MUMBAI: Reema Kagti's Gold, which stars Akshay Kumar, Amit Sadh, Vineet Kumar Singh, Kunal Kapoor, Sunny Kaushal, and Mouni Roy, is inching towards the 100-crore mark.
'Thank you, of course, it feels great. The entire team really worked hard, so it does feel wonderful,' Reema said to a leading media portal on being congratulated on the film’s success. The film released on August 15 and is based on free India winning its first Olympic gold in hockey.
The film struck gold because of the subject and the perfect casting. Thanking her team for this, Reema said, 'Akshay was the first person that we approached. He is a great actor and we all felt he suited the physicality of Tapan Das quite well. Beyond that, it was Nandini (casting director) who was a great help. It was through her that I discovered Mouni, Amit, and Sunny. Kunal and Vineet, of course, are great actors and have done a tremendous job. I love Vineet and I think he was perfect for Imtiaz. As for Kunal, the gravitas that he brought to the role was just amazing.'
Akshay is undoubtedly Bollywood's most bankable star today. Was it difficult to put him in the backfoot for Gold? The Talaash director shared, 'We all went by the script. Tapan Das is the thread that binds all the characters in the film. He holds the entire story together. I remember when we were working on the script, we came to know about a man, who had held the national flag in 1936 Olympics to boost the morale of the players. He then went on to become the team’s manager in the 1948 match. In that sense, he was the real hero. I can assure you that all the players in themselves are legends and deserve a biopic each. This was a larger story that we were trying to present, where it was all about a united dream.'
Reema also shared that she is not really a sportsperson. 'I am not quite active that way but I love watching sports films. I think it is one of the most successful genres in the history of cinema. There’s something about them that’s so uplifting and feel good. I have always wanted to do a sports film, for my sheer love towards it.'
When asked for her viewpoint on the lack of female filmmakers in India, Reema said, 'I think at this point, we have more women than we ever had. I don’t think it’s a Bollywood issue but in every industry, women had taken a back seat. There could be a lot of reasons for the same, patriarchy being one of them. But it’s a fact that the trend is definitely changing. Yes, the pace needs to improve but women are finally out there, in every sphere.'
She thanked her team for being so supporting: 'Everybody was just superb and we really had a lot of fun shooting. When you are working with such a big team, it could have really got difficult but they were really sweet. None of them created any problems. And I only have love and gratitude towards them. The boys, headed by Akshay were playing games during breaks, and it just added to the entire bonding.'
Reema is already working on her next project. She says, 'So Zoya and I have started a production company. We are all set to launch our first web series Made in Heaven for Amazon Prime Video. It should release by early next year. Also, I have co-written Gully Boy, which I am quite excited about.'
TellyChakkar wishes Reema good luck for all her upcoming projects!
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