No Heroes' Welcome For Sooraj, Athiya on Opening Day

Sooraj and Athiya in a still from Hero

New Delhi: Newcomers Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty's debut film Hero has made almost Rs seven crores on its opening day. The figure, though 'very good for a film starring newcomers,' is not as spectacular considering the aggressive promotions and marketing strategies deployed by its producer Salman Khan who has served as a mentor to the debutants. (Also Read: Movie Review: Hero)

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the collections:

#Hero Fri ₹ 6.85 cr. India biz... Very good for a film starring newcomers... Biz will need to grow on Sat and Sun for a strong wknd total.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) September 12, 2015

Sooraj is the son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, while Athiya is the daughter of actor Suniel Shetty and Mana.

Directed by Nikhil Advani, Hero is a remake of Subhash Ghai's 1983 film of the same name which starred Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri in the lead roles. Besides Sooraj and Athiya, the 2015 version also co-stars Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kader Khan, Aditya Pancholi and Sharad Kelkar in key roles.