June 14, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): ‘Ek Second… Jo Zindagi Badal De?’ - This was the title of the film which released last week. Well, not a single life changed actually (except for may be the producer’s) once the film hit the screens. Manisha Koirala is semi retired and is getting married. Jackie Shroff is now seen only on and off and mostly in inconsequential roles which is a pity for a talent like him. Nikita Anand may just have given up hopes that the film would ever see a release, courtesy a two year delay. Director Partho Ghosh is unknown to the current generation. The only impact would be on producer Sunil Singh, also a lead actor in the film, who has now begun his film making journey with a dud.

The film had problems all around and was struggling for long to even see a release. Once it did, it couldn’t have been worse. The promotion was zilch and the release haphazard, which meant that the film not just struggled to get an all-India release but also couldn’t penetrate in the cities where it eventually did arrive. It was a matter of hunting for shows, let aside good theaters, even in these cities. This film saw barely 4-5 shows for itself across theaters in the cities and the timings too were as unflattering as they could be.

Result? Zero occupancy, which meant that this dramatic thriller didn’t have any patronage coming to take it safely past even the first weekend, let aside an entire week. Add to that good competition from ‘Raajneeti’ (more about that later) which stayed on to be the first choice of audience and it was crystal clear that the film was a doomed project. Expect the film’s DVD to be out in quick time.

–Joginder Tuteja/ Sampurn Wire