Flop Show: Heropanti 2, Runway 34, Jersey lose heavily, trade analyst Taran Adarsh and others kick in

The KGF 2 Juggernaut has mowed down two more films after Jersey . Friday’s two releases Heropanti 2 and Runway 34 have both flopped. The latter is Amitabh Bachchan ’s second flop after Jhund in two months. While the first weekend’s collections of _Heropanti 2_ are in the vicinity of Rs 15 crores, Runway 34, with the stellar cast of Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn managed to accrue no more than a measly Rs 13 crores over the weekend. Heropanti 2 is producer Sajid Nadiadwala ’s fourth flop in a row after ’83 , Tadap and Bachchhan Paandey . This alarming setback comes in the wake of the undeserving debacle of Gowtam Tinnanuri’s Jersey the previous Friday. To what do we impute the triple failure of products that came to us with impeccable credentials. Trade guru Taran Adarsh analyzes, “Jersey, Runway 34 and Heropanti 2, all three films opened to shockingly low numbers, despite starring names that are extremely popular with moviegoers. Let’s analyse the reasons for each film. In the case of Jersey, the subject of the film held precious little for those seeking wholesome entertainment or larger than life entertainment. This was no Kabir Singh that was aimed at the youth. That film was packed with a captivating love story and melodious songs that had become a rage even before the theatrical release. Also, the treatment of Jersey was such that it catered to a small section of the audience, not PAN India. Moreover, during the pandemic, the Telugu version of Jersey was one of the most-watched films on OTT. Besides, the dubbed Hindi version of the Telugu film is already available on YouTube and has been watched by many as well. This factor too limited the reach of the Hindi version.” Taran further sees the box office potential of Runway 34 as inherently limited. “Runway 34 is a metro-centric film and it caters to premium multiplexes of a handful of cities. Although a wonderful effort by Ajay Devgn to narrate an absorbing story, the film was talk-heavy in the second half and lacked entertainment for those seeking big-screen entertainment associated with star names. Yes, the box-office numbers of Runway 34 have gathered momentum over the weekend, but the starting point was so low that the three-day total is way below the mark. Let’s hope it covers lost ground during the Eid holidays.” To Taran Heropanti 2 was a case of overkill. “As far as Heropanti 2 is concerned, it was a clear case of milking a successful film to create a franchise. The second part had nothing to do with the first part. Besides, the content was missing in Part 2. It was an assemblage of some well-executed action scenes and lavishly filmed songs, that’s it. A gripping plot and a captivating screenplay was lacking. Even AR Rahman’s music was a big negative. Clearly, the director took the audience for granted Tiger Shroff is a star, no two opinions about it, but he was wasted in a film like Heropanti 2. The rejection of the film, therefore, doesn’t come as a surprise.” Commenting on the successes in Hindi of the films from the South, Taran comments, “There’s another reason why most films are opening to a below the mark response. The super success of Pushpa, RRR and KGF 2 clearly indicates that the audience wants wholesome, well-made, big screen entertainers. Recall the 1970s and 1980s. The big-screen entertainers starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra , Shashi Kapoor , Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna , Rishi Kapoor were lapped up by the PAN India audience. Films made by Manmohan Desai , Prakash Mehra , Ramesh Sippy have tremendous recall value even today. Unfortunately, the current generation of filmmakers in the Hindi film industry are targeting films keeping the Bandra to Versova audience in mind. So what happens to the PAN India audience seeking wholesome entertainment?” Trade analyst Atul Mohan has his own take on the triple failure of Jersey, Heropanti 2 and Runway 34. “Jersey was a remake and we all know audience have watched the original during lockdown. Remakes hold no novelty now. Your audience and your fans watch the original film the moment it is announced or before the remake is released. The time taken from the announcement till release of a remake is sufficient for the audience to watch the original.Heropanti2 was a very very bad movie to sit and tolerate. And Runway 34 carried too much of an elitist appeal rather than mass appeal. Poor marketing strategy for all the above films is also to be blamed for failing to create any buzz. Forget audience in general. they were unable to generate hype within the trade itself." Adds producer trade analyst Girish Johar, “Apart from Jersey, which was not properly handled during its release, the other two Heropanti2 & Runway34, both are below par content. Reviews & audiences feedback is not upto the mark. Post OTT & the pandemic, half baked stories, backed even by big stars, are not lapped up by the audiences. High ticket prices is also adding the fuel to the fire. It pinches the audiences to see poor content. That’s exactly explains, that KGF 2, in its 3rd week was still preferred than the new releases. The audiences are pretty clear with their choices, now with Doctor Strange coming, they will lap it up, despite it being urban, intelligent & complex film. It’s time we producers go back to basics of telling “good stories”” Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. 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