Filmworld
Bajrangi Bhaijaan': First day goes houseful for Bollywood's 'Bhai'
New Delhi, July 17
As expected, Salman Khan's
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" -- the superstar's Eid offering to his fans -- went
houseful in theatres pan-India when it released on Friday, said trade
experts. The movie on Indo-Pakistan relations has been termed the
actor's "best" by B-Town.
Even as several fans of Salman -- whose
name is lovingly suffixed by 'Bhai' -- flocked to theatres for the
'first day, first show' mania, B-Town celebrities, who had already seen
the entertainer at a preview, gave it a thumbs up.
"Bajrangi
Bhaijaan" -- which is the 49-year-old's first release since he was
sentenced to five years in jail in the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case in
May -- is receiving “terrific†response, and the footfalls are only
likely to grow in the opening weekend.
“Salman's films have
always been superhit. The first show at our cinemas started at around 12
p.m. to 12.30 p.m. and all our theatres were pre-booked 100 percent.
All the shows are going houseful and same is expected over the weekend.
The film should come out as a blockbuster pan-India, Piyush Raizada,
director, Delite Cinemas, told IANS.
Having released with
approximately 4,500 prints across India, it seems that the "Dabangg"
Khan has once again managed to spin his magic on the pious occasion of
Eid, which falls on Saturday.
Deepak Sharma, COO, PVR Cinemas
told IANS: "It has attracted more than 80 percent occupancy, and 20 to
25 percent seats were pre-booked. Starting from the first show at around
10 a.m., the response has been huge in every state.
"We have not
received the total collection yet, but the film is doing really well.
Also, the advance booking is great for the whole weekend. It looks that
the film will complete Rs.100 crore in first weekend itself."
Kabir
Khan-directed "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", which also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan
and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, narrates the story of a Hindu man on a mission
to take a young Pakistani girl, who is dumb and mute, back to her
country. It chronicles his adventures and experiences faced during his
road trip.
Since its first look was released, the craze of
“Bajrangi Bhaijaan†was palpable. The buzz was fuelled by stars like
Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who publicised the film on Twitter. These
apart, many other B-Town celebs including Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor,
Randeep Hooda Jacqueline Fernandez and Sonakshi Sinha too praised the
movie and called it a “must watchâ€.
According to trade analyst
Komal Nahta, “Bajrangi Bhaijaan†witnessed “packed shows†at various
theatres in cities like Jaipur, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Ahmedabad.
“Waiting
for Eid ka chand? But Eid has already arrived at the b.o.
#BajrangiBhaijaan takes a fantabulous opening all over. Unprecedented
rush. It's #BajrangiBhaijaan mania everywhere. Crowds going berserk.
Scene outside Raj Mandir and Cinepolis cinemas in Jaipur is crazy,â€
Nahta posted on Twitter.
Another trade guru Taran Adarsh tweeted:
“And #BajrangiBhaijaan ROARS from morning shows onwards. Packed
houses/House Full boards greet the new Salman starrer. Trade jubilant.â€
As
predicted by most trade pundits, the film is likely to break the dry
spell that the Hindi film industry has witnessed in 2015 so far.
Trade experts believe it would be no surprise if the film even crosses the Rs.300 crore mark.