In a season of two major films every weekend, I Me Aur Main and The Attacks of 26/11 release this weekend. Entirely different from each other in terms of genre, setting, cast, theme and presentation, what unites them is the fact that both are aiming at multiplex audience. While I, Me Aur Main is primarily targeted at younger set of school/college students, The Attacks of 26/11 is for those who have a liking of real life tales being told on screen.
Let’s start with I, Me Aur Main first. Promotion of this John Abraham starrer has been controlled and the makers haven’t gone overboard in bringing it to the audience. In a way that is correct since this mid-budget film belongs to word of mouth category and isn’t the kind that ensures a houseful sign from the first show itself. The film is an antithesis of the kind of image that John Abraham has built of late (that of an action hero) and hence it would be interesting to see how he gets accepted in a romcom. If the film settles down with the audience, it could well be in for a longer run since competition is limited in week two.
On the other hand The Attacks of 26/11 has managed to build good curiosity around itself. It has been after long that a Ram Gopal Varma film is arriving with a sense of positivism to it and that’s a good sign indeed. The film belongs to a genre (telling a real life tragic tale) which hasn’t really been explored much in Bollywood. Also, the fact that it is a terror tale unfolding on screen means a good segment of audience may be uncomfortable watching the mayhem unfold all over again, this time on screen.
However given the film’s budget and the fact that it isn’t pitched for a universal audience in any case, it may just fetch some sustained footfalls over the weekend. For this film in particular, a lot would also depend on the kind of critical acclaim that it manages to collect on the weekend of its release.
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder