The game has changed and how. As Friday approaches and even before the critics are out with their verdicts, the calculations take over every film. The excitement is, of course, very high when the film is big-budget, and has a big star cast. What was the ‘opening’ like? Answers fly in figures and percentages go into —70%, 80%, 90%. The bigger the ‘opening’, faster the calculations though, this is where things can start to get complicated.
Take the case of a film with A+ stars and the stakes go to dizzying heights. So was the case of My Name is Khan which released last Friday. Here, the dice was rolled out as soon as Fox Star Studios bought the Karan Johar, SRK and Kajol starrer for a staggering sum said to be between Rs 80-90 crore.
This was big money and recovery had to be bigger. The K3 combination had never failed so far and their fans waited with baited breath for the release, as did an industry desperate for more blockbusters. The hype added fuel but then, as has been happening with alarming regularity with many a film, MNIK hit a huge roadblock with some sentiments being hurt, putting the release of the film in danger.
This time, the tussle was tough and both opposing parties were adamant. But like in every film, aal iz well that ends well, though business was hurt in some important states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh on Friday. But, the fact that the film was released was met with a sigh of relief.
Then came the slot-machines opinions and trade pundits with run-of-the mill verdicts like the ‘opening’ being great but not meeting expectations. Critics gave a thumbs up but the word of mouth was split, whispers began of a sharp ‘drop’ on Monday. It was only when the overseas collections came in with phenomenal success from the US and UK, to the Middle East and Singapore, Bangkok to Bahrain, that SRK ruled supreme. He outstripped everyone even as requests poured in for more prints.
How has the game changed and how much? “The best answer is that a T20 match is being gauged like a test match. The whole business of cinema has undergone a change. The days of percentages, housefulls, silver jubilees and long runs are over. The faster we accept this, the better it will be for the whole industry. Today, if a cine fan is coming to watch a film, I have to ensure that he does not go away without watching it. Films are not Louis Vuitton products that you have to book them, if you come out to watch a film, you must be able to watch it,” says SRK, his voice hoarse, severe cold and cough telling a tale of exhaustion from flying across time zones due to the hectic travelling he has been doing for the film.
Though Khan avoids the word clarification and abhors ‘justifying’, the message of how the film is faring is as important to the co-producer of MNIK as is the message of humanity and love that the film is about. The message here is the different way of doing maths. No following the old system, it’s the overall collections that the producer is advocating. The dreaded ‘drop’ on the first week day is an unfair comparison, he explains, specially when the shows being compared are a Sunday evening show and a Monday afternoon one.
“I have been informed that the Sunday evening 6-9 show was the highest collection ever for any film. These are big-stake films and so it is important to view them in their totality. The film has not even had its full release so far worldwide. Yes, of course, it will be less than one film and more than another and it may be the biggest one, second or the third. That’s not the question but the idea is should gain all that is invested in whatever measure and looking at the figures so far, it will be much more than that,” adds Khan.
The exhibition industry is sure that MNIK, which lost some important shows on Friday, will make up on its second weekend, as it’s a family film. “As a producer, I have always maintained in my own small way that I do business in which I may not gain but I do not lose money. That is the philosophy or else it becomes indulgence,” says Khan who is very confident that the money that he (Red Chillies) and Karan (Dharma Productions) sold the film to Fox for is definitely recoverable and, in fact, there will also be the ‘cherry on the cake’.
For Fox Star India’s CEO Vijay Singh, buying the film is already a vindication. “Within a week of its release it has become the numero uno film internationally, outpacing its nearest competitor by a multiple of two. We have been able to demonstrate the Fox Star leverage and the potential that exists for Bollywood outside India, besides expanding the market for Bollywood to new audience. My Name is Khan has truly proved itself to be India’s first ‘Global Bollywood Film’,” says Singh.
Khan firmly believes that novelty is the critical driver to watch the film. And no one wants to wait. The psychology in entertainment is that everyone wants to be the first one to have it. So, there is no logic in denying access to the consumer. “Films are no longer luxury products. We work so hard on the marketing, be it Aamir or Akshay or me, we work very hard for two-three months towards that novelty factor. What sense would it make if we were to then say, it’s done but we cannot allow access to all? A wide release increases the access,” explains Khan.
The race to be in the top slot for MNIK, of course, is because the obvious comparison is to the recently released 3 Idiots and its stupendous success. Does that bother Khan? Expectedly, he says it’s embarrassing for 3 Idiots. “3I is a beautiful film, I have read the script, I know Raju and I have watched parts of the film and I think it was a film which should have been made. Money was not the driver of the film for sure.
Similarly, MNIK is an expensive film but it is strange to compare the two,“ says Khan. As a producer every film he makes must recover its money believes Khan but as an actor, the comparison is not important. Every film, says Khan has its own life, space and place. Whether it is in terms of critical or commercial appraisal. MNK feels Khan has been 70-80% critically liked and similarly it is doing 80-90% of the business it should have done. But life moves on and he is already onto the next film.
What makes SRK and MNIK click in such a big way across overseas markets? Khan feels it is the nature of MNIK which makes it an overseas-friendly film, a step towards what will happen worldwide to Indian films. MNIK has opened new territories like Egypt and Jordan among many others. “We are trying to marry a film where it runs fantastic in India and really good abroad, but what has happened with MNK is that it has done fantastic overseas and really good in India. So what we need to do is get a balance somewhere,” ends Khan.
