Jagga Jasoos BO/Review Thread[Note pg 24] - Page 6

E-Square Multiplex (Pune)just opened Advance for #JaggaJasoos & this is the scenario of advance. Don't underestimate #Ranbirkapoor stardom.

This week will see the release of the first big release in terms of budget since the box office failure of Tubelight. Jagga Jasoos has the presence of two genuine stars of the day with Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif who also have two SUPER HIT films behind them as a pair with Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti. Stars are a very rare commodity today with only around 10-12 artistes male or female that can genuinely be called stars but its a huge missed opportunity when the casting comes but its for a film like Jagga Jasoos.

This is not to count the film as a failure as the film could turn out better than the promos and work but it will take some huge effort for the film to work across India and give the sort of final number that is a positive for the star status of Ranbir and Katrina Kaif. Ranbir Kapoor's last film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil opened at 13 crore on pre Diwali with a clash against Shivaay which was a big result as a box office draw. The film did have the super hit music factor but the dull pre Diwali days and clash were huge negatives and to get 13 crore nett was a very good result. The fact is that any decent Ranbir / Katrina film and you would be considering a 15 crore nett start but here the hope will be a double digit star and there is always chance the evening crowd may not come to take it there.

The language and concept of the film is foreign, it was the same case for Tubelight but at least the promos had that Hindi emotional feel which bought in a sizeable crowd initially and they had to see the film to recognize its not for them. Here the the promos are shouting out to the audience to stay away, there is zero reliability and the world shown does not seem to exist, well at least for most of the audience. Its again inspiration from Europe or Hollywood which does not have many takers in India.

The same team Disney / Ranbir / Anurag Basu had made Barfi! a few years back and that film did 105 crore nett business which was bit of a fluke. The success of the film was not a fluke but to get that 10-15 crore nett extra was thanks to a very cleverly thought out tight release and the content working well with the limited target audience to allow the release structure to profit. So what happens here is that a sort of fluke encourages an even bigger film to be made when in reality you should be thanking your lucky stars that you got away with it. The team of Barfi! probably thought its a loved film encouraged by the English media circle but the reality is barring a small minority nobody really cared and this further proved with disaster television results. The team probably still think its a loved film but it does not register on television at all and there will be minimal screenings on television.

We have seen results of so called loved films like Rock On and Kahaani when their sequels were made and here it is not a sequel but a misjudgment of appreciation of Barfi! which has led to a costly Jagga Jasoos. This is happening with alarming regularity in the industry and it has to learn that appreciation and success are two different things. Success can happen with a minority but when appreciation only comes from a minority and majority has rejected then its not appreciation. The stars have promoted the film heavily and could be seen everywhere but its unlikely the campaign converted the audience into viewers

Still it will be good for the industry if Jagga Jasoos picks up and the five metros embrace the film as the industry does not need another big disappointment so soon after Tubelight.

After a delay of a couple of years, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaifs Jagga Jasoos is finally hitting the screens tomorrow. The film has been in news right through its making though. Largely though, there were negative pegs around the film in the years gone by, what with various troubles plaguing it. Frequent change in schedules, the breakup of Ranbir and Katrina, confusion around its supporting cast (the fact that Govinda has not made it to the final cut has emerged only now), a different kind of treatment by Anurag Basu that was causing apprehensions, production hassles all of this and more was heard around the film.

However, one has to give it to marketing team of Jagga Jasoos that at least in the last two to three months, there has been some sort of turnaround in the film's fortunes. Unlike Bombay Velvet that arrived with quite some negativity even on the day of release and eventually took a disastrous opening, Jagga Jasoos has at least found a platform for itself where it can fight for itself. A film which looked doomed has reached a stage where it is in for a chance to come back on track if the final content is good.

This has also been a difficult film to take to the audience due to a different kind of narrative style and ethos that it carries. Anurag Basu has his own style of direction and that is apparent in the couple of promos that have been out. That said, there has been no compromise on messaging around what the film is all about. In that aspect, the promotion has been sincere and honest, and now it is on audiences to decide whether they want to give it a dekko.

As things stand today, the film should take an opening day in the range of Rs. 8-9 crore. Not that this would be a great start for the film. However, for a delayed release, this is still a fair number and post that it would be entirely on how audiences like the film that would give it a boost over the weekend.

For the industry's sake, one hopes that this biggie manages to do at least reasonably well at the Box Office.