Diwali weekend spreads sunshine at Indian box office

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) The Indian box office witnessed a "tremendous" response during the special Diwali weekend with the release of Bollywood films "Golmaal Again" and "Secret Superstar", and Tamil film "Mersal". All the three movies started on a positive note, say trade gurus.

Made on a budget of Rs 15 crore including the cost of production and prints and publicity, Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim-starrer "Secret Superstar", which released on Diwali on October 19, has minted Rs 31.31 crore in four days, read a statement on behalf of its makers.

For Advait Chandan, who made his directorial debut with "Secret Superstar", it's a "dream response".

Rohit Shetty's "Golmaal Again" -- the fourth film in the "Golmaal" franchise starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Parineeti Chopra and Arshad Warsi among others -- collected Rs 87.60 crore in three days since its release on October 20.

"Wow! What an incredible weekend it has been... The combined business of 'Golmaal Again' and 'Secret Superstar' is approximately Rs 121 crore," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted on Monday.

"Diwali weekend has brought abundant cheer and spread sunshine... But real test for 'Golmaal Again' and 'Secret Superstar' begins today (Monday)," he added.

According to Adarsh, "Secret Superstar" released in 1,750 screens across India and in 1,090 screens overseas while "Golmaal Again" released in over 3500 screens in India and 732 screens abroad.

"Both the films have received good response. 'Golmaal Again' has done well all over whereas 'Secret Superstar' did good business in multiplexes mainly. But Aamir's film will certainly rise with time considering its word of mouth," Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan told IANS.

Film and trade business expert Girish Johar told IANS: "As per early trends, 'Golmaal Again' might cross Rs 100 crore mark on Monday, which is very good."

He pointed out that Monday evening could contribute well to "Secret Superstar", which features "Dangal" girl Zaira Wasim in the lead role, with a cameo by Aamir.

As for "Mersal", Tamil actor Vijay's Diwali release, it is also receiving a positive response in India and across the world.

The film was already much-awaited given the triple role that Vijay essays in the project, and it grabbed more headlines after the Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the removal of specific dialogues from the movie which take a dig at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and digital India.

"Tamil film 'Mersal' is chasing a massive total in international markets, despite stiff opposition posed by the two Hindi releases ('Golmaal Again' and 'Secret Superstar')," Adarsh tweeted.

"It won't be erroneous to state that Tamil film 'Mersal' is collecting more than the two Hindi releases in some key international markets," he added.

Johar said: "'Mersal' is a southern film. It is doing good there. But the film has not released in that many screens in north. The film has minted around Rs 147 crore worldwide."