Trade slams Sajid Khan's film as the worst remake of all times but it manages to rake Rs 28 crore in its opening weekend

The disappointment around Sajid Khan's Himmatwala has been the talk of the town. The film that was expected to register a flying start failed to do so, with the trade and critics alike panning it.

The collections of the film stands at Rs 28.14 crore with Friday being Rs 12.14 crore, Saturday being Rs 7.5 crore and Sunday being Rs 8.5 crore. Contrary to the dismal reviews, the collections are pretty decent.

Last week's release Aatma closed at Rs 8.26 crore, Rangrez closed at Rs 5.92 crore in its first week with no significant business in the second weekend. However Jolly LLB raked in one more crore in its third weekend, bringing its total up to Rs 28.83 crore.


Trade expert Amod Mehra says, `Himmatwala is a disaster. The chances of any improvements are very remote and it seems that the film will sink further. It has no entertainment quotient and it proves that you cannot make a film on your whims and fancies.

It can be best termed as overconfidence on the part of the director (Sajid) and one cannot take the audience for granted. Overall, a very bad week for the box office, as no other film worked either.`

On the other hand, Atul Mohan, trade analyst states, `It seems that the big talks about the film making Rs 150 crore, etc has gone against the director. It is only the public who decides the fate of the film and Sajid might have learnt the lesson after everyone panned his film. There have been remakes of many films recently but this can be termed as the worst remake of all times. It is not good to be overconfident.`

Your identity can't be success or failure: Sajid Khan

As a child, Sajid Khan saw his father's journey from glory to gloom and admits it taught him not to get carried away by success or guided by fear of failure.

After three back-to-back hits, his recent film "Himmatwala" too has struck gold at the box office.

"I have seen a lot of failure with my father. My father (Sajid Kamran Khan) was a very big filmmaker in the 1950s and 1960s. He used to make those black and white Dara Singh films. They were good films, but he never got the respect," Sajid told in a group interview.

"That time he didn't work with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar; he used to work with Dara Singh. Although he (Dara Singh) was a big star, he was known as a B-grade stunt star. But the films were successful with the audience. But then my father saw failure and at that time I saw people who were with him suddenly disappeared," he said.


Talking about the family's struggle at that time, the actor-director said losses were big.

"We had four flats and we sold everything. We didn't even have a phone. So, I am not scared of success or failure. I don't get carried away with success. Your identity can't be success or failure. You are your own identity. I had even said that in the future my film can flop, but not me," said the 41-year-old.

"The fear of failure should be there. But it should not guide you. When you get scared of failure, you start taking other people's advice very seriously... feel that there is no greater thing than destiny," he said.

After successfully hosting TV show "Sajid's Superstars", he started his career as a full-fledged director with blockbuster "Heyy Baby" and repeated the same success with "Housefull" and "Housefull 2".

Currently basking in the glory of "Himmatwala" success, he doesn't approve of the person he used to be earlier.


"I used to make fun of other people's films. I used to be stupid... But when I look back at that Sajid Khan, I want to tell him to keep quiet," he said and added that he has learned a lot from his sister Farah Khan, a choreographer and filmmaker.

"I never interfered in her life. But I knew she would be an achiever. I learned a lot from her. I learned a lot in terms of how to evaluate your life. I was a crook. I used to lie and was almost in jail. But when work started coming, life became easier," he said.

Once he entered the showbiz, Sajid knew he will make a film which will be successful.

"I am a safe filmmaker. When I write a story, I feel that there are some points which bring in nostalgia. I don't want to experiment. I am making films for the audience. My films have been super hits and I always knew that I will make a super hit film. I don't think it is overconfidence," he said.