MAD ABOUT CRICKET: NDTV has signed up M.S. Dhoni for Rs 1.5 crore a year

Karan Johar must have popped the champagne corks. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, his latest movie, has grossed Rs 14 crore overseas and Rs 26 crore in India in the first three days since it was released, according to Vishal Patel, the marketing head of Dharma Productions, which produced the film. Website boxofficeIndia.com (which tracks the success of movies at the box office) backs his claim. In most metros, the film opened to full houses in its first weekend.

Unquestionably too, the film is more talked about than the US-India nuclear deal.

But will the box office returns over the next few weeks reflect the apparent success of the film, now into its second week? Will it supersede Krrish, which has managed to gross Rs 200 crore in 50 days?

The star-studded (Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta) film opened last week — a week that had two holidays — to much media hype. But after the opening weekend, the commercial going hasn’t been as good as was expected. “KANK is unable to draw full houses in smaller centres and single screens, especially in the suburbs,” distributors in Mumbai and Vashu Bhagnani, producer of films like Hero No 1, Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan and Biwi No 1, say.

What is more, film buffs and critics have taken pot shots at KANK, more for its weak script than for the “bold” theme of infidelity. Yes, it does undermine the institution of marriage — Karan Johar has himself admitted to being cynical about the institution — but it’s the contrived ending and treatment of the film that have come for flak. The film, some say, seems to convey the message that extra-marital affairs happen between those who suffer from an inferiority complex, who carry a chip too many on their shoulders.

Mahesh Bhatt declares that the audience is still on the lookout for a different story. “I haven’t seen both the films but Krrish at least promised something different. KANK exudes a ‘been there, done that’ feeling,” he says, adding, “I have a feeling that the building emotions and relationships bit hasn’t worked.”

“At the end of the day, it is the content which drives the film at the box office,” says Rakesh Roshan, producer of Krrish. He attributes the success of Krrish — which grossed nearly Rs 69 crore in its first week — to the fact that it’s a well-made film. “That is its strength,” he emphasises.

In parts, KANK works well. Points out history lecturer Swati Ghosh, “Some of the characters like those of Ria (Preity Zinta) and Sam (Amitabh Bachchan) are credible.” Johar does an excellent job of placing the modern working woman in perspective. Well fleshed out, Zinta’s character does succeed in breaking the stereotype of a successful woman who necessarily sleeps her way to the top. “It is close to reality. The best part is that the projection is so very subtle. Sam is as plausible. He is a widower and despite the fact that he loves anything in a skirt, he is sensitive and worldly wise.”

Adds film producer Ramesh Taurani, “I think Karan Johar has grown up to make such a different film. The film examines relationships well. It is an attempt to make a bold statement,” he says.

Johar has been seen in many avatars. He has produced films such as Kaal and Kal Ho Naa Ho, has written the story and screenplay for Kal Ho Naa Ho, has anchored a talk show on television and hosted several film award functions. But it is as the director of films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham that he is best remembered.

So what went wrong with this “mature” venture? Why is the impatience of the audience towards the end of the film so very palpable? Instead of actually waiting to cheer on the lovers, why do many walk out in a huff before curtain fall? Director Madhur Bhandarkar offers an explanation. “Different people want to see different films these days. I haven’t seen KANK but Krrish was a film with mass appeal. It touched the chords of almost everyone who came to see it.” So has KANK failed to strike a chord with the public?

But Navin Shah, CEO of P9 Integrated, which has the exclusive marketing rights for the film, says, “People were expecting it to be the eighth wonder of the world, which is why they felt let down. But in a way, the negative publicity and mixed reactions might help the film as people will now go to see it with fewer expectations.”

Admits Dharma Productions’ Patel, “In the long run, it’s the screenplay, content, the stars and the director of the film who influence the fate of the film at the box office.”

So far, the film’s star cast and plush locales have helped set the cash registers ringing in the UK, US and Australia where the film debuted at the sixth, seventeenth and eighth positions, respectively. But the same reasons seem to be going against it in India, especially in small-town India. “It doesn’t touch your heart, it’s so synthetic,” says Tariq Ali, a student of psychology. Several others agree with Ali. The insights and lighter moments in the first half barely offset the oversights and weepy sequences in the second.

Meanwhile, Roshan is now toying with the idea of a sequel to Krrish, “I don’t have anything concrete in mind, but if I come up with a good story I will consider it,” he says. Johar is still neck-deep in the KANK hangover. But may be the next time round, he’ll produce a film that suggests that he’s grown as a director as much as his plots have.

With additional reporting by S. Ramachandran in Mumbai