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These are exciting times for Bollywood, with a film like Shanghai immediately following Rowdy Rathore. The year so far has been very good for middle-of-the-road films that have been promoted well and the success of Kahaani, Ishaqzaade, Vicky Donor and Jannat 2 are testimony to that. However the key to each of these films was that they had at least one of the three factors going in their favour – a) reputed production house, b) saleable star and c) aggressive backer. Of course ‘high concept’ is the key word here but till the time one of these factors doesn’t click, a film can’t expect wonders.
This is where Shanghai can expect wonders for itself because other than the high concept (courtesy director Dibakar Banerjee), it also has PVR producing and backing the film. The film has been promoted quite well and should see a good chain of screens and show timings. Moreover it has Emraan Hashmileading from the front with Abhay Deol adding further weight to the proceedings. The costs of the film are under control as well since it was made in a single schedule and completed in a jiffy. By the look of things, the film is already a success based on the recovery required.
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Even theatrically the film should find an audience for itself and an opening over 50% would be quite heartening for it to remain stable over the weekdays as well. There are few who believe that Rowdy Rathore spell may hit Shanghai hard. On the other hand there is also a segment of audience that believes that Shanghai may dent the dream run of Rowdy Rathore. Well, of course an entirely open week adds moolah to any film but then to enjoy something like that is not a practical reality. There would always be films released in consecutive weeks and as long as the genre and setting are as different as these two films, the damages (if any) are quite controlled.
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I strongly believe that Shanghai will find its market and emerge trumps whereas Rowdy Rathore too will keep its audience entertained for weeks to come.
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