There was a time when it was not unusual for films to complete 50 or 100 weeks in theatres. But as time passed and business models changed, increase in the number of screens and rise of OTT platforms, it is also an achievement for a film to run for 50 days on the big screen. Therefore, it will be surprising for moviegoers to know that a small budget film, AminaIt is about to complete 100 weeks in theatres.
Exclusive: Ameena all set to complete 100 weeks in Mumbai multiplexes; Interesting story behind its ‘run’
Amina It was released on 12th April 2024 i.e. this week big mian small mian And Field. Since then, like popular movies and earning Stree 2, Pushpa 2, Chhava, Sayara, Mahavatar Narasimha etc. have been released and none of them ran for more than 10 or 15 weeks (the highest-grossing Bollywood film, stalwartCurrently in its 13th week and will also complete 15 weeks). Meanwhile, Amina has been running non-stop on the morning show at Mumbai’s hugely popular Movietime Hub multiplex. It is currently in its 99th week; On Friday, March 6, it will complete 100 weeks and will create history.
An industry insider told“Ideally, if a film has been attracting so many audiences for almost two years, it would have become a topic of discussion on social media, as it happens The one who has heart will take the bride away. (1995) or the longest running Gujarati film of all time, Come on, get your wife! (2019). People may have enthusiastically discussed the film’s plot, themes, performances, songs, etc., but how many people do you know who have seen the film? “Have you ever seen any tweets or Instagram posts/stories about this?”
ground reality check
last week, when Amina was in his 98th week, Decided to watch the film to understand the ground reality directly. According to a ticketing website, 20 tickets for our show had been sold. The pattern seemed unusual as all the seats across the screen were available at a uniform price of Rs. 100. In the normal scenario, patrons will book the back rows first. But in Amina’s case, 18 tickets were booked in the first two rows, followed by two seats in the third row from the front.
This writer bought a ticket at the booking counter and, as expected, was the only person inside the auditorium. None of the 20 people who had reportedly booked tickets turned up. However, the show started on schedule. It was suffocating inside because the air conditioning was not on. During the intermission, when this writer requested an employee to turn on the AC, he looked in disbelief and asked if the writer was watching? Amina. When the author nodded, the kind employee assured that it would be done, and he kept his word. This made us wonder: Is Amina being screened to an empty hall every day
kept track of AminaBookings were made on the ticketing website over the next few days and a pattern was observed: each day, 20 tickets for the show were ‘sold’ in exactly the same order – 18 in the first two rows, followed by two seats in the third row from the front.
Not only this. The Instagram handle of the film’s production house, Kumar Raj Productions, shared a video of a man telling his followers about Amina’s incredible performance. The text displayed throughout the video lists three phone numbers that viewers can call to receive free tickets for Amina. When the film was in its 65th week, a post read in bold letters that tickets for the film were available for free.
the creator speaks
Exclusively spoke to producer-director Kumar Raj, who also plays a supporting role in the film. He was very cheerful and spoke to us warmly. He started off by saying about his plans for the 100th week celebration, “We will invite the press, have a party with them and gift them a 5-inch gold coin. Everyone who worked on the film will also get some gifts.”
He claimed that there was also a lot of demand from abroad to write about Amina, “I got a call from Time magazine. I don’t know if it was real or not! They were excited by the fact that Amina It is the first film in the world to complete 100 weeks in the last 30 years. They kept following me for 5 weeks. After all, I gave him an interview yesterday. I don’t know whether they will publish negative or positive reports! As long as they are writing about our film, I am happy (smiles). They claimed they were going to publish a full page story with the poster Amina”
poster of AminaPublished in newspapers, it was mentioned that they are inviting OTT platforms to buy their film. Names of major streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, SonyLIV, JioHotstar etc. have been mentioned. Even Voot gets a mention, although it merged with JioCinema (which later merged with Hotstar).
However, Kumar Raj said, “I started getting a lot of offers from OTT in the first week itself. But I was clear, ‘Picture’ Let it go as long as it lasts’. My film was also released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
He further added, “A famous distributor from the South has come to Mumbai. Tomorrow, he is going to watch the film. He wants to release this film in many theatres. In fact, he asked me to send him a flight ticket so that he can come to Mumbai. But I clearly told him to fly at his own expense.”
When asked about the average occupancy of AminaKumar Raj replied, “On weekends, it is 75% full. During holidays, the shows are 100% sold out. We are also getting a lot of repeat audiences. During weekdays, the shows are around 30% full. This is a big achievement, because even the biggest films don’t get that many audiences. Sometimes, when I watch a big film in the theatre, there are barely 4-5 people in the auditorium.”
He said, “You can ask the team of BookMyShow. They will officially provide you the actual collection of the movie.”
Kumar Raj also told about his previous film, Tara: A journey of love and passion (2013), “It has received 16 million views on one website (YouTube). It has won 600 international awards and is mentioned in 35 Books of World Records. However, I don’t like to blow my own trumpet.”
Finally, we asked them about their confidence in the industry whose tickets they are purchasing themselves Amina. He smiled and replied simply, “People will say something, it is people’s job to say something”
About Amina and Tara
Amina In this, Rekha Rana plays the lead role of Meena, a theater artist. One day, three men brutally raped her. She fears that she will not get justice in the court and hence, she decides to eliminate her rapists. Help comes in the form of a gang of people directly or indirectly affected by rape. Other actors of the film are Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, Utkarsh Kohli, Manu Malkan etc. The film has been shot not only in Mumbai but also in Los Angeles, Senegal, Dubai, Abu Dhabi as well as Cannes.
Meanwhile, Kumar Raj’s previous film, Tara: A journey of love and passion Rekha Rana also acted. While Amina aims to complete 100 weeks, Tara ‘ran’ for 50 weeks at Mumbai’s now-closed single-screen cinema, Imperial.
