The Sky is falling

It was in July this year that the hype for one of the largest blockbusters of this year,’The Dark Knight Rises’ (TDKR),gripped the city with Batman mania. Right from official movie merchandise to tickets,it was all there. Come November 1,the 23 rd edition of the James Bond franchise,’Skyfall’ which has already won rave reviews for Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the super spy,is generating similar interest amongst lovers of the franchise. While there is no official merchandise from the series that is on sale,the tickets for the weekend shows at major city multiplexes are already sold out.

Neerav Panchamiya,vice-president,E-Square says,“We were expecting it to happen. Even the previous Bond film,’Quantum of Solace’,ran to packed houses here in Pune. While the craze is not on the lines of ‘TDKR’,the franchise has a strong fan following. We are almost booked for the weekend shows at all our multiplexes in the city for ‘Skyfall’.” Another addition that has been made is a new projector. “We recently got in a new 4K projector that will be installed at Screen 5,which is our biggest screen at the University road outlet,” he says. This new projector which has been brought in to replace the old 2K ones is different on a lot of levels. For a movie-goer,the main aim is to revolutionise the experience. The new projector will offer a sharper image,better sound quality and a more real experience. The device costs in excess of Rs 35 lakhs and will be inaugurated with Skyfall.

Both Inox and PVR multiplexes report healthy occupancy numbers prior to the release. Inox is running a contest on their website for the film,with winners standing a chance to win exclusive merchandise from the film.

The film tells the story of Craig who travels through Turkey and Shanghai in pursuit of a cyber-terrorist,including several sub-plots involving MI6,an intelligence agency in UK. Khushi Ahuja,a working professional who has been a fan of Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the British spy says,“His portrayal is more believable and human. Both his movies have shown a vulnerable side to the character,who has traditionally been portrayed as a womaniser.” She adds that she has the entire box set of the 22 films that have been released till date and is planning to add ‘Skyfall’ whenever the DVD comes out.

The merchandise that is available in the city is currently only limited to posters of the film and of the previous films that Craig has acted in. Manu Singh,owner of the Hysteria store,says,“T-shirts,collectibles and other accessories will come in later if the movie does very well here.”