Bollywood movie ‘Batwara 1947’ is not performing so well at the box office despite opening on Independence Day. The historical drama was created by national award-winning director Rajkumar Santoshi and Sunny Deol starring in it but the initial box office performance did not meet expectations.
The film, which was released on August 14, was eagerly awaited as it brought Santoshi and Sunny Deol back together after years. The duo had previously made great films like Ghayal, Damini and Ghatak, and they had been talking about the reunion until about the time the movie was released.
A reunion that created huge expectations
The combination of Sunny Deol and Rajkumar Santoshi naturally created nostalgia among Hindi film audiences. Their earlier collaborations had established them as one of the successful actor-director combinations in Bollywood.
Batwara 1947 also had a subject that could attract audiences. It is about the Partition of India, one of the most painful chapters in India’s history, and is about displacement, suffering, relations and human consequences of Partition.
But the strength of the subject and star power has yet to translate into a significant opening at the ticket counters so far.
₹31.61 crore in the first three days
According to the early box office figures, Batwara 1947 earned around ₹5.75 crore on its opening day in India.
The film got some improvement on its second day, garnering around ₹13.50 crore on Saturday. But momentum did not continue on Sunday.
Even with thousands of shows in the country, the movie collected only around ₹7.25 crore on its third day.
This took the film's estimated domestic collection after three days to about ₹31.61 crore.
The overseas response also seems to be weak; the film has earned around ₹5.50 crore overseas during the same period.
As a result, the reported worldwide gross through the first three days is about ₹37.11 crore.
In short, the ₹100 crore target is difficult
The film is being made at a budget of more than ₹70 crore. As there is a production cost, the first box office performance has raised questions about its ability to make it to ₹100 crore.
And while the movie still has quite a bit left on the stage, it will need more reliable weekday collections and sustained audience support in order for its overall performance to be better.
A good word-of-mouth response might help the film survive after the opening weekend. But the early trend suggests the movie is going to have a very difficult road ahead.
Aamir Khan’s association only adds to interest
Another interesting aspect of Batwara 1947 is the reported involvement of Aamir Khan.
The actor-producer is associated with the project along with Aparna Purohit, and Aamir Khan Productions is also associated with the film's production.
Aamir Khan’s appearance added to the expectations of the project.
Sunny Deol’s recent box office success also encouraged optimism. Considering the success of Gadar 2 and the attention that he was receiving for his subsequent projects, it was expected that his popularity would boost Batwara 1947.
But the early numbers indicate that the film has not yet managed to turn that star power into a major theatrical opening.
Performances receive appreciation
Although the box office numbers have been disappointing, the movie performances are being complimented; they are said to have been appreciated.
Sunny Deol has departed from his more action-oriented and emotional style and has turned out to be much more emotional.
Preity Zinta has also got good attention for her performance, while veteran actress Shabana Azmi is one of the strongest performers.
It is said that she gives emotional depth to the historical drama.
A.R. Rahman and Javed Akhtar are added to the film.
The music is another major attraction of Batwara 1947.
A.R. Rahman composed the music, and the lyrics were composed by the veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar.
The film had a very good director, popular stars, an important historical subject, and an excellent music team, and so it had high hopes.
But these strengths have so far been unable to generate the box office momentum that the makers would have hoped for.
The next few days are critical
Batwara 1947 will be very important in the coming days.
The film has to show more stability in the weekdays if it is to recover its investment and make a serious attempt at crossing the ₹100 crore mark.
Good reviews and a positive audience word of mouth could still change its course, too, especially in historical dramas that can build gradually.
But for now, the reunion of Sunny Deol and Rajkumar Santoshi has not translated into the expected box office fireworks.
With almost ₹31.61 crore collected in India during its first three days and a worldwide total of around ₹37.11 crore, Batwara 1947 has made a slow start against its reported ₹70 crore-plus budget.
Whether the film will recover in the coming days or remain trapped by its poor opening will be largely dependent on the film’s weekday collections and audience response.
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