Idli Kadai box office day 6: Dhanush-starrer witnesses massive drop in revenue, earns Rs 1.6 crore

After enjoying steady collections in box office numbers in its first week of release, Dhanush's latest drama Idli Kadai has witnessed a sharp drop on Monday, earning little over a crore on the first day of its second week in theatres.

While the film minted close to Rs 18 crore over the weekend, it earned Rs 1.6 crore on its first Monday, a sharp 73.33 per cent drop from earlier. According to Sacnilk, its current India-wide collections have breached the Rs 40 crore mark with Rs 40.22 crore in revenue.

The drop in collections has been attributed to the success of Rishab Shetty's Kantara: Chapter 1 at the screens. The Kannada-language film, which recently opened across India in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi as well, has usurped every box office record, minting over Rs 300 crore globally within just a few days of its release, thanks to the critically acclaimed first part which raised anticipation for the sequel.

While Idli Kadai also generated considerable expectations before its release, the numbers for Kantara: Chapter 1 increased multifold ever since it hit theatres on October 2, a day after Idli Kadai came to screens.

Apart from Dhanush, the film, which marks Dhanush's fourth directorial, also stars Nithya Menen, Arun Vijay, Shalini Pandey, Sathyaraj, Parthiban, Samuthirakani, and Rajkiran in prominent roles. Idli Kadai revolves around Dhanush as Murugan who is in pursuit of finding his roots and setting up his father's idli shop in their ancestral village after quitting his job at a michelin-star restaurant.

While the film has been receiving positive reviews on the screenplay front, it has been receiving mixed reviews on its predictability and glorifying the idea of returning to ones roots. Our CE review of the film underscores this: "The film, which espouses the power of returning to roots, also hardsells the agenda of Gandhian non-violence. While it is a noble thought, it feels forced into Idli Kadai simply because these portions are too stretched out."

The technical crew comprises Dhanush's frequent collaborator, composer GV Prakash, cinematographer Kiran Koushik, editor GK Prasanna, and art director Jackson. The film is produced by Akash Bhaskaran through his Dawn Pictures banner and Dhanush through his Wunderbar Pictures banner. The film marks Inban Udhayanidhi's (son of Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin) first film credit as a distributor.