Image shared on X. (Courtesy: benderdalek)
Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra's Mission Raniganj is based on the true life event of the late engineer Jaswant Singh Gill. He led India's first successful coal mine rescue mission in November 1989. Mission Raniganj opened in theatres on October 6. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the weekend business of Mission Raniganj is “not in sync with its merits and reports.” The film was “below-the-mark” at the box office with a collection of ₹12.60 crore in the first weekend. Though Mission Raniganj saw improvement on day 2, the business suffered due to the India vs Australia ODI World Cup match on Sunday (day 3). However, Taran Adarsh believes that there is still a chance for Akshay Kumar's film will put up a decent total.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Taran Adarsh explained, “Mission Raniganj has a below-the-mark Weekend 1… Biz improved on Day 2, but got impacted by #INDvAUS match on Day 3… Weekend biz is not in sync with its merits / reports, but if it sustains from today [Monday], right till #Dussehra2023, there's a chance of putting up a decent total… Friday 2.80 cr, Saturday 4.80 cr, Sunday 5 cr. Total: ₹ 12.60 cr. #India biz. #Boxoffice.”
NDTV's film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave 1.5 stars to the film. He wrote, “Mission Raniganj, set in Mahabir Colliery in West Bengal's Raniganj area, does not dig deep enough as it mines the story of Jaswant Singh Gill, an intrepid engineer whose valour is part of Indian mining folklore. The man deserved a much better film. The film reinforces the lingering belief that Hindi cinema should leave true stories alone, especially if Akshay Kumar is to be placed at the centre of the action. Mission Raniganj suffers the deleterious consequences of the spotlight being focused on the star rather than on the issues surrounding the mining disaster.”
Kumud Mishra, Pawan Malhotra, and Ravi Kishan are also a part of Mission Raniganj, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai.