After Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and JugJugg Jeeyo, finally, there is a Hindi film arriving which is actually carrying a pan-India appeal. Otherwise, either the films have catered only to the gentry or to the classes, though it's a different matter that there has hardly been a film that has created mayhem at the box office. In fact, the only ones which would justify the word 'mayhem' would be KGF: Chapter 2 and one wonders when would be the next time that an adjective like this would be used for a Hindi film as the scenario has been a rather grim week after week.
Nonetheless, some kind of semblance may still come in with the release of Shamshera this Friday. This is a proper A-grade film in all aspects, what with Yash Raj Films as the producers and Ranbir Kapoor as the leading man with Sanjay Dutt as the antagonist. Moreover, it is getting a proper all-India release and is a reminder of the times when such films used to get very good traction at an all-India level.
In fact, if one talks about the traction then pre-pandemic, this was a sure-shot Rs. 25 crores opener at the very least. If not for audiences been exposed to the likes of KGF: Chapter 2 and RRR by now, even a Rs. 30 crores opening was possible since the only man who was otherwise making such big screen extravaganzas was Sanjay Leela Bhansali. However, exposure to the work of other filmmakers and also inroads that OTT has made during the pandemic means audiences have become super selective.
Hence, even Rs. 15 crores opening would be a fair enough start and that's what Shamshera would be aiming for as a starting point. Of course, anything over 18 crores would be actually good but the way box office is behaving currently, it's better to be conservative than over-enthusiastic.
