KJo's multi-starrer 'Kalank' turns out to be 2019's biggest opener
What's the story
Karan Johar's latest big-budget production, Kalank, had a lot of expectations riding on it, considering the film stars six of Bollywood's renowned actors.
The film, which has been directed by Abhishek Varman, released yesterday, and so far, it looks like the film hasn't been a disappointment at the box office.
Here's how it has performed on its opening day.
Box office
'Kalank' surpasses 'Kesari,' 'Gully Boy' to become 2019's biggest opener
The film released on Mahavir Jayanti and turned out to be 2019's biggest opener, with collections estimated at Rs. 21.6 crore, Taran Adarsh reported.
Kalank, the biggest opener for Varun and Alia, is expected to rake in more on the upcoming holiday, Good Friday.
Released in around 4,000 domestic screens, 5,300 worldwide, Kalank surpassed this year's big releases, Kesari and Gully Boy.
Twitter Post
'Kalank' is the biggest opener for actors Varun and Alia
Top *Opening Day* biz - 2019...
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) April 18, 2019
1. #Kalank ₹ 21.60 cr [Wed]
2. #Kesari ₹ 21.06 cr [Thu]
3. #GullyBoy ₹ 19.40 cr [Thu]
4. #TotalDhamaal ₹ 16.50 cr
Note: Hindi films. ₹ 10 cr+ openers included in the list.
India biz.#Kalank is the biggest opener of Varun and Alia to date.
Plot
'Kalank' is a period drama set in 1940s
Apart from Alia and Varun, Kalank also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, and Sanjay Dutt.
The film is a period drama set around the time of India's partition, and is a love story outlining the life of Roop (Alia), who ends up in a platonic marriage with a royal, Dev (Aditya), and strikes an affair with a blacksmith, named Zafar (Varun).
Reception
Despite the opening day success, 'Kalank' has poor reviews
Although Kalank is expected to be a huge grosser, the reviews for the film are mostly negative.
Adarsh, for one, called the film "disappointing" adding that it "doesn't live up to expectations."
A HuffPost India review described the film as "mostly underwhelming." However, NDTV praised the film for being a "tantalizing tale of forbidden love."
Here's what people on Twitter think about Kalank.
Twitter Post
Is the film's title a pun on its plot?
Bollywood is improving day by day now they are telling us the review of movie in title itself. First Zero and now Kalank #KalankReview
— Rishabh Srivastava (@AskRishabh) April 17, 2019
Twitter Post
Kalank has a lousy screenplay, says one Twitter user
#Kalank Review:- Lousy screenplay can't make up to good vis https://t.co/ryAMF6Csrj
— Karan VJ Veriyan™ (@karanvjveriyan) April 18, 2019
Twitter Post
'Missing plot. Average acting. Unnecessary music' Ouch!
Kalank review. #Kalank
— Harshul Sharma (@harshulsharma99) April 18, 2019
Overall review : **
Watch at your own risk. pic.twitter.com/LTgCBzYeaq
Twitter Post
Watch it for the women's effort, points out one netizen
@aliaa08 is the true hero of #Kalank. Surprisingly, female actors of the film carry the film. @MadhuriDixit @sonakshisinha are phenomenal. #AdityaRoyKapur also delivers an intriguing performance. Their hardwork is quite evident. Watch it for the women’s effort. #KalankReview
— Anwesh Panda (@anwesh_panda) April 17, 2019