After the success of Ishaqzaade, one would have expected the promotion of Aurangzeb to have hit the roof. With Arjun Kapoor in a double role and a stellar cast comprising of veterans like Rishi Kapoor and Jackie Shroff, the film had ample ammunition in store to be unleashed. However the makers (Yash Raj Films) seems to have thought of a different strategy for the film’s release. Even though the film’s First Look arrived with a bang (the theatrical promo has been widely and unanimously appreciated), the gears haven’t changed drastically enough to place Aurangzeb into a rip-roaring mode.
Moreover, there hasn’t been a song-n-dance routine exploited either due to the genre of the film and hence the visibility has been further controlled. All of this means that from an opening perspective, a lot would depend on the word of mouth doing the trick. However, a start of 40%-50% would be good enough for Aurangzeb to find a decent footing for itself since it doesn’t have much for competition and would find maximum screen space for itself at multiplexes. Also, it appears to be a good dramatic saga in the offering and also a family affair that should eventually find an audience at multiplexes as well as single screens.
Second release of the week, I Don’t Luv U, has seen some decent promotion for itself. The film deals with a topical subject (MMS exchange) and added buzz along with better marketing could have added to the curiosity factor. However, the challenge would be to find a good all-India release as well as appropriate show timings. Moreover with a largely newcomer cast, the film would have to rely entirely on word of mouth.
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder