Bharat Opens To A Massive Response

While  all of Hindustan waits for  the verdict on Bharat, early responses  are   very encouraging.While critical  reaction to  the  film is fairly  mixed, first-day  audiences  seem to love Salman Khan’s journey through Indian history.

Kishan Damani a leading  distributor  of Bihar is  in a celebratory mood. “Most people  love Bharat. they are  coming  away highly satisfied with Bhaijaan(Salman)’s  performance. They feel he’s back in form after two years. Some find the  film average. But no negative response from anywhere  in  Bihar.”

However  a manager  of  a leading multiplex  chain says  the  opening-day  audience was “restless and  dissatisfied”

“They were mostly excited  young Eid-celebrating fans of Bhai who had come  for a fun time with their favourite   superstar. Instead they  were served  a khichdi of  history lessons and circus acrobatics. The  audience  was  fairly agitated  by mid-point,” says  the  manager.

While Taran Adarsh has rewarded  the  film with 4.5 stars , another trade expert Amod Mehra has given Bharat  0 stars, commenting, “#Bharat is a must see..How else will you decide whether #Bharat is as bad as #Tubelight #Race3 #ThugsOfHindustan #Kalank.. or even worse.”

Now all  eyes are on  Prabhudheva’s  Dabangg 3  which opens in December. In 2008 Prabhudheva revived Salman’s career with Wanted after a spate  of uninterrupted  flops.

After two consecutive  flops(Tubelight, Race  3 ) and a third film that is  looking like  the blockbuster it was intended to be, will Prabhudheva   reinforce Salman’s career even  further  with Dabangg 3?

Avers  Prabhudheva, “That’s  too  much importance being given to one  film. He(Salman Khan) is  such a  huge superstar. He is  beyond hits and flops.”

Trade  guru Taran Adarsh is extremely gung-ho. “It’s Salmania all over. The Day 1 business clearly indicates Salman is the biggest crowdpuller. The mind-boggling numbers from East to West and from North to South is proof that the star power is intact. Bharat is an emotional journey and I am sure, the family audiences as well as Salman fans will take it to major success. The Day 1 numbers are his highest.”

Adds trade insider  Girish Johar, “As always it is Salman’s stardom which has buoyed the Eid   boxoffice start.Iit is really humongous. His fans have done the job. The reviews iare  in the mixed range. But, for a commercial film, reviews are always mixed. It depends on the audiences on how much the film is liked. It is they who decide and no one else. Still, even an average film of Salman does 200 crs at the BO, which is no mean feat !”