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Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of those rare directors who has gotten tons of appreciation as a director despite the fact that he has lacked major box office success. Films like HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM, DEVDAS, and BLACK are still remembered by many.
Over the last few years, Bhansali's directorial ventures have mainly been dark, different types of films that were very class-oriented and appealed to a very small section of the public in India. SAWAARIYA and GUZAARISH were the biggest examples of that, and that's why both films tanked at the box office. However, with his next film RAM-LEELA, he seems to have entered a new zone...
RAM LEELA's theatrical trailer released a while back and many people loved the trailer. But, the most important thing to note from the trailer was that Bhansali has entered a completely different, audience-friendly zone with this film. There was no more of the darkness, classiness, niche-appealing style that his last few films carried. What was seen in RAM LEELA's theatrical trailer was color, mass appeal, steamy scenes, and there is also the pair of Ranveer-Deepika.
So, how will RAM LEELA fare at the box office? I feel that it will do better at the box office than SAWAARIYA and GUZAARISH. But, RAM LEELA also faces it share of hurdles. More on that later!
On the positive side, there is mass appeal in this film. Violence, sex, color, Deepika-Ranveer pairing, and some of the songs would appeal to the masses. As said, the theatrical trailer got a great response. Also, Deepika is in this film after being in the biggest grosser of Hindi cinema (CHENNAI EXPRESS), All Time Blockbuster YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI, 100 crore success RACE 2, and Hit/career-changing film COCKTAIL.
Now, the hurdles! On the negative side, there is Sachin Tendulkar's farewell Test that is going to be played from November 14-18 (Thursday to Monday), and as we all know the whole country of India worships Sachin, and this will have a big impact on RAM LEELA's collections as everyone will just care about Sachin and his Test rather than other things. Also, to make things worse for RAM LEELA, next week on Friday sees the release of another two big films, GORI TERE PYAR MEIN and SINGH SAHAB THE GREAT. Also, another problem RAM LEELA could face is lack of support from family audience, as the film seems quite vulgar for them.
Opening wise, the film will take a strong opening, because the trailers and songs have been liked, and definitely also because of Deepika who is arguably the number one actress in Bollywood right now. However, cricket will prevent collections from going higher.
My Box Office Predictions for RAM LEELA:
Opening Day: 9 crores net
Opening Weekend: 30+ crores net
Lifetime Collections: 50+ crores net
Overall Box Office Verdict: Average
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