Dhadak Box Office: Decoding the success of Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor's film

It was known that parallels would be drawn between Dhadak and the Marathi blockbuster, Sairat, from which it is adapted. The Hindi film, backed by Dharma Productions and Zee Studios and helmed by Shashank Khaitan, has emerged triumphant at the box office with the highest opening numbers for newcomers, at Rs 8.71 crore. The earnestness and freshness of Ishaan and Janhvi, coupled with the director’s tonality has made this dhadak-stopping romantic drama a bonafide winner at the turnstiles.

Combating the nepotism banter and comparisons with the superlative performances of the original’s lead actors, Ishaan and Janhvi have found immense love from cinegoers and critics alike. Buoyed by strong social media love and applause from audiences, these two actors have proved that they are here to stay.

Interestingly, the previous highest opener with newcomers was Karan Johar’s 2012 directorial venture, Student Of The Year. The campus movie, which launched Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra, collected approximately Rs 8 crore on its first day.

Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh observes, “The comparisons were inevitable because Sairat is a blockbuster. However, Dhadak is different in terms of the setting, texture and it’s modified for a pan Indian and international audience. It has its moments and has been received with a lot of love by the moviegoers.”

He adds, “The film has overcome comparisons and not only started on a good note, but the second day also saw a substantial growth in numbers over the first. Going by the reviews and word-of-mouth, it will have excellent opening weekend numbers.”

The Shashank Khaitan directorial has not only broken the previously-held record by Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year (2012) but also overtaken Sajid Nadiadwala’s Heropanti (2014) starring Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon, Salman Khan-backed Hero (2015), which launched Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty and also Arjun Kapoor’s debut, the YRF-produced Ishaqzaade (2012), co-starring Parineeti Chopra. And, like it’s said, this is just the beginning.

Dhadak (2018) 
Rs 8.71 cr

SOTY (2012) 
Rs 8 cr

Hero (2015) 
Rs 6.69 cr

Heropanti (2014) 
Rs 6.51 cr

Ishaqzaade (2012) 
Rs 6.48 cr

* First Day India Box Office Collections from reliable trade sources