For a few years now, Bollywood has been manipulating the box office in a mechanised manner. Going in for bulk ticket-buys, fake trade reviews, exaggerated collections and ego massages, the trade has succumbed to a dangerous game of fooling itself.
Haiwaan was a step-child from the word go
Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan did not stand a chance. Even the lead players, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, reportedly didn’t believe in their film. One stayed put in London, shooting a fresh film, and the other stayed home, minding his boys. When they realised that the collection was a pathetic Rs 7.35 crore for four days, they distanced themselves from this movie like it was a pariah. Or, like the Hindi folk would say, “Yeh toh paraya hai.”
Who is feeling like a loser here?
As the saying goes, only a fool and his money are easily parted. Well, the global giant who paid a fortune for the OTT rights, digital and audio rights of this disaster is silently cussing themselves. Internally, the blame game is on.
Are the main actors losers?
Not at all. The main actors — Akshay, Saif, and the captain of the ship, Priyadarshan — will still take home a hefty amount. Lesson imparted: Dish out rubbish and still go home smelling roses.
September 6 was a golden letter day
Sunday, September 6, aligned itself with a historical number of footfalls recorded for a single day. Films like Mirzapur The Movie, Hanuman Ansh, Spiderman: Brand New Day and The Odyssey ran to packed houses at select destinations across India, giving the film trade its most robust Sunday in recent times. Why is there no exact record of the footfalls? Well, multiplexes captured the surge and a record. For e.g., Hanuman Ansh collected Rs 21.07 crore and Mirzapur allegedly got around Rs 36 crore. Plus, regional films like Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (Malayalam) and Irumudi (Telugu) also brought in viewers.
However, it is rumoured that even in this day and age, some single screens across India do not show exact collections or footfalls till the auditors jump in at the end.
The tally on Hanuman Ansh and Mirzapur as of September 14
Hanuman Ansh’s tally stands at around Rs 222.88 crore, while Mirzapur has reportedly collected around Rs 182.13 crore. Hanuman Ansh found little support in the south markets, as did Mirzapur. Coming back to our initial statement — this is how Haiwaan collapsed at the feet of Hanuman.
