In 1998, when Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya released in theatres, many members of the cast and crew went to theatres to gauge the audience mood, as was customary at the time. JD Chakravarthy, the film’s star, once recounted to me how he found Mumbai’s Gaiety Theatre almost empty during the morning show. “In the afternoon, a few rows filled up. Then in the evening, the parking was full, and by the night show, there was no place to even stand in there,” he said. This was the power of word-of-mouth, the original marketing tool for Indian films. In the era before social media trends and city tour blitzkriegs, it was this word-of-mouth that sustained and rejuvenated films, often the difference between box-office success and failure. Everything from Sholay to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge worked because the audience liked what they saw and went on to tell others about it.
But then came the digital era. Intensive marketing and the focus on opening weekend killed word of mouth. Very few films now depended on long runs. The bulk of the money was made in the first week itself. That depended on the film’s marketing strategy. Suddenly, word-of-mouth was considered obsolete. The pandemic levelled all that. Now, films needed to invite the audience back to the theatres. The big films had the scale and the stars. But the mid-budget films suffered. Not many found takers early, and by the time more people learned of their quality, they were often streaming on OTT rather than running in theatres. The tribe of the ‘hidden gems’ increased. Think Laapataa Ladies or Dhadak 2, to name a few.
But then something surprising happened this past week. Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga changed the narrative, slowly, gently, and deftly, true to how any Imtiaz film deals with the audience. The Partition-based romantic drama opened low, at just over Rs 1 crore. By Monday, it was avoiding drops and gaining traction - all positive signs. But it was the second weekend when Main Vaapas Aaunga showed the true power of ‘word-of-mouth’. On its second Saturday, the film registered a 130% jump in domestic collections. Despite competition from a new release - Cocktail 2 - it not only held its own, but it also thrived. On Sunday, the film again saw a considerable jump in collections. The film, which had managed only Rs 5 crore in its opening weekend, collected Rs 12+ crore in its second weekend.
Main Vaapas Aaunga had been reduced to just 300 screens by its second Friday. Two days later, the screen count was up by 100%. Exhibitors and cinema chains were forced to add shows as housefull board came out after months. This was the audience telling the industry what it wanted to watch. In no unclear terms!
“The film has grown steadily through the week, which is exactly the kind of trend exhibitors like to see, as it reflects genuine and sustained audience interest rather than a front-loaded opening. That’s a rare and encouraging sign, indicating that the film’s momentum is being driven by strong word-of-mouth around Imtiaz Ali’s storytelling, Naseeruddin Shah’s powerful performance, and AR Rahman’s memorable score, rather than promotional hype,” Gautam Dutta, CEO-Revenue & Operations, PVR INOX Limited, said in a statement.
Ever since the pandemic brought about a slowdown in box office collections for films across India, the question has been: ‘How can filmmakers bring the audiences back?’ Every once in a while, the odd film does well, but these are largely big films that rely either on star power (Pathaan or Pushpa 2) or a promise of something new (Dhurandhar or Kantara). For smaller films, this pull has been hard to achieve, minus some political undertones or controversy. The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story may succeed, but Laapataa Ladies struggles.
That is why the reversal in fortunes of Main Vaapas Aaunga is important. It is a small film on a non-massy issues with no big superstar. And yet, it is holding off bigger films and convincing the audience that a trip to the theatre is worth their time. This was the only promise the audience had ever asked of cinema? Make it worth our time. Over the years, in their search for a formula, makers chose to forget it. But Imtiaz Ali clearly hasn’t. He delivered on the promise, and the audience responded in kind.
Main Vaapas Aaunga is running in theatres, successfully!
