After a long delay owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Akshay Kumar's much awaited historical drama Samrat Prithviraj released in theatres on Friday (June 3, 2022). Helmed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the film is based on Prithviraj Raso, a Braj language epic poem about the life of Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan.
The Akshay Kumar-starrer opened to mixed response from the critics and the audience. When it comes to its performance at the box office on first day of its release, Samrat Prithviraj has collected Rs 10.70 Crore on the first day of its release. The film will require some heavy positive word of mouth to mint big numbers on Saturday and Sunday. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, "#SamratPrithviraj gathered momentum towards evening on Day 1... Biz at metros - which started slow - did not escalate, but mass circuits showed upward trends... Biz should grow on Day 2 and 3, needs that push for a strong weekend total... Fri ₹ 10.70 cr. #India biz." Talking about what fascinated him to play Samrat Prithviraj on screen, Akshay Kumar earlier shared in one of his interviews, "Various aspects inspired me, the first being that my writer-director Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi had spent 18 long years researching Prithviraj! Who does such things? I am amazed at his dedication and knowledge. In history, all we had learnt was one paragraph, with a picture of a rather stout man. But Prithviraj became a king at the age of 11, died at 36 and fought 18 long battles until then. Doctor-saab thus explained that he had to someone athletic, and so he had come to me. The sword he had used alone weighed 15 to 20 kilos!" Samrat Prithviraj marks the Bollywood debut of former beauty queen Manushi Chhillar, and also features Sanjay Dutt and Sonu Sood in pivotal roles.