By: Amit KumaR Agarwal
Samrat Prithviraj is the biggie that opens on June 3. Starring the current 'Number 1' of Hindi Cinema, Akshay Kumar. Expectations are high. This, in spite of the fact that the first trailer got mixed reviews, though the second trailer is appreciated. Will Samrat Prithviraj meet the expectations.
Let's analyze
Akshay Kumar has had a long bullish run on the box-office as well as OTT's. He was brave enough to release Bell-Bottom in cinemas last year, when others were shying away. During The Kashmir Files wave, he released Bachchan Pandey, anyone else would've postponed the film. Both the films did theatrical business in the range of 60 to 65 crores, while the conservatives were of the view that Akshay's stardom has eroded, the BO of these films is way ahead when compared to businesses of films starring Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurana or even south superstars like Chiranjeevi, Vijay or Ajit Kumar that released during the same time.
Let's analyze
Akshay Kumar has had a long bullish run on the box-office as well as OTT's. He was brave enough to release Bell-Bottom in cinemas last year, when others were shying away. During The Kashmir Files wave, he released Bachchan Pandey, anyone else would've postponed the film. Both the films did theatrical business in the range of 60 to 65 crores, while the conservatives were of the view that Akshay's stardom has eroded, the BO of these films is way ahead when compared to businesses of films starring Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurana or even south superstars like Chiranjeevi, Vijay or Ajit Kumar that released during the same time.
Sooryavanshi is still the highest earner from Hindi film industry post-pandemic, if we discount The Kashmir Files, which was historic! Even a badly made Atrangi Re, topped the OTT charts - so, Akshay's stardom is intact!
Newcomer, Manushi Chillar portraying Sanyogita, has the industry divided, with many saying Pooja Hegde or Kiara Advani would have been a better choice. It is still too early to comment on it, since it is Manushi's debut film.
That brings us to the director, Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi. He gave a very successful Chanakya, but that was on television. His films in the past haven't been successful at the box-office. The way audience consume content on cinema, television and OTT's is very different.
Right now, the film sits on an even keel, the draw of Akshay Kumar is there, but a section of the audience owing to their beliefs, are already cut-off from the film. In such a scenario, most of the trade-pundits are divided about the films' box-office fate. Though, the writer feels that the film is a definitive winner - hit, success or plus - word-of-mouth will be the deciding factor for Samrat Prithviraj's ultimate box-office run.