Shah Rukh Khan plays it safe...Chooses for a limited release for Dear Zindagi with just 800 prints
Most distributors of Shah Rukh Khan starrers would like to have a grand release for films starring him, irrespective of their merits and content, knowing that his star following can overcome all the odds. Even his songless film, Fan, which was released not so long ago, had a wide release with a good number of prints in the market. Moreover the advance booking for all SRK starrers has often opened five days in advance on Sunday for a Friday release.
However Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release, Dear Zindagi, in which he plays a mentor to Alia Bhatt, proved to be an exception to the rule. Despite the anticipation for the film and the unique marketing strategy conceptualized by its director, Gauri Shinde, the film was released in an incredulously low number of 800 prints all over India, as against the average number of 4000 prints for SRK starrers.
Exhibitors, who were looking forward to releasing the film at their theatres since the past one week, were struggling to come to terms whether they would indeed bag the film for their theatres until Wednesday night. Most of them were in for a surprise when they were told that the film was being released in a minimal number of screens in select multiplexes, considering the fact that it was meant for the intelligentsia.
According to a source from Red Chillies Entertainment, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the decision was taken considering that it was not an out and out commercial film, “This is not a typical Shah Rukh Khan film nor is it a hard-core masala film meant for the masses. It is a Gauri Shinde film where the protagonist is Alia Bhatt and it has to be handled accordingly,” this source revealed.
A multiplex exhibitor who managed to bag the film for his screen explained the delay in opening the advance booking for the film, “The delay in the opening of the advance booking was due to the uncertainly about the number of prints. They wanted a very small window release, since it is a niche film. They are trying to gauge its performance by releasing it at select multiplex screens in the metros by doing away with the single screens and 2-tier and 3-tier cities,” the exhibitor said.
According to another leading exhibitor, who managed to get the film only for one of his famous suburban single screen, “The decision has everything to do with Shah Rukh Khan, who planned the release and distribution strategy for his latest film. They are being extremely choosy about the theatres for some reason. Either they are not confident about their film or it could be due to other reasons. If it performs well, it is good but we will have to wait and watch how the audiences react to it,” this exhibitor revealed.
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 "Shah Rukh Khan in Dear Zindagi")
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