As the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan is on its way to create history, Bollywood Hungama spoke to trade experts and exhibitors to get a better idea of the excitement on-ground. Trade veteran Taran Adarsh euphorically said, “It will create tehelka, aag laga degi. Toofan aa raha hai September 7 ko!” He added, “Look at the advance booking trend. It is unbelievable. The tickets are getting sold so fast. It’s like there’s a sale and shoppers are rushing to the mall before others grab the best deal. Moreover, the tickets don’t cost Rs. 50 or 100. These are priced at blockbuster rates.”
Raj Bansal, the owner of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, stated, “The advance is mind-blowing and above my expectations. I was indeed expecting big numbers but this is huge. After Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Gadar 2, OMG 2, Dream Girl 2 and now Jawan, Hindi cinema has come back and how!”
Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, who in a rare instance will play the 6:00 am show of Jawan, said, “We played 6:00 am shows for KGF - Chapter 2 (2022) and Pathaan (2023) and have now kept for Jawan due to insane demand.” He added, “The response is very good, as expected. Aisi film banayenge toh response toh aayega hi na!”
Taran Adarsh said in agreement, “Exhibitors told me that 6:00 am or 7:00 am shows are fast-filling. That shows that people are ready to step out so early in the morning. This happened for Pathaan and KGF - Chapter 2 as well.”
Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, observed that the trailer also did the trick, “I loved the trailer. It caters to all sections of the audience. It looks like a complete masala action entertainer, which is what was expected from the film.”
Trade analyst Atul Mohan added to this point, “The trailer came out in the last moment. And the advance opened the next day. It capitalized on the anticipation among the audience. Also, the way Shah Rukh Khan promoted the film in Chennai and Dubai was quite smart.”
He even said, “The demand for this film is so huge that the makers could have released the trailer only in cinemas instead of YouTube. They could have charged Rs. 50 per ticket. Issi se Jawan Rs. 100-150 crores kama leti!”
Jawan vs The Nun II Jawan, however, will have to share the showcasing with the Hollywood horror film, The Nun II. Taran Adarsh feels the film also has a chance to score, “A lot of moviegoers reach a theatre and don’t get the ticket of their desired film. So that spill over of that film, which in this case is Jawan, benefits the next film. People think ‘Itni duur aaye hai toh dusri film dekh lete hai’. Jawan, obviously, will be the first priority.”
Girish Johar also said along the same lines, “It’s a given that not just 2, even if 3 films arrive on the same day, all can do well. They might get the overflow of Jawan. If it’s a good film, it’ll benefit.”
Vishek Chauhan said, “The previous film did a business of Rs. 46 crores. This shows that it has an audience and hence, The Nun II can also work.”
He also thundered, “A film creates its own demand. Some so-called experts were predicting that Jawan will be affected by the Gadar 2 wave. But look at the advance of Jawan. Gadar 2 had a huge run and OMG 2 also made its mark. If there’s merit in your film and a demand, the audiences will flock to the cinemas. Even Oppenheimer and Barbie co-existed and earned well globally. Gadar, OMG 2, and Dream Girl 2 ran successfully together. If your film comes solo, it’ll still suffer if it’s not worth it.”
Atul Mohan made a pun-intended statement about The Nun II’s clash with Jawan, “None will sustain opposite Jawan!” He also said, “Jawan will get maximum screens. Look at the craze. It’ll get more shows. Warner Bros will have to struggle for screens.”
Raj Bansal agreed, “I doubt the film can work. There’s no way it can get shows in single screens. In the multiplexes, it’ll get but only in metros. In multiplexes of smaller cities, it might not get a single show.” He also remarked, “Chandigarh, Indore, Jaipur ke theatres mein majboori mein ya studio ke pressure se show de denge. But when exhibitors see that Jawan has sold so many tickets in limited shows, they’ll give the balance shows to the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer as well. They want to make money, after all.”
Ruban Mathivanan of GK Cinemas, Chennai revealed, “Only the multiplexes in Tamil Nadu will play The Nun II. The single-screens will only screen Jawan. Also, a prominent distributor, Red Giant, is distributing Jawan here.”
To conclude Jawan once proves the supremacy of Shah Rukh Khan, “Call him King, Baadshah, whatever. The fact is that he’s number 1 to number 5. Even overseas, he’s the undisputed emperor.” He also said, “Jawan will set new records. Shah Rukh Khan is not going to compete with anyone. He’s going to compete with himself. It’s Shah Rukh vs Shah Rukh aka Jawan vs Pathaan.”
He smiled as he remembered the golden days of cinema, “Ek positivity ki lehar aa rahi hai. The Kerala Story, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Satyaprem Ki Katha, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Gadar 2, OMG 2 and Dream Girl 2 all did very well. The time is taking me back to the 70s. Then, there used to be a release of a multi-starrer every second week. And most of these films used to be big hits at the box office. I used to wonder ki woh din kab aayenge aur lo, acche din wapis aa gaye!”
Vishek Chauhan compared the current time with the 90s, “90s waala time wapis aa raha hai. Then, Sunny Deol’s action film would prove to be a big hit followed by Shah Rukh Khan’s big-ticket film. All these films used to have terrific openings.”
He also made a plea to the Bollywood producers before signing off, “There was a song in Bombay Boys (1998), ‘Khaane Ka Peena Ka’, which had a line, ‘Abey asmaani kabootar. Balcony se utar kar stall mein aa’. This is what the audience is telling Bollywood, ‘Balcony se utar ke stall mein aa jaao kyunki Ganga yahin pe hai’! If you make a film for the stalls, even the balcony audience will enjoy.”
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