LSD beats Lahore, Shaapit at the box office

There have been many wars fought in the past but with a beginning there has also been an end. However, there is still one war which is going on for years and will never end. Yes, the box office war. The Indian film industry churns out more than 300 films a year and the audiences are always hungry for some good content so that they can enjoy it every weekend with popcorn. IBN MOVIES finds out which movie emerged a winner last weekend - Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Lahore or Shaapit? Read on...

Love Sex Aur Dhokha directed by Dibakar Banerjee is one film which can be easily said as the flavor of the month. The promos were an instant hit with the masses. The title song was catchy. The film speaks about voyeurism and one thing that Dibakar has been saying before the release that if you are only expecting to watch sex in the film, then you would be disappointed. Before the film hit the silver screen on Friday, the reviews were out and the critics said one thing, go for it.

Shaapit, another horror film by Vikram Bhatt. This man has been successful in the past with his horror flicks like 1920 and Raaz. He was out there to score a hattrik with Shaapit with newcomer Aditya Narayan and Shweta Agarwal. What Love Sex Dhokha and Shaapit had in common was its cast, promising newcomers.

Even before the promos of Lahore were out in India, the film had already won many awards at various international film festivals. So, the three films were equally armored and the fight was definitely going to be tough. When quizzed, Anand Nair manager at Suncity Vile Parle informed, "Love Sex Aur Dhokha is doing really well. Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw a lot of crowd. The other movies are also doing decent. Shaapit is doing better than Lahore."

To check the response across town, we contacted the spokesperson of Regal Theatre, Colaba. He said, "LSD is the only hindi film screened in our theatre. It is doing very well. The show is doing very well. We were not expecting a housefull but the turnout during the weekend has been above our expectation."

Movie Time Goregaon is screening all the three films but even the spokesperson there gave us the same feedback. Dibakar's Love Sex Dhokha is definitely a hot selling cake. Youngsters are pouring in to watch the film. But LSD is keeping the family audience away because of its content. Shaapit is also doing decent but Lahore is dull."

However, the spokesperson of Big Cinemas begged to differ. He informed, "Love Sex Aur Dhokha has created a huge hype around itself. The film is different and all over India, the response is overwhelming. Even, in the interiors it has got good collection." Jaspal from Meghraj Vashi seemed to echo his sentiments as he added, "LSD is what everyone is talking about. There is rush outside the ticket counter but it is more for Dibakar's movie. Audiences want to see Shaapit too, but compared to LSD, it was very poor. Lahore, had very poor turn out.

Neha Dhupia once said that only sex and Shah Rukh sell in Bollywood. But as they say, exceptions prove the rule, Dibakar's LSD shows that it is not just sex but good content too is appreciated in Bollywood. The film has no big star cast made in a shoe-string budget. But it is the concept which has helped Dibakar to sail all the way to glory.