Chennai Express Movie preview

 While one waits to see if the Rs. 202 crore total of Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots would be threatened by Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express, it is pretty much expected in the trade that at least one record held by Ace Khan is set to be broken. This evening UTV is all set to bring the Rohit Shetty directed affair on a record number of prints, hence giving it the hugest Paid Preview release ever in the history of Bollywood.

This also means that 3 Idiots record of approx Rs. 2.5 crore, which it had earned a night before its full-fledged release, is all set to be broken.

"While typically Paid Previews arrive at 3 or 4 shows on a Thursday night, it is at least triple or more for Chennai Express. It is a huge exception that has been made since Shah Rukh Khan is looking at making the best use of the platform that is available for it. All major multiplex chains are screening 10-12 shows from Thursday evening itself and a huge inflow of moolah is expected," confirms a source.

While 3 Idiots stays on to be a record holder, recently Bhaag Milkha Bhaag too made a heady kick-start by accumulating more than Rs. 1 crore in Paid Previews. Prior to it some of the other notable films that have managed to strike a fortune a night before official release are Ghajini, Singh Is Kinng, Rock On and last year's Jism 2. Incidentally, the film that started it all was Shah Rukh's Don which had seen a modest, yet notable, Paid Preview release for itself.

Now the least that Chennai Express is expected to gather on Thursday is Rs. 5 crores, which would be double of what 3 Idiots had scored. However, few in the trade are pegging the number to be much higher.