‘Not expecting Soorma to do ₹100 crore business’
Actor Angad Bedi feels that Soorma is the reason that he has been noticed by critics
Monika Rawal Kukreja
Actor Angad Bedi ended 2017 on a high note with his film Tiger Zinda Hai raking in big moolah at the box office. This year, too, has been exciting so far for the actor. Soon after he tied the knot with actor Neha Dhupia in a hush-hush ceremony, his film, the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Soorma — a biopic on hockey player Sandeep Singh — released.
The film released a week before Dhadak and soon after Sanju. Angad feels that Soorma is different on the grounds that it’s “a heartland story of two brothers and is very rural”. He adds, “Sanju is such a big film, made on a Dutt’s life who is a rockstar. Then, you have Ranbir [Kapoor], country’s loved superstar, Raju Hirani, the biggest filmmaker, Vidhu Vinod Chopra as the producer. With all these names coming together, it’s wrong to even have a comparison.”
About his co-star Diljit, who he shares a “bromance” with, Angad says, “He is not my blood brother, but is my soul brother. His stage shows have got a phenomenon market, both domestic and overseas. He’s got so much honesty in his performance. I’ll always value his friendship and brotherhood off screen. Though he’s a reserved person, we had a great chemistry and bromance.”
While the film might not have not done record-breaking business at the box office, it did receive critical acclaim. “With folded hands, I want to thank all those who appreciated my performance in the film. It’s very rare that you get such unanimously positive response for your act.
While Pink (2016) laid the foundation and Tiger (2017) gave me numbers, with Soorma, I was noticed by critics,” says Angad, before adding, “I feel you need a big film to be seen but you also need performance-oriented roles. Only then the industry notices you and gives you different kind of roles.”
About Soorma’s box office performance, Angad says, “The film was made on a budget of 22 crore, and we don’t expect it to do a 100-crore business, but it has definitely earned respectable numbers. It’s a more performance-heavy film with a great story and content. Also, as far as opening is concerned, both Diljit and I are upcoming names in Bollywood, and Sandeep Singh is not a name that many people recognize.”