Sonu Sood on Samrat Prithviraj’s box office failure; says ‘This time we failed…’

Akshay Kumar-starrer Samrat Prithviraj released in theatres on June 3. Directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi and produced by Yash Raj Films.

The movie was reportedly made on a budget of ₹175 crore, and earned ₹90 crore at the box office worldwide. Now, actor Sonu Sood, who played the role of Prithviraj Chauhan’s court poet Chand Bardai in the period drama, opened up about the film not receiving a favourable response from critics and audience.

Sonu said he accepts the failure of Samrat Prithviraj. He added it was a very special film and the role of Chand Bardai was very special to him, and that despite the box office fate of the film, it will remain one of the most special projects of his career.

Speaking about how he wishes Samrat Prithviraj had fared better, Sonu told the news agency PTI, “I wish the film could have done well because there was a lot of hard work put in. As an actor, it is important that you give your 100 percent and it is up to the audience to decide what is right and what is wrong in it. You have to accept your failures and learn from them and next time you can be better, you can deliver better. I, as an actor, do that. This time we failed but next time we will do well.”

Samrat Prithviraj marked the Bollywood debut of Manushi Chhillar, who was crowned Miss World in 2017. The film suffered at the box office due to the continued good performance of Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 that released on May 20. Samrat Prithviraj also faced tough competition from the Hollywood film Jurassic World Dominion.

In the film, Akshay Kumar plays the role of the medieval king Prithviraj Chauhan, who fights Mohammed of Ghori. Samrat Prithviraj features Manushi as Queen Sanyogita, while Sonu Sood, Sanjay Dutt, Ashutosh Rana, and Manav Vij are seen in key roles.

Sonu said about his role in the film, “Prithviraj was very special and the role of Chand Bardai was very special. Whatever role I will be offered, I will keep on working hard for it and try to entertain people.”

Sonu’s next project is his debut podcast, Commander Karan Saxena, based on author Amit Khan’s book series Hamladar Commander Saxena. Some of his upcoming films include Zee Studios action-thriller Fateh, for which he will start filming in October, followed by Kisaan, directed by E Niwas. He also has a Tamil movie with actor Vijay Anthony.