book, A Scandall, and 7 Hours To Go — have managed to get 200-300 screens each for themselves.

“The buzz around the Independence Day sequel is quite strong in the Indian market and none of the Hindi films comes close to it, which clearly reflects in their screen count,” says a source.

Exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi says Independence Day: Resurgence is undoubtedly the biggest release of the week with not only more screens for itself but also expected to leave Bollywood far behind in the box office game. “Its collection is likely to be more than the figures of all Hindi releases this week put together, that too when Hollywood films have a screen count limitation since they release only at cinemas that have DCI-compliant projectors,” he explains.

Girish Johar of Zee Studios says, “It’s a big film and expectations are huge. The first film had done exceedingly well in 1996 and this outing is expected to take a flying start, much bigger than that of the Hindi releases this week.”

SMALL BUDGET FILMS TO TRY THEIR LUCK THIS FRIDAY!

Bollywood makers never learn some lessons. It is no rocket science to understand that almost dozens of small-budget films releasing together that too in the 'dry' pre-festive period will lead to disastrous collections. Yet, the makers never learn and go ahead and schedule their release in this period. Tomorrow will see the release of as many as 6 Hindi films besides a big Hollywood movie and a big Marathi film. And yet again, it'll be the regional and Hollywood film that will do better than the Hindi releases, though the Hindi film Raman Raghav 2.0 can excel. My analysis on these films:

RAMAN RAGHAV 2.0: This is directed by Anurag Kashyap and is inspired from the life of notorious serial killer Raman Raghav. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the murderer and from the promos, he looks awesome. Vicky Kaushal plays the cops and he seems to have had a 360 degree turn when compared to his good boy avatar in Masaan. The trailer is interesting but it's an adult film and is meant for niche audience. With buzz being limited, the collections will be limited as well. But it's a very low budget film and if the audience accepts it, then it can turn out to be a profitable venture.

JUNOONIYAT: It marks the return of the Sanam Re pair Yami Gautam and Pulkit Samrat. Interestingly, they shot for this film before Sanam Re. Both look great together but the movie looks very ordinary. Songs did catch attention for a while and then fell down. Since it looks like a clean love story and has known faces, it can take a slightly better opening than other releases. But becoming a Hit is out of question

SHORGUL: It is based on the 2013 Muzzafarnagar riots. Production values are a bit tacky but the film looks interesting and hard-hitting. Jimmy Sheirgill especially seems dashing. A song in the film is written by former minister Kapil Sibal. The makers claim that they have got death threats for making this politically sensitive film. Reports also emerged that the film is banned in Muzzafarnagar district. However, these news pieces haven't aroused any curiosity for the film

7 HOURS TO GO: This looks like a nice thriller and stars Shiv Pandit, Sandeepa Dhar, Natasa Stankovic and Varun Badola. The action scenes in the film do grab attention but it's not something that will compel viewers to spend Rs 300 and experience it in theatres. It is directed by Saurabh Varma, whose last film Mickey Virus also released in similar circumstances alongside many releases.

A SCANDALL: This is marketed as an erotic film but the actors claim it's much more than that. It stars Johny Baweja, Reeth Mazumder and Manav Kaul. The promotion of this film began with a leaked clip of Johny and Reeth. Then came reports that cousin Harman Baweja has 'disowned' Johny for the sex tape row! All these and erotic trailers haven't really helped the film and this will reflect in its opening

ROUGH BOOK: It is directed by Ananth Mahadevan and deals with the commercialization of education. It looks a bit similar to Chalk & Duster that released earlier this year. The lack of word of mouth for this film is shocking. It's going to have disastrous collections, like Mahadevan's last year (well-made) film Gour Hari Dastaan.

Besides, there's also Independence Day: Resurgence (sequel to the much loved Independence Day) and the Marathi film Ekk Albela (biopic on Bhagwan Dada; also features Vidya Balan in a cameo as Geeta Dutt) that will release. And both these films can do a better job than the Hindi releases.

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

P.S.: While going for publication, it was learnt that Shorgul has been postponed to next Friday (July 1).

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 20, 2016)