BOX OFFICE: ‘Issaq’, ‘Bajatey Raho’, ‘Nasha’ Fail The Acid-Test

MUMBAI: The three Bollywood films that released this week: ‘Issaq’, ‘Bajatey Raho’ and ‘Nasha’ have all failed the acid test at the box office on their first day.
‘Issaq’, starring Prateik Babbar and Amyra Dastur, said to be a remake of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ set in Benaras, opened with very poor box office collections of Rs 8 million (Rs 80 lac) net on Day 1. Directed by Manish Tiwary and produced by PEN India, ‘Issaq’ has been slammed by critics across the board.
‘Bajatey Raho’ was another downer, starring Tusshar Kapoor, Ravi Kishan, Dolly Ahluwalia, and Vinay Pathak. Directed by Shashant Shah and produced by Sunil Lulla, the film garnered only Rs 12.5 million (1.25 crore) net on Day 1. Amongst the three this week though, ‘Bajatey Raho’ has done the best.
The third release this Friday, Poonam Pandey starrer ‘Nasha’ saw a lackluster opening, generating box office collections of Rs 10 million (Rs 1 crore) net. Directed by Amit Saxena and produced by Aditya Bhatia, the controversial film also stars Ranbir Chakma and Shivam.