The John Abraham-starrer Vedaa and Akshay Kumar’s multi-starrer comedy Khel Khel Mein got badly crushed due to the Stree 3 wave. Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst said, “The lack of new releases will give them some benefit. It would have been ideal if these films had not come all together. Then they could have collected more. Aisi nahin ki super-hit hoti. But instead of doing Rs. 20-25 crores, it could have collected Rs. 40 crores each.”
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh disagreed saying, “Some filmmakers might send out PR articles that ‘6 week ke gap ka fayda milega’. When these 2 films couldn’t score in the lucrative Independence Day weekend, what will they do in the next 6 weeks? There’s only one film which is being talked about, both within and outside the industry, and that is Stree 2.”
He continued, “The decision to release on August 15 has boomeranged very badly. It was a complete miscalculation. When I saw Khel Khel Mein last Monday, I told the director, ‘The film is decent but the release timing is wrong’. I told the same thing to Vedaa producers on Tuesday. I won’t say that I have been proven wrong. I’d say that they have been proven wrong. They simply miscalculated the power and craze of Stree 2.”
Trade analyst Atul Mohan exulted, “When your film is collecting less than Rs. 2 crores in the middle of the holiday season, it is not a good sign. The audience was not in the mood to watch the film. It’ll be a normal working day from Tuesday. Though it’ll have another long weekend, the multiplexes would reduce the shows.”
He also said, “I am sure they must be regretting but when I, Mr Taran Adarsh and many others were asking them to change the release date, they didn’t take it seriously. It’s not like you need holidays for your film to work. What did they gain by having three releases? None of the films could collect as per their potential. Stree 2 was behaving as if it was not having any competition. If these films had come solo and after a gap, then the scenario would have been much better.”
Distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal said, “Khel Khel Mein turned out to be a fun film. Hence, what was the need to clash? They anyway would have only got the advantage of August 15. In this case, they didn’t have that benefit. As a solo release, it would have had an advantage for sure.”
When asked about the lifetime numbers for Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein, Taran Adarsh said, “These films would collect around Rs. 25 to 30 crore. But that seems doubtful in the case of Vedaa.” Raj Bansal also made the same prediction.
Taran Adarsh continued, “Yes, there are still more holidays to come. But when the acceptance is just not there, how would an open run also benefit? The biggest example is Bade Miyan Chote Miyan which came during Eid (and also had an open run). Yet, it fell. If people don’t want to watch, they just don’t watch.”
He thundered, “I wonder how the producers of Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein could not gauge the response to Stree 2. They didn’t get sufficient screens and showcasing. They had to fight for theatres. And then when the tickets for your film just don’t get sold, isn’t that heartbreaking for any producer?”
He ended the topic by saying, “I hope the producers learn from this episode because hum log girte hai, fir bhi nahin sambhalte hai. We don’t learn from our mistakes and we feel ‘Hamari film chal jaayegi’. It’s important to keep your ego aside. There’s nothing wrong with changing the release date.”
John’s film opens bigger than Akshay’s: A worrying sign?
While John Abraham’s Vedaa opened at Rs. 6.75 crores, Khel Khel Meinhad an opening of Rs. 5.23 crores. It raised eyebrows especially because Akshay Kumar is a bigger star and hence, his film should have opened more than Vedaa.
Taran Adarsh, however, said that this was due to the genre and not star power. “Vedaa is a mass film. The tilt happened in the mass pockets and single screens, which was lacking in Khel Khel Mein,” he said.
Girish Johar agreed, “Vedaa is massier than Khel Khel Mein. Hence, it definitely played a role. But you can’t take away the fact that it was John vs ensemble cast. It was not just an Akshay Kumar film.”
Raj Bansal felt that this happened due to an overdose of Akshay Kumar’s films. “His movies sadly don’t get an opening and he doesn’t even get talked about,” he said.
He also reacted to reports that his next film Sky Force would be released now in 2025. This means that Khel Khel Mein was the last Akshay Kumar film of the year. He stated, “If that happens (keeps a gap between his films), his films might open better.”
Atul Mohan exulted, “Akshay has always had multiple releases in a year. In 2019, he had four releases – Kesari, Mission Mangal, Housefull 4 and Good Newwz – and all of them were hits. Then, no one complained of overdose.”
But Taran Adarsh remarked, “Akshay has had an overdose of films. In 4 months, he had three releases. One might argue, ‘Even earlier, he used to do so many films’. I don’t deny that lekin waqt badalta hai. It is not constant and the same for the audience's taste.”
Girish Johar signed off on a hopeful note saying, “Akshay is a bit lower on the curve right now but we can’t take away from him his stardom. One good teaser from an Akshay Kumar film and he’ll be back in the big league.”
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Vedaa villain Kshitij Chauhan on women safety and gender-based violence, “We need to educate the men of our society!”
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