Fans queue up in front of the box office at Mona Theatre in Patna on Thursday and (bottom) Katrina Kaif who plays Sheila in Tees Mar Khan. Telegraph pictures

Patna, Dec. 23: Munni or Sheila, who’s the sexiest of them all? If Dabangg had the nation jiving to Malaika Arora Khan’s jhaktas, Katrina Kaif’s bare midriff act in Tees Maar Khan has set the cash registers ringing on the eve of its release.

The eagerly awaited Farah Khan film, whose catchy Sheila ki Jawani number has zoomed to the top of the charts, has recorded an astounding advance booking which means it will give Dabangg — by far the year’s biggest blockbuster — a run for its money in the box office sweepstakes.

The advance booking counters opened yesterday morning at most places. Single screens normally start advance sale on Monday but for Tees Maar Khan, it was held back till Wednesday.

The Bollywood tracker boxofficeindia.com said PVR, India’s largest multiplex chain, sold a record 10,000-plus tickets in one day.

Mona, the only cineplex in Patna, has sold over 5,000 tickets, priced at Rs 160, over two days.

Ajay Kumar Kataruka, the manager of Mona theatre, among India’s biggest single screens, said: “Our window for advance booking opened yesterday and within two days, 5,000 tickets have been booked. The first three shows of Friday, Saturday and Sunday are all house full. Only a few tickets are available for the last show.”

By Thursday evening, even those were expected to have been sold out — ending the poor run of Hindi films at the box office.

Kataruka said college students and youngsters are queuing up to see the Akshay Kumar-Katrina starrer, their first film together after a string of successes like Namastey London, Welcome and Singh is Kinng.

“Everyone wants to see her (Katrina’s) role in the film and her fans are desperately waiting to see her in Sheila ki Jawani. The song is a runaway hit and means good news for us,” he said.

If Dabangg had the raw power of Salman Khan carrying the film, Farah’s latest flick appears to be resting on the shoulders, or midriff, of Katrina.

“I am great fan of Katrina Kaif and when I saw her dancing to Sheila ki Jawani on television, I decided I had to watch the film first-day-first-show. She is looking gorgeous, especially in that dress,” gushed Sweeety Kumari of Kankerbagh area. The dress — one of them being a white, satin sheet that Katrina drapes around herself — is bound to send temperatures soaring in the otherwise shivering country.

The huge advance for Tees Maar Khan, Farah Khan’s third film after back-to-back Shah Rukh Khan hits Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, means it will do humungous weekend business. But just how big will be decided when the film releases tomorrow.

The record opening weekend till date stands at Rs 48.75 crore set by Dabangg a few months ago. If Tees Maar Khan has to challenge that figure, the single screens elsewhere in the country will have to replicate the business of Patna’s Mona theatre.