Udta Punjab has been in the wars with censor problems but will now release on Friday and this controversy which made big news has probably created extra awareness which should help the initial of the film. But as with heavy promotion, controversy can create hype and awareness but its hard to tell how much it is converting people to actually turn up to watch the film.
The film was looking to open well in the North even without the issues of the last week due to regional flavour and presence of Diljit Dosanjh which adds a bit extra especially in East Punjab. Now it remains to be seen how much of a boost comes in other parts, it will be in the metros like Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore mainly as despite the hype it will still be hard to pull in big numbers in B and C centres.
The important thing will be to get a clean release as the issue it faced was probably political rather than censor and these things also sometimes crop up when released. A clean release should mean a good number on day one.
The negative is probably that Shahid Kapoor films struggle to put up numbers. A R.. Rajkumar was just about decent but then whether its a Haider or Shaandaar the films just dont perform at the box office and it will be down to Udta Punjab to correct this.
Jhanak
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