Actor R Madhavan has launched the trailer of his upcoming film Dhoka rounded corner D. Directed by filmmaker Kookie Gulati, the film also stars debutant actor Khushali Kumar, Aparshakti Khurana and Darshan Kumaar.
At a press conference, Madhavan was asked why his 3 Idiots co-stars Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s latest film — Laal Singh Chaddha, failed at the checkout, while his film Rocketry The Nambi Effect managed to pull audiences into theaters. He replied that while the intent and hard work behind Laal Singh Chaddha was intense, audiences were now exposed to “world cinema” and were using it as a yardstick for judgement.
Madhavan said, “If we knew (why Laal Singh Chaddha didn’t work), we would all be doing hit films, honestly. No one starts making a movie thinking they are making a bad movie. The intent and hard work behind it is as intense as any film the actor works on. So all the big movies that came out had the intention of making a good movie and working. I think the difference with my film was that I made a biopic, so it’s not time agnostic, it would work anytime, whether it was pre-Covid or post-Covid or whatever.”
He also mentioned that audiences in the post-Covid world have “completely changed” and are exposed to world cinema. “So you will be judged by that standard. So it’s no one’s fault, I think it will take us some time to pull up our socks and create a script that will do very well in theatres,” he added.
When asked why he doesn’t remake his films, he said he was asked to remake 3 Idiots in Tamil. “I don’t remake my films anyway. I was asked to remake 3 Idiots in Tamil, I didn’t. It’s hard for me as an actor to do a scene for the first time and then recreate it; it is impossible for me. In remakes, there is comparison and all the fun of making the film goes away.”
He further said, “If the film is good, the public will come to the theatres. When we talk about South Indian movies that have done well, I will tell you clearly that Bahubali 1, Bahubali 2, RRR, Pushpa, KGF 1 and 2 are the only South Indian movies that have done better than the movies of Hindi film actors. It’s only six movies, we can’t call it a pattern. If good movies come, they will work. I think post-Covid, people’s tastes and preferences have changed because they are consuming content from all over the world. So if we make the kind of movies that they like, people will watch, with the kinds of movies that are coming out today, we’re going to have to be a little bit more progressive.”
About working on Dhoka Round D Corner, Madhavan said that after investing all his energy in the production of Rocketry, it was time for him to step back and return to acting, leaving aside production and direction.
He said, “I was tired of being Nambi Narayanan, dragging it out for the last six years. So after directing and acting and producing a movie and being so involved in one project, I just needed to be an actor again. It was a relief to know I could submit to the director. The cleansing was very important to me.’
Directed by Kookie Gulati and produced by T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar, Dhoka Round D Corner is slated to hit theaters on September 23.
