The much-awaited film, "Kochadaiiyaan" ("Kochadaiyaan") starring superster Rajinikanth and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone in the lead roles has reportedly made a rocking start on the opening day, though the exact box office collection figure has not been revealed yet.
"Rajinikanth fans across the globe rejoice! #Kochadaiiyaan opens to HUMUNGOUS response across Tamil Nadu. Expect new records to be set!" tweeted film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh without revealing the exact revenue on day one.
However, Andhra Box Office described response to "Kochadaiiyaan" as poor without substantiating the view with figures at the box office. It tweeted that "Kochadaiiyaan" earning on Thursday (preview) and Friday from the U.S. is $270K+ (over ₹1.5 crore) as compared to Nagarjuna starter "Manam's" $310K+ (over ₹1.8 crore). It had earlier said that both "Manam" and "Kochadaiiyaan" opened with $100K (approximately ₹58 lakh) range in USA premieres on Thursday.
"Problem for #Kochadaiiyaan is around Half of its worldwide screen count of 2000 odd are Telugu & Hindi and they should do well too," tweeted Andhra Box Office on Saturday. "#Vikramasimha Below par & #Kochadaiiyaan (Hin) Very Poor," it added without providing any detail.
Reports have it that the film received decent response from the audience, witnessing 50 percent occupancy from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. Going by advance booking reports, the occupancy in Tamil Nadu is expected to be not lesser than 75 percent.
Touted to be India's first 3D film using photorealistic motion capturing technology, "Kochadaiiyaan," also dubbed in Telugu as "Vikramasimha" opened with huge expectations, as it features Superstar Rajinikanth in double roles. The film directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth also has Bollywood's big-name Deepika as the female lead, and actors like R. Sarathkumar, Aadhi, Shobana, Rukmini Vijayakumar, Jackie Shroff and Nassar in important roles.
The film revolves around two kingdoms - Kalingapuri and Kottaipattinam. Rana (Rajinikanth), the commander of Kalingapuri convinces his king to wage a war against Kottaipattinam kingdom. However, the sides with his supposed enemies in the battlefield and becomes a hero of the kingdom. Why Rana expresses his solidarity for the kingdom and what is his intention? Well, there is a reason behind it, and that forms the rest of the story.
Released in almost 1000 theatres across India - 90 theatres in Kerala, 380 in Andhra Pradesh, over 75 in Karnataka, and 450 in other parts of the country, the film received mixed reviews from the critics. They are of the opinion that Rajinikanth's performance, A.R Rahman's music and the background scores, and KS Ravikumar's screenplay are the main highlights of the film.
