Rohit Shetty's 'Chennai Express' has created history! After the SRK-Deepika Padukone starrer smashed the first day and first weekend records, the film has already earned Rs 100 crore. CNN-IBN's entertainment editor Rajeev Masand joined IBNLive readers on the Bollywood's fastest blockbuster 'Chennai Express'.
Q. I don't masala films if they are entertaining or funny. Rohit shetty's earlier films were much funnier like 'Golmaal', 'All The Best' or even 'Bol Bachhan'. Do you feel people are genuinely appreciating Chennai Express or are they being driven to theaters because of promotional hype? Asked by: Ravi
A. The opening day numbers and opening weekend collections are purely on the strength of a film's marketing and not merit. But films that work beyond the first weekend, films that run much longer are films that have worked on merit too. I think the audiences went into Chennai Express based on the power of SRK's star charisma, but the true test will be Monday onwards when the movie will have to speak for itself.
Q. Which is your favourite SRK movie? Asked by: Swapnil Jarunde
A. Hard to pick just one - 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa', 'DDLJ', 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hain', 'Main Hoon Na', 'Swades', 'Chak De India'.
Q. Chennai Express, a blockbuster. Accepted by masses. Some movies are made for the masses, no logic, don't you think critic should rate such family movies differently? Asked by: Rimo
A. There can't be different scales to judge different movies. The critic judges every movie as per his or her own tastes and perspective. I certainly agree that you cant be looking for logic in a screwball comedy. But if a comedy isn't funny, then it has failed. So ultimately I think critic's reviews are relative and personal anyway. If you tend to think like a particular critic, if you like the perspective he/she brings, then you tend to read or follow that critic. It's impossible to match with his/her opinion every single time. Films are of course different things to different people.
Q. Do you think the times are moving back to the 'masala mass entertainer' era with movies such as this being a blockbuster, so soon? Asked by: Nikhil
A. While on the one hand, these masala mass entertainers are very successful, on the other hand you do see cinema of a new and different sensibility also making a mark. I think there is space for all kinds of cinema to coexist as long as they are made with integrity.
Q. Is there an accountability on the numbers published? Can we not introduce a transparent system or nobody wants transparency in the process? Asked by: Pavan
A. Unfortunately there is no foolproof way of determining real box office numbers. With multiplexes there is more transparency because ticket booking systems in multiplexes are computerized. But in the heart of the country where single screens still form the bulk of the theatrical cinema experience, it is hard to calculate accurate figures because the system is not computerised.
Q. Is Bollywood consciously moving south for pure commercial reasons? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. When something works, everyone jumps on the bandwagon.
Q. Completely agree to your opinion that SRK should not select the projects/roles like the one in Chennai Express. However, do you think the success of this movie would have been similar with any other actor in his place? Asked by: Rahul B
A. That's not a fair question. I think the novelty of SRK in this kind of a film has contributed largely to its success.
Q. Rajeev, is the term masala entertainer becoming an excuse to make lazy films with no creative inputs because If we look back 'Sholay' one of the greatest films ever made was a masala entertainer. Asked by: Arjun
A. Yes, thank you for echoing my sentiments exactly. It has become an excuse for lazy filmmaking. There's no reason why a masala film can't have an interesting plot, well etched characters, and decent acting.
Q. We have been getting "inspired" by the Hollywood movie every now and then. But we are not able to match there level. Where do you think we are lagging behind? Asked by: Prashant Kumar
A. Our films are not made with as much integrity unfortunately. There has to be more than just an eye on the box-office. Films have to be made for reasons other than making money.
Q. How does it feel when a movie is critically flop but goes on smash such records? Asked by: Prashant Kumar
A. Critics reviews have no bearing on box office and vice versa. They are two different things.
Q. With more screens being available, increasing ticket prices and more spending power of people, these records will be broken everytime a big movie is released and I think we should stop hyping it much. Don't you agree? Asked by: Diablo
A. Yes records will continue to break under such circumstances. But it's very naive to assume that it won't be hyped because of this reason.
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