Feat befitting the king

Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan

Days after reports of Jawan recording a whopping Rs 65.5 crore domestic opening figure hit the headlines, comes the news that the film has challenged previous records with its opening weekend number. Jawan has become the first Bollywood film to enter the Rs 500 crore club within four days of its release by registering Rs 520.79 crores (worldwide) at the box office.

The Hindi version of Shah Rukh Khan's latest offering that released on Thursday has amassed Rs 252.08 crores in India. On Sunday, this version also set another record by earning Rs 71.63 crores (domestic), the highest number for a film in this language, in a single day. Trade analyst and critic Taran Adarsh says the Atlee-directed film has "shown the potential of Hindi cinema". "[A single-day collection figure of] 70 can become 80 in the future, which could then become 90, and then 100! You never know. The market is expanding. We need to focus on content. Desi entertainers never go out of fashion. Happy days are here again. We are seeing a return of the '70s, when we witnessed back-to-back hits," he says of the film that has collected Rs 34.08 crores in Tamil and Telugu-speaking markets.

Trade expert Ramesh Bala says Jawan has benefited from the "marriage of talent from the north and south". "Nowadays, the word blockbuster is abused because it is used for any film. But Jawan is an actual blockbuster. It got the biggest hero from the north and the biggest heroine from the south," he says, referring to leading lady Nayanthara when highlighting why the film has been doing "exceptional business in both territories". "Bollywood filmmakers should capitalise on this combination if they can, organically. We see Sanjay Dutt in so many south movies too."

Adarsh seconds this opinion and says Jawan's success will open the doors for similar cross-over films. "War 2 has already been announced with Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR. What a start that film will have!" he makes a case for himself.

Adarsh refers to the ‘Shah Rukh Khan phenomenon' when discussing the film's success, overseas. "He is the reason behind the [success] overseas. Also, people are liking Jawan more than his last release, Pathaan. He is essentially competing with himself," he signs off.