Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Queen, Badlapur: Is word-of-mouth changing the fate of small-budget films in Bollywood?
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The most recent film to have benefitted from the positive word of mouth was gritty crime drama Badlapur'.It's no secret that blockbusters in Bollywood thrive on starring A-listers, incorporating expensive item numbers and of course loads and loads of masala. However, there seems to be a certain encouraging transition in Indian cinema with regard to small-budget films, even those that fail to get the much needed nod of approval from critics. This is credited to positive word-of-mouth from audiences and members from the film fraternity themselves.
Ayushman Khurrana's latest release, Dum Laga Ke Haisha' is the latest film to join this new trend. Featuring newbie Bhumi Pednekar, the Sharat Katariya film had a disappointing opening. But, thanks to the grapevine, the small-budget rom-com was able to attract a considerable crowd in the days to follow, collecting approximately Rs 17.5 crore at the Box Office until Monday.
The most recent film to have benefitted from the positive word of mouth was gritty crime drama Badlapur', which has become the second highest grosser of the year, despite being given an A- certificate. The Sriram Raghavand-directed film also starring Irrfan Khan, Huma Qureshi and Yami Gautam collected close to Rs 23 crore in its opening weekend.
Neeraj Pandey's Baby', which is the biggest earner of 2015 till now, had a slow start at the box office initially. But the movie picked up pace in its first weekend and made Rs 60-65 crore. No doubt, Baby' boasted of a stellar cast - Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu and Danny Denzongpa among others, but we think this action drama deserves a shout out, as it was due to word-of-mouth that its earnings improved.
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