Subhash Ghai’s latest offering to the Box office has failed to set the cash counters ringing as “ Black and White” seems to have not gone down well with audiences.

A return to meaningful cinema after the disasters of Yaadein and Kisna, three years ago, Ghai’s offering Black and White had got good reviews from the critics. It has even got tax-free status in New Delhi.

But it has trailed behind in audiences the first week of its release. It has done average business in the multiplexes but fared poorly in single screens in all other regions. There had been no new release since Jodhaa Akbar and no competition on its Friday opening. But, Ghai’s experiment with ‘realistic’ cinema could not rustle up the audience.

The movie has got good performances from supporting cast Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah and Habib Tanveer. The main protagonist Anurag Sinha’s performance has been universally rated as wooden.

Sinha is starring as an undercover terrorist and Muslim fundamentalist who plans to bomb the Republic Day parade in Delhi. Mean while he befriends a Hindu lecturer of Urdu played by Anil Kapoor and his wife, played by Shefali Shah who live in Chandni Chowk. The movie explores how the terrorist faces an emotional turmoil due to his friendship with the Hindu couple and his rising reluctance for his terrorist mission.

This movie is a sensitive treatment of the delicate issue of terrorism a.k.a the themes explored earlier in Dil Se, Maachis, Terrorist etc. The music is scored by Sukhwinder singh.

The movie’s status is expected to improve as there is no major release the next Friday and in terms of its small budget, it will register a profit.

The next big movies in line up include U, Me aur Hum from Ajay and Kajol Devgan and Yash Raj’s Tashan.