Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat has struck gold in Chennai, a place which had no market for Hindi movies till recent years. The audience has given an overwhelming response to the magnum opus's three versions – Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu, in the capital city of the state.
As per the trade reports, Padmaavat has grossed over Rs 3.80 crore at the Chennai box office from the three versions. The Tamil, as well as the Hindi versions, has enjoyed good footfalls in its second weekend as well.
In the opening weekend, Padmaavat had collected Rs 1.92 crore following unanimous reviews. It was considered a very gold opening for a non-Tamil flick.
The industry was curiously looking forward to seeing whether the movie could pull the viewers to the theatres post the first weekend as generally the collections of non-Tamil movie slow down in Chennai. However, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's flick raked in over Rs 1.2 crore to take its first week total to somewhere around+ Rs 2.57 crore.
In its second weekend, the movie has grossed over Rs 65.80 lakh from 332 shows to end its first weekend at Rs 3.80 crore. With this, the movie has earned blockbuster status in Chennai.
The series of new Tamil releases did not impact much on Padmaavat, which stars Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh as the leads.
Padmaavat had won huge appreciation from Tamil critics, who had hailed the lead actors in unison. According to them, Shahid Kapoor played a dignified role and came out with a commendable performance, while Ranveer Singh was showered with positive words for the role of ruthless Alauddin Khilji.
With her impeccable looks and grand costumes, Deepika Padukone carried the title role with great dignity, Tamil critics had felt. In total, they hailed Sanjay Leela Bhansali for churning out a masterpiece.
The good words by critics helped the movie to draw the viewers' attention, say trade experts.
