Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who failed to enthrall his fans with Tubelight earlier this year, is enjoying the popularity of his latest movie, Tiger Zinda Hai, out in India on Friday; on the UAE on Thursday.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, the action thriller is a sequel to Kabir Khan’s 2012 film Ek Tha Tiger, and marks the return of Khan and Katrina Kaif onscreen after five years.
A few morning shows of the film were however disrupted in many cinema halls across Rajasthan after members of the Valmiki community raised slogans, tore and burnt posters of the film over the alleged use of a pejorative word by Khan during a promotional event.
But that did not stop his fans from watching the film.
Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based film distributor and general secretary, Motion Pictures Association, said: “Tiger Zinda Hai has received an extraordinary opening pan-India. The film has released in almost every screen. The seat occupancy for morning shows was about 60 to 70 per cent, which is good. It will increase in afternoon and night shows.”
According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Tiger Zinda Hai, which has been made on a budget of Rs1.5 billion (Dh86 million) including advertising and publicity, released in 4,600 screens in India and 1,100 screens abroad.
“Finally.…Packed morning shows greet Tiger Zinda Hai. Box office on fire,” Adarsh tweeted on Friday.
Trade expert Komal Nahta also took to the micro-blogging site and wrote: “As expected, Tiger Zinda Hai off to a flying start”.
With no other film in competition, Tiger Zinda Hai is expected to break various records at the box office.
“We are hoping that the New Year will start on a good note for the film industry. The film has been showcased well as there was no other movie in competition. We are expecting the film to collect around Rs50 crore [Rs500 million] in India, which will be the highest,” Mahajan said.
Meanwhile, the movie had to be stopped in many cinema halls across Rajasthan after members of the Valmiki community raised protests its release.
The protests started from Ajmer and soon reached Jaipur and Kota, leading to cancellation of the morning shows in several cinema halls of the film that released nationwide on Friday.
According to information, the Valmiki community is aggrieved due to the alleged use of pejorative language by Salman Khan, and by Shilpa Shetty earlier.
The police remanded several people in custody.
The protesters alleged that Salman had insulted the Valmiki community by using “cheap language”.
The video of Salman, uttering the pejorative words has gone viral, and triggered tension in Ajmer.
The aggrieved protesters in large numbers reached Mridang Theatre late on Thursday night and tore up the film posters and many also set ablaze the actor’s posters.
They also warned cinema hall owners to stop screening the movie or else they will have to pay a big price, sources confirmed.
