Gulabo Sitabo was released on digital platform amazon prime and as expected there was the perception play as soon as the streaming started. The perception play is there with many films where the media is very positive when public reports are the opposite. The difference is when a film is released in theatres the public reports get reflected in box office collections so the perception of making a bad film look good comes out into the open.

Earlier this year it happened with a film called Thappad which if reviews were to believed it was better than Tanhaji - The Unsung Warrior but the public verdict was there all to see. Again this Gulabo Sitabo has reviews better than Tanhaji - The Unsung Warrior which is eyes closed the top film of the year so far. There is the case that Tanhaji - The Unsung warrior is a patriotic film and these reviewers have never been kind to the blockbuster patriotic films be it 1960, 1980, 2000 or now as the English press sees agressive patriotism on screen as jingoism. That is why the public is their to be the final judge and put the record straight.

The box office was there to set the record straight with Thappad and many films before that and with Gulabo Sitabo the box office may not be there but eventually the public with access to the film will watch or attempt to watch and the audience is not dumb and will know where the film stands. All it will reiterate is the press has no clue and its basically agenda driven according to personal opinions and tastes however bad they maybe.

There could be 10-15 films which were going to have a theatrical release which may hit digital platforms over the next few months and the industry has a success ratio of around 5-10% and this ratio which has been there for some time now will not suddenly jump. It means that maybe one of these films or maybe two on a best case scenario have a chance to be decent.

Coming back to Gulabo Sitabo the producers are in the plus but Amazon prime have paid a 30 crore permium for a dud film to come into their library a little earlier. Ayushmann Khurana who was labelled a star with films like Badhai Ho and Dream Girl now has Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Gulabo Sitabo back to back where unlike Badhai Ho and Dream Girl the content has not worked. 

The star label came without good initials though the initials were on an upward curve but it will be interesting to see is the upward curve still there post delivering bad films like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Gulabo Sitabo.

A potential box office number is impossible to give to as box office depends on timing, competition and period of release and all that is unknown. The only thing certain is that if and whenever it released the number would have been lower than Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan (59 crore) but would it be 10%, 20%,30% or even 40% lower is guesswork. The 50% level is not given as you would expect Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurana to get a 20 crore nett weekend on worse case which means at a minimum 30 crore nett box office.