Surrounded by angst and controversies abound ahead of its release, Karan Johar’s ambitious project ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ released in cinemas on October 28 and has done stupendous business in the first week with Rs 80.19 crore collections in the domestic market.
Over the coming weekend, the film is expected to enter the coveted Rs 100 crore club, making it KJo’s first entry to it.
The movie, made on a budget of Rs 70-75 crore, reportedly spent another Rs 15 crore on print and advertising. The movie revovered Rs 30 crore by selling satellite rights, another Rs 15 crore from music rights and Rs 10 crore from ancillary sources.
Adding the total money it recovered before release, the amount comes to Rs 55 crore.
The movie needed to earn Rs 70-75 crore at box office to become a hit, which the box office collections hint it did.
It should be noted that ADHM’s success can be owed to the controversies that engulfed it. Since the time it went on floors, ADHM became a constant newsmaker but is was closer to its release that it turned into a topic of national debate.
The presence of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan stirred a row when Raj Thackrey led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded his replacement. The party threatened to vandalise theatres if the movie released. They later decided against it when KJo promised to donate Rs 5 crore to the Army relief fund and promised never to hire Pakistani actors again.
In fact, to ensure the movie released smoothly, Karan Johar had released a video saying his country comes first and vouched not to work with Pak actors in the future. This too was debated at large, with many calling it a lame attempt to save his movie.
Given the current atmosphere of the country, the success of the movie proves that every row it kicked worked in its favour. The movie did not get rave reviews, got dissed for being a typical KJo movie. And yet, the numbers have been rewarding.
In fact, a clash with actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn’s ‘Shivaay’ too did not deter it. In the race between the two films released alongside, ‘Shivaay’ is lagging behind with its collections at an approximate Rs 65 crore.
Despite a lot of negative publicity, ADHM’s success proves that any buzz yields good results.
