Mumbai:
The Sabarmati Report, a film based on the 2002 Sabarmati Express burning incident in Godhra, Gujarat, continues to perform steadily at the box office. Directed by Dheeraj Sarna, the film stars Vikrant Massey in the lead role. According to Sacnilk, the film had a decent opening weekend at the domestic box office, though its earnings still fall short of Vikrant’s sleeper hit from last year, 12th Fail.
On Day 3, The Sabarmati Report earned Rs 3 crore, showing a modest increase from its Saturday earnings of Rs 2.1 crore. Its opening day collection was Rs 1.25 crore, marking a gradual rise throughout the weekend. Interestingly, The Sabarmati Report opened stronger than 12th Fail, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 2023 film, securing Vikrant’s best opening ever. However, the growth in collections over the weekend was more pronounced for 12th Fail, both on Saturday and Sunday. In comparison, 12th Fail earned Rs 3.12 crore on Day 3, slightly surpassing The Sabarmati Report. As a result, 12th Fail‘s opening weekend total of Rs 6.74 crore is higher than that of The Sabarmati Report, which garnered Rs 6.35 crore.
The Sabarmati Report was the only major Bollywood release last week, facing competition only from the Tamil action fantasy Kanguva, starring Suriya and Ridley Scott’s Hollywood epic, Gladiator II.
In a related development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded on X (formerly Twitter) to a user who praised the movie and tagged him with a video of the film’s trailer. He wrote, “Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it. A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out.”
The film dramatizes the tragic burning of the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra station on February 27, 2002, in which at least 59 devotees returning from Ayodhya were killed. The incident sparked widespread riots in Gujarat. At the time, PM Narendra Modi was serving as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The film also stars Ridhi Dogra and Raashii Khanna in key roles.
