Sanjay Bhansali’s directorial epic Padmavati hit the theaters on Wednesday evening for paid previews that started by 6 in the evening in the entire country. Karni Sena and a few other protestant groups took the matter to their hearts and hands by starting burning cinema halls in states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar. Radical protestants broke a school bus full of school children in Gurgaon, Haryana and also attacked malls which were showcasing the film. Despite of the green flag from Supreme court and Censor Board of India, government is barely taking any action against the violence.
Film was released in 3 languages including Tamil and Telugu dubbed version simultaneously in formats 3d, 2d and prestigious IMAX 3D. Padmaavat is literally first Indian film to have an IMAX 3D release worldwide and the magnum opus of Bhansali’s direction is unparalleled to any other film. With the fractured release Padmaavat managed to gross 5 crore on the preview night where the collections could have easily reached upto 9 crores. Due to violent protests in several states the film is losing on about 1800 screens and several people are scared to go and watch the film due to warnings from Karni Sena.
Reports of the film are beyond phenomenal from both audience and critics while the industry is going gaga over the film by calling it a sheer masterpiece of craft. Film is bound to pick up on Thursday and even without incredible number of screens it should manage to gross around 15-16 crores. According to the trade if Padmaavat had a smooth release than the opening day number of first holiday which is 26 January could have reached upto 30+ crores but since the release is mostly unsured the loss is being bear by the makers. Padmaavat was made and released on the budget of 200 crores and it would take at least 3 weeks to recover the money if all the states do not open the release properly.
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