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NDTV
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Kesari Chapter 2 Box Office Collection Day 16: Next Stop For Akshay Kumar's Film
New Delhi: Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh is nearing the ₹80 crore mark at the box office. The film, featuring Akshay Kumar, collected ₹1.9 crore on Day 16, according to Sacnilk. So far, the courtroom drama has grossed a total of ₹77.9 crore in the domestic market. The project recorded an overall Hindi occupancy of 28.60% on May 3. Breaking it down: morning shows had 12.37%, afternoon shows saw 27.90%, evening shows witnessed 33.77% and night shows clocked 40.37%. Kesari Chapter 2 is inspired by the book The Case That Shook The Empire by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat. The film is set against the backdrop of the tragic 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The project focuses on the valiant legal battle fought by C Sankaran Nair against the oppressive British Raj. Akshay Kumar plays the lead role of Justice Chettur Sankaran Nair, while R Madhavan portrays Advocate Neville McKinley. Ananya Panday portrays Dilreet Gill. The film also features Regina Cassandra, Simon Paisley Day and Alexx O'Nell in key roles. Akshay Kumar attended a special screening of Kesari Chapter 2 on April 26. Addressing the audience at the venue, the actor opened up about Pahalgam terror attack. The brutal attack, which occurred at Baisaran Valley on April 22, killed 26 civilians. Akshay Kumar said, ' Unfortunately, aaj bhi humare sab ke dil mein woh gussa phir se jaga hain. Aap sab log achchi tarah se jaante he main kis cheez ki baat kar raha hoon. Aaj bhi hum un terrorists o ko ek hi baat kehna chahenge. Jo maine iss film mein kahi he, kya (Even today we are feeling the same anger all over again. All of you know exactly what I am talking about. Today I also want to say the same few words to the terrorists that I have said in the film. What)?" Released on April 18, Kesari Chapter 2 has been directed by Karan Singh Tyagi. The film has been jointly produced by Dharma Productions, Leo Media Collective and Cape of Good Films.
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Not deviated from factual realities around Jallianwala Bagh massacre: 'Kesari Chapter 2' director
Making a film around the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a huge responsibility for first-time director , who says he has strived to remain true to the tragedy in his movie " Kesari Chapter 2 " while taking some creative liberties to make its story more relatable to audiences. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Based on "The Case That Shook The Empire" by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, "Kesari 2" delves into the life of lawyer C Sankaran Nair , played by superstar , and the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It also features R Madhavan as the British lawyer Neville McKinley and Ananya Panday as Nair's assistant Dilreet Gill. "With full respect and all humility, I want to say that we were compressing a court case which lasted over months into two hours. When that happens, you compress timelines, you combine characters. But we were mindful that we were not deviating from the factual realities of Jallianwala Bagh," the filmmaker told PTI in an interview. "We were not deviating from the fact that the incident of Jallianwala Bagh occurred the way it is depicted in the film. Like, an aeroplane flew over the Bagh to ascertain whether enough people had assembled. Gurkha soldiers were called, and a fake curfew was announced to label people as terrorists," Tyagi added. The director recalled that when he first read the book, written by Nair's grandson Raghu Palat in 2020, he immediately saw its potential to be adapted into a feature film. He then began writing the script with his writer-producer friend Amritpal Singh Bindra, who had co-produced Vicky Kaushal-starrer "Bad News" with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. He then approached Johar to back "Kesari 2". The historical courtroom drama is a follow-up to Akshay's 2019 hit "Kesari", which was about the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Asked what's the link between "Kesari" and "Kesari 2", Tyagi said it's the themes of bravery and resilience. He revealed that the team was earlier toying with titles like "Sankaran Nair versus the Crown", and "Sankaran", but it was Kumar who suggested the movie be called "Kesari 2". "For me, 'Kesari' stands for the colour of revolution, bravery, and for stories of unsung heroes. The first part of 'Kesari' was about a Sikh battalion fighting invaders, 'Kesari Chapter 2' is about one man fighting the empire. So, the strand of bravery resonates in both movies," he said. Tyagi, who earlier served as a writer on acclaimed series "Bandish Bandits" and "Kaalkoot", said he feels "lucky" to have gotten the opportunity to collaborate with Kumar, Madhavan and Panday in his debut movie. "Akshay sir is as much of a writer on the film as he is an actor. We had extensive script sessions with him where he contributed to every scene. He's asked me 10,000 questions on every scene, he wanted to understand the motivations, and the underlying emotion. He's been a collaborator," he said. For the part of Neville McKinley, Tyagi said he wanted an actor who could bring out the nuance, which was necessary for character. "The character is not out there to defend the crown, he's out there to defeat Sankaran Nair. So, it's a thin line. Maddy sir is such a fantastic actor that he got that nuance spot on," he added. Tyagi said he decided to cast Panday because the actor's performance in Shakun Batra's "Gehraiyaan". "There was a very sensitive side to her performance in that film. I wanted somebody who could portray vulnerability and also strength in equal measure. Ananya has done a beautiful job in 'Kesari 2'," he said. The 39-year-old director said he is "overwhelmed" by the response to "Kesari Chapter 2", which has collected Rs 46.54 crores at the box office since its release on April 18. He said he has already begun work on his next film, an action drama movie. Director Karan Johar Defends Ananya Panday Amidst 'Kesari Chapter 2' Criticism
Hindustan Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Not deviated from factual realities around Jallianwala Bagh massacre: ‘Kesari Chapter 2' director
Mumbai, Making a film around the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a huge responsibility for first-time director Karan Singh Tyagi, who says he has strived to remain true to the tragedy in his movie "Kesari Chapter 2" while taking some creative liberties to make its story more relatable to audiences. Based on "The Case That Shook The Empire" by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, 'Kesari 2' delves into the life of lawyer C Sankaran Nair, played by superstar Akshay Kumar, and the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It also features R Madhavan as the British lawyer Neville McKinley and Ananya Panday as Nair's assistant Dilreet Gill. 'With full respect and all humility, I want to say that we were compressing a court case which lasted over months into two hours. When that happens, you compress timelines, you combine characters. But we were mindful that we were not deviating from the factual realities of Jallianwala Bagh,' the filmmaker told PTI in an interview. 'We were not deviating from the fact that the incident of Jallianwala Bagh occurred the way it is depicted in the film. Like, an aeroplane flew over the Bagh to ascertain whether enough people had assembled. Gurkha soldiers were called, and a fake curfew was announced to label people as terrorists,' Tyagi added. The director recalled that when he first read the book, written by Nair's grandson Raghu Palat in 2020, he immediately saw its potential to be adapted into a feature film. He then began writing the script with his writer-producer friend Amritpal Singh Bindra, who had co-produced Vicky Kaushal-starrer 'Bad News' with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. He then approached Johar to back "Kesari 2". The historical courtroom drama is a follow-up to Akshay's 2019 hit 'Kesari', which was about the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897. Asked what's the link between 'Kesari' and 'Kesari 2', Tyagi said it's the themes of bravery and resilience. He revealed that the team was earlier toying with titles like 'Sankaran Nair versus the Crown', and 'Sankaran', but it was Kumar who suggested the movie be called 'Kesari 2'. 'For me, 'Kesari' stands for the colour of revolution, bravery, and for stories of unsung heroes. The first part of 'Kesari' was about a Sikh battalion fighting invaders, 'Kesari Chapter 2' is about one man fighting the empire. So, the strand of bravery resonates in both movies,' he said. Tyagi, who earlier served as a writer on acclaimed series 'Bandish Bandits' and 'Kaalkoot', said he feels 'lucky' to have gotten the opportunity to collaborate with Kumar, Madhavan and Panday in his debut movie. 'Akshay sir is as much of a writer on the film as he is an actor. We had extensive script sessions with him where he contributed to every scene. He's asked me 10,000 questions on every scene, he wanted to understand the motivations, and the underlying emotion. He's been a collaborator,' he said. For the part of Neville McKinley, Tyagi said he wanted an actor who could bring out the nuance, which was necessary for character. "The character is not out there to defend the crown, he's out there to defeat Sankaran Nair. So, it's a thin line. Maddy sir is such a fantastic actor that he got that nuance spot on,' he added. Tyagi said he decided to cast Panday because the actor's performance in Shakun Batra's 'Gehraiyaan'. 'There was a very sensitive side to her performance in that film. I wanted somebody who could portray vulnerability and also strength in equal measure. Ananya has done a beautiful job in 'Kesari 2',' he said. The 39-year-old director said he is 'overwhelmed' by the response to 'Kesari Chapter 2', which has collected ₹46.54 crores at the box office since its release on April 18. He said he has already begun work on his next film, an action drama movie.
