Tiger Zinda Hai infuses life into a dull Btown yr

NEW DELHI : Tiger is alive indeed, and it helps Bollywood roar out of a rough patch at the box office this year.

It’s Salman Khan to the rescue of the Hindi film industry as his December release, Tiger Zinda Hai, brought reasons to cheer and picked a few records too, earning Rs 173.07 crore within five days of its opening at the domestic market on Friday.

The movie collected more than Rs 225 crore worldwide, and the figure would be much more as some cinemas abroad have yet to report their collection from the ticket windows.

This is Khan’s 12th consecutive Rs 100-crore spinner and at Rs 114.93 crore, the highest any of his films had earned in three days of release.

Also, Tiger Zinda Hai is the year’s top first weekend grosser for a Hindi film.

Blockbuster Baahubali 2, released in four languages, earned more but it’s essentially a Telugu movie.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh hopes the Tiger will roar beyond 2017.

“It has been a dull year for Bollywood. It was only post-Diwali that the industry saw some hits. Even then, Golmaal Again, the top Hindi grosser of 2017, collected only Rs 205 crore,” he said.

Adarsh called Tiger Zinda Hai a much-needed shot in the arm for the industry. “In just four days, it collected over Rs 170 crore. So, we can expect a good run because there are no major releases over the next few weeks. Hopefully, this will spill over to next year as well,” he said.

Superstar Khan began the year with Tubelight in which he plays a Forrest Gumpesque character, but the movie tanked and could gross only a little over Rs 119 crore.

Fellow superstar Shah Rukh Khan disappointed too at the box office with his Jab Harry Met Sejal.

The two actors co-produced their films and reimbursed distributors for the losses.

“A star in India needs to stay true to his fan base. Salman’s fans can believe he moves mountains, but he can’t do it just with his thoughts like in Tubelight. With Tiger Zinda Hai, he is truly in his zone,” distributor Akshaye Rathi said.

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Tiger Zinda Hai is a masala entertainer, the likes of which propelled Khan to stardom. “It has well choreographed action sequences, Khan and Katrina Kaif in form, and a lot of emotion. It is just the kind of film our audience wants,” Adarsh said.