Success party of Bad Boy held, poses vital query on good cinema

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Conspicuous by their absence, perhaps, were leading man Namashi Chakraborty’s parents, Mithun Chakraborty and Yogeeta Bali, and composer Himesh Reshammiya. The occasion was the success party held on May 4, of Bad Boy, the romantic comedy that marked both his debut and that of Amrin, daughter of producer Sajid Qureshi.

Otherwise, the presence of Namashi, Amrin with family, director Rajkumar Santoshi and background music composer Raju Singh made up for their absence. The lead pair, in particular, mixed warmly with every journalist, paparazzi and guest as drinks and snacks flowed in abundance. Mithun-da’s long-standing secretary, Vijay, also was present, as always cordial and warm.

And unlike most such dos, the food buffet began at a reasonable time and was of a high standard. The venue was a restobar, Iguana, in Mumbai’s Andheri.

Namashi thanked me for my review of his film, and when I stated that it was truly what I had felt, hugged me. The young actor also revealed that he was off to America the next day (as planned beforehand—a week after the film’s release!) to spend time with his brother Ushmey and sister Dishani, who are based in Los Angeles. “Amrin and I will meet you next time again!” he grinned, so I enquired if a sequel was in the offing.

Raju Singh revealed that the times when background music was considered a technician’s job were thankfully over. Much thought goes behind a score now, he said, and the director and he had done the music very cerebrally.

Director Rajkumar Santoshi was a proud man that day for having introduced these two newcomers. He stated that he was happy that they were being appreciated and he has even heard of other filmmakers keen on signing them. Discussing the low box-office figures, he revealed that nowadays it is more important, especially for newcomers, to be appreciated along with their film.

“Ninety percent of those who have seen Bad Boy, including the critics, have opined that they got to watch a proper family entertainer with clean ingredients after a very long while. It does not matter that we got less screens and shows. So box-office figures are something else, and liking a film is another, and I must congratulate producer Sajid-bhai (Qureshi) for showing the courage to make this film and promote it within a compact budget. I am satisfied with the film and Namashi and Amrin are here to stay!”

Namashi said that Bad Boy was that underdog that would always be liked when released on OTT and would grow more and more. “We did not expect great collection figures!” he said frankly. “But those who have seen the film have liked it!” He was very happy also with Himesh Reshammiya’s music that had become popular even before the film’s release.

Armin added that all the four songs were “super-hits” and today, a film’s release in movie-halls itself was a sign of success.”Namashi and I give full credit to the producer and director for this,” she smiled. “And newcomers always get a boost when the songs become hits!”

The general opinion in the media is that the current glut of releases and the multiplexes’ unscrupulous favoritism for producers and corporate entities that spin films at frequent intervals are responsible for the poor commercial performance of the film as they were not offered many prime-time screens and shows. Such films (and Bad Boy, emphatically, is neither the first nor last film to suffer this way) need a kindred soul to back them. Are there any? Or is the exhibitors’ world full of Bad Boy (s)?