Mumbai Blasts: No Great Impact On Box-Office; But Don 2, Ash Events Cancelled

Thankfully, the three serial bomb blasts in Bombay on 13th July did not have much of an impact on the box-office. Else, the releases of 15th – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (English) and its dubbed Hindi version – would’ve borne the brunt of the fear factor following the explosions. And this, not just in Bombay but in other major cities of the country too, because they were all on high alert. Luckily for the producers and distributors of the two new releases, life had returned to near normalcy by 15th and, therefore, there wasn’t much of an adverse effect of the blasts on the box-office. Of course, there must’ve been families who kept away from the multiplexes and cinemas on the first day and who may fear going to the theatres for another couple of days because entertainment has suddenly dropped down dramatically on their priority list while security has climbed up, but such families are few.

Bollywood Events Cancelled

At least two film events on 13th July had to be cancelled in view of the bomb explosions in Bombay that day. Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt had decided to host a party that evening to celebrate the runaway success of their Murder 2 but the party was cancelled minutes before it was to start, when the terrible news of the bomb blasts shook Bombay and the entire country. On the same evening, Ritesh Sidhwani, Shah Rukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar had invited the media to unveil the first trailer of their ambitious film, Don 2, but again, the event was cancelled at the last minute due to security reasons. Seems, the serial blasts poured water on the producers’ plans to have a blast for their sequels. Incidentally, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was to receive the Knight of the Order of Arts & Letters from the French government on 13th July in Delhi. However, she told the organisers to cancel her felicitation function in view of the tragedy in Bombay. Ash and hubby Abhishek Bachchan made an appearance at the venue an hour late and requested that the ceremony be postponed.