Star power falters at the BO

Bharati Dubey

The year 2002 has been a mixed bag, so far, for the film industry.

Be it Salman Khan or Akshay Kumar, the audience doesn't seem to be interested in spending money to watch their films.

Take Tumko Na Bhool Payenge and Haan... Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya. They prove that stars do not always lure people to the theatres. And although Salman Khan's Tumko... did open to an 85 per cent collection in the first week, collections dropped to 58 per cent in the second.

Almost a year after Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Salman's fans haven't exactly rushed to the theatres to watch Tumko... His next release, in all probability, will be Ketan Desai's Yeh Hai Jalwa, which releases in June.

Collections for the Akshay Kumar starrer HMBPK have now slipped to 41 per cent, which only goes to show what a bad product director Dharmesh Darshan has offered to the audience. Akshay and Karisma Kapoor will next be seen together in Suneel Darshan's Mere Jeevan Saathi, currently under production.

Karisma also stars in Boney Kapoor's Shakti. The cast includes Nana Patekar, Sanjay Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan in a guest apprearance.

As Vikas Mohan of Mumbai's Super Cinema puts it, "If you consider the recent hits, they are all non starcast films. Raaz and Style only go to prove that stars don't really matter anymore. The audience wants a good film. And they certainly don't mind watching a new face."

At the moment, Raaz still rules at the box office, running in its fourth week. The film has a collection of about 62 per cent. The secret behind its success, experts feel, is that the subject [about supernatural power] has been treated very well.

As a trade analyst puts it, "Aks was about supernatural power, but it didn't work because it was treated in a very Hollywood fashion. Ramsay's films have always worked at the box office because the Indian audience can connect with them."

For now, Bipasha Basu has already signed two big films: a Vishesh Films production directed by Vikram Bhatt and the other for Bharat Shah, also to be directed by Vikram Bhatt.

Incidentally, this is Vikram's third hit after Ghulam and Kasoor.

Karan Johar's K3G, a superhit of 2001, still gets a 50 per cent collection at the box office, after over ten weeks.

Up next is the Bobby Deol-Amisha Patel action film, Kranti [releasing March 8] which has not generated any curiosity among the audience. One reason for this could be its low key publicity.