By Hindustan Times
Jism 2, a small budget film starring not even a single established star accumulates Rs. 21 crore on its first weekend, way to Sunny Leone, the yank pornstar who portrayed her role of a seductress with aplomb. Unlike the opposite small budget successes, script was not the USP for the Pooja Bhatt's directorial venture, Leone was. Pretty face, daring attitude and some thrills in between makes for the very best box office recipe. Erotic thriller as a genre has arrived in a large way!
That's the explanation why Jacqueline Fernandez, who again has a poor track record, could shine with Emraan Hashmi in Murder 2, despite average acting skills.
So what's it about erotic thrillers that clicks with the audiences?
'Erotica is the best way forward'
Mahesh Bhatt who claims he's the pioneer of this genre in Bollywood says a great mixture of the entire elements that entice viewers is how one can survive in Bollywood. "THAT IS the genre through which numerous books are written both in India and abroad. The one strategy to survive in Bollywood nowadays is to churn out the correct mix of thrill, sex and crime in a movie."
"Raaz, Murder and Jism ushered within the new age of cinema where younger demographic in India were waking as much as a bold and unafraid side of woman that was buried throughout the laxman rekha so far," the filmmaker tells hindustantimes.com.
"Bipasha Basu, the protagonist in Jism says the body knows lust not love. She sleeps outside the marriage...dares to turn a brand new side to Indian woman. We revisited the similar thing in Murder 2 and mixed violence with erotica."
Coming up next is Raaz 3, where erotica is mixed with horror. Says Mahesh Bhatt: "In Raaz 3, we've used Bollywood as a wallpaper within the eternal fight for fame."
While that again sounds interesting enough to book your first day first show tickets, we ponder whether all erotic thrillers mint moolah on the BO.
'Erotic thrillers only work initially'
Taran Adarsh has an excessively interesting observation to make. "Erotic thrillers do attract intiallty. Jism 2 had an excellent opening on Friday, but after that it crashed. Ultimately, it is the content that does the talking. No skin show works within the entirety. Hate Story started on an even note, but fizzled out after Vicky Donor hit the theatres," the trade expert tells hindustantimes.com
But Jism 2 has not just covered its cost, it has also made profits. "In some cases, the film gives losses to their distributors," adds Adarsh.
Director Pooja Bhatt, meanwhile, is already in celebration mode.
"A film which was made in 7 crores doing business of 21 crores, that too in Ramzan and with none major stars is exceptional to mention the least," says the director.
"Jism 2 has broken sale records of even Murder 2 and Jannat 2 in Punjab, UP and Delhi in relation to first weekend sales. And Murder 2 and Jannat 2 were two of the largest hits to have pop out of the Bhatt stable! Champagne popping at my end!" she added.
"With regard to entering the 100 crore club, I DO NOT make movies for 40-60 crores plus that give me a turnover of 100 crores. I make films for 7 crores plus that do a turnover of between 25-50 crores. They are able to keep their club. We Bhatts rule our own!" she said.
Top 5 erotic thrillers that impressed!
Hate Story: Paoli Dam's Hate Story, made under the banner of Vikram Bhatt, was made on a small budget. The strong buzz across the Bengali actress' sex scenes did the trick and the film became a success.
Paoli plays the role of a journalist who has to show right into a prostitute to take revenge from an industrialist.
Murder 2: The film directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mahesh Bhatt starred Emraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandez . High on steam quotient, the film mixed crime with erotica.
Emraan Hashmi plays the role of an ex-police officer who's hungry for money and earns his bread by doing wrong things. He's an atheist but regularly visits church to donate money to orphans. Jacqueline Fernandez plays a model who's in a passionate but confused relationship with Emraan.
Raaz: The primary installment of the Raaz series, directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Mukhes Bhatt had Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea within the lead role. Bipasha and Dino play a pair who've moved to Ooty to save lots of their failing marriage. However, what they find of their new house is greater than they expected when a ghost starts haunting the place.
Jism: Produced by Pooja Bhatt and directed by Amit Saxena, Jism tells the tale of a married woman (Bipasha) who uses Kabir (John Abraham) as a pawn to get her husband's property. The film had some path breaking lovemaking scenes that re-defined this genre.
Race: Race, directed by Abbas Mustan starred Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor and Sameera Reddy in pivotal roles. It explored themes of sibling rivalry, betrayal and fervour. Mixed with the fitting part of erotica, the film did extremely well on the BO.
Upcoming erotic thrillers
Anubhav Sinha's next with Neil Nitin Mukesh: Anubhav Sinha, who last directed SRK's home-production Ra.One and is busy producing the journey flick Warning, is currently contemplating his next venture. The film, that's said to be an erotic thriller, is at the lines of flicks made by the Bhatts who concentrate on this genre. The film might be directed by Ravi Rai, a widely known name within the TV industry, and the excitement is that Neil Nitin Mukesh was approached to play the principle lead.
Jism 3: Pooja Bhatt has announced her next directorial venture Jism 3, with a purpose to have Nathalia Kaur within the lead role. The film may be made in 3D and could be bigger in scale than Jism 2.
Raaz 3: The tale revolves around Maithli (Bipasha Basu), an actress on the height of her success. She gets offered the most productive roles and wins all of the awards she's nominated for. In addition, she also has a passionate affair with a handsome director named Aditya (Emraan Hashmi). This all ends when a younger actress, Sanjana (Esha Gupta) makes her film debut. Suddenly, Maithli seems forgotten and everyone only desires to work with Sanjana. Soon enough, Aditya also leaves Maithli for Sanjana, and Maithli sees her career fading away and she or he slowly becomes crazy. She begins to show to black magic and makes it her goal in life to destroy Sanjana and come again the person she loves, Aditya.
