With an overwhelming response to “Singh is Kinng” at the ticket windows for advance booking, the makers are expecting a record collection from the romantic comedy which is releasing Friday.
We have put 100 percent into the film and we want the audience to bless the film by watching it. We are very confident that the audience will love the film. I’m expecting a record-breaking collection from all over the world,” Vipul Shah, producer of the film told IANS on phone from Mumbai.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh added: “We have tremendous expectations from the movie. A combo like Vipul Shah and Anees Bazmee can’t go wrong. The movie has a huge box office turnover too. It is a very big film and since it is the solo release this week, it faces no competition either and should be a huge hit.”
Written and directed by Anees Bazmee, the film, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, got unexpected publicity when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pulled off a decisive win in the trust vote in parliament July 22.
“Congratulations India… Singh is King!” was the SMS circulated in Punjab and elsewhere soon after the result was announced.
Also, when Harbhajan Singh took six wickets last week to help India gain a lead on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, the national dailies were flooded with headlines that said: “Singh is King”.
“The unexpected publicity that the movie has got proves that Singhs are the real kings. It is the most appropriate title for the movie as it is the Singhs who are making the country proud at present,” said Shah.
Made with a budget of Rs.500 million, the film is being distributed by Adlabs with about 2,000 prints worldwide. The film’s USP is said to be the Akshay-Katrina pair who featured in last year’s hits “Namastey London” and “Welcome”.
International rapper Snoop Dogg and British bhangra band RDB also add a special attraction to the film. The music for the film has already sold over 500,000 CDs and cassettes worldwide.
A source from PVR cinemas informed IANS: “The advance bookings are getting a tremendous response at the ticket counter and most of the shows are already housefull till mid next week on an average. PVR is also organising a paid premiere for the movie a day before its release.”
Munish Sharma of Satyma Cineplex echoes the observation saying: “People are going crazy for the movie. Also, due to long weekends ahead with national holidays like Raksha Bandhan and Independence day, I’m sure the box office sales will go high.”
Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor, predicts a grand opening for the film.
“The film will do a business of more than Rs.80 million in the first two weeks itself. The advance booking scene is very good and all multiplexes in Delhi would be playing more than 10 shows of the movie in a day,” said Mahajan.
“It is an entertaining and enjoyable picture. The Akshay-Katrina pair is also the reason for its appeal. It will also do well in international countries like Canada and Britain where you have a lot of Sikh population,” he added.
“Singh…” is the second movie after Rahul Rawail’s “Jo Bole So Nihaal” that will focus on the Sikh community on the whole. While “Jo Bole…” faced the angst of the Sikh community for the weak portrayal of the Sikhs and tanked at the box office, “Singh…” too got into trouble for Akshay’s trimmed beard.
But Shah says that he has resolved the issue.
“We have already shown the film to the community leaders and they suggested some changes in the film. We came out with the movie only after making the changes and they have given us a written certificate of approval for the movie,” Shah said.
Although everybody is positive about the movie, Bazmee is feeling uneasy.
“My entire team is very excited and Vipul is over-excited for the movie. However, I somehow always feel uneasy before my every release and thus I visit the Ajmer Sharif before a movie comes out. I would be doing the same before ‘Singh…’ releases,” said Bazmee.
