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July 23, 2006
'Krrish' has record haul in North America ...
By Arun Kumar, Indo-Asian News Service
Washington, July 20 (IANS) Bollywood's first superhero "Krrish" has made it to two major American publications in one great leap across the seas to pose a challenge to America's own favourite Superman.
"Superman may have returned, but if he doesn't perform up to snuff his job could soon be outsourced to India," said Newsweek, but the Los Angeles Times was more direct: "Move over Superman, make room for Krrish."
The film that became a cultural phenomenon in India long before its worldwide June 23 release, has done well in Indian communities in the United States too, the Times noted.
In its first three days in North America, "Krrish" brought in $643,000 in 59 locations or just less than $11,000 per theatre. Worldwide, the box office haul was reported to be a record $15 million in its first week, almost double the $8 million raked in by the previous Indian record holder "Fanaa".
"Krrish" has turned out to have crossover appeal and has drawn a culturally diverse crowd, the daily said citing Dylan Marchetti, head of operations for the ImaginAsian theater in New York, part of the ImaginAsian Entertainment Inc., which brings pan-Asian programming to the United States. "It's played to crowds that were 50 percent non-Asian," he said.
Indian epics like the Ramayana are brimming with outsize figures, but up to now Indians have seen very few homegrown celluloid superheroes, said Newsweek in its piece on the movie that drew the biggest advance opening in the history of Hindi cinema.
Its $10 million budget is one of the biggest ever for a Hindi film, but still paltry compared with the $200 million reportedly spent on "Superman Returns", it noted and asked: "Is this the beginning of a new genre for Hindi films?"
"It lays the foundation of the superhero concept in Bollywood," Newsweek quoted the film's star and director Rakesh Roshan's son Hrithik Roshan as saying.
As Asian consumers flex their financial muscles, they will demand Hollywood-type products that are more in line with their own cultural identities, the news magazine cited renowned director Shekhar Kapur as arguing. With its lavish special effects and dramatic stunts, "Krrish" could easily bridge that gap, it suggests.
Roshan himself acknowledges that he made his film primarily for an Indian audience, but said he kept in mind the bigger international one. "You never know; it could catch on, like it happened for 'Crouching Tiger'," he says. Already the director is ready for a sequel with an "even bigger budget" - if the register tills continue to ring.
July 23, 2006
'Umrao Jaan' to take on 'Dhoom 2' this October ...
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, (IANS) Yash Raj Films' costly caper "Dhoom 2" will clash at the box-office with J.P. Dutta's eagerly awaited "Umrao Jaan", with both films set for a Diwali-Eid release in October.
Interestingly, both the films star Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, though in totally different avatars.
"As far as I know, 'Dhoom 2' is a contemporary caper. Abhishek and Ash are in totally different looks and attitude. My film is a costume drama. It takes my two actors back to another era. I thought Eid-Diwali to be the best time to release 'Umrao Jaan'," Dutta told IANS.
This could be the most interesting box office clash ever during Diwali.
"I am not looking at a clash at all. There is absolutely no similarity between the two films," asserted Dutta.
"Umrao Jaan" will be distributed worldwide by Manmohan Shetty's Adlab, which has so far distributed films overseas alone.
Dutta has initiated a process whereby for the first time a film will be marketed in the local Indian market by Adlab.
"October 20 isn't too far away. There is a lot of work to be done still. I have finished the dubbing. Anu Malik has just completed the background score. The mixing will start next.
"I have been very careful with the marketing of 'Umrao Jaan'. So far, the one up there has taken care of it. I am sure he will take it wherever it deserves to go."
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