Akshay Kumar’s period drama Kesari has made a little over Rs 105 crore at the box office since its release on March 21, according to trade sources.
Written and directed by Anurag Singh, the film is based on the Battle of Saragarhi of 1897, in which 21 Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army fought to their deaths against 10,000 Afghani tribesmen. The collaboration between Zee Studios and Dharma Productions was released on a Thursday (which also happened to be Holi), and took a strong opening of Rs 21 crore.
The other Hindi release alongside Kesari, Vasan Bala’s Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, has cratered at the box office, making a reported Rs two crore. The action comedy stars Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan and Gulshan Devaiah.
Among the holdover releases, Badla and Luka Chuppi have continued their healthy box-office run. Sujoy Ghosh’s Badla, an official remake of the Spanish thriller The Invisible Guest, was released on March 8. The suspense drama stars Taapsee Pannu as a woman accused of murdering her lover and Amitabh Bachchan as a lawyer whom she seeks to convince of her innocence. The film raked in a little over Rs 11 crore in its third weekend, reaching over Rs 78 crore, trade analysts said.
Also out on March 8 was the Brie Larson-starrer Captain Marvel, which earned over Rs 82 crore in its third week. The female superhero-led Marvel production has collected $900 million globally, according to Forbes.
Laxman Utekar’s comedy Luka Chuppi has also had a solid showing since its March 1 release. The comedy stars Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon as a live-in couple whose families come visiting. Aaryan’s first solo film outside the Pyaar Ka Punchnama universe earned an estimated Rs 84 crore.
Indra Kumar’s ensemble comedy Total Dhamaal has collected an estimated Rs 148 crore since it came out on February 22. Starring Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit, the film follows five groups as they race to nab a Rs 50-crore loot.
Among the several releases on March 29, only the Vidyut Jammwal-starrer Junglee and the Salman Khan-promoted Notebook are expected to leave any traces. The other releases include Gone Kesh, Dumbo, Us and The Least of These. On April 5, the spy thriller Romeo Akbar Walter and No Fathers in Kashmir will be released. Omung Kumar’s biopic PM Narendra Modi is also expected to be released on April 5.
