It was a shocking Friday. Both the new releases tanked perhaps because of the lack of aggressive promotion. Sudhir Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chand, masterful in its sets and ambience, could not grab the audience’s interest.Sanjay Gupta’s Dus Kahaniyaan was the other loser. Oddly enough, a couple of its screenings in Mumbai had faulty screenings. For example, Mumbai’s Apsara at the 10 a m screening began the Nana Patekar episode upside down, leading to hoots from the audience.

Dismal collection

Khoya Khoya Chand managed a mere 20 to 30 per cent collections in cities. Despite some appreciation from elite audiences at multiplexes, tradewallas believe that there will be rise in collections after the first weekend.Sanjay Gupta’s Dus Kahaniyaan, except at multiplexes in Mumbai, opened to 20 to 30 per cent collections. In the North, its report card was even lower. In Mumbai, it opened with 30 to 40 per cent at some multiplexes, at others it managed an opening of 10 to 15 per cent. It is expected to lose money for its distributors.Even though no big release is scheduled for next Friday, tradewallas are not expecting any remarkable change in the fate of either Khoya.. or Dus..Meanwhile, Madhuri Dixit’s comeback opus, Aaja Nachle, fared terribly in its first week. The week’s nation wide collections were pegged at 40 per cent (and that’s being polite).Will Dixit try for another Comeback Part 2? Hope so, at least for her die-hard fans.Of the last five releases of Yash Raj Films, this is their fourt hdud—the exception to the rule was Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De! India. Vivek Agnihotri’s Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal saw a huge fall in collections in its second week. While production house UTV claims that the collections have been steady, trade veterans say otherwise. Talk is that it’s a dud everywhere except for its average show in Mumbai. Gauri The Unborn didn’t make even half a ripple. Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om continues to do satisfactory business at the multiplexes.