Akshay Kumar’s Gold is the first Bollywood film to release in Saudi Arabia. The film released on August 30. The film that tells the fictional story of India’s first gold medal victory in Olympics is directed by Reema Kagti and had released in India on August 15. Akshay Kumar shared the news through a tweet.
The story of India’s first Gold medal victory for the first time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Happy to share, #Gold is the first ever Bollywood movie to release in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, in cinemas from today! @excelmovies @ZeeStudiosInt
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) August 30, 2018
Gold which earned mixed reviews has Akshay Kumar playing the role of Tapan Das, a Bengali responsible for organizing hockey players to realize his dream of the first gold medal for an Independent India.
Kaala was the first Indian film to release in Saudi Arabia which until December used to have a blanket ban on movie releases. The country had lifted the ban in December last year following which Black Panther in April became the first movie in 35 years to release in the country. This was closely followed by the release of Avengers: Infinity War.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Saudi Arabia, with its more than 32 million population (70 per cent of which is under the age of 30), is touted as a market with huge potential. And the Indian population in Saudi Arabia stood at 4.1 million, constituting almost 13 per cent of the total population of the country and thus making it the biggest expatriate group in the kingdom.
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The neighbouring United Arab Emirates too, which is set to receive a setback following the lifting of the ban in Saudi Arabia, constitutes a large number of Indians as a result of which last year’s Baahubali 2 sat atop their box office, even overthrowing Guardians of Galaxy 2 in its second week.
Bollywood movies have recently been witnessing increased acceptance globally especially in China. Aamir Khan who enjoys a huge fan following in the country saw his Dangal receive an overwhelming response there. Even Secret Superstar, a movie produced by the actor, did exceedingly well.
Read: Gold Review: Sports Takes A Back Seat, While Jingoism Drives The Film