Four Films, World Cup and Cine-goers
('Khushi', 'Satta', 'Baaz - A Bird in Danger', 'Freaky Chakra' )

          MUMBAI: The week was very crucial for Bollywood. It saw the release of some major films in a row and that too when the whole country is being swept by World Cup wave. Nevertheless, cricket didn't affect the events. Among the releases, there is Fardeen-Kareena Kapoor starrer 'Khushi', which is a romantic comedy, produced by Boney Kapoor and directed by SJ Surya, a debutant from south India. The others are a thriller, 'Baaz - A Bird in Danger', and a political satire, 'Satta', along with an off-beat movie, 'Freaky Chakra', also released during the week. 'Baaz' stars Karisma Kapoor along with Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty and Dino Morea. 'Satta' has Raveena Tandon and Atul Kulkarni and 'Freaky Chakra' presents Deepti Naval.

          ANI spoke to Indu Marani, a box office analyst:

Q: What has been the fate of the releases of the week?

A: None of them has done well. Only 'Khushi' has managed to do a decent business. 'Satta' is a good film and might pick up with the word of mouth. 'Baaz' which is supposed to be a thriller has nothing thrilling about it and is a really bad film. And 'Freaky Chakra' has no hopes.

Q: Which is the most promising film out of these four?

A: I think Satta is a film made with a lot of honesty and conviction. Director Madhur Bhandarkar has done a good job and Ravina has given an award winning performance.

Q: What have been the major drawbacks of these films?

A: Frankly all the films are bad films.'Khushi' though is a young hip modern kind of film but with no consistencies. Especially the lead pair's overacting makes the film very loud and predictable. 'Satta' is a very Mumbai or Maharashtra-centric film. Hard-hitting and realistic, it offers no relief to the audiences. 'Baaz' is bad from the word go while 'Freaky Chakra' is of a irregular character.

          Here are some of the reactions about 'Khushi': "Kareena was OK. The film is one-time watchable affair", according to one viewer. Said Krishna, "Fine film. There is enjoyment but there is no repeat value." Commented Kunti, "I liked the film and for the first time I liked Fardeen.Well, a time-pass film." Avanti remarked that "the story was same and one song 'Tere Bina' was really good." In the opinion of Parminder, "'Hai Re Do' Ajnabisong was great." Overall, 'Khushi' might appeal to the youth and family audiences. But the World Cup matches will prove a major deterrent. Yet, business at multiplexes or 'A' class theatre of metros might do a good business with 'Khushi'. But for films like 'Baaz ' and 'Satta,' it might be difficult as they appeal to a particular set of people and limit the overall entertainment to a family.

           What has been the box office performance of 'Khushi' and 'Satta,' ANI asked Sumant Bhargava, general manager of Satyam Cineplexes.

He replied: "Khushi is doing very well, especially on Saturdays and Sundays the film met with good response. While 'Satta' has done reasonably well pretty much to our expectations, but not like 'Khushi' which has been really good business-wise. If 'Khushi' is 100 per cent, 'Satta' is just 70 per cent. The reason for Khushi's positive response is that it largely appeals to young and trendy audiences or you can say it is for Sec. A and B audiences who come to multiplexes and plush halls. 'Satta' is more political oriented with limited appeal. Pitted against two more films and the World Cup. 'Baaz - the Bird in Danger' is a thriller with a weak script. Unlike 'Raaz,' 'Baaz' fails to sustain audience interest in spite of good performances from lead actors like Karisma Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty. Along with this, the film's low-key appeal is making it lose at the box-office. 'Freaky Chakra' is an 'OK' film with 50 per cent theatre occupancy, quite decent for an offbeat film, and it might pick up with the word of mouth.

           What's the general opinion on 'Baaz'? Said Paritosh, "Baaz is OK. Suspense is not up to the mark." For Jitendra, "it is a total suspense film and I liked it." Karim felt "Karisma was OK but Dino Morea was not good." Compared to these, 'Satta' directed by Madhur Bhandarkar of 'Chandni Bar' fame is a realistic film, which gives a microscopic view of what goes into politics. The story has nothing new to talk of, since the genre has been over-exploited by film-makers in Mumbai. The only difference is that the protagonist here is a woman who gets into politics and beats the men at their game. Raveena Tandon breaks from her glamorous image and plays a hard-hitting role that might give her a nomination for some awards and critical acclaim.

           These are some of the views of cine-goers: Manjit: "The film is based on politics and shows reality. Ravina Tandon was good and acted well." Kaveri: "Ravina's performance was good and the other guy's role was alright." Manjri: "Ravina is good." The small-budget English film Freaky Chakra is also making a way into the theatres. Starring Deepti Naval, it "is a story of an unpopular middle-aged woman who gets into a relationship with a young boy. A very different film that explores a bold issue which makes Freaky Chakra really freaky for Indian audiences. This film is in English, very metro-centric.

           What does the public say? Jonathan: "Freaky Chakra is a good movie." Jyothi: "Pathetic film with no head or tale and no concept at all."

          Tushar Dhingra, Manager (Programming) PVR Cinemas, was also approached for his comments.

Q: Can multiplexes accommodate so many films together? What programming procedures are you following?

A: In multiplexes, people have a choice to watch a number of films and we offer a lot of variation and genres in that regard. Currently we are playing 16 titles under one roof. Therefore, we have lot of combinations to offer. World Cup seems to be keeping the audiences glued to their TV sets but that still has not affected the movie business. On Friday, Valentine's Day will be the flavour and industry has some plans with releases like a breezy 'Bas Yu Hui', Dev Anand's 'Love At Times Square,' Manisha's 'Escape to Taliban' and Juhi Babbar and Sonu Nigam starrer 'Kaash Aap .. Hamare Hote' hitting the theatres. What will be their fate only the coming weeks will tell.