Tanhaji Malusare is a textbook-level hero, so naturally, his biopic was a hit. However, the film is possibly the only hit thus far this year.
While there have been a host of other films—Deepika Padukone’s Chhapaak, Kangana Ranaut’s Panga, Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor’s Street Dancer 3D, Saif Ali Khan’s Jawaani Jaaneman, and the Vidhu Vinod Chopra directed Shikara among 30 odd films like Bhangra Pa Le, Sab Kushal Mangal, Shimla Mirchi — it is only Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior which has managed to breach the `200 crore mark. Panga, especially, was a shocker because the film did not get enough collections despite being lauded by critics as well as the people who saw the film.
While the first few days of the past three years have seen significant growth in box office collections of Bollywood films, with over Rs 2000 crore, Rs 3000 crore and Rs 4000 crore annual figures, respectively, 2020 has not been augured very well. Only Tanhaji has managed to save the blushes for Bollywood.
“Films have not been up to the mark; the January of 2019 was far better. The other saving grace this year has been the overflow from last year’s release Good Newwz, which has made sure that the theatre owners don’t suffer. Gully Boy, the Valentine’s Day release last year, also did very well to push up the second month. So, we really don’t know how the second month will unfold, because the box office thus far has not been encouraging,” says a trade source.
With the Kartik Aaryan-Sara Ali Khan starrer Love Aaj Kal slated to hit the marquee slot after a lot of hype about the chemistry between the couple, the redux of the old version by the maverick Imtiaz Ali—who returns after the flop Jab Harry Met Sejal— will tell whether the drought at the turnstiles will end.
