Was it a tactical error to release the lighthearted ‘Mere Husband Ki Biwi’ at a time when ‘Chhaava’ rules the minds of the audience? But then, as producer Jackky Bhagnani told me an evening before release, there is no good or bad time for a film.
If the audience wants to see a film, it will. No matter what the competition. The Bhagnanis who are under a financial cloud, really needed ‘Mere Husband Ki Biwi’ to succeed. And it has. After a moderate run in theatres it has been sold at a decent price on OTT.
The film will break even, but it could have done better had the Chhaava factor not preyed into its prospects, especially in Maharashtra where the population has adopted the film as one of its own.
Vicky Kaushal is now radiating the confidence of a superstar, and rightly so. For his on-the-floor film Sanjay Bhansali’s ‘Love & War’, Vicky has been paid around Rs 5 crore. After Chhaava, his fee will be four times that.
This Friday, the Indian box office has two significant surprises in store. Much had already been said about Reema Kagti’s Superboys Of Malegoan. The quirky film on the parallel movie making cottage industry in Malegoan will benefit from Vineet Kumar who is suddenly a force to reckon with after Chhaava.
Will Chhaava allow breathing space for Sohum Shah’s crazily titled thriller Crazxy? It does have the ‘X’ factor encrypted into the title, but would it translate into box office figures? Indications are, Crazxy is likely to be the dark horse of the season.
Sohum Shah is an actor-filmmaker we can always rely on to deliver something beyond the conventional; and I am not just talking about the historic Tumbbad. Baabarr, an underrated film directed by Ashu Trikha, featured Sohum in a riveting crime thriller. And what about Sohum as Bihar’s chief minister in the series Maharani? He was just about the best thing in this mediocre political drama.
For my time and money, Sohum Shah is among the most interesting actors/filmmakers in Filmistan. I can’t wait to see what he has done in Crazxy.
