Mumbai, Feb 25 (AHN) Trade analyst Girish Wankhede and film distributor Manoj Desai have shared their views on the box office performance of Taapsee Pannu-starrer ‘Assi’, stating that the film failed to connect with audiences despite its concept.

Speaking about the film’s underwhelming numbers, Girish Wankhede, in an exclusive conversation with AHN, said, “It’s a simple reason. When a film doesn’t do well, it means the audience didn’t like it. They didn’t understand what kind of film it was. If the marketing had been stronger, more people might have come to the cinemas, but the audience wasn’t fully aware.”

He further pointed to mixed critical reception and limited star pull as contributing factors. “Apart from that, the reviews were very mixed. Some people praised the film, some didn’t. Taapsee Pannu is the main lead actress of the film, but she is not capable of pulling a film entirely on her shoulders. There are many such reasons why the film didn’t perform well.”

Explaining the box office trend, he added, “When a film doesn’t do well, it simply means it is unsuccessful from the audience’s point of view. If they had liked it, the word of mouth would have been strong. If the word of mouth had been strong, the collections would have grown. If you look at the first day’s business, it opened at around Rs 1 crore. On the second day, it was about Rs 1.6 crore. On the third day, it remained around Rs 1.6 crore. When a film doesn’t show growth, it indicates that it hasn’t connected with the audience.”

Film distributor Manoj Desai also shared his views on the dismal performance of the film, Talking exclusively to AHN he lauded Taapsee Pannu, and said, “Well, the girl is very promising. I believe in her. I am a big fan of hers.”

He added, “And yes, one of the main things was the title - ‘Assi’. People were asking us, even our managing staff was asking, what does ‘Assi’ mean? I myself would like to know what it stands for.”

He concluded, “Audience comes and goes, and anyhow, the film did not work well, but it was not a complete disaster either.”

Talking about ‘Assi’, the movie alongside Taapsee Pannu in lead, also features Kani Kusruti, Revathy, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, with special appearances by Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak, and Seema Pahwa, further elevating the film’s thrilling depth.

The film released in theatres worldwide on February 20.