The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Twin releases add fizz to festival spirit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Twin releases add fizz to festival spirit

Deepa Kurup

Long queues in front of cinemas screening Om Shanti Om and Saawariya

Both films have been aggressively marketed
A large sum of money has been spent
on publicity

BANGALORE: The city’s movie buffs finally witnessed the much-hyped clash of the titans on Friday. The Deepavali holiday enabled long queues before cinemas screening Om Shanti Om and Saawariya. Both films had been aggressively marketed, vying with each other for the top slot at the box-office. The jury is still out and soon we will know whether Sanjay Leela Bhansali will recast the Devdas magic with his classical sets and romantic storyline, or Shah Rukh Khan will weasel his way up the box-office with his — okay, okay — his all new six-pack. As far as the multiplexes in Bangalore go, the cash counters are ringing loud and clear. At least for now.

Both movies are running house-full and advance booking counters are packed. With very good reason what with those publicity machines carpet-bombing Gen Y with 24/7 advertising and promotional activities, from apparel lines to dance competitions. The bazaar buzz is that both movies spent Rs. 4 crore to Rs. 5 crore on publicity alone.

“We wanted to watch a movie. The TV channels say that Om Shanti Om is selling three times more than Saawariya, which is a musical thriller. We came early so we don’t miss out on the tickets,” said Jincy Susan John who had secured her place in the queue.

Pricey tickets

“We are away from home so we want to celebrate Deepavali with a ‘dhamaka’. The tickets are expensive, but I will pay to watch a good movie. I watched Om Shanti Om which was good time-pass and funny too,” said Fayaz Pasha, who works as a scrap dealer in the city.

Some movie-goers decided to be fair and give both movies a chance, hopping from one to the other. While Saawariya has tickled their curiosity with its gothic-classical sets, the ‘dard-e-disco’ king promises an entertainer.

And then they were also those who were less than charitable. “Saawariya was a complete bore and lost my attention after the first 10 minutes. I know Om Shanti Om will be better because Shah Rukh Khan never disappoints,” said Neha Solanki, who was watching both movies back-to-back.

Crowd-puller

From the general reaction of crowds shuffling out of the multiplexes, it appeared that Om Shanti Om was the crowd-puller while Saawariya is a niche movie.

“Bhansali’s movies are generally classy and it always takes a (certain) crowd to understand romances that rise above flippant love stories,” said Sangeetha K., who watched the movie with her children.

While some children had to be dragged away from the gaming centres at malls to watch the movies, others seemed equally enthusiastic about switching the small screen for the big.

Children are as judgemental as their parents, if not more. “The reincarnation thing was stupid and Shah Rukh Khan looked too old to act with Deepika, but it was entertaining and funny,” said Shreya, a 16-year-old who did the first-day-first-show routine with her friends.

“The movie revolved around his abs and there was no storyline to support it,” she added with a laugh.

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