Vikrant Rona: Hindi and Telugu versions of the Kiccha Sudeep starrer fail to impress, Kannada release remains the only hope

Vikrant Rona was to be the next big thing from the Kannada Film Industry with the film carrying huge ‘pan-India’ expectations. Aside from the Kannada version, the Hindi and Telugu dubbed releases too offered tremendous promise at the box office, mainly because of Kiccha Sudeep’s popularity in the two regions. And with the mighty Salman Khan presenting the film in North India, one reckoned Vikrant Rona had every opportunity to score big with the Hindi version.

Well, the results, however, have been underwhelming to say the least so far. According to Box Office India, Vikrant Rona (Hindi) has managed to collect around Rs. 6.5 crores (nett) by the end of Day #5 of its theatrical release with the first Monday witnessing a steep dip.

While the Salman Khan backing and other factors have allowed the Anup Bhandari directorial to open on a credible note (with Rs. 1.15 crores on July 28), Vikrant Rona has unfortunately not managed to leverage the extended four-day weekend.

The film also had to contend with the ensemble film Ek Villain Returns which has seen a steady improvement over the weekend. The second installment of what is being termed as the Mohit Suri ‘Ek Villain’ universe has collected close to Rs. 26.50 crores over the course of four days according to the trade reports.

Both Vikrant Rona and Ek Villain Returns saw a major dip in collections on the first Monday which, in many ways, is a usual pattern.

The Telugu version of Vikrant Rona too has encountered a below-par box office run with the film managing only Rs. 5.08 crores in terms of nett collections. The box office clash with the Ravi Teja starrer Ramarao On Duty could have hampered Vikrant Rona’s progress but the fact that the Kannada film also received mixed reviews from all over is likely to have played on the audience’s mind.

The Tamil and Malayalam versions of Vikrant Rona have earned Rs. 2.18 crores and Rs. 0.38 crores respectively (nett figures).

That said, not all is grim for the makers of the film as the Kannada version continues to bring in solid rewards. With the Kannada (also the original) version earning the team close to Rs. 50 crores in gross figures and taking the domestic collections to Rs. 69 crores, Vikrant Rona is still en route to being a major commercial success; the second-week theatrical run will be a crucial phase for the makers.

The global box office collections are likely to have already crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark but the overseas figures are yet to be divulged.