First weekend performance of latest release

After being in news for around an year, it was time for 'Traffic Signal' to prove itself at two places - a) To live up to the expectations that come with the name 'Madhur Bhandarkar' and b) The Box Office. As is the case since the time Madhur's 'Chandni Bar' arrived, 'Traffic Signal' too met with mixed reviews, which meant they ranged from downright nasty, to 'just-about-fine' to 'what-a-cinematic-journey'! Now this didn't quite come as a surprise since it was always expected, especially for a subject like this which has never been attempted before and was anyways never supposed to cater to all segments of audience.

Hence while critics were divided, even audience had their own way to look at the final product. While those looking for escapist cinema weren't really kicked about venturing into the theaters to watch the film, those who love to watch some new cinema were excited all this while with most coming out of the exit gates satisfied.

In terms of performances, each and every character has made a place for himself/herself, ranging from the film's lead Kunal Khemu to even a young kid who plays 'Tsunami'. Whether it is Ranvir Shorey, Konkana Sen, Neetu Chandra, Upendra Limaye....the list is endless for some memorable performances! In the kind of scenes and the duration they have been required to be in front of camera, everyone has given his/her best to Bhandarkar.

In totality, the film may not be the best ever by Madhur but does bear his trademark stamp which makes it stand out from the crowd. The film opened to an average response (~50%), as expected, and has resulted in decent word of mouth. A safe film due to its reasonable cost and pricing in the market, the film will eventually make money and settle down as a successful outing for Bhandarkar.

Last week's movies

It was a disappointing first week for 'Salaam E Ishq'. After taking a decent to very good first weekend opening, the collections started going downhill as the week came to an end. Result? An average first week collections of 17 crores. For a mammoth film like this coming on as many as 550 cinemas, less than 20 crores is a certain disappointment while 22-23 crore+ is what one would have anticipated before the first show commenced. But a 17 crore opening means that the film just didn't pick up after a below-the-mark word of mouth started killing its prospects all over the country.

Mumbai recorded highest collections of 3.5 crores which is at least a crore short of what one would expect for a 'metro-friendly' film like this. Delhi was average at 1.5 crores while Ahmedabad was 3rd best at 70 lakhs. As of now, there seems to be no respite/revival of the film and faces the 'flop' tag until and unless second week billing throw up miraculous results (which seems unlikely).

'Parzania', which released in metros and a few select major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune etc.), had a slow beginning at the theaters and managed to get home mere 30 lakhs. With the film continues to be in news and holds appeal for the intelligentsia/those looking for serious cinema, it may just about have an extended run of 2-3 more weeks at the theaters and earn some more moolah.

From the past

After a poor first week billing, 'Risk' stands as a 'flop' after crashing completely in its second week. 90% fall over a week means that the film just didn't hold any appeal whatsoever and lost the battle completely at the box office. The film has just about managed to cross 2 crores and is now facing an exit door all over.

Beyond 'Salaam E Ishq', the only film that was seen by majority of audience across the country was 'Guru'. The film has held itself quite well in its third week with less than an industry standard of 50% fall. Making the collections stronger by over 5 crore, the film has now touched 33 crores. Mumbai was the best at 1.5 crores while Delhi followed behind with 50 lakhs. With no major opposition till 'Eklavya - The Royal Guard' arrives, it is going to be Bachchan dominated first quarter of 2007!

On a side note, what 'Rang De Basanti' was to 2006, 'Guru' could well be to 2007 since both the films were not 'true-blue-commercial-films' by any means and though they did have an entertainment quotient to them, they had an offbeat and non-massy subject.

In spite of being tagged as 'disappointing' and the 'worst comic effort by Priyadarshan', 'Bhagam Bhag' continues to chug along even after completing 50 days at the box office. At 41.5 crores and getting home another 30 lakhs, the film is running at number of smaller centers now and is aiming at taking its total beyond 42 crores before it ends its box office run.

'Vivah' is undoubtedly the most amazing story to be happening at Bollywood this decade as even after 12 weeks, it is in the Top-3 of the box office charts. With a mere 10% odd fall from the last week, the film has been rock steady as it garners another 70 lakhs! Tremendous, and that too in spite of 'Salaam E Ishq' and 'Guru' registering multi crore collections in the week gone by. Currently at 28.5 crore, the final total of 30 crore is a given and it has to be seen how much steam would remain for the movie during the World Cup cricket. Surprisingly 'Dhoom 2' fell by 60% and got in only 20 lakhs when compared to 75 lakhs last week. Still, it has surpassed the magical figure of 85 crore which is HUGE by any standards!

In the future

This week sees the release of two offbeat/social/thriller films 'Black Friday' and 'Undertrial'. Out of the two, former is expected to take a much better start due to wider release and publicity that has spanned over 2 years! Anurag Kashyap finally has a release to his name in spite of 3 finished projects and if the international reviews of the film have to be believed [the film has been shown in number of film festivals/exclusive screenings], he has come up with one stunner of a product. The film is expected to take best start in Mumbai while in the rest of the country has a potential to grow with word of mouth.

Other release 'Undertrial' sounds interesting and boasts of a superb performance by Rajpal Yadav who brings to fore a challenging portrayal of a man accused of 'raping his own daughters'. The film would be seen a selective release and though the film has been promoted decently, lack of production values and an offbeat theme would mean that it would have to rely heavily on word of mouth. If the film takes anywhere near 30-40% opening, it would be an achievement in itself!