8 films in box office fight this January

After months of depressing returns, Tollywood struck paydirt at the end of last year. Thanks to the Byomkesh-Feluda rivalry, it was the audience’s time for revelry over the Christmas-New Year period. And January is already on the road to being a big-ticket month. It will be a feast for viewers — but will it rake in the moolah? The jury is still out on that question, it seems.
With Ebar Shabor — the first Bengali film of the year — doing well and Lorai’s release this week, grabbing primetime shows may turn out to be a problem for the other January releases, fear filmmakers. The upcoming films are Open Tee Bioscope, Chotoder Chobi, Herogiri and Romeo Vs Juliet — and industry watchers say that over Rs 20 crore is riding on this month’s films.
(In Picture: A still from Herogiri featuring Dev)

Admitted, the content of these films is quite unique and only two are big-budget commercial releases, getting theatres may still be a problem. Says a source, “Ebar Shabor, which is doing well in multiplexes, did not get good shows in single screens since both Badshahi Angti and Byomkesh Phire Elo are running successfully. Each of these is worth a dekko and the releases should have been staggered through the first quarter. Also, does the audience have the money or the inclination to watch so many films in a month?”
(In Picture: A still form Bodhon)

Prosenjit Chatterjee, actor, Lorai
I have no issues with the releases. But the problem is, none of the films can get justified under the current circumstances. So many films are being made these days. Somewhere we need to find a way out. One has to take into account the number of multiplexes in Bengal. So, all these films depend heavily on the 30-35 screens available, as not all of them are meant for single screen theatres. Earlier, there would be a lot more films catering to the single screens and only those made by Ritu (Rituparno Ghosh) or Rinadi (Aparna Sen) would be meant for a select audience. Now, Tollywood churns out plenty of urban films. Reason why one needs to be a little wiser when deciding on release dates. Good films should get their due and though we discuss this issue a lot, we need to come up with a solution.

Arindam Sil, director, Ebar Shabor
The festive season is not yet over. People are in a mood to celebrate and the winter vacation in schools and colleges is still on. If I had not released my film in the first week, I would’ve missed the bus. The south Indian audience supports their cinema all through the year and we need to test our market too. I feel the big releases should have been spaced out, but I’m happy to have presented the first film of the year. Though I didn’t get good shows in single screens and all of us are having to share each other’s space, I am looking forward to a good year for Tollywood. Lorai was supposed to release with us and I’m thankful to the producers who delayed the film by a week. Again, Ebar Shabor was expected to hit the screens along with Badshahi Angti and Byomkesh Phire Elo, but we pushed it back by two weeks.

Pankaj Ladia, trade analyst
Around five-six films release every month, but not all of them create so much buzz. The first month of the year is packed with big-ticket ventures and I feel the releases should have had a gap between them. Since Badshahi Angti and Byomkesh Phire Elo are running to packed audiences, there’s an acute space crunch as far as single screens are concerned. Having said that, the collections of Ebar Shabor have been good.
(In Picture: A scene from Romeo vs Juliet)

Anindya Chattopadhyay, director, Open Tee Bioscope
January is festival time and though I personally wanted to bring my film on Saraswati Puja because of its youth connect, the release date was finally decided on common consensus. If films are released around holidays, they are known to get good initials. For the movie lovers, what’s on offer is a bouquet of films, but if these movies would have come after a gap, it would have been good for the industry.

Shrikant Mohta, producer, Shree Venkatesh Films
Each of these films should have come after a gap. I don’t know why they are all packed in together. I can only talk about my film (Chotoder Chobi). As a producer, I have taken a call for my film. It holds true for all other producers. Spaced out releases would have benefited all the films. Though the audience will get plenty of choices this season, there will be a loss of business to each of these movies.

Arijit Dutta, exhibitor
It would have been a prudent decision if the makers had taken their time to release the films. The last one month has been superb with both Badshahi Angti and Byomkesh Phire Elo hitting the bullseye at the box office. In fact, they did so well that I couldn’t accommodate Ebar Shabor at our theatre. I’m looking forward to Open Tee Bioscope. The releases should have been staggered.
(In Picture: A still from Troyee)