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 Whatever Akshay Kumar does, he does it with style. If he comes up with two huge money spinners in the form of 'Singh Is Kinng' and 'Welcome', his flops too never fail to make news. Last year it was 'Tashan', which in spite of being a failure went on to garner over 30 crores just from India box office. This year it is 'Chandni Chowk To China' which dropped miserably after the opening weekend but already has 30 crores in it's kitty (from India). And yes, it is going to surpass the total of 'Tashan'!
So what makes the two films special? Well, in spite of not managing to recover the money for their investors, the two films have created records when it comes to being the highest money spinners when it comes to films that have flopped. And we are not just talking about the current times; we are talking about the history of Indian cinema where these two films would find a place by being the only ones that crossed 30 crores milestone at the box office and still were labeled as flops.
Says a film maker who has worked with Akshay but wishes to be unnamed, "That's the kind of pull that Akshay Kumar generates today. Even his flops make more money than so many other hits. No, let's not take away from these successful films. After all they may have been made at a nominal cost and sold at a reasonable price considering the kind of star cast involved and budget they have been mounted at. Of course an Akshay Kumar film is costlier due to which both the profits as well as the risk quotient, whichever way the tide turns, is also higher."
Last year when 'Tashan' had flopped, Akshay Kumar could deserve to laugh about it since first and foremost it had Yash Raj Films as the biggest name involved and secondly, it was a multi starrer with the likes of Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Anil Kapoor. Hence, each of the actors escaped all the flak. However, thing is different for Akshay in case of 'Chandni Chowk To China' since the film was completely sold on his name and star power.
"And that's the reason why the opening was still decent", says an industry insider, "Now if the movie by itself doesn't carry much merits then there isn't much that a star can do. This is why the opening of films like 'Chandni Chowk To China' and 'Tashan' have to be looked at closely. They tell a lot about the star power, not to forget the box office figures that have created records though not the kind that Akshay would appreciate in longer run."
Narrating a hypothesis, he adds with tongue firmly in cheek, "If his next film does say 40 crores, he would be happier if that figure is good enough to recover the investment rather than have a 50 crore runner for a movie where 100 crores have been invested. It's hardly a record that he would love to hold!"
Sampurn Media
By Joginder Tuteja
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