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R. Balki must be a happy man indeed. His wife Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi has opened better than his Ki & Ka which had released a little over six months ago. His film was powered by Kareena Kapoor Khan while Gauri had the star power of Shahrukh Khan to rely upon.
Of course Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt carry good credibility of their own and that has been pretty much on display in Ki & Ka and Dear Zindagi respectively. So while former opened at 7.3 crore, latter has done even better with 8.75 crore in its kitty on Day One.
This is also the first ever scenario in all the times that one can remember where a husband and wife have seen a major film of theirs release in the same year and done well with the target audience. Dear Zindagi was aimed at the intelligentsia belonging to premium multiplex audience at major urban centers and in this segment, the film managed to find a good footing for itself. The film is of course talk heavy, has a good enough running duration of two and a half hours and touches upon quite a few sensitive topics. This doesn’t quite make it as commercial a subject as Balki’s Ki & Ka was which dealt with a marital tale.
Nonetheless, a comfortable start has been taken by the film which is a decent enough victory for Dear Zindagi on the first day itself. At this rate, even if it stays just about stable for rest of the weekend and then take nominal drops over the weekend, it would emerge as a safe affair. Though the critical acclaim is not quite hitting the roof while the appreciation is there, albeit controlled, the film hasn’t been panned by anyone, which is a good enough sign for all involved with it.
All eyes are now on collections coming in today and tomorrow and if there is indeed any growth that comes in, it would only be an added bonus.
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder
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