Director Abhishek Kapoor’s period drama Azaad has opened with an underwhelming performance at the box office, earning Rs 1.5 crore on its first day. The film, which marked the acting debut of Aaman Devgan, nephew of Ajay Devgn, and Rasha Thadani, daughter of Raveena Tandon, failed to attract a large audience.
Despite a robust promotional campaign that saw the debut actors making multiple public appearances, the film struggled to generate interest. Rasha Thadani, who has garnered significant attention from the paparazzi prior to her debut, also failed to draw substantial footfall. The film’s lacklustre reception has raised questions about its market appeal despite its star connections.
Adding to Azaad’s challenges is competition from Kangana Ranaut’s political drama Emergency, which opened with a slightly better Rs 2.5 crore. While not a major success, Emergency represents a personal milestone for Ranaut, as it has become her highest Hindi film opener since the COVID-19 pandemic. Her last film, Tejas, debuted at Rs 1.25 crore, making Emergency a notable improvement.
The performance gap between the two films, though modest, underscores the difficulty Azaad faces in gaining traction. Industry analysts had anticipated stronger openings for both films, but audience turnout has been lower than expected across the board.
The coming days will be crucial for both Azaad and Emergency as word-of-mouth and reviews play a role in shaping their box office trajectory.
It also doesn’t have much time as next week will witness the release of Sky Force starring Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan and Nimrat Kaur.
