Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Badhaai Do has failed to make a mark on its first day, only seeing collections in the range of Rs 1.50 to 1.75 crore, Box Office India reported. The low numbers have could be due to the lack of night shows in most cities and the Covid-19 protocols still in place in several parts of the country.
The report states that the bulk of the audience for the film came from Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Kolkata, and Bangalore. In the Mysore circuit, this LGBTQIA-themed film performed on par with Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, which had earned Rs 13 lakhs (nett). Badhaai Do earned Rs 12 lakhs (nett) in the region. In West Bengal, the Rao-starrer has brought in Rs 9 lakhs, again matching the collections of Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui in the state.
The film is a sequel to the National Award-winning 2018 film Badhaai Ho and is based on the concept of ‘lavender marriage’ (a marriage between a man and a woman, for the purpose of hiding their homosexuality). Badhaai Do is directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni and produced by Junglee Pictures.
While the first day numbers of the film at the box office were not all too impressive, it could gain momentum during the weekend ahead of Valentine’s Day.
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This is the third time the Hindi film industry has had to get the ball rolling again after periods of lull in theatres owning to the pandemic. March last year saw the release of Roohi and Mumbai Saga, while in November, some hope came for the industry with bigger releases such as Sooryavanshi, Bunty Aur Babli 2, Antim – The Final Truth, Satyameva Jayate 2, Tadap, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui and 83.
Although Badhaai Do has not been able to make a big splash, several Hindi films are set to hit theatres soon and the industry will hope for recovery with all the releases that are lined up back to back in the coming months. There are two power-packed films on the way next, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Jhund. It remains to be seen whether they will drawn in the crowds and help the Hindi film industry get back on track.