Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam and Nayyi Navelli are hitting screens within hours, and the early numbers suggest a tight race — but not a fair one. Yami Gautam’s horror comedy has already pulled in 11,000 advance tickets across PVR Inox and Cinepolis, while the biopic on the controversial cop trails with 8,500. That gap isn’t just about genre. It’s about audience appetite. Horror-comedy is a safer bet in multiplexes these days. Prahaar, despite its real-life roots and the weight of its subject, Ujjwal Nikam, the man behind the 2013 encounter case that sparked national debate. Hasn’t found the same traction. Both films are projected to open between ₹1.5 crore and ₹3.5 crore. But word-of-mouth will decide which one survives the weekend. And then there’s Jailer 2. Rajinikanth’s latest isn’t just a release, it’s a force. With ₹2.25 crore already under its belt on Thursday, it’s not just a competitor. It’s a ceiling. The real test? Whether Prahaar can ride any momentum from its premise. A cop accused of extrajudicial killings, or if audiences will see it as just another dramatised true story without a hook. For now, the numbers say Nayyi Navelli has the edge. But in Indian cinema, opening-day figures are only the first line of a longer script. What happens after Friday night? That’s the real question.