Umrao Jaan is a total washout at Box Office
From Noreen Aslam

BOMBAY—The poor opening response to J.P. Dutta’s magnum opus, Umrao Jaan, has sent shock waves in the trade with distributors and exhibitors debating on the viability of re-makes at the box-office. The film has opened to a shocking 25 per cent response all over with the estimated losses being over Rs 15 crores.
“The film is a total wash-out at my chain of theatres and it is unlikely to pick up looking at the audience response,” says Sanjay Dalia, general manager, operations, Cineline chain of theatres. According to him, the film’s length — three hours and five minutes — and the fact that the pre-interval portion was almost two hours, further affected the prospects of the film. “I saw some of the audiences walk out in my chain after the interval because they probably couldn’t sit through the long pre-interval portion,” he revealed.
Dalia also feels that the failure of the film is an indication that re-makes can have a tough time making a mark at the box-office. “It is a clear indication that re-makes are likely to take a beating at the box-office, more so, if the original version has been a super-hit at the box-office. In such a case, even star presence cannot do much, whether it is Abhishek Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai,” he says.
West Bengal distributor and trade analyst, Neeraj Manchanda, echoes Dalia’s point of view and feels that the failure of Umrao Jaan, will deter people from re-making period films in the future. “It has sent a clear signal that people should seriously reconsider the subjects they are planning for re-makes,” Neeraj says, adding that the Abhishek-Aishwarya jodi, has failed to work any magic at the box-office. “But that will not affect the opening of Dhoom 2 in which they are once again paired together since it has the magical presence of Hrithik Roshan,” he adds.