Yash Raj Films launches sales on Piku

Produced by MSM Motion Pictures, the film recently grossed $10m on its opening weekend in India and diaspora markets.

The film stars Amitabh Bachchan as a cranky father who blackmails his free-spirited daughter into taking a road trip with him. Deepika Padukone plays the daughter and Irrfan Khan also stars.

The $10m box office is the biggest opening for a Hindi film so far this year. MSM Motion Pictures, the film arm of Sony Entertainment TV’s parent company Multi Screen Media, produced with Saraswati Entertainment and Rising Sun Films.

Yash Raj is also selling My Big Fat Bride, directed by Sharat Katariya who wrote Titli, which screened in Un Certain Regard last year; Dibakar Banerjee’s Calcutta Detective; and Pradeep Sarkar’s Mardaani, about child trafficking, which stars Rani Mukerji. My Big Fat Bride was also a sleeper hit in India, grossing $6m, while Mardaani just opened in Poland through Film Village.

“These films could be described as ‘New Age’ Bollywood. Polish audiences couldn’t believe a like Mardaani could come from India as its issue-based and doesn’t have song and dance,” said Yash Raj vice president, international operations, Avtar Panesar.

On the traditional Bollywood front, Yash Raj is also selling Fan, in which Shah Rukh Khan will play himself and one of his own fans.