Trade experts discuss what went wrong with Akshay Kumar-starrer Sarfira: “Akshay Kumar’s films are topical but are not entertaining for the larger audience”

The Akshay Kumar-starrer Sarfira opened to poor houses. Its weekend collections were Rs. 12.50 crores and on Monday, it dropped to Rs. 1.40 crores. Hence, the film will struggle to even cross the Rs. 25 crore lifetime. We spoke to trade experts to understand what went wrong with the film, which otherwise has a positive word of mouth.Trade veteran Taran Adarsh explained, “The trailer worked in a good way and was appreciated. Everyone thought that it would open better than Akshay’s previous films though no one expected a double-digit opening. But the problem was that the original film (Soorarai Pottru; 2020) was seen by a lot of people in the lockdown. It was also released in Hindi on the same OTT platform. Now, those who have watched the original version, why would they spend Rs. 300 or Rs. 500 to see the remake?”Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, minced no words as he said, “Everything from the word ‘Go’ was not right for Sarfira. Firstly, we need to identify what are the stories that need to be retold. Many had seen the original version or the dubbed Hindi version. This happened with Vikram Vedha as well. Moreover, the setting was very urban. Also, the target audience of the film is the same as the original version, and they had seen the latter. So, the script selection itself was not right.”He added, “The trailer was not exciting. Also, on the day of release, the Hindi dubbed version premiered on television.” He also remarked, “The makers also posted the ad of reviews on the day of release in the newspaper. The creative loudly proclaimed that it was a commercial film. But this is not a commercial film in the true sense of the word at all. Hence, even the marketing went wrong.”On the remake factor, Taran Adarsh said, “One might argue that Drishyam 2, a remake, worked big time. But the original film wasn’t available in Hindi. The two-day numbers of Sarfira should have ideally been the first-day collections.”Trade analyst Atul Mohan agreed, “I guess after the lockdown, the trend has changed when it comes to remakes. Earlier, people didn’t have access or exposure to the original film.”On the positive reviews, Taran Adarsh exulted, “The accolades definitely have come in. When you get 4 and 5 stars, it means that aapne ek acchi film banayi hai. But when a film releases on a Friday morning, everything evaporates (especially if the opening is poor). By evening, the question is – pehla din kitna jaayega? That’s the harsh reality. You are known by your numbers. Do you recall how many stars were awarded to Maidaan or Mission Raniganj by a certain journalist? But there are high chances of you remembering their box office numbers. And in the industry, people flaunt numbers at the drop of a hat. After all, everything is linked to it, be it satellite or digital deals. Hence, your box office numbers play a very important part. And the last few Fridays for Akshay have not been too kind.”Distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal also spoke on this topic, “What backfired for the film are the reviews of the previews! Earlier, the film was seen in trial on Thursday and the reviews would be out on Friday. People used to trust them a lot. Now, many films are shown a week earlier. Maybe, the producers know that their film is not good and they indulge in this exercise. And the cinema-going audience is aware of these tricks and this also keeps them away from the theatres. All the films of recent times, hyped before release in this way, have miserably opened at the box office.”He also commented on Sarfira’s content, “Akshay’s films are topical but are not entertaining for the larger audience. Everyone told me that Sarfira is a decent film made on a current subject. It didn’t take an opening but subsequently, it should have picked up.”The lack of a hit soundtrack also affected the film according to him, “We are still ignoring the music. The industry fails to understand that one good song can get you a good opening.”BOGO, chai-samosa combo offers failed to enticeThe makers of Sarfira implemented the Buy One Get One (BOGO) ticket offer to lure the audience on Monday and Tuesday. In a unique initiative, PVR cinemas offered a Sarfira combo to the patrons which included a ticket for the film, 2 samosas and a cup of tea.Taran Adarsh thundered, “I am not in favour of BOGO and samosa-chai offer at all. When you start giving incentives for such a big film, then the common man wonders ‘What’s wrong with the film that they have to resort to such tactics?’. Pathaan and Jawan makers opted for it after many weeks.”He continued, “If you make films that appeal to the audience Pan-India, then you won’t have to offer samosa-chai and BOGO to them. Nobody offered samosa or free tickets when S S Rajamouli made RRR or when Nag Ashwin made Kalki 2898 AD!”Raj Bansal noted, “BOGO is the main failure point of a film. The audience now knows that in the case of certain films, the scheme will be implemented sooner or later. This happened not just with Sarfira but Kill as well.”He added, “The film collected Rs. 1.40 crores on Monday, despite BOGO. Iska matlab film toh khatam hai, especially with Bad Newz coming this Friday.”Also Read: Akshay Kumar starrer Sarfira offers BOGO deal for July 15, 16; deets inside