Actor Ayushmann Khurrana spoke at the session ‘Cinema at Crossroads – The Rules of the Big Screen’ on day one of FICCI Frames.
The actor who is gearing up for the release of Udta Teer , said that a film’s script and authenticity are more important to its theatrical success in an entertainment landscape where audiences have access to multiple stars across different platforms.
Though in the last 20 odd films that I’ve done, I’ve dabbled into every kind of genre, from a project to run-of-the-mill kind of film. The film has crossed the ₹ 300 crore mark in India and completed 50 days at the box office. Made on a budget of just ₹ 2 crore, Hanuman Ansh had an inauspicious start at the box office, earning only ₹ 10 lakh on its opening day. It follows the spiritual leader’s journey from age 13 to the point where he came to be loved and revered. Horror film Obsession , directed by first-time filmmaker Curry Barker, minted over $300 million at the box office during a sensational run in theatres. Made on a paltry $700K budget, the film had a roaring start at the box office and built on word-of-mouth for weeks to come.
“Hanuman Ansh and Obsession belong to two different worlds and are small-budget films, I think we need to make movies like that. We need to be budget-friendly, connect more with people. The session was attended by filmmaker Sriram Raghavan and Denzil Dias, VP and Managing Director, India Theatrical at Warner Bros Discovery. The actor went on to add that he has always believed that the story should be bigger than the actor or the star and gave the example of his upcoming film, Udta Teer, a spy comedy. “I always believe that story is the superstar right from my first film. But I’m going back to my core, which is authenticity. If we give authentic subject to people that’s a good draw. I believe in my next film, Udta Teer it is like a reverse uno stuff but I’m excited about it as I’m going back to my core. Hanuman Ansh is written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi. It is based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, popularly known as Maharaj-ji. But it was after it completed three weeks in theatres that the film began to pick up. In its fourth weekend, Hanuman Ansh showed a miraculous growth across India. The film traces the life of Lakshman Das and how he found spiritualism, transforming into Neem Karoli Baba.
It sounds simple but it isn’t,” the actor said. It is my genre,” he said.
