OSO holds fort, Saawariya sees drastic drop

November 14th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

By ROHINI BHANDARI

12 November 2007, 10:57 PM
MUMBAI: Last week saw the release of two much hyped movies of the year - Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya.

One was director Farah Khan’s second film starring Shah Rukh Khan and model turned actress Deepika Padukone and the other was Bhansali’s fifth film with debutants Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor.

Now the wait is over and the results are out! On Friday, both movies started on a slightly low note at select places (like North India), considering that it was Diwali. On Saturday both movies ran houseful but word of mouth publicity worked in Om Shanti Om’s favour. Eventually, Om Shanti Om proved its power at the box office. Saawariya on the other hand has not succeeded in putting up a great show.

On Monday, Om Shanti Om ran with 80 per cent occupancy at a few multiplexes and as high as 95 – 100 per cent in others. On the other hand, Saawariya saw a drastic drop with as little as 20 per cent occupancy in some multiplexes and 40 per cent at some others.

“Saawariya was houseful on Saturday but dropped by 10 -15 per cent on Sunday itself, which was highly unexpected considering that Sunday is a movie day and any movie manages to do well on that day,” says a programming head of a multiplex chain on condition of anonymity.

At most multiplexes both movies are running with equal shows. But at some, Saawariya has more shows than Om Shanti Om and vice versa. Further, since Om Shanti Om was carrying better reviews than Saawariya, some multiplexes opted to increase the number of shows for Om Shanti Om at few properties. For instance, Fame Inorbit has as many as 15 shows of Om Shanti Om and 12 of Saawariya. “We added a few early morning shows because there was a lot of demand for Om Shanti Om from the audiences and people do not mind coming in early and paying lesser money for tickets,” says Fame Cinemas programming head Aditya Shroff.

Similarly Cinemax (Versova) too is running an 8.30 am show. However this coming weekend may see a further decline in the number of Saawariya’s shows and also prints at multiplexes.

Business of Cinema

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  3. Jodhaa Akbar: Hit or miss?
  4. BOI Update: OSO & Saawariya First Day BoxOffice Report
  5. Singh set to become the box-office king

There Are 7 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Sulakshna on 14 November 2007:

    Is this the reason… Sanjay Bhansali’s Outburst has come to the press today.

    PLEASE READ.

    Sanjay Leela Bhansali says SRK has no rights to destroy 150 people!
    by Rajiv Dutta

    Sanjay Leela Bhansali has come out fighting in defense of his movie Saawariya, and at the top of his target list is… Shah Rukh Khan.

    As Om Shanti Om runs away with the top accolades for the Diwali battle, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has gone on record to ask the Bollywood King Shah Rukh Khan some very awkward questions. “Shah Rukh Khan is the king of Bollywood. He can say whatever he likes. But why is he going around saying, ‘I will destroy them?’ Where is the dignity of the reigning superstar? Why compare yourself to a film with two newcomers? Who are you to destroy them? Have you created them? Do we eat off your plate? Have we made the film with your money? What gives you the right to say you will destroy 150 people who have invested so much in the film? Let people judge. It’s a film with good values, and principles, people should appreciate that,” said an angry Bhansali last night.

    He then went on to express his disappointment further, “You feel disappointed. We decided that we’ll maintain a certain dignity and not pull each other’s films down. But then he started making comments like he will destroy us.”

    When asked about the success of Om Shanti Om, Bhansali responded, “I feel that acting is not about six-packs but I’ve never said it until now. Why ‘destroy’ us? It’s time for new cinema, cricketers, politicians. Let the newcomers like Ranbir come in. Shah Rukh Khan will remain a king. Just because People love (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, it doesn’t mean they will forget Sachin (Tendulkar).”

    Maybe positioning Saawariya against Om Shanti Om was not a good strategy, “I’ve got a big opening. No other filmmaker would’ve got that against a Shah Rukh Khan film, and it’s a big deal. We got the biggest opening for an Indian film with newcomers in the lead. Anyway, why compare two completely different films? My films are about art, and OSO is about commerce. People are walking out of OSO too, so why are we only talking about people not liking Saawariya? There is an agenda to this,” responded Bhansali positively.

    When asked about why critics such as Komal Nahta and Taran Adarsh blasted the movie, Bhansali responded, ““Only a handful of critics are trying to influence the audience against the film…Komal and Taran belong to the cinema of the eighties, they are antiquated and I never expected them to understand ‘Saawariya’. Great cinema should be kept away from such reviewers.”

    Source: http://www.indiatarget.com/cgi-bin/detailnews.cgi?id=5542

  2. Comment by Jai Kumar on 14 November 2007:

    Its a best time that Anurag Kashyap should form a Foundation of a club named..”Creative Makers’ Association of Anti-Critics”

    The first member would be enrolled as ‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali’ who is highly unsatisfied with the Cine-Critics and Audience alike.

    Oso is a Blockbuster but it is hard to accept this fact by the ‘Saawariya’maker.

  3. Comment by saknsak on 14 November 2007:

    SLB Said.

    “….Where is the dignity of the reigning superstar? Why compare yourself to a film with two newcomers? Who are you to destroy them? Have you created them? Do we eat off your plate? Have we made the film with your money? What gives you the right to say you will destroy 150 people who have invested so much in the film? Let people judge. It’s a film with good values, and principles, people should appreciate that,”

    My advice to SLB, Please maintain dignity while making public statement like this only one may be able to preach others.

  4. Comment by koushik on 14 November 2007:

    Just watched saawariya.
    Needless to say there were hardly any people in the audience.
    Never seen such a boring movie in my entire life.This beats RGV ki aag by miles.
    Why on earth did SLB decide to make such a movie?Why why why!!!!!!It totally baffles me.Anybody who can clear my doubts????
    May be he wants to win an oscar!!!!
    God knows.
    I have read the reviews…so expectation was low anyway…but still could not bear such an awful movie…God damn it.
    How can a seasoned director turn into an amateur one.Did he take training from RGV????
    Lots of questions to answer.

  5. Comment by bolly_fan on 14 November 2007:

    looks like SLBs ego is hurt after losing to a women director

  6. Comment by AksFilmi on 15 November 2007:

    Lolz Bolly Fan

    I dont understand y he shud be hurt - There was never a comparison btween OSO & saawariya

    On losing to farah khan may be it hurts - but at the end we all knw SLB is the best

  7. Comment by rajeev on 17 November 2007:

    lo,SLB is going to make bajirao mastani with ash and abhishek.One more Shann prediction coming true.

    So guys its the start of the end of SLB.

    Another case in point would be VVinod Chopra.

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