Tasveer — 8x10

Release date: 03.04.2009

What: Blessed with supernatural powers, a young man sets out on a mission to track his father’s killer.

Why: In spite of a novel storyline and credible performances, the usually dependable Akshay Kumar and the rock-solid Nagesh Kukunoor failed to breathe life into this tasveer.

Verdict: FLOP

Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat

Release date: 11.04.2009

What: A romantic caper with ample doses of cricket and comedy thrown in.

Why: Vinod Kambli’s fluctuating waistline and Ajay Jadeja’s receding hairline summed up this long-stuck-in-the cans film. PPDKS was run out in two days.

Verdict: FLOP

Dashavtar

Release date: 17.04.2009

What: A big-budget fantasy film with Kamal Haasan playing 10 different roles.

Why: The 2008 Tamil original may have been a blockbuster, but there were not many takers for this President Bush meets a nuclear scientist meets a 100-year-old woman meets a Punjabi popstar (all played by Kamal Haasan, of course!) potpourri.

Verdict: FLOP

99

Release date: 15.05.2009

What: Two petty conmen try their hand at cricket betting to tide over their debts. With disastrous results.

Why: The only new Bollywood release to defy the strike, the presence of funnymen Cyrus Broacha and Boman Irani and the rumoured real-life Kunal Khemu-Soha Ali Khan romance couldn’t break the box-office jinx.

Verdict: AVERAGE

Detective Naani

Release date: 22.05.2009

What: A grandmother leading an uneventful life turns a Miss Marple-like sleuth and cracks a murder mystery.

Why: Small-budget and non-starry, Detective Naani had its heart in the right place, but lack of publicity and the absence of big names failed to lure the audience.

Verdict: FLOP

Anubhav

Release date:05.06.2009

What: To make ends meet, a struggling actor is forced to visit the dark side of life.

Why: Stuck in the cans for years, Anubhav had an interesting premise and laudable performances, with Sanjay Suri leading the way with a gigolo act. But that clearly wasn’t enough to sexcite the box office.

Verdict: FLOP

Team — The Force

Release date: 05.06.2009

What: Three aspiring music directors get on the wrong side of the law — and then are left to face the music.

Why: Sohail Khan led a team effort gone horribly wrong. A non-starter at the box office, Team — The Force was yanked off most cinema screens after the first weekend.

Verdict: FLOP

Kal Kissne Dekha

Release date: 12.06.2009

What: The power to foresee the future lands a small-town young man in the stickiest of situations.

Why: The first ‘big’ Bollywood film to release after the strike, Kal Kissne Dekha was old wine in an older bottle. Poor music and lacklustre performances from first-timers Jackky Bhagnani and Vaishali Desai didn’t help matters either.

Verdict: FLOP

Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya

Release date:19.06.2009

What: A group of children team up with a homeless man( Mithun Chakraborty) to save a tree from being razed to the ground by a money-minded contractor.

Why: A socially relevant movie with a message, Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiya was yet another good film without any takers.

Verdict: FLOP

Paying Guests

Release date: 19.06.2009

What: A crazy house hunt compels two young men to pose as newly-married women.

Why: Crass and confusing, the reed-thin plot and disastrous performances forced the audience to reach out for Saridon.

Verdict: FLOP

Let’s Dance

Release date: 19.06.2009

What: A group of dancers set out to achieve their dreams.

Why: A boring watch from reel one to reel 16, Let’s Dance tested the audience’s patience. Zero publicity and the lack of big names sounded the death knell for this small-budget film.

Verdict: FLOP

New York

Release date: 26.06.2009

What: Three close friends and their journey through the ups and downs of life.

Why: The 9/11 backdrop, an as-good-as-it-gets cast and Hai junoon scored over the sometimes illogical storyline. The first big blockbuster of the year provided some welcome succour to plexes after the two-month drought.

Verdict: HIT

Kambakkht Ishq

Release date: 03.07.09

What: The battle of the sexes with a desi twist.

Why: Bollywood (Akshay and Kareena) got together with Hollywood (led by Sylvester Stallone) to come up with paisa vasool fare. Kambakkht Ishq is smashing every box-office record in sight.

Verdict: HIT

 

---

 

CHALLENGE

Starring: Dev, Subhashree, Rajatava Dutta, Laboni Sarkar, Biswajit Chakraborty

Directed by: Raj Chakraborty

Footfalls: “Challenge has completed a 100-day run. Occupancy after the fourth week was about 40 per cent. It did well in Fame Hiland Park too with 26 per cent occupancy. The gross collection is around Rs 2.5 crore,” says producer Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh Films.

What we liked: Dev, the funny one-liners, the smart camerawork and, of course, the title track Challenge nibi na shala...

What we didn’t like: The done-to-death story.

Olot Palot

A tale of friends (Hiran and Rishi) swapping identities had no punch. Olot Palot managed an average draw at the theatres. But its 25-day run in city theatres paints a different picture. “We’ve recovered about 25 per cent of the total cost,” says Rajib Chatterjee of Zee Motion Pictures.

Aparadhi

Though director Babu Roy had packed in drama and romance, the overdose of melodrama marred this Prosenjit potboiler which could manage only a three-week run in the city. The overall collection is about 25 per cent of the Rs 1 crore budget.

 

Maa Amar Maa

Even before the film released, the Maa Amar Maa team made sure they were heard and seen. So Hiran kissed Dipannita during the film’s music launch and director Haranath Chakraborty staged a walkout. But even the kiss-and-tell hype couldn’t save the Rs 1 crore film. It did average business with about 75 per cent collections.

MADLY BANGALEE

Starring: The Tin Can gang, Anjan Dutt, Lew Hilt, Saswata Chatterjee, Sudipa Basu, Baisakhi Marjit, Siddhartha Chatterjee

Directed by: Anjan Dutt

Footfall: “Nandan had an average of 90 per cent footfall for four weeks. The single screens had about 60 to 70 per cent,” says co-producer Kalyan Sarkar. “The average occupancy at INOX was about 36 per cent,” says Capt Virendra Marya of INOX.

What we liked: The fresh faces and their intensity; Anjan Dutt’s cameo.

What we didn’t like: Some of the dialogue-heavy scenes.

Bishh

A BO collection of Rs 7 lakh for a Rs 20 lakh budget — is nothing to write about but the lust quotient in first-time director Q’s story of three women looking for quick money did grab some eyeballs. The loose storyline did it in.

CROSS CONNECTION

Starring: Ritwick Chakraborty, Rimjhim Mitra, Abir Chatterjee, Payel

Directed by: Sudeshna Roy and Abhijeet Guha

Footfall: “We had a nine-week run in Calcutta. At Nandan the film ran for six weeks and the occupancy was above 75 per cent in the weekends,” says Sudeshna Roy.

What we liked: The simple love story and Rimjhim-Ritwick’s fireworks.

What we didn’t like: The second half, which dragged.

Chowrasta — Crossroads of Love

Anjan Dutt’s autobiographical offering to Darjeeling didn’t go down well with the city audience. Despite the interesting ensemble cast (Victor Banerjee, Roopa Ganguly, Saswata Chatterjee, Aparajita Ghosh Das), the sluggish English film ended with a two-week run and 25 per cent occupancy in the plexes.

Bhalobasha Zindabad

There’s no fire in Chirodini... Tumi Je Amaar couple Rahul-Priyanka’s follow-up film. No wonder it’s been a no-show from Week One.

SAAT PAKE BANDHA

Starring: Jeet, Koel Mullick, Ranjit Mullick

Directed by: Sujit Mondal

Footfall: “Saat Pake Bandha is in its fifth week. The occupancy is above 40 per cent in single screens,” says Soni. “We’ve had 25 per cent footfall on weekdays and weekends,” says an official of Fame Hiland Park.

What we liked: Jeet-Koel’s hubby-wife act; Kumud Verma’s cinematography that captured Malaysia like never before (in a Tolly film).

What we didn’t like: The frame by frame copy of Kajol-Anil Kapoor’s Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain.

 

Jamai Raja

Starring: Prosenjit, Pauli Dam, Anu Chowdhury

Directed by: Swapan Saha

Footfall: Released on Jamai Sashthi, the film had a four-week run in the city but it’s still on in the suburbs. “The film is doing good business. The occupancy in the first week was about 80 per cent. We have already recovered about Rs 80 lakh,” says producer Ashok Dhanuka.

What we liked: The twists in a Swapan Saha film after a long time; a funny Prosenjit torn between two pretty women.

What we didn’t like: The forced humour and trite situations.

Badla

Starring: Prosenjit, Moubani Sorcar

Directed by: Anup Sengupta

Footfall: “The film ran for a month in Calcutta. We had a couple of houseful shows. On an average we had 50 per cent occupancy. It’s still running in the suburbs and we have recovered half the budget,” says producer Kumar Bhattacharya.

What we liked: Prosenjit.

What we didn’t like: The insipid tale of a mother and son, the songs and the cliched dialogues.

Special mention

Kaler Rakhal

Though the plex showing (13 per cent) hasn’t been encouraging, a five-week run with an average occupancy of more than 60 per cent at Nandan means a lot for an off-beat film made for just Rs 30 lakh. This urban-rural cine story by Sekhar Das starring Parambrata, Rudranil, Nandana Sen, Roopa Ganguly, Soumitra Chatterjee and others has done better than his earlier efforts on the same topic — Mehulbonir Sereng and Krantikaal.

Kolir Arjun

This is the dark horse of the season, say the Kolir Arjun makers. Whether it’s Moubani’s halternecks or newcomer Raaj’s antics, the film is finding takers. Producer Milan Bhowmick is happy with the Rs 2.5 lakh returns for his Rs 75 lakh film at the end of the first week.

FAST FORWARD TO third quarter