Prediction for Madras Cafe came true to the T. As expected, it was ordinary to begin with in the morning shows, got a push due to all around positive reviews and fabulous word of mouth, and then eventually had a good Friday. With multiplex audience giving the film a nod of approval (as was expected), the weekend saw healthy numbers added to the total, hence resulting in a weekend of around 20 crore. Now these are good numbers for the film and also the highest that a John Abraham solo starrer has ever taken.
The film has worked in ways more than one for all involved. First and foremost a new genre has opened up with Madras Cafe because realistic films with entertainment quotient like this have seldom been made in India. Secondly, with his third successive quality outing (after Yahaan and Vicky Donor), Shoojit Sircar has demonstrated that he is a director par excellence. Thirdly, after being in the industry for a decade, John Abraham has now earned added credibility as an actor and also a producer. All these factors have been acknowledged by industry as well as ‘aam junta’, the results of which were seen in collections.
The game is not yet won by the film though as weekday collections would decide where does the film eventually head. Satyagraha arrives in the coming weekend and would take away majority of screens. However Madras Cafe is the kind of film that deserves to stay around. Considering the fact that last year Vicky Donor and this year Aashiqui 2 had remained in theatres for weeks despite competition, one looks forward to the strategy that makers and exhibitors apply for Madras Cafe.
