‘Shikara’ Box-Office Report: Despite agitation against it, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film works well on word-of-mouth

Straight from the pages of history, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘Shikara’ brings the untold story of Kashmiri pandits to the mainstream audience. The movie which released yesterday has already been winning hearts all over, and the numbers with which the film opened, is only proof to it.

‘Shikara’, which also happens to be Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s dream project is going strong at the box-office and is winning people’s hearts. Owing to a strong and crisp storyline and a great presentation by the filmmaker, the movie opened to a whopping Rs. 1.20 crores. That’s definitely a huge number considering the cast is new and the topic is something which not all connect to easily.

#Shikara surprises on Day 1… Released at multiplexes mainly, the biz gathered momentum post noon shows [a norm nowadays]… Needs to double its Day 1 number on Day 2 and maintain the trend on Day 3 for a respectable weekend total… Fri ₹ 1.20 cr. #India biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 8, 2020

The strong word of mouth only helped the film receive the required buzz. ‘Shikara’ was appreciated for its surprises, strong plot and emotional climax by critics and viewers alike, with praises pouring in for the lead actors, Aadil Khan and Sadia, who in spite of being debutants have put forward an applaud worthy performance.

The film had more than 4,000 real Kashmiri Pandit refugees who recreated 19th January 1990 for the film, when the actual incident happened. ‘Shikara’ is inspired by Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s own life and is a tribute by the director to his mother.

However, the film has been met with certain agitation as well. After a screening of the movie at a theatre, a lady stood up and bashed Vidhu Vinod Chopra on his face for the wrong portrayal of Kashmiri Pundits. The lady even questioned as to why Muslim actors were cast as the lead and not Kashmiri Pundits? To all of the agitation, Vidhu Vinod Chopra could just say, “Mam, we’ll make a sequel ‘Shikara 2’ for you.”

Shame on @VVCFilms for #Shikara

No matter if Kashmiri Hindu Women Breaks down into tears ?

Vidhu Vinod Chopra chose money making over facts ?

@neelakantha how he said this ? "Bahut acha boli , talli bajao, inke liye shikara 2 banayenge" pic.twitter.com/Fun2M1kQgo

— ?????? ???????? ?? (@Xs2partner) February 7, 2020

Produced by Vinod Chopra Productions and co-produced by Fox Star Studios, ‘Shikara’ needs to bring in a huge number in order to be declared a classified hit at the ticket windows. After the decent performance on Day 1, we hope the Day 2 and Day 3 of the movie brings a lot of joy to the makers of the movie.

Also Read: ‘Shikara’ Movie Review: This Vidhu Vinod Chopra directorial fails to leave an impact

Prateek Sur

Born a Movie Buff, working as a Film Critique and enjoying life as a Bollywood Reporter.

Email: editor@bollywoodbubble.com Phone: +91 8355910465