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It's amazing how things can change!
I still remember a couple months back, when no promo of BAAR BAAR DEKHO was released. At the time, Katrina Kaif (who has been one of the top female stars since 2007) was having a string of box office flops. The underperformance of BANG BANG and the dismal performance of PHANTOM and especially FITOOR comes to mind. Not only that, but people also began to talk about Katrina starting to age, and how at her current age (33) actresses usually begin to fade.
Sidharth Malhotra himself had a shaky box office track record, coming off a Super Hit (KAPOOR AND SONS) but a big budget box office dud before that (BROTHERS).
Naturally, there were some people who felt that BAAR BAAR DEKHO wouldn't be given a dekho even once, forget baar baar!
All of that changed though as soon as the first song promo came out! KALA CHASHMA became an instant chartbuster, one that has already crossed the 70 million views mark on YouTube as I speak. Not only that, but the later songs as well such as SAU AASMAAN gained popularity as well, with the song promos being the important factor of creating the right hype. The theatrical trailer of the film has been liked as well, although not as much as the trailer of KAPOOR AND SONS was.
Karan Johar (who is one of the producers of this film) has said that the script is the only love story in the last decade that makes you wonder right through with intrigue and said its the first time he has read a love story with the beats of an emotional thriller. Karan usually knows quite well about the taste of the audience, and with his comments about the script it seems that the content will likely be appreciated by the audience.
Katrina Kaif also seems to be back with a bang! After being written off by some for her flop films and "aging" looks as they say, she seems to have proven those people wrong. Her looks, her energy, and her style will attract the male audience in hordes to the theatres! Her presence in the film, along with the KALA CHASHMA song will attract even the mass/single screen/small centre audience to the theatres on the opening day, although later this section of the audience will reject the film as it is obviously a multiplex film.
Sidharth Malhotra has fans amongst the urban youth (especially amongst females) and he will attract them to the theatres. His role in the film seems to be quite acting-oriented, and it remains to be seen how well he has pulled it off.
Because of the fact that Sidharth and Katrina are so good looking individually, they make a great looking pair, reminding one of Hritikh and Katrina from BANG BANG (although Hritikh is obviously a much bigger star than Sidharth). The Sidharth-Katrina pairing will attract the youth in hordes to theatres to watch them together.
The Sid-Kat pairing along with the chartbuster KALA CHASHMA has ensured a double-digit opening for this film. The popularity of the other songs is a bonus. Having said that, it does feel a bit as if the makers haven't been able to sustain the buzz in the recent few weeks, and I myself had a "huh?" type reaction when remembering that the film is releasing this Friday. Nonetheless, a strong opening day can be ensured. After the opening day, the film will sustain in big cities and multiplexes as I feel that this audience will like the film (especially after hearing what Karan Johar said). As I've said though, business at single screens/small centres will be weak from Day 2 onwards, and will be the biggest factor for this film not crossing the 100 crore mark.
There is a national holiday on Monday (except for few places) and a couple partial-type holidays (depending on the place) in the days after, which will provide a boost in collections for the film.
My Box Office Predictions for BAAR BAAR DEKHO:
Opening Day: 11 crores net
Opening 4-Day Weekend (Fri-Mon): 45+ crores net
Lifetime Collections: 80 crores net
Overall Box Office Verdict: Hit
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