Ajay Devgn’s first major release of 2022 was ‘Runway 34’. It was also directed by him and despite having a promising storyline, it failed to work at the box office. However, 2022 ended on a rocking note for him as ‘Drishyam 2’ emerged as a huge blockbuster, collecting Rs. 233.52 Crore. It did more than ‘Brahmāstra’ and that’s an achievement for a film that is not a typical big-scale film.
And now, Ajay Devgn is all set to present ‘Bholaa’ to the audience. Like ‘Runway 34’, it is also directed by him and stars him and Tabu in the leading roles. Deepak Dobiryal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao and Vineet Kumar feature in the film in supporting roles while Amala Paul has a cameo appearance. It is the Hindi remake of the Tamil hit ‘Kaithi’ (2019).
‘Bholaa’s campaigning began way back in November, with the unveiling of a sneak peek teaser. Another teaser was released in January followed by the trailer launch in March. The teaser got a very good response and heightened the buzz for the film. But the trailer failed to get the desired response. Moreover, the film looks like a mass entertainer, fit for single screens. The multiplex audience hasn’t warmed up to the film yet. On top of it, it’s releasing in the holy month of Ramzan, when a section of the audience stays away. All these factors can prove detrimental.
‘Drishyam 2’ opened at Rs. 14.92 Crore. ‘Bholaa’ is a bigger film but its opening will be around Rs. 10-11 Crore. It releases tomorrow, on Thursday, to take advantage of the Ram Navami holiday. It’ll have a four-day weekend and if reports are positive, it can have a weekend of Rs. 40-50 Crore. It also has negligible competition for the next three weeks. However, if reports are and also if it takes opening in single digits, it’ll struggle to even cross the Rs. 50 Crore mark.
The other release of the week is ‘Dasara’, a Telugu film which is being dubbed in Hindi. It stars Nani and the Telugu original version will have a huge opening. But the Hindi version will face a tough time. Two weeks back, the South dubbed film ‘Kabzaa’ had released on a huge scale but opened at just Rs. 50 Lakhs. ‘Dasara’ might open in a similar range or even lesser.
Lastly, on Disney+ Hotstar, viewers will get a chance to see ‘Gaslight’, from Friday, March 31. It stars Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey and Chitrangda Singh and is directed by Pavan Kirpalani. The trailer is strictly okay. But due to the star cast, it’ll get viewership.
