Are Torrent Downloads and Pirated Dvds the Reason Behind the Box Office Slump of 'FAN'?

Keeping the mixed reviews and public views apart, there is no denying to the fact that almost everyone watching ‘Fan’ was in mutual agreement over the fabulous portrayal of Gaurav by Shah Rukh Khan, raising the expectations from the film in the week ahead.

However the numbers did not confirm the same and its really confusing to see the results, considering there is gigantic fan following supporting such major ventures right from the first day itself so enthusiastically. Even the social networks become so lively in the days before the ‘Big Friday’, raising a valid question that is everyone who is vouching for the film, really watching it in the theaters too?

Supporting the confusion, even if we consider just 35-40% of our population in the age group of 15 to 50, then the evident euphoria around the star clearly allows us to assume a bare minimum of at least 2 crore individuals among them as the ‘True Fans’, who would certainly be there at the theaters on the very first day of the film’s release or at least in the first weekend. Further considering just Rs.100 spent by these 2 crore fans on their movie tickets in the first weekend on an average (the actual amount being much higher), the number should easily go beyond the figure of 200 crores (Gross) without any big calculations as such.

However, the ground reality doesn’t agree to the above, simply raising a logical doubt that is everyone active on the social networks really watching these films in the theater spending the average amount or are they mostly watching them through the Pirated DVDs and Torrents files shared on their personal computers and mobile phones at a much lesser cost compared to the costly multiplexes tickets or even for free.

The fact gets a visible confirmation when one finds almost every young individual hooked on to their mobile phones with the ear-phones plugged in during their daily travels on metros, local trains and buses. And in 7 out of 10 cases, you will find them watching the latest Hindi films downloaded either through pirated DVDs or torrent files widely shared over the net (including the fans too).

So the scenario really forces you to raise a much hard hitting and scary question that, Are there not even 2 crore fans (among the population of more than 125 crores) watching these films in the theater in reality?

This is certainly an alarming fact!