The last few weeks have not been great for Bollywood. This week too shall be one of those dry weeks though there are the following four films up for release.
Shabaash Mithu
It is the biopic of cricket legend, Mithali Raj. Taapsee Pannu played the lead in this film, which is the first-ever sports biopic on a female cricketer. The film was earlier supposed to be directed by Rahul Dholakia. However, he had to leave the project as it got delayed due to the pandemic. Srijit Mukherji then stepped in. The trailer of this film is impressive and Taapsee seems to have given yet another smashing performance. The buzz, however, is limited. Moreover, after the debacles of cricket films like ’83’ (2021) and ‘Jersey’ (2022), one wonders if ‘Shabaash Mithu’ will be able to excel at the ticket window. The opening of the film is expected to be in the range of Rs. 1-1.50 crore.
HIT – The First Case
It is the remake of the 2020 Telugu film of the same name. It stars Rajkummar Rao and Sanya Malhotra in lead roles and is about a cop who is trying to solve the case of the disappearance of a young girl. Though the trailer is intriguing, the film has failed to generate any sort of excitement. Moreover, it looks like a film for the classes and will have no chance in the mass centres. Its opening would be in the range of Rs. 1 crore or even less.
Ladki
It is directed by Ram Gopal Varma and stars Pooja Bhalekar as a martial arts fighter. The film’s posters and trailer caught attention as it features a skimpily clad Pooja fighting baddies. The release is limited as the hype is minimal. It stands a chance in B and C centres and might even do better than ‘Shabaash Mithu’ and ‘Hit – The First Case’ in certain cinemas.
Judaa Hoke Bhi
It is directed by Vikram Bhatt and written by Mahesh Bhatt. The thriller stars Akshay Oberoi and Aindrita Ray of ‘Bhavai’ (2022) fame. At one point, such films by Vikram Bhatt would be able to find at least some audience. In the case of ‘Judaa Hoke Bhi’, the marketing strategy is absent. Viewers are not even aware that such a film is being released in cinemas. Hence, it’ll have a very tough time at the box office.
Besides these aforementioned films, ‘Jaadugar’ will release on Netflix, on July 15. It stars Jitendra Kumar and Arushi Sharma of ‘Love Aaj Kal’ (2020) fame. Sameer Saxena of TVF directed and has also acted in the film. It is a story of a small-town man who aspires to be a magician and who has to reluctantly participate in a local football tournament to win his love. The film looks like a clean entertainer and hence can record significant viewership.
