‘Aisha’: Girlie Films? Too Much Tension!

The dull opening of Aisha this week underlines the reason why so many producers refrain from making womancentric films. Anil Kapoor and PVR spared no money or effort in promoting their film in which Sonam Kapoor plays the main role, but its initial on Friday made the promotional exercise almost look like a waste. And this, when the marketing was so apt and targeted the city-based youth, the audience for which the film has been made. The opening show’s collections in most of the multiplexes weren’t more than 20-30% of the capacities. No doubt, the attendance at a few multiplexes in the first show was an impressive 60-80% but such multiplexes were an exception rather than the rule. A multiplex like E-Square in Pune – which is one of the best multiplexes of India, as far as collections are concerned – recorded just a 52% opening!

Considering its track record and the crowds of youngsters frequenting the multiplex, the film should have opened to full houses there. The initial in the single-screen cinemas was indeed pathetic. That’s the tragedy about making films with the heroine playing the main protagonist – there’s always a fear that they will not open well. And in today’s times, when initial business is the name of the game, a shaky start could prove completely detrimental to the interests of the producer and distributor.