Bollywood: ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ smashes records

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Starring Salman Khan, the film, ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo,’ scores the biggest Bollywood opening of all-time in India and the U.K., while landing in the top 10 chart in North America. Bollywood release ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ (I Received A Treasure Called Love) smashed a number of records in its debut in India and abroad for Fox International Productions and Fox Star Studios.

The film, starring Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor, is directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by the veteran Rajshri Productions banner, founded by his father, Tarachand Barjatya.

Prem Ratan opened last Thursday, November 19, a day after the Diwali festival to cash in on the four-day holiday weekend, which resulted in a N7 billion ($31 million) worldwide haul from 4,801 screens in seven markets.

As one of India’s most bankable stars, Khan’s pulling power saw the film recording the biggest opening weekend of all time for a Bollywood title in the U.K. earning N298.5 million ($1.5 million). In the U.S. it received the biggest ever release for a Hindi film, opening on 284 screens and collecting N477.6 million ($2.4 million), landing at the ninth spot. The title is considered among the four top Bollywood openers in the U.S.

In India, the film smashed the record for the biggest Bollywood opening of all time taking N5.3 billion ($27 million) over the four-day festive weekend. This overshadowed previous record holder ‘Happy New Year,’ starring actor Shah Rukh Khan, which collected N5.3 billion ($17.9 million) when it opened during the Diwali weekend last year.

The prime Diwali release window didn’t see any major competition for the film in terms of either Bollywood or Hollywood releases.

“With the exception of a couple of genuinely exciting sequences, directorwriter Sooraj Barjatya’s latest syrupy extravaganza ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ is a highly predictable effort,” THR said in its review. “That won’t stop fans of the film’s star, Salman Khan, from queuing in droves.”

Khan and Barjatya’s association dates back to the director’s 1989 breakout Maine Pyar Kiya (I Have Loved) which catapulted the then newcomer actor into super stardom. The duo teamed up again for one of Bollywood’s biggest hits, 1994’s ‘Hum Aapke Hai Koun’ (Who Am I To You).

Khan, 49, has delivered back-toback hits following his previous recordbreaking blockbuster ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan,’ which opened in July released by Eros International and is estimated to have collected over N14.9 billion ($75 million) worldwide.

thr.com