Bhansali miscalculate Sawariya

Last week, in his PR column, when publicist Dale Bhagwagar said, "It's a mistake on the part of the makers of 'Saawariya' to knowingly pit their film opposite an SRK starrer," not many took him seriously.

"I doubt if 'Saawariya' can give competition to 'Om Shanti Om' and hope it's not a case of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's over confidence v/s Shah Rukh Khan's star power. Because such a game, if lost, can give a jolt to the industry," he had mentioned in his column.

Just a week later, his predictions seem to be coming true. Dale had feared that such unjustified competition between a debutante and a megastar could result in mega shocks. Decidedly, 'Om Shanti Om' is now said to be a much stronger product, while 'Saawariya' is already facing criticism on the directorial front, after its premiere.

It can be noted here that Bhansali has always made films with very big stars. While 'Khamoshi' starred Salman Khan and Manisha Koirala, 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' had Salman, Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead. The makers' 'Devdas' went one step ahead to have a kind of a casting coup with Shah Rukh Khan pairing up with Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya, while 'Black' had the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherji leading the cast. This is the first time Bhansali took up the mantle of being a star-maker, by launching new faces Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, along with Salman and Rani in special roles.

"If 'Saawariya' was postponed to another week, it could have stood a better chance. I wonder why its makers couldn't see the crisis coming," says Dale, and explains, "PRs build perceptions, but perception-building is not the only aspect required for a film. The hype for 'Saawarya' has been tremendous, but it seems Sanjay Leela Bhansali not only over-rated his product but miscalculated its overall acceptance."