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The producers of Hansal Mehta’s Simran — starring Kangana Ranaut — always knew that it would provoke strong responses, but T-Series, the Indian studio behind the film, surely never imagined the elevated drama would earn less than Rangoon in its opening.
In recent weeks Ranaut has given a flurry of interviews, taking on the Bollywood heavyweights, helping to spark interest in Simran, which was released on Friday. The whole industry was watching to see how the project pans out. Unfortunately, the film received a tepid response at the box office on Friday, finishing its opening day at around $432,000. That puts it on track for an opening weekend of about $1.5 million — just ahead of prison drama Lucknow Central’s $310,000 debut, which was the weekend's other new release.
It is certainly true that Bollywood has traditionally viewed films with female leads as having limited appeal, but there was hope that times were changing. Ideally, Simran should have opened to $1 million or more, and recreate the Queen magic — Ranaut’s 2014 hit that earned over $17 million. There’s a lot at stake for Ranaut -- she is in sore need of a box-office win. Her last film Rangoon, released earlier this year, tanked at the box office, earning less than $6 million, a paltry number considering the movie’s roughly $8 million budget. Through Saturday, Simran’s domestic total stands at withering $942,000. Interestingly, Rangoon’s opening day earning was $780,000 and its first weekend collection was nearly $2 million. Clearly, Simran’s opening weekend earning will be less than Rangoon’s.
Simran, which cost $4 million to make, is directed by Mehta, who previously helmed critically acclaimed film Aligarh and Shahid. It tells the story of Praful Patel (played by Ranaut), a no-holds-barred personality, who is caught between a overbearing father and her own tryst with crime. Ranaut’s appeal is rooted in a crisp, free spirit style that hits just the right note between realistic and arch, a sort of stylized normalcy that has made audiences warm to her since her film debut in 2006.
In Simran, too, Ranaut’s acting has been praised, but the film is marred by a poor screenplay. Ironic, given the fallout between screenwriter Apurva Asrani and Ranaut over writing credits.
Arguing that Ranuat delivers, but the film doesn’t, Namrata Joshi in The Hindu wrote: "What’s interesting is that her Praful is never built as a role model. The filmmaker remains non-judgmental about her; the audience doesn’t know what to make of her. I found that strangely liberating: an on-screen woman you can’t pin down or put in a straightjacket; for a change.”
Rajeev Masand of News18 opined: “There’s ample meat in the story, yet the writing itself is weak. But it’s a testament to Kangana’s full-blooded performance that Simran works despite these complaints.”
Simran also features Soham Shah, Esha Tewari Pande, Manu Narayan, Aneesha Joshi and Rupinder Nagra.
More on Forbes: Fearless Actress Kangana Ranaut Is Taking Bollywood By Storm On Her Own Terms
Meanwhile, Lucknow Central, which cost upwards of $4 million to make and is directed by Ranjit Tiwari, earned roughly $758,000 at the box office through Saturday. Since prison films, as a genre, are relatively new in Bollywood, fashioning a tough but empathetic prison drama is not an easy task. Although a better take on a story almost similar to that of the recent release, Qaidi Band, Lucknow Central met with mostly lukewarm to negative reviews.
It tells the story of Kishen (played by Farhan Akhtar), an incarcerated man wrongly accused of murder, who forms a music band along with few other convicts and hatches a plan to escape from prison. The film also features Veerendra Saxena, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, Ravi Kishen and Diana Penty.
Film critic Rohit Vats in Hindustan Times wrote: “Lucknow Central fails to utilize its resources, especially Diana Penty, and loses out on a chance to become a really engaging film. Like Prison Break, it never reaps the benefits of a promising start.”
While Raja Sen of NDTV wrote: “This is an unmemorable prison-break film but, because of some great supporting actors, Lucknow Central finds engaging moments.”
Overall, it was another sluggish weekend at the Bollywood box office, with new offerings doing muted business, as holdovers Daddy and Poster Boys continue to struggle. Simran will neither make nor break Ranaut’s career, but the film has special significance. It needs a boost over the weekend, reach to a wider audience, and prove sufficiently playable to limit any loss.
