Despite all the pre-release controversy surrounding this Madhur Bhandarkar political drama, Indu Sarkar is turning out to be a failure at the box-office.
Starring Kirti Kulhari, Anupam Kher, Tota Roy Chowdhary and Neil Nitin Mukesh, Indu Sarkar opened to a very low Rs 85 lakhs on Friday, according to Box Office India. On Saturday the film’s earnings just crossed Rs 1 crore, while it made about Rs 1.45 crore on Sunday as per a report on Koimoi.com.
Indu Sarkar, which released in 800 screens, also opened to bad reviews, which did not help in spreading any positive word-of-mouth for the film. As of now the Madhur Bhandarkar film seems to be heading for a loss, as it has been reportedly made on a budget of Rs 11 crore (inclusive of prints and advertising).
Compare this to Lipstick Under My Burkha - a smaller film made on a budget of approximately Rs 6.5 crore which opened to a first day of Rs 1.2 crore in 400 screens and has since then been growing in popularity and box-office revenue, thanks to the positive reviews and word-of-mouth that the film received. As of Monday, Lipstick Under My Burkha has earned over Rs 14 crore - clearly a winner for its producers.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)