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One
of Bollywood's most respected publicists, Dale Bhagwagar,
predicted that Om Shanti Om will surpass all box office expectations
over Saawariya.
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Rabir
Kapoor in Saawariya
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Dale
said, "I doubt if Saawariya can give competition to Om
Shanti Om and hope it's not a case of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's
over confidence versus Shah Rukh Khan's star power. Because
such a game, if lost, can give a jolt to the industry,"
Dale
had feared that such unjustified competition between a debutante
and a megastar could result in mega-shocks.
Decidedly,
Om Shanti Om is now a much stronger product, while Saawariya
is already facing criticism on the directorial front, after
its premiere last week in New York.
It
can be noted here that Bhansali has always made films with
very big stars. While Khamoshi starred Salman Khan and Manisha
Koirala, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam had Salman, Ajay Devgan and
Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles.
Bhansali
went one step ahead with Devdas with it's unusual casting
coup with Shah Rukh Khan pairing up with Madhuri Dixit and
Aishwarya, while Black had the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan
and Rani Mukherji leading the cast.
This
is the first time that Bhansali took up the mantle of being
a star-maker, by launching new faces Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam
Kapoor, along with Salman and Rani in special roles.
"If
Saawariya was postponed for another week, it could have stood
a better chance. I wonder why its makers couldn't see the
crisis coming," said Dale.
He
explained, "PRs build perceptions, but perception-building
is not the only aspect required for a film. The hype for Saawarya
has been tremendous, but it seems Sanjay Leela Bhansali not
only over-rated his product but miscalculated its overall
acceptance by the audience."
During
its opening weekend, Om Shanti Om has shown collections reaching
over 拢350,000 by entering the UK top 10 charts at number
seven.
News
feed by Manish Gajjar
麻豆官网首页入口 Bollywood Correspondent
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