Salman Khan fans pose in front of the film Kick’s posters in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July 25: “Id aa rahi hai, aur woh apni idi lene zaroor ayega”. Yes, after delivering a dud in form of Jai Ho earlier this year, Salman Khan is back with Kick to smash all box office records. Releasing in more than 100 theatres in Odisha, twin city alone has about 70 shows slotted everyday for the big budget movie.

INOX, the capital city’s sole multiplex, was almost running to full houses on Friday. The occupancy was 95 per cent for the first five of the 14 shows that the multiplex is screening in its three auditoriums.

Strangely, the advanced booking was mere 30 per cent for Saturday and Sunday till afternoon. The officials, however, said the percentage would surely rise up to 60 per cent by night.

“One need not say anything about the frenzy regarding a ‘Khan’ movie. Salman has a massive fan base that surely will turn up for the film. We naturally have huge expectations from the film,” said Subhasis Ganguli, the regional director of INOX East. The prices have been marginally hiked, which the multiplex usually charges for big banner films.

Swagat Kar, a distributor and founder of bookticketnow.com (the first website in the state that does booking for singleplexes in Bhubaneswar), said that Friday saw 90 per cent occupancy and the advanced booking for Keshari, Stutee and Maharaja cinemas for weekends was 60 per cent.

“Kick is made on the lines of Dhoom 3, but I felt that the Aamir Khan starrer was better. However, I reckon, Kick should earn 25 crores at least in the first weekend,” said Kar.

In last five years, all the films of Salman that hit the theatres around Id had set the box office counters ringing. Such is the craze of the actor that many fans came donning the T-shirts of Being Human — the charitable organisation run by Salman.

Despite the superstar’s hatred for being called bhai and a dialogue in the film expressing his despise, to his followers he remains the adorable Sallu bhai.

Actor Avishek Rath is a die-hard fan of Salman and he had the burly actor in mind while working out in the gym for his upcoming movie where he is expected to be robust. Rath went for the first day, first show. “After all it is bhai’s film. The second half is very entertaining,” he said.

In the film, Salman essays the role of a masked crusader named The Devil where his ladylove is played by Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez.