Shree Narayan Singh helmed Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, a 2017 Bollywood Hindi-language comedy-drama film. The movie stars Akshay Kumar as well as Bhumi Pednekar inside the prominent roles, alongside Anupam Kher, Sudhir Pandey, and Divyendu Sharma in supporting parts. It is co-produced by Akshay Kumar and Neeraj Pandey. On August 11, 2017, the movie was released. The movie is indeed a satirical comedy that supports government initiatives in India to promote sanitation, with such a focus on eliminating open defecation, particularly in rural regions.
The movie was indeed a commercial triumph, being Akshay Kumar’s highest-grossing picture of all times, as well as his highest-grossing movie internationally, but his first to reach the $300 million mark.
The movie emphasises India’s bathroom crisis, which itself is exacerbated by religious and cultural prejudices. In rural regions of India, individuals still lack this fundamental need, that irritates women and leads to sexual harassment. There at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, the film earned three nominations, notably Best Film, Best Director for Narayan Singh, as well as Best Actor for Akshay Kumar.
Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal, the authors of the 2013 Hindi movie Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, wrote the script for this movie. It is based on a true storey about Priyanka Bharti, a 19-year-old woman who abandoned her husband’s house in 2012 because there was no toilet. Toilet states in the film that it is based on the tale of Anita Narre from Madhya Pradesh, who refused to return to her husband Shivram’s house because it lacked a toilet.
Filmmaker Praveen Vyas sent a legal warning to the producers, alleging that scenes and phrases from his documentary Manini, based on the same theme, were plagiarised in Toilet- Ek Prem Katha.
To promote the movie, Akshay Kumar excavated a toilet in Madhya Pradesh. On June 11th, 2017, the movie trailer was released. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the initiative as an excellent example of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’s message of cleanliness. Bill Gates selected Toilet: Ek Prem Katha as being one of the six great things that occurred in 2017 in December 2017.
After India’s independence day, on August 11, 2017, the movie was released. The movie earned a total of 311.5 crores internationally, making it Akshay Kumar’s highest-grossing picture but his first to cross the 300 crore mark.
On its first day in India, the picture grossed Rs. 13.10 crore (US$1.7 million). The movie was Kumar’s ninth highest-grossing debut. In India, the movie has made Rs 132 crore, making it Kumar’s highest-grossing picture.
Toilet Ek Prem Katha has a 27 per cent approval rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 5.43/10. The Times of India’s Meena Iyer rated the movie four out of five stars, stating, “Shree Narayan Singh, the director, holds up a mirror to society, revealing how our superstitious peasants, sluggish government, and crooked politicians have turned India into the world’s greatest shit-pond. Women, in particular, are treated with more indifference than livestock!”
“It’s fitting that Akshay Kumar has greenlit and played the lead inside this movie, that’s more of a tutorial on How To Break Social Taboos as well as Make Toilets than a compelling social drama,” stated Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, who awarded the movie two stars out of five.
Also Read: Intermission: Tap to know about this Black comedy crime movie
