Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan earns only Rs 6 lakh in Hindi on Day 1

Rajinikanth is one of the biggest icons in Indian cinema, having entertained audiences across the globe for decades. His films are not simply released on festival dates; they are celebrated as festivals by his fans. This fanfare can be witnessed in his latest release, Vettaiyan, directed by TJ Gnanavel. The film minted Rs 30 crore on its opening day, on par with his past films like Annaatthe and Darbar, but it fell short of his last release, Jailer, which opened to Rs 48.35 crore.Vettaiyan also marks the second-biggest opening for a Tamil film, with the top spot held by Thalapathy Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time, which collected Rs 44 crore on its opening day.

On closer examination of the Rs 30 crore collection, Rs 26.15 crore came from the Tamil version, while the Telugu version contributed about Rs 3.2 crore. However, the Hindi version’s contribution was just Rs 6 lakh as per early estimates by Sacnilk, despite the presence of Superstar Amitabh Bachchan in the film. In comparison, GOAT had collected Rs 1.85 crore in Hindi on day 1. This marks the return of Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan to the big screen together after 32 years, with their last collaboration being Mukul S. Anand’s Hum.
While the word-of-mouth for Vettaiyan is strong and the film is expected to maintain its solid start in Tamil and Telugu-speaking states, its performance in Hindi is likely to face challenges. This is especially true as Alia Bhatt’s Jigra and Rajkummar Rao’s Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video release today, both of which are expected to open with at least Rs 5 crore, judging by advance booking numbers.
ETimes rated Vettaiyan a solid 3 out of 5, with an average user rating of 3.5 out of 5. The review stated: “Director Gnanavel delivers yet another social drama, but this time wrapped in commercial packaging. He had an interesting story in hand, but the ‘star-vehicle’ effect seems to have prevented him from exploring some of the more intriguing aspects of the narrative. Overall, the movie is a predictable investigative thriller-social drama that packs several ‘Rajini moments’ for fans to cherish.”
The film also features Rana Daggubati, Fahadh Faasil, Manju Warrier and Sabumon Abdusamad in pivotal roles.