MUMBAI : When The Legend of Bhagat Singh, starring Ajay Devgn, was released in 2002, at least four additional films about the revolutionary were in production, according to producer Ramesh Taurani, it was a massive financial flop. The Rajkumar Santoshi film, which won two National Awards for best film and male actor, starred Ajay Devgn as the title character.
Also Read- Ramesh Taurani CONFIRMS Soldier 2 filming to begin in 2025; Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta to reunite?
Ramesh Taurani recounted The Legend of Bhagat Singh's box office performance in an interview with Showsha, calling it a "big disaster" in spite of the film's overwhelming critical acclaim.
Ramesh Taurani said, “It didn’t do well because back then five Bhagat Singh films were being made, out of which the Sonu Sood one released a week before us and our film clashed with Sunny and Bobby’s 23rd March 1931: Shaheed. The other film was never finished, despite being filmed. It was made by the production controller of JP Dutta, but that one was never released, then there was another one made by Ramanand Sagar, which was released on Doordarshan directly, a year later.”
He further said, “Puri company ki economy hil jaati hai (the company’s entire economy is shaken). That time it cost us Rs 27 cr, and we only recovered Rs 5 cr out of that.”
“So the loss was of Rs 22 cr but we got critical acclaim of the highest order, went on to win all the honours, including the National Film Award, but it was a huge financial loss. We paid everyone back. The risk was ours, but the work was theirs. We knew multiple films were being made on this and yet we took a call because of our script.”
He further added, “We were upset because The Legend of Bhagat Singh faced such a huge loss and then he went on to his next with someone else. So that hurt was there, that we mounted such a big film on the conviction of the director, but it is fine. Maybe the financial benefit there was more. After Khakee he made Family: Ties of Blood and then Halla Bol, after which I contacted him, and we made Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. After that everything was sorted.”
Also Read-Ramesh Taurani reveals that the '3 Khans' are 'mindful of recoveries' and believe in profit sharing
For more news and updates from the world of television and Bollywood, stay tuned to TellyChakkar.
Credit-IndianExpress
Add new comment