By: Keyur Seta

It was clear that Prem Ratan Dhan Payo would be an absolute winner at the box office, ever since its promotional material was out. However, going by the unprecedented advance booking the film has received, it won’t be wrong to state that the Sooraj Barjatya’s Salman Khan starrer might just create new records at the box office.

The highest record collection for the opening day is currently held by Farah Khan’s Happy New Year, which released on last Diwali and earned around 37 crores. But going by the advance booking trends, it very well looks like Prem Ratan Dhan Payo will set the record for the highest opening day collections by earning 40 crores or more in a single day.

Of course, whether its lifetime box office collections will overhaul PK, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dhoom 3, which currently hold the record of highest box office collections in India earning approximately 340, 315 and 262 crores respectively, will depend on its content.

But this Diwali, as far as Maharashtra is concerned, two keenly awaited Marathi films are also hitting the theatres: Mumbai Pune Mumbai 2, starring Swapnil Joshi and Mukta Barve, and Katyar Kaljat Ghusli. MPM 2 is the sequel of the much loved blockbuster Mumbai Pune Mumbai, directed by Satish Rajwade. KKG is based on the famous musical play of the same name and the directorial debut of Subodh Bhave.

Normally, one would expect a huge film like PRDP to eat up regional films that release alongside. However, this time that is not going to be the case. The excitement for MPM 2 and Katyar Kaljat Ghusli is so high that these two films too are receiving a very positive advance booking response despite the presence of PRDP. This also means that the two Marathi films wont be a threat to each other either.

Therefore, it won’t be wrong to state that this Diwali the box office scenario in Maharashtra will see something never seen before. A hugely awaited Hindi film and two Marathi films doing well together.

Now, this is what we call a Happy Diwali in true sense.