Veer still going strong

A film embroiled in controversy often sees more business than a film that’s not had one, http://www.localphone.com/call/india?rb=4mxYybTp28BHU1qOd%2Fe6zFC17xWV2n9dxezWZlat7GP7Dq4Vjq81luHdgB506BPFXFcEQHlPaBtv4fROhthh9w%3D%3D with audiences turning up to watch the film to 

Khan during the shoot of Veer More Pics

figure out what the controversy is all about. 
And this seems to have worked for Veer too, the Salman-starrer period flick that saw better occupancy on Sunday, than the last week, in various cinema halls in Jaipur. The film ran into rough waters on Saturday morning when a representative group of the Rajput community, Karni Sena, protested against some dialogues used in the film that they feel are derogatory to Rajputs. 

But apparently, after the protests on Saturday, Veer saw more footfalls on Sunday in at least some of the movie halls in the city. Says Vikramaditya Maitreya, unit manager of Inox Vaibhav, where members of Karni Sena carried out protests against the film, “We have registered nearly 30 percent increase in the occupancy on our shows on Sunday, after the controversy sprang up. But I would also attribute the higher footfalls to the weekend.” Adds Ujjwal Srivastava, manager of First Cinema, “Since Veer didn’t witness a great opening, we were expecting a dip of 20 per cent occupancy in the second week. But surprisingly, the occupancy has gone up by 15 percent on all our shows on Sunday. I would attribute this to the controversy and the protests surrounding it. I think people are intrigued about the issue and the scenes that led to the controversy.” But there are some who say that the footfalls have remained unaffected, post the controversy.

Ashish Sharma, team leader operations, Entertainment Paradise, opines, “The controversy hasn’t changed the level of occupancy at all because in my opinion, in case of films, the word-of-mouth matters a lot. As the film isn’t a runaway hit, even the controversy can’t attract the audiences at this stage. And new films are also on from this Friday, and people are thinking twice before buying the tickets.” Similarly Vishal Kapur, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Fun Cinema observes, “Because of the ruckus created by the Karni Sena in our property, we had to cancel two morning show on Saturday. But police then provided protection and now things are back to normal. But the numbers don’t show any significant change in the occupancy. It is pretty normal.” However, on conditions of anonymity a source at Fun Cinema says, “Any publicity is good publicity. So this one has also worked in favour of the film and the occupancy has gone up because of increase in curiosity among Jaipurites about the movie. Usually, a film that has a slow start doesn’t see a rise in occupancy in the second week. But this has.” 

Salman’s VEER is Super Hit of 2010.

Salman khans VEER is now heading for a 55 crore net plus total with Wednesday,Thursday,Friday and Saturday collections of 14 Crores. VEER is going strong at all India release in spite of new releases in Rann and Ishqiya.Veer has grossed Rs41 crore worldwide at the box office in its opening weekend, Eros International, the distributor of the film, has said.

Veer took Rs32 crore in its first weekend in India with Rs9 crore overseas, an Eros spokesman said. The film released 1,300 prints and in digital cinemas all over India and a further 236 prints overseas. It has emerged a big grosser in circuits such as Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Nizam and Gujarat with single screens doing excellent business and over the weekend.

Nandu Ahuja, senior vice-president for India distribution at Eros International Media Ltd, said, “Audience reactions toVeer have been extremely heartening. With Salmans huge fan base in India and overseas, Veer is a huge in all over India. With the opening weekend followed by the Republic Day holiday teamed with Salmans star power, Veer collected already 41 Crores in the extended Weekend.

VEER had terrific response to single screen, it managed to acquire good space in second week inspite of new releases of Rann and Ishqiya. Veer is already a Super Hit of 2010.

Mumbai: In an interview given to a news channel recently, Shah Rukh Khan literally bared his heart out about the ongoing tussle between him and Salman Khan.
Saying every word with the same conviction as ever, King Khan spoke about the kind of relationship, or rather, vibes he shares with Sallu Bhai. On being asked if he would ever patch up with Salman Khan – he simply said, “We have no common ground.”

He went on justifying his statement saying, “Salman is a wonderful guy, I don`t have any issues with him. It’s just that sometimes two good, nice kinds of people, run parallel and parallels don`t meet.”

Many speculate about ego hassles between the stars, but Shah Rukh completely trashed it, saying, that there was never such an issue with him. He said, “I have spent some really good times with him. His family`s always been kind to me and I know deep inside my heart that he`ll never wish me ill like I never wish him ill. We`re happy in our respective places. But sometimes two people who are really fond of each other just don`t get along too well.”

‘Warring Khans’ is for real or is it a myth? This is one question that will always bother the tinsel town.

Ishqiya First Day Business Saturday 30th January 2010 11.30 IST Bollyoffice.blogspot.com

Ishqiya grossed a decent 2.75-3 crore nett approx on day one. Business in Mumbai circiut was around 1.10 crore nett while Delhi/UP gave 65 lakhs nett and East Punjab collected 25 lakhs. The film has been released on around 500 cinemas. The film compares well with Paa which had a similar release. Paa on day one collected around 2 crore nett from around 475 cinemas. Wake Up Sid which was another similar release collected 3.75 crore nett from 425 cinemas on day one but that had an advantage of a holiday on day one. Ishqiya should be able to have a 9 crore nett weekend if the film shows normal improvement over Saturday and Sunday.

Ishqiya Decent Start Veer Good First Week Saturday 30th January 2010 09.00 IST

Ishqiya opened fairly well in the 50-60% region. The collections at some stations of North India were better than the rest of the country. The reports of the film are also good and it remains to be seen how they translate into box office collections but chances are good it will emerge a success. Rann opened to a poor response around 15-20%. Rann also has fairly good reports and collections could improve but it will need a huge jump if it is to make any impact at the box office as opening collections are just too low. Veer has done good first week business of around 32.50 crore nett as per early estimates. The film has been aided hugely by Republic Day holiday after which collections dropped markedly. Due to the first five days the film has managed good first week shares. The 8th day has also seen a drop with multiplexes crashing and although single screens are not as bad as multiplexes they still show a noticeable drop. Veer is a hit in circuits like Bihar, CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan but overall it is likely to emerge an Average/Above Average fair. Three Idiots adds another 10.50 crore nett to take its five week total to around 192 crore nett. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER

Both are very difficult movies for boxoffice prediction. With moderate release loaded with good reviews spread already, Both movies should open just OK at box-office but with strong WOM, both can do remarkable business at the end of run. Neither of them will appeal to family audience,Rann look like hard hitting drama and Ishqiya is another take on dark humors of romance. Below are my early predictions:

Rann (2010)

If Accepted : Opening : 18 – 22 Crore Total : 40 – 45 Crore If Rejected Opening : 10 – 12 crore Total : 15 – 18 crore

Ishqya (2010)

If Accepted : Opening : 15 – 18 Crore Total : 30 – 35 Crore If Rejected Opening : 10 – 12 crore Total : 15 – 18 crore

Review

Get ready for tangy, pungent, sizzling and spicy stuff. Be forewarned, ISHQIYA isn’t the fluffy, candyfloss, saccharine sweet story of lovers breaking into songs in mustard fields. In ISHQIYA, you just don’t know what turn the story may take next. Not just the story, even the characters here are so impulsive and unpredictable.

The actors enacting the role of Jijaji, the kidnapped victim and Vidya’s husband are all perfect. The child, who interacts with Arshad, is natural. In fact, every performance in ISHQIYA is worthy of mention.

On the whole, ISHQIYA is definitely worth a watch. The film has a riveting plot, great performances, soulful music, an absorbing story and skilful direction to make the viewer fall in ishq with it. It should appeal to the hardcore masses as also the multiplex junta.