Box Office: 2 States Raking In Big Bucks; Dekh Tamasha Dekh Offers A Gripping Tale

Bollywood has finally come up with a fun-filled, breezy rom-com that features the Gen Y with a genuine frankness and without the traditional trappings of a boy-meets-girl story. But this time, the man is from the North, the woman is from the South and the cultural clashes, strongly upheld by the two pairs of in-laws, nearly ruin the relationship. Inspired by Chetan Bhagat’s best-selling novel, 2 States: The Story of My Marriage, the Arjun Kapoor-Alia Bhatt-starrer 2 States sparkles on-screen (at least during the first half) and has made a big bang at the domestic box office, collecting around Rs 38 crore nett over its debut weekend. The first Monday (Day 4, April 21) did not disappoint either and earnings stood at around Rs 6 crore, as per Koimoi. Total overseas collections during the first weekend amounted to an estimated Rs 13.66 crore.

“2 States has a FANTABULOUS weekend. Friday Rs 12.42 crore, Saturday 12.13 crore, Sunday 13.51 crore. Total: Rs 38.06 crore nett. SUPER HIT,” tweeted trade analyst Taran Adarsh. According to Box Office India, the film has emerged as the biggest hit of 2014 and has the potential to be the first Super Hit film of the year, depending on how well it can sustain over the next 10 days or so.

Other two releases of the week include Dekh Tamasha Dekh, a brutally honest and vitriolic political satire directed by theatre icon Feroz Abbas Khan (of Tumhari Amrita fame), and Lucky Kabootar, a romantic comedy starring Eijaaz Khan and Kulraj Randhawa. The latter, directed by Shammi Chhabra, has been released after too many delays and depicts how Lucky (Eijaaz) ends up marrying the Plain Jane Laxmi (Kulraj), instead of the glam babe Kammo (Shraddha Das). But for both the movies, the collections are hardly notable, thanks to very little promotion and near-zero hype. While Lucky Kabootar collected a little over Rs 1 crore in the first two days (Sunday and Monday numbers are still missing), Dekh Tamasha Dekh garnered around Rs 4.7 crore during the same time span. But we will take a closer look at these two after decoding the tremendous box office success of 2 States.



With the Good Friday fervour adding to its charm, Abhishek Varman-directed 2 States saw 50-60% occupancy at multiplexes on the first day and also did well in the mass belt. Till date, the best performers are Mumbai and Mysore, with Mumbai amassing over Rs 13 crore nett and Mysore collecting around Rs 3 crore nett. The movie’s opening is the second biggest ever for a non-star-cast film after Grand Masti (2013). Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), Student Of The Year (2012) and Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) are the next in order after 2 States. 2 States is also one of the highest grossers of 2014 and has already surpassed the lifetime collections of some noted Bollywood flicks including Hasee Toh Phasee, Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Highway and Yaariyan. That is definitely good news for producers Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar.

Going by its box office performance, 2 States seems to have done a commendable job, with Alia Bhatt (Ananya Swaminathan) and Arjun Kapoor (Krish Malhotra) showing a rare on-screen chemistry that rocks and sizzles. The young people meet at the IIM-Ahmedabad campus and fall in love, but it is, by no means, a campus romance as harsh social realities await them outside. And the movie, too, stumbles at that point as we are led to orthodox households (Krish is a Punjabi lad and Ananya is a Tamil lass from Chennai as all of you must know by now), instead of modern abodes housing millennial open culture, and two pairs of stereotype Bollywood parents. The rest of the struggles and tribulations faced by the young lovers follow the beaten path until the final-and-inevitable reconciliation that makes everyone happy.

Interestingly, Bhagat’s work has managed to ward off the cliché that lies inherent in cultural clashes and generation gaps. However, the movie has an overdose of everything although it manages to retain some kind of charm that will keep you hooked. As Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV so rightly pointed out, “2 States is a cross-culture love story that strives to be sweet, funny and emotionally wrenching all at once. It is occasionally funny and sweet in parts all right, but the family drama at the film’s core has a severely stultified feel… It sets out to be a slice-of-life drama about a real couple grappling with the politics of inter-community marriage, but it fails to generate enough energy and warmth to draw the audience into a tight clinch.”

In stark contrast to 2 States, Dekh Tamasha Dekh (starring Vinay Jain, Satish Kaushik and Tanvi Azmi) is based on a true story and ruthlessly reveals a nation’s political hypocrisy and communal disharmony with the help of its twin tools – satire and irony. Too many human elements are woven here in a complex tapestry, but the very core of violence, tragedy and hopelessness would hit us hard and keep us wondering about the multi-layered reality we are compelled to confront every day. Although not a typical art house film, this movie is meant for a niche audience and offers a gripping tale of the dark forces that we are not likely to forget in a hurry.

Images: Indiatimes