Producer Vipul Shah and director Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story is looking at a blockbuster in The Kerala Story. The film’s collection has is expected to touch Rs 100 crores by the end of the week.
Says Trade guru Taran Adarsh, “TKS opened exceptionally well. The word of mouth is excellent and the weekend numbers are a shocker for the industry, because the trending is far, far better than several biggies that starred A-listers. At a time when the industry badly needs a hit, TKS has brought cheer, optimism and confidence back. The exhibition sector (theatres), which was extremely disappointed by the underperformance of Ajay Devgn’s Bholaa and Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, have heaved a sigh of relief. TKS is a big success for sure.”
Kishan Damani a prominent film exhibitor of Bihar says the collection in Bihar and outside are eye-openers. “Bengal banning the film has given it a further push.Audience connects very strongly with the facts that are shown in the film . The Kerala story has highlighted a true story not known to many. The facts have been presented without any distortion and was beyond imagination of many people here . Many such stories need to be told via the cinemas .The collection in Bihar is extrordinary even in the interior towns of Bihar like Purnea, Motihari, Samastipur and Darbhanga. Families are turning up in big numbers.”
Adds Trade analyst Atul Mohan, “The film picked up pace after endorsement from the corridors or power in India.What happened in one corner of India with The Kashmir Files will continue to happen at the other corner with The Kerala Story.The film and the content is what will drive people to the theatres. There are a lot of organizations which are buying tickets in bulk and getting Hindu women to watch the film now across the nation. Hence the story is now beyond the movie story and is being talked about in society.That’s an indication that the film heading for massive boxoffice numbers”
Producer and trade analyst Girish Johar adds, “The Kerala Story was even talked about by our PM Sir recently and all the media has gone all out supporting it. The reviews have been mixed but the narrative and word-of-mouth are being pushed aggressively so as to entice the paying audiences.”
“The film has caught the nation’s imagination. The audience likes the story,while the political ideology is being questioned by some. And that’s okay. The film has opened up a healthy debate on the conversion issue,” says Bihar exhibitor Roshan Singh
One of Maharashtra’s most prominent exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says, “Given the non-star cast The Kerala Story opened to unprecedented numbers . Even their promotional campaign was reasonably short…it is the victory of the subject. It just goes to prove that if you simulate their sensibilities with something novel and unexplored the audiences will come to see the film. We’ve seen this happen with The Kashmir Files and many other films in the past. Here is another film which is capitalizing on a whole new political audience in India. I truly believe it is important that political films across ideological lines should be made. I hope cinema as a medium reaches out to more audiences. Kudos to Vipul Shah for supporting such a volatile subject.”