The first eight months of this year saw less than a handful of hits, including
Jannat
and
Singh is Kinng
. With just four months of 2008 left, seven big banner films are lined up for release —
Drona
and
Fashion
in October;
Billo Barber
,
Chandni Chowk To China
, and
Yuvraaj
in November; and
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
and
Ghajini
in December.
Each of these films rides high on star power.
HT City
asked filmmakers which film they thought would be the biggest hit at the box office.
While Shah Rukh Khan-starrer
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
and Aamir Khan’s
Ghajini
emerged clear favourites, Akshay Kumar-starrer
Chandni Chowk To China
was nipping at their heels.
Filmmaker Siddharth Anand, whose Bachnaa Ae Haseeno had a decent box-office innings, said, “SRK and Aditya Chopra are coming together again. We are yet to get over the magic of
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
{{/usCountry}}Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
{{/usCountry}}, and they are back to charm us all over again.”
Leading the pack
For Yash Raj protégé director Sanjay Gadhvi, of
Dhoom
fame, it was
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
: “It’s the comeback of the most amazing combo, SRK, Adi and Yash Raj. Can anything get bigger than this?”
Director Madhur Bhandarkar, whose own film
Fashion
— starring Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut — is slated to hit the theatres in October, said he is looking forward to SRK in
Rab Ne…
and Aamir in
Ghajini
. “They are magnets — SRK and Aamir. Enough to pull in the viewers.”
Rab Ne…
is also crucial for Yash Raj Films, which has delivered a series of box-office duds in the last couple of years, barring Shah Rukh-starrer
Chak De! India
, say trade analysts.
Boney Kapoor and David Dhawan deviated from the popular choice and picked
Yuvraaj
as the next big hit. “It’s a Subhash Ghai film, and that too starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif,” said Dhawan.
Filmmaker Satish Kaushik hoped his film
Karrrz
, releasing this month, would be the biggest success of the year. “But among the others,
Ghajini
is very different. It has a very interesting and fresh story,” he said.
The right moves
Besides the film’s cast and story, it’s their marketing strategies that would play a crucial part in their success, said producer Ratan Jain while choosing Akshay Kumar-starrer
Chandni Chowk To China
: “I have seen the rushes and the film looks promising.”
Anchor-turned-director Sajid Khan’s answer: “
Rab Ne..., Ghajini
,
Chandni Chowk…
and (Goldie Behl’s)
Drona
.” Why four? “For obvious reasons.
The cast of these films is big. They’re made by big production houses that hire the best marketing talent. These days marketing is as big a tool as filmmaking.”
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli refused to choose any film: “Why should we corner any one film? May all the films do well. Each of them is a big budget movie with equally grand marketing plans. When so much is invested in every one of these films, each filmmaker should get the maximum return too.”