The much-awaited Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Chak De India" opened in theatres Friday to a heartening response from the audience, who have not only liked the unusual storyline but also the superstar's portrayal of a no-nonsense hockey coach of a women's team.

The Yash Raj banner film, directed by Shimit Amin, is Shah Rukh's first film of this year. It narrates the story of an Indian women's hockey team coach, Kabir Khan, whose goal is to see his team win the world cup,

"We had waited for a long time to see Shah Rukh in a new film and he has repaid us all with a very good one, " said a diehard fan, Shamir Bhagat. "He is brilliant in the movie and I think everyone will like his new look."

Shah Rukh sports a stubble in the film and portrays a stern coach who swears by discipline. The film has created a lot of buzz with its songs and promos.

Audiences are comparing his performance in this film with his earlier critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful "Swades".

"After 'Swades', this is Shah Rukh's best performance. He is mind blowing. Everybody must see this film. This is the best film that I have seen this year, " said Mallika Nath, a college student.

"Chak De India" has not received an overwhelming response in terms of advance bookings. Theatre owners are however hopeful that the positive word of mouth feedback from audiences will see collections go up in the coming week.

"It has not been a great response till now as far as advance bookings are considered, but positive response from the people who have seen the film will act as word of mouth promotion and pull in people to the theatres, " said Ashish Shukla, CEO of PVR Ltd. "We are very confident that the film will pick up in the coming week."

With the collections of 2007 so far proving no match for the windfall of last year, which rode on hits like "Krrish", "Dhoom:2", "Don" and "Rang De Basanti", all hopes are now pinned on "Chak De India" and some forthcoming releases like "Taare Zameen Par", "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" and "Jodhaa Akbar" to turn the falling box office fortunes around.