MUMBAI: UTV has said that its release Paan Singh Tomar, the biopic of a soldier-athlete who turned a dacoit, has collected Rs 120 million at the domestic box office.

The film was made on a shoestring budget of Rs 45 million.

UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur said, "Great content, superb reviews, incredible word of mouth and a perfectly targeted distribution strategy has played a significant role in the film‘s success. In the second week of its run, we have gone wider with a release in the Gulf and in 20 additional Tier 2 and 3 cities in India."

He added that the film’s success vindicated a long held belief that audiences today are open to new styles of storytelling and new genres of cinema, as long as they are engaging and entertaining. "At UTV, we have consistently kept the faith in new filmmakers and new genres and are thrilled today to see this cinema achieve the sort of commercial success nobody thought possible."

Director Tigmanshu Dhulia added, "This story was with me for more than 10 years and now to see the same story materialise into a film opening to packed theaters fills me with immense pride. It is a fascinating tale and I am really grateful to each and every one who has made this movie a huge success and for the kind of efforts and research that went behind making this film. As a director, it is very encouraging to see that the audiences are ready to consume films that redefine the general norms of filmmaking."