Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi has earned Rs 9.75-10 crore (nett) on its first day, making it the second-biggest opener among female-led films in India.
The film, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is second only to Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Veere Di Wedding when looking at the box-office collections of female-led Indian movies. Bhatt’s latest film is followed by her own Dear Zindagi, which stands in third place.
Ganguubai Kathiawadi could even have earned the first place but for the Covid restrictions still in place in various parts of the country. It is noteworthy that the film has managed to earn almost Rs 10 crore on the first day despite there still being a 50% capacity restriction for theatres in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and some other places.
Mumbai raked in the most footfalls on opening day for the Bhatt-starrer, which was expected. But other centres like Hyderabad and Delhi have also seen good numbers at the box office.
The film’s opening compares quite favourably to the last big Hindi release, Ranveer Singh’s 83. Singh’s sports drama had earned a decent Rs 14 crore on the first day but did not perform as well in the weeks that followed.
However, it is predicted that Ganguubai Kathiawadi will bring in approximately Rs 12 crore on the second day as well.
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It is also notable that the Bhatt-starrer has vastly outperformed the recently-released Hindi film Badhaai Do, starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, which only saw opening-day collections in the range of Rs 1.50 to 1.75 crore.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is loosely based on a chapter from Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges’ book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, a collection of stories about women who were part of Mumbai’s underworld. Bhatt plays Gangubai Kathiawadi, one of the most influential women in Kamathipura, a red-light district in Mumbai, and the owner of many brothels in that area. The film had to clear some legal hurdles before release.