LEO’S GOT THE LOOK: Chris Nolan’s Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a dream stealer

On Friday the 16th at 10 minutes to 9 in the morning, both elevators at Forum were overcrowded and most of the fourth floor foyer overrun with two long queues made up of young INOX-goers. Business as usual for a big Bolly release? No, business unusual for a Holly first day, first show. That too not of a superhero film or a popular sequel.

The morning rush was for Christopher Nolan’s Inception, the mindboggling thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The Warner Bros release has not only done better than all the new Bolly releases — Lamhaa, Udaan and Tere Bin Laden — in the weekend gone by, it has given Calcutta’s Hollywood-watching audience a dream boost.

“Fatafati korchhe (It’s doing great),” says Subhasis Ganguli, general manager of INOX (City Centre). “For a Hollywood movie to do so well despite such a wide release (an average of five daily shows in a four-screen plex) is incredible. We had many shows going houseful on Saturday and Sunday at our properties.”

Actress-producer Nilanjanaa Sengupta sums up just why. “Both the concept and the technique were unbelievable,” she gushes. “I am a huge Matrix fan but Inception is like a thousand steps ahead of that and is now the new bible for me. I have to watch it again to enjoy the more subtle nuances.”

Inception is not the first film this year to bring the Holly fan back to the plex. Robin Hood, Sex and the City 2, Shutter Island, Karate Kid, Toy Story 3, Knight and Day, The Last Airbender… for a change, Calcutta hasn’t lost out or lagged behind in the English film release race this summer.

Day-date releases like Karate Kid and Inception mean “a bigger buzz about a film”, stresses a spokesperson from Fame (South City). Add to that a Chris Nolan film riding the marketing muscle of a Warner Bros and a winner is born. “It is evident from the weekend results that we have pulled it off,” says Denzil Dias, deputy managing director (theatrical), Warner Bros India.

And the Holly juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down in the city. The Angelina Jolie-starrer Salt releases this Friday followed by Eclipse, the third part in the Twilight series, on July 30. Then, Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love and the big sci-fi horror Predators, with Adrien Brody in the lead.

“It feels good to know that Calcutta is finally on the international movie map,” says singer Neel Adhikari, a foreign film junkie. “DVDs and downloads don’t compare to the real thing — watching a good movie in the theatre.”