Directed by Meghna Gulzar and written by the very prolific writer-director Vishal Bhardwaj, ‘Talvar’ was inspired by the true event of the 2008 Noida double murder case which shook the entire nation. Without taking any sides and being judgmental in her portrayal of events, the director presented all facts and minute details related to the case in an intriguing and engaging manner.
The film was released across 625 screens on 2nd October 2015. Initially, it took off to a slow start at the box-office, but as the excellent word of mouth publicity started setting in after a couple of shows, the audience came into action and queued up in front of the ticket counter to buy tickets for the movie. The film performed well in its first week at the box office, putting up a better show than the Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Singh Is Bling’ which had arrived in cinemas the previous week. After earning Rs. 0.50 crores from its paid previews, the film raked in Rs. 02.50 crores on its opening day. The first weekend earnings of the film stood at Rs. 9.50 crores. Continuing its outstanding performance in the weekdays also, the Irrfan Khan and Konkana Sen Sharma starrer pulled in Rs 15.55 crore in its first week.
After an excellent week at the box-office, the film remained steady in the second weekend also and collected a handsome amount of Rs. 5.05 crores, taking its total to a grand Rs. 22.55 crores. After its two week run, the film had made a nett collection of Rs. 26.00 crores. The Meghna Gulzar directorial had a better third weekend compared to ‘Jazbaa’, which starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the female lead and was the comeback film of the actress. The winning streak of the film continued and ‘Talvar’ minted Rs 2.25 crore in its third weekend, whereas the Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer earned Rs 2.17 crore in its second weekend. In its three weeks run at box office, collection of ‘Talvar’ stood at Rs 29.33 crore which was phenomenal for a movie made on a shoestring budget.
TRIVIA: ‘Talvar’ was the second movie to be released in the same year based on the double murder case of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj. The first one was ‘Rahasya’ starring Kay Kay Menon in January 2015.