Shiv Sena angry with SRK - Post All Articles HERE - Page 79

New Delhi, Feb 18, 2010 (IANS) After a bumper opening, Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'My Name Is Khan' is being cold-shouldered by the audience here. Cinema hall owners blame the 'non-entertaining content' of the movie.

'There is a huge fall in 'My Name Is Khan' ticket sales. While it was just 30 percent Wednesday, it is only 20 percent Thursday. The film is not being appreciated because of the content,' Amit Awasthi, manager (programming and operations) of Spice Cinemas, told IANS.

'The entertainment aspect in the movie is zero. Thought is has some emotions, there is nothing much to offer,' he added.

A source in PVR cinemas echoed the news.

'Our occupancy has fallen from around 90 percent to 50 percent Monday onwards because of the content of the movie. We are guessing it will stretch to one week more,' said the source.

A love story set against the backdrop of racial discrimination post 9/11, 'My Name Is Khan' grossed an estimated $18 million at the worldwide box office in its opening weekend.

Directed by Karan Johar, the movie is being marketed and distributed by Fox Star in India, in the US by its sister company Fox Searchlight, and in the rest of the world by parent group company 20th Century Fox International.

'There has been a drastic fall after Monday for 'My Name Is Khan'. There is no entertainment aspect in it and lacks mass appeal. It has repeated the history of Saif Ali Khan starrer 'Kurbaan',' said Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan.

'From critics' point of view both have been good movies but the youngsters today want only entertainment which these two could not fulfil,' he added.

Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, however, has a different opinion for the fall in occupancy of the movie.

'Footfalls for 'My Name Is Khan' have fallen but the weekend is expected to be good. The occupancy at present is about 30 percent which is decent enough considering it is a working week and that there are close to 12-14 shows per day across different properties for the movie,' said Raizada.

'The movie will sustain business and occupancy will be close to 70-80 percent over the weekend,' he predicted.

This summer My Name Is Khan will be playing for a non-NRI audience in theatres across the US. And the version of MNIK that American audiences will get to see will be different from the original film released so far in India and overseas for the NRI audiences.

Shah Rukh Khan confirms this decision to shorten the film for American audiences. "Yes, we are cutting the length of the film for the American audience. Their requirements are different from the traditional audience for Hindi cinema. We're in this way extending the life span of a Hindi film with first a worldwide release for Indian audiences and then phased out releases for non-Indian audiences," he told IANS.

Film director Karan Johar said: "Yes, the version for Americans will be shorter though not radically different. We've left the American version's editing to the film's editor Deepa Bhatia. She is experienced and versatile enough to understand what would be palatable to the American audiences. Deepa has worked on feature films as well as documentaries. She's edited films for everyone from me to Govind Nihalani."

Karan admits it's not the songs nor the length that will determine the shape and size of the American version of "MNIK". "The first thing we heard from the American market is, we love the songs. So the songs stay. Deepa Bhatia is looking at what to remove."

This summer when the film releases for a non-diaspora audience in the US, Shah Rukh, Karan and Kajol will be in the country for the American premiere."We're committed to our American producers Fox-Star to take the film to the US and any other part of the world where it will be screened in whichever avatar," Karan said.

My apology to MNS over Sid may have triggered Sena's MNIK stir: Johar