Big B, Ash grab very few eyeballs

Sarkar Raj opened to mixed reactions from the audience

Big releases flogged the box office last Friday. But none of them really could make any impression. Ram Gopal Varma's much hyped sequel Sarkar Raj opened to a dismally low audience on its first day. Despite the Bachchans in the film, the film recorded 50 per cent occupancy in multiplexes and about 80% in single screens on its first day. Though the weekend saw an increase, with the occupancy reaching 85 – 90 per cent the collections have only gone downhill from there. Needless to say, the other releases, Aamir and Hum Sey Hai Jahaan, did worse.

Manoj Desai of G-7 complex in Bandra, Mumbai said, "The movie is doing well but not collection wise. I expected a full house. The collections in my theatre was good till Sunday but from Monday it dropped drastically. Amitji is the best in Sarkar Raj. He has carried the movie forward almost by himself alone. Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have justified their roles. According to the audience, the four factors they didn't like in Sarkar Raj were, the early death of Abhishek Bachchan, the security lapse in Sarkar's house, Chander who all of a sudden after being so faithful in the first film changes drastically in this one and the end when Ash asks for a cup of tea."

According to trade pundit Amod Mehra, Sarkar Raj did not work because, "they've made it into a totally political film and there was no need to kill Abhishek Bachchan. The moment Abhishek dies, the film collapses. Another thing that makes the film fall flat is the experimentation with direction. Aamir was a well made film and gripping but unfortunately the film was not publicised properly and that's the reason why nobody came to see it. Hum Sey Hai Jahaan was totally a non-star cast film with bad music, confusing subject and bad presentation. The film should have not come in front of big film like Sarkar Raj. There was every reason for this one to get totally ignored"

buzz18.com