UTV & Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Rowdy Rathore co-produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Shabinaa Khan and directed by Prabhudeva has marked the re entry of Akshay Kumar - India's favourite Khiladi back to his regime.

As Akshay gets ready to accept the 100 crore crown anytime from now..Bollywood is showering praises for Akki's action packed comeback with Prabhudeva's 'Rowdy Rathore' a remake of the Ravi Teja starrer Telugu film Vikramarkudu'. Which in fact seems to draw inspirations from Bollywood's 1976 'Kalicharan' starring Shatrughan Sinha (Sonakshi Sinha's father).. B-town showman Subash Ghai made his debut as director with this flick..

Kalicharan is remembered by die hard bollywood fanatics for two reason.. the movie made badman Ajit immortal with the character Lion.. and the movie was Shatrughan Sinha's debut as the mainstream lead in Bollywood..

Rowdy Rathore success mainly in the single screens has also cemented two facts.. in a way it has given a new lease of life to Akshay Kumar who for reasons better known to him was restricting himself to be a comedian was getting repeated and was not quite exciting for many..

Secondly, it has again proved that full blown masala from the appetite of entertainment hungry souls of bollywood can never be ruled out.. Not only did the action-entertainer emerged as the biggest non-holiday opener ever in Bollywood history, but also managed to gross a whopping Rs. 65.92cr Net in 5 days..

Says Mumbai-based distributor Rajesh Thadani,  "A lot of things have worked for the film, like the timing, the set up, Prabhudheva's direction and the entire masala that has been spread evenly over the film. The film has got the biggest possible opening for the year after Agneepath, if you count just three day weekend collection. And mind you Agneepath released on a national holiday. The film is going strong on at multiplexes or at single screens."

Adds Delhi-based distributor Sanjay Ghai, "The film has entered the league of Dabangg and 3 Idiots. It is a sure shot entry into the Rs 100 crore club and is already declared to be a blockbuster."

Girish Wankhede from Cinemax points out, " The film opened with 60 per cent occupancy on Friday and by the end of the week, through major word of mouth, it reached 80 per cent. The film has a great repeat value."

Co- producer Shabinaa Khan "Very few get to enjoy opening figures such as these with their first co-production...I'm thrilled that the hardwork has paid off and elated that the film is doing so well"

Says Siddharth Roy Kapur, MD - Studios, Disney UTV "We are thrilled with the incredible opening day collections of ROWDY RATHORE across the length and breadth of India. Rowdy Rathore has notched up the 3rd biggest Opening Day of All Time and the Biggest Non Holiday Opening Day of All Time. It is also Akshay Kumar's Biggest Opening Day Ever. All of us - UTV, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha and of course Prabhudheva are immensely thankful to audiences for helping this film to rewrite box office history."

Last but not the least, Sanjay Leela Bhansali the producer shares, "I'm overwhelmed with the congratulatory wishes and love audiences are bestowing on the film...It feels great to be part of this out and out action entertainer."