All eyes are on the Alia Bhatt - Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dear Zindagi which releases this Friday. The film is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 35 crore (minus SRK’s fee) and will be out in approximately 1800 screens across India.
The film is helmed by Gauri Shinde, and going by how her debut film English Vinglish turned out, Dear Zindagi sure holds a lot of promise. Also the teasers and trailers of the film have managed to create a positive vibe about the film, keeping expectations in place.
Last but not the least - the equation between Shah Rukh and Alia has been just right through out, neither over the top or trying too hard, nor underwhelming in overtly trying to subdue the age-difference. So there’s a lot of things going for this dramedy already and thankfully so, because no one needs a big success at the box-office right now more than SRK and film industry itself.
SRK In a Breezy Goa Is Good
The badshah of Bollywood is currently going through a rather rough patch professionally. After the debacle of the highly promoted Dilwale and the failure of Fan Shah Rukh needs Dear Zindagi to get back in the game. And what better than a full-fledged feel good film with Khan acting as the guiding light to a vulnerable Alia to make optimal use of SRK’s charm?
After over-the-top, intense or plain hammy performances in films like My Name Is Khan, Don 2, Jab Tak Hain Jaan, Chennai Express and Happy New Year – Shah Rukh riding a bicycle, playing kabbadi by the sea in a breezy Goa and all that friendly banter with Alia is a welcome relief. Which is why the postponement of Raees also makes perfect sense. Dear Zindagi focuses on Shah Rukh’s core strengths as a star and performer.
While his over-hyped teaming up with Rohit Shetty and Kajol in Diwale was slammed by both the critics and the audience, Fan was a big box-office disappointment having slipped to just Rs 82 crore in 2 weeks. With a modest cost of Rs 35 crore, Dear Zindagi looks like a dream budget for a SRK-Alia starrer for it to emerge as a box-office success.
Bollywood Post-Demonetisation
But here’s what could be a party pooper. The government’s demonetisation has adversely hit ticket sales across. There have been two major Bollywood releases over the last two weekends after the Prime Minister’s Note Ban shocker. Farhan Akhtar - Shraddha Kapoor’s Rock On 2, which took the first hit, was a complete washout. The sequel just managed to earn about Rs 7 crore at the box-office on its 3-day weekend.
Force 2, which released last week got a better reception having made about Rs 20 crore over the weekend, but still not good enough for it to cover its costs and post a profit for the producers.
Now it’s up to the unusual pairing SRK and Alia aided by Gauri Shinde to kick-start Bollywood’s falling box-office numbers by getting a cash strapped movie-going audience to embrace Dear Zindagi. Let’s hope all those celeb endorsements on Twitter for the film are true and it works like a charm at ticket windows.
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