Braving all criticism and brickbats, Akshay Kumar starrer Khatta Meetha is already in profits and a surprise success

Akshay Kumar appears to have the luck of the devil. While most critics have written off his latest release Priyadarshan's Khatta Meetha, the film has managed to make a profit.

Khiladi Kumar's common man role and his restrained performance have gone down well with the audiences, particularly in the single screen theatres and the film has grossed over Rs 20 crore in the first three days of its release.

Just like Wanted

It's a case similar to last year's Salman Khan starrer Wanted which did excellent business in the single screen theatres though it didn't fare that well in multiplexes. Ultimately, a film being a hit of a flop depends on the budget and its selling cost.

The film was sold at Rs 30 crore. A TV channel bought satellite rights for Rs 12 crore, overseas rights went for Rs 5 crore, Rs 4 crore for music and Rs 2 crore for home video rights. To sum it up, the film had already made Rs 23 crore even before the release.

Release ke pehle... hit!
A trade source adds, "Khatta Meetha was made with a budget of Rs 30 crore (including print and publicity) and has already made Rs 48 crore in pre-sold rights and digital revenues even before the movie hit screens on Friday."

Says Priyadarshan, "Three things worked for Khattha Meetha: Akshay attempted to do something different. Secondly, it is a clean, family film. And last but not least, Akki put in an earnest performance."

Akshay, who is currently in Toronto says, "It turned out to be a win-win situation as they bought the film under recession. If my distributors are happy I am happy. Also I'm pleased that the film has worked with the masses. The film is about the common man and if they have liked it, that works for me."

Priyan feels his films are for the common man and that's why they are accepted despite poor reviews. "Some of my films that have been critically acclaimed have not worked with the janta."

'A new strategy'
Dhilin Mehta from Ashtavinayak says, "In order to save on production cost, some producers in B-Town are trying a new strategy.

They jointly produce movies with one or two other production houses with at least one very popular star cast and another regional star for a B-town mainstream film.

Such joining of forces drastically reduces cost of production and all players bring their specific expertise to the table. Post recession, Khatta Meetha is the first product where the producers have done precisely that."