'I Hate Luv Storys' had everything going in its favour and that showed in the way it opened at the box office. As predicted last week, an opening of more than 70% was pretty much on the cards and this is exactly how the collections stood. With the opening weekend business being huge (~23 crores) and next only to the likes of 'Raajneeti', 'Kites', 'Housefull' and 'My Name Is Khan' this year, 'I Hate Luv Storys' brought smiles back on the faces of those who were looking for feel good entertainment.

Of course this Karan Johar production was hardly the kind of cinema that the audiences would have gone gaga over or fallen off the chair with laughter or wept inconsolably in reaction to the plight of the protagonists. However, for the target audience of the film - youth - it was a two and a half hours well spent; something that resulted in a good word of mouth. No one has hated the film; after all the genre is such which automatically qualifies it as safe if sprinkled with the right ingredients (good music, good looking actors, good visuals and some good heartwarming moments). Due to that, IHLS has now comfortably managed to sail through.

What it has also done in the process is raise the stocks of Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor immediately. As was mentioned in this column last week, for Imran, IHLS was a very important film because other youngsters like Shahid Kapoor (Badmaash Company) and Imran Khan (Raajneeti) had delivered successful films this year. Also, Neil Nitin Mukesh has 'Lafangey Parinde' lined up. Now that IHLS is en route to be a definite HIT and perhaps even more, Imran can breathe easy till his next release 'Break Ke Baad'.

As for Sonam Kapoor, IHLS is a definite shot in the arm, especially after 'Saawariya' and 'Delhi 6'. With this film, she has got into a zone where her fans would have wanted her to be for the last 2 years. In 'Saawariya' and 'Delhi 6' she was confined to a particular image but thankfully she breaks the shackles to get into a new age chic avatar with IHLS. This should now also help her cause for 'Aisha' which releases next month.

--Joginder Tuteja/ Sampurn Wire