Box office: Vidyut Jammwal's 'IB71' rakes in Rs. 2.2cr

Vidyut Jammwal decided to give a rest to his action-hero image for IB71 partially. The espionage thriller may have a few action scenes but displays a lot more of Jammwal's acting prowess. But did the change he tried work for the film? Released on Friday, IB71 opened to decent reviews. However, it got a slow start at the box office.

• Directed by Sankalp Reddy, IB71 is the second film by the filmmaker, which is based on the Indo-Pak War of 1971; his first directorial project was Ghazi (2017).
• IB71, which runs high on patriotism, is about a group of Indian spies who led a secret mission that helped India win the war against Pakistan and eventually led to the liberation of East Pakistan.

IB71 saw a direct clash with Naga Chaitanya starrer Custody and Sreenivas Bellamkonda's Chatrapathi. But it also clashed with The Kerala Story, released last week on May 5. Meanwhile, speaking of IB71's box office numbers, it collected Rs. 2.2 crore on the opening day, with a total of 13.49% occupancy, as per Sancilk's report. The maximum occupancy was seen for the night shows.

Apart from Jammwal as Indian spy Dev, it also features Anupam Kher as the IB chief and Dalip Tahil as Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Salaam Venky actor Vishwal Jethwa played an important role as a brainwashed Kashmiri youth. The film also marks the debut of Jammwal as a producer. He has co-produced the film with T-Series and Reliance Entertainment.

After Indian forces defeated Pakistan in two wars (1948 and 1965), the neighboring nation allegedly geared up for another attack on India. However, this time it purpirtedly planned to attack India from the Eastern front, joining hands with China. Indian spies in East Pakistan get a lead on the attack, barely 10 days away. The film shows how the secret agents stall the attack.