Box office: 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' roars past 'Chhapaak'
This weekend saw the first major Bollywood box office clash of the new year, with the release of Ajay Devgn's 100th film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Deepika Padukone-led Chhapaak. While it was apparently a tough choice for the movie buffs, reports state that Tanhaji dominated the box office throughout. Here's how the two films have performed at the box office, so far.
Driving on a stellar star cast, heavy visual effects, and action-packed sequences, Tanhaji performed exceptionally well on day one. It reportedly minted Rs. 15.10cr on Friday. The film that released across around 4,000 screens reportedly had an excellent opening in Maharashtra and Central India regions. On the other hand, Chhapaak, lacking a mass appeal, had an underwhelming opening day collection of Rs. 4.77cr.
Continuing its dream run, Tanhaji added a massive Rs. 20.57cr on its second day (Saturday), thereby registering a total two-day collection of Rs. 35.67cr. The film is expected to cross Rs. 50cr mark by the end of first weekend. Meanwhile, Chhapaak saw a slight jump in business. The film raked in Rs. 6.90cr on Saturday. This takes its total two-day collection to Rs. 11.67cr.
Directed by Om Raut, Tanhaji stars Ajay Devgn, Kajol, and Saif Ali Khan. The historical film is based on the 17th-century battle between Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare and Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's leader Uday Bhan. The film brings together Ajay and Saif together on the silver screen after a gap of 14 years. They were last seen together in Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara (2006).
Talking of Chhapaak, the biographical film has been directed by Meghna Gulzar (Talvar, Raazi). Chhapaak, which also marks Deepika's debut as a producer, is based on the life of acid attack survivor and social activist Laxmi Agarwal. Laxmi was attacked in 2005 at age 15. She went on to initiate Stop Sale Acid, a campaign working against acid violence and its sale.
To recall, Deepika's film sparked a major controversy right before its release. Chhapaak became the subject of a heated debate after Deepika expressed her solidarity with the protesting students of JNU, who were attacked by masked goons on January 5. While some lauded Deepika for the act, others tagged her as an opportunist and called for a boycott of her film.
