TRADE TALK - Smile, Bollywood! The year's first quarter rocks at the box-office I Diganta Guha Hindustan Times I t's April and Bollywood is smiling. The year's first quarter -even with March not having too many releases due to exams -- has been encouraging.
The January jinx was broken with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti -- the first superhit film this year. "It's a hit mainly in the cities," says trade expert Komal Nahta. But figures are heartening. RDB has earned Rs 65 crore overall and the numbers are growing. A surprise hit has been Priyadarshan's comedy Malamaal Weekly, which experts say, is 2006's first universal hit. A small-budget film (Rs 6 crore), it has already earned Rs 12 crore overall. What is interesting is that small, experimental films have been appreciated. While Malamaal Weekly, with no stars, worked well, an even smaller Mixed Doubles, Rajat Kapoor's wife-swapping tale, did better than expected. Made on a budget of Rs 1.5 crore, it earned around Rs 3 crore (no release abroad). Homi Adajania's dark comedy Being Cyrus, with a budget of Rs 3 crore has earned Rs 6 crore in two weeks. Nahta points out that even Ananth Mahadevan's Emraan Hashmi starrer Aksar has done reasonable business. "It's more because of the music. It's helped the film recover its costs." Another hit, in select places, has been Milan Luthria's Taxi No 9 2 11. Taxi... It has already earned around Rs 9 crore at the domestic box office. Compare these figures with last year. Around the same time in 2005 we had just two successes -- Page 3 and Black. The rest flopped. Humko Deewana Kar Gaye Cast: Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif Opens on: April 22 Rs 30 cr Budget: Fanaa Cast: Aamir Khan, Kajol and Tabu Opens on: May 26 Rs 30 Cr Budget: Krrish Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Preity Zinta Opens on: June 30 Rs 40 cr Budget: 36 China Town Cast: Akshay Khanna, Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Opens on: May 5 Rs 30 Budget: What the successes this year prove is that both audiences and actors are open to new ideas.' Rohan Sippy, Director `Being Cyrus did well because it showed the characters' dark side, which we don't ideally talk about.' Homi Adajania, Director `These days it's all about unique concepts and scripts. Viewers reject bad films outright' Rakesh Roshan, Director Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic. Only at arrahmanfans.com - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community. Homepage: http://www.arrahmanfans.com Admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/