As Atlee's magnum opus Jawan has hit theatres today, veteran producer and exhibitor Manoj Desai talks to ETimes about its prospective success, what it will mean for tinsel town, his bond with Shah Rukh Khan and more...
Now that all of Jawan's shows are going housefull, how are you feeling?
With God's grace, this film will do well, otherwise Bollywood has become quite dull for us exhibitors. Pathaan, Gadar 2 and now Jawan, things are finally looking up. Up until now, we were only running the Hindi dubbed version of South films like Pushpa, KGF 1 and 2 and RRR, so for Bollywood to get back on its own feet, this film needs to do well. Post Jawan, we have our hopes pinned on Salman Khan's Tiger 3, which is releasing this Diwali. I would request all fans to watch this film in cinemas and not wait for it to come on OTT, because of its larger than life scale and cinematic experience.
Have you spoken to Shah Rukh Khan yet? What are his expectations from Jawan?
I always speak to Shah Rukh before his film releases, and he has high expectations from Jawan. He told me that he has experimented with his looks, there is a South Indian touch in this film because his character is from South, so is the choreographer and the crew. I believe he looks extremely dashing when he graces the screen in his red shirt and black pants. He has worked hard on his body, and by the grace of God, this movie will do him, and Bollywood good.
Do you think Jawan will surpass Gadar 2's record, or for that matter Pathaan's?
I can only tell you that early next week, depending on the weekend crowd. However, if a theatre like Gaiety Galaxy can see such massive crowds at 6 am, there can be nothing better than that for us as an industry. On a side note, while actors may not be pleased about breaking each other's records, however, in terms of business and for us exhibitors, it is great news.
