May 07, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Shahid Kapoor’s Badmaash Company has arrived this week and a lot is being said and heard about this Yash Raj film being an all important release for the Kaminey star. Let’s pause for a second and re-look at the situation. Should one really be making a big deal about the failure of Paathshaala? Not really, because this was a two year old release which just happened to arrive now as an end of Shahid’s backlog. Moreover, the film isn’t quite a disaster as it is being made out to be and would eventually just about manage to be a coverage affair taking into account mediums other than theatrical. It was never THE film which Shahid or his fans would have pinned much hopes on in any case.

Before that, Shahid’s Chance Pe Dance had arrived and failed. Yes, now that film was indeed a big stumble for Shahid since he was relying a lot on his bona fide ‘dance film’. However, it is surprising to see that some are terming post-Kaminey phase for Shahid Kapoor to have been made of a hat trick of flops. That’s wrong because Dil Bole Hadippa was never a flop; it was a lot better than being a coverage fare and made profits for all involved. Moreover, it was more of a Rani Mukerjee film than that of Shahid Kapoor.

Still, it is right to say that a perception has indeed been built around Shahid’s box office pull and the focus on Badmaash Company isn’t really misplaced. The film has to work so that Shahid can enter the shoot of his father’s Mausam with a happy state of mind. There is no other film that Shahid currently has in hand and if Badmaash Company doesn’t work, he would be facing a situation akin to that of Hrithik Roshan who had to rely upon his dad’s Koi Mil Gaya to pull him out of the mess that he had found himself in.

Badmaash Company is yet again one of those Yash Raj productions where promotion has been quite controlled. The stars haven’t quite come out and spoken about the film much and that is surprising since Anushka Sharma, the leading lady, has a blockbuster like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi behind her. Coming to the opening of the film, it should take an average start of 50%-60%. Housefull is expected to be quite strong in the second weekend as well which would be a major challenge to be overcome by this debut directorial venture of Parmeet Sethi.

As for the other releases, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (also releasing in Hindi as Hai Marjaawan) doesn’t quite look enticing. The promos have been hardly funny and the cast unknown (except for Shabana Azmi who is anyway known for her commercial pull). Moreover the premise of the film (a mother ready to kill people in order to get her daughter married) doesn’t attract your attention much. It would be a surprise if the film enjoys anything more than a 20%-30% start.

– Rudhir Burman / Sampurn Wire