Aarakshan earns 58 cr in its first week

Filmmaker Prakash Jha is climbing the stairs of success, first it was Supreme Court's order on Aarakshan release in Uttar Pradesh, which went on his favour and now it is the unexpected business done by the film despite ban on the film in important states like UP, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. Film Aarakshan has managed to pocket in Rs 58.5 crore within its first week.

"I'm very happy with the audience response to 'Aarakshan'. I've been flooded with congratulatory messages and calls. The film seems to be touching many, many people," Jha said in a statement on Friday. Aarakshan deals with sensitive issue of caste-based quota and commercialization of education. Due to this subject, the film was banned in several cities, however the SC today lifted the ban declaring that a ban will hamper the freedom of speech and expression in India.

"It has been an unexpectedly tough battle to release the film... I hope no other filmmaker ever has to go through what I'm going through. I'm very grateful for the support of the audiences worldwide who have been watching and enjoying the film. Many common people have been conveying their support, and that is very heartening," added Jha.

The movie features megastar Amitabh Bachchan with Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Manoj Bajpayee and Prateik Babbar.