MUMBAI: Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ and Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Raksha Bandhan’ went head-to-head at the box office on Friday and their opening day collections are in. Both films failed to impress at the box office on the first day of their release.
As per film trade analyst Taran Adarsh, ‘Raksha Bandhan’ minted Rs 8.20 crore on day one. “#RakshaBandhan has a disappointing start on Day 1… Mass circuits perform better [good occupancy in evening shows], but metros are extremely weak… Biz needs to grow/jump from Fri-Sun to improve its prospects… Thu Rs 8.20 cr. #India biz,” Adarsh tweeted.
Aamir’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ also witnessed a low start. As per another industry expert Ramesh Bala, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ has raked in around Rs 12 crore at the ticket windows. “#LaalSinghChaddha opens low yesterday..Day 1 Early Estimates for All-India Nett is around Rs 12 Crs,” Bala tweeted.
Helmed by Advait Chandan, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is the official Hindi remake of the 1994 Hollywood classic Forrest Gump. The film, Aamir’s first in four years, also stars Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh and Naga Chaitanya.
Akshay’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’ is directed by Aanand L Rai. It also stars Bhumi Pednekar, Sahejmeen Kaur, Deepika Khanna, Sadia Khateeb and Smrithi Srikant. Both films faced boycott calls on social media prior to their release.
Reacting to the ongoing boycott trend in India, Akshay during a promotional event in Kolkata, urged people not to get involved in such activities. He had said, “If you don’t feel like watching the movie, then don’t. It’s a free country and the film is out there, so if someone wants to watch it or not, it’s up to them. I would like to tell you, no matter which industry it is, be it the clothing industry, film industry or anything else, all of these help the economy. But doing things like boycotting movies, it doesn’t make sense.”
Aamir also expressed his views about the ongoing Boycott trend in India. “That Boycott Bollywood… Boycott Aamir Khan… Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha… I feel sad also because a lot of people who are saying this in their hearts believe I am someone who doesn’t like India… In their hearts they believe that… And that’s quite untrue. I really love the country… That’s how I am. It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way. I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films, please watch my films,” he had said.
In 2015, Aamir had said in an interview, “Our country is very tolerant, but there are people who spread ill-will”. His wife Kiran Rao also made headlines for saying that she considered leaving the country for the safety of their children. Reacting to the particular interview, Twitter users put up posts using hashtags such as #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha and #Boycottaamirkhan. The trolls also dug up when Aamir met Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdogan while he was shooting for Laal Singh Chaddha there.
Some netizens were unhappy with the meeting as it happened in the backdrop of Turkey’s increasing anti-India and pro-Pakistan stand. (ANI)