Why Slumdog didn't set the desi box office on fire

Updated on: 26 February,2009 09:01 AM IST |
Debarati Palit |

Although Slumdog Millionaire has achieved stupendous success at the Oscars, the film failed to make its mark at the box office.

Although Slumdog Millionaire has achieved stupendous success at the Oscars, the film failed to make its mark at the box office.

According to Raj Kumar, an ardent movie buff, the film has been made very cleverly keeping the international

audience in mind. "But poverty isn't something new for us as we see it at every nook and corner of India," he said.

Rishikesh Chaphalkar, co-partner of City Pride, said, "A film works only when the entire family is able to watch it together. Nobody would like to spend Rs 200 to watch slum dwellers."

He added, as compared to commercial cinema, the film had nothing to offer to the Indian audiences. "It neither had any star nor glamour. Hence, it managed to do just 10 per cent of business in comparison to films like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini."

Gaurav Bhure from the marketing department of Inox, said, "There is a strong possibility that the film failed to connect with the audience. Also, those who wanted to watch the film had already seen it a month prior to its release either on the Internet or its pirated CDs."

Promotion is another aspect where the film is believed to have failed. It's only after the film started doing the rounds of film festivals and won awards, that the Indian audiences came to know about it.

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