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Tag: Bajirao Mastani

  • Eros readies pipeline of 65 movies across 7 languages in 2016

    Eros readies pipeline of 65 movies across 7 languages in 2016

    MUMBAI: Even as it has been embroiled in controversy over the last few months regarding its accounting practices, Eros International is planning to release as many as 65 movies in 2016 across seven different Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Punjabi.

     

    Additionally, Eros is also planning to release Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani in China and other international markets in 2016.

     

    HINDI

     

    Eros’ Hindi films pipeline for 2016 includes R. Balki’s Ki & Ka starring Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, the promos of which are already out. The company will also be releasing Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull 3 starring Akshay Kumar, and Rohit Dhawan’s Dishoom starring John Abraham and Varun Dhawan.

     

    Baar Baar Dekho – a love story starring Katrina Kaif and Siddharth Malhotra will be releasing in association with Dharma Production, whereas Rock On 2 featuring Farhan Akhtar and Shraddha Kapoor will be released with Excel Entertainment.

     

    After associating with producer-director Aanand L Rai on films like Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Raanjhanaa, Eros will release multiple films with Rai’s joint production company Colour Yellow Production. These include Nil Battey Sannata that has received a good response at various festivals including the 20th Busan International Film Festival, 59th BFI London Film Festival with Swara Bhaskar wining the Best Actress at the Silk Road Film Festival of China. Also in the pipeline are films like Happy Bhaag Jayegi, a comedy that will present the first-time pair of Abhay Deol and Diana Penty and Manmarziyan, a romantic drama starring Bhumi Pednekar and Ayushmann Khurrana. 

     

    Apart from these, Rai is also working on his own directorial film, which will go into production this summer.

     

    This Diwali, Eros will release Ajay Devgn’s action drama – Shivaay. 

     

    After co-producing films like Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani, Eros and Bhansali Productions will be joining hands on more co-productions, details of which will be announced at a later date. 

     

    Also scheduled to go on floor this year will be Eros and Phantom’s socio-drama superhero film Bhavesh Joshistarring Harshvardhan Kapoor to be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane.

     

    Other films slated to release in 2016 include Hansal Mehta’s critically-acclaimed Aligarh, Marathi director and National award winner Ravi Jadhav’s Hindi debut Banjo starring Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakri, director Mohit Jha’s sports drama Saat Kadam and Pawan Kripalani’s psychological thriller Phobia starring Raadhika Apte.

     

    Eros will also release Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao’s musical love story Sanam Teri Kasam starringnewcomers Harshvardhan Rane and Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane; Do Lafzon Ki Kahani by Deepak Tijori with Randeep Hooda and Kajal Agarwal as the lead pair along with Saif Ali Khan starrer Chef, a remake of 2014’s Hollywood hit Chef.

     

    REGIONAL LANGUAGES

     

    The company’s regional slate includes Marathi films like Sanjay Jadhav’s Guru, National award winning director Sujay Dahake’s Phuntroo, and Prakash Kunte’s & Jara Hatke. 

     

    Eros has already released the Telugu films – Balakrishna’s Dictator on 14 January, Pawan Kalyan’s Sardar Gabbar Singh, Mammootty’s Malayalam films White and Fahad Fazil’s Nale along with 2 Penkuttikalfeaturing Tovino Thomas, Amala Paul, Anju Kurian and Anna Fathima.

     

    Following the release of Bengali film Monchora by Sandip Ray with Abir Chatterjee and Raima Sen in January, Eros will release Prakton directed by Shiboprasad Mukherjee starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta paired together after a decade. 

     

    The Tamil movies’ in the pipeline include the Sivakarthikeyan starrer Rajini Murugan that released earlier this month; Suriya’s 24 directed by Vikram, Enkitta Mothathe, which is cinematographer Natarajan Subramaniam’s (Nutty) debut as an actor with Sanchita Shetty directed by Ramu Chellapa, actor Jaya Prada’s first Tamil production Uyire Uyire, Suriya’s Singam 3, Kai Neelam directed by Nalan Kumarsamy, Oru Kidayin Karunai Mamu directed by Suresh Sangiah and an untitled film starring mega star Karthi.

     

    The company is also collaborating with Harry Baweja to co-produce the sequel to the 3D animation film, Chaar Sahibzade, titled Chaar Sahibzaade 2 (Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur) followed by another 3D animation film Guru Tegh Bahadur. 

     

    Commenting on the company’s line-up, Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla said, “We have seen an excellent 2015 with the resounding success of Tanu Weds Manu Returns, peaking with the multiple-record breaking Bajrangi Bhaijaan and ending the year with our crowning glory Bajirao Mastani. We are at a very exciting phase in Eros and have an equally promising slate coming up this year that will reinforce and further strengthen our leadership position in the Indian media and entertainment industry. As a strategy, we will continue to diversify our presence across difference film genres, budgets and languages with a mix of popular and content driven cinema. In a few weeks, we will showcase to the world the first set of films under our Trinity franchise banner. Also scheduled to go on floor this year are some exciting directorial ventures by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kabir Khan, Aanand L Rai, Homi Ajadania, Sujoy Ghosh, Nishikant Kamat and Siddharth Anand. We hope and believe that 2016 will be just as magical as 2015 has been.”

  • Eros readies pipeline of 65 movies across 7 languages in 2016

    Eros readies pipeline of 65 movies across 7 languages in 2016

    MUMBAI: Even as it has been embroiled in controversy over the last few months regarding its accounting practices, Eros International is planning to release as many as 65 movies in 2016 across seven different Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Punjabi.

     

    Additionally, Eros is also planning to release Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani in China and other international markets in 2016.

     

    HINDI

     

    Eros’ Hindi films pipeline for 2016 includes R. Balki’s Ki & Ka starring Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, the promos of which are already out. The company will also be releasing Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull 3 starring Akshay Kumar, and Rohit Dhawan’s Dishoom starring John Abraham and Varun Dhawan.

     

    Baar Baar Dekho – a love story starring Katrina Kaif and Siddharth Malhotra will be releasing in association with Dharma Production, whereas Rock On 2 featuring Farhan Akhtar and Shraddha Kapoor will be released with Excel Entertainment.

     

    After associating with producer-director Aanand L Rai on films like Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Raanjhanaa, Eros will release multiple films with Rai’s joint production company Colour Yellow Production. These include Nil Battey Sannata that has received a good response at various festivals including the 20th Busan International Film Festival, 59th BFI London Film Festival with Swara Bhaskar wining the Best Actress at the Silk Road Film Festival of China. Also in the pipeline are films like Happy Bhaag Jayegi, a comedy that will present the first-time pair of Abhay Deol and Diana Penty and Manmarziyan, a romantic drama starring Bhumi Pednekar and Ayushmann Khurrana. 

     

    Apart from these, Rai is also working on his own directorial film, which will go into production this summer.

     

    This Diwali, Eros will release Ajay Devgn’s action drama – Shivaay. 

     

    After co-producing films like Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani, Eros and Bhansali Productions will be joining hands on more co-productions, details of which will be announced at a later date. 

     

    Also scheduled to go on floor this year will be Eros and Phantom’s socio-drama superhero film Bhavesh Joshistarring Harshvardhan Kapoor to be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane.

     

    Other films slated to release in 2016 include Hansal Mehta’s critically-acclaimed Aligarh, Marathi director and National award winner Ravi Jadhav’s Hindi debut Banjo starring Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakri, director Mohit Jha’s sports drama Saat Kadam and Pawan Kripalani’s psychological thriller Phobia starring Raadhika Apte.

     

    Eros will also release Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao’s musical love story Sanam Teri Kasam starringnewcomers Harshvardhan Rane and Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane; Do Lafzon Ki Kahani by Deepak Tijori with Randeep Hooda and Kajal Agarwal as the lead pair along with Saif Ali Khan starrer Chef, a remake of 2014’s Hollywood hit Chef.

     

    REGIONAL LANGUAGES

     

    The company’s regional slate includes Marathi films like Sanjay Jadhav’s Guru, National award winning director Sujay Dahake’s Phuntroo, and Prakash Kunte’s & Jara Hatke. 

     

    Eros has already released the Telugu films – Balakrishna’s Dictator on 14 January, Pawan Kalyan’s Sardar Gabbar Singh, Mammootty’s Malayalam films White and Fahad Fazil’s Nale along with 2 Penkuttikalfeaturing Tovino Thomas, Amala Paul, Anju Kurian and Anna Fathima.

     

    Following the release of Bengali film Monchora by Sandip Ray with Abir Chatterjee and Raima Sen in January, Eros will release Prakton directed by Shiboprasad Mukherjee starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta paired together after a decade. 

     

    The Tamil movies’ in the pipeline include the Sivakarthikeyan starrer Rajini Murugan that released earlier this month; Suriya’s 24 directed by Vikram, Enkitta Mothathe, which is cinematographer Natarajan Subramaniam’s (Nutty) debut as an actor with Sanchita Shetty directed by Ramu Chellapa, actor Jaya Prada’s first Tamil production Uyire Uyire, Suriya’s Singam 3, Kai Neelam directed by Nalan Kumarsamy, Oru Kidayin Karunai Mamu directed by Suresh Sangiah and an untitled film starring mega star Karthi.

     

    The company is also collaborating with Harry Baweja to co-produce the sequel to the 3D animation film, Chaar Sahibzade, titled Chaar Sahibzaade 2 (Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur) followed by another 3D animation film Guru Tegh Bahadur. 

     

    Commenting on the company’s line-up, Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla said, “We have seen an excellent 2015 with the resounding success of Tanu Weds Manu Returns, peaking with the multiple-record breaking Bajrangi Bhaijaan and ending the year with our crowning glory Bajirao Mastani. We are at a very exciting phase in Eros and have an equally promising slate coming up this year that will reinforce and further strengthen our leadership position in the Indian media and entertainment industry. As a strategy, we will continue to diversify our presence across difference film genres, budgets and languages with a mix of popular and content driven cinema. In a few weeks, we will showcase to the world the first set of films under our Trinity franchise banner. Also scheduled to go on floor this year are some exciting directorial ventures by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kabir Khan, Aanand L Rai, Homi Ajadania, Sujoy Ghosh, Nishikant Kamat and Siddharth Anand. We hope and believe that 2016 will be just as magical as 2015 has been.”

  • Box Office: ‘Chalk N Duster’ lacklustre; ‘Wazir’ rakes in Rs 28.4 crore

    Box Office: ‘Chalk N Duster’ lacklustre; ‘Wazir’ rakes in Rs 28.4 crore

    MUMBAI: Despite sporting a horde of talent in Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Richa Chaddha, Divya Dutta and Zarina Wahab, Chalk N Duster had a lacklustre performance at the box office. The theme failed to appeal viewers and the movie has just about managed to touch the Rs 1 crore mark in its opening weekend.

     

    On the other hand, the Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar starrer Wazir drops as the week progresses. The film added little over the next four days after a weak opening weekend of Rs 19.85 and finishes its first week with Rs 28.4 crore.

     

    Dilwale added Rs 1.75 crore in its fourth week to take its four week tally to Rs 138.75 crore. While the other big film Bajirao Mastani collected Rs 7.5 crore in its fourth week to take its four week total to Rs 165.9 crore.

     

    The beginning of 2016 has so far been poor with no film sustaining at the box office. The exhibitors desperately need a film that can sustain for at least a couple of weeks. The coming lineup starting with the Akshay Kumar starrer Airlift this coming Friday is expected to bring in some relief.

  • Box Office: ‘Wazir’ takes in Rs 19.85 crore in opening weekend

    Box Office: ‘Wazir’ takes in Rs 19.85 crore in opening weekend

    MUMBAI: The Amitabh Bachchan – Farhan Akhtar starrer Wazir has received mixed word of mouth. A contrived revenge story on the done to death topic – Kashmir terrorism theme – the film manages to survive thanks to its solo release status after a three week draught of new releases. The survival, however, remains at the lower side.

     

    The film managed to collect Rs 5.5 crore on day one, adding a bit more on Saturday and Sunday. However, Monday saw the figures dropping. The film collected Rs 19.85 crore for the opening weekend.

     

    Chauranga, an outdated, boring and unpalatable film finds no takers as expected.

     

    Dilwale collected Rs 10.5 crore in its third week. The collections may be attributed to the open run with no opposition. This takes the film’s three week total to Rs 137.2 crore. This is not going to be enough for the film and its distributors to cover their investment.

     

    Bajirao Mastani gets the better advantage of a free run for three weeks, mostly thanks to the social media, and puts together Rs 26.5 crore in its third week. This takes the film’s three week tally to Rs 158.6 crore. However, the film is nowhere near recovering its extra high production cost.

  • Box Office: ‘Bajirao Mastani’ tots Rs 132 crore; ‘Dilwale’ collects Rs 127 crore

    Box Office: ‘Bajirao Mastani’ tots Rs 132 crore; ‘Dilwale’ collects Rs 127 crore

    MUMBAI: There has not been a single new release in last two weeks and the only two films in contention are Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani, which released simultaneously on 18 December, 2015. Both films have been generating box office revenue to an extent, subtle, but not enough to justify the high investments they entailed. Both the films enjoyed an open three week run sans new releases and the Christmas holiday’s week as a bonus.

     

    The media created race between Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani did not mean much as it was not about getting the better of other film as much as it was about reaching the target. That of recouping the investments.

     

    Dilwale paid the price for Shah Rukh Khan’s loose talk and the loss of single screen slots and while the film opened reasonably well, it could not maintain the pace thereafter. It continued to sustain with decent collections but no windfall happened despite the Christmas week. The film, which opened with Rs 22 crore opening day, started tapering down and sank into below ten digit figures as the week progresses.

     

    The film collected Rs 30.4 crore for its second week and took its two week total to Rs 126.7 crore.

     

    Bajirao Mastani, a very high priced product, made more impact on the social media than at the cinema halls. The film’s best performance, as expected, came from Western India and the elite multiplexes elsewhere. While, Delhi UP figures are usually 50 per cent of Bombay Circuit, in UP had rejected the film. It also had to do with the casting as well as the film having a regional flavour. 

     

    The film opened on a weak note and though it maintained the collections at around Rs 8 – 10 crore through the week, which, it seems, won’t be enough for the ultimate target.

     

    After its first week tally of Rs 81.8 crore, the film had a stable run at the box office and collected Rs 50.3 crore in its second week taking its two week tally to Rs 132.1 crore. Still, far away from the target.

  • Box Office: ‘Dilwale’ leads with Rs 96.3 crore; ‘Bajirao Mastani’ tots Rs 81.8 crore

    Box Office: ‘Dilwale’ leads with Rs 96.3 crore; ‘Bajirao Mastani’ tots Rs 81.8 crore

    MUMBAI: There’s been a media created hype about the box office race between the two big releases of 18 December viz Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani. A film can’t be a hit or a box office success just because it is catching up with another film! The media has no sense of investment versus returns. The media believes in a Rs 100 crore film not realising that even at Rs 200 crore, a film like Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo will not cover its investments. To carry on this count, both Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani are yet far behind their recovery targets.

    Bajirao Mastani is a hugely costly film needing over Rs 300 crore worldwide for recovery. The film’s best performance comes from Western India while, otherwise, it has been faring reasonably well only at select multiplexes. It has a few takers at single screens at B and C town cinemas. The film has ended its first week with Rs 81.8 crore.

    Dilwale, on the other hand, faced a lot of resistance because of the film’s producer and star’s untimely comment on the country’s character. That made bad business sense. Its lack of single screen bookings also marred its prospects to some extent. The film suffered on both counts. There were calls for boycott by various organisations. Yet, the film got a respectable opening but could not gather pace thereafter. The movie has been sold to local distributors for a huge consideration. Delhi Punjab, for instance for Rs 35 crore; CP for Rs 7.5 crore and such guys tend to lose badly.

    While the attention was being diverted to the race between two films, the fact remains that, even with its tally being a little ahead of Bajirao Mastani, Dilwale does not amount to much on its own either. The film opened with fair collections on Friday with Rs 22 crore and ended its first week run with Rs 96.3 crore.

  • Box Office: ‘Dilwale’ pips ‘Bajirao Mastani’ to collect Rs 63.6 crore in opening weekend

    Box Office: ‘Dilwale’ pips ‘Bajirao Mastani’ to collect Rs 63.6 crore in opening weekend

    MUMBAI: The much hyped Shah Rukh Khan – Kajol starrer Dilwale suffered heavily due to protests leading to cancellation of screenings at various cinemas in many cities following ‘intolerance’ comments from Khan and resultant anger among people.

     

    Nonetheless, Dilwale has managed to pip the other multi-starrer release Bajirao Mastani starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra to collect Rs 63.6 crore at the box office in its opening weekend.

     

    Dilwale’s collections were satisfactory on its opening day though they could have been much better. On day two, there was no improvement. The agitation and appeals to people to keep away from the film through social media, Whatsapp, SMSs etc could be a reason why some cautious people may have thought it prudent to keep away from cinema halls screening the film. The movie’s collections are showing a drop today (Monday).

     

    On the other hand, Bajirao Mastani met with mixed response to extremes; while some even called it a masterpiece, others found it outright bad. The movie collected Rs 43.2 crore in its first three days. While the casting of the film affected its opening day footfalls, the reactions after the release of the film only added to these feeling. The film had a weak opening on day one and showed a marginal improvement on Saturday and a marked rise on Sunday but has dropped today (Monday). The film was not able to cash in on agitations against the other release of the week, Dilwale which faced cancelled shows at many places.

     

    The Silent Heroes, a film about training of deaf and dumb students to venture into mountaineering, failed to register.

     

    Hate Story 3 continued its stronghold on the box office. The film has collected Rs 9.45 crore in its second week taking its two week total to Rs 44.85 crore.

     

    Angry Indian Goddesses collects Rs 75 lakh in the second week to take its two week total to Rs 2.25 crore.

  • Zoom launches friendly celeb chat show ‘Yaar Mera Superstar’

    Zoom launches friendly celeb chat show ‘Yaar Mera Superstar’

    MUMBAI: Times Network’s entertainment channel Zoom is planning to launch a new celebrity chat show with a friendly approach.

     

    The show titled Yaar Mera Superstar will be hosted by Garima Kumar and will air every Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

     

    The channel has roped in Britannia as the presenting sponsor for the show and is in talks with other brands for the powered by category.

     

    In the first week of the show, Zoom will broadcast two episodes  with the two most anticipated movies of the year namely Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani.

     

    The Dilwale episode on 15 December will feature Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, whereas the episode featuring the starcast of Bajirao Mastani namely Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh will air on 16 December.

     

    The channel has already shot two episodes for the chat show. 

     

    Talking about the initiative, Zoom VP and product head Sunder Venkatraman said, “We will make sure that we do justice to both the blockbuster movies – Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani in our episodes. This is a well planned strategy from all aspects, be it on the content side or the marketing side. It will grab the viewers’ attention. At Zoom, we want to create the best content and deliver it to both the ends i.e. to the celebrity and the audience. We don’t want to follow a top down approach. We believe that Yaar Mera Superstar will further strengthen our portfolio of highly entertaining and informative shows, which also include Funtanaatan and Planet Bollywood among others.”

     

    Yaar Mera Superstar will not follow the stereotype format and will not carry a serious tone. The half an hour show will feature celebrities doing never-seen-before things.

     

    Zoom has strategically slotted the show in the 7.30 pm time band as it has a major chunk of its audience available at that time. The show will have frequent repeats across timelines, probably two to three times in a day. Venkatraman adds, “Bollywood is universal and the audience will consume it at any time they want to.”

     

    The anchor as well as Zoom head of the content Garima Kumar will be seen interacting with celebrities in a friendly and casual manner by adding dollops of humour. Kumar will also be seen playing games with the guests. The show will bring stars out of their comfort zone, pouring their hearts out to the audience.

     

    “We are not here to judge the celebrities about anything that they confess about on our show. There will be an added element of surprise in every episode,” says Venkatraman.

     

    Zoom will be using various vehicles of the Times Network to promote the show across digital, linear and outdoor platforms. On social media, the hashtag #DilwaleOnZoom has been trending. “We will use the might of the entire Times Network to promote the show across our channels like Times Now, ET Now and Movies Now. We have devised a 360 degree marketing plan targeting the major group of people who are hungry for Bollywood news,” he informs.

     

    Speaking on the channel’s availability across platforms, Venkatraman says, “Zoom is largely focusing on becoming a Bollywood destination in India. The channel’s mantra, Turn On, will make sure that we provide the information that the audience is craving for. Our aim is also to be available across all the possible platforms in India. If there is a demand from the audience, we might also launch our own application. If the audience wants fashion related content or if they want lifestyle related content, we will make sure that to serve the need of the audience.”

  • ‘Two big film releases in one week is not a handicap:’ Deepika Padukone

    ‘Two big film releases in one week is not a handicap:’ Deepika Padukone

    NEW DELHI: Two big films are slated to release on 18 December and the actress starring in one of them – Deepika Padukone is not in the least bit fazed at the competition.

     

    Padukone’s film Bajirao Mastani along with co-stars Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra, is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, which will clash with the Rohit Shetty directed Dilwale starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon at the box office.

     

    “There’s nothing odd about the date of the film clashing with the release of Dilwale. In fact, it is nice that the audience will get to see two films of completely different genres together,” Padukone said.

     

    The actress went on to say that very few roles that she has played have inspired or affected her personally and her character in Bajirao Mastani is one of them. “The credit for this goes to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is responsible for giving me the role of Mastani,” she said.

     

    Padukone, who addressed a press meet along with Singh, said the songs in Bhansali’s films were films in themselves. “He puts so much of effort in a single song that one is amazed at his energy,” she added. “This has been the most exhausting film that I have ever done.”

     

    However, the actress skirted any questions about the controversy over a song in the film, which has hurt the Maharashtrian community.

     

    Bajirao Mastani is part historical – part fiction film about Peshwa Bajirao and his life.

     

    Praising the director, Singh said Bhansali “knows how to extract the best performances out of his artists.”

     

    “It took me 21 days to get into the character. I have actually worked so hard playing Bajirao. It has been a lifetime experience for me,” he added.

  • Box Office: ‘Hate Story 3’ takes in Rs 22.6 crore in opening weekend

    Box Office: ‘Hate Story 3’ takes in Rs 22.6 crore in opening weekend

    MUMBAI: Hate Story 3 overcomes its lesser content drawback at the box office over its earlier versions on the strength of its brand equity and expectant audience of single screens, which went to see skin on display. That helped the film get in excellent opening response. The collections dropped as the opening day progressed but not enough to stop the film from collecting over Rs 8 crore for the opening day. Saturday showed a marginal drop but was still good; the film’s solo status at the cinemas helped. After a good Sunday, the film has collected Rs 22.6 crore in its first weekend and should easily recover its investment by day four.

     

    Despite having a strong social media buzz Angry Indian Goddesses goes without making a mark.

     

    Tamasha, which had a decent weekend thanks to the Ranbir Kapoor – Deepika Padukone pairing and the Nadiadwala banner to back them, opened well but fell to bad reports thanks to its mediocrity and lack of content after the weekend. It started losing footfalls massively. The film, which accounted for an opening weekend of Rs 38.2 crore could add only about Rs 15 crore for the next four days to end its first week with Rs 53.5 crore. The film is slated to be a loser as it won’t justify its steep price tag of almost Rs 100 crore. 

     

    Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo goes down as the first major failure of the year and, a rare Rajshri film that remains unappreciated. The film was a drain on the audience and remains so at the box office. With a meagre box office taking of Rs 4.1 crore for its third week, it remains way short of its recovery mark. This takes its three week total to Rs 199.3 crore.

     

    With no new release next week, theatre chains are going to have a tough time. They also don’t wish that the two multi-starrers Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale vie with each other on 19 December. Exhibitors are impressed enough to give Bajirao Mastani an equal playtime as Dilwale after watching its promos. The spoils will be equally shared by both on day one; after that, may the better film sustain! Dilwale was initially slated for 25 December but was brought forward to face Bajirao Mastani. What is strange is that next two weeks are open with no new release in the offing.