Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Kabir Singh gives Shahid his career-best opening

June 25, 2019 09:50 IST

Shahid Kapoor has seen quite a few hits and flops in his 16-year-old career.

There's no doubt he can act, but perhaps, he hasn't got his due.

After all, so many of his films haven't opened well at the box office.

Kabir Singh has changed all that and given Shahid his career-best opening.

Joginder Tuteja looks at Shahid's best openings through the years.

 

Kabir Singh
Box office opening collection: Rs 70.83 crore (and counting)

No one probably saw this coming.

Kabir Singh took an excellent opening at the box office even though it was neither an event release nor did it arrive on a holiday.

 

Padmaavat
Box office opening collection: Rs 19 crore
Verdict: Blockbuster

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus was always meant to be huge; it was a matter of just *how* big it would be.

Shahid shared the stage with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, and so the credit for a major opening was divided.

 

Shaandaar
Box office opening collection: Rs 13.10 crore
Verdict: Disaster

Shaandaar exceeded box office expectations when it released.

The film had the unique pairing of Shahid and Alia Bhatt as its USP, and its hit music helped.

But bad reviews and a terribly-made film made sure its lifetime collections were disastrous.

 

R... Rajkumar
Box office opening collection: Rs 10.10 crore
Verdict: Hit

Right from the time the trailer of this Prabhudeva-directed film was released, it was evident that R... Rajkumar would work with the masses.

Shahid and Sonakshi Sinha came together in this out-and-out masala entertainer that had chartbuster music from Pritam.

The result? The film opened quite well and emerged a good hit.

 

Udta Punjab
Box office opening collection: Rs 10.05 crore
Verdict: Above average

The film was marred with controversy, especially around its release.

There were a lot of censor-related issues as well.

It eventually helped to hype the film and take a good opening at the box office.

 

Mausam
Box office opening collection: Rs 6.75 crore
Verdict: Disaster

Shahid's father Pankaj Kapoor directed the film and Pritam scored the music, but Mausam did not take a good start. Since it was poorly made as well, audiences quickly rejected it.

 

Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Box office opening collection: Rs 6.76 crore
Verdict: Flop

The film had an interesting title, but once the trailer came out, the writing was clear on the wall that it would struggle at the BO.

Shahid and Shraddha Kapoor came together after Haider, but that did not entice the audience at all.

Over-usage of the local dialect was the final nail in the coffin and the film just couldn't rise at all.

 

Haider
Box office opening collection: Rs 6.14 crore
Verdict: Average

Haider released on Gandhi Jayanti, and the holiday advantage certainly worked for it.

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film was rather niche with an offbeat narrative.

Haider took a decent start at the box office and emerged as a fair success.

 

Rangoon
Box office opening collection: Rs 6.07 crore
Verdict: Disaster

With Bhardwaj and Shahid coming together after Haider, Rangoon was meant to be an epic affair.

Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut joined this period drama.

But none of this worked in the film's favour when it released, and the opening numbers were below expectations.

Poor reviews and word-of-mouth resulted in a complete nosedive.

 

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero
Box office opening collection: Rs 6 crore
Verdict: Average

A light-hearted film, on the same lines as Ranbir Kapoor's hit Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani, this romcom was also directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi.

The music was a big hit, and the film's opening was decent.

Ileana D'Cruz joined Shahid, and the film saw a good response on satellite.

JOGINDER TUTEJA