Posted:
Many consider the 90s to be a magical era for Hindi cinema. The decade is remembered for romantic, feel-good cinema, and for the actors that were apart of such films.
There were many actresses who shined in the 90s such as Kajol, Karishma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Twinkle Khanna, Urmila Matondkar, Tabu, Mahima Chadhary, Rani Mukherji, Aishwariya Rai, etc.
Amongst them, there were two other huge female stars in the 90s, and they are the stars of GULAAB GANG: Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit!
It is well-known that Juhi and Madhuri are two of the biggest female stars ever (especially Madhuri). Juhi starred in some films that are still remembered today by many (DARR, HUM HAIN RAHI PYAAR KE, etc) while Madhuri Dixit is still remembered today by many for films like the legendary blockbuster HUM AAPKE HAIN KAUN and her "dhak dhak" act in Blockbuster BETA.
With the two actresses together for the first time ever on screen, expectations from GULAAB GANG are big...well, if it were still the 90s, expectations would have been big. Not so much in 2014!
We are in a day and age where many different, fresh types of films are working that feature new talent. Stars of the past still work, yes, (the 3 Khans being the biggest example of past stars still working with the audience), but unfortunately, female stars have a shorter life-span of stardom. Once an actress has gotten married or is of older age, they are rarely then accepted the audience. Madhuri and Juhi fall into this category unfortunately, as both women are 46 years old. It has already been proven that the audience no longer wants to see them on screen because the last several films of both actresses have failed badly at the box office, be it Madhuri's AAJA NACHLE/DEDH ISHQIYA and Juhi's almost every film in the last 10 years (majority of them were Flops with the main exception being SON OF SARDAR, and that film's success was due to a variety of other reasons such as Ajay Devgan star power, Masala genre, Diwali release date, etc).
Also, the idea of Madhuri fighting guys by herself as if she is Salman Khan from DABANGG will be off-putting for many viewers. The first poster that was released of GULAAB GANG that showed Madhuri in fighting mode with weird facial expression and weapons in her hands was un-intentionally funny.
I think Juhi Chawla will be praised by many for her performance in a negative role.
The opening of the film will be poor. The Friday opening day audience mainly consists of the youth, and the youth will not be interested in watching a film with older actresses like Juhi and Madhuri. Juhi and Madhuri in a masala genre style of the film will definitely put off the urban youth especially.
The presence of Madhuri/Juhi and massy genre may help the film put up a bit better opening numbers in mass areas and single screens though, with the film probably getting a better opening in mass areas/single screens than Kangana's QUEEN. But, collections will still be low though for GULAAB GANG even in these mass areas/single screens.
I don't expect the film to sustain well at the box office on the weekdays.
My Box Office Predictions for GULAAB GANG:
Opening Day: 1.5 crores net
Opening Weekend: 5 crores net
Lifetime Collections: 10 crores net
Overall Box Office Verdict: Flop
If this film were to release in the 90s when Madhuri and Juhi were at the peak of their careers, and that too with masala genre, I think this film would've been a success at the box office. Not in 2014 though!
Anupamaa
1