Doha: It was the beginning and end of two box office hits at Lucille Stadium that day. One is play and the other is art. The super duper hit Vishwa Mela in the history of world football concluded on 18th December at Lusail. The ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’ had already launched a celebratory promotion to one of the box office hits in Indian cinema history when the legendary Lionel Andres Messi was kissing the golden seal of world victory. The World Cup final was also the only venue for the television promotion of the Brahmanda movie ‘Pathan’. Pathan and the World Cup were complementary in marking Qatar as the playground that injected the initial energy and excitement towards the unprecedented leap towards the one thousand crore mark.
After ‘Pathan’ became a sensation in India and around the world, the promotion led by Shahrukh Khan played a major role in the World Cup finals. Broadcast promotion for the film was done only in the Viacom 18 pre-match show in connection with the World Cup final. ‘Field par Messi or Mbappe…studio mem Wayne Rooney or mem’ (Messi and Mbappe on the field..in the studio and me Wayne Rooney..’) Shahrukh invited the fans to see Patara spreading wonder in front of the fans who were open-eyed to the exciting moments of the art fight. Jio Cinema and Sports 18 brought to the audience the promotional footage of Shah Rukh creating interesting moments with England’s famous footballer Rooney. 3.2 crore people watched that promotion and the FIFA World Cup final on Jio Cinema.
It became the most watched live program in the history of Indian television in an arena other than the IPL and important matches of the national cricket team. That World Cup final also held the record for the highest attendance at an event without India’s participation. It was boosted by the participation of lakhs of people who came to watch the promotional programs despite not having much interest in football. After the World Cup, ‘Pathan’ style went on to become another huge success, breaking away from Bollywood’s usual promotional routines. The film’s promotion day was doubly sweet when FIFA invited Pathan heroine Deepika Padukone to unveil the World Cup at the final stage.
Pathan set a new record in the collection in USA and Australia and also set a new record in the Gulf region. The film has broken the record of Salman Khan’s ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ with 11 million box office collection. The collection was recorded within days of the film’s release in the UAE. Pathan became the highest grossing Indian film in Qatar as well. The film crossed the one thousand crore mark last day and collected 632 crores in India and 377 crores abroad. Pathan is the fifth Indian film in history to cross the 1000 crore mark.
News Summary – Pathan” in one thousand crores: Qatar has something to be proud of