Varun Dhawan’s October off to a slow start at box office, makes Rs 5 cr on day 1

Varun Dhawan had cemented himself as one of the most bankable mainstream actors in Bollywood, and that’s when he decided to take a risk with the sombre drama, October. The opening day box office numbers are in.

Varun Dhawan’s gamble might not have paid off. His new film October, a sombre drama seen as a change of pace for the mainstream performer, made Rs 5 crore on its opening Friday. The film has met with mixed reception from the audience, although critical reviews have been largely positive.

Varun Dhawan is coming off a string of box office hits, so October was a risky move.

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film “will have to witness miraculous growth over the weekend and maintain a strong trend on weekdays to leave a mark.”

“Calling October only a love story will be injustice to its resilient tone,” the Hindustan Times review said. “It’s a battle, both inter-personal and intra-personal. It’s not about logic or wise decisions, it’s about how far can you go for the things you believe in. It’s about finding that one thing which defines us. It’s about realising that we’re more than moving robots or talking heads.”

October’s ‘slow start’ breaks Varun’s momentum at the box office. Four out of his last five films have crossed the celebrated Rs 100 crore mark quite easily.

But the actor is aware that taking this role on was a risk. “October comes from an extremely special place from my heart because as my career forwarded, I just felt that I started becoming more selfish and I wanted to do a selfless character like Dan,” he said at a press conference. “Dan is within all of us, we have just forgotten it with time. Let’s not lose the humanity in human and that’s what I wanted to say with October,” he added.

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