Ajay Devgn's film 'Drishyam 3' crosses 100 crore in two days, director touched by audience reaction

The film 'Drishyam: Conclusion' has earned the status of a box office leader, causing a real sensation at the box office. This meme-worthy character from the 'Drishyam' franchise, which was often discussed in connection with the events of October 2nd, has gained wide popularity in pop culture. The franchise, based on a Malayalam remake, has been recognized as a global success, and three parts of this story have already been released in Hindi.

Recently, the film 'Drishyam: Conclusion' starring Ajay Devgn was released, and preliminary sales already indicated its potentially huge success. Before the film's release, it was expected that 'Drishyam 3' could collect 40–50 million rupees on the first day, but as the release date approached and audience interest grew, forecasts increased to 55–60 million rupees.

After the film's release on October 2nd, the first-day collection report became available. Thanks to the holiday associated with Ganesh Chaturthi, the film showed excellent results. According to Sakencilk, the film collected a net income of 66.75 million rupees in 15,735 theaters across the country. The gross revenue in India amounted to 80.10 million rupees. Furthermore, 'Drishyam 3' earned another 15 million rupees outside India, leading to a total global collection of 95.10 million rupees.

This success makes it the only Hindi film to collect such an amount in one day after Ranveer Singh's 'Durhandar: Revenge'. The film gave Ajay Devgn his biggest box office start in his 34-year career. Among actors from the 90s, he surpassed stars like Shah Rukh, Salman, Amir, and Akshay, setting a record for opening collections in Hindi. Moreover, he overtook the first-day collection of Shah Rukh Khan's 'Jaan', which collected 65 million rupees in 2023, beating it by only 1 million rupees. Within Hindi releases, he is only surpassed by Ranveer Singh's 'Durhandar: Revenge', which started with 102 million rupees.

The film 'Drishyam 3' received positive reviews from both critics and audiences. Following impressive first-day collections, it can be assumed that it may surpass the second part in total revenue. There is a possibility that within the first week, the film will exceed the mark of 150 million rupees. The film was written and directed by Abhishek Pathak. It is worth noting that this episode of the 'Drishyam' series is not a direct remake of the Malayalam original.

In contemporary cinema and web series, explicit or intimate scenes have become commonplace; romantic or kissing moments can be found in every second film. Nevertheless, sometimes creators emphasize such scenes so heavily that viewers feel uncomfortable watching them in a family setting.

When excessively explicit scenes are shown on screen, creators and actors often face sharp criticism and trolling from the audience. A prime example is the 2022 film 'Gahrayan,' which featured numerous explicit and intimate scenes between Deepika Padukone and Sindhan Chaturvedi.

After the film's release, the actors were subjected to heavy trolling on social media because many disliked the depiction of extramarital affairs, intimacy, and sexual desire in the movie.

In an interview with 'News18,' directors of 'Lust Stories 3,' Vikramaditya Motwani and Shakun Batra, openly discussed the negative reaction to films and shared their opinion on whether the majority of the Indian audience maintains conservative views.

Director Sachin Batra, commenting on the trolling received by the film for depicting sex and infidelity in 'Gahrayan,' stated that such things are not unprecedented in India. He noted that people can relate to such stories and see themselves in them. However, he added that there is a huge moral burden associated with questions of what is ethical, right, or wrong. In his view, society is not yet ready to change such established perceptions, as concepts of good and evil seem permanently fixed.

On the other hand, filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwani believes the problem lies not with the viewers but with those who consider themselves guardians of public morality. Vikramaditya emphasized that box office results show that no one refuses to watch such material. He called these people 'gatekeepers' who constantly assert that certain content should not or ought not to be watched because it contradicts culture, and they voice many similar remarks.

Overall, he believes that the approach to watching films has changed over the last two decades. The younger generation has become much more open to topics of sex, intimacy, and passion and is less inclined to judge others.

For those unfamiliar, the plot of Motwani's 'Lust Stories 3' is based on the sexual desires of middle-aged married women who decide to exchange their husbands to reintroduce excitement into their dull sexual lives.