Gadar 2 to be screened at Rashtrapati Bhavan for President Murmu? PIB issues fact check

President Droupadi Murmu will not be attending attending a special screening of Sunny Deol's Gadar 2 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The government's fact-checking unit rubbished claims of a ‘special VIP screening’ requested by the top leader. It also noted that the President's official residence regularly holds film screenings and the event in question would not be attended by Murmu. 

“It is a regular screening that happens in Rashtrapati Bhavan and President had not wished for any such special screening. President is not attending the screening,” the fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau explained. 

The clarification was released following media reports about the movie screening earlier on Sunday. 

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Gadar 2 took the box office by storm over the weekend, minting over ₹40 crore on its opening day in theatres. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the action-packed sequel to Deol's 2001 blockbuster film Gadar has recorded the second-best opener of 2023 after Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathaan'. 

The film has continued to perform well over the weekend, collecting ₹83.18 crore net at the domestic box office in the first two days of its release.

"Sunny Deol’s magic has taken over the box office, after shattering records on the first day itself, the film has raked in ₹43.08 crore net on day 2 of its release.... These remarkable numbers, typically reserved for solo releases, propel 'Gadar 2' towards the second-fastest ₹100 crore club for 2023, with a net of ₹83.18 crore already achieved," the makers said in a press note.

While the original movie was set during the Partition, Gadar two occurs in 1971. It follows Tara Singh's journey to Pakistan to rescue his son, Charanjeet Singh from the Pakistani Army. Produced by Zee Studios, the movie also features Ameesha Patel returning as Sakeena and Ukarsh Sharma as Charanjeet.

(With inputs from agencies)