Bollywood heavyweight Shatrughan Sinha’s son, Kussh S Sinha, just stepped into the director’s chair with his debut film, Nikita Roy. Sonakshi Sinha and Paresh Rawal led the cast, but the timing? Not so lucky.
Nikita Roy hit theatres the same day as Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda’s Saiyaara, sparking a head-to-head box office clash. Now, Kussh has finally broken his silence about why Nikita Roy struggled to pull in crowds.
Sonakshi Sinha’s brother blames Saiyaara for Nikita Roy’s failure
Kussh didn’t sugarcoat it—he pointed straight at Saiyaara’s runaway success as the main culprit for Nikita Roy’s disappointing numbers.
“We pushed for more screens,” he explained, “but sometimes, a film just gets swept up in a wave. Still, the theatre chains we talked to recognised our film’s value and stuck with us. Three movies were released that day—everyone saw one, set records, another was yanked from cinemas, and yet our screens went up by 40% to 50%.”
He even took a moment to tip his hat to YRF, congratulating them on Saiyaara’s blockbuster run. On top of that, Kussh addressed the chatter that Saiyaara ripped off the Korean film A Moment To Remember. “No one saw this wave coming, and we can’t control the box office.”
He added, “Honestly, I’m glad a romantic film with two fresh faces is killing it. People are talking, but it’s up to them to clear the air. As for me, I’m committed to telling original stories. If I ever do a remake, it’ll be an official one. Not everyone agrees, but that’s their business.”
Anupam Kher’s Tanvi The Great also dropped from theatres
It wasn’t just Nikita Roy and Saiyaara battling it out—Anupam Kher’s Tanvi The Great also dropped the same day, featuring names like Shubhangi Dutt, Karan Tacker, Boman Irani, and Jackie Shroff. But the numbers? Wildly different.
Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara exploded out of the gate with a ₹21 crore opening. Tanvi The Great barely scraped together ₹4 lakh, while Kussh’s Nikita Roy managed ₹22 lakh.
Saiyaara kept riding that wave, raking in over ₹250 crore domestically in just eleven days, already nearing ₹400 crore worldwide. Nikita Roy, on the other hand, has only managed a modest ₹1.24 crore so far. The box office can be brutal—sometimes it’s just a matter of timing and a bit of luck.
