This Friday sees the release of the first two Bollywood films of 2023 – Kuttey, an action thriller, and Lakadbaggha, a story of an animal vigilante lover. This also marks the first box office clash of the year between two Hindi feature films. In an exclusive chat with News18, actor-producer Anshuman Jha, who headlines Lakadbaggha, is hopeful that both the films have the potential to do well at the box office. He says, “We’re a small release and I don’t think even they’re (Kuttey) a very big release. I think there are enough screens to easily accommodate two films of this size. The film that’s better will work. Sometimes, it so happens that two films releasing on the same day work equally well. Anything can happen.”
Without the revealing the budget of Lakadbaggha, Anshuman points out that Kuttey being a slightly bigger film carries the burden of recovering its cost. He states, “I believe you can’t have broad strokes for films. Films never fail, budgets do. That’s the mantra we follow as a company. In terms of budgeting, that film has a lot more to lose, purely value wise because given the cast and the scale, it’s a little bigger than us. So, the pressure would be more on them to recover.”
Lakadbaggha marks Anshuman’s third film as a producer after Mona Darling (2017) and Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele (2021) under his banner First Ray Films. Budget, for him, is an important aspect of filmmaking and he makes sure that his production ventures are cost-efficient but aesthetically pleasing at the same time. “As a company, we play our cards in a way where our films are small and tight but aesthetically very strong, which is why we work with the kind of people we work with. I don’t get too concerned once I’ve taken a decision. I think first and then act, I don’t think after acting. That’s how I live my life and that’s how it should be. All the stress happens when you live your life by deciding in the moment and then you think maine aisa decide kyun kiya,” he elaborates.
But being an optimist, he hopes that the release of both the films can make up for the lull at the box office. Talking about it, Anshuman says, “The focus should be in bringing the audiences back to the theatres. That’s what has stopped – less and less people are coming to the theatres. The reactions to the trailer gives me confidence that hopefully, some people will come back. I hope they (team Kuttey) watch our film and they invite us to watch their film. I also hope the audience enjoys both the films.”
While Lakadbaggha, which also stars Milind Soman and Ridhi Dogra, boasts of a novel concept, some have been comparing it to films like Bhavesh Joshi Superhero and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (both 2018). Reacting to the comparisons, the 37-year-old remarks, “I haven’t seen Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, to be honest, and so, I can’t comment on it. But I think it was about a regular vigilante. What’s different here is that it’s an animal lover vigilante film.”
He goes on to add that even though the Vasan Bala directorial explores martial arts as a core theme, Lakadbaggha explores the deadly Krav Maga. “I’ve watched Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. I love Vasan and his school of filmmaking. His films are very quirky and he loves martial arts. I love martial arts too. I was waiting to show this film to Vasan. But in Lakadbaggha, we got the team of Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (2018), which is why this film is very different. It’s about an ordinary boy named Arjun Bakshi, he isn’t a hero. The point we’re trying to make is that if an ordinary boy can do it so can the audience. Being ordinary is a superpower and that’s what the film is all about and I think this differentiates it from Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota,” Anshuman explains.
The Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain (2018) and Yeh Hai Bakrapur (2014) actor continues, “Tsahi (Shemesh; Krav Maga instructor) said that action heroes are well-built, tall and strong but when I was training with him, I realised that size is inconsequential. Even in reality, I can take down four to five guys who are much bigger than me. I’m a huge fan of Bruce Lee (martial artist and actor) and he’s all about his core strength and Lakadbaggha, in many ways, is a tribute to him.”
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