Sonam Kapoor's Neerja gets additional screens, Hansal Mehta's Aligarh flops

In the second week, Ram Madhvani’s 'Neerja' has seen an escalation in ticket sales of the kind rarely witnessed at the Box Office.

According to trade information, shows of the highly-acclaimed but poorly-received 'Aligarh' and the political satire 'Tere Bin Laden: Dead Or Alive' had to be cancelled due to poor attendance. Additional shows of 'Neerja' were scheduled in the place of the two poorly-received films.

Trade analyst Atul Mohan said, “Yes, I heard about shows of Aligarh and Tere Bin Laden being replaced by Neerja, not only in Mumbai but also in many other parts of the country. Everybody wants to milk a healthy cow. Neerja is going steady with good footfalls and both Aligarh and Laden have failed to live upto audience expectations.”

Delighted Sonam Kapoor siad, “My director Ram Madhvani tells me he is happy. At the end of the day, all a film actor needs is approval from his director. As an actor, I gave a hundred percent of myself to the role. I wish I could have done certain things better but when I ask Ram, he says there is nothing I could do better. For me that validation means a lot.”

Co-producer Atul Kasbekar said, “I am delighted that our film is getting a wider reach. I'm glad Neerja's story will be remembered forever by India. It is difficult for a film to get both critical and box office success. We just wanted to make an honest film that we would be proud of. From a lot of public and social media posts the words 'honest, conviction, real, heart wrenching' seem to come up with amazing regularity. So I guess what we started out to do struck a chord.”

Director Ram Madhvani exults, “We knew what we wanted to make but we never knew what we had made till the audience told us."

Shabana Azmi said, “The response to Neerja has been overwhelming both critically and commercially. It has touched an emotional chord with audiences because it celebrates a value system that is noble and inspiring. I am highly gratified by its success.”