At one point, multi-starrers, comprising of multiple actors and actresses, were in vogue in Bollywood but slowly, the trend faded. A few years ago, Rohit Shetty was to remake ‘Ram Lakhan’ but abandoned the plan when he realized that getting two prominent actors was difficult due to ego issues as both will be trying to get more screen space than the other. Yet, the hope isn’t entirely lost. Four years ago, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ (2015) had a great, ensemble cast. Recently, ‘Total Dhamaal’ consisted of a huge line up of actors and it added to the excitement. And now ‘Kalank’ is all set to release and it promises to be the biggest multi-starrer in recent times!
‘Kalank’ is directed by Abhishek Varman, who earlier made ‘2 States’. This 2014 romcom was a joint co-production between Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Sajid Nadiadwala’s Nadiadwala Grandsons and both have once again collaborated for this film along with Fox Star Studios. It’s a film that Karan’s father Yash Johar wanted to make since the 90s. Then Shah Rukh Khan was to play a major role and the film was to be directed by Karan Johar himself. For some reasons, it did not happen. SRK’s role now has gone to Varun Dhawan. The other actors in the film are Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sonakshi Sinha. Sridevi was signed for the role earlier but after her untimely demise, Madhuri stepped in. The film looks grand and deserves a big screen watch. Also, the music is by Pritam, who was on a sabbatical since more than a year. The songs are all excellent and “Ghar More Pardesiya” and “First Class” have topped the charts. It is after a long time that songs of a film have become so popular.
‘Kalank’ was initially scheduled to release on Good Friday, April 19. But a month ago, the release was advanced by two days. Now it releases on Wednesday April 17, on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti. It isn’t a big holiday but the makers decided to still prepone the release as they wanted few more days than just a week to score at the box office. After all, April 26 will see the release of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, the last part of the 11-year-old series and it’s expected to rock the show at the box office like never before.
‘Kalank’ has created curiosity due to its big star cast, the Dharma factor, the songs and its grandeur but it faces some challenges. It looks too serious and even clichéd. The lavish sets instantly remind one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films. The buzz hence is there but not as much. And it’s crucial for the film to score since it’s made on a very high cost (more than Rs. 100 crore). Looking at the buzz, it can get an opening of around Rs. 16-17 crore, also considering that it’s a very small holiday and that it’s a mid-week release. Thursday collections might be lesser or in the same range but collections on Friday can touch the Rs. 30 crore mark. It’s important to note here that such a jump on Friday can happen only if the response is positive. If it’s not, it can prove detrimental. The rates have also been inflated and in some centres, this move can backfire if the word of mouth is bad.
When a big budget film fails, everyone suffers in the industry. Hence, here’s hoping ‘Kalank’ is a brilliant piece of cinema and proves to be successful at the box office!
