Chup Revenge of the Artist box office day 1 collection: Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan film sees decent opening at ₹2.5 cr

Chup: Revenge of the Artist box office: The R Balki film starring Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan, Shreya Dhanwanthary and Pooja Bhatt had a decent opening on Friday.

Chup: Revenge of the Artist had a decent opening in theatres on Friday despite being a smaller film compared to the recent Bollywood releases. The film opened at around ₹2.5-3 crore, as per trade sources. The film by R Balki is a psychological thriller about a serial killer who targets film critics.

Sunny Deol and Dulquer Salmaan in stills from Chup Revenge of the Artist.

Chup: Revenge of the Artist stars Sunny Deol in the role of a policeman racing against time to catch a serial killer, who has been murdering film critics. It also stars Dulquer Salmaan and Shreya Dhanwanthary in lead roles, and Pooja Bhatt in a pivotal role.

Film critic Taran Adarsh said on Thursday that the film was amongst the top-ranking films at the advance booking counters with more than 1.25 lacs tickets sold before release.

Director R Balki hopes reviewers are honest in their analysis of the film but added that he isn't scared of reviews. According to PTI, he said at a press conference, "What would matter to me is their honesty. I hope they're honest about the film and they critique it, not criticise it. When you say critiquing, it is about analysing the film. What's right and what's wrong in a film. That would be far more healthier for me."

"It would be wrong to say I don't care whether they give stars or not. Of course it matters. We are all sensitive people. But am I going to spend sleepless nights over it? No, I'm not going to. We all hope people write kindly, but I'm not going to be scared. You can't be scared in a creative profession," he added.

The filmmaker said the film explores misunderstandings between filmmakers and critics and why they often lead to fights. “This is a film that explores the flaws of our mentality from both perspectives -- from the industry side as well as the critics side. It looks at the things that can happen if misunderstandings are not sorted out," he said.

Chup: Revenge of the Artist is produced by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Anil Naidu, Dr. Jayantilal Gada (PEN Studios) and Gauri Shinde. The screenplay and dialogues are co-written by R Balki, critic-turned-writer Raja Sen and Rishi Virmani.