Honsla Rakh, starring Diljit Dosanjh, Sonam Bajwa, Shehnaaz Gill and Shinda Grewal, has created history by achieving the highest opening ever for a Punjabi movie. Honsla Rakh amassed Rs2.55 crore nett yesterday, according to trade website BoxOfficeIndia.com.
The feat is even more special because it was achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic when theatres in many states are still not allowed to operate at 100% occupancy. The film was, however, helped by the public holiday yesterday for the Dussehra festival.
Honsla Rakh has broken the record held by Shadaa (2019), which had opened at Rs2.43 crore at a time when there was no COVID-19. Interestingly, that movie also starred Dosanjh.
The opening of Honsla Rakh is close to that of the recent mainstream Hindi film Bell Bottom (2021), which was released in August all over India (except Maharashtra) and featured Akshay Kumar in the lead. It had made Rs2.75 crore nett on the first day.
Directed by Amarjit Singh Saron, Honsla Rakh has also recorded the highest collection for a film in any language in Delhi city in the post-pandemic period. It overtook several Hindi and Hollywood films released in this period like Roohi (2021), Bell Bottom, Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Godzilla Vs Kong (2021).