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| Manisha Koirala in Khela |
KHELA
Released on: July 11
Starring: Prosenjit, Manisha Koirala, Raima Sen, Akashneel Dutta Mukherjee
Directed by: Rituparno Ghosh
Occupancy in plexes: “We had 60 per cent occupancy on weekends and a little less on weekdays in the first week. The second week was similar; there has been no dip,” says Syal of INOX.
Occupancy in standalone halls: “The first week wasn’t very good. I think it’s because there wasn’t much pre-release hype. But the second week saw a rise in footfalls. Word of mouth publicity has worked,” says Arijit Dutta of Priya and Star.
Box-office fate: “It is doing moderately well in the city. A Rituparno Ghosh film releasing after four years has worked for Khela. But we haven’t released it in many suburbs and it’s not doing well in the ones where we have,” says distributor Mahendra Soni.
“Khela has done better than what we had expected. It’s a very different, nice and clean film with great performances. The film has generated reasonable attraction and we’ve recovered our cost,” says Subrata Chattopadhyay, president, CEO Entertainments, RPG Enterprise, which has produced the film.
What we liked: Prosenjit’s vulnerability, Manisha’s soft-inside-strong-outside act, Raima’s youthful yet mature girl next-door, Akashneel’s spontaneity, Raja-Sanjay’s music.
What we didn’t like: The subplot with a nagging mother (Pushpita) who sheds buckets of tears for her lost son and a couldn’t-care-less father (Bharat Kaul).
What it means: Rituparno’s conscious attempt to break away from the ‘adult’ tag of Antarmahal and Dosar, and re-connect with the Bangali family.
LOVE
Released on: July 11
Starring: Jisshu Sengupta, Koel Mullick, George Baker, Dwijen Bandopadhyay
Directed by: Riingo
Occupancy in plexes: “We had 25 per cent occupancy on weekends. Weekdays were less. It ran for a week,” says Vikas Syal, regional general manager, INOX (Forum).
Occupancy in standalone halls: “Footfalls were better in suburbs than in Calcutta,” says producer Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh Films.
Box-office fate: “Love has not fared well at the box-office. The footfall in suburbs like Barasat and Andul was about 40 per cent. It didn’t do well in the plexes, but it did slightly better in the standalone halls. I think Love got very bad reviews and so the audience stayed away,” reasons Soni.
What we liked: Riingo’s frames.
What we didn’t like: Riingo’s film. He managed to make an eternal tale of love meandering and boring. Pedestrian script. Poor music.
What it means: A wake-up call for Riingo after a hat-trick of flops— Kranti, Neel Rajar Deshe and Love .
CHALO LET’S GO...
Released on: June 6
Starring: Saswata, Parambrata, Rudranil, Ritwick, Aparajita, Churni, Barun Chanda, Arindam Sil
Directed by: Anjan Dutt
Occupancy in plexes: “There was 76 per cent occupancy on weekends and about 68 per cent on weekdays. The film did very well. It ran for three weeks at INOX Forum, four weeks at 89 Cinemas and five weeks at INOX City Centre,” says Syal of INOX.
Occupancy in standalone halls: “The film had a good opening. The occupancy was okay. It’s an urban film, which released in select theatres. Overall it did fairly well,” says Arijit Dutta of Priya and Star.
Box-office fate: “The film did good business. It was very well-directed and the characters were diverse. Besides, a travelogue after a long time was a welcome change for the audience. The music was the other plus point. We are happy with the returns,” says Renu Roy, director of Optima Films, which produced Chalo Let’s Go...
What we liked: A travelogue with a fresh script, the winding hilly roads, the Darjeeling locales, the music, the acting of the TV stars.
What we didn’t like: The sluggish second half where each character moves towards a resolution — give us the squabbling, cribbing Bong any day.
What it means: Anjan Dutt is on a roll with The Bong Connection, Bow Barracks Forever and Chalo Let's Go...
Which of these films did you like? Tell t2@abpmail.com
