'Pati Patni Aur...' starts slow, earns ₹3.85cr on Day 1
What's the story
Ayushmann Khurrana's latest film, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, has opened to lukewarm response at the box office. The romantic comedy-drama, which hit theaters on Friday, earned a mere ₹3.85 crore nett on its opening day across 6,822 shows, reported Sacnilk. This is one of the lowest openings of Khurrana's career and also failed to surpass the opening-day collection of Kartik Aaryan's 2019 hit Pati Patni Aur Woh (₹9.1 crore).
Box office performance
Looking at the film in numbers
The film witnessed low occupancy on its first day, with morning shows at 5.38%, afternoon shows at 10.92%, and evening shows at 10.46%. The story follows Prajapati (Khurrana), a forest department official who pretends to be his friend Chanchal's (Sara Ali Khan) boyfriend to help her elope with her boyfriend Sunny (Vishal Vashishtha). Wamiqa Gabbi and Rakul Preet Singh also play key roles.
Actor's response
Khurrana's mother watched film, shared her reaction
On Friday, Khurrana took to Instagram to share a post about his mother's reaction to the film. In the photo, she was seen blessing him after watching it. He wrote, "Mother has given her blessings. She says your film is very good." "She was saying that if Papa were here, he would have loved it. She laughed a lot after a long time while watching #PatiPatniAurWohDo. In cinemas now!"
Director's stance
Director Mudassar Aziz reacts to infidelity accusations
Meanwhile, in an interview with Mid Day, director Mudassar Aziz defended his film against accusations of promoting infidelity. He said, "This is my seventh film. Never have I made a film that legitimizes infidelity." "In Pati Patni Aur Woh [2019], the husband is faced with the consequences of his actions when his wife and girlfriend join forces. In Happy Bhag Jayegi [2016], I created a protagonist who chooses her partner." "Women in my films have always had agency," he added.