Samrat Prithviraj director on movie’s box office failure: Historians should keep their debate outside cinema halls

Akshay Kumar’s Samrat Prithviraj, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, was one of the most-anticipated movies of the year. Despite all the fanfare and hype around it, the movie failed to make a mark at the box office. The director has now shared his opinions about why the movie became a dud. 

Talking to Navbharat Times, Dwivedi said, “I would appreciate if historians raise objections or present their side to the story. Just because you don’t agree with my side doesn’t mean you’ll reject it all together. That’s not how history functions”. 

““Historians should keep their debate outside cinema halls,” he added, pointing out that they should watch movies like just movies and stop themselves from dragging politics and religion into it. He further added that Samrat Prithviraj talks about a lot more things than just the titular king’s valour. 

The director also revealed that Akshay Kumar told him that he would go back to doing movies that were more focussed on entertainment and less controversial if Samrat Prithviraj failed to do well. 

Samrat Prithviraj, which tells the story of King Prithviraj Chauhan, was reportedly made at a whopping Rs. 200 crore budget. The movie has made a little over Rs. 62 crores since its release according to trade analysts and reports, with it looking impossible for it to cross the Rs. 100 crore mark. 

“Once again, a Sultan as a savage dressed in dull colours, while Prithviraj is shown in brighter light and colour schemes. It’s high time we expect the mainstream cinema to rise above the stereotypical portrayal of the invaders (Muslim antagonists in period dramas).” read the movie’s review on OTTplay. 

Manushi Chhillar, Sonu Sood, Sanjay Dutt, Manav Vij, Ashutosh Rana and Sakshi Tanwar also appear in other important roles in the historical drama. The movie is bankrolled by Yash Raj Films and will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.