‘Ponniyin Selvan II’ Continues To Rule, Inches Close To $40 Million

Mani Ratnam’s latest historic epic Ponniyin Selvan II continues to rule the box office and has collected in $37 million in ten days. Released worldwide on April 28, the Tamil film stars Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Karthi in important roles.

Ratnam made a two part historic epic based on Kalki’s books Ponniyin Selvan that narrate the story of the Chola kingdom in Indian region. The first part came out last year and scored big at the ticket windows. Ravi essays the titular role of Arunmozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Selvan. Rai plays the role of Nandini and Vikram has been paired opposite her in the role of Arunmozhi’s brother Aditha Karikalan. Ponniyin Selvan, much like the books, paint strong and powerful female characters who chart the course of their own journeys and follow passions and ambitions that speak to their own heart. Ponniyin Selvan packs a thrilling narrative with beautiful frames and brilliant performers for a enchanting cinematic experience.

Meanwhile, the new Hindi release The Kerala Story has been creating ripples at the box office. The film has earned $7 million in India alone in five days of the release. Made on an estimated budget of $5 million, the film’s opening collections stood at $1 million. After a slight rise on Saturday, the collections jumped to $2 million on Sunday and totalled $4 million over the first weekend in India. The Kerala Story registered a good score on Monday, the first working day since release and earned $1.2 million.

Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is said to be inspired by true stories, and talks about missing girls from the Indian state of Kerala, who were allegedly brainwashed by the terror organization ISIS. The film features Adah Sharma in the lead role and is slated for release outside India on May 12. It also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani, Sonia Balani and Vijay Krishna in important roles.

The Kerala Story has become a point of political tussle in India with some of the political parties hailing it as a necessary piece of art and several others snubbing it as a propaganda tool. The point of contention is the number of girls who went missing and were found to have joined ISIS. A few states in India have waived off the taxes for the film while some have banned screening of the film.

On the other hand, Diljit Dosanjh’s Punjabi film Jodi opened with a collection of $0.5 million in India over the weekend and ended up with a worldwide gross of $1.5 million. Starring opposite Dosanjh, the film hit theatres on May 5.

Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan finally managed to cross $12 million as it completed 18 days at the box office on Monday. The Khan film hit theatres a week before Ponniyin Selvan II.

The latest Hollywood release Guardians of the Galaxy has made $3.6 million in India. Globally, the latest Marvel movie is closing in on $300 million. The film features Zoe Saldaña, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper.