Tanhaji and Chhapaak will perhaps emerge as a case study in film marketing albeit having polar opposite fates as Tanhaji continues to rule the box office, Chhapaak has emerged as a box office dud and if the current occupancy rates hold, Tanhaji in Pune alone is all set to cross the lifetime collections of Chhapaak.
According to Box Office India, Tanhaji – The Unsung Warrior had a huge second Sunday, collecting around 21 crore nett which is a 35% jump from Saturday. It takes the second weekend to a huge 46 crore nett with strong growth on Saturday and Sunday. The collections in Maharashtra and Gujarat were extraordinary on Sunday.
Maharashtra is seeing collections that have never been seen except in the case of Bahubali – The Conclusion. A city like Nasik is already at 2.50 crore. It’s the same story in Sholapur, Kohlapur, Aurangabad, Latur, etc. Pune collection s expected to reach 20 crore nett in a couple of days and that is from just 40 odd cinemas. Basically the collections in just Pune alone will be more than the all India collections of the competitor Chhapaak over the second weekend. Not only that, at this rate, the lifetime figures for Tanhaji in Pune could be more than the Chhapaak all India lifetime numbers.
According to Koimoi, “On Sunday, going by the latest trends of today i.e. day 10, it’s ‘on a cloud nine’ situation for the makers as 54-56% occupancy has been registered for morning shows across the country.”
In Maharashtra, the film is simply unstoppable with cities like Pune and Nashik witnessing house-full theaters even in the second weekend, despite the fact that the so-called Hindu Hriday Samrat Uddhav Thackeray hasn’t made the film tax-free in Maharashtra. In contrast, Chhapaak was made tax-free in many Congress-ruled states. While Deepika aimed to compete with Tanhaji by pulling off a political PR stunt, she ended up denting the film’s prospects. Tanhaji, on the other hand, swept Indians off their feet with nationalist pride coupled with brilliant visuals and performances.
Directed by Om Raut, ‘Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior’ is a biopic on the trusted general of Maratha braveheart and Emperor of the Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who changed the face of Indian history as he reclaimed the Kondhana fort after a fierce battle with the Mughals, led by the guardian of the fort Uday Bhan Rathod.