Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai has not managed to spring any major surprise at the box office. The Varun Dhawan starrer has collected Rs. 50.11 crores so far and, going by the present trend, is expected to end its lifetime run at around Rs. 51-52 crores.
This makes the performance underwhelming, especially when seen in the context of Varun Dhawan’s recent box office track record. Border 2, which collected a huge Rs. 341.70 crores and emerged as a Super-Hit, cannot be used as a fair comparison point, as it was a multi-starrer.
Barring Baby John, which was a major disappointment at Rs. 35.98 crores, Varun’s recent theatrical releases had at least crossed the Rs. 60 crore mark. Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari collected Rs. 65.22 crores and was an Average fare. Bhediya ended at Rs. 66.65 crores, while Jugjugg Jeeyo collected Rs. 85.03 crores. Even films that were eventually declared Flop, like Street Dancer 3D and Kalank, had managed to put up higher lifetime numbers of Rs. 68.28 crores and Rs. 80.35 crores, respectively.
In that sense, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’s expected Rs. 51-52 crore finish is clearly below the level one would expect from a Varun Dhawan-led film. The numbers are not disastrous when seen in isolation, but they are certainly weak when compared to his own recent releases. The bigger concern is that the film has not even managed to reach the collections of some of his past films that were rejected by the audience and ended with flop verdicts.
For Varun Dhawan, this is a result that raises questions. His films continue to open with visibility and recall value, but the box office pull has become inconsistent. Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai was expected to at least enter the Rs. 60 crore zone, given his past record. Instead, it is now set to finish well short of that mark, making it one of his weaker performers in recent times.
