IPL frenzy may hurt Bollywood box office

MUMBAI: IPL’s overwhelming response in terms of ratings may hurt Yashraj Films, considering it’s next big release Tashan, releasing 25 April will be pitted against this newly-popular form of cricket. The estimated Rs 30-crore movie, trade analysts and leading multiplex operators feel, may struggle to garner a big audience due to matches scheduled in the afternoon and prime time. This will have an impact on the 3 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm shows, which are the key drivers at the box office. Also with Friday, Saturday and Sunday becoming critical in terms of revenue exploitation, distributors are tense considering the cricket frenzy. Last weekend, while no major films were released, Ajay Devgun’s directoral debut U Me aur Hum fell to the 15-20% occupancy level, resulting in the trade branding it a flop. It had witnessed a poor opening at 30-35%. The Rs 25-crore film may bring in only Rs 9 crore through ticket sales. If one accounts for all the other exploitation rights, the film is expected to make a loss of Rs 8-9 crore. On the other hand, Krazzy 4 which opened with a 70% occupancy level, fell drastically to 20-25% in terms of collections towards the end of its first week. The grand IPL launch also did not help, despite no new release this week. The Rs 10 crore film is expected to make close to Rs 7-8 crore at the box office and a further Rs 5 crore via other rights such as satellite, music and the home market, resulting in a small profit of Rs 3-4 crore. The negative rub off on revenues of movies at the box office may extend to the Big B-starrer Bhootnath releasing on 9 May, which is the next big ticket movie in the offing. In the overseas market, U Me Aur Hum has beaten Krazzy 4, unlike the domestic box office. Krazzy 4 grossed close to Rs 3 crore in 3 days in the overseas markets as opposed to U Me Aur Hum clocking Rs 6 crore in the same period. The majority of these revenues came in from North America and UK. According to Tam Media Research the inaugural match in Bangalore between Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore Royal Challengers on Friday fetched a rating of 8.21, with 12.5-million people tuning in to watch the match. The following two matches played between Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevils, clocked 4.97 TRP and 5.58 TRP, respectively. As the matches move into the second stage shortly, Bollywood is indeed going to face stiff competition from the cricket-cum-entertainment bonanza that IPL seems to offer. The year has been dry for Bollywood, with only the Saif Ali Khan-Bipasha starrer Race putting up a good show. Bollywood has yet to see a mega blockbuster film at the box office in 2008.

Kolkata Knight Riders, has tied up with the online gaming venture of Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA group

Shah Rukh Khan has tied up with Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA group (Reuters Photo)

MUMBAI: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Kolkata Knight Riders, has tied up with the online gaming venture of Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA group to host a cricketing zone on the team's official website.

Commenting on the tie up, the spokesperson of the online gaming portal Zapak.com said the reason to choose Shah Rukh was in keeping with the hugely popular film star's background as an avid online gamer.

The move aims to create a community of Kolkata Knight Rider's fans. The company also said that it would be spending Rs one crore on the marketing initiatives and the tie up projects for co-branding. The portal would be supplying content for the IPL team's website.

Presently, there are only two games hosted on the website and eight more would be added. The company may add more games after seeing the response to the hosted games. The games can be accessed absolutely free on the website.

Speaking on the partnership, Shah Rukh Khan said, "We were looking for someone who could capture the essence of cricket and at the same time promote Knight Riders as the best IPL club. Zapak.com with their custom-built games around Knight Riders will give the gamers an opportunity to feel and be a part of Knight Riders."

The online company already hosts 18 cricket based games on its portal, and claims to have recorded more than 80,000 users playing cricket on its website everyday.

Kolkata Knight Riders is a franchise of the Indian Premier League. It was bought by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jai Mehta. The team is led by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and coached by former Australian coach John Buchanan.

Knight Riders are the toughest competitor in the league: SRK

Buoyed by back-to-back victories in Indian Premier League (IPL), the Kolkata Knight Riders are confident of keeping up the momentum to win the gruelling tourney.

Both skipper Sourav Ganguly and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, whose Red Chillies Entertainment owns the side, feel that the good start augurs well for the team.

"We have started well and hope to continue this trend," Ganguly said. Echoing Ganguly, the matinee idol said, "We have to continue to do well in the coming matches."

The team crushed Rahul Dravid-led Bangalore Royal Challengers by 140 runs in the tournament lung opener on Friday and followed it up with a five-wicket win over Deccan Chargers captained by VVS Laxman on Sunday.

Asked to name the team which he considered the toughest competitor for the Knight Riders, Shah Rukh promptly replied, "We are the toughest competitor for all other teams". But our coach has told the players that they have to deliver the best to succeed in the tournament. The team has to work hard. I have got a bunch of boys who are honest, sincere and die hard," he said at the launch of the official timewear for his side.

On whether he was nervous when his team was losing wickets quickly, he said, "I never feel nervous. Sometimes I feel sad and sometimes I become sentimental. I want them (the players) to do their best."

Team co-owner and filmstar Juhi Chawla as also all members of the Kolkata Knight Riders were present at the programme held at a hotel in Kolkata.

Brendon McCullum's 158 leads Kolkata to inaugural IPL win

Captained by Sourav Ganguly, Kolkata Knight Riders amassed a huge 3-222 from their 20 overs, with New Zealander Brendon McCullum smashing 158 from just 73 balls.

Ponting hit 20 from 20 deliveries and fellow Australian David Hussey 12 from 12.

In reply, Bangalore Royal Challengers - featuring Australians Cameron White and Ashley Noffke - were all out for 82.

A crowd of 55,000 in Bangalore were also treated to a huge fireworks display and an appearance by cheerleaders from NFL team Washington Redskins.