10 Commandments to deliver a Hit film at the BO

Its 2am Monday morning and here I am back home from yet another fun Bollywood party. Like most of the parties in B-town, this one too had yummy food, free flowing booze, gorgeous glamorous people, powerful filmmakers and lots of chatter. And as always, after some fun chat and gossip sessions, the subject in this party too quickly moves to the latest happenings at the Box Office. "Which film worked, which one failed and WHY!" In my past 8 years in this business (I’m the Content Head of Bollywoodhungama.com, FYI), I’ve seen Bollywood personalities, at almost every filmi gathering, ending up having this debate. Some people make sense, some don’t, while some take off to the bar never to return, but each one of them surely has some logic to add regarding a film’s success or failure at the Box Office.

I’ve been a part of such innumerable debates with the directors, producers, superstars, distributors - sometimes as the aggressive speaker and at times as the passive listener (I’ve also managed to piss off a very big filmmaker once to the extent that he walked out of his own party. Luckily for me, my BO predictions came true the next morning and he never spoke to me again...Nailed it!!). But more importantly, after listening to all these talks by these professionals, I’ve come to realize that there is a definite pattern that most of the known and successful filmmakers follow.

Looking at some of the unexpected colossal disasters we saw at the BO this year, I decided to pen down the 󈧎 Commandments’ (no-pun intended) that are a must follow for every Bollywood filmmaker. It’s not a sure-shot formula for success, but if rightly applied, it certainly does increase the chances of a movie succeeding at the BO.

1. A Bollywood film is not a work of "ART": A very senior producer-actor once told me that we don’t make films to satiate a filmmaker’s creative hunger. ’We’re in the business of entertaining the audiences, that’s what the audiences come in for and you better provide it to them. If you want to make a ’work of art on celluloid’, then invest your own money and join the French cinema.’ I find his point quite valid. Making films for festivals is a completely different ball game where people of a certain mindset enter the theatre to watch "ART". Bollywood is not that place, and selling your pseudo, abstract thoughts to the wrong audience is surely going to backfire.

2. Smart Budgeting: ’A penny saved is a penny earned’ is a simple age-old formula that every successful filmmaker in Bollywood follows. A controlled and sensible ’Cost of Production’ and appropriate ’Print and Publicity’ budget will take the film a long way. No not only will it reduce the pressure on the Star to recover the money, it will also increase the profit margins for all involved. And if done sensibly, it reduces dependence of filmmakers on big stars to give a hit film. The Bhatts have successfully followed this formula for years now and have managed to give consistent hits at the BO.

3. The First Promo Test: This is officially the biggest test to pass. The First promo and the First Look Poster is what people will see and decide whether they will go for that movie or not. It’s almost like the audiences smell a good movie from a bad one when they see the first promo.

4. Star power and Star genre: One can debate on this forever but the fact is that Stars sell films better than anyone else. It’s a relationship that each star has built with the audiences... its some kind of chemistry and one can’t question it. The audiences have different expectations from different stars and hence each star has his own safe genre. Most stars these days are trying to balance their output by doing the so-called "masala" films along with a completely different unexpected subject (Akshay balances a Rowdy Rathore with a Special 26 and an OMG Oh My God!). Sometimes it works; sometimes it fails... but it is surely pushing the envelope.

5. Music: It’s been proven time and again that hit songs help a film tremendously. Bollywood is the only source of popular music in India and audiences get pulled into the theatres by the magical force of hit songs. Aashiqui 2 is the biggest example of this year to prove this point. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani too proved it once again.

6. Picture ki heroine kaun hai?: We’ve often heard this discussion between single screen audiences. But the fact is that a good actress works as a magnet for both single and multiplex audiences alike. If the Hero and Heroine lack a sizzling chemistry, there are higher chances of a film getting rejected (Ranbir’s Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year and Besharam seem to share that problem in common). In today’s time, certain actresses like Vidya, Katrina, Priyanka and Deepika have taken a bigger leap and have their own massive dedicated fan base. Never underestimate the power of a good actress.

7. Marketing: Saying that a film will work purely on the merits of its content without any marketing is as absurd as opening a restaurant in your bedroom and expecting customers to show up. In today’s day and age, when there are at least 3 movies releasing every week, not to forget other content that people get exposed to on television and internet, getting people’s attention to your movie is a herculean task. Every film needs a marketing breakthrough in both traditional and digital/new media to grab the target audience’s attention.

8. PR and Media: Media blitzkrieg works magically to pull audiences to the theatres. Period! There’s nothing called over-publicity and Shah Rukh Khan has successfully proven it time and again. And No, PR is not the same as Marketing!

9. Release Date and Strategy: This has to be the one of most crucial factors. When does your movie come out? Is it getting squished between two big films, does it get completely sidelined or is the producer just believing in some heavenly force to magically get people to see his small budget movie showing at the morning Matinee show while a Shah Rukh Khan starrer occupies rest of the screens through the day. Every film, with respect to its star cast and budget, deserves a limited or a wide release. The content also decides whether it should be pushed into single screens or multiplexes or both. The Release Date that the producer chooses can make or break a film’s fate. Chennai Express made the most from the Eid holiday with the movie hungry audiences checking into the theatres in huge numbers. We can expect something similar with Akshay Kumar’s Boss as the audiences have been hungry for almost 2-3 weeks now.

10. Indian audiences are NOT stupid: Most filmmakers who deliver duds are heard complaining about the audiences on Monday mornings, when the weekend numbers arrive. I will never buy this opinion coz ours is the country of the most passionate film lovers. And if anyone has failed to deliver, then it is you Mr. Filmmaker! Bollywood audiences want an engaging and to certain extend an entertaining movie. More importantly, you better give them what you promised in your promotions. If your film manages to the engage and entertain people, you might surely have a winner. Good content will never get rejected, but if you underestimate your audiences or try to mock them, you are in for some serious trouble. People are NOT stupid. They are the same audiences who push both Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Grand Masti into the 100 crore club coz both the films delivered what was promised!

Though one can sit back, contradict, talk of exceptions and join the debate in that filmi party, I see these observations by the Bollywood veterans as helpful tools to make sure that a good film stands a chance of hitting it big at the BO. A sensible application of the above 10 Commandments with a little bit of luck (’maa ka aashirwaad’) and the most unexpected movie can turn out to be a game changer at the Box Office.