Festival films 2006

A few weeks ago when music director Anu Malik was in Delhi, he was in a very good mood. Malik was in town to promote Tanuja Chandra's Zindaggi Rocks, for which he has scored the music.

It wouldn't be entirely incorrect to say he has staged a comeback, given a relatively dull season last year. Insiders say 2005 wasn't too good for the music director, especially as a majority of directors and producers were rooting for Himesh Reshammiya.

"This year I have some very interesting line ups," Malik says. They start with Diwali, where Malik's score for Jaan-e-man will vie for attention with Shankar Ehsaan Loy's score for Don "" The Chase Continues.

While the scores for these two films have already received a fair share of attention, this Diwali will also see the battle of the Khans. Call it media hype and frenzy, but fans are eagerly waiting to see Salman Khan romance Preity Zinta, while Shahrukh Khan does his version of "Khaike paan Benaras wala" in Don.

"Like in any other industry, Diwali is considered very auspicious for the release of films. But we released Khosla Ka Ghosla during the shraadh time. It was a modest film made on a modest budget and releasing it with other big films would not have made sense," says Ronnie Screwvala, CEO, UTV.

The company has already planned its release for next year's Diwali, and if all goes well you'll probably get to see Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next big venture, Saawariya.

In all probability, Goal, starring Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham, will also be tentatively released during Diwali.

Speaking of Diwali 2006, UTV, which has acquired overseas distribution rights for Akhtar's Don, is spending $1.5 million for the film's release and even dubbing it in five different languages including French, Malay, Indonesian, Arabic and Dutch.

The other big release, Jaan-e-man (made on a budget of Rs 35 crore), will be a litmus test for debutante director Shirish Kunder who has written, edited and directed the film. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, UFO Moviez will release the film in 1,000 screens including UFO's chain of digital cinemas.

"This will help Jaan-e-man to gain a larger audience and also recover revenues in the maximum revenue-generating weeks," says Raaja Kanwar, vice chairman and director, UFO Moviez. Excited about his first film, Kunder describes it as a musical journey with an outstanding plot.

"Regular banners like Yash Raj Films and Sooraj Barjatya that used to release their films during Diwali have pushed back their films this year," observes trade analyst Komal Nahta. But how exactly does it help to release films during the festive season?

"It is obviously considered auspicious to release films during Diwali. Which is why all the important films used to be released during this phase. This year, however, almost the entire year has seen some interesting big budget films so obviously not all of them wanted to release their films during Diwali," says Nahta.

He has a point. Dhoom 2, for instance, was supposed to have a Diwali release. The film, made on a staggering budget of Rs 50 crore, stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Aishwarya Rai, Uday Chopra and Hrithik Roshan.

Sanjay Gadhvi, the film's director, was so impressed with Roshan's stunts in Krrish that he reportedly decided to re-shoot some of the very important stunt sequences in his action film, causing the film's delay.

Then Rai and Bachchan too were shooting for J P Dutta's Umrao Jaan and, due to some last minute delays, had to push back their dates for Dhoom 2.

Now Dhoom 2 will release next month, followed closely by Barjatya's big budget film Vivaah starring Amrita Rao and Shahid Kapoor. Also releasing under the Yash Raj banner this year is the Arshad Warsi and John Abraham starrer Kabul Express that is doing the rounds of international festivals including the Toronto Film Festival.

The latter half of 2006 can even be considered a major movie fest for Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan fans. They will be seen in Dhoom 2 (though she stars opposite Hrithik Roshan) and Umrao Jaan, followed closely by Mani Ratnam's Guru in December, with Rai playing a simple housewife. It will be interesting to watch her progress, as she needs a desperate hit this season.

Talks suggest that she and John Abraham have been roped in for a Gaurang Doshii film called Happy Birthday. Also releasing this season is Babul, starring Rani Mukherji, Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan. This Ravi Chopra film, made on a budget of Rs 40 crore, has Mukherji playing the role of a widow, with Bachchan as her father-in-law.

2006 has already been a year of festivities so far, what with biggies such as Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Phir Hera Pheri and Krrish doing phenomenal business at the box office. Let's see if Diwali creates an even bigger spark for the industry and for viewers.