Sanjay Leela Bhansaliโs โGangubai Kathiawadiโ has brought a ray of hope for the film industry battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alia Bhatt-starrer fetched a terrific initial in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai city and Pune, due to regional flavour.
The opening of the film is good in Delhi city and Rajasthan as well. Due to regional flavour, the initial is comme si comme sa in circuits such as CI (Central India) and UP. Due to the release of Telugu film โBheemla Nayakโ, which has opened to stupendous response, โGangubai Kathiawadiโ is below par in Andhra/Nizam. But since the word-of-mouth is positive, the movie will recapture the lost ground over the next few days.
The music of the film didnโt take off, a rarity for a Bhansali movie, else the opening outside Maharashtra would be even better. The fear of the pandemic still hasnโt completely tapered off and people are especially reluctant to go to cinemas.
Overall, taking all factors into consideration, the opening is good. The movie has garnered around Rs 10 crore nett on Day 1 which is more than what the industry was expecting as it is a female-oriented subject. This clearly underlines the fact that at present, Alia Bhatt is the most saleable female actor at the Box Office. Due to the positive word-of-mouth, the movie is expected to grow over the weekend across India.
The business of the film is driven by big cities where the business tends to show an upswing during the weekends. โGangubai Kathiawadiโ will record its best business in Maharashtra where the cinema halls are still operating at 50% occupancy. Since the cinema halls opened last year, only Akshay Kumarโs โSooryavanshiโ has emerged as a clean hit. But even in the case of โSooryavanshiโ, the collections were propelled by superb business in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In the rest of the country, it was just about decent.
It is abundantly clear that since the cinemas have opened after the second wave, Maharashtra and Gujarat business is the closest to pre-pandemic levels. The other circuits and states arenโt yet operating at their optimal levels. Even films like โAntim โ The Final Truthโ and โTadapโ hoovered up good numbers in Maharashtra but came a cropper in other circuits.
If the collections of โGangubai Kathiawadiโ show uptick during the weekend and then sustain well over the week, it is likely to emerge as the second โhitโ, after โSooryavanshiโ, in the post-pandemic period. Kabir Khan and Ranveer Singhโs โ83โ did a business of Rs 105 crore nett in India but distributors and producers copped losses due to exorbitant budget. The business of Rs 105 crore nett wasnโt up to the mark for a film of that magnitude.
In India, โGangubai Kathiawadiโ is released on around 3500 screens, which is the same as โSooryavanshiโ.
