Aarakshan Business Disappoints

Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan was a letdown and fared poorly in its first weekend, especially in some centres. The film is still banned in Uttar Pradesh, and was released only on Saturday in Punjab and Nizam. The only big release post-Singham, Aarakshan opened to an average response on Friday and the weekend business of the film is nothing to rave about.

Rajesh Thandani of Multimedia Combines from Mumbai says, “Aarakshan’s total weekend collection were about Rs 16 crore in Mumbai. But collections have plummeted sharply during this morning shows. The movie will not survive at the box office beyond this week.”

Delhi Distributor Deep Jain says the film initially drew audiences to the cinemas thanks to its star cast, which includes Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. “This led to a weekend collection of around Rs 3,59,33,669 (four days). But the film has failed and collections have dropped to around 10 per cent. “

Dilip Tandon of Indra Films in Nizam is another dejected distributor. “On Friday and Saturday, the film was not released in the certain part of Nizam which includes, a part of Hyderabad as well as Telengana. Collections from single-screens are miserable and that of multiplexes are quite decent.”

In Bihar, Abhay Sinha of Yafhi Films reveals that the first week’s net collection of Aarakshan was Rs 50 lakh. “The movie is slow and meant for urban audiences. That’s why the movie has failed to attract audiences in Bihar and Jharkhand.”

Mysore too was a dismal story. Says B H Basha of Bahar Enterprises, “In Mysore, the total weekend collection was Rs 90 lakh. I doubt the film will work in this territory.”

Debasish Dey of Aum Movies adds, “During the four-day, long weekend, the total collection was around Rs 60 lakh. In Kolkata, Aarakshan will not sustain more than a week in any multiplex.”

Orissa distributor Jeetu Khandelwal of Movie Pioneers concludes, “The weekend business of Aarakshan from single-screens was barely Rs 5 lakh. This was definitely not expected from a Prakash Jha film.