Dilwale (2015 film)

In January 2015, Rohit Shetty announced a project with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead which would be their second collaboration after the 2013 film Chennai Express. Shetty stated that he would start filming in March 2015.[10][11] Shetty paired actress Kajol with Khan, making it the seventh time they were cast opposite each other. He also signed actor Varun Dhawan who was reportedly playing Khan's brother, while actress Kriti Sanon was signed opposite him and Kajol's sister.[12]

Principal photography began on 20 March 2015 with Dhawan in Goa.[13][14] Khan and Kajol first joined the crew for filming in Bulgaria from June 2015.[15] Later that month, the first song from the film was shot on Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, in Bulgaria.[16] The schedule there was wrapped up by late July.[17] In August 2015, a romantic song featuring the lead pair was shot in Iceland.[18] The entire team then left for Hyderabad in early September to shoot what was touted to be the final schedule of filming.[19] However, the work in Hyderabad was completed by late October, and filming officially came to an end with a brief schedule in Goa, the same location where it was started.[20] In December, after the promotions had commenced, another song was shot in haste. It featured all four lead actors and had to be played simultaneously with the end-credits.[21]

Dilwale was released in the United Arab Emirates a day before its worldwide release on 18 December 2015. The film was released in around 3100 screens in India.[22]

On 14 December 2015, in the United Kingdom, the film received a 12A classification from the British Board of Film Classification for "moderate violence". The film's UK distributor chose to remove thirteen seconds to obtain this rating (the excised material being scenes involving stronger violence than possible for a 12A rating). An uncut 15-rated version is available.[2]

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sony Pictures Networks as part of a deal worth ₹2.2 billion (US$34.29 million).[23]

Dilwale made around ₹150 crore (US$23.38 million) worldwide in its opening weekend, the third highest of the year.[24]

The film, releasing alongside Bajirao Mastani, opened number one at the box office, and collected ₹210 million (US$3.27 million) nett in India on its opening day, the third highest of the year after Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.[25] The film showed little drop on its second day, and earned nearly ₹200 million (US$3.12 million) nett.[26] On its first Sunday, Dilwale took in approximately ₹230 million (US$3.59 million) nett, bringing the three-day nett to an estimated ₹640 million (US$9.98 million).[27] Dilwale had a first week of ₹970 million (US$15.12 million) nett in the domestic market.[28]

The film earned around ₹210 million (US$3.27 million) nett in its second weekend.[29] It grossed little over ₹310 million (US$4.83 million) nett in week two, taking its business to ₹1.27 billion (US$19.8 million) nett.[30] The film made around ₹110 million (US$1.71 million) nett more in the third week.[31]

Khan expressed disappointment with the film's domestic performance in India.[8] Kajol was also reportedly disappointed, with reports claiming that she regretted turning down the lead role in a Sujoy Ghosh film in favour of Dilwale.[32][33]

Dilwale had the highest opening of 2015 abroad and the second highest ever, with a weekend gross of around $8.5 million. The film also set an all-time record opening in the Persian Gulf region.[34] In Pakistan, the film earned ₹65 million (US$1.01 million) in its first three days.[35] The film collected ₹9.13 crore in Pakistan in the first week.[36] The film went on to earn over $13 million overseas in the first week, again the highest of the year.[37]

Dilwale grossed another $3.75 million in the second weekend, for an overall $16.75 million in ten days.[38] After two weeks, the film's earnings abroad were more than $20.5 million.[39] The film had grossed around $23.3 million outside India as of 12 January 2016 to become the highest-grossing film starring Shah Rukh Khan in overseas markets.[40]

Dilwale sales reached more than $25 million following openings in new markets such as Germany, Netherlands and Indonesia.[41][42][43] The film went on to earn approximately $26.6 million (INR 1756.5 million)[44] by February 2016.[45] The film's final overseas gross was US$30.2 million[9] (₹194 crore),[46] the highest ever for a Shah Rukh Khan film, and making it the twelfth highest-grossing Indian film overseas.[9]

Dilwale received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.

Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "On the whole, Dilwale is akin to a mouthwatering meal that satiates the craving of those who relish masalathons, besides being an absolute treat for SRK-Kajol fans. An unadulterated crowd-pleaser, Dilwale delivers what you expect from a Rohit Shetty film: King-sized entertainment. Go for it!".[47] Komal Nahta in his review of the film said, "Dilwale is a masala entertainer from the start till the end."[48] Rachit Gupta from Filmfare gave it 4/5 stars and added, "Dilwale is the quintessential popcorn flick. It's colorful, bright and entertaining. It smartly keeps its play on the SRK-Kajol chemistry (watch out for the brilliant ending). It has fantastic music. Decent laughs too. Definitely worth a dekho."[49] Sarita A Tanwar of DNA gave the film 3/5 stars, saying "Dilwale is flawed, but it's right for those who believe that love does conquer it all, actually."[50]

Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today also rated the film 3/5 and concluded, "Dilwale is immensely enjoyable despite an oh-my-god-this-is-so-predictable story. Keep your brains out of the picture, and you have an out-and-out entertainer which fits perfectly in the mould of a guilty pleasure. Go indulge!"[51] Shubha Shetty-Saha of Mid-Day gave the film 3 stars as well and said, "Watch this for the chemistry between SRK and Kajol which refuses to simmer down even after all these years."[52] Meena Iyer from The Times of India gave the film 3/5 stars, criticizing the plot, and stated, "Dilwale leans heavily on Shah Rukh's mega-stardom, Varun's effervescence, breathtaking locales (Iceland and Bulgaria), orchestrated car chases and over-the-top situations, which have you chuckling."[53]

NDTV felt that the film's plot "went in circles" and that while Kajol was great, the film overall failed to appeal.[54] The Economic Times gave the film 2.5/5 stars and felt that it "lacked soul and freshness" and stated that it would only appeal to fans of Khan and Kajol.[55] Rajeev Masand of IBN Live gave the film 2 out of 5 and said, "The real problem with Dilwale is the sheer artificiality of the enterprise. From the rainbow-hued sets and the touched-up landscapes in the Gerua song, to many moments of comedic and emotional payoff, so much of it just feels fake."[56] Namrata Joshi of The Hindu commented, "With Dilwale, Rohit Shetty goes hopelessly wrong despite much that he had at his disposal, including a power-packed cast and producer". Joshi also felt that the attempt to repackage Khan and Kajol had backfired.[57] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave the film a 1.5/5 rating and called the plot "highly predictable".[58] Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "Even in the context of Shetty's oeuvre, Dilwale is a low. It made me nostalgic for Chennai Express...Rohit and leading man Shah Rukh Khan have clearly positioned Dilwale as a masala entertainer. Which means that we must not expect logic, coherence, characters or depth."[59] Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and said, "Budget and access. These have long been Shetty's favoured Lego blocks, and they have never been more visible than in Dilwale, where the greatest on screen pair in modern Hindi cinema are reduced to insignificance."[60]