Ranveer Singh‘s Jayeshbhai Jordaar, which was released a week earlier, is already set to leave several theatres across the country, with the releases of two other Hindi films, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Dhaakad, say theatre owners.
Singh’s film barely managed to earn a little under Rs 12 crore, over the first weekend. According to Anupam Reddy, Secretary of the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, theatres were already cutting down on shows for the film since Monday, and once Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 releases, it is possible the Singh-starrer will barely get one show in every theatre in Hyderabad.
“The performance of Jayeshbhai Jordaar has been incredibly bad. The film barely managed to see some footfall during its first weekend but since Monday, very few people are coming to watch the film. A number of shows have already been cut down and theatres were choosing to play KGF: Chapter 2 over this film. Now, with the release of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, we will be keeping only one show for the Ranveer Singh-starrer,” adds Reddy.
Written and directed by Divyang Thakkar, Jayeshbhai Jordaar features Singh as the son of a traditional Gujarati sarpanch. The film deals with the issue of equal rights for women in society and conversations around the perceived necessity for a male child to carry on a family’s legacy. It also stars Shalini Pandey, Boman Irani, and Ratna Pathak Shah, and is produced by Aditya Chopra and Maneesh Sharma under the Yash Raj Films banner.
A theatre owner in Delhi, who chose to remain anonymous, told Silverscreen India that given the option he would rather not play the film at all as the cost is surpassing the income. “Even during the weekend, Jayeshbhai Jordaar saw only a handful of people coming in for the shows. I did not want to play the film in my theatre after Monday, as charges for electricity and maintenance was increasing, more than the earnings from ticket sales for the film. Like other theatres, I also reduced the number of shows and kept running KGF: Chapter 2. Now, I am waiting to see if the upcoming Hindi films perform well. The (Hindi film) industry really needs to buckle up instead of only giving flops.”
According to film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, the Singh-starrer lacked a certain “fire part” to be a big theatrical hit. “The film was a very interesting and sweet film but it lacked a sense of fierceness that is needed for any film to be a big theatrical hit, in present times. I think some things did go wrong, with respect to the communication and marketing front, and the other thing that could have certainly been better was added theatrical value coming into play and using Ranveer Singh’s star persona rather than just his acting. But, every production house and every actor has their hits and misses. It is all a part of the game.”
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Rathi however does not feel that the Kartik Aaryan-starrer will have an impact on Jayeshbhai Jordaar. “The programming of cinema halls works purely on the law of demand and supply. Any movie, for which there are takers and tickets are being sold, compared to any movie which does not do the same, will be replaced by the one that comes by.”
In Kolkata, Sunit Singh of Paradise Cinema, informed us that only a few theatres are playing the Singh-starrer because it is performing “very poorly.”
It was reported that Jayeshbhai Jordaar currently stands at Rs 16.50 crore and it is expected to leave theatres before even crossing Rs 20 crore. The film has performed much poorly in comparison with Singh’s previous release ’83, which managed to earn around Rs 45 crore, over its first weekend.