Royal Bengal Rahasya

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Two sleuths have raced ahead of a don at the box office. Royal Bengal Rahasya — the latest Feluda film — and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — the sequel to the 2009 blockbuster — are the top draws in the first week of the New Year, powering ahead of Shah Rukh Khan’s Don 2.

“It’s been a near-record-breaking weekend for us thanks to Feluda and Sherlock Holmes. While Sherlock Holmes has had a strong first weekend, Royal Bengal Rahasya has been breaking box-office records ever since it released on December 23,” said Subhasis Ganguli, regional director, INOX.

At plexes across the city, the New Year weekend had Sherlock Holmes registering occupancies in the range of 85 to 90 per cent, while almost all shows of Royal Bengal Rahasya went full.

“Business at the start of the year has been good and most of the credit goes to these two films. Movie buffs of all ages have been queuing up to watch the two sleuths in action,” revealed an official of Fame Cinemas.

Sandip Ray’s take on father Satyajit Ray’s bestseller has scored big time at the box office and been hailed as the best film by Ray (Jr).

“We could sense it would be a much bigger film than the last one (Gorosthanay Sabdhaan) because the story is far more adventurous,” said Nishpal Singh of Surinder Films that has jointly produced it with Shree Venkatesh Films. With a budget of Rs 2 crore, RBR had grossed Rs 1.5 crore in Week One itself.

Prodosh Mitter and gang are not only going strong at the plexes, but also playing to packed houses at standalone cinemas. “Both Priya and Star theatres have been going full over the last two weeks. This film will last a long time at theatres,” said exhibitor-distributor Arijit Dutta who feels Royal Bengal Rahasya could cross the collections of Bombaiyer Bombete, the biggest Feluda grosser till now.

Royal Bengal Rahasya’s rising numbers have even surprised director Sandip Ray. Pleasantly, of course. “I didn’t expect the film to do so well; compared with the earlier Feluda films, Royal Bengal Rahasya has a more serious and complex story. The film is also very dialogue-oriented but the response has been very good and we are happy,” he said.

“I also wasn’t sure how it would do in the interiors because Feluda is essentially a film for the city crowd. The film has got a wide release but the reports from the suburbs are very good. It’s an interesting achievement and I am a little scared now for the next Feluda films because people will expect a better one,” said Ray.

Shaheb Bhattacherjee is all excited about his second stint as Topshe. “People are writing to me on Facebook and there is a lot of repeat viewing. I know some people who have watched the film five times! It’s a great feeling, really,” he smiled.

From 21 Rajani Sen Road to 221B Baker Street, the popularity wave is unabated.

The Guy Ritchie-directed modern retelling of the Arthur Conan Doyle cult series starring Robert Downey Jr as the iconic sleuth and Jude Law as Dr Watson, is finding favour because of its thrills and spills, Moriarty and Mycroft.

“The latest figures indicate that the sequel has beaten the weekend box-office collections of the original by over 250 per cent on an all-India basis. Strong word-of-mouth and the fact that this is a rare sequel said to have surpassed the first film in plot and characterisation is drawing crowds,” said Denzil Dias, deputy MD, theatrical, Warner Bros, the producers of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows that collected Rs 4.2 crore across India on the New Year weekend.

And with even Nitish Roy’s three-week-old Gosain Baganer Bhoot, based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s tale, doing better than anticipated at the multiplexes, the city cinegoer has clearly found a choice beyond Bollywood. Even if that’s for a few days.

“I knew that the film would do well. Nobody makes films for kids here. Besides, we released the film very strategically during the holiday period so that the schoolchildren can watch it,” said Roy.

Did you like the Feluda and Sherlock Holmes films more than Don2? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com