‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ was one of the most controversial movies of 2016 months before it hit screens. But looks like every controversy that engulfed it has worked in its favour, since the movie has entered the coveted Rs 100 crore club, making it filmmaker Karan Johar’s first.
By adding Rs 2.35 crore in its domestic collections on Tuesday, the movie now stands at a total of Rs 102.05 crore.
This is what trade analyst Taran Adrash tweeted about the collections:
ADHM has hence become actor Ranbir Kapoor’s thirds movie to make it to the club after ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and ‘Barfii’. This is actress Anushka Sharma;s fouth entry to the club, the first three being ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, ‘PK’ and ‘Sultan’; while this is actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s first entry in the club.
Notably, the year 2016 has not been amazing for Bollywood. Many high-budget and anticipated movies released this year, but out of them only four (Sultan, Airlift, Housefull 3, Rustom) entered the Rs 100 crore club, the fifth being ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’.
Before release, ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ faced the heat for its cast including Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. Only a few days before release, many right-wing parties including Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena had called for a boycott. Later, director Karan Johar has released a video saying that it hurt him that he and his work was called ‘anti-national’. He had vouched to not work with Pak actors in the future and pleaded for a smooth release of this movie.
The numbers indicate that ADHM becoming a topic of national debate for days together, worked brilliantly in its favour. It also hints that maybe viewers just want to watch a feel-good movie for entertainment and wish to leave the politics of it outside the theatres.
On a related note, ADHM’s competitor at box office ‘Shivaay’ is far from the 100 crore mark. By Monday, the movie had minted Rs 80.42 crore and is reported to be going strong in theatres.
