The opening of Piku was pretty much on the expected lines. As predicted in this column last week, the opening was in the 30%-40% range and it was always dependent on the word of mouth bringing in added audience as the first day came to a close. This is exactly what happened and with gradual increase in momentum for footfalls, the first day ended over 5 crore mark.

While some cynics out there pointed out even this opening as weak, they seem to be totally ignorant to the fact that films belonging to such genre don't enter the double digit mark on Day One. They need to be nurtured, especially since the subject was alien (constipation), music almost missing (it was just in the background) and ensemble cast unconventional (despite top names involved). Patience was always going to be the key and this is what happened when the film grew from strength to strength over the weekend in a massive way. As a result, over 25 crore* came in for the Shoojit Sircar film, which is very good for sure.

Now this is quite close to what Shoojit's last film 'Madras Cafe' had earned (21 crore) in its opening weekend. With this, the filmmaker has further established his credentials as someone who can be trusted for good amalgamation of content and commerce. Yes, 'Piku' could have been better (or rather more audience friendly), especially during the last 20 minutes and that could have perhaps brought in more numbers.

As for 'Kuch Kuch Locha Hai', it has turned out to be a disaster, what with just around 3 crore coming in the first weekend. This is the poorest start for a Sunny Leone starrer (even lesser than Jackpot) and the sad part is that despite it being promoted as her film, it is more about Ram Kapoor. The film was rejected by one and all as neither audience nor critics caught fancy for this. Since Sunny has shown that she can act if there is good stage and platform (as seen in 'Ek Paheli Leela'), one just hopes that 'Kuch Kuch Locha Hai' was an aberration for her and she would have better films to showcase her talent as an actress in future.

Meanwhile Gabbar Is Back continued to score, especially in the single screens, and brought in over 12 crore in the second weekend as well. With over 72 crore in its kitty, the Akshay Kumar starrer should have a stable run during the weekdays as well.

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder