Vidya–Emraan can’t set the box-office on fire

Despite the potential pairing of Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan, Ghanchakkar failed to open well.Director Raj Kumar Gupta who gave critically-acclaimed films like Aamir and No One Killed Jessica earlier could not appeal to, both, the audiences and critics, this time. The trailers of this wacky comedy were quite promising which ensured a decent opening of Rs 7 crores. But there was no growth in business over the weekend and the film collected just around Rs 22 crores over its first weekend. There isn’t much hope for the business prospects of the film hereon. Despite being a solo release with decent star value, Ghanchakkar has been a disappointment, both, in terms of its content and at the box-office. Meanwhile Raanjhanaa continued to be steady at the box-office and collected another Rs 10 crores in its second week. The coming week sees the release of Sanjay Dutt’s Policegiri. This remake of a South film has all masala ingredients that a Salman Khan or an Akshay Kumar film has. It needs to be seen whether Sanjay Dutt will be able to pull off such a potboiler. The other release is Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh’s Lootera. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane (of Udaan fame), this Balaji Films production holds good promise.Top Hindi Films this WeekFilm: GhanchakkarPosition: 1Director: Raj Kumar GuptaCast: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, Rajesh Gupta, Namit DasUpside: Decent performances, interesting premiseDownside: dull humour, stretched second half, gets repetitive after a whileRunning Week: 1Trade Comments: Though it collected around Rs 22 crores over its opening weekend, the business did not show any escalation over the days. The film has earned an average of Rs 7 crores each in its first 3 days. With the content being panned, there isn’t much hope from the film’s business now. Film: RaanjhanaaPosition: 2Director: Anand L RaiCast: Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Swara BhaskaraUpside: Dhanush’s charming performance, Sonam’s matured act, good direction, good music, not the regular love story plotDownside: Goes off-track in the second halfRunning Week: 2Trade Comments: Collected Rs 10 crores in its second weekend. Business is quite steady with positive word of mouth. HitFilm: FukreyPosition: 3Director: Mrigdeep Singh LambaCast: Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Varun Sharma, Ali Fazal, Richa ChadhaUpside: Interesting story, crazy characters, refreshingly real life humour, good performancesDownside: Ali Fazal’s clichéd track Running Week: 3Box-Office Verdict: HitFilm: Yeh Jawaani Hai DeewaniPosition: 4Director: Ayan MukherjiCast: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kalki KoechlinUpside: Good performances, chartbuster music, sizzling chemistry between Ranbir-Deepika, decent story, grand production valuesDownside: Predictable plot, stretched second halfRunning Week: 5Box-Office Verdict: BlockbusterFilm: Shortcut Romeo Position: 5Director: Susi GaneshanCast: Neil Mukesh, Pooja Gupta, Ameesha PatelUpside: Interesting plot and slick directionDownside: Dull end Running Week: 2Box-Office Verdict: Flop