Why Akshay Kumar's 'Mission Raniganj' deserves to be looked beyond box-office numbers

Akshay Kumar recently starred in Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue, which was based on India’s largest rescue operation. It saw the actor essay the role of mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill. It collected over Rs 12 crore in its weekend, and fans are upset and unhappy with the numbers on display. But. Why the film needs to be looked beyond box-office

To understand why the film transcends box-office, one has to know what the film narrates. On 13 November 1989, a series of blasts broke the Mahabir Colliery in Raniganj, West Bengal, when someone accidentally touched the upper seam of the mine, which led to heavy flooding, according to reports. How did the rescue operation take place? What was the plan Jaswant Singh Gill executed? How did he succeed? All the answers lie in the film that opened to glowing reviews. Kumar has essayed multiple unsung heroes in his career, starting from films like Baby and continuing with films like Airlift, Mission Mangal, Kesari, and now _Mission Raniganj_. It was important to tell these stories of courage, something that shouldn’t be bogged down by the banality of opening weekends and lifetime collections. Jaswant Singh Gill’s son speaks exclusively to Firstpost

His son Dr Sarpreet, while talking about the importance of telling this incident to the world, said, “The world will realise there are unsung heroes that have been completely neglected from the society, their stories never came out, they have been hidden somewhere. A lot of people will learn the meaning of how to be selflessly brave, helping humanity and people when they need help. This will influence generations to come and help other unsung heroes of our nation. We will have more movies on such people, and the way Mission Raniganj has shaped up is absolutely incredible.” Akshay Kumar and his relevant stories

With films like Toilet- Ek Prem Katha and Pad Man, he picked up subjects that were both taboo and terrific, and to weave them commercially and make them viable for a global audience can only be possible when they are backed by a star like him. Very recently, in _OMG 2_, he, as an actor and producer, picked up a subject like sex education that no one imagined before. The ideas stem from fearlessness. Akshay Kumar on box-office “I can do that kind of film (commercial) and get that kind of numbers also. But I am happy doing a film that brings a change in the society,” Akshay said in a group interview recently, according to PTI. The actor gave the example of his movies — “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” (2017) and “Pad Man” (2018) — and said when he signed these films, his decision raised many eyebrows. When I made Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’, everybody told me what kind of title this is. I was told, Are you mad? Who makes a film on a subject like toilets?’ “Please don’t discourage me by thinking about what business it (my film) is going to do. Give me courage that at least these kinds of films are being made and we are showing it to our children,” Akshay added. What next for the actor With films like Hera Pheri 3, Welcome To The Jungle, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, he’s surely going to set the box-office ablaze. Till then, let’s laud the star for telling stories like _Mission Raniganj_ and not limit them to numbers. With added inputs from PTI Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.