Kesari box office collection Day 1: Akshay Kumar's second biggest opener film earns Rs 21.50 crore

Anurag Singh's directorial film Kesari released on Holi and the Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra starrer film has raked in Rs 21.50 crore on its first day. It is Akshay Kumar's second biggest opener after Gold, which made Rs 25.25 crore on its first day. It has surpassed the opening collection of blockbusters like Gully Boy, Total Dhamaal and Captain Marvel, according to film critic Taran Adarsh. The movie jointly produced under the banners of Dharma Productions, Cape of Good Films, Azure Entertainment and Zee Studios is one of the "costliest films" and saw a mega opening across 4,200 screens across the world, including 3,200 screens in India alone, said Adarsh.

He added that the film was "outstanding" and one of the best films of Akshay's career, so far. It has portrayed "a significant chapter from history brilliantly and it has it all- from nationalism, patriotism to heroism, scale and soul. The direction is terrific and is something to not miss out", he said.

Twinkle Khanna, wife of Akshay Kumar and author, said that the film is "a moving story of extraordinary courage with some kick-ass action".

Kesari is a 2019 action-war film and is an extraordinary story of 21 Sikh soldiers fighting valiantly against 10,000 Afghan troops in the year 1897. It depicts Afghan soldiers' attempt to capture Saragarhi, a signalling post between Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart. The film portrays Akshay Kumar as Havildar Ishar Singh leading the 36th Sikh regiment of the British Indian Army, putting up a strong fight against the invaders.

"Kesari takes the audience where history textbooks did not, into the lives of the soldiers. If one soldier is away from his six-month-old daughter, another has been grappling with caste discrimination all his life", said India Today in its film review.

(Edited by: Nehal Solanki)

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