Achilles

IndiaTimes

The differences between the multiplexes and the distributors were finally resolved and Jodhaa Akbar released in all multiplexes from Saturday morning. Prior to that, the film released only in the PVR chain of multiplexes. And interestingly PVR released the film, a day earlier, on Thursday itself to cash in on the Valentine’s Day craze.

Jodhaa Akbar has received 80% advance booking in PVR chain of multiplexes across the country for the opening weekend. Marketing head of PVR cinemas Prakhar says, “There are a lot of bulk bookings already done for Jodhaa Akbar. By Tuesday, about 9000 tickets were already sold through the ticket counters in PVR cinemas all across India. Also, about 60000 tickets are booked through bulk booking.”

But at other centers, the opening to the film is reportedly much slower. Trade figures claim that the film has received only 40% collections on an all India basis for the opening weekend. Mr Rajendra from Adlabs, cites the delayed release of the film across all multiplexes for the weak opening. “The film has just opened on Saturday morning since the distributor-exhibitor dispute was cleared only by Friday. So we had no advance bookings for the shows from Wednesday”.

But he goes on to add, “Considering that the shows just opened on Saturday morning, the audience that we are getting for the afternoon shows is impressive. And with all the positive reviews flowing in for the film, we only expect the collections to rise. The film will surely pick up in coming days and I could comment on collection figures only by then”

The weak opening of the film can also be attributed to the fact that there was a lot of negative air surrounding the film with respect to its prolonged delay, the off screen cold vibes between Hrithik and Aishwarya and poor post-production work due to Ashutosh’s back problem. But after the release the unanimous positive reviews for the film seems to have taken over all the negative media light that the film was receiving.

The movie has got a very positive response from most critics. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh is all thumbs up for the film and claims that the movie is going to work in a very big way. “I don’t know about the historic facts but the film is a great cinematic experience”, says Taran. “People had no expectations from the film, which has worked for it. In the end after watching the film they came out overjoyed. Also, now that the differences between the multiplex owners and distributors of the film have been resolved, the movie will surely pick up.”

Will Jodhaa Akbar prove wrong the jinx that historical films don’t work in Bollywood? Let’s wait and watch.