MUMBAI: Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’, starring Imran Khan, Anushka Sharma and Pankaj Kapur, has taken off to a dull start this weekend. The film is a departure from Bhardwaj’s usual style of cinema, and was touted as a much-awaited cinematic treat for his fans.

However, the film has so far failed to make a mark at the box office with an extremely slow start on Day 1. ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’ is set in the hinterland in Haryana, with a drunken, land-hungry landlord at its heart. A gaggle of quirky, eccentric characters, including man-Friday ‘Matru’ played by Imran and Mandola’s foreign-educated daughter ‘Bijli’ (Anushka) abound, and chaos ensues in the badlands.

The film’s team has been going all out to promote ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’ at every given opportunity; including several reality TV show appearances, radio station visits and regular press conferences and interviews on TV and in print. Sadly though, these haven’t really paid off as ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’ has failed to launch on its opening day.

The collections are a dismal Rs 70 million (7 crore), a very disappointing number considering the buzz that was surrounding the film prior to its release.

The film saw an average response at single-screen theatres across the country, with multiplexes making up for the former’s poor occupancy. Further, the overall occupancy was much lower than was anticipated for a Vishal Bhardwaj film. The very fact that ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’ has garnered mixed reviews from critics also adds to the reason that the film hasn’t seen record-smashing or at least decent business on Day 1.

Hopefully, word-of-mouth over the long weekend and coming week will aid in boosting the business of ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’.