Ever since the success of Baahubali series it is the Telugu films that has dominated the Hindi market with its releases like Pushpa franchise, or RRR or Salaar: Part 1- Ceasefire. Amongst Tamil stars only Rajinikanth has some hold over the Hindi markets. But with his latest release Dhanush has added a new chapter to the film career. The actor’s latest film Tere Ishk Mein which sees him reunite with Aanand L Rai after Raanjhanaa and Atrangi Re has turned out to be the biggest Day 1 opening for Dhanush beating his the year biggest Tamil hits like Kuberaa and Idli Kadaai. The numbers tell a compelling story. Kuberaa, one of Dhanush’s high-profile Tamil films, opened at Rs 14.75 crore, while Idli Kadhai registered an opening of Rs 11 crore. Traditionally, Dhanush’s strongest box-office performances have come from the Tamil market, where he has enjoyed a fiercely loyal fan base for two decades. But the early success of Tere Ishq Mein marks a decisive shift. It is still early to confirm the reason behind this shift as he has only had one success in Hindi cinema and that is Raanjhanaa which also was more than a decade ago. The film’s strong opening reflects several factors working in its favor, the first being the audience being in the mood for musical love stories. With the success of Sanam Teri Kasam, Saiyaara and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat one has seen that love stories backed with music has been able to garner audiences who have become tired of over the top action films. The music of the film by AR Rahman and Dhanush’s pairing with Kriti Sanon has also been a strong reason behind the huge opening. Also the most common thing between all three releases of Dhanush is that all three of them are rooted stories and talk about issues local to them. If Tere Ishq Mein maintains momentum through the weekend, it may set new benchmarks for Dhanush’s Hindi releases and potentially cross Rs 50 crore mark.
