Vickey Lalwani and Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 28, 2014)

Two years ago, Bollywood tided over its first quarter woes with an unexpected high as Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani raced past the Rs 50 crore mark at the box-office. The director’s professional obituary had been written the day he announced a thriller involving a pregnant Vidya Balan and a virtually unknown cast, but Sujoy’s heroine proved the calculations wrong. And by the fourth week he was jubilant: “Content is not just king but queen too.”

Cut to 2014. A Queen is ruling the box-office again, her closest challenger being a ‘horrex’ powered by former porn star, Sunny Leone, which has grossed over Rs 35 crore in less than a week in India itself while Queen has already hit a half century.

Anand Vishal, Head of Operations, Fun Cinemas, informs that Ragini MMS 2 is being patronised by youngsters, including girls, and Queen is drawing women in the afternoon shows. While he exults about “woman power”, Queen’s director Vikas Bahl maintains, “You can make films with men, women, washing machines and dogs. As long as the content is good they will sell.”

Trade analyst Amod Mehra attributes the success of these films to the timing of their release. “They released during exam season when the only entertainment is cricket and the audience was hungry for films. Queen’s protagonist Rani struck a chord with contemporary women who make up a large share of the multiplex audience,” he reasons.

Madhur Bhandarkar, who has made a career out of woman-centric films, from Chandni Bar to Heroine, admits that the growth of multiplexes has contributed hugely to the success of films which revolve around a female protagonist. “Shyam Benegal’s Ankur and Bhumika would release in a couple of theatres in matinee shows. In comparison my Heroine opened in 1100 screens and even though the budget had escalated from Rs 1.50 crore for Chandni Bar to Rs 21 crore for Heroine, it was able to cover its cost in the first three days itself,” he maintains.

Madhur who is currently busy with two women-centric films—Madamji and Calender Girls--insists that sticking to a limited budget is key to a film’s success. As all his heroines slashed their market price for a ‘performance-oriented role’, he has been able to allay the fears of producers and distributors who still don’t believe that a viewer will never spend Rs 300 to watch a cast toplined by an actress.

“Producers have come to realise that the exorbitant fees charged by the leading heroes, leaves them with hardly anything even if the film is a superhit,” says another trade analyst Taran Adarsh, pointing out that Ramesh Taurani refused to cast Saif Ali Khan recently when he reportedly demanded Rs 20 crore.

Taking the thought further, Anubhav Sinha who recently produced the Madhuri Dixit-Juhi Chawla starrer, Gulaab Gang, lists four ingredients that cook up a hit—subject, budget, music and timing of release. “We didn’t lose money while Queen and Ragini MMS 2 are raking in the moolah. It’s a positive sign,” he asserts.

Ekta Kapoor, the producer of the horror hit, reinforces this opinion pointing out that while she backs content and not gender, she foresees a time when almost half, if not more, of the film scripts will be dominated by women. “Personally, the heroines make me count,” she asserts.

Leading distributor Ramesh Sippy reminds us that even English Vinglish, led by Sridevi, did good business, so did Rekha’s Jeevan Dhaara and Raakhee’s Tapasya. “Women-centric films boast of better narratives, especially if driven by an able director,” he avers.

There are a series of heroine-centric films coming up apart from the usual suspects. These include Pradeep Sarkar (Mardaani), Indra Kumar (Super Nani with Rekha), Subhash Ghai (Kaanchi introducing Mishti Mukherjee) and Sanjay Gupta who is collaborating with an LA-based production house on a Hindi-English remake of a foreign language film revolving around a woman protagonist and two important male characters. “It’s such a thrill to be finally doing a woman-centric subject in Hollywood,” exults Gupta, who is best known for his testosterone pumping whodunits.

Ad filmmaker Sai Kabir is gearing up for his first film, another Kangana Ranaut starrer, Revolver Rani, and is enthused by the success of Queen as the market is “upbeat”. He is already working on a dozen other scripts, all of them women-centric.

Ishqiya and Dedh Ishqiya director Abhishek Chaubey's next film is set in Punjab with an ensemble cast and one “kickass woman character.”And Devang Dholakia is working on what is being hyped as India’s first 'chick flick' with Sunny Leone and Karishma Tanna, leading the cast.

Explaining the trend Imtiaz Ali whose Highway showcased Alia Bhatt as an actress, points out that the audience has always been ready to accept the heroine being more than an eyecandy. “And now they are more ready than ever before,” he asserts.

But Tanuj Garg, co-producer of Ragini MMS 2, warns filmmakers not to get carried away because, “nobody wants to see a bad film with a good actress”.

Scriptwriter Robin Bhatt endorses his view, saying that the film industry has a herd mentality and it is not woman power but just good content that has succeeded.

So, in the end we come a full circle with Sujoy’s assertion, “Content is king, and queen too.”

3 MODERATE RELEASES THIS WEEK!

While last week, 4 films hit screens, this Friday shall see the release of 3 diverse moderately-budgeted films. Sadly, the buzz for all the 3 movies isn’t significant. My views:

O TERI: It is produced by Salman Khan’s brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri and hence, Salman is actively promoting the film and even features in the film’s title song. It stars Pulkit Amrohi, Bilal Amrohi, Sarah Jane Dias in leading roles and is partly inspired by the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam. The promos indicate that it’s a fun satire and if made well, it can be in the league of Fukrey and if possible, even Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. Except the title song, the other songs failed to make a buzz. Opening would be poor and the film can pick if response is positive.

YOUNGISTAAN: It is the fifth film of Jackky Bhagnani and as always, Youngistaan has failed to create excitement, despite the fact that promotions have been content-driven. In fact, out of all Jackky films, Youngistaan looks the most sensible. Sadly, audiences aren’t interested much in Jackky and this can affect the film, despite the movie being worth a watch. Songs have gradually picked up. The film is one of the last flicks of Farooq Sheikh.

DISHKIYAOON: Harman Baweja is back and this time, he is getting more compliments and fewer brickbats! It is the maiden production venture of Shilpa Shetty, who also appears in the film in a sizzling item song. Also starring in Dishkiyaoon is Sunny Deol, Aditya Pancholi, Prashant Narayanan and others. Tu Hi Hai Aashiqui has caught attention. The film might get a chance in mass belts bur even then, it can have a tough time at the box office.

WHICH FILM YOU LIKE TO SEE AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!
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QUEEN CREATES HISTORY!

After the advent of multiplexes, it’s become a norm for all films to earn the maximum amount of money in the first week. Then the collections gradually drop in the subsequent weeks. However, Queen brought back the days when the second week collections used to be more than the first week earnings! The Kangana Ranaut-starrer had a poor opening but the word of mouth was amazingly positive. Hence, the collections dramatically took a jump on Day 2 and 3 and the film sustained very well in the weekdays, stunning industry people and fans. The second weekend was even better and that Holi fell on Monday give the film an extra boost. Even in week 3, Queen was steady as ever, despite competition from Ragini MMS 2.

What’s interesting to know is that Queen is not a regular Bollywood entertainer. It has no herogiri moments, dialoguebaazi and didn’t ride on cheap gimmicks like item songs, link up stories etc. And due to these aspects, the film did have a tough time and it reflected in the first day collections. However, the film touches hearts like very few films do and it’s entertaining. These 2 factors have helped the movie big time. It once again proves that content and sincerity will go a long way in winning audiences’ hearts! Way to go!

The mass circuits held up strongly with some circuits showing just 40% drop from Friday. The business of RAGINI MMS 2 over the first four days has been as follows.

Friday - 8,10,00,000
Saturday - 7,00,00,000
Sunday - 8,20,00,000
Monday - 4,25,00,000
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QUEEN is showing no signs of slowing down as its collections on third Monday were just a little lower than Friday. The film collected a little over 1 crore nett on its third Monday

The film has grossed around 47 crore nett so far and will be around 50 crore nett by the end of its third week. It seems like the film still has steam left and could finish with a total of 60 crore nett. A similar film KAHAANI had grossed a little under 58 crore nett and QUEEN  is on course to surpass that figure.

The film is collecting better than RAGINI MMS 2 at many multiplexes despite being in its third week. QUEEN could see a weekday collections in the same range range over the four days as that has been its trend over the first two weeks.

RAGINI MMS 2 dropped on its second day as it collected around 7 crore nett taking its two day total to around 15.25 crore nett. The drop is around 10-15% on day two but the first day was affected by India v Pakistan cricket match in the evening so the in real terms the drop is more.

Still despite the drop the collections the 15 crore nett plus figure is a good two day number for the film but it will be hit again on Sunday as India feature in another cricket match in the evening.

The film is doing better in single screens but the match will hit the last show badly at single screens so its likely that Sunday again will either be in Friday or Saturday range.
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RAGINI MMS 2 had a good first weekend of around 23.25 crore nett. The film had to contend with the cricket matches over the three days which probably hit the film for around 10% business in the three days.

The film did very well at single screens but city multiplexes saw limited appreciation as they did not have a good trend over the weekend. A similar film JISM-2 released in 2012 grossed 21 crore nett over its first weekend including paid previews. That film did not trend too well and ended up with around 35 crore nett business and it could be a similar story with Ragini MMS 2 though a higher starting point should ensure the business of that film is beaten.

The weekend has ensured the film is a success. The hope for the weekdays for Ragini MMS 2 will be single screens as they have done very well all over over the weekend and if they sustain then the film could get a good two week run and emerge a hit.
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QUEEN recorded the best third weekend figures of the year by a distance as it collected around 6.75-7 crore nett. JAI HO had grossed around 2.25 crore nett and GUNDAY around 1.50 crore nett in their respective third weekends.

Even if we look at last years releases then the third weekend is better than films like KRRISH 3, GOLIYON KI RAASLEELA RAM-LEELA and AASHIQUI 2. The total collection of the film is now 46 crore nett after seventeen days.

The 50 crore nett mark will be surpassed by the end of the week and the film is now heading for a final total close to 60 crore nett and may even hit 60 crore nett if it gets the screenings over the next two weeks.

The film will have tougher competition this week in the form of RAGINI MMS 2 and the T20 World Cup starting. But the film is established now and has maintained its screenings well in the third week. Hence, a 50 crore nett total should not be too difficult.
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QUEEN grossed around 1.25 crore nett on the first day of its third week which is excellent. The film had competition of new release which opened very well in the form of RAGINI MMS 2 and a big cricket match but still showed a small drop of around 30-35% from the previous day.

The film will show a big jump on Saturday which has been the trend over the first weeks and here the reports of RAGINI MMS 2 are not too encouraging. If the reports of that film reflect in collections then QUEEN will get the advantage.

The weekend of QUEEN should come in the 6-7 crore nett range and it is not out of the question that it manages to cross 10 crore nett for the third week.

The film will have similar week two collections to KAHAANI despite having a lower starting point of 1.75 crore nett compared to the 2.75 crore nett starting point of KAHAANI. It will be no surprise if the film holds in the third week despite competition.

QUEEN had a low first week collection of 18.82 crore nett but the weekdays held up very strong as the collections were in the 2-2.25 crore nett range in the Mon-Thurs period. The film grossed around 9.50 crore nett in the weekend and 9.32 crore nett in the weekdays.

Hence, the film has collected more than 90% of its weekend figure in the weekdays which is very rare. The collections on the morning of its 8th day were better than its first morning at many places.

WILL THE RECESSION-BASED ROMCOM IMPRESS VIEWERS?

Ayushmann Khurrana, who made a smashing debut as actor and singer with Vicky Donor (2012) is back with his third film – Bewakoofiyaan. Produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Nupur Asthana (who previously made the much loved Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge), the film also stars Sonam Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor. The film is a slice-of-life drama of a marketing executive in an airline company who loses his job during recession at a time when his girlfriend has just introduced him to her father. The trailer is decent and nothing great and same goes for songs. Ayushmann-Sonam look great together though. Sonam’s bikini avatar for the first time did grab eyeballs. The film however looks fresh and most importantly, relatable and is just 119 minutes long.

What goes against the film is the buzz is moderate. It might attract viewers, if public reaction is positive. The film has several advantages too. It’s the solo release and from last week’s three releases, only Queen would give a tough competition. Secondly, the costs of the film are reasonable. Thirdly, there’s a holiday on Monday March 17th (on account of Holi). Hence, Bewakoofiyaan will have a four-day weekend and this can help the film economically.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE BEWAKOOFIYAAN AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!
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QUEEN IS A SUCCESS!

That Queen would be an entertaining flick was evident from the promos itself. But the response from audiences has been pleasantly surprising. I have not come across a single person who hasn't liked it! In fact, people haven’t just liked, they have loved it! The film is a simple story, told in a simple fashion and is laced with real characters and real situations. That’s precisely the reason why Queen works big time. And not to forget, Kangana Ranaut delivers what many consider one of the best performances ever!

It’s sad when several well-made films don’t excel at the box office. Queen thankfully is proving to be an exception. It had a poor start but dramatically picked up from Day 2. It didn’t fell in the weekdays – a sign that audiences have accepted the film.

If the film sustains in Week 2, it’ll prove to be a Hit. And that surely would be great!

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GULAAB GANG and TOTAL SIYAPAA had low collections on Monday as both came down 50% on Monday. Gulaab Gang grossed around 1 crore nett on Monday while Total Siyaapa was around 50 lakhs nett

The combined collections of both films were less than QUEEN which is the only film to survive of the three. GULAAB GANG is relatively better in the mass circuits where it has higher collections than QUEEN even on Monday but multiplexes are extremely low.

QUEEN showed the best growth on Saturday as it collected around 3-3.25 crore nett with growth of around 75-80%.Still despite the huge growth collections are not impressive as day one was too low. If the film had collected the Saturday figure on day one and then shown similar growth from there then it would be a different story for the film.

GULAAB GANG also managed to show good growth as it collected around 2.75-3 crore nett. The growth was around 40% but its the same story as QUEEN with opening levels being too low. Both QUEEN and GULAAB GANG have grossed 5-5.25 crore nett approx in two days

TOTAL SIYAPAA showed the least growth as it collected 1.25 crore nett on its second day taking its total to around 2.25 crore nett. The film has performed better in Delhi city and East Punjab but even there collections are still dull.

Box Office India Trade Network
QUEEN grossed around 1.75-2 crore nett on its first day. The film only managed to collect at some premium multiplexes of metros and that too as it was stronger in the evening after a dull start.

The film had better collections in Mumbai city, Delhi NCR and Bangalore as the rest of India failed to collect much especially the Central India circuits. The film should grow on Saturday but the starting point is low and it will have to a have phenomenal gains to make an impact.

HIGHWAY which had a similar release as QUEEN grossed 3.25 crore nett on day one and that was also below the mark.

GULAAB GANG could not do much at the box office as it collected around 2-2.25 crore nett on its first day though it collected best out of the three new releases due to a higher screen count and better business in the mass circuits of UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, CP Berar, CI and Gujarat.

TOTAL SIYAPAA was the worst of the three releases as it collected around 1 crore nett on its first day with only select multiplexes of North India having worthwhile collections.

Like QUEEN, both GULAAB GANG and TOTAL SIYAPAA also need big jumps on Saturday to make an impact but it will be tough as TOTAL SIYAPAA is too low and even a phenomenal jump will not help much and GULAAB GANG has best collections in mass pockets which tend to jump less on Saturday.
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SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS fell badly on day eight as it collected around 75 lakhs nett on its 8th day which is a drop of over 85% from its first day. The film will not have been affected much by the new releases as they did not do much.

QUEEN had mediocre collections in multiplexes while GULAAB GANG was mainly for single screens. The film had a dull weekday performance which led to programmers giving it less shows in week two. The film could have done a bit better if it had more shows as new releases are below the mark.

SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS will have good growth on Saturday and the weekend should go over 3 crore nett, maybe a little more depending on growth but that is pretty low second weekend business.