Nikkhil Advani on releasing 'Vedaa' with 'Stree 2': It just gobbled us up

The Independence Day week this year saw the release of three major Bollywood releases in “Stree 2”, a horror comedy starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, Akshay Kumar’s comedy “Khel Khel Mein” and “Vedaa”, featuring 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’.

"I think I made a good film, my job is to tell the story that people have entrusted me to tell, as well as possible,” Advani told PTI during the promotions of his upcoming series "Freedom at Midnight".

Asked if he regrets releasing “Vedaa” on the same day as “Stree 2” and “Khel Khel Mein”, the filmmaker said light-hearted films appeal to audiences in the post-pandemic world.

“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.

"Vedaa" made Rs 26.75 crore at the box office, while "Stree 2" earned nearly Rs 600 crore in India.

The filmmaker said his films “Batla House” and “D Day” also struggled at the ticket window despite good reviews.

“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 it opened at Rs 1.75 crore. Nobody went and saw the film. That’s my trajectory (as a filmmaker),” he said.

“I think Sharvari was incredible, John is superb in the film, and a lot of people worked hard on it. I feel bad for them, not so much for me,” Advani added.

Advani said he has no immediate plans for another season of “Mumbai Diaries”, which features Konkona Sen Sharma, Mohit Raina, Shreya Dhanwanthary, and Satyajeet Dubey among others.

“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’.

"With ‘Mumbai Diaries’ season one or two I finished saying what I wanted to say, that is, doctors are like soldiers, they are in the trenches. Now, I don’t have anything more to say.”

Advani's “Freedom at Midnight”, based on the book of the same name by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, features “Jubilee” star Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra of "Scam 1992" fame and popular TV actor Rajendra Chawla in the roles of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, respectively.

“Freedom at Midnight” is set to premiere on streaming service Sony LIV from November 15.