Ever since her debut with the 2018 film Dhadak, Janhvi Kapoor has constantly tried to win the hearts of the audience with her performances. Films like Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Good Luck Jerry, Mili and more are proof of her efforts but for the audience to realize your efforts, your work needs to reach them first. Unfortunately, most of the work that Janhvi has done so far hasn’t reached the masses.
The heartbreaking part is that even her latest release Ulajh which has released in the cinemas on August 2, 2024 will go the same way. Let me clear one thing first, Ulajh is a well-made spy thriller with a gripping narrative and excellent performances. The second half of the film could’ve been better but it’s a decent thriller thanks to the edgy direction of Sudhanshu Saria and brilliant acting by Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah, Roshan Matthew, and Adil Hussain.
But it’s like having that fancy cuisine at a high-end restaurant for which a major part of the audience hasn’t developed a taste. What does that mean? That it will be appreciated by only a small section of the audience you want to reach.
But has the film been released with high expectations? No! Even makers are aware that it’s a niche movie hence it has been released only on 750 screens. The problem is that even those screens will have very low occupancies because the film has very less to offer to the theatrical audience.
The spy genre isn’t among the most popular ones in Bollywood but with big stars, masala, and hit songs, makers of films like Ek Tha Tiger, Baby, Tiger Zinda Hai, Raazi, War, Pathaan, and Tiger 3 have managed to attract audience in big numbers. Ulajh takes a unique route with unconventional storytelling which won’t work for many. What adds to the woes is Hollywood film Deadpool and Wolverine’s excellent performance which will continue to be its target audience’s top choice even this week.
The advance booking trend of Ulajh is proof that there’s low interest for the film and given the kind of treatment it has got, more than good word of mouth, it will need a miracle at the box office. The opening day business of the film is likely to be under Rs 1 crore and it may struggle to hit even the Rs 10 crore mark in the lifetime.
