Kaminey, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Ronnie Screwvala will suffer a loss of Rs 2 crore – Rs 4 crore, as it has missed the opening weekend collections.Due to the outbreak of swine flu in Maharshtra, the state government had asked malls and large retail establishments to remain closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Mumbai territory accounts for 30% of the all India business. As the theatres were closed in Mumbai and Pune during the weekend, it may cost Kaminey Rs 2 crore to Rs 4 crore of business, informed a film business expert. A Bombay centric movie may not suffer a lot of loss as it has got a good opening on Monday and Tuesday.
UTV claims to have insured the film. In that case they might recover some of the money, added the analyst. “It is a Bombay specific film with Priyanka, playing a Maharashtrian girl in the movie; it is obviously going to hurt its revenue. UTV has taken a good step by not postponing the release because at this moment there is no great film lined up, so it is an advantage for them,” said Rahul Puri, executive director, Mukta Arts Ltd.
The company is trying to curb piracy and has set up several anti-piracy cells to tackle satellite and cable piracy cases over the weekend; informed an official of the company. “I believe that this movie is to be watched in theatres. Even the viewers will enjoy more, if it’s watched in theatres,” said Mr Puri.
He also added that the overall revenue of the movie might suffer by Rs 2 crore – Rs 4 crore since it could not be screened in Mumbai during the opening week. The company had expected Rs 8 crore – Rs 10 crore businesses in the opening week. Another UTV-produced film Oye Lucky, Lucky Oyehad also suffered during the terror attacks in Mumbai last November. Viewers mostly opted for printed DVDs and CDS and avoided going to theatres. - Pallabika Ganguly