The dry season in Bollywood is about to end soon. New films would once again start releasing after a lull of more than a month. Though one doesn’t expect these films to work big time, the exhibitors and industry are happy that at least a start has been made.
The biggest film to release is ‘Badhaai Do’. It stars Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar and is directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni of ‘Hunterrr’ (2015) fame. The film tells an interesting story of a gay and a lesbian tying the knot to silence their respective families who have been pressurizing them for marriage. Though the premise looks promising, the buzz is very limited. Moreover, such topics rarely get acceptance from mainstream audiences. A recent example is Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor starrer ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ (2021). That film seemed far more entertaining than ‘Badhaai Do’. Yet, it opened at just Rs. 3.25 crore. ‘Badhaai Do’, hence, might have a lesser opening, anywhere between Rs. 1-2 crore. If the word of mouth is positive, it can hopefully grow well over the weekend.
The other release of the week is ‘Khiladi’, a Telugu film which has been dubbed in Hindi, starring Ravi Teja. The film is getting a wide release as the makers are hoping it can repeat the success of ‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01’ (2021). However, the awareness is just not there. Interestingly, ‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01’ opened at just Rs. 3.30 crore and then grew dramatically. But even this film had some sort of hype. ‘Khiladi’, meanwhile, is an unknown film for many. Its opening might be in the Rs. 1-2 crore range as well. In mass centres, it might open better than ‘Badhaai Do’.
Finally, there are 3 Hollywood films which releases today; ‘Death On The Nile’, ‘Moonfall’ and ‘Marry Me’. ‘Death On The Nile’ seems the most exciting as it’s a murder mystery and the second part after the successful film, ‘Murder On The Orient Express’ (2017). The film stars Gal Gadot and that has enhanced the excitement. Moreover, it also stars Indian actor Ali Fazal in a crucial role. It can work and sustain in cinemas for several weeks if the reports are encouraging.
On the other hand, on OTT platform, ‘Gehraiyaan’ released on Amazon Prime yesterday. It stars Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday. It is directed by Shakun Batra and its bold and hot trailer has made it a trending topic. The film looks like an international product, technically and visually, and can emerge as one of the most successful Hindi films online if made well.
