Fans are giving raving reviews for Akshay Kumar's 'Bell Bottom' as it released in theatres worldwide on August 19, amid a pandemic that is still looming large.
The film boasts of a stellar cast, headlined by Adil Hussain, Lara Dutta, Denzil Smith, Huma Qureshi and Vaani Kapoor
Also watch: In 'Bell Bottom' song 'Tum Aaogey', Akshay Kumar is turning 'hope into reality': Watch full video
Directed by Ranjit M Tewari, 'Bell Bottom' has released in several countries, but three Gulf nations have banned it.
Reports say, the film certification authorities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have rejected 'Bell Bottom', due to alleged tampering with historical facts.
'Bell Bottom' is set in the 1980s, and is a spy thriller, where Akshay's character saves Indians who were hostages on a hijacked plane.
Also watch: 'Bell Bottom’ song 'Sakhiyan 2.0': Akshay Kumar & Vaani Kapoor’s love song will get you grooving
The second half of 'Bell Bottom' shows the hijackers taking the aircraft to Dubai from Lahore. Reports say, that as per the actual incident that took place in 1984, United Arab Emirates Defence Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had personally handled the situation and it was the UAE authorities who had nabbed the hijackers, and not India.
'Bell Bottom' however, depicts Akshay’s character leading the charge of the operation while also keeping the UAE Defence Minister unaware about the whole episode.
Meanwhile, though the makers of 'Bell Bottom' are being cheered by fans for releasing the film in theatres, despite cinema halls operating only at 50 percent capacity due to the pandemic; the film is facing an uphill task on its home turf in Maharashtra, which is the biggest movie market in the country. The Uddhav Thackeray govt is yet to give a go ahead to theatres to open in the state.
'Bell Bottom' has collected about Rs 2.75 crore at the Box Office on Friday and about Rs 2.6 crore on Saturday with fewer people are going out for movies. 'Bell Bottom' has been released across 1,620 screens and nearly 6,481 shows nationwide.