Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani enters the Rs 100 cr club

Karan Johar and Ayan Mukherji’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is hurtling towards becoming a record breaker at the box office. The Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone starrer hit the screens on 31 May, 2013, and minted a whopping amount Rs 62.11 crore in its opening weekend. It’s also passed the crucial Monday test with flying colours having grossed another 13 crore yesterday. Trade pundits’ predictions that the film will enter the elite Rs 100 crore club has come true today. Trade analyst Taran Aadarsh has gone ahead and dubbed the film a “blockbluster” since it’s already gone way past its production budget of Rs 40 crore. The team behind YJHD was optimistic about it because of how popular the promos and songs like Balam pichkari and Badtameez dil had become. The stars of the film went on a publicity spree before the film was released. From tie-ups with MakeMyTrip to Kapoor and Padukone talking about not wanting to talk about their breakup, YJHD’s promotion was all guns blazing. The earnings seem to have surpassed everyone’s expectations. Deepika Padukone said in an interview, “People today are aware of box office and how much it is going to do. We were expecting it to collect a certain figure, but the collection has surpassed our expectation. It is a feeling we can’t even explain.” The credit for YJHD‘s phenomenal opening goes to a number of factors working in its favour. It showed audiences perfect looking people, postcard locations and tried-and-tested formulae of Bollywood romances. Also, Dharma Productions timed the release perfectly. The IPL, which is believed to win over a large share of Bollywood audiences, ended on 26 May; two days before the release of YJHD. Also, YJHD was the only major Hindi film to release that week. In fact, the few weeks before and after its release have been and will be conspicuously free of any potential competition (unless Man of Steel can do what few Hollywood superheroes have managed and give YJHD a run for its money). So if you want to watch a movie, YJHD is virtually the only option. [caption id=“attachment_841203” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] On its opening day, YJHD made Rs 19.45 crore. The is the second highest collection after Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, which made Rs 32 crore on its first day. Like YJHD, Khan’s Dabangg 2 and Ek Tha Tiger also have the distinction of having minted Rs 100 crore within a week. Director Ayan Mukherji has said he feels this film is giving him the profile he deserves. In an interview to the Indian Express, the director said,“Though people tell me that they loved Wake Up Sid and those within and outside the industry too feel that from trade perspective it was a good success, I always carried this grudge in my heart that it didn’t do as much as I had expected.” “Back then, I really wanted Wake Up Sid to do much better in theatres,” said Mukherji. “It continues to do well on satellite but on its release, I was disheartened even though others told me that it was doing just fine. Guess the humungous collections for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani are compensating for Wake Up Sid. I am feeling truly content and justified now. It is a redemption of sorts.” The highest grossing film of all time still remains 3 Idiots with a collection of  Rs 385 crore, followed by Ek Tha Tiger (Rs 322 crore) and Dabangg 2 ( Rs 251 crore). We’ll have to wait and see whether YJHD can join that elite list.