This week will see the release of the first big release in terms of budget since the box office failure of Tubelight. Jagga Jasoos has the presence of two genuine stars of the day with Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif who also have two SUPER HIT films behind them as a pair with Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti. Stars are a very rare commodity today with only around 10-12 artistes male or female that can genuinely be called stars but its a huge missed opportunity when the casting comes but its for a film like Jagga Jasoos. 

This is not to count the film as a failure as the film could turn out better than the promos and work but it will take some huge effort for the film to work across India and give the sort of final number that is a positive for the star status of Ranbir and Katrina Kaif. Ranbir Kapoor's last film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil opened at 13 crore on pre Diwali with a clash against Shivaay which was a big result as a box office draw. The film did have the super hit music factor but the dull pre Diwali days and clash were huge negatives and to get 13 crore nett was a very good result. The fact is that any decent Ranbir / Katrina film and you would be considering a 15 crore nett start but here the hope will be a double digit star and there is always chance the evening crowd may not come to take it there. 

The language and concept of the film is foreign, it was the same case for Tubelight but at least the promos had that Hindi emotional feel which bought in a sizeable crowd initially and they had to see the film to recognize its not for them. Here the the promos are shouting out to the audience to stay away, there is zero reliability and the world shown does not seem to exist, well at least for most of the audience. Its again inspiration from Europe or Hollywood which does not have many takers in India.

The same team Disney / Ranbir / Anurag Basu had made Barfi! a few years back and that film did 105 crore nett business which was bit of a fluke. The success of the film was not a fluke but to get that 10-15 crore nett extra was thanks to a very cleverly thought out tight release and the content working well with the limited target audience to allow the release structure to profit. So what happens here is that a sort of fluke encourages an even bigger film to be made when in reality you should be thanking your lucky stars that you got away with it. The team of Barfi! probably thought its a loved film encouraged by the English media circle but the reality is barring a small minority nobody really cared and this further proved with disaster television results. The team probably still think its a loved film but it does not register on television at all and there will be minimal screenings on television.

We have seen results of so called loved films like Rock On and Kahaani when their sequels were made and here it is not a sequel but a misjudgment of appreciation of Barfi! which has led to a costly Jagga Jasoos. This is happening with alarming regularity in the industry and it has to learn that appreciation and success are two different things. Success can happen with a minority but when appreciation only comes from a minority and majority has rejected then its not appreciation. The stars have promoted the film heavily and could be seen everywhere but its unlikely the campaign converted the audience into viewers

Still it will be good for the industry if Jagga Jasoos picks up and the five metros embrace the film as the industry does not need another big disappointment so soon after Tubelight.