Akshay Kumar reacts to Mission Raniganj's dismal box office collection: This is one of my best films

Akshay Kumar in a still from Mission Raniganj. Pic/Google

Akshay Kumar's Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue released in theatres on October 6. Co-starring Parineeti Chopra, Pawan Malhotra, Ravi Kishan and others, it was directed by Tinu Suresh Desai. The biopic based on the life of Jaswant Singh Gill failed to meet expectations.

In an interview with Times Now Navbharat, Akshay reacted to Mission Raniganj's dismal performance. Calling it 'one of his best films', he said, "It is not a commercial film. It has not earned as much as it should have earned. But, I have come here knowing that the film has not done well, to own the film- and I have done some 150 films by now-and say that this is one of my best films."

As per trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Mission Raniganj remained underwhelming on the first weekend. He tweeted, "#MissionRaniganj has a below-the-mark Weekend 1… Biz improved on Day 2, but got impacted by #INDvAUS match on Day 3… Weekend biz is not in sync with its merits/reports, but if it sustains from today [Mon], right till #Dussehra2023, there's a chance of putting up a decent total… Fri 2.80 cr, Sat 4.80 cr, Sun 5 cr. Total: ₹ 12.60 cr. #India biz."

Mission Raniganj is about mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill who rescued 65 miners from a flooded mine in Raniganj, West Bengal. Born in 1940 in Amritsar, Gill completed his BSc (Honours) from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, before joining Coal India Limited in 1973. Throughout his career, the Mahabir Colliery, Raniganj, West Bengal, is said to be the most significant event.

Mission Raniganj has an ensemble cast. It also includes Varun Badola, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Shishir Sharma, Ananth Mahadevan, Jameel Khan, Sudhir Pandey, Bachan Pachera, Mukesh Bhatt and Omkar Das Manikpur.

Mid-Day gave Mission Raniganj 2.5 stars stating, "Kumar portrays Gill with sincerity and restraint, while leading from the front and taking control of the situations. However, there is only so much he can do, given the writing, treatment, and execution."

The review further read, "While Mission Raniganj makes passing comments on the Chasnala mining disaster of 1975, it's miles behind the Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha-starrer Kaala Patthar (1979), which was set against the backdrop of India's deadliest mining disaster that killed 375 people and still remains a far superior film."