Meghna Gulzar’s mother Rakhee refused to watch previews of Chhapaak. Here’s why

Here’s why director Meghna Gulzar’s mother refused to watch previews of Chhapaak.

Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar’s mother refused to watch her latest film, Chhapaak, before its release to the public. The veteran actor Rakhee Gulzar said that she didn’t attend any of the friends and family previews of the film, as she wanted to experience it for the first time with the ‘most honest and unforgiving’ audience members.

Director Meghna Gulzar during the promotions of her film Chhapaak. (IANS)

She told Asian Age in an interview, “I wanted to see the film on release with the public. They are the ones who are the most honest and unforgiving judge of films. I also took along members of my staff to see their reaction.”

Chhapaak is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, and stars Deepika Padukone and Vikrant Massey in lead roles. Praising Meghna’s direction, Rakhee continued, “There were so many youngsters in the theatre, all watching in rapt attention. What Bosky (pet name for Meghna) has achieved in Chhapaak is not easy to do. It’s a true story, faithful to facts but still so cinematic. I am very proud of my daughter.”

Director Meghna Gulzar with actors Vikrant Massey and Deepika Padukone during the promotions of Chhapaak. (IANS)

Chhapaak has opened to positive reviews, with particular praise going to Deepika’s performance and Meghna’s restrained treatment of the intense subject. The film was pitted against Ajay Devgn’s considerably larger period epic, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, and has made approximately ₹21 in four days of release.

The film has been subjected to much controversy, especially after Deepika’s sudden appearance at a recent student protest in JNU. Chhapaak’s IMDb rating was then bombed with negative scores, and it currently lies at a poor 4.6/10, with over 10,000 ratings counted. “We have to be able to separate between the personal and professional. What somebody does in their personal life and what they have done as a professional in a film needs to be looked at separately,” Meghna told PTI in a telephonic interview when asked to comment on Deepika’s much discussed visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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