New Delhi: On its second day in theatres, ‘Uunchai’, a multi-starrer directed by Sooraj Barjatya, saw an increase of close to 100 percent. Saturday's earnings of 3.64 crores more than quadrupled the film's Friday total, thanks to enthusiastic word of mouth and favourable reviews.
After a hiatus of around eight years, director Sooraj Barjatya returned with ‘Uunchai’, a film that carries particular significance for him as Rajshri Production. The film also has Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, Neena Gupta, and Sarika in major roles, and it is Barjatya's first time working with superstar Amitab Bachchan.
Due to its restricted distribution and competition at the box office from two other high-budget pictures, ‘Uunchai’ underperformed. But even with a small release, the film is doing rather well at the box office.
Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, “#Uunchai is displaying strong legs at the #BO… Remarkable growth [+101.10%] on Day 2… Super-strong word of mouth is converting into packed shows… Fantastic Day 3 + double digit weekend on the cards… Fri 1.81 cr, Sat 3.64 cr. Total: ₹ 5.45 cr. #India biz.”
As per our in-house review, 'Uunchai' is like a documentation of what an intense trekking experience amidst the wilderness of Himalayas feels like. This template is then married to the family-entertainment genre of the Barjatya school of filmmaking which emphasises heightened emotions and drama. The Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Parineeti Chopra, Danny Denzongpa, and Sarika starrer is high on emotion, slow in pace, a genre-reverser film about life, relationships and coming to terms with old age. What really hurts is how each of the subject matter is treated chronologically in order to spoon-feed an audience which is smart enough to understand layers, nuances and landscape change without drilling it into their heads.'