Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's office announced that the newly released Akshay Kumar-starrer period drama 'Samrat Prithviraj' is going to be tax-free in the state. Earlier, three other BJP-ruled states - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand - declared the film tax-free.
The Chief Minister's Office tweeted the decision: "Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has decided to make 'Samrat Prithviraj', a Bollywood movie on the life of India's brave warrior king Prithviraj Chauhan, tax-free in the state".
'Samrat Prithviraj' was released on June 3 and opened to negative reviews. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the box office figures on Tuesday and said the movie has seen a sharp decline on Monday. The film earned 10.70 crores on opening day and saw a slight jump over the weekend - 12.60 crore on Saturday and 16.10 crore on Sunday. On Monday, the film only collected five crores.
The film was made on a budget of 250 crores and has only earned a little over 59 crores till now. Several theatres are already cancelling shows due to low footfall. The film is banned in Kuwait and Oman due to the alleged Hindu nationalist content. The UAE hosting a huge fan base for Bollywood films could have helped the film's box office collection.
Samrat Prithviraj is set around the First Battle of Tarain between the 12th-century king Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori of the Ghurid dynasty. The film is based on Prithviraj Raso, a Braj language epic about the life of the king.
Akshay Kumar had claimed that the film took 18 years of research. But many viewers have pointed out historical inaccuracies. A 54-year-old actor playing a 26-year-old king and the romantic pairing with a 25-year-old actress has already become the butt of jokes.