Indian Films’ Dull Week At Box Office: ‘120 Bahadur’, ‘Mastiii 4’

Indian star Farhan Akhtar leads the Hindi film ‘120 Bahadur’ based on the real story of Indian soldiers from the 1962 war between India and China.

Excel Entertainment

Indian box office saw a disappointing trend at the box office in the past seven days – two major Hindi releases closed their first week at the ticket windows with underwhelming numbers. Farhan Akhtar’s 120 Bahadur earned nearly $2.2 million while the adult comedy Mastiii 4 remained below the $2 million mark in its first week at the global box office. Both the Hindi films hit theatres on November 21.

Indian Box office report: 120 Bahadur, Mastiii 4 Remain Below $3 Million In One Week

It was a dull week for Hindi films – both the new releases recorded less than $3 million collections individually at the global window in seven days since they hit theatres. Farhan Akhtar’s promotions, and honorary screenings for the Indian Defense did not help the war drama; neither could the understated franchise fandom of the adult comedy push it upwards at the box office. Both films released across roughly 3000 screens in India and had a very limited screen count outside of the Indian market.

120 Bahadur

Based on the real-life story of an Indian soldier, 120 Bahadur saw an average opening at the box office. At less than $300,000 collections in India and below $400,000 worldwide, Farhan Akhtar’s latest outing did not match the expectations raised by its promotions which also involved honoring the Indian Defence. The scores for the film saw an upward trend over the weekend and 120 Bahadur managed to close its first weekend at $1.1 million in India and $1.5 million worldwide. By the end of the first week, the film recorded around $2.2 million at the global box office.

Directed by Razneesh Razy Ghai, 120 Bahadur is the true story of Indian Major Shaitan Singh Bhati and 120 soldiers who fought nearly 3000 Chinese soldiers died during the Battle of Rezang La in 1962 near the Indo-Chinese border. Akhtar plays the role of Major Bhati in the film which also features Raashii Khanna, Vivan Bhatena, Ashutosh Shukla, Ajinkya Deo Brijesh Karanwal, Eijaz Khan, and Atul Singh.

Akhtar delivers a decent performance as the brave soldier, but the film falls short of being a brilliant one. The narrative runs at an extremely hurried pace, and the characters are also not given enough time to build relatable arcs. The powerful frames and strong performances, nonetheless, manage to hook the interest in the film throughout its runtime spanning almost two and a half hours.

Mastiii 4

After a dismal opening of $325,000 global opening, Mastiii 4 closed its first week at $2 million dollars worldwide. In India, the film scored $270,000 on the first day and $1.8 million by the end of the first week at the ticket windows. Milan Milap Zaveri (Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, Satyamev Jayate) has written and directed the film.

Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, and Aftab Shivdasani are back with Mastiii 4. Shreya Sharma, Ruhii Singh, and Elnaaz Norouzi join the franchise for the fourth instalment. Arshad Warsi and Nargis Fakhri have guest appearances in the film which relies heavily on nostalgic nods to previous films of the stars in the frame. Mastiii 4 has a very limited laughter quotient and an expected misogynistic tone but is conscious enough to keep calling out the misogyny at every point possible. The film manages to avoid becoming vulgar or intolerable.

Mastiii 4 is produced by Balaji Motion Pictures, Maruti International, and Waveband Productions. It is the fourth film in the adult comedy franchise Masti which first began in 2004 with Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani playing lead roles of young men obsessed with the idea of sex and cheating in their marriages.

Tere Ishk Mein

Filmmaker Anand L Rai’s Tere Ishk Mein lands in theatres on November 28 and is set to offer major competition to the Hindi movies already running in theatres. Headlined by Dhanush and Kriti Sanon, the film comes from the world of Raanjahana – obsessive and destructive love that often ends in a negative note. The film is expected to make a $1 million opening in India alone.