The Bollywood box office will offer two very different flavours for movie buffs this Friday - the much-loved love story via "Shuddh Desi Romance", and some high-on-action drama in "Zanjeer". Both movies are likely to fare well, said industry insiders.
A remake of the 1973 eponymous film, Apoorva Lakhia's "Zanjeer" marks the Bollywood debut of popular southern star Ram Charan Teja, who steps into a role originally essayed by megastar Amitabh Bachchan. He shares screen space with Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Raj and Sanjay Dutt.
Competing with it will be Yash Raj Films' (YRF) "Shuddh Desi Romance", which stars a refreshing cast of Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and newcomer Vaani Kapoor.
At a time when the box office is flourishing thanks to films like "Chennai Express", "Madras Cafe" and "Satyagraha", the new releases are likely to maintain a decent stay in theatres. Made at an approximate budget of around Rs.30 crore to Rs.40 crore each, the films are also expected to hit an equal number of big screens.
Mumbai-based trade analyst Amul Mohan says the movies might release in 1,600-1,700 screens.
"'Satyagraha' and 'Madras Cafe' are still running in theatres. I believe 'Zanjeer' and 'Shuddh Desi Romance' will have a good second week play as well," Mohan told IANS.
Admitting that both the films are of a different genre, he said they will do well with their own audience.
"'Shuddh Desi Romance' is going to be more for metro cities. 'Zanjeer', being an action film, will target smaller centres which like action films. This will be the divide in the audience," he said.
