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| An almost empty ticket counter at Mona after the release of Lootera in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey |
Picture flop hai sir, koi fayda nahi andar ja kar (No use going inside the theatre, the film has flopped), said the gatekeeper outside Mona theatre when enquired about Lootera.
The 50-something gatekeeper’s reaction could very well echo the sentiments of Patna girl Sonkashi Sinha. For the first time ever in her career, Sonkashi’s movie failed to bring in the crowd.
In terms of monetary performance, it collected only Rs 3.5 lakh on the first day. Except for Joker, all her earlier movies did a Rs 100-crore business at the box office. The last film which had given done badly on the first day was Ra One, which was still higher at Rs 3.6 lakh.
The response to Lootera was evident from the advance booking, as fewer shows were slotted — six at Cinepolis, three at Mona and two in Elphinstone. Very few tickets were booked in advance.
“We had received a bad opening for Joker as far as Sonakshi’s films are concerned but this movie has done worse. In the earlier films, Sonakshi’s roles were not very big and it was mere a guest appearance. In Lootera, a full-length role failed to bring in movie-goers,” said Abhishek Ranjan, the Cinepolis manager.
He added: “Let’s see how it does in the coming days. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I hope the pace picks up in the weekends.”
According to sources, the distributor of the film, Sunil Kumar, has lost at least Rs 40 lakh from the release.
Compared to Lootera, the Sanjay Dutt-starrer Policegiri has done better business and collected Rs 6.5 lakh with 10 shows at Cinepolis, Regent and Elphinstone combined.
Policegiri went houseful in Regent and its owner has plenty of reason to smile. “Ye public hai sab janti hai (the public knows everything). There is nothing to hide and I am happy I made right decision by not screening Lootera in my theatre. God is there with me. He saved me. Despite running all her (Sonakshi’s) previous films, my conscience and experience did not allow to go ahead with Lootera,” said Suman Kumar Sinha.
He added: “I am happy that Policegiri has brought good business for my theatre. You cannot force today’s young generation to watch a period-look film. They want enjoyment and they do not spent money to look into the past.”
“The film was too slow. I had come to see Sonakshi’s acting but the film turned out really bad. I hope I can see something good in her next film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai 2,” said Prakash Ranjan, a student of AN College at Mona theatre.