bollywood

Updated: Nov 06, 2018 18:08 IST

Thugs of Hindostan is the big Diwali release of the year and boasts of a huge star cast including Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh, each with a huge fan following of their own. Film trade analysts are in no doubt that the film will get the cash registers ringing this Diwali. The makers however, have decided to raise the price of tickets, so as to justify the massive budget of the film that is made on a large scale.

The advance booking of the film, which opened on Saturday, is already hinting at houseful theatres with about 2 lakh tickets being sold on the first day itself, as reported by Boxofficeindia.com. The report also states that the film has already surpassed Tiger Zinda Hai, Sanju and Avengers - Infinity War though it’s still lagging behind Baahubali - The Conclusion in advance booking.

Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi claims the film will smash the 100 crore mark within three days of its release. He says, “First, the day after Diwali is always considered the best day of the year for the release of a film. Second, look at the elements that have come together in this film: Aamir, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina, YRF, the spectacle – all of these put together make it a very exciting package for people to come and watch in cinemas.”

“Third, the ticket price that the movie would be fetching will be among the highest that has ever been for any Hindi movie. That will eventually give the film a spike in the figures to come. By Saturday, it will easily run past the 100 crore mark,” he adds.

But will Aamir be able to break the record he has set with his last film Dangal? Rathi clarifies, “The elements that have come together for Thugs of Hindostan, they totally stand a chance to go beyond Dangal. But it eventually depends on how the audience reacts to the content. If the story is elusive and entertaining enough and the people have a good time watching it, I certainly think it can go beyond Dangal. God forbid if the film suffers at the level of the story and the script, then it may become an uphill task.”

For the record, the makers of the film have hiked the ticket prices which comes as a rude shock to the moviegoers. Rathi explains the reason behind such a decision, “It’s a matter of what is the value of the money you are giving to the audience. If you show me a movie like Stree for 600 Rs, I may not want to watch it or would watch it at a cinema with a lower ticket price or may be when it comes on the television or an online portal but if you show me a powerful movie at 800 Rs, I know it is the experience bought by money. If it’s a different kind of film, different price of tickets are justified. So it eventually becomes about the content that the movie offers is more than the price of the ticket.”

“If you are a fan of Aamir and Amitabh and Katrina, I think a slight premium is pretty well deserved. Its not about how much people pay, it’s about whether people get the experience worth more than the money that they pay,” he added.

Aamir also spoke to PTI in an interview about the fee hike: “I can understand it is an expensive film. Personally, I am always for tickets to be cheaper. I think we should have theatres that are economical and people should go and watch the film in theatre. It is my dream that in India you should have theatres that are economical, middle group and posh. Everyone should have the opportunity to access the film and I hope that happens.”

Rathi stands in Aamir’s support and says, “In general I totally agree that the price of the tickets need to come down. It needs to become the low hanging tree for the average Indian. It needs to become a sector that is affordable to the common man. The government should also make an effort in this regard as it also levies a lot of taxes on the price of the tickets.”

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