It's raining dollars in Bollywood

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript" src="Config?Configid=43376741"></script><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/67793.cms" alt="/photo/67793.cms" border="0" />NEW DELHI: After a long drought, it''s raining hits in Bollywood -- not just at home, but also in the overseas market. While <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chalte Chalte</span> has grossed over a million dollars in the UK, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon</span> has touched the magic figure in the United States.<br /><br />Both the films continue to be among the top 25 in the UK.The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chalte Chalte</span>, has slipped from number 13 to 18 in its fourth week, but has already crossed the million-dollar mark. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon</span> opened impressively at number 8, only to slide down quickly to 24 in its second week, but has already made over half a million dollars, according to trade magazine <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Variety</span>. <br /><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/67794.cms" alt="/photo/67794.cms" border="0" />In the US, where it has fared better, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Prem...</span> has raked in over a million dollars already. For the week ending July 3, it is at number 19, three notches below Gurinder Chadha''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bend It Like Beckham,</span> which is running into its sixteenth week. <br /><br />Industry pundit Taran Adarsh rates the films'' overseas performance as excellent. "Indian films had taken a backseat after September 11, but the overseas market is once again growing by leaps and bounds," Adarsh says. <br /><br />In fact, he is so bullish about the trend that he predicts upcoming biggies like Ram Gopal Varma''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Darna Mana Hai</span>, Harry Baweja''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Qayamat</span> and Mani Shankar''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Rudraksh</span> heading the same way.<br /><br />Ironically, critics have completely panned both <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chalte Chalte</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Prem...</span> back home. Not just that, they predicted doom for films with big banners and bigger stars at a time when small budget films were turning out to be surprise hits. Despite poor reviews, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chalte Chalte</span> has turned out to be a runaway hit at home, topping the box office charts in its fourth week. Collections for <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Prem...</span> for the first week ranged from remarkable to fairly good, but have dropped considerably. Trade analysts predict the multi-starrer will, at best, manage an average run. <br /><br />So, was it Shah Rukh''s charm and Hrithik''s biceps that worked wonders with the NRIs? Adarsh contends big names may help pull in people initially, but they cannot make a film successful. "What difference does a review make? <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Sholay</span> was similarly panned." <br /><br />He gives credit to directors Aziz Mirza (<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chalte Chalte</span>) and Sooraj Barjatya (<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Prem...</span>) for churning out flicks with "strong content"; And a strong showing, you could say.</div> </div>