Week’s delay could affect Anjaana Anjaani

Trade analysts have their say on the film Anjaana Anjaani’s clash with Rajni’s Robot and Ajay Devgn’s Aakrosh moving to October 8. Read on to know more.

Filmmakers may deny it but industry veterans maintain that postponing a film has not often benefited the movie.

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Anjaana Anjaani

, scheduled for September 24, has been pushed ahead to October 1 because producer Sajid Nadidwala thought it prudent not to open on the day of Ayodhya verdict. But this means a clash with Robot, Rajnikanth’s Rs 150 crore sci-fi adventure. Meanwhile, Aakrosh that was ready to take on the Rajni biggie earlier, has moved to October 8 and will be in competition with Mukesh Bhatt’s Crook – It’s Good To Be Bad.

Veteran trade analyst Vinod Mirani insists that Anjaana Anjaani has not yet generated the expected buzz. “And I don’t think delaying the Priyanka Chopra-Ranbir Kapoor starrer will help either,” he opines.

Shaaminder Malik, a trade expert from North India, echoes the opinion: “Theatre owners had started planning for

Anjaana Anjaani

this Friday, the delay has dampened what little enthusiasm they had.”

Anjaana Anjaani

From a solo release on September 24, to clashing with

on October 1, will only add to Anjaana Anjaani’s woes, observes Amod Mehra, another Mumbai-based trade veteran. “Robot won’t be affected, it will be a clean sweep for the Rajni-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan film. But divided viewership over the weekend would mean that fewer people will be catching

Anjaana Anjaani

,” he says, “

Aakrosh

won’t suffer since it’s a different kind of cinema.”

Malik is also upbeat about

Aakrosh

because of Ajay Devgn. “He’s had a good run this year. Besides, the story set against the backdrop of honour killings, and people in the North should connect with the subject following recent reports,” he notes.

However, he points out that the period from Ganpati to Diwali is not great for movie watching. “Not many films do well during this time, since during Navratri, people are caught up with religious festivities,” he reasons. “Hype doesn’t help. If the content is not strong, no amount of promotion can make a hit film.”