Piku and Kuch Kuch Locha Hai
Piku and Kuch Kuch Locha Hai

Two distinct films have arrived this weekend – Piku and Kuch Kuch Locha Hai. It may well have been marketed as a battle between Deepika Padukone and Sunny Leone but thankfully the PR and marketing teams of these films haven’t taken that route. Both films are arriving pretty much independently of each other and without any baggage, which means they are playing primarily on their merits.

Between the two films, it would be Piku that has taken a better start and for obvious reasons. The credentials attached to that, whether it comes to the actors (Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan) or the director (Shoojit Sircar) have been good enough to generate curiosity amongst the audience. However, Kuch Kuch Locha Hai is not a pushover either since Sunny Leone has managed to find audience in the interiors of the country as well.

The fact still remains that due to its genre, which is that of being a slice-of-life film, Piku has primarily fetched attention from the multiplex going junta in the big cities to begin with. Hence, the opening at an all-India level of 30%-40% was on the cards and that has gradually increased once the news has spread around the content. On the other hand, Kuch Kuch Locha Hai could have been bigger had it arrived after some gap since Ek Paheli Leela. It is releasing almost back to back and for media as well as audience, there has been too much of Sunny during last few weeks, due to which an opening of around 20%-30% was expected.

Meanwhile, both films also have to contend with Gabbar Is Back which is doing well and hence will continue to find audience in the second week as well.