/> To capitalise on the long weekend in North India, the producers of JAI VEERU released the film at single screens and select plexes of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, C.P., C.I., Rajasthan and Nizam on Wednesday (Holi).

Since Thursday is also a holiday at several places, the idea was to take advantage of a long weekend.

And the gamble paid off, for JAI VEERU opened to a 70% response in the noon shows, but was running to packed houses by Wednesday evening and night.

The film hasn't released in Mumbai/Maharashtra and Delhi yet; it will open on Friday at these places and also in some other circuits.

The opening collections of JAI VEERU has come as a big surprise, since the audiences weren't aware that the film had opened on Wednesday (most newspapers didn't come out with an edition due to Holi holiday, hence the ad announcing its release was missing).

Another factor that could've gone against the film was the fact that its release has been timed during the examination period.

But box-office can be most unpredictable and that's the beauty of the business.

The heartening start has come as a respite for the film industry, which has seen a spate of flops in the last few weeks.

The various distributors this writer spoke to, expectedly, sounded euphoric.