Abhishek scores in North America

December 30, 2005 16:14 IST

So, they really love Abhishek Bachchan [ Images ] in North America, where Bluffmaster [ Images ]! created some desi movie history. And they adore Akshay Kumar [ Images ] and Bobby Deol [ Images ] in England [ Images ], where their Dosti: Friendship Forever was the fifth-highest grossing film in a somewhat depressed market.

But how -- accounting for the arrival of Abhishek as a star -- can one then explain the minor phenomenon that Bluffmaster! went against the tradition of a Hindi film dropping by about 50 per cent in the second weekend in North America? Some viewers may think part of the film's appeal lies in the performances of Ritesh Deshmukh [ Images ] and Nana Patekar [ Images ].

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'A technically slick entertainment set in the world of grifters, Bluffmaster! doesn't quite pull off the big game it aspires to,' wrote Derek Elley, who regularly reviews desi films, in Variety, the trade publication. 'Blame that on a smooth but emotionally cold performance by star Abhishek Bachchan, who, like the movie, has all the moves down but keeps the audience shut out emotionally.'

But Elley also believed the film's 'tight running time has few dull patches, supporting performances are well etched, and a monstrous final twist deserves some kind of prize for sheer gall.' The movie would do well in urban centers, he added.

His assumption came true at least in America and Canada [ Images ].

A still from Dosti

Never mind how good Ritesh and Nana are, Abhishek can rightly claim it to be one of his hits as he plays the title role. The film went up by about 10 per cent in its second weekend in nearly 50 theatres in North America and earned $400,000 in 10 days. This is the first solo success for Abhishek in this lucrative territory, though it may not have the strength to reach the $1 million benchmark.

'We have made a very urban, youthful film, and it will go well wherever teenagers come to see a movie,' director Rohan Sippy said while doing promos for the film in New York a few weeks ago.

But the film couldn't really bluff audiences in the United Kingdom.

The reception there was much cooler, giving the film an also-ran status. Though it stayed on the top chart for two weeks and slid from the ninth position to the tenth, it lost over 60 per cent of its box-office altitude in the second week, earning a mere $50,000 for a total of $300,000.

With the above average opening Dosti enjoyed in England (the North American numbers were not available but the film is said to have had a decent opening), Akshay Kumar's newly found popularity continues strongly. But the film also benefited by Bobby Deol's presence. The Suneel Darshan movie grossed about $250,000 on a chart led by The Chronicles of Narnia, which ate up $5.5 million.

Dharmendra's [ Images ] younger son may not have a big base in India [ Images ] except for Punjab [ Images ], but many of his films including Barsaat (also directed by Darshan) have done well across the Atlantic.

As a cynic might say, there is no underestimating bad taste.

Abhishek scores in North America

Stars spotted! What's this?