The Diwali week at the box office is usually dominated by Bollywood’s biggest stars, who aim to make the most of the festive holidays. This year, the dates were claimed by Maddock Films for their famed horror-comedy universe release Thamma, and by Harshvardhan Rane’s romantic drama Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. The latter also stars Sonam Bajwa and marks Milap Zaveri’s return to direction after four years.
Strong opening despite competition
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat surprised everyone with a solid opening despite facing tough competition from Thamma, which has been riding high on the popularity of its horror-comedy franchise. Harshvardhan and Sonam Bajwa’s romantic drama registered a total of Rs 10.10 crore on its opening day, an impressive feat considering its limited screen count and modest promotions.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh described the film’s box office performance as a “delightful surprise.” He wrote,“Despite facing a formidable opponent from the MHCU universe – Thamma – and lesser showcasing, EDKD pulls off double digits on Day 1. Following the re-release of SanamTeriKasam, there has been renewed interest in its leading man HarshvardhanRane, and EDKD further consolidates his standing, especially across Tier-2 and Tier-3 centres.”
#EkDeewaneKiDeewaniyat / #EDKD springs a delightful surprise… Despite facing a formidable opponent from the #MHCU universe – #Thamma – and lesser showcasing, #EDKD pulls off double digits on Day 1.
Following the re-release of #SanamTeriKasam, there has been renewed interest in… pic.twitter.com/QqASAuj4Q4
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 22, 2025
“The film marks Harshvardhan Rane’s biggest opener to date. Backed by chartbuster music, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat has performed particularly well at several mass centres. The Diwali holiday period also contributed significantly to its strong day-one numbers. With an extended festive weekend ahead, the film is expected to post a robust total in its opening weekend,” he added.
Matches Varun Dhawan’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari
Interestingly, Milap Zaveri’s directorial has earned as much as Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, which released in theatres earlier this month. The Dharma Productions film had collected Rs 10.11 crore on its opening day, despite being a multi-starrer with an extensive promotional campaign. The film also featured Rohit Dhawan, Sanya Malhotra, and Maniesh Paul.
Milap Zaveri reacts to audience response
Filmmaker Milap Zaveri, who returned to the big screen after a four-year gap, shared his excitement over the audience’s reaction to Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. Taking to Instagram, he posted a video from a theatre screening the film, where loud cheers and whistles erupted as his name appeared on the big screen.
He captioned the post, “I waited 4 years for this. But never imagined I would be hearing the cheers, whistles and applause by the mass audience on seeing my name. #EkDeewaneKiDEEWANIYAT in cinemas NOW!”
Billed as a musical, obsessive romantic drama, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is written by Mushtaq Shaikh and co-written and directed by Milap Milan Zaveri. The film explores intense emotions such as love, obsession, and heartbreak.
Zaveri’s next project is Dongri, in which he will serve as the writer. The film will be directed by choreographer-filmmaker Remo D’Souza.
