The janta review of Kites and Raavan was swift and cruel. F-L-O-P. Flop. That’s real bad news for the common producer of both films – Reliance Big Pictures. Sources say the company has lost upwards of Rs 100 crore on these films. By its current scale of performance, Raavan looks to sink lower than the other mega-budget dud – Kites.
Both films had extensive pre-launch promotions. Alas – promotions ensure that a film has a good opening over the weekend. That’s it. After that, it is the content of the film itself which will make it swim or sink. Beating poor reviews and word-of-mouth ratings, Kites managed a good opening weekend, netting in Rs 30 crore.
Raavan has collected less than Rs 20 crore at the close of its opening weekend. This week onwards, Raavan has a clear run with no competing releases. Yet, analysts predict it will sink further. Nothing can salvage Raavan with its below average opening of 50% across the country.
Kites and Raavan were expected to follow Raajneeti’s rocking show at the box office. Instead, the films have become Bollywood ki Aag. That’s something, even by Bollywood standards of expecting the most unexpected.
Was it the actors? Raavan is Abhishek Bacchan’s third film with Mani Ratnam. After Yuva and Guru, expectations were sky-high from Abhishek Bachchan. (We tend to dismiss Delhi 6). What the janta saw was largely dismissed as hamming and posturing, amateurish and naive. Questions raised on faking the much-vaunted dive didn’t help.
Hrithik was appreciated in Kites for his good looks (which the camera made love to, framing him in tight close-ups and bare torso scenes). Jai faltered, Hrithik didn’t.
Scintillating Barbara Mori looked pretty in Kites. So does Aishwarya in Raavan. Luminous, floating around in the forest, long curly drenched hairpiece and carefully crafted no make up look. So we’ve heard of the chemistry between the stand-in Sita and the shrieking baddie. We think back to the mock fight when the same pair landed on a bed in Guru and phuuuuuus- zilch. Aishwarya, I suspect, still looks hottest with Hrithik. Hrithik and Barbara’s crackling chemistry and smouldering looks kept Kites ticking.
Both films are richly crafted and produced – sweeping shots, stunning locales, jungles, waterfalls, but where is the story? So Kites was painful and downright silly in the second half. With Raavan and its confusing plot (Beera is Raavan, Robin Hood or Veerappan), why does Vikram wear aviator glasses in the jungle (he’s a cop, they cost a lot, no?) and run slo-mo, etc, etc. The plot rests mostly in Mani Ratnam’s head.
To sum up, here’s what I am saying other filmmakers should avoid like the plague:
- Avoid bumbling actors who ham for the camera
- If your film is titled Raavan, don’t hope that Sita will see it through
- Get a lead pair who look hot together
- Let the story out of the director’s head and out there for the audience
- Acknowledge the use of stuntmen/women
- Don’t get Ma and Pa to defend your film
- Think of a strategy to counter word-of-mouth ratings and reviews
- Don’t let others in Bollywood poke fun at your expense and ask RGV and KJo to take their tweet battles offline
Read my colleague Rummana’s review of Raavan here. ‘Abhi-Ash are insufferable’, she says. And here’s the trailer.
Now vote here and tell me what you think is the reason for Raavan’s no-show:
3 reasons why Raavan flopped:
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