Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus ‘ Padmavat ‘ which stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in lead, finally released on Thursday, amidst tight security.
According to a report on Boxofficeindia.com, the film has collected an estimated Rs 18 crore on its first day at the ticket window. This sum comes in despite a few state distributors deciding to collectively not screen the film.

With several fringe groups coming out in full force against the release of the film, it’s fate was decided by Supreme Court which ruled in Bhansali’s favour and ordered all states to allow the release of the film. Despite the ruling, fringe groups in certain parts of the country took to the streets to protest and try their level best to obstruct the release.

Experts were reported saying that the film would have opened to a better collection, but due to the controversies and protests which is still a matter of concern in certain regions, it managed to get a decent opening. Although the film performed extremely well in Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh. The collections are expected to go up with the Republic Day holiday and the coming weekend with states going the extra mile to deploy police force to guard theatre screening the film and cinema lovers.

The story of the fictional periodic-drama revolves around Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) – the wife of Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor), who is known for her beauty and valour in 13th century India. She captures the fancy of the reigning Sultan of Delhi, the tyrant Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh), who becomes obsessed with her and goes to great lengths to fulfil his greed.

Meanwhile, talking about the film, Deepika Padukone, on Wednesday, said the movie has spoken for itself, against all the odds it faced from the very inception. “I think there is a time for everything. The film has spoken for itself like you have seen the reactions to the film. It has been phenomenal. That is in a way the best response we can give, through the work that we do,” said Deepika.