Witnessing a boost due to Janmashtami on second Friday of its release, Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Mangal rose to become the latter’s second highest-grossing film. Minting a total of Rs 135.99 crore, the Jagan Shakti directorial is all set to dethrone Kesari from number one spot.Sharing the rising numbers on his social media handle, Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh revealed, “#MissionMangal witnesses growth on [second] Fri… Got a boost due to #Janmashtami festivities… Will hit ₹ 150 cr + cross *lifetime biz* of #Kesari *this weekend* [Akshay Kumar’s second highest grossing film]… [Week 2] Fri 7.83 cr. Total: ₹ 135.99 cr. India biz. Akshay Kumar’s highest grossing films… 1. #2Point0 [#Hindi] 2. #Kesari 3. #MissionMangal #MissionMangal will stake claim on No 2 position *this weekend*… Will #MissionMangal dethrone #2Point0 [#Hindi] from No 1 spot, time will tell. India biz. (sic)”
The movie also stars actors Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Nithya Menon and Sharman Joshi in pivotal roles. The Jagan Shakti directorial, entered the Rs 100 crore mark on Tuesday, incidentally on the same day that India’s ambitious lunar mission’Chandrayaan 2‘ entered moon’s orbit. Mission Mangal is about the Mars Orbiter Mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Also called the Mangalyaan, it is a space probe and has been orbiting Mars since 2014. The film fictionalises the events leading up to the successful launch.Rakesh (Akshay) and Tara (Vidya) lead a team of scientists who overcome their personal challenges and failures to serve as the brains behind one of the greatest missions in history: The launch of India’s first orbiter mission to Mars.The movie, based on a true story of India’s mission to Mars, is about ordinary people achieving the extraordinary. Directed by Jagan Shakti, the film is co-produced by ‘PadMan’ director R Balki.Mission Mangal is being praised for its rich content and a performance-oriented star cast. The film received mixed reviews from the critics but good word-of-mouth on social media benefitted heavily to the film.
