Kick ... Hit Or Miss in Box Office ? ..... and Linking Modi to It ... !!

Tinseldom is glittering ~ and so much of hype surrounds making, production and release of movies that perhaps directs towards its success too.  Remember in Oct 2010, Rajni starrer, Enthiran opened in 3,000 screens worldwide,including 500 screens in Tamil Nadu, 300 screens in Andhra Pradesh.   The film raked crores of Rupees – an industry where there could be no direct proportion between what is invested, what is spent and what is gotten ..... also nothing is guaranteed too. Now there is so much talk and hype about Salman Khan starrer 'Kick' that reportedly making fast bucks in  box office.  Reports quoting Koimoi suggest that it  did a good business of Rs 26 crores on Day 1 and however the numbers that were predicted to go up on Saturday stopped at Rs 27.10 crores. Kick is a 2014 Hindi action thriller comedy film, directed and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under the Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment banner. The film features Salman Khan in the lead role, alongside Jacqueline Fernandez; while the screenplay was adapted by Nadiadwala and Chetan Bhagat, it is a remake of the Telugu film of the same name.  By some estimates, Kick is set to cross the big Rs 100 crore mark. So its debutant director Sajid Nadiadwala and rest of the crew must be basking in glory; again according to Koimoi, it is faring better than Ek Tha Tiger that made 47.50 crores on 2 days.  This is no post on the cinema or how its stars are raking in moolah – but something else ........... in what must be the most absurd explanation of a film's opening collections falling short of industry expectations, Daily Mail chose to blame Narendra Modi for Salman Khan's Kick grossing lesser than some of his earlier films and some other blockbusters likeDhoom:3 and Chennai Express.  The report analyses that Kick is grossing far less than Dhoom 3 and Chennai Express.  Of the various reasons cited, the one that the article decided to emphasize was how Khan's 'proximity' to Narendra Modi could have been a reason why his film didn't do well. It is true that Salman Khan met Narendra Modi prior to the release of Jai Ho amid much fanfare and the Urdu version of the PM's website was launched by his father Salim Khan, there is very little evidence that Salman Khan and Modi communicate regularly. Khan was also seen at Modi's swearing-in, but then again, during a press conference after his meeting with Modi, Khan famously declared that he will vote for Congress MLA Baba Siddiqui, whereas the rest of the country can vote for Modi if they think he is a suitable PM candidate. Much to the amusement of politics watchers he said this in the presence of Modi himself. The report on Daily Mail also suggests that the film might have done less business as it released during the Ramazan period and a couple of days before Eid, preventing a lot of his Muslim fans from watching it right away.  The tinge that is sought to be portrayed is that Salman Khan's fans are mostly Muslim youth; that it stems from the star being Muslim himself ~ and taking it further his assumed proximity to Narendra Modi, leads to the film not doing well.  There are other sections of Press which are glorifying what otherwise could be a regular movie – that it has managed to surpass Salman's own record for day one. A tiff between Salman and Mumbai photographers, weeks before the release of the film, is being seen as an additional reason for the film Kick's poor opening day  +1 !!  Trade pundits are predicting that Kick will see a hike in its collection in the coming week. Jayam Ravi Vadivelu in Thillalangadi Kick, the  Telugu action comedy film, directed by Surender Reddy  was released in May 2009.  It starred Ravi Teja, Ileana, Shaam, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Sayaji Shinde, ...  In Tamil it was ‘Thillalangadi’ .... starring Jayam Ravi, Tamanna, Shaam, Vadivelu.... Finally, Cinema is nothing more than an entertainer and a film becoming a hit generally follows no rules – some movies which were acclaimed to be good technically, having good story value and starring famed actors / actresses have bombed in box-office, while some masala, which have nothing worthy have been run-away successes.... Recently, Salman Khan was in news for – the Apex Court has issued notice in the 1998 killing of two Chinkara deer and a black buck during a film shooting in Rajasthan.  The notice follows Rajasthan government's petition challenging a High Court order suspending the actor's conviction in the case.  The actor is accused of hunting and killing the endangered deer while shooting his film Hum Saath Saath Hain in Rajasthan in 1998. His co-stars - Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam - are charged with inciting the actor to hunt.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar