MUMBAI: Director of the unanimously appreciated comedy Lootcase, Rajesh A Krishnan, is all set for the release of his biggest film yet, Crew, in theatres on the 29th of March, 2024. The film stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon and Tabu in titular roles and Kapil Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh and others in supporting roles. In a conversation with Pinkvilla, the director talked in length about Crew, the airlines industry, the challenges he faced shooting the film, his star-actresses and lastly the projects he is going to bankroll later this year, under the banner Soda Films.

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Himesh Mankad, in a conversation with Pinkvilla revealed that when Rajesh A Krishnan was asked about how he managed the casting coup of Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu and Kriti Sanon for Crew, he modestly said, "Rhea (Kapoor) had the script in place. The concept was in place. They (the producers) had Kareena and probably also Kriti on board and Tabu came in, in the last minute. I was kind of on board when Tabu was contemplating whether to be part of the film or not. Maybe they were trying to reach out to her". When he was asked about how he was approached to direct the film, he shared, "Ekta (Kapoor) was asking around for a director. What she tells me is that wherever she went, everyone asked her whether she has seen Lootcase or not. So I lucked out like that".

The Crew director was then asked to share something about the film since the teaser and the one song that has released, doesn't reveal much about the movie. After jokingly saying that he'd reveal the story only if he got a sum of money equal to the film's budget, he went on to give some perspective on Crew. He explained, "It is very pertinent to what is happening in the airlines industry today. It's about a bunch of women who are working in the airline business. We have seen a lot of airlines come and go. They get these large subsidies from the government. And the airlines have their own set of problems as a result of which they can't really sustain the business. In the middle of all this, I think there's a bunch of people who really give their lives to their jobs. There, their lives get changed."

He continued, "They are not in the business. They come in, in the hope and faith that, 'my company will look after me'; Because when they are up in the air, it's a myth that airhostesses have a very glamorous life. It's not a glamorous life. If you have to trade your sleep and work like maids in the sky, you avoid the gaze of all the people. If you look at what's happening to the airline business, an airport is the new railway station today (emphasing on the commotion and chaos). The airhostesses have to cater to or rather deal with a variety of people."

Finally, he said that Crew is basically about what happens to the life of the airhostesses when their end of the deal gets sawchained. "It's about an adventure they set out on. It's about how they get into the situation. Do they get out of the situation? Does it get crazier? Do they fall into a rabbit hole? And does that rabbit hole keep getting deeper?". When he was asked to clarify about whether the film gets dark, Rajesh A Krishnan accepted that it does get dark but cleared that the movie is more of a dramedy, spiced up by an adventure.

Krishnan was then asked if he found it difficult to direct 3 star-actresses, couple of who are already veterans. To this he said, "If you saw the attitude on the sets, it would be hard for you to say who is older and who is younger". He continued, "Everyone left their star suits in the vanity. Most of these stars got to be these stars by being very honest to their craft; They were extremely respectful to the process. There was a lot of reverence. Yes there were discussions but it comes from a very honest place of curiosity. So, there was no pressure. The only pressure we had was the pressure of time. You have to be efficient of the time the actor has given you."

Crew is a difficult film to shoot since a lot of it is shot in real locations. Krishnan said, "Shooting in airport was a really high pressure situation because there are so many restrictions in an airport. It was very lovely of Adani airport and the airport in Goa, that there was access to places where cameras have not gone before. These are very expensive locations. Anil Kapoor weaved his magic and managed to get these locations. He literally went out of the way to get the locations for us. That was amazing."

Also read - 'Crew' New teaser snippet Out! Witness Tabu in the Hottest Avatar! Song to release on 4th March

Lastly, the Crew director shared what else he is working on. He said he will be rolling out a lot of projects as a producer this year, which he has been working on for a while. They are mostly in the space of comedy and thriller. It won't be like Lootcase but will be in the mature comedy zone. 

Crew releases in theatres on 29th March, 2024.

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Credits - Pinkvilla