Yet another biggie is set to arrive this Friday and yet again Bollywood is pinning its hopes on a film that actually manages to get at least a decent opening at the Box Office. The wait is turning out to be agonizingly long as films are not even taking a double digit opening at the Box Office. There have been several back to back below par openers, be it Munna Michael, Jagga Jasoos or Raabta. Indeed, patience seems to be running out fast as theaters screening Hindi films are just not getting enough traction. No wonder, it is about time that a film actually does well theatrically as that is truly needed for Bollywood to smile again.
This is where one has hopes from Mubarakan which promises to bring smiles for audiences as well as those associated with the film. It is after a while that a family flick is arriving in theaters and this one also boasts of star value, what with Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor (in a double role). To think of it, it was Arjun who managed a double digit opening last (if one leaves aside Salman Khan's Tubelight) and that speaks volumes of how the young actor is at least managing a steady fan base for himself. Add to this the fact that Anil Kapoor is returning with director Anees Bazmee after Welcome Back and there are added hopes.
A film that boasts of a package like this actually deserves an opening in excess of Rs. 10 crore at the least. It has the kind of production values as well which warrant big screen entertainment. However, considering the kind of trend that Box Office has demonstrated during last few weeks, one could well be content if the Friday numbers are even in Rs. 8-9 crore range. Of course that's a bare minimum number for the film to set a reasonable base for the weekend to grow. However, it would be better to have a safe start and then find good growth on the basis of word of mouth, something that would allow Mubarakan a longer run.
Second major release of the week is Indu Sarkar. The film has been surrounded by controversies ever since its launch and especially the last one month has been quite turbulent for it. There were censor issues followed by protests and while that did keep the film in news, all said and done it did keep the makers on the edge. Eventually, now that censor certificate has been granted to the Madhur Bhandarkar film, it is set to hit the screens this Friday. The Kirti Kulhari starrer would be seeing a controlled release which means the collections would primarily be dependent on Saturday and Sunday jumps. As long as the film takes a Rs. 2 crore start, it would be in for a chance to see recovery provided the word of mouth is positive as well.
