'Neerja' mints Rs.4.70 crore on opening day

Sonam Kapoor starrer "Neerja" -- a biopic on the life of Neerja Bhanot who sacrificed her life while saving passengers on board hijacked PanAm flight 73 -- has received a good response at the box office while minting over Rs. 4 crore on its opening day in India.

Directed by Ram Madhvani, the film, which released on Friday, has collected Rs 4.70 crore on the first day and is going strong on positive word of mouth.

"I am truly humbled with the fantastic response for 'Neerja' at the theatres. It is a testament to the fact that people out there are looking for good content first and everything else comes later," Atul Kasbekar, who has co-produced the film, said in a statement.

"We believe this will be the case more and more in the future. When we started this project Ram Madhvani and I said that we would be extremely honest to the cause and the team that was working with us shared the same values and I believe that the conviction, compassion and honesty shows on screen," he added.

"Neerja" is expected to witness a strong weekend ahead, said trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

"#Neerja Friday Rs.4.70 crore (700 theatres/limited shows). India business. Expect business to zoom upwards on Saturday and Sunday. Quality cinema triumphs," Adarsh posted on Twitter on Saturday.