Few takers for this Friday's new releases

Few takers for this Friday's new releases
(NSI News Source Source) Friday - September 5, 2008 New Delhi: The three films up for release this Friday - Tahaan, Hijack and A Wednesday - have so far not got the box office ringing in terms of advance booking. Experts feel, the audience will be guided by the reviews before visiting the multiplexes. These all are low-budget movies and audiences will wait for the critics review first, Munish Sharma, marketing head of Satyam cinemas said.Moreover, Ramadan is not a month for movies as such. However, releases from previous weeks like Rock On, Bachna Ae Haseeno and Singh is Kinng are still doing well, he added.Directed by debutant Neeraj Pandey and produced by UTV, A Wedndesday stars veteran film actors Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah in the lead and is about a series of events that unfolds on a particular Wednesday.Tahaan is set in Kashmir and narrates the story of the young boy Tahaan and his quest across the mountains to find his donkey friend Birbal. Directed by Santosh Sivan, it stars Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna, Victor Banerjee, Sarika and debutant Purav Bhandare.Hijack on the other hand is again directed by a debutant - Kunal Shivdasani. It stars Shiney Ahuja, Esha Deol, K.K. Raina, Mona Ambegaonkar and debutante Kaveri Jha.A Wendesday is releasing with around 250 prints worldwide, and Tahaan with around 100 prints in India and it is also competing in different festivals around the world. No details were available about the prints of Hijack.In terms of budget, producer of A Wendesday, UTV has invested around Rs.60 million including the marketing and distribution costs. Producers of Tahaan and Hijack refused to divulge any details about the budget of their films.However, the distributors claim A Wendesday will be a clear winner among the three movies.There is no competition between the three movies. However, A Wendesday looks a clear winner as it has already been hyped a lot due to UTVs promotion and has been much appreciated at the screenings too, informed Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor.All three films have different stories to tell. They are all very well directed. However, the business of the films would be affected due to Ramadan but a good film will always find its audience, Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said.Added Santosh Sivan: All the films have an audience. The idea is to get a good release so that good visibility is ensured.