Two new films arrive this Friday - Bareilly Ki Barfi and Partition: 1947. Both films are quite distinct from each other and hence not the kind that would cut into each other's business. That said, neither of the two is in any case looking at a major start at the Box Office.
Between the two, Bareilly Ki Barfi is the one which is more commercial and has a better pan-India appeal. The first promo was decent too though it did somehow remind one of recent release Behen Hogi Teri (look, milieu, Rajkummar Rao). There is hardly any hype around the movie, the promotions have been low-key, the music hasn't really caught up well which means overall the buzz has been low. Also, around the same time the promotion of Ayushmann Khurranna's other film Shubh Mangal Savdhan has begun as well and due to similar stage and setting there is a bit of confusion as well around what content belongs to which film.
Partition: 1947 is the Hindi version of English film Viceroy's House and both the versions are now coming together. The film is a niche affair and though it is about India and Pakistan partition, somehow the look, feel and presentation is Western which is a lot to do with the director at the helm of affairs, Gurinder Chadha. There has been good response from the screenings that have been held in India as well as different parts of the world which has helped create some buzz. That said, its prospects again depend entirely on word of mouth.
There isn't a real number that one can put on either of the two releases since Saturday would be the deciding factor for their eventual fate. By the look of the things, Bareilly Ki Barfi may open comparatively better though there too the overall collections may be just around Rs. 1.50-2 crore on Friday.
The biggie that would continue bringing in moolah is Akshay Kumar's Toilet - Ek Prem Katha that should find the maximum number of show timings and hence the audience attention.
