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Will 'Thugs of Hindostan' prove to be the second 'Mangal Pandey' of Aamir Khan's career?

Will Aamir Khan's latest release 'Thugs Of Hindostan' be able to beat Dangal's opening record

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Aamir Khan is considered Bollywood's shrewdest superstar. His marketing sense, script choices and astute knowledge of film business has not only earned him the tag of a perfectionist but also made him a bankable actor. The result of this is that an Aamir film may not always entirely belong to Aamir but is still pitched as an Aamir Khan vehicle. The success of a film may not be attributed to him as much as a film's failure is. 

And, we are afraid that's what's going to happen with his latest release, 'Thugs Of Hindostan'. The film's reviews are out and for once, people are not divided! Everyone has unanimously disliked it. The action-drama has disappointed fans and critics alike. The popular opinion is, that while the performances her great, the opulent drama lacks substance. 

Considering the film brings together Hindi film industry's finest talents Aamir and Amitabh Bachchan on-screen for the first time and stars Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh in lead roles, the adventure drama is expected to be a monster-hit and beat Aamir's last film Dangal's first day records. Dangal had collected Rs 29.78 crore in India on the first day of its release. Trade analyst Girish Johar has predicted that the Vijay Krishna Acharya directorial would write new records for Aamir's career. 

“In all the languages, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, Thugs of Hindostan will earn Rs 50 crore on the day of its release. And, if the content of the film also turns out to be decent, it will reach the Rs 100 crore mark within 2-3 days,” Johar claimed. 

Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi also seems quite hopeful about the film. “If you look at the overall scenario, there is Aamir Khan, there is Amitabh Bachchan, there is Katrina Kaif, there is Yash Raj Films backing it, there is a scale, there is a spectacle value, it will be one of the biggest big screen appearances to come out of Hindi cinema and irrespective of the negative reviews of its trailer, I really think that the audience, at the ground level, will come out in big numbers and watch it,” Akshaye told Times Now.

Trusted Trade analyst Taran Adarsh is also of the belief that the film will earn Rs 50 crore on its opening day. “The screen count is going to be massive, ticket rates have been enhanced and moreover, it’s the coming together of Yash Raj Films, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan,” Adarsh told Bollywood Hungama.

As per a report in Box Office India, there indeed is a lot of excitement for the film amongst the audience. As many as 2 Lakh tickets got sold on Saturday itself, after the advance booking opened. 'Thugs' has reportedly broke the record of films like Tiger Zinda Hai, Sanju and Avengers - Infinity War in advance booking. 

“The factors that will work in favour of Thugs of Hindostan are, one, it is a big holiday release, secondly, it is releasing on the biggest window available for a Bollywood film as there are no other releases scheduled around it and third, the film boasts of big names like Aamir, Amitabh, Katrina and Yash Raj Films," Johar pointed out. 

“Aamir never lets his fans down and has a positive track record. The actor is known for springing in surprises and him being a part of the film makes the chances of Thugs of Hindostan being a success at the ticket counters even higher,” he added. 

The prediction sounds convincing considering the film got released in 5000 screens across India. And, it may actually go ahead and break Dangal's Day 1 collections, who knows. However, given the heavy criticism that it's receiving on social media, it seems 'Thugs' will indeed have a tought time at the ticket windows after the initial euphoria settles down. And if it does, it may turn out to be the second 'Mangal Pandey' (2005) of Aamir's career. 

It may even go on to make Rs 100 crore in two days but that wouldn't necessarily make it a 'HIT'. We shouldn't forget that 'Thugs' was made on a whopping budget of Rs 300 crore and it will turn out to be a profitable venture for the producers only if it mints atleast Rs 350 crore in its lifetime. 

It's not that the 'perfectionist' hasn't seen failure before. His otherwise lustrous career is dotted with several flops like 'Love, Love, Love' (1989), 'Raakh' (1989), 'Aatank Hi Aatank' (1995), 'Mela' (2000) to name a few. But 'Mangal Pandey' somehow bares uncanny resemblance to 'Thugs'. Both are period dramas, and are made on insane budgets. 

'Mangal Pandey' arrived in August 2005 amidst a sea of controversy and sky-high expectations. After 'Lagaan' and 'Dil Chahta Hai' he had attained this image of an actor who could never go wrong. He spent some eighteen months growing out his hair to look authentic for the role. He grew a giant moustache, too. But, the hype didn't sustain for long. The film tanked! And miserably!

But the movie in a way put a full stop on Aamir's bad innings at the box office. The actor didn't see such failure after that. There was '3 Idiots', 'PK' and then 'Dangal'. Each made better business than the previous. 

'Thugs' marks Aamir's return to the historical space after Mangal Pandey's debackle. And, we hope, we really hope, that history doesn't repeat itself! Fingers crossed. 

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