Padmaavat stumps all by being biggest grosser

The film is heading to cross the 250 crore mark by this weekend

Audiences across the globe are showering immense love on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’. The film has registered the highest opening weekend for a Hindi film overseas (excluding China). The film has turned out to be a mega block buster as 2018 opened. The film’s total tally now stands at a whopping Rs 241.97 crore, entering the 200 crore club by the third week of its release.

The film’s main actors have expressed relief at the film’s long delayed release.  Ranveer Singh, who has already received acclaim for his portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat, has shared a heartfelt message on social media to thank director Sanjay Leela Bhansali for giving “me a gift of a character.”

The actor has admitted on social media he is overwhelmed and couldn’t thank Bhansali enough for helping him become an artist that he is today. He wrote: “I’m so overwhelmed with the film at this point that words fail me. I feel immensely blessed. I’m so proud of my team. Team Padmaavat for the win! High tens and monster hugs to everyone. I’m relieved and happy with the reactions to my performance. Thank you all for your kind and generous praise. Sanjay Sir has given me a gift of a character that I will forever be indebted to him for in my life, more than I already am. You have shaped me into the artist that I am, Sir. I love you. For me, the sheer toil of our film’s team has translated as magic on the big screen.”

Aditi Rao Hydari is dazzled by the compliments she has received for her brief yet evocative role as Mehrunisa in ‘Padmaavat’. The actress says she is overjoyed by the positive response. “I never expected so much praise for such a brief role. But then Sanjay sir had told me I’d be happy with my role. I am not just happy. I am overjoyed. The response has been tremendous. And I can see why. My character Mehrunisa comes across as the only source of positivity that’s pure and honest in Khilji’s life,” she said.

The film’s female lead Actress Deepika Padukone who, on the eve of its release had predicted the response would be “earth shattering” Deepika admitted to being “Emotional, very excited and overwhelmed. It is time to celebrate and see the film do wonders at the Box office. The film has spoken for itself. Reactions to the film are phenomenal. To see the kind of reactions my performance is getting is extremely overwhelming,” said Padukone.

However erstwhile royals of Mewar are sticking to their stand over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmavati’ and are miffed with the portrayal of Rani Padmavati in the film. Mewar royal and descendant of Rawal Ratan Singh, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, the 76th custodian of the Mewar dynasty, has clarified, “We’re not against movies based on history, but they need to be historically correct. There is an urgent need for a law that clearly demarcates the limits in the portrayal of historical characters,” Singh told TIO.
“They are clearly not with the Rajputs or the Muslims, so who are they with? Where does their loyalty lie? What they want to show by making such a film is beyond my understanding,” said Singh,

Jaipur-based historian Chandramani Singh, says, “Today’s youth turn to movies and television for education, as they don’t read much,” adding, “My three-year-old granddaughter too will watch the movie one day and tell me that, ‘Grandpa, Queen Padmavati was like what was shown in the film and unlike how you narrate in your stories’. How would I convince her then?”