New Delhi: Theatre owners are rejoicing as the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan has filled up the cinema halls with the whistles and applause of the audience. Such is the film's craze that Mumbai's iconic Maratha Mandir theatre is now screening Pathaan and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge simultaneously.
Speaking about the success of Pathaan and the audience's enthusiasm around it, Manoj Desai, executive director of Maratha Mandir, which has screened Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge since its release in 1995, said, "Such enthusiasm has been seen after many years." Desai is also executive director of G7 multiplex in Mumbai.
"The film is being screened in 2 theatres of 1000-1000 seat capacity in G7 Multiplex. While 2000 people are watching the movie, another 2000 are standing outside and some people are separately there to buy tickets. There was no place to set foot on the day the film was released. Today i.e. Saturday also the collection is very good and Sunday is full."
"In my second theatre Maratha Mandir, there is only Shah Rukh. His film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has been running for 28 years on one side and now Pathan is on the other."
Prior to the release of Pathaan there was a campaign to boycott the Shah Rukh starrer and some objectionable words were used against him on social media. Manoj Desai requested people not to boycott any film. "Such words should not be spoken for Shah Rukh."
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"Movies are made for entertainment. It should be seen as entertainment. Hindu-Muslim does not work in this industry or among the audience. No spectator buys a ticket seeing Hindu or Muslim. They watch the movies they like," said Desai.
Desai also rubbished actor Kangana Ranaut's remarks that the film should have been called 'Indian Pathaan'. "Kangana Ranaut is a big and good actress. She should talk good things. We made the film Khuda Gawah in which Afghani Pathans were shown. Pathan is Pathan. Now should the Pathans of different areas be shown in this country?" he asked.
As per trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Pathaan is Bollywood's biggest opener as it minted Rs 106 crore gross, worldwide, on the first day of its release. The film marks SRK's return to the silver screen after four years. It's an action-spy film. Salman Khan appears in an extended cameo as his character from the Tiger movies, which are also a part of the new shared universe that YRF has set up. The spy universe also includes War, directed by Siddharth Anand.
