Posted:
Baap-beta jodis in Bollywood are very common, whether it is actor-actor or director-actor combinations. Amitabh Bachchan-Abhishek Bachchan, Dharmendra-Sunny Deol, Rishi Kapoor-Ranbir Kapoor are just some examples on-screen. Off-screen however, it has also been noticeable, with the biggest baap-beta jodi in recent times being Rakesh Roshan-Hritikh Roshan (Director-Actor pairing).
Time for another one! This Friday with MAIN TERA HERO, we see a new father-son director-actor pairing: The very successful David Dhawan and his son who is known as one of the rising stars of Bollywood after the success of his first film STUDENT OF THE YEAR, Varun Dhawan!
David Dhawan as a director is best remembered for his pairing with Govinda the actor. They were an unstoppable force in the 90s, churning out one box office success after another. SHOLA AUR SHABNAM, RAJA BABU, COOLIE NO.1, SAAJAN CHALE SASURAL, the All Time Blockbuster AANKHEN...the list goes on!
Of course, David Dhawan continued to taste success in the 2000s as well, especially with Salman Khan and their successful films like MUJSHE SHAADI KAROGE, MAINE PYAAR KYUN KIYA, and the Blockbuster PARTNER (also another Govinda film!).
With David moving away from Salman/Govinda with his last film CHASHME BADOOR, that film also still proved to be a Hit.
The big question is, how much box office magic can David Dhawan create with his son Varun Dhawan?
Here is my opinion:
David Dhawan hasn't gone wrong so many times, and him delivering a Hit with non-saleable stars with his last film CHASHME BADOOR is proof of his success rate as a director. But he's had some Flops too, with his box office disaster RASCALS coming to mind.
On the negative side, the promos of MAIN TERA HERO give a very PHATA POSTER NIKLA HERO type of vibe. The songs, the action, the comedy...it all how somehow reminds of that film. And as we know, that film bombed at the box office. It feels through MAIN TERA HERO's promos that poor Varun Dhawan is trying hard and creating noise...but no one is really listening unfortunately!
Another negative factor is that we have seen through the past year that most films that involve the hero doing normal action scenes have been met with a cold response. HIMMATWALA, BESHARAM, BOSS, PHATA POSTER NIKLA HERO, ZANJEER, POLICEGIRI, SINGH SAAB THE GREAT...all were films that involved action scenes and failed at the box office. The only films involving normal action scenes that have done well at the box office in recent times are CHENNAI EXPRESS and JAI HO/R RAJKUMAR (both to some extent), and two of these films had two of the biggest stars in the country and the third one (R RAJKUMAR) had a director who was able to change Shahid's look and personality to give him an intense action role that the public would like. In this case, neither is Varun Dhawan one of the country's biggest stars, and neither is he given an intense role. It's more of a cartoony kind role.
Even leaving aside the action parts, there doesn't seem to be much in the film that would make the multiplex audience want to see the film. For the multiplex audience, there isn't anything novel that they would get to see in this film. In recent times, the multiplex audience has mainly only come to see QUEEN, and that was purely because the film had terrific word of mouth.
There's also a cricket match involving India this Friday (a semi-final match vs South Africa) and possibly another match then for India on Sunday. This will have a negative impact on MAIN TERA HERO's box office collections, especially in a day and age where the first weekend is all-important, especially for a commercial entertainer like this.
The masses may come to see the film, but again, given the fact that Varun Dhawan is not a big star yet, the masses won't find as much enjoyment seeing him perform comedy, action, songs, etc. Shahid Kapoor who is a bigger star than Varun was given a cold-shoulder by the audience when trying all of this in PHATA POSTER NIKLA HERO. Even one of the country's biggest stars Ranbir Kapoor was cold-shouldered by the audience when trying all of this in BESHARAM! Basically, I think it's because the audience wants to see either one of the 3 Khans (and maybe Hritikh too) doing such a role (ex. SRK with CHENNAI EXPRESS which was a huge Blockbuster) or they want there to be intensity in the role (Shahid Kapoor in R RAJKUMAR). Doing cartoony nature acts with a non-Khan actor and trying to get that actor to entertain the audience through cartoony acts for 3 hours does not work with the public it seems.
Comparisons can cause another problem. Some people feel that they are being reminded of superstars like Salman Khan and Govinda through the promos of the film, and if comparisons happen while watching the film it may not turn out to be a good thing for Varun Dhawan. Comparisons are obviously unfair, but the audience tends to do such things.
Another reason why the film feels like Flop film PHATA POSTER NIKLA HERO is because actress Ileana D' Cruz is in both films, and the other actress in the film Nargis Fakhri had a special appearance in the song "Dhating Naach" in PHATA POSTER NIKLA HERO!
It's not as if there is disaster written all over the film though. David Dhawan has a good success rate. Varun Dhawan impressed people with his performance in STUDENT OF THE YEAR. Some of the songs have caught on with the public. The film is being produced by Ekta Kapoor, The film is a remake of the Telegu Super Hit KANDIREEGA. So, there are a handful of positives for the film, but unfortunately I think that the negatives outweigh the positives.
The film will get a mixed opening, but for a star who is still fairly new (Varun Dhawan) the opening will be termed as decent, maybe even good. Good opening can be attributed to David Dhawan being able to pull in the audience, few of the songs being a hit, and those that liked Varun in STUDENT OF THE YEAR coming to see the film.
Opening at single screens will be mixed-it will be better in mass areas, but those that are not really familiar with Varun or not fans of him yet would may not come to a single screen theatre to watch this film on face value. But the mass flavour/songs of the film and David Dhawan would pull in some audience to the single screens.
At multiplexes, the opening will be mixed here too. Varun Dhawan's Hit film STUDENT OF THE YEAR was more of a multiplex film which means that it could benefit MAIN TERA HERO opening at multiplexes to at least some extent. But as said earlier, the film itself doesn't really have much to offer for the multiplex audience, so there will be another big section of this audience that will stay away from the film.
India vs South Africa semi-final cricket match will have a negative impact on opening day collections as there will be people who will stay at home and watch this match. Another possible match for India on Sunday could also be harmful for the film.
On the weekdays, I think the film may sustain to some extent in mass areas, but collections will drop at multiplexes, which will prove to be harmful for the film, especially as it seems to have a high budget.
My Box Office Predictions for MAIN TERA HERO:
Opening Day: 5 crores net
Opening Weekend: 18 crores net
Lifetime Collections: 30+ crores net
Overall Box Office Verdict: Below Average
Even though I don't think the film will do well, I think Varun Dhawan will be a star in the future! He was liked by people with his performance in STUDENT OF THE YEAR. Let's see where his position stands in the coming years against the co-stars from his first film, Siddharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt!
325