Rahul Bose’s Poorna and Shivam Nair’s Naam Shabana are hitting theatres on the 31st March. How much will the two films gross? Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi predicts…

Poorna and Naam Shabana are hitting theatres this week. How many screens are each film opening to across India?
Naam Shabana will be opening to approx. 1300-1400 screens across India while Poorna will hit not more than 400-450 screens.

Do you think the numbers are justified?
Absolutely! There is a certain cost that the producer has to pay. For a film like Poorna, it will make sense to open only in those screens which will give a positive return on investment. Producers are doing a good job in the way they are opening both the films. I’m sure both will do good business.

Which film do you think will take a lead on the other and why?
Naam Shabana clearly has an edge due to higher screen count and more appeal. So, obviously it is in an advantageous position. It’s a film made for a wider audience. It has almost triple the screen numbers of Poorna. Also, when you have a star like Akshay Kumar promoting the film, it is bound to score! With Akshay Kumar on board, it means more media coverage and everything. So, in terms of visibility, Naam Shabana is of course way ahead of Poorna.

While Naam Shabana boasts of a star cast, Poorna is a biopic and biopics are trending in Bollywood at present. Which will be a more beneficial factor?
Bollywood has delivered biopics starring Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra in the past. There is a star value attached to those biopics. With a rank newcomer starring in a biopic, you obviously can’t expect fireworks at the box office from day one, unless the biopic is on someone like Sachin Tendulkar or Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who are iconic by themselves. In that case, the subject of the film becomes its hero more than the actor. Poorna Malavath is not as famous as Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dhanraj Pillay or Dhyan Chand. She is relatively unknown to the average Indian. So for Poorna, the script has to be the hero. If the content is really good, the film is bound to do good business.

What are your predictions about Poorna and Naam Shabana’s day one, first weekend and lifetime collection?

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*Figures mentioned are only the distributor’s prediction