It was predicted that Batti Gul Meter Chalu would take an opening in the range of Rs.6-7 crore on Friday. This is exactly what happened as the film collected Rs. 6.76 crore on its Day 1. Ideally, the film should have been looking at a double digit start for itself, given the fact that Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor star in them. Both the actors are coming with a Blockbuster start behind them in the form of Padmaavat and Stree respectively. However, this was a different in itself and from the promo one could foresee a fair start which would eventually grow on the basis of word of mouth.
One waits to see if this really happens since the reviews as well as word of mouth are mixed. While Shahid Kapoor's performance has been widely appreciated, the Shree Narayan Singh directed film has come for criticism due to its excessive length and also use of local language. Unless there is a miraculous turnaround today and tomorrow, the film is mainly looking at just about fair weekend.
The film had collected on the same lines as Shahid and Shraddha's Haider which had released almost four years back and has still brought in Rs.6.14 crore despite clash with Bang Bang. Here, the treatment was far more commercial and still numbers aren't really there even though there is no other big film in the running.
Another release of the week, Manto, was never expected to be a Box Office earner. With around Rs.50 lakhs coming in, the film will just about stay in theaters for a week and then quickly see a digital release for itself.
