Dev and Subhashree Ganguly’s latest Bengali film Dhumketu has earned over Rs 23 crore nett in three weeks since its August 14 release, the makers said on Saturday.

“Dhumketu continues its historic run - Bengali Cinema has never seen this before,” the production banner Dag Creative Media wrote on social media.

Directed by Kaushik Ganguly, Dhumketu made history as the biggest opening day grosser of all time in Bengali cinema with a collection of Rs 2.1 crore gross, according to the makers.

The film went on to collect Rs 15.24 crore nett in the extended first week. The film’s collections stood at Rs 21.36 crore nett at the end of second week in theatres. As per the latest update from the makers, the 22-day haul of the film stands at Rs 23.79 crore nett.

Also featuring Rudrani Ghosh, Dulal Roy, Alokananda Roy, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Chiranjeet Chakraborty, Dhumketu follows fugitive Bhanu’s (Dev’s) sudden return to his hometown to meet his wife Rupa (Subhashree) and his parents (Dulal Lahiri and Alokananda Roy) before his final suicide mission for an extremist group led by Chief (Chiranjit Chakraborty).

The release of Dhumketu was mired in controversy. The film was in limbo for nearly a decade because of a fallout between its co-producers — Dev and Rana Sarkar.

When it was finally about to hit theatres after a ten-year delay, the makers alleged that the film was not getting enough shows because of ‘no-sharing’ policy by Yash Raj Films for War 2. Several industry bigwigs wrote a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee in this regard. Finally, Dhumketu raced past War 2 in West Bengal when advance bookings began.

Ahead of the film’s release, the West Bengal government mandated that all theatres in the state, including multiplexes, should screen at least one Bengali film in a prime-time slot between 3pm and 9pm every day.