AUG 30- Shah Rukh Khan has reason to be elated. Chennai Express, which is produced by him in association with UTV, has set the box office ablaze and become the highest grosser till date. With Rs.212 crore collections (till Monday), the film surpassed the record held by 3 Idiots which earned Rs.202.47 crore. Chennai Express didn’t fare well only in India, but even viewers abroad fell for the action-comedy with its share of romance.
In UK-Ireland, the film has made Rs.19.32 crore; in United States Rs.30.15 crore. Its total overseas collection has also crossed Rs.100 crore. No wonder then the actor celebrated with a bash on August 22 at his residence in Mannat where members of the cast and crew had gathered. Khan was seen beaming in pictures with everyone – members of the action, camera, sound, costumes, media, direction, production, security, marketing teams.
The superb run of Chennai Express was aided by the fact that Balaji’s orthographically-challenged Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara failed at the box office. Poor reviews didn’t stop Chennai Express’ run at the box office but they certainly didn’t do any good for the Akshay Kumar-film which was criticised its poor performances, uninspiring characters and trying-too-hard dialogues. The film, which was seen by many as a potential Rs.100 crore film, has so far collected only Rs.59 crore.
Khan immediately gets to work with director Farah Khan, with whom he has delivered two hits, Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om. The duo will come together for Happy New Year, which will see Khan collaborate with his Chennai Express star, Deepika Padukone, and also work with Abhishek Bachchan, Jackie Shroff and Boman Irani.
It took four years for a film to beat the record set by 3 Idiots. But Shah Rukh Khan and his Chennai Express team are aware that that they can’t hold on to the pole position for too long. Hrithik Roshan-starrer Krrish 3, which releases on Sun November 3, looks a strong contender to overtake as it is expected to release in 3,900-4,000 screens in India and some 1,000 screens overseas. Incidentally, Khan’s company Red Chillies VFX has done the special effects for the superhero flick. Expectations are equally high from another festive release namely Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom 3, which releases on Christmas. Could Aamir Khan, who stars as an acrobatic villain, regain the honour that he only lost recently?
Salman Khan too isn’t going to delay his entry to the Rs.200 crore club. He has blocked the Eid release date next year with Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kick, which stars Jacqueline Fernandez. But before that he will be seen in Jai Ho, directed by his brother Sohail Khan, on Republic Day.
It remains to be seen which film dethrones Chennai Express but what’s definite is that Rs.200 crore mark is no longer as unattainable a figure as it was earlier. Currently India has around 1,200 multiplex screens and 12,000 single screens. But with the number of multiplexes expected to rise substantially and the soaring ticket prices ensure that more films will be able to hit the double century mark.
INDIA TODAY
