Patna, May 20: Captain Jack Sparrow is back!
However, the daredevil pirate who stole your heart, had few crewmembers — 350 to be precise — on board his beloved Black Pearl as the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides docked in the state capital today.
Reason: The film has been dubbed in Hindi and screened as Samundar Ke Lutere. And horror of horrors, the film made in 3D by Walt Disney Pictures is being screened at Mona cinema in 2D.
But, the Jack Sparrow loyalists were still excited to see their beloved Captain on screen for the fourth time. Fans had lined up at Mona on Thursday night to book first-day-first-show tickets.
Aryan Abhishek, a 17-year-old student, said on Thursday: “I am disappointed that the movie will be shown in 2D but I still have to catch the first show of Pirates of the Caribbean. So I went to buy tickets for my friend and me tonight.”
The film was expected to open in the US and Canada with $100 million. The scene in the state capital, however, was different — on Thursday night only 100 tickets of the 442 available were sold in advance at Mona.
The dubbed Pirates has only two shows at Mona, the sole theatre in the entire state to show the film, at 12.30pm and 9.30pm. By the time the first show was over, employees at Mona said only 350 tickets were sold against a capacity of 442 seats. Twenty-five tickets had been booked in advance for the night show.
Pirates received a mixed response from the fans. One of them, Shikha, said: “I found Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides better than the first three films, as both the screenplay and script are full of twists and turns. I especially liked the beautiful mermaids and the sword fight between Angelina (Penelope Cruz) and Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).”
However, she had her regrets. “I had to compromise a lot while watching this movie, as I did not get to hear the enduring original voice of Johnny Depp. Adding to the horror I had to hear Jack speak in Hindi. The entire thrill of an English movie is lost when it is dubbed in Hindi. Also, this was the first time that Pirates… was made in 3D. Unfortunately, I had to see it in 2D. What worse could have happened to such a magnificent movie,” lamented Shikha.
The film’s distributor has his reasons to screen the dubbed film in 2D. “There is a very small audience for English films in Bihar and Jharkhand. That is the reason we launched the film in Hindi. Although Regent cinema in Patna can show 3D movies, we had already selected Mona cinema to screen the movie. Even though there was a lack of proper pre-release publicity, we are expecting over 60 per cent first day collection for the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in Patna. We are receiving good reports of the film, so we expect that it would catch on with the audience soon,” said manager of Venkatesh Films, Vijay Tripathi.
The Calcutta-based Venkatesh Films is the distributor of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for the entire eastern India region, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Calcutta, Orissa and Assam. While 12 prints of the movie are being run at different theatres in all the other states, only one print is being screen at Mona in Patna.
In neighbouring Ranchi, although the film is being shown at Imax and Glitz theatres, it is screened in Hindi on 2D screens. “Watching a film in 3D is a better experience for the audience and it generates better revenue. We were forced to screen the film in 2D as the theatres in Bihar and Jharkhand do not have the required technology,” said Tripathi.
It was, however, not a lost cause, as many in the audience enjoyed the Hindi dubbing and even found it comfortable to comprehend.
“It would have been far better if the movie was shown in 3D. However, I found it better to watch the film in Hindi, as I could understand it better. Moreover, the dubbing was excellent and the voice of Johnny Depp was sounding almost original. The storyline, script and screenplay were amazing — overall it was a magnificent watch,” said Sunny Kumar, a resident of Police Colony.
