MUMBAI: Box-office battles normally happen between films released on the same day, but there seems to be an exception right now. This week's big 'desi' release -- the Saif-Ali Khan starrer "Jawaani Jaaneman" -- is facing real opposition from Ajay Devgn's "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior", which released on January 10.

Entering fourth week, "Tanhaji" has impressively grossed Rs 243 crore so far. The film surpassed the lifetime collection of the Ranveer Singh-starrer "Simmba" (Rs 240.31 crore) on Friday, reports buinesstoday.in.

According to trade sources, "Tanhaji" has remained steady ever since it opened on January 10 alongside the Deepika Padukone-starrer "Chhapaak". While "Chhapaak" has slowed down, the January 17 release "Jai Mummy Di" failed to put up much of a fight for "Tahnaji". Neither did last week's releases -- "Panga" and "Street Dancer 3D" -- manage to scale a similar box-office high.

In its fourth week, "Tanhaji" collections continue to be the best in Maharashtra, with the state contributing nearly 60 per cent of the film's overall collection, reports timesofindia.com.

Notably, "Tanhaji" collected more in the Mumbai circuit on Friday, which was day 22 for the film, than "Jawaani Jaaneman" on the same day, which was its day one. The Saif Ali Khan-starrer saw a slow start, managing only Rs 3.24 crore upon release on Friday.

For Saif personally, though, this is better that the fate his recent films have seen. "#JawaaniJaaneman does much better than several solo #SaifAliKhan movies released in the recent past... Biz witnessed an upward trend towards evening shows at metros... Needs to trend well over the weekend for a respectable total... Fri 3.24 cr. #India biz," tweeted trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

While it seems unlikely that "Jawaani Jaaneman", primarily an urban multiplex entertainer, will reach anywhere near the imposing figures of "Tanhaji", Ajay Devgn's film is now close to taking on the 2019 blockbuster, "Uri: The Surgical Strike", which has recorded a lifetime collection of Rs 245.36 crore, according to business today.in

Makers of the other two releases of this week -- Himesh Reshammiya's Happy Hardy And Heer" and the Malala Yousafzai biopic "Gul Makai" -- would be lucky to see their films last the entire week. While "Happy Hardy And Heer" managed less than 10 lakh on day one, the collections of "Gul Makai" hovered around Rs 4-5 lakh, according to timesofindia.com.

SOURCE :IANS