Akshay Kumar's "Gabbar Is Back" maintained a steady rate at the box office even after the release of two films this Friday.
"Gabbar Is Back" enjoyed its first week as the solo film, but on second Friday it faced competition from Deepika Padukone's "Piku" and Sunny Leone's "Kuch Kuch Locha Hai".
However, the film managed to attract viewers on second Friday as well. The film collected approximately ₹2.2 crore on second Friday, taking its overall total to over ₹62 crore.
"#GabbarIsBack Fri 13.05 cr, Sat 11.36 cr, Sun 15 cr, Mon 6.75 cr, Tue 5 cr, Wed 4.50 cr, Thu 4.20 cr. Total: ₹ 59.86 cr. India biz," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the first week box office figure.
The film is expected to show jump on Saturday and Sunday, again putting a decent weekend total. The film had recorded the highest opening weekend figure of 2015 and it is set to beat another record with second weekend figure.
Furthermore, the film is racing towards ₹100 crore mark at the domestic box office. If "Gabbar Is Back" manages to earn ₹100 crore then it will be the first Bollywood film of 2015 to achieve that feat.
Meanwhile, Indian Medical Association (IMA) controversy affected the business of the film on second Friday. IMA in a letter to Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Pahlaj Nihalani demanded that scenes be removed.
"The Indian Medical Association is in deep anguish about the way the medical profession has been projected in the movie 'Gabbar is Back'. Its portrayal is derogatory and unrealistic and we together stand against it," National President of IMA Dr A Marthanda Pillai and Secretary General Dr K K Aggarwal said in a joint statement.
"With cases of violence against doctors on the rise, a totally unjustified message such as this one as shown in the movie will only add fuel to the fire and further provoke public outrage against the medical profession," it said.
"The IMA feels that if the Censor Board, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Health Ministry or the Home Ministry do not take any immediate action against this, IMA will be forced to start a public protest against the movie," it said in its statement.
