The expected has happened. Akshay Kumar’s Mission Mangal has ruled the box-office charts in the weekend gone by. It was off to a flying start on Thursday, 15th August, when it opened to bumper houses and closed the day with a total of Rs. 29 crore, the highest a solo Akshay starrer has ever recorded. The previous record was held by his Gold, which, too, was an Independence Day release. Incidentally, as in this year, in last year’s Independence Day weekend too, Akshay Kumar’s film was pitted against a John Abraham starrer. Last year, it was Nikhil Advani’s Satyameva Jayate while this year, it is Nikhil’s Batla House. The difference is that while Satyameva Jayate was only produced by Advani, Batla House is produced and directed by him.
Coming back to Mission Mangal, its collections dropped to Rs. 17.28 crore on Friday, a fall which was not alarming at all, considering that Friday was a working day after the national and festive holiday (it was also Raksha Bandhan on 15th August) of Thursday. Collections once again shot up to Rs. 23.58 crore on Saturday, thanks to the excellent reports of the film which offered a good mix of patriotism, science, humour, comedy, drama, and emotions. Sunday ended at Rs. 27.54 crore, taking the four-day weekend’s total to a phenomenal Rs. 97.40 crore. It is anybody’s guess that the film has joined the Rs. 100-crore club today (19th August) even as we write this story. At the rate at which the film is going at the turnstiles, it shouldn’t be a problem for the film to cross the Rs. 150-crore mark. If that happens, it will become the highest-grossing film of Akshay Kumar as it will then have broken the record held by his Kesari.
So what is it about Mission Mangal which is making it people’s favourite watch? It’s several things put together. For one, people have started associating Akshay Kumar with cinema of substance, and this film offers substance as it brings to screen the efforts of our scientists, many of them women, in successfully launching the first satellite to Mars. Secondly, because it highlights the efforts of the lady-scientists, it is a subject that is resonating beautifully with the womenfolk. And it’s a well-established principle that if you make a good woman-oriented film, chances of it clicking are bright because ladies generally come to the cinemas with either their husbands, boyfriends or the entire family. Thirdly, although it is about a scientific mission, writer R. Balki and director Jagan Shakti have made it quite simplistic by talking in a language which laymen can also comprehend. There are people who haven’t taken too kindly to this simplistic approach but does anyone care for them? Finally, the modus operandi has worked — and worked big time, so, obviously, the makers were right in doing what they did. After all, what would have been the charm if they had made a highly technical film which would have been understood by a select elite audience only? The purpose of catering to a wider audience would not have been served. Such a film may have won plaudits for staying true to the spirit of the subject but one mustn’t forget, filmmaking is not just an art; it is a mix of art and commerce.
What also spells further success for Mission Mangal is the fact that there is no major Hindi film releasing on the coming Friday. That means, the Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan starrer will continue to remain the first choice of the public in its second week too.