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There can be many spins to the starry line up of films releasing this weekend, but only one rings true—they all want to be the big Diwali release this year.
Ever since Karan Johar started the trend more than a decade ago with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Diwali has found the biggest of Khans and of course the Bachchans, the Devgns, the Dutts and the Kumars eyeing a date with it.
But this Diwali promises to be special. More so for Kolkata film lovers. More than Rs 200 crore is riding on this weeks three biggies, Blue (Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta), All The Best (Fardeen Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Ajay Devgn) and Main Aur Mrs Khanna (Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan). And they release at a time when things are finally looking up for Bollywood. After a series of disasters (Dil Bole Hadippa, Do Knot Disturb), Wake Up Sid has set the cash register ringing, more so in Kolkata, if reports are to be believed. “Wake Up Sid is doing exceptionally well in the city. We have clocked 85-90 percent occupancy even on weekdays,” says Captain Virendra Marya, regional manager, INOX.
Moreover, Tollywood hits like the recently-released Prem Amar, have drawn crowds both in multiplexes and standalone theatres. “The market is robust now. We are looking forward to the Diwali weekend,” says Arijit Dutta of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association.
Of the three Diwali releases, Akshay Kumar starrer, Blue has generated the maximum amount of hype. “Blue is a big film with a spectacular starcast. But its USP is its exquaite under-water sequences,” says a spokesperson of Fame Multiplex. An adventure flick documenting an underwater treasure-hunt, Blue (directed by Anthony D’ Souza) looks like a jazzed up version of B-grade Hollywood thriller, Deep Blue Sea.
All The Best, on the other hand, promises to be a typical Rohit Shetty blockbuster. Lurid sets, loud characters and a poker-faced Ajay Devgn in the middle of this entire hullabaloo. “Rohit Shetty films seem to be quite popular with the masses and All the Best shouldn’t be an exception,” says Dutta. “We have already started getting advance bookings for the film,” adds Marya.
A Diwali without a Khan release would be a damp squib, so Main Aur Mrs Khanna does the needful. But strangely enough, it’s the Khan-starrer which is proving to be the weakest link. “Blue and All The Best have generated a lot of curiosity. It’s not as if people aren’t excited about Main Aur Mrs Khanna, maybe it will prove to be a bumper hit too,” says a spokesperson from Fame. And even if it doesn’t, would it really be that big a surprise? The trailers focus more on the ever-irritating Sohail Khan than his famous brother. While Kareena Kapoor looks like she would rather be elsewhere.
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