Box office: Hindi version of Radhe Shyam makes poor opening, The Kashmir Files opens stronger

The romantic drama Radhe Shyam (2022), starring Prabhas and Pooja Hegde, has had a poor opening in Hindi with a collection of only Rs4.50 crore nett on Day 1, according to the trade website BoxOfficeIndia.com.

Meanwhile, Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files (2022) collected between Rs3.25 crore and Rs3.50 crore on its opening day and is likely to see more growth on the weekend.

The big-budget bilingual Radhe Shyam, made simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, had been banking on a big opening. But seeing how it struggled on the first day, and the not-so-great reviews, it may be difficult for it to break through this weekend.

Star Prabhas, who became a household name after the Baahubali films, will have to wait for another film to gain the coveted Hindi market. Radhe Shyam, directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, has done well in Maharashtra and Odisha as well as the CP-Berar territory all bordering the Hyderabad region. But elsewhere it is struggling to find an audience.

According to trade sources, Radhe Shyam was made on a massive budget of Rs300 crore and on the evidence so far the film is highly unlikely to break even.

On the other hand, according to BoxOfficeIndia.com, The Kashmir Files has the best numbers so far for a small film in the pandemic. It has done better than Roohi (2021), Bell Bottom (2021), Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2021), Satyameva Jayate 2 (2021), Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021), and Badhaai Do (2022), all of which were bigger films with wider releases.

Starring Anupam Kher and Darshan Kumaar, The Kashmir Files was released on more than 700 screens, and more screens are now being added. It has done well in states like Gujarat and is performing well in the East Punjab territory.

In most of North India, The Kashmir Files is outperforming Radhe Shyam. While the latter has more shows, the Agnihotri film is posting better collections. The director’s previous film, The Tashkent Files (2019), had earned Rs36 lakh nett on opening day.

The Kashmir Files, made on a budget of Rs14 crore, according to trade sources, is well on its way to hit status, on the opening-day evidence.

Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), starring Alia Bhatt, continued its good run with Rs2.50 crore nett on its third Friday. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, which entered the Rs100 crore club this week, looks set to beat out the Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi (2021) and its collection in the third week, if it extends its run. It has made Rs103 crore nett so far, according to BoxOfficeIndia.com.