Billu not likely to make good opening

Three films release this week - Billu, The Stoneman Murders and Jugaad. Incidentally, each of the three films boasts of an unconventional lead. Billu has Irrfan Khan, The Stoneman Murders features Kay Kay Menon and Jugaad stars Manoj Bajpai.

Out of the three, Jugaad is a non-starter and it would be an achievement if it manages to get decent show timings. The Stoneman Murders boasts of an interesting premise but has just not been promoted enough. Moreover, the theme is too violent to warrant a crowd outside a niche audience.

Which brings one to Billu! The film's promotion has been a mixed bag. Somehow it seems that the makers have tried to do the balancing act by focusing on both Irrfan Khan and Shahrukh Khan. However, there aren't many hopes for the film to get anything better than a 50% initial. A rare Priyadarshan film that isn't as hot amongst the audience as most of his films have been in recent times. Shahrukh Khan has underplayed his presence in the film and if he actually has a good part to play in the film, there could be an increase in collections as the weekend progresses.

However, there is no point in expecting a hurricane like beginning for Billu which is not expected to follow the kind of route that a quintessential Shahrukh movies follows.