Worrying signs for Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale in some circuits

There are protests at a few places, a few shows have been cancelled and few others have been disrupted. The film hasn’t even got the kind of release it deserves, but there are worrying signs for Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale at centres where it opened well on Friday.

In cities like Bangalore and Mangalore, Dilwale has shown a drop in business, while Bajirao Mastani has picked up by 30-40%. The gap has also narrowed down in North India, where Dilwale was expected to dominate. These are ominous signs, because centres like these don’t usually drop on Saturday.

In the Maharashtra state, it’s a different story altogether. Bajirao Mastani is already leading at several multiplexes in cities like Mumbai and Pune. On Sunday, the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film is almost certain to surpass the Rohit Shetty directed film and could do so by a decent margin.

At multiplexes, there was very little to choose between the two films on Saturday. It was on this day that both Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani were expected to show growth in the range of 10-15%. Bajirao Mastani has exceeded expectations with 20% growth, while Dilwale remained at around the same level as Friday.

There is a good chance that Bajirao Mastani could match the collections of Dilwale on Sunday and if that happens, the writing will be on the wall.