The Hindu Business Line : Global viewers warm up to Bollywood themes

INTERNATIONAL viewers are warming up to Bollywood themes as is evident in Bride and Prejudice's box office performance in its opening weekend in the UK.

However, the film's opening weekend in Mumbai has not matched up to some of the mainstream Bollywood films, trade sources said.

For the first weekend, the much-publicised Bride and Prejudice, with Aishwarya Rai as the main protagonist, reported a 60 per cent occupancy for its English version and a 50 per cent for its Hindi version.

"The first weekend is a clear indication how the film will progress," said Ms Indu Mirani, Editor, Box Office, a trade journal. According to her, the storyline of the film is quite commonplace with `very little chemistry' between the two main star cast — Ms Rai and Martin Henderson.

However, the film made a debut at the UK box office grossing £1.67 million from 376 screens. This is said to be a new high for a Bollywood film. The others in comparison were Devdas and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.

Though all-India figures for Bride and Prejudice were not available, Mumbai statistics provide a glimpse into the film's performance, trade sources say.

During 2004, Main Hoon Na topped the list for best weekend openers with a collection of Rs 12.93 crore followed by Lakshya at Rs 12.71 crore and Khakee at Rs 12.14 crore.

Among the recent releases, Dhoom, a Yash Chopra film, made a debut with a collection of Rs 11.12 crore. At the end of its six-week theatrical exhibition, Dhoom has raked in a collection of Rs 28.95 crore coming in second after Main Hoon Na, according to information available at IBOS Network.

Industry sources maintain that films with light entertaining themes have been able to bring in audiences for theatrical viewing during 2004.