Kaante, Saathiya slug it out at box office

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: A sleek Rs 40 crore <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> or the modest Rs 10 crore <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span>? There is no clear verdict as the industry pundits are divided in picking the blockbuster of the week. After a spate of duds, this was the busiest weekend for the cinema lovers in recent times.<br />However, industry observers believe both <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span> have energised Bollywood.Sanjay Gupta’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span>, a remake of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Reservoir Dogs,</span> was shot entirely in Los Angeles by a Hollywood crew. Shaad Ali’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span> has all the elements to lure the younger generation.<br />As far as collections go, Pritish Nandy Communications’ much-hyped action film <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> has taken a comfortable lead in the advanced booking for the prints it has distributed in theatres across the country. <br />At the same time, trade analysts do not completely rule out the success of Kaledioscope’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span>, a remake of Mani Ratnam’s Tamil blockbuster <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Alaipayude</span>. Although <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span> opened weak, it may spring a surprise as romantic movies normally take more time to occupy people’s mind space.<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Trade Guide</span>’s Tarun Adarsh votes for <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> as the clear winner. "It has an astonishing opening all over the country and even in the overseas market. With no big release next week, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> will dominate. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span> has weak content and faced poor openings," says Adarsh.<br />But, Trade Guide’s competitor Box Office has a different story to tell. "<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span>’s bubble will burst after Monday. Nobody is comfortable watching the movie. Whereas, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya</span> has less hype and definitely lacklustre opening but it will maintain its lead steadily," says Vinod Morani, editor <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Box Office</span>.<br />Uday Kaushish, owner Shilea theatre is bullish on <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span>. "The response is outstanding. This is the first time we witnessed a craze for advanced booking for a Hindi movie after Gadar," says Kaushish. His company Eurasia Visuals is the distributor of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> in North India.<br />Ginne Chadha, who distributed <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gadar</span> says <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaante</span> is metrocentric and will have limited viewership. But Adarsh countered that stating that Hindi movies make money only in metro areas.</div> </div>