Why Ekk Deewana Tha Took A Poor Start At Box-Office

If Ek MainAur Ekk Tu could not command a decent initial, last week’s Ekk Deewana Tha could never have been expected to open well.

Of course, films don’t follow mathematical or logical formulae and, therefore, one can’t always conclude on the basis of an earlier film whether or not a latter film will open/perform well at the box-office. But still, one does get pointers.

In the case of the two films under reference, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu starred the far more saleable Kareena Kapoor with Imran Khan who has several successful films to his credit. On the other hand, Prateik, the hero of Ekk Deewana Tha, has hardly anything to boast about, at least as far as his ability to pull the crowds to the cinemas is concerned. As for the heroine, Amy Jackson has only debuted in Bollywood with this film and, therefore, her ability to attract the first-day crowds could be counted as zilch.

Even otherwise, rarely do heroines ensure an opening to their starrers. Like the songs of EMAET were popular before the film’s release, the music of EDT was also on people’s lips, especially the Hosanna song. That the film was a remake of a Tamil hit didn’t really make much difference to the paying public because such things matter only in case of star-studded fares. Since Prateik and Amy Jackson aren’t big stars, the remake theory made exciting news in industry circles rather than among the potential audience.

And so, in effect, the only thing which went in favour of EDT before its release was the Hosanna song. Surely, that could not have ensured surging crowds in the cinemas although some in the trade may have psyched themselves into believing that the film would take a good start, if not a great one, because of the music.

But frankly, those who thought so, were widely off the mark and must have been shocked at the dismal collections of the film on the opening day. On Friday, the more practical people in the trade must’ve only said with a shrug of their shoulders, “Only a deewana could’ve expected Ek Deewana Tha to work magic on the first day.”

Komal Nahta, the Editor of Koimoi.com, is Bollywood’s most trusted trade analyst & film reviewer. You can follow him on Twitter and check out his Video Blog.