Aamir Khan, whose PK has opened to rave reviews and roaring box office success, says he chooses a film on the basis of the script and not box office prospects.
PK, which released in the UAE on Thursday, has managed to gross Rs952.1 million (Dh55 million) in three days in India.
When asked if it is true that he chooses films on the basis of box office prospects, Khan said: “It’s a very unfortunate trend because the moment creative people start thinking about numbers, then the shadow of the numbers influences the kind of film they choose and pick.”
If the team of Khan, director Rajkumar Hirani and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, created history with 3 Idiots in 2009, the trio have repeated the same success with PK, a fish-out-of-water comedy about a goggle-eyed alien who arrives on Earth with a mission to study humanity.
“The moment I start choosing films that can do Rs100 crore business, then my choice becomes very limited and I can only do films like Avengers or Spider-Man, which go on to achieve those numbers. This really kills creativity to an alarming extent, so I have always selected my films based on what I feel towards them,” he said.
“Like Taare Zameen Par went on to do good business and I didn’t know it would. I just did it because I liked the script. Also, I selected Rang De Basanti because I loved the script. I did Lagaan when the entire film industry thought it was a disaster.
“So these films I have not picked looking at the box office collection, I picked them because I loved them. Later when they became box office hits, it was a different question. I do films if I like the script and not according to its business.”
Khan received lots of support from Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput and Boman Irani who also feature in PK.
Meanwhile, the film is on course to score the biggest Bollywood debut of all time at the US box office, reports Deadline.
It opened in 10th place in north America with a haul of $3.46 million (Dh12.7 million) at the weekend, according to early estimates. It is the third Bollywood film to make the top 10 in recent years, following Dhoom 3 and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani in 2013. Dhoom 3, which also starred Khan, opened with $3.44 million at the US box office last December, meaning it could hold on to the record if PK slips back by just $20,000 at the final count.
PK is reportedly behind its rival in India after opening with just over Rs900 million over the weekend.
According to bollywoodhungama.com, its opening-day haul of Rs260.63 million rupees was the seventh best of all time in India.
PK also opened in the UK, where results are expected later this week. The film took $22.13 million worldwide, according to Deadline.
Director Rajkumar Hirani’s satire has attracted criticism from some religious parties in India. Detractors have condemned scenes in which the titular alien visits Delhi and innocently questions the complex rituals mankind has chosen to connect with God, as well as the commercialisation of religion.
In October last year, the film was hit with a legal complaint after onlookers near the shoot in the Chandni Chowk area of central Delhi objected to a reported dream sequence in which a man dressed as the Hindu deity Shiva could be seen pulling a rickshaw in which two burqa-clad women were sitting. A mob reportedly gathered and the three actors involved were taken to a nearby police station. Khan and Hirani were named in the complaint, according to India Today. It is not clear if the scene made it into the final cut, though reviews suggest that the Shiva character remains in the movie.
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