- Friday, November 08, 2024
Advani also mentioned that his past films like “Batla House” and “D Day” faced similar struggles despite receiving positive feedback
By: India Weekly
FILMMAKER Nikkhil Advani said “Vedaa” was a good film, but he regrets its release coinciding with “Stree 2”.
The horror comedy, starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, dominated the box office, overshadowing Advani’s film, which starred John Abraham and Sharvari.
“‘Vedaa’ released on August 15 and it hit us out, it gobbled us up. Four days later, somebody asked, ‘What I could’ve changed about ‘Vedaa’? I said, ‘I could’ve just changed that ‘Stree 2’ was not a good film,'” Advani said.
He explained that the film’s post-pandemic appeal could have been better positioned if it hadn’t faced direct competition with a mass-appeal movie like “Stree 2“.
“We made a very good film. It has certain things that make eyes wide open. People are saying in the second half there’s action, otherwise, it would’ve been an independent film about Dalit atrocities and rights. ‘Stree 2’ came, and it was incredible. I feel post lockdown and pandemic, the audience wants to be free. They want to enjoy freely,” Advani said.
Advani also mentioned that his past films like “Batla House” and “D Day” faced similar struggles despite receiving positive feedback.
“A lot of people today say, ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’ was a good film, we loved the songs, ‘So, why didn’t you go and watch it?’. Similarly, people say that ‘D Day’ was a mind-boggling and lovely film, but nobody went and saw the film. That’s my trajectory (as a filmmaker),” he said.
Reflecting on his current project, “Freedom at Midnight”, Advani said he was content with what he had achieved so far with his past series like “Mumbai Diaries”. He explained that he no longer had more to say on that subject matter.
“It is very important for me at the age of 54, like if I’m spending 110 days or so working on it (series), and working with the same people, I want to be able to say, ‘I did something that is substantial, something I wanted to say’,” Advani stated.
Advani’s upcoming historical drama “Freedom at Midnight”, based on the book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, is set to stream on Sony LIV starting November 15.
