Bollywood pitches for more action as cricket fever wanes

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) Much-delayed films like "Zamaanat" and "Big Brother" and the not-so-robust domestic box-office cash registers are set to get a fillip with the waning of the cricket World Cup fever in the country.

The beneficiaries will be Vipul Shah's "Namastey London" and Mira Nair's internationally-acclaimed English film "The Namesake" that were released in the country Friday. The long-in-the-making "Zamaanat", "Big Brother" and "Gumnaan - The Unknown" are also hoping to finally have a release coming Friday.

Apart from them, films like "Delhii Heights", "Say Salaam India", "The Challenge", "Khanna & Iyer", "Life Mein Kabhi Kabhie", and "50 Lakh" are also clamouring for screen space next week.

Unlike the World Cup in 2003, when filmmakers and distributors made concerted efforts to avoid a release during the games, this time they are ensuring that at least two films release each week.

"Zamaanat", starring Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Karisma Kapoor and Arshad Warsi, has been awaiting release for a considerable time now. Ditto for Sunny Deol-Priyanka Chopra starrer "Big Brother" and "Gumnaam" that features Mahima Chaudhry and Dino Morea.

All of March it has been raining films, though most have bitten the dust. The first week witnessed release of "Nehlle Pe Dehla", "Nishabd" and "The King of Scotland". March 9 was more action-packed with "Sarhad Paar", "Red - The Dark Side", "Water", "1971", and Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" going on the marquees.

"Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd", "Just Married" and "Hattrick" that released recently are still competing with one another in multiplexes for attracting more or less the same audiences.

Trade observers say that given the crowded line-up after March, filmmakers and distributors could not delay films, which is just as well as things turned sour for India at the Caribbean Islands, as the Indian team has been virtually knocked out of the tournament.

"In addition, some big Hollywood films will release simultaneously in India after their US release, so there's going to be lots of action in cinema halls," quips Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer of PVR Cinemas.

Quantity, however, has not translated into big moolah. With the exception of Mani Ratnam's "Guru" and last year's "Vivah" that is still playing in some circuits, most films have turned into box-office duds.

Multi-starrer "Salaam-e-Ishq", Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Eklavya" and much-talked about "Nishabd" by Ram Gopal Varma have disappointed, business-wise.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh felt that over enthusiastic filmmakers are making small-budget films without keeping the audience in mind.

"Today, everyone wants to make small-budget films. They should stay within the commercial parameters of the film as pushing the envelope doesn't really work here. People will only watch those movies that they can identify with," he adds.

The sheer number of movies releasing almost simultaneously could be another reason for the chain of flops. But the biggest culprit, according to most, is the weak content.

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