People didn’t expect a commercial film from me: Tigmanshu

Bollywood filmmakers don’t shy away from expressing their pain when a film fails to make a mark at the box office. While some take it to heart, others don’t let failure dampen their spirits, and move on. Tigmanshu Dhulia (right) belongs to the second category. He decided to keep trying after his 2013 film, Bullet Raja (2013), didn’t do well.

“After putting so much time and energy into a film, when it doesn’t work, it hurts. I wouldn’t have made the film had I not believed in it. [Lead actor of the film] Saif [Ali Khan] also liked the concept,” says Tigmanshu.

Elaborating on the reason behind the failure, he adds, “I think, it’s not just about the film, but also the image I have. It didn’t gel with the kind of films I make. Had it been made by a director such as Prabhu Dheva or Sajid Khan, who make commercial films, there would’ve been no problem. “The question was, ‘How could Tigmanshu make such a film? He should make his kind of cinema.’ The commercial cinema in Bollywood is being protected by few production houses who can’t accept it when directors like me try making a film in that space.”

Guess what? Tigmanshu is ready with another commercial project — the upcoming film, Yaara, starring Shruti Haasan, Amit Sadh, Vidyut Jamwal, and Vijay Varma. “No one can stop me from making the kind of films I want to make,” he says.

PHOTO:PRAMOD THAKUR /PT