Now that the big Independence Day clash is done, it’s time for a spate of small and medium budget films to release. In fact the next biggie directly is after 2.5 months – the Diwali release ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’. Today sees the release of two movies and the first one has a high chance of scoring.
‘Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi’ is the sequel of the 2016 sleeper hit ‘Happy Bhag Jayegi’ and takes the story forward from where the first part ended. Only Abhay Deol is missing from the original cast. The rest of them – Diana Penty, Ali Fazal, Jimmy Sheirgill and Piyush Mishra – have been retained. In addition, Sonakshi Sinha and Punjabi actor Jassie Gill joins the madness. This time, the story unfolds in China instead of Pakistan. However, Diana, the ‘Happy’ in ‘Happy Bhag Jayegi’, has a supporting role and it’s Sonakshi who plays the lead. But thankfully, the makers haven’t spread stories of catfights between the two or that Diana was upset with Sonakshi taking over. In fact, Diana and Sonakshi have been giving joint interviews and their camaraderie has been lovely. The trailer looks interesting and the buzz is there, but it’s limited. ‘Happy Bhag Jayegi’ opened at Rs. 2.29 crore and went on to collect Rs. 28.19 crore. ‘Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi’ can surely open in the Rs. 3 crore range. The lifetime surely can be expected to go above Rs. 40 crore mark if the response is positive.
‘Genius’ is directed by ‘Gadar’ (2001) director Anil Sharma and stars his son Utkarsh in his debut role. Utkarsh played the role of Sunny Deol’s son in ‘Gadar’ and had impressed viewers then. ‘Genius’ also marks the debut of Ishita Chauhan and stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mithun Chakraborty. The trailer however is laughable. Utkarsh doesn’t seem right for the role and the music hasn’t worked at all. The buzz for the film is extremely low and it won’t be surprising if the film has an opening of less than Rs. 1 crore. However, the massy action and patriotism bit of the film can help get an opening of around Rs. 1.25-1.50 crore at the max. In the long run, it’ll be difficult for the film to survive.
