Big banners or big budgets, nothing seems to click

One `culprit’ behind the washouts is the elections, goes one theory. Distributor Balakrishna Shroff, however, pooh-poohs this. “If that is the case, why were the collections of films like Dil To Pagal Hai, Pardes and Chachi 420 not affected?

“Quality has taken a backseat, with films being churned out with age-old formulae, he feels. “Today, the filmthat runs is considered a good film, and one which flops a bad one,” he observed.

Kama.., a Mira Nair package of Indian exotica and erotica ran, confessed Shroff, courtesy the Indian censors. “By banning the film and pursuing the matter in court, censors gave the film free publicity worth crores. If the film had no censor trouble, it would not have done so well,” he pointed out.

Sippy categorically said the quality of films were exceptionally bad, and that nobody would see films like Zor and Saat Rang… which had nothing new to offer.

March, being examination time, doesn’t promise to be any better. Not only students, but also whole families will be busy swotting for exams. The cricket test series between India and Australia also promises to keep audiences glued to the small screen and away from the big one.

Producers and distributors, though, voice hope that once the exams are done with, films will do better business. In March, Pranlal Mehta’s Yugpurush with Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff and ManishaKoirala, Jackie Shroff’s Grahan with Koirala and Anupama Verma, Auntie No 1, the latest version of Mrs Doubtfire starring Govinda and Yash Johar’s Duplicate, starring Shah Rukh Khan, are slated to test the box-office waters.