Bengali Films Edge Past Ranveer Singh's 'Cirkus' At Box Office

At a time when a lot is being said about how South Indian masala films are taking the box office by storm, Rohit Shetty's recent larger-than-life commercial outing, 'Cirkus' with Ranveer Singh, has failed to create any impact at the ticket counters. Meanwhile, the three Bengali films - Sandip Ray's 'Hatyapuri', Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukhopadhyay's 'Haami 2' and Avijit Sen's 'Projapati' - have opened to good numbers at the box office this festive season. So much so that more shows are being added after the first day's response.

"All three Bengali films are performing well at the property. 'Cirkus' is an absolute disaster at the box office," said Arijit Dutta, owner of 'Priya Cinemas'.

A lot was riding on Ray's 'Hatyapuri', which introduces Indraneil Sengupta as Felu Mitter, Avijit Guha as Jatayu and Ayush Das in the role of Topshe. There was divided opinion on Indraneil being cast in the role of the iconic detective character. But with more than 100 shows, Ray's latest Feluda film has managed to impress the right audience on day one.

Nandita and Shiboprosad's 'Haami 2' had a fan following given the massive response to their earlier film 'Haami' in 2018. Shiboprosad as Latlu and Gargi Roychowdhury as Mitali are household names now, so it wasn't a surprise for 'Haami 2' to open to good numbers. The franchise film has been released in more than 170 theatres. Mithun Chakraborty and Dev-starrer 'Projapati' has opened to positive reviews, which gave the most-needed boost to the film. With Mithun hitting all the right notes by perfectly balancing emotional sequences and situational comedy, 'Projapati', with more than 170 shows, has found its audience too.

"At the end of the day, content is king. If the audience likes the film, it will work. Those who have watched 'Projapati' have said it's better than 'Tonic'," said Dev.

Ray is happy that audiences are watching Feluda's film after a gap of six years. In 2016, Ray directed Sabyasachi Chakrabarty in 'Double Feluda'. "Two kinds of audiences always exist - those who will appreciate the content and others who wouldn't. I am happy the latter is happening in our case," he said.

Trade analyst Pankaj Ladia told 'Millennium Post' how Tollywood is gaining its foothold at the box office despite the release of the much-awaited 'Avatar: The Way of Water'.

"Rohit Shetty's 'Cirkus' has been washed out. The audiences are walking out of the theatre midway, but the Bengali films are doing exceptionally well. Even additional shows are being allotted in multiplexes and single screens," he said.

Sen, who had a huge responsibility to direct 'Mrigaya' pair Mithun and Mamata Shankar after 46 years in 'Projapati' is on cloud nine. "We have tried to narrate a story that is close to the heart. I am extremely happy the audiences like our effort," he said.