Emraan Hashmi’s Why Cheat India which hit the theatrical screens this Friday has begun its journey at the box office on a slow note. With reviews ranging from average to good, the film minted an opening collection of Rs. 1.71 crore on Friday.
The makers of “Hindi Medium”, “Neerja” and “Tumhari Sulu”, have collaborated again, this time to produce “Cheat India”, a never-seen-before peek into the vagaries of the Indian education system. Clearly aimed at Indian students, this edge-of-the-seat Emraan Hashmi-starrer rolls in Lucknow today. More than 75 actors from UP, including real students from various colleges and universities, have been cast.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to his Twitter handle to tweet the first-day box office figures and wrote, “#WhyCheatIndia is a non-starter… Needs miraculous growth over the weekend to post a decent total… Fri ₹ 1.71 cr. India biz.” The film is facing stiff competition from Ranveer Singh’s Simmba and Vicky Kaushal’s Uri: The Surgical Strike at the box office.
Why Cheat India Fails To Match Up The Box Office Prediction While trade analysts predicted an opening collection of around Rs. 3-4 crore on Day 1, Why Cheat India minted only Rs. 1.71 crore on Friday. However, the producers of the film, T-Series, Ellipsis Entertainment and Emraan Hashmi Films, have revealed that Why Cheat India is a successful venture thanks to the pre-release profit from the sale of its non-theatrical rights.
Meanwhile, The Pakistani Censor Board Is All Praises For The Film The Chairman Of the Central Board of Film Censors in Pakistan, Danyal Gilani praised the film and said, “Why Cheat India deals with an important subject in an entertaining manner. It gives confidence to students and their parents that there’s no substitute for hard-work and any shortcuts taken for gaining quick money or easy success are short-lived and ultimately disastrous.”
Gilani Had Some More Good Things To Say He further added, “The movie also highlights the issue of academic pressure on students. Education has become a burden for parents, who are giving it their all while struggling to make both ends meet, as well as for the students who are striving to keep the hopes and dreams of their parents alive. The weight of parents’ aspirations puts immense pressure on the children and many may break beneath it. The message is that no career, no matter how prestigious it may seem, can guarantee a good salary if one is not passionate about it. The movie has several short filler scenes here and there which help build up the ambiance in a subtle way.”
The Film Was Earlier Titled ‘Cheat India’ However, the CBFC had objected to the original title, Cheat India, saying it was misleading and the makers had to change it to ‘Why Cheat India’. Calling it a ridiculous move, Emraan had told PTI, “In our country, we don’t want to change the system. We just want to change names as it’s the easiest thing to do. Sit in the comfort of your room, change names but don’t go out and change the system because that takes a lot of work.” He further added, “Do you see any logic in that? I fail to see it. Cheat India for them is a negative title. They have passed the title for the promos and I thought after watching the film they’d realize it’s even more relevant. I don’t think they attribute too much of sense to the audience.”
