'Dum Maaro Dum' mints Rs.6.2 crore on opening day

New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) Rohan Sippy's "Dum Maaro Dum" may have been in the news for the wrong reasons, but the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer amassed Rs.6.2 crore in India on its opening day itself. The director is overjoyed with the response especially since the movie faced competition from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

"It's a very good start! We have got an exceptional response from the south, especially from Hyderabad. And of course metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore have given a positive feedback and good footfalls too. I am glad amid Sachin and Dhoni ... we have been able to hit one of our own sixes!" Sippy told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Made at a budget of approximately Rs.20 crore, the film released Friday in 20 countries at 350 international locations and at 1,000 theatres and multiplexes throughout India.

Sippy is confident the movie will bring good returns over the first weekend as it has grossed Rs.11.4 crore across India, US, Britain, UAE and Australia on its opening day itself.

"It is a little early to start predicting figures, but we are sure the movie will get good word of mouth publicity and will continue getting a good audience through Saturday and Sunday. Till then, we are waiting and watching!" he said.

The multi-starrer, which also features Bipasha Basu, Prateik Babbar, Aditya Pancholi and Telugu actor Rana Daggubati, is a thriller which revolves around drugs, sex and violence. The movie garnered a lot of publicity prior to its release, due to objections that it portrays Goa and its people in bad light.

However, neither that, nor the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore Friday deterred the audience from sampling "Dum Maaro Dum".

"It was a big match! We heard people still filled in the evening shows and that's a great feeling in this cricket-crazy nation. The opening day figures are a very encouraging sign that the movie may run not just this weekend... but for two to three weeks more," said Sippy, son of veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy.

Junior Sippy credits Bollywood debutant Rana Daggubati, a known name in Hyderabad, for drawing in audiences in the south.

"Rana has a great fan following in Hyderabad, so a lot of local crowd must have come in to watch his performance and support him. But in places like Bangalore and Chennai, people came in for the style of the film and its presentation," he said.

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