Journalism of Courage
When Happy Bhag Jayegi released this Friday, the big question was if it could survive Rustom juggernaut at the box office? Akshay Kumar’s court-room drama is in its second week at the BO but refuses to show any signs of slowing down. The film entered the Rs 100-crore club this Saturday while Happy Bhag Jayegi – starring Abhay Deol, Diana Penty and Ali Fazal – earned Rs 2.32 crore this Friday. Hrithik Roshan’s Mohenjo Daro, which clashed with Rustom at the box office on August 12, has already lost steam and is likely to end its lifetime collection at Rs 60 crore.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted on Sunday, “#HappyBhagJayegi saw growth on Sat... Should maintain an upward trend on Sun... Fri 2.32 cr, Sat 3.81 cr. Total: ₹ 6.13 cr. India biz.” Happy Bhag Jayegi is an India-Pakistan love story where the runaway bride from Amritsar, Happy (Diana Penty), lands in Lahore. The film is getting a good word of mouth and is likely to ride on it. Made at an approximate budget of Rs 18 crore, stakes are much lower for Happy Bhag Jayegi.
Happy Bhag Jayegi has been banned in Pakistan for showing a portrait of MA Jinnah. This will affect some overseas business of the film as well.
Directed by Mudassar Ziz and produced by Anand L Rai, the film’s protagonist Happy is being compared to Kangana Ranaut’s Tau from Tanu Weds Manu.
The actor is on the 94th spot on the list of world's top paid celebs and earned $31,500,000 last year. Among highest-earning actors, he comes on slot number 12. He earned more than Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg and DiCaprio. Given that this year has been even bigger for Akshay (Airlift, Housefull 3 and Rustom), we can expect him to be the shooting star on Forbes' list next year.
Rustom is likely to end among Akshay’s biggest hits ever. The film also stars Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta.
