
Sudipto Sen's film 'The Kerala Story' seems to be finding its way among Indian audiences. The film, after collecting about Rs 8 crore on the first day of its opening at the box office (May 5), has managed to add Rs 12 crore on day two, thereby taking the domestic box office collection to Rs 20 crore, according to film trade analyst Ramesh Bala.
"At the All-India Box office, #TheKeralaStory has seen a growth of 50% on Day 2 compared to Day 1...," Bala wrote on Twitter.
The Kerala Story focuses on the alleged forced conversion of young women to Islam in Kerala before inducting them into the militant Islamist outfit ISIS. The film stars Adah Sharma, Siddhi Idnani, Sonia Balani, and Yogita Bihani in lead roles and was released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam in theatres across India on May 5.
Despite the controversies around the film over certain numbers and facts, The Kerala Story became one of the top five openers of 2023 in terms of its first-day box office collection.
The other toppers are Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan (Rs 55 crore), followed by Salman Khan's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (Rs 15.81 crore), Ranbir Kapoor-Shraddha Kapoor's Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (Rs 15.7 crore) and Ajay Devgn's Bholaa (Rs 11.2 crore).
The Kerala Story performed better than Akshay Kumar’s Selfiee (Rs 2.55 cr) and Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzada (Rs 6 cr), and The Kashmir Files (Rs 3.5 crore) on its opening day.
According to trade experts, the collections of the film are bound to go up over time.
"The Kerala Story is a sure shot winner as it will shake the audience. Its word of mouth will be tremendous. In other words, collections are bound to pick up. Of course, it may not get the patronage of the Muslim audience, but that can’t stop it from turning out to be a box-office super-hit," said Komal Nahta.
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